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[ "Fleetwood Mac" ]

[ "Who You Are", "Who You Selling For", "Who the Hell Are You", "Sang Min", "Who I Am with You", "Eric Sange", "Who?", "Everal Walsh", "Tony Evers", "Who Made Who", "Daddy Sang Bass", "The One Who Really Loves You", "Lok Sang Ho", "I Write You a Love Song", "And There You Are", "Les liens du sang", "The Cubs Win Flag", "The Who by Numbers", "You ''", "The Who's Tommy", "Betty Who", "Tony Duke '' Evers", "Dr. Who", "Tinker to Evers to Chance", "The Thanksgiving Song", "Ever Decreasing Circles", "the Song of Solomon", "high card wins", "Who's That Girl", "The Man Who", "who is and who is not a New Zealand citizen", "Who We Are" ]

[ "Why shouldn't they be? Over a million Free French soldiers participated in the war against the Axis powers. The Vichy government did not simply 'still control the colonies', only some, and even then those could end up in Free French hands, see Madagascar. The government in exile was recognized by other powers and continued the fight. Even if we disregard the beginning of the war and the Battle of France, the French fought in Africa for example at the second battle of El Alamein, in Italy and in France, including the invasion of Normandy and the liberation of Paris." ]

[ "That was a long time ago. Fighting together against Germany in WW2 cemented their alliance. Sharing a language and some culture helps maintain the relationship. Britain is also a relatively strong military power compared to most countries, with nuclear weapons and a permanent seat in the UN security council. It's useful to have them on your side. A lot of this applies to France too, which is also a close ally of the USA. Maybe the shared language is the reason why the UK is considered to edge out France as the USA's closest ally.", "Switzerland didn't opt to be neutral. The were on the losing side of a major war and basically it was thrust upon them by the victors... however, they had flirted with neutrality a bit in the past, so the idea of a neutral Switzerland was certainly not new. The Swiss allied with France during early 1800s (after France invaded it of course) during a time called the Napoleonic Wars, of which much of the major powers of Europe were engaged in war across the continent. Eventually, France lost the war, and the winners declared Switzerland a neutral state, especially to act as a \"buffer state\" between Austria (on the winning side) and France (on the losing side). Swiss was the nation in between Austria and France. Since 1815 now, the international community has recognized Swiss neutrality, and the Swiss have taken their neutrality as a major component of their national being.", "After the WW2, Poland was \"sold\" in what is called [The Western Betrayal](_URL_0_) to USSR, which then installed a communist government. On top of that, Poland did not receive war reparations like Germany and France have.", "There were multiple states throughout history (Russia, Japan, Germany, Austria, France, etc.) which referred to themselves as Empires at periods in time. The term \"Empire\" did not really become a negative term until the post-WW2 period.", "When the UN was established after WW2, the victors were given a permanent veto on the Security Council. It is near impossible to remove the veto power from a country without thier consent. The only time it has happened, was when the veto was stripped from the old government of China (exiled on Taiwan) and given to the communist Peoples Republic which actualy controlled the mainland", "Its important to remember that the Baby Boom in 1950s America was not simply caused by troops returning from WW2. Remember there was no real Baby Boom in Britain or France in response to WW2 and even within America after WW1 there was no real \"boom\" in population. David Faber in *The Age of Great Dreams* argues that the boom was more caused by availability of housing in the suburbs and widespread consumer goods in the economy which a huge amount of young couples feel confident enough to start families at the same time especially when you consider many of them came through the Great Depression. They saw the new opportunities as a great chance also considering the uncertainty in America due to the Cold War starting. I know I did exactly answer your question and I don't have much data on battles in ancient times, but I would answer no since even America's baby boom was not the result of a large army returning, that is just an oversimplification of history.", "FYI, here are some previous posts about Finland's involvement in WWII: [During WW2, were there any conflicts of interest between Nazi Germany and Finland regarding the future of St. Petersburg, Estonia and other occupied territories?](_URL_5_) [To what extent did Germany and Finland collaborate during The Winter War/World War II?](_URL_0_) [Was Finland an Axis state during WWII?](_URL_1_) [Why is Finland not more closely associated with the WWII Axis powers in history texts?](_URL_6_) [Was there a secret alliance between the UK, France, and the Soviet Union to occupy Finland and the Baltics, and ultimately invade Germany prior to WW2? (Sources inside.)](_URL_2_) [Did Finland deport any jews, romani or sami during ww2?](_URL_3_) [Why wasn't Finland incorporated into the Eastern Bloc after World War II?](_URL_4_)", "France as a political entity has existed since the establishment of the Kingdom of France in 843AD. From that time until the present day the nation of France has undergone many changes of government and bureaucratic structure, but those changes in government form do not mean that 'France' ever ceased to exist as a political entity/nation. In a sentence, changes in government are not the same as is changing the nation. The Republic of France and the Kingdom of France were the same nation with different governments. There is no yard stick by which a nation can be measured. A number of factors must be taken into account. One of them is political self-governance which is why the USA is often considered to have been born after the Revolutionary War.", "Add the [First Boer War](_URL_0_) to your list. Unfortunately for the victors, the British came back to wage the Second Boer War, which is why South Africans speak English today.", "Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is a good example of poverty in Paris and France during the early 19th century. It's not particularly focused on industrial type poverty but the spirit of the novel captures the plight of \"the miserable ones\" living and dying in the cities. Fantine works in a factory with other women and is subjected to harassment by the male foreman. Not sure how accurate Bizet's Carmen is either, but Carmen and other marginalized women work in a cigarette factory in Seville.", "The Nazis. That's actually the reason. When they invaded France, they switched it to the same timezone as Germany. After the war, the French didn't change it back. Spain was neutral in WW2, but the ruling regime was on mostly good terms with Germany, so they also decided to align their timezone.", "Serious question for you, OP. Why would post-WW2 Japan have the same economy as pre-WW2 Germany? They're different countries, in different points in time, have different economies, in different areas of the globe, and have different histories.", "No, generally speaking there wasn't. Several border regions of West Germany did have the choice of going to either Germany or the bordering nation, i.e. France or Denmark respectively. Alsace-Lorraine elected to stay with France, while the Saarland joined Germany. The eastern regions of Prussia etc. were seen as parts of (West) Germany for quite a while after WW2 but the Cold War meant that nothing could be done about that. When the Soviet Union collapsed 45 years after WW2, formerly displaced Germans - and their descendents - didn't really care about these now much poorer regions anymore. The people who live there today mostly *aren't* German, as practically all Germans either fled from the Red Army or were \"displaced\" once the war was over.", "Hi there, Not to preclude further discussion, but this is a question which arises quite frequently. You may be interested in the following answers: - [Is history written by the victors?](_URL_1_) by /u/TenMinuteHistory - [People say \"history is written by the winners\" and imply it's biased. Was there ever a time when people thought history was biased because it was written by the literate?](_URL_2_) by /u/Sebatinsky - And, for a case study of the US Civil War, [Why wasn't the history of the US Civil War \"written by the victors?\"](_URL_0_) answer by /u/The_Alaskan.", "The name calling is used to silence and nullify their arguments. In WW2 France made a lot of poor decisions when it came to defense. The Germans broke through and stormed Paris, which was given up without a fight. The reality of the situation is more complex, but the obviously childish sentiment is fun to join in on, and any objection merely adds to the amusement. The reality is that France didn't agree with America's illegal invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Moreover they were vocal about it. Unfortunately time has shown France's reticence to be entirely valid and America's taxpayers have paid dearly for their mistake. This makes the namecalling even more satisfying.", "I'd actually like to hear from some of our historians the extent to which pan-germanism can be considered successful, both historically and in the post WW2 era. Could Hitler's annexation of Austria, occupation of Czechoslovakia, and occupation of Poland be considered an attempt at pan-german nationalism which ultimately failed?", "It seems like this list is rather incomplete. If for no other reason that the actions of the Marquis and the French Resistance during WW2 are not included. While they may have been attacks by French citizens on the occupying Germans, they still occurred in France, using tactics and methods typical of guerrilla and terror movements, designed to intimidate, bleed, and inhibit the security forces and their supporters.", "_URL_0_ Basically, you're right in that it's from the victor's perspective. A revolution is successful, a rebellion is failed.", "Victor Klemperer's diaries are a great place to start. He was a linguist at the University of Dresden, World War I veteran, and ardent German nationalist. He also happened to he Jewish. His diaries cover the entire period of the Third Reich. As an added bonus, his diaries go on past the end of the war and into the postwar period of Communist East Germany. [I Shall Bear Witness - The diaries of Victor Klemperer, 1933-1941](_URL_2_) [To The Bitter End - The diaries of Victor Klemperer, 1942-1945](_URL_1_) [The Lesser Evil - The diaries of Victor Klemperer, 1945-1959](_URL_0_) Happy Reading.", "Because Nazis. They used to be in the same time zone as the UK. But then when the Nazis took over France in WW2, they switched them to the same time zone as Germany. Spain wasn't directly involved in WW2, but were on fairly good terms with the Nazis so also switched to have a matching time zone to aid cooperation. For both it turned out to be more convenient after the war was over so they stayed that way. Now they all work quite closely together, and people and goods cross the borders all the time, so it's easier to be in a single time zone.", "If you don't mind me asking, why didn't the allies not launch D-Day from South of France or from border Spain and France. They already invaded South of France 2 months pier to D-Day so wouldn't it had made sense to move everyone down there and attack?", "Religious belief. But it really depend of where you live. For example here in France it is considered an act of barbarism by most of the population.", "It's not a colony, and they are independent. It's a part of France. It's like asking \"why is Alaska still owned by the USA?\" it's not owned it *is* the USA. French Guiana *is* France, it's just not the mainland, like Corsica.", "Well. I'm not entirely sure about why the Hapsburgs had claims on Napoli. Probably some marriage arrangement, or somesuch. Remember, at one point the family pretty much owned half (Or more) of Europe from Spain to Hungary. It wasn't one guy ruling everything, but pretty close. [Especially after the formation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire](_URL_1_). Anyways, back to France. [Probably because the Normans who were technically French vassals conquered lands there](_URL_0_). And because they were French vassals, their lands were also France's lands. But because it was outside of their 'sphere of influence' (They wouldn't have seen it that way, but let's keep this simple), the claims would've been tenuous which is probably why it's never really considered to be part of France. I could be totally wrong. This isn't really the area I'm most interested in, as I'm usually reading about stuff from rome to about 11-12th century. Maybe someone more specialized will correct/fill in the gaps. :)", "Hello! This is a very popular topic and I have answered questions like this in depth numerous times. Any of the below threads should answer your question; if anything is left out just ask and I'll be glad to fill in the holes! * [Why was WWI considered \"inevitable\"?](_URL_3_) * [Why did Germany get all the blame for WWI, when it was Russia who started it?](_URL_2_) * [If Serbia started the ball rolling on the events that triggered WW1, why is Germany always portrayed as the prime evil in the war?](_URL_0_) * [Why is WW1-era Germany seen as a highly militaristic country but not France?](_URL_1_)", "History is written by the victors, and Genghis Khan was pretty successful really. Stalin and Hitler weren't.", "This is highly debatable, but I tend to view the revolution as not so strict an event in France's history, but as an era. Even after Napoleon's rise and fall France continued to have political upheavals and it wasn't until 1848 that the last monarch of France was overthrown. So I view the revolution in France as an entire era, instead a tight little timeline like we have in the US, that started with beginning of the first revolt to the founding of the second republic. Edit- Of course Napoleon III's reign was marked by political uneasiness too, so I suppose it could be considered that it didn't end till the 1870's.", "Follow up, why did the United States expect war with France?", "Unlikely. Of course we can't predict what future historians will say, but there's no good reason to believe they will. As while some of the causes of WW2 can be linked back to WW1, the idea that it's merely a continuation of WW1 is not really supported by the evidence. While certainly some of the powers involved in the wars on the respective sides look similar, there's a lot of powers that were on one side in WW1 and the other in WW2. Furthermore, the reasons for war where vastly different on both sides, and as much as Germany preferred to cast themselves as just responding to grievances introduced in WW1, for the most part this is mere propaganda. We've had wars that were more closely linked than WW1 and WW2 that we still consider to be separate wars.", "The Viet Cong were referred to using the military phonetic alphabet (V-C = Victor Charlie) shortened to Charlie.", "Back to back world wars is the short answer. The major world powers before WW1 were the British Empire, France, the German Empire, and Russia. All of those nations were heavily impacted by both world wars. The USA was in a fine position, especially after WW2, to essentially take over from all of those countries just by virtue of having a lot more money to spend, and suffering a lot less damage.", "hi! there have been many posts asking for an assessment/opinion of Napoleon.. check these out for previous responses (in no particular order): [How favourably are Napoleon's actions viewed in modern France?](_URL_5_) [Was Napoleon considered a hero or a tyrant by the French?] (_URL_1_) [How has the French perception of Napoleon changed over time?](_URL_8_) [Why did most of Europe hate Napoleon?](_URL_9_) [How would a French Jew likely react to the fall of Napoleon?](_URL_3_) [Is it fair to call Napoleon a tyrant?](_URL_2_) [How is Napoleon viewed in Europe outside France?](_URL_0_) [When and why did Napoleon become a popular figure after his death? Why, asides from the code, is he still revered today?](_URL_7_) [Napoleon Bonaparte...Hero or Villain?](_URL_4_) ... and most importantly [How did Hitler view Napoleon?](_URL_6_) :)" ]

[ "By . Larisa Brown . PUBLISHED: . 10:32 EST, 14 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 02:14 EST, 15 August 2012 . Two cruel parents convicted of a decade long campaign of abuse against their six children were jailed for seven years each today. The Nigerian couple, who claimed their kids were possessed by evil spirits, were found guilty after Coronation Street star Michelle Collins gave evidence against them. They beat their children with brooms, hoovers and wires and even gave their baby a morphine overdose just days after her first birthday. The plight of the children was so bad that Coronation Street actress Michelle Collins, who met them at a church lunch, took them to the cinema 'because she felt sorry for them' Five of the children were finally rescued after their eldest daughter threw a heart-wrenching SOS note out of a window. But it wasn't until their one-year-old baby was given a morphine overdose over a year later that police reopened the case which led to their prosecution. The plight of the children was so bad that Miss Collins, who met them at a church lunch, took them to the cinema 'because she felt sorry for them'. She gave evidence as a prosecution witness during the trial of the parents, both 40, who cannot be named to protect their six children. But the parents claimed they were victims of a conspiracy - and even alleged Miss Collins was involved in a witch hunt against them and wanted to ‘steal’ their children. One of the youngsters, a baby at the time, had been allowed to stay in the home despite the fact the five other children had to be rescued. Sentencing them to seven years behind . bars each, Judge James Patrick described it as 'shocking mistreatment' that they had tried to cover up with a 'web of deception'. Judge Patrick said: 'No-one who sat through this trial could help but be moved by the fact that these intelligent, charming, fun, lovable children continue to love you despite what you put them through.' The married couple denied the allegations claiming they were victims of a racist witch-hunt but were found guilty of cruelty to a person under 16. They argued the children had been 'brainwashed' into making the allegations by the police, the council and Miss Collins who they said 'wanted to steal' them, Wood Green Crown Court heard. But Judge Patrick noted: 'You alleged a conspiracy involving a well-known actress, who had done nothing but show your family generosity and kindness, a member of a housing charity, social workers and foster carers. 'Those who had taken the trouble to support you were repeatedly accused of dishonesty, lying, and conspiracy to rob you of your children when the reality was that both of you were lying - in fact they ware simply seeking to give your children stability.' Baby P, a British 17-month old boy who died after suffering more than 50 injuries over an eight-month period . The abuse came to the attention of police in April 2010 when their nine-year-old wrote an SOS note and threw it out of her bedroom window. The heart-breaking plea read: 'My mum is the worst mum ever because she can’t cope with five of us, her broken hand and being pregnant. She always leaves me out so I always starve and I am forced to work. 'If I don’t get enough house work done, I am beaten without mercy with the wooden end of a broom. I have scars all over me to prove it. I can’t stay here. I would like a new mum.' It was found by a neighbour who called the police, and when officers attended the address they found the children living in messy conditions with 'dirty' and 'dishevelled' clothing. Revealing scars the eldest said her mother had hit her with a cable, a broom, and a hoover and her father had dangled her by her feet down the stairwell of the house, tied her hands behind her back and her legs together 'to get the devilish spirits out', prosecutor Emma Smith said. Her sister, who was seven at the time, had a stick shaped bruise of her thigh and after a few months in care, she drew a series of pictures showing her dad beating her and her being left home alone and including a speech bubble saying ‘I’m hungry.’ Victoria Climbie, 8, died in a London hospital in 2000, having suffered months of horrific cruelty at the hands of her great-aunt . The children were left home alone for hours, sometimes days on end, with the elder kids forced to look after the others. They had even been forced to lie to a charity and social services that they were living alone with their mother in one room and had no idea who their dad was so they could scam benefits. Even during the trial the eldest feared she had torn her family apart with her 'devastating cry from the heart in the form of a letter which she threw from the window', the judge noted. There was an investigation but no further action, and the five children remained in care until the parents once again came to police attention on 28 June last year, when they gave their baby an overdose. 'But for the events of June 28 you would have gotten away with your crimes because of a merciful decision not to prosecute you', Judge Patrick noted. The couple's sixth child, a baby girl, was also initially taken into care but then returned to her parents. They took her to St Thomas’s Hospital just days after her first birthday last year. Without treatment she could have died but doctors managed to save the youngster, who it is believed was given morphine orally that morning. Jurors rejected the parents conspiracy theories. When they are released the face deportation back to Nigeria - despite pleas from their legal team that they have been 'punished enough' by having their children taken into care. As they left the court they wailed: 'We are innocent, this is a miscarriage of justice.'" ]

[ "Social workers have been accused of 'misguided political correctness' after they considered sending a boy in their care to the Congo for a 'deeply traumatising' exorcism. Bosses at Islington Council in north London considered sending the African boy to the Democratic Republic of Congo because his mother claimed he was possessed by evil spirits and needed 'deliverance'. An expert has claimed that Islington council officials were 'mindful to agree to the request' for exorcism, which it is claimed involved starving children and sometimes beating them. Traumatising: Dr Richard Hoskins claimed African exorcisms on children can be 'disturbing and violent' (file picture) The boy's family, who were from Africa, had claimed an exorcism was necessary because he was possessed by 'kindoki' or evil spirits. The child's mother no longer has responsibility for him, and he had been taken into care by Islington Council. The local authority paid an expert over £4,000 to travel to Africa to investigate the possibility of an exorcism as they were worried the family's 'sensibilities might be affected'. Dr Richard Hoskins, an expert in African religion, completed the trip and advised the council the boy should not be exorcised as the rituals can be 'violent...deeply disturbing and traumatising'. Dr Hoskins has since told how the case - which Islington Council later dropped on his advice - highlights how British officials do not tackle abuse when it is 'masked behind multiculturalism'. African religion expert Dr Richard Hoskins said Islington Council were 'mindful to agree to the request' for the child to be exorcised . According to the Daily Telegraph, Dr Hoskins told a conference yesterday: 'We fear to trend where sensibilities might apparently be affected.' 'This problem is about the underlying failure to tackle abuse when it is masked behind multiculturalism.' Dr Hoskins added that officials do not challenge the mistreatment of children when it is committed under the guise of 'religious or cultural practices'. Dr Hoskins visited Kinshasa, the capital of DRC, in 2005, where he met the grandparents of the child. The grandparents claimed the boy had been 'infected by sorcery' in the UK which would 'destroy them all'. Church officials in Congo also claimed that the evil spirits would lead to 'strife, illness, divorce, hardship, poverty and death' if not dealt with. The ritual would have involved depriving the boy of food or fluids for three days in order to 'cast out' the evil spirit. Although Dr Hoskins was assured the boy would not be beaten, his investigation found evidence that other children who had been exorcised suffered violence and were left 'scared and traumatised'. He concluded his work, for which the council paid £4,372, by telling the authority the 'child should not be be allowed to go through a deliverance service such as that envisaged'. Dr Hoskins added: 'From my research I think this might be deeply disturbing and traumatising for him.' Islington Council acknowledged to the Telegraph that they had paid Dr Hoskins to go to Africa, but said they did so on the recommendations of a judge. A spokesperson said: 'It is a normal process in care proceedings to assess the extended family when a child has been removed from parental care,' a spokesman said. 'Dr Hoskins was instructed to meet with extended family members to assess their belief that a child of the family was possessed by spirits. This was on the instruction of the Family Court during care proceedings.' A spokesman for the Department for Education echoed the findings of Dr Hoskins, adding: 'It is not acceptable for councils to be considering this. These services can be extremely traumatic. 'We are tackling all forms of child abuse linked to belief, including belief in witchcraft or spirit possession. 'Such abuse is rightly condemned by people of all cultures, communities and faiths.'", "A teenager was tortured to death by his sister and her boyfriend after they accused him of witchcraft, a court was told yesterday. Kristy Bamu, 15, drowned in the bath of a blood-soaked flat on Christmas Day 2010 after begging to die in a ‘tale of horror’. He suffered 101 separate injuries as he was attacked with weapons including metal poles, pliers, knives, a hammer and heavy ceramic tiles. His sister Magalie Bamu and her boyfriend Eric Bikubi, both 28, are accused of beating him to death because they believed he had been possessed by evil spirits. Victim: Kristy Bamu, left, had 101 injuries. His sister's boyfriend Eric Bikubi, right, is accused of beating him to death . In a ‘staggering act of depravity and cruelty’ they even forced his two brothers and two sisters, aged between 11 and 22, to join in the attacks, the Old Bailey was told. The two sisters were also badly wounded after being accused of sorcery, black magic and witchcraft. The siblings had been sent from home in Paris by their parents to enjoy a festive break with their sister at her flat in Forest Gate, East London. But the visit descended into an almost unimaginable nightmare of violence, the jury heard. Prosecutor Brian Altman QC said the defendants were responsible for ‘unspeakable savagery’ over four days in the locked eighth-floor flat. Those involved were originally from the Congo where ‘kindoki’ witchcraft pervades society, he said. It exists alongside the Christian church where religious leaders encourage fasting and purifying with water to exorcise spirits from children. Mr Altman said: ‘We say that was what was practised by these two. A court drawing from the Old Bailey of Eric Bikubi, 27, and Magalie Bamu, 28, who deny murdering Bamu's 15-year-old brother Kristy after accusing him of being a sorcerer . ‘If the practice of kindoki is . dislocated from the supervisory influence of religious leaders, it may . take on a feral and, indeed, evil character. ‘The defendants were seeking Kristy’s . deliverance and exorcism through the dealing out of ever-increasingly . violent punishments.’ Paramedics discovered a scene of . horror when Bamu dialled 999 and called them to her flat claiming Kristy . had drowned in the bath. Bikubi was trying to resuscitate the victim’s lifeless body as his soaking wet siblings screamed hysterically. Kristy was covered in injuries and . some of his teeth were missing. He had died from a combination of his . injuries and drowning. Blood-stained clothes and weapons, including . metal bars, blood-stained pliers, knives and a chisel lay everywhere. A French-speaking paramedic managed to coax details from the victim’s 22-year-old sister, Kelly. Mr Altman said: ‘She said Eric Bikubi . had beaten her with a metal bar. She went on to explain that over the . last four days Eric Bikubi had been abusing the 11-year-old sister, . Kristy and herself.’ Jurors at the Old Bailey heard the teenager was killed because he was suspected of witchcraft . The jury was told the trip for the two . sisters and two brothers began without incident. But the mood turned . sour when football coach Bikubi accused Kristy and his two sisters of . bewitching another child in the family. Despite their denials, he and . Bamu beat the four of them and refused to let them eat, drink or sleep . for days as Bikubi shouted ‘who’s controlling you’ at Kristy. The couple ordered them to pray and chant through the night before joining attacks on Kristy. At one point Kristy was made to kneel . on the floor as floor tiles were smashed over his head. His teeth were . smashed with a hammer and he was made to drink urine. His sister is accused of egging on her . boyfriend and joining the barbaric torture when he became tired, . including one attack in which she used pliers to tear her brother’s ear. When Kelly was caught only pretending . to beat her brother, Bikubi forced a lightbulb into her mouth, grabbed . her round the throat and held a knife to her chest. When she asked Bamu why she was doing nothing to protect them, she allegedly replied they ‘deserved it’. ‘The children had no option other than to do as they were told or risk the same violence,’ Mr Altman said. ‘As Kristy’s injuries became ever more severe, he pleaded to be allowed to die.’ Dozens of calls were made to the children’s father, Pierre, in Paris, in which the couple claimed the children were sorcerers. Kristy begged his father to pick him . up warning that he would be killed but Mr Bamu did not believe his son . as he regarded Bikubi as ‘pleasant and gentle’. In the first seven hours of Christmas . Day at least 45 calls were made to Paris and the parents eventually . arranged to travel on December 27. But it was too late. At around noon . that day Kristy was thrown in the bath. He drowned as he was too badly . injured to keep his head above water. His brothers and sisters were made . to get in too and were hosed down as neighbours beat on the door . because their homes were flooded. A calm Bikubi even turned away a . plumber sent by the council to investigate the leak just 20 minutes . before emergency services were called. Mr Altman said Kristy had tried to . escape but it was ‘futile’ as the flat was locked: ‘There was no escape . for him – or indeed for any of them.’ Bikubi, who is currently in Broadmoor, . denies murder but admits manslaughter and assault on the grounds he was . suffering from schizophrenia and was not responsible for his actions. Bamu denies murder and assault. The trial continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "A real-life exorcist claims his services are in such high demand that he performs ten services a week. These bizarre images show willing participants smeared in dirt and surrounded by fire, limes and eggs, who have sought Brother Hermes' help to be 'healed'. The priest has been carrying out the 'exorcisms' in Colombia, South America, for the last 25 years and claims the ritual rids people of their evil spirits. Ring of fire: Gisela Marulanda, 23, who claims to be possessed by spirits, participating in an exorcism ritual in La Cumbre, Valle, Colombia . Healing hands: Hermes Cifuentes, who is also known as 'Brother Hermes', calls out Gisela Marulanda's 'demons' Ritual: Brother Hermes places his foot on the chest of Marleny Munoz, 55, who claims to be possessed by spirits . While Britain may not have a demand for such services in these modern times, in other parts of the world the village exorcist is a very public figure and remains both feared and respected. This is particularly the case in Africa (where belief in witchcraft and possession remains strong) and here, in La Cumbre, Valle, Colombia. In these Colombian exorcisms, the people being treated are dressed entirely in white, and they lie across the ground in between red and yellow marker posts. Bizarre: The 'possessed' are surrounded by flowers, lime and egg shells during the service . In high demand: Brother Hermes carries out ten services a week - totalling more than 35,000 in his 25 years of practicing . Devil of a job: Brother Hermes lays his hand on the stomach of Gisela Marulanda, 23, to reach her spirits . The 50-year-old priest, whose real name is Hermes Cifuentes, also  covers participants with black mud from head to toe — and makes them stand in a deep earth hole during  the ceremony. Many subjects also have their eyes . covered with  blackened bandages and lie in between strips of green and . white  ribbon as Brother Hermes moves around them — placing his hands on . their bodies and entreating any evil spirits to leave. It’s not known whether Brother Hermes has a high success rate, but he is clearly doing something right, given the high demand for his services. Each week, around ten people visit him to be ‘healed’ - amounting to a total of 35,000 exorcisms in his 25 years of practicing. Superstitious: The participants clutch eggs and handmade wooden crosses while ribbons are tied around their fingers . Mass exorcisms: Brother Hermes performs two exorcism rituals on Irma Beatriz (bottom), 46, and Marleny Munoz (top), 55, who both who claim to be possessed by spirits . Devout: Brother Hermes prays after performing an exorcism in La Cumbre, Colombia .", "A pregnant wife was smothered to death by her husband, his parents and his brother-in-law who later all claimed she may have been killed by an evil spirit, a court has heard. Nalia Mumtaz, 21, was pronounced dead at hospital after being rushed there by paramedics who found her lying lifeless and ashen faced on a bed at the family home. Her unborn child died with her. Her husband Mohammed Mumtaz, 24, his . father Zia Ul Haq and mother Salma Aslam, both 51, as well as his brother in . law Hammad Hassan, 24, all deny charges of murder and manslaughter. Death: A pregnant wife was smothered to death by family members who later all claimed she may have been killed by an evil spirit, a court has heard. Pictured left-right are Mohammed Mumtaz, Salma Aslam, Zia Ul-Haq and Hammad Hassan who appeared at court today . Tragic: The family home in Birmingham, pictured, where Nalia Mumtaz was found . At Birmingham Crown Court today, prosecutor Christopher . Hotten said the cultural context in which Mrs Mumtaz met her death on July . 8, 2009 was of importance, as were the religious beliefs of the . defendants, described as a ‘traditional Muslim family with an emphasis . on religious observance’. He asked the jury: ‘Was she or may . she have been possessed by an evil spirit which took her life as the . defendants were to suggest both at the time and after her death? ‘Or may she have died as a result of some unknown or undetected illness? 'Or will you be sure that, as we say, she was assaulted, smothered, by these four defendants all of whom admit they were present when she died?’ Mrs Mumtaz was born in Pakistan and willingly entered into an arranged marriage with her husband, then a student at Wolverhampton University, in August 2007. In the dock: Nalia Mumtaz was born in Pakistan and willingly entered into an arranged marriage with her husband Mohammed Mumtaz, pictured. He denies - along with other members of his family- killing her . She came to Britain for the first time the following May after obtaining a visa and moved into his parents’ modern, three bedroom detached home in Birmingham. Mr Hotten said she was attractive, bright and was ‘thrilled’ by the prospect of motherhood after falling pregnant in February 2009. During her pregnancy, she was regularly seen by a GP and various midwives – the last time two days before her death - and both she and her unborn child appeared healthy. But her parents said she phoned them at their home in the Jhellum district of Pakistan the day before her death and told them she was ‘not at peace’ living with her in-laws and was upset, Mr Hotten said. The jury was also told that numerous telephone calls were made to Mrs Mumtaz's relatives in Pakistan, the emergency services and other individuals in the hours before she was taken to hospital. During the calls it is alleged that Ul Haq claimed that a ‘djinn’ - or evil spirit - had been sent from Pakistan, while a woman at the house was allegedly heard to say ‘don’t call an ambulance yet - we will cure her ourselves.’ Part-way through Mr Hotten’s opening speech, Mumtaz collapsed in the dock in a clearly distressed state and the jury was sent home until tomorrow. The case continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "A 61-year-old grandmother who brought up seven children on benefits says she wants an eighth with her 34-year-old fiancé - which would make her the oldest natural mother in the world. Sandra Gallagher said she fell in love with Richard Broom while dating his uncle and says 'none of my exes' have treated her like he has. The pair want to marry in June and have a child - but their plans have stalled after they were evicted for not keeping up with the reported £115-a-month contribution to their £500-a-month rent. Scroll down for video . In love: Sandra Gallagher, 61 (right) would like to have another child with her fiancé Richard Broom, 34 (left) Together: Miss Gallagher and Mr Broom will appear in a documentary about people on benefits tomorrow . They and Richard's mother Ida are now reportedly living in a homeless B&B costing taxpayers £588 a month, where they continue to receive £733 a month in other benefits, according to The Sun. But despite the course of love not running smoothly, the couple told how they are determined to begin their new family life once they find a permanent home. 'I didn't want any more kids before because of the people i was with, but now with Richard I don't mind,' Miss Gallagher told the Channel 5 documentary Benefits: Can't Work, Won't Work. 'I'd prefer to have one with him because I really care for him. 'I didn't think he would go with me because I'm older but he has been with another older person before me. Not quite as old as me, but I thought that's nice, I might have a chance.' If she succeeds Miss Gallagher, who has been out of work for 40 years due to health problems including kidney stones, would be two years older than the world's oldest mother not to use IVF. She already has seven children spanning two relationships, the oldest of which is 41 and the youngest is 29. Career ambition: Mr Broom during a session to take casting photos at an actors' studio in London . Mr Broom said: 'I wouldn't say I can't work, because I can. I guess it's just my laziness really'. According to the Channel 5 programme, he was evicted but later found full-time work on the railways . Mr Broom, a former road cleaner, was unable to find work for two years but has not given up his dreams - he said he wants to be an actor like those in Hollywood or EastEnders' Danny Dyer. Although his only screen offer so far was £5,000 for a part in a porn film, the programme showed him travelling to London to have casting photos being taken in a bid to be employed. 'It's my passion to become a Hollywood star,' he told the show. 'To become like Danny Dyer, to bring more money in, to help my mum out. We're just struggling but we try to make up the payments. 'Mostly I play on computer, Facebook, games and stuff like that, dossing around doing nothing. I normally check Facebook every ten minutes when I'm sitting there thinking of nothing. 'I wouldn't say I can't work, because I can. I guess it's just my laziness really.' The couple have been on holiday together to Blackpool and have been together for two years. Miss Gallagher told The Sun the couple's sex life had improved three years ago when she had a labiaplasty - commonly known as 'designer vagina' surgery - costing £2,500 on the NHS. Tough: The couple reflected on their time together immediately after they were evicted from their Kent home . Abuse: The couple had already moved in with Mr Broom's mother to make ends meet when they were filmed . She said she went in with a gynaecological complaint and was surprised to be given the surgery, but since then the results had been 'wonderful'. The pair will appear tomorrow night on the Channel 5 show Benefits: Can't Work, Won't Work, the third in a four-part series looking at the long-term unemployed. It follows in the footsteps of Channel 4's Benefits Street, which prompted a national debate pitching those shocked at benefits 'abuses' against those who said the 'stars' had been exploited. When the Channel 5 show was filmed the couple had already moved in with Mr Broom's mother to make ends meet, and were on emergency measures after having their benefits suspended. It showed them arranging their whole lives on a shoestring, including the wedding, for which Mr Broom bought a suit for £30 from eBay. The situation unraveled further when it was discovered the household was £5,000 behind on rent. By the end of the programme they had been evicted - though it said Daniel had since found full-time work on the railways. Even though the programme has not yet aired, the couple said they have already received abuse from people they know for appearing on it. Benefits: Can't Work, Won't Work airs tomorrow at 8pm on Channel 5.", "A husband who fled the Middle East for Britain murdered his wife and buried her body next to a lay-by after he felt 'insulted' at her leaving him to become more Westernised, a court heard. Syrian-born Ahmed Khatib, 33, became resentful of mother-of-three Rania Alayed, 25, after she instructed a lawyer to help 'free her' from him, it was said. She caused further anger by attending college and meeting male and female friends before beginning a relationship with another man she met over the internet. Ahmed Khatib, pictured right,  is alleged to have murdered his wife Rania Alayed, left, and buried her body next to a lay-by after he felt 'insulted' at her leaving him to become more Westernised . After a family summit meeting failed in a bid to get the couple back together Rania was lured to a tower block in Salford, Greater Manchester where she was killed and her body stuffed in a suitcase, it was alleged. Khatib and his brother Muhaned, 38, were then said to have transferred the body to the back of a motorhome before driving to the A19 near Thirsk North Yorkshire where she was buried by the roadside. The remains of the victim have never been found. Later after Khatib was arrested he told psychiatrists she died after he pushed her during a row whilst 'possessed of spirit.' He claimed he accidentally causing her to stumble, fall and bang her head. Police descended on a house on Knutsford Road in Gorton, Manchester where Ahmed Khatib was charged with murder following the disappearance of mother-of-three Rania Alayed . After Khatib, pictured, was arrested he told psychiatrists she died after he pushed her during a row whilst 'possessed of spirit.' He claimed he accidentally causing her to stumble, fall and bang her head, the court heard . Manchester Crown Court was told Khatib and Syrian-born Rania had married in December 1987 when she was just 15 and had three children together. Prosecutor Tony Cross QC said it was a 'love marriage' rather than an arranged one but only came about as Rania's sister was married to Khatib's brother. The couple fled the Middle East for Britain where Muhaned was already living but in 2004 Rania began confiding in friends her husband was beating her, it was said. Arthur Millwood Court, the Salford home of Ahmed Khatib's brother Muhaned, became the focus of police activity after Rania Alayed disappeared in 2013 . Mr Cross said a friend witnessed the aftermath of an attack and added: 'She saw Khatib angry like a monster shouting he would kill her. It became clear to her that he and his family were controlling of her.' 'It appears he was violent, sexually and physically and would force her to give him money. She told one friend she feared he would kill her. How right she was was. He was prone to anger and openly displayed. He was contemptuous of females. He was also jealous. 'She had the courage to free herself from him using a solicitor and began to become a little Westernised. She went to college and had friends, male and female. 'This was all too much. During this period she was making friends outside her family circle. No doubt this was deeply resented by the defendant and in all probability by the rest of his family. He was desperate to affect a reconciliation. 'The family were very angry she had had the audacity to go to Law and one member even contacted her solicitor. They were insulted by her recourse to law. They wanted her and her children back within the family fold. 'It was obvious to them she was not going to comply with their wishes. They believed she was establishing an independent life perhaps with another man. Therefore it was decided she should either be coerced to comply or be killed.' Rania's uncle tried to help and was urged to persuade his niece not to get a divorce but during a family meeting she claimed Khatib had raped her. Khatib also took her phone believing she was using it to talk to other men. Rania left the family home in Longsight, Manchester with the children to move to a hostel and later in May 2013 rented a property in Cheetham Hill. She had also formed a relationship with a married man she met through an internet site 'Who's here.' Rania was last seen alive on June 7 last year when she met a friend in Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens and told of a plan to drop off her three children with her estranged husband via Muhaned's flat for the weekend. Ahmed Khatib is pictured with his arm on a horse. The 33-year-old and his brother both deny murder but admit perverting the course of justice. Manchester Crown Court where Ahmed Khatib, of Knutsford Road in Gorton and his brother Muhaned, of Arthur Millwood Court, Salford, are on trial having pleaded not guilty to murder . That . evening at around 8pm she was killed at the apartment after Muhaned's . partner was allegedly told to stay away due to a 'family meeting.' The body was transferred to Muhaned's Leyland DAF 200 camper van and headed to the North East at 1.17am the following morning. Khatib, of Knutsford Road in Gorton and Muhaned, of Arthur Millwood Court, Salford, deny murder. Both admit perverting the course of justice. A third brother Hussain Al-Khatib, 34, has pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice over the alleged concealment of her body. The trial continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "Parents have told how their children were left 'scarred for life' after cinema staff put on a horror film instead of a cartoon comedy. There was panic in a Saturday-morning screening when 15-rated supernatural thriller Paranormal Activity 4 started playing instead of PG family movie Madagascar 3. Youngsters reacted in horror as a 'flashback' scene from the original Paranormal Activity showed a bloodied corpse being hurled at the camera. Scroll down for video . Horror: An audience settling down for a family film were shocked to be shown 15-rated Paranormal Activity 4 . Around 25 families at the Cineworld cinema in Nottingham scrambled for the exits with their crying children - some as young as five - when the film started. Natasha Lewis, 32, had taken her eight-year-old son Dylan to see the film. The full-time mother, from Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, said: 'Dylan wanted to see the new Madagascar film as he's seen the others and they're his favourite. He was really looking forward to it. 'We sat down and it was meant to start at 10am, but it took until 10.30am for the lights to go down and for the trailers to start. 'They started playing the movie and I thought - this doesn't look right. And then I recognised the opening sequence as a flashback to the first movie, which I saw a couple of years ago. 'It opens on the most terrifying scene in the first film - where a body shoots full pelt towards the camera. Family fun: Children as young as five thought they were about to watch Dreamworks' Madagascar 3 . 'It's enough to make grown men jump, so you can imagine the terror in these young faces. 'Everybody just scrambled for the exits, all you could hear were children crying and screaming. Everyone was very upset. 'I've watched a few horror films in my time but the Paranormal Activity films are the scariest since the Exorcist. 'It was only about two minutes worth of the film but it was enough to scar them for life. 'There were parents and kids in there, including some children who were younger than Dylan. 'The cinema needs to check the film before sending everyone in so they don't make this mistake again. Blunder: Staff at the Cineworld cinema in Nottingham (pictured) apologised and offered a refund to the angry audience . 'I'm disgusted about it, mistakes like this simply should not happen. 'Dylan has not liked going to the cinema before but I thought we'd try it out. But now he never wants to go back.' Natasha was refunded the £11.40 she had paid for the two tickets by staff, who also offered customers the chance to see 'Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted' on another screen. Cineworld apologised to customers who were affected by the glitch, and say measures are being taken to ensure it doesn't happen again. A spokeswoman for Cineworld said: 'We have investigated the incident and can confirm that this was a technical error with the projector and apologise sincerely to the families. 'All customers who were affected by the incident were offered refunds and complimentary tickets. 'We also invited customers to watch the screening of Madagascar 3 half an hour later. 'We take matters such as this very seriously and are currently working with technicians to ensure this does not happen again.' Zoo-escapees Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo are still struggling to get home to New York. They decide to go to Monte Carlo to ask some penguins to fly them home, but a plane crash forces them to hide in a railway siding from the evil Animal Control Officer. The animals stow away on a circus train and talk their way into performing in Rome and London, where they impress an agent and secure an American tour. But when they arrive at the Central Park Zoo, the animals realise they have grown too much in spirit to be content in captivity. Instead, they join the circus permanently and proceed with their American tour. Suburban teenager Alex is showing her boyfriend Ben the family treehouse, where they discover Robbie, the child from next door. Scared by Robbie's behaviour, Ben decides to install laptops around the house to film what goes on. Over the next few days, an evil presence makes itself known. Robbie's possessed mother Katie appears in the house and talks to Alex's brother Wyatt. That night, he causes Alex to levitate in her sleep. When mother Holly encounters Katie she is killed. Katie then kills Ben when he comes to investigate. Alex pleads Wyatt to run away. Instead, he stands still and blank-faced in Katie's garden.", "Number one exorcist: Father Gabriele Amorth, who claims to have carried out 160,000 exorcisms, is calling for all priests to be allowed to carry out the ritual . The Catholic Church's leading 'exorcist' is calling for all priests to be allowed to conduct the ritual after Pope Francis apparently performed one in St Peter's Square last week. Father Gabriele Amorth, head of the International Association of Exorcists, wants the current rules requiring all priests to obtain permission to perform exorcisms from their bishop to be relaxed. Father Amorth, who claims he has carried out 160,000 exorcisms, said his request has been prompted by Pope Francis performing an what he insists was an exorcism on a Mexican man 'possessed by four demons'. He told the Sunday Times: 'I will ask the pope to give all priests the power to carry out exorcisms, and to ensure priests are properly trained for these starting with the seminary. There's a huge demand for them.' His comments come after Pope Francis was captured on film performing an apparent exorcism on May 19. The footage shows Pope Francis placing his hands on the head of a disabled man who appears to go into a frenzy of convulsions and shaking, before slumping as Francis prays over him. Father Amorth, 88, told La Repubblica newspaper 'The Pope is also the Bishop of Rome, and like any bishop he is also an exorcist.' Those who dismiss exorcism as . superstition were wrong he insisted. ‘There was now, more than ever, a . need for exorcists to combat people possessed by \"sorcerers\" and . \"Satanists\".' The Pontiff was introduced to two men . in wheelchairs after Pentecostal mass on Sunday. When a priest leaned . across to tell Francis something, the Pope's expression took on a . serious tone. Francis then took hold of the top of . the man's head firmly, pushing him down into his wheelchair. As he . delivered an intense prayer, the man's mouth dropped open and he heaved . deeply half a dozen times, visibly shaking. Possessed: A priest leans in to talk to Pope Francis about a disabled man, pictured centre, who is allegedly 'possessed by four demons' following the mass in St Peter's Square . Exorcism? The Pontiff then places his hands on the man's head and prays intensely. Father Amorth insists the Pope was conducting a 'real and proper exorcism' on the disabled man . After the ritual Francis continued with his usual meetings with the sick who come to St Peter's. The Vatican downplayed the incident with spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Pope 'did not intend to . perform an exorcism' but a 'prayer for a suffering person'. But Father Amorth insists the 'prayer' was an exorcism ritual. He told the newspaper: 'The priest told Francis: \"Look, this is a young man who is possessed by the devil\". And the Pope blessed him and prayed over him, it was a real and proper exorcism. 'The Pope's exorcism is a splendid sign because one of the main causes of today's atheism is that people don't believe in the Devil any more. Jesus said: \"Who is not with me is with Satan\".' He added: 'We live in an age in which God has been forgotten. And wherever God is not present, the Devil rules. 'Today, unfortunately, bishops don't . appoint sufficient exorcists. We need many more. I hope that Rome will . send out directives to bishops around the world calling on them to . appoint more exorcists.' The former Pope, Benedict XVI, never . officially performed an exorcism but John Paul II is known to have . carried out at least three exorcisms during his tenure. Father Amorth claimed Pope John Paul II had been a powerful exorcist. He said: 'John Paul II fought many times against Satan. The man, who is in a wheelchair, is seen breathing deeply and then convulsing as the pope stands over him . Pope Francis then smiles again as he continues along the line of children waiting to meet him . 'Even though he is dead, he is still present today in many exorcisms. If you cite his name during an exorcism, the person who is possessed actually froths at the mouth in fury.' Father Amorth, who has held his post for 28 year, is known for his outspoken personality and has previously criticised both yoga and Harry Potter. He said:'Practising yoga brings evil as does reading Harry Potter. They may both seem innocuous but they both deal with magic and that leads to evil.' He added:'Yoga is the Devil's work. You think you are doing it for stretching your mind and body but it leads to Hinduism. All these oriental religions are based on the false belief of reincarnation.' Father Amorth, speaking on the subject of People And Religion at a fringe event at the Umbria Film Festival in Terni two years ago, went on to speak of his dislike for JK Rowling's young wizard. He said:'People think it is an innocuous book for children but it's about magic and that leads to evil. In Harry Potter the Devil is at work in a cunning and crafty way, he is using his extraordinary powers of magic and evil. 'Satan is always hidden and the thing he desires more than anything is for people to believe he does not exist. He studies each and everyone of us and our tendencies towards good and evil and then he tempts us. 'My advice to young people would be to watch out for nightclubs because the path is always the same: alcohol, sex, drugs and Satanic sects.' While in 2006, Father Amorth, who was ordained a priest in 1954, gave an interview to Vatican Radio in which he said that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Russian dictator Josef Stalin were both possessed by the Devil. Now watch the video .", "Help is at hand for Catholics in Milan who need to ward off evil at short notice. The diocese has set up an exorcist hotline to cope with growing demand for assistance in dealing with potential cases of demonic possession. People contacting the switchboard will be able to schedule a visit from one of a team of 12 priests on call to deal with emergency exorcisms. I came as soon as you called: In the 1973 film The Exorcist a mother enlists the help of priests when her 12-year-old daughter becomes possessed by a demon . Monsignor Angelo Mascheroni, who has been chief exorcist in Milan since 1995, said the service had been set up in response to increasing numbers of requests from worshippers, and added that the number of exorcists appointed in the diocese had doubled over the past 15 years. Rebellious: Monsignor Mascheroni said many calls were from parents frustrated by their teenagers' behaviour . The priest, who described how one exorcist was dealing with as many as 120 cases every day, said the switchboard is manned from Monday to Friday between 2.30pm and 5pm. 'People in need can call and will be able to find a priest in the same area who doesn't have to travel too far,' the Monsignor told Italy's Chiesa di Milano website. While for film fans the word exorcism conjures images of priests trying to drive a demon spirit from a levitating Linda Blair, Monsignor Mascheroni said that the most important role of the diocese's team was 'listening and consolation'. He added that, in his experience, instances of 'real diabolical phenomena' were rare, according to a report in The Independent. The Monsignor said many of the callers . were exasperated parents struggling to cope with a rebellious child . refusing to go to school or experimenting with drugs. 'In reality it’s not a demon, but when . they’re 18 years old young people don’t want to be told what to do,' he said. The Monsignor said psychiatric disorders were more likely to be to blame for truly unusual behaviour than possession. Possession: Monsignor Angelo Mascheroni said that instances of 'real diabolical phenomena' were very rare . The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: 'When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism'. These days, Catholic officials regard genuine possession as an extremely rare phenomenon, with modern exorcisms more likely to involve offering prayers or counselling to a person deemed to be in need of spiritual help.", "A Dorset family has claimed they were refused a refund on tickets they did not use because of a bereavement. Tony Broom, 39, said he was left almost £400 out of pocket for not using flights he had purchased to see his wife Justinya's father in Poland, after he passed away before their scheduled trip. The family of three had been due to visit the grandfather during the October half-term holidays, but he lost his battle with cancer in August. According to Ryanair policy, flights can be refunded if a bereavement happens within 28 days of the intended travel date. However, because this was not the case, the family were refused the refund for two months, until they made their quarrel public. Uncompassionate: Ryanair have angered a family for refusing to refund tickets following a family death . Engineer Tony, 39, told MailOnline Travel that the family had been due to visit his father-in-law in October and paid £398 for five tickets, which included parking at Stansted airport. Upon learning of his father-in-law's death on August 30, Tony, who did not have travel insurance, attempted to change the flights to travel to Poland for the September 2 funeral. He claims he was advised to apply for a refund separately and buy new tickets for the flights to Poland for the funeral. 'I explained that the [October] tickets were of little use to us now,' Broom said. 'I called and spoke to a Ryanair rep, and he told me the lowest quote for five seats for myself, my wife and our three children would be £1,280,' he said. The family opted to drive instead. Ryanair refute Mr Broom's claims, stating that the airline has no record of such a phone call. The airline tells MailOnline Travel that the cost of changing the flight would amount to £70 per person each way - £700 overall for a family of five. Tony Broom was unhappy with the airline's service following the death of his wife Justinya's father . Within days of returning from the funeral, Tony contacted the airline to apply for a refund, providing his father-in-law's death certificate as evidence of the bereavement, but in their response Ryanair directed him to their terms and conditions, which state that only deaths occurring within 28 days allow passengers a refund on tickets. After three attempts to argue the case with the airline over the past two months, Mr Broom eventually got in touch with Bournemouth Echo, after which Ryanair offered £340 of travel credit - covering their original fares but not the airport parking, which is handled by a different company. 'I don't really want to fly with them again personally, after all the agro I've had to go through to get the credit' Broome said. 'I'm pleased they've offered something, but only after the intervention of the press.' The airline's terms and conditions state that they will provide a full refund if a passenger has lost an immediate family member within 28 days of intended travel. The policy covers spouses, civil partners, children, siblings, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, parents-in-law and children-in-law. Airline website states: . 'Should you be affected by a bereavement of an immediate member of your family within 28 days of your intended date of travel and you do not wish to travel, Ryanair will provide a full refund upon application.' The website states: 'Should you be affected by a bereavement of an immediate member of your family within 28 days of your intended date of travel and you do not wish to travel, Ryanair will provide a full refund upon application.' 'They would have had six weeks to refill those seats but they chose not to,' Mr Broom said. 'It doesn't seem very compassionate - it doesn't seem right to me.' A spokesperson for Ryanair told MailOnline Travel: 'As stated in our terms and conditions of travel, customers who are affected by a bereavement of an immediate family member within 28 days of their intended date of travel will be provided with a full refund upon application. 'We convey our sincere condolences to Mr Broom and his family and as a gesture of goodwill, have resolved this matter directly with the customer.'", "By . Alex Greig . The father of a 16-year-old boy has been arrested for beating the teen with a broom and then knocking him unconscious after he was caught stealing in a Philadelphia clothing store. Marvin Francis, 39, was called to the Burlington Coat Factory in Upper Darby on Friday by store security after his son was allegedly caught stealing. Arrested: Marvin Francis was arrested after witnesses saw him beat his son unconscious . Police say that Francis grabbed a broom from a display on his way into the store and beat his son repeatedly with it. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, he then dragged the teen out onto the sidewalk and there beat him unconscious. The incident occurred after store security officers allegedly caught two 16-year-old boys - cousins - stealing. They called the boys' parents and Francis arrived first. 'He beat him like a piece of meat,' Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood told the Philadelphia Daily News. 'As . he's walking in, he picks up a broom in the store from a sales display . and walks into the security office and starts beating his son with the . broom,' Chitwood said. 'Then he throws the broom down and punches, kicks . and knocks the kid to the ground.' The boy's cousin looked on, said Chitwood, 'scared to death.' 'The next thing you know, he's outside of the store and he starts punching him and beating him again,' Chitwood said. 'This time he knocks him down, stomps him in the head and knocks him unconscious.' The disturbing scene was caught on security cameras. Chitwood says store security didn't call police when the boy was caught stealing, which is not unusual, but should have when the father began assaulting his son. Petty theft: While the son allegedly stole from the Burlington Coat Factory, the father's alleged crime of beating his son unconscious is much more serious . Instead, officers were called to the scene by concerned passersby who witnessed the alleged beating. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, when repeated attempts to revive his son failed after Francis had knocked him unconscious, he threw the boy over his shoulder and piled him into the back of his black Lexus. Officers were able to locate the child, who lives with his mother in West Philadelphia. When they arrived the boy was conscious but his mother was 'reluctant' to take him to the hospital. While officers were at the boy's home, Francis arrived and was arrested. He is being held on $100,000 at Delaware County Jail after being charge with aggravated assault and other charges. 'It's one thing to discipline a kid, it's a another thing to feloniously assault a child and then not even get him medical help,' Chitwood told the Philadelphia Daily News. 'This is a nasty, nasty, nasty case,' he said.", "By . Rob Cooper . Last updated at 1:00 PM on 23rd December 2011 . A cruel couple who were captured on tape forcing two little children aged under eight to have an armed fight have been jailed. Ian Barclay, 20, and Gemma Mattinson, 26, made the boy and girl brawl then laughed and cheered as the youngsters cried in pain and through fear. The shocking incident was captured on a mobile phone at a house in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, and showed the girl, wearing a pink dress, being ordered to kick, punch and hit the boy with a broom, which is much bigger than her. Jailed: Ian Barclay and Jemma Mattinson made the boy and girl, aged under eight, brawl as they laughed and cheered. Several people left the court as the video of the fight was played to the jury . Both children could be heard sobbing as the boy tried to hide behind a sofa but was dragged across the floor and banged into a radiator by Barclay. Several distressed people left the public gallery at Newcastle Crown Court in tears yesterday as the three-minute film was played. Prosecutor Glenda Turnbull told the court: 'The defendants encouraged the children to fight each other. 'They were both instructing the girl how to attack the boy, telling her what to do, bringing the children together, providing her with plastic sticks and a broom to use against him. 'The video footage is distressing, the children are crying.' Miss Turnbull said it is unclear what injuries the children suffered. Barclay can be heard shouting 'punch him, kick him, nut him' on the tape and the girl is given sticks and a broom to use as a weapons. When the children tried to separate they were pushed back together and goaded into fighting more, despite them screaming in terror. The pair were arrested when the person who taped the cruelty showed the footage to a relative of one of the children. Mattinson, from Gateshead, told police she didn’t realise what went on was 'quite as bad' until she saw the footage. Barclay, from Gateshead, said it was a 'joke that had gone too far'. Both of them admitted child cruelty charges and have previous convictions for violence, though not against children. Judge Roger Thorn jailed them both for eight months each. Jailed: Ian Barclay, 20, and Gemma Mattinson, 26, were given just eight months behind bars each by the judge at Newcastle Crown Court . He said: 'You put them up to fight each other as though they were toys in some Roman Amphitheatre for the sport of those watching. 'What happens beggars belief. There would be public outrage if this was not met with an immediate custodial sentence.' Judge Thorn said the footage caused 'revulsion' to decent minded people who had viewed it and said even he could not put into words what he had seen. The judge said: 'Words would fail to describe it. The distress of both children was apparent from watching that DVD.' The court heard Barclay’s family have disowned him because of what he did. Mattinson gave birth to a child on Saturday which has since been taken off her. Speaking after the hearing, the father of one of the children said he was outraged by the sentences. He said: 'The judge said he had to follow guidelines in relation to length of the sentences and I accept that but i think its time these guidelines were reviewed. 'To do what they did is just beyond belief. I couldn’t watch the video, I had to run out of court when it was played. 'My child went through all this and those two seemed to think it was funny. 'There should be some sort of register they have to sign so everybody knows what they have done and they dont get the chance to be near any children in future.'", "Claim: Parents who beat their daughters said it was 'acceptable' in their native Nigeria (posed by model) A mother and father who beat their young daughters with phone chargers and a wooden spoon told a judge it was 'acceptable' in their native Nigeria. The couple have been spared jail despite social workers uncovering the extent of the abuse on the children - who are all aged under eight - and taking them into care for their protection. Instead the pair, who moved from Nigeria to Northampton, were handed 180 hours of unpaid work each after they admitted three charges of child cruelty at Northampton Crown Court. A judge heard they regularly hit their three daughters on the arms and legs, locked them in their rooms when they misbehaved and made one kneel with her hands in the air. The abuse went undiscovered until a routine interview at school between a social worker and the eldest girl, which was arranged because the family had arrived in Britain from another country. Prosecutor Mary Loram said the girl revealed she was regularly hit on the back with a phone charger wire, and her parents struck her with their hands on her arms and legs. The girl told social workers she was battered with a large spoon and locked in her room for long periods of when she misbehaved. 'The child said she was also made to kneel with her hands in the air for a long period of time and then punished if she let them drop,' the prosecutor added. But Kehinde Atanda, defending, said the charges had come about due to a cultural misunderstanding about 'appropriate chastisement' in Britain. He said: 'In my client's home country children are punished like this and it is acceptable.' Smack: The parents' lawyers told Northampton Crown Court (pictured) that the punishment was appropriate . Hitting a child is always treated as a crime by police, but British law allows parents to use the defence of 'reasonable chastisement' in court. That means the assault was proportionate to discipline the child - a defence which has been supported by prominent MPs including Justice Secretary Chris Grayling. He told the Mail on Sunday in 2013: 'I’m not opposed to smacking. It is to be used occasionally. Sometimes it sends a message – but I don’t hanker for the days when children were severely beaten at school.' However, all assaults on children that leave bruising, swelling, cuts or grazes have been illegal since the 2004 Children's Act. Any adult found guilty can face up to five years in jail. Judge Lynn Tayton ruled that the punishments dished out by the pair were unreasonable, but their behaviour had not been severe enough for them to be sent to jail. 'You thought you were doing the right thing; something that would happen in Nigeria,' she said. 'You thought it was appropriate chastisement.' Judge Tayton sentenced the man and woman to a community order including 180 hours of unpaid work. They were also given a three-month curfew from 7pm to 7am. The children involved have since been taken into temporary care, where they are living with foster carers and have supervised visits from their parents. It is believed the couple, who the law says must be kept anonymous to protect their children, will fight to regain custody in care proceedings later this month.", "She was the photographer who showed the world an alternative view of World War One with pictures of soldiers in the trenches having their Christmas Day meal. Her impressive back catalogue of 40,000 photographs are testament to a woman who was among the first to venture onto the streets of London in the early 20th century to capture images of George V before he became King, protesting suffragettes and a Lyons tea seller in action. But despite the trail-blazing nature of her work, the achievements of Christina Broom - widely regarded as Britain's first female press photographer - have remained largely unrecognised for the last 100 years. An exhibition to celebrate her photography will now be held in a bid to readdress the balance of the talented but largely 'under-appreciated' pioneer of the profession in the early 1900s, whose business sense saw her build a career spanning more than three decades. Scroll down for video . An exhibition of the works of Christina Broom, Britain's first female press photographer, will be held to show her extraordinary achievements where she took photos of soldiers such as this group of Grenadier Guards, posing for a photo at their camp in Wimbledon Common, in 1914 . Mrs Broom featured life in London from soldiers, to royalty to the works of suffragettes and Christabel Pankhurst, pictured in 1909 . Mrs Broom made her craft a family affair, involving her daughter Winifred who took this portrait (left) of her mother in 1910 and printed her photographs as postcards, which the talented photographer then sold from her stall in London (right in 1918) as postcards became popular . The exhibition will feature some of the sights she captured during her extraordinary working life, which saw her venture into the world of photography at the age of 40 after her husband suffered an accident which meant she had to become the main breadwinner for the family. Her images include soldiers in their barracks on Christmas Day as well as officers taking part in bayonet practice during World War One. It also features her photos of suffragettes protesting on the streets of London and members of the Royal Family, including Queen Victoria. The exhibition, which will be held at the Museum of London Docklands from early next year, will illustrate the life of Broom, while showing the keen business sense which led to her images being featured in national publications. Anna Sparham, Curator of Photographs at the museum, said: 'Christina Broom is a somewhat under-appreciated figure in photography, and we hope that this major exhibition will redress this. Mrs Broom aimed to capture images of London life, such as the iconic J Lyons tea stall serving customers at Victoria station, London in 1905 . Broom captured soldiers at their barracks on Christmas day, showing an alternative view as a Grenadier Guard stands beside a banner in 1915 . Images of the 4th Battalion Grenadiers enjoying lunch on Christmas Day from their barracks in Chelsea in 1915 were printed on postcards . The photographer's images aimed to capture alternative aspects of army life, such as children in an army pageant at Fulham Palace in 1910 . Mrs Broom's collection features a variety of photos, including those of an army pageant featuring St George and a young Knight in 1910 . 'It will not just show off her work, but portray Broom, who was a formidable, determined woman, and commercially-astute - taking advantage of a rapidly growing postcard market.' Broom was compelled to work after her husband, Albert Broom, was injured in a cricket accident and she was forced to become the main breadwinner for the household. She decided, at the age of 40, to pursue a career in photography. Mrs Broom initially printed her images, such as this one of Grenadier Guards raising a glass at Chelsea Barracks in 1915, on postcards . The enterprising businesswoman had a successful career spanning three decades and was able to sell her pictures to national publications . Mrs Broom's images were rooted in capturing life in London such as that of the 2nd Grenadier Guards at their Wellington Barracks in 1915 . She started her career at 40, capturing British soldiers in their barracks as well as the first American contingent at Wellington Barracks in 1917 . Broom's collection includes images of the 1st LIfe Guards saying goodbye to their wives at Waterloo station as they prepare to leave in 1915 . While she had female contemporaries they were largely confined to the studio but Broom decided to do something new, and relatively unheard of for a woman living in the early 1900s and venture onto the streets of Fulham in London to pursue her craft. Equipped with a keen business sense, Broom decided to take advantage of the burgeoning postcard market and began to sell her first news photographs as postcards in 1903. Her skill was quickly spotted and she continued to sell postcards from her stall at the gates of the Royal Mews in London. The catalogue of 40,000 images includes pictures of a State Coachman at the Royal Mews in 1920 (left)  and the Royal Family with King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, the future King George V and Queen Mary, and Princess Victoria at the Duke of York's School, Chelsea, in 1908 . Coachmen and visitors were captured in their finery visiting the Royal Mews, where Mrs Broom had a stall to sell her postcards, in 1920 . Broom was regarded as 'trail blazing' as she was one of the only women to venture from the studio to London streets to capture unique images . Mrs Broom's work included significant events such as the Oxford rowing team, seen taking part in the University boat race in Putney in 1911 . She also submitted images to Tatler, The Daily Sketch, Illustrated London News and Country Life for 36 years until her death in 1939. Her career was a family affair as her daughter Winifred Bloom helped her print photographs from the age of 14. The exhibition will include a cross section of her work, including many photographs that have previously been in private collections and never-before-seen on public display. Female police officers and Inspector Mary Mary Allen (centre), a former suffragette, were seen at the Women's War Work Exhibition in 1915 . Mrs Broom managed to capture suffragettes, soldiers and protests taking place in London such as nurses and midwives marching as part of the Pageant of Women's Trades and Professions which took place through the city and ended at the Royal Albert Hall in April 1909 . The exhibition next year will feature suffragettes taking part in the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies pageant on 13 June 1908 . Mrs Broom's images captured soldiers in a variety of situations, such as the Irish Guards on St Patrick's Day at Wellington Barracks in 1908 . An early photo, taken in 1911 of the 1st Irish Guards at bayonet practice at Chelsea Barracks would have been printed and sold as a postcard . These will be joined by original glass plate negatives, postcards, and objects which build a fuller picture of Broom's character and her career, including personal possessions, letters, event passes, autograph books, notebooks and cuttings books. The majority of the exhibition content will derive from the Museum of London's collection of her work, including a recent acquisition of 2,500 photographs, with a view to supplementing with a few key loans from other institutions. The exhibition will be held from June 19 next year until November 1 and entry will be free.", "Former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover feared Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so much he sent the civil rights leader an anonymous letter urging him to commit suicide, it has emerged. A new book has chronicled how the FBI under Hoover classified King as 'the most dangerous and effective Negro leader in the country' and went to extreme lengths - including breaking in and bugging his home, office and hotel rooms - to destroy him and his work to bring about racial equality. After delivering his 'I Have A Dream Speech' at the 1963 March on Washington, the government's interest in the leader intensified and Hoover allocated significant resources to monitoring King's movements and eavesdropping on his conversations, according to 'The Burglary: the Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI.' Targeted by the FBI: Former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover feared Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., pictured, so much he sent the civil rights leader an anonymous letter urging him to commit suicide, it has emerged . The FBI was apparently looking for a communist party connection - which is how they got permission from Attorney General Robert Kennedy - however the only information they garnered was about the reverend’s extramarital affairs. When Hoover learned King would be the recipient of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, he stepped up his attack, instructing his agents to send King an anonymous note in which they threatened to divulge details about his affairs if he didn't take his own life. 'King, look into your heart. You know you are a complete fraud and a great liability to all of us Negroes,' the nasty note read. 'You are no clergyman and you know it. I repeat you are a colossal fraud and an evil, vicious one at that. You could not believe in God... Clearly you don't believe in any personal moral principles.' Attack: When J. Edgar Hoover, pictured, learned King would be the recipient of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, he stepped up his attack . It then went on: 'King, there is only one thing left for you to do. You know what it is.... You are done. There is but one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, abnormal fraudulent self is bared to the nation.' The agents told him he had just 34 days in which to 'do it.' In the book, journalist and author Betty Medsger details Hoover's intense loathing of King and his overzealous violation of the reverend’s privacy. 'Hoover's attitude toward King can be described as a nearly savage hatred... The plot involved office break-ins, use of informers, mail opening, wiretapping, and bugging of King's office, home, and hotel rooms,' she writes. This almost fanatical obsession with King is disclosed in tens of thousands of FBI memos from the 1960s. The Bureau itself said the investigation was 'aimed at neutralizing King as an effective Negro leader.' Not only was the leader tracked incessantly but his associates were watched closely also. But Hoover's particular contempt for King is also clear in the memos the FBI boss kept in his personal files. According to CNN, he would scrawl things like 'this is disgusting' and 'astounding' across the bottom of positive news stories about King's success.", "Two radical Muslim preachers from the suburbs who have previously expressed their support for the Islamic State have launched a national tour to help 'exorcise' demons or 'genies' affecting people in Australian capital cities. West Australian Aboriginal Muslim convert, Mohammed Junaid Thorne and Sydney man, Abu Hamza, claim they can oust the evil 'jinn' or genies which are preying on the Australian public. Abu Hamza, a self-proclaimed 'jinn buster' claims the evil genies can possess an unwitting victim and 'there's a lot of them in Sydney, in Melbourne, in Adelaide, in Brisbane and in Perth'. Scroll down for video . Who ya gonna call? These two radical Islamic figures, Abu Hamza (above, left) and Mohammed Janaid Thorne (right) have announced their Australian 'Jinn-buster' tour. The men who hail from the Sydney and Perth suburbs plan lectures in which they will show people how to get rid of evil genies known as 'jinns' which occupy unclean or unholy people and wreck their marriages, health, happiness and cause depression . Abu Hamza says he has been a 'Jinn Buster' for ten years, helping people by driving out genies and thereby solving marriage breakdowns, children hating parents, depression, 'cure' gay or lesbianism, drug and alcohol problems and 'lack of appetite or too much appetite' - all by loud chanting in Arabic . Before embarking on the jinn buster tour, Junaid Thorne (pictured, left) was better known as one of two sons of a Muslim mother and Noongar people Aboriginal father who became radicalised, went to Saudi Arabia, and the returned to Australia where he has declared his support for the ISIS group . He says a person can be possessed by the evil jinn by not bathing or being holy enough. And he claims by driving out the genies, he can solve people's marriage breakdowns, their children hating them, depression, and help 'patients who are involved with ... gay/lesbian', drug and alcohol problems and 'lack of appetite or too much appetite' - all by loud chanting in Arabic. 'I want to warn all my brothers and sister in Islam a very important message,' he says in a pre-tour promotional video. Evil beings: Jinns or genies, as depicted (above) in this 16th century artwork 'Imam Ali Conquers Jinn' are supernatural beings from Islamic mythology made of 'smokeless and scorching fire' 'Any person that will ask you, when you go to see them, about your mother's name, or tells you to to give any part of your clothes or hair, you should know this guy is ... nothing but a magician. 'Be careful! Do not go to such people. They are nothing but evil and unfortunately there's a lot of them [in the Australian capital cities where Hamza and Thorne are about to embark on their lecture tour]. 'A lot of people don't actually look after themselves hygienically .. and of course that's an opportunity for a jinn to enter the body . 'Be aware of them and totally stay away from them.' Hamza then asks people to follow him on his Facebook page, to 'like my page insha'Allah' [which means Allah or God willing]. His Facebook page includes a video of a 'jinn buster' at work chanting continuously in Arabic to exorcise the demon of a man sitting in a chair, in a process which is called 'ruqyah'. Hamza, a Lebanese Australian who says his real name is Mohammed and who founded the Islamic Information and Services Network of Australasia, claims to be an expert on 'black magic' and 'jinns'. Jinns or genies are supernatural beings in Islamic mythology mentioned frequently in the Quran (Koran) and other Islamic texts, which describe them as creatures made of a 'smokeless and scorching fire' which can interfere physically with human beings. Abu Hamza claims to have been exorcising them from people for ten years. Junaid Thorne says on his Facebook page he had joined forces with Hamza to conduct 'a new series of lectures regarding the world of the Jinn, how to deal with them in the light of the Quran and the Sunnah, how to protect ourselves from possession, black magic, evil eye and the rest, and exciting but beneficial stories'. He said 'the new tour around Australia that me and brother Abu Hamza - Jinn Buster plan to do very soon insha'Allah, starting locally from NSW, Sydney, and ending with WA, Perth'. Thorne, a prominent WA cleric who has now relocated to Sydney, is one of two sons of a Malaysian Muslim mother and a Noongar people indigenous father, who became radicalised Muslims and went to live in Saudi Arabia. Controversial: Junaid Thorne (pictured) was deported from the Middle East last year and has provoked media attention after he said 18-year-old Numan Haider, the Melbourne man shot dead while stabbing two police officers, had attended some his lectures . Beware! Abu Hamza (above, left) says ahead of his national lecture tour about evil jinns (above, right)  that  'any person that will ask you, when you go to see them, about your mother's name, or tells you to to give any part of your clothes or hair, you should know this guy is ... nothing but a magician. Be careful! Do not go to such people. They are nothing but evil and unfortunately there's a lot of them [in Australia]' Junaid's brother, Shayden Thorne, was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for 'terrorist offences' and has used his Twitter account to post Islamic State propaganda messages. Junaid was deported from the Middle East last year and has provoked media attention after he said 18-year-old Numan Haider, the Melbourne man shot dead while stabbing two police officers, had attended his controversial lectures. In a Facebook post on November 8, written in Arabic, Junaid Thorne said certain 'concepts ... must be corrected: the concept of security and stability ... adopted by the enemies of God as a pretext for the occupation of Muslim lands and the destruction and looting of its resources'. He also wrote about 'the enemies of God by crimes against Islam and Muslims' and signed it 'Sheikh Hatem'. Thorne promised the jinn-buster demon exorcism lecture tour, 'will be something interesting, beneficial, and exciting to all those who attend'. No dates or venues for the tour have yet been posted by either man.", "Bulgarian children took to the streets in colourful and embroidered masks today as the country celebrated the arrival of spring with centuries-old traditions. Blagoveshtenie, or 'Annunciation', is one of the most important Christian holidays and the Balkan country spares no effort to keep its traditions alive. According to the Holy Script, on 25 March, nine months before the birth of Jesus Christ, the Archangel Gabriel came to the the Virgin Mary and told her that she would become mother to the Son of God. Children showed off their colourful and embroidered masks at an event in the city of Varna as Bulgarians celebrated the arrival of spring . Blagoveshtenie, or 'Annunciation', is one of the most important Christian holidays, with many events taking place across Bulgaria . It celebrates the day the Archangel Gabriel came to the the Virgin Mary and told her that she would become mother to the Son of God . In Bulgaria the celebration is known Blagoveshtenie, meaning 'Sweet News,' and it is also known as Annunciation or Lady Day. Bulgarians also celebrate the traditional holiday Blagovets, which has its roots in the national folklore. It had several meanings developed into a complex system of omens and beliefs. Children wore animal fur masks and danced as they scared away the 'evil spirits' during the Christian Orthodox holiday in the town of Varna, east of the capital Sofia. The celebration dates back to the seventh century. In the traditional conception this day is associated with the arrival of the migratory birds and with the final springtime awakening of nature. The masks and bells are said to warn off evil spirits that take the form of snakes and lizards . In Bulgaria the celebration is known Blagoveshtenie, meaning 'Sweet News,' and it is also known as Annunciation or Lady Day . Bulgarians also celebrate the traditional holiday Blagovets, which has its roots in the national folklore . Adults and children come out in force, ensuring they are both well fed and have money in their pockets during the celebrations. This is said to bring good luck for the year. Trees are planted, and beehives are opened so that the bees can be free to make sweet honey for the locals. Girls can get their ears pierced on this day, as common belief is that all poison and infection is rendered useless on Blagoveshtenie. The evil spirits are said to be in the form of snakes and lizards who emerge on this day. Rituals take place, fires are burnt and the houses are cleaned to banish these negatives. Rituals are performed throughout Bulgaria to ward off evil spirits and promote positivity for the rest of the year . Girls can get their ears pierced on this day, as common belief is that all poison and infection is useless on Blagoveshtenie . Rituals take place, fires are burnt and the houses are cleaned to banish 'evil spirits' which take the form of snakes and lizards .", "A cheat was caught by his blonde fiancée when she found a clump of red hair clogging up her Henry hoover. Deron Yapp, 24, initially told Nicola Lyon, 21, that the hair belonged to a friend's furry hat. But Miss Lyon - the mother of his four-year-old son - threw him out before he admitted to having his lover round. Nicola Lyon, 21, (right) found out Deron Yapp was cheating on her when she discovered red hair in a hoover - the couple are pictured here celebrating the christening of their son, Riley, with a cake . Mother-of-one Miss Lyon was doing a spring clean when she found the red hair in her Henry the Hoover . The mother-of-one said: 'His excuse was the straw that broke the camel's back. His lies, coupled with his suspicious behaviour, were too much to handle. 'I kicked him out then, telling him enough is enough. 'It was heartbreaking but I was glad I found out before I married the rat. It was all thanks to Henry the hoover that I discovered his filthy secret.' The couple had been engaged for two years when they hit a rocky patch soon after their son Riley was born. Miss Lyon, from Woodford Green, north-east London said: 'Deron's behaviour changed. He'd say he was nipping to the shops but would go AWOL for hours. I told him, as a dad, he couldn't just come and go as he pleased.' He apologised and said he would take care of Riley for a weekend so she could relax with her parents. Returning home to an empty flat which was a mess, Miss Lyon started cleaning up with her Henry the Hoover. She said: 'I was hoovering our bedroom when Henry started to overheat and shut off. 'On closer I could see it was jammed. I reached down to unpick the nozzle and I could see that it was choked with strands of long red hair - but I was light blonde. ' Miss Lyon pictured with son Riley - she said 'it was all thanks to Henry the hoover I discovered my fiance's filthy secret' Mr Yapp eventually came clean and said 'it was a mistake' which had been 'playing on my mind every day' Miss Lyon said the behaviour of her fiance changed shortly after the birth of their son, Riley . Soon after, Mr Yapp returned home with Riley and she immediately confronted him about the strands of red hair. 'I asked him straight away to explain the knot of hair. 'He had the cheek to tell me it belonged to his friend's furry hat. Unless the hat was made from human hair what he was telling me was almost certainly a big fat lie. I told him he was sleeping on the sofa', she said. It took two months before Mr Yapp confessed to his cheating ways - but there was another shock for Miss Lyon when she discovered his red-haired lover was pregnant. She said: 'He explained he'd been seeing her for a year. I was gobsmacked. 'It was heartbreaking but I was glad I found out before I married the rat. It was all thanks to Henry the hoover that I discovered his filthy secret.' Mr Yapp said: 'Obviously it was a mistake. I admitted it to her - it kept playing on my mind every day.'", "By . Ryan Lipman . A Northern Territory man tried to illegally sell a wallaby joey on Facebook. The animal was rescued uninjured from a Broome car park by Department of Parks and Wildlife officers and Western Australia Police last Thursday. Despite the sale being illegal, the man advertised the joey for $3,500 (£1,926) and received an offer of up to $10,000 (£5,500) from a visiting overseas buyer. Shocking: A Western Australia Parks and Wildlife Department officer seized a wallaby joey (pictured), which was rescued from a Broome car park after it was posted for sale on Facebook . A wildlife officer took part in a covert operation to seize the animal, by posing as a potential buyer in plain clothes. Wildlife officer Peter Carstairs said the 26-year-old man would be charged with offences including possession, importation and selling of protected wildlife. 'It is illegal to sell or possess any part of a native animal in Western Australia unless you have a wildlife licence,' he said. The man imported the wallaby from the Northern Territory into Western Australia, where he then tried to sell using Facebook. A Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said it was not known how the man got the joey or how long he had it for. Outrage: The animal attracted bids as high as 10,000 before the man was caught (Wallaby pictured) 'There is a black market trade in Australian wildlife and it is a practice that must be stopped,' Mr Carstairs said. The department was altered to the man's actions after residents' concerns, which lead them to make complaints. 'The community outrage generated by this incident shows that people really care about protecting our native wildlife,' he said. The man could be charged with up to five offences under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 and face penalties of up to $4,000 (£2,200) for some charges. The spokeswoman said the wallaby was being cared for by a wildlife rehabilitator, but sustained no significant injury in the man's care. Black market trade: A Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said it was not rare for people to attempt to sell native Australian animals, such as the pictured wallabies, on social media and consumer sites such as Gumtree (library image) 'It's diet while in the man's care wasn't great,' she said. 'It's now healthy and doing great.' The animal is expected to soon be returned to the Northern Territory when rehabilitation treatment finishes. 'We will contact our counterpart agency in the Northern Territory to arrange the wallaby's return,' she said. The spokeswoman said incidents of people using social media and sites such as Gumtree to sell native animals was not rare. 'It's something that does happen... It's not a new thing,' she said. Last year, a Japanese man was caught trying to smuggle lizards from the state. 'He received a suspended sentence and a fine. He was trying to take them from Western Australia back to Japan because they're quite valuable there,' she said. The wallaby joey was illegally imported from the Northern Territory, to Broome, pictured, in Western Australia .", "They are now frail old ladies. But nearly seven decades ago these women were serving as guards at Hitler’s death camps, shepherding hundreds of Nazi Germany’s victims to their deaths. The women are among some 24 suspects now being investigated by prosecutors in Germany for their wartime roles as accomplices to mass murder. Despite the fact there are no witnesses left alive to testify as to what they did, prosecutors hope that the mere fact of serving in a place of suffering and death will be enough to bring charges and guilty verdicts. Probe: Charlotte S, left, now 94, was an SS guard in the Nazi death camps Ravensbrück and Auschwitz, according to Stasi records, while Gisela S, is pictured right in her card index of concentration camp guards . Horror: Prisoners produce weapons in the concentration camp of Dachau during World War Two . Last week a former Dachau guard . identified only as Horst P, aged 87, was pictured at his Berlin home . with a collage of photos of him in his SS uniform beneath the words Mein . Kampf – the title of Adolf Hitler’s hate-filled blueprint for racial . war. Now the central . authority for the prosecution of Nazi war crimes, based in Ludwigsburg, . has sent out files on 24 more suspects, including three women. Gertrud . Elli Schmid, now 92 and living in Hamburg, is one of the suspects. She . was formerly an SS guard at Majdanek in the Polish city of Lublin where . an estimated 235,000 people were murdered during WW2. Prosecutors . have traced her SS identity card. After service in Majdanek she was . sent to Auschwitz, also in occupied Poland, where 1.1million prisoners . were exterminated. Now . wheelchair bound, she was tracked down by the daily newspaper Bild. Her . daughter said: ‘We know that my mother had something to do with . Auschwitz. We have tried to talk with her about it but her memory . doesn’t really function any more.’ Tortured: Prisoners look out from behind a barbed wire enclosure at the Dachau concentration camp in Germany in 1945 . Another . SS woman has been identified as Gisela S. Now 90, she lives in a care . home in northern Germany. She too worked at Auschwitz. Charlotte . S, 94, was a guard at the women’s concentration camp of Ravensbruck . where diarist Anne Frank was briefly incarcerated before being sent to . her death at Belsen. Ravensbruck . held mainly women and Charlotte S is said to have been a terrifying . figure who beat up  prisoners and unleashed her Alsatian dog on them. Tried . in Communist East Germany after the war, she was locked up for 15 . months for attacking prisoners and stealing from them, but this time . prosecutors hope to charge her with accessory to murder. A . man on the list is Oskar Groening, cleared of war crimes in 1948. He . served in Auschwitz as a clerk sorting through the clothes and . possessions of the victims. Survivors: French prisoners pictured when the Nazi concentration camp of Dachau, near Munich, was liberated by Allied troops at the end of April 1945 . Work: Children are seen behind barbed wire in Auschwitz . He said: 'I . was an official in the prisoners' possessions administration which . basically involved removing the money, jewels and other valuables from . the inmates, registering it and sending it back to Berlin. 'They had diamonds and gold worth millions and it was my duty to make sure all of it got to Berlin. 'It . was completely understood by all that the majority were going straight . to the gas chamber, although some believed they were only going to be . showered before going to work. On trial: Oskar Groening, now 92, pictured in his S.S. uniform when he served in Auschwitz, has been deemed fit to stand trial for his role as an accomplice to mass murder at the camp . 'Many . Jews knew they were going to die. One time a drunken SS man discovered a . crying baby on the platform. He grabbed the waif by its legs and . smashed its head against the side of a truck. My blood froze when I saw . it.' He . claims he applied for a transfer and fought in Belgium until his . capture. He, too, now faces an  indictment of complicity to commit mass . murder. On one night in January 1943 he saw for the first time how the Jews were actually gassed. 'It . was in a half-built farmyard near to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. A gas . chamber was built there. We were searching the wood nearby for . prisoners who had escaped,' he went on. 'There were more than 100 prisoners . and soon there were panic-filled cries as they were herded into the . chamber and the door was shut. 'Then a sergeant with a gasmask went to a . hole in the wall and from a tin shook Zyklon B gas pellets inside. 'In . that moment the cries of the people inside rose to a crescendo, a choir . of madness. These cries I have ringing in my ears to this day. 'I again made an application for a . transfer and at the end of October 1944 I was shipped to the Belgian . Ardennes where I served with a fighting unit until capture. But you can . imagine that down the years I have heard the cries of the dead in my . dreams and in every waking moment. I will never be free of them. 'I . have never been back there because of my shame. This guilt will never . leave me. I can only plead for forgiveness and pray for atonement.' He, too, is in the eye of prosecutors who believe him to be worthy of an indictment of guilty of complicity to mass murder. Notorious: Groening was responsible for guarding the possessions of the doomed arrivals as they stepped off the trains bringing them to Auschwitz (pictured) in Poland. He claims he committed no crimes at the complex .", "A 'psychotic' boyfriend strangled and stabbed his partner because he believed she had been possessed by the devil, a court heard. In the weeks before he killed Gemma Finnigan, 24, her live-in boyfriend Daniel Johnson, 32, had developed a bizarre interest in conspiracy theories and aliens and even his own sister described him having a look of 'pure evil'. Miss Finnigan’s body was found in the bedroom at their home in Boldon Colliery, Tyne and Wear, on September 13 last year after Johnson had been found wandering around his old school in Kenton, Newcastle, shirtless and acting strange. Daniel Johnson, 32, killed Gemma Finnegan (pictured), 24, after becoming convinced she was possessed by the devil, the court heard. She was found in her bedroom in Boldon Colliery, Tyne and Wear . Police had forced their way into the address after Miss Finnigan, who was originally from Jarrow and worked in a café at Frederick Street, South Shields, could not be contacted. At the police station after his arrest, Johnson switched between acting like a dog on the floor of his cell to threatening to cut someone’s throat. Prosecutor Jamie Hill QC told Newcastle Crown Court: 'He actually killed Gemma Finnigan believing that she had been possessed either by the devil or an evil spirit, that appears to be the conclusion. 'Against that background, I anticipate doctors will say if that is the case, he did not know what he was doing was wrong, he thought he was killing the devil, protecting her and himself at the time. 'In those circumstances that would mean he was in a delusional state and insane in law.' Police and Forensic teams secure off a house and surrounding area of the house where Gemma Finnigan was murdered . Johnson, who is currently being held at Rampton secure hospital in Nottinghamshire and has waived his right to attend his trial, denies murder. Mr Hill told jurors Johnson admits he carried out the killing but pleads that he is not guilty but insane. Mr Hill said three experts have concluded Johnson was suffering paranoid schizophrenia and was psychotic at the time of the killing. The court heard prosecutors do no invite a verdict of guilty to murder in the case and jurors have been advised they will be asked to consider the alternatives of guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and not guilty but insane. Police and Forensic teams the property in September last year . Mr Hill told jurors Miss Finnigan had met Johnson in 2008 while he was on day release from an open prison following a 'substantial' sentence. The couple had lived together at the flat in Boldon for three years when Miss Finnigan was killed. Mr Hill said Johnson had a minor psychiatric background and had been treated for mild depression in 2010 and 2011 but there was nothing to hint at the 'calamitous deterioration' which took place. The court heard it was about two weeks before the killing, Miss Finnigan had grown concerned about Johnson’s behaviour and had even booked him in to see a doctor the day before her death but he had refused to go. Mr Hill said: 'Gemma started reporting to family members that Daniel Johnson had become interested firstly in American conspiracy theories then had started staying up at night, he bought a telescope and was looking at the stars. 'There was suggestions he was concerned about extra terrestrial aliens. 'She would find him sometimes, in the very early hours of the morning, kneeling by the bed, praying. 'He had started to say strange things, suggesting he was in possession of special knowledge. 'His behaviour became increasingly bizarre. 'His own sister, who saw him two days before he killed Gemma, described him having a look of pure evil on his face.' The court heard on the morning of September 13 a neighbour heard what must have been the fatal attack, where Miss Finnigan was strangled and then stabbed, between 3.30am and 4 am. At 7.30 that morning he was found inside Kenton school, where he was a former pupil, and was arrested. After family and friends heard of his arrest, concern for Miss Flannigan grew until the police forced entry to the flat and found her body. The trial continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "By . Lucy Crossley . A gang of armed robbers who repeatedly fired a stun gun at a pawn shop manager in a £43,000 raid have been jailed for a total of 94 years. David Sadiku, 41, and Kelly Day, 36, posed as a couple selling a Rolex watch to con their way into a pawnbroker’s in Ilford, Essex. Once inside Maxcroft Securities Ltd, Sadiku pulled out a gun and dragged manager Naom Margolin out of his office while Day let fellow gang members - Paulius Strasunskas, 27, Francis Carbon, 32, Amjit Bharj, 47, and Aamir Kayani, 31 - into the shop. Gang members: David Sadiku, 41, (left) and Kelly Day, 36, (right) posed as a couple selling a Rolex watch to con their way into a pawnbroker's in Ilford, Essex, before attacking the manager and letting their fellow gang members into the shop . Mr Margolin was shocked up to ten . times with the stun gun and pistol-whipped in the face but managed to press the panic button, while a woman employee was stunned in the face. The gang escaped with £43,000 worth of cash and jewellery, but were today behind bars after they were foiled during another robbery at a convenience store. Sadiku and Day pleaded guilty . to taking part in the Maxcroft robbery and the others were convicted . following a nine-week trial at Old Bailey. Another . man, Michael Carbon, 26, who was involved in the mini-supermarket raid confessed to armed robbery, and was found guilty of a gun charge. During the raid on July 5, last year Carbon told at staff at . Maxcroft ‘I will f****** kill you’ as he demanded they . empty their desks, while Strasunskas demanded: ‘Where’s the . f****** money’. He then put a stun gun to the face of one of the female . members of staff and fired it at point blank range, the court was told. Threats: Paulius Strasunskas, 27, (left) shouted 'Where's the f****** money' at frightened staff,  while Francis Carbon, 32, (right) told at employees at Maxcroft 'I will f****** kill you' as he demanded they empty their desks . ‘She heard a . cracking noise and felt a lot of pain. What had happened is he had used . the stun gun on her face,’ said prosecutor Kerry Broome during the nine week trial. ‘Her face was swollen and painful. ‘There was no need at all for anyone to administer a Taser, led alone to the face. ‘He also administered the same gun to Mr Margolin’s head and neck area.’ Two customers were also forced to hand over wedding jewellery they were attempting to retrieve from the pawnbroker’s. On June 25, just a few days before the attack at the pawnbroker's, the gang had tried to raid a Muslim wedding celebration after it had been announced in the local paper. One wedding guest was Tasered in the face by the gang, but still managed to stop them from entering the home. Then on August 8, officers from the Flying Squad - who had been following the gang since the Maxcroft robbery - swooped on gang members during a raid on Milap mini-supermarket in Chadwell Heath, east London. Behind bars: Aamir Kayani, 31, (left) was jailed for his part in the raid, while Michael Carbon, 26, (right) was sentenced for his role in another raid on a convenience store . Sadiku, . Strasunskas, Carbon, Kayani, Day, and Bharj, were linked to the . Maxcroft raid, while Michael Carbon was identified as . part of the gang in the third robbery. Michael . Carbon and Strasunkas threatened staff with a handgun, stealing cash and other valuables before were stopped by armed police as they tried to escape. Francis Carbon and Kayani, who were acting as a getaway driver and a lookout, were arrested nearby. Sadiku, . of Walthamstow, east London, admitted to . aggravated burglary, burglary, two counts of robbery, two counts of . carrying a firearm with criminal intent, two counts of possession of a . prohibited weapon and one count of possessing a firearm with intent to . commit an offence. He was jailed for a total of 13 years. Day, of Ilford, admitted robbery and carrying a firearm with criminal intent and was jailed for six years. Strasunksas, . of Clayhall, Francis Carbon, Barking, and Kayani, 31, of Romford, were convicted of aggravated burglary, two counts of robbery, . burglary, two counts of carrying a firearm with criminal intent, two . counts of possession of a prohibited weapon, and one of possessing a . firearm. Strasunksas was jailed for 15 years, Francis Carbon was sentenced to 18 years in prison, and Kayani was jailed for 17 years. Bharj, . 47, from Upminster, Essex, was found guilty of two counts of . robbery, one of burglary, carrying a firearm with criminal intent, . possession of a prohibited weapon, and possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Michael Carbon, 26, of Plaistow, east London, was convicted of burglary, robbery, and possession of a firearm. He was jailed for ten years. Sentencing, Judge Nigel Seed QC told the gang: ‘The stun gun was used in the face of a female employee as well as several times on the manager. ‘The female employees were terrified, and one heard a shout of “I’ll f****** kill you”. ‘The employees were subjected to violence and forced at gunpoint to hand over the contents of their desk drawers. ‘An innocent couple of customers there redeeming family jewellery and gold had that taken as well. ‘This had been carefully planned.’", "Dale Anderson, 25, (pictured right) and Emma Oliver, 22, (left) outside Manchester Crown Court - they gave the judge in their case a box of chocolates when their case finished . A judge was given a box of chocolates as a 'thank you' present from a couple facing drugs charges moments after he let them walk free. Judge Robert Atherton was given the box of sweets by Dale Anderson, 25, and Emma Oliver, 22, as they left the dock at Manchester Crown Court. The 67-year old judge, who is believed to be retiring next year, then thanked the couple, from Moston, Manchester, for their gift and took the chocolates back to his chambers. The gift was a thank you for the way he had dealt with them given their previous experience. He joked to barristers as he left: 'I suppose you all want to know if you can have one. Well, ask me again in five months and then you can.' Afterwards Oliver was seen giving another box of Cadbury's Heroes to her defence barrister. Anderson and Oliver had been facing possible jail terms after a cannabis farm was found in a back room at their home. Police discovered 12 cannabis plants, enough to produce half a kilo of cannabis, while investigating the death of the couple's nine-month old daughter, Daisy, who drowned in the bath in a tragic accident. At a previous case at Manchester Crown Court the couple were defendants in a child neglect trial over the death of Daisy, but were acquitted. After the not guilty verdict was given by the jury it emerged Anderson admitted producing cannabis and Oliver pleaded guilty to allowing premises to be used to grow cannabis. At the sentencing yesterday market trader Anderson was given a six month community order with a condition he complete 42 hours unpaid work. Oliver, a trainee plasterer, was conditionally discharged for six months. Passing sentence Judge Atherton told them: 'There were 12 plants and it is likely you have produced around half a kilo which could have been sold - it was clearly a financial enterprise. Judge Robert Atherton (pictured) thanked the couple for giving him a box of chocolates . 'But this is an exceptional case in terms of what brought the police to your home. 'You know those circumstances only too well. I have expressed my views about the trauma you have gone through in dealing with that situation. 'I have never been slow to express my view on those matters and it is my view that you were rightfully acquitted. 'I think the sooner this matter is out of your lives, the better. Baby Daisy (pictured) was taken to North Manchester Children's Hospital but was pronounced dead . 'Cannabis needs to be out of your lives. Caring for each other is the essence of your future.' The investigation into the couple began in September 2012 after Daisy got into difficulties in a baby bath whilst Anderson went downstairs to find a clean towel and nappies and Oliver was talking about schools with a neighbour. When he returned Anderson found the infant lying face down in the water. Daisy was taken to North Manchester Children's Hospital where doctors tried to revive her but she was pronounced dead two hours later. Police began investigating Oliver and Anderson for child neglect after officers claimed they kept a 'dirty and unhygienic house' with dirty clothes and toys strewn across the floor. Neighbours were seen hoovering and tidying the house before police arrived while the couple were still at the hospital. Officers quickly halted the clean-up operation and noted the house had dirty nappies lying around, food on a high chair, dirty dishes covered in congealed food, damp clothing on the floor and dirty bed clothes on the cot. Anderson and Oliver both denied child neglect. In her statement to police Oliver said: 'Dale normally does bath time. I do the dry. 'I ran the bath. Dale came up and I have come down. Then Dale ran down the stairs white as a ghost saying there is something wrong with Daisy.' 'I put her on the floor on a Minnie Mouse towel and then started to give her mouth to mouth. Dale did CPR and a number of neighbours came over to try and help and call an ambulance.' When speaking about the attempts by doctors in hospital to save Daisy, Oliver added: 'She came back to life for 26 minutes. 'I do not understand how one minute she was breathing and the next she was not. 'I went to the toilet and when I came back her heart had stopped beating and she was pronounced dead. ' Manchester Crown Court (pictured) where Judge Robert Atherton was given the box of sweets by defendants . During the trial and in the absence of the jury, Judge Atherton questioned why the couple had been charged with child neglect as the baby had been left for a 'matter of seconds.' He agreed with defence assertions that the unhygienic and messy house was a 'snapshot' after a tragic event. The grammar school educated judge who was appointed in 2000 and lists his recreations as travel, music and gardening had previously attracted controversy over his tough sentencing stance on looters arrested during the 2011 riots. In 2008 he triggered outrage when he freed a paedophile who molested an 11-year-old girl amid claims the victim had 'welcomed' his advances. In 2013 he chaired the mental health tribunal which ordered Moors murderer Ian Brady to remain at Ashworth maximum security hospital.", "By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 11:34 EST, 27 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:25 EST, 27 March 2013 . Roger Buckingham stabbed a brave street cleaner who tried to stop him with his broom as he was leaving a house with a stolen laptop . A burglar has been jailed for a minimum of 27 years today for killing a brave street cleaner who tried to stop him with his broom. Piotr Mikiewicz, 40, was stabbed through his heart as he tackled Roger Buckingham, who was trying to flee a house with a stolen laptop. Buckingham, 31, of Shepherd’s Bush, west London, was found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey and jailed for life. The Recorder of London Judge Brian Barker said 'cowardly' Buckingham, a petty criminal and drug addict with 25 previous convictions for 51 offences, must serve at least 27 years. The judge said: 'He was a brave man who acted beyond the call of duty. He ignored his own safety and he paid for his actions with his life. 'He was a truly exceptional man. He was a valued member of the community.' Buckingham had acted 'in frustration and temper', said the judge. 'On any view, it was cowardly and selfish.' The court heard the Polish national Mr Mikiewicz was working in Rylett Road, Shepherd’s Bush, in August, last year, when Buckingham broke into a house. He tripped the burglar alarm and was making his getaway with £30 and a laptop when Mr Mikiewicz saw him and hit him with his broom to stop him getting away. But Buckingham had taken a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the public-spirited cleaner. He ran off while local people tried in vain to help Mr Mikiewicz on the ground. Prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC said Mr Mikiewicz had shown a 'laudable sense of civic duty and right and wrong'. He added: 'That man, armed only with his dust cart and broom, took on the defendant, striking him in order to apprehend him and prevent him leaving with the fruits of his crime. Scroll down for video . Roger Buckingham can be seen in the stairwell of a block of flats shortly after the stabbing . A CCTV image from the Metropolitan Police shows Roger Buckingham walking along Askew Road, London, shortly after the stabbing . 'It was a terrible and needless waste of the life of a man who provided a service to the local community and did that which we all wish we had done.' Buckingham had claimed the death was 'a terrible accident' but the jury took only four hours to convict him of murder. The murder weapon was found abandoned in an Opel Zafira, which Buckingham stole from a petrol station a few days previously. It had been ticketed by a traffic warden in Bentworth Road, near Buckingham’s home that morning. Buckingham was later arrested at his girlfriend’s home as he made plans to flee to Cyprus. Buckingham stood with his hands behind his back as he was sentenced. His family had earlier shouted abuse at the jury. Police combed the streets after the street cleaner was stabbed to death by an armed burglar . The cleaner repeatedly hit the thief with his broom as he tried to stop Buckingham fleeing the affluent semi-detached property in Shepherds Bush, west London . An officer stands outside the cordoned off house following the incident . Mr Mikiewicz's sister Anna told the court in a statement that her brother had been living in London for nine years and considered it his home. She said: 'He was a wonderful man, full of compassion for others. He did not tolerate lies and theft. He was a believer and lived according to these principles.' Busie Mikiewicz said her husband was a 'brave and selfless man who wasn't frightened to stand up for what he believed was right'. She added in a statement: 'He was someone who represented everything that is good about decent people and was prepared to fight for what was right. 'Anyone who knew Piotr knew he was a truly good and honest person. He had a strong sense of what was right and wrong. 'He wasn't just a road sweeper, he was part of the community that genuinely cared for him. 'Piotr was a truly good person who was immensely proud of the job he did. 'A cruel and thoughtless act can take away his life, but not the inspiration that he brought to so many people.' Detective Chief Inspector Matt Bonner said: 'Piotr Mikiewicz demonstrated extreme courage when he spotted Buckingham leaving a house he had burgled moments earlier. 'He acted on pure instinct to right a wrong but unfortunately paid for his brave act with his life.'", "A trial opened in Philadelphia Tuesday for a woman accused of beating to death her 10-year-old special-needs stepdaughter, whom the prosecution say the stepmother hated and wanted dead. Charlenni Ferreira was rushed to the hospital in October 2009, just days before her 11th birthday, after she was found unresponsive in her parents' home on C Street. She died a short time later. Doctors uncovered that the girl's lungs had collapsed due to an untreated infection caused by multiple broken ribs. Shocking abuse: Margaret Garabito (left), 48, is facing murder and child abuse charges in the 2009 death of her stepdaughter, Charlenni Ferreira (right), who succumbed to an infection caused by broken ribs . Charlenni's other injuries suggesting long-term physical and sexual abuse included a seven-inch head wound hidden from view by a weave, a broken hipbone, marks and bruises all over her body, and vaginal and anal scaring. The child's father, Domingo Ferreira, and her stepmother, Margaret Garabito, were charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child and additional counts. In his opening statement, prosecutor Andrew Notaristefano told the jury at Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Tuesday that Garabito, 48, has admitted to hitting her stepdaughter on the head with a broom, which resulted in a skull fracture and brain damage, reported Philly.com. Too late: The child's father, Domingo Ferreira, 53, was also charged but he committed suicide in jail . 'She hated this child and she wanted this child dead and out of her life,' said Notaristefano. Garabito's defense attorney, J. Michael Farrell, argued that his client was only guilty of manslaughter for failing to stop her husband from beating and molesting his daughter. Ferreira is expected to testify that her spouse told her he would kill her and her three teenage children if she went to the police. 'My client was a victim too,' the attorney told the jury panel Tuesday. Domingo Ferreira, 53, committed suicide in jail three days after his arrest. Also on Tuesday, the jurors were shown graphic photographs of Charlenni’s gaping 7-by-4-inch head wound, which the prosecution said her stepmother concealed for a year by stuffing it with cotton and pinning a hairpiece over it. Assistant Medical Examiner Marlon Osborne testified in court that countless bobby pins and clips holding the weave in place were embedded in the child's badly scarred, almost entirely bald scalp. Sitting next to her attorney, Garabito appeared shaken to see the graphic autopsy images and was seen wiping away tears. The prosecutor said Charlenni, a native of Puerto Rico who came to live with her father and his new family in Philadelphia in 2005, sustained about three years of continuous abuse, beginning in the fall of 2006 and ending the day she died October 21, 2009. When Domingo Ferreira went to Puerto Rico for a month in the fall of 2009, the prosecutor said his wife subjected her stepdaughter to repeated beatings, striking her with a metal broom handle and sticks. Charlenni was found unresponsive in her parents' home on C Street in Philadelphia in October 2009 . Describing the 10-year-old child as 'broken from head to toe,' Notaristefano told the jury that every time her stepmother broke another one of her ribs, Charlenni suffered from internal bleeding, which eventually resulted in fluid buildup that sparked an infection. During a preliminary hearing in January 2010, it was revealed that Garabito admitted to police that that last time she struck the 10-year-old was six days before her death because the little girl wanted to use a calculator to do her homework.", "A father-of-26 dubbed 'Britain's most feckless father' claims he had his enormous brood after a string of casual conquests as a nightclub bouncer. Peter Rolfe said he could have 'the pick of the women' when he worked as a doorman in London and had sex with 'a different woman every night'. Now the 64-year-old, who has 14 daughters and 12 sons by 15 women and claims around £46,000 a year in benefits, says he regrets his former lifestyle because he let his children down. Scroll down for video . Womaniser: Father-of-26 Peter Rolfeclaims he had his enormous brood after a string of casual conquests as a nightclub bouncer. But he regrets his former lifestyle, saying: 'I've let down my children and I'm ashamed' 'If I would have been responsible, which I should have been, I would not have fathered this amount of children,' he said. 'I was a doorman and you get to pick the \"pick of the ladies\" if you like, or whatever you want to call it, and any doorman will tell you that. 'You could go home with a different woman every night and I'll be honest, I did for a while. 'But I regret that lifestyle very much because I have lost contact with a lot of my children which I'm not happy with that. I think about those children every day.' Rolfe - whose lengthy criminal record includes drink driving, handling stolen goods and drug possession - was cleared of bigamy when a 2003 case was dropped for lack of evidence. Former Tory MP Ann Widdecombe once branded him Britain's most feckless father and said he did not deserve a tent, let alone a council house. Rolfe's ex-wife has claimed 'he will carry on having more kids if he finds anyone stupid enough' Brood: Rolfe - who moved into the house with seven of his children and two grandchildren (pictured) - has always dodged prison sentences partly by claiming he needs to look after his children . He prompted controversy when he moved into a five-bedroom taxpayer-funded home in Newport with seven of his children. Rolfe, who now has one eye and walks with a stick, told council officials the property he had moved into in September 2011 was 'too small' for his family. He appeared on ITV's This Morning and a Channel 5 documentary last year saying he wanted a house big enough for his offspring. But despite having several convictions since 2000 including handling stolen goods, threatening behaviour and having .22 calibre bullets without a licence, Rolfe claims he changed long ago. 'In 2000 I turned my life around and tried to look after these children,' he said. 'I'll hold my hands up, I do admit, I've let down quite a few of my children and I'm ashamed of that. 'I made the decision to not go around chatting up the women or taking the pick of the women from the pubs and clubs I worked in. 'I did decide to try and settle down a couple of times but I didn't work. Lineage: Rolfe has a lengthy family tree - and many of his children and partners remain unknown . 'I have a criminal record for violence and stuff like that, I'm not disputing that. But I turned my life around back in 2000.' Ex-wife Claire Drake, 43, who had six children with Rolfe in seven years after meeting him in 1992, has described how she could not bear living with him any longer. The barmaid said previously: 'I had to get away. He's just evil. He should be castrated. He will carry on having more kids if he finds anyone stupid enough. 'It is absolutely disgusting the amount he receives in benefits while I am working for a roof over my head. 'I have nothing but hate for that man. When I watched him on This Morning, I was shaking; my legs were going; and I was sweating. He makes my skin crawl.'", "A woman who tortured her teenage brother to death after accusing him  of witchcraft was jailed for life yesterday. Magalie Bamu and her boyfriend Eric Bikubi inflicted more than 130 injuries on  15-year-old Kristy Bamu over the course of a horrific four-day attack. Bamu, 29, a former Marks & Spencer worker, was told she will spend at least 25 years behind bars for the barbaric killing. Her boyfriend, 28, a former football coach, was jailed for at least 30 years after a jury heard that he had caused the teenager the most suffering. Jailed: Eric Bikubi, left, and his partner Magalie Bamu, right, were both jailed for life today for the horrific torture of Magalie's brother Kristy, which led to his death . Victim: 15-year-old Kristy Bamu, pictured left with a friend, suffered 130 injuries after being hit with an arsenal of weapons including broken ceramic floor tiles . Sentencing the Congolese pair at the . Old Bailey, Judge David Paget QC said Bamu must have realised her . sibling was going to die in an attack that ‘surpassed belief’. He added: ‘I am aware of the . controversy of the meaning of the word sadistic in this context. I am in . no doubt this murder involved a sadistic element. The intention was to . rid Kristy Bamu of witchcraft. ‘To do that both of you brutalised and physically abused him until eventually he died. It was prolonged torture. ‘A belief in witchcraft, however genuine, can never excuse an assault on another person or the killing of another human being. ‘I find it impossible not to  conclude . that there was an  intention by you, Eric Bikubi, to kill, perhaps not . at first but certainly at the end of the ordeal inflicted on Kristy. In court: Kelly Bamu, pictured on the witness stand, said Kristy asked for forgiveness. 'He asked again and again,' she said, adding 'Magalie did absolutely nothing. She didn't give a damn' ‘You, Magalie Bamu, must have realised . that might happen, why else say to your mother: “If you do not collect . the children, Eric would kill Kristy”.’ After the convictions, Kristy’s father . Pierre said: ‘Kristy was a delightful child with a promising future – . we will miss him terribly. ‘The fact Kristy died at the hands of . those who were expected to look after him and his siblings during their . visit to London, makes it all the more difficult for us to come to terms . with.’ Detective Superintendent Terry Sharpe, . of the Metropolitan Police, warned that crimes linked with  witchcraft . remained ‘hidden and under-reported’. WARNING: Graphic images below . Violent evidence: Kristy Bamu suffered 130 injuries after being tortured for four days with weapons including broken ceramic floor tiles . Witchcraft: These weapons were found at the scene in what officers called an 'unprecedented scenario' Evidence: Officers found a whole array of weapons in the flat, including pliers, a pole, and a piece of wood . Terrible death: Kristy's last words were 'I just want to die now' before he slipped underneath the water in the bath . He added: ‘It is difficult to see how . the verdicts will bring much comfort to the Bamu family but I do hope . that it will allow them to move on with their lives.’ The court previously heard that Bamu and Bikubi, like many Congolese nationals, were obsessed with kindoki, or witchcraft. The couple accused Kristy of trying to . bewitch a child in the family  after he arrived from Paris for . Christmas 2010 with four of his siblings at their council flat in . Newham, East London. The pair beat him with a metal . weightlifting pole, a curtain rod and a wooden plank, knocked out his . teeth with a hammer and smashed heavy floor tiles over his head. Meanwhile his siblings, aged between . 11 and 22, were forced to fast and pray throughout the night and at some . points goaded to join in and clear up the pools of blood. Kristy drowned in the bath on Christmas Day after begging to die as Bikubi hosed him down to ‘cleanse’ him of evil spirits. The sentences mark the end of a court . case that has sparked calls for police to do more to tackle crimes . fuelled by such medieval beliefs. There have been at least 83 cases of children attacked in London for ‘sorcery’ over the past decade. Shocking: This was the squalid and bloodstained scene police were confronted by when they discovered the killing of Kristy Bamu by his sister and her partner in Newham, east London . Scene of the crime: Kristy was forced to pray for deliverance for four days and deprived of food and water . Christian fundamentalist pastors in Britain are fuelling the belief in witchcraft, experts have warned. Dr Richard Hoskins, a police adviser, said he has spoken to many immigrant Londoners gripped by the potential power of malicious ‘spirits’ threatening to damage their families. Traditional methods of exorcism include wearing a charm, fasting or sacrificing an animal and are controlled by the Church. The university lecturer warned that Christian extremists and evangelists have begun taking advantage of vulnerable families and perpetuating beliefs in witchcraft by offering expensive ‘deliverance services’. Dr Hoskins said: ‘What seems to happen is that there is this dislocation and, in this case, something feral and wild. It is completely out of control.’ The issue was first highlighted by the case of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie in 2000. Victoria, who travelled to Britain from the Ivory Coast, died at the hands of her aunt and her boyfriend after being branded a witch. A year later the torso of a Nigerian boy, named Adam by police, was found in the Thames after he was ritually sacrificed. Police believe he may have been killed by someone with a terminal illness who believed his murder would save them. In 2005, three people were convicted of beating, cutting and rubbing chilli peppers in the eyes of an eight-year-old Angolan girl to ‘beat the devil out of her’. VIDEO: Squalid scenes inside the flat where Kristy Bamu's body was discovered .", "By . Bianca London . The Prince of Wales was advised of the best way to drink cider wearing a straw mask today as he came face to face with members of an ancient folk group on a visit to Northern Ireland. The Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall encountered a troupe of enthusiastic mummers, clad head-to-toe in woven straw costumes, as they toured Enniskillen Castle museum in Co Fermanagh. After getting a close-range blast from one of their hunting horns, Charles commended the present-day generation of Aughakillymaude mummers, who still perform mid-winter plays to ward off evil spirits, for keeping the century-old rural art alive. 'I'm so glad you keep that tradition going,' he said. Scroll down for video . The Prince of Wales looks bemused as he meets a group of Irish Mummers at Enniskillen Castle museum at the beginning of a two day visit to Northern Ireland . Captain Mummer Jim Ledwith told the Prince that the good times flow when mummers, who are also known as the Men of Straw, meet up with similar groups from England. 'It helps if they are cider drinkers,' he added. Noting the potential impracticalities of drinking while wearing a face-covering straw hat, Charles enquired: 'But you take the lid off first before you pour it in?' Captain Ledwith agreed that was the best strategy to employ. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to Enniskillen Castle museum on a sunny day in Northern Ireland . The Prince encountered a troupe of enthusiastic mummers, clad head to toe in woven straw costumes . Something funny, Charles? After getting a close-range blast from one of their hunting horns, Charles commended the present-day generation of Aughakillymaude mummers . Turning to another straw man, the Prince remarked: 'By God, you must get pretty hot in there.' 'It gets hot surely,' replied the mummer. 'You don't want to have hay fever.' Charles and Camilla are on a two-day visit to Northern Ireland, with the Enniskillen Castle museum being the first engagement. After arriving at Enniskillen Airport, they travelled the short distance to the landmark stone edifice on the banks of Lough Erne, which houses military and non-military historic collections. Enniskillen has the unique honour of being the only town in Great Britain and Ireland to give its name to two regiments; the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (infantry) and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards (cavalry), now part of the Royal Irish Regiment and the Royal Dragoon Guards respectively. Ouch! Charles gets a close-range blast from one of their hunting horns . Charles commended the present-day generation of Aughakillymaude mummers, who still perform mid-winter plays to ward off evil spirits, for keeping the century-old rural art alive . The Duchess of Cornwall receives flowers from pupils during her visit to Enniskillen in County Fermanagh . The royal couple, accompanied by Lord-Lieutenant of Co Fermanagh Viscount Brookebrough and Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office Andrew Robathan, were welcomed by a group of Union Flag-waving school children and by the pipes and drums of the Royal Irish Regiment band. Inside they visited an exhibition on an ancient 'crannog' settlement, uncovered during a recent road construction project in Enniskillen. The Prince then moved to the rifle range where the curator of the Inniskillings Museum, Neil Armstrong, gave him an overview of the site's history. Elsewhere, the Duchess viewed a display of Belleek China, for which Co Fermanagh is famous, and saw traditional methods of butter-making in an adjacent display. The Duchess of Cornwall talks with traditionally costumed people during her visit to Enniskillen in County Fermanagh . Prince Charles meets men dressed in old military costume from the 27th Enniskillen Regiment of Foot during a visit to Fermanagh County Museum . Turning to one of the straw men, the Prince remarked: 'By God, you must get pretty hot in there' School children wave the British flag as they wait to catch a view of Prince Charles as he arrives with the Duchess of Cornwall to Fermanagh County Museum, Enniskillien, Northern Ireland . The royal couple then attended a reception in the nearby 1881 building which was attended by around 120 guests drawn from a wide range of organisations associated with the museum. The Duchess had the opportunity to view some of the exhibitions from Action Mental Health, including local basket-makers, and sample some Co Fermanagh produce. During the visit, the couple also had the chance to view a painting of the Queen's visit to Enniskillen on her Jubilee tour of 2012, depicting her walking the short but symbolic journey from St McCartin's Church of Ireland cathedral across the road to St Michael's Catholic church. On their second engagement of the day, the pair visited one of Northern Ireland's most beautiful houses and gardens at Florence Court. The popular tourist attraction consists of an 18th-century mansion, surrounded by gardens and parkland which extends to 250 acres. Formerly the home of the Earls of Enniskillen, Florence Court was gifted to the National Trust by Michael, Viscount Cole in 1953 and, following a major fire in 1955, the house was restored in a major conservation project. The royal couple were welcomed by a group of Union Flag-waving school children and by the pipes and drums of the Royal Irish Regiment band .", "An unemployed woman has her heart set on a 'fairy-tale church wedding' - and believes the taxpayer should foot the bill as it is her basic human right to be a bride. Anna Broom, of Gillingham, in Kent, has not worked since the age of 19, during which time she has claimed more than £100,000 in benefits. The jobless 33-year-old now wants an extra £10,000 to fund her dream 'traditional English wedding and party in a castle'. Miss Broom is desperate for a church ceremony, designer dress, horse and carriage - 'like Katie Price' - and champagne for her 50 guests. Scroll down for video . Dream wedding: Miss Broom wants the government to loan her £10,000 for her wedding to Jordan Burford . And she wants the taxpayer to stump up a further £2,000 for her honeymoon, where she hopes to jet off to Mexico. The Gillingham resident claims it is her 'basic human right' to be a bride and says that tying the knot would boost her fragile confidence and encourage her to try and find a job again. Miss Broom receives monthly benefits including £460 disability living allowance and joint £200 housing benefit with fiancé Jordan Burford, 39, who also gets £134 income support a month. The size 24 bride-to-be said: 'I've dreamed about being a bride since I was 12 years old. 'I deserve a fairy-tale church wedding and a party in a castle - but there's no way I could afford it on benefits and I can't work because I'm overweight.' True gent: Miss Broom met her fiancé in a pub in 2009 and said it was 'love at first sight' - she now wants a 'fairy-tale church wedding and a party in a castle' as well as a honeymoon in Mexico, paid for by the taxpayer . She added: 'I want the taxpayer to fund my £10,000 dream wedding - it's a basic human right to be a bride. I don't see why I should have a small wedding at a registry office - I wouldn't be able to fit in all my guests and a church wedding is far more romantic. 'I'm stuck in a rut at the moment and can't find the motivation to lose weight, but if I was getting married I know I'd slim down because all eyes would be on me.' Miss Broom left school without any qualifications and started a job as a nursery nurse aged 16 for two years. She left after being overlooked for a secretarial role by a 'skinny blonde' and applied for several other jobs, without success. She then lost interest in trying to find work and resorted to binge-eating crisps and sweets. Within a year, Miss Broom weighed 17 stone and in 2001, aged 19, was declared unfit to work after suffering from depression and back problems associated with her size. She qualified for benefits and has not worked since. Honeymoon: Miss Broom also wants the government to loan her £2,000 for a honeymoon to Mexico (pictured) Bridezilla: The 33-year-old from Gillingham wants to arrive at her wedding in her horse and carriage similar to Katie Price, who arrived in the carriage (pictured above) in her wedding to Peter Andre in September 2005 at Highclere Castle, in Hampshire . Jobless: Miss Broom has not worked since 2001 when she was 19 years old after she was declared unfit to work after suffering from depression and back problems associated with her size . But Miss Broom found comfort in her life in the form of fiancé Jordan, who she met in a pub in 2009. Recalling the moment, she said: 'It was love at first sight. He's got a lovely smile and he's a true gent. We have lots in common - we both love heavy metal and Bon Jovi.' Two years later, he popped the question outside a Primark store. She said: 'The ring is lovely - it has a gold band with a pink stone.' After getting engaged, the 33-year-old started making plans for the big day after leafing through glossy magazines and watching wedding shows on TV. She said: 'I realised I want a traditional English wedding - a church ceremony, followed by a reception in a castle. 'I dream about arriving in a horse and carriage - like Katie Price!' She added: 'I picture myself in a silk dress that shows off my cleavage, as Jordan likes my boobs! 'I'd like a long veil and sparkly red designer heels and I want two bridesmaids and flower girls scattering petals down the aisle. 'We'd serve posh prawn canapes, a roast dinner and champagne. I'd have around 50 guests with a five-tier cake and a big buffet too. 'I'd also love a big band and have picked out Savage Garden's Truly, Madly Deeply for our first dance.' But she quickly realised she would be unable to foot the bill for her dream wedding. She said: 'I was gutted. We only get £800 a month in benefits between us and after we've paid for bills, a night out at the pub, dog food for our Labrador, cigarettes and the odd kebab, there's barely anything left. 'I'd rather not get married than have a cheap do - it'd only make me unhappy.' Miss Broom receives monthly benefits including £460 disability living allowance and joint £200 housing benefit with fiancé Jordan Burford, 39, who also gets £134 income support a month. Mr Burford suffers from epilepsy and has never worked. The total the couple receive equates to £794 a month. But Miss Broom says that after 'we've paid for bills, a night out at the pub, dog food for our Labrador, cigarettes and the odd kebab, there's barely anything left.' Now she hopes the government will loan her the money for the big day, as well as her honeymoon in the Mexican sunshine. The 33-year-old admits she will struggle to pay back the full amount and says she'd prefer to go halves. She said: 'Even if I only got £5,000 in vouchers to put towards the wedding, that'd make life easier. 'Jordan just wants us to get married and only wants a limo and cream suit, but I want to feel like a princess for the day.' Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive at The Taxpayers' Alliance, said: 'The benefit system is a valuable safety net but must not be a comfort blanket. 'People have to finance their own weddings rather than rely on a government loan, which would be funded by the taxpayer, to pick up the tab.'", "Marriya Wright, 34, stepped down from her position in Spokane County, Washington on Wednesday . A married deputy prosecutor has resigned from her job after she allegedly had an improper relationship with a jail inmate. Marriya Wright, 34, stepped down from her position in Spokane County, Washington on Wednesday after court document released details of her alleged relationship with 31-year-old Matthew Baumrucker. The pair allegedly exchanged more than 1,200 text messages and phone calls in a month including one picture of Mrs Wright wearing a bikini. Baumrucker, who has 'criminal' tattooed on his forehead and words 'West Side' above his eyebrows, along with others, was facing drug and assault charges earlier this year. Under his eyes, he appears to have the word 'Hoover' and 'Crips' which could refer to a Washington gang '74 Hoover Crips'. The relationship came to light in March after police sought out Baumrucker in connection with an assault. A witness later told police that Baumrucker called someone and said: 'Marriya, the police are chasing me...' She apparently gave him advice on search warrants and went to meet him at a gas station - the incident which may have her facing charges of rendering criminal assistance, according to Oregon Live. Mrs Wright had been on administrative leave since April while under suspicion of rendering criminal assistance. According to spokesman.com, she made $83,000 last year. Matthew Baumrucker allegedly had an improper relationship with Mrs Wright. He is on prison awaiting a federal weapons charge . According to an online employment profile, Mrs Wright is married to Scott Wright, a Department of Corrections officer in Washington state. The couple recently adopted a child and are in the process of adopting a second. Her defense attorney Chris Bugbee told OregonLive that Mrs Wright overlooked Baumrucker's tattoos, was 'trying to save his soul' and bring him into the church. MailOnline was awaiting a comment from Mr Bugbee today. Wright visited Baumrucker in jail several times in the attorney-client booth but she was not working on his cases. According to KREM, on one occasion, a jail officer spotted Baumrucker with a picture of Mrs Wright wearing a bikini. Baumrucker wrote to the TV station in August and said their relationship was 'above and beyond what anyone could have ever imagined'. State charges against Baumrucker were dropped on August 15 but he is still facing a federal charge of felon in possession of a firearm for allegedly having a semi-automatic gun. He remains in jail until his trial next month. The FBI is now investigating to see if Wright may have compromised any other investigations. No criminal charges have been filed against her. Marriya Wright with her husband Scott, who reportedly works for the Department of Corrections in Washington state. She resigned from her job on Wednesday due to an improper relationship with a prisoner . Mrs Wright's defense attorney said that the prosecutor had simply looked past Baumrucker's tattoos (left) and had been trying to save his soul by bringing him into the church .", "Victims at an Australian orphanage have told of the horrific abuse they suffered at the hands of the priests and nuns who ran the institution from claims of being raped by a broom handle to being forced to drink their own urine. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse in Rockhampton has also heard a woman was gang raped by employees and then had a child at 14 years of age. While a retired nurse, who was sent to Neerkol orphanage near Rockhampton, said she was punched and slapped repeatedly, and a third victim claimed she was raped more than 100 times by parish priest Reginald Durham, who is now dead, from when she was 11. Scroll down for video . The royal commission in Queensland heard from alleged victims who suffered at the hands of nuns and priests who ran the Neerkol orphanage near Rockhampton . The Rockhampton hearing in Queensland, which started on Tuesday, is expected to go until April 24. A victim identified as AYL told the inquiry she had allegedly been routinely raped by a male employee from 1963, and in claims aired publicly for the first time said on one occasion the man and two other employees bound, gagged and raped her at the orphanage. AYL also recalled an incident where she was allegedly raped with a broom handle by employee Kevin Baker, The Courier Mail reported. The day before her own assault was carried out she claimed she had witnessed Baker sexually abusing a boy until he bled. When she informed a nun at the institution, the boy was allegedly slapped in the face. The next day AYL claims Baker raped her and threatened if she levelled another accusation at him again 'it won’t be a few inches, but a few feet'. AYL, who was sent to the orphanage in 1961 at the age of 10, assumed he meant this as a reference to the broom. She also claimed at age 14 she gave birth at a girls' home in Mitchelton, in Brisbane's north, and the child was taken away by a nun who was present at the delivery. About 4000 children passed through what was known as St Joseph's Orphanage between 1885 and 1978 . 'I do not know what happened to the baby,' AYL told the commission. 'At the time, I was told that I was having the devil taken out of me.' The woman said she had previously asked for the claims she gave birth to be included in her March statement to the commission but they were not. She told the inquiry she was made to scrub the floor with a toothbrush when she told a priest about the sexual abuse she suffered at Neerkol. The commission has heard the nuns who ran the orphanage meted out savage and arbitrary punishments to children, and some residents were molested by priests who are now deceased. Former residents told of being locked in rooms and cupboards, starved of food and water, being forced to drink their own urine for hydration and to lick their own vomit. Claims ranged from being raped by a broom handle to being gang raped to being forced to drink their own urine . On the first day of hearing, a 67-year-old woman who worked at Neerkol said former Catholic bishop of the Rockhampton Diocese Brian Heenan had been originally dismissive of her claims she was raped more than 100 times by Durham. 'After each time I was sexually abused, I had to go to confession to him and confess my sin of impurity,' the woman, identified as AYB said. Durham was in 1999 sentenced to 18 months prison for indecently dealing with the woman but many more serious charges involving her and other complainants were discontinued. The commission also heard from retired nurse Mary Adams, 64, who was at the orphanage between the 1950s and 1960s. She claimed she suffered repeated emotional, physical and sexual mistreatment at the hands of nuns and priests at Neerkol. Sobbing uncontrollably at times, Ms Adams told the hearing in Rockhampton she was punched, slapped, pulled by her hair and on one occasion flogged with a skipping rope so forcefully she struggled to walk for days. The commission will be hearing from 13  former residents of the orphanage located in south-east Queensland . Boys who tried to run away from Neerkol were publicly flogged with horse whips and those who wet the bed were forced to stand with the soiled sheets draped over their heads. Ms Adams recounted how when aged 12 she confided in a visiting priest, and he tried to rape her. Another priest repeatedly molested her while she was billeted to a foster carer in Mackay, the commission heard. The royal commission hearing is expected to run until April 24. Pictured is Justice Jennifer Coate . She later received $20,000 compensation from the Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton and the Sisters of Mercy, who ran the orphanage. But she said nothing could ever heal the pain she had suffered because of the alleged abuse. 'No amount of money can ever give back my childhood, my loss of confidence, my lack of formal education, my dignity, my self-esteem and self-worth,' Ms Adams said. She also claimed Bishop Heenan made no real attempt to identify the priest who sexually assaulted her. A fourth victim, Diane Carpenter, said she was led to believe all five of her siblings, including herself, were abused. She lived at Neerkol until she was 17 years old on a number of occasions and claimed she was physically abused by the Sister of Mercy nuns, the ABC reported. On one occasion Ms Carpenter said she was forced to drink her own urine to keep hydrated while she was locked in an 'extremely hot room'. Many former residents of Neerkol who received payouts and formal apologies from the church said they could not erase the horrible memories. 'I can never be compensated for the abuse I suffered at Neerkol,' AYL said. 'I just wish that I could wind back the clock and be a child.' The commission is investigating historical allegations of child abuse at the Neerkol St Joseph's Orphanage near Rockhampton, which was operated by the Sisters of Mercy until 1978. About 4000 children passed through what was known as St Joseph's Orphanage between 1885 and 1978. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "When most people are feeling charitable they might sponsor a child or throw a fundraising event - but Scott Loxley chose to walk 5,000km around Australia in a Storm Trooper outfit. The 47-year-old left his hometown of Melbourne on November 2 last year to raise funds for the Monash Children's Hospital and hopes to see his wife and three children by July next year - or earlier if his weary blistered feet can get him there any sooner. The former soldier spends weeks at a time not speaking to anyone other than himself and the animals that cross his long endless dusty path - with fresh roadkill now a regular part of his daily diet. Scroll down for video . Scott Loxley is walking 5,000km around Australia in a Storm Trooper outfit for charity . He carries a swag, water, a first aid kit, a t-shirt and pair of shorts in the trolley he pushes . Scott lives off roadkill including snakes, lizards, goat and kangaroo for weeks at a time . His target is to raise $100,00 funds for Monash Children's Hospital in Melbourne . The simple rule of thumb that Scott abides by when deciding if the animal is safe to eat is 'if it's bloated I don't touch it - if it's still bleeding I eat it.' The tasty wildlife includes cooking lizards until crispy and putting them in ziplock bags to snack on during the trek and tying live snakes to his trolley until they are suitably fried by the sun. Scott, who says it all comes down to survival, has also feasted on a cow, goat and many a Kangaroo by cooking the meat on a wire grill. 'I can only carry so much food - it's not like there's always a servo up the road,' he said. 'I need the protein to keep going.' Scott has been travelling for just over 12 months now and hopes to make it back to Melbourne in July next year . The 47-year-old goes days and weeks without showering or talking to anybody . With only himself and the animals to talk to - Scott is quickly getting sick of his own compnay . He is currently in Coolalinga located 26 km southeast of Darwin in the Northern Territory . He was taught survival skills in the army but never used them to such an extreme until now. 'You pick up things along the way - it comes naturally because if you don't eat - you are going to die.' But don't feel too sorry for the lone adventurer - when Daily Mail Australia caught up with Scott he was chowing down on a Macca's Quarter Pounder meal in Coolalinga - 26 km southeast of Darwin. 'Anything that you don't cook yourself tastes awesome,' he said. A year into his crazy adventure - Scott can now tick off the following places on his mammoth list: Tasmania, the Nullarbor Plain - from the east to the west coast - and then up to Broome and across the Northern Territory border to Catherine and Darwin. He doesn't advise anyone to take on this challenge on their own: 'solo is not the way to go - it's way too hard' Scott is only resting his exhausted body about five hours a day as he walks though the night as much as possible and then sleeps until the sun becomes unbearable . Literally living in his own stench - Scott can go days or weeks without showering or brushing his teeth because he needs to conserve all of the water that he is carrying in his trolley for drinking. 'I feel absolutely terrible when I put on my black skins in the morning I can't stand the smell but I can't afford to use the water for washing my clothes,' he said. Scott is only resting his exhausted body about five hours a day as he walks though the night as much as possible and then sleeps until the sun becomes unbearable. He rolls his swag out under any form of shelter that he stumbles across including BBQ areas, outside toilet blocks and under trees. Made out of ABS plastic, the suit is a bit worse for wear and is being held together with fibre glass and tape - but at the least the clanging of the armour scares off the snakes. 'It's ridiculous - I have no range of movement,' he said. 'It's really uncomfortable and rubs causing welts and blisters.' 'I'm surprise it has lasted this long.' Only being unwell once briefly when coming into Adelaide, it's not his physical state that has been the most testing but the constant mental challenge . Scott's Storm Trooper helmet makes a friend that is not suitable for dinner . Made out of ABS plastic, the suit is a bit worse for wear and is being held together with fibre glass and tape . Scott has gone through 20 pairs of shoes. His current pair have been the most endurable lasting 3,000 km after he made a sole from a blown-out tyre on the side of the road. Only being unwell once briefly when coming into Adelaide, it's not his physical state that has been the most testing but the constant mental challenge. 'I'm constantly arguing with myself - I start questioning it and thinking no one cares and that I'm yesterday's news,' he said. 'When I haven't seen anybody for a long time I think it's a case of out of sight - out of mind.' 'Then I see someone and they say something encouraging and I'm on top of the world again - and that cycle keeps going,' he said. 'I've been winning and losing throughout the whole battle.' Scott is eternally grateful for the support of his family - especially his understanding wife, Sally. 'She knows me - I've been talking about doing it for a long time - so she said to get it out of the way,' he said. 'I owe her big time after this - I'll make it all better again.' Scott has gone through 20 pairs of shoes. His current pair have been the most endurable lasting 3,000 km after he made a sole from a blown-out tyre on the side of the road . He said the people he meets along the way keeps up his spirits . Scott would never advise anyone to take on this epic challenge without support. 'Solo is not the way to go - it's way too hard,' he said. 'Do it with a couple of people or a group for the mental stimulation and to encourage each other.' He's very quickly getting bored of his own company. 'I'm sick of hearing my own voice - you have to constantly keep motivating yourself because you spend 10 hours a day looking at a white line,' he said. 'I talk to the animals that coming running to the fence.' But the courageous Star Wars character won't give up until he makes it home with raising his target of $100,000 for the Monash Children's Hospital in Melbourne. 'If I don't reach the target I will deem it a massive epic fail,' he said. Help Scott reach his target by donating on his fundraising page. The courageous Star Wars character won't give up until he makes it home with raising his target of $100,000 for the Monash Children's Hospital ." ]

[ "Whether you're going for a serving of old-fashioned or quick oats, they both contain 27 grams of carbs per 1/2 cup dry." ]

[ "One cup (244 mL) of 2% milk contains 12 grams of net carbs ( 1 ). Oat milk. Oat milk is made from oats, which are naturally high in carbs. This makes oat milk inappropriate for keto.", "Honey Bunches of Oats nutrition A 3/4-cup (30-gram) serving of the cereal's traditional flavor packs the following ( 1 ): Calories: 120. Carbs: 23 grams.", "How many grams of rolled oats does a tablespoon hold? There are 5.63 grams of rolled oats in a tablespoon.", "Kiwi: One medium-sized (70 grams), contains 8 grams of carbs. Cherries: Half a cup (75 grams) contains 8 grams of carbs. Blueberries: Half a cup (75 grams) contains 9 grams of carbs. Clementine: One medium-sized (75 grams) contains 9 grams of carbs.", "One tablespoon of oat flour converted to gram equals to 5.63 g. How many grams of oat flour are in 1 tablespoon?", "(1/2 cup) of cooked steel-cut oats has 150 calories, 5 g protein, 27 g carbs, 2 g fat and 4 g fiber. One serving (1 cup) of cooked rolled oats has an extra gram of fat.", "How many carbs are in half and half? There are 0.6 carbs per tablespoon.", "Buckwheat flour: 70.59 grams of carbs. HGI high gluten flour: 70 grams of carbs. Oat flour: 65 grams of carbs. Whole wheat flour: 61 grams of carbs.", "Grape tomatoes contain three grams of carbs per half cup serving, while cherry tomatoes have six grams of carbs and four grams of sugar.", "Carbs. Yuca is a starchy vegetable with 39 grams of carbohydrate per half-cup.", "Edamame, a legume, is lower in carbohydrates than many other legumes. One cup of shelled, steamed edamame contains almost 14 grams of carbs. That's compared to 40 grams of carbs for a cup of cooked lentils or kidney beans, and 45 grams of carbs for a cup of boiled garbanzo beans.", "Carbs. Carbs make up 66% of oats by dry weight. About 11% of the carbs is fiber, while 85% is starch. Oats are very low in sugar, with only 1% coming from sucrose.", "One kilogram of oat flour converted to US cup equals to 11.11 cup us. How many US cups of oat flour are in 1 kilogram?", "There are 73 calories in a half cup of oatmeal. If there are 6 tablespoons of oatmeal to a half cup, then 73 calories divided by 6 tablespoons you get a tad over 12 calories to a tablespoon.", "130 Grams to Cups. How many cups is 130 grams? - 130 grams is equal to 0.55 cups.", "One cup of cooked oatmeal, or just about one-half cup measured dry, has nearly 6 grams of protein.", "Just 1/4-cup (40 grams) of dry steel cut oats offer ( 1 ): Calories: 150. Protein: 5 grams. Fat: 2.5 grams.", "420 Grams to Cups. How many cups is 420 grams? - 420 grams is equal to 1.78 cups.", "Oats are a good source of protein, providing about 5 grams per serving.", "29 Grams to Cups. How many cups is 29 grams? - 29 grams is equal to 0.12 cups.", "50 grams of rolled oats = 9 tablespoons of rolled oats.", "80 Grams to Cups. How many cups is 80 grams? - 80 grams is equal to 0.34 cups.", "This is coming with 51 grams of carbs, 13 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat and 8 grams of fiber, but only 303 calories. This means that oats are among the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. Bottom Line: Oats are rich in carbs and fiber, but also higher in protein and fat than most other grains.", "How many cups is 23 grams? - 23 grams is equal to 0.10 cups. 23 grams in cups converter to convert grams to cups.", "A ¾-cup serving has 110 calories composed of 1.5 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs (half of which are straight up sugar with only one gram of dietary fiber), and a measly one gram of protein.", "140 Grams to Cups. How many cups is 140 grams? - 140 grams is equal to 0.59 cups.", "How many cups is 11 grams? - 11 grams is equal to 0.05 cups. 11 grams in cups converter to convert grams to cups.", "52 Grams to Cups. How many cups is 52 grams? - 52 grams is equal to 0.22 cups.", "22 Grams to Cups. How many cups is 22 grams? - 22 grams is equal to 0.09 cups.", "300 Grams to Cups. How many cups is 300 grams? - 300 grams is equal to 1.27 cups.", "One cup (81 grams) of dry oats contains 7.5 grams of fiber, the recommended daily intake of fiber is 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. Minerals — oats are rich in a range of important minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. Just 100 grams of oats contain: 51 percent of the daily recommended intake of thiamine.", "Overnight oats are a great source of many nutrients. One prepared cup (240 ml) of the basic recipe made with 2% cow's milk and without the optional ingredients provides the following ( 1 ): Calories: 215 calories. Carbs: 33grams." ]

[ "deadleg (plural deadlegs) A lazy or weak person. An isolated section of pipeline that does not usually carry a flow." ]

[ "X_X is an icon showing a dead person's face. An X or + has long been used in cartoons for the eyes of dead people. (See also +_+.) When used online, X_X does not usually mean \"dead\" however.", "What does 'put in a spliff mean'? It means that you're smoking on your dead enemy.", "Originally Answered: What does it mean when you dreamed about an ex-husband that's dead? It really means something, he wants to reach out. Try to remember important things or memories or happenings or even personal secrets or something to do with paper works.", "What does a dream about a cat dying mean? Dreaming about a dead cat can have very different meanings. ... Dreaming about dead cats that you did not kill means you feel a lack of independence and self-confidence. When the cat has drowned, this feeling is even worse, suffocation and a lot of anguish.", "What is ghosting and what does it mean when someone 'ghosts' you? Ghosting is an expression used in dating terms and it's when someone suddenly cuts all ties and communication with the person they've been seeing.", "Medically speaking, when a person is called unresponsive, it means they're at least unconscious, and possibly dead or dying.", "It may just mean that the person goes nuts when he/she thinks about you. It may also mean that you're always on their mind and they can't get you off it for even a second. What does it mean when someone says he likes you as a person?", "Question: What does it mean when a person says \"No worries\"? It simply means: “That is not a problem”; “there is no need to apologise”; “that is fine”; or “No cause for concern”. ... Customer: “No worries. I'm not in a hurry on this trip.”", "What does it mean when it says Facebook under a person's name on Messenger? ... Some messenger contact can be added in messenger, therefore they are your messenger contact, but not a Facebook friend.", "What does it mean when your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system? ... It means that the person you are calling is either consciously choosing not to pick up your phone call due to being indisposed, convenience, safety, or personal dislike.", "Strawberry legs occur when enlarged pores or hair follicles trap dead skin, oil, and bacteria. A person often experiences strawberry legs following shaving. Other skin conditions that can cause strawberry legs include clogged pores, folliculitis, dry skin, and keratosis pilaris.", "What does a refurbished TV actually mean? (Image credit: Sony) When a shop uses the term refurbished, it usually means there was a problem with a product and it's been repaired. This could range from a cracked panel, to a broken HDMI input or a few dead pixels.", "So, what does it mean if a guy touches your leg with his leg? It could be a sign that he is attracted to you especially if he only does it to you, he does it multiple times and on multiple occasions. He might also have done it accidentally, as a power-play or he might have just been joking.", "What does 'Backseat driver' mean? A backseat driver is an annoying person who is fond of giving advice to the person performing a task or doing something, especially when the advice is either wrong or unwelcome.", "What does it mean when a girl wants to touch her boyfriend's chest? ... Usually it means she likes touching his chest. There are other possibilities, like she's checking for a heartbeat because she suspects he's dead, but those are more rare….", "What does it mean when someone blocks you on Instagram? Usually when a person blocks someone somewhere it means they don't want that someone sniffing around and usually leads to the break of contact between the two people.", "What Does “Added You From Search” Mean on Snapchat? When you get an “Added you from search” notification, this usually means that the person added you by manually looking for your name in the search bar.", "What Does it Mean When You Dream About Swans. Dreams of swans symbolize wellness in personal life, ushering in the assurance of purity, beauty, wealth, dignity and good luck.", "Function is one of those words that gets used a lot and means lots of different things. ... It means what something does, but also what a person does, whether something or someone is doing what they should, and crazily enough, a big party.", "Will iMessages Deliver to a Dead Phone? When the recipient's phone is turned off or dead, Apple holds the iMessages sent to that account on its servers and delivers them to the iPhone when the recipient turns it back on. However, this does not mean your contact won't be able to read your message if the phone is dead.", "So, what does it mean when a guy responds to your texts quickly? It might mean that he likes you which would be more likely if he only does it with you, he wants to hang out with you and he shows signs of attraction in person.", "Originally Answered: Why are people who are dead referred to as 'late'? Here late is used to mean former and not late in the sense of after a certain time. When you say the late John Doe, you're saying that this person you're talking about is the former John Doe, or rather, someone who no longer exists.", "Originally Answered: What does it mean when a guy says you're out of his league ? It generally means that they feel they are not worthy of you and do not match up to you or your standards be it socially, academically, financially or personality.", "Which term most closely describes an intentional injury? premeditated. What does the term homicide mean? a person killing another person.", "What does it mean when someone is always on your mind? When you fall in love with someone, the person always stays on your mind. However, you can also have someone you really hate on your mind. When someone is always on your mind in ways you can't stop, then it means you care for the person.", "You asked: What does it mean when a guy says you matter to him a lot? It means that you are important to him. It means that you are probably a significant person in his life. It means that he has elevated you to more than a casual friend.", "What does it is what it is mean? Deal with it. It is what it is is an expression used to characterize a frustrating or challenging situation that a person believes cannot be changed and must just be accepted.", "What does the 100 streak on Snapchat mean? The 110 Emoji will appear next to the fire emoji when you have Snapped back and forth with this person for one hundred days in a row.", "What does it mean when on fb messenger says that someone used your number to reach you? ... It means that the person found you via your phone number on Facebook, it usually happens when we sync phone contacts to Facebook app(s).", "What does 'Hold water' mean? When you say that something does or does not 'hold water', it means that the point of view or argument put forward is or is not sound, strong or logical.", "What Does a Dead Rabbit on Doorstep Mean. Coming across a dead rabbit on your doorstep may either point towards the new steps of development you have taken in your life or warn you not to lose yourself to unrealistic views.", "When a guy looks at your legs, he's sizing you up as a sexual possibility. That's what it often means. ... His eyes may point towards your breasts, but it's equally common for them to point to your legs - if not both." ]

[ "Aida32 and Everest home edition are 2 nearly identical free programs (in fact I think they were made by the same company) that will tell you anything you could ever need to know about your hardware. \\n\\nNote: Both these programs have been discontinued, but that doesn't mean you can't still find them. Just google either of them, they're out there" ]

[ "This is quite a common problem and is more than likely due to the PC's Motherboard BIOS not being able to recognise the complete number of cylinders/sectors etc on the hard disk, a bit like somebody being able to count up to a hundred and not knowning what number comes next hence the BIOS only recognises up to 127GB. \\n\\nOptions:\\n1 . Upgrade/Flash your Motherboards BIOS with the latest version so it recognises the full capacity.\\n\\n2. Put the hard disk ito a PC that will recognise it and partition/format the drive there, then your OS should see the hard disk ok with the 200GB capacity.\\n\\nI actually had this problem myself and could not find an upgrade for my motherboard as it was so old. I put the hard disk in my other PC which recognised the hard disk and did the partitioning/formatting on there and then transfered it back to the other PC and the OS could then see the full capacity of the disk....job done :)\\n\\nHope this helps.\\n\\nCheers!", "omg that happens to me all the time everyone is calling me everyone wants to be with me everywere!!!! but what i do is tell them i need abreak and tell them that i need time on my own for awile!! thats the laest i can do!", "You also need to make sure that your motherboard can handle an upgrade to that level. If you have an older motherboard, which it sounds like you do, upgrading to a GHz processor will probably blow out your motherboard. If you want a faster computer, I recommend upgrading RAM if you can, or buying a lower end new computer. You can get a low end one for cheap now days.", "I had the same problem in my company, in my case it was a spyware/adware program. Scan it with adaware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/\\nand MS antispyware\\nhttp://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx\\nthese to program will find it and remove it, if you have never ran an antispy ware program in this laptop you will probably find a lot of them, once you scan you pc and it asks what actions to take after the scan make sure you follow the software's recommendation. If spyware/adware is not the problem your pc is probably overheating, a clear indication is when the fan does not work.", "ok not knowing everything yall have done i can not tell you what to do but i know tons of things my husbands feet are the same way, trust me i feel for you, you can email me at motherraven23@yahoo.com, and i'll give you all the help i can. but there is no need to leave her over nasty feet, or anything, just email me and let me know what you have tried", "I would say try to follow like a Atkins or South Beach type diet. It worked for me...it's the first thing I noticed. I totally can relate, I carry all my weight in my gut..*L* I don't complain about any other body part...my legs are nice, my butt, hips etc....Just this darn belly fat. But I can tell you I know with either the South Beach or for me the Atkins...it will take at least 2 weeks to see some results.. But you also need to exercise and stay active. And with all the hype about Atkins maybe consult a doctor prior to starting any diet programs. Good luck;)", "What model motherboard do you have?\\n\\nEdit: Hmm, well when there isn't an option in the BIOS that usually means you have to change a jumper setting on the motherboard. Try downloading and running this program: http://www.sofotex.com/AIDA32-download_L9326.html It's a system information tool and should tell you the model of the motherboard. Once I know that I can do some searching to find out the jumper settings.", "Istall firewall protections, antivirus protections, spyware protections, and adware protections on your computer. I just dealt with this. The programs that come with your computer unfortunately aren't that great. I have some great programs on my pc right now, and the best thing, they are all free. AND MY PC IS VIRUS FREE!!! \\nHere is what I use, and have no problems.", "I was in the same situation. I didnt know how to tell my parents i wanted to move out.. I started buying things i would need and starting saving money. I also would tell everyone else yet not them...then one day someone brought it up in front of my mom and she was like...what you want to move out. Then I came out and told her....Its not that i dont want to live with you anymore..its just it is time for me to leave and begin my life as an adult. They were sad at first but you know what... my parents told me after that they understand and as long as i am happy in my decision they are happy too, even though they miss me.\\n\\nThis is my story maybe it can help you.", "I had a good experience with Compaq. My GF spilled water on my notebook. It wouldn't turn on. It was only a few months old. Sent it back to Compaq (they sent me a shipping label with postage), they replaced the motherboard and upgraded a few things inside. Then they shipped it back. Didn't cost me a cent. Turnaround time was about 10 days. I've bought another Compaq since then.", "Pop-ups are a direct result of a spyware infection. You need to clean your system. I recommend you download and run all of the files listed in the link below, except HijackThis. I do PC repair professionally and we mostly use a barage of freeware tools to combat this stuff. We also have the paid programs, but this should get you on the right track.\\nI recommend you download, install, and run all of these programs. Some spyware programs can re-install themselves if not completely removed. When you finish a scan and the computer says you should restart, don't. Just close the program and run another scan w/ a different program. I suggest you not run HijackThis unless you know what you are doing because HijackThis, although it is a great and powerful tool, has the ability to remove harmless programs. It's up to you to determine the good and bad.\\nAfter your spyware scans are through, restart the system and run a couple of free online virus scans from the provided links.\\nIt might be in your interest to invest in a good commercial (paid) anti-spyware program. I recommend SpySweeper. You can usually download this directly from Webroot for about $20. The advantage of a commercial program is that they offer real-time protection, meaning they prevent infection as opposed to post-infection removal.", "Hmm, well... when do you consider a pc to be \"replaced\"? I upgrade a piece at a time, so my PC is a mix of parts that are anywhere from around 10 years, to 6 months old. Technically it's never been \"replaced\", just slowly mutated into what it is today.", "It sounds like you know you need sleep, but why no sleeping, David? E-mail me, tell me what's up. Yes, I read through your Q&A: \"How can I force myself out of my slumber during a dream?\"", "Im an english teacher. What exactly do you need help with?\\ndrop a message into one of my question threads telling me what you need then I will do the same back telling you if I can help or not. If I can I send you an email address OK?", "I think there is no method to recognise a font.\\nWell, if you want i can recognise the one & tell you, as i'm into print media business. you can send me the scanned file at my e-mail ID\\nagarwalasandeep@yahoo.co.in", "I'm a sensitive soul. I don't think anything hurts me to the core like knowing I profoundly disappointed someone who I respect and care about.\\n\\nI can be tough as nails and hold my own. However, my mom tells me that when I was a child just a look of disappointment was all the punishment I ever needed. I'll still really chide myself if I've done something plain wrong that causes someone close to me to be disappointed in my actions.", "you can get osx to run on a dell or an amd. I got bored and its running on my work pc which is a dell and its also running on my xBox. you just need to be not a noob. but honestly if you just switch to mac you will fall inlove. Trust me i switched about 19 months ago. I am an A+ certifed technician my last pc was an AMD 64 FX 53 with 4 gigs of ram and 1 terabyte of hdd. i loved my windows but needed a mac cert for my new job so i got one thinking this will suck. i sold my pc 6 weeks later. mac is the only thing i need its so much nicer", "I will answer your question with a question:\\n\\nQ: How many PC collectors have you seen out there?\\nA: Probably Zero\\n\\nReason: Macs are built to last forever...I use both PCs and Macs and currently have 3 running Macs in my household from 1988-1992 models. All 3 are running completely stock (no upgrades) and have *never* been reformatted. I seriously doubt that there are any PC users out there who can say the same thing. While the PC may be cheaper to upgrade and repair, the Mac will outlive it by several lifetimes and is basically immune to viruses and spyware...You make the decision...", "If you have a new PC, then the program may be able to run on the new operating system(Windows XP, for example), maybe it can only run on Windows 98. You may need to upgrade your program to a new version, but if the web site isn't up anymore, maybe the company went out of business?", "From a pure gaming stand point. Nothing beats a high-end PC with the latest graphics card (dual cards if you can afford them), 2GB of memory and somewhere in the area of 500GB of storage (preferably two 250GB hard drives in a RAID configuration). The best gaming experience is on a PC, period. I can't stand console controllers. Now if consoles used a keyboard and mouse I might be a little more forgiving. At any rate, I would save your money for either upgrades to your PC or a new PC at the end of the year as Vista will be coming out along with DirectX 10 and a whole new generation of graphics cards.\\n\\nI'm saving my money for all of that. Then again I have spent upwards of $2,500 on my desktop and further upgrades. And I will be doing so again this year.", "well i think its not a virus. try downloading anti spyware programs. well if it is a virus try scanning ur pc 2 times(full system scan)or try diff antivirus like the avast antivirus and pc tools antivirus or the avg antivirus...hope it works..", "try an anti spy ware program, run it and let it delete it if possible... a week ago I had some darn ad ware that invaded my PC... kept giving me pop ups and redirecting my browser... I tried everything to get rid of it went searching thru every file etc... some of these things embed themselves so deeply its almost impossible to remove them ! finally I had to to a total system restore... it was the only thing that worked ... so if all else fails, save all your files to a disc or floppy , then do what I did.... it was worth the time it took to re-install everything... my PC is now clean !!", "I live w/ a single mom and i know what women need talk to me and i'll listen then you can touch my six pac and all other parts off me to get your mind off ol' whats his name", "zeo7\\n2 weeks ago\\n\\n\\nReport Abuse\\n Hey It seems like you have a real problem on your hands, well The problem could be the recovermyfiles software. I'd suggest deleting the program, then doing Disk Cleanup on your computer. Run any anti-virus and/or Spyware removal programs you have on your PC. Delete any viruses, Spyware, Adware, or anything bad like that. Next I'd go to www.download.com and get Window Washer, AVG Anti-Virus and/or McAffe Virus Scan. Scan your computer with those and remove any Viruses. Those are Better than Norton too so. Next for Spyware I'd get Spyware Doctor run that and get rid of anything bad. The more Spware and Virus Scanning programs the better because it is double coverage. Now finally I'd get Trend Micro Anti-Virus. This program will get rid of any additional unwanted things, also it will free up tons of space I mean hundreds of megabytes to few Gigabytes. All of these programs are safe to get mainly because Download.com Is safe and I have them all on my PC too. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns as to anything please don't hesitate to ask me anything.\\n\\nI'm Zeo7 You can e-mail me at chriscoreyII@comcast.net \\n\\nSource(s):\\n\\nwww.download.com\\nWindow Washer\\nMcAffe\\nAVG Grisoft\\nTrend Micro Anti-Spyware\\nSpyware Doctor", "Faith is like electricity. Everybody knows what it is, but NOBODY knows WHY it is or how it works.\\n\\nI accept my faith the same as I accept electricity. I don't need to understand how it works. I just need to know how to flick the switch that turns it on. My Church (Roman Catholic) is the switch I choose to use. Gives me all the light I need to find my way Home.", "Batman, now u really gotta believe me, i have a trojan attack before, called SpyAxe, its really irritating, i cant remove it through the \"Add/Remove\" program on my computer. everytime i reboot, the SpyAxe comes back again. TRUST ME, DO NOT use another program, like the other answerers here said, to delete it. delete it manually, even if it takes a lot of time, like having to reboot to safemode n all that. yes it does work for some of these anti-spyware programs, BUT why am i stopping you, why? coz SpyAxe actually claims to be such an anti-spyware program, but it actually attached a trojan horse virus with it, that causes SpyAxe to appear each time we reboot our com. some pple couldnt stand it n decided to pay SpyAxe to remove the trojan. its all a scam from Spyaxe. to know more abt this spyaxe, u can search in Yahoo. i also found out how to remove the trojan manually through a search done in Yahoo, which brought me to a forum page(pls click on link below) where many others also caught this SpyAxe problem. the forum also states many other computer problems.\\n\\nin the 1st place, the reason i chose to delete this SPyAxe manually is becoz i needed to pay the other programs to delete the trojan. its really ridiculous rite? n u know what, wad i'm gonna say next is true, i read this from the forum page submitted by real pple.. this guy actually couldn't stand seeing the Spyaxe after rebooting his com everytime, so he download another anti-spyware program to get rid of the trojan, since he knows that SpyAxe is the one who actually attached the trojan with itself so pple who click on SpyAxe's advertisement n scan their PCs for free will get the trojan infection(whereby the scan results will show that u haf many viruses on your PC, which is not true). then they will ask u to download SpyAxe(there is a fee for using Spyaxe) to remove the trojan for you. then this guy, he downloaded other program, n PAID them, but it didnt work. he was so pissed off, he couldnt stand it, he actually decided to pay SpyAxe to remove e trojan for him!! n here comes the WORSE part... SpyAxe is not an anti-spyware prgm at all! e guy called the no. to look for SpyAxe management team, n the number actually was to a flower shop!! i didnt know whether to laugh or to cry when i saw this in the forum. tt's y i would really advise u to del e trojan manually urself, rather than download some other program to remove it. u will never know what u are downloading.\\n\\ni deleted it manually and it really did work, i didnt even need to spend a cent. even better, if your PC has a 'system recovery' program, u can juz restore it to an earlier time, a time before the trojan infected your PC. i know ACER computers have this program, n some other brands too. Mine is an ACER laptop, but too bad i didnt set a restore date so i couldn't use this program to help me. if your PC has this program too, do set a restore date where everything in your PC is working fine. you'll thank your lucky stars when you really need to use this program. \\n\\nBatman, REALLY< BELIEVE ME OK? i spent so much time typing this answer! good luck to you!! do check out the link, there are forums abt other PC problems, forums are best coz those are the pple who have the same problem n they have solved it using their ways, always finish reading every message in the forum, coz some might say this particular way works, but some say no. u haf to read through the whole thing to get the best solution.\\n\\nHope to hear from u how u removed the trojan, i noe how irritating it can be. do email me at yuni_chan88@yahoo.com.sg ok? thanks! =]", "Asking that question myself. In my opinion it is as simple as because they can. Now that all of my male friends know that I am broke up with my boyfriend for good, they are really coming on to me. I am strong though and I know it would only make me feel worse. I am not over my boyfriend and I also don't want to bring any left over residue from that relationship into a new one. He cheated on me. I've decided to be strong and resist the temptation. I am giving myself a year to heal and grow. I need to to focus in on what it really is I want out of life and what kind of man I really want and need.", "Science can't prove or disprove the existance of God. What proves God is the change that is evident when someone receives Jesus as their Savior. It is a life-changing event! You can't disprove experience. You can't tell me that what I know & experience in my life isn't real. And the same things I've experienced in my relationship with the Lord is being experienced by thousands of others just like me throughout the world. You can't tell me that what I KNOW is real is all in my mind. Just because you didn't personally go to the moon doesn't mean that it wasn't experienced by others. It happened. It is a fact. So is my relationship with the living God of this universe. He lives in me. End of controversy! <*)))><", "If you are not going to start your own business, beware of all the work-at-home scams that are out there.\\n\\nLegitimate work-at-home programs should tell you - in writing - what's involved in the program they are selling. Here are some questions you might ask:\\n\\n * What tasks will I have to perform? (Ask the program to list every step of the job.)\\n * Will I be paid a salary or will my pay be based on commission?\\n * Who will pay me?\\n * When will I get my first paycheck?\\n * What is the total cost of the work-at-home program, including supplies, equipment and membership fees?\\n * What will I get for my money?", "Legitimate work-at-home program sponsors should tell you - in writing - what's involved in the program they are selling. Here are some questions you might ask a promoter:\\n\\n * What tasks will I have to perform? (Ask the program sponsor to list every step of the job.)\\n * Will I be paid a salary or will my pay be based on commission?\\n * Who will pay me?\\n * When will I get my first paycheck?\\n * What is the total cost of the work-at-home program, including supplies, equipment and membership fees?\\n * What will I get for my money?", "Hey I am a mom of 4 and I work from home using my PC I had No (PC) skills when i started my work from home business the company I work for gave me all the tools and training I needed for free. I will give you a tip for while you are looking Find something you can believe in This will make you job less like work and more like fun Good Luck In Your Hunt Hun : Misty :", "sounds like u need yahoo messenger with voice!!! its messenger and u can make pc to pc calls. (local)\\nthere is also skype. that is what my friend uses." ]

[ "The main difference between soccer and baseball cleats is the cleat pattern underneath. ... However, soccer cleats don't have a single feature cleat on the front tip. Soccer cleats don't have this top front cleat because it can injure other soccer players. Instead, the two front cleats are spread apart." ]

[ "Cleats. The number of cleats on the bottom is one of the biggest differences between soccer and rugby cleats. Regulation rugby cleats have 10 spikes on the bottom and soccer cleats usually have 16. ... Choose flatter cleats for shorter grass and soft ground, and longer cleats for longer grass and hard ground.", "Cleats are on the outside of the sole for stability and for side-to-side movement. Lacrosse cleats have a Toe cleat, like a baseball cleat, which means you CAN NOT wear a lacrosse cleat in soccer, but you can use a baseball cleat for lacrosse. Usually a mid level cut to offer ankle support.", "The longer answer is soccer cleats ARE different. Lacrosse cleats have a front cleat (single cleat under the toe) which is illegal in soccer (conversely, Soccer cleats ARE legal in lacrosse). Lacrosse (or American Football Cleats) tend offer more support around the ankle but that support comes at the price of weight.", "Baseball cleats are not available till ankle length and are much lighter as compared to the cleats of football. Football cleats can't be made of metal, but baseball cleat can be made of metal instead of rubber. Plastic can be used for both the cleats. This is because the pitch of baseball varies from place to place.", "While the main difference between baseball and softball cleats used to be that softball did not allow metal cleats, that has now changed. Now the main difference is in the shape of the spikes. Softball cleats have rules about the shape of the spikes while baseball cleats do not have the same regulations.", "Molded rugby cleats are more or less the same as soccer cleats but are made with the understanding that they will be used to play a more violent sport, and thus are more durable than soccer cleats.", "Football Cleats. Baseball cleats feature materials like synthetic leather and come with a toe cleat to help players dig in while batting and throwing. ... In general, baseball cleats offer little protection from contact. Football cleats, on the other hand, are all about durability and movement and protection.", "Softball cleats usually have a toe cleat that is dangerous for soccer play. ... Softball cleats have thicker and higher uppers providing more support for the upper foot and ankle to prevent twisting injuries. Soccer cleats are lighter with thinner mid-soles and lower uppers, made for lots of conventional running.", "Soccer cleats feel lighter than football cleats The upper can be synthetic or leather. And soccer cleats don't have midsoles because they need to keep the players' feet — and center of gravity — low to the ground. Football cleats, on the other hand, tend to have thicker outsoles and heavier construction.", "Cleats are the molded bottoms of shoes worn by players. Football cleats help the players to put their feet firmly on the playground. Baseball cleats are also the same; it helps the players to play a smooth and a fast game without slipping in the field.", "Rubber cleats provide a durable, strong and effective baseball shoe. They can also be worn on and off the field. Metal cleats provide better traction because the cleats dig into the dirt or grass farther than rubber cleats.", "Soccer cleats is the term used to describe the footwear worn by players when playing in a soccer game. Soccer cleats look similar to other kinds of footwear with the addition of small protrusions on the bottom of them known as studs. These provide traction for the player as they move around the field.", "The upper can be synthetic or leather. And soccer cleats don't have midsoles because they need to keep the players' feet — and center of gravity — low to the ground. Football cleats, on the other hand, tend to have thicker outsoles and heavier construction. ... Detachable cleats are made of rubber, hard plastic, or metal.", "Football cleats tend to be heavier and more supportive because of the heavier physical toll the game takes on athletes and their equipment. Baseball cleats are lighter and don't usually go as high up the ankle as football cleats, however there is a range of styles to fit individual preferences.", "Molded cleats have non-removable rubber or plastic cleats (most programs doe not allow metal cleats) on the soles and are used widely in youth programs, as they are safer than some other types of cleats. ... Make sure that metal cleats are allowed; most programs don't allow them. Indoor soccer.", "Cleats and Turfs On a grass field, players use cleats, with long rubber studs on the bottom of the shoe. Soccer cleats are great to wear for playing field hockey as well. ... On most turf fields, you would not want to wear cleats because the cleats stick to the surface and make it harder to run and cut.", "As a result, turf soccer shoes are much more effective on artificial grass than normal soccer cleats. Also, because they are designed to interact uniformly with the turf surface, turf soccer cleats are much more comfortable to wear on surfaces that are made of artificial grass.", "Technically there is no diffference between AFL and soccer boots and much would come down to preference. By chance the cleats were developed initially for AFL and trialed in soccer here in West Australia.", "Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) cleats are athletic shoes that offer exceptional grip. ... Baseball Cleats are made to provide optimum comfort, and they have studs that spread out on the pressure points of the foot for added support. Unlike metal cleats, TPU cleats are best for turf and are much safer for the players.", "Puma soccer cleats are also classified according to the cleat height. They offer a combination of mid top and low top cleats with some of their collections including Puma One and EvoTouch and across surface types such as the firm ground soccer cleats and artificial grass soccer cleats.", "A primary difference between the cleats used in rugby and in American football is the number of studs on the bottom of each shoe. Rugby cleats have six to eight studs, while American football cleats typically have at least seven to 12 studs and vary widely in the number.", "Thirty-four years and counting, yet the Nike Tiempo soccer cleat is still one of the best soccer cleats of all time. It is the cleat that launched Nike into the soccer arena. But more than anything else, the Nike Tiempo soccer cleats are known for providing superb comfort.", "Studs are made of different materials, you get to know that, but football studs are only made up of plastic whereas, baseball studs are made up of rubber, metal spikes or plastic. Cleats are designed in such a way that it helps the player to play on hard or soft ground cleats digging the fields, providing traction.", "Both sports offer cleats in different heights, but the differences are more dramatic in football cleats. Lacrosse uses mid-cuts for support and low-cuts for flexibility. Football cleat styles tend to vary by position. ... Players who seek maximum speed and agility might go for low-cut cleats, which tend to be lighter.", "Since a lot of soccer fields and arenas are covered with artificial grass, you might be wondering if you can wear cleats or shoes on the material. Yes, you can wear shoes or soccer cleats on synthetic turf. ... Indoor soccer cleats and shoes are best used on sport courts, asphalt, concrete and gym floors.", "Cleats have extra spike on toe – helps player to get extra jump leverage. Shoes are lower cut for baseball to allow more side to side motions and Football sides are higher to provide more ankle support. Shoes are heavier. Players do not run as much.", "High school football rules allow cleats to be metal-tipped, but they cannot be all-metal spikes similar to those on a baseball shoe. The metal-tipped cleat has a hard plastic body and is easily changed, as in the case of detachable cleats. The metal tip helps to prolong the life of the cleat by reducing wear.", "Same as above, American Football Cleats must have the screw in studs replaced with studs of a single material, either metal or plastic. Soccer, Rugby, Lacrosse, American Football or other cleats with 'molded' plastic cleats are permitted. Even if these cleats have a toe cleat. It does not have to be cut off.", "First of all, as I stated on the Equipment for Soccer Page, soccer cleats or shoes are not a requirement of FIFA. ... Your child will play on some very wet and muddy fields - well unless you are playing indoor soccer. Of course you should refer to the local soccer league rules. They may require cleats.", "Mid/High-Tops Mid/high-top baseball cleats are made for stability and security. This cleat height can provide the most ankle support compared to other styles. However, the added material in the ankle does increase the cleat's weight, which can be a concern for some athletes.", "Cleats are recommended in tee ball and coach pitch divisions. Cleats will be mandatory in Baseball Minors 6/7 and Softball Minors 7/8 and above. (Metal cleats are only permitted in the divisions of Intermediate 50/70, Juniors and Seniors).", "The most noticeable difference between these shoes is the ability to support your ankle. While football cleats have low cuts for maintaining weight and helping you decide your direction, lacrosse cleats are useful for ankle support by cut extraordinary design." ]

[ "Hannah Nefler" ]

[ "DID", "Did Not Finish", "plays", "Did It for the Party", "play", "Play On", "Who Made Who", "Ottoman troops", "JP Did This 1", "Simpsons Already Did It", "I Did It for Love" ]

[ "public policy doctrine" ]

[ "by the operating system", "operating system", "not known", "system operator", "operating system driver", "NeXTSTEP operating system", "disk operating system", "Internetwork Operating System", "known groups", "Operating System Scheduling", "well known", "Windows operating systems", "the object that is known", "local operating system files", "BSD Unix operating system", "the same version of the operating system", "small Solar System Bodies", "Microsoft Windows operating system", "Portable Operating System Interface", "airless solar system bodies", "regular operating system accounts", "multiuser multitasking operating system", "$500 each", "Microsoft Disk Operating System", "Independent Electricity System Operator", "an operating system or utility program", "when an operating system halts", "Operations", "each October", "each summer", "each May", "all known interactions" ]

[ "Jason Mraz" ]

[ "Murder She Wrote", "Songs from the Mardi Gras", "fifty Miles from Boston", "Who?", "The Dog Who Came in from the Cold", "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold", "a robber who stole from travellers", "a person who lives in seclusion from society", "Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree", "Betty Who", "Who You Are", "Phoenix Suns", "Who's That Girl", "Doctor Who", "Who We Are", "Who's on First?" ]

[ "fastboot is just one of the protocols to talk to the bootloader. Some manufacturers choose to support it (e.g. Google, HTC), others choose to make their bootloaders talk some other protocol (e.g. Samsung).\n\nAfter googling a little bit, I don’t think that the bootloader of your device supports fastboot (at least, there are no mentions of this). Most likely, you will need a special tool from your manufacturer that will be able to talk to your device in bootloader mode." ]

[ "Please note that first boot always takes around 5 to 10 minutes to be sure that you've got boot loop on your device.\n\nBefore we go into the detailed instructions? Have you tried wiping dalvik cache? If not do it otherwise follow the steps below.\n\nHere is how I would fix this issue:\n\n\nMake sure that you've already installed USB drivers on the PC.\nAlso setup fastboot adb drivers. The minimal adb software by xda developer should work fine.\nHopefully you've got the ROM file, extract /unzip to get the boot.img file.\nCopy it to the Fastboot drivers folder (Not needed if you've enabled site-wide adb commands, If you're not sure what I mean, I have written a guide on my blog)\nReboot your phone into custom recovery mode.\nRun adb fastboot.\nType: \"fastboot devices\" make sure your device is listed.\nNow type this command to flash the boot.img file:\n\n\n\n fastboot flash boot boot.img\n\n\n\nOnce done reboot your phone using recovery options.\n\n\nThis method has worked for a number of people and devices including Motorola, Google Nexus, LG , Sony and HTC. Feel free to let me know if you have further questions.", "Bear in mind the following will wipe your device data:\n\nTo flash the firmware to your device:\nWhile boot-looping, hold the power button until the screen goes blank. As soon as it does, hold the volume down button and your device will reboot into fastboot mode. From here, follow the instructions on the Nexus Factory Images to flash the firmware by flashing the bootloader and then the rest of the system using fastoiot on a connected PC. After this, you can run fastboot reboot if you're device doesn't automatically boot into Android.", "You didn't specify which device you own, but by the tag I assume it is a Nexus 5.\nFlashing TWRP is pretty easy, especially on Nexus devices. \n\nDownload the newest .img file here:\nhttp://techerrata.com/file/twrp2/hammerhead/openrecovery-twrp-2.8.0.1-hammerhead.img\n\nTurn off your device. Turn on the device and keep holding volume down until a menu shows up. The device will now be in fastboot mode. Plug the device into your computer. If you have the right drivers installed, your screen should now say FASTBOOT USB. Run the following command via the command line (in the directory the ADB is installed):\n\nfastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.8.0.1-hammerhead.img\n\nNote you will also need adb and fastboot for your computer.\n\nIf you don't have ADB or the correct drivers installed, I recommend downloading Wugfresh Nexus toolkit from here:\nhttps://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=95747613655047107\n\nAnd follow the instructions for installing the drivers.\n\nOR - if for some reason you're having trouble with the above, just download Wugfresh Nexus toolkit (link above) and select root my device (make sure to check 'install custom recovery').", "NOTE: THIS WILL FACTORY RESET YOUR DEVICE!\nTo fix this problem, first shut down your tablet. Boot into the bootloader by booting up regularly, but holding down your power and volume up buttons when you see the logo.\nIf you haven't installed fastboot, do that first.Then, go to the command line and type in\n\nfastboot oem unlock\n\nThen, find and download a factory image, then run\n\nfastboot flash /path/to/factory/image.zip\nfastboot oem lock\nfastboot reboot\n\nHope this helps!", "Folks consider adb sideload &lt;ZIP&gt; when they have a ready to flash .zip file. The command is mostly used when booted into Recovery mode.\nFastboot on the other hand often deals with per partition flashing at a time. E.g. fastboot flash recovery &lt;IMG&gt; -- only flashes Recovery partition and not all the relevant partitions for ROM installation. ADB sideload &lt;ZIP&gt; usually does full ROM installation in one go.\n\nYou unlock the bootloader only if it is locked. Google Nexus devices comes with locked bootloaders while some Chinese Mediatek devices comes unlocked. You've to search web for your model.\n\nNo, the command doesn't work on every Android device. The reason is 2.", "You can try to do it through command line from your PC.\n\nInstall adb drivers in PC 15 seconds ADB installer\n\nDownload the TWRP img file for Nexus 7 from twrp website TWRP for Nexus 7\n\nRename the downloaded img file to \"recovery.img\" and move this to the ADB folder that was downloaded earlier. Make sure you have ADB.exe, fastboot.exe and the recovery.img in the same directory\n\nEnable developer options and USB Debugging in your device\n\nConnect the device to PC. Make sure device is detected if not download the USB drivers.\n\nOnce devices is detected, open a command prompt and change location to the ADB directory. Issue the command \"adb devices\". This should give your device ID as the output. \n\nExecutive the following commands carefully:\n\n\n\"adb reboot bootloader\" - the device will reboot in fastboot mode\nOnce device shows up fast boot screen, type \" fastboot devices \" and make sure device ID is listed\nType \"fastboot flash recovery recovery.img\" . this installs the TWRP image into the device. If successful you will see an Okay message in command prompt. \nIssue command \"fastboot reboot\" and wait for device to reboot normally. Once this is done you can try the key combination to boot into recovery. If everything went well you should be greeted with the TWRP recovery instead of the stock Android recovery. \n\n\nHope this helps.", "To turn the device off, when it's in the bootloop phase, just hold down the VolDown key until the device restarts and takes you to fastboot. From there, you'll be able to choose the option to turn off.\n\nHope it's still a useful answer.", "On Samsung devices, if there is no OEM unlock in the Developer Settings, then the bootloader is unlocked by default. OEM lock is enabled on carriers models only. \n\nMoreover Samsung devices don't have fastboot, they have a proprietary protocol instead.", "You can try to boot directly into recovery instead of flashing image: fastboot boot recovery.img\n\nIf it doesn't work, go for flashing factory firmware in bootloader or Emergency Download mode. Here are the detailed instructions for Xiaomi devices.", "So after looking a lot and not getting any solution, I decided to flash my firmware. Reinstalled the stock factory OS from scratch and now it's good as new and the problems mentioned above are solved.\n\nThe following is for Moto G(3rd Gen).\n\nHere's a simple tutorial an how to do this by lost101 of XDA:\nhttp://forum.xda-developers.com/2015-moto-g/general/guide-fastboot-flashing-factory-t3187750\n\nThe link to the page with factory firmware images is also mentioned on the page above.\n\nMake sure you download the right firmware according to your phone model.\n\nNow I ran into an issue with my wifi after flashing with fastboot(My phone couldn't detect wifi during the initial android setup), so if that happens, use mfastboot(I think it has better compatibility with Motorola devices).\nJust google to download the latest version. The commands for mfastboot are same as fastboot; just replace \"fastboot\" with \"mfastboot\".\n\nAlso note that this doesn't void your warranty as long as you don't unlock your bootloader, so make sure you don't type any wrong commands. The commands mentioned in the XDA-thread should be enough.", "EDIT: To begin with you should probably install adb/fastboot directly from Google. This is the best way to update/maintain adb/fastboot.\n\nSo you state that you have no access to the bootloader, yet you are able to issue fastboot commands and invoke at least some type of response? Then that means you have access to your bootloader my friend. Fastboot == bootloader (or Download Mode, which is essentially still bootloader). I've never had a chance to mess with your specific model, but if you're stuck in a bootloop I'd suggest trying to issue a few more commands:\n\nfastboot flashing get_unlock_ability\n\n\nthis will let you know if you can unlock the bootloader\n\nfastboot flashing [unlock] [unlock_critical]\n\n\none of these will let you unlock the bootloader (as long as nothing else prevents it from doing so)\n\nAnd if you're able to unlock it, I'd suggest downloading TWRP for your device (Google = best friend), and flashing it to your phone with a\n\nfastboot flash recovery [twrp.img]\n\n\nBricks aren't ever really a permanent mess-up, as long as you can get into some type of recovery. Even if you can't get it unlocked or flash, you may be able to boot still with a factory image (Google = best friend), then try flashing the full firmware, if it wont take, extract the boot image and see if you can force it to boot with \n\nfastboot boot [boot.img]\n\n\nlet me know if any/none of these work and we can go from there. best of luck.", "FASTBOOT REBOOT RECOVERY\nONE THAT RE STARTS\n\nadb usb\n\nadb devices\n\nadb -s sideload nameofzip.zip\n\n(-s is the serial # of device)", "To make the system recognize the Android device, in their several modes, one needs to set permissions for his user in udev.\n\nYou need to repeat this process of loading Android udev IDs, for every mode the phone has (operating system, bootloader or recovery) because they have different USB IDs\n\n# reboot into fastboot mode\nadb reboot bootloader\n\n# grab you fastboot/bootloader device ids\nlsusb\n&gt; Bus 001 Device 035: ID **18d1:d00d** Google Inc.\n\n# install the ids into /etc/udev/rules.d/99-android.rules\nSUBSYSTEM==\"usb\", ATTR{idVendor}==\"18d1\", ATTR{idProduct}==\"d00d\", MODE=\"0666\", OWNER=\"thiago\"\n\n# restart udev\n/etc/init.d/udev restart\n\n# try fastboot (only on bootloader mode)\nfastboot devices", "The factory images provided on that page are not packaged for installation via Android's recovery system. You'll need to use the flashing instructions to install the images using fastboot. If your device's bootloader is not unlocked already, this would require wiping all of your data. If it is unlocked, then you can skip the wipe by flashing just the bootloader upgrade, the the system image, and the boot image:\n\nfastboot flash bootloader\nfastboot reboot-bootloader\nfastboot flash boot /path/to/boot.img\nfastboot flash system /path/to/system.img\n\n\nThe alternative would be to incrementally apply the OTA updates for your device up to the latest version. These are designed to work in recovery mode, but need to be applied in order from earliest to latest since they are patch updates, not full system images. The Nexus 7 Wi-Fi OTA updates can be obtained from Google's servers using the following links:\n\n\nKOT49H (4.4.2) to KTU84L (4.4.3)\nKTU84L to KTU84P (4.4.4)\nKTU84P to LRX21P (5.0)\nLRX21P to LRX22G (5.0.2)\nLRX22G to LMY47D (5.1)\n\n\nFor the GSM-enabled version, you can use these links:\n\n\nKOT49H to KTU84L\nKTU84L to KTU84P\nKTU84P to LRX22G\nThe 2012 Nexus 7 GSM has not received a 5.1 OTA yet. You must currently use the factory images if you want to update to 5.1.\n\n\nAdditional OTA links can be found in this XDA thread, if needed.", "The problem was that I edited the system hosts file. This causes the system to be unable to boot; the reason is dm-verity which denies boot (chain of trust) when any modified system file is detected.\nTo fix the issue, I followed https://www.droidwin.com/restore-oneplus-6-stock-via-fastboot-commands/\nBasically, it explains how to download the stock ROM, extract the .bin file into multiple .img files, and how to flash them subsequently.\nSince only the boot and system partitions were modified, and I did not want to lose my data, I flashed them using\nfastboot flash boot_a boot.img \nfastboot flash boot_b boot.img \nfastboot flash system_a system.img \nfastboot flash system_b system.img\n\nThis fixed the issue =).", "adb reboot bootloader\n\n\nthen \n\nfastboot flash &lt;whatever-it-is-you-want-to-flash&gt;\n\n\nIf you see at any point when executing fastboot command, the PC is not configured to use fastboot properly. Most typically, this is because you are not running fastboot with elevated privileges. It may also be that you do not have the drivers correctly installed, which may happen under Windows 8 because of its insistence on signed drivers. - Source", "Well, I can answer only two of the queries:\n\nFirst two get answer \"No, they aren't supported.\"\n\nThe guy in this reddit article played with one Google home device and found that out.\n\nThere is a hidden usb port in machine, but both ADB nor fastboot don't work.\n\nWireless abd tries to connect some IP but IP remained offline despite efforts of pushing device buttons. That's why I consider it also not supported.\n\nSorry, this is only a partial answer.", "Your statement is correct. :) The bootloader can't prevent images from being flashed, it just prevents unsigned images from loading. My answer to this question has some detail on the way locked/unlocked bootloaders work.\n\nFor example, if we consider \"SP Flash Tool\", an application that communicate with the bootloader of MediaTek devices to flash images, the lock status of the bootloader does not affect ability to flash. (It is still possible to block flashing by only allowing signed binaries to communicate with the bootloader) But still, if an unsigned image is flashed, the bootloader will refuse to load the image.\n\nStill, usually images are flashed using Fastboot (even when there are more options to flash like \"SP Flash Tool\") and quite a lot of devices only have Fastboot as a known flashing method. Some common exceptions include Samsung, and MediaTek devices. And Fastboot checks most of the time if the bootloader is unlocked, and only lets flashing images if it is. (Same goes for Odin, the flashing application for Samsung devices. It only lets flashing when bootloader is unlocked) So, unless there is a secondary way to flash, it usually is not possible to flash with a bootloader unlocked.", "I too faced this issue and issuing the fastboot commands manually (instead of relying on flash-all) and it worked well.\n\nThese are the commands to use (just forget everything and make sure these commands are executed in this order with the appropriate .img file available):\n\nfastboot flash recovery recovery.img\nfastboot flash boot boot.img\nfastboot flash cache cache.img\nfastboot flash userdata userdata.img\nfastboot flash system system.img\nfastboot reboot", "You'll have to try and see if this works, but on the Smarthings blog, there is another user who was having the same problem. He wrote,\n\n\n Can't this to work, I linked my account but Alexa can't discover devices, I get an error \"There was an error discovering your devices\". If I ask Alexa to discover she replies back that will search and that it takes up to 20 seconds then responds that command is not supported.\n\n\nThe solution for him was simply to unplug the Echo for 30 seconds and plug it back in. He then searched for devices again, and it worked.\n\nHope this helps!", "You can update to Nougat by downloading stock firmware and flashing it via fastboot. For full guide go to this xda thread.\nMethod and files will work for XT1640/XT1641/XT1642/XT1643/XT1644.\n\nfastboot flash boot boot.img\nfastboot flash recovery recovery.img\nfastboot flash dsp adspso.bin\nfastboot flash oem oem.img\nfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.0\nfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.1\nfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.2\nfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.3\nfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.4\nfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.5\nfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.6\nfastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.7\nfastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin\nfastboot erase modemst1\nfastboot erase modemst2\nfastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn\nfastboot erase cache\nfastboot erase userdata\nfastboot erase customize (optional: will erase any customizations if ordered through motomaker)\nfastboot erase clogo (optional: will erase the custom boot logo if ordered through motomaker)\nfastboot oem lock\nfastboot reboot\n\nAs you stated in the question that you are unable to run fastboot oem lock begin so skip this command and you will update to android N with an unlocked bootloader.", "It's not the answer you were looking for but what I would do if I were in your shoes would be to install the latest TWRP (assuming you rooted) and download the latest \"hammerhead\" for Nexus 5 (GSM/LTE) 6.0.1 (M4B30X, Oct 2016).\n\nAfter you get the .zip, unpack it to a folder. You'll see \n\n\nbootloader-hammerhead-hhz20h.img\nradio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30.img\nimage-hammerhead-m4b30x.zip\nflast-all.bat\n\n\nUnpack that enclosed zip as well to get:\n\n\nboot.img\ncache.img\nsystem.img\nuserdata.img\nrecovery.img\n\n\nEdit flash-all.bat to something like this:\n\n@ECHO OFF\n\n::PATH=%PATH%;\"%SYSTEMROOT%\\System32\"\nfastboot flash bootloader bootloader-hammerhead-hhz20h.img\nfastboot reboot-bootloader\nping -n 5 127.0.0.1 &gt;nul\nfastboot flash radio radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30.img\nfastboot reboot-bootloader\nping -n 5 127.0.0.1 &gt;nul\n\nfastboot erase boot\nfastboot flash boot boot.img\n\nfastboot erase cache\nfastboot flash cache cache.img\n\nfastboot erase system\nfastboot flash system system.img\n\nfastboot erase userdata\nfastboot flash userdata userdata.img\n\n::fastboot flash recovery twrp.img // this one if rooted\n::fastboot flash recovery recovery.img // this one if not rooted\n\necho Press any key to exit...\n\n\nYou mentioned you flashed a factory image before so I ommited the information about how to set up and use fastboot.exe but the details can be found here: https://developers.google.com/android/images\n\nI don't know that this will fix your cache issue but it is a more complete flash method than running the stock flash-all.bat.", "first step is unlock bootloader, which you have done already. i will post this step as mandatory \n\n1) unlock bootloader: WARNING all data lost \n\n\ndownload latest platform-tools to PC\nenable OEM unlocking in developer options\nreboot device into bootloader mode (keep holding Volume Down while rebooting or power on device with Volume Down + Power)\nconnect device with usb cable and install usb drivers for PC\nnavigate to folder platform-tools from cmd.exe\nunlock bootloader from fastboot (confirm with Volume Up)\n\nfastboot devices\nfastboot flashing unlock\n\n\n\n\n\n2) boot custom recovery without modifying/flashing device\n\n\ndownload custom recovery TWRP into platform-tools folder\nboot TWRP from fastboot (do not flash)\n\nfastboot boot twrp.img\n\nDO NOT swipe to allow modifications of system\nwait 30 seconds then install adb usb drivers for PC\ntap the icon ≡ lower right corner and check the log for\na) Data successfully decrypted (or no error)\nb) Failed to mount '/data'\n\n\n\n\n3) dump the current boot partition from device (depending on mounting /data a) successful or b) failed) \n\n\na) backup boot.emmc.win from TWRP\n\n\nTWRP - tap Backup - select Boot partition\ncopy TWRP/BACKUPS folder to PC via MTP\n\nb) backup boot.img from adb\n\nadb devices\nadb pull /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/boot boot.emmc.win\n\n\n\n\n\nedit: (other method)\n\n\nc) extract boot.img from OTA (stock ROM) with ozipdecrypt.py\nif for whatever reason TWRP is not available (or not booting) you still can find stock ROM for your device. However, flashing boot.img from download is risky, make 100% sure that this build number is matching your device \n\nro.build.description=S88051AA1-user 9 PKQ1.190319.001 eng.root.20190830.025347 release-keys\nro.build.display.full_id=RMX1805_11_A.60_190830\n\n\n\ninstall Python 3.8.2\ninstall pycryptodome\n\npip3.exe install pycryptodome\n\ndownload and extract oppo_ozip_decrypt-master.zip\ndownload stock ROM\nrun ozipdecrypt.py from cmd.exe\n\npython.exe ozipdecrypt.py RMX1805EX_11_OTA_0600_all_LtoqeM8aS1Gq.ozip\n\ncheck folder out and rename out\\boot.img into boot.emmc.win (just to not confuse with encrypted boot.img, name of file doesn't matter)\n\n\n\n(i have uploaded the converted stock ROM here, recovery.img is missing)\n\n\n\n\n\n4) root your device with Magisk\n\n\na) install Magisk directly from TWRP (may brick device)\n\n\ncopy Magisk-v20.4.zip to Storage or MicroSD via MTP\nTWRP - tap Install - select Magisk-v20.4.zip - Swipe to confirm Flash\nreboot device (TWRP - tap Reboot - tap System)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nb) patch boot.emmc.win \"offline\" with Magisk Manager\n\n\nreboot device (TWRP - tap Reboot - tap System)\ncopy boot.emmc.win to Internal Storage via MTP\ninstall + launch MagiskManager-v7.5.1.apk\nenable Advanced Settings - Preserve force encryption\ntap on Install (1) - Install (2) - Select and Patch a File\nallow permissions for storage\nnavigate to Internal Storage and select boot.emmc.win\n(this will start patching immediately but does not modify your device - no worry the text \"Flashing..\" is misleading)\n\n\n\n\n\n(5) flash the rooted boot image from fastboot\n\n\ncopy magisk_patched.img to PC via MTP\nreboot device into bootloader mode (keep holding Volume Down while rebooting or power on device with Volume Down + Power)\nboot magisk_patched.img without modifying/flashing device (for testing purposes) \n\nfastboot devices\nfastboot boot magisk_patched.img\n\nif it works: reboot device into bootloader mode\nflash magisk_patched.img to boot partition (may brick device) \n\nfastboot flash boot magisk_patched.img\nfastboot reboot\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nUnbricking (method b) only)\n\n\nreboot device into bootloader mode (keep holding Volume Down while rebooting or power on device with Volume Down + Power)\nflash your backup of original boot.emmc.win from fastboot \n\nfastboot devices\nfastboot flash boot boot.emmc.win\nfastboot reboot", "Solution by @beeshyams that worked in my case:\n\n\nOn Odin in the options tab; Uncheck the Auto Reboot option.\nWhen Odin finishes the flashing procedure; use the suitable key combination to boot into TWRP Recovery Mode.\nFrom the TWRP menu; boot into system.\n\n\nTip : In some cases, if a problem occurs try to flash an older version of TWRP\n\nFrom TWRP \n\n\n Note many devices will replace your custom recovery automatically during first boot. To prevent this, use your preferred search engine to find the proper key combo to enter recovery. After typing fastboot reboot, hold the key combo and boot to TWRP. Once TWRP is booted, TWRP will patch the stock ROM to prevent the stock ROM from replacing TWRP. If you don't follow this step, you will have to repeat the install.\n\n\nHope this solution help others too.", "Here’s what anyone should do if it’s in a similar situation:\n\nDo a full unbrick method 1 from here\n\nDownload OxygenOS 4.0.0 (Android 7.0) , OnePlus3Oxygen_16_OTA_035_all_1612310359_e10cadfb2af7.zip.\n\nadb sideload the file above when in recovery. Why this version? Because it’s vulnerable to CVE-2017-5626 and CVE-2017-5624.\n Weirdly enough, my phone turned back from the dead after this; however if it didn’t work (as I was expecting) , I would go into fastboot mode and unlock the bootloader from there with:\n\nfastboot oem 4F500301\n\nWhich will completely bypass the oem mechanism and will unlock your bootloader even if you can’t boot the system and go to the developer menu.\n\nThis backdoor was removed by OnePlus with OxygenOS 4.0.2 (“patched”).", "boot in recovery from fastboot, once in twrp enter adb shell, or use -> Advanced -> Terminal \n\nfastboot boot recovery.img\nadb shell\n\n\nbe careful with dd especially double check partition name and partition size. \n\nin your /etc/recovery.fstab there might be just a symlink but no worry you can use it dd will targeting the real partition. \n\ncat /etc/recovery.fstab\nls -l /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system\ndd if=/external_sd/system.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p99 \n\n\n\n if the file size is bigger than partition size it is strongly recommended to add parameters block size and count to limit the write process to maximum partition size, otherwise your cache and userdata partition may be destroyed. \n\n\nbeware files bigger than 4 GiB can not copied to MicroSD Card, so instead adb push \n\nadb push system.img /dev/block/mmcblk0p99 \n\n\nHow can I view the Android internal partition table? \n\nif you are not sure about your system.img is sparsed image or LZ compressed, you can check the header for file system type / partition magic\next4: 0xEF53 at offset 0x438\nf2fs: 0xF2F52010 at offset 0x400 \n\nhexdump -C -n1088 system.img | grep 53.ef\nhexdump -C -n1032 system.img | grep 10.20.f5.f2\n\n\nif one of these magic is found the image can be loop mounted for testing, otherwise you need to convert file with simg2img or sdat2img first", "Fastboot has an option -S Used to cut large files into small ones. Specific information can be found at man page:\nfastboot --help \n\nSo, we can set the size of the crop block to 256MB:\nfastboot flash -S 256M system system.img\n\nSource", "If you are in a bootloop, it sounds like you need to enter the recovery and clear the user data and cache (factory reset). \n\nThe reason you can't find the device with ADB is because the device is not getting far enough in the boot process to actually launch adbd. The device is restarting the boot process before it launches the adbd.", "There's a couple of ways to do this:\n\n\ncat /proc/last_kmsg &gt; /sdcard/last_kernel_message_log.txt\ndmesg &gt; /sdcard/kernel_boot_log.txt\nplug in the usb cable with the smart-phone switched off. Then issue the command adb logcat from your Windows cmd or Linux terminal, it will hang waiting for the device to come on-line, now power up the smart-phone. The logcat should start scrolling off then.\n\n\nSince you expressed interest in figuring out how far one's phone gets in the boot stages before it crashes, those methods should help. The thing is you need to be pretty quick to grab the kernel's log (the first two methods shown above). \n\nWhat I would do is this, on my Arch Linux box, two terminal windows, one for the adb logcat, the other, to grab the log the minute logcat starts scrolling off!\n\nEdit:\n\nBE aware, there are differences with using adb and fastboot!\n\nfastboot works differently, it is only used for flashing images into specified partitions, and is more tied in with the boot-loader process, i.e, it can understand the boot-loader mechanism. It also requires that:\n\n\nunder Windows, 'Administrator' privilege to execute it\nunder Linux, 'root' privilege\n\n\nThe reason it requires it is because it bypasses certain input/output of the hardware, and thus, does not \"talk\" in adb protocol, rather, it is to \"talk\" directly to the boot-loader. Something that cannot be done as a normal user. Here is the help for the usage of fastboot.\n\n$ sudo fastboot\nusage: fastboot [ &lt;option&gt; ] &lt;command&gt;\n\ncommands:\n update &lt;filename&gt; reflash device from update.zip\n flashall flash boot + recovery + system\n flash &lt;partition&gt; [ &lt;filename&gt; ] write a file to a flash partition\n erase &lt;partition&gt; erase a flash partition\n getvar &lt;variable&gt; display a bootloader variable\n boot &lt;kernel&gt; [ &lt;ramdisk&gt; ] download and boot kernel\n flash:raw boot &lt;kernel&gt; [ &lt;ramdisk&gt; ] create bootimage and flash it\n devices list all connected devices\n continue continue with autoboot\n reboot reboot device normally\n reboot-bootloader reboot device into bootloader\n help show this help message\n\noptions:\n -w erase userdata and cache\n -s &lt;serial number&gt; specify device serial number\n -p &lt;product&gt; specify product name\n -c &lt;cmdline&gt; override kernel commandline\n -i &lt;vendor id&gt; specify a custom USB vendor id\n -b &lt;base_addr&gt; specify a custom kernel base address\n -n &lt;page size&gt; specify the nand page size. default: 2048\n\n\nA well known-usage of fastboot is for flashing for example, to flash a recovery image: sudo fastboot flash recovery recovery.img, another is to directly flash a raw image, sudo fastboot flash system system.img. For more of for the case of kernel development, using this fastboot boot new_kernel, this temporarily downloads a new kernel and boot using that without touching the boot-loader's own boot.\n\nThere is also a limitation on the size of a raw image that requires to be flashed, when I say raw image, I am referring to a file that has a .img extension, the image must not exceed 128Mb. (I found out this when developing ics4blade, after the build completed, the system.img was 162Mb, and I tried to flash it but fastboot refused! To circumvent the limitation, had to create a CWM flashable zip file to do that and get around it!) \n\nPractice caution and ensure the partition is correct and double-check and double-check again, if necessary, walk away from the computer, take a break, come back again, and double-check again, this is where it can go horribly wrong, flash the wrong file into the wrong partition... well shrugs", "Yes, Google home indeed has a hidden port inside it. But actually there is no evidence that it supports Fastboot and ADB. So hopes are narrow as of now to install a new OS on google home.\nRefer here", "Alecxs helped me with the solution so I am posting the solution that worked for me.\n\n\n\nInstall MIUI 9.6.8.0 fastboot ROM (it works with this only) and extract it to C drive.\nRun MI flash tool and select the extracted folder.\nNow boot the phone to EDL Mode and immediately click refresh and then click flash.\nBecause if you are even 2-3 seconds late then process fails.\nWait for flashing to complete and then the phone will reboot.\nIf it doesn't reboot then just check (press them a little bit) all the connectors on motherboards of phone (display, fingerprint and battery) and then connect to charger. Battery icon will appear and now you can power ON the phone.\n\n\nBOOTING TO EDL MODE\n\n\n Don't remove battery. Not required.\n\n\nTo boot to EDL we need to short JTAG pins that are present on right side of fingerprint connector. (And not the 1st and 4th test points shown in many videos on internet).\nAnd while shorting it insert the usb cable immediately. \nYou will see red led light blinking.\nPhone will be shown as COM4 (probably).\n\n\n For more information search google with test points for Redmi Note 4\n \n You will be forced to update to MIUI 11.0.2.0 because you will face\n various bugs like\n \n \n mi cloud won't sync\n fingerprint won't work\n \n\n\nOTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND\n\n\nIf you decide to update to MIUI 11.0.2.0 then don't install RedWolf or ** OrangeFox** recovery because when you enable OTA updates in them and flash MIUI 11 rom you will get *ERROR 7 * message and and when you reboot you phone will stuck on MI logo.\nWhen stuck on MI logo then don't try flashing rom again using Mi Flash Tool by booting to Fastboot mode (if you can boot to it) because you will get System flashing error.\n\n\nFIX FOR STUCK ON MI LOGO\n\n\n Requirements\n \n \n unlocked bootloader\n adb and fastboot tools\n fastboot extracted rom (can be MIUI 11)\n \n\n\nIf you are stuck there then don't worry. Try if you can boot to Fastboot Mode (Vol - with power key). If not then try recovery mode or repeat EDL method. If yes then read ahead.\n\nIf you can then install adb and fastboot tools in your PC. And paste all images folder files of MIUI 11 fastboot rom to adb folder.\nNow type the following:\n\nCheck if phone is accepted by \n\nfastboot devices\n\n\nNow flash system.img by\n\nfastboot flash system system.img\n\n\nAfter completion flash boot.img by\n\nfastboot flash boot boot.img\n\n\nAfter completion flash recovery.img\n\nfastboot flash recovery recovery.img\n\n\nAfter completion flash cache.img\n\nfastboot flash cache cache.img\n\n\n\n If you want to completely erase user data and make the device a newly\n bought then type\n\nfastboot erase userdata\n\n \n After completion type\n\nfastboot flash userdata userdata.img\n\n\n\nFlashing is completed\n\nNow just type fastboot reboot. Phone will boot properly now.\n\n\n If you are using MIUI 9 or 10 rom to fix stuck on mi logo then when\n the flashing is done you will face numerous bugs in rom like\n \n \n mi cloud won't sync\n fingerprint won't work properly", "Try adding nobootwait to the options section. The line should look like this:\n\nUUID=9687-3A59 /mnt/usb vfat defaults,nofail,nobootwait 0 2" ]

[ "BANG! POW! PHOSPHORYLATION! The Stuff of Life is a new genetic biology primer with a twist — it takes the form of a graphic novel. Author Mark Schultz explains how, with the help of artists Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon, he turned everything from cytokinesis to parthenogenesis into comics." ]

[ "This comic, by NPR's LA Johnson, is based on an interview between podcast producer and host Keisha \"TK\" Dutes and neuroscientist and psychiatrist Judson Brewer, M.D., Ph.D. Listen to their conversation at the top of this page or here. The podcast portion of this episode was produced by Clare Marie Schneider. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org. For more Life Kit, subscribe to our newsletter.", "Stories: 1) Venter 'Decodes' Genome Project Controversy 2) Sitcom Takes Lighthearted Approach to 'Aliens'", "He wouldn't make the claim himself, but when it comes to comic-book writers, Mark Waid is one of the greats. \"I've pretty much hit all of the pop culture bases,\" Waid says, surrounded by comic-book memorabilia in his Los Angeles home. Batman, Spider-Man and even The Incredibles have all had adventures dreamed up by Waid. \"Jan. 26, 1979, was the most important day of my life,\" Waid says. \"Because that's the day that I saw Superman: The Movie. I came out of it knowing that no matter what the rest of my life was going to be like, it had to involve Superman somehow.\" Waid's writing made the DC Comics' miniseries Kingdom Come into one of the definitive Superman stories — the ultimate \"what if\" tale. \"What happens when Superman retires and the next generation of heroes come along and make a mess of things, and Superman has to come back and set the world straight?\" Waid says. \"You know,\" he laughs, \"that is kinda what I'm doing right now.\" Remaking Comics For Hand-Held Screens That's because Waid has begun remaking comics for iPads and similar gizmos — crafting stories that use simpler pictures and bigger text that read well on screens of any size. And he's found new storytelling tricks, like captions that shift over a static piece of art. \"That doesn't change the image, but it completely changes the context of what the story is,\" Waid explains. Take the comic Waid wrote for Marvel's new Infinite Comics line, designed specifically for the digital format. In it, a hero hurtles through space, a red-orange blur behind him. But when the reader swipes the screen, the page doesn't turn — instead, the image shifts focus. The blur becomes the fiery cosmic Phoenix, the X-Men's most deadly foe. \"I got news for you: I've been doing this for 25 years, and this is the hardest writing I've ever had to do,\" Waid says. Others have tried adapting comics from print to digital form, but it hasn't been easy. One attempt, a hybrid cartoon/comic called Motion Comics, failed to really take off. \"Because what makes comics ... is that you are in control of the pace at which you absorb the story,\" Waid says. \"It's a relationship between you and the page.\" So far, the biggest hits have been apps from a company called Comixology. These put issues of paper comics directly onto phones and tablets. They're good, but not perfect, Waid says. He likens it to what happened when movies went to VHS and were hacked to fit TV screens. \"That seemed unacceptable to me,\" he says. \"[It] seemed to me that the smart money is to go the reverse and create things specifically for a digital medium.\" Taking A Risk On A Digital Future And Waid is betting the Kent family farm on it. He's selling off his personal collection — 40 years' worth of comics — to fund his new venture, Thrillbent.com. There, he hopes to build an audience by giving away the work for free. If he can find a way to make Thrillbent pay, Waid will take that cash and then make print collections of the stories for stores. \"And hope that enough store owners haven't hung me in effigy in the meantime, where there's not a market for that stuff,\" Waid says. Robert Hennessey is one of those store owners Waid wants to keep the peace with. Hennessey dreads the end of print comics, when stores like his are no longer the center of the comic-book universe. Sitting with Waid in his shop, Hi De Ho Comics in Santa Monica, Calif., Hennessey describes his worst-case scenario. \"OK, here's my fear,\" Hennessey says. \"That what happens is that we get comics out there digitally, and that they become either free or so nearly free that it starts to cannibalize the audience for print comics.\" But some see that change as inevitable. \"The weekly superhero comic is not long for this world,\" says Glen Weldon, a critic and contributor to NPR's Monkey See blog. \"The other thing to keep in mind is that it's really surprising how ... easy it is to get comics nowadays digitally.\" But that doesn't mean they're selling. In June, Comixology revealed they had pulled in $19 million in sales in 2011 — less than what print comics make in a single month. The company's projections for the current year put them on track to take in $70 million — a big jump that would equal about two months' take from print. That leaves Waid with a never-ending battle: to make the digital world safe for creators, fans and the comic-book way. Noah Nelson is a reporter for Turnstyle, a project of Youth Radio.", "This comic was adapted from an episode of Life Kit. Reporting by Anya Kamenetz. Illustrated by LA Johnson.", "Another year, another Free Comic Book Day! This year, we had our comics guide, Glen Weldon, take a break from reviewing the entire haul of 50 comics available this year at participating shops and bring a handful of comics to each of the rest of us on the panel: me, Stephen Thompson, and our pal Petra Mayer, who is a regular comics reader like Glen is but not a regular consumer of the FCBD offerings. Glen gave us great stuff, not-so-great stuff, things we'd find familiar and things we wouldn't. In this episode, we reflect on how it struck those of us who do and don't regularly read comics, and Glen gives lots of great recommendations for this and any other day of comics reading. In Glen's massive, fantastic FCBD post, you can find all the comics we talked about in the show, which are marked with asterisks. Then we eagerly leap down the rabbit hole of rabbit holes — the phenomenon of jumping from a single piece of culture, or the person who makes it, into the next and next and next thing. Start anywhere and wind up everywhere, as they say. As always, we close the show with what's making us happy this week. Stephen is happy about several opportunities he had to meet listeners on the road, and he invites you to listen to an All Songs Considered listening party that recently happened in Boston that raised lots of questions about music and how we love it. Glen is happy about a museum he compares, in a certain way, to Oz. Petra is happy about a book she put off reading longer than she wishes she had. And I am happy about a wonderful segment on a show we consider a friend (can a show be a friend? Sure!) in which a six-year-old tells you everything you really need to know about a competitive reality show. Find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter: the show, me, Stephen, Glen, Petra, producer Jessica, and pal and producer emeritus Mike.", "The idea is so good, so simple, that it seems inevitable. After all, superhero comics love teams of angsty teens. They love juicy villains. So when, in 2003, writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona created the comic Runaways, starring a group of angsty teens who discover, to their horror, that their parents are secretly super-villains, you could practically hear the sound of thousands of comics readers slapping their heads. (\"Why didn't I think of that?\") The fact that the comic was deliberately set in sunny Los Angeles, a continent away from the Marvel Universe's Manhattan, with its overbred population of costumed types, meant Runaways was given room to breathe, and develop its own identity. Oh, crossovers happened, because that's the law, but they tended to happen at angles more oblique than the default beat-em-ups readers have come to expect — Spider-Man would show up to take the kids out for sushi, say, and offer some advice. The L.A. setting also meant that the tone could get notably brighter than most of what was on the stands at the time — violent anti-heroes given to brooding on rooftops. Vaughan and Alphona never forgot that the kids at the book's center were, more than anything else, kids -- they could sulk and seethe, sure, but they could also goof around and crush on one another, often in the span of a panel or two. What's more, these kids didn't wear costumes, they didn't come up with superhero codenames, or secret identities, or a rallying cry. Runaways was too cool for that kind of stuff — even if it did feature a character who enjoyed a telepathic bond with a genetically engineered dinosaur. Earlier this year, when the first casting photos from Hulu's live-action Runaways adaptation were released, fans of the series reacted with guarded optimism — they just looked right. Granted, that's only step one — but one need only consider Marvel's Inhumans — or better yet, don't -- to see how vitally important that is. The series debuts on Hulu on Tuesday, when the first three episodes of its 10-episode season will become available (I've seen the first four). The changes made to the comic to turn it into an ongoing television show make sense, from a storytelling perspective. Runaways the comic — particularly in its first story-arc — told a tight, spring-loaded tale: The kids discover their parents performing some kind of evil — and deadly — ritual, they confiscate some of their parents supervillain paraphernalia, and ... they run away. The Hulu series, on the other hand, spends much more time than the comic ever did on the parents' stories — their varying backgrounds, motivations, personalities, rivalries and hook-ups — in a dogged attempt to present them as something more than mustache-twirlers. It's admirable, though the surfeit of subplots does tend to gum up the main plot — some viewers will reach the end of the first episode only to realize they still don't have a handle on what this show is about. (Slight spoiler here: By the end of the fourth episode, the kids still haven't fulfilled the promise of the show's title; it's possible they never will.) The showrunners have decided to goose the show's tension by introducing several mysteries the comic never bothered with — a dead sister here, a wizened, bedridden figure set up in an overlit suite from the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey there — and, as yet, it's tough to see what they're adding to the mix. They're clearly there to ensure there's enough fodder to keep everything moving along, given that one of the factors that made the comic so fun — those out-of-nowhere Marvel hero cameos — are not likely to figure in the show. But the performances are interesting — as a charismatic but cold Marianne Williamson-type church leader, Annie Wersching can pop the hell out of skeptical eyebrow, and James Marsters lets us see the desperation behind his character's mask of contempt. The kids are strong, too — as de facto team leader Alex, Rhenzy Feliz is nerdy but not cartoonishly so, and nails the character's all-important propensity for critical self-appraisal. The special effects are unshowy, in an attempt to keep things grounded — or at least as grounded as things can get, when a telepathic dinosaur figures in the festivities. And the dialogue, mercifully, doesn't suffer from Superhero Television's damnable tendency to speak in Abstract Nouns like \"Power\" \"Evil\" and (sigh) \"This City.\" Runaways, the comic and the television series, are both built on the same, solid premise: What if your parents were actually as evil as you convinced yourself they were, when you were a teenager? The show's decision to flesh out the parents — to depict them as filled with doubt, and even compassion — risks robbing the story of some of its simple power. But it also provides a means for laying track for a second season, and a third. Given the potential glimpsed in this first handful of episodes, that seems like a worthy bet.", "Artist Tom Moore, who gave life to the teen angst of Archie and his Riverdale pals from 1953 to the late 1980s, has died of lung cancer in El Paso, Texas. According to his hometown paper, the El Paso Times, Moore began his cartooning career while serving in the U.S. Navy. Moore got caught drawing a caricature of his captain, but instead of getting in trouble, he got an assignment as staff cartoonist. His talent led him to a decades-long career illustrating for Archie, as well as Under Dog and Mighty Mouse comics. \"He's a legend, in El Paso and, really, around the United States,\" All Star Comics & Games owner Brad Wilson told the paper. \"A lot of people don't realize how much he influenced comic book art.\" Archie Comics' editor-in-chief, Victor Gorelick, told The Associated Press: \"Tom was very funny and had a knack for putting together really great, hilarious gags and special pages when he worked at Archie.\" Gorelick says Moore was best known for drawing a reboot of the \"Jughead\" series in the 1980s, featuring Archie's best friend and sidekick. Archie Comics launched in 1941, inspired in part by the Andy Hardy movies of the 1930s. Although many associate Archie and the gang with classic high school drama, the franchise evolved to take on modern topics and add greater diversity to its cast of characters. Moore kept up with the Archie character even after his retirement, and was pleased when some of his work was displayed at the El Paso Museum of Art in 1996. \"I think it's such a kick that my stuff is going to be hanging at the museum,\" he said at the time. \"Who knew Archie would have such universal appeal?\"", "Cartoons and comics can be \"kids' stuff\" or social commentary; the work of Jackie Ormes managed to be both. She made it a point to challenge the norms of mainstream comic strips, especially the depiction of black life in the beginning of the twentieth century. Nancy Goldstein has compiled Ormes' works and chronicled her life in the new book, Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist.", "They're odds. That's all they are. Not fate, just probabilities. Lauren Weinstein, cartoonist, is having a baby, and she's told — out of the blue — that she and her husband are both carriers of the gene that causes cystic fibrosis. They are sent to a genetic counselor. What happens next — told in five beautifully drawn, emotionally eloquent cartoons — tells what it's like to walk the edge for a few weeks. She's so many things (sad, funny, scared, puzzled), and then there's the ender. Take a look. Here's Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5. The full series of cartoons appears online this month in Nautilus, the wonderful magazine of science and culture.", "Stories: 1) A Journey to the 'Frontlines of Humanity' 2) Chris Cooper, Giving 'Married Life' a Whirl", "Beau Gunderson's fascinated by what he might learn from his DNA. \"I'm curious about what makes me tick, essentially,\" says Gunderson, 29, who writes code for a Silicon Valley startup. So Gunderson has signed up for every genetic test he's been able to afford. And he can't wait for the price of getting his entire genetic code — his genome — to drop to about $1,000, as many are predicting is imminent. \"Yeah, if the price does drop — to a thousand bucks for example — I might pay that. That's a good personal price point for me,\" Gunderson said. So-called whole genome sequencing is already available for between about $4,000 and $10,000. Continue Reading \"The early adopters that are getting this done now are those who have this incredible curiosity about their genetic makeup, about their potential genetic destiny,\" said Jay Flatley, who heads Illumina Inc., of San Diego. Illumina even recently started offering an iPad app that people can use to learn more about whole genome sequencing and their own genomes. In September, the company announced a new service that could deliver a genome in two weeks. So far sequencing is being used primarily only to diagnose mysterious medical conditions and help treat cancer patients, and by scientists, biotech executives and other people who can afford the out-of-pocket cost. But the price is plummeting, and many are predicting the $1,000 genome is coming soon. And when that happens sequencing could become much more common. \"I think it's going to be just kind of crazy not to have your genetics known,\" says Brian Naughton of 23& Me, another genetic testing company. \"It would be kind of like not knowing if you are allergic to a drug or not knowing your family history of a disease.\" But all it takes to get your genome sequenced is a blood sample, and in weeks you get the results. This summer Gunderson jumped at a special deal from 23&Me. For $999, he could be one of the first 100 customers to get a big chunk of his genetic code sequenced. It's the part called the exome, which contains all the known genes. Most of the information would be basically gobbledygook to most people — even most doctors. But Gunderson has learned he didn't inherit an Alzheimer's gene. And he found out a cool reason why — maybe — he made the track team: He has genes found in a lot of Olympic sprinters. Gunderson still has lots of questions. He wonders if he is carrying any genes that could make him sick. And he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. So he wonders: Could his genes give him any clues about that? \"It might be interesting if there's research that says ... something about the efficacy of Adderall versus another drug that's prescribed for [ADHD],\" he says. He's also curious about other stuff such as why he has trouble sleeping and why he's so particular about food. While all this might sound appealing, the prospect of lots of people like Gunderson plunging into their genomes makes many people very nervous. The first big question: Is this cheap, new sequencing even accurate? Mistakes could have horrible implications. Take a breast cancer gene mutation. \"You might be told you have a mutation when you don't. And it's not completely unknown for women who find out they have a mutation in one of these genes to go have a mastectomy so they won't get cancer,\" says Liz Mansfield of the Food and Drug Administration. And even when it's right, it could open up a Pandora's box. \"You know, it's a seductive thought to think, well, you know, we might as well know about stuff,\" said James Evans of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the American College of Medical Genetics. But for most people, sequencing will be just a big waste of time and money, he said. \"We don't just get MRIs on everybody who comes to the doctor's office. Not only would that be ridiculously expensive and uninformative,\" says Evans, \"it could also lead to all kinds of false positives that would be highly problematic for those people.\" And sequencing could easily end up stumbling across some terrifying things. \"There are also people walking around out there who carry mutations that create an extraordinarily high probability that they will develop a horrendous, untreatable, unpreventable disease by age 50, 60 years old,\" he says. \"That isn't necessarily information that everybody wants.\" It's not just that this might scare people — it could cause really serious, concrete problems in their lives. Getting sequenced could subject people to genetic discrimination for things like life and disability insurance. There are even more futuristic concerns. \"Individuals who leave samples of their DNA lying around — as we all do every day on straws and napkins and glasses and linen — could have those samples taken and sequenced by third parties,\" said Mark Rothstein, a bioethicist at the University of Louisville. It's not totally crazy to think someone, someday could use a person's genetic blueprint to manufacture their DNA and then plan", "My guilty pleasure is one which culture keeps telling me I can drop the guilt about: comics. Specifically, the comics of Brian K. Vaughan. More specifically, BKV's -- his fan name -- brilliant graphic novel (OK, all right: his comic book) Runaways. It's going to be a movie soon, at which point I will feel slightly less guilty. But still a little guilty. I love a damn comic book. Vaughan is a genius. He's what made Seasons 3 through 5 of Lost so terrific. Vaughan left the final year (haunted by an aspirational ghost: It wasn't his own show), and the comedy got lost with him. This was in a way a superhero story: one man bringing lightness to millions. (This is my pep talk, part of how I work through the guilt of thinking Vaughan writes the most crackling dialogue in the pop world.) An example: In issue 29 (OK -- Volume 2, No. 11, Page 11) of Runaways, a male hero and villain realize they're a lot alike and can stop trying to pound each other. A female villain turns to a female hero with irritation: \"That's why we're not running the world, huh? 'Cause when women see a younger version of us, it just makes us angry.\" Runaways is full of real-life moments like that -- stuff I turn to non-word-balloon genres for. OK, the art in Volume 1 (by Adrian Alphona, who can make a corner mailbox look nostalgic and deeply cool) is also pretty great. And the plot -- six kids discover their parents are a Legion of Doom-type supervillain squad controlling Los Angeles, and so take off -- is brilliant, if you like comics or have any anxieties about Southern California. (Some of the best modern comics do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sideways, glossing stories we already know: It is a thrillingly wised-up medium now.) What would you do if you learned your dad was Lex Luthor or Dr. Doom? But I bear the books a grudge. Marvel collected them -- because their biggest fans were female teenagers -- in tiny digests with girlish covers that were intensely embarrassing to read on the subway. I kept locking eyes with people I could swear had just shaken their heads. And, alright, I fell a little in love with one of the female leads: the great flying beauty Karolina Dean. Who turned out to be gay. A hardship I'd steered clear of in real life, and there I was stumbling into it in a damned graphic novel (OK, comic book). Runaways -- while a consistently brilliant reading experience -- has been an embarrassment festival. Way beyond a guilty pleasure. It has been a fount of guilt, awkwardness and grave personal doubts. Which is to say, it turned me teenaged again. And yet -- Volume 1 is the best superhero comic I've read since I was a kid. And Runaways won a Top Library Award, a Harvey Award and was the lone comic to make the Library Association's top-10 YA list. It won an Eisner award, which is the comic industry's Oscar. I tell myself these things to feel better. It sort of works. And then I open the damn thing -- sweatily, guiltily -- and it's just so good. And I remember how great reading anything can be. I forget the guilt, and it's just pleasure. The superhero lesson Runaways teaches us is not \"with great power comes great responsibility.\" It is: Enthusiasm is the world's rarest quantity. Love generously and without guilt. Be grateful for loving anything. My Guilty Pleasure is edited and produced by Ellen Silva.", "A floundering genetics professor who is looking for a wife meets a barmaid who is on a quest to find her father. Graeme Simsion's <em>The Rosie Project</em> appears at No. 6.", "This comic, by NPR's LA Johnson, is based on interviews by education correspondents Anya Kamenetz and Cory Turner, who spoke with Ashley Rogers Berner and Hasan Kwame Jeffries for NPR's Life Kit podcast. Listen to their conversation at the top of this page or here, and read the article here. The podcast portion of this episode was produced by Sylvie Douglis. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org. For more Life Kit, subscribe to our newsletter.", "In this week's podcast of weekends on <em>All Things Considered</em>, the effect of Alabama's new immigration law, athletes struggling to drop weight after retiring, an expensive aphrodisiac fungus and turning ashes into ammo. Plus, a book on the history of desserts, an heirloom pickle and Family Guy's creator Seth MacFarlane's new album, \"Music Is Better Than Words.\"", "Stories: 1) Young People Living, And Laughing, With Cancer 2) Wonder, Bemusement Reign In Moore's 'Gate'", "Let us now praise famous Mental Organisms Designed Only for Killing. One of them, anyway. ...The one that - true fact - began life as a Mental Organism Designed Only for Computing. But then decided that life as a glorified slide-rule was no life at all, and opted for the more \"Kneel, puny humans!\" kind of rule. ...The one that is, essentially, a giant, mutated head. With teensy arms and legs. Who tootles around in a floating chair equipped with lasers and missiles and whatnot. ...The one that possesses the full complement of psionic abilities that, in comics at least, comes factory equipped with giant-headedness: your mind control, your mental blast, you force field, your I-can-calculate-the-probability-of-millions-of-outcomes-in-milliseconds-so-resistance-is-futile...thing. Created in 1967 as a foil for Captain America, M.O.D.O.K. is not one of those supervillains that strikes terror into the hearts of heroes -- or readers, for that matter. In fact, unless some horrific nursery-rhyme-related trauma has left said reader a lifelong dumptyphobe, MODOK is not feared - he is loved. He's experiencing a bit of a renaissance, actually - the guy's a mainstay of the Cartoon Network series Marvel Super Hero Squad, where he's voiced by Tom \"SpongeBob\" Kenny. He's certainly come in for more than his share of internet love, of late. No, really. The reason he endures and thrives in the hearts of a specific segment of the comics-reading public is simple, and it speaks to an aspect of comics that, since the rise of such Serious Superhero Fare as Watchmen and Dark Knight, has been shunted roughly aside. M.O.D.O.K., like much of what is best and brightest about superhero comics, is GOOFY AS HELL. And goofy? To some of us, at least? Is good. The desperate and lamentable rise of superhero badassery, and the case for goofiness, after the jump. Children, attend me: There once was a time when those who love superhero comics didn't feel a misguided, hilarious and ultimately doomed need to justify said love. It was a carefree, Edenic time when writers could simply assert the transformational powers of cosmic rays or radioactive arachnids or white dwarf stars or lightning-spurred chemical baths. Before writers and readers began paying grim and bloody obeisance to the iron will of continuity and verisimilitude. Before long-established origins and power sets were subject to tortured and tortuous ret-cons and exhausting exegeses, all for the purpose of making them seem less childish and more ... wait for it ...\"believable.\" No, seriously. It's no coincidence that this Age of Whimsy, with its Matter-Eater Lads and its Bat-Mites and its Comet the Super-Horses and its Paste-Pot Petes and its Fin Fang Fooms and its... guy whose power is talking to fish came to its end just as the bulk of the comics-reading audience began to age into adulthood. Sensing this demographic shift, superhero comics grew desperate to keep up with the maturing sensibilities of readers. This desperation took various well-intentioned forms, like the dogged pursuit of \"relevance\" (read: Green Lantern and Green Arrow tackle racism! And drug addiction! And death cults! BECAUSE DEATH CULTS ARE TOTALLY A THING TROUBLING THE YOUTH OF TODAY). In the 80s, the dark, brooding hyperviolence of The Dark Knight Returns seeped into superhero titles; characters like Wolverine -- whose whole superheroic schtick, let's remember, is The Disemboweling of Others -- grew ascendant. In the 90s, this Poochie-fication of comics -- wherein many titles grew consistently and thoroughly EXTREEEEME -- reached its zenith. Suddenly, the blithely nerdy discussion taking place among comics readers darkened in tone. Idle, unself-conscious chatter about flight rings and Ant-Man's helmet was replaced by endless Talmudic dissections of the relative bad-assery of violent characters like Wolverine or The Punisher or Deadpool or, most hilariously, Lobo (who was originally created to parody over-the-top, moronically violent comic book characters, only to be enthusiastically and unironically embraced by readers). There remains, today, a breed of superhero-comics reader who eagerly embraces characters in the \"bad-ass\" mode, who prizes heroes given to gut, filet and/or gun down their foes because, in these fans' minds, it proves that the comics they so love aren't (shudder) Just Silly Kid Stuff. This is adolescent overcompensation at its most wheedling and sad. \"No seriously, you guys, The Punisher is AWESOME, because he totally KILLS people and doesn't even care! He's a TOTAL BAD-ASS. Right, guys? Guys?\" There are also comics readers -- we few, we happy few, we band of nerdlings -- who welcome any lingering remnant of the Age of Whimsy, howsoever it manifests. If forced to choose between grinning-50s-sci-fi-Batman and 80s-one-note-dyspeptic-thug-Batman, we'll take the Bat-rocket, any day. (Happily, it Batman's case at least, we don't have to choose; current Bat-writer Grant Morrison skillfully folds the whims", "Alan Cheuse reviews <em>A Replacement Life</em>, Boris Fishman's humorous account of Holocaust survivors in today's New York.", "Justin Simien's film is funny, but it pushes viewers to think seriously about race and stereotypes in their own lives. Tongue-in-cheek title aside, he says the film speaks to the \"human experience.\"", "Stories: 1) John Waters Reflects On His 'Role Models' 2) Ambrose Akinmusire: An Expressive Range Emerges 3) 'The Tree Of Life': A Creation Trip Worth Taking", "Since the post-World War II heyday of EC Comics, horror's been a signature comic book genre. Which is really odd, when you stop and think about it. For a couple of reasons. Reason One: Comics by their very nature defy what is perhaps the most frequently cited horror tenet, namely: The scariest stuff is the stuff you don't see. (In funnybooks, you see everything. That, in fact, is more or less the idea.) Oh, sure, writers and artists can set a mood, using language, line, shading and color. They can even build tension, of a sort, in that millisecond before you turn the next page. But (Reason Two) what they can't do is make effective use of tension-and-release, the two-stroke engine that drives horror narratives. If you've ever watched a movie through your fingers, you know what I'm talking about: The slow build of sick dread, the sudden shock, the screaming relief. The funny thing about each of those tropes, see, is that they are largely functions of pacing. And I'm going to let you in on a dirty secret about comics: Pacing? Doesn't exist. After the jump: Why horror comics have to settle for unsettling; assorted zombie matters; and the Monster at the End of this Post. Read More >> Try as they might, comic book creators can't truly control the rate at which readers proceed through their tales. The reason: Peripheral vision. The eye takes in the whole page at once, devouring everything from the placement of word balloons and sound effects to the arrangement of panels and the images therein. It's a fuzzy snapshot, yes, but it's enough to throw a spanner in the works. If, for example, while turning a fresh page in the latest issue of Betty and Veronica, you happen to catch even a fleeting glimpse, down in the lower left corner, of Mr. Wetherbee disemboweling Archie with a pickaxe, you can't will yourself to un-glimpse it: As you proceed through the panels, that farm implement sticking out of Archie's sweater vest will hover at the edge of your consciousness like a pinhole leak in the narrative, deflating the tension. Which is most likely why your average horror comic sets its sights considerably lower, at the reader's gag reflex. \"If all else fails, go for the gross out,\" wrote Stephen King in his how-to horror treatise, Danse Macabre, and they do. In this, as in everything, there are trends. Over the past few years, vampires in fetish gear have gradually ceded the comic-shop shelf space they once occupied to a plague of zombies. Yep, there's a whole lot of books about zombies. Just trust me on this. The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman's wrenching, character-driven account of an undead apocalypse, is the best of the lot by several orders of magnitude. Like its numerous lessers, it traffics in gore by the gobbet and blood by the bucketful — but what makes reading", "Moving beyond traditional superheroes, two new graphic novels recount the epic tales of scientists and the research that made them famous. Ira Flatow talks with authors Michael Keller and Apostolos Doxiadis about their graphic novels on natural selection and logic.", "Ohio State University professor Lucy Shelton Caswell gives a tour of the nation's largest collection of cartoons. Caswell is curator of The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library. The Cartoon Research Library's mission is to develop and provide access to a comprehensive collection of materials documenting American printed cartoon art. This includes editorial cartoons, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, sports and magazine cartoons, but not animation. NEAL CONAN, host: The great journalist A.J. Liebling once wrote: like every coward, I read the newspaper from back to front. Well, call me a coward, but before I read about politics or Iraq every morning, I hit the funnies, if for no other reason than I need a laugh to start the day. But the funnies are a lot more than that. For 100 years or more, these ephemeral bits of comedy, adventure and soap opera have not only brightened our lives, they'd offered us a view of ourselves and our sensibilities in far fewer words than the average editorial - and usually much funnier, too. Tucked away in this corner of this sprawling campus on the Ohio State University's Cartoon Research Library, the world's largest collection of American cartoon art. It has a quarter of a million original comic strips alone, as well as thousands of comic books, graphic novels - all that and editorial cartoons. Joining us now is the library's curator, Lucy Shelton Caswell. And thanks very much for being with us today. Ms. LUCY SHELTON CASWELL (Professor and Curator, The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library): My pleasure, thank you. (Soundbite of applause) CONAN: I was lucky enough to visit your collection yesterday, and one of the things that struck me was the collection of Will Eisner's strip The Spirit. You were telling me this work is an example of really two media: movies and comic strips, which kind of grew up together. Ms. CASWELL: That's true. We date the beginning of comics from the late 19th century, and silent films and comic strips both were hatched at that time. CONAN: And they sort of affected each other, the way each looked at the world. Ms. CASWELL: That's true. Each one tells stories by sequential pictures, and tries to entertain us or inform us or convince us of something. And it's really kind of fun to think about the fact that they were born around the same time. CONAN: There's a great scene in Michael Chabon's wonderful book The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay about two fictional - allegedly fictional - comic book artists, and they go to the movies and see Orson Wells' Citizen Kane. And the nature of their comic book changes immediately after that. In a way, they were describing Will Eisner and The Spirit. Ms. CASWELL: That's true. People have also said that Milton Caniff started doing things in Terry and the Pirates that people hadn't thought about doing on film until they saw him doing it in print. So it really is a cross-semination between comic strips and film that we don't - we haven't talked very much about. CONAN: Yeah, and, of course, it doesn't happen today until Spiderman 3 comes out. (Soundbite of laughter) CONAN: Now, when people visit the center, do they get a chance to actually look at these originals and touch them? Ms. CASWELL: Absolutely. That's what differentiates us from a museum, it's one of the things. We operate like any rare-books library. And we're happy to take your information, and you tell us what you're interested in seeing, and we'll bring out the Little Nemos in Slumberland or the Price Valiants or the Pogos or the original editorial cartoons - whatever it is that you're interested in seeing. CONAN: And where did you get this stuff? Ms. CASWELL: Many places. (Soundbite of laughter) Ms. CASWELL: Our original collection came from Milton Caniff, who is our founding donor, and then we've worked very hard over the succeeding years to have people donate materials to us. We don't have the resources to compete in the auction markets, so we want everyone to know that this is the best place in the country for their original cartoon art and manuscript materials to reside because we're going to take care of it and make it available to people who want to look at it. CONAN: This stuff, we've described it earlier as ephemeral. This is the definition - I mean, a lot of it's printed on, you know, stuff that wasn't meant to last more than a couple of days. You're supposed to wrap fish in it. (Soundbite of laughter) Ms. CASWELL: That's the story, but I think it's important to remember how much of our history is documented in this kind of material, and if we don't save it, we're going to lose it. It's very interesting, for example, to look at the comic strips from the depression or from World War II or from the Vietnam era because we can gain sort of a sense of the time - the language, what was acceptable, what wasn't acceptable. It's amazing to me to look at World War II comics, for example, and then what we see in", "There are two things viewers should know right from the start about Legion, which premieres Wednesday night on FX. One is that it doesn't look, or feel, like a drama based on a comic book — it's more like a next-generation version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as filtered through H.P. Lovecraft or Edgar Allan Poe. The other is that it comes from Noah Hawley, who managed to take an already great movie — the Coen Brothers' Fargo — and use it as inspiration for a couple of equally terrific Fargo miniseries. Hawley's TV versions of Fargo are all about character and acting, and plot twists, and deliciously rich visuals. The same is true of Legion — especially about the visuals. Now that I think of it, that's the third thing you need to know about Legion in advance: You have to watch it. I mean, really watch it. No multi-tasking. I don't think I've ever seen a TV series that demands you watch it more attentively — or rewards that effort quite as much. Images come so fast and furiously, it's impossible to make sense of them at first. But that's because Legion, as a TV show, is reflecting and refracting the perspective of its central character, David Haller, whose senses are bombarded the same way, and who feels just as overwhelmed. The opening sequence shows us quick-cut images summarizing David's entire life to that point, to the tune of \"Happy Jack\" by the Who. But David's life is anything but happy. At the end of the montage, he tries to commit suicide by hanging himself. David fails in the attempt, of course, or there'd be no show. But he awakens in a psychiatric hospital, where he's administered anti-psychotic drugs and placed in group therapy. All we know about David, at this point, is what little he knows about himself. He's been institutionalized because he hears voices, has what he thinks are hallucinations and can barely function. David is played by Dan Stevens, whom viewers may remember — but probably won't recognize — as the ill-fated Downton Abbey heartthrob Matthew Crawley. In Legion, Stevens' character is silent, sullen and jittery — even around his one friend in the hospital, Lenny, played by Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Recreation. But David perks up considerably when he encounters a quirky and opinionated new patient named Syd, played by Rachel Keller. She's not comfortable with human contact — and when she joins David's therapy group and sits down while David is talking, the therapist retains his cool, but both Lenny and David are clearly intrigued by her. The more Syd talks, the more David comes out of his shell — making for the most improbable and inconvenient romantic relationship since Pushing Daisies. He asks her to be his boyfriend, and she says yes — but only if he promises not to touch her. Apparently, this Legion series is based on a Marvel comic from the 1980s — an offshoot of The X-Men in which Legion, the superhero name eventually adopted by David, has a series of powers, and a very powerful genetic lineage. But Hawley starts this TV series with an origin story where the hero doesn't even know he's a hero, or that he has powers. David thinks he's delusional — and doesn't know why there are strangers, outside of the hospital, trying to find, kidnap and control him. In the first three hours of the show made available for preview, there are no superhero costumes, and only the shadowy threat of a true villain. Instead, there are mysterious characters with mysterious motives, played by Jean Smart, Bill Irwin and others. If you've seen either of Hawley's Fargo miniseries, he's probably already earned your trust. Legion will take trust, too, and commitment — three episodes in, it's just getting started, and many of those almost subliminal images will take that long to become clear. But wow, what a fun ride. What an audacious, impressive, unpredictable trip. And for Hawley, it's yet another amazingly original, and exciting, TV adaptation from a different medium. DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Our TV critic, David Bianculli, has a review of \"Legion,\" a new TV series inspired by a Marvel comic premiering Wednesday on the FX cable network. Superheroes from the Marvel comic book universe have established hit movie franchises based on characters from \"The X-Men,\" \"Iron Man,\" \"The Avengers,\" \"The Amazing Spider-Man\" and others. Marvel characters have also been on TV lately in such series as \"Jessica Jones\" and \"Daredevil\" on Netflix and ABC's \"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.\" David says \"Legion\" is TV's best comic book adaptation yet and by far the most visual. DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: Two things to know about \"Legion\" right from the start. One is that it doesn't look or feel like a drama based on a comic book. It's more like a next-generation version of \"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest\" as filtered through H.P. Lovecraft or Edgar Allan Poe. The other is that it comes from Noah Hawley, who managed to take an already great movie - the Coen brothers' \"Fargo\" - and use it as inspiratio", "\"Stories can be true even if they're not real,\" muses nine-year-old Alex Torrey. His whole life has been steeped in stories: His parents were the stars of a cult favorite science fiction television show, Anomaly, and both have continued their acting careers somewhat successfully. Alex is a budding writer and voracious reader, devouring each installment of a Harry Potter-like young adult book series. It doesn't take long for readers of Bob Proehl's novel A Hundred Thousand Worlds to discover that Alex has been, in a way, living in a world of fiction for most of his life. He knows that his mother, Valerie, is taking him on a road trip from New York to Los Angeles to reunite with his estranged father. But he doesn't know that the visit will last longer than he imagined, due to a secret Valerie's been keeping from him for years. Alex and Valerie's road trip, punctuated by stops at comic book conventions, where Valerie is in high demand, is the main thread in a novel that — for better and for worse — has quite a few of them. A Hundred Thousand Worlds is a charming, sprawling novel by an author whose ambition, while laudable, sometimes gets the best of him. As the two travelers go their way from one ocean to the other, they befriend a handful of people who are also on the convention circuit. There's Brett, a sweet indie comic book artist whose collaboration with his best friend causes him more than a few headaches. There's Gail, the founder of \"a feminist and sometimes misandrist website called BrainsOverBreasts.com\" — she's since ditched blogging for a job writing for a major comic book publisher. And then there's a group of women cosplayers, paid by convention organizers to dress up as popular comic book heroes and roam the convention halls. Their main function in the novel is to provide a kind of running commentary about the comic book industry; besides their (sometimes funny) quips, it's not entirely clear what they're doing in the book. There are some things that Proehl does well in A Hundred Thousand Worlds. First of all, he's a talented and earnest writer who never condescends to his characters. While Valerie doesn't completely understand the devotion fans had for her show, she's encouraged by the purity of their fandom: \"It's something she likes quite a bit about this little world: the capability of those within it to get deeply and sincerely excited about things. She wonders how they fare in the real world, where excitement is poorly valued, and she tries to think of things she has been excited about. There are so few.\" Proehl's best accomplishment in the book, though, is the very realistic, and very sweet, relationship between Valerie and Alex, \"this lifesaver, this impossible child.\" Alex is precocious, but he never acts like anything other than a nine-year-old, and his observations manage to be both childlike and wise: \"There are practically no other kids [at the comic book convention], which is stupid, because there's so much stuff for kids here.\" But the novel is, unfortunately, way too busy, and the other characters aren't as well-realized as Valerie and Alex. Brett exists in the book chiefly to be a foil for Alex, who's taken a shine to the mopey artist. And Gail comes off as a stand-in, inserted into the novel to rail against the problems of the comic book industry: discrimination against (and objectification of) women, homophobia, the unchecked use of sexual assault as a plot device in comic books. Those are, of course, real problems in the comic book industry (and so many other ones, too), and it's refreshing to see a writer aware of them. But it's awkwardly shoehorned in, and it's a distraction from the main story. This is a common problem with debut novelists — they frequently have the urge to incorporate every idea they've ever had into their first book. A Hundred Thousand Worlds is messy at times, but it's not without its charms, and Proehl's wit and insight make it very likely he'll write a great novel some day. And writing a novel is a lot harder than it looks, of course — as Gail puts it: \"It's tougher when you're moving things to an ending. Beginnings are so much simpler — everything can sprawl out. But endings have to winnow to a point, and it's easier to trip and stumble into it than to smoothly spiral downward.\"", "At No. 3, Elizabeth Gilbert's<em> The Signature of All Things </em>follows a gifted botanist as she researches the mysteries of evolution and falls in love with an artist.", "The process would use genetic material from three people to avoid serious genetic diseases. <em>Weekend Edition Sunday</em> host Rachel Martin talks with journalist Jessica Griggs about the procedure.", "The show explores new research that examines genetic and environmental factors that may influence common diseases like heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, asthma and Alzheimer's disease, among others.", "Roman Mars hosts the radio show and podcast 99% Invisible. It's a show about the little known stories behind everyday design and architecture. Prefabricated homes. Trash can design. Even those little ramps you see on sidewalk corners: how and why did stuff like that come to be? He just released a new book based on the podcast – it's called the The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design. The book is an illustrated look at how cities work, and why they work the way they do. Roman is also the founder of the podcast network Radiotopia. He's worked in podcasts and radio for decades. His career didn't start out in audio, though. He was originally getting a PhD in genetics, pipetting stuff into tubes, recording data. Roman Mars joins us to talk about life before podcasting, and what decades in radio has taught him. Plus, the COVID-19 Pandemic has affected the design of cities, and which of those changes might be permanent. His new book 99 Percent Invisible City is out now.", "The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported this morning that Harvey Pekar, file clerk, writer, Bard of Cleveland Heights, wildly incongruous biopic subject and comics’ most beloved schlub, has passed away at the age of 70. American Splendor, the indie book Pekar wrote (and got some of the biggest names in comics to illustrate, over the years) was hugely influential.  But it was something else, too -- something that few Big Important Things That Change History tend to be: It was, and remains, funny. He reveled in the small, frustrating, prosaic details of life -- of life in Cleveland, in particular -- and set them down with blunt honesty. He was vocally, vigorously unpretentious. Fame disgusted him (his attitude toward the money it brought was more nuanced), but he knew talent when he saw it; his collaborators say the man they knew was kinder and more soft-spoken than the prickly, aggrieved persona that got him regular guest spots on Letterman in the '80s. But man, those guest spots. Even the later, kind of uncomfortable ones are a frickin' hoot. They were how many of us of a certain age were first exposed to him, and they led us straight to his books, which were simply, unmistakably ... HIM.  More of that guy we’d seen goading a giggling Dave: darkly funny, deeply conflicted, politically pugnacious and, mostly, honest. But back to his work: He showed that comics could talk to their readers without shouting.  He showed a generation of writers that simply having access to the medium’s unlimited special effects budget didn’t mean they had to use it.  His comics were about people, not icons -- people frustrated by their jobs, their spouses, their municipal government. Speaking of: Cleveland’s own Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster created Superman, a character whose demigod status neatly encapsulated their desire to transcend their humble origins. Pekar, on the other hand, created a character -- himself -- who embraced Cleveland, even when he was railing against it. To him, humble beginnings weren’t a something you transcend. They were the stuff you wrote about.", "<em>New Yorker</em> writer Michael Specter discusses emerging biotechnologies that will make it possible to remove disease and change the characteristics of life by rewriting the genetic code in cells.", "Would you eat a genetically engineered salmon? Are you even sure what the difference is between the regular variety and one that's been tweaked to grow faster? Don't feel bad if you're unsure. Only a quarter of Americans say they fully understand what genetically engineered food is all about, according to a survey of more then 3,000 people conducted for NPR by Thomson Reuters last month. Press people a little further by asking them if genetically engineered foods are safe, and the uncertainty climbs higher. Only 21 percent of people are convinced the foods are safe. Most are unsure — 64 percent. The remaining 15 percent think the foods aren't safe. Read More People who are a little older, make more money and have at least a college degree are most likely to think safety is not an issue for the foods, whose qualities have been altered by laboratory manipulation of DNA. One thing everyone seems to agree on is that a food should say on its label if it's from some genetically modified animal or plant — 9 in 10 people surveyed said so. But that's not guaranteed. Unless there's a really important difference between the normal food and the engineered one, like, say, a change that could cause an allergic reaction in some people, U.S. regulators aren't in a position to require a label that says a food is the result of genetically alteration in the lab. Take, for instance, the fast-growing genetically engineered salmon being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration right now. The agency has said there's no material difference between the flesh of the altered fish and the ubiquitous farm-raised Atlantic salmon in markets today. So don't look for FDA to require a special label, if it gives the fish the OK. Bottom line, would you eat a food that has been genetically engineered? People's willingness to chow down on the altered stuff varied a lot by what sort of food would be on the plate: 60 percent are fine with genetically engineered vegetables, fruits or grains. 38 percent said OK to altered meat. 35 percent would try a genetically engineered fish. Now you can't get the fish with tweaked DNA just yet, but engineered grains are kind of hard to avoid. From corn to tomatoes, the FDA has cleared the way for a wide range of modified foods. Overall, a little more than two-thirds of those surveyed said they knew that already. More than 80 percent of people with a college degree say they were aware that some modified food is on the market. By contrast, only 45 percent with a high school education or less knew that." ]

[ "This looks like something to use socat, not iptables.\nYou need to employ socat on server1 to listen on specific port and forward traffic to server2 through tor. Something along the lines:\nsocat TCP-LISTEN:4444 SOCKS4A:localhost:server2:12345,socksport=9050\n\nThe above command assumes tor running on server1 on the usual port 9050.\nYou may want to have a look at socat man page for additional options, especially for TCP-LISTEN." ]

[ "You need a Socks5 library for c#, that you then can use to communicate over tor.\n\nOne example of such library is :\nhttps://github.com/ThrDev/Socks5\n\nThere is also a example here: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/5954/C-class-for-connecting-via-a-SOCKS-Proxy-Server\n\nTypically what you need to do is to use a library and connect to the proxy.\n\n'Hostname' will need to be '127.0.0.1' or 'localhost'.\n\nThe 'Port' will need to be set to '9150'. (if using tor browser bundle it might be a different port).\n\nThe 'Type' will be set to 'Socks5'.", "does it matter that a onion site is being hosted behind a LAN or not.\n \n Can someone access my onion site which is being hosted in a LAN, from\n outside that LAN\n\n\nYes, they can access it without a problem. The tor service on your computer reaches out to the Tor network and starts the connection. When someone visits your website, the Tor network knows how to reach the onion service that you are hosting via that connection. If you stop your web server or you stop the tor service, then they can't reach it anymore. If you want an in-depth explanation, then read the Tor design document and other documentation.", "Webservers generally accept many simultaneous connections, and process many requests simultaneously. As Peter Palfrader aka weasel notes in his answer, the Tor hidden service protocol can also handle multiple simultaneous connections. \n\nUsers see the webserver's public hostname, and connect via Tor circuits. The webserver sees users coming from virtual ports on the Tor gateway. But they're all routed through one reverse proxy, so there is a throughput bottleneck.\n\n[This space is available for someone who can explain workarounds.]\n\nMake sure that your server is well secured. If you need remote ssh and sftp, disable password-based login and and root login, and allow only id_rsa.pub-based login by user. Also, stick to static html unless you know php and mysql well. Vulnerabilities in php and mysql are the major holes when remote login is secured.\n\nIf you're just learning, it may be best to start with thttpd. It's a very simple and secure (with small attack surface) webserver. And it also \"has one extremely useful feature (URL-traffic-based throttling) that no other server currently has\".", "This is a bit of a simplistic explanation, but I hope it helps.\n\nThe Tor service, running on the machine where the onion service is being hosted, reaches out to the Tor Network and says, if you want to use onion abcxyz.onion or port 80, then you have to talk to me (the service) but not to the IP of the machine. Because the connection is originated from the machine being hosted and not from an external machine, no actual IP is needed to be shared.\n\nTo look at it another way.\n\nI set up a web server on standard TCP port 80\nI make sure that my firewall is closed on TCP port 80 so nobody can connect to that web server. (sounds pointless, right?)\nI then tell the Tor service to advertise that web server on Tor so people can view it. \nYou say, \"but wait you have a firewall up, they won't be able to see your web sserver!\"\nThat would be true if I was expecting external users to connect to me.\nInstead, the Tor service connected to the Tor Network via UDP (not TCP) and other people are able to use that connection to come in and view my web server even with the firewall turned on.\nNobody ever sees my IP because that UDP connection from my web server to the Tor network doesn't contain TCP/IP informatation. It just contains an address and a connection to get in.", "Yes it is possible. But if your client accept resolving Onion addresses through SOCKS proxy. As an example, if you are developing own code, here is the way you should build your socket using UnresolvedSocket.\n\nIf you are planning your own hidden mail server, you can configure hidden mail server behind TOR. My blog post about configuring hidden mail service.\n\nAnd if you are planning to configure your mail client, you can configure thunderbird with TOR. My blog post about configuring thunderbird with TOR\n\nOr my contribution in K9 Mail, Android Mail Client for adding SOCKS proxy support which can be used to connecting to TOR. My blog post about configuring K9 Android client for using TOR", "Run a tool like tracert and you will see where your traffic is lost.\n\nIf your connection to the website is routed via VPN, your ISP provider cannot block it.\n\n1) Check the routing when VPN is activated. It may happen, that traffic to some hosts or networks is routed not via VPN, but via your provider.\n\n2) When traffic is really routed via VPN, then the VPN provider may block some hosts.\n\n3) ExperssVPN is not an internet provider. It operates in the networks of different ISPs. Some of these ISPs may block your website. Try to select another ExpressVPN server, e.g. from different country. You say, via Tor it works. Check via what IP you are reaching the website, and in ExpressVPN select a server from the same country as Tor exit node.", "There's one important fact that makes such an attack extremely difficult. A connection between a Tor client and a Tor hidden service is actually composed of two entirely separate circuits that both connect to a rendezvous point. One circuit is set up by the client, the other by the server. \n\nTherefore, the client doesn't know which relays the data uses on the journey from the RP to the server, and it's not possible to \"traceroute\" anything beyond the RP. Likewise, the server has no idea how the client gets to the RP. If the server is a normal web service rather than a Tor hidden service, it still doesn't know anything about the client's path to the exit node.\n\nThat path can involve relays from all over the world. It's possible for two machines to be right next to each other but transfer data over a Tor connection with 100ms latency thanks to all the bouncing around. (The fastest possible physical speed for data transfer is about 5 milliseconds for a thousand miles, because of the speed of light.) \n\nIt is conceivably possible to get an upper bound on the distance if you get extremely lucky and all chosen relays are physically close. Still, there's going to be a lot of noise from Tor's low bandwidth, and it's shockingly unlikely that anybody lives close enough to a sufficiently large clump of Tor relays to allow such deanonymization. Also, this technique would be very vulnerable to deliberate deception.", "Well,it`s complicated,I guess these two links can help :https://www.torproject.org/about/overview.html.en\nand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Secure \n\n\n\nNote this :\"Everything in the HTTPS message is encrypted, including the headers, and the request/response load. With the exception of the possible CCA cryptographic attack described in the limitations section below, the attacker can only know the fact that a connection is taking place between the two parties, already known to him, the domain name and IP addresses.\"So you see HTTP headers are encrypted too.\n\n\n\nAnd this:\"Since protocols can operate either with or without TLS (or SSL), it is necessary for the client to indicate to the server the setup of a TLS connection. There are two main ways of achieving this. One option is to use a different port number for TLS connections (for example, port 443 for HTTPS). The other is for the client to request that the server switches the connection to TLS using a protocol-specific mechanism (for example, STARTTLS for mail and news protocols).Once the client and server have agreed to use TLS, they negotiate a stateful connection by using a handshaking procedure.\"Look,that means servers(and tor nodes) do not need to know what contain in your HTTP headers,they just know your browser are trying to connect with them.\n\n\n\nThis:\"Instead of taking a direct route from source to destination, data packets on the Tor network take a random pathway through several relays that cover your tracks so no observer at any single point can tell where the data came from or where it's going.\"If the requested website do not support HTTPS,then your data will be decrypted at Tor exit nodes,and these exit nodes will know all of you,include which IP address(or domain name) it is to finally route the traffic to ;otherwise I guess only the special data which only contains what server(IP address or domain name) the client(this should be your browser,in fact it becomes one of Tor exit nodes finally) tries to build a SSL/TLS connection are the only data which is decrypted at Tor exit nodes,other data(include HTTP headers) is still encrypted until it reaches the requested server finally.\nI hope my explaination can help you:)", "There are three general end-to-end encryption techniques for servers using Tor.\nHTTPS\nWhen connecting to a website using HTTPS, Tor does provide end-to-end encryption. This is explained beautifully on the EFF's Tor and HTTPS demo page. When you are using HTTPS, the exit node is not privy to any data going through it because the session key for the traffic is shared only between the client's browser and the destination website's server.\n\nAn example of this would be the https://duckduckgo.com/, the DuckDuckGo domain. The session key is known only to your browser and the DDG server. Reading the traffic requires breaking TLS.\nHidden services\nThis seems to actually be what you are describing. Rather than setting up a website on an exit node (which is public), a website can be created on a server which runs Tor and which is accessible via a particular onion address, allowing the server to be provided with the same anonymity that the client gets. A hidden service is accessible only via its onion name, and the location of the hidden service is hidden from both the client and any other adversaries who may want to pinpoint it. When using a hidden service, traffic never leaves the Tor network.\nConnecting to a hidden service involves the client creating a three-hop circuit as normal, but additionally involves the hidden service creating its own three-hop circuit. The client and server agree on a rendezvous point where the third hop in each circuit meet up and exchange data. This allows the traffic to be end-to-end encrypted, even if the hidden service does not provide HTTPS (non-EV certificates are currently not supported for .onion domains). The encryption is provided by the Tor protocol itself, with a key being shared by the client and the server's Tor process.\nAn example of this is the https://3g2upl4pq6kufc4m.onion/, the DuckDuckGo onion domain. Even without HTTPS, traffic to that site is encrypted by the Tor protocol. There are no exit nodes involved in connecting to a hidden service because no traffic ever exits the network.\nHidden services are now frequently referred to as &quot;onion services&quot;. Additionally, a new version of hidden services, version three, has been rolled out. It features a new protocol and longer domain names. The general concept behind v3 hidden services is the same as for v2.\nPinned exit nodes\nThere is an open proposal to implement pinned exit nodes. This involves a server sending an HTTP header which specifies a particular exit node which the client should from then on use when connecting to the website. It allows websites to run their own trusted exits. The motivation for the proposal is to mitigate man-in-the-middle attacks and promote end-to-end encryption:\n\nSimilar to the now-obsolete concept of exit enclaves, this proposal\nenables web services to express that Tor clients should prefer a\npredefined set of exit relays when connecting to the service. We\nencourage sensitive sites to set up their own exit relays and have\nTor clients prefer these relays, thus greatly mitigating the risk of\nman-in-the-middle attacks.\n\nPinned exit nodes have not yet been implemented.", "You should consider moving Tor to a dedicated machine with a BIG amount of CPU cores. Don;t forget to adjust torrc via NumCPUs X to the real core quantity minus one to make sure that your tor-host machine will have some power for itself. If you're using a cloud host for that - increase number of CPU cores for your server correcting your NumCPUs directive. General sysctl and ulimit-based tuning is in order, of course : fast networking via buffers + number of connections. Feel free to ask further questions!", "it also makes my first service stop working\n\n\nThis indicates that the problem is with your Tor, not with your web server. You should be able to confirm this by connecting directly to your web server from the same host.\n\nDoes your Tor successfully start up at all? Check your Tor log file to see if it complains about anything related to hidden services. \n\nMy best guess would be ownership and/or permissions on your hidden service directories. (Should be 700 or drwx------) Did you have Tor generate your keys or did you copy your own private keys or even hostname files into them? If you copied them in, make sure they have correct ownership and permissions as well. (Should be 600 or -rw-------)\n\nJust some suggestions:\nThe port for your HS and the port it connects to don't have to be the same. You can do HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:7786 for example. This way, your users don't have to specify a port number and just connect to 80. You can have multiple onions use the same port number. \n\nOn the Apache side, you can also use the same port number for multiple VirtualHosts, since they have different ServerNames.", "In regard to the server requirements, there are a few important differences between a hidden FTP service and a regular FTP service. Also, you should check your ftp server software to make sure it doesn't leak your IP address.\n\n\nForce the client to use passive mode, not active/port mode. In passive mode the client initiates both the control and the data connection. In active mode, the server initiates the data connection. See here for more details. (I think it'd be hard to support active mode, because from the perspective of the ftp server, the client is connecting from localhost, so when the server makes the data connection to the client it will try to connect to localhost. You'd need some serious magic to intercept and redirect that connection, through tor, and to the client's .onion address. So to keep things easy, stick with passive mode.)\nTo establish the data connection, the server will pick a new port and tell the client to connect to the server at that port. Since tor needs to know about that port range, you'll need to configure the ftp server to use a predefined port range and then add each of the port numbers in that range to a HiddenServicePort directive.\nRFC 959 specifies that the server send the IP address and port number when soliciting a passive mode data connection. Since, from the perspective of the server, the client is localhost, this IP address should be 127.0.0.1. If you configure your ftp server to only bind to the loopback address, then you can be reasonably sure that the server won't send your public IP to the client. If you're paranoid, you can use a tool like strace to check.\n\n1707 write(0, \"227 Entering Passive Mode (127,0,0,1,7,208).\\r\\n\", 46 &lt;unfinished ...&gt;\n\n\n\nHere is a concrete example using CentOS 6 and vsftpd (check vsftpd docs here).\n\n\nInstall vsftpd (yum install -y vsftpd)\nDisable active mode by appending port_enable=NO to /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf\nMake sure that vsftpd only binds to localhost, not your public IP address. Append listen_address=127.0.0.1 to vsftpd.conf. For additional safety, reject/drop the ftp port and your chosen data ports at your firewall.\nForce vsftpd to use certain ports for the data connection, by appending these two params to vsftpd.conf: pasv_max_port=2000 and pasv_min_port=2000.\nEnable and start vsftpd. (chkconfig vsftpd on; service vsftpd start)\nTest the ftp server by making a local connection. You might have to temporarily disable SElinux (setenforce 0)\nConfigure the FTP service in tor\n\nHiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/ftp-service/\nHiddenServicePort 21\nHiddenServicePort 2000\n\n\n(you may want to use more than one data port if you expect to support multiple clients at the same time.)\nRestart Tor. (service tor restart)\nCheck /var/lib/tor/ftp-service/hostname for the hostname of your hidden service.\nUse the tor browser bundle to connect to the hidden ftp service. The Tor wiki talks about it here.", "In Tor terminology OR connections go from clients and servers. So if a client makes a connection to a relay or two relays have a connection those would be OR connections.\n\nSome institutions use proxies in their network. Usually this are HTTP (and HTTPS) proxies. In some cases another protocol (SOCKS4, SOCKS5 etc.) could also be used for proxying. If you happen to use such a SOCKS proxy in your network, you'll have to set this option.\n\nThis option also allows to run an exit node over a SOCKS proxy. However if you do this you should ensure that you don't mess with the traffic of your users.", "welcome.\nBy the message in line 20 of the log:\n20. Exception: Can't extend to hidden service\n\nI think your tor daemon is not accepting connections coming to it.\nDid you created Hidden services in your torrc server machine?\nSince I'm a new user and I need 50 messages to be able to post a comment, I will use this Answer field.\nFor every port you want your tor to accept, you need to create a hidden service. Add these lines to you torrc tor configuration file on the server that is hosting the tor daemon:\nHiddenServiceDir C:\\Tor\\Data\\Tor\\os-ssh\nHiddenServicePort 22 127.0.0.1:22\n\nChange the path to adequate to your system, the ports to the ports you are currently using, and the name &quot;os-ssh&quot; to whatever you want. You can opt to maintain the prefix &quot;os-&quot; since I think it is the most default one.\nNevertheless to say, you can add several hidden services, just copy and past those two lines and edit as you wish.\nIf you are using the tor service as a proxy server, for others connect through it or even your application, you need to add:\nSocksPort 192.168.0.5:9100\nSocksPolicy accept 192.168.0.0/24\n\nHere change the ip to the ip of your computer that is running tor and change the default port from 9050 to 9100, to avoid conflicts, mainly if you also use Tor Browser (as I use). The SocksPolicy you can configure to accept all incoming connections from your local network trying to user this tor as a proxy server, instead of have to install the tor application on every computer. You can also change the ip to * (SocksPolicy accept *), meaning you will accept all incoming connections to serve as a proxy. You can also read more about the reject options, instead of accept.\nSorry by the awful text formatting, this is ones of my first posts here.\nP.S. You can also create your application normally as you as working with ipv4 address, and using some proxy software like torsocks (linux) or Proxifier (windows). They you resolve the onions addresses, since they will use the proxy to resolve DNS(in Proxifier, if you check a box containing such option). Anyway, if you use linux, preffer seriously torsocks.", "... it says firefox is unable to establish a connection to the server at localhost. ...\n\n\nYour issue is similar to this one:\nTor Secret Key isn&#39;t working on local host server\n\nI believe the solution to your issue is in my first comment to that question:\n\n\n your web server has its hostname set to localhost and to return a Content-location or Location header. See if you can config your web server to not care about hostname or set it to your onion address.", "You have two options :\n\n\nsend a SIGHUP to tor via killall -HUP tor\nsetup a ControlPort and via telnet control protocol send SIGNAL NEWNYM", "To connect using Pluggable Transports as a client, you need to know about at least one bridge relay that offers this particular pluggable transport. This list of bridges is not public, because that would make them trivial to block - directly working against the point of having bridges in the first place.\n\nIf you connect to the Tor network directly, you don't need any special knowledge. Your Tor client can query the publicly available directory servers and learn about all the Tor relays there are and connect and use the Tor network.\n\nThe anonymity comes from using the public Tor network to build your connections. Pluggable transports don't provide anonymity - their goal is to allow you to connect to the Tor cloud in the first place in case you are in a location that filters your Internet.", "The important bit of information from the logs is Network is unreachable [WSAENETUNREACH ]; NOROUTE. (Second line from the bottom.)\n\nA couple of ideas:\n\n\nCheck you can connect to the internet normally (i.e. without using Tor).\nIf you're using your cellphone as a hotspot, is your phone connecting to the internet via 3G/4G, or via WiFi? If via WiFi (perhaps in a cafe, or somewhere else where you don't normally use the internet), you might be trying to connect to the internet via an ISP that blocks Tor, in which case you would need to use a Tor bridge.\n\n\nI'd check #1 first...", "It is not possible to get the IP address of a Tor hidden service.\n\nFor a normal Tor circuit, the client knows the IP of the server, but the server does not know the IP of the client.\n\nThe idea behind hidden services is that when both a client and a server are Tor-enabled, it's possible to build Tor circuits in both directions and hide both the client and server IP (by using intermediate nodes).\n\n\n\nReferences: a high-level description of the protocol can be found in Tor: Hidden Service Protocol, while a more detailed description can be found in the original design paper Tor: The Second-Generation Onion Router.\n\n\n\nRelated:\n\n\nHow can I get the IP address for a ToR Hidden Service (HSP) with a .onion address?", "This is not what is actually happening. When a Tor client first starts, it does connect to the central Tor servers (Directory Authorities, they're called), but it gets the list of all Tor relays including their keys, not just a few of them. This list is signed by a majority of the Directory Authorities, so any attacker has to compromise (via technical or legal means) a majority of them to target your client. The DAs are placed in different jurisdictions to make the legal attack less likely, and the operators try to take good care of them to ensure technical integrity.\n\nUnfortunately, there is no stronger mechanism in place.", "In theory, it should be just a matter of fetching /tor/rendezvous2/&lt;hidden service identity&gt; via HTTP from the hidden service directory responsible for that hidden service, as per the rend spec, in particular section 1.6.\n\nIn practice, you need to find the right server to download it from and then form the request correctly. That's a bit icky to do manually. There is a script by DonnchaC, retrieve_hs_descriptor, which depends on Stem and helps with that part.\n\nAs an example, right now the descriptor for the DuckDuckGo hidden service can be found, among other places, at\n\n\nhttp://64.31.47.121:9030/tor/rendezvous2/yj446zqor4cczgxzl3kgtmdbfgwkj6de\n\n\nand looks like this:\n\n\nrendezvous-service-descriptor yj446zqor4cczgxzl3kgtmdbfgwkj6de\nversion 2\npermanent-key\n-----BEGIN RSA PUBLIC KEY-----\nMIGJAoGBAJ/SzzgrXPxTlFrKVhXh3buCWv2QfcNgncUpDpKouLn3AtPH5Ocys0jE\naZSKdvaiQ62md2gOwj4x61cFNdi05tdQjS+2thHKEm/KsB9BGLSLBNJYY356bupg\nI5gQozM65ENelfxYlysBjJ52xSDBd8C4f/p9umdzaaaCmzXG/nhzAgMBAAE=\n-----END RSA PUBLIC KEY-----\nsecret-id-part a2pcyuhciqsrah34benwufa54aandwzh\npublication-time 2013-10-01 15:59:47\nprotocol-versions 2,3\nintroduction-points\n-----BEGIN MESSAGE-----\n//OUTPUT CUT\n-----END MESSAGE-----\nsignature\n-----BEGIN SIGNATURE-----\nVEToDAxw1X77NwcM6/DG+I3uu8lLlFpI//rUHjLRC0unA7kRp6xY4E6xpcbl4KUX\nEUUkJ3hXhmB3gFAjUkk70IDr5HIP86Z/ZTl6WvbTFWYLUPJQtt08XSmY788FG1lA\nnTnNbqms5Nt5HKsG5khZf5viIuU3ei+u0SIv3gHy3JY=\n-----END SIGNATURE-----\n\n\n\n\nNote that for servers running a Tor version 0.2.4.x or 0.2.3.23 or later, the answer is even trickier. Such servers, when acting as hidden service directories, will require these HTTP requests to be done via an encrypted connection, i.e. over Tor and not using plain-text HTTP. So that makes it a bit more tricky. The easiest approach might be to modify Tor and have it dump HS descriptors when you fetch them.\n\nOtherwise you could use Stem get_hidden_service_descriptor function. \nThe following python script will print the HS descriptor for the onion address passed as command line parameter.\n\n\nimport sys\nfrom stem.control import Controller\n\nwith Controller.from_port(port = 9051) as controller:\n controller.authenticate()\n print(controller.get_hidden_service_descriptor(sys.argv[1]))", "I have two suggestions:\n\n1) If you like to use services such as gmail or yahoo which they have limitations for using TOR, you can set a VPN after TOR, which makes VPN's IP as your public IP, but you yourself connect to VPN through TOR.\nYou can check more at:VPN Through TOR\n\n2) If you want to create your own hidden mail service over TOR, which only you (and whom you've told about it) can access it, you may check my site for finding about the steps. I have used a simple but powerful email server named hMailServer.\n\nThe steps are in this link.\n\n\n\nInformation about how to access to the mail server using PC, can be found HERE. And if you prefer to access the hidden mail server using Android, refer HERE.", "Hello and good time of the day! To avoid too-overcomplicated setups just use a routing via firewall for all the MTA(Postfix in your case) usernames to route them directly through Tor. The only delicate spot here is the DNS - use your own local BIND setup to resolve all the stuff - Tor does not work with UDP, so it will fail to tunnel DNS requests via Tor too, and Tor's DNS backend is very limited in functionality, so it won't work for a mail server as it should(because Tor DNSPort is made for some different tasks).", "I have set up gits in the past, and have used Tor to protect them. It works just as setting up any other service. Simply set up your server (ensure that there is not something that could expose your true IP address in it), and then forward the port to Tor.\n\nThe only problem I have had in the past with this is the fact that it isn't easy to connect to Tor from the client end. Fortunately, using a socks5 interface, we can connect.", "It's not clear if that story is true or not:\nhttps://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/09/dread-pirate-sunk-by-leaky-captcha/\nhttps://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/10/silk-road-lawyers-poke-holes-in-fbis-story/\nBut generally, your onion service can directly leak personal information in two ways:\n\nOnion service connects to a third-party server without connecting through Tor. For example reCAPTCHA requires the service itself to connect to reCAPTCHA to verify that the user completed the verification correctly, which the service must make sure to route through Tor or else the reCAPTCHA server will learn the IP address of the onion service.\nThe server software on your onion service may also add personally-identifying information in its responses to user requests, leaking service information to the user. For example, if the server software (or some library/package that the server was using) added its public IP address to a user response.\n\nThis is why it's a bad idea to use server software or libraries in your onion service without thoroughly vetting them first. For more information see here and here.", "Well, the question is multi-part, and the final answer will depend on how you're making the combo in your particular case, here you go:\n\n\nRunning VPN and Tor node on the same VPS has nothing to do with security or privacy degrading: it's absolutely safe by itself\nRemember, that VPN is a strict and direct service, i.e. if something is connecting to a VPN server - so it's a 100% clear that it's a VPN client and nothing else. So :\n\n\nif you'll connect to the VPN via clearnet Internet - yes, your IP and VPS IP are corellated.\nif your VPN is listening to darknet(dot-onion) address only - it's not binding your IP to VPS IP due to the nature of the Tor hidden services", "defalt answered your question in a nutshell. The solution Tor uses to hide your IP address, and nevertheless allows you to host a hidden service, is that it is the host of the hidden service that reaches out for the client through Tor circuits, so that the client or any other node never has to contact the service host directly.\nThis is a totally different model than what is used on \"the internet\", where it is the client that takes the initiative to contact the server, and hence, the contact information of the host (DNS name/IP address) must be known: with Tor, it is the server that takes the initiative to contact the client.\n\nHowever, of course, the true initiative of first contact comes from the client. This is where the \"rendez-vous point\" is used, which is at the initiative of the client, but which is waiting for the server to reach out for it.\n\nTor uses a kind of 2-tier model for this. On the side of the server, the server announces its service to Tor-nodes called \"introduction points\". There are just random Tor relays willing to accept this job. The server contacts them through Tor circuits, so these introduction points don't know the server's address, only that an anonymous server has announced a service, and gave a public key that goes with it.\nThese introduction points are made public on a database (their IP addresses will be known publicly as being introduction points to this service). The server regularly contacts these introduction points to find out whether any client wants to use his services. That's the clue of this system.\n\nWhen a client learns about this service and looks it up in the database, it will find the introduction points. The client now connects through a Tor circuit to another random Tor relay, which will take up the function of a Rendez-vous point. The client also connects to one of the publicly known introduction points of the service through yet another Tor circuit, to announce the desire to contact the service, and to inform about the RV point.\n\nWhen the service contacts regularly its introduction points (through Tor circuits), it will find out about the client request on one of these Introduction points ; it can then contact the RV point through another Tor circuit, where both client and server are then connected through their respective Tor circuits.\n\nAs such, the client and the server always remain hidden behind Tor circuits. The introduction points are public, and the service has to poll them regularly to learn about clients desiring to contact him, and their RV points.\n\nThe RV point is the real \"point of contact\" between a given client and a given service but is entirely variable throughout the Tor network and has no specific relation, nor to the client, nor to the service.\n\nAt no point, any client or service gives out its IP address: they are always hidden behind Tor circuits.", "This is an annoyance I've had several times in the past with Windows. Basically when you connect to the share under the alexr user, Windows cached the username for that user. Even though it prompts you for more credentials, it still thinks that alexr is connected to the server, and refuses to connect you due to the cached credentials. If you run: net use, you should see the connection to the server already established. You can the use: net use /delete &lt;Path to share&gt; to remove the connection. After that is complete, you should be able to try connecting with Bek.\n\nEdit:\nTo answer your question about allowing multiple connections to the same server, (you edited my post as a response): A possible work around is to use the IP address of the server or have aliases for the server and make two separate connections to them. For example, have one connect via the IP address of the server, and the second connection connect via the hostname of the server. You can read about these workarounds here.", "Has anybody had any success using Tor Browser with Marionette?\n\n\nIt was possible up to (at least) 52.3.0. \n\n\nstart the browser:\n\ncd tor-browser_en-US/Browser\n./start-tor-browser -marionette\n\nconnect\n\nfrom marionette_driver.marionette import Marionette\nclient = Marionette('localhost', port=2828)\nclient.start_session()\nclient.navigate(\"http://torproject.org\")", "First of all, thanks for trying to make your website better for Tor users :)\nWhen you use tor, it creates &quot;anonymous connections&quot; (circuits) through typically 3 proxies (relays) in the Tor network. These relays are located in about 80 countries, with exit relays (relays that exit the Tor network and connect to the destination website) in about 55 countries. As tor clients choose the relays they use mostly randomly, their exit relay can be in any of these countries. Your website sees the user connecting to your server from an IP address in any of these countries.\nThe relays used by a Tor client change over time, and the Tor Browser uses a feature of the tor proxy called stream isolation to use different relays for connections to different domains. This means that in Tor Browser, two different websites will see the user connecting from different IP addresses, in possibly different countries. These IP addresses will also change over time or when the user restarts their browser.\nThis is the good and bad side of privacy tools like Tor. The website doesn't know the user's real country (good for privacy), but the website can't provide country-specific information (bad for usability). It's often best for the website to allow the user to easily change their country/language/currency if it's incorrect.\n\nI keep refreshing it, and I'm getting the same results.\n\nRefreshing the page isn't enough to have Tor use a new circuit (with new relays). You need to restart the browser, or wait a few minutes before refreshing the page.\n\nDoes it remember IPs for each tab?\n\nIt's per-domain and not per-tab, but I forget specifically what the stream isolation rules are in Tor Browser.", "Watching videos using Flash is hazardous to your Tor security because 1) Flash can access servers directly rather than going through Tor, and 2) Flash has more holes than a block of Swiss cheese.\n\nListening to audio has the same risks: if your audio player ignores Tor and connects directly to the SHOUTcast server, it can reveal your IP address; if it has security holes, a malicious stream could be used to attack your computer.\n\nTails mitigates the \"direct connection\" risk by setting its firewall to block outgoing non-Tor connections, but it does little to protect you against insecure programs.", "Yes, Tor clients encrypt connections to entry nodes (relays). Indeed, they successively encrypt to all relays in the circuits that they specify. The required public keys for all relays are available from Tor's directory servers." ]

[ "Good morning. Already today, we've reported another suicide bombing in Baghdad -- a strike aimed as Shiite pilgrims in which more than 40 people died -- and the release by Toyota of details on how it's going to fix potentially dangerous gas pedals on millions of its vehicles. The other major story on this first day of February looks to be the release of the Obama administration's $3.8 trillion budget plan for fiscal year 2011. It's a package that would, as the Associated Press writes, \"increase spending in the fight against high unemployment, boost taxes on the wealthy and freeze spending for a number of government programs.\" The administration is also expected to say that this year's deficit will be a record $1.6 trillion, and that the 2011 gap between spending and revenue will be $1.3 trillion. On Morning Edition, NPR's Andrea Seabrook told host Steve Inskeep that the administration will today talk about its plans for bringing deficits down by freezing some spending and letting Bush-era tax cuts expire: Andrea also pointed out that what finally gets approved by Congress will likely look much different. As The Washington Post adds: For a more comprehensive deficit-reduction plan, Obama will rely on a bipartisan task force of lawmakers and budget experts, who will be asked to draft a package of tax hikes and spending cuts to slash deficits and stabilize government borrowing by 2015, administration officials said. Other stories making headlines this morning include: -- The Guardian -- \"U.S. Raises Stakes On Iran By Sending In Ships And Missiles\": \"Tension between the US and Iran heightened dramatically today with the disclosure that Barack Obama is deploying a missile shield to protect American allies in the Gulf from attack by Tehran. The US is dispatching Patriot defensive missiles to four countries -- Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait -- and keeping two ships in the Gulf capable of shooting down Iranian missiles. Washington is also helping Saudi Arabia develop a force to protect its oil installations.\" -- DAWN Media Group (of Pakistan) -- Army Investigating Reports Of Key Taliban Leader's Death: \"Islamabad -- The government said on Sunday it was trying to confirm new reports on state television that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan's chief Hakimullah Mehsud had been killed by a U.S. drone strike, but the militia again denied his death.\" -- Los Angeles Times -- \"Officials OK'd Miranda Warning For Accused Airline Plotter\": \"The decision to advise the accused Christmas Day attacker of his right to remain silent was made after teleconferences involving at least four government agencies -- and only after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had stopped talking to authorities, according to knowledgeable law enforcement officials.\" -- The New York Times -- \"Forces Pushing Obama On 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' \": President Barack Obama has told top Pentagon officials that the military's \"don't ask, don't tell\" policy barring gays from openly serving in the military is wrong and that this year a repeal is among his priorities. -- NPR -- \"Women Win Big At 52nd Grammys\": \"Beyonce and Taylor Swift were big winners at the 52nd Grammy Awards on Sunday night.\" The Grammys by-the-minute: Monkey See live-blogged the show here. Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition." ]

[ "The House on Friday approved a sweeping blueprint aimed at cutting the deficit by hitting at the heart of entitlement programs, calling for dramatically revamping Medicaid and Medicare to pare trillions of dollars over the next decade. The GOP's nonbinding budget framework for the next fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1, won by 235-193, with only four Republicans voting against the measure and no Democrats voting for it. The plan would purportedly cut nearly $6 trillion in spending over 10 years, close tax loopholes and reduce tax rates for corporations and the wealthy. The vote on the plan put forward by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), chairman of the House Budget Committee, comes a day after Congress passed legislation that funds the government through the remainder of fiscal 2011. On the floor of the House ahead of the vote on Friday, Ryan said President Obama's alternative to his plan was about \"more spending on everything — but cut and gut defense and raise taxes a lot.\" House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said the nation's debt was \"a moral threat\" to the country that needed to be addressed. \"We have a moral obligation to speak the truth and do something about it,\" he said. Boehner's predecessor in the speaker's chair, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), said the Republican plan focused on the wrong priorities. \"It's focused on helping corporate special interests and Wall Street — not reducing the deficit or helping the country,\" she said. \"Now is the time to save Medicare and I can assure you that Democrats will,\" Pelosi said. Despite winning approval in the GOP-controlled House, Ryan's plan stands little chance as written of even reaching a vote in the Senate, where Democrats still hold the majority. President Obama would most likely veto the measure even if it did pass. Instead, it is likely to serve as an opening salvo in the debate over America's fiscal future and the 2012 election, with GOP lawmakers hoping to shore up support from the conservative Tea Party movement. But the plan to fundamentally reshape the government's role in health care for the elderly and the poor is politically risky. In a Pew Research Center poll conducted last month, 65 percent of respondents said they oppose changes to Social Security and Medicare to reduce the deficit. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and defense spending account for about 80 percent of the federal budget, according to The Associated Press. Ryan's nonbinding framework for future legislation would make stiff cuts to Medicaid, the medical insurance program for the poor and disabled, and transform it into a grant program run by the states. Under the proposal, the government would provide future retirees with vouchers to buy private insurance coverage. People now 55 and older would stay in the current system, but younger people would receive the insurance subsidies. Obama said earlier this week that Ryan's proposal would slash health care coverage to 50 million Americans, including grandparents needing nursing home care, children with autism and kids \"with disabilities so severe that they require 24-hour care. \"These are the Americans we'd be telling to fend for themselves,\" Obama said in a speech where he laid out his own budget proposal. He said his plan would cut the federal deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years by eliminating health care fraud, raising taxes on the wealthy and paring defense spending. There's another huge spending fight looming on the horizon in May, when the U.S. Treasury is expected to hit its $14.3 trillion borrowing cap. That upper limit on borrowing has been increased with little fanfare 10 times in the past decade. But House Republicans are threatening to vote no this time unless the debt limit increase also includes more cuts to spending. NPR's David Welna contributed to this report, which also contains material from The Associated Press", "How do you make a small fortune in a tough business? Start out with a large one. It's an old joke, but one with recurring relevance. Take the current White House spin on the deficit, for example. What's the surest way to make a $300 billion deficit sound like good news? Tell people that it could've been more than $400 billion. Nothing like a sky-high estimate to lower everyone's expectations. Then, if the deficit eases a bit over the next few months, you can point to a positive trend. It sounded a lot like that this week at the White House, where the budgeters' latest best guess is that the U.S. budget deficit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 is (drum roll): $296 billion. To a lot of people, that sounds pretty good, if only because it lets you start with a 2, instead of a 3 or a 4, before saying \"hundred billion.\" The GDP Perspective There are other good things to say about the federal government's new, slimmer figure. You can say it's just 2.3 percent of the gross domestic product, which sounds quite manageable when compared to percentages twice as high and more in the 1980s and early 1990s. The deficit percentage of GDP has, in fact, been higher in 17 of the past 25 fiscal years. But here's the kicker. The new $296 billion figure sounds best of all when you remember what we were all told about the deficit in February. That was when it was going to be $426 billion, some 42 percent more than it turned out to be in this week's \"Midterm Assessment.\" That February figure would have been the largest actual deficit ever, in nominal dollars. As such, it just might have been a rallying point for anti-Bush conservatives who regard him as a spendthrift. But not to worry. As it turns out, things really got better in a hurry after February. The government now says its revenue flow from individual taxes is rising at a 15 percent annual rate, with revenue from corporate taxes at 19 percent. Those are obviously big, impressive numbers. And President Bush himself came out to tout them as proof positive his tax cuts back in 2001 and 2003 were really supercharging the economy. Still, it's remarkable how little of this supercharging effect could be foreseen in February, just five months ago. The sudden turnaround has prompted skeptics (such as Kent Conrad of North Dakota, ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee) to say the books were being cooked to create a false sense of momentum in the midst of a $300-billion fiasco. But it's probably not necessary to falsify anything. All you have to do is pull your green eyeshade a little tighter in the winter (\"Hard to tell which way this is going\") and then slap your forehead when the gusher gets uncorked in the spring. Can't be too surprising anymore -- it's happened the last three years in a row. It's also interesting to note that the same White House budgeters are already telling us the annual budget shortfall will increase next year to $339 billion, and then shrink dramatically to just $188 billion in 2008 -- which is, of course, the next presidential election year. Defending Deficit Estimates You can't blame the Bush administration for being hypersensitive on the budget issue. This White House is the first one to inherit a budget surplus -- or even a budget in balance -- since 1969. In the intervening three decades, the deficit issue has often loomed large. Ronald Reagan said 1980's trillion-dollar national debt (the accumulation of all previous deficits) amounted to a national scandal, and the issue helped him take power. It never seemed to faze him that over the next eight years, the national debt doubled. In 1988, Reagan's successor, the first President Bush, ran on a pledge to lower the budget deficit. He took it so seriously that he allowed a tax increase in 1990, violating another pledge he had made. That triggered many defections among conservatives, who opposed his re-nomination and, in some cases, defected to support anti-deficit activist Ross Perot's candidacy in 1992. Perot rode the issue to 19 percent of the national vote in November, helping Bill Clinton make the first Bush a one-term president. In office, President Clinton pushed further tax increases that contributed to his party's loss of Congress in 1994. Economics Lessons The current President Bush knows all this history by heart. But the lesson he has taken from it is not the one learned by Clinton or the elder Bush, who took huge political risks to strengthen the revenue flow through tax increases -- risks that cost them, but also produced the budget surplus President Bush inherited in 2000. Instead, the current President Bush has studied the very different deficit lesson taught by Reagan. That lesson is this: the deficit doesn't matter to voters so long as tax rates are down, the economy is decent and federal spending can be blamed on somebody else. In his speech this week on the deficit, the president cited lower tax rates and good macroeconomic numbers and ", "Fresh from his State of the Union address, President Obama took his new emphasis on innovation and infrastructure improvements to the nation's heartland on Wednesday, addressing factory workers in Wisconsin. The president visited three factories in the city of Manitowoc, where a 20-pound chunk of the Soviet-launched Sputnik crashed to earth in 1962. The Cold War challenge to send the first satellite into space galvanized America and launched the Space Race. Obama called for a new \"Sputnik moment\" as he spoke to workers at Orion Energy, a manufacturer of solar technology, and praised Manitowoc for reinventing itself after one of the city's largest employers left in 2003. \"Fast forward to 2011, and new manufacturing plants — and new hopes — are taking root, part of the reason the unemployment rate here is four points lower than it was at the beginning of last year,\" he said. Tightening The Nation's Purse Strings The president was hoping to cement his message of improving infrastructure and education to increase global competitiveness amid GOP opposition to his call for new investments during his State of the Union address. Despite a brief show of unity between Republicans and Democrats at Tuesday night's speech, Republicans dived back into the rough water of deficits and health care that has roiled the political landscape since Obama took office. House GOP lawmakers held their first hearing on the health care overhaul law since the chamber voted to repeal it earlier this month in a largely symbolic assault on a cornerstone of the White House's domestic agenda. Republicans led by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) also unveiled a balanced budget amendment intended to force the government to live within its means. The move came on the same day the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a report stating that last month's bipartisan tax cut legislation will drive the government's deficit to a record $1.5 trillion this year. The eye-popping numbers mean the government will continue to borrow 40 cents for every dollar it spends. The GOP also is girding for a fight over raising the $14.3 trillion budget cap because of ballooning shortfalls in federal revenue that most Republicans blame squarely on the Democrats and the White House. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Wednesday that the GOP can work with Obama on programs to stimulate the economy and create jobs, but that significant spending cuts are needed immediately. GOP lawmakers welcomed the president's State of the Union call for a five-year freeze in domestic spending that he claimed would cut the deficit by $400 billion over the next decade. But they said the plan doesn't go nearly far enough. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said Obama's freeze plan \"is inadequate at a time when we're borrowing 41 cents of every dollar we spend, and the administration is begging for another increase in the debt limit.\" And Arizona's Sen. John McCain, speaking to ABC's Good Morning America, demanded an \"absolute iron-clad path to getting [spending] down.\" A Renewed Push To Repeal The Health Law Weeks after the House voted to repeal the health law, GOP lawmakers began trying to chip away it. In the first of two House hearings Wednesday, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) made it clear that the discussion on the economic impact of the law would be just the first of many. \"It's my intention to give the American people and employers, both large and small, the opportunity they did not have when this law was being written to testify in an open hearing about the impact this law will have on them,\" Camp said. At a hearing of the House Budget Committee, Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), who delivered the official GOP response to the president's speech Tuesday, made it clear that he believes the entire law needs to be struck down. \"We must reject the notion that a centrally planned, bureaucratically run health care system can produce more favorable outcomes than one managed by doctors and patients,\" he said. Obama said in his address that he was willing to \"fix what needs fixing and move forward\" on the newly enacted health care law. But the president was quick to add that he would not allow a return \"to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition.\" Ryan acknowledged in his response that health care spending was \"driving the explosive growth of our debt,\" but he said that \"the president's law is accelerating our country toward bankruptcy.\" Efforts to roll back the health plan got a boost Wednesday when a leading expert on Medicare told Congress that two of the central promises of overhaul were unlikely to be fulfilled. Chief Actuary Richard Foster, whose office is responsible for independent long-range cost estimates, told the House Budget Committee that the landmark legislation probably won't hold costs down, and it won't let everybody keep their current health insurance if they like it. NPR's Julie Rovner and Andrea S", "President Obama during a prime-time news conference Tuesday appealed to the American people for patience as the administration seeks to carry out its big-ticket plan to revive the nation's failing economy. And he pitched his $3.6 trillion budget — with major investments in health care, education and renewable energy — as a blueprint that will ensure that the economic crisis facing the country won't recur in 10 or 20 years. \"This budget,\" he said, \"is inseparable from this recovery because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.\" Before facing questions about the financial crisis and his spending plan, the president pointedly invoked mistakes of the past as leading to the current crisis. \"It's important to remember this crisis didn't happen overnight,\" the president said. \"It took many years and many failures to lead us here.\" But the president was questioned closely about the advisability of his ambitious budget plan because of the staggering debt it would cause, even though he pledged again to cut the nation's deficit in half by the end of his term — \"even under the most pessimistic estimates.\" Projected Deficits The administration's deficit projections anticipate a higher economic growth rate — 2.6 percent — than the 2.2 percent projected by the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO says Obama's budget will result in $9.3 trillion in debt over the next decade; the White House predicts deficits totaling $7 trillion over the same period. But the nation can count on zero economic growth, the president said, if it fails to tackle energy and health care costs. When asked whether passing on an enormous deficit to the next generation — including his two daughters — runs counter to his argument that Americans must resolve economic problems now, as some Republicans have argued, Obama pointedly noted that \"I'm inheriting a $1.3 trillion deficit annually from\" the GOP. During the news conference, Obama also argued that the administration should be granted broader authority to regulate big financial institutions, as his top financial advisers had argued on Capitol Hill earlier in the day. The nation would most likely not be facing the same troubles with bailing out failing institutions, Obama said, if AIG and similar firms had been regulated like the nation's banks and backed by an FDIC-type entity. \"We don't have that power now,\" the president said, predicting support for such regulatory authority in Congress and among the American people. A Call For Unity During the second prime-time news conference of his presidency, Obama also called for the nation to work together. And he urged Americans to look \"beyond our own short-term interests to the wider set of obligations we have to each other.\" \"That's when we succeed,\" Obama said. \"That's when we prosper. And that's what is needed right now.\" The president stoutly defended the reach of his budget and insisted that the only way to remake the economy is to boldly reject policies that \"have led to a narrow prosperity and massive debt.\" The best way to reduce the deficit in the long run, Obama said, is \"with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest.\" At one point during his hourlong appearance, the president appeared taken aback when asked why he hasn't urged the American people to sacrifice something \"specific\" to speed economic recovery. \"I think folks are sacrificing left and right,\" Obama said. \"You've got lots of parents who are cutting back on everything to make sure that their kids can still go to college. You've got workers who are deciding to cut an entire day's worth of pay so that their follow co-workers aren't laid off.\" \"I think that across the board people are making adjustments large and small,\" he said. In the wake of taxpayer anger over the $165 million in bonuses paid to employees at AIG, the president cautioned against demonizing Wall Street and investors, who have in the past driven the nation's prosperity, he said. When pressed on why it took him a couple of days to react to the news about the AIG bonuses, Obama said: \"It took me a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak.\" Addressing World Affairs On the foreign affairs front, the president, under questioning about China's idea for a new international reserve currency, said flatly: \"I don't believe that there's a need for a global currency.\" He reiterated his support for a two-state solution to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, noting that \"the status quo is unsustainable.\" The president said that he'll apply his \"philosophy of persistence\" to the troubled region. And in response to a question about Texas Gov. Rick Perry's calling for more troops and agents on his state's border with Mexico, the president said that his administration is monitoring the situation. Early Tuesday, the White House released details of a plan to send 500 more agents to the ", "The White House made official Thursday what was already common knowledge: If House Republicans manage to get their bill repealing the health care law out of Congress and to his desk, he will veto it. The veto threat came as the House Rules Committee met, with lawmakers from both parties defending amendments they hoped the committee would allow to be considered with the legislation. House Republicans intend to hold a vote on their repeal legislation, titled the \"Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act\" next week. Their bill is expected to pass since they have a large enough majority to easily pass it without a single Democratic vote. Read More But their repeal bill is expected to die in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The administration cited the just released Congressional Budget Office estimate that a repeal would add $230 billion to federal deficits between 2012 and 2021. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) earlier Thursday disputed that estimate, saying it was based on faulty assumptions. Here's the statement from the Office of Management and Budget: The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 2 because it would explode the deficit, raise costs for the American people and businesses, deny an estimated 32 million people health insurance, and take us back to the days when insurers could deny, limit or drop coverage for any American. In a preliminary analysis of H.R. 2, the Congressional Budget Office found that repealing the law would increase the deficit by $230 billion in the first decade and roughly one-half of one percent of GDP, or over a trillion dollars, in the second decade; increase the number of uninsured Americans by 32 million; impose higher premiums on large firms; and cause consumers who buy coverage in the individual market to pay more out of pocket for fewer benefits.  Medicare’s insolvency would be accelerated by repeal – the Medicare actuaries previously stated that the Affordable Care Act extended solvency by 12 years.  Repealing the Affordable Care Act would not only increase deficits in the coming decade, but would also significantly worsen the long-term fiscal burdens on American businesses and families. When the Affordable Care Act provisions are fully in effect, insurance companies will no longer be able to discriminate against any American with a preexisting condition, charge women higher rates, or charge drastically higher premiums for older Americans.  H.R. 2 would eliminate the important patient protections, coverage expansions, affordability provisions, and fiscal savings in the Affordable Care Act.  If the President were presented with H.R. 2, he would veto it." ]

[ "This is a really basic guide, useful for beginners and people interested in learning a little bit more deeply the power of Photoshop’s Brush Tool. Every single Photoshop user has dealt with the brush tool at least once, but not everyone knows how to explode its full potential." ]

[ " Use Photoshop to remove a blemish from your photographs. ", "PSD file is an Adobe Photoshop Document file. PSD file stands for Photoshop Document is a default format in which Photoshop is used for saving data.", "The face morphing technique in this tutorial uses Photoshop CS5, although you should be able to use another version of Photoshop. The instructions are for PC users.", "Watercolor is a unique medium within the artistic world, normally the texture and wash of watercolor cannot be duplicated digitally. But with the help of a Bittbox brush set (See: Things you'll need) and basic tools within Photoshop, this tutorial will teach you how to make a realistic watercolor effect with the use of the brush and eraser tool.", "There’s no need to be flustered with that little scrubber brush behind the toilet any longer. The toilet brush is used for cleaning the inside of your toilet.", " Designing fliers is a cinch using Photoshop. ", "Use Adobe Photoshop Express if you can't or won't afford Adobe Photoshop you can use it to manage, edit, store, and share your photos. The Photoshop.com service also offers information about Photoshop software, tutorials, inspiration, and more.", "This is a tutorial that shows how to make a basic bullet hole in Adobe Photoshop. This tutorial was written using Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0, so almost any version of Photoshop will work.", "Change hair color in Photoshop using Selective Color--a feature of Photoshop that is often overlooked! These steps should be very easy for someone with basic Photoshop skills, and somewhat (enjoyably) challenging for a newbie. (", " This article will teach you how to make a basketball using Photoshop. ", "First you need to know how to work with Photoshop. Being creative is the only requirement. Once you know how to use Photoshop, and are planning to export images from Photoshop to the web, you need to follow these steps.", "The finish used on brushed nickel is sensitive and can make cleaning somewhat difficult. When cleaning brushed nickel, you should use the gentlest method possible.", " \nAn easy way to make a snowman on the computer using Adobe Photoshop! ", " This tutorial will show you how to draw Microsoft Windows logo using Photoshop. ", "Making a 3D sphere can help you learn how to use various tools in Photoshop. It's a good introductory project, and a way to sharpen your Photoshop skills.", "Acrylic brushes are almost useless if they aren’t cleaned properly, which is why it’s important to thoroughly wash your brushes after every use. Neglecting to clean your brushes can ruin them because it leaves bristles hard and crusted together, especially when using fast-drying acrylic paints.", "Adobe Photoshop is mostly used for illustrations and editing photographs. You can also add text in Photoshop and adjust qualities such as the font, size and color of the text, creating advertisements, images, or titles.", "Spot Healing Brush tool can be used to either repair or replace a selected area of an image. This How-to article will teach you how to use the Spot Healing Brush tool to remove dust from your image.", "This article will show you how to use the glowing edges filter in Adobe Photoshop. For anyone familiar with some Photoshop basics, applying the filter is quick and easy!", "Using Adobe Premiere and Adobe Photoshop, apply a Photoshop filter to an entire movie clip. Keep in mind that many of the common filters such as contrast and lighting filters are actually already in Premiere.", "Wool carding involves separating and straightening sheep’s wool with two brushes so that it can be used to make fiber art or yarn for knitting. These brushes closely resemble pet hair brushes but are made specifically for preparing wool fibers.", "Do you want to groom your cat effectively? This method explains how to use a thin brush and a trick of using your own scent to successfully brush your cat for the very first time.", "The key to a good paint job is to use high quality paint and a good paint brush. Buy the best brush you can afford and make sure it's the right kind for the type of paint you're using.", "This tutorial will help you expand your knowledge of Photoshop. Learn how to age paper using Photoshop so that you can also create posters, stationery, and even greeting cards.", "Everyone has always wondered how Models get such flawless skin? Well, they consult an expert in Photoshop. Here's how to use Photoshop to hide any unwanted pimples or blemishes.", " This article will show you how to use Photoshop to remove a person from one of your photos. ", "MyPaint is a lot of fun to play and draw with. It has a lot of brushes that you can work with. On top of that, you can take an existing brush, save it, and use it again later!", "Whether you use professional makeup brushes or cheap ones, it’s important to always keep them clean. Cleaning makeup brushes with olive oil and soap is a relatively easy process.", "Ever wanted to photoshop a picture, but did not have the time and money for Adobe Photoshop? Well with a free web base Photoshop editor on pixlr.com, you can!", "There are so many makeup brushes in the market that it can be hard to decide which to use. As eye makeup is the most complicated makeup of all, the list for eye makeup brushes is never ending.", "Shaving brushes are considered by many to be the best step to improving the quality of your shave. Mastering the use of a shaving brush can provide a clean, close, luxurious shave while being quite enjoyable.", "Adobe Illustrator is a fun and creative way to create designs, logos etc. There are many ways to add brushes in Adobe Illustrator CS5, but for this tutorial let’s start with adding or creating a pattern brush and using it for a specific shape." ]

[ "BinocularsPlus.com the #1 Online Store for Binoculars and ... BinocularsPlus.com carries Binoculars and Accessories, Spotting Scopes, Microscopes and more. Low prices and amazing service make us #1 in Binoculars.", "Binoculars - Wikipedia Binoculars or field glasses are binocular telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes...", "Top Brand Binoculars | Up to 55% Off on over 1,000 Binos Over 1300 Binoculars Online! Quality Bino. Compact to premium binoculars from top brands!", "Binoculars | Orion Telescopes & Binoculars: Shop From waterproof compacts to light-gulping giants, we've got binoculars for every viewing interest, ... RESOURCES TO HELP YOU CHOOSE A BINOCULAR.", "Amazon.com: Binoculars - Binoculars & Scopes: Electronics Results 1 - 24 of 9363 ... Online shopping for Binoculars - Binoculars & Scopes from a great selection at Electronics Store." ]

[ "The B&H Binocular Buying Guide | explora Binoculars use a series of lenses, elements, and prisms to magnify a view to produce ... All binoculars have numbers, such as 10x42 and 7x20, which refer to their ... the 10x means that the binoculars have 10x magnification power, making the...", "Binocular F.A.Q. Frequently Asked Questions about Binoculars The first number refers the magnification of binocular. A \"10x50\" for ... The size of the objective lenses determines the light-gathering power of the binoculars.", "military binoculars knowledge - to abecedarian and beginner Other types of binocular include the opera glass and the field glass; both use Galilean ... A binoculars essentially consist of a pair of parallel telescopes joined at the ... These two most commonly types of prism systems have resulted in two basic ... With the prisms positioned one over the other, the objective lenses and the...", "Binocular F.A.Q. Frequently Asked Questions about Binoculars Is the view through a \"binocular telescope\" upside-down? ... than one number before the \"x\", this means the binocular has multiple levels of magnification. ... but uses multiple fixed-power eyepieces to obtain different levels of magnification.", "Field glasses | Article about field glasses by The Free Dictionary Binoculars, like telescopes, are classified according to magnification, angle of ... Prism binoculars are made with 3-power (opera glasses) to 22-power magnification. ... For persons who wear glasses, approximately one-third of the field of vision ... are a pair of Great War leather-bound German field glasses presented to Pte...", "The History of Telescopes and Binoculars - University of Arizona These telescopes and binoculars were not one-off instruments and the design ..... lenses in the Schyrle erecting system was mounted in each of the segments. .... or spyglasses into a pair of opera glasses by using a frame with two bridges [13].", "Opera glasses - The College of Optometrists Opera Glasses preceded the pair of field binoculars in date and form a ... To see more detailed versions of these images, click on the respective thumbnails ... Optically, opera glasses can be classified as binocular versions of the Galilean telescope. ... frames to fix together the barrels of two identical ivory and gilt spyglasses.", "What the numbers mean - Binocular What do the numbers in a binocular name mean? ... The second number (42) indicates the diameter of the objective lens (the ... So although a magnification of 10, 12 or higher is available, 6, 7, and 8-power binoculars are easier to use and in...", "Top 6 tips for using ordinary binoculars for stargazing | Astronomy ... Oct 31, 2015 ... You've probably got a pair of binoculars lying around your house somewhere. ... You can see a lot, and you can hold them steadily enough that jitters ... The best place to look at the moon from Earth using your binoculars is along the ... You can use our EarthSky Tonight page to locate planets visible...", "Bushnell PermaFocus 7 x 35mm Binocular - Walmart.com Buy Bushnell PermaFocus 7 x 35mm Binocular at Walmart.com. ... magnification at long distances; 7x magnification, 35mm objective lens .... They will stay in focus at most viewing distances with minimal manual adjustment. Images can be enlarged up to seven times, making them clear even when far ...... Popular Products", "Choosing Your Telescope's Magnification - Sky & Telescope Jul 17, 2006 ... A 50-power telescope will make the disk of the Moon appear 25 ... While aperture, magnification, and exit pupil are the key specifications for binoculars, ... It means nothing as far as visual image brightness is concerned!", "Spectators reveal strategies for watching PGA Aug 11, 2015 ... Watching golf is tough work, especially during a major championship ... called Binoculars to find which groups are nearest to spectators on the course. ... the best place to watch a golf tournament is beneath the shade of a tree.", "Stargazing_For_Beginners_Course Notes_v1.6 - One-Minute ... 3. Stargazing For Beginners: A Binocular Tour of the Night Sky (v1.6) .... little of the starry heavens is because it is popularly supposed that only the ... Modern hand-held binoculars have objective lenses of at least 35-70 mm aperture ..... reddish star, which is Arcturus, in the constellation Bootes. ... to catch this shy twinkler.", "Telescope Power (Magnification) - Orion Telescopes & Binoculars Mar 15, 2011 ... This article from the Orion Website was created by Orion to explain to astronomers why a little telescope magnification is usually better than a...", "Visual acuity - Wikipedia", "Comet visible in binoculars, nearly closest | Astronomy Essentials ... Jun 9, 2016 ... The comet is still approaching Earth and will pass distantly, at over 59 ... Location of Comet C/2013 X1 (PanSTARRS) on the morning of June 10, 2016. ... During this month June 2016 Comet C/2013 X1 is visible with optical aid ... of closest approach the comet is visible using binoculars in the south...", "Amateur astronomy - Wikipedia Amateur astronomy is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the sky, and the abundance of objects found in it with the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. .... Although digital setting circles can be used to display a telescope's RA and ... a digital read-out of what can be seen on the telescope's analog setting circles.", "Sonar - Wikipedia", "Bird vision - Wikipedia Vision is the most important sense for birds, since good eyesight is essential for safe flight, and ... Birds with eyes on the sides of their heads have a wide visual field, useful for ... those with eyes on the front of their heads, such as owls, have binocular vision and can .... These can amount to 50% of all cones in some species.", "Middle ear - Wikipedia", "San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers - Your First Telescope Cheap department store telescopes are a waste of money. That includes scopes you see on cable TV shopping channels, at most photo stores, hobby stores, ... specialty stores such as \"The Science Shop\", \"The Nature Channel Store\", ... They offer wide fields and a view oriented the same as you see with the naked eye.", "jeopardy/1308_Qs.txt at master jedoublen/jeopardy GitHub Value: $1000. Number: 26. -SCOPES | A snooperscope lets you see in the dark; change a vowel sound to get this version of it that goes on a rifle | a sniperscope.", "Constellations: Ursa Major - Windows to the Universe", "Bat - Wikipedia", "safari - Search-ID.com ... Zambia; (Sarah of the Clue Crew stands between two trees, holding binoculars.) It's the style of clothes I'm wearing or the type of expedition I'm gearing up for...", "Radar - Wikipedia", "Rhymes with diaphanoscope: scope cope hope rope slope [500 more] ... microscope telescope antelope oscilloscope stethoscope gyroscope periscope misanthrope arthroscope fluoroscope stroboscope kaleidoscope stereoscope...", "Diplopia and III, IV and VI Cranial Nerve Lesions. Patient | Patient Cranial nerve palsies were the most common cause of binocular diplopia (67%) with ... so that it moves the eye the opposite way to that which its name suggests.", "Ask Me A Trivia Question -- 2 -- - Discussion on Topix In an 1801 sea battle, he put a telescope in his blind eye to avoid seeing the signal to withdraw. Reply . Report Abuse Judge it! Fifth Generation. Since: Oct 07.", "greek alphabet - Businessballs", "Dice - Wikipedia", "Glossary of Eye Terminology eye glossary, eye dictionary, eye definitions. ... that causes the elastic-like lens to \"round up\" and increase its optical power. .... nearsightedness. ... binocular vision, and functional amblyopia by non-medical and non-surgical methods, e.g.,..." ]

[ "Arizona" ]

[ "that which burns", "that which purifies", "That which does not kill us", "Us", "Vatican City State", "that which is heard", "USE", "the program in which they are enrolled", "city", "This is Us", "The Used", "speed at which they expand", "US $249", "Udaipur city in Rajasthan state", "the US FBI", "Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State", "In the City", "using tongs", "that which is done by an agent", "the City", "the US Congress", "the US Dollar", "Just Us", "using electromyography", "external use", "Join With Us", "Believe in Us", "by the use of a key", "outdoor use", "cities", "application or use", "using cilia" ]

[ "Victim Manoj Mhatre was first shot at, then thrashed by four assailants while returning home from the police station\nCCTV footage reveals the assault on the corporator\nCongress party leader Manoj Mhatre's cousin is the prime suspect in his cold blooded murder last night while he was on his way home from the police station. Mhatre was first shot at from point-blank range, then four unknown assailants slashed him and badly beat him up. The Narpoli Police registered a murder case late last night. A manhunt has also been launched to nab the perpetrators with nakabandis across the city.\nAlso Read: Congress corporator shot dead in Bhiwandi by masked assailants\n'Family rivalry'\n\"Manoj's cousin Prashant Mhatre is a prime suspect, along with the three other assailants,\" said an API from Narpoli police station. However, no one has been roped in for questioning as of now.\nAccording to this official, there were cases registered against Manoj and Prashant earlier as well.\nBhiwandi corporator Manoj Mhatre\n\"This family rivalry existed earlier well, and cases have been registered against both of them in the past. There are eight bullet injuries on the body, as well as multiple stab marks behind the forehead, head, and back. His right hand has also been cut, leaving only his thumb intact.\" According to him, Mhatre's murder could affect the upcoming civic polls. \"We will arrest the accused as soon as we get a link.\" According to police sources, this was not the first attack on Mhatre's life.\nHow it happened\nYesterday, after Mhatre's driver dropped him off near his home at around 9 pm, four unknown people fired bullets at him, attacked him with sharp weapons and fled the scene. Mhatre was immediately taken to Jupiter Hospital, Thane, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.\nManoj Patil, deputy commissioner of police, Bhiwandi, said, \"The assailants remain unknown as of now. A case was registered against unknown people and investigation is currently going on, but it is still in its primary stages.\" Speaking with mid-day at around 3 am while waiting for the post mortem report, Mhatre's close friend and comrade-in-arms, Yogesh Patil (44), said, \"He (Mhatre) was attacked in a similar manner a year-and-a-half ago as well, and at the time, we had also met the then-CP to discuss the issue.\"" ]

[ "Attached with 360-degree cameras, this technology will help the MMRDA to identify any encroachment or unauthorised construction that comes up in future Attached with 360-degree cameras, this technology will help the MMRDA to identify any encroachment or unauthorised construction that comes up in future\nFacing difficulties in curbing a spate of illegal constructions in areas where it has been appointed as the Special Planning Authority (SPA), the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is considering conducting aerial surveys with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drones to map the areas. Attached with 360-degree cameras, this technology will help the MMRDA to identify any encroachment or unauthorised construction that comes up in future.\n“We have suggested a drone survey for all our SPA areas except the airport. We have had discussions about it and are submitting a proposal. The data obtained through the survey will prove to be helpful in the long run. In cases of encroachments, we will have all the data about it,” said a senior MMRDA official.\nCurrently, the planning body makes use of Google Maps to identify encroachments but they have found it to be insufficient as it is unable to give close visuals of an area. “With Google Maps, we can see if land is vacant or occupied and when it was occupied. It also shows us when it was occupied and this helps us in case of illegal occupants. But if anybody has built extensions on a structure without permission, it is hard to identify that through the maps,” he added.\nIn areas like Bhiwandi, the MMRDA is having a hard time curbing illegal constructions due to lack of documentation. Before the MMRDA was appointed as the SPA in 2007, Bhiwandi was under the Gram Panchayat. Even after a decade, the local body has not handed over the land documents and certificates issued pertaining to the area to the planning body. In such cases, having mapped data through drone surveys would prove to be beneficial. It will help ascertain when the encroachment came up and how much area has been encroached upon.\n“The data received through the drone survey will be parent data that can be accessed by any government body that is appointed in future,” said the official. With most of these cases ending up in court, the data received from the drone survey can be presented as evidence in courts as well.\nThe MMRDA also conducts aerial surveys using drones for the construction of metro lines and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL). The technology helps them in the smooth conduct of the land acquisition process.\nbenita.chacko@expressindia.com\nFor all the latest Cities News, download Indian Express App", "After allegations of brutality and the sacking of a top officer earlier this year, Victoria Police has been rocked by revelations more than 258,000 breath tests were faked.\nAn external investigator will be brought in to examine the falsified tests, in which officers blew into RBT straws themselves or placed fingers over the holes.\nThe fake tests were discovered just weeks after the force was hit with allegations of excessive violence, with the beating of a disability pensioner caught on camera.\nScroll down for video\nAfter allegations of brutality and the sacking of a top officer earlier this year, Victoria Police has been rocked by revelations more than 258,000 breath tests were faked (stock image)\nAn external investigator will be brought in to examine the falsified tests, in which officers blew into RBT straws themselves or placed fingers over the holes (pictured is an arrest caught on camera)\nThe fake tests were discovered just weeks after the force was hit with allegations of excessive violence, with the beating of a disability pensioner caught on camera (pictured is an incident at Bendigo Police Station)\nThe incident involving six officers allegedly beating the mental health patient with batons, verbally abusing and pepper spraying him was caught on camera.\nPolice were referred to oversight body Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) over the incident.\nThe arrest of a Sudanese-born Melbourne man who allegedly robbed and trashed a chemist in 2016 was also reported to the IBAC.\nFootage showed the man being punched 11 times and hit with a baton before one of the officers stomped on his back in a two-and-a-half minute ordeal.\nThe allegations of brutality followed the resignation of Assistant Commissioner Brett Guerin (pictured) over a series of offensive online posts made under a pseudonym\nThat incident followed a complaint by Jia Meeks, who was seen on CCTV been thrown into a cell door at Bendigo Police Station.\nMr Meeks, who was arrested for allegedly swearing at police and acting aggressively, was left bleeding from facial injuries and suffering a bruised wrist after the alleged incident.\nThe allegations of brutality followed the resignation of Assistant Commissioner Brett Guerin over a series of offensive online posts made under a pseudonym.\nMr Guerin, was was the head of Victoria Police's ethical standards body, quit the force in February after being referred to the anti-corruption commission.\nUsing the alias 'Vernon Demerest', Mr Guerin made a series of racist comments on Youtube.\nThe arrest (pictured) of a Sudanese-born Melbourne man who allegedly robbed and trashed a chemist in 2016 was reported to the IBAC\n'The jigaboo runs riot and out of control. The 'boo needs the lash,' read one of the vile comments.\n'Wonderful to see greasy, diving, cheating dagoes get their just reward. Bitter, lingering defeat,' said another posted on a soccer video.\nThe comments were exposed a week after he publicly apologised last week for making graphic references to former police commissioner Christine Nixon.\nIn March the IBAC delivered a damning report accusing the force of failing to investigate dangerous incidents.\nThe IBAC itself has been criticised for its handling of complaints about Victoria Police.\nAn incident involving six officers allegedly beating the mental health patient with batons, verbally abusing and pepper spraying him was caught on camera (pictured)\nFootage showed a man being (pictured) being punched 11 times and hit with a baton before one of the officers stomped on his back in a two-and-a-half minute ordeal\nLawyers told a parliamentary inquiry in February they do not recommend complaining to IBAC, as more than 90 per cent end up handed back to police to investigate.\nVictoria Police is now in discussions with IBAC about the roadside breath test revelations, which occurred over five years.\n'The investigation, which analysed over five years of data, 1500 preliminary breath test devices and more than 17.7 million tests, disappointingly found 258,463 PBTs or 1.5 per cent of all tests had been falsified,' Assistant Commissioner Russell Barrett said on Wednesday.\n'I had not heard of our members engaging in such a practice, we let ourselves down, we've let the community down. It stops now.'\n'There could be a number of reasons but the main rationale I believe is to hide or highlight productivity. Whatever reason our workforce may come up with, it isn't acceptable.'" ]

[ "Farrah Gray is only 18 and he's already a millionaire entrepreneur on Wall Street. NPR's Tony Cox has a conversation with the young man about teen life in business. Gray is the co-author of <EM>Rich from the Inside Out</EM>, with Mary Spio." ]

[ "Farrah Gray became a millionaire at just 15 years old. The venture capitalist, now a seasoned 20-year-old, is now an author — he talks with NPR's Tavis Smiley about his book, <EM>Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich From the Inside Out</EM>.", "Many millionaires will leave their wealth to kids who are not equipped to handle it. Robert Frank, author of <em>Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich</em>,\" describes a camp that teaches life skills to millionaire kids. Frank spoke with Renee Montagne.", "By age 14, Farrah Gray — who was raised in the impoverished South side of Chicago — was a self-made millionaire. In Gray's new book, he offers tips to help you determine what is keeping you from achieving your dreams. It's titled <em>Get Real, Get Rich: Conquer the Seven Lies Blocking You From Success.</em>", "Farai Chideya continues a special series of roundtable discussions dedicated to issues of class. Thursday's conversation is focused on African-American wealth. Guests: Eddie Brown, president of Brown Capital Management, Inc.; Mary Spio, scientist, inventor and publisher of <EM>One 2 One Living</EM> magazine; and Farrah Gray, author of <EM>Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out</EM>.", "Imagine a 65-year-old single woman with $1 million in the bank. She's a millionaire! But what does that mean? Suppose she wants to turn her money into a steady income stream for retirement. She could buy 10-year Treasury bonds — and get $31,000 a year in interest. Or she could buy an annuity. For $1 million, she could get an annuity that would guarantee her about $71,000 a year for life. That's comparable to what a middle-class professional with a good pension plan might expect (though the annuity won't increase with inflation). It certainly isn't enough to live the high life we used to associate with millionaires. That may be why the definition of \"millionaire\" seems to be changing. Read More: $1 million in assets — or $1 million a year? Traditionally, the word meant someone with assets worth $1 million or more. Lately though, I've been seeing \"millionaire\" used to mean someone who makes more than $1 million a year. That's what politicians mean when they talk about a \"millionaires' tax.\" There's a big difference between these two definitions; people people who make $1 million a year are much more elite group. Only one in every 400 U.S. households makes more than $1 million a year. But one out of every 15 U.S. households has at least $1 million in assets. (This measure includes things like stocks, bonds and investment properties, but it doesn't count equity in the home you live in.) So shifting the meaning of the word away from assets and toward annual income is effectively redefining \"millionaire\" up the economic ladder. That makes sense, given that a casual meaning of millionaire is \"any very rich person\" — and having $1 million in the bank doesn't make you nearly as rich as it used to. Even 50 years ago, $1 million was worth a lot more than today: In 1961, $1 million had the same buying power as $7.5 million today. And the use of millionaire goes back hundreds of years. So to convey the traditional meaning of the word millionaire, we'd need a word that means, say, \"someone with $10 million in assets.\" But \"decamillionaire\" just doesn't roll off the tongue. Any suggestions?", "The HBO documentary <EM>Born Rich</EM> offers an insider’s view of the world of the heirs to America’s great family fortunes. Jamie Johnson, the film's 23-year-old director -- and a Johnson & Johnson heir -- filmed his family and friends discussing the experience of possessing more money than most people make in a lifetime. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Johnson.", "The latest sign of Asia's growing economic strength: For the first time, Asia's millionaires have more money than Europe's millionaires, according to a new report. Asia’s high-net-worth individuals – defined as those with investable assets of at least $1 million – control a combined $9.7 trillion, compared to $9.5 trillion controlled by Europe's rich. In the U.S., millionaires control $10.7 trillion. A few more interesting tidbits from the report: Read More: Which three countries account for most of the world's millionaires? In India the number of millionaires grew by 51 percent last year, to a total of 127,000 -- fast growth, but still a relatively low number, given that the population is over 1 billion. Eight of the world's 10 fastest-growing millionaire populations are in Asia. The rich remain highly concentrated in three countries: the U.S., Japan and Germany, which account for 54 percent of the world’s millionaires but only 8 percent of the world's population. Even as the global economy contracted last year, the number of millionaires grew by 17 percent. The super-rich control a disproportionate amount of wealth. Fewer than one percent of all millionaires have $30 million or more in investable assets. But that tiny group controls 36 percent of the wealth held by the world's millionaires. The report was published by Capgemini, a consulting firm, and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, which is part of Bank of America.", "Facebook filed to go public this week, and many analysts expect that it will be valued between $75 billion and $100 billion on the day of its initial public offering. That would make Facebook more valuable than GM, Ford and even Goldman Sachs. What's most remarkable is that the company has barely 3,000 employees, and many of them are about to become very, very rich. There's this guy, David Choe. Back in the day, Facebook hired him to paint graffiti murals all over the company's original office space in Palo Alto, Calif. Even Marc Zuckerberg got into the act. Choe was paid for his work in stock. And according to The New York Times, that stock could soon be worth $200 million. Read More One of the guilty pleasures of an IPO filing is getting to peer inside a company as famous as Facebook and get a glimpse of who owns what. Of course there's Zuckerberg. \"Obviously, he should be worth a tidy $25 billion,\" says Henry Blodget, editor of Business Insider and the bad-boy analyst of the last Internet boom. This time the bad boys are becoming billionaires — like Sean Parker, Facebook's first president. Before that, he co-founded Napster. \"The man who, in the movie at least, famously said 'a million isn't cool — a billion is cool,' \" Blodget says. \"And he will have several of them.\" In that movie, The Social Network, Dustin Moskowitz had little more than a cameo. He was Zuckerberg's college roommate, but he could soon be worth $7 billion. \"If he had been down the hall, we wouldn't be talking about him,\" says Michael Stern, who runs the website Who Owns Facebook. He says Moskowitz wasn't the only winner of the roommate lottery. Zuckerberg's prep school roommate will get a couple hundred million. \"A lot of people won the lottery here,\" Blodget says. And, he says, not all of these future billionaires are men. After Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's options vest, \"she's going to be one of the richest self-made women ever,\" Blodget says. According to its filings, Facebook has close to 1,100 stockholders. Many more could benefit from restricted stock options. But Robert Frank, who writes the Wealth Report blog at the Wall Street Journal and is the author of the new book The High-Beta Rich, says that doesn't mean all these folks will become instant millionaires. \"More than half of this company is owned by just five large shareholders,\" he says. \"So, like most of America, wealth in Facebook is very top-heavy, concentrated among just a few people at the top.\" In Silicon Valley, it's become conventional wisdom that Facebook's IPO will create 1,000 new millionaires. And while that may be true, Frank says it's impossible to know for sure. \"Even those with a lot of shares will see their wealth fluctuate wildly. So the number of millionaires may change,\" he says. After all, this is a tech stock, and Frank says all this wealth is just on paper — at least for now.", "NPR's Tavis Smiley talks with Jonathan Edison about his book <EM>How I Became a Millionaire at 30</EM>.", "Danny Boyle, the director of the Oscar-nominated Slumdog Millionaire, says that filming in India presented a variety of difficulties, from language barriers to a limited crew size, but the on-location work allowed him to represent India's \"incredibly rich and complex society.\" Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of an orphan boy who gets a shot at glory on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. The film has garnered 10 Oscar nominations, including nods for best picture and director. Boyle's other films include Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Shallow Grave. This interview originally aired Nov. 12, 2008.", "According to a survey conducted by Fidelity Investments, more than four in 10 American millionaires say they don't feel wealthy. The survey, which took the pulse of more than 1,000 \"millionaire households,\" also found that those people said they needed $7.5 million in \"investable assets\" to feel wealthy. Michael R. Durbin, president, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, said in the press release that the survey just reinforces that \"wealth is relative, based on factors such as the current market environment, a person's age, lifestyle, and so on.\" Durbin, talking to Reuters, added that the rich are also comparing themselves to their peers and are thinking about the money they need for retirement. Last year, our colleagues over at Planet Money tried to come up with an answer for how much money makes you rich. It was a vivid discussion sparked by a blog post from a professor, who argued that making $250,000 a year didn't make him rich. The opinions were heated and all over the map. I'll leave with one more number from the U.S. Census: The real median household income in the U.S. in 2009 was $49,777.", "The reality TV star, performance artist and author of \"A Million Bucks by 30\" went from rags to riches. We take a hard look at quirky Alan Corey.", "Host Michel Martin and producer Veronica Miller comb through listener feedback to conversations from the week. Listeners raise their own questions after hearing about a 200-member group of millionaires asking Obama and Congress to raise their taxes. A former runner also shares her cross country days after listening to a story surronding Teens Run D.C.", "Hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons leads a lavish, bling-filled lifestyle -- but his most recent exploit is advising youth on how to save their money, not spend it. Commentator Jimi Izrael says he doesn't believe Simmons intentions are entirely altruistic. Izrael is a columnist for the Web site AOL Black Voices.", "Three decades ago, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping signaled a change from Maoist tenets, saying \"to get rich is glorious.\" Many have taken the decree to heart. Conspicuous consumption was in style at a recent \"Millionaires' Fair\" in Shanghai.", "<em>Steve Jobs</em> and <em>Slumdog Millionaire</em> director Danny Boyle and a stellar cast take on the tale of the rich and unhappy family of J. Paul Getty in the new TV series <em>Trust,</em> but how different is it from the film <em>All the Money in the World?</em>", "John Nichols is the Washington correspondent for The Nation. He is also the associate editor of the Capital Times, the daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. The House voted by an overwhelming margin Thursday for tax fairness -- extending tax cuts for the middle-class, while requiring individuals earning more than $200,000 and families earning more than $250,000 to pay a taxes at the same rate they did during the boom years of the 1990s. Well, to be precise, House Democrats voted overwhelmingly for tax fairness. House Republicans voted overwhelmingly against any change in tax policy that did not take care of millionaires and billionaires. The actual vote to extend only some of the expiring Bush-era tax cuts was 234-188. Democrats provided 231 of the 234 \"yes\" votes. (Twenty Democrats, most of them Blue Dog \"Democrats-in-Name-Only,\" voted \"no.\") Among the 171 Republican voting on the proposal, 168 voted \"no.\" (Only libertarian Republican mavericks Ron Paul of Texas, Walter Jones of North Carolina and John Duncan of Tennessee voted \"yes.\") With President Obama sending his usual mixed signals and the Senate stalled out by super-majority requirements that reject majority rule, the House vote may be the last stand for common sense -- and the will of the American people, who by a 2-1 majority favor letting the tax breaks for the wealthy expire. (The new CBS News survey says the split is 53 percent for approach proposed by the House Democrats to 26 percent for the rejectionist stance of the House Republicans.) So what did we learn Thursday? Not that Republicans are the \"party of the rich.\" That characterization is unfair to the rich. There are many millionaires whose economic good sense -- not just concerns about debts and deficits but also respect for the economic benefits associated with equity -- has led them to argue that they should pay more. Organized as \"Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength,\" they have written members of Congress, arguing that: \"Now, during our nation’s moment of need, we are eager to do our fair share. We don’t need more tax cuts, and we understand that cutting our taxes will increase the deficit and the debt burden carried by other taxpayers. The country needs to meet its financial obligations in a just and responsible way.\" So the Republicans are not the \"party of the rich.\" They are the party of \"greed-is-good\" contingent that favors rule by the rich. That's an important distinction. The Republican Party, founded by radicals and led well into the 20th century by political players such as Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower, who feared the excesses of elitism, monopoly and plutocracy, has become the champion of elitism, monopoly and plutocracy. What matters is no longer who the Republicans are standing up for. It's what they are standing up for. With many of America's wealthiest individuals arguing that their tax breaks should expire, House Republicans are actually more enthusiastic about giving tax breaks to the rich than are the rich. This is about more than tax policy. This is about what kind of country America is going to be: a plutocracy designed to best serve the elites or a democracy designed to best serve the great mass of Americans. The Republicans -- with the exception of Paul, Duncan and Jones -- have opted for plutocracy. It's still a reasonably free country. That is their right. But it is worth noting, as Bill Moyers does, that: \"Plutocracy is not an American word and wasn’t meant to become an American phenomenon -- some of our founders deplored what they called 'the veneration of wealth.'\" Like it or not, Moyers says, \"plutocracy is here.\" Yes, plutocracy is here. It even has a party: the Grand Old Plutocrats.", "Parisians don't have to be millionaires to bid on a piece of history. The Drouot auction house offers those who aren't super rich a chance to snag a worthy canvas or piece of furniture.", "Jaime Johnson, one of the heirs of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune and director of the 2003 HBO documentary <em>Born Rich</em> talks about the blessing and burden of white, Anglo-Saxon, protestant culture.", "GUESTS: ROBERT FRANK *Professor of Economics, Ethics and Public Policy at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY *Author, <EM>Luxury Fever</EM> [Free Press,1999] *Co-author, <EM>The Winner Take-All Society</EM> [Free Press, 1995] Beth Kobliner *Financial Journalist and Commentator *Author, \"Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance In your Twenties and Thirties\" (Simon & Schuster, 1996) at New York Bureau, booked w/john", "Madeleine Brand talks with Edward J. Epstein, author of <EM>The Big Picture: The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood</EM>, about why movie studios spend millions of dollars advertising to teenagers — money they sometimes never get back in ticket sales.", "As the French people celebrate their revolution on Saturday, Bastille Day, the founding principles — liberte, egalite and fraternite — seem to be alive and well. New President Francois Hollande embraced equality on the campaign trail this spring. To reduce the French deficit, he proposed raising taxes on large corporations and the super-rich. The move helped his campaign take off, says Gerald Andrieu, a political journalist with Marianne magazine. \"It was a very popular idea, because the concept of equality is really at the heart of our republic. And I think people had been waiting for such a proposal after the years of [Nicolas] Sarkozy,\" Andrieu says in French. One of the reasons Sarkozy was so unpopular is that he veered too far from egalite and was seen as a president of the rich. Hollande's proposal would slap a 75 percent tax rate on anyone making more than 1 million euros a year, a huge jump from the current top rate of 41 percent. It would also reinstate some wealth taxes Sarkozy got rid of. Many wealthy French have already gone abroad. Singer Johnny Hallyday and former pro-tennis player Guy Forget live in Switzerland. The French community in London is so large that it's jokingly referred to as France's seventh largest city. British Leader Extends Offer To Wealthy French At the recent G-20 gathering, British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country would be glad to welcome a few more French citizens. \"I've said before that if the French go ahead with a 75 percent top rate of tax, we will roll out the red carpet and welcome all French businesses to Britain,\" said Cameron. \"And they can pay taxes in Britain, and that can pay for our health service and our schools.\" Hollande didn't respond directly, but his labor minister chalked the comments up to British humor and retorted, \"It might be a little difficult to roll out a red carpet over water.\" Arnaud Vaissie, head of the British-French chamber of commerce in London, says, \"the fact that David Cameron has talked about this red carpet being rolled out for the French willing to move to the U.K., it is at the same time annoying the French authorities but also pushing them to think it through,\" Vaissie says. The French parliament is expected to pass the new tax laws this month. As the debate rages over whether the rich will stay or go, the government has played down the possibility of an exodus. The French finance minister said it was a question of patriotism. So perhaps the French rich are more patriotic. Last year, 16 French millionaires and billionaires signed an open letter, saying they favored paying more to help their country. \"I'm not leaving, because I like my country, and I have no reason to go away,\" says Philippe Gibert, a millionaire real estate investor. Gibert, at a Paris dinner party abuzz over the topic, says Hollande is doing the right thing. \"Of course, I'm not very happy about that because I will pay more, but I admit that I have to do that,\" says Gibert. \"Because who can pay for what is necessary? Only the rich. The others, they can't pay. So if somebody has to pay, it has to be the rich people.\" Polls show 67 percent of the French say they're ready to pay more taxes to help their country. Chalk that up to the revolutionary spirit of fraternite and egalite.", "Summertime isn't just for lollygagging. Many teens are working hard to pick up a few dollars. But how can parents prevent kids from squandering hard-earned cash and save some for the future? Host Michel Martin gets tips from financial expert Alvin Hall.", "NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports from Seattle on the philanthropic habits of youthful technology moguls who have made millions in the computer business.", "Bill Passman was a rich man by the time he was 30. His first real job in the software industry made him a millionaire and put him in position to start his own company. But Passman found out building your own business is a much more complicated -- and humbling --experience than working in someone else's. He struggled for five years and lost millions of dollars in investor money, but those who know him say that experience is what makes him a good businessman today. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.", "The name's Amazon, James Amazon; Charlie bit my finger gets rich; the one about the reunion.", "The Oscar-nominated film Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a Mumbai street kid who makes an improbable run on the Indian version of the television show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?. It's a small film with a big heart, and perhaps no one appreciates the rags-to-riches theme as much as Dev Patel, the 18-year-old Londoner with no formal acting training who plays the lead. \"If you asked me a year ago would I ever have been doing a movie with [director] Danny Boyle, I would have absolutely laughed in your face,\" Patel tells Liane Hansen. Patel describes himself as \"a very lucky kid,\" with parents who supported his desire to be an actor. His path to the big screen began when his mother suggested he attend an open audition in London for a small teen drama. He snagged a part in the production, and when the daughter of director Danny Boyle saw his performance, she recommended him for the role in her father's film. From there, it was off to Mumbai, where Slumdog filmed for four months. To prepare for his role, Patel visited the city's slums, hawked tea in a telephone call center and scrubbed dishes in the kitchen of a hotel. And, he says, he fell in love with the teeming mega city, which he fondly describes as \"a shock to all senses.\" \"As soon as you step off the plane — bang! — you're hit with a wall of heat, and your clothes become sweaty all of the sudden and the air smells different,\" says Patel. \"Someone called it the smell of sweat and dreams, which I really love.\" As for Patel, he says that he feels like he's \"living the dream.\" \"I feel so blessed,\" says the young actor. \"I'm not thinking too far ahead at the moment. I'm just trying to enjoy each moment right now and just go with the flow.\" LIANE HANSEN, host: The name Dev Patel may not be as familiar as Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, but that's about to change for the 18-year-old Londoner. Thanks to Danny Boyle's Oscar-nominated film, \"Slumdog Millionaire.\" (Soundbite of \"Slumdog Millionaire\") Mr. DEV PATEL: (As Jamal Malik): I'll go for D. (Unintelligible). Unidentified Man: Computer G, D, lock (unintelligible). Jamal Malik, you're absolutely right. (Soundbite of applause) HANSEN: Dev Patel plays the role of Jamal Malik, a Mumbai street kid who becomes a contestant on the Indian version of the television show, \"Who Wants to be a Millionaire.\" Each question evokes a memory about Jamal's past, leading to the correct answers. And because he gives the right answers, he's suspected of cheating. Dev Patel joins us from NPR West. Welcome to the program. Mr. DEV PATEL (Actor): Thank you very much. HANSEN: Are you at all surprised by the success of this movie? Mr. PATEL: Certainly, yeah, of course. I mean, if you ever asked me a year ago would I ever be doing a film with Danny Boyle, I would have absolutely laughed in your face and it happened. And, you know, the film was set out to be a very small film, you know. I guess it's a small film with a big heart in other words. And again, if you asked me whilst we were doing the film would it ever reach the Golden Globes or the SAGs or the Oscars, again, I would have laughed in your face, but it's just happening, you know. HANSEN: Yeah. I mean, you're becoming a star, and I just wonder, I mean, do you find any parallels between like your own rise now to the spotlight and your character? Mr. PATEL: Of course. I mean, this is a boy who's come from nothing, and he's gone on to the most watched game show in India, and he's sort of hijacked it. This is a kid who's had no formal education, he's come from the slums, and literally, he just got on to this game show with no knowledge. And I guess it's destiny that's led him there. And with me, I mean, I've never had no acting experience, you know, no formal acting experience or anything like that. And I've just been a very lucky kid, and I've been meeting celebrities that have inspired me on the red carpet and have been winning Oscars before I'd even tasted my first script. HANSEN: What do your parents think about your acting ambitions? Mr. PATEL: They've really accepted that this is what I want to do. And I mean, usually people from our community back in London, they're keen on pushing children to be doctors and accountants and anything medical. You could even be a vet, that's great. But I remember going to events with my mom, you know, and she would tell everyone, actually, my son's interested in acting, and everyone's face would just drop. They would be like, oh, god. No way. Are you sure? I mean, and they'll just look at us in shock like, how can a lady be allowing her son to pursue such a silly, you know, unattainable dream? HANSEN: And now you're in an Oscar-nominated film, so who's got the last laugh now? Mr. PATEL: (Laughing) Yeah, yeah. I guess so. HANSEN: (Laughing) How did you get the role? Mr. PATEL: I'd done a small teen drama in London called \"Skins,\" and I played a minor character in that. And I got that because my mother saw an op", "Our panelists answer money-themed fill in the blanks, on fictional millionaires, advertising slogans and shopping.", "Slumdog Millionaire's rags-to-riches trajectory was completed Sunday night as the indie film picked up eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. As producer Christian Colson accepted the award for Best Picture, many of the film's previously unknown cast members gathered around him at the podium. \"Together we've been on an extraordinary journey,\" Colson said. \"When we started out, we had no stars, no power or muscle. We didn't have enough money to do what we wanted to do.\" The journey from the slums of Mumbai, past Bollywood to Hollywood, was exciting for the actors who played the film's main characters. On the red carpet, the youngest Slumdog actor told NPR the cast felt as though they had just won the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? — just as in the movie. British director Danny Boyle bounced onstage — as happy as Tigger, he said — when he got his Oscar. He told reporters that Slumdog Millionaire was at its heart a love story: \"It is much deeper and more profound and more recognizable and more loveable and more timeless than a game show. ... I love that about it. It is a chance to get yourself lost in romance.\" Slumdog Millionaire also won this year's Best Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing and Sound Mixing awards. And its lively soundtrack took top honors for original score and song for \"Jai Ho.\" Producers tried to jazz up the Oscars ceremony and its ratings this year by amping up the star power and using past Oscar winners, from Sophia Loren to Robert De Niro, as presenters. Actor Hugh Jackman emceed the event, cracking jokes about the recession, and singing and dancing his heart out. \"Due to cutbacks, the Academy said they didn't have enough money for an opening number. ... I'm going to do one anyway,\" he bantered. Some of the winners were funny; the star of the winning documentary Man On Wire, Philippe Petit, performed a disappearing coin trick and balanced an Oscar statue on his chin. But one of the more stirring moments of the night belonged to the late Heath Ledger, for his performance as the Joker, the bad guy who haunts Gotham City and Batman in The Dark Knight. Ledger's father, mother and sister accepted his highly anticipated Best Supporting Actor award, saying the Oscar statue would be given to his daughter, Matilda. Vicky Cristina Barcelona star Penelope Cruz became Spain's first Best Supporting Actress winner at the Oscars, and she thanked everyone in Spanish. And a breathless Kate Winslet said she realized a dream when she picked up her Best Actress award. \"I'd be lying if I hadn't made a version of this speech before I was 8 years old and staring in the mirror, and this would have been a shampoo bottle,\" she said, clinging to her Oscar statuette, awarded for her role as a Nazi prison guard in The Reader. \"Well, it's not a shampoo bottle now.\" The Best Actor Oscar went to Sean Penn, who took on the role of gay activist and San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk. Penn smiled uncharacteristically as he thanked the Academy, who he jokingly referred to as \"You commie, homo-loving sons of guns.\" Backstage, Penn said that on his way to the Oscars he had passed by people holding up signs against homosexuality. He told reporters the protesters were cowards. \"Tell them to turn in their hate card and find their better self,\" he said, calling on the country and President Obama to recognize gay marriage. Dustin Lance Black, who won the Best Original Screenplay award for Milk, said if Harvey Milk were still alive, he would want to tell gay and lesbian kids they are beautiful creatures of value who should have civil rights. \"Harvey gave me his story. And it saved my life. It was time to pass it on,\" he said backstage, choking back tears. \"The only thing I wanted to say was to tell those kids out there they're going to be all right.\" But the night really belonged to Slumdog Millionaire. A.R. Rahman dedicated his two awards for the film's music to his homeland, India, \"and all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope in our lives.\" STEVE INSKEEP, Host: Okay, the big winners at the Oscars last night were Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, and \"Slumdog Millionaire.\" NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports. MANDALIT DEL BARCO: The indie film set in India swept this year's top awards. (Soundbite of TV Special, \"81st Annual Academy Awards\") Mr. STEVEN SPIELBERG (Director): And the Oscar goes to \"Slumdog Millionaire.\" DEL BARCO: \"Slumdog Millionaire\" had been a favorite going into the Oscars -the story of a boy from the slums of Mumbai who wants to be a millionaire to win over his true love. On the stage, many of the previously unknown cast crowded around producer Christian Colson when they won for best picture. Mr. CHRISTIAN COLSON (Producer, \"Slumdog Millionaire\"): Together, we've been on an extraordinary journey. When we started out, we had no stars. We had no power or muscle. We didn't have enough money, really", "Slumdog Millionaire, the latest from Trainspotting director Danny Boyle, follows an uneducated Indian youth who hits the jackpot on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. TERRY GROSS, host: Film director Danny Boyle made his name with the Edinburgh crime and drug thriller \"Trainspotting.\" His other films include the big-budget Leonardo DiCaprio thriller \"The Beach\" and the zombie plague film \"28 Days Later.\" His new film \"Slumdog Millionaire\" is set in India. It's about a poor 18-year-old orphan who goes on the Indian version of \"Who Wants to be a Millionaire.\" Film critic David Edelstein has this review. DAVID EDELSTEIN: It's fascinating how the game show \"Who Wants to be a Millionaire\" has captured the imagination of writers and artists all over the world, where it's a fixture in many languages. It promises easy money, of course. But something else gets under people's skin. The set and camera work are tacky, yet grandiose, the questions an unsettlingly fluky mix of history and pop culture ephemera. It's as if a mocking god has put fortune within reach and just out of it. Danny Boyle's \"Slumdog Millionaire\" is constructed around the Indian incarnation of the show, and borrows the ingenious premise, and not much else, from the novel \"Q and A\" by Vikas Swarup. A poor young man Jamal played by Dev Patel triumphs on television and is promptly arrested on the premise that he must have cheated. With constant flashbacks, Jamal explains to a cop, played by Irfan Khan, how he knew the answers, because each question, as if by fate, tied into some aspect of his tragic and tumultuous life. Danny Boyle is a smashing director, and I mean that literally. He smashed cuts from shot to shot, scene to scene, chase to chase. Right from the start, he has us reeling. He leaps back and forth between Jamal and the game show hot seat, and Jamal in a different kind of hot seat, an interrogation room, getting his feet electrocuted with a battery. I don't always trust Boyle. I feel the need to defend myself against an artist this slickly brutal, but he's a virtuoso among the best there is at a kind of kinetic film making. Even with all his arty lighting and tilted angles, he gives the action a headlong momentum. \"Slumdog Millionaire\" is his liveliest fusion of style and content since \"Trainspotting.\" Like the hero of that movie, Jamal is always on the run for his life. When he's little and his older brother, Salim, locks him in an outdoor latrine when his favorite film star is nearby, he drops through a pit of excrement and dashes for his hero's autograph. He and his brother run from rampaging Hindis, and then flee a despicable Fagan-like boss, whose cruelty is breathtaking. As each flashback ends, there's a corresponding game show question posed by a condescending emcee, played by the splendidly smarmy Anil Kapoor. (Soundbite of movie \"Slumdog Millionaire\") Mr. ANIL KAPOOR: (As Prem Kumar) Jamal Malik, you're absolutely right. (Soundbite of crowd applauding and cheering) Mr. DEV PATEL: (As Jamal Malik) It's getting hot in here. Ha. (Soundbite of laughter) Mr. PATEL: Are you nervous? Mr. KAPOOR: What? Am I nervous? It's you who's in the hot seat, my friend. Mr. PATEL: Yes. Sorry. (Soundbite of laughter) Mr. RAJENDRANATH ZUTHSHI: (As Director Raj Zutshi) Well yeah, he's got a player on the run. Ms. JEBEVA TALWAR: (As Vision mixer) Finally. Mr. KAPOOR: A few hours ago, he was giving chai to the (unintelligible). And now, you're richer than they will ever be. What a player. Ladies and Gentleman, what a player. (Soundbite of applause) EDELSTEIN: That emcee is the very devil, but Jamal's eyes are on a prize that transcends money, Latika, a girl who escaped his village after her family was killed, and whom he and his brother liberated from prostitution. Now, she's the kept woman of an abusive gangster. In her maturing coronation, she's played by Freida Pinto, and is impossibly model beautiful, And \"Slumdog Millionaire\" becomes more and more floridly romantic. The actors play it big. I get the feeling that when action is called in a Danny Boyle movie, they have to register emotion fast. But Boyle has something up his sleeve. As the film grows less gritty and more formulaic, it also becomes more Bollywood. The colors pop out. The music swells. The morally ambivalent characters atone. It even ends with a big production number, a song and dance featuring the grown-up leads, as well as the little kids who played them in the earlier scenes. With its riches, romance and wondrous destiny, \"Slumdog Millionaire\" has an ingenious subtext. The capricious mocking god of \"Who Wants to be a Millionaire\" has been kicked off screen by the god of Bollywood movie-making. It's irresistibly preposterous. GROSS: David Edelstein is film critic for New York Magazine. You can download podcast of our show on our website, freshair.npr.org.", "NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith joins the panel to talk about the oddly successful and often bizarre ABC series that brings entrepreneurs to beg for money from rich people.", "NPR's Michele Norris talks with <EM>Wall Street Journal</EM> sports writer Stefan Fatsis about teen soccer sensation Freddy Adu." ]

[ "OUT! There is the wicket, India wanted. Anukul Roy is the man. Slower through the air and Uppal looked to turn it off his legs gets a leading edge back to the bowler, giving a simple catch. Soft dismissal. Uppal c and b Anukul Roy 34(58)\nAfter 29 overs,Australia Under-19 134/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 39 , Nathan McSweeney 0) Nathan McSweeney is in at number six. Roy extends his fabulous run with an important wicket in the final. Two runs and a wicket off the over.\nFOUR! If the ball is meant to be hit Merlo will go after it. Tossed in the air by Abhishek, Merlo gets down his knee to play the slog sweep\nAfter 30 overs,Australia Under-19 142/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 46 , Nathan McSweeney 1) Merlo couldn't middle the flighted delivery off the penultimate ball but smacked the life out of the final ball to collect a boundary. Abhishek's sixth over goes for eight runs.\nAfter 31 overs,Australia Under-19 148/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 47 , Nathan McSweeney 6) McSweeney opens face of the bat to play it past backward point. Roy's over procures six runs. Merlo moving towards his 50.\nFIFTY! Responsible, attacking and well-compiled half-century by Merlo. He needs to hang around for another 10 overs at least to take his side towards formidable total.\nAfter 32 overs,Australia Under-19 151/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 50 , Nathan McSweeney 6) Three runs off Porel's comeback over. McSweeney needs to hang around and provide support to Merlo. Australia go past 150 as well.\nAfter 33 overs,Australia Under-19 154/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 52 , Nathan McSweeney 7) Pacers seem to be more effective in stemming the run flow compared to the spinners today. Only three singles off Nagarkoti's over. Have a feeling Merlo seems to be lining up for a big one here. What a match to get a big one with people watching it from all over the world.\nAfter 34 overs,Australia Under-19 159/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 53 , Nathan McSweeney 10) For a moment it seemed like a fielder would get under it but the top edge off McSweeny's bat falls in the vacant area behind mid on. The two batsmen run three. Porel bowl's one down the leg side.\nAfter 35 overs,Australia Under-19 163/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 54 , Nathan McSweeney 13) Four runs from the 35th over. Australian batsmen, mainly Merlo holding his shots back, to capatalise in the last 15 overs. Umpires have called for drinks. 15 left to play then.\nFOUR! With the spinner on it was matter of just a ball before Merlo got low and started sweeping. He does it effectively splitting the gap between fine leg and backward square leg.\nDespite the Indians bowling in decent areas, the singles and the odd boundary are coming at ease. Shows how good this wicket is to bat. 250 will be a minimum for Australia, but they won't be secure with that total.\nAfter 36 overs,Australia Under-19 168/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 58 , Nathan McSweeney 13) Don't see a lot of Australian batsman sweeping against Indian spinners with such effect. Refreshing to see Merlo do it so successfully. Five runs off the over.\nAfter 37 overs,Australia Under-19 170/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 59 , Nathan McSweeney 14) Nagarkoti begins with a bouncer that has been called a wide. Just two other singles off the over. Nagarkoti has still have three left up his sleeve.\nAfter 38 overs,Australia Under-19 174/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 61 , Nathan McSweeney 16) Merlo gets off strike with a single to mid wicket. McSweeny taps it down to long on and gets to the other end. Couple of more singles allow Australia to collect four runs. India will not mind this at all.\nAfter 39 overs,Australia Under-19 179/4 ( Jonathan Merlo 63 , Nathan McSweeney 19) Shivam Mavi returns to the attack. McSweeney guides it to third man for single. Mavi tests with couple of short ball with the last delivery providing an opportunity, with McSweeney's top edge going over the keeper's head. Desai did put in the dive but in vain as he couldn't get his gloves to the ball. Five singles off the 39th over\nFOUR! McSweeney taking a leaf out of Merlo's book. Sweeps well to beat the man at 45.\nOUT! Australia lose their fifth, just when the partnership was building. Good return catch by Shiva Singh. McSweeney was trying to work it through onside but was slightly early in the shot, tried adjusting at the last minute but he could only hit it back to the bowler . Nathan McSweeney c and b Shiva Singh 23(29)\nAfter 40 overs,Australia Under-19 185/5 ( Jonathan Merlo 64 , Will Sutherland 1) The bowling change works for Shaw and India. Ball seems to be holding up just a touch for the spinners. Great time for India to pick a wicket also. William Sutherland walks out to the middle.\nFOUR! No,no, no! Riyan Parag will not want to look at it again. Howler from the fielder, unable to collect the ball cleanly and the ball goes through him and into the boundary. Sutherland gets a lucky boundary.\nAfter 41 overs,Australia Under-19 190/5 ( Jonathan Merlo 65 , Will Sutherland 5) Good over by Mavi. Lest that fielding blunder it would have been two-run over. Australia must look to go past 260, possibly 270.\nSome smart field placing for the left arm spinners has gotten a wicket. Now it will be interesting to see how much spin is used in the last 10. With one more to go for Shiva Singh, it might be a few more.\nOUT! Tell you what, it is fantastic catch behind the stumps. Was the quicker one from Shiva Singh. Sutherland played outside the line of the ball, gets an inside edge and into Desai's gloves. Will Sutherland c Harvik Desai b Shiva Singh 5(8)\nAfter 42 overs,Australia Under-19 194/6 ( Jonathan Merlo 67 , Baxter Holt (W) 2) Baxter Holt gets off the mark immediately with a single to long on. Another successful over for Shiva Singh. India keep Australia pegging back with wickets. Merlo will have to stay till the end to ensure Australia go past a minimum of 250.\nAfter 43 overs,Australia Under-19 200/6 ( Jonathan Merlo 71 , Baxter Holt (W) 4) Australia meander to 200 with the batting side losing wickets at crucial intervals, leaving Merlo with a huge task off finishing the innings well.\nAfter 44 overs,Australia Under-19 206/6 ( Jonathan Merlo 73 , Baxter Holt (W) 8) Australia need to find the fence. Merlo too has gone into a shell. Struggling to hit the big shot. With boundaries drying up there was confusion between the two but a poor throw in the deep meant Holt can make his ground safely.\nAfter 45 overs,Australia Under-19 210/6 ( Jonathan Merlo 75 , Baxter Holt (W) 10) More confusion between the two batsmen, but they didn't run for the suicidal second. Nagarkoti completes his 8th over giving away just four singles. Australia's projected score decreasing every over.\nOUT! That's the end of Merlo. Anukul Roy was brought to do exactly that. Went for the reverse-sweep and got the bottom of the bat wih sweeper cover, Shiva Singh, taking a simple catch. Australia in deep trouble . Merlo c Shiva Singh b Anukul Roy 76(102)\nAfter 46 overs,Australia Under-19 214/7 ( Baxter Holt (W) 12 , Zak Evans 1) Merlo had no choice but to go for the big hits. He perished and there goes Australia's hope of getting any close to 250. Great move by Shaw to bring the spinner back into the attack.\nOUT! That's a Nagarkoti special. Right at the bottom of the off stump. Aa perfect yorker, something we have seen him do this tournament. Evans had no answer, swayed his bat in hope and nothing more. Australia lose their 8th. Zak Evans b K Nagarkoti 1(3)\nOUT! Terrific from Shiva Singh. First the diving effort as he went for the catch and then the quick recovery and a superb throw to the keeper. Holt's pull was not timed perfectly, Singh running from the deep threw himself to the ground but couldn't claim the catch, but got up and released a bullet throw to Desai, who whipped the bails off. Australia nine down now. Baxter J Holt run out (Shiva Singh) 13(13)\nWith the set batter out, India firmly in control. Rarely do you see spinners in the end overs, but then this in India. Mavi and Nagarkoti have been brilliant at the other end.\nAfter 47 overs,Australia Under-19 216/9 ( Ryan Hadley 1 , Lloyd Pope 0) Last man Llyod Pope is in the 47th over. Massive possibility that Australia are not going to bat their quota of 50 overs here. Nagarkoti picks his second wicket and almost knocks Pope's stumps too. Once 250 was on the cards now 220 looks dificult.\nALL OUT! Australia bowled out for 216. Mavi finishes things off. Hadley feathers it to Desai, he has had a busy day behind the stumps. I ndia need 217 to lift their fourth World Cup at the under-19 level. Ryan Hadley c Harvik Desai b Shivam Mavi 1(3)\nAustralia just seem to run out of gas in the last in 15 overs. Australia got off to a decent start. Edwards' attacking approach took Australia past 50. It was then between Jonathan Merlo and Param Uppal steering in the middle overs, McSweeney hung around for a bit but once he fell in the 40th over, Australia's slide didn't stop. 216 don't seem enough. A tleast 50 runs short, can the pressure of finals get the better of India. They have looked unflappable this toirnament, can Australia send down few shockwaves India's way. Their top three is in prime form. They need early inroads. Join us after the break...\nBrilliant performance by the bowlers in restricting Australia to 216. Excellent effort in the last 10 overs. Ab agle 3 ghante , hamaare ladkon ki zindagi ke sabse maharvpurna 3 ghante hain. Wishing my best for the chase #INDvAUS\nFantastic comeback by India. Bowlers have really pulled things back after it looked like Australia will get 260+. Last 4 wickets falling for just 4 runs. Now upto the batsman to play without nerves and make 3rd Feb into a historic day for all of us . #INDvAUS\nIndia are applauded off the field by their fans after a top combined bowling effort restricted Australia to 216! #AUSvIND #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/ZnawbAjb0Y\nOut walk Indian openers, skipper Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra. Ryan Hadley will start the proceedings, and he will bowl to the Indian skipper.\nAfter 1 overs,India Under-19 4/0 ( Prithvi Shaw (C) 2 , Manjot Kalra 1) India get off the mark on the second ball, with Prithvi guiding Hadley past point. Kalra is off the mark on the first ball he faces. That will soothe some nerves. It's a big game for these boys. Hadley seems to found the right line straightaway. He draws Shaw forward from good length spot, who pushes it to the off-side. Follows it with a leg-stump wide. Single on the fifth ball to backward square-leg and a dot to end the over. Manjot under-edged that last ball on the ground on its way to the keeper.\nAfter 2 overs,India Under-19 4/0 ( Prithvi Shaw (C) 2 , Manjot Kalra 1) Zak Evans from the other end. Nice and full to Shaw, who lets it go. Bit of shape away there. Comes slightly closer to stumps and Shaw plays and misses. Needs to be careful. Ball will swing in these overcast conditions. Much tighter on next two balls, Shaw; defends confidently. Evans draws Shaw into the drive again and he plays away from body. Middles it though. Evans ends the over with another full ball that's driven to mid-off. Maiden. Excellent start.\nFOUR! Great timing from Shaw. Hadley goes full and too straight, and Shaw lets his wrists take command.\nAfter 3 overs,India Under-19 12/0 ( Prithvi Shaw (C) 9 , Manjot Kalra 2) Hadley continues.He bowls lot of full balls here, each apt to be driven. Shaw collects a boundary to mid-wicket. Good over for India.\nSIX! Free-hit has been clubbed over long-on by Manjot Kalra. That was a slower ball on length from Evans, not the wisest choice.\nAfter 4 overs,India Under-19 23/0 ( Prithvi Shaw (C) 10 , Manjot Kalra 9) Evans continues, and beats Shaw on the drive first ball. Follows it with a wide. Shaw defends the next ball solidly and takes a single to fine leg on what is deemed a no-ball as the bowler hits the stumps at the non-striker while delivering. Kalra takes full toll of the free-hit, and clubs a six. One more run and a wide in the over, but more importantly, it's beginning to rain!\nWell, rain has stopped play at Bay Oval. Batsmen have gone off, fielders have gone off and the central square is being covered. There's a reserve day tomorrow, but India would love to finish the business today.\nWe are hearing it might take some time\nRain delay is good for Australia. With 2 wides, a no ball, and a free hit six in the last over, momentum was certainly with India. A wet ground will make the ball hard to grip though. I'm predicting that the spinner Lloyd Pope won't have much to do.\nAustralia have won the toss and have elected to bat first\nOUT! Spectacular catch by Harvik Desai! Kamlesh Nagarkoti strikes in his first over. India are on top with the wicket of Australian captain. Sangha looked to push it with hard hands got the edge and the ball flew rapidly towards Desai, who had to dive to his left to take the catch.\nOUT! There is the wicket, India wanted. Anukul Roy is the man. Slower through the air and Uppal looked to turn it off his legs gets a leading edge back to the bowler, giving a simple catch. Soft dismissal. Uppal c and b Anukul Roy 34(58)\nOUT! Australia lose their fifth, just when the partnership was building. Good return catch by Shiva Singh. McSweeney was trying to work it through onside but was slightly early in the shot, tried adjusting at the last minute but he could only hit it back to the bowler. Nathan McSweeney c and b Shiva Singh 23(29)\nOUT! Tell you what, it is fantastic catch behind the stumps. Was the quicker one from Shiva Singh. Sutherland played outside the line of the ball, gets an inside edge and into Desai's gloves.\nOUT! That's the end of Merlo. Anukul Roy was brought to do exactly that. Went for the reverse-sweep and got the bottom of the bat wih sweeper cover, Shiva Singh, taking a simple catch. Australia in deep trouble. Merlo c Shiva Singh b Anukul Roy 76(102)\nOUT! That's a Nagarkoti special. Right at the bottom of the off stump. Aa perfect yorker, something we have seen him do this tournament. Evans had no answer, swayed his bat in hope and nothing more. Australia lose their 8th.\nOUT! Terrific from Shiva Singh. First the diving effort as he went for the catch and then the quick recovery and a superb throw to the keeper. Holt's pull was not timed perfectly, Singh running from the deep threw himself to the ground but couldn't claim the catch, but got up and released a bullet throw to Desai, who whipped the bails off. Australia nine down now. Baxter J Holt run out (Shiva Singh) 13(13)\nMavi finishes things off. Hadley feathers it to Desai, he has had a busy day behind the stumps. I ndia need 217 to lift their fourth World Cup at the under-19 level. Ryan Hadley c Harvik Desai b Shivam Mavi 1(3)\nICC U-19 World Cup Final LIVE Updates: Well, rain has stopped play in Bay Oval. Batsmen have gone off, fielders have gone off and the central square is being covered. There's a reserve day tomorrow, but India would love to finish the business today.\nPreview: Unstoppable so far, India would be aiming to rewrite record books with a fourth title when the Rahul Dravid-coached side squares off against an equally formidable Australia in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Mount Maunganui on Saturday.\nIndia and Australia are the two most successful teams in the history of the tournament having won the coveted trophy thrice each.\nBut come Saturday, Dravid's sprightly boys will be desperate to outwit their Australian counterparts and become the first team in the history of the event to lift the trophy for a record fourth time.\nThe promising Prithvi Shaw, already being seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket, will be eager to join the likes of Mohammad Kaif (2002), Virat Kohli (2008) and Unmukt Chand (2012) in leading the side to the U-19 World Cup title.\nGoing by current form, odds are heavily in favour of India. The Indians have put in some impressive performances to win all their five matches – including an emphatic 203-run win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the semifinal and a 100-run victory over Australia in their tournament-opener.\nThe massive win over Pakistan in the semifinal will do a world of good to India's confidence. After putting a total of 272 on the board, they dismissed the opposition for a paltry 69.\nSo far, it has been collective performance from Dravid's boys as every member of the squad has contributed to the team's success in one or the other way.\nIndia's batting has been at its lethal best. While the openers -- Shaw and Manjot Kalra -- have given the team good starts throughout the tournament, Shubman Gill has been in phenomenal form at the number three position.\nIn fact, all eyes will be on Gill, who has been the most consistent batsman of the tournament. He scored a scintillating unbeaten century against Pakistan in the semis and would be eager to script one more impactful knock.\nIn the bowling department, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti have been phenomenal, raking up speeds in excess of 140kmph at their will. But they will have their work cut out against a strong Australian batting line-up.\nAbhishek Sharma is another important player in the squad to look up to and he along with fellow spinner Anukul Roy would look to exploit the Australian batsmen's weaknesses against spin.\nBesides his spin, Abhishek is also a hard-hitting lower middle-order batsman, who can score some quick runs.\nIndia's fielding has also been exemplary in the tournament so far.\nIndia U-19 teams have had a legacy of producing future Indian stars and this group of players has the potential to make it big.\nAustralia, on the other hand, would be desperate for revenge after their big loss to the Indians in tournament opener.\nAfter that one bad day in office, the Australians have bounced back strongly and won four games in a row to make it to the final.\nThe Jason Sangha-led side's last two performances signal that they have upped their game when it has mattered.\nAustralia's 31-run win over England in the quarterfinal, while defending 127-run total, and a six-wicket win over Afghanistan, who surprised everyone with their semifinal appearance, clearly indicate that they are here to give India a tough fight in the summit clash.\nTeams (from):\nIndia U-19: Prithvi Shaw (C), Shubman Gill, Manjot Kalra, Himanshu Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Harvik Desai, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ishan Porel, Anukul Roy, Shiva Singh, Aryan Juyal, Arshdeep Singh, Pankaj Yadav.\nAustralia U-19: Jason Sangha (C), Will Sutherland, Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Jack Edwards, Zak Evans, Jarrod Freeman, Ryan Hadley, Baxter J Holt, Nathan McSweeney, Jonathan Merlo, Lloyd Pope, Param Uppal, Austin Waugh.\nMatch starts: 0630hrs (IST).\nWith inputs from PTI" ]

[ "Prithvi Shaw’s side beat the Jason Sangha-led Australian in the inaugural encounter by 100 runs and they will repeat that feat and beat the Aussies to win the 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. (Photo: BCCI)\nTauranga: Just when Australia were looking to push the scoring rate with a series of boundaries, Ishan Porel has struck to dismiss Max Bryant and give India their first breakthrough in the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup final here at the Bay Oval on Saturday. Jason Sangha has joined Jack Edwards in the middle.\nAustralia 32/1 from 5.1 overs\nWICKET! Early inroads! Ishan Porel has struck and that's the end of Australia's opening stand. Bryant has played one in the air and Abhishek Sharma has taken a fine catch to give India their first breakthrough.\nAustralian skipper Jason Sangha has won the toss and elected to bat in the all-important 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup at the at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, Tauranga on Saturday.\nAustralia win the toss and bat first in the #U19CWC final against India at Bay Oval, Tauranga!#AUSvIND LIVE ➡️ https://t.co/BU9XqVZ41U pic.twitter.com/4a15rhCCDh — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\nBoth the teams have opted to stick with tried and tested formula as they have retained the same playing XI from their respective semifinals.\nHere are the teams for the final:\nIndia U-19: Prithvi Shaw(Captain), Manjot Kalra, Shubman Gill, Harvik Desai (wicketkeeper), Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, Anukul Roy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Shiva Singh, Ishan Porel.\nAustralia U-19: Jack Edwards, Max Bryant, Jason Sangha (Captain), Jonathan Merlo, Param Uppal, Nathan McSweeney, Will Sutherland, Baxter J Holt (wicketkeeper), Zak Evans, Ryan Hadley, Lloyd Pope.\nSangha said that his team has improved a lot in the course of the tournament and now closer to play its best cricket.\n\"Every game we're improving, and I think we are now close to playing our best cricket. Every day we're becoming more confident. We're just a better team than we were in the first game, and now we're ready to play our best cricket,\" said Sangha, after electing to bat.\nShaw would have liked to bat first too had India won the toss.\n\"I would also have opted to bat first, actually. Wicket seems to be good, the same as when we played the first game here. I'm really enjoying leading my country. I'm very proud, and I'm really looking forward to this game. We as a team are ready, we're really looking forward to it and we hope everyone will do well today,\" said Shaw at the toss.\nHaving emerged as unbeaten so far in the tournament, India will look forward to bagging the prestigious trophy for a record 4th time as they lock horns with Australia in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, here on Saturday.\nTeam sheets swapped, coin picked, captains on their way out for the toss with Match Referee Jeff Crowe! #AUSvIND #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/M9fLDaf38E — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\nTrending: ICC 2018 Under-19 World Cup final, India vs Australia: Live streaming, match-timings\nBoth sides have won the trophy thrice previously but the Boys in Blue, who have edged their counterparts head-to-head in recent years, will aim to make history in the day-night contest.\nCheck out: Twitter lauds India's behind the scene 'Bahubali' Dravid after reaching U-19 WC final\nPrithvi Shaw, who is being tipped as the next ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ will be hoping to join the company of Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand who have led the nation to glory in the mega event.\nRead: ICC U-19 World Cup: 5 players who will be key to India's success in final\nIndia, the tournament favourites are coming off with a thumping victory against arch-rivals Pakistan, having bundled out the opposition for a paltry 69 after setting up a total of 272 runs on board.\nShaw’s side beat the Australians in the inaugural encounter by 100 runs but that has still remained the lowest ever victory margin for Rahul Dravid's boys in the tournament.\nOverall, India have impressed on all fronts in the tournament thus far. Opening pair Shaw and Manjot Kalra have provided solid starts for the team along with number 3 batsman Shubman Gill who has been in scintillating form.\nGill is coming off after striking a thunderous century against Pakistan in the semis and all eyes will be on the Punjab batsman once again.\nMost popular: ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018: Prithvi Shaw-led India’s road to final\nThe likes of Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti have spearheaded the pace attack while spinners Abhishek Sharma and Anukul Roy have caused all sorts of confusion for batsmen.\nAustralia, meanwhile, will look forward to extracting revenge for the loss suffered at the start. The Jason Sangha-led side have moved from strength to strength after losing to India and have scripted four consecutive wins on the trot.\nAlso check: ICC Under-19 World Cup: Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and other past India captains\nThe Aussies will back their bowlers to do the job for them, who have showcased their brilliance in the knockout stages. Pacer Jason Ralston scalped a record seven wickets for 15 runs against Papua New Guinea before leg-spinner Lloyd Pope raised the bar high with astounding figures of eight for 35 runs in a thrilling quarter-final clash against England.\nDate and venue:\nThe India versus Australia final of 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup will be played on February 3, 2018, Saturday. The match will take place at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, Tauranga,\nLive telecast:\nThe live telecast of the ICC Under-19 World cup final between India and Australia will be on Star Sports.\nLive streaming:\nThe live streaming of the final will be available on Hotstar\nMatch-timings:\nThe all-important India versus Australia ICC Under-19 World Cup 2018 final is scheduled to start at 6.30 AM (IST) – (01:00 AM GMT and 2:00 PM local time). The toss will take place at 6.00 AM (IST) – (00:30 AM GMT and 1:30 PM local time).\nSquads:\nAustralia: Jason Sangha (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Jack Edwards, Zak Evans, Jarrod Freeman, Ryan Hadley, Baxter Holt, Nathan McSweeney, Jonathan Merlo, Lloyd Pope, Patrick Rowe, Will Sutherland, Param Uppal, Austin Waugh.\nIndia: Prithvi Shaw (captain), Harvik Desai, Shubman Gill, Aryan Juyal, Manjot Kalra, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Riyan Parag, Ishan Porel, Himanshu Rana, Anukul Roy, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Shiva Singh, Pankaj Yadav.", "India U-19 team crushed their Australian counterparts by eight wickets in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup final at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Saturday, February 3. (Full scorecard)\nThe Boys in Blue thereby created history in New Zealand as they became the first team to win the age-group title four times. Captain Prithvi Shaw joined an elite list of U-19 captains -- Mohammad Kaif (2000), Virat Kohli (2008) and Unmukt Chand (2012) who have led their respective Indian teams to sucess in the U-19 World Cup.\nREAD: Manjot, Shubman, other India U-19 stars will play in these teams in IPL 2018\nShaw wasn't lucky at the start of the much-anticipated final as he lost the toss. Nonetheless, fast bowlers Ishan Porel and Shivam Mavi applied pressure on the Australian top-order early. The former removed the opposition openers cheaply.\nINDIA - #U19CWC 2018 CHAMPIONS! ??\nManjot Kalra's fantastic century guides India to a record-breaking fourth title with a 8 wicket win over Australia! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/99gag8tXRT — ICC (@ICC) February 3, 2018\n19-year-old Jonathan Merlo top-scored for the Boys in Yellow with a steady 76 but he did not get enough support from his partners. Australia U-19 batsmen were never allowed to settle into the game as India's impressive bowling unit kept picking wickets at regular intervals.\nPacers Porel, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and spinners Anukul Roy, Shiva Singh picked up two wickets each to restrict Australia to an under-par total of 216.\nNotably, Roy finished the tournament as the joint-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps from six matches, thereby giving himself a good chance to win the Player of the Tournament Award. Also, Indian bowlers managed to bowl out oppositons every time they stepped on the field in the tournament.\nKalra unaffected by big-match pressure\nIn reply, Manjot Kalra struck his first century of the tournament in the all-important finalto help India create history. The left-handed opener looked confident from the word go and played some delightful strokes, including three sixes.\nThe Asian giants were untroubled in the chase as their batsmen stamped their authority over the Australians, who struggled to stop the run flow.\nEarlier in the innings, skipper Shaw (29) along with Kalra laid a strong foundation with a 71-run stand. Star batsman Shubman Gill chipped in with a 30-ball 31, getting out for a score less than fifty for the first time in the tournament.\nNotably, Gill fired India into the final by scoring a century in a one-sided semi-final against arch-rivals Pakistan on Wednesday, January 31.\nBrief Scores: Australia 216/10 (Merlo 76; Ishan Porel 2/30, Shiva Singh 2/36) lost to India 220/2 (Kalra 101*; Will Sutherland 28/1).", "Manjot Kalra scored his first half century in the final. (Cricket World Cup/Twitter) Manjot Kalra scored his first half century in the final. (Cricket World Cup/Twitter)\nIndia U-19 side, led by Prithvi Shaw created history on Saturday when they defeated Australia U-19 by 8 wickets to clinch the ICC U-19 World Cup trophy. With the victory, India became the only country to win the trophy four times. The star of the show remained Manjot Kalra who knocked a century in the final to take India to an easy victory. With the victory in the finals, India remained the only side who remained unbeaten in the tournament.\nIndian skipper Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra got off to a strong start, completing yet another 50-run partnership. Shaw was dismissed by Jack Edwards for 29, as Australia tasted their first success with the ball. Kalra stitched another 50-run stand with Shubman Gill as he the left-handed batsman completed his first half century in the tournament. Shubman Gill, who has scored three fifties and a century, failed to score one on in the final after he was cleaned up by Param Uppal for 31. Manjot Kalra and Harvik Desai took the control in their hands and steered India towards the victory.\nICC U-19 World Cup 2018 highlights\nWith the pitch looking like a solid surface to bat on, Australian skipper Jason Sangha elected to bat first after winning the toss at Bay Oval stadium in Mount Maunganui. Coming out to open, Jack Edwards and Max Bryant gave a strong side to their side and added 32 runs before Ishan Porel struck his first victim. He dismissed Bryant for 14, with Abhishek Sharma taking a tremendous catch. The Bengal pacer quickly struck another soon after, getting the dangerous Jack Edwards for 28 as Australia lose both their openers.\nKamlesh Nagarkoti dismissed Australian skipper Jason Sangha soon after with wicketkeeper Harvik Desai taking a decent catch. Param Uppal and Jonathan Merlo stitched a good 75-run partnership but Anukul Roy, who is the leading wicketaker for India U-19, broke the partnership dismissing Uppal for 34. Merlo went on to score his fifty but he was not supported by any other batsman on the other end. Shiva Singh took two wickets of Nathan McSweeney and Will Sutherland in quick succession late in the innings, while pacers Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti took care of the tailenders.\nIndia bowled out Australia for 217 runs, setting them up an easy task at hand.\nFor all the latest Sports News, download Indian Express App\n© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd", "The matter might once again come up for discussion at the ICC Board meetings in Kolkata on Wednesday and Thursday. The matter might once again come up for discussion at the ICC Board meetings in Kolkata on Wednesday and Thursday.\nThe BCCI would resist any attempt from the ICC to scrap the 2021 Champions Trophy in India, replacing it with a World T20 instead. Cricket board treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry said doing away with the Champions Trophy would result in a loss of approximately $30 million to BCCI coffers.\nIt is learnt that the ICC conclave in Auckland last year had floated the idea of replacing the 2021 Champions Trophy with a World T20, which the BCCI team rejected. The matter might once again come up for discussion at the ICC Board meetings in Kolkata on Wednesday and Thursday under Item No. 6.2 on the agenda that says, “Formats and ICC Competition Architecture”.\n“It is now learnt that there is a proposal to replace the Champions Trophy tournament scheduled in 2021 by a World T20 event. This might cause a loss of about $30 million to the BCCI and its stakeholders. Knowing the mood of the member organisations of the BCCI, in all likelihood, this would be unacceptable to the BCCI’s General Body which had earlier resolved that the Member Participation Agreement with the ICC would not be executed without the approval of the General Body,” Chaudhry told The Indian Express.\nThe treasurer also took a dig at ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, saying: “Having worked with Mr Manohar, one realises that he does miss out on briefing the house on crucial information that has potentially significant ramifications for the organisation concerned and therefore it is important for the ICC Board to understand the correct picture vis-à-vis the BCCI.”\nThe ICC events for the 2019-2023 FTP cycle had been agreed upon in Auckland. As per the agreement, Australia was given the hosting rights of the 2020 World T20, while India got the 2021 Champions Trophy and the 2023 World Cup.\nFinancial sustainability\nAccording to a cricket board source, however, a recent ICC meeting on strategy and financial sustainability had mentioned the proposed 2021 Champions Trophy as a “World T20 tournament”. Chaudhry, meanwhile, slammed the global body for its attitude towards the Indian board.\n“It appears that the morality of the ICC excludes India’s interests but includes India’s money. It also appears that the true intent and the optics of the intent also differ greatly,” the treasurer said, adding: “How can we, the BCCI, devalue the life of a child playing cricket in a remote district in India in order to add value to a life of someone playing cricket in Ireland or Pakistan. All life is valuable and as BCCI, it is our duty to do the best we can for those who play the game within our area of operation. Also, we must not lose sight of the fact that the Champions Trophy is a brainchild of the late Jagmohan Dalmiya, who conceptualised it for the greater sustenance of the 50-over format.”\nOne BCCI member felt that scrapping the 2021 Champions Trophy would be “contradictory” to the global body’s concept of offering greater substance to the longer formats against the growing threat posed by the proliferation of T20 cricket. The Auckland meetings had, in principle, agreed on introducing a nine-team Test league and a 13-team ODI league from 2019 and 2020 respectively.\n2019 IPL starts in March\nAs the BCCI had advanced the 2019 edition of the IPL, to be played from March 29 to May 19, the ICC Chief Executives Committee meeting in Kolkata on Tuesday also agreed upon an altered itinerary for next year’s World Cup. As per the new schedule, India will play their first match against South Africa on June 5. Their match against Pakistan is scheduled for June 16. The Indian board advanced next year’s IPL to ensure a 15-day lay-off between the T20 league and the World Cup, in accordance with the Supreme Court directive. India will also play 19 home Tests during the 2019-2023 FTP cycle.\nWC 2019: India vs Pak on June 16\nIndia will open their 2019 WC campaign against South Africa on June 5 and and square off against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 16. Here’s the full schedule:\nIndia vs South Africa: June 5, 2019\nIndia vs Australia: June 9, 2019\nIndia vs New Zealand: June 13, 2019\nIndia vs Pakistan: June 16, 2019\nIndia vs Afghanistan: June 2, 2019\nIndia vs West Indies: June 27, 2019\nIndia vs England: June 30, 2019\nIndia vs Bangladesh: July 2, 2019\nIndia vs Sri Lanka: July 6, 2019\nFor all the latest Sports News, download Indian Express App", "The Boys in Blue created history by winning a record fourth title, beating Australia by eight wickets in the final. (Photo: AFP)\nMount Maunganui: Prithvi Shaw-led India U-19 cricket team produced a fine performance in the final of the ICC U-19 World Cup against Australia here on Saturday.\nThe Boys in Blue created history by winning a record fourth title, beating Australia by eight wickets in the final.\nIndia started off strongly in the run chase, with Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra putting up a 71-run stand, after which the captain departed for 29.\nFollowing the triumph, here is what Prithvi Shaw's men will win.\nIndia played Australia in their first group match of the tournament, completing a dominant 100-run win over the three-time champions.\nThis was India U-19 team's first World Cup title since Unmukt Chand's heroics in the final against Australia back in 2012.\nMeanwhile, Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) on Saturday, announced cash rewards for the victorious India U19 team that won the ICC U19 World Cup in New Zealand after the team defeated Australia in the final at the Bay Oval.\nWhile the coach of the Indian team, Rahul Dravid, will get Rs 50 lakhs, members of the Prithvi Shaw-led India U19 team will receive Rs 20 lakhs each. The members of the support staff, Rs 20 lakhs each.\nBCCI announces prize money for victorious India U19 team.\nMr Rahul Dravid, Head Coach India U19 – INR 50 lakhs\nMembers of India U19 team – INR 30 lakhs each\nMembers of the Support Staff, India U19 – INR 20 lakhs each — BCCI (@BCCI) February 3, 2018\n“I congratulate the U19 team who have made the country proud. Head Coach Rahul Dravid played his cricket with sincerity and it was pleasing to see the boys uphold the value.\n\"They have been fantastic athletes and even better ambassadors. The boys have done so well, and I am sure they will work hard and climb the ladder and represent the senior team in the future,” said head of COA, Vinod Rai, in a media release issued by BCCI.\nMs. Diana Edulji, Member, CoA, said: \"The consistent performance is a testimony to the fact of BCCI’s initiative in nurturing the talent and providing them an environment to the youngsters and perform to their potential. I congratulate Rahul Dravid and his team for returning home with the glittering ICC World Cup.”", "Manjot Kalra smashed an unbeaten century as India crushed Australia by eight wickets to lift the ICC Under-19 World Cup title at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Saturday. This is India's fourth Under-19 World Cup title. Chasing a modest 217 in the summit clash, India romped home in just 38.5 overs with eight wickets in hand. The 19-year-old Kalra slammed his century off 101 balls. Kalra became second Indian after Unmukt Chand to score a hundred in the U-19 World Cup final. (Scorecard)\nEarlier, Jonathan Merlo made a solid 76 before the India's left-arm spin duo of Shiva Singh and Anukul Roy sprung into action, limiting the opposition to 216 all out. At 183 for four, Australia looked well on course to reach 250 in a high-pressure until the Indian spinners engineered the collapse with Jason Sangha-led side losing its last six wickets for 33 runs. Australia, who had little hesitation in batting first, were guilty of not converting starts into big partnerships. Merlo and Param Uppal (34) were involved in a 75-run stand for the fourth wicket before the innings' top-scorer shared 49-runs with Nathan McSweeney (23) to set the platform for a competitive total. However, the momentum shifted hugely into India's favour when Shiva (2/36) set up Sweeney to have the batsman caught and bowled, leaving Australia at 183 for five.\nCatch Highlights Between India vs Australia in ICC U-19 World Cup Final, straight from Mount Maunganui\n13:24 IST: India beat Australia by 8 wickets, lift 4th Under-19 World Cup title\n13:23 IST: CENTURY! Manjot Kalra brings up his century off 101 balls.\n13:17 IST: FOUR! Harvik Desai smashes Sutherland towards deep mid wicket for a boundary. India need 7 off 79 balls.\n13:12 IST: FOUR! Harvik Desai whacks the ball between mid wicket and long on for a boundary. What a shot from him. India need 16 off 87 balls.\n13:09 IST: FOUR! Harvik Desai smashes Pope towards deep mid wicket for a boundary. India 194/2, need 23 off 92 balls.\n13:02 IST: Indian fans are certainly enjoying the chase.\n12:55 IST: FOUR! What a shot. Kalra smashes the ball over deep extra cover. India 176/2, need 41 runs to win.\n12:49 IST: SIX! Manjot Kalra moves to 83 with a huge six off Lloyd Pope. What a shot from the left hander. India 165/2, need 52 runs to win.\n12:43 IST: FOUR! Harvik Desai gets a thick edge and the ball races towards third man boundary.\n12:38 IST: FOUR! Brilliant shot from Manjot Kalra. He stands tall and smashes the ball over point fielder for a boundary. He moves to 75 now. India 149/2, need 68 runs to win.\n12:36 IST: 25 over gone! India 144/2, need 73 more runs to win. Manjot Kalra 70*, Harvik Desai 4*\n12:30 IST: Manjot Kalra drills the ball down the ground for a single. India need 76 more to win with 8 wickets in hand.\n12:26 IST: Harvik Desai comes to the crease.\n12:24 IST: WICKET! Param Uppal castles Shubman Gill for 31 runs. India 131/2, need 86 more runs to win.\n12:18 IST: FOUR! Manjot Kalra stays back and slashes the ball hard towards deep backward point for a boundary. India 130/1, need 87 more runs to win.\n12:15 IST: 50-run partnership comes up between Shubman Gill and Manjot Kalra.\n12:14 IST: It's time for some leg spin. Param Uppal comes into the attack.\n12:06 IST: FOUR! Shubman Gill sends the ball towards backward point. Sutherland isn't happy with this shot. India 116/1, need 101 more runs to win.\n12:02 IST: FIFTY! Manjot Kalra brings up his half-century off 47 balls. India 110/1, need 107 more runs to win.\n12:00 IST: FOUR! Stand and deliver. Manjot Kalra hits Zak Evans for a boundary. He moves to 49 now.\n11:56 IST: 100 comes up for India in 15.5 overs. They need 114 more runs to win\n11:46 IST: SIX! Second maximum for Manjot Kalra. Kalra smashes Pope over mid wicket region. 13 runs off Pope's over. India 86/1, need 131 more runs to win.\n11:45 IST: FOUR! Shubman Gill smashes Lloyd Pope towards deep extra cover for a boundary.\n11:42 IST: Shubman Gill is the new batsman at the crease.\n11:40 IST: WICKET! Will Sutherland strikes, Prithvi Shaw departs for 29 runs. India 71/1, need 146 more runs to win.\n11:34 IST: FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries from Kalra. Outstanding piece of timing from him. Third boundary of the over. India 69/0, need 148 more runs to win.\n11:33 IST: FOUR! Manjot Kalra sends Jack Edwards over the backward point for a boundary.\n11:29 IST: WIll Sutherland comes into the attack. Manjot welcomes the pacer with a lofted shot towards cover. He will get 2 runs.\n11:27 IST: 50 comes up for India in 8.5 overs. They need 166 more runs to win\n11:24 IST: FOUR! Excellent timing from Shaw. He sends Hadley towards deep extra cover for a boundary. India 47/0, need 170 runs to win.\n11:20 IST: Great hand and eye coordination from skipper. Shaw guides the ball towards third man for a couple.\n11:18 IST: FOUR! Manjot Kalra smashes Zak Evans towards long off for a boundary.\n11:11 IST: FOUR! Prithvi Shaw stays back and slaps the ball towards sweeper cover region for a boundary. India 31/0, need 186 to win.\n11:10 IST: 3 runs off Ryan Hadley's over.\n11:03 IST: Good news! Rain has eased off. Indian openers are set to resume batting.\n10:41 IST: RAIN! It has started raining! Players are going off. Covers are coming on.\n10:39 IST: SIX! What a shot from Kalra. He hits the ball from middle of the bat. The ball goes high and lands in the long off region. Excellent shot from him.\n10:36 IST: Zak Evans to Prithiv Shaw. It's a NO BALL. Prithvi takes a single and gives strike to Manjot Kalra. FREE HIT coming up.\n10:31 IST: FOUR! First boundary of India innings. Prithvi Shaw sends Ryan Hadley for a boundary.\n10:28 IST: Zak Evans to share the ball from the other end.\n10:27 IST: 4 runs off Ryan Hadley's over. India 4/0 in 1 over.\n10:23: The floodlights are coming on.\n10:22 IST: Hello and welcome back! India need 217 runs to win the title.\n09:52 IST: ALL OUT! India bowl Australia out for 216 runs.\nIshant Porel, Shiva Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Anukul Roy claim 2 wickets each.\nJonathan Merlo scored 76 for Australia\n09:45 IST: Ryan Hadley comes to the crease now.\n09:44 IST: WICKET! Kamlesh Nagarkoti castles Zak Evans for 1 run. Australia 214/8 in 46.1 overs\n09:41 IST: WICKET! Anukul Roy ends Jonathan Merlo's stay at 76 runs. Australia 212/7 in 45.3 overs\n09:37 IST: Just 4 runs off Nagarkoti's 8th over. Australia 210/6 in 45 overs.\n09:35 IST: Brilliant bowling from Nagarkoti in the death overs. He is not giving Merlo a chance to go over the top.\n09:33 IST: India have been slightly off in the field today. One more run out chance missed. Shivam Mavi missed a brilliant chance.\n09:29 IST: 200 comes up for Australia in 43 overs. Holt 4*, Merlo 71*\n09:23 IST: Baxter J Hot is the new man at the crease.\n09:22 IST: WICKET! Shiva Singh strikes again, removes Will Sutherland for 5 runs. Australia 191/6 in 41.3 overs.\n09:18 IST: FOUR! Will Sutherland guides Shivam Mavi towards deep backward point for a boundary. Australia 190/5 in 40.5 overs.\n09:16 IST: Will Sutherland comes to the crease.\n09:12 IST: WICKET! Shiva Singh strikes, Nathan McSweeney departs for 23 runs. Australia 183/5 in 39.2 overs\n08:56 IST: FOUR! Merlo smashes the ball towards backward square leg. Excellent boundary from him. Australia 167/4 in 35.3 overs.\n08:38 IST: FIFTY! Jonathan Merlo brings up his half-century off 60 balls. Australia 151/4 in 32 overs.\nJonathan Merlo brings up a half-century off 60 balls - both his first fifty of #U19CWC and in U19 ODIs! #AUSvIND LIVE https://t.co/BU9XqVZ41U pic.twitter.com/KlmD4ohoVq — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\n08:33 IST: FOUR! McSweeney finds the gap between backward point and short third man. Excellent stuff from him. Australia 148/4 in 31 overs.\n08:31 IST: FOUR! Jonathan Merlo moves to 46 with a boundary off Abhishek Sharma towards deep mid wicket.\n08:30 IST: Nathan McSweeney comes to the crease now.\n08:26 IST: WICKET! Anukul Roy removes Param Uppal for 34 runs. Australia 134/4 in 28.5 overs.\nWICKET! Anukul Roy breaks Australia's 4th wicket partnership, Param Uppal chipping back into the hands of the bowler for a simple c&b! Australia 134/4 after 28.5 overs. #U19CWC #AUSvIND LIVE https://t.co/BU9XqVZ41U pic.twitter.com/itN9nxa92j — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\n08:19 IST: Merlo moves across and plays an excellent sweep shot for another boundary. Australia 126/3 in 26.3 overs.\n08:12 IST: FOUR! Excellent shot from Merlo. He played a wonderful sweep shot towards square leg boundary.\n08:09 IST: FOUR! Param Uppal sends Anukul Roy towards deep backward point for a boundary. Australia 110/3 in 23 overs. 50-run partnership comes up between Uppal and Merlo.\n08:05 IST: 100 comes up for Australia in 21.2 overs. Uppal 22*, Merlo 19*\n07:51 IST: FOUR! Uppal goes on backfoot and slashes the ball towards deep backward point for a boundary. Australia 84/3 in 17.3 overs.\n07:43 IST: FOUR! What a shot. Uppal stays back and punches the ball through deep backward point for a boundary.\n07:40 IST: 15 overs gone! Australia 72/3. Merlo 9*, Uppal 5*\n07:34 IST: FOUR! Jonathan Merlo smashes Nagarkoti towards sweeper cover region for a boundary. Australia 67/3 in 13.4 overs.\n07:29 IST: Param Uppal is the new batman at the crease.\n07:28 IST: WICKET! Kamlesh Nagarkoti removes Jason Sangha for 13 runs. Australia 59/3 in 11.4 overs\nThree down! It's captain Jason Sangha who departs, Nagarkoti finding the outside edge, Harvik Desai behind the stumps taking a brilliant diving catch! Australia 59/3 #U19CWC #AUSvIND LIVE https://t.co/BU9XqVZ41U pic.twitter.com/4J5a52WEr7 — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\n07:26 IST: FOUR! Sangha sends the ball towards fine leg for a boundary.\n07:24 IST: Kamlesh Nagarkoti comes into the attack.\n07:21 IST: Jonathan Merlo is the new man at the crease.\n07:19 IST: WICKET! Ishan Porel strikes again, Jack Edwards departs for 28 runs. Australia 52/2 in 10 overs.\n07:17 IST: 50 comes up for Australia in 9.3 overs. Sangha 6*, Edwards 28*\n07:15 IST: Ishant Porel to Jack Edwards. 3 runs. Overthrows.\n07:02 IST: FOUR! Another one from Edwards. He is on fire. He smashes Mavi over the mid wicket region for a boundary. Australia 41/1 in 6.2 overs.\n07:01 IST: FOUR! Edwards sends Mavi towards long off. Excellent foot work from the Australian.\n07:00 IST: Wicket maiden from Ishan Porel. Australia 32/1 in 6 overs.\n06:58 IST: Australia captain Jason Sangha is the new man at the crease.\n06:56 IST: WICKET! Ishan Porel gets the breakthrough, Max Bryant departs for 14 runs. Australia 32/1 in 5.1 overs.\n06:54 IST: FOUR! Jack Edwards goes on backfoot and cuts the ball towards deep backward point for a boundary. Australia 32/0 in 5 overs.\n06:52 IST: FOUR! Edge and boundary. Could have been an easy catch.\n06:50 IST: FOUR! First boundary by Jack Edwards. He stands tall and smashes the ball towards long on.\n06:49 IST: FOUR! Third boundary from Bryant. The Australian smashes Ishan Porel towards deep mid wicket.\n06:48 IST: Huge support from Indian fans from the stands.\nThe atmosphere at Bay Oval is buzzing, and it's only just begun! #AUSvIND #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/mxLKTG7T50 — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\n06:44 IST: FOUR! Another boundary from Bryant. The right-hander stays back and sends Mavi through cover point. Australia 12/0 in 3 overs.\n06:41 IST: Just 5 runs off Porel's over. Australia 6/0 in 2 overs.\n06:37 IST: FOUR! First boundary of the match. Bryant sends Porel for an excellent boundary. Australia 5/0 in 1.1 overs.\n06:34 IST: Excellent start from India. Just 1 run off Shivam Mavi's over. Australia 1/0 in 1 over.\n06:29 IST: Australia openers Jack Edwards and Max Bryant are ready to open. Shivan Mavi will open the attack for India. Here we go...\nHere they go! Shivam Mavi is opening the bowling to Jack Edwards and Max Bryant! #U19CWC #AUSvIND LIVE https://t.co/BU9XqVZ41U pic.twitter.com/RQbSjxT3g9 — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\n06:28 IST: Team India are in a huddle.\n06:27 IST: Here's a look at the coveted trophy.\nIt's not long until someone will be lifting this trophy... #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/znAsIY9wa2 — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\n06:25 IST: Both teams have lined up for national anthems.\n06:24 IST: Here's how cricketers have wished their teams ahead of the mega clash.\nSuper excited to cover the #U19CWC final tomorrow...an early start to the day. Let's hope that finally Rahul Dravid has his hands on the World Cup Trophy ?? #IndvAus @StarSportsIndia — Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 2, 2018\nOne of the most important games of your career. Every cricketer dreams of representing their country in a world cup final. You all have been exceptional so far, just keep up the momentum and go for the kill. #GetTheCupBackHome #Under19WC #INDvAUS @cricketworldcup pic.twitter.com/k5P2RagGgy — Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) February 2, 2018\nGood luck to the Australian U/19 team playing in the World Cup final against India today!! Soak it all up, enjoy the moment ???????????? — Aaron Finch (@AaronFinch5) February 3, 2018\nWishing our boys all the very best for the #Under19WorldCup finals against Australia. Its been a great ride so far, just one step to go. My best wishes to Rahul and the boys. Come on India! — VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 2, 2018\n06:15 IST: Playing XIs:\nIndia U19: Prithvi Shaw (captain), Manjot Kalra, Shubman Gill, Harvik Desai (wk), Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, Anukul Roy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Shiva Singh, Ishan Porel\nAustralia U19: Jack Edwards, Max Bryant, Jason Sangha (captain), Jonathan Merlo, Param Uppal, Nathan McSweeney, Will Sutherland, Baxter J Holt (wk), Zak Evans, Ryan Hadley, Lloyd Pope\n06:00 IST: TOSS: Australia captain Jason Sangha wins toss, opts to bat against India.\nAustralia win the toss and bat first in the #U19CWC final against India at Bay Oval, Tauranga!#AUSvIND LIVE https://t.co/BU9XqVZ41U pic.twitter.com/4a15rhCCDh — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\n05:58 IST: It's TOSS time folks.\nTeam sheets swapped, coin picked, captains on their way out for the toss with Match Referee Jeff Crowe! #AUSvIND #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/M9fLDaf38E — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\n05:50 IST: Hello and welcome to the Live updates from the ICC World Cup 2018 final between India and Australia.", "Tauranga (New Zealand), Feb 3 (IANS) Promising opener Manjot Kalra played a starring role with an unbeaten century as India overpowered Australia by eight wickets in the final to claim the ICC U19 World Cup for a record fourth time here on Saturday.\nThe opener batted through the innings for his 101 runs off 102 deliveries as the Indians romped past the modest target of 217 runs with 67 balls to spare.\nThe Indians were dominant throughout the tournament, winning all their six matches in comprehensive fashion on their way to the title.\nHarvik Desai played an excellent supporting role at the other end and was not out on 47 runs off 61 balls.\nDesai brought up the title win in style, smashing a boundary off Australian pacer Will Sutherland through the off-side.\nKalra was adjudged the man of the match while compatriot Shubman Gill took home the player of the tournament award.\n\"Great feeling. Enjoyed a lot. Conditions were very good. It was a flat wicket to bat on. In the team, it's been a great environment,\" an overjoyed Kalra told the media after the final.\nIndia thus became the first nation to win the ICC U19 World Cup four times. They had earlier won the title in 2000, 2008 and 2012.\nAustralia are second on the list with three titles.\nThis is the second time that India have defeated Australia in the final. They had earlier defeated the boys from Down Under in the final of the 2012 edition.The victory triggered off an avalanche of congratulatory messages from various quarters with present and former senior Indian team stars joining President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in hailing the Indian colts.\nBatting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and India skipper Virat Kohli led the cricket fraternity in congratulating the Rahul Dravid-coached team.\n\"With great team work, big dreams work. Congratulations to our World Champions!! We are proud of you. A big congratulations to Rahul and Paras for their guidance,\" Tendulkar said in a video message posted on his Twitter handle.\nKohli, who also led the India U19 side to a World Cup win in 2008, said: \"What a win for the U19 boys, take it as a stepping stone; Long long way to go! Enjoy the moment!\"\nTeam India head coach Ravi Shastri echoed the captain, saying: \"Great performance boys. You were ahead by a country mile all the way. Enjoy the moment.\"\nFormer India captain Sourav Ganguly meanwhile, hoped that some of the U-19 stars will go on to enjoy success with the senior national team as well.\nHolding out Kohli as an example, Ganguly said the Indian colts must aspire to emulate the current senior Indian team captain.\nWishing the younngsters, the President said: \"Congrats to India's talented young cricket team for winning the Under-19 World Cup. Calmness and composure of our boys embellishes their skills. Proud of captain Prithvi Shaw and his mates, as well as of coach Rahul Dravid and the hard-working support staff.\"\nThe Prime Minister also congratulated the team saying that their win makes every Indian \"extremely\" proud.\n\"Absolutely thrilled by the stupendous achievement of our young cricketers. Congratulations to them on winning the Under-19 World Cup. This triumph makes every Indian extremely proud,\" Modi said.\nChasing a modest target at the Bay Oval here, India got off to a flying start with Manjot and skipper Prithvi Shaw piling up 71 runs for the opening stand.\nIndia's chase was briefly halted by rain after just four overs, but Manjot and Prithvi ensured that they maintained their focus and after coming back they batted out the initial few overs before cutting loose.\nBut just when the Indian pair threatened to take the match away, pacer Will Sutherland drew first blood for the Australians by rattling Shaw's off-stump.\nThe Indian skipper scored 29 runs off 41 deliveries with four hits to the fence.\nShaw's dismissal brought in the centurion of the semi-final against Pakistan, Man-of-the-Tournament Shubman Gill, who raised 60 runs for the second wicket with Manjot before perishing to off-spinner Param Uppal on the personal score of 31.\nThis was unfortunately Gill's first below-50 score in the tournament but wicketkeeper-batsman Harvik Desai ensured that there were no more hiccups in India's road to the title.\nWith India just five runs shy of the title, Manjot got to his personal landmark, punching one down to square leg for a single even as the celebrations began on the sidelines with the Rahul Dravid-led side romping home in 38.5 overs.\nStory Continues", "Walking up to talk to former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull, who was hosting the post-match presentation ceremony after the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup final, Manjot Kalra looked nervous.\nSD: “How does that feel? A hundred in the final of an ICC World Cup?”\nMK: “It was a very great feeling. I enjoyed a lot.”\nSD: “How did you find the conditions out there?”\nMK: “The conditions were really very good. It wasn’t a difficult wicket – it was flat so it was easy to bat on.”\nSD: “How have you found to be a part of this team?”\nMK: “In the team it’s been a great environment. I’ve enjoyed that.”\nSD: “Congratulations, Manjot. You played magnificently today. Well done!”\nMK: “Thank you.”\nDoull tried his best to get the Player of the Match of the Under-19 World Cup final to speak up about his match-winning unbeaten century. Suffice to say he wasn’t successful in opening up the 19-year-old. Kalra may not have been very fluent with his words but his century on Saturday was the very definition of it.\nHe teed off with a huge six over long on off a free hit in the fourth over and then never looked back. Throughout his 71- and 60-run stands with captain Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, Kalra went for his strokes. After Gill got out with the score at 131/2, he changed his strategy as wicketkeeper-batsman Harvik Desai walked out, knowing he would have to be there till the end.\n“I knew I needed to take charge of the game. [I knew] that if I got out, the new batsmen would have a problem settling in,” Kalra said in the post-match press conference, where he was a bit more open. He may not talk a lot on camera, yet, but he sure knows how to express himself where required – on the field.\nKalra will have to get used to giving such interviews now, especially after heading back home to India with the victorious Indian team, which won its fourth U19 World Cup title.\nUtter jubilation at Bay Oval as India celebrate their #U19CWC triumph! 🏆🎉🙌 pic.twitter.com/0rC8S3fQS7 — ICC (@ICC) February 3, 2018\nHe will be eulogised in the Indian press and media, who will grapple with each other to get his first interview after returning home.\nHe will be compared to great Indian cricketers – a process that has already begun on social media, where people have found shades of Yuvraj Singh in his aerial heaves in the V, a hint of Sourav Ganguly in his cover drive, and traces of Gautam Gambhir’s big-match temperament. Dig some more and you might find comparisons with some other left-handed batsmen.\nIn the spotlight\nBefore the final, Kalra found himself a few inches away from the spotlight, which was hogged by his captain Shaw, fellow batsman Shubman Gill, and pacers Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi, all of whom were bought for upwards of Rs 1.2 crore in the Indian Premier League auction last week. Kalra was picked up at his base price of Rs 20 lakh by the Delhi Daredevils. That, now, appears to look like the bargain of the auction.\nKalra is, now, bang in the centre of the spotlight.\nBut the 19-year-old from Delhi would do well to think nothing of such comparisons.\nKalra joined Unmukt Chand, Brett Williams, Stephen Peters and Jarrad Burke in the club of batsmen who have hit a century in an Under-19 World Cup final. While that is great, he’ll only have to look towards the other names in that list to know what to guard himself against. None of the other four ended up playing for their senior national teams.\nChand, also a Delhi boy like Kalra, was the star and captain of the 2012 U19 World Cup-winning Indian team. He was branded the next Virat Kohli – another Delhi boy – by the Indian media after his heroics in the tournament, which also included unbeaten century in the final, incidentally against Australia as well.\nChand is only 24 and he’s still keeping his head above the water in India’s domestic circuit. You can’t rule him out of earning the chance to wear India’s colours again but he hasn’t managed to do so for six years since that 2012 World Cup final.\n‘Greatness begins here’\nThis was the tagline of broadcaster Star Sports’ promotional videos ahead of the U19 World Cup. While that may have been true for the likes of Kohli and Yuvraj Singh before him, it’s hardly the case for everyone who wins the U19 World Cup.\nFrom Kohli’s 2008 U19 World Cup-winning squad, only three others apart from the captain, ended up playing for India – Ravindra Jadeja, Manish Pandey and Abhinav Mukund. From Chand’s 2012 team, none.\nUnlike the senior 50-over World Cup, which is considered the pinnacle of the sport, winning the Under-19 title is only the first step to greatness. For Kalra, Shaw, Gill, Nagarkoti, Mavi and all the other Indian youngsters who made a name for themselves in this World Cup, the path to greatness has been opened, if you will.\nBehind the scenes as the celebrations continue for India in the changing room! 🏆🇮🇳 #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/W50gu2TMgi — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\nIndia U19’s head coach Rahul Dravid, a man considered to be a legend of the game world over and someone who never won a World Cup – senior or junior – in his playing career, perhaps put it in the best way when describing what this win means for his team.\n“It’s a memory they’ll cherish for a long time and hopefully it’s not a memory that defines them,” he told Doull after the match. “[I hope] they will have a lot more bigger and better memories as they go on ahead in their careers.”\nFor Kalra, Shaw and Co, this is only the beginning.", "India beat Australia in the final to clinch the U-19 World Cup for a record fourth time.\nIndia beat Australia in the final to clinch the U-19 World Cup for a record fourth time. © Twitter\nA brilliant display with both the bat and ball helped India blow away Australia in the ICC Under-19 World Cup final to become the first team to clinch the title four times. Australia, who elected to bat after winning the toss, were bowled out for an under-par 216 in 47.2 overs. Ishan Porel, Shiva Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Anukul Roy took two wickets apiece to restrict the Australians. The Indian team, coached by Rahul Dravid, put in a clinical batting display with Manjot Kalra smashing an unbeaten 101 off 102 balls. India (220/2) reached the target with eight wickets in hand and 11.1 overs to spare as they completely outclassed the Australians on Saturday.\nCaptain Prithvi Shaw joined the likes of Mohammad Kaif (2002), Virat Kohli (2008) and Unmukt Chand (2012) in leading India to the U-19 World Cup title.\nINDIA WIN #U19CWC 2018!\nAustralia are defeated by 8 wickets in Tauranga, Manjot Kalra's century guiding India to their fourth title! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/9NbJu3GBCp — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\nChasing 217 to win, openers Shaw and Kalra once again gave India a solid start. However, the chase was interrupted by rain with the score on 23 for no loss after four overs. It proved to be just a brief nusiance for the Indian openers as they come out after the rain break and smashed the Australian bowlers to all parts of the ground.\nKalra was especially aggressive with his strokeplay as India motored towards the target. India suffered their first setback Shaw fell to Will Sutherland in the 12th over with the score on 71.\nIndia's top scorer Shubman Gill walked out and immediately hit the ground running with some delightful shots. Kalra and Gill added 60 runs for the second wicket in no time to dismiss any chance of an Australian revival.\nGill played some Virat Kohli-style shots and enthralled the majority Indian crowd at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. The Australian bowlers had no answers as the Indian duo constantly peppered the boundary.\nGill finally fell for to Param Uppal for 31 off 30 balls but by that time the damage had been done and there was no way back for Australia.\nKalra continued in his merry making ways and notched his second half-century of the tournament.\nThe left-handed opener reached the three-figure mark and that left India needing just three more runs to win.\nHe was joined by wicketkeeper batsman Harvik Desai and the duo notched up an unbeaten 89-run stand to take India past the finishing line. Desai hit the winning runs with a boundary off the bowling off Will Sutherland to finish the match off in style.\nEarlier, Rahul Dravid's team rode on a disciplined bowling effort to restrict Australia to a modest total.\nJonathan Merlo top scored for the Australians with a 102-ball 76, laced with six boundaries even as the Indian bowlers complemented each other well to bundle out the opposition in 47.2 overs.\nElecting to bat after winning the toss, the Australians lost their three top batsmen with just 59 runs on the board, thanks to pacer Ishan Porel's twin strikes early on.\nPorel's victims included openers Max Bryant (14) and Jack Edwards (28), before Kamlesh Nagarkoti joined the party by removing skipper Jason Sangha for 13 off 24 balls.\nThereafter, Merlo and Param Uppal (34) steadied the team with a 75-run fourth wicket partnership, which saw them going past the 100-run mark, before left-arm spinner Anukul Roy ended Uppal's 58-ball stay with a brilliant catch on his own follow through.\nStuttering at 134/4, Merlo was joined by Nathan McSweeney (23), and the duo added 49 runs for the fifth wicket before the latter met with the same fate as Uppal, this time caught and bowled by the other spinner Shiva Singh.\nDespite losing his partners at the other end, Merlo continued to torment the Indians, raising his maiden half-century off 60 balls by chopping a slower delivery from Porel for a single to sweeper cover.\nMerlo, however succumbed under the pressure of scoring quick runs, when he attempted a reverse sweep off Roy only to manage a top-edge for Shiva to grab at sweeper cover.", "India emerged as the champions for a historic fourth time after beating Australia in the finals at the Bay Oval. (Source: Twitter/World Cup) India emerged as the champions for a historic fourth time after beating Australia in the finals at the Bay Oval. (Source: Twitter/World Cup)\nThe International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced its team of the U-19 cricket World Cup on Sunday. This was after India emerged as the champions for a historic fourth time after beating Australia in the finals at the Bay Oval. Led by South Africa captain Raynard van Tonder the squad has five players from India. This includes the top three in the batting line-up, captain Prithvi Shaw (261 runs in the tournament), player of the final Manjot Kalra (252 runs) and player of the tournament Shubman Gill (372 runs). Apart from this left-arm spinner Anukul Roy who emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 wickets and fast bowler Kamlesh Nagarkoti (9 wickets) are the other Indians named in the team.\nIndia remained unbeaten in the entire tournament and the five players mentioned above played a stellar role in contributing to the team’s success. While Gill was the chief architect with the bat Nagarkoti and Anukul Roy did most of the damage with the ball. Nagarkoti’s raw pace grabbed eyeballs across the cricketing fraternity as he troubled batsmen consistently. Manjot Kalra, who began the tournament on a high and then had a mediocre outing, was the star in the all-important finals with an unbeaten 101.\nMeanwhile, in a statement released the ICC also revealed that the Team of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup was selected by a five-person selection panel that comprised former Windies fast bowler Ian Bishop, former India women’s captain Anjum Chopra, former New Zealand captain Jeff Crowe, journalist Shashank Kishore and former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody.\nThe team of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018 (in batting order):\nPrithvi Shaw (India) –261 runs\nManjot Kalra (India) – 252 runs\nShubman Gill (India) – 372 runs\nFinn Allen (New Zealand) – 338 runs\nRaynard van Tonder (South Africa, captain) – 348 runs\nWandile Makwetu (wicket-keeper) (South Africa) – 184 runs and 11 dismissals (all catches)\nAnukul Roy (India) – 14 wickets\nKamlesh Nagarkoti (India)– 9 wickets\nGerald Coetzee (South Africa) – 8 wickets\nQais Ahmad (Afghanistan) – 14 wickets\nShaheen Afridi (Pakistan) – 12 wickets\n12th man: Alick Athanaze (Windies) – 418 runs\nFor all the latest Sports News, download Indian Express App\n© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd", "Manjot Kalra scored his first century of the tournament in the final of the ICC World Cup.\nManjot Kalra scored his first century of the tournament in the final of the ICC World Cup. © ICC\nManjot Kalra announced his arrival in world cricket on Saturday with a high-quality hundred in the final of the ICC U-19 World Cup against Australia. The opener got to the three-figure mark in 101 balls, with his knock comprising eight fours and three sixes. Chasing 217 to secure a historic fourth title, Kalra led India's charge with a fluent knock. The left-hander stitched together a 71-run opening stand with captain Prithvi Shaw, who was dismissed for 29 by Will Sutherland. Kalra and in-form Shubman Gill then put on 60 runs before the latter was cleaned up by Param Uppal. The Delhi batsman remained unbeaten on 101 as India chased down Australia's total in 38.5 overs with 8 wickets in hand.\nTop Quality Batting #ManjotKalra ! What a brilliant knock in a World Cup Final ?? #U19WorldCup #IndvsAus — Karun Nair (@karun126) February 3, 2018\nKarla started off the tournament with a 86-run knock against Australia. After a couple of poor scores, he hit form against Pakistan in the semi-final scoring 47 runs.\nLast month, the 19-year-old was picked up by Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League Player Auction at his base price of Rs 20 lakh.\nEarlier, Rahul Dravid's boys rode on a disciplined bowling effort to restrict Australia to a modest total.\nJonathan Merlo top-scored for the Australians with a steady 102-ball 76, laced with six boundaries even as the Indian bowlers complemented each other well to bundle out the opposition in 47.2 overs.\nElecting to bat after winning the toss, the Australians lost their three top batsmen with just 59 runs on the board, thanks to pacer Ishan Porel's twin strikes early on.\nPorel's victims included openers Max Bryant (14) and Jack Edwards (28), before Kamlesh Nagarkoti joined the party by removing skipper Jason Sangha for an unlucky 13 off 24 balls.\nThereafter, Merlo and Param Uppal (34) steadied the team with a 75-run fourth wicket stand which saw them going past the 100-run mark, before left-arm spinner Anukul Roy ended Uppal's 58-ball stay with a brilliant catch in his own follow through.\nTottering at 134/4, Merlo was joined in by Nathan McSweeney (23), who added 49 runs for the fifth wicket before meeting the same fate as Uppal, this time caught and bowled by the other spinner Shiva Singh.\nDespite losing his partners at the other end, Merlo continued to torment the Indians, raising his maiden half century off 60 balls by chopping a slower delivery from Porel for a single to sweeper cover.\nMerlo, however succumbed under the pressure of scoring quick runs, when he attempted a reverse sweep off Roy only to manage a top-edge for Shiva to grab at sweeper cover, even as Australia's hopes dashed after losing the last five wickets for just 33 runs.\nFor India, Ishan Porel, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shiva Singh and Anukul Roy took two wickets each while Shivam Mavi grabbed one.", "Indian cricket team celebrates as they beat Pakistan to enter the finals of U-19 World Cup 2018. (Photo | Twitter @ ICC)\nIndia today lifted a record fourth U-19 World Cup trophy after an eight-wicket rout of Australia in the final, underlining their dominant run in the tournament and giving Rahul Dravid the biggest success of his coaching career.\nAs it has been the case throughout the tournament, India had all their bases covered with bowlers' bouncing backing to dismiss Australia for 216 from 183 for four at one stage.\nThe highly-rated batting, barring a minor blip, completed the job with conviction as India chased down the modest target in 38.5 overs.\nDelhi-boy Manjot Kalra emerged as the man for big occasion, scoring a sublime 101 not out off 102 balls and anchoring the innings after the loss of skipper Prithvi Shaw and team's leading scorer in the tournament, Shubman Gill.\nWith a fourth crown, India surpassed Australia in the race of most U-19 World Cup titles.\nThe Under-19 Indian cricket team were showered with wishes from many cricketers that included the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Murali Vijay, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina.\nWITH GREAT TEAM WORK, BIG DREAMS WORK. Congratulations to our WORLD CHAMPIONS!! We are proud of you. A big congratulations to Rahul and Paras for their guidance. #ICCU19CWC #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/w0heorY8g6 — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 3, 2018\nWell done Prithvi Shaw & Co. you guys are the champions. Legend Rahul Dravid, the coach deserves a lot of credit for the way this team has played. #U19WorldCup — Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) February 3, 2018\nCongratulations Superstars!! It was definitely a result of a lot of hard work put together, no doubt. You guys were incredible from ball one of the tournament. Cherish these moments, celebrate hard, You guys deserved it IndVsAus #U19WorldCupFinal — Murali Vijay (@mvj888) February 3, 2018\nPure dominance by India under 19 boys.Congrats to the boys n the support staff who worked towards the victory #ICCU19WorldCup — Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) February 3, 2018\nWell done India on winning your 4th U19 World Cup! Superbly coached by Rahul.. bad luck to our boys... good effort! #U19WCFinal — Dean Jones (@ProfDeano) February 3, 2018\nWoW.. how good are these young Indians !!! At a different level and deserve all the successs #FutureStars #U19CWC Congratulations @BCCI Good job Rahul Dravid ... well groomed !! — Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) February 3, 2018\nCongratulations to the Indian team on dominating the #U19WorldCup and being the deserved champions. Everyone stood up and maintained the intensity throughout the tournament. Truly memorable win. Cherish and soak in this moment. #INDvAUS — VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 3, 2018\nGreat work by the U-19 team to remain undefeated in the World Cup. Truly deserving winners. Your work has just begun, enjoy this moment!\nA special shoutout to #RahulDravid who has continuously worked hard behind the scenes to help this team achieve its true potential. #ICCU19CWC — Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) February 3, 2018\nCongratulations to @bcci U19. Truly the best team in the tournament. 4th U19CWC title. A class above all else. So much talent all around this WC2018. Great pathway for the #futurestars. — ian bishop (@irbishi) February 3, 2018\nThese boys in such safe hands. Safest hands of Rahul Dravid. Great great contribution for the future of these youngsters and Indian Cricket. We have some great upcoming talent #INDvAUS — Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 3, 2018\n(With inputs from PTI)", "The #BoysInBlue beat Australia U19 by 8 wickets to clinch the #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/91YeZNJ3hI\n— BCCI (@BCCI) February 3, 2018\nAbsolutely thrilled by the stupendous achievement of our young cricketers. Congratulations to them on winning the Under-19 World Cup. This triumph makes every Indian extremely proud.\n— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 3, 2018\n????????????????\nGreatness begins here and the #BoysInBlue have achieved that and more as they are crowned the ICC #U19CWC champions for the 4th time! ???????? pic.twitter.com/9dvlqbcGh4\n— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 3, 2018\nWow. What a proud moment for young India. Well done lil ones…May u keep conquering the world. And keep playing FIFA ...on the side. A great morning. pic.twitter.com/2aLycIud95\n— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) February 3, 2018\nT 2603 -YEEEAAAHHHHHHHH !! #INDIACHAMPIONS !! UNDER 19 WORLD CRICKET CHAMPIONS .. THE ONLY NATION TO HAVE WON 4 TIMES !! AMAZING ! Well done India U19 cricket , you have given us such pride and joy ! INDIA ! INDIA ! INDIA !???????????????????????????????????????? ..गूँज रहा है विश्व भर में !! pic.twitter.com/lyKFPTWZRc\n— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 3, 2018\nIt's a moment of great joy and pride for India. We will felicitate the team.: CK Khanna, BCCI Acting President #U19WorldCupFinal pic.twitter.com/XL3dQMWm72\n— ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2018\nCongrats Team India boys.. The #U19CWC Champs????????.. The future looks great for Indian cricket.. pic.twitter.com/i1wqKScqn0\n— Kaushik LM (@LMKMovieManiac) February 3, 2018\nOne of the strongest U-19 teams we have ever seen. Outplaying every opponent they faced . They came, they saw, they conquered ????????. Special mentions to #RahulDravid Sir for inspiring this solid bunch of youngsters ???? #Champions #U19WorldCupFinal #FutureStars\n— Karun Nair (@karun126) February 3, 2018\nOpening batsman Manjot Kalra scored an unbeaten 101 and India won the under-19 Cricket World Cup for the fourth time with an eight-wicket victory Saturday over Australia. And what a moment it was!As soon as the news broke, the entire country jumped in joy and couldn't help but feel proud of their boys. People on Twitter including celebrities couldn't hold their happiness and poured their love and wishes for the winning team. Even PM Modi tweeted about it", "February 03, 2018 15:06 IST\nIMAGE: India Under-19 captain Prithvi Shaw and coach Rahul Dravid with the trophy. Photograph: Cricket World Cup/ICC/Twitter\nIndia on Saturday, lifted a record fourth U-19 World Cup trophy after an eight-wicket rout of Australia in the final in Mount Maunganui, underlining their dominant run in the tournament and giving Rahul Dravid the biggest success of his coaching career.\nAs has been the case through out the tournament, India had all their bases covered with bowlers bouncing back to dismiss Australia for 216 from 183 for four at one stage.\nThe highly-rated batting, barring a minor blip, completed the job with conviction as India chased down the modest target in 38.5 overs.\nDelhi-boy Manjot Kalra emerged as the man for big occasion, scoring a sublime 101 not out off 102 balls and anchoring the innings after the loss of captain Prithvi Shaw and team's leading scorer in the tournament, Shubman Gill.\nWith a fourth crown, India also surpassed Australia in the race of most U-19 World Cup titles. Prior to the final, India and Australia were locked at three titles each.\nThe team's performance was also a fitting tribute to coach Dravid, who finally got his hands on a World Cup trophy. Under Dravid, the side had finished runner-up in the 2016 edition in Bangladesh.\nIndia's previous title came in Australia six years ago when the Unmukt Chand-led team beat the hosts in the final.\nThe Virat Kohli-led side was victorious in 2008 and Mohammad Kaif was captain when India triumphed way back in 2000.\n\"Really proud of the boys and the effort they put in,\" said Dravid as his boys continued with the on-field celebrations.\n\"Hopefully it's a memory they cherish for a long, long time, but hopefully not the lasting memory and they have many more great moments and bigger things in future. I don't want to mention names but everyone in the support staff has put in a great effort. We do the best for the kids,\" the Indian great added.\nIMAGE: Manjot Kalra with his Player of the Match trophy. Photograph: Cricket World Cup/ICC/Twitter\nIn the current edition, India were the overwhelming favourites and they played like one, dishing out dominant performances one after the other.\nThe gulf between them and other teams was clearly evident. In the playing eleven of the final, India fielded five players with the First-Class experience while Australia had just one in captain Jason Sangha.\n\"I really can't express what I am feeling now,\" said skipper Shaw.\n\"All credit to our support staff, they've really been supporting us for the last two years, especially Rahul sir. He is a legend. And full credit to the guys as well. It was the final, a very crucial hundred from Manjot.\"\nOn man-of -the series Gill and performance of other his teammates, Shaw added: \"Gill was batting really well throughout. And the two pacers, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti were excellent too.\"\nHaving lost skipper Shaw (29) and Gill (31), Kalra displayed commendable calm and composure to see the team through.\nHarvik Desai (47 not out) provided the support Kalra needed after India were 131 for two in the 22nd over. The two shared 89 runs for the third wicket in what turned out to be a match-winning partnership.\nKalra, who had smashed a match-winning 86 against Australia in the tournament opener, was in devastating touch again.\nHe hammered the spinners for huge sixes and showed his silken touch by beautifully driving the pacers through covers.\nIn the end, he finished with eight fours and three sixes. It was only fitting that he reached the three figures in the last over of the final. Desai hit the winning boundary, sending the team members and the packed crowd into frenzy.\nIMAGE: Australia's Jonathan Merlo bats during the final. Photograph: Cricket World Cup/ICC/Twitter\nEarlier, Jonathan Merlo made a solid 76 before the India's left-arm spin duo of Shiva Singh and Anukul Roy sprung into action, limiting Australia to 216.\nAt 183 for four, Australia looked well on course to reach 250 in a high-pressure match until the Indian spinners engineered the collapse with the Sangha-led side losing its last six wickets for 33 runs.\nAustralia, who had little hesitation in batting first, were guilty of not converting starts into big partnerships.\nMerlo and Param Uppal (34) were involved in a 75-run stand for the fourth wicket before the innings' top-scorer shared 49-runs with Nathan McSweeney (23) to set the platform for a competitive total.\nHowever, the momentum shifted hugely into India's favour when Shiva (2/36) set up Sweeney to have the batsman caught and bowled, leaving Australia at 183 for five.\nEarlier, India's leading wicket-taker in the event, Anukul Roy (2/32), had sent back Uppal in similar fashion as offered a simple catch back to the bowler while attempting to play against the spin.\nWhile Indian spinners delivered under pressure in the middle overs, the pacers were impressive again upfront and towards the end.\nHitting through the line was not easy as the surface was on the slower side. The best example of that was the dismissal of openers Jack Edwards (28) and Max Bryant (14).\nPacer Ishan Porel (2/30) got rid of both the openers who punched a rising ball straight to cover.\nKamlesh Nagarkoti (2/41), another find for India in the tournament, removed Sangha (13) with the one that moved away just enough to take the edge to the wicket-keeper.\nNagarkoti along with Shivam Mavi (1/46) also helped in polishing off the tail after Shiva's accurate throw from deep had Baxter Bolt run out on 13.\nBoth teams went into the contest unchanged.", "Indian cricket added another feather to its cap on Saturday as the U-19 team led by Prithvi Shaw defeated Australia by eight wickets in Mount Maunganui to clinch the World Cup. The Indian bowlers did a fantastic job to start with in the final, restricting the Aussies to a modest 216, before Manjot Kalra put the rival bowlers to the sword.\nThe stylish left-handed opener cracked an unbeaten 101 off 102 balls — an innings studded with eight fours and three sixes. The Australian attack lacked venom and a catch was grassed too. In the end India romped home with plenty to spare. The win on Saturday capped a tremendous campaign for the Indians, which saw them breeze through one match after another. Australia (twice), Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Pakistan all fell by the wayside, as Rahul Dravid's proteges rode roughshhod over all opposition.\nThis win put some balm on the heartbreak two years back when the India colts went down meekly to the West Indies in the final. India are now the only country to win the U-19 World Cup four times (2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018). They were the runners-up in 2006 and 2016. As was expected, Twitterati went on the overdrive, celebrating India's triumph to their heart's content. Here is a collection of tweets:\nCongrats to India's talented young cricket team for winning the Under-19 World Cup. Calmness and composure of our boys embellishes their skills. Proud of captain @Shaw_Prithvi and his mates, as well as of coach Rahul Dravid and the hard-working support staff #PresidentKovind — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 3, 2018\nYou expect a young Indian side to bat well. And this team batted splendidly. But the big difference lay in the quality of quick bowling. #ICCU19CWC — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 3, 2018\nI don't think young players in any other cricketing environment get to play as much cricket as they do in India. Not surprised they look so ready. — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 3, 2018\nChampions! Congratulations to club ambassador Rahul Dravid and his India U19 cricket team who have just beaten Australia by 8 wickets to win the @ICC U19 @cricketworldcup in New Zealand! #U19CWCFinal #INDvAUS ???? pic.twitter.com/TBWUzgV7z4 — Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) February 3, 2018\nEvery time this man takes charge of something, the job done is a class apart! Thank You, Rahul Dravid! ???????? #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/JHIHwUgPw5 — Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) February 3, 2018\nHope these under 19 guys carry that 45 year old guy, Rahul Dravid, on their shoulders and take him around the stadium like this. pic.twitter.com/SuyGcIbE3j — Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) February 3, 2018\nEvery Indian is delighted, all credit to Rahul Dravid for committing himself to these young kids ,and a legend like him deserves to lay his hands on the WC. Only Fitting. #INDvAUS — Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 3, 2018\nOne of the strongest U-19 teams we have ever seen. Outplaying every opponent they faced . They came, they saw, they conquered ????. Special mentions to #RahulDravid Sir for inspiring this solid bunch of youngsters ?? #Champions #U19WorldCupFinal #FutureStars — Karun Nair (@karun126) February 3, 2018\nEvery Indian is delighted, all credit to Rahul Dravid for committing himself to these young kids ,and a legend like him deserves to lay his hands on the WC. Only Fitting. #INDvAUS — Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 3, 2018\n“A wise and composed head on the young shoulders.” - A perfect way to describe this brilliant team who has made us all proud. A fearless performance to make us the most successful team in #U19CWC history! Congratulations, #BoysInBlue!#INDvAUS #U19CWCFinal — Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) February 3, 2018\nSuper excited to cover the #U19CWC final tomorrow...an early start to the day. Let’s hope that finally Rahul Dravid has his hands on the World Cup Trophy ?? #IndvAus @StarSportsIndia — Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 2, 2018\nBloody hell these Indian Under 19 Batsman look outstanding .... Always nice to see the Aussies getting a bit of tap ... #U19CWCFinal — Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 3, 2018\n?? for young Manjot Kalra! Those shots remind you of Dhawan? Takes real maturity and guts to step up in the final and steer your team towards victory! #PlayBold#U19CWCFinal #AUSvIND — Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) February 3, 2018\nIndia are Under-19 World Cup winners. An unbeaten century from young Manjot Kalra. India didn’t lose a game all tournament. The Dravid imprint unmissable. Well done, boys. #INDvAUS #U19CWCFinal pic.twitter.com/iZm1xrremG — Jamie Alter (@jamie_alterTOI) February 3, 2018\nWell played by India's young champions. Throughout the tournament, they played at a different level. #ICCU19CWC — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 3, 2018\nIndia's `Boys In Blue' have excelled with bat and ball, but also how good have they been in the field! #under19worldcup — Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) February 3, 2018", "After 22 overs,India Under-19 133/2 ( Manjot Kalra 62 , Harvik Desai 1) Uppal delivers a mighty fine over here. Gets Gill, concedes just two runs and beats the new man on the last ball. They need more of these.\nAfter 23 overs,India Under-19 138/2 ( Manjot Kalra 66 , Harvik Desai (W) 2) Merlo to Kalra. Concedes a couple. Kalra looks in fine touch here. India would want him to carry on. Five runs from that over. Lot of time remaining in this match, important for India not to panic.\nAfter 24 overs,India Under-19 141/2 ( Manjot Kalra 68 , Harvik Desai (W) 3) Uppal continues. Kalra blocks the first ball and takes a single on the next. Desai drives this stylishly to sweeper cover for a single. Less than 80 to get. Kalra drives this straight, and Uppal gets a hand to it. They take a single and Desai plays out two dots.\nAfter 25 overs,India Under-19 144/2 ( Manjot Kalra 70 , Harvik Desai (W) 4) Hadley returns. Starts with a full toss and Kalra drills this through off-side, but mid-off makes a diving stop. They steal a a single nevertheless. Desai plays out two dots and late-cuts the next to third-man for a single. That's all they need. Short and wide outside off, and Kalra stands tall to hit it to sweeper. Another single there. Dot to end the over.\nAfter 26 overs,India Under-19 145/2 ( Manjot Kalra 71 , Harvik Desai (W) 4) Uppal to Kalra. Starts with a full, flat ball that is blocked. Drops short, and Kalra cuts him to sweeper. Desai on strike, plays out three dots in a row. Pulls powerfully the last ball, but hits straight to midwicket. No run again.\nFOUR! Short from Hadley, and Kalra hits this uppishly over point. India inching closer.\nAfter 27 overs,India Under-19 151/2 ( Manjot Kalra 76 , Harvik Desai (W) 5) Hadley to Kalra. On length, and defended solidly. Short and some width, and Kalra hits this uppishly over point for four. He does play it well. Single on the fourth ball brings 150 for India. They are closing in, the Indians. Desai takes a single on the fifth ball off the inside edge. Kalra laces another cover drive, but short cover does well there. No runs.\nFOUR! Uppal flights this outside off, and Desai goes hard at it. Outside-edges this for a boundary.\nAfter 28 overs,India Under-19 156/2 ( Manjot Kalra 76 , Harvik Desai (W) 10) Here's Uppal again. Tosses up, and Desai collects a lucky boundary. He fails to breach the inner circle for next four balls, and call it pressure or whatever, Desai goes for an unnecessary slog sweep. The skier just about evades the fielder.\nSIX! Full toss by Pope and Kalra muscles this way back over square leg. This boy has some power!\nAfter 29 overs,India Under-19 165/2 ( Manjot Kalra 83 , Harvik Desai (W) 12) Pope is back. Starts with a single to sweeper cover to Desai. Tosses up to Kalra from over the stumps, who short-arms this to long-on. Two dots to Desai, followed by a single and a massive six. What a shot that.\nAfter 30 overs,India Under-19 170/2 ( Manjot Kalra 85 , Harvik Desai (W) 15) Uppal continues. They milk him for five runs, India need less than 50 now. Closing in.\nAs uncomfortable as Harvik Desai has looked, he's still there, and that's what matters. Target below 50 now, and Kalra eyeing Unmukt Chand's record of being the only Indian to score a hundred in a World Cup final, in a ch\nFOUR! He is the star of the final, Manjot Kalra. That was in his swinging arc, and he hits Merlo over extra cover.\nAfter 31 overs,India Under-19 176/2 ( Manjot Kalra 89 , Harvik Desai (W) 16) Merlo back into attack. Desai drives him to sweeper cover first ball and they run an easy single. Manjot defends the next ball. He is on 85, deserves a hundred. And almost on cue, he hits a four over extra cover. India 41 away.\nAfter 32 overs,India Under-19 178/2 ( Manjot Kalra 90 , Harvik Desai (W) 17) Uppal to Desai. Tossed up on middle and leg, and they collect a single to long on. Full to Kalra again, who checks his drive. They take a single to long-on. Desai plays out the remaining over. No rush.\nAfter 33 overs,India Under-19 181/2 ( Manjot Kalra 92 , Harvik Desai (W) 18) Pope to Kalra. Short and sliding away, and Kalra pulls this past the bowler to log on for a single. Tossed up, does the next ball and Desai keeps it away. Some dip on the third ball and Desai defends. He drives the fourth ball to long off for a single. Single to end the over, and it also brings their 50-run partnership.\nAfter 34 overs,India Under-19 188/2 ( Manjot Kalra 95 , Harvik Desai (W) 22) Uppal here. Round the wicket to Kalra, who opens up slightly to drive to sweeper cover for a single. Desai collects a couple on the next ball and follows it with a single. Darted in to Kalra's legs, and a push to long-on for a single follows. Another single to deep midwicket; that was a full toss. Tossed up, is the last ball, and Kalra drives straight with lot of power. Too harsh to call it a drop, but that may have grazed Uppal's fingers.\nFOUR! Desai goes back to this Pope googly and places it to midwicket. Fine shot.\nAfter 35 overs,India Under-19 196/2 ( Manjot Kalra 97 , Harvik Desai (W) 28) Just 29 more to get. 5 to Kalra's ton. Here's Pope. In the blockhole to Kalra.Some width outside off and Kalra cuts him to sweeper cover for a single. Desai reads that googly, and places it to midwicket fence. Three more singles to end the over.\nFOUR! Full toss from Uppal and Desai dismisses this over midwicket.\nAfter 36 overs,India Under-19 203/2 ( Manjot Kalra 98 , Harvik Desai (W) 34) Uppal to Desai, and there's the four first ball. Brings up India's 200. Three more singles in the over. India taking it slowly here.\nFOUR! Short ball from Sutherland is pulled over the infield by Desai. India less than 10 runs away!\nAfter 37 overs,India Under-19 211/2 ( Manjot Kalra 99 , Harvik Desai (W) 40) 14 needed, and Will Sutherland returns. Kalra needs two to his ton, he is not on strike though. Desai cuts first ball to sweeper for a single. Manjot hits next to midwicket; no run. Coolly tucks the next ball to square leg to get to 99. What an innings this. Sutherland bangs one in; it's called wide. Short again, and Desai pulls this over infield for a four. Single to end the over.\nAfter 38 overs,India Under-19 212/2 ( Manjot Kalra 99 , Harvik Desai (W) 41) Uppal to Desai. And he is dropped! Desai hit it straight back to the bowler,who drops it. Finally takes a single on fourth ball. Manjot on strike. He is on 99. India need 5. He plays out two doubts.\nIndia becomes the first time to win four ICC Under-19 World Cups! The dressing room is ready for eruption, by the way. Here's Sutherland, and Desai takes a single to third man. India a boundary away. Manjot dabs it to square leg to get his hundred, What an innings, young man! A hundred in World Cup final. He raised his arms as Indian team assembles at the ropes. Desai tries an ungainly swipe. They run a single. Kalra cuts for a single. 1 needed. Hugs all around in Indian camp...and there it is! Desai slices Sutherland over covers and that's the World Cup!\nAmlost 4000 people applaud this effort. Majot Kalra take a bow. What a time for the innings of your life.\nLots of shouting going around, and rightfully so. The celebrations have just started at Bay Oval,and there's no stopping these boys. What a moment, what a win! Prithvi Shaw showed his class is for real, Manjot Kalra showed what rising to the occasion means, and Shubman Gill...well India may have found a new batting star in him.\nIt took India six years to win the U-19 World Cup again. What a win this has been. Coach Rahul Dravid is ecstatic, and his voice is all but drowned out by his screaming wards. Well done, boys!\nFor me the scene of the day is the entire bunch jumping behind Rahul Dravid while he is on air!! That’s some amount of space and freedom of expression in the young team! Kudos to Rahul for that.\nEvery Indian is delighted, all credit to Rahul Dravid for committing himself to these young kids ,and a legend like him deserves to lay his hands on the WC. Only Fitting. #INDvAUS\nCongratulations India by far the most dominant team in the @ICC #U19WorldCup #FutureStars @BCCI pic.twitter.com/SiqOyqZhHw\nRahul Dravid cracks me up. Speaks during interview about how embarrassed he is sometimes as coach of India U-19 because too much attention is put on him because of his stature rather than the players and support staff. Class act. World cricket needs more of him.\nCongratulations India! Winners of the @ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018! Well done to all the teams, all the sponsors, and all the fans for a great World Cup! Crickets future is in strong hands! #U19CWC #FutureStars\nThe Kiwi all-rounder also the ambassador of the Under-19 World Cup 2018\nManjot Kalra, Player of the Match : It is a great feeling. I enjoyed a lot. The conditions were easy and the wicket was not difficult to bat; it was a flat wicket. There's great environment in the team, and we enjoyed a lot.\nShubman Gill is Player of the Tournament : Really proud of team. We are fortunate to have Rahul Dravid as our coach. He told me to express my game. Playing in New Zealand was a good experience, we had a good time. It's been a pretty exciting week, hope I do well in IPL too.\nJason Sangha, Australian Captain : I am so proud of the guys to come this far in the tournament. Credit to India. Best thing about today was the guys really grinded. Full credit to India. hopefully we can go back home and learn. As a captain I am proud of the guys. For us it is a massive learning. India played really well so good on them. Thank you to the crowd.\nThe Indian team collecting their winners' medal. What a moment for them! It's been six years since Unmukt Chand won the Under-19 World Cup for India. Here's the time to lift the trophy!! And before we forget, Rahul Dravid finally gets his hands on a World Cup trophy.\nPrithvi Shaw, Indian captain : Really feeling great. Can't express myself, really proud of it. All credit to the support staff for supporting us through last two years. The boys and the coaching. Rahul sir is a legend the Wall we call him his experience counts. Crucial 100 from Manjot. Gill was batting so well. Both pacers, Kamlesh and Mavi, have been doing so well. Very well done to everyone. Thank you for coming out, wonderful playing here. Looking forward to going back home.\nWITH GREAT TEAM WORK, BIG DREAMS WORK. Congratulations to our WORLD CHAMPIONS!! We are proud of you. A big congratulations to Rahul and Paras for their guidance. #ICCU19CWC #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/w0heorY8g6\nThe under-19 boys are taking the lap of honour, enjoying themselves, shouting and letting their voices go hoarse. Time to rejoice for the young Indian side.\nThe photos won't stop tonight. Lot of reasons to smile. Lot of smiles to share...\nAutographs and selfies from the #U19CWC champions for the fantasic fans who cheered them to victory! 🤳 pic.twitter.com/CsVo0QKjWK\nIndia U-19 coach Rahul Dravid: \"Hopefully it's a memory they will cherish for a long, long time, but hopefully it's not a memory that defines them and they have more bigger and better memories that define them in their careers.\"\nCongratulations Superstars!! It was definitely a result of a lot of hard work put together, no doubt. You guys were incredible from ball one of the tournament. Cherish these moments, celebrate hard, You guys deserved it 🤙🏆 IndVsAus #U19WorldCupFinal\nOne of the strongest U-19 teams we have ever seen. Outplaying every opponent they faced . They came, they saw, they conquered 🏆👌. Special mentions to #RahulDravid Sir for inspiring this solid bunch of youngsters 🙌 #Champions #U19WorldCupFinal #FutureStars\nKarun Nair sums it up. \"They came, they saw, they conquered\".\nThere is the division of all the World Cup winners. India leading the way with 4 titles.\nSo that's that people. It was a crazy and fun few weeks bringing the World Cup to you. And what a campaign this has been for India. They have gone undefeated in this World Cup, which speaks a lot about their overall dominance. Accolades and fame will pour in for these boys, and not all may graduate to the next level, but today is the day to bask in their success. India slipped at the final hurdle in 2016, but there were no hiccups this time around. Hope you enjoyed our coverage of the ICC U-19 World Cup at Firstpost . Lots of sports action coming your way, so stay tuned. For now, it's goodbye.\nAustralia have won the toss and have elected to bat first\nOUT! Spectacular catch by Harvik Desai! Kamlesh Nagarkoti strikes in his first over. India are on top with the wicket of Australian captain. Sangha looked to push it with hard hands got the edge and the ball flew rapidly towards Desai, who had to dive to his left to take the catch.\nOUT! There is the wicket, India wanted. Anukul Roy is the man. Slower through the air and Uppal looked to turn it off his legs gets a leading edge back to the bowler, giving a simple catch. Soft dismissal. Uppal c and b Anukul Roy 34(58)\nOUT! Australia lose their fifth, just when the partnership was building. Good return catch by Shiva Singh. McSweeney was trying to work it through onside but was slightly early in the shot, tried adjusting at the last minute but he could only hit it back to the bowler. Nathan McSweeney c and b Shiva Singh 23(29)\nOUT! Tell you what, it is fantastic catch behind the stumps. Was the quicker one from Shiva Singh. Sutherland played outside the line of the ball, gets an inside edge and into Desai's gloves.\nOUT! That's the end of Merlo. Anukul Roy was brought to do exactly that. Went for the reverse-sweep and got the bottom of the bat wih sweeper cover, Shiva Singh, taking a simple catch. Australia in deep trouble. Merlo c Shiva Singh b Anukul Roy 76(102)\nOUT! That's a Nagarkoti special. Right at the bottom of the off stump. Aa perfect yorker, something we have seen him do this tournament. Evans had no answer, swayed his bat in hope and nothing more. Australia lose their 8th.\nOUT! Terrific from Shiva Singh. First the diving effort as he went for the catch and then the quick recovery and a superb throw to the keeper. Holt's pull was not timed perfectly, Singh running from the deep threw himself to the ground but couldn't claim the catch, but got up and released a bullet throw to Desai, who whipped the bails off. Australia nine down now. Baxter J Holt run out (Shiva Singh) 13(13)\nMavi finishes things off. Hadley feathers it to Desai, he has had a busy day behind the stumps. I ndia need 217 to lift their fourth World Cup at the under-19 level. Ryan Hadley c Harvik Desai b Shivam Mavi 1(3)\nOUT! Shaw is gone. Sutherland pitches it up and Shaw simply misses a straight ball. First blow for India.\nOUT! There's the big wicket. Shubman Gill has fallen to Uppal's spin. Stepped out, beaten in flight and leaves the gate open for the ball to sneak in and hit the top of off-stump.\nThe dressing room is ready for eruption, by the way. Here's Sutherland, and Desai takes a single to third man. India a boundary away. Manjot dabs it to square leg to get his hundred, What an innings, young man! A hundred in World Cup final. He raised his arms as Indian team assembles at the ropes. Desai tries an ungainly swipe. They run a single. Kalra cuts for a single. 1 needed. Hugs all around in Indian camp...and there it is! Desai slices Sutherland over covers and that's the World Cup!\nIndia becomes the first time to win four ICC Under-19 World Cups!\nICC U-19 World Cup Final LIVE Updates: Pope to Kalra. Short and sliding away, and Kalra pulls this past the bowler to log on for a single. Tossed up, does the next ball and Desai keeps it away. Some dip on the third ball and Desai defends. He drives the fourth ball to long off for a single. Single to end the over, and it also brings their 50-run partnership.\nPreview: Unstoppable so far, India would be aiming to rewrite record books with a fourth title when the Rahul Dravid-coached side squares off against an equally formidable Australia in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Mount Maunganui on Saturday.\nIndia and Australia are the two most successful teams in the history of the tournament having won the coveted trophy thrice each.\nBut come Saturday, Dravid's sprightly boys will be desperate to outwit their Australian counterparts and become the first team in the history of the event to lift the trophy for a record fourth time.\nThe promising Prithvi Shaw, already being seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket, will be eager to join the likes of Mohammad Kaif (2002), Virat Kohli (2008) and Unmukt Chand (2012) in leading the side to the U-19 World Cup title.\nGoing by current form, odds are heavily in favour of India. The Indians have put in some impressive performances to win all their five matches – including an emphatic 203-run win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the semifinal and a 100-run victory over Australia in their tournament-opener.\nThe massive win over Pakistan in the semifinal will do a world of good to India's confidence. After putting a total of 272 on the board, they dismissed the opposition for a paltry 69.\nSo far, it has been collective performance from Dravid's boys as every member of the squad has contributed to the team's success in one or the other way.\nIndia's batting has been at its lethal best. While the openers -- Shaw and Manjot Kalra -- have given the team good starts throughout the tournament, Shubman Gill has been in phenomenal form at the number three position.\nIn fact, all eyes will be on Gill, who has been the most consistent batsman of the tournament. He scored a scintillating unbeaten century against Pakistan in the semis and would be eager to script one more impactful knock.\nIn the bowling department, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti have been phenomenal, raking up speeds in excess of 140kmph at their will. But they will have their work cut out against a strong Australian batting line-up.\nAbhishek Sharma is another important player in the squad to look up to and he along with fellow spinner Anukul Roy would look to exploit the Australian batsmen's weaknesses against spin.\nBesides his spin, Abhishek is also a hard-hitting lower middle-order batsman, who can score some quick runs.\nIndia's fielding has also been exemplary in the tournament so far.\nIndia U-19 teams have had a legacy of producing future Indian stars and this group of players has the potential to make it big.\nAustralia, on the other hand, would be desperate for revenge after their big loss to the Indians in tournament opener.\nAfter that one bad day in office, the Australians have bounced back strongly and won four games in a row to make it to the final.\nThe Jason Sangha-led side's last two performances signal that they have upped their game when it has mattered.\nAustralia's 31-run win over England in the quarterfinal, while defending 127-run total, and a six-wicket win over Afghanistan, who surprised everyone with their semifinal appearance, clearly indicate that they are here to give India a tough fight in the summit clash.\nTeams (from):\nIndia U-19: Prithvi Shaw (C), Shubman Gill, Manjot Kalra, Himanshu Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Harvik Desai, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ishan Porel, Anukul Roy, Shiva Singh, Aryan Juyal, Arshdeep Singh, Pankaj Yadav.\nAustralia U-19: Jason Sangha (C), Will Sutherland, Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Jack Edwards, Zak Evans, Jarrod Freeman, Ryan Hadley, Baxter J Holt, Nathan McSweeney, Jonathan Merlo, Lloyd Pope, Param Uppal, Austin Waugh.\nMatch starts: 0630hrs (IST).\nWith inputs from PTI", "India U19 team beats Australia by 8 wickets in the World Cup title clash at Bay Oval stadium, Tauranga, New Zealand. As the boys in blue repeated the history Indian politicians congratulated team members and Coach Rahul Dravid for the brilliant job. In the final match Indian opener Manjot Kalra scored unbeaten 101 runs facing 102 deliveries, also he was named as Man of the match for his beautiful knock.\nOn Saturday, junior Indian men squad created another history by winning the U-19 Cricket World Cup at Bay Oval stadium, Tauranga, New Zealand. Soon after winning the title top politicians including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President of India Vankiya Naidu and Congress President Rahul Gandhi shared their greetings through twitter. Team India thrashed Australia by 8 wickets in this title clash. Indian opener Manjot Kalra scored unbeaten 101 runs facing 102 deliveries, also he was named as Man of the match for his beautiful knock. In the innings of 101 runs, Manjot scored 8 boundaries and 3 sixes.\nThis was the fourth time in cricket history when India U-19 team lifted the world. Prithvi Shaw joined Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand in the club of U19 World Cup winning captains. Joining the celebrations, many top Indian politicians congratulated junior Indian side for creating the history. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi was the first one to wish Prithvi and company, followed by Vice-President Vankiya Naidu, Union Minister Smriti Irani, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Union Minister Smriti Irani and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah.\nEvery politician appreciated the team effort and hard work done by Prithvi Shaw and company, who raised the pride of the nation. Vice-President Vankiya Naidu congratulated young Indian side to make nation proud.\nHearty congratulations for the Indian under 19 Cricket team for winning ICC Under 19 World Cup beating Australia in New Zealand today. The young players made the country proud. @BCCI #U19WorldCup #ICCU19WorldCup pic.twitter.com/4E4TAHCL8x — VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) February 3, 2018\nPrime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on his timeline that this triumph makes every Indian extremely proud.\nAbsolutely thrilled by the stupendous achievement of our young cricketers. Congratulations to them on winning the Under-19 World Cup. This triumph makes every Indian extremely proud. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 3, 2018\nThis was the first time when opposition and government were on the same side, as Congress President Rahul Gandhi twitted a picture of young team India celebrating the victory, Rahul Gandhi also added a caption to congratulate young Indian side.\nCongratulations Team India on your resounding U 19 Cricket World Cup win! India takes great pride in the success of its new generation of cricket stars. #U19CWCFinal pic.twitter.com/DHUaYzhxjL — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 3, 2018\nDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal posted a tweet after the victory of U19 Indian side and praised Delhi boy Manjot Kalra for his great knock.\nHeartiest congratulations to India's U-19 Cricket team for winning the World Cup. Delhi boy Manjot Kalra has made all of us proud! — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 3, 2018\nIn the thread Bharatiya Janata Party, President Amit Shah shared a post supporting the team spirit and great job done by India U19 side.\nHats off to the World Champion, Team India. Your unbeatable team spirit throughout the series has brought this #U19WC trophy home. Congratulations to the entire team, coach Rahul Dravid and the management for this unparalleled accomplishment. Proud moment. pic.twitter.com/AeznS9oaJG — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) February 3, 2018\nUnion Minister Smriti Irani congratulated young guns for repeating the history.\nCongratulations to young Team India for scripting a historic win at the #U19CWCFinal for the fourth time. You have done the whole Nation proud. — Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 3, 2018\nUnion Railway Minister Piyush Goyal praised the young side for stellar performance in the tournament.\nCongratulations Team India on winning the #U19CWCFinal and becoming the most successful team in the history of the competition, with four title victories. The country is delighted by your stellar performance in the tournament. — Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 3, 2018\nChief Minister of Goa congratulated boys for their dominating performance.\nCongratulations to the young Team India for a dominating performance throughout the tournament and winning the U19 Cricket World Cup. — Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) February 3, 2018\nChief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis congratulated Prithvi Shaw and Rahul Dravid for winning the title.\nAnd Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore congratulated boys in blue for the brilliant job.", "The Under-19 World Cup team of the tournament was unsurprisingly dominated by Indians, with as many as five players named in the world XI.\nThe team, announced by the International Cricket Council on Sunday, features he top three of the Indian batting line-up – captain Prithvi Shaw (261 runs), player of the final Manjot Kalra (252 runs) and player of the tournament Shubman Gill (372 runs).\nLeft-arm spinner Anukul Roy (14 wickets) and fast bowler Kamlesh Nagarkoti (9 wickets) are the other Indians named in the team.\nIndia won their record fourth U-19 World Cup trophy on Saturday with an eight-wicket rout of Australia in the final at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand.\nThe team of the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup was picked by a five-person selection panel including Windies fast bowler Ian Bishop, former India women’s captain Anjum Chopra, former New Zealand captain Jeff Crowe, former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody and Indian journalist Shashank Kishore.\nSouth Africa captain Raynard van Tonder was named to lead side which has representation from six countries.\nVan Tonder, who aggregated 348 runs in six matches including a highest score of 143 against Kenya, was selected to lead ahead of other captains for his better cricket acumen, the ICC said in a statement.\nSouth Africa went out of reckoning for the title with a three-wicket loss to Pakistan in the quarter-finals but finished fifth beating Bangladesh by eight wickets in a play- off, which saw Tonder knocking an unbeaten 82.\nApart from van Tonder, the other South Africa players making the team are wicket-keeper Wandile Makwetu and fast bowler Gerald Coetzee. Makwetu took 11 wickets during the tournament besides some useful runs while fast bowler Gerald Coetzee finished with eight wickets.\nNew Zealand batsman Finn Allen was rewarded for a consistent run which saw him get 338 runs while Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi (12 wickets) and Afghanistan leg-spinner Qais Ahmad (14 wickets) are the ones in the playing eleven.\nWest Indies batsman Alick Athanaze was named the 12th man after finishing as the highest run-getter in the tournament with 418 runs, which included centuries against Sri Lanka and Kenya.\nThe team of the U-19 Cricket World Cup (in batting order)\nPrithvi Shaw (India) –261 runs\nManjot Kalra (India) – 252 runs\nShubman Gill (India) – 372 runs\nFinn Allen (New Zealand) – 338 runs\nRaynard van Tonder (South Africa, captain) – 348 runs\nWandile Makwetu (wicket-keeper) (South Africa) – 184 runs and 11 dismissals (all catches)\nAnukul Roy (India) – 14 wickets\nKamlesh Nagarkoti (India)– 9 wickets\nGerald Coetzee (South Africa) – 8 wickets\nQais Ahmad (Afghanistan) – 14 wickets\nShaheen Afridi (Pakistan) – 12 wickets\n12th man: Alick Athanaze (Windies) – 418 runs", "Richardson was speaking as the Al Jazeera documentary on spot fixing continued to make ripple effects in world cricket scenario. The matches in question were Australia's third Test against India at Ranchi in 2017 and the final Test between India and England at Chennai, and the documentary alleged that three England and two Australian players agreed to score at a rate specified by the fixers.\n\"Because we have hardened the target at the top level they (fixers) are now going to focus on junior levels of cricket or other avenues such as curators and groundsmen,\" Richardson said at a 2019 World Cup event in London. \"We know what the problem is. It is going to be a constant battle. We can't let up. We'll be in it for the long term,\" he said.\nCountdown to ICC Cricket World Cup is on\nDavid Richardson: “The ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales is truly unique. No other country in world cricket offers every competing nation a ‘home crowd’ atmosphere” #CWC19https://t.co/RJoo6S32wD pic.twitter.com/1zf1STTTCg — ICC Media (@ICCMediaComms) May 30, 2018\nAmong all the three forms of cricket, Richardson said, Test is the most vulnerable to fixing activities.\n\"It is as high a risk, but we've got the mitigating measures in place to make sure that it cannot have any impact. And, yes, it would be very surprising if international cricketers were able to be got to.\n\"And because that target has been hardened, these guys are now trying to create their own leagues, at a much lower level, and the danger is they will start going to domestic tournaments and leagues that are televised,\" said Richardson.\nRichardson said he had watched the Al Jazeera documentary and got angered to see that \"criminals\" are \"swanning around\" cricket.\n\"We are obviously very much aware there are these types of individuals and types of criminal groups around world who are trying to get into cricket, trying to get hold of players, trying to get hold of groundsmen But it was reminder that these guys are at work and they are not going away and we've got our work cut out trying to disrupt them,\" he said.\nThe ICC Cricket Committee has made several recommendations to create a culture of respect that everyone in the game can adhere to. https://t.co/ybmHUk2Y3i #cricket @icc — ICC Media (@ICCMediaComms) May 29, 2018\nHowever, Richardson said there was no evidence to suggest that ICC's anti-corruption officials have been involved in such nefarious activities.\n\"At this stage there is no evidence to suggest that is the case, but one of the allegations that has been made and we will look at it,\" Richardson said.\n\"If your own officials, hired to do the job of protecting the integrity of cricket are compromised in any way obviously that is a concern. There is no evidence to suggest at this stage that is the case,\" he added.", "Ind vs Aus 2017: Virat Kohli is in the form of his life for the Indian cricket team. (Source: PTI) Ind vs Aus 2017: Virat Kohli is in the form of his life for the Indian cricket team. (Source: PTI)\nMore often than not, build-up to every India series these days has a heavy mention of either Virat Kohli or Ashwin, and at times both. The two continue to deliver match after match, series after series and continue to trigger panic in the opposition dressing room. Australia are no different. Returning to the country where they lost 0-4 in 2013, the visitors have a stiff challenge. And, they have on-song Kohli to deal with. The right-hander has hit four double hundreds in consecutive series for India, and he’s in no mood to stop.\nDavid Warner, in an interaction with India Today, was all praise for “fantastic player” Kohli and feels he has been exceptional across formats for India.\n“Kohli is in the form of the decade. He is a fantastic player and a great sport. He is exceptional in all formats and he is taking the entire country on a journey. He wants the country to ride with him. Virat is frank and he calls spade a spade. Joe Root, Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis and Kohli thrive on responsibility. These young players are unstoppable,” said Warner.\nMost former Australia captains want Warner to take the lead role, with the bat, during the India series and convert those hundreds into big ones. The left-hander is all focussed to do the same and takes inspiration from Kohli to “score big tons”\n“Chances can slip very fast in India. Preparation is important and there can be no excuses. Have to stay as fresh as possible and convert the big 100’s into 200’s. Virat is a great example of scoring big tons,” said Warner.\nOne of the most vocal characters in the game, Warner didn’t quite reveal his sledging plans for Kohli but asserted that Australia would continue to play their brand of cricket.\n“Sledging can work both ways with Virat. Great players know how to deal with it. We have to find a way of getting into the opposition’s minds. It could be banter or field placements. It is actually playing your brand of cricket. Sledging or banter is just one of the ways to upset the opposition,” said Warner.\n© The Indian Express Online Media Pvt Ltd", "KOLKATA: Hailing India's dominant performance at the ICC U19 World Cup, former national team captain Sourav Ganguly hoped on Saturday that some of the young cricketers will go on to enjoy success with the senior squad.\nHolding out Virat Kohli as an example, Ganguly said the Indian colts must aspire to emulate the current senior Indian team captain.\n\"It's a fantastic achievement. They not only became champions, they dominated teams from the first game,\" Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of the foundation day celebrations of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).\n\"I hope some of them play for India now. Virat Kohli is the biggest example. When we used to play U-19, the World Cup was not there. I remember playing against Pakistan in Bombay. Rahul Dravid has played under me,\" the CAB President added.\nCoached by batting legend Rahul Dravid, the Indian youngsters thrashed Australia by eight wickets in the final on Saturday to win the ICC U19 World Cup for a record fourth time.\nKohli had captained India to glory at the 2008 edition of the U-19 World Cup before going on to become one of the world's best batsmen and India's senior team captain.\nThe Boys in Blue had won every game in dominant fashion during their run to the final.\n\"I have maintained from the first day that the fast bowlers we have, the spinners everyone is good,\" said Ganguly who was in New Zealand commentating in the first few games.\nTalking about Bengal medium-pacer Ishan Porel, who took two wickets in the final and four in the semi-final against Pakistan, Ganguly said he now needs to stay fit and keep training hard.\n\"The gap is a bit more now. He has got to keep training hard and we will look after him at CAB. We will make sure he comes good,\" Ganguly said.\n\"Ishan's comeback speaks volumes about his character. He got injured after the first game and then came back brilliantly,\" he added.\nPorel, who played the last three knockout games despite sustaining a foot injury after India's opening group game against Australia, is a product of the CAB's Vision 2020 project.\nAsked about the previous India U-19 World Cup winners who have failed to reach the next level, Ganguly said that is the reason projects like Vision 2020 are created.\n\"Vision 2020 is done to help these youngsters and bridge the gap. We have to prepare him now for the senior level. Same with everyone Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, everyone,\" he said.\nGanguly added that Porel will be felicitated once he is back in town. The 19-year old is scheduled to fly to Dharamsala to take part in the domestic one dayers, the Vijay Hazare Trophy.\n\"Let him comeback. Will see and definitely felicitate him. My advice (to him) would be to stay fit and play well,\" Ganguly said.\nMeanwhile, Ganguly opined the India-South Africa ODI series would be a fascinating one and with the hosts having ianjuries to key players like skipper Faf du Plessis and AB De Villiers. India won the first rubber convincingly. There are five more matches to go.\n\"It will be a good series. No (Dale) Steyn, no Du Plessis, not De Villiers so it won't be easy to beat India,\" Ganguly said.", "New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The BCCI top brass on Saturday congratulated the Rahul Dravid-coached victorious India Under 19 side for lifting the World Cup for the fourth time, after defeating Australia at Tauranga in New Zealand on Saturday.\nThe Prithvi Shaw-led side, which started the tournament as favourites, maintained their unbeaten run throughout before thrashing three-time champions Australia by eight wickets in the summit clash.\nHeaping praises on the young guns, acting board president C.K. Khanna said: \"The nation is celebrating today thanks to the India U19 team. The boys have been terrific and did not let their guard down.\"\n\"The winning margins in all the matches show their dominance. It speaks about the rich quality we have not only at the senior level, but also at the junior level.\n\"Despite most of the boys playing in New Zealand for the first time, they adapted brilliantly to the conditions. We have a good mix of fast bowlers, spinners, and batsmen, who are capable of winning the match on their own,\" he added.\nBCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary in his messaged said: \"It's a proud day for everyone associated with the BCCI and Indian cricket. India are the only team to have qualified for the final of the last three ICC events.\"\n\"The Virat Kohli-led side qualified for the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in England, Mithali Raj's girls made it to the summit clash of the ICC Women's World Cup and Prithvi Shaw's boys have lifted the U19 crown in New Zealand. When it comes to performances in ICC events, India have always raised their level,\" he added.\nEchoing the duo, board CEO Rahul Johri said: \"Winning the World Cup without losing a solitary game is a fantastic achievement and I congratulate everyone for this dominant show.\"\n\"India have won the World Cup for a record fourth time and expectations from these boys are going to be high. In Rahul Dravid, we have a fantastic coach who is moulding the youngsters and also fine-tuning the boys at the India A level before they progress to the senior side,\" he added.\nIndia entered the tournament by beating Australia by 100 runs before thrashing minnows Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe by 10 wickets.\nThe Boys-in-Blue then went past Bangladesh by 131 runs in the quarter-finals before hammering Pakistan by 203 runs in the semi-final.\n--IANS\ntri/vm", "Prithvi Shaw led India as captain to U-19 World Cup victory. (Cricket World Cup/Twitter) Prithvi Shaw led India as captain to U-19 World Cup victory. (Cricket World Cup/Twitter)\nIndia U-19 team led by skipper Prithvi Shaw rewrote record books after the side defeated Australia in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2018 final by 8 wickets. With the victory, India became the only country to win the tournament four times. Speaking about the historic win, Shaw credited head coach Rahul Dravid and the supporting staff for the results. “I can’t express what I’m feeling right now, I am really proud of it. All credit to our support staff for really supporting us for the last two years. Rahul Sir himself is a legend, the Wall we call him,” the 19-year old said at the post-match presentation.\nSpeaking about the victory, Shaw said that the century made by Manjot Kalra proved to be the crucial factor. “It was a crucial hundred from Manjot. Gill was batting so well. Both pacers, Kamlesh and Mavi, have been executing things so well through the tournament. It’s been wonderful playing matches here,” he said.\nShubman Gill, who was awarded man-of-the-series award for scoring three fifties and a match-winning century against Pakistan in the semifinal, also credited Dravid for his role as the coach. “I am really proud of my team. We were fortunate enough to have Rahul as coach. He was just telling me to express my game and keep it on the ground. Had a good time here. It’s been very exciting for me. Hope to do well in IPL also,” he said.\nKalra, who won the man-of-the-match award for his performance said that the conditions were great for batting. “It’s a great feeling. Enjoyed a lot. Conditions were very good. It was a flat wicket to bat on. In the team, it’s been a great environment,” he said.\nThe losing captain Jason Sangha, also complimented India for their performance. “I don’t know what to say at the moment. Proud of the guys to get this far in the tournament. Full credit to India. They played very well. Best of luck for the guys for the IPL,” Sangha said.\nThe Australia skipper added that they were outplayed by India. “As a captain you can’t complain when everyone’s giving 110%. India outplayed us. Good for their supporters who came out today. Full credit to our coaching staff. When you have two guys who have played international cricket, it gives you great insights. Thank you to the crowd that came today. Was fantastic to see them here,” he said.\nFor all the latest Sports News, download Indian Express App\n© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd", "New Delhi: The Under-19 Indian Cricket team has won the World Cup and people in the country can’t stop going gaga over it. In a country, where cricket is a religion, celebrations begin the moment India wins a match. And today, as young India lifted the World Cup, an avalanche of reactions poured in on social media to cheer for the boys in blue.\nA string of celebrities from the tinsel town lauded India's victory against Australia today.\nHere are some of the tweets that have come from our film celebs:\nShah Rukh Khan: Wow. What a proud moment for young India. Well done lil ones…May u keep conquering the world. And keep playing FIFA ...on the side. A great morning.\nWow. What a proud moment for young India. Well done lil ones_May u keep conquering the world. And keep playing FIFA ...on the side. A great morning. pic.twitter.com/2aLycIud95 - Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) February 3, 2018\nAmitabh Bachchan: T 2603 -YEEEAAAHHHHHHHH !! #INDIACHAMPIONS !! UNDER 19 WORLD CRICKET CHAMPIONS .. THE ONLY NATION TO HAVE WON 4 TIMES !! AMAZING ! Well done India U19 cricket , you have given us such pride and joy ! INDIA ! INDIA ! INDIA !..गूँज रहा है विश्व भर में !!\nT 2603 -YEEEAAAHHHHHHHH !! #INDIACHAMPIONS !! UNDER 19 WORLD CRICKET CHAMPIONS .. THE ONLY NATION TO HAVE WON 4 TIMES !! AMAZING ! Well done India U19 cricket , you have given us such pride and joy ! INDIA ! INDIA ! INDIA !__________ ..____ ___ __ _____ __ ___ !! pic.twitter.com/lyKFPTWZRc — Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 3, 2018\nAnil Kapoor: And our #boysinblue have done it again! Congratulations #TeamIndia on winning the #U19CWCFinal! It’s been a delight to watch you all play!! The future of Indian Cricket is strong & bright! Congratulations to the proud coach #RahulDravid as well!! #INDvAUS\nAnd our #boysinblue have done it again! Congratulations #TeamIndia on winning the #U19CWCFinal! It's been a delight to watch you all play!! The future of Indian Cricket is strong & bright! Congratulations to the proud coach #RahulDravid as well!! ____#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/dAlNckH04M — Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) February 3, 2018\nRiteish Deshmukh: #ManjotKalra you beauty #TeamIndia the champions. The WALL #RahulDravid stands tall in this victory. Congratulations !! वाह!! दिल जीत लिया.....#U19WorldCup\n‏Arjun Kapoor: We are the champions! Congrats under 19 team India for this amazing victory! #U19CWC\nWe are the champions! Congrats under 19 team India for this amazing victory! #U19CWC — Arjun Kapoor (@arjunk26) February 3, 2018\nVivek Oberoi: Yayyy! Congrats team India under 19 and the amazing #RahulDravid ! So proud of u! Unbeaten champs through the tournament! 4world titles a record we are all so proud of! Jai hind #BoysinBlue #under19worldcup @BCCI\nYayyy! Congrats team India under 19 and the amazing #RahulDravid ! So proud of u! Unbeaten champs through the tournament! 4world titles a record we are all so proud of! Jai hind __ #BoysinBlue #under19worldcup @BCCI pic.twitter.com/KRiWdQf5eI - Vivek Anand Oberoi (@vivekoberoi) February 3, 2018\nFarhan Akhtar: Congratulations team India. Well played. Well deserved. And a special mention for Rahul Dravid who is giving back to the game like a true champion. #ICCU19CWC\nCongratulations team India. Well played. Well deserved. And a special mention for Rahul Dravid who is giving back to the game like a true champion. #ICCU19CWC — Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) February 3, 2018\nPreity Zinta: Congrats to the U19 Boys in Blue for winning the #CWCU19 Loved the celebration Rahul Dravid take a bow. #INDvAUS #kalra #undefeated\nCongrats to the U19 Boys in Blue __ for winning the #CWCU19__ Loved the celebration _ Rahul Dravid take a bow. #INDvAUS #kalra #undefeated — Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 3, 2018\nAyushmann Khurrana‏: Congrats team India for winning the under 19 World Cup. Prithwi, Shubman, Nagarkoti, Mavi etc have a very bright future. May India’s dominance in world cricket continue.\nCongrats team India for winning the under 19 World Cup. Prithwi, Shubman, Nagarkoti, Mavi etc have a very bright future. May India's dominance in world cricket continue. — Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) February 3, 2018\nRaveena Tandon: @Under19WorldCup our Young #BoysInBlue waved the #BharatArmy”flag dedicating their win to Indian Army ! Awesome gesture! #WorldCupunder19 #deshKeYuvak kaise hon? Aise bano,Bhai,aise bano! “\nSaiyami Kher: World champions!!! What a dominating performance by team India...Incredible! @Shaw_Prithvi congratulations to you and the boys!\nRahul Dravid you genius. Thankyou\n#U19CWC\n#INDvAUS\n#RahulDravid\nWorld champions!!! What a dominating performance by team India...Incredible! @Shaw_Prithvi congratulations to you and the boys!\nRahul Dravid you genius. Thankyou #U19CWC #INDvAUS #RahulDravid - Saiyami Kher (@SaiyamiKher) February 3, 2018\nSophie Choudry: And the young boys in blue be making us PROUD!! Congrats on becoming world champions boys!!!And huge respect to their guiding light & true gentleman #RahulDravid #U19WorldCupFinal #U19CWCFinal #Indiachampions #BleedBlue\nAnd the young boys in blue be making us PROUD!! Congrats on becoming world champions boys!!!And huge respect to their guiding light & true gentleman #RahulDravid ______ #U19WorldCupFinal #U19CWCFinal #Indiachampions #BleedBlue — Sophie Choudry (@Sophie_Choudry) February 3, 2018\nVatsal Seth: We are the Champions!! Congratulations boys #U19WorldCupFinal #Under19WC #TeamIndia\nIndia today lifted a record fourth U-19 World Cup trophy after an eight-wicket rout of Australia in the final. With a fourth crown, India surpassed Australia in the race of most U-19 World Cup titles.", "India will open their 2019 World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 5. (File photo | PTI)\nKOLKATA: India will open their 2019 World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 5 and square off against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 16, a senior BCCI official told PTI today.\nThe 2019 World Cup will be held in the UK from May 30 to July 14 and India will start on June 5 as the BCCI will have to maintain a mandatory 15-day gap between the IPL final and international assignment as per the Lodha Committee recommendations.\nThe matter was discussed during the ICC Chief Executives Meeting here today.\n\"The 2019 IPL will be played between March 29 and May 19. But we need to maintain a 15-day gap and World Cup starts on May 30. Therefore as per a 15-day gap, we could have only played on June 5. Earlier, we were scheduled to start on June 2 but we couldn't have played on that day,\" a senior BCCI official present here told PTI on conditions of anonymity.\n\"South Africa are our first opponents. The CEC agreed and the matter has been referred to the ICC board,\" he said.\nThe official had earlier stated that the match will be on June 4 but later corrected himself.\nThe clash against Pakistan will take place on June 16 in Manchester.\nIndia have never lost to Pakistan in a World Cup.\nInterestingly, ICC, in their various marquee events, have started with an Indo-Pak fixture in the past which is almost always a sell-out.\nIt happened in the 2015 World Cup in Australia (at Adelaide) and the 2017 Champions Trophy in UK (in Birmingham).\n\"This is the first time an Indo-Pak match won't be a starting affair. Since the format will be a round robin affair (all teams playing each other like 1992),\" the official added.\nOther decisions that were formalised included the FTP for the next five-year cycle from 2019-23.\n\"As we had decided, India will play a maximum 309 days of international cricket in this cycle across formats, a reduction of 92 days from the earlier cycle. However, the number of home Test matches will increase from 15 to 19. All these Tests will be part of the World Test Championship,\" he added.\nIt was also confirmed that India will not play any Day/Night Test match for now as it's not a part of the World Test Championship.\n\"All matches in the ICC World Test Championship are day matches played with the red ball. If that's the case, there is no point in playing pink ball Tests if it doesn't help in preparation for World Test Championship,\" he concluded.", "India became the most successful nation in Under-19 World Cup history when they defeated Australia convincingly by eight wickets at picturesque Mount Maunganui.\nTruth be told, it was a lopsided final, especially in the run chase. Australia threatened to get in front in the match in their first ten overs, especially when opener Jack Edwards got on a bit of a roll hitting five boundaries in the couple of overs before he was caught at cover.\nDespite having Australia at 3-59, India went defensive early, deciding to contain rather than attack. It did allow Australia to go between cruising and crawling along in the middle orders adding 124 runs with the loss of only one wicket against a team who refused to put any real pressure on their opposition.\nAustralia were in a good position to launch in their final ten overs but it never came. There really didn’t appear to be a player who was ever going to take the game by the scruff of the neck.\nEven Jonathon Merlo, whose innings were like a satisfying mid-range wine, ended it like a cheap wine that had gone off, with a foolish reverse sweep that found a fielder in the deep.\nIt meant the player most likely to get Australia a score of over 250 was out of India’s way, and Australia’s tail offered little after Merlo.\nWhile no Australian batsmen showed the qualities to be a genuine star at international level in the future, all of India’s batsmen did. From the outset, the timing of both of India’s openers was far more impressive than their counterparts.\nWhen Manjot Kaira put a free hit onto the hill with a sweet shot over the wide mid-on boundary, the signs were worrying for Australia. A brief rain break didn’t stop India’s early momentum, and captain Prithvi Shaw’s driving was a brief delight once play had resumed.\nAustralia’s much-needed breakthrough came after a 71 run opening stand, but it was always an uphill battle for the men in gold, and the hill they were climbing was far steeper than the hills adjacent to the ground.\nAll four Indian batsman batted beautifully, with the standout being unbeaten centurion Kaira. Scoring at almost a run a ball for his 101*, he was a clear choice for man of the match honours.\nIt wasn’t a great performance either with the ball or in the field for India, who were at times sloppy against a team that lacked a bit of quality. However, with the bat in hand, India’s batsmen all combined in a comfortable and superb run chase to become the first nation to win four Under-19 Cricket World Cups.", "Sri Lanka curators were shown doctoring pitch conditions in Galle in the documentary by Al-Jazeera. File photo: AFP\nCOLOMBO: World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga on Wednesday said corruption \"goes right to the top\" in Sri Lanka and accused the International Cricket Council of undermining the game by failing to tackle match-fixing.\nRanatunga, now a government minister, said cricket corruption in Sri Lanka went far beyond the claims made in an Al Jazeera documentary which aired on Sunday.\nRanatunga said the allegations must be investigated, \"but this must have been happening for a long time.\n\"This is something that goes right to the top (in Sri Lanka). What they will catch is the small fish. As usual the bigger fish will get away,\" he said.\nThe documentary alleged that a Sri Lankan player and groundsman were involved a pitch-tampering plot and that there was spot-fixing during Tests between India and England, and India against Australia.\n\"I am so disappointed with the ICC anti-corruption unit,\" Ranatunga said, referring to previous complaints against Sri Lanka Cricket, which is headed by politician and businessman Thilanga Sumathipala.\nArjuna Ranatunga led Sri Lanka´s 1996 World Cup-winning team\nThe 54-year-old, who led Sri Lanka´s 1996 World Cup-winning team, has in the past accused Sumathipala of involvement in gambling in violation of ICC rules. Sumathipala has denied the charge.\n\"If they can´t see what is happening in Sri Lanka... they should not sit on this anti-corruption unit,\" Ranatunga told reporters.\nHe said the Sri Lankans implicated in the Al Jazeera documentary could not change the outcome of a Test match unless they had backing from superiors.\n\"They are small fish,\" Ranatunga said referring to the groundsman of the Galle stadium, Tharanga Indika, and a district coach, Tharindu Mendis.\n\"They can´t do it unless they have agreement with those right at the top.\"\nWorld Cup final\nIndika and Mendis have been suspended while the ICC investigates accusations made in Al-Jazeera´s undercover report. Sri Lankan police have also started an inquiry.\nAsked if the Galle groundsman was in a position to tamper with the pitch, Ranatunga said: \"There is a top guy involved. He should be held responsible. He should be suspended, not only the person who got (directly) involved.\"\nRanatunga said the global audience for cricket was declining because of corruption allegations. He blamed the ICC.\n\"The ACU has been very poor. They have not used some of their powers and I think that is one reason why cricket has gone down very badly in the world in the last so many years.\n\"They (the ICC) need to take a big step and take a lot of hard decisions,\" Ranatunga added.\nRanatunga said last year, he raised suspicions that the 2011 World Cup final was tainted.\n\"The ICC did not investigate, Sri Lanka Cricket did not investigate and we allowed things to continue,\" he said, adding that he was still distressed by Sri Lanka´s six-wicket defeat in the Mumbai final.\nSri Lanka, batting first, scored 274-6 off 50 overs and appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was caught for 18. But India turned the game dramatically, thanks partly to poor fielding and bowling by Sri Lanka.\nLocal media raised suspicions of Sri Lankans throwing the match, but there was no formal call for an investigation until Ranatunga´s outburst last year.\nRanatunga said Sri Lanka´s humiliating 3-2 loss to bottom-ranked Zimbabwe in five one-day matches on home soil last year should also be investigated.\nIn 2016, the ICC imposed a three-year ban on a Sri Lankan official, Jayananda Warnaweera, for failing to cooperate with an anti-corruption investigation.\nThe former Test player, who was facing a two-year domestic ban over allegations of involvement in match-fixing, failed to attend interviews with ICC investigators.\nSri Lankan players and umpires have been accused of match-fixing in the past, but Warnaweera is the highest ranking official to be sanctioned.", "Rahul Dravid on Saturday finally got his hands on a World Cup trophy after his boys beat Australia in the final of the ICC U-19 World Cup final. Dravid had previously missed out on a World Cup title on two occasions - once as a player in 2003 and another as coach of the U-19 team in 2016. Not one to be swayed away by emotions, Dravid, in typical style, had some wise words for his boys, who were busy celebrating India's historic fourth U-19 World Cup crown. Speaking after India's comprehensive 8-wicket win, Dravid hoped the memory of a junior World Cup win won't define careers of his team. The former India captain said he wanted his players to create bigger and better memories for themselves.\n\"I am really proud of the boys, proud of the effort that they have put in and proud of the support staff as well. I think the effort we have put in over the last 14 months have been sensational. They really deserved this, couldn't be really happier and proud for this bunch of boys. It's really nice for them and hopefully it's a memory they'll cherish for a long time, and hopefully it's not a memory that defines them and they will have a lot more bigger and better memories as they go on ahead in their careers,\" Dravid told Simon Doull after the match.\nDravid also stated that he tends to get a lot of attention, which should be directed at the players instead.\n\"Coaching this team I tend to get a lot of attention, but it is really about the quality of support staff that we have had and the effort they have put in has been amazing,\" he further added.\nThe Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a cash reward for Dravid and his team after the win.\nBCCI announces prize money for victorious India U19 team.\nMr Rahul Dravid, Head Coach India U19 - INR 50 lakhs\nMembers of India U19 team - INR 30 lakhs each\nMembers of the Support Staff, India U19 - INR 20 lakhs each — BCCI (@BCCI) February 3, 2018\nElecting to bat first, Australia were dismissed for 216 runs in 47.2 overs. Ishan Porel, Shiva Singh and Anukul Roy picked up two wickets each for India.\nOpener Manoj Kalra then spearheaded the Indian run chase with an unbeaten century as the Boys in Blue romped to victory with 67 balls to spare.\nKalra remained unbeaten on 101 runs off 102 deliveries while Harvik Desai was not out on 47 at the other end.\nDesai brought up the title win in style, smashing a boundary off Australian pacer Will Sutherland.\nIndia thus became the first nation to win the ICC U19 World Cup four times. They had earlier won the title in 2000, 2008 and 2012.\nThis is the second time that India have defeated Australia in the final. They had earlier defeated the boys from Down Under in the final of the 2012 edition.", "World XI vs West Indies LIVE Streaming Online: The match will be played at Lord’s, London.\nWorld XI vs West Indies Live Streaming Online: After an exciting Indian Premier League, the cricketing fans are up for another treat as West Indies takes on ICC World XI in an exhibition Twenty20 International match on Thursday evening. The ICC World XI was supposed to be led by Eoin Morgan but an injury on the ring finger on his right hand forced the England skipper out of the match. Apart from Afridi, the World XI will also star Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane. From India, Dinesh Karthik and Mohammed Shami will be a part of the star-studded XI.\n“It’s a great honour to be leading the ICC World XI side, that too for such a good cause. I’m sure all the players from either side are looking forward to the match with great enthusiasm and people will get to see some high-quality cricket on Thursday,” Afridi wrote on his twitter handle.\nOn the other hand, West Indies will be led by all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite who had a decent IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad. The squad includes stars like Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Andre Russell. However, Sunil Narine won’t be playing the match.\nWhen is World XI vs West Indies T20?\nThe match between World XI and West Indies will be played on Thursday i.e. May 31, 2018. This will be the only match between the two teams.\nWhere is World XI vs West Indies T20?\nWorld XI vs West Indies T20 will be played at Lord’s, London. Last year, ICC Champions Trophy final was played at the same venue.\nWhat time will World XI vs West Indies T20 start?\nThe match will start at 10:30 PM (IST). The coverage of WXI vs WI Only T20 will begin on the broadcasting channel from 10:30 PM IST. The toss will take place at 10:00 PM IST.\nOn which channel to watch World XI vs West Indies T20?\nWorld XI vs West Indies T20 will be broadcast on Sony SIX and Sony SIX HD in English commentary. They are the official broadcasters of the charity match.\nHow to watch World XI vs West Indies LIVE Streaming Online?\nFor all live score and updates follow FinancialExpress.com. You can also watch World XI vs West Indies live streaming online on SonyLiv.com.\nHere are the squads:\nICC World XI Squad: Shahid Afridi (c), Sam Billings, Sam Curran, Tamim Iqbal, Tymal Mills, Dinesh Karthik, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mitchell McClenaghan, Shoaib Malik, Thisara Perera, Luke Ronchi, Adil Rashid.\nWest Indies Squad: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin(w), Carlos Brathwaite(c), Samuel Badree, Ashley Nurse, Andre Russell, Rayad Emrit, Keemo Paul, Kesrick Williams.", "India U-19 squad celebrates in the dressing room. India U-19 squad celebrates in the dressing room.\nThe final of the ICC U-19 World Cup saw India pulling off yet another allround performance. Going into the finals, the side led by skipper Prithvi Shaw and head coach Rahul Dravid were the favourites. India had been undefeated in the tournament, winning all their three group matches against Australia, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe. The victory over Australia by 100 runs in the first group game was another factor that boosted their confidence.\nBut, converting the confidence into results is a completely different ball-game, something which India displayed on Saturday as they met Australia in the final. Losing the toss on a solid batting surface did little to hurt Indian bowlers temperament and they bowled out their rivals for 216. Chasing a low total, the young men in blue went on to easily earn a victory, with 8 wickets in hands. Manjot Kalra smashed a U-19 World Cup final century, becoming only the second Indian player to do so after Unmukt Chand.\nAfter winning the trophy, a video was posted on Twitter by Cricket World Cup in which coach Rahul Dravid was seen celebrating with his young squad in the dressing room.\nWatch video below:\nBehind the scenes as the celebrations continue for India in the changing room! ?????? #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/W50gu2TMgi — Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 3, 2018\nDravid, who has been credited for India’s successful campaign at the U-19 World Cup, said he is really proud of the young team. “I am really proud of the boys, proud of the effort that they have put in and proud of the support staff as well. (Smiles and pauses as the Indian team celebrates right behind him to be on camera). I think the effort we have put in over the last 14 months have been sensational,” he said.\nDravid added: “Coaching this team I tend to get a lot of attention, but it is really about the quality of support staff that we have had, there have been seven, eight of us who have been together for the last 14 months, the effort they put in was incredible. I am proud to be a part of their (support staff) team and I see it as that. We try and do what’s best for the kids and hopefully they can put in the performances on the field and they have certainly done that in this tournament.”\nFor all the latest Sports News, download Indian Express App", "Highlights India, the only nation to have won four times, amazing: Amitabh Bachchan The future of Indian Cricket is strong, said Anil Kapoor Manjot Kalra stood out in several congratulatory tweets\nT 2603 -YEEEAAAHHHHHHHH !! #INDIACHAMPIONS !! UNDER 19 WORLD CRICKET CHAMPIONS .. THE ONLY NATION TO HAVE WON 4 TIMES !! AMAZING ! Well done India U19 cricket , you have given us such pride and joy ! INDIA ! INDIA ! INDIA ! ..!! pic.twitter.com/lyKFPTWZRc — Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 3, 2018\nAnd our #boysinblue have done it again! Congratulations #TeamIndia on winning the #U19CWCFinal! It's been a delight to watch you all play!! The future of Indian Cricket is strong & bright! Congratulations to the proud coach #RahulDravid as well!! #INDvAUSpic.twitter.com/dAlNckH04M — Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) February 3, 2018\nProud moment for the entire country.. What a feat by the Indian U-19 team Congratulations to the young heroes!\n#U19CWC — Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) February 3, 2018\nThe U-19 World Cup team of India is basking in the success of their fourth consecutive win and Bollywood celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor have also congratulated them. Today's victory also made India the only nation to have won the U-19 World Cup title for the fourth time. Amitabh Bachchan, who recently 'threatened to quit Twitter,' posted screenshots from the final match and wrote: \"Yeah! #Indiachampions !! Under 19 World Cricket Champions, the only nation to have won four times. Amazing. Well done India U-19 cricket. You have given us such pride and joy. 'India! India! India' is resonationg worldwide.\" Actor Anil Kapoor tweeted: \"And our #boysinblue have done it again! Congratulations #TeamIndia on winning the #U19CWCFinal! It's been a delight to watch you all play. The future of Indian cricket is strong and bright. Congratulations to the proud coach #RahulDravid as well!!\"South star Mahesh Babu also congratulated the 'men in blue' and said: \"Proud moment for the entire country. What a feat by the Indian U-19 team. Congratulations to the young heroes.\" Actor Riteish Deshmukh added: \"Manjot Kalra you beauty. Team India, the champions. The wall, Rahul Dravid, stands tall in this victory. Congratulations!\"India, the defending champions, defeated Australia in the World Cup Final on Saturday to lift the championship trophy for the fourth time. Manjot Kalra stood out in several congratulatory tweets, having scored 101 runs off 102 balls.", "Prithvi Shaw captained India to their fourth U19 World Cup. Prithvi Shaw captained India to their fourth U19 World Cup.\nIndia became the most successful team in the history of U-19 World Cup when the team won its fourth title by beating Australia by eight wickets on Saturday. The win makes India the only team to win the tournament more than three time. Australia were the other team with three titles but now India have stepped ahead of them. Prithvi Shaw, captain of the Indian team, became only the fourth captain from India to lift the title.\nIndia won the first title back in 2000 under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif. The former India cricketer led the side to its maiden U19 World Cup title. The team had the likes Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh among others. India had to wait eight years for their second title. It was in 2008 when India lifted the second title under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. India beat South Africa in the final of the tournament. Kohli is the current captain of the Indian cricket team.\nIndia have participated in 10 U19 World Cups since 1998 and won the title four times and finished runners-up twice. Here is a list of the players who have led India in the 10 World Cups.\nAmit Pagnis: In the inaguaral U19 World Cup was played in Australia in 1998 and Pagnis was the captain of the team. 16 teams participated in that tournament and India reached the second round Pagnis is a former Mumbai cricketer and has more than 5,000 runs in domestic cricket. The 39-year-old never played for India.\nMohammad Kaif led India to their maiden U-19 World Cup title. (Express archive photo) Mohammad Kaif led India to their maiden U-19 World Cup title. (Express archive photo)\nMohammad Kaif: In the second edition of the U19 World Cup, India emerged as the champions. The tournament was hosted in Sri Lanka and under the captaincy of Kaif, won their maiden title. Playing the final against Sri Lanka, India cruised to a six-wicket win and Yuvraj Singh was named as the player of the tournament.\nParthiv Patel was the captain of India in 2002 U-19 World Cup. Parthiv Patel was the captain of India in 2002 U-19 World Cup.\nParthiv Patel: The defending champions in the 2002 U19 World Cup reached the semi-final under the captaincy of Parthiv Patel. He led the team to semis in which they loss to South Africa by a margin of 112 runs. Patel later went on to play for India at the age of 19. He is still part of the Test team.\nDInesh Karthik led India in 2004 U-19 World Cup. (Source: AP)\nDinesh Karthik: The wicketkeeper-batsman led India in the 2004 U19 World Cup hosted by Bangladesh. He captained the team which reached the semi-final of the tournament. India lost to Pakistan in the semi-final. Karthik later was handed India debut and is still part of the Indian ODI team.\nRavikant Shukla: The left-handed middle-order batsman Shukla led India to their second final of an U19 World Cup. In 2006, India reached the final of the World Cup and played against Pakistan under the captaincy of Shukla. But he could not become the second Indian captain to win the World Cup. He never played for India.\nVirat Kohli won the U-19 World Cup in 2008. Virat Kohli won the U-19 World Cup in 2008.\nVirat Kohli: India got another chance to win the World Cup and Kohli did not let it go. He led India to their second U19 World Cup title in 2008 by winning the final against South Africa. Kohli became an overnight star. He got an IPL contract the same year. He is the current captain of the Indian cricket team in all formats and was part of the Indian team that won the 2011 World Cup.\nAshok Menaria: The left-arm spinner was the captain of the Indian U19 team that reached the quarter-final of the World Cup in 2010. Hosted by New Zealand, the 2010 edition saw India lose to Pakistan in the quarters. Menaria was leading a 15-man squad which also had KL Rahul in it. He is yet to debut for India\nUnmukt Chand: After Virat Kohli, another Delhi player led India to U19 World Cup title. This time it was Chand who was the captain of the Indian U19 team that won the title by beating Australia. Chand became the third Indian captain to win the title. He is yet to debut for India but has captained Delhi state side.\nVijay Zol: The defending champions were now led by Vijay Zol. Under his captaincy, India reached the quarter-finals unbeaten in the group stages and faced England. India lost to England and crashed out of the World Cup. Zol, who plays for Mahrashtra, has captained his state team but is yet to debut for India.\nIshan Kishan: Under the captaincy of the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman, India were favourites to win the title. They reached the final of World Cup under the captaincy of Ishan Kishan. But they lost the final and the opportunity to the title for the fourth time. West Indies emerged as the champions. Ishan Kishan made his IPL debut but is yet to debut for India.\nPrithvi Shaw: The latest Indian captain to win the U19 World Cup is Shaw. The Mumbai cricketer had already made waves in the domestic circuit by scoring tons of runs in age-group cricket. Before captaining India in the U19 World Cup, he made his Mumbai debut and already has five centuries. He has now got an IPL contract as well.\nFor all the latest Sports News, download Indian Express App\n© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd" ]

[ "A college basketball star who was found dead in her dorm room in January died from a blood cell disorder, not from choking on gum in her sleep, as police first believed. The Washington County coroner announced Shanice Clark's cause of death on Monday, nearly two months after the 21-year-old was found inside her room at California University of Pennsylvania. She was found unresponsive at 3.03am on January 18. She was rushed to Monongahela Valley Hospital but she could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 4.10am. California borough police said that a preliminary report from medical personnel indicated the death appeared to be accidental and there were suggestions she had choked on gum. Tragedy: Shanice Clark, 21, was found unresponsive in her dorm room at California University of Pennsylvania, where she played basketball, in January. She passed away from a blood cell disorder . But Coroner Tim Warco blamed it on sickle cell trait, a blood cell disorder that often does not have any symptoms but can lead to sudden death in extremely rare cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. University officials said they were 'deeply saddened' by the death of the 6-foot senior forward, who had played two dozen games for the Vulcans last season. Athletic director Karen Hjerpe called Clark 'a bright student and talented player' and said 'her smile and personality will be missed'. Clark, a communications major, had hoped to become a broadcaster and chose the school because of its good facilities after transferring from Santa Fe College in Florida. But friend Cleveland Clunis told the Toronto Star that she would often joke that she had gone to the university for a different reason. Talented: The 6-foot senior forward, from Canada, had played two dozen games for the Vulcans last season . Loss: Clark, who was from Toronto, was a communications major at the California University of Pennsylvania, pictured, and had dreamed of becoming a broadcaster, devastated friends and family said . 'For Shanice, it was, \"There's a good hairstylist\",' said Clunis, the founder of a non-profit basketball program she had attended. 'When she shares that with you, you can't help but laugh.' He said that this sense of humor had made her popular among students and staff. 'She could start a conversation with you from morning and still have you laughing and interested till sundown,' he said. Geraldine M. Jones, interim university president, said in a statement after her death: 'Our thoughts today are with the family of Shanice Clark, a senior from Ontario, Canada, who passed away early this morning. 'On behalf of California University of Pennsylvania, I extend my deepest sympathy to all of Shanice's family and friends. She will be missed by her teammates and coaches, her classmates, and by the entire campus community.' Clark left behind her mother, Kashaeka Fearon, and a younger sister. Sickle cell trait means someone is carrying a gene for a serious condition called sickle cell disease, which can cause red blood cells to change their shapes, potentially causing pain and infections. If someone has sickle cell trait, it does not mean they have sickle cell disease. Instead, they are a carrier of the trait and can pass it on to their children. If they were to have children with someone else carrying the trait, that child has a 25 per cent chance of being born with sickle cell disease. People with sickle cell trait have red blood cells with abnormal hemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs and returns carbon dioxide from tissues back to the lungs) but they have enough normal hemoglobin for red cells to successfully carry oxygen around the body. While it is extremely rare for sickle cell trait to cause any complications, there can be problems in conditions of severe physical stress, including low oxygen conditions, severe dehydration, severe physical exercise or very high altitude. In these situations, cells can change their shapes, causing pain and further complications. Sickle cell trait, which is more commonly found in African-Americans than other races, is diagnosed with a simple blood test. Couples planning to have children may want to find out if they have the trait to see if their kids might inherit sickle cell disease." ]

[ "By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 16:18 EST, 31 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 16:19 EST, 31 January 2014 . Important paintings by Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir are among 400 items that will be sold from a reclusive heiress' private trove at Christie's this spring, the auction house announced Friday. The sale of Huguette Clark collection comes after a feud over her estate was settled in the fall. Some of the pieces were acquired by her father, a Montana copper king, railroad baron and senator who founded Las Vegas. Monet's shimmering Water Lilies, which Christie's said has not been publicly exhibited since 1926, is estimated to sell for $25 million to $35 million. Rare collection: This image provided by Christie's auction house is Young Women Playing Badminton by French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir . Heir to a fortune: Huguette Clark, pictured in 1930, was notoriously exclusive . Another masterpiece in the sale is Pierre-Auguste Renoir's \"Young Women Playing Badminton,\" with a presale estimate of $10 million to $15 million. Both will be offered May 6. Other items from the collection will go on sale June 18. They include a Stradivari violin, Gilded Age furniture, rare books and other paintings. The total collection is expected to bring in more than $50 million. Selected highlights will go on view in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and in New York prior to the sale. Renowned: Chrysanthèmes by Renoir to be displayed in Tokyo, London, Hong Kong and New York, is estimated to sell for between $3.5 and $5.5 million . Decorative arts: This George I walnut and beech armchair from 1725 is estimated to sell for $60,000 to $90,000 . American great: Girl Fishing at San Vigilio by John Singer Sargent from the Clark collection, to be auctioned later this year . Illustrious: Former U.S. Sen. William A. Clark (center) marches in New York's Easter Parade with his daughter, Huguette (right) who ended up a recluse for more than two decades in New York hospital rooms before dying at the age of 104 . Clark was the last surviving child of U.S. Sen. William A. Clark, who was born in a log cabin in Pennsylvania and became one of the wealthiest men of his day. He is the namesake of Nevada's Clark County and established its county seat, Las Vegas. A onetime socialite who became a social shadow, Huguette Clark died at 104 in 2011. She had a penthouse and two other apartments on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and exquisite homes in Santa Barbara, California, and New Canaan, Connecticut, but she elected to spend her last 20 years in a hospital. With no close relatives, she left a roughly $300 million estate and a swirl of questions about the input she'd gotten from a close circle of caregivers and advisers and about the extensive gifts and bequests she'd given them in return. Femme à l¿ombrelle: Painted in 1875 by Renoir, this painting is expected to sell for up to $5 million . Uncovered: This painting by French impressionist Claude Monet hasn't been seen since Clark purchased it in the 1920s . Art patron: Paintings by Huguette Clark herself won't be auctioned but will be displayed at Bellosguardo Foundation for the Arts, to be set up at her summer estate in Santa Barbara, California . She signed two wills within six weeks at age 98, the first bequeathing her riches mostly to about 20 distant relatives and the second cutting them out. The September settlement mainly benefited arts institutions and the distant relations. The auction proceeds will go to the estate to be distributed. Some of Clark's real estate and possessions have already been sold. A 2012 Christie's auction of 17 pieces of her jewelry, including a ring with a rare pink nine-carat diamond, brought in about $21 million.", "A 'greedy' cashier who stole £15,000 from a currency exchange and blew it on living a high-flying lifestyle was told by a judge it was time to 'get her hands dirty'. Fashion conscious Shanice Farier, 22, from Derby, earned a 'decent salary' and received handouts from her father but that wasn't enough for her expensive taste, the court heard. She helped herself to money from Kanoo Travel in Derby and spent it staying in hotels and living 'an opulent lifestyle', said Judge John Burgess. Farier appeared at Derby Crown Court highly made up, wearing a figure-hugging dress and clutching an expensive-looking handbag, and even posed for pictures outside court. Shanice Farier (pictured) appeared at Derby Crown Court highly made up, wearing a figure-hugging dress and clutching an expensive-looking handbag . 'Greedy' cashier Shanice Farier, 22, poses at the top of the steps outside court were she was found guilty of stealing £15,000 from her employer, Kanoo Travel in Derby . The Judge ordered Farier (pictured) to 240 hours of unpaid work, adding: 'I hope she ends up doing work that gets her hands dirty' Judge Burgess chastised her for her greed before ordering her to do 240 hours of unpaid work, adding that he hopes she will 'get her hands dirty'. The judge said: 'She's got all the advantages in life. She's not a person who needs help with a gambling, drug or drink problem. She's just greedy.' He then turned to her and added: 'Unpaid work for the community is not intended to be humiliating, but I hope for every hour you are doing it, you remember why you are there.' She was involved in handling different currencies for the firm but on 12 separate occasions she took money for herself before entering the remainder into the company's books. Farier admitted stealing of £15,336 from her employer between October 2012 and February 2013 and converting criminal property between January 2013 and February 2014. Stuart Lody, prosecuting, said said she hadn't worked for Kanoo long before she started stealing and they soon noticed 'an unusual pattern of discrepancy emanating from the Derby office'. Farier was questioned but denied any wrongdoing and even tried to point the finger at other employees. But her dishonesty was exposed and she was subject to an internal disciplinary procedure and dismissed. Farier was questioned but denied any wrongdoing and even tried to point the finger at other employees . Judge John Burgess said Farier (pictured) had told the probation service that she thought 'it was too easy' Mr Lody said: 'She began working for the company in March 2012 and it wasn't long before she started stealing from her employer. Perhaps she didn't realise how tightly financial systems are controlled.' Stuart Newsam, for Farier, said: 'This offending is out of character. She didn't consider the consequences of her actions and thoroughly regrets now what she did.' Judge John Burgess said Farier had told the probation service that she thought 'it was too easy'. The judge handed her a 10-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months, with 240 hours of unpaid work, adding: 'I hope she ends up doing work that gets her hands dirty.' A spokesman for the company said: 'Kanoo would like to thank Derbyshire police for their handling of the investigation and has nothing further to add to the judge's comments in court.' A proceeds of crime hearing will be held at Derby Crown Court on June 23.", "A 20-year-old student at James Madison University in Virginia was discovered dead in her dormitory room Friday from what has been described as a case of alcohol poisoning. Marisa Curlen, a native of Rye, New York, was a sophomore at the Harrisonburg college and a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. Police were awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death, but they said there was no evidence to suggest foul play. Tragic death: Marisa Curlen, 20, a sophomore at James Madison University in Virginia was discovered dead in her dormitory room Friday from apparent alcohol poisoning . Life cut short: The fresh-faced blonde beauty who studied managment at James Madison University (pictured) was found unresponsive in her room at the sorority house in Harrisonburg . Tracie Cooper, a spokeswoman for the Western District of the Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia, said toxicology tests are pending. It could take up to three months to find out what the college sophomore had in her system the night she died. Marisa Curlen's sudden passing left her hometown in Westchester County reeling as she became the third member of Rye High School's 2013 graduating class to die in less than a year. ‘The first one’s the warning,’ Rye High School senior Mike Augusta told CBS New York. ‘The third? I don’t even know what to make of it anymore.’ Michael Rath, 19, Rye graduate and a student at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, was found dead in January 2014 at his apartment on campus. Peter Collins, 18, a student at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, was found unresponsive at his Rye home in July 2013 and passed away later in a hospital. Heartbroken: A family friend said Marisa's mother, Julie Curlen (right), was struck silent by her grief . Police were awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death, but they said there was no evidence to suggest foul play in the death of Miss Curlen, pictured left with her boyfriend . Third death: Curlen's sudden passing left her hometown reeling as she became the third member of Rye High School's 2013 graduating class to die in less than a year . Curlen, the fresh-faced blonde beauty who was a star volleyball at Rye, was found unresponsive in her room at the sorority house in the 100 block of Lois Lane in Harrisonburg at around 7.30am Friday. Sarah Lundberg, the president of Alpha Phi’s James Madison chapter, released a statement to the university's student newspaper, The Breeze, Saturday night calling Curlen a dedicated sister ‘who exemplified our values of sisterhood and loyalty.' A family friend said Curlen’s mother, Julie, was struck silent with grief. The Journal News reported that a wake for Curlen will be held Friday afternoon in Rye, followed by a funeral service Saturday.", "Shanice Bulman was size 24 and weighed 23 stone . She has beat her goal and lost six stone in five months . Money will go to a childless couple to fund IVF treatment . By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 06:14 EST, 31 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:12 EST, 31 July 2012 . Everyone needs some form of motivation in their quest to shift that unwanted weight. And one inspirational woman undertook a sponsored slim to raise money for a childless couple to have the IVF-treatment that may give them a child. And the incentive to help has certainly been a success story, after Shanice Bulman has already lost six stone in just five months. Shanice Bulman weighed 22 stone in January when she decided to take action . The 20-year-old from Hull, East Yorkshire, hated the sight of her size 24 body and at almost 23 stone, she no longer wanted to lead an unhealthy lifestyle, after not recognising herself when she looked in the mirror. She said: 'I was getting ready and, usually, I’d feel great. I always wore nice clothes and did my hair and make-up. But my face looked swollen - I didn’t feel like Shanice any more.' She lost six stone in just five months after eating healthy food and training hard . Shanice has hit her target one month ahead of schedule and she says she has never felt better. She said: 'At the moment, this is the best I’ve ever felt,” she says. “Every day I wake up, I feel better than the day before.' Shanice’s old habits meant she would wake up and skip breakfast before gorging on sandwiches, crisps and chocolate before she ate her lunch. Her evening meal would consist of chicken wraps, rice, cheese or bread, followed by cups of tea and biscuits. But, after turning her life around, she now visits the gym at least four times a week, facing two gruelling sessions with her personal trainer, James Brereton each week. James also gave her an extra incentive to get fit - by donating £28 of her session fees to her sponsorship total. Her hard work means Shanice has dropped four dress sizes since her weight war began, slimming-down to a size 16. Shanice has had to turn her whole life around, following a strict healthy eating plan set by James. She said: 'You have to change your whole lifestyle. Now, I cook for myself all the time - once I got my head around it, it’s the easiest thing I have ever done in my life. I even lost 1Ib on holiday. 'I feel like I have blinked and the six months has gone. It’s changed my life completely. If I have children in the future, I will raise them to be active and healthy and cook meals from fresh. 'I don’t class myself as being on a diet any more. It’s my lifestyle and this is how I want to eat.' Shanice has already met with health officials at the Hull IVF Unit and will pick the couple to have treatment once she has raised the full £5,000. She has so far raised £4,000 but wants to make sure she reaches her target so there is £500 left for baby clothes. Shanice said: 'I would like to choose people who do not already have children, have had IVF once or twice and have been unsuccessful but still stand a good chance of becoming pregnant. 'Once I have given the money, I will feel complete - I set myself a challenge to raise this money for them. If they wanted to meet me, that would be amazing, but it’s OK if they don’t. 'Even if they don’t manage to get pregnant, at least they have had the extra opportunity. Shanice has worked hard with trainer James Brereton to lose the weight, which she is being sponsored to do to fund IVF treatment . 'I have worked so hard, but if it takes me until Christmas to get all the money in, it takes me until Christmas.' Shanice is taking her weight loss process one step further and really turning it into a positive experience, she wants to become a mentor to help overweight people achieve similar goals. Her parents plan to help her open her own studio in the city as a 21st birthday present, creating a base for her to support others. Shanice said: 'I want to be there for people 24/7 and figure out what is going to work best for them so I can advise them on their lifestyle. Shanice set herself the challenge of losing six stone in as many months, she has beaten her goal and raised money doing it . 'The difference between me and your average personal trainer is I was 4lbs off 23st when I started and I know how that feels. 'The support I have had has been incredible, from people I don’t know e-mailing me, to people sending me messages to say I’m an inspiration. 'My parents and my sisters have been my lifeline and James has been amazing too and we have become good friends - I can’t thank him enough.'", "By . Simon Tomlinson, Daily Mail Reporter and Ryan Gorman . PUBLISHED: . 17:10 EST, 13 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:36 EST, 14 December 2013 . Ritual: Chun Michael Deng died after being knocked unconscious during a fraternity hazing . Police investigating the Sunday death of a college freshman found drugs and torture documents in the rural Pennsylvania home where the hazing occurred. Chun 'Michael' Deng, 19, died after a brutal hazing incident left him brain dead last weekend, but police investigating the death found even more damning evidence inside the remote home where Mr Deng met his fate. Investigators discovered hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana, paddles and a photocopy of pages from a book about torture, according to an affidavit cited by multiple media outlets. Police believe Mr Deng was injured during a hazing ritual called the 'Glass Ceiling,' where people . are blindfolded and made to carry 20 pounds of sand in a back while members of Pi Delta Psi repeatedly tackled him. Mr Deng was tackled one too many times, he lied in the snow unresponsive after being knocked unconscious after hitting his head. Fraternity brothers are believed to have carried him inside where they set him down and changed his clothes as others looked up his symptoms on the internet, police said. Deng was reported to be unconscious . and unresponsive immediately after he fell... Deng was then carried inside and placed by a fire and continued to be unresponsive,' said the affidavit. 'Deng was then carried inside and placed by a fire and continued to be unresponsive.' They did not take Mr Deng to a hospital for more than an hour, and when the group finally arrived at the hospital he was declared brain dead. Mr Deng, died from head injuries on Monday, after three fellow students took him to the hospital at about 6.40am on Sunday. He had been knocked unconscious around 5am Sunday morning. Quick to realize they had a problem on their hands, brothers from Baruch frantically removed . fraternity-related items from the Pennsylvania home, police said. Members of the fraternity had initially said Mr Deng had hurt himself while wrestling in snow outside the rented property, about 100 miles from the Manhattan campus. Scroll down for video . Fraternity ritual: Police are investigating how an NYC student died over the weekend in Pennsylvania . A Pennsylvania prosecutor has said charges in the case are expected once the police investigation ends. The level of charges and who specifically will be charged is not clear, Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine told CNN. The fraternity also moved to quickly mitigate any further hazing. 'As . a result of this incident, we are immediately suspending all new member . education nationwide until further notice,' national president Andy . Meng said in a statement. The . Monroe County District Attorney's office said the 19-year-old was injured at a Tunkhannock Township residence, . where about 30 members of the Pi Delta Psi fraternity had traveled for . the weekend. The township is in northeastern Pennsylvania, about 100 miles west of New York City. Mr Deng, a freshman at Baruch College, was one of four students pledging to the fraternity in the hazing ritual, the practice of humiliating and torturing newcomers as part of their fraternity initiation. Pocono . Mountain Regional Police Chief Harry Lewis told NBC News that the . pledges were told they had to get from one point to another while . blindfolded. Mr Deng never saw it coming. Local authorities have pledged to charge anyone involved in the blindfolded teen's death, and that there may be dozens of charges, according to reports. The sheer volume of charges is such that they are likely be announced next week at the earliest, officials said. Baruch College announced late Friday that the fraternity has been suspended from campus, an internal review and the results of the criminal investigation will determine which disciplinary action the school takes against individuals. Tragedy: The 19-year-old was injured at a residence in Tunkhannock Township (above), where about 30 members of the Pi Delta Psi fraternity had travelled for the weekend . The group identifies itself as 'an Asian American Cultural Fraternity' founded in 1994, with a mission 'to spread Asian American Cultural . awareness.' In a statement, Baruch said 'the . preliminary reports indicate that Michael died over the weekend while . participating in an unsanctioned fraternity pledging event.' 'Baruch . College had no knowledge of this event or that the fraternity was . rushing a pledge class. Pi Delta Psi did not request permission nor were . they approved by Baruch on this matter.' The . school also said that it has a 'zero tolerance policy regarding hazing' and that all fraternities and sororities are required to attend an . orientation session that includes anti-hazing training, and sign . statements that they understand the policies . 'Michael's . death is a deeply painful reminder that no individual should ever be . put into a position where his or her personal safety is in jeopardy. Our . deepest sympathies go out to Michael's family and his friends.' No arrests have yet been made in the death.", "Victim: Police have identified Vaibhev Loomba as the man who was found dead at Zeta Psi house in Berkeley, California, Sunday . A 20-year-old man was discovered dead at a fraternity near University of California at Berkeley following a party Saturday night. Police said they got a 911 call at around 12.10pm Sunday about an unresponsive male at 2728 Bancroft Way, the home of the Zeta Psi Greek organization. The victim has been identified by police as 20-year-old Vaibhev Loomba, an engineering student at University of California at Davis. The young man was found unresponsive in one of the upstairs rooms inside the frat house. Paramedics who responded to the address pronounced him dead at the scene. Loomba was said to be one of about 100 guests who attended the party organized by Zeta Psi Saturday night. He was not a member of the fraternity. Lt Ed Spiller said police have classified the death as 'suspicious.' Drugs and alcohol have not been ruled out as contributing factors. ‘We err on the side of caution, so we deem it suspicious until we can prove otherwise,’ Spiller told KTVU, adding that homicide detectives are looking into the case. No time of death has been given since investigators are not sure how long the 20-year-old had been dead before officers arrived. A witness told the local independent news site Berkeleyside that Vaibhev Loomba was discovered lying face down on the floor with vomit around his mouth. Scroll down for video . The young man was found unresponsive in one of the upstairs rooms inside the frat house on Bancroft Way . Police are not sure how long Loomba had been dead in an upstairs room by the time paramedics arrived on the scene . Sad end: The victim's body was removed by the coroner's office after a four-hour investigation . Loomba's friends have been posting tributes on Facebook in memory of the seemingly popular engineering student. 'One of the most genuine guys I know, gone far too soon,' wrote Michael Riel. 'Save me a spot up there.' Loomba's high school friend Aidan Maguire shared a photo of himself posing with Loomba dressed as the Disney character Aladdin, writing on his Facebook page: ‘One of the greatest guys I may ever know. Always making me laugh and radiating positivity wherever he went. May he rest in peace and be forever remembered.’ According to his LinkedIn page, Loomba studied engineering at UC Davis and was expected to graduate in 2016. He was also the founder and CFO of a non-profit organization he had started with a relative last year. Tribute: Loomba's high school friend Aidan Maguire (left) shared this photo of Loomba (right) dressed as Aladdin, writing on Facebook that the 20-year-old was one of the greatest guys he's ever met . All-American kid: Loomba graduated from Acalanes High School in Antioch, California, where he headed the debate team, presided over Model UN and ran track . Promising future: Loomba (second left) studied engineering at UC Davis and was expected to graduate in 2016 . In 2012, Loomba graduated from Acalanes High School in Antioch, where he headed the debate team, presided over Model UN and ran track. The Zeta Psi fraternity is not recognized by UC Berkeley. According to students and police, it has a reputation for throwing large, often very rowdy parties attended by hundreds of people. Police say they have been called to the off-campus fraternity house in the past. As recently as October, officers shut down an out-of-control gathering hosted by Zeta Psi. Following the incident, city officials posted a notice outside the frat house door warning of a $750 fine if there were additional violations. A witness saw vomit around Loomba's mouth as he lay face down on the floor. Police have classified the death as suspicious . On notice: City officials posted this notice outside the frat house door in October after a rowdy party warning of a fine in case of additional violations . On Monday, Zeta Psi released a statement addressing the fatality near the UC Berkeley campus. ‘The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated by the appropriate authorities. Until the investigation is complete, Zeta Psi will not comment on the details of this incident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of this young man.’", "By . Emma Innes . PUBLISHED: . 08:08 EST, 18 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:20 EST, 18 September 2013 . A healthy schoolgirl collapsed while she was doing her homework and died, an inquest has heard. Arabella Campbell, 16, who was described as ‘a fit, sporty child’ suffered Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome (SADS). She went into cardiac arrest while she was studying in her bedroom at her home in Beckenham, Kent, on May 11. Arabella Campbell, 16, died after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest at home. Her death has been put down to Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome which caused her heart to stop beating . Arabella, a pupil at Langley Park School in Beckenham, was found by her mother but died at Croydon University Hospital. Coroner Dr Roy Palmer told the inquest into Arabella’s death: ‘She had no significant medical history, she was a fit, sporty child with no history of drink and drugs. ‘She and her family had been out together during the day on a family outing. ‘When they returned home she went to her room to study, but when her mother went up to see her she found her unresponsive on her bed. ‘An ambulance was called at 10.38pm, and arrived at 10.45pm. ‘They found her on the floor unresponsive and started CPR. Arabella was rushed to Croydon University Hospital when her mother found her unresponsive on her bed. Medics tried repeatedly to save her but their efforts were unsuccessful . ‘She was brought in to Croydon University Hospital at 11.38pm, where they worked on her through a number of cycles but sadly couldn’t do anything. ‘She was pronounced dead at 12.20am.’ The hearing at Croydon Coroner’s Court heard a post-mortem examination found Arabella had a normal heart and that her toxicology reports came back negative, leading to the conclusion that her death was a result of SADS. In about one in five cases of sudden cardiac death in young people no definite cause of death can be found. This applies even once drugs have been excluded as a cause and a pathologist has examined the heart for structural abnormalities. These deaths are attributed to SADS. It occurs when a cardiac arrest is brought on by a problem with the electrical functioning of the heart, even though the person has no disease affecting the heart. The syndrome refers to genetic heart conditions that can cause sudden death in young, apparently healthy people. Dr Palmer added: ‘There were no injuries or natural disease processes that could have caused her death. ‘I therefore conclude the cause of death was sudden adult death syndrome and return a conclusion of death by natural causes.’ In about one in five cases of sudden cardiac death in young people no definite cause of death can be found. This applies even once drugs have been excluded as a cause and a pathologist has examined the heart for structural abnormalities. These deaths are attributed to SADS. It occurs when a cardiac arrest is brought on by a problem with the electrical functioning of the heart, even though the person has no disease affecting the heart. For more information visit the Cardiac Risk in the Young website. Share what you think . The comments below have been moderated in advance. walking_on_water, . Edinburgh, . 5 days ago . Rest in peace. Life is so unfair sometimes x . Mom, . West Mids, . 5 days ago . Unbelievably sad. I can only hope that they are taken young to go to a better place. But what anguish for her parents. My thoughts are with her family at this incredibly tragic time. angelina, . Lancs, . 5 days ago . I forgot to add my sincere condolences to the family. rest in peace young lady. YouarescaringmeDailyMail, . Fearland, . 5 days ago . Consider taking your children to your local surgery and paying £35 for an ECG - it could save their life. RIP beautiful girl x . angelina, . Lancs, . 5 days ago . I made an appointment today to see his GP after checking his pulse and it was absolutely all over the show very irregular enough to scare me. Dr dismissed my fears said it was the way he was breathing he checked his blood pressure and that was 138/79 and he is a fit sporty 19 yr old. I'm still not happy. Susan, . Manchester, . 5 days ago . Things like this always make me think of the footballer muamba (sorry for wrong spelling) they worked on him for literally hours and thank god it worked. But sometimes wonder if maybe they could work longer on the general public. Cant help but wonder :( so sad . Libby, . Lincoln, . 5 days ago . This is so sad. Poor poor girl, rest in peace x . pri, . Surrey, . 5 days ago . Arrthymia makes you feel awful, i suffered with it for years until i had an operation to correct it but it is slow creeping back! all day today iv felt so out of it . RIP darling x . mot123, . townsville, Australia, . 5 days ago . the day or the hour we know not off our own death...RIP young lady... dannii, . liverpool, . 5 days ago . rip x . The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. We are no longer accepting comments on this article.", "By . Snejana Farberov . Gifted: University of Pennsylvania sophomore Elvis Hatcher, 18, died Tuesday after hanging himself . The University of Pennsylvania community is reeling from the suicide of an 18-year-old sophomore, which came just three weeks after another student at the Ivy League college ended her life. Elvis Hatcher, a native of Miami Beach, Florida, hanged himself Tuesday, according to police. The teen was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead. A popular figure on campus, Hatcher was the treasurer of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity and worked in IT support at the Wharton School. Hatcher obtained an associate’s degree in mathematics from Miami Dade College, graduating in 2012 with a 4.0 GPA, before enrolling in University of Pennsylvania. During his freshman year, Hatcher made the Dean's List and was a National Merit Scholarship finalist. He was expected to complete his studies in 2016. The bespectacled, eccentric 18-year-old had not declared a major, instead preferring to take a variety of courses, including calculus, French, art history, printmaking and sex and human nature. Scroll down for video . Fascinating character: Those who knew Elvis described him as a bright and funny young man who had many interests, including math, art, music and fashion . Prestigious: Hatcher enrolled in the Ivy League university last year, pursuing a bachelor's degree, after graduating with an associate's degree in mathematics from Miami Dade College . Hatcher's French professor Sophie Degat-Willis called the charming teen one of her 'brightest and funniest students,' The Daily Pennsylvanian reported. 'He was ... a brilliant person, and it's terrible that he passed away,' Hatcher's former neighbor Minji Kwak told the paper. On Wednesday, Hatcher’s brothers at Pi Lambda Phi released a statement about the passing of the fraternity treasurer. ‘We are deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident and are currently supporting the family during their loss,’ it read. ‘Pi Lambda Phi has been truly blessed to have a brother like Elvis, and will miss him very much.’ Hatcher's sudden passing is the fourth student death at UPenn since the beginning of winter. On January 17, freshman Madison Holleran, 19, took her own life by jumping from a parking garage in Philadelphia. Loss: Penn sophomore Madison Holleran, a talented runner and soccer player, jumped to her death January 17 as she struggled with school life . Overwhelmed: Madison's father (right) said his daughter cracked under pressure to do well in her studies . In mourning: Friends wipe away tears as they arrive at the funeral service in Madison's hometown late last month . Holleran’s father said Madison, a track and field star, had been struggling with her school workload. Her parents suggested that she transfer to a different school or go on a hiatus, but the freshman decided to return to UPenn after the Christmas break. Between December and mid-January, the Ivy League institution suffered two other losses. Kevin Zhao, a 21-year-old senior in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, died from cardiac arrest while on a family trip to China. A few weeks later, computer science major Pulkit 'Josh' Singh, 20, was found dead in his room off campus. The student's cause of death is still pending. On Wednesday, Hatcher's friends and classmates took to Twitter to pay tribute to the beloved young man. One user wrote of Hatcher: 'You had an awesome style, a great spirit and wonderful smile. Wish I could have gotten to know you better.' Too young: Kevin Zhao (left), a 21-year-old senior in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, died from cardiac arrest in December; computer science major Pulkit 'Josh' Singh, 20, was found dead in his room off campus from an unknown cause . The band Norwegian Arms, which featured Hatcher in a music video last July showing the teen wiggling around and dancing, posted a touching tribute in his honor on their Tumblr account Wednesday. One of the band members recalled meeting Elvis for the first time during a concert in 2012. ‘Effortlessly cool, it was instantly apparent that this was a special person,’ the eulogy read. ‘His dance moves were otherwordly, a combination of voguing and interpretive dance so incredible that we ended up approaching him that night and asking him if he’d like to be involved in our first music video.’ 'Rest Assured - he'll be missed,' the post concluded. For confidential support in the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org.", "Police say a Pennsylvania veteran who was hearing voices in his head killed a pastor because he thought the clergyman was possessed by demons. Authorities say 38-year-old Roland Zinneh went to the home of a woman named Precious where Connery Dagadu was staying on Tuesday night and asked the pastor to pray with him about the voices he was hearing. Police say there was a fight and Dagadu was killed. Scroll down for video . Alleged murder: Roland Zinneh was charged with first-degree murder in the asphyxiation of the 57-year-old pastor Connery Dagadu whom he allegedly believed was possessed by demons . Local pastor: Connery Dagadu (pictured) is known by Germantown locals as 'The Apostle' and holds services in a two car garage and is known to help strangers 'purge their demons' Police were called after the homeowner told investigators she heard a commotion in the basement the next morning and went downstairs. Precious says Dagadu was sitting on the floor near the television 'with his tongue out' and appeared unresponsive, reports NBC. Precious refers to Dagadu as 'Grandfather' and she told ABC she recruited him to live in her home because he 'is a man of God.' Police say Zinneh was combative when they arrived and yelled, 'I kill demons.' Zinneh allegedly paced around the cluttered room room, jumped up and down, and broke a basement window when police approached him. Zinneh was charged with first-degree murder in the asphyxiation of the 57-year-old Dagadu, of Germantown. Dagadu is known by Germantown locals as 'The Apostle' and holds services in Precious' two car garage, reports ABC. The home: This is the home of Precious where Connery Dagadu was allegedly slain by a crazed Roland Zinneh who sought council for hearing voices . The scene: This is a room in Precious' home in which Connery Dagadu was helping Roland Zinneh to 'purge his demons' on Tuesday night and where he was found dead on Wednesday morning . Precious told reporters he was known to help strangers 'cast out their demons' and 'purge evil spirits.' Zinneh is from Darby, Pennsylvania. He was taken to a hospital for treatment, and is now being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center. ABC reports that at the mental health facility where he was evaluated, Zinneh told a nurse, 'Yesterday I killed many witches. Yes I do that. I kill them.' According to Zinneh's Facebook account he is originally from Liberia and works as a DJ who plays weddings in the Pennsylvania area. Man of God: Precious (right) told reporters that she discovered Connery Dagadu (left) on the floor of her home completely unresponsive . Facebook posts: This is a Facebook posting alleged murderer Roland Zinneh wrote on his page hours before going to visit pastor Dagadu . Days earlier: Roland Zinneh mentions 'witchcraft on his Facebook' and is said to have told a nurse at the mental health facility where he was being evaluated after the alleged murder that he 'killed witches' His Facebook also claims that he served in the United States Army from 1997-2000. Zinneh's Facebook posts before the alleged murder alluded to his religious beliefs. 'THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING. REPENT NOW OR ELSE. SUNDAY IS THE DEAD LINE. THE FATHER GOD ALMIGHTY SAID NO EVIL. ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IS JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD AND THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUE GOD,' he wrote On Tuesday March 10, hours before visiting his local pastor. On March 8 he wrote,  'TO ALL MY KRAHN PEOPLE IF YOU ARE INTO WITCHCRAFT OR THE DEVIL REPENT NOW OR BE KILLED BY THE HOLY GHOST FIRE.' Court records do not list an attorney for Zinneh. He is being held without bond. Army veteran: Roland Zinneh fought for the US Army between the years of 1997-2000, according to his Facebook page and is pictured here in his service attire .", "By . Emma Glanfield for MailOnline . James Clarke, 22, who was paralysed in a motorbike crash in 2009, choked on a feeding tube after it became blocked in this throat at his home in Walsall, West Midlands, while carers left him unsupervised . Two carers watched TV and played on their phones while a quadriplegic patient they were supposed to be supervising suffocated to death in the next room, an inquest heard. James Clarke, 22, who was paralysed in a motorbike accident in 2009, choked on a feeding tube after it became blocked in this throat at his home in Walsall, West Midlands. An inquest into his death heard how two female carers were supposed to be monitoring him every 15 minutes throughout the night - but only checked on him every three hours. Instead, Beverley Kent and Mandy Evans watched television in the living room and chatted and joked between themselves as James died next door. Emergency services were called to the address after the carers found him unresponsive at 6am when his feeding peg bleeped. The inquest at Smethwick Council House heard Mrs Evans gave chest compressions under instruction from 999 handlers until the ambulance arrived. However rigor mortis had started to set in, further resuscitation attempts proved unsuccessful and he was declared dead at the scene. Black Country coroner Robin Balmain yesterday slammed Mr Clarke's quality of care and ruled his death was due to neglect. He said he would be writing to the Care Quality Commission demanding answers about the standard of care provided. The coroner ruled that Mr Clarke, who a tracheotomy tube fitted to enable him to breathe following his accident, died of asphyxiation after the tube became blocked. Mr Balmain blasted Complete Care Service - the company in charge of his care package - and described their approach as 'profit over performance.' He also criticised the Walsall Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which employed the firm, for not checking that the correct care was being given. Mr Balmain concluded that Mr Clarke's death on April 4, 2011 was due to neglect compounding injuries suffered in the motorcycle accident. However, he said he sympathised with the carers, describing their training as 'slapdash' and said 'insufficient attention' was given by Walsall CCG as to what the care company was doing. Mr Balmain added: 'They seem to have missed some pretty obvious failings.' Mr Clarke was paralysed in a motorbike accident in March 2009, when he just 19 (pictured before the crash) Mr Clarke had been left dependent on round-the-clock care following his accident in March 2009. He fell from his bike and slid into the path of an oncoming car when he was aged just 19. After nine months in hospital he returned home where he was cared for by his mother Paula with help from carers. The carer's responsibilities included checking on his comfort and breathing, and changing his tracheotomy tube when necessary. Night-time carers were assigned to him so his mother could sleep. At 10pm on the night he died, the two women arrived to take over from Mrs Clarke who then went to bed. Over the next eight hours the women only checked on him three times - at 1am, 4am and finally at 6am. Giving evidence at the inquest, Mrs Kent claimed they had been told by Mrs Clarke's mother not to sit in the same room as her son in case they disturbed him. But Mrs Clarke disagreed and the claim was dismissed by the coroner as 'unimaginable.' Black Country coroner Robin Balmain slammed Mr Clarke's quality of care and ruled his death was due to neglect at the inquest at Smethwick Council House (above). He said the carers had received 'slapdash' training . In her statement to police, Mrs Kent said it was 'common practice' to sit in the living room. Mrs Evans told police she was playing on her mobile phone as the two women chatted and watched TV with the volume turned down. Asked how they would know when the tube required clearing, Mrs Evans said Mr Clarke would cough or give a 'rattling' sound. Although the tracheotomy tube often became blocked and had to be cleared, carers had only been provided with classroom training but no practical tuition. The inquest also heard that another firm employed to carry out the training had not been told until the last minute that it was for tracheotomy care, so no notes were handed out or demonstrations given. Complete Care Services quality manager Manjit Kaur said she expected the instructions for Mr Clarke to be checked 'every so often' to mean 'every 15 or 30 minutes'. After the case Steve Smith, managing director of Complete Care Services, said: 'As far as we were concerned, external trainers had signed our staff off as fully trained.'", "Police say Melissa Ann Martinez, 40, provided her son and his prom date with drugs an alcohol . The mother of a Texas teenager accused of choking his girlfriend to death during rough sex on prom night has been arrested for allegedly supplying her son and his date with drugs and alcohol on prom night. Melissa Ann Martinez, 40, was arrested on Thursday and police say she gave her son Eddie M. Herrera, 18, and and his date Jacqueline Gomez, 17, alcohol and drugs the night that Gomez died. Herrera, 18, was charged with aggravated assault in January for the May death of Jacqueline Gomez of Houston, Texas, after he admitted to choking her during sex. The Houston Chronicle reports that Herrera told police he called his mom to help him dress Gomez before calling police to tell them he woke to find her unresponsive. Miss Gomez, 17, was found in the hotel room of the North Houston Hyatt Hotel on May 17, 2014, the same venue where the prom had been held the previous night. Investigators said Herrera told authorities the couple went to the hotel room after attending the prom, drank alcohol and fell asleep. Herrera told police that his girlfriend had taken the painkiller hydrocodone and he admitted they both drank whiskey. The Chronicle reports that Herrera told conflicting stories to the cops about whether or not his girlfriend consented to him choking her. Herrera said he found Miss Gomez, a senior at MacArthur High School, unresponsive the following morning. Houston Fire Department personnel responded and pronounced her deceased. Her death was initially believed to be an overdose but the medical examiner could not confirm an exact cause. Charged: Eddie Herrera, pictured in January, was charged with aggravated assault for his role in the death of high school senior Jacqueline Gomez last May . Died on prom night:Jacqueline Gomez, 17, died on her prom night in May at a hotel in Houston, Texas. Her boyfriend has now been charged in connection with her death . The autopsy found that Gomez had deep hemorrhaging around her neck. She blood-alcohol level of .21, almost three times the state’s legal limit and also had hydrocodone in her system. Authorities said a further investigation led them to arrest Herrera. The motive and official cause of death remain under investigation, according a police statement. At the time of her death, Miss Gomez's devastated family and friends told the Houston Chronicle that she was 'not a party girl' and spent most of her time working at a grocery school when she was not studying. The teenager had plans of going to Lone Star College to become a pharmacy technician. Investigators said Herrera told authorities the two went to the hotel room at the North Houston Hyatt (pictured) after attending the prom, drank alcohol and fell asleep .", "By . Daily Mail Reporter . It has been a bad start to the Super Bowl weekend for Justin Bieber after his private jet was held at a New Jersey airport for several hours and his custom-made car was towed. Police searched the private jet, which 'smelled of pot', after Bieber and his father landed at Teterboro airport yesterday with a posse of the 19-year-old's friends. There was further drama for the singer this morning as his chrome-plated Fisker Karma sports car was seen being towed from his Calabasas home in California. Scroll down for video . Spotted: Justin Bieber makes a rude gesture while at the Maxim Super Bowl party hours after his private jet was searched for drugs . Bieber flashes a 'W' gangsta sign as he climbs in a SUV with a mystery blonde . Towed: Bieber's Fisker Karma car was spotted being taken from his Calabasas home . Search: Police search a private jet hired by Bieber after it landed at a New Jersey airport . With two pending criminal cases - driving under the influence in Miami and allegedly assaulting a limo driver in Toronto - customs officials decided to stop Bieber as he arrived in New Jersey, TMZ reported. No drugs were found and the singer and his entourage, who had arrived at about 2.50pm were allowed to leave the airport on Friday evening. The singer’s representatives have not yet responded to a Mail Online request for further comment. Bieber was questioned for five hours being being released, and the private jet he had hired was searched by sniffer dogs, after police detected a smell of marijuana. 'He came in, the jet smelled like weed ... because of the Super Bowl they’re doing more security checks,' an airport source told the New York Post. It is not yet clear why his distinctive car was being towed from his California home. Entourage: Bieber's father, Jeremy, is spotted in an SUV in New York with a mystery blonde . Bieber ducks down behind his security guards as he leaves the Maxim Super Bowl party in the early hours of Saturday . The delays at the airport appeared to have little effect on the singer, who was spotted being mobbed by young fans when he arrived at a New York hotel on Friday night. And, at 2am the young singer was at a Maxim Super Bowl party, which was filled with models and scantily clad women dancing on raised platforms. After being escorted in through a back entrance, Bieber was taken to a roped off private table where his security guards kept a close watch. Anytime a party-goer tried to grab a picture of the singer, a bodyguard would block their way or knock the phone or camera from their hand, according to People. A few photos did emerge of the singer however. In one he is seen making a rude gesture while standing on a platform at the end of the room, while young women dance below him. Party-goers described his security as being aggressive, claiming they elbowed people out of the way as Bieber walked through the club, and shone torches in the eyes of anyone trying to take a photo. As a photo of Bieber making a rude gesture at a camera was featured on TMZ another damning photo emerged showing the teen pop sensation and his friend sucking the nipples of a busty stripper in a Los Angeles recording studio. Arrivals: Bieber is driven to New York City after being held up while drug dogs searched his jet . Crush: Fans mob the 19-year-old's car as he arrives at a New York hotel . Kisses for Biebs: The hit-maker gets a peck on the cheek from a young fan . It has been a turbulent time for the . Canadian star, who turned himself into Toronto authorities on Wednesday . after being charged with assault. TMZ reported that an alleged fight with a limo driver began when Bieber asked for the music to be turned up. The . driver obliged, but not as much as Bieber was hoping, so he apparently . stuck his hand through the partition to do it himself. It is claimed that the . driver swatted his hand away and then it errupted into a full-on smack . fest as Bieber then hit the driver in the head multiple times. He already faces a charge of driving under the influence after getting caught drag racing in Miami. Bieber has pleaded not guilty to DUI, resisting arrest without violence and driving without a valid license in the Miami case. A . preliminary toxicology report released Thursday showed that he tested . positive for marijuana and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. Bieber told Florida . police after the arrest that he had been smoking marijuana and had taken . a prescription drug, saying that his mother gave him the medication. False alarm: A police search found nothing suspicious and the popstar and his pals were free to go, however, the FAA launched an investigation into their actions, which today came back with all parties being cleared of any wrongdoing . Bad week: Bieber was arrested for DUI in Miami on January 23 (pictured) after being stopped by police in a rented Lamborghini . His father was with him while they were in Florida and was at his side in Canada on Wednesday. Late Thursday, Bieber posted a photo of his father, Jeremy, with a praise-filled caption. 'I . have the greatest Dad in the world. He's taught me how to love, learn, . and stay true to myself. I will forever be grateful because he was my . superhero,' he wrote on Instagram. In . California, the singer remains under investigation for an egg-tossing . incident that left his neighbor's house with thousands of dollars in . damage. If Bieber is charged in that case, a California judge may look . at him more harshly in light of the Florida and Toronto cases, said Stan . Goldman, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. Bieber . has not addressed the vandalism claim in California, and his attorney . Howard Weitzman has said the singer's legal team believes their client . is innocent in the Toronto case.", "The last night of Xinran Ji's life can be told in the videos that tracked the Chinese graduate student from the time he left his apartment to study with other students at the University of Southern California until he returned home hours later covered in blood. In between those still frames taken outside his apartment, police found two cameras that captured footage of a group of teens attacking him as he walked home from school early on the morning of July 24, 2014. The brutal footage was shown on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court as a prosecutor made his case for trying three teens for murder in the incident that raised concerns in China about the safety of students abroad and refocused criticisms about security at USC. Smirking: 16-year-old Alejandra Guerrero appears in court on Monday, as one of four defendants being charged in connection with the death of Xinran Ji, who was beaten by a gang with a bat and a wrench . Alberto Ochoa, 17, appears in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday with attorney Christopher C. Chaney,  in connection to the 2014 beating death of the USC graduate student . Details were murky in the black and white surveillance videos, but they showed Ji being surrounded by a group of people on a dark street and then, in a subsequent video, being chased as he ran for his life. 'You can just see a scrum, it looks like,' Deputy District Attorney John McKinney said during a break in court, describing one of the videos. USC student Xinran Ji managed to crawl home but was found dead in his bed on July 24 . Authorities say Jonathan Del Carmen, 19; Alberto Ochoa, 17; and Alejandra Guerrero, 16, were trying to rob Ji, 24, when he was beaten with a bat and wrench and left for dead. A fourth defendant, Andrew Garcia, 19, is charged, but his hearing was postponed because his lawyer was ill and another defense attorney raised questions about his mental competency. Garcia blurted out obscenities in court on Monday. All four have pleaded not guilty and are being held without bail. Del Carmen and Garcia could face the death penalty if convicted. Ochoa and Guerrero are charged as adults, but they can only face up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted because of their ages. The preliminary hearing that continues on Wednesday included a witness who testified about being robbed by three of the defendants about an hour after Ji's killing. But the brunt of testimony focused on videos and a trail of blood that led from Ji's apartment to two street locations where the confrontation footage was shot. Ji managed to make it home, where he was found dead in bed later that morning. Ji's roommate said she awoke around 3am and heard sniffling, but thought Ji had a cold, so she went back to sleep, Detective Matthew Courtney testified. When she emerged from her room four hours later, she found blood stains and Ji unresponsive and covered in bloody clothing. Courtney and his partner tracked the bloody trail down the street and around the corner, where they eventually found a pair of broken glasses. The detective and other officers went to USC and several other private building owners to gather at least seven videos that showed the attack on Ji or his alleged assailants driving through the neighborhood before or after the crime. 19-year-old Jonathan Del Carmen, left, in court alongside Andrew Garcia, right. Garcia, 19, is charged, but his hearing was postponed because a defense attorney raised questions about his mental competency. Garcia blurted out obscenities in court on Monday . Cameras have become a ubiquitous witness to life around the campus that sits on the edge of downtown Los Angeles and borders neighborhoods with historically high crime. The school and Los Angeles police beefed up security measures, including more patrols on and around campus, after two Chinese graduate students were murdered outside an off-campus apartment in 2012. Video from the location where Ji was first attacked showed a car pull to the side of the road and a group of people surround him in the street. McKinney said one of the men can be seen hitting Ji with a bat. The student is able to get away, and a second camera caught him as he turned a corner with two others running after him, followed by a car. The second video lasts longer, but most of the action is obscured until Ji stumbles to his feet and leans on a car for a few seconds. McKinney said Ji bled the most at that location. He bled the whole way home, arriving at his front door at 12:48 a.m., where the white T-shirt he was seen leaving in appeared covered in blood. The parents of Xinran Ji, his mother, Jinhui Du, center left, and father, Songbo Ji, center right, attend his memorial service at the University of Southern California campus on August 1 last year .", "By . Simon Tomlinson and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:19 EST, 12 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 23:52 EST, 12 December 2013 . Ritual: Chun Michael Deng died after being knocked unconscious during a fraternity hazing . The 19-year-old New York college student who died from brain injuries after a hazing has been pictured as police claim that his fraternity brothers tried to cover up how he got his injuries. Members of Pi Delta Psi allegedly failed to get medical attention for Chun Michael Deng for more than an hour, as they changed him into dry clothes and researched his symptoms on the internet. Brothers from Baruch College also removed fraternity related items from the Pennsylvania home they were in, according to a police affidavit. Mr Deng, died from head injuries on Monday, after three fellow students took him to the hospital at about 6.40am on Sunday. He had been knocked unconscious between 5am and 5.30am earlier that day. According to a police report seen by the Daily News: 'Deng was reported to be unconscious . and unresponsive immediately after he fell ...Deng was then carried inside and placed by a fire and continued to be unresponsive.' Police believe the student received his injuries during a hazing ritual called the Glass Ceiling, where people are blindfolded and made to drag sand-filled bags across a room while being tackled by members of the fraternity. Members of the fraternity had initially said Mr Deng had hurt himself while wrestling in snow outside the rented property, about 100 miles from the Manhattan campus. A Pennsylvania prosecutor has said charges in the case are expected once the police investigation ends. The level of charges and who specifically will be charged is not clear, Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine told CNN. 'As a result of this incident we are immediately suspending all new member education nationwide until further notice', national president of the fraternity, Andy Meng, said in a statement. Scroll down for video . Fraternity ritual: Police are investigating how an NYC student died over the weekend in Pennsylvania . The . Monroe County District Attorney's office said the 19-year-old was injured at a Tunkhannock Township residence, . where about 30 members of the Pi Delta Psi fraternity had travelled for . the weekend. The township is in northeastern Pennsylvania, about 30 miles north of Allentown. Mr Deng, a freshman at Baruch College, was one of four students pledging to the fraternity in the hazing ritual, the practice of humiliating newcomers as part of their initiation into the group. Pocono . Mountain Regional Police Chief Harry Lewis told NBC News that the . pledges were told they had to get from one point to another while . blindfolded. They had to carry loads while the others pushed him over, knocking him unconscious. The national website for Pi Delta Psi said that it takes 'hazing allegations very seriously'. Tragedy: The 19-year-old was injured at a residence in Tunkhannock Township (above), where about 30 members of the Pi Delta Psi fraternity had travelled for the weekend . The . fraternity identifies itself as 'an Asian American Cultural Fraternity' founded in 1994, with a mission 'to spread Asian American Cultural . awareness.' Baruch College issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon that said: 'The . preliminary reports indicate that Michael died over the weekend while . participating in an unsanctioned fraternity pledging event.' 'Baruch . College had no knowledge of this event or that the fraternity was . rushing a pledge class. Pi Delta Psi did not request permission nor were . they approved by Baruch on this matter.' The . school also said that it has a 'zero tolerance policy regarding hazing' and that all fraternities and sororities are required to attend an . orientation session that includes anti-hazing training, and sign . statements that they understand the policies. 'Michael's . death is a deeply painful reminder that no individual should ever be . put into a position where his or her personal safety is in jeopardy. Our . deepest sympathies go out to Michael's family and his friends.'", "By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 06:29 EST, 18 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:01 EST, 18 January 2014 . 'A difficult and vulnerable position': Julie De La Haut, who was arrested drink-driving her boyfriend's car just after his arrest for the same offence . A woman was caught drink-driving her partner's car barely an hour after his arrest for the same offence had left her stranded with the vehicle. Julie De La Haut got behind the wheel in the early hours of New Year's Day after police left her alone and vulnerable in a dark car park in Oxford, with no cash for a cab. But after she set off without switching on her headlights, it took just moments for her to be intercepted by a police patrol. De La Haut, 24, and her 31-year-old boyfriend Patrick Ochila, who live together in Carterton, Oxfordshire, appeared in the dock at Oxford Magistrates Court minutes apart to admit the charges against them. The court heard that the couple had been out celebrating the New Year and got into their Nissan X-Trail in the early hours of the morning after drinking. 'Just before 4am on January 1, Mr Ochila was stopped by police,' said prosecutor Sarah Mackay. 'Police had received information about the defendant driving while under the influence and asked the vehicle to stop.' Breathalysing Ochila by the roadside, police found he had 67 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath - nearly twice the legal limit of 35 microgrammes. Officers took him to Oxford Police Station, leaving De La Haut stranded and also drunk with the vehicle in a car park. 'At 5.10am, police officers observed the Nissan X-Trail moving in the car park next to the ice rink on Oxpens Road,' Mrs Mackay went on. 'The vehicle drove on to Oxpens Road and went into Thames Street with the driver failing to use the lights on the vehicle.' When De La Haut was pulled over she gave an even higher roadside reading than her partner, measuring 81 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. Angela Porter, mitigating, said both defendants accepted they were over the limit and knew they would be banned from driving and fined. Ochila, who works for BT, and De La Haut both wrote letters in mitigation which were handed to the magistrates' before sentencing. 'You will see from the letter that she sincerely apologises for what has happened. The consequences for the family will be very severe as they will have to work out how they can manage with both of them being unable to drive,' said Mrs Porter. Presiding magistrate Roger Clarke described Ochila as 'a decent, honest, hard-working family man' and expressed regret at seeing him in court. Neither defendant had any previous convictions. Shame: De La Haut, 24, and 31-year-old Patrick Ochila, left, who live together in Carterton, Oxfordshire, appeared in the dock at Oxford Magistrates Court minutes apart to admit the charges against them . 'We are certain that nobody more than you is disappointed with your conduct. We are quite clear in our minds that you have learned your lesson,' Mr Clarke told Ochila, adding that he hoped BT would retain him despite his conviction. Ochila was banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay a £375 pound fine, £85 costs and a £37 pound victim surcharge, while De La Haut was banned for 20 months, fined £300 pounds and a £30 surcharge. 'You found yourself in a very difficult and vulnerable position in Oxford, in a dark area without funds for alternative transport - perhaps you didn't think straight,' Mr Clarke told De La Haut. 'But you drove on the road and you didn't put the lights on in the car, which alerted police.' 'You have both made a mistake, it is a great tragedy and shame for you as a couple. We all make mistakes in life, please draw a line under this and learn a lesson from it.'", "Unlicensed: Pennsylvania authorities seized 2,447 bottles from the home of attorneys Arthur Goldman, 50, that they are planning to destroy . Pennsylvania state police were tied up for months in a sting operation that ended with a 20-hour raid in early January. As law professor Baylen Linnekin writes in Reason, the target wasn't illegal narcotics but a cellar full of rare and expensive bottles of wine. 2,447 bottles, to be exact. They are worth more than $160,000. Officers seized the bottles from the Malvern home of attorneys Arthur Goldman and Melissa Kurtzman, and state they are now planning to destroy the collection. The state's strict liquor laws led law enforcement to Goldman, who insists he was not looking to sell off his collection and that the bottles were only for his private consumption. The case began with an 'anonymous complaint' in March 2013 to Pennsylvania's Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement that Goldman was selling wine without a license. The agency dispatched an undercover officer to 'infiltrate' a mailing list, which offered access to exclusive California wineries that Goldman had cultivated relationships with. The email list allowed friends and colleagues to pool orders for wine, which Goldman would place and receive at his residence, then in New Jersey, before distributing them. According to court filings, Goldman never charged any fees or profited from the email list, and all costs for wine, taxes and shipping were shared by any buyers. Bloomberg reports that Goldman emailed the agent a 97-page list of bottles available for purchase, which offered wines from elite, small-batch wineries, most of which were not available to buy in Pennsylvania. The undercover officer made a 'buy' in one of these exclusive wine pools, then was later joined by two other officers posing as his stepdaughter and her fiance. Goldman and Kurtzman moved to Pennsylvania later in 2013, taking their wine cellar with them, and were soon called on by the undercover officers. The man gave the agents a tour of his wine cellar and poured out glasses of wine for them to taste. The undercover family told a story of looking to buy wine as a wedding gift. Goldman then sold four or five bottles, allegedly at cost, to the agents. Infiltration: An undercover officer got on a mailing list that offered exclusive access to wineries in California that Goldman started while living in New Jersey, before seizing Goldman's collection in Pennsylvania . A raid followed in January, in which the agency seized Goldman's collection, valued at $160,000, which the couple is fighting to recover before the state destroys it. Lawyers for Goldman and Kurtzman argue that the collection was not part of a liquor-selling operation but rather a 'personal wine collection.' Goldman entered a first-offender program for the charges of buying alcohol outside the state system and selling liquor without a license, and now must complete two years probation and 300 hours of community service. Linnekin notes Pennsylvania's harsh liquor laws require wine aficionados shopping on the internet to have their purchases 'shipped to the Wine & Spirits Store of their choice' instead of to their homes. The laws also bar buyers from purchasing any bottles online that could be bought at the state-run package stores. Additional restrictions are placed on those traveling liquor through the state.", "Dionne Warwick was hospitalized for 'almost two weeks after she slipped and fell in her shower.' The 74-year-old singer, who is the cousin of Whitney Houston and Bobbi Kristina Brown, had her own bathroom incident on January 24, exactly one week before 21-year-old Bobbi Kristina was found unresponsive in a bathtub. The five-time Grammy winner was released from a New Jersey hospital on Thursday following ankle surgery, according to a new report from TMZ. Scroll down for video . Another unfortunate incident: Dionne Warwick was taken to the hospital on January 24 after slipping and falling in her shower, according to TMZ (pictured in November 2014) Dionne 'was at her home in South Orange, New Jersey when she fell' and was 'taken by ambulance to a local hospital.' The gossip site noted an eerie coincidence: 'The 911 call for Dionne came in at 10.19am on Saturday, January 24. The 911 call for Bobbi Kristina came in exactly a week later at 10.25am on January 31.' On Friday, Dionne took to her Twitter account to thank fans for their continued support during the difficult time. 'On behalf of my family, I would like to thank you for all of your kind words. All in God's plan. - Dionne,' she wrote. Thanking her fans for all the support: 'On behalf of my family, I would like to thank you for all of your kind words. All in God's plan. - Dionne' Eerie coincidence: The 74-year-old singer's '911 call came in at 10.19am on Saturday, January 24. The 911 call for Bobbi Kristina came in exactly a week later at 10.25am on January 31' (pictured in February 2011) The only child of the late singer Whitney Houston - whose father is Bobbi Brown - has not been taken off life support or declared brain dead, a family source said on Thursday. Few details about Bobbi Kristina's condition have been released. Her family has said she was fighting for her life after being rushed to a hospital in the Atlanta suburb of Roswell on January 31. Police said they responded to Bobbi Kristina's home in reference to a drowning. Her partner Nick Gordon and friend Max Lomas found her unresponsive in the tub and performed CPR until help arrived, police said. Three generations: Whitney Houston and Bobbi Kristina Brown are cousins with the five-time Grammy winner (pictured at a 2011 pre-Grammy party in February 2011) Houston, a six-time Grammy Award winner and actress who battled substance abuse, drowned in a hotel bathtub three years ago in Beverly Hills, California, on Feb. 11, 2012. Authorities said cocaine use and heart disease contributed to her death at age 48. Her daughter is currently receiving treatment at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, according to CNN and other media outlets. The hospital would not confirm she was a patient there, but the hospital in Roswell that initially provided treatment said she was no longer under its care. 'Though it seems the odds are against her, though doctors don't see any hope for change ... though it looks impossible for her to stand again STILL PRAY FOR BK,' Bobbi Kristina's cousin Jerod Brown wrote on Instagram and Facebook on Thursday. Frightening timing: Three years after Whitney died in a hotel bathtub, Dionne had her own bathroom incident (pictured in April 2008)", "By . Alexandra Klausner . PUBLISHED: . 10:21 EST, 30 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:22 EST, 30 November 2013 . A group of at least 40 members of nine football teams in Las Vegas visiting for a youth football tournament fell mysteriously ill on Friday. The teams and families are currently staying at the Rio Casino. Justin Gates, the head of the organization running the tournament, said, 'As of now there are nine teams reporting illness and three of those teams are from Las Vegas,' Justin Gates told News 3 reporters. 'We first thought it was an illness spread at the team weigh-in on Wednesday, but the three Las Vegas teams weighed in on Tuesday. We now think it might just be a flu-like illness spreading in Western states. It's hard to tell because many of the teams traveled up to 48 hours on a bus to get to Las Vegas and that could have made it easy to spread the bug.' Scroll Down For Video . The Rio Casino are working with authorities to discover the cause of illness . Most of those hospitalized were children, but some parents were also affected by the illness . For one group of 20 people from Santa Monica California, at least 18 people came down with flu like symptoms and needed to be hospitalized. 13 of those hospitalized were children. Erik Newman, Deputy of the Clark County fire department said that officials were called to the sixth floor of the hotel-casino where the parents and children were staying. John Steinbeck of Clark County fire told reporters that most of the ill are in stable condition. Despite players throwing up on the field, The Santa Monica Vikings won the tournament and are national champions . NBC reports that Anna Maria Meyer's 10-year-old son started experiencing symptoms at 4:30 am on Friday. He complained of abdominal pain and he was vomiting and had diarrhea. Meyer's son was hospitalized along with fellow teammates and doctors took blood samples to investigate the cause of illness. Results for those tests may take 48 hours. Doctors still don't know what is making the group sick but they believe it is an airborne virus. They are investigating all the places the children and  families visited, including places they dined. After Meyer's son left the hospital he began throwing up again at 10:30 pm and she told NBC reporters that she may take him back to the hospital. Parent Anna Lisa says she hopes her child's team feels better so that they can play and 'kick some butt' Meyer told reporters that her son's teammates were throwing up on the field as other teammates played. The Santa Monica Vikings still won the game and are national champions. Another team from Bakersfeild, California said that 25 people were suffering symptoms, 15 of whom are children and 10 adults. Parents and children were transported to University Medical Center (UMC) by Casino shuttles. News 3 reports that 17 patients arrived on Friday and that 15 were treated and were allowed to leave in the afternoon. Two of those treated were mothers who went to the Emergency room at 2:30pm on Friday. The Santa Monica Vikings facebook page said, 'We understand the media is trying to contact us but unfortunately we are not feeling up to talking at this time.'", "By . James Nye . and Joel Christie . The Canadian man on trial for the rape and murder of a Chinese student in her Toronto apartment while her horrified boyfriend watched helplessly on Skype in Beijing was found guilty on Monday. Brian Dickson, 32, did not show any emotion as he was convicted of the first degree murder of 23-year-old Qian Liu in April 2011, receiving a life-sentence with no chance of parole for 25-years. Liu's father broke down in tears as the verdict was delivered - bringing an end to three years of trauma for the family after the York University student's boyfriend watched her fend off Dickson before calmly turning the computer off. Scroll down for video . Brian Dickson, 32, had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter, but the . prosecution rejected the lesser charge in the death of Qian Liu. Justice . Anne Molloy imposed a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 . years . Liu was found dead after her boyfriend managed to contact authorities after he witnessed the last moments of his girlfriends life. Robert Nuttall, Dickson's lawyer, said his client has been 'absolutely remorseful for a very long time.' 'He didn't say anything. He just accepted the verdict,' Nuttall said. 'It was a very tough case. A very, very tragic case.' 'The case hung on the mechanism of death. The jury struggled with it, the jury made their decision and they made their decision of first-degree murder,' said Nuttall. Nuttall said his client accepted the verdict. 'Mr. Dickson has always had his eyes wide open.' Devastated: Ya Ru Zheng holds a photo of her daughter Qian Liu outside a courthouse in Toronto, on Monday, April 7, 2014. A jury has found 32-year-old Brian Dickson guilty of first-degree murder in the death of York University student . Tears: York University student Liu Qian's father Liu Jianhui and mother Zheng Yaru, right, broke down in tears in court as the verdict was announced on Monday. They are pictured here in Toronto on Monday, March 24, 2014 . The prosecution presented the theory that Dickson forced himself on Liu then killed her by asphyxiation to cover it up. Liu, who was 23, had moved to Canada to study English. Dickson lived in an apartment in the same house as Liu, just outside the campus of York University. Nuttal said it's too early to say if Dickson will appeal the verdict. 'He's been absolutely remorseful for a very, very long period of time,' he said. Last month, the shocking testimony of Liu's boyfriend, Xian Chao Meng reduced the court room to silence. He explained through an interpreter how he Dickson burst through the door of the his girlfriend's basement studio while he was on Skype with her before he heard two 'muffled bangs' and then silence. Moments later Dickson appeared naked from the abdomen down in front of the computer and quickly turned it off. Liu was found dead in April 2011, just a few hours after her boyfriend in China watched via webcam as she tried to fend off an attacker who appeared at her door. The boyfriend told police he saw Liu struggling with a man before her computer was shut off . Liu's naked body was found covered in blood and semen on April 16, 2011. According to Meng, the night before he had been talking to Liu for hours on both Skype and QQ, which is China's version of MSN. He was on his laptop in Beijing, where it was about noon, while Liu was doing homework in Toronto, where she attended York University and it was about midnight. The couple had broken up three months earlier but remained friends, catching up every couple of weeks. Meng told the court he could see Liu, wearing a headset, sitting in front of the computer in her apartment just south of the university campus. Also visible in the frame was the door, to about knee level. 'She said to me that somebody was knocking on the door. She would check,' he said. Liu rose to answer the light knock, saying something through the door first in English, which Meng couldn't understand. As Liu opened the door partway to her visitor, Meng caught sight of a man standing in the door frame. 'A foreigner, not a Chinese,' he said. Brian Dickson, pictured in a photo from his Myspace account, pleaded not guilty to killing Qian Liu . The man, his hair mussed in the front, was wearing a half-sleeved dark-colored crewneck T-shirt and loose shorts. 'After the door was opened, the two had a chat close to the door frame,' Meng told court. It seemed to Meng that the male asked to see Liu's cellphone. The jury heard earlier that Liu had been having Wi-Fi issues and had asked other tenants — the building was full of student residents — for help resolving them. Liu, said Meng, got her phone and handed it to the man. 'He did some operation on the cellphone.' While the visitor was thus occupied, Liu sat back down at her computer. Meng saw her face in profile as she spoke to the male. 'The man was in and out of the door frame,' Meng testified. 'It seemed that he was hesitant.' They appeared to be parting when 'all of a sudden, something abnormal took place,' said Meng. 'That male tried to force his way in. Liu was trying hard to push the door, not to let him in. She could not prevent him from entering. He wanted to embrace Qian Liu. (She) was all the time pushing at his chest.' Meng heard Liu say 'No'  in Cantonese. 'Maybe she felt he did not understand. Then she said 'No' in English. But that person did not listen.' There was a struggle, visible to Meng. Star witness: Xian Chao Meng was on Skype with his girlfriend Qian Liu when she was murdered. He has told her murder trial exactly what he saw and heard that night . 'Qian Lu was pinned.' Liu then fell out of camera range. 'Then I heard two muffled bangs. From then, I heard no more sound from Qian Liu.' In the silence that followed, Meng said he heard the man breathing heavily and, shortly afterwards, what he thought sounded like furniture being moved. The light in Liu's room was shut off. Meng thinks he heard what may have been the jingle of keys. The male next appeared directly in front of the computer. 'He was already naked. I could see the part of his body below the abdomen to the knees. He leaned forward to shut off the computer.' When the webcam was turned off, Meng continued to make an audio recording; he and Liu had simultaneously been communicating by cellphone. That connection was still open and the tape was played for the jury. What Meng thought was keys jingling might also be the sound of a belt unbuckling. Meng is also heard swearing in Cantonese. 'This is the only way I let out what I was feeling . . . I was stunned.' An autopsy could not determine definitively how Liu died, though a pathologist has testified it was likely by 'mechanical asphyxiation,' with compression applied to her neck. Male DNA from swabs of a substance lifted from Liu's breasts was matched — to a degree of probability estimated to be 1 in 25 trillion — to Dickson. Semen found on Liu's groin area matched Dickson to a probability of 1 in 2.7 quintillion, and DNA from a small blood stain on a blue T-shirt seized from Dickso's first-floor apartment matched Liu to a probably of 1 in 140 quadrillion.", "Arrested: Amber Fellenbaum, 21, has been charged with child endangerment for allegedly witnessing the beatings of 3-year-old Scott McMillan but doing nothing to stop them . A third person has been arrested and charged in connection to the beating death and alleged torture of a 3-year-old boy in Pennsylvania. Jillian Tait, 31, and Gary Lee Fellenbaum, 23, were charged Thursday with murdering Tait's son, Scott McMillan in what Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan has referred to as 'an American horror story'. The couple allegedly hung little Scott by his legs, tortured him for weeks and smashed his head into the wall before beating him to death. Police arrested Fellenbaum's wife, 21-year-old Amber Fellenbaum, who allegedly witnessed the beatings but did nothing to stop the violence. The woman has been charged with child endangerment for failure to call police. Photos taken by investigators inside the trailer home they shared with Fellenbaum's 21-year-old estranged wife, Amber, and three children have now been released. They show the mattress where the youngster died, the whips that were allegedly used to beat him and holes in the wall where Fellenbaum is said to have repeatedly smashed the youngster's head. A bent, metal curtain rod was also found, which attorneys believe was another item used during the child's relentless torment, which is believed to have lasted for weeks before his death. The pair from Chesco, Pennsylvania, are said to have gone car shopping, bought pizza, had sex and took a nap as Tait's unresponsive son lay dying. The torture included being beaten with blunt objects, tied to a chair with electrical tape and several punches to the face and stomach. When his body was taken to the emergency room, nurses are said to have wept at the sight of his injuries. 'American horror story': Scott McMillan, three, was tortured for weeks and beaten with a frying pan until he eventually died, prosecutors in Pennsylvania have said . Arrested: Jillian Tait, 31, and Gary Lee Fellenbaum, 23, were charged Thursday with murdering Tait's son. Officials said they had sex and went to order pizza as the boy lay dying . Torture tool: The Chester County District Attorney came across a horrifying scene when they entered the pair's trailer home in Pennsylvania. This is one of the whips that was believed to have been used to strike Scott . Sickening: Investigators found holes in the wall where Fellenbaum had allegedly smashed Scott's head . Death bed: The mattress where Scott was put on after Fellenbaum allegedly beat him until he was unresponsive is covered in blankets and clothes. The pair had sex and ate pizza as Scott lay there dying . 'This is just evilness,' Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan said at a press conference on Friday. 'It is an unspeakable act of depravity.' He also said that Tait's elder son also showed signs of abuse. 'It is going to take us years to put him back together again physically and mentally,' he said. They are accused of laughing as the boy was hung upside down and whipped, striking him repeatedly with a frying pan, and eventually beating him to death. The abuse had been going on for months, but the beatings and violence intensified between Sunday and Thursday last week. Announcing the charges on Thursday, Hogan said: 'Let me tell you about an American horror story. Little Scotty McMillan is dead. 'Over a three-day period… he was systematically tortured and beaten to death. He was punched in the face and in the stomach, he was scourged with a homemade whip, he was lashed with a metal rod, he was tied to a chair and beaten, he was tied upside down by his feet and beaten, his head was smashed through a wall and at the end of that he had bruises on top of bruises all over his body.' 'When his body went into the emergency room our ER nurses — who see a lot of terrible things — when they saw his body, they wept.' Holding back tears he said: 'Say a prayer for little Scott McMilan. The brief nightmare that was his life is over.' Weapon: A bent curtain rod was also found, which attorneys believe was another item used to hit the boy . Sickening: Another whip, put together using electrical tape which was also used to tie Scott to chairs, was found on the floor in another part of their home . Pain: Prosecutors said Scott had gone through weeks of torment, but the torture intensified last week when the youngster refused to eat his breakfast . Hogan concluded that his team would be seeking the death penalty as the victim was under 12 and there are allegations he had been tortured. The couple met working at Wal-Mart and last month moved in together, along with Fellenbaum's estranged wife and three children — Tait's six and three-year-old sons and the Fellenbaums' 11-month-old daughter. The six lived in a mobile home park in West Caln Township, Chester County, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The three adults told authorities 'that Scott McMillan had been punched and beaten with blunt and sharp objects, whipped, taped to a chair with electrical tape and beaten, hung up by his feet and beaten, and suffered other acts of violence,' police said in affidavits released Thursday. Amber Fellenbaum, 21, was charged with child endangerment for allegedly failing to help the toddler. She ultimately called 911 Tuesday night, authorities said. Scene: The pair were living in a trailer with Fellenbaum's estranged wife and three children — Tait's 6- and 3-year-old sons and the Fellenbaums' 11-month-old daughter . By then, Scott had been unresponsive for hours, and had been put in a shower for more than 30 minutes by his mother and her boyfriend, investigators said. When the boy failed to awaken, they placed him on an uninflated air mattress and went out shopping, authorities said. Fellenbaum had severely beaten the boy for refusing to eat toast both Monday and Tuesday morning, authorities said. The 'discipline' included throwing him against a wall, knocking him off a chair with a punch and then taping him to the chair to keep him upright for more beatings, police said. It was not immediately clear if any of the adults have lawyers. Tait told police that she also took part in the abuse and saw the scars on her younger son, court documents said. Her older son also showed signs of abuse, authorities said. She and Fellenbaum are being held without bail after their arraignments Thursday. They are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on November 14. When authorities searched their home, they only had one picture of Scott. Prosecutors also showed off pictures of the weapons that were used. Included in the items were a makeshift whip, a curtain rod, an aluminum strip and photos of holes in the wall where Fellenbaum slammed Scotty and his 6-year-old brother's heads into the wall, according to NBC Philadelphia. Horrific: The couple met working at Wal-Mart and only moved in together last month along with Fellenbaum's estranged wife and three children . On the night that the youngster died, Tait told police that she and Fellenbaum left Scotty on the mattress so he could sleep then went out to pick up pizza for dinner. At that time, Tait told police that she and Fellenbaum engaged in sexual activity then she took a nap, according to investigators. After waking up around 7:30 pm Tait said she found Scotty wasn't breathing so she screamed for someone to call 911. Amber Fellenbaum then called 911 and medics arrived. A judge denied bail to both Fellenbaum and Tait at a Wednesday arraignment. Hogan announced a total of 16 charges against Gary Fellenbaum including first- and third-degree murder charges, homicide, endangering the welfare of a child, assault and reckless endangerment. Tait faces 15 charges including the most serious murder charges, according to court records. According to Chester County's Daily Local News, Fellenbaum picked on the younger boy because he didn't know what was happening and tried to resist. The older boy, who was six, tried not to irritate Fellenbaum any more by struggling. In a statement to investigators, Tait admitted that  she participated in the assaults on the brothers. An affidavit states: 'During one incident, Gary hung Scott and (his brother) up by their feet one at a time and beat the boys while they were hanging upside down'(Tait) stated the she and Gary were laughing during the incident.' Amber Fellenbaum, 21, Gary's estranged wife, was was charged with child endangerment for allegedly failing to help the toddler. Her mugshot following her arrest is right . Scott had been unable to eat the breakfast of toast and cinnamon sugar that Fellenbaum made for him and kept spitting it out. She said she and Fellenbaum tried to force the toast into his mouth but that he still would not eat. Fellenbaum, angry at the child, began punching him in the stomach and face, and took him to his room where the two continued punching him. At some point, she said, Fellenbaum picked the child up by his back and slammed him into a wall, according to the affidavit. On Tuesday, when the child woke up he had very red, swolen face. Again he didn't eat breakfast, so Fellenbaum said he was being disrespectful. He then punched him so hard that the boy fell off of his chair. Fellenbaum then put him back on the chair as he squirmed, took out some electrical tape and tied the boy's feet. He also strapped his arms to the posts of the chair so they were elevated. Fellenbaum began punching Scott again, causing him to vomit and become unresponsive, according to the police documents. The pair, according to the affadavit, then tried to wake the boy up. Failing to do so they allegedly put him in a bath of ice cold water and changed his closed. Fellenbaum is believed to have seen this as another sign of disrespect, so put the boy on the mattress and left the house to go and collect pizza. When they returned he will still unresponsive, so Tait said she ate some of the pizza then had sex with Fellenbaum. Hogan added that there had been no warning signs to suggest the boys were being abused. Scott was a student at Rainbow Elementary School, but staff members never reported suspicious bruises or injuries. However, Scott had not been at school for two weeks.", "Only two British universities have made it onto China's list of the top 20 higher education institutions in the world. Cambridge and Oxford maintained the same positions as last year in the 2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities, coming in fifth and tenth respectively. America dominates the list with Harvard claiming the top place, as it has done since the survey began in 2003. Cambridge was ranked as the leading British university in this year's Academic Ranking of World Universities coming fifth out of 500 institutions. Cambridge is the highest placed British institution, according to research compiled by Shanghai’s Jiaotong University. The University of Oxford ranked tenth in the list, keeping its position since last year's ranking. Oxford just squeezed into the top ten, while University College London (ranked 21st) and Imperial College (ranked 24th) failed to make the list which selects the best 20 of 1,200 academic establishments across the world. The winners are chosen in consideration of six factors which include number of Nobel Prize winners, number of 'highly cited' researchers and  the number of articles published by leading magazines in their field. The full list ranks the 500 best globally, but the top 20 tend to become the most sought after by Chinese students. American institutions come out on top with five colleges ranking within the top five. Stanford, University of California, Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] all appear at the top of the list. The annual report has come under fire in the past for being too focused on success in scientific disciplines, rather than across all subjects. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013 placed Oxford University as number two in the world, behind California’s Institute of Technology. 1.  Harvard University, United States . 2 . Stanford University, United States . 3.  University of California, Berkeley, United States . 4.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),United States . 5.  University of Cambridge, United Kingdom . 6.  California Institute of Technology, United States . 7.  Princeton University, United States . 8.  Columbia University, United States . 9.  University of Chicago, United States . 10.University of Oxford, United Kingdom . 11.Yale University, United States . 12.University of California, Los Angeles, United States . 13.Cornell University, United States . 14.University of California, San Diego, United States . 15.University of Pennsylvania, United States . 16.University of Washington, United States . 17.The Johns Hopkins University, United States . 18.University of California, San Francisco, United States . 19.University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States . 20.Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland . 21.The University of Tokyo, Japan . 22.University College London, United Kingdom . 23.University of Michigan - Ann Arbor    United States . 24.The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, UK . 25.University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States . 26.Kyoto University, Japan . 27.New York University, United States . 28.University of Toronto,Canada . 29.University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States . 30. Northwestern University, United States . 31. Duke University, United States . 32. Washington University in St. Louis, United States . 33. University of Colorado at Boulder, United States . 34. Rockefeller University, United States . 35. University of California, Santa Barbara, United States . 36. The University of Texas at Austin, United States . 37. Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris 6, France . 38. University of Maryland, College Park, United States . 39. University of Paris Sud, Paris 11, France . 40. University of British Columbia,Canada . 41. The University of Manchester, United Kingdom . 42. University of Copenhagen, Denmark . 43. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States . 44. Karolinska Institute, Sweden . 45. University of California, Irvine, United States . 46 .The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, U.S. 47. University of California, Davis, United States . 48. University of Southern California, United States . 49. Vanderbilt University, United States . 50. Technical University Munich, Germany .", "By . James Nye . PUBLISHED: . 23:18 EST, 22 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:54 EST, 23 January 2013 . Joe Biden in 2016? The inauguration is barely over but the vice president already is dropping plenty of hints that he might have another political act. Biden packed his schedule with events and receptions attended by party stalwarts throughout the long weekend of inauguration festivities, stoking speculation he may be laying the groundwork to carry the torch from President Barack Obama. It comes after Biden played a prominent role in brokering a compromise on the fiscal cliff standoff with Congress and his work developing gun violence legislation following December's deadly school shooting in Connecticut. Scroll down for video . A taste of things to come?: Joe Biden gestures to the crowd as he walks down Pennsylvania Avenue en route to the White House yesterday . The next presidential campaign is a long way off and the Democratic primary chase will be dotted with plenty of 'ifs,' most notably whether outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton decides to seek the nomination. Clinton, the former New York senator and first lady, remains the heavy favorite among party activists but several notable Democrats, including Biden, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, are said to be keeping their options open in case Clinton decides not to run again. As vice president, Biden can stay in the spotlight and is no stranger to the demands of a presidential campaign after failed bids in 1988 and 2008. The former Delaware senator has racked up a long list of domestic and foreign policy achievements even as his occasional off-script moments have become fodder for Republicans. The one-day President and First Lady?: Joe Biden and his wife Jill wave to the crowd as they walk down Pennsylvania Avenue yesterday . 'There's a whole lot of reasons why I wouldn't run,' Biden, who will be nearly 74 on Election Day in 2016, told CNN in an interview before the inauguration. 'I don't have to make that decision for a while. In the meantime, there's one thing I know I have to do, no matter what I do. I have to help this president move this country to the next stage.' Yet with his high-profile perch, Biden is doing nothing to tamp down the speculation. Biden's private swearing-in ceremony on Sunday was attended by recently-elected New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, someone who would be a potent ally in the state's first-in-the-nation primary. Attendees at a Sunday afternoon reception at the vice president's residence at the Naval Observatory said they noticed a lot of party activists from early voting states like New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill wave to the crowd as they walk down Pennsylvania Avenue en route to the White House . Capitol Hill is now openly speculating that vice president Joe Biden might plan a run for the White House in 2016 . 'We can always start the political calculations in terms of the number of delegates needed to secure a nomination. But let's just say I see a number of superdelegates here as well,' Democratic strategist Donna Brazile told reporters following the ceremony. Biden later dropped by the Iowa State Society Inaugural Ball, slipping up and telling partygoers he was 'proud to be president of the United States,' prompting cheers. He quickly corrected himself, saying he was 'proud to be vice president of the United States, but I am prouder to be ... President Barack Obama's vice president.' Laughing it off, he said, 'There's goes that.' During the weekend, Biden attended a ball at the Kennedy Center celebrating the party's Latino voters, who turned into a powerful voting bloc in November's election. Biden called the Latino community 'a decisive factor' in the election. 'This is your moment,' Biden said. 'America owes you.' Some party stalwarts said it was noteworthy that Biden asked Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina justice, to administer the oath of office. In four years time will Joe and Jill Biden be dancing to his victory as the 45th President of the United States? Powerful: As one of the chief negotiators of the fiscal cliff compromise and one of the key authors of the upcoming gun control legislation of the Obama administration, Biden is a very influential vice President . Biden also attended a ball honoring environmentalists, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation and other environmental groups, where he said the Obama administration was committed to confronting climate change. 'I don't intend to let these four years go by without getting a hell of a lot done,' on the environment, Biden said. On Inauguration Day, Biden and his wife, Jill, walked part of the parade route, waving to the cheering crowds in a made-for-TV moment. At one point, the vice president even jogged across Pennsylvania Avenue to shake hands with 'Today' show weatherman Al Roker. 'It seems obvious that he's going to keep that option open for himself and do the right things,' said Mike Gronstal, the Democratic leader of the Iowa state senate who attended the reception. Gronstal said Biden actively worked the room, thanking supporters for their help during the 2012 campaign. 'It was very personal time,' he said. Despite the fact he would almost be 74 if he achieved victory - Joe Biden remains the picture of health . On Tuesday afternoon, Biden met with members of the Democratic National Committee at a private reception after a DNC meeting, where delegates unanimously re-elected Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to another term as chairman. A frequently played campaign theme song, REO Speedwagon's 'Roll with the Changes,' could be heard from outside the room and attendees said Biden thanked them for their work during the campaign and offered an upbeat assessment of the second term. If Clinton decides not to run, Biden could draw upon good will from party activists, an ability to connect with regular folks and extensive campaigning in key states like Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and Ohio. But he would also need to deal with personal poll numbers that rank below Obama's and a propensity to commit foot-in-mouth moments in an era where political gaffes can quickly sink a campaign. New Hampshire state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, who was among the attendees at Biden's Sunday reception, said it was 'early to read into' Biden's interest in 2016. But said there was 'huge support' in the key primary state. 'He's deeply admired and loved in New Hampshire,' Clark said. 'Clearly Joe Biden occupies a key place in our hearts.'", "(CNN) -- Americans hit the polls Tuesday in numbers that officials across the country believed would shatter election turnout records. Michael Bichara waited 2 1/2 hours to cast his ballot Tuesday in Westchester, Florida. Although more than 24.4 million people had already cast early or absentee ballots by Monday, the continued high volume of voters had people across the United States braving long lines. \"People were there in the rain, in the cold, with their children. People close to the 100-year-mark, with their walkers and their chairs,\" said Elmira N. Luckey, a mental health counselor who voted in Richmond, Virginia. Luckey said she heard some people in the line complain about the rain, but added all those complaints were followed up with \"But I'm here, and I'm gonna stay here.\" In Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, township residents and Lincoln University students endured lines that lasted as long as 11 hours and stretched past the state's closing time of 8 p.m. Jacintha Johnson, a senior at the historically African-American school, told CNN that she got in line at 7:30 a.m. and voted at 6 p.m. \"Practically the entire school was out there,\" she said. \"It started to rain. Students were complaining about being hungry. The school provided some snacks, finally, at about 10 o'clock in the morning.\" Callers into the CNN Voting Hotline reported waits in the St. Louis, Missouri, suburbs of Jennings and Velda City as long as four to six hours. The county's board of elections assistant director Dick Bauer said a lengthy ballot and what he expected to be a record turnout slowed the process. Election officials throughout Missouri reported extremely high turnout rates, on track to meet the state's projected 76 percent voter turnout rate, said Secretary of State spokesperson Laura Egerdal. While that doesn't meet the 77 percent voter turnout the state reached in 1992, the higher number of registered voters will likely translate to a larger number of overall votes, Egerdal said. In the battleground state of Virginia, voters reported waits as long as five hours in Norfolk. In nearby Chesapeake, about 50 percent of the city's registered voters showed up at the polls Tuesday morning. \"We started the line at about 10:30 a.m., and we did not get done until 3:30 p.m.,\" said Jessica Edwards, who voted in Norfolk. In Roanoke, Virginia, voter Valerie Garner was \"flabbergasted by the lines\" at her polling place in a largely African American precinct. Garner, a freelance reporter, arrived at 5:50 a.m., joining voters who had already been there for more than an hour. Share your Election Day experiences with CNN . Nancy Rodrigues, executive secretary of Virginia's Board of Elections, said that she expected 75 percent of the state's voters to cast ballots -- up from less than 60 percent in 2004. See photos of Americans at the polls » . Michael Bichara waited 2 ½ hours to vote in Westchester, Florida, a suburb of Miami. He \"was kind of hoping so many would vote early that it wouldn't be that bad. When I got there, I was like, 'oh crap!'\" In Florida, early voting accounted for more than 4 million votes out of 11 million eligible voters. At the University of Central Florida in Orlando, students waited as long as three hours to vote. The lines at UCF were a result of many people showing up to vote without having registered in Florida, and a very small number of students voting early, according to Bill Cowles, the supervisor of elections in Orange County. \"The excitement on campus here is just incredible on both sides,\" said iReporter Robert Gysi, a supporter of Sen. John McCain who watched the crowds from his dorm room at UCF. Across the country at the University of California, Los Angeles, campus officials said more than 8,000 new registered voters were expected to turn out among the 30,000-plus student body population. Hear about some Californians' voting experiences » . Pat McQuire reported the lines were \"incredible\" in Hyattsville, Maryland, stretching about a quarter of a mile. The president of Trinity Washington University arrived around 6:15 a.m. and cast her ballot around 7:30 a.m. But not everyone had to face heavy wait times. Watch a New Jersey voter describe his experience as \"smooth sailing\" » . June Smith said she was surprised to find no one waiting to vote at 9:15 a.m. at a Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, polling place. When Nathan Grebowiec arrived at his Plainville, Kansas, polling place, the only person ahead of him in \"line\" was his wife. Nevertheless, attendance at Kansas polling places was larger than officials had seen in that state; the secretary of state's office predicted 78 percent -- more than 1.3 million voters -- would turn out. Rebecca Halton, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania secretary of state's office, said her office had no hard numbers, but that \"very high turnout\" was being reported throughout the state. Election officials had advised counties to prepare for as many as 80 percent of the state's registered voters to turn out. See voter turnout rates in 2004 » . Amidst \"brisk and orderly\" voting, Ohio's secretary of state also anticipated 80 percent of its eligible voters would cast their ballots. The current highest turnout percentage of that Midwestern battleground state is 77.15 percent, according to figures on Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's Web site. Voters across Texas were casting ballots without major delays or problems, said Ashley Burton, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office. \"If there are any problems anywhere, we haven't heard about them,\" Burton said. Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade predicted a 68 percent turnout rate -- a 12 percent increase from 2004. CNN's John Couwels and Stan Wilson contributed to this report.", "By . Daily Mail Reporters . Battle: The trial over the fortune of Huguette Clark, pictured, could now go ahead on Thursday . The sprawling, Connecticut estate of heiress Huguette Clark has finally been sold after almost a decade on the market. Clark, a famous recluse never spent a single night in the place, also known as Le Beau Chateau, after buying it in 1952. The new buyers finalized the deal Monday and got the home for $14.3 million, well under half the original $34 million asking price. Clark had always said that the house was bought to 'get away from the horrors' of nuclear war, according to a great-half-nephew. New Canaan News is reported in February that there was a sale pending on the 1937 chateau-style home. That sale has now been made official, though the identity of the buyer remains undisclosed. Le Beau Chateau, as Clark's estate was called, was listed at $15.9 million after being slashed from $34 million. The nine-bedroom, eleven-fireplace mansion sits on a 52-acre estate. However, the residence and the grounds need extensive renovation and restoration. Real Estalker says that fashion designer and former Coach executive Reed Krakoff and his wife, interior designer Delphine Krakoff, who just sold their Upper East Side mansion for an astounding $51 million, are the proud new owners. Deserted: Le Beau Chateau was bought by Clark and remained empty for more than 60 years . Gracious: Huguette was shy, but not sad. Her friends and the few relatives who knew her describe her as cheerful, gracious, stubborn, and devoted to her art. She poses at about age 37 . Unwanted: The famously reclusive dollhouse-obsessed old-money millionaire never spent a single night in the place after buying it in 1952 . New Canaan realtor Barbara Cleary says she believes the right buyers have been found for the property. 'They have a keen appreciation for the rarity and unique history of this beautiful estate,' she told New Canaan News. Ms. Cleary also said the couple intended to restore and renovate both the . house and the property. She also said the buyers are 'creative' and they . intend to live there. The . 22-room estate has been vacant for more than 60 years. Clark, the . daughter of turn-of-the-century copper tycoon and U.S. Sen. William . Clark, purchased the property in 1951, but never spent a night in the . mansion.. New owners: The interested party consists of fashion designer and former Coach exec Reed Krakoff and his wife, interior designer Delphine Krakoff, who just sold their Upper East Side mansion . Ripe for development: The 22-room estate has been vacant for more than . 60 years. Clark, the daughter of turn-of-the-century copper tycoon and . U.S. Sen. William Clark, purchased the property in 1951, but never spent . a night in the mansion . 'It's good for us . to know that this incredible and historical estate will remain intact as . of one of the area's crown jewels,' she  said. Clark . was the last surviving child of U.S. Sen. William A. Clark, who was . born in a log cabin in Pennsylvania and became one of the wealthiest men . of his day. He is the namesake of Nevada's Clark County and established its county seat, Las Vegas. A onetime socialite who became a social shadow, Huguette Clark died at 104 in 2011. She . had a penthouse and two other apartments on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue . and exquisite homes in Santa Barbara, California, and New Canaan, . Connecticut, but she elected to spend her last 20 years in a hospital. With . no close relatives, she left a roughly $300 million estate and a swirl . of questions about the input she'd gotten from a close circle of . caregivers and advisers and about the extensive gifts and bequests she'd . given them in return. She . signed two wills within six weeks at age 98, the first bequeathing her . riches mostly to about 20 distant relatives and the second cutting them . out. She died aged 104 in May 2011. Her distant relatives fought for years over her $300 million fortune . Family wealth: Clark, a copper, timber and railroad heiress, hugs her father on a vacation in Connecticut in 1912 . Revealed: Empty Mansions lifts the lid on the mysterious, reclusive life of Huguette Clark . Empty Mansions: The . Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American . Fortune by Bill Dedman and one of Clark's relatives Paul Clark Newell . Jr., lifts the lid on the fascinating family known for staying out of . the limelight. Oone of the few people who visited Clark at her apartments in the 1950s . said that a long gallery was lined with dolls, each seated on its own . sumptuous armchair. One of Ms Clark's few outings was to attend Christian Dior fashion shows in order to find clothes to dress her dolls. The heiress was also obsessed with building miniature models. A . lover of Japanese culture, although she never traveled, Clark paid for . someone to travel to Japan to photograph and note the specifications of . the castles she wanted to build from the confines of her mansion. While she stayed at the hospital, her . three fabulous homes sat empty: the $100million Bellosguardo estate, a . $24million country house in Connecticut and a $100million co-op, the . largest apartment on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park. She . inherited her wealth from her father, Montana Senator William Clark, . and his copper mines but regarded her great wealth as 'a menace to . happiness'. When she died two weeks shy of her 105th birthday the only people present at her burial were funeral home employees.", "The first full moon of the year - known as the Wolf Moon - lit up the night's sky last night. While much of the UK was shrouded in mist and cloud, elsewhere in the world stargazers were treated to clear views of the Moon's pockmarked surface. January's full moon became known as the Wolf Moon due to the howling of hungry wolves that often accompanied it at the height of winter. Scroll down for video . A passenger aircraft crosses in front of the first full moon of 2015 over Whittier, in Los Angeles, California . This moon traces a path that takes it high into the sky, unlike the trajectory of the sun during the short winter days, due to the tilt of the Earth. Some of the best views were seen in Los Angeles, California, but in the north of England, like Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, clear skies also allowed some to see the moon glow a rich orange as it rose in the sky. It is not just werewolves that have sleepless nights when there is a full moon. Research has shown that many people get less overall sleep and reduced levels of deep sleep when there is a full moon in the sky. New research shows it’s not just werewolves and vampires who get little or no sleep on night’s like tomorrow when there is a full moon. The study, led by experts at the University of Toronto in Canada, that on nights when there is a full moon it takes some people nearly twice as long to fall asleep - up to an hour - as on darker nights. Women took an average of 52 minutes to nod off, compared to 25 to 30 minutes when there was no full moon. Men took up to 60 minutes, compared with half an hour at other times. For centuries, there has been a widespread belief that the moon exerts a powerful effect on human sleep patterns, as well as health and behaviour. In South Africa the National Sea Rescue Institute issued a warning of strong rip currents off its coast as the full moon brought a powerful spring tide. Full Moon parties in Koh Phangan, Thailand, were also expected to attract more than 40,000 holiday makers. This year's Wolf Moon, sometimes called the Old Moon, also coincided with the Earth reaching perihelion, the closest point to the sun in its orbit. This brought the Earth just 91.4 million miles from the sun, making the full moon appear slightly brighter. However, the bright glare from the sunlight reflected from the lunar surface meant the annual Quadrantids meteor shower, which peaked in the early hours of Sunday morning, was difficult to see. The full moon and the meteor shower are the first of a number of astronomical events due to delight astronomers in January. Comet Lovejoy is also visible in the northern hemisphere for the first time since it was discovered in August by the Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejo. It will be closest to the Earth on 7 January and should be visible in binoculars for around a week. Three planets will line up in the southwest of the sky just after sunset on 10 January with both Venus and Mercury visible alongside each other and Mars further to the left. The rising Wolf Moon glowed bright orange as fishermen and walkers on Roker Pier in Sunderland looked on . Comet Lovejoy is currently whizzing northwards past Earth, leaving an incredible glowing green tail in its wake . The first full moon to occur in January is known as the Wolf Moon as it was often accompanied by howling in North America from hungry wolf packs as they searched for food during the cold, lean days of winter . Venus will be particularly bright in January and will make Mercury alongside it easy to spot in the evenings . A good view of Saturn will also materialise to the left of the waning crescent Moon on 16 January. Views of the planet Jupiter are also expected to be among the highlights in the night's sky this month. The middle of January will enjoy several moonless hours each evening and will give astronomers a good view of the stars that are normally drowned out by the light from the sun. Among these could be the red star Antares will sit alongside Saturn as the two brightest points on the southeastern horizon. The constellation of Auriga, the charioteer, will be high in the south, with the brightest star Capella, nearly completely overhead. Comet Lovejoy, photographed here above Mount Fuji in Japan, was first spotted above Australia in August . The Wolf Moon, still low in the sky, is seen though a Christmas wreath in Whittier, Los Angeles, California .", "In the midst of the family's fighting and different claims, Bobby Brown has made a bold move. According to a Saturday report by NBC affiliate 11Alive, the 46-year-old singer has filed for guardianship over daughter Bobbi Kristina's estate. This news comes just days after the 22-year-old's loved ones were split over whether she had awoken from her coma as her father had claimed. Scroll down for video . Bold move: Bobby Brown has filed for guardianship over daughter Bobbi Kristina's estate according to a Saturday report from NBC affiliate 11Alive . Bobby was spotted earlier this week spending time at the DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia, where his daughter is being cared for. The daughter of Whitney Houston was recently moved from Emory University Hospital - where she had been treated since being found unresponsive on January 31 - so she could be provided with long term care. While over the weekend Bobby claimed his daughter was awake, her maternal grandmother Cissy Houston clarified to People on Monday that her granddaughter 'is no longer in a medically induced coma' but is not awake nor expected to ever fully recover. Fight for her life: The 22-year-old was found unconscious on January 31 (pictured in October 2012) Bobby, shocked fans on Saturday by revealing that 'Bobbi is awake,' during a Dallas concert last Saturday. And on Monday, the former New Edition hitmaker released an official statement about his child writing: 'Bobbi Kristina's condition has changed and there has been improvement.' While Bobby remains adamant his daughter is awake, his ex-wife's 81-year-old mother has insisted her one time son-in-law is being far too optimistic, saying that even though Bobbi is no longer in a coma, she is irreversibly brain damaged and said that only a miracle could save her. In a new statement, Cissy said: 'I have just returned from visiting my granddaughter Bobbi Kristina in the hospital and while she is no longer in a medically induced coma, she has a tracheotomy and according to the doctors she has global and irreversible brain damage and remains unresponsive. Family bonds: The 46-year-old singer recently claimed at his concert last Saturday that his daughter - pictured together in an Instagram from Bobbi in June of last year - was 'awake' 'Meeting with the doctors and understanding that she can live in this condition for a lifetime truly saddens me. 'We can only trust in God for a miracle at this time. Keep us in your prayers.' A family source told TMZ: 'They have no idea where Bobby Brown is getting his information that Bobbi Kristina is awake, not do they know why Tina said she's awake and no longer on life support.' The other side: Bobbi's grandmother Cissy Houston (pictured in June 2012) said that her granddaughter is not awake but is 'is no longer in a medically induced coma but has global and irreversible brain damage and remains unresponsive' Sad update: 'Meeting with the doctors and understanding that she can live in this condition for a lifetime truly saddens me' (pictured in April 2013) Bobby's lawyer Christopher Brown said in a statement: 'Bobbi Kristina’s condition has changed since moving from Emory University Hospital and there has been improvement. Doctors have indicated that she will have a long life. 'However, Bobbi Kristina is presently embarking on a rehabilitation process and the quality of her life will not be known for years to come. We thank everyone that supports Bobbi Kristina and God is hearing our prayers.' On Monday, Bobby's second wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown - who is currently pregnant with the couple's second child - also released a statement about Bobbi Kristina. By her side: The 46-year-old singer and his second wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown released official statements about Bobbi Kristina on Monday (pictured together leaving Emory University hospital on February 6) 'My husband made an attempt to correct the negative comments he must endure on a daily basis from both family and the public regarding his daughter’s medical condition. He is encouraged by the steps that Bobbi Kristina has made since her hospitalization on January 31, 2015. 'She has made it out of ICU, opened her eyes, and started a rehabilitation that will be long and hard. We will hold on to all the blessings GOD gives us to help her at this time and we look forward to her having a relationship with her unborn sister as our family grows in love and faith.' Adding: 'I just wish my husband could deal with this most painful and difficult time with people surrounding him who fully support and pray for Bobbi Kristina’s recovery and only her recovery. Life is the most precious thing that we all have.' 'My husband made an attempt to correct the negative comments': Alicia - who is currently pregnant with the couple's second child - tried to clarify Bobby's statements (pictured April 16) Brown family: Bobbi Kristina's aunt Tina Brown took to her Facebook page echoing a similar statement of Bobby's on Saturday, that has since been taken down . Bobbi Kristina's aunt Tina Brown took to her Facebook page echoing a similar statement of Bobby's on Saturday, that has since been taken down. 'So many messages, sorry can't answer them all right now but I will get to them later..just allow me this time with my family,,yes,she woke up and is no longer on life support!!!!!:):)God is good!!thanks for your prayers,,still a process,but she is going to be ok (sic).' In March, the only daughter of Whitney and Bobby was moved from Emory University hospital - where she stayed for two months - to a rehabilitation facility in Atlanta. Her legacy: Bobbi Kristina is the only child of the late icon who was found face down and unresponsive in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 11, 2012 (pictured just days before her death) In late February, her doctors attempted to take out of her medically induced coma but she began having violent seizures and was placed back on life support. Bobbi Kristina's mother Whitney was found face down and unresponsive in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 11, 2012. Autopsy concluded that the 48-year-old icon had accidentally drowned and listed heart disease and cocaine as contributors to her death.", "Charges are expected in the death of a New York City college student who was injured during a fraternity ritual on a trip to Pennsylvania, a prosecutor said Thursday. Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine told CNN that criminal charges were likely in connection with the death of Baruch College freshman Chun \"Michael\" Deng, 19, who died Monday during a fraternity weekend trip to the Poconos. The level of charges and who specifically will be charged is not clear, Christine said. The Pi Delta Psi fraternity was conducting a ritual outdoors for new pledges called the \"glass ceiling,\" according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by CNN. The objective was for Deng, who was blindfolded and wearing a backpack filled with a 20-pound bag of sand, to navigate toward someone who was calling for him \"while other fraternity brothers physically prevent that from happening,\" witnesses said, according to the affidavit. Deng fell backward, struck his head and was unconscious and unresponsive immediately after he fell, the document states. Other members of the fraternity told authorities they saw Deng get pushed but did not see who did it because it was dark in the yard of the residence where the ritual took place, the affidavit said. Deng was then carried inside and placed by a fire because his body was cold and wet from the conditions outside. Deng remained unconscious while members of the fraternity researched his symptoms online and found the closest hospital, according to the affidavit. \"A minimum of at least two hours went by before he actually received any type of medical care,\" said Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Harry Lewis. Three fraternity members drove Deng to a Pennsylvania hospital early Sunday morning, authorities said. \"The transport was done in a private vehicle ... which means this poor victim wasn't receiving any medical attention until the time he actually made it to the hospital,\" Christine said. He was unresponsive and in critical condition upon his arrival at the hospital. Physicians determined Deng had suffered major brain trauma, and he was put on life support, according to the district attorney's office. The affidavit states that physicians discovered a set of fresh scratches and some bruising on Deng's knees. His skull was not fractured, and he had little swelling to the back of his head. Doctors also noted that the toxicology and alcohol tests were negative. Physicians later determined Deng was brain dead and required a breathing machine to be kept alive. Authorities said more than 30 members of fraternity Pi Delta Psi had traveled to a residence in the Pocono Mountains, roughly 90 miles away from New York City, for the weekend. Some fraternity members left the residence before police arrived, Lewis said. Police are \"looking for them and hoping they will come forward with any information.\" In a statement Monday, Pi Delta Psi Fraternity Inc. said it has \"revoked and terminated all affiliation with the Baruch Colony, effective immediately.\" \"Baruch Colony has violated the values and rules of our organization,\" the statement said. \"We will also revoke the individual membership of any member found involved in this incident.\" Opinion: Bullying among boys easily dismissed? In a statement, Baruch College said Wednesday that Deng died while participating in an unsanctioned fraternity pledging event. Baruch College has a \"zero tolerance policy regarding hazing,\" according to the statement. Deng's death is a \"deeply painful reminder that no individual should ever be put into a position where his or her personal safety is in jeopardy,\" the statement said. Along with its own internal review, Baruch is cooperating with law enforcement, the statement said.", "By . Mark Duell . Last updated at 9:48 PM on 23rd December 2011 . The lawyer and accountant for reclusive mining heiress Huguette Clark have both lost out on an $8million payday each after a judge suspended them from handling her $400 million estate. Attorney Wallace Bock and accountant Irving Kamsler committed ‘shocking’ tax fraud which meant Miss Clark, who died aged 104 in May, had an IRS bill of $90million, ruled Judge Kristin Booth Glen. The duo are being probed criminally over the Montana heiress’s unpaid federal gift taxes and penalties, a court in Manhattan, New York, heard. Investigators warn this is the ‘tip of the iceberg’. Reclusive: Huguette Clark, who died aged 104 in May, was a U.S. senator's daughter who owned the largest residence on Fifth Avenue in New York City - and mansions in California and Connecticut . Mr Kamsler said he planned to resign on Tuesday but has not done so yet. The duo are beginning to tell conflicting stories about the handling of the last 15 years of Miss Clark’s life, reported MNSBC. A remaining estate official said he is trying to get back the gift of a $5million cheque to Miss Clark's registered nurse, Hadassah Peri, which Mr Bock allegedly had no authority to give her. This was part of a $26million gift given to the nurse even before she left her more than $30million in her will. Neither Mr Bock nor Mr Kamsler have been charged with doing anything illegal. But now the estate will be managed only by public administrator lawyers who alleged the fraud earlier this week. Judge Glen slammed the duo for wasting money and called them ‘unfit to serve’. Suspended: Attorney Wallace Bock, left, and accountant Irving Kamsler, right, committed ‘shocking’ tax fraud which meant Miss Clark, who died aged 104 in May, had an IRS bill of $90million, ruled Judge Kristin Booth Glen . Angry: Judge Kristin Booth Glen called them 'unfit to serve' Mr Bock and Mr Kamsler allegedly did not file federal gift tax returns for Miss Clark from 1997 to 2003 when she gave gifts worth $56million, reported MSNBC. The taxes would have been $41.5million. The duo also made her pay for tax returns that were not filed and did not tell her about unpaid taxes or possible penalties even though she could have afforded them, the court heard. They were also said to have lied to the IRS and the public administrator and submitted tax returns which they knew were fraudulent. This raises the possibility of criminal charges being brought. Mr Kamsler, 64, of the Bronx, New York, is a registered sex offender who tried to distribute ‘indecent materials’ to teenage girls in an AOL chat room. Mr Bock, 79, is from Queens, New York. Vacant: The mysterious Clark estate in Santa Barbara, California, which has been empty since 1963. It is worth more than $100 million . For sale: Le Beau Château, in wealthy New Canaan, Connecticut, is only an hour from New York City but Miss Clark had never visited the property . Windfall: Hadassah Peri received a staggering multi-million payment from Miss Clark when she died . The duo were paid thousands of dollars a month for responsibilities that included dealing with the heiress's taxes. But earlier this week they denied doing anything wrong over Miss Clark’s affairs. ‘Their entire, decades-long handling of her affairs was an ongoing effort to protect and preserve her chosen lifestyle and on her explicit instructions,’ said lawyer John Dadakis, representing the duo. Miss Clark was a U.S. senator's daughter who owned the largest residence on Fifth Avenue in New York City - and mansions in California and Connecticut - but chose to live for decades in hospitals. It emerged last month that Miss Clark had signed two wills within six weeks in 2005 - the first leaving most of her estate to great-nephews and great-nieces. Holed up: Miss Clark rarely left her 42-room New York apartment overlooking Central Park in 70 years . With dad: Former U.S. Senator William A. Clark, centre, joins his daughter, Huguette, at the Easter Parade in New York, in April 1922. He built one of America's biggest fortunes of its day by mining copper . The second benefitted mainly her nurse and charity, creating an arts foundation that Mr Bock and Mr Kamsler would oversee and leaving them each $500,000. Her father, Senator William A. Clark, built one of America's biggest fortunes of its day mining copper, building railroads and founding Las Vegas, Nevada. Born in Paris to the 67-year-old U.S. senator and a 28-year-old Michigan woman, Miss Clark was married briefly in her 20s to a bank clerk. They parted after only nine months. She died childless. After her mother's death, Miss Clark's once lively life amid New York's cultured world became more solitary, and she rarely ventured from her home. She moved into a hospital in the 1980s.", "A Pennsylvania mother and her boyfriend laughed as they tortured her three-year-old son for weeks by hanging him upside down and hitting him with a frying pan until he died, prosecutors have claimed. Jillian Tait, 31, and Gary Lee Fellenbaum, 23, were charged Thursday with murdering Tait's son, Scott McMillan in what a district attorney has referred to as 'an American horror story'. The pair from Chesco, Pennsylvania, are said to have gone car shopping, bought pizza, had sex and took a nap as Tait's unresponsive three-year-old son lay dying after weeks of relentless torture. The torment included being beaten with blunt objects, tied to a chair with electrical tape and several punches to the face and stomach. When his body was taken to the emergency room, nurses are said to have wept at the sight of his injuries. 'American horror story': Scott McMillan, three, was tortured for weeks and beaten with a frying pan until he eventually died, prosecutors in Pennsylvania have said . Arrested: Jillian Tait, 31, and Gary Lee Fellenbaum, 23, were charged Thursday with murdering Tait's son. Officials said they had sex and went to order pizza as the boy lay dying . They are accused of laughing as the boy was hung upside down and whipped, striking him repeatedly with a frying pan, and eventually beating him to death. Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan called the sickening accusations 'an American horror story.' The abuse had been going on for months, but the beatings and violence intensified between Sunday and Thursday last week. Announcing the charges, he said: 'Let me tell you about an American horror story. Little Scotty McMillan is dead. 'Over a three-day period… he was systematically tortured and beaten to death. He was punched in the face and in the stomach, he was scourged with a homemade whip, he was lashed with a metal rod, he was tied to a chair and beaten, he was tied upside down by his feet and beaten, his head was smashed through a wall and at the end of that he had bruises on top of bruises all over his body.' 'When his body went into the emergency room our ER nurses — who see a lot of terrible things — when they saw his body, they wept.' Holding back tears he said: 'Say a prayer for little Scott McMilan. The brief nightmare that was his life is over.' Pain: Prosecutors said Scott had gone through weeks of torment, but the torture intensified last week when the youngster refused to eat his breakfast . Hogan concluded that his team would be seeking the death penalty as the victim was under 12 and there are allegations he had been tortured. The couple met working at Wal-Mart and last month moved in together, along with Fellenbaum's estranged wife and three children — Tait's six and three-year-old sons and the Fellenbaums' 11-month-old daughter. The six lived in a mobile home park in West Caln Township, Chester County, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The three adults told authorities 'that Scott McMillan had been punched and beaten with blunt and sharp objects, whipped, taped to a chair with electrical tape and beaten, hung up by his feet and beaten, and suffered other acts of violence,' police said in affidavits released Thursday. Amber Fellenbaum, 21, was charged with child endangerment for allegedly failing to help the toddler. She ultimately called 911 Tuesday night, authorities said. By then, Scott had been unresponsive for hours, and had been put in a shower for more than 30 minutes by his mother and her boyfriend, investigators said. When the boy failed to awaken, they placed him on an uninflated air mattress and went out shopping, authorities said. Fellenbaum had severely beaten the boy for refusing to eat toast both Monday and Tuesday morning, authorities said. Scene: The pair were living in a trailer with Fellenbaum's estranged wife and three children — Tait's 6- and 3-year-old sons and the Fellenbaums' 11-month-old daughter . The 'discipline' included throwing him against a wall, knocking him off a chair with a punch and then taping him to the chair to keep him upright for more beatings, police said. It was not immediately clear if any of the adults have lawyers. Tait told police that she also took part in the abuse and saw the scars on her younger son, court documents said. Her older son also showed signs of abuse, authorities said. She and Fellenbaum are being held without bail after their arraignments Thursday. They are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on November 14. When authorities searched their home, they only had one picture of Scott. Prosecutors also showed off pictures of the weapons that were used. Included in the items were a makeshift whip, a curtain rod, an aluminum strip and photos of holes in the wall where Fellenbaum slammed Scotty and his 6-year-old brother's heads into the wall, according to NBC Philadelphia. On the night that the youngster died, Tait told police that she and Fellenbaum left Scotty on the mattress so he could sleep then went out to pick up pizza for dinner. At that time, Tait told police that she and Fellenbaum engaged in sexual activity then she took a nap, according to investigators. After waking up around 7:30 pm Tait said she found Scotty wasn't breathing so she screamed for someone to call 911. Amber Fellenbaum then called 911 and medics arrived. Horrific: The couple met working at Wal-Mart and last month moved in together, along with Fellenbaum's estranged wife and three children . A judge denied bail to both Fellenbaum and Tait at a Wednesday arraignment. Hogan announced a total of 16 charges against Gary Fellenbaum including first- and third-degree murder charges, homicide, endangering the welfare of a child, assault and reckless endangerment. Tait faces 15 charges including the most serious murder charges, according to court records. According to Chester County's Daily Local News, Fellenbaum picked on the younger boy because he didn't know what was happening and tried to resist. The older boy, who was six, tried not to irritate Fellenbaum any more by struggling. In a statement to investigators, Tait admitted that  she participated in the assaults on the brothers. An affidavit states: 'During one incident, Gary hung Scott and (his brother) up by their feet one at a time and beat the boys while they were hanging upside down'(Tait) stated the she and Gary were laughing during the incident.' Amber Fellenbaum, 21, Gary's estranged wife, was was charged with child endangerment for allegedly failing to help the toddler . Scott had been unable to eat the breakfast of toast and cinnamon sugar that Fellenbaum made for him and kept spitting it out. She said she and Fellenbaum tried to force the toast into his mouth but that he still would not eat. Fellenbaum, angry at the child, began punching him in the stomach and face, and took him to his room where the two continued punching him. At some point, she said, Fellenbaum picked the child up by his back and slammed him into a wall, according to the affidavit. On Tuesday, when the child woke up he had very red, swolen face. Again he didn't eat breakfast, so Fellenbaum said he was being disrespectful. He then punched him so hard that the boy fell off of his chair. Fellenbaum then put him back on the chair as he squirmed, took out some electrical tape and tied the boy's feet. He also strapped his arms to the posts of the chair so they were elevated. Fellenbaum began punching Scott again, causing him to vomit and become unresponsive, according to the police documents. The pair, according to the affadavit, then tried to wake the boy up. Failing to do so they allegedly put him in a bath of ice cold water and changed his closed. Fellenbaum is believed to have seen this as another sign of disrespect, so put the boy on the mattress and left the house to go and collect pizza. When they returned he will still unresponsive, so Tait said she ate some of the pizza then had sex with Fellenbaum. Hogan added that there had been no warning signs to suggest the boys were being abused. Scott was a student at Rainbow Elementary School, but staff members never reported suspicious bruises or injuries. However, Scott had been off of school for two weeks. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "New York (CNN) -- A New York college student died of head injuries last week during a fraternity ritual held in Pennsylvania, the local coroner's office said Monday. Baruch College freshman Chun \"Michael\" Deng, 19, died of \"closed head injuries ... due to blunt force head trauma,\" Mary Wallace of the Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, coroner's office said. Also Monday, Pi Delta Psi Fraternity Inc. said it has \"revoked and terminated all affiliation with the Baruch Colony, effective immediately.\" \"Baruch Colony has violated the values and rules of our organization,\" the fraternity said. \"We will also revoke the individual membership of any member found involved in this incident.\" Charges are expected in Deng's death, which occurred after a fraternity pledge event at a residence in the Pocono Mountains, Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine said last week. Fraternity kicks out chapter after New York 'hazing' death . The level of charges and who specifically will be charged is not clear, Christine said. More than 30 members of Pi Delta Psi were conducting a ritual outdoors for new pledges called the \"glass ceiling,\" according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by CNN. The objective was for Deng, who was blindfolded and wearing a backpack filled with a 20-pound bag of sand, to navigate toward someone who was calling for him \"while other fraternity brothers physically prevent that from happening,\" witnesses said, according to the affidavit. Deng fell backward, struck his head and was unconscious and unresponsive immediately after he fell, the document states. Other members of the fraternity told authorities they saw Deng get pushed but did not see who did it because it was dark in the yard of the residence where the ritual took place, the affidavit said. Later, three fraternity members drove Deng to a Pennsylvania hospital early on the morning of December 8, authorities said. \"The transport was done in a private vehicle ... which means this poor victim wasn't receiving any medical attention until the time he actually made it to the hospital,\" Christine said. He was unresponsive and in critical condition upon his arrival at the hospital. Physicians determined Deng had suffered major brain trauma, and he was put on life support, according to the district attorney's office. Opinion: Bullying among boys easily dismissed? In a statement, Baruch College said last week that Deng died while participating in an unsanctioned fraternity pledging event. Baruch College has a \"zero tolerance policy regarding hazing,\" according to the statement. CNN's Allie Malloy, Christina Romano, Tiffany Campbell and Julia Lull contributed to this report.", "By . Jessica Jerreat . A Stradivarius violin and one of Monet's waterlily paintings, which once belonged to the reclusive New York heiress Huguette Clark, are due to be sold at auction. Starting on May 6, Christie's will host a series of sales as the estate of the mysterious millionaire, who died in 2011 aged 104, is divided up. Among the 400 items of fine art, rare manuscripts and collection of beautiful musical instruments, are lots expected to reach several million dollars. Scroll down for video . Captivating: Grammy Award winner Joshua Bell plays Huguette Clark's Stradivarius violin on Tuesday . Rare: This painting by French impressionist Claude Monet has not been seen in public since 1926 . One of the most prized pieces, which is due to be sold on June 18, is the Stradivarius violin that Miss Clark's copper baron father bought for her to play when she was a teenager. The instrument, crafted by the master violin maker in 1731, is known as the Kreutzer after the famed French musician who Beethoven composed Violin Sonata No 9 for, and who used to own it. The violin, found in a cupboard at one of Miss Clark's luxury vacant homes, is expected to sell for $7.5 million. Its sound was described to Today by grammy winner Joshua Bell as having a 'rich warm quality'. Miss Clark collected several Stradivarius violins in her lifetime. Of the 650 still in existence today, nine can be traced to her family including four known as the Paganini quartet, which she collected and donated to Corcoran Gallery of Art. 'She lived a wonderfully cultured life. She was the heiress to a . tremendous fortune, and certainly surrounded herself with many of the . trappings that one would expect,' Andrew McVinish, of Christie’s New York, told CBS. Art lovers: Huguette, pictured with her father W A Clark, shared his love of collecting paintings and instruments . Valuable: Miss Clark paid $125,000 for this Renoir, which is expected to sell for more than $10 million . Some of the items included in the collection, which was started by Miss Clark's father, are so rare that Christie's has exhibited them at its auction houses in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London, as well as in New York. Prized: The Stradivarius is one of several the Clark family have owned . Miss Clark was the last surviving child of Senator. William A. Clark, who was born in a log cabin and became one of the wealthiest men of his day. He is the namesake of Nevada's Clark County and established its county seat, Las Vegas. A . onetime socialite who became a social shadow, Miss Clark died at . 104 in 2011. She had a penthouse and two other apartments on Manhattan's . Fifth Avenue and exquisite homes in Santa Barbara, California, and New . Canaan, Connecticut, but she chose to spend her last 20 years in a . hospital. The art collector also loved music, and several of her instruments are included in the auction, including 6ft tall Louis XV-style concert harp, which is expected to go for $3,000 to $5,000. A collection of rare and valuable paintings collected by the art lover are also being offered at auction. They . include three Renoirs, including one Miss Clark bought for $125,000 . which is expected to sell for $10 million, and a waterlily painting by . Monet, which has not been publicly exhibited since 1926. Miss . Clark bought the 1905 painting, Nymphéas, in 1930 and it spent the next . 80 years hanging in the dining room of her sumptuous Fifth Avenue . apartment. It is expected to attract up to $35 million when it is sold . on May 6, along with the Renoirs. A William Merritt Chase painting, A . Water Fountain in Prospect Park, expected to fetch $1 million, and John . Singer Sargent’s Girl Fishing at San Vigilio, which is estimated to make . more than $3 million, will be auctioned in a later sale on June 18. Miss . Clark didn't just admire art, she painted herself. A self-portrait and . her palette will be included in the sale of the family collection. Eye for art: Renoir's Chrysanthèmes will be displayed in Tokyo, London, Hong Kong and New York before being auctioned . American great: Girl Fishing at San Vigilio by John Singer Sargent from the Clark collection, is to be sold in June . Collection: This 1875 Renoir is expected to sell for up to $5 million . Decorative arts: This George I walnut and beech armchair from 1725 is estimated to sell for $60,000 to $90,000 . The June auction, An American Dynasty: The Clark Family Treasures, combines the bulk of the heiress's extensive collection of books, instruments and paintings. A 16th Century, beautifully illustrated copy of Book of Hours, and a first edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, printed in Brooklyn in 1855, are among the highlights of the book sale. The Book of Hours is expected to sell for at least $40,000 and the Whitman is anticipated to go for $100,000 to $150,000. The entire sale is expected to make about $70 million, and some of the proceeds will go towards a settlement from the disputed will between Miss Clark's nurse and her distant relatives. Heir to a fortune: Huguette Clark, pictured in 1930, was notoriously exclusive . Illustrious: Former U.S. Sen. William A. Clark, center, was the father of Huguette Clark. He is seen here walking through New York's Easter Parade with his niece Katherine Clark . With no close relatives, Miss Clark left a . roughly $300 million estate and a swirl of questions about the input . she had received from a close circle of caregivers and advisers, and about . the extensive gifts and bequests she had given them in return. She . signed two wills within six weeks at age 98, the first bequeathing her . riches mostly to about 20 distant relatives and the second cutting them . out. The September settlement mainly benefited arts institutions and the distant relations. Some . of Miss Clark's real estate and possessions have already been sold. A 2012 . Christie's auction of 17 pieces of her jewelry, including a pink nine-carat diamond ring, brought in about $21 million. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy .", "The messy row between the boyfriend of Bobbi Kristina Brown and her family continues, amid claims Nick Gordon has not made any attempt to visit his 21-year-old girlfriend in hospital, where she is fighting for her life in a coma. According to TMZ, Gordon, 25 - who claims he has been barred from seeing Bobbi Kristina and has hired a lawyer - has avoided Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where the daughter of Whitney Houston has been on life support since January 31. Gordon was in their Roswell home when a friend, Maxwell Lomas, 24, found Bobbi Kristina face-down in the bathtub unresponsive. Gordon allegedly staged an appearance 'for the cameras' outside the hospital after Bobbi Kristina was admitted, but never actually went inside, the website reported. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Sole sighting: Nick Gordon was only seen visiting Bobbi Houston's hospital once, one the day after she was found drowned. New claims say he staged the visit 'for the cameras' and did not actually go inside . Messy: It was also revealed that one of Nick and Bobbi’s neighbors reported a domestic dispute at her address the week before she was found . Cissy Houston (left) and Bobbi Kristina's father, Bobby Brown (right), are pictured at the hospital on Thursday . Pat Houston at the Emory University Hospital on Friday where Bobbi Kristina Brown remains . Gordon has been in hiding since the photos were taken. And on Friday, he released a statement requesting that the media 'cease speaking with unauthorized members of the family.' Detectives have launched an investigation into how Bobbi Kristina was found with injuries on her chest, as well as additional bruises on her mouth and face. Gordon has insisted it was wrong to blame him for the heiress's condition and that he desperately wanted to be allowed to see her. He told a friend: 'I didn't do anything to my baby.' 'I just hope she wakes up and tells 'em what they all need to know. 'People are just jumping on my back cos she loves me. There's a load of nonsense being said about us. I love her, but I can't get anywhere near her.' Gordon claims to have opened up discussions with Bobbi's family to try to persuade them to allow him to see his girlfriend, who has previously described him as her husband, although any marriage has been denied by her family. There has only been one public visit to her bedside by Gordon, one the day after she was found drowned at the home they shared. Supportive: Detectives have launched an investigation into how Bobbi Kristina was found with injuries on her chest. Above, Bobbi's uncle, Gary Houston, is pictured arriving at Emory Hospital in Atlanta on Friday . Uncle: Gary Houston, who was accompanied at the hospital by his wife, Pat, is late singer Whitney's brother . Aunt: Pat Houston, Whitney's sister-in-law, is pictured outside Emory Hospital, where her niece is in a coma . Pat Houston looks toward the camera in a pair of black sunglasses as she visits her critically ill niece . Couple: Gary (left) and Pat Houston (right) are pictured outside Emory Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday . Since then he has not been seen at the hospital where she is being treated, although her father Bobby Brown, grandmother Cissy Houston and other relatives, such as her aunt and uncle Gary and Pat Houston, have been seen arriving or leaving the hospital virtually every day. The source said: 'He is frustrated, missing her and has had to sit back and feels helpless about everything. He just wants to be with her.' Bobbi's cousin Jered Brown claimed Gordon was taking legal action to force the hands of her family to allow him to visit the young woman who has been in a medically induced coma since being found unresponsive at her Atlanta home. But Gordon denied any legal moves last night and was said to be in 'constant prayer' for her recovery. His attorneys Randy Kessler and Joe Habachy released a statement which said: 'In response to reports that Nick Gordon is taking legal action, he would like it to be clear, he is not. Ms Brown, 21, has been in a coma at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta since January 31, when she was found face down in a bathtub . Lost control of car: Bobbi Kristina Brown was driving a Jeep Liberty on January 27 when she lost control, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle. She was found unresponsive on January 31. The 21-year-old is seen here in an undated selfie . 'Mr Gordon's only concern is the recovery of Bobbi Kristina . 'He remains in constant prayer for his companion and he hopes to be reunited with her soon. Despite the incredible public interest, we ask and hope that this request can be resolved privately by Mr. Gordon and the family.' Gordon reportedly made an attempt to visit his girlfriend after she had been first hospitalized, but instead he got into a physical confrontation with her relatives. Last year, Bobbi Kristina's maternal aunt Marion Houston sought an order of protection against Gordon, accusing him of stalking her and sending her threatening messages, which reportedly included photos of guns. The restraining order expires in April. Jered Brown said he had been helping Gordon, who was one of two people who found her in the bathtub, by acting as a liason between him and Bobbi's family. 'We sit down and talk about things he wants my family to know and what we would love for Krissy to know, and that is that he loves her and is just waiting for her to wake up,' he told the station 11Alive . 'To be honest with you, Nick is feeling very emotional right now behind all of this. He's pretty torn about about what's going on.' He said Bobbi still needed ' a miracle' to survive and urged people to continue praying for her. She had been troubled in the days before she was taken to hospital. Four days befoe she was driving and lost control of her silver Jeep Liberty, crashing into a gray Ford Taurus. The driver of the Ford and a passenger in her Jeep were injured and transported to a hospital, according to a report from police at Roswell, Georgia. Police had also been called to her home on January 23 after reports of a fight there, but officers found no evidence of an altercation, said Roswell police spokeswoman Lisa Holland. Scene: Gordon and a friend discovered Bobbi Kristina in the bathtub at their home in the neighborhood of Roswell, Georgia, pictured, on January 31. She has been in a medically-induced coma ever since . Speaking out: Speaking to Fox News, Leolah Brown, Bobbi Kristina's aunt, has said she believes the young woman's boyfriend, Nick Gordon, should be charged in relation to her injuries . Whitney Houston was was found in a bathtub at a hotel near Los Angeles on February 11, 2012, hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammy Awards party. The inquest ruled Houston's death was an accidental drowning, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. Bobbi was her only child, although Gordon had been 'adopted' by the singer at the age of 12. It is claimed Bobbi stands to inherit her mother's fortune of around $12 million when she reaches the age of 30." ]

[ "Huntington, West Virginia" ]

[ "Where It's At", "Where's the beef?", "Where Is the Love?", "where they terminate", "Where Are the Children", "Fire marshal", "Field Marshal", "air marshal", "the Earl Marshal", "Marshal Foch", "Boulevards of the Marshals" ]

[ "['Observations. Making direct observations is a simple and unobtrusive way of collecting data. ... ', 'Surveys / Questionnaires. Questionnaires are a popular means of data collection because they are inexpensive and can provide a broad perspective. ... ', 'Interviews. ... ', 'Focus Groups.']" ]

[ "Simply put, quantitative observation is an objective method of data gathering while qualitative observation is a subjective method of data gathering. For example, when a researcher pays equates research variables in terms of their quality, then this is qualitative observation.", "Weaknesses of Qualitative Research •Data gathering is often time-consuming. Analysis of data takes longer than that in quantitative research. Interpretation of results is usually biased because it is influenced by the researcher's perspective.", "What's the difference between quantitative and qualitative research? Quantitative research is designed to gather data points in measurable, numerical form. Qualitative research relies on the observation and collection of non-numerical insights such as opinions and motivations.", "Both Produce Data to Analyze Whether you are focused on the numbers of quantitative research or the reasons for qualitative research, both processes require that the raw data be analyzed. How that happens depends on how the research is gathered.", "Primary research is one that involves the gathering of fresh data, i.e. when data about a particular subject is collected for the first time, then the research is known as primary one. On the contrary, Secondary research is a research method which involves the use of data, already collected through primary research.", "Quantitative surveys ask questions with specific, usually numerical answers so that you can analyze the data quickly. They are useful for gathering large amounts of data, but they are not designed to gather descriptive information. Identify the objective of your research.", "Primary data means original data that has been collected specially for the purpose in mind. It means someone collected the data from the original source first hand. Data collected this way is called primary data. ... Research where one gathers this kind of data is referred to as field research.", "Educational research attempts to solve a problem. Research involves gathering new data from primary or first-hand sources or using existing data for a new purpose. Research is based upon observable experience or empirical evidence. Research demands accurate observation and description.", "Primary data is data that is collected by a researcher from first-hand sources, using methods like surveys, interviews, or experiments. ... Secondary data is data gathered from studies, surveys, or experiments that have been run by other people or for other research.", "Limitations of Qualitative Research Rigor is more difficult to maintain, assess, and demonstrate. The volume of data makes analysis and interpretation time consuming. The researcher's presence during data gathering, which is often unavoidable in qualitative research, can affect the subjects' responses.", "personal interview. market research technique for gathering information through face-to-face contact with individuals. Personal interviews take place in a variety of settings-in homes, at shopping malls, in a business office.", "Comparison Chart Primary data refers to the first hand data gathered by the researcher himself. Secondary data means data collected by someone else earlier. Surveys, observations, experiments, questionnaire, personal interview, etc.", "Data analysis is the most crucial part of any research. Data analysis summarizes collected data. It involves the interpretation of data gathered through the use of analytical and logical reasoning to determine patterns, relationships or trends.", "To develop syndicated data, service providers like Nielsen or IRI collect two kinds of data. ... What is the difference between audit data and scanner data? Audit data is promotional in-store and circular activity gathered by field staff; scanner data is point-of-sale data gathered from retailers. You just studied 27 terms ...", "The research design and methodology outlines the actual research problems and details the process for solving it. A good research design and methodology clearly describes the techniques to be used for selecting samples, collecting data, managing cost, and other aspects that are essential for conducting a research.", "Qualitative Research-investigations which use sensory methods such as listening or observing to gather & organize data into patterns or themes. Quantitative Research-investigations in which numbers are used to measure variables such as characteristics, concepts or things.", "What is a Data Scientist. Data scientists are big data wranglers, gathering and analyzing large sets of structured and unstructured data. A data scientist's role combines computer science, statistics, and mathematics.", "It is often seen as more accurate or valuable than qualitative research, which focuses on gathering non-numerical data. Qualitative research looks at opinions, concepts, characteristics, and descriptions. Quantitative research looks at measurable, numerical relationships.", "What is the relationship between observation and gathering data? Observation is using the five senses while gathering data is the use of observation to make a conclusion. How do you make an inference? Inference is a conclusion based upon prior knowledge/observation.", "The first stage in a marketing research project is to define the problem. In defining the problem, the researcher should take into account the purpose of the study, relevant background information and all necessary data, and how the information gathered will be used in decision making.", "Most BRFSS data are gathered through telephone interviews (see below). However, changes in culture and technology make gathering data this way increasingly difficult, so we are gathering data through paper surveys and over the Internet to see how they compare to data gathered by telephone.", "The dependent variable is the variable a researcher is interested in. The changes to the dependent variable are what the researcher is trying to measure with all their fancy techniques. ... An independent variable is a variable believed to affect the dependent variable.", "The independent variable is what is in the experimenters' control and the experimenter explicitly manipulates it. The dependent variable is the numerical measure of what the outcome of the manipulation should be: the data that the experimenter gathers.", "Data Analysis is the process of systematically applying statistical and/or logical techniques to describe and illustrate, condense and recap, and evaluate data. ... There are a number of issues that researchers should be cognizant of with respect to data analysis. These include: Having the necessary skills to analyze.", "Primary research is information gathered through self-conducted research methods, while secondary research is information gathered from previously conducted studies. Secondary research is usually where most research begins.", "Definitions available for quantitative research given by different authors. ... According to them “Quantitative research is an inquiry into a social problem, explain phenomena by gathering numerical data that are analysed using mathematically based methods e.g. in particular statistics”.", "Qualitative Data. Research data can be placed into two broad categories: quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative data are used when a researcher is trying to quantify a problem, or address the \"what\" or \"how many\" aspects of a research question. ... Qualitative data may be difficult to precisely measure and analyze.", "Quantitative Research “Quantitative methods emphasize objective measurements and the statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis of data collected through polls, questionnaires, and surveys, or by manipulating pre- existing statistical data using computational techniques.", "Being observant means using our senses to gather data: Noting what we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. ... Observations give us data.", "What is the difference between secondary and primary data? Primary is data that you collected. Secondary is data that was already collected, and is relevant to your research.", "[\"Determine your probabilities. Based on the patient's symptoms, history, etc., what is the likelihood of a particular diagnosis? ... \", 'Gather data by further evaluating the patient. ... ', \"Update your probabilities based on the data you've gathered. ... \", 'Consider an intervention to see whether it crosses your treatment threshold.']", "The research method is defined as the procedure or technique applied by the researcher to undertake research. On the other hand, research methodology is a system of methods, used scientifically for solving the research problem. ... Research method covers various investigation techniques." ]

[ "You can do it with a smart contract. Place the user's funds in a smart contract that takes \n\n\nA lambda returning a list of operations\nA counter\nA signature by a given key of the above\n\n\n(technically you don't really want to explicitly pass the counter, you can just assume the one in your storage is the one that was signed)\n\nAnd\n\n\nChecks the signature\nChecks and updates the counter\nExecutes the lambda and return the operations\n\n\nThis would be very similar to the manager.tz contract except that instead of having the access controlled by checking SENDER, you control the access with a signature and a counter.\n\nNow, have the user produce the lambda and the signature, and any third party can pay a fee to inject this payload into the contract and trigger transactions.\n\n\n\nA more direct way to do that would be to allow manager operations, which already represent bundles of operations, to involve multiple accounts and multiple signatures so that the fee can be paid by another party. This would be a small, but useful protocol upgrade." ]

[ "You want payment channels or state channels in general (payment channel is a type of state channel). \n\nPayment channels\n\nA payment channel works like in roughly three phases (see this post for more details/context):\n\n\nOpen a new channel with a sender and a recipient\n\nfunction OpenChannel(address token, address to, uint amount) {\n if (amount == 0) { throw; }\n if (to == msg.sender) { throw; }\n if (active_ids[msg.sender][to] != bytes32(0)) { throw; }\n\n bytes32 id = sha3(msg.sender, to, now);\n\n Channel memory _channel;\n _channel.deposit = amount;\n _channel.sender = msg.sender;\n _channel.recipient = to;\n _channel.token = token;\n\n ERC20 t = ERC20(token);\n if (!t.transferFrom(msg.sender, address(this), amount)) { throw; }\n\n channels[id] = _channel;\n\n active_ids[msg.sender][to] = id;\n}\n\nSign messages from sender to recipient. These messages contain a value, which can be verifiably sent to the recipient at any time.\n\nvar sha3 = require('solidity-sha3').default;\n\nvar _value = 0.01*Math.pow(10, 18) \nvar value = _value.toString(16) \nlet _msg_hash = sha3(`0x${channel_id}`, _value); \nlet msg_hash = Buffer.from(_msg_hash.substr(2, 64), 'hex'); \nlet sig = util.ecsign(msg_hash, keys.test.privateKey); \nlet parsed_sig = { \n v: sig.v.toString(16), \n r: sig.r.toString('hex'), \n s: sig.s.toString('hex') \n}; \nlatest_value = value; \nlatest_sig = parsed_sig; \nlatest_msg_hash = msg_hash.toString('hex')\n\nClose the channel. This is a transaction that takes one of the above signed messages and plays it on chain. This will transfer that messages funds to the recipient and delete the channel.\n\nfunction CloseChannel(bytes32[4] h, uint8 v, uint256 value) {\n // h[0] Channel id\n // h[1] Hash of (id, value)\n // h[2] r of signature\n // h[3] s of signature\n\n // Grab the channel in question\n if (channels[h[0]].deposit == 0) { throw; }\n Channel memory _channel;\n _channel = channels[h[0]];\n\n if (msg.sender != _channel.sender &amp;&amp; msg.sender != _channel.recipient) { throw; }\n\n address signer = ecrecover(h[1], v, h[2], h[3]);\n if (signer != _channel.sender) { throw; }\n\n // Make sure the hash provided is of the channel id and the amount sent\n bytes32 proof = sha3(h[0], value);\n // Ensure the proof matches, send the value, send the remainder, and delete the channel\n if (proof != h[1]) { throw; }\n else if (value &gt; _channel.deposit) { throw; }\n\n // Pay recipient and refund sender the remainder\n ERC20 t = ERC20(_channel.token);\n if (!t.transfer(_channel.recipient, value)) { throw; }\n else if (!t.transfer(_channel.sender, _channel.deposit-value)) { throw; }\n\n // Close the channel\n delete channels[h[0]];\n delete active_ids[_channel.sender][_channel.recipient];\n\n}\n\n\n\nGas Considerations\n\nNote that a single token transfer costs 50,000 gas. As you have pointed out, this is cost prohibitive for a microtransaction context (although the exact dollar amount depends on the gasPrice used). A payment channel costs roughly 250,000 gas to open and 250,000 gas to close, depending on the implementation.\n\nThis means that a payment channel's overhead is roughly 10 transactions, but if you expect 10,000 micropayments per deposit, that's a cost savings of 1000x.", "Nobody knows that you are sending iotas to an address that was generated from the same seed, so the steps when you do that or you when send iotas to a third party are exactly the same.\n\n\n(skipping steps before POW completion)\nThe node you are connected to receive your transaction and persist the transaction in it's local database\nThe node you are connected to broadcast your transaction to it's neighbors\nThe neighbors broadcast the transaction to their neighbors, etc (this is the Gossip protocol : your transaction is propagated in the whole network) (At this point your new transaction is seen as a tip)\nDuring the broadcast or even a bit later, the following will hopefully occurs : your transaction is selected by the tip selection algorithm (on a random node) so that a new transaction approve your transaction. (If this occurs on the coordinator you will have a milestone directly validating your transaction)\n(let's assume that your transaction was not selected by the tip selection algorithm on the coordinator) At some point, a milestone transaction will validate one of the transaction indirectly approving your transaction.\nThat's it : your transaction is indirectly validated by a milestone : the Tangle will consider it as fully confirmed.\nYour wallet will see that a fully confirmed transaction transfer amount X from your address A, and at the same time a fully confirmed transaction make a deposit of amount X to your address B. The wallet make the addition -X+X=0 and your total balance remains unchanged.", "Yes. Essentially, you can split up the private spend key according to a (k,n)-secret sharing scheme. Then any k participants can collect the keys together to recreate this private spend key and then sign transactions.\n\nNow the question is, how is the key generated, how are the shares generated, and who/what brings the shares together.\n\nOne simple way is this have a trusted dealer generate the key and distribute the shares, and a trusted signer to collect the shares and sign transactions. If you are doing this for your own cold storage uses, this should be sufficient.\n\nIf you don't want a trusted signer, you can use secure multi-party computation. You can have a transaction X, and then k participants can do a computation that signs X. By the properties of Secure multi-party computation, the shares won't be revealed, and the only thing computed is a signature for X. In this way, the k participants don't have to trust any central signer, or even each other.\n\nIf you don't want a trusted dealer, you can again use secure multi-party computation. In particular, you can design an algorithm that produces a spend-key, produces shares of it according to the secret sharing scheme, and then encrypts each share with a public key of a participant, P_n. This algorithm requires a certain amount of random data r. The m dealers each generate their own random data or entropy r_i, and do the above computation using r = the xor of all the r_i. As long as one dealer chooses a random r_i and then destroys that r_i, r can not be calculated. These m dealers can be the n participants, although in practice you would probably only need k of the participants to be dealers, since they have spend power anyways.\n\nBy using both of these suggestions, this multisig scheme is as powerful as a bitcoin style multisig. It can actually be implemented in any cryptocurrency, regardless of protocol. It actually is a little bit better than a bitcoin multisig because:\n\n\nIt is indistinguishable from a monero address, helping to protect privacy. (Bitcoin miners and nodes which actually ignore multisig transactions with too many participants).\nThe above property also makes this cheaper as well, since transactions to and from an address are the same size regardless of whether its multisig or not.\n\n\nUnfortunately, I don't know any software that implements this yet. It would make a good project, if anyone's up for it. \n\nEDIT: Just found the fair play project. It can be used for secure multiparty computation.", "\"Gas\" is the name for a special unit used in Ethereum. It measures how much \"work\" an action or set of actions takes to perform: for example, to calculate one Keccak256 cryptographic hash it will take 30 gas each time a hash is calculated, plus a cost of 6 more gas for every 256 bits of data being hashed. Every operation that can be performed by a transaction or contract on the Ethereum platform costs a certain number of gas, with operations that require more computational resources costing more gas than operations that require few computational resources.\n\nThe reason gas is important is that it helps to ensure an appropriate fee is being paid by transactions submitted to the network. By requiring that a transaction pay for each operation it performs (or causes a contract to perform), we ensure that network doesn't become bogged down with performing a lot of intensive work that isn't valuable to anyone. This is a different strategy than the Bitcoin transaction fee, which is based only on the size in kilobytes of a transaction. Since Ethereum allows arbitrarily complex computer code to be run, a short length of code can actually result in a lot of computational work being done. So it's important to measure the work done directly instead of just choosing a fee based on the length of a transaction or contract.\n\nSo if gas is basically a transaction fee, how do you pay it? This is where it gets a little tricky. Although gas is a unit that things can be measured in, there isn't any actual token for gas. That is, you can't own 1000 gas. Instead, gas exists only inside of the Ethereum virtual machine as a count of how much work is being performed. When it comes to actually paying for the gas, the transaction fee is charged as a certain number of ether, the built-in token on the Ethereum network and the token with which miners are rewarded for producing blocks.\n\nThis might seem odd at first. Why don't operations just have a cost measured in ether directly? The answer is that ether, like bitcoins, have a market price that can change rapidly! But the cost of computation doesn't go up or down just because the price of ether changes. So it's helpful to separate out the price of computation from the price of the ether token, so that the cost of an operation doesn't have to be changed every time the market moves.\n\nThe terminology here gets a little messy. Operations in the EVM have gas cost, but gas itself also has a gas price measured in terms of ether. Every transaction specifies the gas price it is willing to pay in ether for each unit of gas, allowing the market to decide the relationship between the price of ether and the cost of computing operations (as measured in gas). It's the combination of the two, total gas used multiplied by gas price paid, that results in the total fee paid by a transaction.\n\nAs tricky as it is, it's important to understand this distinction, because it results in one of the most confusing things about Ethereum transactions to the initial learner: there is a difference between your transaction running out of gas and your transaction not having a high enough fee. If the gas price I set in my transaction is too low, no one will even bother to run my transaction in the first place. It will simply not be included in the blockchain by miners. But if I provide an acceptable gas price, and then my transaction results in so much computational work that the combined gas costs go past the amount I attached as a fee, that gas counts as \"spent\" and I don't get it back. The miner will stop processing the transaction, revert any changes it made, but still include it in the blockchain as a \"failed transaction\", collecting the fees for it. This may seem harsh, but when you realise that the real work for the miner was in performing the computation, you can see that they will never get those resources back either. So it's only fair that you pay them for the work they did, even though your badly designed transaction ran out of gas.\n\nProviding too big of a fee is also different than providing too much ether. If you set a very high gas price, you will end up paying lots of ether for only a few operations, just like setting a super high transaction fee in bitcoin. You'll definitely be prioritised to the front of the line, but your money is gone. If you provided a normal gas price, however, and just attached more ether than was needed to pay for the gas that your transaction consumed, the excess amount will be refunded back to you. Miners only charge you for the work that they actually do. You can think of the gas price as the hourly wage for the miner, and the gas cost as their timesheet of work performed.\n\nThere are a lot of other subtleties to gas, but that should give you the basics! Gas is the key mechanism that makes the complex computations in Ethereum \"safe\" for the network to work on, because any programs that run out of control will only last as long as the money provided by the people who requested they be run. When the money stops, the miners stop working on it. And the mistakes you make in your program will only affect the people who pay to use it--the rest of the network can't suffer performance issues due to your error. They will simply get a big payday when the performance issues consume all of your ether! Without this critical technique, the idea of a general-purpose blockchain would have been completely impossible.\n\ntl;dr:\n\n\nGas is the way that fees are calculated\nThe fees are still paid in ether, though, which is different from gas\nThe gas cost is the amount of work that goes into something, like the number of hours of labour, whereas the gas price is like the hourly wage you pay for the work to be done. The combination of the two determines your total transaction fee.\nIf your gas price is too low, no one will process your transaction\nIf your gas price is fine but the gas cost of your transaction runs \"over budget\" the transaction fails but still goes into the blockchain, and you don't get the money back for the work that the labourers did.\nThis makes sure that nothing runs forever, and that people will be careful about the code that they run. It keeps both miners and users safe from bad code!", "The green address is a third party trust trick and can help resolve most problems related to the need to wait for confirmations (slow transactions).\nTo make it very simple :\nService A publishes its green address, service B decides to trust service A.\nWhen someone send bitcoins from service A to service B, he will send from the service A green address.\nThe service B knows he can trust the service A, he knows A won't double spend, so B can credit the sent bitcoins immediately, without waiting for confirmations ( or waiting for just one confirmation, which is probably wiser ).\nThis is mostly useful for transferring bitcoins b2b (business to business), typically it would help making arbitrage easier and faster between 2 bitcoin exchanges, if both decide to trust each other's green address.\nThis can also be useful to allow for POS (Point of sales) with instant transactions if the POS can trust the green address of your bitcoin bank (or online wallet)\nAs an individual, I could also negotiate with my local supermarket to trust my green address (providing them my IRL address, ID number and more if needed). Once they decide to trust my green address, I can pay immediately with bitcoins at my local supermarket (they trust me and won't need to wait for confirmations).\nThe green address is just a bitcoin address, but it's a &quot;from&quot; address people decide to trust and accept transactions from this address without waiting for confirmations.\nPossible drawbacks are :\n\nLess anonymity, or even no anonimity at all ( always using the same public from address), which is not a problem for a business, and its even great for public accounting/auditing ( yes bitcoin can also help fighting corruption ! )\n\nBlockchain spam (more transactions for the bitcoin network), which is a good thing if the blockchain can scale.\n\nEncourages people to use trusted wallet providers (some kind of bitcoin banks). Here too, this have good and bad sides.\n\nIt's not enough to create a green address, you still need to be trusted so that your green address is useful\n\nFor now, afaik, only mtgox.com, btcpak.com and instawallet.org support the idea. To be useful, green address system needs to be widely adopted by bitcoin pools, exchanges, online wallets, businesses, etc.\nSee also https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Green_address\n( edit 11 years ago, october 2020 , this reference is no more very relevant, some people completely rewrote the wiki page years later,for obscure reasons . . . they even replaced the first line with a blockstream ad . . . but you can still go and check the earliest versions of this page, around 2011-2012 , by clicking the &quot;history&quot; tab of the wiki page )", "To perform an atomic swap, both assets need to be locked up to ensure the eponymous atomic execution of both payments or neither. Traditionally, this uses a complex output script that has two outcomes. On both chains, funds are locked such that either the receiving party signs with their private key while also revealing a preimage, or the original owner can take back the funds themselves after a timeout has passed by signing with their private key. This way, whenever one of the two parties reveals the preimage to take the funds, the other party can immediately take the funds on the other network. The drawbacks of this approach are that the two transactions are easy to link due to featuring the same lock hash, that the script is fairly heavy and that everyone sees what is going on.\n\nAtomic swaps can be improved with Schnorr signatures both regarding their privacy and their blockchain footprint.\nInstead of the previously described output script, the funds are locked to a 2-of-2 multisig address with a timeout condition to return the funds. To ensure atomicity, one of the two parties creates transactions on both networks that make use of \"adaptor signatures\". These transactions are fully valid except that the creating party's signature is damaged by a linear offset. The creating party provides a zero-knowledge proof to the counterparty that they are both damaged by the same value and that they otherwise would be valid. After the counterparty also signs both transactions, either party can fix the damage on one of the signatures to make the transaction valid, revealing to the other party the original offset and thus enabling them to fix the other.\n\nDue to Schnorr's compact multisignature the 2-of-2 multisig address with the timeout fallback looks like a standard 1-of-1 Pay-to-Schnorr-public-key-hash address, and the 2-of-2 transaction spending from it also looks indistinguishable from any other standard transaction. The transactions are not visibly linked, third parties cannot tell which public keys were involved, and since it would be trivial to recreate the damage after having the two valid signatures, it's difficult for either party to prove that this exchange ever took place.\n\nIn result, Schnorr allows to perform atomic swaps by creating two standard transactions on each network, whereas previous atomic swap constructions made use of 2-of-2 multisig addresses and HTLC contracts which were much heavier and easily distinguishable.\n\nFor this to work, at least one of the two networks has to support Schnorr signatures (preferably both). \n\nH/T Pieter for feedback and for linking me to this more comprehensive writeup by Kanzure: http://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/layer2-summit/2018/scriptless-scripts/", "When you send a transaction that creates a contract, the \"to\" field is empty. A contract is created at an address based on the sending address and the nonce.\n\nFor the rest, the fields are included. See this production example:\n\n&gt; eth.getTransaction(\"0x47d11e7b517a958974e1ff3e0b61598d702b710ac46a2075539b4477e41b4c63\")\n{\n blockHash: \"0x1dd217b445ad9c4ca4627d30922dd7f672259a5b6c3416ebf92279b1ac6b6b85\",\n blockNumber: 4203219,\n from: \"0xafb92fd4a283ec760121e0947adb96ed7d2bf4b1\",\n gas: 52385,\n gasPrice: 60000000000,\n hash: \"0x47d11e7b517a958974e1ff3e0b61598d702b710ac46a2075539b4477e41b4c63\",\n input: \"0xa9059cbb0000000000000000000000008809f960bb6dada4ac6a853d7bb47c63aae1c05200000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000002fa7360c0\",\n nonce: 14,\n r: \"0xd3fc2856cbf9a5b8469ec1216a57c8fbb0db15a08ba45c0c005c171cd5addef7\",\n s: \"0x69b715b3e668aa6b5c019b6191f16506692ee79c47cef713a4f4633f718bd0eb\",\n to: \"0xd4fa1460f537bb9085d22c7bccb5dd450ef28e3a\",\n transactionIndex: 0,\n v: \"0x25\",\n value: 0\n}\n&gt; eth.getTransactionReceipt(\"0x47d11e7b517a958974e1ff3e0b61598d702b710ac46a2075539b4477e41b4c63\")\n{\n blockHash: \"0x1dd217b445ad9c4ca4627d30922dd7f672259a5b6c3416ebf92279b1ac6b6b85\",\n blockNumber: 4203219,\n contractAddress: null,\n cumulativeGasUsed: 37385,\n from: \"0xafb92fd4a283ec760121e0947adb96ed7d2bf4b1\",\n gasUsed: 37385,\n logs: [{\n address: \"0xd4fa1460f537bb9085d22c7bccb5dd450ef28e3a\",\n blockHash: \"0x1dd217b445ad9c4ca4627d30922dd7f672259a5b6c3416ebf92279b1ac6b6b85\",\n blockNumber: 4203219,\n data: \"0x00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000002fa7360c0\",\n logIndex: 0,\n removed: false,\n topics: [\"0xddf252ad1be2c89b69c2b068fc378daa952ba7f163c4a11628f55a4df523b3ef\", \"0x000000000000000000000000afb92fd4a283ec760121e0947adb96ed7d2bf4b1\", \"0x0000000000000000000000008809f960bb6dada4ac6a853d7bb47c63aae1c052\"],\n transactionHash: \"0x47d11e7b517a958974e1ff3e0b61598d702b710ac46a2075539b4477e41b4c63\",\n transactionIndex: 0\n }],\n logsBloom: \"0x00000020000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000008000000000000000000000000000000000000008000000000000000000000000000000000000040001000000000000000800000000000080000000000000000000000018000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000002400000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000\",\n root: \"0xef7399bf8b2a9a1bddec13ad990afc3975a45209cf96663f3d98cb1d87957637\",\n to: \"0xd4fa1460f537bb9085d22c7bccb5dd450ef28e3a\",\n transactionHash: \"0x47d11e7b517a958974e1ff3e0b61598d702b710ac46a2075539b4477e41b4c63\",\n transactionIndex: 0\n}\n\n\nFields:\n\n\n\"Gas Price\": see gasPrice\n\"Nonce\": see nonce\n\"Gas Used By Txn\": see gasUsed in the receipt\n\n\nThere is no way to see the dollar price of ether (now or in the past) by inspecting the transaction.", "All miners are gathering transactions that they have heard about on the peer-to-peer gossip network. This means that when someone broadcasts a transaction it gets propagated to all of the nodes it is connected to which then in turn share it with the nodes they are connected to etc etc... These transactions are gathered by miners and stored in the mempool. These are transactions that have not yet been included in a block or \"confirmed\". The miner can choose which transactions it would like to include in the block, most miners gather as many TX's as they can to collect a larger reward, some do not some miners can build blocks with little or even no transactions included in it. It is in the miners best interest to include as many tx's as possible to attain the fees generated by those tx's. Miners take the aggregated transactions and the hash of the previous block and then generate a random nonce. These items are all hashed together and if the hash of the block has an appropriate number of leading 0's to pass the current difficulty formula then a valid block has been found. The miner then propagates the block the same way the transactions are distributed across the gossip network. When the block is mined a coinbase transaction is created which the miner includes his address in, this address gets the block reward and fees for distribution (usually to a pool of miners). The network continually adjusts the difficulty formula based on the hashing power of the network to ensure that one block is created about every 10 minutes. There are some formulas in place to ensure the difficulty doesn't move too fast in the event of a large number of miners going offline at the same time. Hope this answers your questions.", "First, to clarify again, the question is about one-time addresses, i.e. stealth addresses, which are different than the public addresses. The public addresses can be reused freely, whereas the stealth addresses cannot. For consistency, I'll only use the term stealth address (one-time address) in this answer.\nTo answer your question, we first need a bit of background. In Monero, key images prevent double spending in the blockchain. Key images are generated by the receiver (Bob) of a transaction, to see if the outputs that belong to him are spendable. Or to put differently, if they aren't already spent. The receiver wants to verify this, because he will most likely want to spend his funds somewhere in the future. From core-team member luigi1111's article:\n\nTo check if P is spent, Bob computes its &quot;key image&quot; and queries the blockchain to see if it is marked as spent. Key image I = xHp(P).\n\nNote that P is Bob's stealth address, with P = Hs(rA)G + B.\nWhere:\n\nP -- the final stealth address (one-time output key, the destination where funds will actually be sent);\nHs* -- a hashing algorithm that returns a scalar (i.e., the hash output is interpreted as an integer and reduced modulo l);\nr -- the new random scalar Alice chose for this transaction;\nA -- Bob's public view key;\nG -- the standard Ed25519 base point;\nB -- Bob's public spend key.\n\nFrom the formulas we can infer that, if the sender (Alice) uses the same stealth address of the receiver (Bob) for two transactions, Bob's outputs of one of the transactions will be burned. That is, both transactions will generate the same key image for Bob. Therefore, only Bob's outputs of one of the transactions are subsequently spendable. Now back to your question, given that stealth addresses are randomly generated, is it highly unlikely that Alice received the funds she has subsequently sent to Bob on a reused stealth address as well. Therefore, the key images generated by Alice are unique and she would be able to send two different transactions to the same stealth address of Bob, which thus will both be accepted into the blockchain.\nI previously mentioned that stealth addresses are randomly generated and therefore should not be able to collide, or put differently, reused. One may ask themselves, how would a stealth address appear twice? To answer this, I'll use the comment of reddit user TheKing01:\n\nTechnically, stealth address reuse is already possible if you're dumb. A sender can use a one time address more than once if they aren't careful. (It does help though that it is happening all inside simplewallet, so their is no chance for human error in this regard. Either using third party buggy clients or using a bad random number generator could be a problem though).\nThere is a good way to prevent this type of failure though; simply check if the one time address you are using is already on the block chain (this can be done automatically). If it is, you know there is a problem.", "Some wallets have the ability to input inflation destination (usually in the settings)\n\n\n If your app does not offer you an option to set the Inflation\n destination, you can do it manually by using the official Stellar\n Laboratory. This will work for all wallets, including paper wallet.\n \n Go to https://www.stellar.org/laboratory/#?network=public\n \n Click in the tab \"Transaction Builder\":\n https://i.imgur.com/bEywBp6.png\n \n Paste your Public Key in \"Source Account\":\n https://i.imgur.com/1sVXIVp.png\n \n Click the blue button \"Fetch next sequence number for account starting\n with...\": https://i.imgur.com/TAysyf9.png\n \n Scroll down the page to \"Operation Type\", click the dropdown menu and\n choose \"Set Options\": https://i.imgur.com/TCyCxru.png\n \n Paste the inflation address\n in the\n \"Inflation Destination\": https://i.imgur.com/v622fKK.png\n \n Scroll down the page and click the blue button \"Sign in Transaction\n Signer\": https://i.imgur.com/qLFi668.png\n \n You will be redirected to a new page, scroll down and paste your\n Secret Key in \"Add Signer\": https://i.imgur.com/uYgicX5.png\n \n Scroll down and click the blue button \"Submit to Post Transaction\n endpoint\": https://i.imgur.com/K2mCN6z.png\n \n You will be redirected to a new page, click the blue button \"Submit\":\n https://i.imgur.com/NhTwQbt.png\n \n Done!\n \n Read more about Inflation in official documentation:\n https://www.stellar.org/developers/guides/concepts/inflation.html\n\n\nSource\n\nNote: If you're using the Stellar Account Viewer and the Nano Ledger S to access and store your Lumens, the steps vary slightly. When you get to the point where you 're redirected to a new page after clicking the \"Sign in Transaction Signer\", rather than pasting your secret key, you'll use the other option and \"Sign with Default BIP Path\" before completing the rest of the steps. (thanks Kißizer24)", "Stealth addresses take care of the receiver's privacy, not the sender's. \n\nIn cryptocurrency, the ability to spend a certain amount of coins is the same as the knowledge of the private key to the public key associated with the coins.\n\nSo (simplifying a bit), in Bitcoin if there is 1 bitcoin associated to the public key P and if Bob knows the corresponding private key x such that P = xG, then he can spend the Bitcoin by submitting a message (transaction) to the network signed with x. \n\nThere is one privacy issue, though: if Bob keeps using the same P to receive bitcoins, then any observer will be able to see all payments were made to the same entity that controls P (Bob). This is the problem that stealth addresses solve.\n\nIn the context of stealth addresses, addresses are now composed of two public keys, and the coins sent to Bob will not be sent to his stealth address on the blockchain, rather the stealth address will be used by the sender to produce fresh new bitcoin addresses for every new transaction. These new addresses, even though generated by the sender (Alice) and unknown to Bob until the transaction is made, will nonetheless be controlled by Bob! Here is how it works:\n\nBob creates two pairs of private and public keys. Let's denote them by (a,A) and (b,B), where by definition A = aG and B = bG. Bob makes the pair of public keys (A,B) available to the network; this will be his stealth address.\n\nAlice wishes to send 1 bitcoin to Bob; that is, she wants to assign 1 bitcoin to a public key P such that Bob knows x and P = xG. She will construct such P using Bob's stealth address by using a hashing function H, choosing a random big number r, and setting P = H(rA)G + B. Then Alice sends the bitcoin to P, the transaction is broadcast along with R = rG (but not r, which can't be recovered from R).\n\nNow how does Bob get the money? Well he has to keep listening on the network for all new transactions in the hopes that they are for him. When he sees Alice's transaction, he performs x := H(aR)+b and realizes that:\n\nxG = (H(aR)+b)G = H(aR)G+bG = H(arG)G+B = H(raG)G+B = H(rA)G+B = P, \n\nthat is, Bob can reconstruct x such that P = xG and is therefore the owner of the bitcoin! Notice that neither Alice nor any observer has the ability to derive x (because they don't know a and b), and that besides Alice and Bob no one knows that (x,P) was generated from Bob's stealth address (because they don't know r).\n\nNote that, as mentioned, this protects Bob privacy, but it is still visible to the network that Alice, the entity that used to control that bitcoin, made a transaction. In order to obfuscate that action, Monero implements the use of Ring Signatures, which will allow Alice to, instead of directly signing the transaction, produce a proof that her, or several other people, did send a coin to Bob. The math behind Ring Signatures is not as simple as in Stealth Addresses, but it is still very approachable.\n\nSo, in a nutshell: \n\nStealth addresses take care of recipient's privacy.\n\nRing Signatures take care of sender's privacy.", "To start, much of the proposed above is based on trust rather than rules defined in an SSC. There are no measures preventing the consumer-to-consumer platform from just taking the money and leaving. I would recommend building a 3-Party SSC from some of the 2-Party SSC's available. In these examples, there are fail-safes in place that disincentive foul play. \n\nUltimately, this proposed scenario seems to be a derivation of the 2-Party Multisignature Escrow Account with Time Lock and Recovery presented in the SSC docs from Stellar.org. In fact, this is actually very similar to a Distributed Trustless Worker Smart Contract proposed by Zulu Crypto. \n\nIn Zulu Crypto's smart contract, a customer is paying a worker for generating a vanity address (a computationally expensive problem). A very basic overview of how this works is:\n\n\nCustomer creates an escrow account with 1000 XLM. \nOnce the escrow account is funded, two transactions are created. The first transaction is a timebounded refund that will send the 1000 XLM back to the customer in case the exchange never takes place (this ensures the funds will not be lost). The second is a transaction that makes the escrow account escrowy aka the worker and customer are added as signers with weight 1, the thresholds of the escrow account are made weight 2 and the master key of the escrow is made weight 0.\nWorker proves they have found such a vanity keypair.\nThe two create a transfer transaction where: \na. the worker sets the vanity account's signer to the customer, sets all the vanity's thresholds to 1 and sets the master key of the vanity account to 0 \nb. the user and the worker merge the escrow account to the worker so the worker gets paid. \n\n\nOf course, a swap of physical goods would be a little more difficult. You would have to ensure that once the package is received, the payment is made. This may require some 3rd-party such as a delivery service, or a scannable barcode that activates the transfer transaction. Nevertheless, I imagine you could follow a similar pattern to the one outlined above. Maybe instead of a 2-of-2 multisignature, you could create a 2-of-3 where the 3rd party acts as an oracle.\n\nWhat is an oracle? Here are some good reads:\n\n\nhttps://medium.com/bethereum/how-oracles-connect-smart-contracts-to-the-real-world-a56d3ed6a507\nhttps://medium.com/@mustwin/building-an-oracle-for-an-ethereum-contract-6096d3e39551\nhttps://blockchainhub.net/blockchain-oracles/\n\n\ntldr: I believe it is possible and a good starting ground may be to experiment with and build off of some of the already existing 2-party SSC's.", "Yes, that is true, but that is not the only thing. The main privacy enhancing features of Monero are:\n\nRing signatures: make transactions harder to trace by obscuring the output of the true sender in a set of n other outputs on the blockchain, indistinguishable with respect to their amounts, which are all the same (currently), or all hidden (under ringCT, see below). This is already working, with minimum n = 2 enforced on the protocol level, and soon to be raised to 4;\n\nStealth addresses: obscure the destination of funds (already working);\n\nRingCT: hides transaction amounts as well. This feature is already implemented on the testnet, and will be deployed on the mainnet on January 2017.\n\nKovri: will be a reimplementation of the I2P protocol which will allow nodes to connect to each other and broadcast transactions without revealing their IP addresses. Currently in the making, and is expected to be ready in about 1 year. (In the mean time, the individual user can protect their IP address using TORSOCKS, although this solution doesn't work for the network as a whole, since nodes behind Tor cannot be found by other nodes but only find them.)" ]

[ "GUWAHATI: Black biting flies have unleashed a reign of terror in an Assam area prompting the authorities to rush a team of the scientists to the site.\nOver the past 15 days or so, dozens of people in Dikhowmukh areas of Sivasagar district in eastern Assam were taken ill after they had been bitten by the flies. The flies are sparing none, not even livestock.\nWith the bites being reported frequently, the authorities have ordered the closure of schools in the affected areas. A team of the Dibrugarh-based Regional Medical Research Centre visited the affected areas and collected samples for an entomological survey.\nThe district authorities appealed to people to not panic.\n“Some people have fallen sick after being bitten by the flies. However, there is nothing to be worried about. The patients are responding to medicines,” Sivasagar Additional District Magistrate, Azahar Ali, told The New Indian Express.\nThe Joint Director of Health, Rupin Borpujari, who visited the sites along with a team of health officials on Tuesday, confirmed these were black flies.\n“These are peculiar black flies. Black flies are found in South Africa whose bites cause sleeping sickness. However, these do not look like them. People, who have been bitten, complained of skin reactions, including swelling and itching. That is recoverable. Some people recovered after simple medication. The flies are attacking people as well as livestock,” Borpujari said.\nHe also said that as of now, the phenomenon was localised but panic had set in across localities so much so people were spraying phenyl at their houses and keeping them indoors.\n“The source of the flies could not be ascertained as yet. We don’t know but their arrival could be due to climate change. We are taking initiatives for Malathion fogging (mosquito repellent fogging). We are also organising awareness camps,” Borpujari added.\nThe locals said they had never seen such flies in the areas.\n“Our village is teeming with the flies. Two days ago, I was bitten by a fly. Moments later, my skin started swelling up and I felt an itching sensation. Some others I know, who too have been bitten, told me that they had seen blood oozing out of their skin,” an affected villager, recovering from the bite, said." ]

[ "Assam government has sent the samples of Brahmaputra river's water to the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad and Indian Institute Technology-Guwahati for testing. It was reported that the water of the river was turning black.\nChief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directed the Director General of Fire Services to collect the samples and sent it to the institutes for examination.\nAP Rawat, the Director General of Fire Services, collected water samples from 15 locations and sent them to IIT-G and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, according to a report in The Economic Times. The samples will be tested to determines the reasons for water turning dark.\n“Upon finding the responsible causes the report would be submitted to the state government for it to take remedial steps. Following the incident, the state government also brought the incident to the notice of the central government,” the Assam government said.\nAlso Read: Concerns raised about Chinese intentions after a river in Arunachal Pradesh turns black\nSiang river, one of the largest tributaries to the Brahmaputra, has become muddy and black in Arunachal Pradesh. Siang meets the Brahmaputra in Sadiya in Assam state. India had accused Chinese activities on the bank of the river for the blackening of Siang. The river originates in Tibet and flows to Arunachal Pradesh.", "Villagers travel on a raft through flood waters in Lakhimpur district, 380km from Guwahati. Photo: AFP\nGuwahati: Heavy monsoon rains have unleashed landslides and floods that have killed at least 160 people and displaced millions of others across northern India, southern Nepal and Bangladesh.\nOfficials said on Monday they were still trying to determine the scale of the disaster, with casualties and damage reported in multiple locations across the Himalayan foothills of South Asia.\nThe seasonal floodwaters damaged bridges, toppled power lines and washed away thousands of homes in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. Officials say people have been killed by drowning or being caught inside collapsing houses or beneath falling trees.\nIn neighbouring Nepal, police spokesman Pushkar Karki were searching for 85 people reported missing after rivers burst their banks and killed at least 75. Another 20 people died over the last few days in Bangladesh.", "GAUHATI, India — Heavy monsoon rains have unleashed landslides and floods that have killed at least 160 people and displaced millions of others across northern India, southern Nepal and Bangladesh.\nOfficials said Monday they were still trying to determine the scale of the disaster, with casualties and damage reported in multiple locations across the Himalayan foothills of South Asia.\nThe seasonal floodwaters damaged bridges, toppled power lines and washed away thousands of homes in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. Officials say people have been killed by drowning or being caught inside collapsing houses or beneath falling trees.", "A train has struck and killed five elephants as they crossed over tracks at a tea plantation in northeast India, an official said Monday.\nThe elephants, including a pregnant female, were part of a larger herd wandering through the plantation early Sunday in Assam state, home to India’s biggest wild elephant population, when they were mowed down by the train.\n“All five elephants died on the spot. A stillborn calf was later removed from the pregnant female,” said Vikas Brahma, head of Assam’s forest department.\nBrahma told AFP it was uncommon for elephants to move through that section of Assam, a thickly-forested state famed for its tea and wildlife, and officials were unaware there were herds in the area.\nRailway authorities have been issuing alerts about elephant herds passing through the state to prevent accidents.\nBut a railway spokesman told the Indian Express newspaper that no speed restrictions were in place at the time of the accident on Sunday, as the area was not a designated migratory path for elephants.\nDeforestation and construction activity near their habitats force elephants to stray further afield for food, often bringing them into conflict with humans.\nMany busy migratory routes, known as elephant corridors, have been cut by roads and railway lines in Assam and neighbouring West Bengal state, increasing the risk of accidental deaths, poaching and stampedes.\nAssam has 5,620 elephants according to a 2011 census, more than any other state in India.\nAn estimated 60 elephants have died so far this year in Assam, Brahma said.\nMany of the deaths were caused by electrocution, as farmers erect electrified fences around their fields to keep wild animals away.\nElsewhere, an elephant killed a trainer during a procession at a Hindu temple in the southern state of Kerala on Sunday.\nThe elephant ran amok amid a large group of devotees, trampling and killing the trainer, the Press Trust of India reported.\nAFP\n(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)", "“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?”\nFans of “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding will recognize that quote from the fictional account of a group of schoolboys who survive a plane crash on a deserted island, only to abandon their upbringings and values and become savages and murderers. A recent discovery of a communal grave in the Abrolhos Islands has resurrected a real-life “Lord of the Flies” story of the mayhem, murder and cannibalism that followed a shipwreck in 1629 off the coast of Western Australia.\nThe gruesome story of the Batavia sounds like a horror novel as well but Australians know it’s real and the research and new revelations about it continue to this day. The Dutch ship Batavia under the command of Francisco Pelsaert set sail on October 27, 1628, well-armed to protect its cargo of gold and silver for trade in the Dutch East Indies. On June 4, 1629, the ship struck Morning Reef near Beacon Island off the Western Australian coast. Forty people drowned but the rest of the 322 on board, including many women and children, reached shore and were then divided between the islands of the Wallabi Group. Pelsaert saw there was no fresh water and little food so he took a small crew to get help.\nWhile they were gone, crew members intent on stealing the gold and silver took control and terrorized the rest, killing at least 125 men, women, and children in a three month reign of murder. When Pelsaert returned, he tried and hanged a number of the mutineers, marooned some on an island and took the rest to Batavia where they were tried and hanged. Of the original 322, only 68 people made it to Batavia.\nRemains of the passengers were first discovered on Beacon Island in 1960 and the exact location of the wreckage of the Batavia was found by divers in 1963. Parts of the ship and some remains on display at the Western Australian Museum. Researchers from the museum continue to search the island and piece together the history of the tragedy and the backgrounds of the passengers and crew.\nThat brings us to today. Perth Now reports that a three-year research project has culminated with the discovery of a communal grave containing the remains of 10 individuals. This adds a new twist to the story, says UWA Professor and research team leader Alistair Paterson.\n“The communal burial discovered this month suggests careful and respectful burial, not the hurried work of hiding murder victims. These may be people who died in the days following the wreck but before the mutiny and mass killings were under way.”\nThe researchers have also been conducting isotopic analyses on these and other remains and have determined that many of them were not from Holland, despite being part of a Dutch East India Company trip. That is still a mystery, as is the haphazard way the rest of the bodies found since 1960 were buried in other gravesites, says Dr. Paterson.\n“I think it’s interesting that the burials over here were all facing the other direction. We are clearly in a graveyard, but they have all been buried in different ways. Totally ‘Lord of the Flies’ stuff.”\nLack of supervision and greed … are conditions ripe for another ‘Lord of the Flies’?", "By The Associated Press\nIn this photo by Associated Press photographer Anupam Nath, flood-affected Indian villagers use a makeshift raft to collect drinking water in Murkata village in northeastern Assam state.\nHeavy monsoon rains have unleashed landslides and floods that killed at least 173 people in recent days and displaced millions more across northern India, southern Nepal and Bangladesh.\n___\nThis image was made with a 300mm lens at a shutter speed of 1/400, aperture of f5.6, and ISO 400\nCopyright © 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.", "The second wave of floods in Assam have submerged rhino habitats Kaziranga National Park (KNP) and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary forcing the animals there to take shelter on highlands.\nKNP Divisional Forest Officer Rohini Ballav Saikia on Monday said over 85 per cent of the 430 sq km KNP, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is under water that came from Difloo river. Saikia said that water was also rushing in as a portion of an embankment breached at Hatimura on the southern side of KNP.\nStating the carcass of two deer were recovered from a drain inside KNP, he said four rhino calves and a number of hog deer were rescued from the deluge. They were sent to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation at Panbari. Over 78,000 people of 57 nearby villages were also affected and two persons died there.\nStating that one-metre water is flowing on NH-37 along which KNP is situated, the DFO said vehicular traffic between the upper and lower part of the state through the Highway was stopped. Despite this, patrolling has been intensified along NH-37 as poachers could take advantage of the situation, said a KNP official.\nThe Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district near Guwahati was also under water coming from the Brahmaputra river and the one horned rhinos and other wild animals were forced to take shelter on highlands outside, forest department officials said.\nAs its infrastructure destroyed in the first wave of floods last month, Pobitora, the densest habitat of one horned rhinos in the world, is completely inundated today for the second time, the officials said.\nThe link road to Pobitora from Guwahati was breached at Tamuliduba point disrupting surface communication to the sanctuary which is home to more than 100 rhinos, 1000 wild hogs, over 1500 wild buffaloes, different species of snakes, tortoises and thousands of birds, they said. The Forest Protection Force personnel were keeping vigil in the sanctuary to curb poaching there.\n-PTI", "In what seems to be the state's worst deluge in three decades,More than 1.83 lakh displaced have taken shelter in 439 relief camps. Rescue operations by the Army, Indian Air Force, National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force personnel are underway, said state project co-coordinator of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) Rajib Prakash Baruah. About 3,000 villagers were rescued and shifted to relief camps on Sunday, said defence PRO Lt Col S Newton.Water from the Brahmaputra overflowed into KNP - crossing six feet in many places — forcing animals to flee in search of shelter to the neighbouring Karbi Anglong district. \"We will be able to ascertain the number of animal deaths only after the water recedes,\" said Kaziranga divisional forest officer Rohini Ballav Saikia, adding that 148 out of 188 anti-poaching camps have been submerged.Four rhino calves have been rescued so far, Saikia said.( *Lakh = 100,000)", "Since the beginning of July, various part of Lincolnshire have been plagued with flying ants - the annual phenomenon known as Flying Ant Day which isn’t really confined to one day.\nThe event is when male and female ants sprout wings and venture out of their nests, seeking ants from other colonies to mate with, with experts saying it’s a crucial part of the insect’s development; allowing them to reproduce.\nEssentially the ant party sees millions enjoying their \"nuptial flight\" as virgin queens mate with males and then land to start a new colony.\nThe large numbers of flying ants which appear in a short space of time increase the chance of reproduction and nests generally have a single queen with typically around 5,000 workers. Queens can live for over 10 years and spend most of their lives in their nest.\nThe new queens will leave to mate and begin a colony of their own. Most sightings take place in July right through to the beginning of August when the weather is particularly hot and sticky and of course dry.\nThere were reports of flying ants in huge numbers around and about the Grimsby area until the heavy rainfall last week.\nAnts serve many important roles in our eco-system, they aerate soil, cycle nutrients, improve garden fertility and control pests. Being at the bottom of the food chain, means they serve as a vital food source for birds and other small animals.\nThe flying ants you encounter in your town or garden are almost certainly the black garden variety, the Lasius niger and the insects pose no risk to humans either by biting or carrying germs.\nThe spell of heavy wet weather may bring some welcome relief to gardeners in particular as come to the end of the “Flying Ant Day” period.", "Get Daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe See our privacy notice Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email\nThe annual invasion of flying ants has hit Nottingham today with the tiny critters swarming over the city.\nThe event, known to many as ‘Flying Ants Day’, sees tens of thousands of the creepy crawlies emerge and take part in their mating ritual.\nIt happens when queen ants from different ant colonies leave their nests and take flight to seek out males to start new colonies with.\nIt is brought on by specific weather conditions sensed by the ants - namely warm and with no chance of rain.\nTo prevent cross breeding, the male ants spread out once they leave the nests with the queen, and then the queens release pheromones to attract new mates.\nA game of cat and mouse then ensues - the queen ants fly away from the males, and only the strongest will be able to keep the pace. This way the queen knows which is the best mate to choose.\nOnce the male is chosen, after a brief mid-flight mating session, he will die.\nEach queen will then find a colony to bed in with, and will rest before repopulating the nest with her larvae.\nDespite this act of nature, the people of Nottinghamshire were not impressed with the return of the swarms...\nReacting on Twitter, @Bunny_summers said: \"I got out of work and suddenly there's an entire swarm of flying ants throughout this whole town. I am not OK with this.\"\nBecca Stevens added: \"The worst day of the year is when the flying ants come out.\"\n@Jenni_aimee tweeted: \"It’s flying ant day and honestly there is nothing more gross in the whole world.\"\nAnd as Pat Farrell so aptly said: \"Flying ants are the work of the devil.\"", "As days get warmer and summer approaches, many natural events are inevitable. Birds nest, bullfrogs bellow, and bats patrol our backyards at night.\nAnother certainty is that insects become a dominant life form. Most are harmless, but a few can make life miserable.\nFlies\nToday, let’s focus on flies. Flies are classified into the Order Diptera (from the Greek “di,” meaning two, and “ptera,” meaning wings). Virtually all flies have two functional wings.\nAccording to Erica McAlister, author of the recent book, The Secret Life of Flies (2017, Firefly Books, $29.95), entomologists have named approximately 160,000 species of flies.\nSome experts suggest there could be as many as 800,000 species. And McAlister should know; she is curator of Diptera at the Natural History Museum in London.\nMcAlister’s love affair with flies began as a child. She would find dead animals in the garden and be intrigued, “by these wiggling, feeding machines” (that most of us would call maggots).\nMcAlister’s affection for flies seems to color her view of all of nature. She points out that mammals (5,400 species) and birds (10,000 species) get a disproportionate amount of scientific, financial, and popular attention simply because they are larger and more charismatic.\nThe world of flies is huge and most of us know little about it. For example, if I ask you to name five species of flies, I suspect most of you would be stuck after the ubiquitous “house fly.”\nIf you name dragonfly, damselfly or mayfly, you would strike out. All have four wings, so none is a true fly.\nAnd yet, I’m sure many of you are on foul-mouthed speaking terms with a variety of dipterans.\nHorse flies\nOn farms, horse flies are huge and equipped with razor sharp mouthparts. Though their favorite victims are farm animals, when they land on us, they slice and dice a patch of skin and sop up blood before we can even feel the bite’s searing pain.\nIn the woods, smaller deer flies play a similar, equally painful role.\nBlack flies\nIn the north woods, black flies make up for what they lack in size with pure numbers.\nMany years ago my wife and I drove more than 150 miles to camp in northern Michigan. Before we even pitched a tent, thousands, maybe tens of thousands of blood-sucking black flies descended upon us.\nWe jumped back in the van and drove immediately back home.\nMosquitoes\nAnd then there are mosquitoes. Yes, mosquitoes are flies. And they transmit human diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, West Nile virus, encephalitis and Zika, to name a few.\nAs many as a million humans die each year from diseases transmitted by flies. These nasty flies, however, are the exception.\nMost flies are harmless and many are beneficial.\nBenefits\nIn fact, McAlister argues that without flies, life would be other-worldly. Many flies pollinate flowers, and if flies did not pollinate the plant Theobroma cacao, there would be no chocolate. That alone is a reason to love flies.\nFruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, have been the backbone of modern genetics for 100 years. Work with these tiny flies has given the medical community important insights into human diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.\nAnd, in 2000, the fruit fly was the first animal to have its genome sequenced.\nFlies also have a tremendous impact on the natural world. Many flies control pests. Hoverfly larva, for example, eat aphids. And myriad birds eat flies.\nThey are especially critical food sources for nestlings. Without flies, many songbird populations might crash. And many flies serve as natural garbage composters by eating feces and dead flesh.\nI suspect most people would find a world without flies entirely uninhabitable.\nThe Secret Life of Flies is a fascinating read, but it’s not for everyone. Some parts are just plain gross (check the index and learn about botflies). But the many color photographs add immeasurably to the book’s appeal.\nCurious naturalists of all ages will find The Secret Life of Flies quotable and entirely irresistible.", "No fewer than 200,000 flying foxes, the world’s largest bats, have overrun the Charters Towers’ residents since Friday, the mayor of the town told dpa on Monday.\nA resident Elizabeth Schmidt said: “It’s an absolute disaster – what we have is a nightmare.\n“We have had flying fox problems but never in such huge numbers.”\nThe local council has already shut down two public parks, a swimming pool run by the council and other public spaces.\nFrustrated residents took to the streets over the weekend in a march against the town’s council, saying the problem had reached “a tipping point” and calling for action over the “plague of terror.”\nThe former gold mining town has housed a massive bat colony because of the region’s abundance of native flowering eucalypts, but residents said they are now being held hostage.\nSnow Hearne, a local resident for the past seven years, said bats have been a nuisance, but things have escalated “to an extent where nobody can go outside their houses.”\n“The stench is horrific and the screeching sound, especially in the evening, because it is mating season, is unbearable,” she told dpa.\n“We can’t even go out to our backyards. We are held hostage.\n“Everything in the park is covered in flying fox faeces and you worry about getting urinated on,” Kim Gott, another resident, said.\n“It’s affected the town pool – we can’t take kids swimming anywhere. People just don’t go outside because the bats fly everywhere.”\nFlying foxes are crucial for the keeping native forests healthy and play an important role in pollinating plants and flowers as well as dispersing seeds over distances.\nThe animals also can host the Hendra and Lyssa viruses, which can be fatal to humans.\nMayor Schmidt said many people have complained about health-related issues, but not “any serious health risk as of yet.”", "Madhya Pradesh is reeling under scorching heat for the last couple of days.\nEight black bucks were today found to have died of heat stroke in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh.The herd was found dead in a field on Bhatasa road in Khategaon tehsil, 130 km from the district headquarters, said Sub Divisional Officer (Forests) SL Yadav.Villagers informed forest officials about the dead antelopes. After autopsy, the carcasses were disposed of.Veterinary surgeon Mahesh Suryavanshi, who carried out the autopsies, attributed the deaths to heat stroke, Mr Yadav said.The state is reeling under scorching heat for the last couple of days. The highest maximum temperature of 46.2 degree Celsius was today recorded at Khajuraho.", "Wednesday, July 4, 2018 - Kiambu Governor Ferdinard Waititu has formed a militia group calling itself Kiambu Alcoholic Control Directorate that has been unleashing terror on bar owners.\nOn Sunday, they raided a club, broke doors to access the counter before unleashing terror.\nThey stole cash at the counter, drunk beer, arrested patrons and demanded Sh 500 to release them and also stole a few crates of beer.\nWaititu is running Kiambu like a cattle dip.\nSee photos shared by…", "BASEL, Switzerland — Police on Friday were hunting for two gunmen who opened fire in a cafe in the Swiss city of Basel, leaving two people dead and a third critically wounded.\nA statement from the office of the local prosecutor said two men entered Cafe 56 at 8.15 p.m. Thursday and unleashed a salvo of gunfire. They then escaped on foot in the direction of a nearby railway station.\nProsecutors said the motive for the crime was unknown but the assailants specifically targeted the cafe. The victims were identified as Albanians.\nNo one else was hurt in the attack.\nInvestigations are still ongoing but a police officer told The Associated Press: “This is a local incident. It has nothing to do with Islamists or terrorism.”\nHe spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The office of the prosecutor later confirmed there was no indication of terrorism.\nForensic teams could be seen overnight going in and out of the cafe collecting evidence.\nProsecutors said police were looking for two men, aged between 30 and 40, who are believed to be eastern European. They had black hair and wore dark clothing.\nThe attack comes a day after the town concluded celebrations of Fasnacht, the largest carnival in Switzerland.", "At least two poachers were killed by forest guards in Assam’s Orang national park on Tuesday, an official said. The guards also recovered a .303 rifle, 10 bullets and an axe. Assam’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Bikash Brahma confirmed on Tuesday that the poachers had entered the park with the intention to kill one-horned rhinos.\n“The incident took place around 1 am today (Tuesday). The forest guards heard a gunshot and launched an operation immediately. The poachers fired at the guards when asked to surrender. Two poachers were killed in the ensuing gunfight,” Brahma said. Located at the northern bank of Brahmaputra river, Orang National Park has an area of 78.81 square km. There are over 100 one-horned rhinos in the park.\nFor all the latest India News, download Indian Express App now", "Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email\nAs summer time arrives, lots of wonderful things are made possible.\nBarbecues, for example, and trips to the beach. Not to mention bottles of chilled rosé and a new series of Love Island.\nBut tiny gnats come too. They're the most common fly found in the home and come in search of fruit juice and alcohol (who doesn't?).\nImportantly, the pesky little creatures put a dampener on things if they're not kept under control. They breed quickly.\nWhat good is a picnic if it's got flies all over it? How healthy can a fruit bowl be if it's all covered in the pests?\nGnats thrive in warm conditions and there are certain things they like. There are numerous varieties and all differ slightly. Some feed on fungus, others live in the sand. All bite.\n(Image: Getty)\nScience aside, to us, a gnat is a gnat – a small fly and a suborder of the Nematocera species, which also includes the similarly displeasing midge (found in highlands and lowlands), and mosquitoes, which no doubt you know all about.\nAnyway, ultimately, we don't want gnats invading our homes. They have a place in nature (they feed birds and bats and large insects), but they don't have a place in your kitchen.\nSo you know what you're dealing with, here's how to properly identify a gnat, according to pest company Terro :\nColours: The two most common fruit flies, the Red Eyed Fruit Fly and the Dark-Eyed Fruit Fly, have striped abdomens. Their eye colors are, as the name suggests, red or black, respectively\nThe two most common fruit flies, the Red Eyed Fruit Fly and the Dark-Eyed Fruit Fly, have striped abdomens. Their eye colors are, as the name suggests, red or black, respectively Size: Red Eyed Fruit Flies are about ⅛-inch long. Dark Eyed Fruit Flies are a bit bigger, at about 3⁄16-inch long\nRed Eyed Fruit Flies are about ⅛-inch long. Dark Eyed Fruit Flies are a bit bigger, at about 3⁄16-inch long Body type: Similar to a house fly, but much smaller\nSimilar to a house fly, but much smaller Where: Fruit flies may be buzzing around your fruit bowl, inside a trash receptacle, in a recycling bin or in your drain or garbage disposal\nWhat are gnats attracted to?\n(Image: Photographer's Choice)\nPoor quality soil around house plants.\nDamp areas in the home, such as sinks and soggy clothes\nOpen rubbish piles, bin bags and other mess\nDirty dishes\nAny food source, but particularly fruit, alcohol, and anything left out for a prolonged period, so has intensified\nPreventing gnats from ruining summer\nOrganic Lesson has some handy tips to stop fruit flies coming along and spoiling the party...\n1. Clean up your dirty dishes – gnats love to buzz about eating leftovers. It's arduous, but getting into the habit of washing up straight away will help.\n2. Rubbish in the bin – ensure bins are covered and, where possible, waste is disposed of quickly. You need to keep the odour contained.\n3. Damp areas – gnats love pools of stagnant water but love anything damp. Fix leaking pipes and avoid leaving watering cans full.\n4. Change your soil – if you have indoor plants and flowers, think abut changing the pot soil to a higher-quality variety. This is less likely to contain other pests and mites.\nWays to get rid of gnats...\nVideo Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now\nHere's a quick summary of home remedies:\nCreate a trap by mixing apple cider vinegar with a few drops of dish soap\nAnother home-made trap is to pour leftover red wine into a jar\nMash up banana slices in a jar and cover the top with a plastic wrap\nPour bleach solution into the bathroom sink. Warning: do not mix bleach with ammonia\nUse an insect fogging product if you are dealing with a large-scale infestation\nPlace rotten fruits into a jar to attract the gnats and fruit flies\nNone of these methods guarantee success, but are worth trying.\nVinegar\nYou need apple cider vinegar, sugar, dish soap, water, and a container.\nn the container, mix two tablespoons of vinegar, one tablespoon of sugar, a few drops of soap, and one liter of water.\nThe insects are attracted by the smell and sweetness, jump in, then die because of the soap.\nBleach\nIf the flies are buzzing around the drain, pour bleach down it. Chances are they're breeding in the pipe.\nPlease note: don't pour the bleach as is, but dilute it. It may be that bleach doesn't reach the furthest clutches of nests, but it's a start. Just in case you read something else, don't ever mix bleach with ammonia (deadly combination).\nRed wine\nThis is much like the vinegar trap. All you're doing is enticing the bugs with booze. Like Wetherspoons and humans.\nJust pour some cheap wine (don't waste the 2012 Oregon Pinot Noir your dad bought you for your birthday) and wrap the top with clingfilm and punch a few holes in it.\nRotten fruit\nThe oldest trick in the book. Put some old fruit in a container, cover with plastic wrap, and pierce with holes big enough for the gnats to get in.\nWait... and you should have a box full of mouldy apples and dirty flies.\nOr, special products:\nOf course, the easiest and most convenient of way of getting rid of gnats is by purchasing a reputable gnat trap, as Organic Lesson explains.\nYou can buy pest traps online. Fogging mists are also worth trying. There are lots of retailers and your best bet is googling.\nNotable products include non-toxic fly lures, gnat formulas, which you pour into water-based fly traps, and light-based killers, which attract the flies to bright artificial light.\nAnd you've probably all seen the buzzing electric lights used in kitchens.", "A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses.\nPradipta Baruah, supervisor of a census carried out Sunday at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, says there are now 102 one-horned rhinos living in the park, up from 93 during the last count, in 1993.\nThe reserve, which is just 38 square kilometers (15 square miles), is outside of the Assam state capital, Gauhati.\nIndia’s Kaziranga National Park, also in Assam, is the main home of the one-horned rhino, with more than 2,000.\nAll of the world’s five rhino species are under constant threat from poachers who sell their horns on black markets, often in countries where rhino horn is believed to increase male potency.", "GAUHATI, India (AP) — A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses.\nThe survey, carried out Sunday at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, showed 102 one-horned rhinos now living in the park, up from 93 during the last count, in 2012, said Pradipta Baruah, a forestry officer who supervised the census.\n\"Our efforts at conserving the rhino have paid off,\" Baruah said by phone.\nThe reserve, which is just 38 square kilometers (15 square miles), is outside of the Assam state capital, Gauhati. India's Kaziranga National Park, also in Assam, is the main home of the one-horned rhino, with more than 2,000.\nAdvertisement\nMore than 20 rangers were involved in the count, traversing the park's forests, grasslands and wetlands on seven domesticated Asiatic elephants.\n\"The animals looked carefree in the wilds, lazing around shrubs and grasslands,\" said ranger Mukul Tamuli.\nSix rhinos have been poached in Pobitora since 2012, officials said, and 20 died of natural causes.\nAll of the world's five rhino species are under threat from poachers who sell their horns on black markets, often in countries where rhino horn is believed to increase male potency.", "Dianne’s Creature Feature\nThe spiders among us: A web of myths\nStory by DIANNE RUSSELL\nI’ve always wanted to say this and now I can, “I met Spiderman.” Well, to be honest, it was The Spider Man, Leonard Vincent, Professor Emeritus at Fullerton College, who I met. Lenny knows his spiders and he knows Laguna Beach. He’s lived here for 30 years.\nLenny earned a PhD in Entomology at UC Berkeley, where he began his teaching career in 1974, and eventually ended up as a professor at Fullerton College. He’s now semi-retired. In future editions, he will not only be debunking some common myths about spiders, but will educate us about the spiders in our midst.\nHistorically, no one will deny that spiders have gotten a bad rap. Seeing one usually elicits shrieks and the urge to squash it. And it’s difficult to avoid them. They have a large and varied population, there are currently 46,877 known species worldwide.\nSpiders have been wrongly maligned\n“Spiders have been wrongly maligned and are quite beneficial in helping control the insect population by eating silver fish and ants in the house and grasshoppers, flies, beetles, etc, outdoors, as well as providing food for birds,” Lenny emphasizes.\nHowever, those who aren’t convinced may need further evidence. It’s not easy to change our perception of spiders as frightening eight-legged creatures. But Lenny believes education is the key to relieving our anxiety and preventing the widespread use of pesticides as an attempt to eradicate them from our living spaces.\nWhen we think of venomous spiders, the black widow immediately comes to mind (there are five species of widows in the US). We have grown up with the idea that a bite from a black widow means certain death.\nBut Lenny assures me that although all spiders are venomous, none residing in Laguna Beach cause death. He further explains that, “An organism is venomous if it has a gland that contains a substance that is released through a duct (tiny tube) to an apparatus (in the case of spiders, their fangs) for injection.”\nClick on photo for larger image\nPhoto by Lenny Vincent\nFemale Brown Widow Spider\nCertainly, if one is bitten by a black widow, the potentially painful symptoms should be treated, but the bite normally isn’t fatal, unless one is very young or aged. Sudden death is a misconception. Lenny makes a startling comparison: In the US in 2016, there were approximately 64,000 deaths from drug overdoses, and 33,000 fatalities from car accidents, compared to the average of seven deaths from a spider bite per year.\n“More people are killed by cows!” he says.\nThis Creature Feature will concentrate on the brown widow, which is mysteriously replacing the black widow here in Laguna and other parts of OC. Local naturalists report that their backyards, once havens for the black widows, now only support brown widows.\nBrown widows have been traveling widely in recent decades\nAlthough the brown widow is in the same genus as the black widow, Latrodectus, it is less toxic, and its bite results in minor symptoms, (pain upon fang penetration and mild redness at the bite site).\nEvidently during the last 80 years, the brown widow has traveled extensively to reach California. As Lenny explains, “Brown widows were first documented in Florida in 1935, expanded to southeastern states in the late 1990s, and the first one was discovered in southern Cal in 2003. However, for another strange reason, they haven’t been found in New Mexico or Arizona.”\nNow that they seem right at home here in Laguna, specifically, they make their silk retreats under the curled lip of potted plants, in the recessed handle of plastic trash bins, and under outdoor furniture and barbeques.\nClick on photo for larger image\nPhoto by Lenny Vincent\nFive Brown Widow egg sacs and one Black Widow egg sac\nThe appearance of the black and brown widow differs as well. Unlike the black widow, which has a shiny black body with a bright red hourglass on the abdomen, a female brown widow is colored in brown and tan geometric patterns and has an hourglass pattern, either yellowish-orange or reddish-orange. Another feature that confirms a brown widow identification is the egg sac, which is a roundish ball with protruding silk spikes, the black widow sac is smooth. The female creates a spider silk retreat for the sacs.\nOne might assume that the expansion of the brown widow’s territory could have something to do with the sheer number of spiderlings produced and the process by which they travel. “The brown widow is prolific and may have as many as 140 eggs per sac and many sacs,” Lenny says.\nComplicated sex lives but plentiful progeny\nAfter leaving the egg sac, to prevent being cannibalizedby their siblings, the spiderlings disperse by a behavior known as ballooning, which involves releasing strands of silk which are caught by updrafts of wind causing the spiderlings to become airborne. They can be carried for miles using this method.\nHowever, given their complicated mating process, it’s a wonder the brown widow reproduces at all. Because the male and females are sexually dimorphic (the male is much smaller), an extensive and laborious process takes place.\nThe simple version is: during the courtship, the female advertises herself with pheromones. Prior to mating, the male spins a small sperm web on which he deposits a drop of sperm. The sperm are then sucked up through coiled, tube-like emboli into the bulbs of the male’s pedipalps (two appendages in front of a spider’s head), and then deposited into the female genital opening.\nClick on photo for larger image\nPhoto by Lenny Vincent\nFemale Brown Widow on left, smaller male Brown Widow on right\nAlthough not all widows kill their mates, if she is hungry, end of courtship, and end of story for the male.\nIt’s true, learning about the brown widow spider’s love life doesn’t make the average person more enamored and less fearful of one of the most abundant spiders here in Laguna. But any knowledge about what one perceives as a threat is helpful, and to some, endlessly fascinating.\nAs written in one of the many articles co-authored by Lenny, “Homeowners would benefit from knowing the hiding places of brown widows, and displaying care when placing their hands in nooks and crannies. This knowledge should reduce psychological trauma by lessening anxiety and paranoia about spider bites. One final benefit is that it could also result in reduced pesticide use if homeowners are more wary about where to actually find the spiders and not perform broadcast, pesticide applications around homes.”\nSpraying versus crushing (if you must)\nAnd this is another myth Lenny debunked, spraying doesn’t work well. “Spiders are somewhat resistant to the pesticides. If someone douses a spider, it will die, but with typical spraying, it won’t. Better to just remove or crush the non-native brown widow than spray it.”\nToxins harm the environment, but not the spiders. And none of us wants that. So, be careful when reaching into the places they tend to favor as homes, and if you see one and aren’t inclined to relocate it, just let it be.\nFor all you ever wanted to know about spiders, go to Lenny’s spider guide website, http://ocspiderguide.com/\nChildren are perfectly happy to sit next to spiders; it is only grown-ups who are frightened away. Craig Brown", "The video will start in 8 Cancel\nSpiders could soon be invading your home to get out of the cold.\nMillions of creepy crawlies will be using cracks and crevices to enter our houses looking for a mate and, with a warm summer behind us, there’s expected to be even more of them than usual thanks to there being more flies for them to feed on.\nWith more than 650 different species of spiders in the UK, it can be hard to spot the ones which can leave a nasty bite.\nThough they are all largely harmless and unlikely to cause you any bother, 12 of these species have enough venom to hurt a human.\nHere's a list of ten of the most common spiders you could be seeing in your home over the next few weeks, including if they pack a painful bite.\n1. Missing sector orb web spider\nAlso known as Zygiella x-notata, this spider is named because it spins an orb web with one full sector missing.\nWith a size of up to 15mm, this arachnid is relatively small and is common around Britain’s houses and gardens.\nThe spider, which is not harmful to humans, can be distinguished by its pale body and legs, with silvery-grey markings on its abdomen.\nUsually seen indoors in the autumn and winter months, this spider prefers warmth and is most common in areas around Leicestershire and Rutland.\nHow big are they? Up to 15mm\nAre they harmful? No, not at all\n2. Giant house spider\nMeasuring about 120mm, this critter is most common in the autumn months when the males leave their webs in search of females.\nOften the spider you’re likely to find in the bath, they can run extremely fast, but only for a limited length of time before they have to stop to recover from their exhaustion.\nThese large spiders build sheet like webs and may be found in garages, sheds, attics and cavity walls where they are less likely to be disturbed.\nGiant house spiders do possess a potent venom and can bite, but they do not usually pose a threat to humans.\nHow big are they? Big - 120mm\nAre they harmful? Potentially, yes - but they’re not at all aggressive\n3. Daddy long legs spider\nUnlike the hairy giant house spiders, these creepy crawlies have small grey bodies and long, thin legs.\nAlthough they can vary in size, the pholcus phalangioides (to give them their scientific name) can potentially measure up to 45mm.\nUrban myths exist that suggest the daddy long legs spider contains the most potent venom but that their fangs aren’t strong enough to penetrate human skin.\nReports on research into this theory suggests that the spiders can bite - but the venom will only deliver a brief mild burning sensation, if anything at all.\nHow big are they? Up to 45mm\nAre they harmful? No, not really\n4. Lace web spider\nUsually found on outdoor walls and fencing, these spiders will retreat inside in the autumn months to find a mate.\nHeavy rainfall can also force these spiders into the house, usually because they have been flooded out of their own home.\nThey generally grow to a size of around 20mm and are brown with yellow markings on the abdomen.\nBe on your guard when you see one of these spiders, as they have been known to bite people in recent years.\nBites are reported to be painful but the symptoms usually just consist of localised swelling for around 12 hours.\nHow big are they? 20mm\nAre they harmful? Yes - if they bite, you’ll know about it\n5. Zebra jumping spider\nThese eight-legged creatures are small, reaching a size of just 8mm.\nRecognisable from their distinctive white and black markings, the move in a jerky ‘stop, start’ motion.\nThese spiders are usually seen from spring through to autumn and can be found on external walls, as well as indoors where they will enter through open doors and windows.\nThey are more likely to flee from humans than attack them, but they can bite - although the venom is not considered medically threatening.\nHow big are they? Small - just 8mm\nAre they harmful? No\n6. False widow spider\nCited as Britain’s most venomous spider the false widow already has a bad reputation.\nThe species, also known as steatoda nobilis, usually has an overall size of 20mm and is characterised by a dark brown colour and a bulbous abdomen.\nAdult female false widow spiders are known to have bitten humans, although they are not usually aggressive and attacks on people are rare and there are no reported UK deaths.\nSymptoms of a bite can range from a numb sensation to severe swelling and discomfort.\nIn serious cases there can be various levels of burning or chest pains, which will depend on the amount of venom injected.\nHow big are they? 20mm\nAre they harmful? In a word, yes\n7. Cardinal spider\nThe cardinal spider is the largest spider in the UK, growing to an overall length of 14cm in some cases.\nAlso known as tegenaria parietina, it is known as the cardinal spider in Britain because of the legend that Cardinal Thomas Woolsey was terrified by this species at Hampton Court back in the 16th century.\nAlthough they are mainly thought to be harmless to humans, these arachnids get a bad reputation because of their huge size, incredible speed and their nocturnal habits.\nBites from these spiders are rare, and painless.\nHow big are they? Very - 14cm\nAre they harmful? No, they look much scarier than they actually are\n8. Money spider\nFrom the Britain’s biggest to the smallest, money spiders grow no more than 5mm long, with their leg span just 2mm.\nThey get their name from an old superstition that if one got stuck in your hair, it would bring you good luck and increased wealth.\nThe money spider weaves hammock shaped webs and bites its prey to paralyse it - before wrapping it in silk and eating it.\nThe fangs on this spider are not anywhere near big enough to penetrate human skin.\nHow big are they? Tiny - 2mm\nAre they harmful? No, not at all\n9. Tube web spider\nAs you might expect, this spider is aptly named because of the tube-shaped web it spins to catch its prey.\nThey are often found in cracks in buildings which they will cover with silk lines while they wait in the entrance.\nOriginally a species from the Mediterranean regions, it can now be found in British towns including Bristol, Cornwall, Gloucester, Dover, Southampton and Sheffield, amongst others.\nThis spider does bite and the pain has been compared to a deep injection with the sensation lasting for several hours. Despite this, the bites do not appear to have any lasting effects.\nHow big are they? Up to 22mm\nAre they harmful? Kind of - their bite might hurt, but the pain won’t last\n10. Cupboard spider\nClosely related to the false black widow, the steatoda grossa is often mistaken because of its dark colour and similarly bulbous abdomen.\nIt usually grows to approximately 10mm in length and its appearance can vary slightly from purple to brown to black.\nThe female can lay egg sacs at least three times a year which typically contain between 40 and 100 eggs.\nThey have been known to bite humans, but are not usually aggressive.\nAlthough injuries are minor, symptoms can include blistering and generally feeling unwell - which can last a couple of days.\nHow big are they? Up to 12mm\nAre they harmful? A bit - they don’t bite often, but when they do it hurts", "Photo for representational purpose Photo for representational purpose\nA 35-year-old man was trampled to death by an elephant in a forest pocket of Chhattisgarh’s Surajpur district, officials said on Monday. The victim identified as Sonsai Pando was attacked by the elephant last evening near Jhingadohra village of Songara area while he was on way home, Division Forest Officer (DFO) Surajpur division Naved Shujauddin said.\nWatch What Else Is Making News\nA herd of 18 elephants was camping in Jhingdohra forest from last few days, said the official. On Sunday evening, when Pando was heading towards his house at Pandridand village, he was attacked by one of the elephant who was separated from the group, leaving him dead on the spot, the DFO said. Soon after getting the news of the incident, police personnel and forest officials were rushed to the spot and drove the animal away into the forest, he said. The kin of the deceased have been given an instant relief amount of Rs 25,000 by the forest department, the official said.\nThe thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Surajpur, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, are notorious for human-elephant conflicts. The region has witnessed several killings of tribals and widespread damages to houses and crops by the elephants in past few years.", "At least 173 people have died and millions more have been displaced across northern India, southern Nepal and Bangladesh after heavy monsoon rains unleashed landslides and floods.\nOfficials are still trying to determine the scale of the disaster, as weather forecasters predicted more rain for some areas and casualties were reported in multiple locations across the Himalayan foothills of South Asia.\nNepalese police are searching for scores of people reported missing after rivers burst their banks and killed at least 80, according to police.\nMany of those killed had drowned or been caught in collapsed houses or crushed underneath toppled trees.\nThe floods destroyed key rice crops in Nepal and drove thousands of farmers and their families to take refuge in schools or tents on higher ground, as water submerged roads and cut transport to affected areas.\nNear the Nepalese village of Kunauli, on the border with India, people were sheltering in tents pitched along the main highway after the land on both sides became inundated.\nElectricity and mobile phone services were cut off. Soldiers passed out clean water, grain and rice, which people were cooking on small, paraffin-fuelled stoves.\nHowever, aid workers said some did not have enough food or water.\n\"The heavy rains hit at one of the worst times, shortly after farmers planted their rice crop,\" Sumnima Shrestha, a spokeswoman for the US-based anti-poverty charity Heifer International, said.\n\"Making matters worse, large numbers of livestock have been swept away in the flash flooding.\"\nAcross Nepal's southern border, flooding swamped seven districts in the Indian state of Bihar and left more than half a million people homeless.\nOfficials said two people had also died.\nLandslides and flooding are common across South Asia during the summer monsoon season, and have become more dangerous thanks to widespread deforestation and poor urban planning which makes it harder for the land to absorb rainfall.\nBangladesh was bracing for worse flooding on Monday, as weather forecasters predicted more rain.\nAt least 18 major rivers are flowing at dangerously high levels, according to the state-run Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre.\nTwenty-seven people have been killed over the last few days in the low-lying delta nation, while another 600,000 are marooned, according to Bangladesh's disaster management minister, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury.\nAround 368,000 people have taken refuge in more than 970 makeshift government shelters, he said.\nBangladeshi soldiers were working to evacuate those who were stranded on rooftops or in trees, after floodwaters inundated hundreds of northern villages.\nIn the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, the floodwaters have damaged bridges, downed power lines and washed away thousands of homes.\nOfficials said that at least 2.5 million people had been affected, including some 200,000 now staying in 440 relief camps, and that 18 people had been killed.\nWith railway lines inundated, the remote region was largely cut off from the rest of the country.\nIndian air force helicopters are dropping food and drinking water packets in the worst-hit districts, said Assam's chief secretary, VK Pipersenia.\nIndian prime minister Narendra Modi said he was in contact with Assam's authorities.\nHe said on Twitter: \"All possible support is being provided to Assam for overcoming the flood situation prevailing in parts of the state.\"\nMost of Assam's Kaziranga National Park was also underwater, forcing many of the wildlife reserve's endangered rhinos and deer to move to higher ground.\nDozens of deer were killed by cars after they leaped onto a nearby highway to escape the floods.\nFarther to the west, in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, soldiers recovered the bodies of 46 people who had been travelling in two buses buried in a massive landslide of rocks and mud on Sunday.\nAP", "Two men from Assam were arrested by the Manipur Police after they admitted to cannibalising children in Senapati district.\nThe accused were detected by the villagers in Saikul after the entire area went on a high alert following the disappearance of some children over the last few days.\nLate on Tuesday, the villagers first thrashed the two men and later handed them over to the police. This is the first instance of outsiders allegedly abducting and eating up children in Manipur.\nPreliminary inquiries have revealed that they had so far abducted six children, who were later murdered, according to the police. They confessed having eaten up the dead bodies, an officer said.\nPolice sources said there were six armed members in the gang hailing from Assam. They had rendered services as hired assassins as well. Four of them have escaped.\nThe police have approached language experts to assist in the interrogation.\nThe two accused were badly injured and were in hospital.\nAll police stations in the state have been alerted to be on the lookout for the four fugitives.", "Heavy monsoon rains have unleashed landslides and floods that have killed at least 160 people and displaced millions of others across northern India, southern Nepal and Bangladesh.\nOfficials said Monday they were still trying to determine the scale of the disaster, with casualties and damage reported in multiple locations across the Himalayan foothills of South Asia.\nThe seasonal floodwaters damaged bridges, toppled power lines and washed away thousands of homes in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. Officials say people have been killed by drowning or being caught inside collapsing houses or beneath falling trees.\nIn neighboring Nepal, police spokesman Pushkar Karki were searching for 85 people reported missing after rivers burst their banks and killed at least 75. Another 20 people died over the last few days in Bangladesh.", "The encounter took place between the Baghbari and Khairasali anti-poaching camps. (Source: Google map) The encounter took place between the Baghbari and Khairasali anti-poaching camps. (Source: Google map)\nFrontline guards of the Orang National Park in northern Assam on Monday night gunned down two poachers and recovered from their possession one rifle, 14 rounds of ammunition and an axe.\n“Alert forest guards noticed the movement of some persons inside the Park area first asked them to reveal their identity. But the persons opened fire on the guards, to which they retaliated and called for reinforcement. While the incident took place at around 1 AM, two bodies of the poachers were recovered after daybreak today,” Mangaldai DFO Sunny Deo Choudhary, who is also in charge of the Orang National Park said.\nThe guards later recovered one .303 rifle, a magazine with four rounds of live ammunition, an axe, and ten rounds of live ammunition separately from the pocket of one of the two slain poachers, DFO Choudhary informed. The encounter took place between the Baghbari and Khairasali anti-poaching camps, he added.\nThe 78.80 sq km Orang National Park, about 150 kms west of Guwahati, is also one among four tiger reserves in Assam, and has about 100 rhinos and 24 tigers. Under tremendous pressure of encroachment and poaching, the authorities had only last week evicted about 2,000 people and cleared 2.35 sq km area from illegal occupation for over two decades. Poachers had killed two rhinos in the current year and one in 2016\nFor all the latest India News, download Indian Express App now", "KATHMANDU • Elephants helped rescue hundreds of tourists from a flooded jungle safari park in Nepal, officials said yesterday, as the death toll from flash floods and landslides after four days of heavy rain rose to 70.\nThe Rapti River overflowed its banks in Sauraha, 80km south of Kathmandu, inundating hotels and restaurants and leaving some 600 tourists stranded.\nSauraha, on the fringe of Chitwan National Park, is home to 605 rhinoceroses and is popular with foreign tourists, mainly for rhino watching and elephant rides.\n\"Some 300 guests were rescued on elephant backs and tractor trailers to (nearby) Bharatpur yesterday and the rest will be taken to safer places today,\" Mr Suman Ghimire, head of a group of Sauraha hotel owners, said yesterday.\nFloods have also swept the nearby Indian state of Assam in the past two days, killing at least 15 people and displacing nearly 2.3 million, officials said.\nNearly 90 per cent of Assam's Kaziranga National Park, home to the world's largest population of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, was under water, Forest Minister Pramilla Rani Brahma said. They have moved to higher ground.\nIn Nepal, relief workers said 26 of the country's 75 districts were either submerged or had been hit by landslides after heavy rain.\nThe death toll was expected to rise with another 50 people reported missing, Information and Communications Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet said. He added that more than 60,000 homes were under water, mainly in the southern plains bordering India.\nLarge swathes of farmland in the southern plains, Nepal's breadbasket, are under water and the country could face food shortages due to crop losses, aid workers said.\nREUTERS", "A Nepalese resident looks out from her inundated home at floodwaters at Janakpur, some 300kms south-east of Kathmandu on August 13, 2017. (Photo: SAJAN MALLA, AFP/Getty Images)\nGAUHATI, India - Heavy monsoon rains have unleashed landslides and floods that have killed at least 160 people and displaced millions of others across northern India, southern Nepal and Bangladesh.\nOfficials said Monday they were still trying to determine the scale of the disaster, with casualties and damage reported in multiple locations across the Himalayan foothills of South Asia.\nThe seasonal floodwaters damaged bridges, toppled power lines and washed away thousands of homes in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. Officials say people have been killed by drowning or being caught inside collapsing houses or beneath falling trees.\nIn neighboring Nepal, police spokesman Pushkar Karki were searching for 85 people reported missing after rivers burst their banks and killed at least 75. Another 20 people died over the last few days in Bangladesh.\nRead or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2w2Bwii", "Have you seen this video out of Sliddel, Louisianna?\nIt's called a Mayfly swarm and it happens! I have never seen it happened and I am grateful for that but it looks like a scary movie scene!", "Flying Ants just want some action (Picture: Getty)\nFlying Ant Day is here and they have already caused some disruption in Wimbledon this afternoon when they swarmed around court 1 during a second round match.\nThe insects caused problems for Caroline Wozniacki and Ekaterina Makarova and they have a history of affecting the London tennis matches, including last year when they invaded a Johanna Konta match on Centre Court.\nThey are only around for a short period each year but they’re arrival is often met with sighs and irritation from many of us in the UK.\nSo what is flying ants day and where do they come from?\nTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video\nWhen is Flying Ant Day?\nThere is no set day in the calendar for Flying Ant Day but it often happens in July or August, but hot weather can sometimes speed up the process.\nAdvertisement\nAdvertisement\nThis year it appears to be today (Wednesday 4th July) but flying ants won’t suddenly disappear tomorrow, they will continue to bother us over the next few weeks.\nWhat are flying ants and why are they only around once a year?\nAnts sprout wings when a Queen ant is searching for a new partner to mate with and begin a new colony.\nThugs beat up taxi driver and then use his radio to boast to his colleagues\nOnce she has sprouted her wings she leaves the nest to move away from her current colony and prevent cross-breeding.\nA number of worker male ants also leave in search of a Queen ant to mate with.\nOnly fertile young male ants and young queens sprout wings and once they have mated the Queen loses its wings and tries to start a new nest, while the male ant usually dies.\nOnce a queen has mated and starts a new colony, it will stay there for the remainder of its life which last as long as 10 years.\nCan flying ants bite you?\nFlying ants are harmless and are very unlikely to bite people much like any wingless ants you usually see in your garden.\nSome flying ants have been known to bite or sting but this isn’t very common with the flying ants seen in the UK.\nIf you want to prevent flying ants from getting into your home then you should try to keep windows and doors closed, but that could be difficult with the current temperatures, but netting or a fly screen can do the job.\nMORE: Flying ants attack Caroline Wozniacki during Wimbledon match", "GAUHATI, India (AP) - A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses.\nPradipta Baruah, supervisor of a census carried out Sunday at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, says there are now 102 one-horned rhinos living in the park, up from 93 during the last count, in 2012.\nThe reserve, which is just 38 square kilometers (15 square miles), is outside of the Assam state capital, Gauhati.\nIn this Sunday, March 18, 2018, photo, a one-horned rhinoceros stands inside the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam state, India. A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)\nIndia's Kaziranga National Park, also in Assam, is the main home of the one-horned rhino, with more than 2,000.\nAll of the world's five rhino species are under constant threat from poachers who sell their horns on black markets, often in countries where rhino horn is believed to increase male potency.\nIn this Sunday, March 18, 2018, photo, a one-horned rhinoceros walks inside the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam state, India. A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)\nIn this Sunday, March 18, 2018, photo, forest officials count a horned rhinoceros from on top of an elephant during a rhino census at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam state, India. A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)\nIn this Sunday, March 18, 2018, photo, a mahout prepares elephants before a rhino census at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam state, India. A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)\nIn this Sunday, March 18, 2018, photo, a one-horned rhinoceros walks inside the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam state, India. A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)\nIn this Sunday, March 18, 2018, photo, forest officials patrol during a rhino census at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam state, India. A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)\nIn this Sunday, March 18, 2018, photo, forest officials on an elephant count one-horned rhinoceros during a rhino census at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam state, India. A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)", "It took a “talking” bird for Edgar Allan Poe to write “The Raven”. All it took for its crow-cousin to become the subject of news in Karnataka was its deciding to sit atop Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s car last year. The crow would weigh heavily on the chief minister’s fortunes, television channels predicted. The prediction was repeated earlier this year, when a crow’s dropping fell on Siddaramaiah’s white dhoti. This time, a headline read: “Siddaramaiah haunted by crows.” With reports centred on the ..." ]

[ "Is Your HVAC Replacement Tax Deductible? Private residential home improvements are considered nondeductible personal expenses by the IRS – meaning your HVAC replacement isn't tax deductible. However, new AC installation is considered a home improvement that increases your home's basis." ]

[ "Since special assessment taxes only benefit properties in specific areas, they are usually not tax deductible. Special assessment taxes are only deductible when they are paid to fund maintenance or repairs.", "Yes, you can deduct the special assessment if it was for maintenance and repairs. According to the IRS: Deductible real estate taxes generally don't include taxes charged for local benefits and improvements tending to increase the value of your property.", "In terms of tax deductions for home improvements, the 'like for like' test can provide some much needed clarity. Put simply, if the replacement is of a similar standard to the current one, and is simply a modern equivalent of the original, it will still be considered a repair, and therefore tax deductible.", "Put simply, if the replacement is of a similar standard to the current one, and is simply a modern equivalent of the original, it will still be considered a repair, and therefore tax deductible.", "Did you know that public sidewalk repair costs are tax deductable? According to the IRS, you cannot deduct amounts you pay for local benefits that tend to increase the value of your property, such as the construction of new sidewalks.", "Minor repairs and maintenance are tax deductible, although major renovations, such as entire room refurbishments, are not. ... In contrast, major renovations achieve the same ends, but are also highly likely to increase the resale value of a property in the process.", "Examples of tax-deductible direct costs include repairs to your business equipment, such as your production line. Tax-deductible indirect costs may include rent payments, utilities and certain insurance costs.", "If you receive rental income from the rental of a dwelling unit, there are certain rental expenses you may deduct on your tax return. These expenses may include mortgage interest, property tax, operating expenses, depreciation, and repairs. ... You may not deduct the cost of improvements.", "Home improvement loans can be tax deductible up to $375,000 ($750,000 for joint-filers) if they're secured by your home and used for significant improvements, not just routine repairs. You can deduct only the interest and fees you pay, not any money that goes toward the principal loan amount.", " The repair person should pay tax on all materials used to complete the repair. The customer should not be charged tax. appliances are treated as the repair of tangible personal property. This includes repairs to the roof, plumbing, and central air-conditioning system.", "No. that is not deductible. It is a fee, not a tax. Fees are not deductible.", "By Stephen Fishman, J.D. If you use your home purely as your personal residence, you obtain no tax benefits from repairs. You cannot deduct any part of the cost. ... Examples of repairs include patching a leaky roof, repainting your home, fixing gutters or floors, fixing leaks, plastering, and replacing broken windows.", "There is no capital gains tax in Singapore. Rental income earned by nonresidents is subject to the nonresident tax rate of 20%. The taxable income is computed by deducting property tax, insurance, maintenance and repairs from the gross rental income. Depreciation of the property is not deductible.", "1, 2018, new and used heating, ventilation and air-conditioning property are now qualified as Section 179 expenses by the IRS. ... Now, business owners can deduct the full cost of their HVAC equipment the same year the equipment is purchased.", "No, excise taxes are not deductible as sales tax; however, some state excise tax is deductible as personal property tax on Schedule A, itemized deductions, in place of car registration fees.", "Expenses that may be deducted include the business portion of real estate taxes, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, insurance, painting, repairs and depreciation. The amount of the deduction depends on the percentage of the home or apartment that is used for business.", "The only deductible closing costs for a rental property are those for interest and deductible real estate taxes. ... Transfer taxes. Title insurance. Any amounts the seller owes that you agree to pay, such as back taxes or interest, recording or mortgage fees, charges for improvements or repairs, and sales commissions.", "Home improvements on a personal residence are generally not tax deductible for federal income taxes. However, installing energy efficient equipment on your property may qualify you for a tax credit, and renovations to a home for medical purposes may qualify as a tax deductible medical expense.", "Average Repair Costs for AC Units and Cooling Systems On average, homeowners pay $300 for air conditioner repairs nationally. Average HVAC repair costs for common air conditioning repairs include: Replace condensate drain tube – $20. Replace condensate drain pump – $240 to $450.", "Under America's current federal tax code, home improvements are generally not tax deductible. However, there are two instances in which you may qualify for a tax break for making specific additions or improvements to your home, but they're not all that common.", "\"Generally, you can deduct amounts paid for repairs and maintenance to tangible property if the amounts paid are not otherwise required to be capitalized,\" according to the IRS in Publication 535.", "['Clean Your Filter. First, turn off the power to your HVAC unit. ... ', 'Clean the HVAC Interior. Next, clean out the condenser, evaporator, filters and coil. ... ', 'Check Your Electrical Wiring. Nearly 85 percent of all HVAC repairs stem from electrical problems. ... ', 'Check Your Ductwork. ... ', 'Check for Refrigerant Leaks.']", "The IRS in general accepts many more business deductions than home deductions. If you use part of your home solely for business purposes, then you will be able to deduct any expenses for plumbing repair in that area of your home.", "When you make a home improvement, such as installing central air conditioning or replacing the roof, you can't deduct the cost in the year you spend the money. But, if you keep track of those expenses, they may help you reduce your taxes in the year you sell your house.", "The short answer is YES – a percentage of your monthly maintenance is tax deductible and this percentage is different from unit to unit depending on number of shares owned.", "HVAC Hourly Rate HVAC repairs typically cost $100 to $150 per hour with most homeowners spending an average of $144 to $451 for HVAC service. The HVAC labor rates must cover the wages of the technician, the cost of travel (gas, truck payment, insurance), and even the cost of the office staff.", "The cracked screen repair option is automatically included with your insurance plan when you have an eligible device. There is an $89 deductible for a cracked screen repair. The screen repair deductible may be less than the deductible for replacing the covered device or purchasing a new one.", "You take pre-tax deductions out of employee paychecks before taxes. Pre-tax deductions reduce taxable wages and the amount of tax owed. You take post-tax deductions (also called after-tax deductions) out of employee paychecks after taxes. Post-tax deductions have no effect on taxable wages and the amount of tax owed.", "Replacement windows are, in fact, tax deductible. In order to be eligible, windows must meet the requirements established by ENERGY STAR® – the international standard for energy efficient consumer products.", "Saving money is one of the main reasons a person should maintain their HVAC unit. ... HVAC maintenance is also important to prevent the need formajor repairs or entire replacements. Healthy Air. A properly maintained HVAC unit will not only keep a home warm or cool, but it will prevent problems with air quality.", "contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax deductible but traditional IRA contributions are tax deductible. ... contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax deductible but traditional IRA contributions are tax deductible.", "Are property taxes deductible separately on state taxes in California? Per the current CA FTB guidance, property taxes are deductible on your CA state tax return if you itemize and are not subject to the $10k deduction limit that is imposed on the federal return. Local income taxes are not deductible." ]

[ "HDDs use Error Correcting Codes such as Reed-Solomon or [LDPC](_URL_1_). Extra data is written to allow correction of some number of errors, and detection of (usually) more errors. The [SMART](_URL_0_) monitoring built into the HDDs control circuitry keeps track of errors, and if a certain threshold is exceeded, the sector is marked as \"bad\". It isn't easy to tell whether bad data is due to a bad read or a bad write, and to some extent it doesn't really matter. There are many things that can happen to make a sector go bad. The sector can be physically damaged, or get particulates on it, or have localized overheating due to a head crash. Or bits can simply be so weakly written or actually flipped so that the reading becomes unreliable (ambiguous), probably due to imperfections in the magnetic coating. (I imagine there are other causes I'm not thinking of as well....I'm not an HDD expert.)" ]

[ "On a conventional hard disk, the computer has to index and \"point\" to where data is stored and by default data is written to the first available sector in the drive. The problem comes when you start deleting, moving etc files because this leaves gaps in the disk sector. Following the earlier rule that computers will airways write the first available sector, if you download a large file, the computer will write it to the gaps left in the first available sector. Usually if the file is large then all of it can't fit into one gap so the computer will break the file into chunks and write to available gaps in the sector, this results in a slower read speed for that file because it is scattered across the disk and the disk reader head has to do more movement to read the whole file, taking more time. This also explains why larger files are more prone to fragmenting because there is a higher chance that they will not fit into any free gaps.", "If the hard drive is dying and forcing rereading or bad sectors are preventing sequential writes (making the drive jump around to read it back) it's going to slow you down. It could also be any number of other nonfatal hardware failures.", "An external hard disk is called as such because it utilizes a Hard Disk Drive (HDD). One of these drives has a metal platter with different magnetic sections, called sectors, that are read by a small magnetic sensor called a head on the end of an actuator arm. Many people are now moving over to flash storage, however, which is what a flash drive utilizes and thus is named for. Flash storage does not contain moving parts but rather is similar to a large grid of capacitors and transistors that are used to keep data. It is faster to access than an HDD because you do not need to wait for the disk to spin to the correct location. It can decay, however, unlike an HDD. The more an area of flash is written the more it wears out and eventually it will fail.", "the hard drive is composed of a metal disk that can rotate, and a \"head\" that can move over the surface of the metal disk. The hard drive \"writes\" data by using an electromagnet to magentize or de-magnetize spots on the surface of the metal disk. Later, to \"read\" the data, it can move the head over these same spots, and as it moves it'll either detect a magnetic pull or not. The presence or lack of a magnetic pull is interpereted as a 0 or 1.", "Disk imaging software typically does a byte by byte copy of the original disk, so the HDD should be near identical after copying a disk image. Granted there will be small differences -- e.g., one HDD may have different number of platters, etc and map stuff to different locations. Also if you use an old hard disk there may be certain sector/blocks that are no longer used (e.g., checksums were failing in that block so the hard disk controller stopped using them) and writes elsewhere instead. Similarly, there may be underlying differences in the technology (e.g., SSD drive at a low level is quite different than HDD).", "An actual hard drive has a spinning disk inside - information is stored as a magnetic charge. One direction of polarization means 0, the other means 1. So on this disk that is spinning inside your hard drive, you have millions upon millions of differently magnetized spots, and a head (think a record player) that hovers over those spots to read/write them. That's why you either have to make the disks physically bigger or use more of them, or have to find a way to make those spots smaller and put them closer together. As far as SSDs go (and SD cards, USB drives - every flash memory, really) - they have millions of tiny circuits and [NAND gates](_URL_0_) in them, which actually does store the values in form of electricity - no charge/low charge = 0, high charge = 1. So no physical switches that are being flipped, but switches none the less.", "It's mostly historical. Data used to travel the wire as single bits and all that was really changing was how fast (e.g. 9600 baud RS-232 - > 115200 baud RS-232). In terms of encoding for longer distance we've been encoding multiple bits per \"symbol\" on the wire via things like FSK/QAM/etc for a long time. So nowadays it'd be just as legitimate to say symbols/sec or bytes/sec if you wanted to normalize it. Storage doesn't work on \"bytes\" either and hasn't for a very long time. Strictly speaking your hard drive has a number of 512 [or 4096] byte sectors. So the correct way to describe it would be as an N sector disk. But we normalize that too to bytes because I guess people are used to it.", "It is usually the disk of the hard drive spinning and the magnet stick swinging back and forth", "Because RAM and CPU speed/utilization are not the only factors in the performance of your computer. Standard hard drives are spinning and there is a bit that moves about the rotating disks to read different sectors. If it is reading or writing a different sector that is far off from the sector where your \"right click\" data is 'stored', it will need to finish the read/write cycle and then move itself to the new location. SSDs don't spin and are therefore quicker to respond to mostly all reads/writes. If you don't want to upgrade to an SSD, your performance can be SLIGHTLY improved by de-fragmenting your hard drive.", "Your hard drive is a round plate, kind of like an old record. It's divided into thousands and thousands of \"sectors\", tiny little spots. Each one of those tiny spots is a byte... When you save a byte on your hard drive, the drive head makes a change in the magnetic charge in that spot. The computer turns these positive and negative magnetic charges into ones and zeroes.", "In the days of floppy disk drives, the letters A: and B: were reserved for use by the floppy drives. Some of the first disk drives had the boot partition for the C: saved on floppy disks. Yes I'm thinking of you NEC. C: became commonly used for the hard disk drive. The convention has carried over to this day.", "Hard drives generally work in \"clusters\", whose size is dependent on the file system. This means that you can't have two *things* occupying the same cluster. So let's say you have 4KB clusters, but you have a 2KB file, the last 2KB in the cluster is wasted space and the \"size on disk\" would be 4KB even though the actual size is 2KB.", "The hard drive is divided in sectors. When you create a file, it will be stored on multiple contiguous sectors. Later on, when you increase the size of the file, the file system is going to try putting the new data right after the original, however this space might be already used by another file. The file system will have no choice but to put the end of the file somewhere else. Your hard drive is now fragmented. How can this be prevented ? ext4 (a file system used for some Linux distributions) will make sure to leave a lot of space between each files, this way, as long as your hard drive isn't close to being full, there should be very little fragmentation. This method is not perfect and has its drawback, but that should give you an idea about how all this works.", "Lets say I have a bookshelf in alphabetical order. 1984 Adventures of Huck Finn Crime and Punishment Moby Dick War and Peace I buy the book Great Gabsy, but I'm kind of in a hurry, so I put it at the end. Then I buy Brothers Karamazov, and also put it at the end. Eventually, I'm going to take the time and reorganize my bookshelf and put everything back in order. Your hard drive does the same thing. If I have a file, it might be stored in this sector. If it doubles in size, you would like to put the second half right next to the first half. Its in the most logical spot, and its best location for a mechanical hard drive to access it quickly. But if something else is already there, it can not store the two files together. For time reasons it puts it somewhere else, until you defrag, and give your hard drive the time to move everything around.", "They store the updates on the hard drive. All files have to be loaded into RAM before they're used anyway. When the game goes to load a file, it checks the hard drive to see if there's an updated version. It doesn't actually update the disk.", "The answer to this question can vary greatly depending of the storage technology in question, but most modern computers still store information on hard drives. Solid state drives will probably become the norm fairly soon. But, as of today, hard drives are still king (for this reason, I'm answering this in the context of hard drives). Inside the hard drive, there is a hard, spinning disk and a head (on a pivoting arm) that comes really close to the surface of this disk. When a particular bit of data needs to be written, the head changes the magnetic alignment of the area of the disk that represents the bit. When a bit needs to be read, the head reads this magnetic alignment. This answer is simplified (in reality, there are multiple disks, multiple heads, etc.), but describes the basic principal behind it. Is this the sort of answer you were looking for?", "In addition to what mortarius said: The motor in the drive that spins the disks contains a lubricating oil that will break down and cause the motor to fail. This usually can take 7+ years, less if you're in a hot, humid climate. Source: I am a HDD quality assurance engineer", "You probably are buying cheap non enterprise grade drives that aren't meant to be on 24/7", "It's movement that causes damage and degredation - portable hard drives generally get moved around a lot. Internals get moved very rarely, sometimes never.", "The computer is programmed (by a very low level program called the BIOS) to attempt to load the data at a particular location on the hard drive into memory when the computer starts up. This area is called the boot sector. To make a disk bootable, the installer puts the correct data in that very specific location so that, after the BIOS copies that data to memory, enough of the OS is now in memory to complete the rest of the load.", "The original IBM PC didn't have a hard drive. It had two floppy disk drives, which were A: and B: .When the hard drive came along, it became C: as the next available letter.", "Because they write to the hard drive when processing data. When space on the drive becomes harder to find, the disk has to spin more, and that takes longer. Which is why this doesn't happen so much with solid state drives", "A hard drive is a disk and each bit of data is stored at a specific spot on that disk. The data reader/writer only accesses what can be viewed as a single line across the disk and so the reader may have to wait up for up to almost a full rotation of the disk in order for that data to be read or written. The faster the disk spins the shorter the amount of time that it takes the needed bit of data to reach the reader/writer.", "The data lives on metal disks inside the hard drive case. To access the data, the disks have to be able to spin so a head can read them, kinda like a record player. Now, if you drop the hard drive and the motor breaks, for you or me it's useless. Replacing that motor would be WAY more than a new hard drive. But, what happened if you had critical data on the drive. If you take it to an expert, and they remove the disks, they can put it on a new spindle / motor, and read it for you. This might cost $1000, but if the data is worth it to you (or the cops), it can be done. So, while the outside of the hard disk may get damaged, the plates inside are pretty well protected. Also, the data is really tiny. Just like a record can still have music on it if scratched, disks don't lose all their data just because of a little scratch. You might lose some, but not all.", "The way a hard disk drive works is that it has tiny little sections on it. Those sections you can imagine as being little magnets that either face left or face right. A head can change which way the little sections or facing, or read which direction they are currently facing, and it uses this to create the ones and zeros that store information. When a large magnet is passed over the drive from an external source it causes all the little sections to face the same direction, which destroys the data. This is an oversimplification of how magnetics in a hard drive work, but it gets the right point across!", "If a hard drive's mechanical parts fail, it's often because something is warped or out of alignment in a very, very minor way. Freezing the drive causes the metal to contract, which can sometimes pop the warp out, or re-align a component. Think of it similarly to how sometimes the doors on houses can get slightly out of alignment in very warm or very cold weather. Of course, the defect could still recur, so if freezing it works, you'll want to get your data off ASAP.", "There's a couple factors that can influence this. 1. Are you transferring one big file, or a whole folder full of different sized files? There's overhead to create and finalize each file written to a file system, so lots of small files will slow down the overall transfer speed. 2. How populated is the hard drive? Disk fragmentation can happen when a disk has handled lots of writes/deletes over its lifetime, and its especially bad with plug and play drives that are formatted as FAT32. If there's a large uninterrupted block on your drive to write to, the speeds will stay high, but once it has to start searching for random places to store files, the speed goes down.", "Once upon a time, hard drives as we know them were a luxury in personal computing. You had a floppy disk drive for your operating system - 1.44 precious megabytes. This was A:/. You also had another drive, typically a floppy disk drive for whatever else you wanted to do - 1.44 precious megabytes, this is B:/. Then when hard drives began to become a thing, they were C:/. And nobody had any reason to change it even when floppy drives disappeared.", "A:\\ = first floppy disk drive B:\\ = second floppy disk drive C:\\ = first primary partition of the first physical hard disk Long time ago in ancient history computers could have both 3.5\" and 5.25\" floppy disk drives before the latter one died out, leaving B:\\ obsolete and now the A:\\ drive is also obsolete when people moved on to CDs.", "Hard drives store data magnetically. The read/write head hovers over the platters on a cushion of air. Most HDD's have one or two platters, some *really* expensive ones have more. Space is defined in a hard drive using a unit system known as CHS or \"Cylinder Head Sector\", Cylinder defines how far away from the centre of the platter the data is, Head defines which head is to read the data (which platter is on), and Sector defines where the data is on a given platter and cylinder. I find it easiest to think of this with the Cylindrical Coordinate System. [Link](_URL_0_) It is expensive to increase space because the sector have to become smaller and smaller to accommodate more data on the same size disk. Think of it this way. You have a 2000 word essay to write and one sheet of A4 sized paper. You're going to write pretty damn small, right? Well, you would need to write even smaller if you needed to write 4000 words. A similar concept is applied to hard drives.", "The storage areas in hard drives are called the platters. The way in which data is written to these is magnetically. There's no ink or any extra material actually ADDED to the disk, it's just that the little areas on the disk are positively or negatively charged.", "Hard drives spin around 5000 - 20,000 RPM. At those speeds, aerodynamic effects play a big role on drive performance. Sealing hard drives means you can put the platters closer together because the pressure stays uniform inside the hard drive. Using helium produces less drag on the spinning disks. The disk platters can be spun faster and the platters can be made closer together." ]

[ "The Tata group on Wednesday vaulted to the top business group in the country in terms of market capitalisation. With Tata Consultancy Services clocking an individual capitalisation of Rs 47,232 crore (Rs 472." ]

[ "Shares in Indian software services giant Tata Consultancy close 16% higher on their market debut, raising $1.2bn for the company.", "Shares in India&#39;s Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped 16 percent on their market debut on Wednesday", "Indian software giant Tata CS unveils sharply higher profits in its first set of results since its stock market launch.", "LONDON: Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata group with an annual turnover of 12 billion pounds, has unveiled his global ambitions by deciding to list Tata Sons as an investment company, besides looking at a number of acquisitions.", "NEW YORK: Tata Sons chairman Ratan N Tata will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) here on Monday to mark the listing of group company Tata Motors on the world&#39;s largest bourse.", "Indian software and services giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) made its stock market debut today, jumping 16 per cent over the day as investors piled money into the firm.", "If India's Tata Group drives off with US auto giant Ford's iconic British brands Jaguar and Land Rover, it would be another feather in its cap after buying European steelmaker Corus earlier this year.", "India's Tata Motors Ltd unveiled the world's cheapest car on Thursday, bringing car ownership closer to millions of consumers in emerging markets.", "Tata Steel of India has bought Anglo-Dutch producer Corus for 13.7 billion dollars, beating Brazilian rival CSN in an auction that highlighted the growing global clout of emerging market companies.", "Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, and Mr S. Ramadorai, Managing Director, look at the TCS shares being listed on the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai on Wednesday.", "Shares of India's top software firm, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., soared as much as 41 percent in their first day of trading Wednesday.", "India&#39;s largest software company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) finally has a ticker symbol on the stock exchange. The Rs 5,000 crore issue made its debut on both the stock exchanges and the opening bell", "Mumbai, Sep 28. (PTI): Tata Motors on Thursday listed its securities on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to become the country&#39;s first Indian engineering and motor entity to do so and the second Tata company after VSNL.", "We put the numbers in context to find the top contrarian picks in CAPS.", "India's top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services announced Monday it has won a multimillion dollar deal with Italian sports car maker Ferrari to design Formula 1 engines.", "A number of Indian outsourcing companies, including Wipro, Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services, have software development operations in Chennai, India.", "The market spurns them, but CAPS' best investors think otherwise.", "Do the third-quarter numbers mean continued volatility for this small-cap stock?", "MUMBAI, Aug 25. - The Tata Consultancy Services stock was today listed at Stock Exchange, Mumbai at Rs1,050 and at National Stock Exchange at Rs 1,198.", "Born in 1968, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) finally listed on the Indian bourses on Wednesday. After the first day of trading, TCS&#39;s share price closed at Rs 987.", "One Fool puts Big Goo's market cap in perspective.", "A bullish market signal plus positive CAPS sentiment might equal a winning combination.", "Need an insider's view of the market? CAPS can show it to you.", "Ford Motor Co on Thursday selected Tata Motors Ltd as the front-runner to buy Jaguar and Land Rover, placing India's top truckmaker in a position to take over two storied British luxury nameplates.", "Growing number of U.S. families beset by medical problems are exceeding lifetime benefits caps.", "Indian company Tata wins the £6bn battle to take over Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus.", "Tata Motors Ltd.&#39;s new listing on the New York Stock Exchange will help India&#39;s biggest maker of trucks and buses add investors, raise capital for acquisitions and improve its corporate", "Companies under $700 million market cap get Sarbanes-Oxley filing extension.", "More than half of the world's market cap now sits outside the United States.", "Top Indian software exporter Tata Consultancy Services will list its share on the Bombay Stock Exchange next week following its successful maiden share offer, an official said.", "Ford Motor Co said on Thursday India's Tata Motors Ltd was the front-runner to buy its European brands Jaguar and Land Rover, which the U.S. carmaker is selling to counter mounting debt.", "A look back at the stock market performance of our 2006 Mid-Cap List." ]

[ "Anyone who uses HUD's stimulus money for fraudulent purposes will have to answer to Lester Davis, deputy assistant inspector general for investigations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He carries a badge, a gun and knows how to think like a white-collar criminal. For more than two decades, Davis has helped track and retrieve taxpayer money that finds its way into the pockets of frauds and crooks. Davis is part of the investigative branch of the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The federal agency is responsible for distributing part of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that President Obama signed into law last month. Relative to the whole, HUD's portion of the stimulus funds might seem insignificant. The agency is in charge of $13.61 billion. But the money has to be spent within three years, and Davis says that's a quick turnaround for the government. Much of this money will eventually be awarded through contracts and bidding, processes that can be corrupted even in the best of times. With the influx of stimulus money, Davis and his colleagues are scrambling to strengthen their oversight strategies. They currently employ 250 agents on the investigative side of the office. Davis says his office plans on increasing staff. However, with more than 3,000 housing authorities on the receiving end of just one part of HUD's stimulus money, it will be impossible to have enough eyes and ears on the ground. JACKI LYDEN, host: Welcome back. It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Jackie Lyden. (Soundbite of music) LYDEN: Dateline: Washington, D.C., 12:54 p.m., L'Enfant Plaza subway station, and one of these buildings - it's a great, concrete jungle out here - is HUD, Department of Housing and Urban Development, containing over $13 billion of your stimulus package. Let's go check on who's checking out your money. (Soundbite of footsteps) (Soundbite of beep) (Soundbite of door) LYDEN: Seven suits gather round a table in an unadorned, grey conference room. They hold highlighted copies of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, you know, the stimulus package, the 787 billion stimulus bucks President Obama signed into law nearly a month ago. HUD gets 13.61 billion of that. It's a lot of money. This group is there to make sure it gets spent lawfully. Mr. MIKE STEPHENS (Deputy Inspector General, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development): I'm Mike Stephens. I'm the deputy inspector general. Ms. HELEN ALBERT (Deputy Inspector General for Management and Policy, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development): Hi, I'm Helen Albert. I'm the deputy I.G. for management and policy. Mr. TONY MEDICI (Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Investigation Division, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development): I'm Tony Medici, special agent in charge for the Criminal Investigation Division. LYDEN: This group of G-men and G-women are going to make sure HUD's money is spent on things like public housing construction and homeless prevention. One of them is Lester Davis. He's got a badge and a .357 magnum and a really long title: deputy assistant inspector general for investigations. Mr. LESTER DAVIS (Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development): I don't really like to talk too much away from the job about the job. LYDEN: Good thing we caught him at the office, then. Davis has a lot on his mind. Here's the thing with the stimulus money. Every dollar of it has to be spent within three years. Frankly, that's almost hasty for that much dough. Mr. DAVIS: You can have fictitious venders, receipts. Very little oversight when you're talking about how many people are involved. LYDEN: Lester Davis has seen it all, he says, long before the stimulus money came down the pike. Mr. DAVIS: And one example is an individual that we convicted in Alaska. He was a nonprofit, (unintelligible) social service, and the money was diverted from the community center to help pay for some other properties, credit cards, he was paying personal, jewelry. LYDEN: So, just imagine what can go wrong with an extra $13.5 billion. There are 250 special agents in the field working with Lester Davis around the country. We had a question. Do they all drive black Lincoln Continentals? Mr. DAVIS: No, we don't. We try to be budget conscious, and we have a lot of midsize cars. But a good thing for them to have, actually, is an accounting background in white-collar fraud, you know, understanding how to follow records, bank accounts, corporations, shell companies, which we'll see in this type of work. LYDEN: Back in his days of field work, Lester Davis once cracked a case of a man who had 73 aliases and got hold of 100 properties with mortgages insured by the government. Mr. DAVIS: It started on a very, very small complaint that came in, and then we saw the name again, and at" ]

[ "Ben Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, proposed on Monday new changes to an Obama-era rule aimed at combating segregation in housing policy. Carson wants the rule to focus more on reducing the regulatory burdens of local jurisdictions and on giving them more control, while encouraging actions that bolster housing choice and increase housing supply. In a statement, Carson said the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, enacted during the previous administration, \"often dictated unworkable requirements\" adding that the rule was also \"suffocating investment in some of our most distressed neighborhoods.\" \"We do not have to abandon communities in need. Instead we believe we can craft a new, fairer rule that creates choices for quality housing across all communities,\" Carson said. The 2015 AFFH rule was implemented to strengthen the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act. The rule, which required communities and local governments receiving federal funding to submit fair housing assessments, was a way for HUD to ensure recipients were following the law and actively working to eradicate historical discrimination and segregation practices in housing. The changes encompassed in the rule were recommended by the Government Accountability Office and by HUD itself. \"Since issuance of the final rule, however, HUD has concluded that the current regulations are ineffective in helping program participants to meet this obligation,\" according to a HUD's rule change proposal. As it explores the rule change, HUD is also accepting comment from the public for the next 60 days. HUD officials also said informal listening forums will be held to get input from city planners, public housing authorities, housing advocates authorities and other stakeholders on the pending rule change. The push by current HUD officials to undo the Obama-era AFFH rule has been expected for some time. In January, the housing agency announced it was suspending local governments' obligation to comply with the rule until late 2020. In May, HUD nixed a computer assessment tool which was supposed to help municipalities submit housing data and ensure they were complying with the federal laws. HUD said at the time \"the Local Government Assessment Tool was confusing, difficult to use and frequently produced unacceptable assessments.\" Earlier that month, a group of fair housing advocates filed a suit to compel Carson and HUD to implement the 2015 AFFH rule. Madison Sloan is the director of Disaster Recovery and Fair Housing with Texas Appleseed, one of the plaintiffs in the suit against HUD. \"This notice is part of HUD's continuing attempt to gut the Fair Housing Act, allowing public money to fund discrimination and segregation in violation of the law,\" Sloan said in a statement.", "The housing rescue plan that the Obama administration outlined last week is being implemented by the Department of Housing and Urban Development — an agency that critics say was often overlooked by the previous administration. At his confirmation hearing in January, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan was told some things about the agency he was in line to run that might have made some nominees run away. HUD is \"adrift, mismanaged and ridden by scandal\" said one senator. If the government were a family at Thanksgiving dinner, HUD would be \"sitting at the kids' table,\" said another. But, in his unadorned office at HUD's Washington headquarters, Secretary Donovan says he's working to correct that. \"One of my jobs very clearly is to take a place at the grown-ups' table for HUD,\" he says. Donovan says his agency has to prove that HUD can deliver what it promises. Nowhere is that more important than with the $75 billion housing rescue plan, which aims to stem the tide of foreclosures that has helped lead to a worldwide financial meltdown. It's too early to tell if the plan will work, Donovan says, since the details were just released last week. But there are some encouraging signs. He says there has been a \"huge increase in the number of calls to national hotlines, to counselors. There is an overwhelming amount of need in communities. And certainly, we're hearing a lot of expectations that this program can make a difference.\" The housing rescue plan is aimed at homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages. Donovan says money in the stimulus and budget bills will also help communities pockmarked by boarded-up houses and people who have lost their homes. With all the problems facing homeowners, housing advocates worry HUD will overlook one of its primary responsibilities, assuring that low-income people, most of them renters, have access to housing. Sheila Crowley is president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and is a fan of Donovan. Crowley points out that before he came to HUD, Donovan was New York City's housing commissioner. \"He comes in as somebody who, at his core, is a low-income housing advocate. He understands that issue; he knows what needs to be done,\" Crowley says. \"And our hope is that he gets time to attend to that, because the mortgage crisis is all-consuming right now.\" Donovan vows he will not overlook HUD's traditional constituency. \"In terms of my own work, historically, I understand that home ownership is not an entire national housing policy,\" he says. \"Rental housing has a critical role to play, as does what I think has really been a neglected part of HUD's mission: Remember, there's not just housing in the title of this agency, but urban development. We need to put the 'UD' back in HUD,\" he says. The 42-year-old Donovan worked at HUD during the Clinton administration and acknowledges the department he now leads has had morale problems; it also has one of the oldest workforces in the federal government. But he says that Obama's election has brought a new enthusiasm to the agency. Donovan says he has found a surprisingly collaborative atmosphere with other Cabinet secretaries in the new administration. That collaboration, he says, will help secretaries \"make sure at the same time we're fixing rental housing, we're fixing schools, we're making sure that even if someone has an affordable place to live, that they're not commuting two hours to work.\" Donovan says creating such sustainable communities is a key part of HUD's mission. And while the agency is engaged in solving the foreclosure crisis, he vows it is not going to forget its long-term goals. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: The Department of Housing and Urban Development was often overlooked by the previous administration, but no longer, it seems. The stimulus bill, the budget bill and a newly passed housing rescue plan are all pumping billions of dollars into HUD. Led by an energetic young secretary, the agency seems ready to play a key role on a wide variety of housing-related issues. NPR's Brian Naylor reports. BRIAN NAYLOR: At his confirmation hearing in January, what Shaun Donovan was told about the agency he was in line to run might have made some nominees run away. HUD was adrift, mismanaged and ridden by scandal, said one senator. If the government were a family at Thanksgiving dinner, HUD would be sitting at the kids' table, said another. In his unadorned office at HUD's Washington headquarters, Secretary Donovan says he's working on that. Secretary SHAUN DON0VAN (U.S. Housing and Urban Development): One of my jobs, very clearly, is to take a place at the grown-up table, I think, for HUD. NAYLOR: Donovan says his agency has to prove that HUD can deliver what it promises. Nowhere is that more important than with the $75 billion Housing Rescue Plan, which aims to stem the tide of foreclosures that has helped lead to a worldwide financial meltdown. Donovan says it's too early to tell if the plan is working, the details w", "Updated at 5:27 p.m. ET The Trump administration is releasing its hold on billions of dollars of aid to Puerto Rico after a months-long delay. But it is still unclear exactly when those funds will reach the hurricane-ravaged island. The tranche of money, more than $8 billion, is allocated through a Department of Housing and Urban Development disaster recovery fund. It was supposed to be released months ago to help the island rebuild in the wake of devastating Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. So far $1.5 billion in HUD aid has been made available, of which Puerto Rico has drawn approximately $11 million, according to a HUD spokesperson. In all, Congress has approved roughly $20 billion in long-term rebuilding aid to Puerto Rico that HUD is mandated to disburse. The delay in releasing the funds riled politicians, particularly congressional Democrats. They sought to ramp up pressure on the administration to lift the hold on the aid following a series of recent earthquakes, including a massive 6.4 magnitude quake this month that walloped the U.S. territory. That quake killed one person and damaged hundreds of homes and buildings, prompting thousands to leave their homes and sleep outdoors out of fear that structures are unsafe. HUD was supposed release $8.2 billion from a program called Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery by September, but never did. The administration has repeatedly cited concerns of alleged mismanagement and corruption as justification for its hesitation to hand over billions of dollars in disaster funds to the island. \"Now that a full financial monitoring team is assembled and active, we can move forward with confidence that these disaster recovery funds will reach those who need them the most,\" a senior HUD official said in a statement to NPR. Further questions to HUD officials on exactly when the aid will reach Puerto Rico were not immediately answered. News the Trump administration reversed course was first reported by Politico. Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Jenniffer González tweeted late Tuesday that HUD's decision to release the funds will bring Puerto Rico one step closer to receiving the funds it needs. Some members of Congress praised the administration's decision, but also chastised Trump officials, saying the holdup was unwarranted. \"While it is a welcome development that the Administration has released its hold on these funds, this step is inexcusably overdue,\" Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., said in a statement. \"Congress approved this disaster relief almost two years ago and these ongoing delays speak to the Administration's disdain for the people of Puerto Rico.\" Earlier this week Velázquez, along with 40 other members of Congress, sent a letter to HUD Secretary Ben Carson requesting an in-person meeting. The letter called on Carson to give \"an explanation as to why your Department has chosen to violate the law by withholding these critical resources.\" Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week called on the administration to \"cease and desist that illegal activity\" of withholding the aid. As NPR reported in August, HUD said it was placing new restrictions on the flow of billions of dollars to Puerto Rico, citing political strife on the island. The announcement came the same day Pedro Pierluisi was sworn in as the new governor of Puerto Rico. Days later the island's Supreme Court ruled unanimously that his swearing in was unconstitutional. He was removed and former Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez was sworn in. At the time, HUD announced it was releasing $16 billion for rebuilding in states and U.S. territories hit by natural disasters. It stipulated that nine states, including Texas and Florida, would be allowed swift access to the funds. But Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands had to wait. Carson pointed to alleged corruption, citing \"fiscal irregularities and financial mismanagement occurring in Puerto Rico\" as the basis for not allowing Puerto Rico to request the mitigation funds right away, he said in a statement. The U.S. Virgin Islands was due $774 million, but it was being held because of the territory's \"capacity issues,\" Carson said. In addition, HUD said it was going to appoint a federal financial monitor to keep tabs on how the funds would be disbursed on Puerto Rico. HUD still has not published a Federal Register notice, which will provide an outline for Puerto Rico to establish a plan to use the funds. Until that happens, Puerto Rico, still reeling from deadly hurricanes and now earthquakes, will continue waiting. In July, the FBI arrested a pair of high-ranking officials in Puerto Rico for allegedly directing more than $15 million dollars in federal funds to preferred businesses. The federal indictment outlined crimes that included wire fraud, theft and money laundering. An official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency was arrested by federal agents in September for allegedly taking bribes in the aftermath of Hurr", "The number of homeless people in the U.S. shrank from 2012 to 2013, according to a large government study that found the number of veterans and others who are homeless declined for the third straight year. But homeless numbers rose in New York and other states, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The study also found that nearly 20 percent of homeless people were in either New York City (11 percent of the U.S. total) or Los Angeles (9 percent). The HUD study uses data from a count conducted by U.S. shelters on a single night, in which they reported how many people were using their facilities, and how many were left without shelter. For the most recent Annual Homeless Assessment Report, the data was collected last January. The tally found that 610,042 people were homeless on that night, reflecting a drop of nearly 4 percent from 2012 to 2013, the agency says. Of that number, 36 percent — 222,197 people — were in families, representing a drop of 7 percent for that group. More than a third of all homeless people (35 percent) were living in spots such as abandoned buildings and cars, or under bridges, the report says. As with all the data we're mentioning, that number includes children; nearly a quarter of America's homeless are under 18, according to HUD. The HUD report saw continued progress from recent efforts to help two groups: military veterans and people who are chronically homeless. \"Based on data reported by more than 3,000 cities and counties, last January's one-night estimate reveals a 24 percent drop in homelessness among veterans,\" according to a HUD news release, \"and a 16 percent reduction among individuals experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness since 2010.\" In terms of changes in the homeless population in America, here's a breakdown from the study: From 2007 to 2013, homelessness rose in 23 states and the District of Columbia. The largest one-year increases from 2012 were in New York (7,864 people), followed by California (5,928), South Carolina (1,629), Massachusetts (1,528), and Maine (623). The largest decreases since 2012 were in Florida (7,308) and Colorado (7,014), followed by Texas (4,437), Georgia (3,545), and Washington (2,744). In announcing the report Thursday, officials credited the \"Opening Doors\" program, which pairs federal agencies with local and state initiatives, for helping to reduce the numbers of people who are chronically homeless, as well as the number of veterans who are homeless. The advocacy group National Alliance to End Homelessness says that many small groups deserve some credit, as well. \"Communities across the country are to be commended,\" the organization said in its reaction to today's HUD release. \"Federal funding sources dedicated to homelessness have not increased appreciably, with the exception of dollars targeted specifically toward veterans. Instead, it is local providers and local communities implementing effective strategies and targeting resources more efficiently.\" According to HUD, the pairing of housing with support programs that provide aid in dealing with mental illness, substance abuse and other issues \"not only ends homelessness for these vulnerable individuals, but also saves the taxpayer money by interrupting a costly cycle of emergency room visits, detoxes, and even jail terms.\" \"If we're going to end homelessness as we know it, we need a continued bipartisan commitment from Congress to break the cycle trapping our most vulnerable citizens between living in a shelter or a life on the streets,\" said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who urged lawmakers to maintain their support for \"proven strategies that are making a real difference.\"", "Thousands of foreign workers who entered the U.S. on temporary work visas received $1,200 checks in error during the first round of stimulus payments, and many of them are spending the money in their home nations. One tax preparation firm told NPR that it has clients from 129 countries who mistakenly received stimulus checks, including Brazil, Canada, China, India, Nigeria and South Korea. Government officials and tax experts say the mistake happened because many foreign workers, whether unintentionally or on purpose, file incorrect tax returns that make them appear to be U.S. residents. Some of them are now trying to amend their returns because they worry that having mistakenly received a stimulus check will jeopardize their visa status, green card application or ability to return to the U.S. How much stimulus money was mistakenly sent to foreign workers living overseas is difficult to quantify. But Sprintax, which does U.S. tax preparation for nonresidents, did about 400 amended returns last year for people who mistakenly filed as U.S. residents, and so far this year it has done 5,000 — almost 5% of the total federal tax returns it filed last year, according to the company. If just 5% of last year's more than 700,000 student and seasonal workers with F-1 and J-1 visas received a stimulus check in error, that would total $43 million. The \"economic impact payments\" sent erroneously to non-U.S. citizens are the latest in a series of mishaps involving coronavirus relief efforts, including nearly $1.4 billion in stimulus checks sent to dead Americans. As Congress debates another pandemic relief package, it's considering a second round of payments that would exclude the deceased, but its new bill does not address the problem of $1,200 checks having mistakenly gone to foreign workers in other countries. Many of those workers are college students, often from Eastern Europe and South and Central America, who travel to the United States for temporary and seasonal low-wage jobs such as waiters, lifeguards and hotel housekeepers at ski resorts, amusement parks and beach destinations. In a typical year, the U.S. issues work visas to several hundred thousand foreign students. One of them is a 24-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic who spent last summer working at a Cape Cod grocery store and this spring received a $1,200 stimulus check signed by President Donald J. Trump. \"I was really surprised because I was not expecting that money,\" the man told NPR, which agreed not to identify him because he is concerned that receiving the check could put him at odds with the U.S. government. \"I don't want ... any problems,\" added the man, whose former Cape Cod landlord received the check and sent it to him in the Dominican Republic. \"If they say that we have to return it, I will return it. It is not a problem.\" He said numerous foreign student workers he knows have also received stimulus checks, including people in Bulgaria, Colombia, Jamaica and Montenegro. Sometimes the checks were directly deposited into bank accounts on file with the IRS. Sometimes the checks were mailed to their former U.S. addresses and forwarded to them. And some checks could have been mailed to them directly overseas. The payments were intended to stimulate the U.S. economy by giving consumers spending money, but this Dominican man is not able to work on Cape Cod this summer because the Trump administration's freeze on foreign work visas has prevented seasonal workers from coming to the U.S. — so he'll be spending his stimulus payment in his own country. \"This money, to be honest, is a big help,\" he said, \"because we can buy food, we can pay the cable services, and we also can pay the university,\" referring to a school in the Dominican Republic where he takes online classes. Only U.S. citizens and U.S. \"resident aliens\" are eligible for stimulus money, but the Dominican man interviewed by NPR and some of his friends do not meet that eligibility standard. A \"resident alien\" is a federal tax classification, and to qualify for it an individual needs a green card or must have been in the U.S. for a certain amount of time. The U.S. government acknowledges that some stimulus checks were improperly sent to foreign workers and told NPR that the Treasury Department is \"exploring possible options\" to prevent that from happening again. Most foreign workers should file a form 1040-NR — the NR stands for nonresident — but instead mistakenly file a 1040, the form most commonly used by individual U.S. taxpayers, according to Georgia attorney Clayton Cartwright, who specializes in immigration tax law and has a background in accounting. \"I would say probably anywhere to a third to a half [of first-time foreign filers] are filing the wrong return,\" especially if they use e-filing software such as TurboTax that is intended only for U.S. residents, Cartwright said. When foreign workers file the wrong form, \"I don't know if the IRS would even be able to tell,\" he ad", "Updated at 2:58 p.m. ET The Department of Housing and Urban Development is suing social media giant Facebook for allegedly violating the Fair Housing Act. HUD says Facebook does so by \"encouraging, enabling and causing housing discrimination\" when it allows companies that use their platform to improperly shield who can see certain housing ads. In the charging document, HUD accuses Facebook of unlawfully discriminating against people based on race, religion, familial status, disability and other characteristics that closely align with the 1968 Fair House Act's protected classes. HUD also alleges Facebook allowed advertisers certain tools on their advertising platform that could exclude people who were classified as \"non-American-born,\" \"non-Christian\" or \"interested in Hispanic culture,\" among other things. It also said advertisers could exclude people based on ZIP code, essentially \"drawing a red line around those neighborhoods on a map.\" \"Facebook is discriminating against people based upon who they are and where they live,\" HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a statement. \"Using a computer to limit a person's housing choices can be just as discriminatory as slamming a door in someone's face.\" (Note: Facebook is among NPR's financial sponsors.) HUD said that the charges would be heard by a U.S. administrative law judge or in federal district court. The charges come on the heels of a complaint HUD filed in August, saying \"reasonable cause exists\" that a violation had occurred. Facebook appeared caught off guard by the announcement. \"We're surprised by HUD's decision, as we've been working with them to address their concerns and have taken significant steps to prevent ads discrimination,\" Facebook said in a statement. \"While we were eager to find a solution,\" Facebook added. \"HUD insisted on access to sensitive information — like user data — without adequate safeguards. We're disappointed by today's developments, but we'll continue working with civil rights experts on these issues.\" Housing Department officials say they still see evidence of discrimination on Facebook's platforms and as result felt compelled to move forward with the charges. There is a period of about three weeks that either Facebook or HUD can move to have the case heard in federal court, according to HUD officials. An injunction or civil penalties, which could include a payment to those who may have been harmed by Facebook's ad targeting practices, are all possible outcomes should this case be taken up by the courts. Last week, Facebook said it would be settling lawsuits for just under $5 million with several civil rights and housing advocates, including the National Fair Housing Alliance. In that announcement, Facebook said \"we can do better\" and promised to make changes to its platform, including not allowing housing advertisers to \"target by age, gender or ZIP code.\" It also said advertisers that offer housing, employment and credit items \"will have a much smaller set\" of targeting criteria to choose from. Facebook has been facing housing discrimination allegations for years. As part its investigation into Facebook's ad-targeting practices, ProPublica discovered in 2016, the company allowed advertisers access filters it referred to as \"Ethnic Affinities.\" After that report, Facebook promised reforms. But in a follow-up report, also by ProPublica found \"a significant lapse\" in Facebook's monitoring of advertisers.", "Weeks after a powerful earthquake and dozens of aftershocks rocked Puerto Rico, citizens whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the quakes will be granted access to some financial relief, officials announced on Thursday. President Trump \"declared that a major disaster exists\" in the southern regions of Puerto Rico and \"ordered Federal assistance to supplement Commonwealth and local recovery efforts,\" the White House said in a statement. The announcement of the disaster declaration comes on the same day the Department of Housing and Urban Development formally announced a grant agreement with Puerto Rico, releasing another $8.2 billion in aid. Those funds were made available to help with recovery from the 2017 hurricanes Maria and Irma, a gesture that is seen as extremely overdue by many on the ravaged island, as well as Democratic lawmakers in Congress. Details about the forthcoming assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency remain vague but a spokesman told NPR the funds will be released \"on an ongoing basis.\" \"Thank you President [Trump] for signing the declaration of disaster for the southern towns of Puerto Rico after the January earthquakes,\" Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Jenniffer González tweeted. \"Your action will help the island in the recovery process.\" It is unclear exactly how much money will be made available. However, the White House said individuals can begin applying for grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. Only those who live in the municipalities of Guánica, Guayanilla, Penuelas, Ponce, Utuado and Yauco will be eligible. Thousands who live in those communities are still sleeping outside, afraid to return to their homes. Earthquakes have continued to rattle the island since the first 5.4 temblor struck the island on Dec. 28. Since then at least one person has died and many others have been seriously injured or left homeless by collapsed buildings. In a statement from HUD, Secretary Ben Carson said the months-long hold on the hurricane recovery aid was lifted as a result of additional oversight financial measures have been taken. \"Now that proper financial controls are in place, implementing the second phase of Puerto Rico's disaster recovery program can move forward with an extension to its line of credit,\" Carson said. The funding was supposed to be released in September, but Carson refused to do so out of concern that the money would be mismanaged by officials in Puerto Rico. As a result, only $1.5 billion out of approximately $20 billion that was appropriated by Congress been disbursed. On Thursday, Carson added that more oversight was needed before HUD \"could proceed with confidence\" the disaster funds could be distributed and spent properly. Carson's delay was met with outrage by Puerto Rican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress who argued the island territory was being treated unfairly, while states including Florida and Texas were given swift access to emergency funding following 2017 disasters. A group of more than three dozen Democrats signed a letter Monday demanding that the White House release the billions in aid to the devastated island. HUD announced Thursday it appointed Robert Couch as the new federal financial monitor to oversee the administration of disaster grants for both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. \"I greatly appreciate the Secretary's confidence in me,\" Couch said in a statement. \"I share his dedication to the recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and his determination to ensuring that the funds entrusted to HUD by Congress for the survivors are expended as quickly as possible while still safeguarding against waste, fraud and abuse.\" Couch is not new to HUD. He formerly served as the department's General Counsel. He also served as president of the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), was commissioner on the Bipartisan Policy Center's Housing Commission, and served on the Task Force on the Status of Puerto Rico in the under President George W. Bush.", "Lawmakers told Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson Wednesday that there's little chance Congress will accept the Trump administration's plan to make deep cuts in housing and development programs. The president's 2020 budget calls for eliminating the Community Development Block Grant program, the public housing capital fund and the HOME grant program for more affordable housing, for a one-year savings of more than $7 billion. But these programs are popular among lawmakers, especially local officials who say they desperately need money to help their low-income communities. House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey of New York noted that the administration's new housing budget echoed last year's proposal, which was rejected by Congress on a bipartisan basis. \"This year, your proposal contains even deeper cuts and would greatly reduce public housing and end most community development block grants. It would lead to more people struggling to find affordable housing and more people falling into homelessness,\" she said. The ranking Republican on the HUD appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, warned Carson, \"Just like last year, we're unlikely to agree on a lot of the things you've put forward.\" Maine Republican Susan Collins, who chairs the Senate panel that oversees HUD spending, told Carson later in the day that she was \"deeply troubled\" by many of the administration's proposals. \"Low-income households face an affordable housing shortage across the country, and in many locations that shortage is reaching crisis levels,\" she said. Carson did little to push back but said the administration wants to provide safe, decent and affordable housing \"while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.\" He added that recently enacted tax breaks to encourage investment in almost 9,000 economically distressed communities — called Opportunity Zones — would take the place of some of the proposed cuts. \"All the things that all of these programs that we've had in place for many years are doing, the Opportunity Zones will do in spades, like it's on steroids,\" he told the House panel. The administration estimates that Opportunity Zones will attract over $100 billion in private investment and create jobs, although some analysts have questioned how much low-income residents will be helped. House lawmakers also asked Carson about the status of disaster aid for Puerto Rico and other areas of the country that have suffered devastating damage due to hurricanes, floods and fire. HUD is in the process of providing these communities with billions of dollars to help them rebuild. Subcommittee Chairman David Price of North Carolina asked Carson about reports that the White House has blocked aid for Puerto Rico because President Trump has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with the island government and how it is using the money. On Monday, Trump tweeted that Puerto Rico \"can't do anything right, the place is a mess — nothing works.\" HUD's inspector general's office announced last week that it would look into allegations that the White House has interfered with distribution of the aid, which was approved by Congress. \"To your knowledge did you or anyone else at HUD have conversations with the president or with the White House or other senior administration officials about delaying or diverting disaster funding for Puerto Rico?\" asked Price. Carson replied, \"No, but we have had conversations about how to make sure that the money gets there and that it is used in an appropriate way.\" He said $1.5 billion has already been sent to the island and that an agreement for an additional $8.2 billion has been approved. Carson called reports that the administration is trying to block or slow down the disaster aid \"completely inaccurate as far as HUD funding is concerned.\" Speaking to lawmakers, Carson also addressed carbon monoxide detectors, inspection notices and the upcoming 2020 census count. Here are the highlights: Carbon monoxide detectors: Carson said his agency will now inspect all public housing units for carbon monoxide detectors after reports that about a dozen residents have died from carbon monoxide poisoning since 2003, including two people in South Carolina earlier this year. Inspection notice: Carson said HUD will give public housing authorities a 14-day notice of upcoming inspections, rather than a much longer warning period, to prevent them from covering up serious deficiencies in the buildings. Thousands of units around the country are in serious disrepair. Housing authorities blame lack of federal funding. Census count: Carson said an accurate census count is a \"very high priority\" for his agency, which often distributes aid on the basis of population and other demographics. When Carson told California Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar that he was \"not aware of anyone trying to curtail\" a complete and accurate count, a dubious Aguilar responded, \"Have you been to a Cabinet meeti", "The Department of Housing and Urban Development has now decided it will demolish four out of 10 of the largest public-housing projects in New Orleans. HUD concluded that the environmental conditions of the buildings in the aftermath of Katrina were too bad to fix. The decision means about 3,000 residents who lived there will now have to find someplace else to go. HUD said it will continue to give those residents housing vouchers to use elsewhere while they rebuild in New Orleans, but many of the 1000 residents who have been living in tents in the city say they want to go back to their old homes. (Soundbite of demonstrators) LIANE HANSEN, host: In New Orleans this weekend, public housing residents staged a protest march down one of the city's wealthiest avenues. Many of the participants had returned to New Orleans for the demonstration. They'd been living in other cities since fleeing their homes, following Hurricane Katrina last year. They waited nine months to find out whether or when they could return home permanently, and their long wait is over. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this past week that it will demolish four of the city's 10 largest public housing projects and will give thousands of residents rent vouchers, which leaves them scrambling for new places to live. NPR's Anne Hawke reports. ANNE HAWKE reporting: The day after HUD made its announcement, Ndeija Jukali(ph) sat on a folding chair on the sidewalk across from the St. Bernard homes. In a circle, with a dozen other organizers and public housing residents, he talked of rallying the troops against the demolition of projects like this one. Mr. NDEIJA JUKALI (New Orleans Resident): Yesterday it was, we're going to tear them down. Today, when they were challenged by a few people, it became a proposal. When we get a lot of people, it's gonna just be an idea. And when we get a lot, a lot of people, it's gonna be a bad idea. Oh, we just had a bad idea... HAWKE: HUD will raze several existing housing projects it says are storm damaged beyond repair. It will replace them over the next few years with mixed income housing and give displaced residents rental vouchers until new homes are built. With public housing tenants scattered around the country, the movement to oppose HUD consists of a small core of people who've made it back to the city to organize. Ms. ELAINE GIBSON(ph) (Displaced New Orleans Resident): I grew up right in there, in St. Bernard. HAWKE: Elaine Gibson is in tears. She looks at the old brick, St. Bernard complex across the street. It's her home of 45 years, fenced off and shuttered to the public. As with other housing residents, the news from HUD leaves Gibson skeptical, angry and just plain sad. Ms. GIBSON: It hurts. That hurts. It's just like you're forcing me to live somewhere else now. If you're gonna tear this down, somewhere I was born and raised in, now you gonna tear it down and you forcing me to live somewhere I don't know nothing about: Houston, Texas. HAWKE: The only thing that gets Gibson to laugh is the suggestion that she'll have a rental voucher. (Soundbite of laughter) Ms. GIBSON: And where I'm a use it at? Where I'm a use it at? You know somewhere? HAWKE: At least 3,000 former public housing families now face the decision of whether to rent housing in cities where they've resettled or come back to New Orleans to rent. HUD is raising the value of rental vouchers from about 700 to $1,100 a month. And HUD's Deputy Chief of Staff Scott Keller says that will allow public housing residents to compete in New Orleans' unprecedented, tight housing market. Mr. SCOTT KELLER (Deputy Chief of Staff, HUD, New Orleans): We're paying their rent. And we're going to continue to pay their rent until they're able to come home. And we want them to be able to compete on the same footing with anybody else who comes in that community. And in the long run, we want them to have participation in the redevelopment that is occurring across New Orleans. Ms. LAURA TUGGLE (Housing Attorney): Paying more rent may help a little bit, but the fact of the matter is, there's just not enough rental housing. So we need HUD to recognize that the redevelopment policies that they usually use for public housing just don't work here right now. HAWKE: Even in the best of times, says housing Attorney Laura Tuggle, HUD redevelopment puts the squeeze on public housing residents, reducing the number of public units when properties are converted to mixed income homes. She says HUD is using the Hurricane Katrina evacuation as a chance to clean house, leaving residents to fend for themselves. HUD's Scott Keller doesn't dispute that the hurricane made New Orleans ripe for change, but he says existing housing projects were crime ridden and in disrepair. And even if HUD reopened them, the neighborhoods are simply not livable now. Mr. KELLER: When you look around these facilities, you see nothing but devastation. ", "Updated at 10 p.m. ET The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent a letter to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson Wednesday requesting \"all documents and communications\" related to the redecorating of his office and HUD's handling of a whistleblower. In a four-and-a-half page letter, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said he wants the documents in order for the committee to \"determine whether HUD adhered to the applicable spending limitations\" that apply to office makeovers. Gowdy is also requesting documentation involving the HUD employee who claims she was the subject of retaliation after refusing to exceed spending caps set for office redecorating. He set a deadline of March 14 for the documents to be handed over to the committee. Gowdy's letter to Carson comes a day after reports surfaced that the agency approved more than $31,000 on a new office suite dining room set. Additional allegations were brought by a former HUD official claiming she was told by her superiors that \"$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair.\" According to the New York Times, a \"custom hardwood table, chairs and hutch\" were purchased a month after a whistleblower complaint was filed alleging Candy Carson, the wife and informal adviser to the HUD secretary, was pushing for elaborate modifications to the drab decor of the department's offices. The whistleblower, Helen Foster, was a career HUD employee. She filed a complaint in November alleging she was demoted and replaced after refusing to exceed the legal $5,000 limit on redecoration. The existence of the complaint was first reported Tuesday by The Guardian. Carson tweeted Wednesday evening that he had done nothing wrong. In a statement, HUD spokesperson Raffi Williams denied Foster's allegations of lavish spending, adding that while Carson did have different chairs in his office they were not new purchases, but rather ones that came from HUD's basement. \"Secretary Carson, to the best of our knowledge, is the only secretary to go to the subbasement at his agency to select the furniture for his office. All the furniture in his office was purchased by the government prior to his arrival,\" Williams said. According to the Guardian, Foster was first urged by then-acting HUD Director Craig Clemmensen in January last year to help Carson's wife get the funding to redecorate Carson's office. In an interview with CNN Tuesday, Foster said she was pressured and retaliated against for not finding more money. She was also told that past administrations always found the funding. \"I had a bucket in my car because I would throw up on the way to work and on the way home from work every day, just out of anxiety,\" Foster said. In an interview with NPR, Foster's Washington-based lawyer, Joe Kaplan, of the firm Passman & Kaplan, said the pressure by HUD officials persisted \"for several weeks, certainly into February\" of last year. According to Kaplan, when Foster told Clemmensen that she could not get around the statutory cap of $5,000 for redecorating, Clemmensen told her that amount could not even purchase a decent chair. \"I've sat in a lot of chairs that have cost less than $5,000, let me tell you,\" Kaplan said. Kaplan said his client is seeking compensatory damages and re-instatment as HUD's chief administrative officer. He adds that \"a public apology by HUD would go a long way in restoring Helen's reputation.\" HUD officials provided receipts that showed HUD spent $3,373 on window treatments, including wooden blinds, and an additional $1,100 on furniture repairs. In a separate receipt, dated Dec. 21, an item labeled \"Secretary's Furniture Procurement\" for the amount of $31,561 was made to the Baltimore-based contractor Sebree and Associates LLC. Officials at HUD said the secretary did not purchase the dining room set. They said it was bought by \"career staffers in charge of the building.\" The old table and chairs from the mid-1960s were \"deemed unrepairable.\" NPR has not confirmed who gave the OK for that purchase and has sought clarity from HUD about why the purchase of the new table did not fall under the $5,000 new-decor cap. The agency has been embroiled in other controversies in recent weeks. The Trump administration is proposing more than $8 billion in cuts to HUD's budget, or more than 14 percent from current levels. Carson is also facing allegations that he may have violated ethics rules by allowing his son, Baltimore businessman Ben Carson Jr., to organize \"listening tours\" for his father in that city last summer. The secretary has called on HUD's inspector general to review whether there were any violations. Kaplan, the lawyer for Foster, said the Office of Special Counsel could determine whether it will move forward and investigate Foster's complaint as early as next week. The special counsel is separate from the Justice Department counsel investigating contacts between Russian officials and the Trump presidential campaign.", "The Obama administration wants the economic stimulus money spent fast, and it's relying on states to do much of the spending. But Washington state's stimulus czar says Congress seems to be flagging most of the money for specific uses. That may leave states with less discretion over funds than they had hoped. In Olympia, almost every hour on the hour, petitioners stream into the office of Dick Thompson, the governor's point man on the stimulus money. They are representatives of cities, counties, local industries: Some come in teams led by professional lobbyists, and others, like Sarah Smyth McIntosh, come alone. McIntosh is a condo developer in Olympia, and she'd like the feds to help spruce up the neighborhood around her building with a park, a trail — even a fish ladder to help spawning salmon get up a creek. \"That's shovel-ready!\" she says. \"That right there could put people to work — and that's only a $300,000 project!\" Thompson listens patiently, making sympathetic noises. He's a veteran of state government, now retired — and he's doing this job for free. His retiree attitude has a calming effect on people as they make their pitches. Still, they don't want to leave until they know whether they've made \"the list.\" \"People keep saying we have a list, and I keep saying we have a pile — but you'll be added to the pile,\" Thompson says. The \"pile\" is kept upstairs, in the Office of Financial Management, where Tom Saelid has been trying to impose some order on the funding requests. Saelid holds a binder with more than 500 requests. And from reading the letters, it's clear that people don't really understand what's available to them, he says. What people don't understand, Thompson says, is just how little control the state will have over the money. \"We really thought that there was going to be a lot of discretion, what I call a big check,\" he says. \"And we were going to be deciding between libraries and sewer projects and road projects.\" Instead, he says, Congress seems to be channeling most of the money into specific uses — K-12 education, Medicaid, transportation — following pre-established guidelines. The money almost spends itself, and the states are left with control over a lot less money. The pros call this \"peanut butter\": It's just enough to spread around on small-scale projects, like the new intersections and repaving jobs that were already on regional to-do lists. From the states' point of view, that puts too much of the money out of their reach — just when they're desperate to plug the holes in their budgets. Democrat Lisa Brown, the state Senate majority leader and also an economist, says the state is going to have to make huge cuts — and probably lay people off — while trying to create new jobs elsewhere with the federal money. \"It's like you're stepping on the gas with one foot, and stepping on the brakes with the other foot,\" she says. Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire — a Democrat and an early Obama supporter — admits that she was thinking bigger. \"I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth,\" she says. \"To be perfectly honest with you, we're in dire straits. So I want to be appreciative, No. 1. But I will tell you that the expectations were different than what we're seeing come out of Congress.\" Even though the states won't control most of the money, it will pass through states' hands, Thompson says. \"I call it like skipping a rock. It hits us long enough to be appropriated to the locals, but we may still be responsible back to the feds for the accounting for it,\" he says. And that accountability means a lot of extra work. During one meeting, Thompson and staff try to brainstorm a way to count the jobs created by each project. Down the road, that number will be pretty important to the politicians. Irv Lefberg is the state forecaster who will make those calculations, and he says he's already getting his first hard data. \"We've gotten some calls from consultants that have been hired by local governments to help them with the applications,\" he says. Those consultants, he says, may represent the first new jobs created by the stimulus package — \"and we haven't spent anything yet.\" It's not exactly \"shovel-ready,\" but at least somebody has found work. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel. MELISSA BLOCK, host: And I'm Melissa Block. When Congress gives its final approval to the gargantuan stimulus bill, hundreds of billions of dollars will be shoved into the spending pipeline. At the other end of that pipeline, for many of those billions, will be state houses around the country. Doling out the stimulus funds is no easy job, as NPR's Martin Kaste found out. He spent a day with a man known as Washington state's stimulus czar. MARTIN KASTE: Dick Thompson is a busy guy. He has a steady stream of petitioners coming to see him. They're booked almost every hour on the hour. Mr. DICK THOMPSON (Washington State Stimulus Manager): 411, ", "A bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding answers from the Treasury Department and the IRS about improper coronavirus relief checks paid out to deceased taxpayers. Ten lawmakers, including a mix of Democratic and Republican U.S. senators and representatives, sent a letter to the agencies today asking how many deceased Americans received coronavirus relief payments and what steps the federal government is taking to recover the money. \"While it is essential that our constituents receive stimulus payments quickly, these improper payments to deceased individuals represent significant government waste and a burden to constituents who mistakenly accept the payments,\" the letter says. The letter was in response to NPR's reporting on Wednesday about widespread reports of the $1,2000 stimulus checks showing up in the mailboxes and bank accounts of people who died as long as two years ago. The letter was signed by: Sens. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del.; John Kennedy, R-La.; Gary C. Peters, D-Mich.; Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.; Angus S. King Jr., I-Maine; and Jon Tester, D-Mont.; along with Reps. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill.; Greg Gianforte, R-Mont.; Bryan Steil, R-Wis.; and Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., D-Calif. The members of Congress have introduced a bill that would enable other federal agencies to access the Social Security Administration's death records to prevent future improper payments to the deceased. It's not the first time the dead have received government money during an economic crisis — a 2010 Social Security Administration Inspector General's report found that the SSA sent tens of thousands of stimulus checks to the recently deceased and the incarcerated in 2009. The agency did not receive death data from states and failed to process its own death records. The IG estimates that about half of the payments have been returned. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that the latest payments were in error and should be voluntarily returned, but the agency did not explain how to return payments until this week. Treasury has not responded to NPR's requests for comment, regarding how many deceased people may have received payments, or whether there is any penalty for not returning the checks. But the department told NPR on Wednesday that checks to the dead should be returned. Following days of inquiries and the publication of NPR's report on Wednesday, the IRS released guidance on its website on how to return improper payments to the deceased. The federal government has spent more than $200 billion on coronavirus relief payments.", "San Francisco officials are claiming victory in a dispute with federal housing officials regarding a city effort to combat gentrification. The city had aimed to help low-income residents secure preferences when applying for a new senior housing complex; this week the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it will allow an \"anti-displacement\" preference for residents living in certain neighborhoods experiencing rapid gentrification. The ruling means that 40 percent of the 98-unit development — which is partially federally funded — will be set aside for seniors in the Western Addition, Bayview, Russian Hill, Mission and South of Market neighborhoods. \"This is important progress in our efforts to halt the displacement of residents at greatest risk of being forced out of the city they know and love,\" said Mayor Edwin Lee. \"This will thwart the out-migration of African-American and Latino communities who have been deeply impacted by the challenging housing market.\" HUD originally objected to the city's initial plan to grant \"neighborhood preferences\" to seniors residing mainly in the Western Addition — many of them African-Americans — applying for residency in the federally financed complex. Officials argued that such preferences violated the 1968 Fair Housing Act by limiting equal access and perpetuating segregation in the historically African-American neighborhood. But San Francisco officials appealed the HUD ruling and sent a delegation to Washington to ask federal officials to take a new look at the city's anti-displacement strategy. They also brought in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, to bolster their case. Feinstein went as far as to request that HUD Secretary Julian Castro give his \"personal\" attention to the city's request for a review. In a Wednesday letter to Mayor Lee, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustavo Velasquez wrote: \"HUD can support an 'anti-displacement' preference for 40 percent of the units, where residents from throughout the city are eligible for the preferences and where race is not considered in the selection process.\" San Francisco Board of Supervisor President London Breed, who grew up in the Western Addition and had championed the \"neighborhood preferences,\" hailed HUD's decision. In a news conference, she called it \"a monumental victory.\" \"We got something, I believe, that's going to be just as good and just as effective at making sure that the people who live here have a real shot,\" Breed said. In essence, HUD told San Francisco to expand the pool of residents who are eligible for the housing to other neighborhoods in addition to the mostly black Western Addition. This brings the city in line with laws that requires equal access. \"It's good that HUD explicitly acknowledges the challenge gentrification poses to following fair housing law, when it comes to serving lower-income residents who live in high-cost cities,\" said University of San Francisco Law Professor Tim Iglesias, who specializes in housing law. \"But there are not enough publicly available details about the compromise to know how much this will really serve the city's initial goal ... to avoid the further displacement of African-Americans in the Western Addition.\"", "Updated at 11 a.m. ET The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday it will begin enforcing the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The move follows an executive order signed by President Biden on his first day in office instructing agencies to enforce prohibitions on such discrimination. \"People should be able to access healthcare and secure a roof over their heads without being subjected to sex discrimination,\" the order says in part. \"All persons should receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.\" HUD received 197 claims of discrimination involving sexual orientation or gender identity over the past year, a spokesperson told NPR. Studies have shown that transgender individuals and same-sex couples are more likely to be discriminated against when seeking rental housing. But fair housing laws have not been interpreted to cover such cases in the past. HUD says the legal basis for the memorandum is the Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the court held that discrimination against LGBTQ people is sex discrimination. Biden's order interprets that 2020 ruling to mean LGBTQ people are also protected in the areas of health care, housing and education. HUD says it is the first department to implement Biden's executive order. LGBTQ advocates have cheered the new administration's position, which reverses Trump administration efforts to limit such protections. With this announcement, \"LGBTQ people can rest assured that if they are denied housing in an emergency or refused rental of an apartment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity they will have recourse under federal law,\" Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. The department says it will look back and review all claims of discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation received since Jan. 20, 2020, and HUD has instructed its jurisdictional partners to do the same. LGBTQ people who believe they have experienced housing discrimination in that time period can file a complaint or add to a current complaint. HUD says it is currently exploring how the Bostock ruling and the executive order may impact other statutes and regulations. \"The Biden administration is committed to ensuring that LGBTQ+ individuals receive full protections under our nation's civil rights laws,\" said a HUD official who spoke on background to reporters on Tuesday. \"And this is an important step in fulfilling that promise.\" Erin Uritus, CEO of Out & Equal, which advocates for LGBTQ workplace equality, praised the administration's actions so far. \"Unfortunately, housing discrimination is the lived reality for many LGBTQ people in our country – and this is especially true for the transgender community. Housing is basic human right. Thankfully, President Biden is bringing the full force of the federal government to bear so that no LGBTQ American will be denied a roof over their head just because of who they are or who they love.\" NPR's Pam Fessler contributed to this report.", "The economic stimulus package was only signed last month, but already there are numerous scams trying to lure people with promises of free government cash. The Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau are sounding alarms. Kristann Hartley lives in northwest Ohio and heard that the stimulus package had money to help people weatherize their homes. So she used her computer to try to find information and ran across uspublicgrantservices.com. The Better Business Bureau says this Web site is a scam, like so many others out there offering government money that doesn't exist. But Hartley didn't know that. \"In a little bit less than a week later, I received a phone call from a gentleman who said he was in Washington, D.C., with the Department of Housing and I had been approved for this grant,\" she says. The man on the phone told her she could get up to $25,000. She just needed to provide a copy of her deed and estimates from contractors, he said. Hartley says she was excited and thought, \"I'm really glad I'm going to be able to do this.\" But she got suspicious when the caller told her about a $385 underwriting fee to be paid by cashier's check. Calls we made to operators of the Web site seeking comment were not returned. Economy Boosts Scammers Sue McConnell, with the Greater Cleveland Better Business Bureau, says that as the economy has gotten worse, reports of scams have intensified. She says, \"The stimulus package has given these scammers a new hook: 'Aha, we can tell people, you know the stimulus package. The government has all this money now. They're going to help us.' \" There are people out there just trying to steal personal information, or angling for some wired cash. And then there are businesses McConnell says are less than legitimate, though maybe not illegal. A Google search for \"stimulus plan\" demonstrates how easy it is to accidentally end up on one of these scam sites, she says. A recent search result included a sponsored link that said: \"New Obama stimulus checks. I already received my grant.\" Some of the sites look like personal blogs, with regular people talking about how they got rich by applying for government grants. Many of the sites promise a free CD with information about applying for the grants. But they charge a small fee for shipping, which has to be billed to a credit card. And that registers the customer for a subscription service. \"But then, if you don't cancel within 14 days and there is a very detailed and complicated cancellation procedure described in the text, you will be billed a one-time fee of $99,\" Eileen Harrington, with the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said at a news conference in Washington last week. But wait, there's more: A monthly fee, too, and other charges. Over a year, Harrington said, that subscription can add up to $1,000 — all for stuff Harrington says people shouldn't be paying for in the first place. \"The government does not charge people to apply for a grant, and you shouldn't pay money for a list of government grants,\" she said. But so long as some people do pay for those lists, there will be businesses willing to sell them. Real, free information about the stimulus can be found on the government site recovery.gov. Tamara Keith reports for member station WCPN. STEVE INSKEEP, host: Here's an industry that's doing well. One month after the economic stimulus package was signed, there are numerous scams trying to lure people with promises of free government cash. The Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau were sounding alarms. From member station WCPN, Tamara Keith reports. TAMARA KEITH: Kristann Hartley lives in northwest Ohio and heard that the stimulus package had money to help people weatherize their homes. So she used her computer to tried to find information. Ms. KRISTANN HARTLEY: And I found a Web site. It was USPublicGrantServices.com. KEITH: The Better Business Bureau says this Web site is a scam, like so many others out there, offering government money that doesn't exist. But Hartley didn't know that. Ms. HARTLEY: It was a little bit less than a week earlier I received a phone call from a gentleman who said he was in Washington D.C. with the Department of Housing, and I had been approved for this grant. KEITH: The man on the phone told her she could get up to $25,000. She just needed to provide a copy of her deed and estimates from contractors. Ms. HARTLEY: You know, all that, and I was still, like, this is so exciting. I'm really glad I'm going to be able to do this. KEITH: And then he told her about the $385 underwriting fee to be paid by cashier's check. That's when Hartley got suspicious. Calls we made to the operators of the Web site seeking comment were not returned. Sue McConnell is with the Greater Cleveland Better Business Bureau. And she says that as the economy has gotten worse, reports of scams have intensified. Ms. SUE MCCONELL (Greater Cleveland Better Business ", "Fair housing advocates are suing the Department of Housing and Urban Development to compel it to follow a rule meant to help prevent segregation and comply with the Fair Housing Act. The suit, which also names HUD Secretary Ben Carson, was filed Tuesday morning. The federal lawsuit stems from HUD's decision in January to postpone an Obama administration rule requiring communities that get HUD funding to submit fair housing assessments — a step that required recipients to study how inclusive their communities are and plan how to overcome historic segregation. Without that rule, the plaintiffs say, billions of dollars in federal housing funds will be dispensed without any civil rights oversight. HUD also made the change \"without prior notice or opportunity to comment,\" according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs include the National Fair Housing Alliance and two state groups, Texas Appleseed and the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service. \"Basically, this action, I would say is best described as lawless,\" Sasha Samberg-Champion, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a call with reporters. \"There are well-established rules for how agencies can and can't go about changing their own policies,\" he said. \"There is a law called the Administrative Procedure Act that sets these rules out pretty clearly, and HUD broke these rules in multiple ways, and it's not really a close call.\" The plaintiffs say that by sidelining the assessment rule, HUD is letting more than 1,200 grantees — many of them local and state government entities — receive billions of dollars annually without addressing racial segregation and other fair housing problems in their communities. \"Each day HUD holds up requiring jurisdictions to fully comply with the law is another day that millions of people are being denied fair housing opportunities,\" said Lisa Rice, NFHA's president and CEO. \"HUD's action is a clear example of 'justice delayed, justice denied.' \" HUD did not provide an initial response to the lawsuit, instead referring journalists to its statement in January. The housing assessments were required under the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which was published in the summer of 2015, after changes were recommended by both the Government Accountability Office and HUD itself. By requiring an assessment of fair housing, the AFFH rule was intended to make sure communities that receive federal grants and aid for housing also develop plans to address racial segregation and discrimination. For decades, the lawsuit says, HUD \"inadequately enforced\" the Fair Housing Act. It calls the assessment rule an attempt to fix that. But rather than renewing its approval of the AFFH rule earlier this year, the agency delayed it until at least 2020. In doing so, HUD said the program's participants needed more time and help adjusting to the new system. More than a third of the fair housing assessments that were submitted in 2017 were initially rejected, the agency said. The lawsuit comes nearly three years after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a much watched Fair Housing Act case, sided with civil rights groups on the validity of citing \"disparate impact in housing cases.\" As NPR reported, that ruling means \"statistics and other evidence can be used to show that decisions and practices have discriminatory effects — without proving that they're the result of discriminatory intentions.\" That 2015 ruling involved a case against the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, which was accused of contributing to segregated housing patterns by giving too many tax credits to housing in predominantly black areas and too few in predominantly white areas. In the new case, Texas housing advocates say federal scrutiny is particularly needed in their state in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The assessments, they say, could help ensure that the money to rebuild in Houston and other areas is distributed in an equal and fair manner. Analysis of the recovery effort in Houston has shown that \"wealthier areas received more federal disaster assistance than lower-income neighborhoods,\" as member station Houston Public Media reports. That analysis draws on contrasts between two maps: one that shows where the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved the highest percentages of assistance applications and another that shows the Houston area according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's social vulnerability index. Even before the HUD decision in January, advocates say, they were already engaged in a long fight to change officials' thinking about segregation. \"We have spent over a decade working with state and local governments to provide understanding that segregation is not an accident — it is the product of decades of intentional government policy,\" said Madison Sloan, director of Texas Appleseed's Disaster Recovery and Fair Housing Project. NPR's Brakkton Booker contributed to this report.", "The IRS now acknowledges that its own error caused some citizens of other countries to mistakenly receive $1,200 coronavirus relief payments — and that the mistake is likely to happen again if more stimulus money goes out. When reports of the mistake first surfaced, the U.S government placed the blame on those non-Americans, saying that many noncitizens erroneously received stimulus checks because they had filed incorrect tax returns that made them appear to be American. But many non-Americans who received stimulus money do not file U.S. tax returns. One of them is Susanne Wigforss, a 78-year-old Swedish citizen who lives in Stockholm. Wigforss was surprised in July to get a $1,200 check in the mail from the U.S. Treasury. It was followed by a letter from the White House signed by President Trump, addressed to \"My Fellow American\" and informing her that \"your economic impact payment has arrived.\" \"I thought, 'I can't believe it,' \" Wigforss recalled. \"They're sending it to me. Why? I mean, it's crazy, isn't it?\" Only U.S. citizens and U.S. \"resident aliens\" are eligible for stimulus money — \"resident alien\" is a federal tax classification, and to qualify an individual needs a green card or must have been in the U.S. for a certain amount of time — and Wigforss is neither. Asked about this by NPR, the IRS acknowledged it mistakenly sent checks to some noncitizens who receive Social Security and other federal benefits — such as Wigforss, who receives a small Social Security payment from having worked in California for several years. \"This is so wrong,\" Wigforss said, \"because I saw that a number of people were being evicted every month in Chicago, for instance, and I thought one of those families would have needed this stimulus check. Why should a Swedish citizen living abroad receive $1,200?\" \"There's no way I'm going to cash this money — it doesn't belong to me,\" she added. \"But how much money is bleeding out from the Treasury Department because of these [misdirected] stimulus checks, I wonder?\" The U.S. government cannot answer that question. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration did find that, as of late May, $34 million in stimulus money had gone to people who filed a tax return with a foreign address. But that includes eligible people, such as U.S. citizens living abroad, and does not include ineligible foreign citizens who received a check at a U.S. address. For example, NPR interviewed a citizen of the Dominican Republic who was not eligible yet received a $1,200 economic impact payment at his former address in Massachusetts. That $34 million also does not include people, such as Wigforss, who received a check but did not file a U.S. tax return. Since Congress passed its coronavirus relief package in a hurry in March, the U.S. government has put no mechanisms in place to prevent these mistakes from happening again. As a result, if a new relief plan with more stimulus payments passes in the final weeks of the Trump administration or during the Biden administration, some of that money is likely to mistakenly end up in mailboxes overseas again. U.S. Treasury officials said they are \"continuing to assess the accuracy of the economic impact payments ... and the recovery efforts for any erroneous payments.\" In the meantime, they told NPR, the IRS is \"relying on individuals to voluntarily return these payments.\" \"I think the poor folks in the IRS don't have the bandwidth to go chasing this,\" said Enda Kelleher, a vice president at Sprintax, which does U.S. tax preparation for nonresidents, \"but it would be great if they did, because I believe that there's millions of dollars that have gone to people that weren't entitled to it, or they're certainly not the intended recipients.\" Kelleher said Sprintax has clients from about 150 countries who mistakenly received stimulus checks, mostly commonly in India, China, South Korea, Vietnam and the United Kingdom, as well as numerous nations in Latin America. \"It's awful when we hear of millions of dollars going into the wrong hands,\" he added, \"but it was probably within a somewhat acceptable threshold of error or margin of error\" because Congress opted for speed over accuracy when it flooded the U.S. economy with money last spring. Many non-Americans who erroneously received a check are trying to return it because they worry it will jeopardize their visa or immigration status, \"but there's equally thousands that are saying, 'Well, if they were silly enough to make this mistake, it's their mistake and I'm not going to give it back until they ask for it,' \" Kelleher said. Van Shockley falls in that category. He's 74 and was born in Pennsylvania, but he moved to Australia after becoming disillusioned with U.S. politics in the 1960s. \"I had always been depressed when JFK was killed,\" he explained. \"I just couldn't get over that, so I started looking for someplace else [to] start all over.\" Shockley gave up his U.S. citizenship and has now been an Australia", "In the heat of the financial crisis, the coming recession looked so bad that the Obama administration decided to test out the advice of a man who had been dead for over 60 years -- the economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes' idea, radical when he proposed it, was that a government could pull a country out of a deep recession by spending money -- a lot of money. Congress followed Keynes' advice. In February 2009, it passed a $787 billion stimulus bill. Now, economists don't often get a chance to test an idea of this magnitude -- an idea that goes to the heart of how economies work and the nature of recessions. But here it was: an accidental experiment. \"Near perfect,\" said economist Tyler Cowen at the time. \"I view this … as the first test of Keynesian fiscal policy as a formula for getting out of a depression. The very first test.\" (Keynes' ideas also inspired Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal after the Great Depression, but some felt that stimulus was too small to really test the idea.) The Skeptic Cowen, a professor at George Mason University, opposed the stimulus at the time. But he said to call him back in a year-and-a-half. He said if the economy recovers, \"I would take that as serious evidence that I was wrong. I don't think it will happen, but I would take it seriously.\" So, a year-and-a-half has passed. Has Cowen converted to Keynesianism? No. \"If you just look at the actual outcome, I would say what we did didn't work,\" he says. The economy has been growing for about a year, but unemployment is still high, and Cowen worries things might be turning down again -- a double-dip recession. \"Stimulus, for sure it works in the short run,\" he says. \"The thing is, what happens when you pull the stimulus away? If you simply slide back to where you were, all you've done is postpone that process of adjustment. So I view it is a short-term fix that had some stabilizing properties but didn't really turn the economy around.\" And that was Keynes' idea: That government spending can turn the economy around. Keynes believed that recessions often went on longer than they needed to because people and businesses were too anxious to spend. That's why the government needed to borrow the money from them, and spend it for them. If you think of the economy like a car, Keynes argued that it can stall out for long periods. But government spending can restart the engine. The Keynesian And there are still plenty of Keynesians around. Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Analytics, declares the stimulus a success: \"I don't think it's a coincidence that the recession ended about this time last year when the stimulus was providing its maximum economic benefit. So it achieved its principle objective: to arrest the recession and jump-start an economic recovery.\" Zandi recently wrote a paper with another economist, Alan Blinder, called \"How the Great Recession Was Brought to an End.\" They argue that the stimulus played an important role and describe the results of an economic computer model that suggests that the stimulus added or saved almost 2.7 million jobs. Zandi says we will pay a penalty down the road. \"This costs us dearly. If you add up all of the stimulus that we provided to the economy, it was $1 trillion, or roughly $1 trillion,\" he says. \"I mean, that's very, very costly -- and we're going to have to pay for it.\" Pay for it by raising taxes or cutting spending -- both of which could slow the economy. And this really is the crux of the debate. Zandi and Cowen agree that stimulus can help in the short run, and that it hurts down the road. The question is: Which is larger? Zandi and Cowen both say they are open to being proved wrong. Zandi says if the government debt incurred by the stimulus really weighs on the economy for a long time, he might revise his views. Cowen says if the economy makes a very strong recovery, he would also have to do some soul searching.", "The first money from the almost $800 billion stimulus package is on its way from the federal government to the states. Officials in Washington, Arizona and Missouri already have plans on what they will do with the funds. Missy Shelton reports for member station KSMU. MELISSA BLOCK, host: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block. MICHELE NORRIS, host: And I'm Michele Norris. Now, we're going to follow the money, or at least try to. We're going to here how three states are preparing for and, in one case, already spending their share of the economic stimulus. BLOCK: Some of that money is already on its way. This was President Obama's message to the nation's governors, meeting at the White House on Monday. President BARACK OBAMA: By the time most of you get home, money will be waiting to help 20 million vulnerable Americans in your states keep their health care coverage. (Soundbite of applause) BLOCK: Mr. Obama was referring to $15 billion for state Medicaid programs, that's some of the first money to be sent out. NPR's Martin Kaste went to the marbled halls of the State House in Olympia, Washington, to try to find it. MARTIN KASTE: Three hundred and thirty-nine million dollars, that's Washington State's share of that extra stimulus funding for Medicaid. The White House says the money should have arrived by now, so I've come here to the State Capitol Building to ask around and see if someone's witnessed the money come in. What's odd is how blase the state employees here seem about what amounts to a nine-figure check. Nicholas Lutes, the governor's budget assistant for health care spending, says in this state health care for the poor won't necessarily improve because of the arrival of this money. Mr. NICHOLAS LUTES (Budget Assistant to the Governor, Washington): The poor -those that are on Medicaid will not see a change in their services. All it really is is a change in who's paying the bill, ultimately. KASTE: He says the Feds are upping their share of the cost of Medicaid by at least six or seven percentage points. If Lutes seems less than excited, it may be because this increase is temporary, and he's already worrying about the hole that'll be left in the state budget when the federal contribution drops back down again. Still, the stimulus money will be nice to have, he says. He's just not waiting for it with bated breath. Mr. LUTES: I don't have a little, red button on my desk that goes off, or we're not going to get a big novelty check, but somebody will know that it went came across. KASTE: Lutes points me in the direction of the state's accountants. In an office building full of CPAs and padlock file cabinets, Wendy Weeks scrolls down a computer screen showing the most recent payments to the state. Ms. WENDY WEEKS (State Accountant, Washington): You can see one here for, yeah, 84 million. KASTE: Eighty-four million seven hundred and eighty-two thousand five hundred and thirty-five dollars and ten cents, do you have any idea what that's for? Ms. WEEKS: That one, no, I do not. KASTE: There's no sign of that telltale amount of $339 million. But just when it seems we'll never find the stimulus money, Wendy Jarrett, the manager of statewide accounting, saves the day. Ms. WENDY JARRETT (Manager, Statewide Accounting Services, Washington): Well, I talked to the people over at the Department of Social and Health Services, and here's the fax they just sent me. KASTE: Oh. It's a screen print from a computer system that manages federal payments. It's just four lines of data and numeric codes and a dollar amount. Ms. JARRETT: Three hundred and thirty-nine million three hundred thirty thousand seven hundred and seventeen dollars. KASTE: There it is, the state's first stimulus money. Except it's not actually in state hands yet. This printout is a sort of promissory note. The Feds won't send the money until the state's Medicaid administrators jump through a few more hoops. Ms. JARRETT: Apparently, they have to take the actual transactions and actually back it all out of the cost allocation system and re-run it through. I understand it's quite a bit of work. KASTE: We'll take the CPA's word on that one. The upshot is the stimulus money has been promised, and the states are already writing it in to their Medicaid budgets. In the world of government accounting, those four lines on that screen printout are almost as good as money in the bank. Martin Kaste, NPR News, Seattle. TED ROBBINS: I'm Ted Robbins at UMC, University Medical Center in Tucson. Arizona hospitals are also counting on stimulus money to help pay for services to low-income patients. The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, known as AHCCCS, is this state's version of Medicaid. Fully half the $4 billion the state is getting in stimulus money will go toward AHCCCS. UMC's Katie Riley says the money will actually prevent cuts. Ms. KATIE RILEY (University Medical Center, Arizona): Yes, at least at our ", "President Obama's stimulus plan designated tens of billions of dollars for so-called \"shovel-ready projects,\" including stalled infrastructure development. First, University of Southern California's Richard Little talks about what those projects mean for both the nation's ailing economy and crumbling infrastructure. Then, follow the money. Walter Jones III runs a construction firm in Kalamazoo, Michigan and re-trains people in his area. Now, he's looking to for stimulus money to keep it going. Finally, contractors across the country talk about using stimulus money for various \"shovel-ready projects.\" Kris Young in Iowa and Wayne Lindholm in southern California reported. ALEX COHEN, host: From the studios of NPR West, this is Day to Day. I'm Alex Cohen. MADELEINE BRAND, host: I'm Madeleine Brand. Coming up, stimulus money is starting to flow. We talk to a few contractors who hope they will be the ones chosen to work. That's coming up. COHEN: But first, the new unemployment numbers came out today. More than eight percent of the countries out of work. That's a 25-year high. BRAND: Well, today 25 law enforcement jobs have been saved because of President Obama's stimulus package. He visited Ohio today highlighting those jobs. (Soundbite of speech) President BARACK OBAMA (United States): These jobs and the jobs of so many other police officers and teachers and firefighters all across Ohio will now be saved because of this recovery plan. BRAND: The stimulus package targets so called shovel-ready projects such as rebuilding highways and expanding public housing. Many of those projects have stalled because states and cities have run low on funds. COHEN: Supporters hope the injection of stimulus cash will revive local infrastructure and boost job markets. I spoke earlier with infrastructure policy expert Richard Little of USC to get a better handle on what the Obama administration means by the term shovel-ready. Mr. RICHARD LITTLE (Infrastructure Policy Expert, USC): Essentially it's projects that can be gotten underway within 120 days, and by gotten underway, the projects are out to bid and they are ready to proceed. You know, it's not that someone's going to be sticking a shovel on the ground in 120 days, although in some cases it may be, but it's basically that they are ready to proceed. All they need is money to go forward. COHEN: With unemployment at an all-time high, plenty of Americans, I think, are probably hoping to cash in on these jobs. Who gets to actually do this work, and how is that decided? Mr. LITTLE: Well, the projects themselves will be run by - you know, it'll go through the state and local contracting process so the federal role here is to provide funds to the states to basically go through their normal process, so the money will go out to local engineering firms, local construction companies, which generally hire local workers to actually do the work. So, even - and this is the purpose behind this is you take federal money but you give it to the states to spend it on a local basis, and it has that kind of impact. So it's going to be mostly who does public works construction now is who's going to be doing it under the stimulus package. I don't think we're going to see major new players emerging to take advantage of this work. COHEN: These projects are mostly short-term projects, smaller projects, so what effect will all these have on America's infrastructure in the long run? Mr. LITTLE: It will probably keep things going for a while as far as being, you know, part of a big national infrastructure agenda. It's really not about that. The emphasis here is on getting people to work and spending money. I think the longer-term national programs in infrastructure across all the various sectors, that's going to have to wait. I don't think we've seen those national plans just yet. COHEN: And how serious of an issue is that long-term broad-reaching infrastructure? Mr. LITTLE: Well, ultimately I think we need to think where as a nation we're going, what kind of economy we're going to have in 30, 40, 50 years. I seriously doubt it's going to be the industrial economy we had in 1955 when we did the interstate highway program. The question is what does that economy look like, what kind of infrastructure do you need to support that economy and is it roads and bridges and railroads or is it, you know, broadband and wireless communications and green energy or technologies we haven't really thought of yet? And I think we need to spend some time thinking about how we make the transition from where we are to where we're going. COHEN: Richard Little directs the Keston Institute for Public Finance Infrastructure Policy at the University of Southern California. Thank you. Mr. LITTLE: My pleasure. Thank you. BRAND: Michigan will receive about $18 billion from Washington as part of the stimulus and that begins a complicated process of actually distributing the money to companies that will then cre", "Only three Republican senators voted for President Barack Obama's nearly $800 billion stimulus package, and many in the GOP are questioning the massive spending plan. At least half a dozen Republican governors say they may reject some of the stimulus money, raising questions especially in struggling Southern states. Getting the most attention is Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who gave the Republican response to Obama's speech and called the spending bill \"irresponsible.\" A young, fresh face for the GOP, Jindal said this week on NBC's Meet the Press he would reject $99 million in the stimulus package for unemployment insurance benefits. He says Louisiana would have to make long-term changes to its program, which would ultimately cost more. \"And so within three years, the federal money is gone. We've got now a permanent change in our laws. We have to pay for it. Our businesses pay for it,\" Jindal said Tuesday. \"I don't think it makes sense to be raising taxes on Louisiana businesses during these economically challenging times.\" Louisiana At the Southfield Grill in Shreveport, La., residents have mixed opinions. Don Lawler, a fireman for 24 years, says Jindal is doing the right thing by questioning the stimulus package. \"I think a lot of people see a lot of unnecessary spending with this so-called stimulus bill,\" Lawler says. \"He's just not going to take whatever is spoon-fed to him by the federal government. He wants to be his own man. He wants to make his own decisions.\" But David Hudson, a minister from Keithville, La., says Republicans are playing political football with people's lives. \"If you take the politics out of it, I think it would benefit the citizens here,\" he says. \"What Gov. Jindal is doing is benefiting the so-called Republican Party, and I don't think it's no time for any partisan politics in this type of situation that we have.\" Mississippi Mississippi's GOP Gov. Haley Barbour joined the criticism of the stimulus plan, saying he will reject $56 million intended to help those who have lost their jobs. Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman, says accepting the money would mean increased taxes for businesses that would have to cover the cost of the extra unemployment benefits in the future. \"We want more jobs. You don't get more jobs by putting an extra tax on creating jobs,\" Barbour says. At the state capitol in Jackson, residents held a rally Wednesday to protest Barbour's decision. \"Take the money, Haley,\" the chanted. \"Take the money, Haley.\" Georgia In Georgia, Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue met with the heads of state agencies Wednesday to discuss the stimulus package. Perdue has questioned whether he will accept $220 million for Georgia's unemployment program. The money would extend unemployment insurance benefits to part-time workers who have lost their jobs, something many states have never done. At the historic Varsity restaurant in Atlanta, some don't agree with the Southern governors' reaction to the stimulus money. \"I mean, you're supposed to serve your people,\" says Dale Cartwright, a union member who works at a local paper-packaging plant. \"And you think about those states as not the richest in country. Some of them are some of the poorest. \"You got a chance to help out people in your own state and you're not doing it because you want to be arrogant. It's unacceptable.\" Emily Minor, who also works at the plant, agrees. \"Just because you lost the election, I don't feel like you should deny your people the support that they need to survive,\" Minor says. \"And we should step up to the plate and recognize what we need to make this country and get it back on the right track.\" Many say Republicans and Democrats still don't get it. They would like the acrimony to stop and see both parties start working together. MELISSA BLOCK, Host: As NPR's Kathy Lohr reports, that's raised questions, especially in struggling southern states. KATHY LOHR: Getting the most attention is Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal who gave the Republican response to the president's speech last night and called the spending bill, irresponsible. A young fresh face for the GOP, Jindal said this week on NBC's \"Meet the Press\" that he would reject $99 million in the stimulus package for unemployment insurance benefits. He insists Louisiana would have to make long-term changes to its program and that would ultimately cost more. BOBBY JINDAL: And so, within three years the federal money's gone. We've got now a permanent change in our laws. We have to pay for it. Our businesses pay for it. I don't think it makes sense to be raising taxes on Louisiana businesses during these economically challenging times. LOHR: At the Southfield Grill in Shreveport, Louisiana, residents have mixed opinions. DON LAWLER: I think a lot of people see a lot of unnecessary spending with this so-called stimulus bill. LOHR: Don Lawler, a fireman for 24 years, says Jindal is doing the right thing by questioning the stimulus package.", "Tens of thousands of poor children — all of them American citizens or legal residents — could lose their housing under a new rule proposed Friday by the Trump administration. The rule is intended to prevent people who are in the country illegally from receiving federal housing aid, which the administration argues should go to help only legal residents or citizens. But the proposal targets 25,000 families that now receive such aid because they are of \"mixed\" status, which means that at least one member of the family is undocumented while the others are citizens or legal residents. These families now pay higher rents to account for their mixed status. Under the new rule, those families would lose all of their housing aid, such as vouchers and public housing. An impact analysis by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which proposed the rule, acknowledges that the change could have a devastating impact. It says that 108,000 people would be affected. About 70% of them are citizens or legal residents and three-quarters of those — 55,000 — are children. Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, called the proposal cruel. \"The cruelty of it is really breathtaking and it would do real harm to kids and to families and for what?\" Yentel notes that HUD's unusually frank analysis concludes that there would be few benefits from the change for other low-income families waiting for aid. The analysis, prepared by career staff, says the agency assumes that some of the affected families would split up because the ineligible family member would be asked to leave so the rest of the family could still receive aid. But it says most of the families would likely move out of their subsidized homes. \"HUD expects that fear of the family being separated would lead to prompt evacuation by most mixed households, whether that fear is justified,\" says the agency. It admits that not all families would leave freely. The agency estimates it would have to spend between 3 million and 4 million dollars on eviction costs, \"for those households that required more rigorous enforcement of the regulation.\" The proposed rule change is one of several the Trump administration has made that targets immigrants and restricts public assistance of all kinds. Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, called the proposal \"as mean-spirited and irrational as the Trump Administration's other anti-immigrant policy positions.\" But HUD Secretary Ben Carson portrayed the proposed change as a way to help low-income Americans who are in need of housing assistance. \"Our nation faces affordable housing challenges and hundreds of thousands of citizens are waiting for many years on waitlists to get housing assistance,\" he tweeted last month. Housing advocates doubt that families now waiting for aid would benefit. And the HUD analysis seem to back that up. It notes that mixed families generally get lower subsidies and would likely be replaced with families who need higher subsidies. \"The average income of a mixed household is $18,000,\" the analysis says, \"and the average income of a nonmixed household is $14,000; the difference is $4,000. On average, the subsidy would increase by 30 percent of the decline in household income, or $1,200.\" HUD estimates that this would cost the government as much as $227 million a year, money that Congress would need to appropriate, which the agency says is unlikely. Instead, it predicts a reduction in housing assistance overall. \"Another, and perhaps the likeliest scenario, would be that HUD would have to reduce the quantity and quality of assisted housing in response to higher costs,\" says the agency. For public housing, that would likely \"have an impact on the quality of service, e.g., maintenance of the units and possibly deterioration of the units that could lead to vacancy.\" The agency says that in some cases, the proposed rule could lead to more homelessness. \"Temporary homelessness could arise for a household, if they are unable to find alternative housing, for example in tight housing markets,\" says HUD. The cost of that homelessness is estimated to be from $20,000 to $50,000 a year, per individual. The analysis raises the possibility of alternative rule changes that could ease the impact on poor families. One would be to grandfather all the current mixed families receiving aid and only apply the rule going forward. Another possibility would be to apply the rule only to households in which the leaseholder is undocumented. HUD says this \"would likely limit the adverse impact of the transition on eligible children.\" The administration is accepting public comment on the proposed rule until July 9.", "Ben Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who has been relatively quiet since the shutdown began in December, issued a challenge to elected officials to set their egos aside to resolve the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history. \"We can continue to hope that our leaders will recognize that this is an easy problem to solve. I mean, just take your ego out of it,\" Carson said. When asked for clarification, a HUD spokesperson said Carson is referring to Congressional leaders, which would include Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. \"They need to send the President an acceptable bill so that important government functions can continue,\" the spokesperson said in a written statement to NPR. Carson's statements come as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross downplayed the hardships caused by a partial government shutdown and said he was puzzled by reports of federal workers turning to food banks and other relief. He suggested, instead, that workers take out loans to tide them over. \"True, the people might have to pay a little bit of interest,\" said Ross. \"But the idea that it's 'paycheck or zero' is not a really valid idea.\" The partial federal shutdown, now into its 34th day, stems from President Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to expand the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and a tightening of immigration laws. Democrats have insisted the president reopen the government first, and pay the 800,000 furloughed federal workers who are set to miss their second paycheck Friday, before negotiating a broader immigration deal. Carson said even with back pay, many federal workers won't be made \"whole.\" \"These federal workers, I mean, yes I know we're going to give them back pay, but that doesn't take care of the interest if they borrow money,\" Carson said. He said the longer the shutdown goes, the harder it's going to be on federal employees. \"We really need to think about them, as opposed to some political victory. And it does worry me about the future of our country. If we're going to do everything based on ideology and hatred, I just don't see how we are going to be successful as a country,\" said Carson. Approximately 95 percent of HUD employees have been furloughed. Those who have been called back to work without pay are \"working around the clock\" to make sure Americans who rely on HUD for housing assistance don't get evicted, according to Carson. Carson's comments came at the annual Point-In-Time headcount survey in Washington, D.C. this week. It's a snapshot of the number of people experiencing homelessness on a given night and is typically conducted by jurisdictions in January that receive funding from HUD to combat homelessness. In the Senate Thursday, as expected, two competing measures failed that would have ended the standoff over border wall funding and reopened the government.", "Shovel-ready projects play a big role in the federal stimulus package. But one New England software company found there's a lot of stimulus money available for virtual shovel-ready projects. The company also discovered that a touch of Hollywood can go a long way toward winning a job. Jon Greenberg reports for New Hampshire Public Radio. STEVE INSKEEP, host: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. DAVID GREENE, host: And I'm David Greene. This morning we have two reports on how some of that federal stimulus money is being spent. You've surely heard a lot about those shovel-ready construction projects that will receive funding. For one software company, there's also stimulus money to be made in virtual shovels. The company's found that even in the gritty business of construction, a touch of Hollywood fantasy can go a long way towards winning a job. New Hampshire Public Radio's Jon Greenberg has that report. JON GREENBERG: Unless you're in the know - I mean, unbelievably in the know -you would have no reason to associate the word stimulus with this. (Soundbite of movie, \"The Lord of the Rings\") Unidentified Man: (Unintelligible) GREENBERG: Yet as improbable as it may be, \"The Lord of the Rings\" and construction projects across this country have something in common. It's a $2.3 billion software company called Autodesk. The firm's bread and butter is 3D construction design. The same kind of wizardry that made the battle for Middle-earth look so real also helps turn roads and bridges into reality. The hub of Autodesk's transportation division is in a converted mill in Manchester, New Hampshire. Ever since Washington opened up the spigot, transportation specialist David Thaggerman(ph) has been flat out. Mr. DAVID THAGGERMAN (Transportation specialist): I've been on-call just constantly going places. But that's good. I mean, we know - we'd rather have the work than not. GREENBERG: The recession has been hitting Manchester. Autodesk had a round of layoffs back in January. But now Thaggerman spends most of his waking hours talking to transportation departments around the country. Mr. THAGGERMAN: The big change that happened with the stimulus money that has never happened before was they injected that money and they had jobs on the shelf, which all states do. So those jobs came off the shelf. But they may have been designed 10 years ago. GREENBERG: Autodesk has been getting contracts to turn old plans that could run 700 pages of hard copy into tidy, digital blueprints that let you zoom in to pinpoint every gas line and lamppost. But what you can see on their computer screens goes way beyond dry schematics. On really big projects, Autodesk is brought in to use that Hollywood touch to make things that don't exist yet look very real. Mr. KEVIN STEWART (Autodesk): It's like a helicopter fly over of the project. And as you can see this looks extremely realistic. GREENBERG: Thaggerman's boss, Kevin Stewart, fires up a futuristic video of Doyle Drive, an arterial in San Francisco that got $50 million in stimulus money. The view launches with a swooping flight over the Golden Gate Bridge and hovers over woods bisected by improbably smooth-moving traffic. Mr. STUART: People have to be told that this is a simulation. It's not an actual video clip. GREENBERG: For a billion dollar project, an animation like this can win over politicians and taxpayers who want to see what the final product will be before they sign on. Now, it isn't just American stimulus work that's keeping this company busy. China is spending massive amounts. Autodesk is working on several projects there, including a $64 billion plan that takes water from the south and sends it hundreds of miles north. Then there's work in Russia, Japan and Brazil. Pretty much every big player has a stimulus package these days. And Autodesk makes money from nearly all of them. This work might not be as glorious as the battle for Middle-earth, but the pay isn't bad for a foot soldier in the battle for economic recovery. For NPR News, I'm Jon Greenberg in Concord, New Hampshire.", "The Obama administration says the federal government's $787 billion stimulus program and other actions aimed at jump-starting the economy have saved or created more than 1 million jobs so far. Republicans, who generally voted against the stimulus, are skeptical of that number. They point out that almost 2.5 million fewer Americans are working now than when the stimulus took effect in February. Of the million stimulus jobs the administration is bragging about, one belongs to Charlie Dilbert. The Ohio man introduced the president at a Labor Day picnic this week, calling himself \"living proof\" that the stimulus measure is working. \"The company I work for — A&A Safety out of Amelia, Ohio — was awarded work putting up signs and doing other road construction work on highways and state routes,\" Dilbert said. \"These projects are being directly funded by the stimulus package.\" Dilbert's boss, A&A Safety President Bill Luttmer, agrees that stimulus road projects have been a boon for his company, which supplies orange traffic signs and the like. But Luttmer says those federal contracts are barely enough to backfill the potholes the recession has left in other parts of his sales and rental business. \"You know it's created opportunity on one hand, which has been wonderful. It's still a dollar more than was there before,\" Luttmer says. \"But the challenge has been that it's working to offset the loss in the sale and rental side.\" And that's the problem. The U.S. economy has been shedding jobs faster than the stimulus can grow new ones. An additional 216,000 jobs disappeared last month alone. That's left the Obama administration in the uncomfortable position of taking credit for an economy that's not as bad as it used to be. \"I often quote the vice president, who says, 'Not as bad isn't good enough.' Right. And absolutely what we want is to get to positive job creation,\" says Christina Romer, who heads the President's Council of Economic Advisers. \"But certainly moderating job loss is a step along the way.\" Romer says the stimulus program put the brakes on a downward spiral in the economy. And many private economists agree that things are turning around. \"The economy is out of recession because of the stimulus,\" says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com. He believes the U.S. economy has starting growing again largely because of the federal stimulus program. Zandi says without the stimulus, job losses might have topped 3 million since February, when the stimulus began. \"So we lost jobs,\" he says. \"It's been a very, very tough economy. But job losses would have been measurably greater if not for the stimulus.\" About 20 percent of the stimulus money has been spent so far. But the unemployment rate continues to climb toward 10 percent. The August rate of 9.7 percent was the highest it's been in more than a quarter-century and worse than forecast when the stimulus was being debated. So here's the question: Were there more holes than we thought in the nation's economic flat tire? Or is there something wrong with the pump? Greg Mankiw, who headed the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, says there are too many variables to say for sure. \"It's sort of like going to a doctor and saying the doctor has given the patient some medicine and saying how much sicker would the patient have been if you hadn't given him the medicine,\" he says. What's clear is that job losses are slowing. And White House forecaster Romer says she is confident that before too long, the nation will start adding jobs again. \"Believe me, no one is looking forward to it more than the president and every member of his administration because we know it's so important to the America people,\" she says. It's also important to the president's own political fortunes. As Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) recently observed, academic economists can have a field day theorizing how the recession might have played out. But no politician ever got re-elected with a bumper sticker that said, \"It Could Have Been Worse.\" STEVE INSKEEP, host: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. We're going to ask this morning what we're getting for $787 billion. That's how much the government committed to a stimulus plan. A fraction has been spent so far. And the question is how much it's helping the economy. A couple of numbers are at the center of the debate. President Obama's administration claims credit for creating a million jobs. Republicans ask why two-and-a-half million fewer Americans are working than when the stimulus took affect. NPR's Scott Horsley reports. SCOTT HORSLEY: Of the one million stimulus jobs the Obama administration is bragging about, one belongs to Charlie Dilbert. The Ohio man introduced the president at a Labor Day picnic this week, calling himself, living proof that the stimulus measure is working. Mr. CHARLIE DILBERT (A&A Safety): The company I work for, A&A Safety, out of A", "When Congress rushed to flood the U.S. economy with stimulus money during the pandemic, it prioritized speed over accuracy. That decision resulted in the U.S. Treasury mistakenly sending more than a billion dollars in economic impact payments to dead people and to citizens of other countries who are not eligible for the money. Now, the IRS is trying to get back some of those stimulus checks, creating legal mayhem overseas — even as it repeats the mistake that caused the problem. In the Western Pacific Ocean islands of Micronesia, dozens of customers have sued the Bank of Guam, saying it illegally seized stimulus deposits totaling more than $400,000, and in some cases returned them to the IRS. One of those customers is Craig Reffner, a lawyer who moved from the United States to Micronesia about 25 years ago but has kept his U.S. citizenship and files U.S. taxes, which made him eligible for the stimulus money. When Reffner's first check, for $1,200, arrived in the spring of 2020, he deposited it in his account at the Bank of Guam. When his second check, for $600, arrived earlier this year, he did the same thing — but the bank put a hold on the payment. \"That night I was online and I looked at my account and I noticed that it had a huge negative transaction,\" Reffner recalled, \"and I was like, 'What in the world could have happened?' \" What happened is that the Bank of Guam received a letter from the U.S. Treasury asking for help recovering tax payments the IRS had issued in error. The bank eventually gave Reffner and others back their money, but some customers never saw their stimulus checks again because the bank sent the payments back to the IRS. Cody Spence, another Bank of Guam customer in Micronesia who is eligible for the money, said when his first check arrived, the bank asked to see his passport before releasing it. And he said that, last month, two Micronesian police officers arrived at his workplace and questioned him about the stimulus money he and his family received — three rounds totaling more than $7,000. Those experiences made him feel \"uncomfortable,\" said Spence, a U.S. citizen and U.S military veteran, \"considering it was a foreign government questioning me on how I received my money from my government.\" Reffner told NPR that the Bank of Guam asked some customers for copies of their tax returns to determine whether they were eligible for stimulus and began seizing any type of payment issued by the U.S. Treasury, including Social Security checks and veterans benefits. One Micronesian citizen, Dion Bernard Asher, told NPR the bank temporarily withheld a $1,200 paycheck she received for having provided translation services to the U.S. Justice Department. The Bank of Guam said it would not comment on the Micronesia lawsuits because the matter is in litigation. But in court records and emails reviewed by NPR, bank officials said some customers received stimulus they weren't eligible for and the bank is required by U.S. law to return the money. The bank's customers argue the IRS has no legal jurisdiction over the bank. Enda Kelleher, a vice president at Sprintax, which does U.S. tax preparation for nonresidents, said it isn't the role or expertise of an overseas bank to determine whether economic impact payments were issued correctly. \"Hats off to the Bank of Guam if they can suddenly retrain all of their team to be nonresident tax experts, but I don't think that that is the business that they're in,\" said Kelleher. \"And I don't think it would be appropriate for them to be going through individuals' tax returns and establishing residency and establishing treaty eligibility and establishing eligibility for the stimulus check.\" He added: \"They need to be very, very careful before taking that route.\" Only U.S. citizens and U.S. \"resident aliens\" are eligible for stimulus money. The term \"resident alien\" is a federal tax classification, and to qualify, an individual needs a green card or must have been in the U.S. for a certain amount of time. But the IRS has acknowledged it mistakenly sent checks to many noncitizens who were not eligible. That includes non-Americans who receive Social Security and other federal benefits but who don't qualify for stimulus because they are not citizens or \"resident aliens.\" The IRS has also acknowledged sending stimulus money in error to many foreign guest workers who, whether unintentionally or on purpose, filed an incorrect type of tax return that made them appear to be U.S. residents. Kelleher said his company has thousands of clients from about 150 countries who received stimulus checks in error and are now trying to return the money to the IRS. For most of them, that requires filing an amended tax return. An increasing number of clients filing amended returns — at Sprintax, 20 times more than in a typical year — indicates that misdirected stimulus money \"continues to be a problem and continues to create confusion,\" Kelleher said. In the meantime, the IRS is st", "The presidential vote is long over, but watching TV in upstate New York, you could get the feeling the upcoming special election there is a referendum on President Obama and his economic plans. In reality, the 20th Congressional District is far from both Washington and Wall Street. It winds its way through small towns and rural farmland, through the Hudson River Valley, stretching up to the Adirondacks. It's a Republican-leaning district that voted for Obama. In a week, voters in the district will pick a representative to succeed Kirsten Gillibrand, who took over Hillary Clinton's Senate seat after she was chosen as secretary of state. And in places like the Daily Planet diner, outside of Poughkeepsie, party loyalties appear to be up for grabs. Nick Marshall, a Republican, voted for John McCain, but now he says he's \"impressed with Obama.\" His girlfriend has also had a change of heart. Zarin Kahn was a big Obama supporter until she lost her job at a real estate office. Now, she's lost confidence in her party. \"The Democrat Party is not moving fast enough,\" she says. \"I thought I'd see more done right now.\" Anger With Washington Into this post-partisan opportunity wanders a man who wants to be their new congressman. Around the diner, Jim Tedisco doesn't introduce himself as a Republican or remind people that he's been a state politician for 27 years. He treads carefully, often saying he agrees with Obama about this and that. After his handshaking, Tedisco steps outside and declares that the recent news headlines are making people fed up with what's going on in Washington. Tedisco says he \"met a lot of people who are very concerned about what they see happening from the federal government right now and all these bailout programs, especially the news about AIG.\" It should be a natural argument for the conservative district, but Tedisco's campaign has been struggling. He was leading the race when he first announced. National Republicans poured in money and staff, but Democrat Scott Murphy pulled neck and neck. Stimulus Plan's Impact Murphy has been touring the district bragging about all the money that the Democratic-led stimulus plan is about to bring to upstate New York. On Highway 9, in the town of Moreau,there are motels, restaurants and propane dealerships, but David Johnson is more concerned about what they don't have. \"We need sewer down here,\" he says. Normally, this would be a local issue, but these days Johnson and others are hoping it can get paid for with federal money. That's why they've come to see Murphy. \"It's not the most exciting thing to talk about in the world but it's very, very important to our small businesses,\" Murphy says. Murphy has never held elected office. He made his money in venture capital, but he spends most of his time talking about something he had nothing to do with, but did support: the federal stimulus package. \"This is exactly the kind of project that President Obama was talking about when he put forth that stimulus package,\" he says. \"The stimulus package had money for shovel-ready projects to put people to work, to rebuild our infrastructure all across America and here in the 20th District.\" With the election only a week away, voters will have no time to see if the stimulus plan really does bring all the promised money and jobs to upstate New York, or if it will generate even bigger deficits and too much pork, as Republican Tedsico argues. But since it's the only major election in the country this spring, the national parties will pore over the results, trying to see what they say about the country's direction. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: If you're looking for an indication of how the Obama economic plan is playing with voters, you might make a trip to a congressional district in upstate New York. There is a special election there in a week to pick a successor to Kirsten Gillibrand. She was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. As NPR's Robert Smith reports, it may be a local race but it's all about national issues. ROBERT SMITH: The presidential election is long over, but watching TV in upstate New York you could get the feeling that they're holding some sort of referendum on Barack Obama. (Soundbite of political ads) Unidentified Man: That's why local businessman Scott Murphy supports President Obama's economic policies. Assemblyman JIM TEDISCO (Republican, Congressional Candidate): Factories should be booming but today they're not, because of bad government in Washington and shocking greed on Wall Street. I'm Jim Tedisco. My plan cuts taxes... Unidentified Man: Still, Jim Tedisco refuses to support Barack Obama's economic policies. Unidentified Woman: Murphy's just another Wall Street millionaire, hiding a past that's threatening our future. SMITH: Wall Street? Washington? In reality, the 20th Congressional District is far from both. It winds its way through small towns and rural farmland in the Hudson River Valley, from the Catskills up to the ", "President Obama has been playing musical chairs with his Cabinet. At the White House on Friday, Obama announced that he's chosen Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to be his new budget director. Donovan would replace Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who's taking over the Department of Health and Human Services. That leaves a vacancy atop the housing department, which the president plans to fill with an outsider: Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio and a rising star in the Democratic Party. Castro would take over as HUD secretary at a time when the nation's housing market has been treading water. There was some positive news this week about new and existing home sales inching up in April, but the overall spring selling season has been a disappointment. Housing does not look to be the engine of economic growth many forecasters had been hoping for. That's a challenge to the secretary because HUD plays an important role in the housing market. Through the Federal Housing Administration, HUD guarantees more than 1 in 10 home loans. Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, says FHA-backed loans can be a door opener, since they require a down payment of just 3.5 percent. \"It's considered the best option for first-time homebuyers. Given the fact that we're waiting for the housing market to recover, and we're trying to encourage first-time homebuyers, there's a lot of attention focusing on FHA.\" Many lenders remain skittish about making home loans, partly out of fear that if those loans go bad, FHA and other government guarantors, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will come after the lender. As a result, White House economists argued in an op-ed this week, credit remains harder to come by than it should be, keeping millions of potential buyers out of the housing market. FHA has been working with lenders to address that, and has launched a pilot program to discount some of its own fees. Of course, guaranteeing home loans is just one of many functions carried out by the sprawling $45 billion department Castro's been tapped to lead. HUD also provides rent subsidies and runs a slew of economic development programs. Bruce Katz, who was chief of staff at HUD during the Clinton administration, says in order to do that successfully in this time of tight budgets, Castro will have to work with city and state governments, as well as the private sector. \"I think a former mayor, coming from San Antonio, which is a major metropolis, understands how cities work and how a federal government can leverage up those local resources and powers in a smart, strategic way.\" Donovan earned high marks for his work at HUD, especially on federal recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Katz says Donovan pushed HUD to team up with agencies overseeing transportation, the environment and human services. \"When you think about the people who are most in need of housing, they're also in need of being close to work. They're also in need of child care. And I think Secretary Donovan was really at the vanguard of those kind of integrated approaches.\" Now that Donovan has been tapped as White House budget director, he'll have a chance to extend his reach throughout the executive branch. ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: And I'm Audie Cornish. President Obama's been playing musical chairs with his Cabinet. At the White House this afternoon, Obama announced that he's chosen HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to be his new budget director. Donovan replaces Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who's taking over as Health secretary. The moves leave a vacancy atop the Housing and Urban Development Department, which the president plans to fill with an outsider, Julian Castro. He's the mayor of San Antonio and a rising star in the Democratic Party. Here's the president backing the pick. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: You know, as mayor, Julian's been focused on revitalizing one of our most wonderful cities, planning thousands of housing units downtown, attracting hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. He's built relationships with mayors all across the country. He's become a leader in housing and economic development. CORNISH: And as NPR's Scott Horsley reports, Castro would take over as housing secretary at a time when the nation's housing market has been treading water. SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: There was some positive news this week about new and existing home sales inching up in April, but the overall spring selling season has been a disappointment. Housing does not look to be the engine of economic growth many forecasters had been hoping for. That's a challenge to the secretary because HUD plays an important role in the housing market. Through the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, HUD guarantees more than 1 out of 10 home loans. Guy Cecala, publisher of \"Inside Mortgage Finance,\" says FHA-backed loans can be a door opener, since they require a down payment of just 3.5 p", "The massive economic stimulus bill may not be stimulating as many jobs as the government says. The Web site Recovery.gov says that more than 640,000 jobs have been created or saved so far under the $787 billion stimulus package. But the head of the board that tracks stimulus spending tells Congress he can't certify that number is \"accurate and auditable.\" Over the past few days, there have been reports of major errors on the Web site, including jobs created in congressional districts that don't exist, and companies counting pay raises as jobs saved. In search of stimulus jobs in Seattle, an NPR reporter went online and clicked dots on the Washington state map posted on Recovery.gov. These dots show where stimulus funds have been allocated. Early Music America Inc., a nonprofit for people who enjoy the sound of lutes and sackbuts, received $25,000 in stimulus money. According to the government's Web site, the stimulus money saved 0.5 jobs at Early Music. \"It's actually two 0.25 jobs, to be honest,\" says Baroque flutist Maria Coldwell, the director of the group. \"It's a quarter of my salary and a quarter of Patrick's salary.\" She waves at her colleague on the other side of the cramped office space. But did the stimulus actually save their jobs? \"Before we got this money, we were projecting two-week furloughs for the whole staff, plus the cutback in hours,\" Coldwell says. \"And this money made all of that unnecessary.\" So no job was saved, but some income was. This job-equivalency math gets more complicated at bigger organizations. Another click on a green dot on the government's map shows that as of Sept. 30, $417,000 of stimulus money went to a company called Amnis. That money created exactly one new job for the company, which makes super-microscopes. Co-founder David Basiji says research labs are getting stimulus grants to buy more of its microscopes like the ImageStream-X, which images 1,000 cells a second and produces 12 images of each cell at a time. \"Right here, you can see almost a million dollars worth of product that would not have been sold if there had not been a stimulus program,\" Basiji says. And when a government lab uses stimulus money to buy one of these, it's Amnis that gets stuck reporting to the government how many jobs have been created. Basiji says he has to file those reports quarterly. But he doesn't mind the task, since it means closing another sale. So far, he's reported one new job. It's hard to say why any job exists. The inaccuracies on Recovery.gov suggest that the government may be claiming credit for too many jobs. But Jill Satran, who oversees stimulus accountability in Washington state, says the opposite is true. \"I feel really comfortable in those numbers,\" Satran says. Despite glitches in the data, she says the overall job count is conservative. \"These jobs numbers capture the transportation construction worker who's building the road, but it does not capture the job saved through the gravel supplier,\" Satran says. \"And it doesn't capture the jobs that are in the restaurants when the construction worker gets off work to go have lunch.\" And in some cases, the government site fails to list even jobs directly funded by the stimulus. For instance, it lists zero jobs saved or created at a Seattle charity called Solid Ground. Packing bags of groceries for shut-ins, Amy Sauls says the funding picture for this food program was looking bleak this summer. \"I said, 'I don't want to know. I just want to know if this is going to keep going or not!' \" But then a stimulus grant came through. Technically, the program won't tap the money until January, which means Sauls' job hasn't been counted yet. She's convinced that if it weren't for the stimulus, she'd be out of work right now. It's hard to say what might have been. Multiply that across the country, and you start to see why the grand total of jobs saved and created by the stimulus is not so much a statistic as a matter of opinion. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel. MELISSA BLOCK, host: And I'm Melissa Block. The massive economic stimulus bill may not be stimulating as many jobs as the government says. The Web site recovery.gov says 640,000 jobs have been created or saved, but the head of the board that tracks stimulus spending tells Congress he can't certify that number is, as he says, accurate and auditable. SIEGEL: Over the last few days, there have been reports of major errors on the Web site: jobs created in congressional districts that don't exist and companies counting raises as jobs saved. On \"The Daily Show\" last night, Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged some errors, but he said the jobs listed on the Web site are real. (Soundbite of TV show, \"The Daily Show\") Vice President JOE BIDEN: Go to a zip code, go to Second and Vine. If there is a crosswalk project there, you can push on it, tell you how much was spent, who built it, how many jobs were th", "The Department of Housing and Urban Development is making it easier for people with criminal records to find housing. In new guidance, released Monday, HUD tells landlords and home sellers that turning down tenants or buyers based on their criminal records may violate the Fair Housing Act. People with criminal records aren't a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, and the guidance from HUD's general counsel says that in some cases, turning down an individual tenant because of his or her record can be legally justified. But blanket policies of refusing to rent to anybody with a criminal record are de facto discrimination, the department says — because of the systemic disparities of the American criminal justice system. When A Criminal Past Closes Doors One in four Americans has a criminal record, as NPR's Carrie Johnson has reported. Those records can include arrests that never led to convictions, as well as convictions for a wide range of crimes — from petty to serious — that may have happened decades ago. A record can make it hard to find a job — or a home. Many private landlords and public housing projects have policies against renting to people with criminal records. Take Melvin Lofton, who spoke with NPR's Cheryl Corley. Lofton was convicted of burglary and theft when he was in his 20s; now he's 51. He lives with his mom, and says it would be hard to find housing without that family connection. He remembers one time when he tried to rent a home in a trailer park. \"I was at work and the guy called me and told me to come pick up my keys. So I was happy. I got a place to stay,\" Lofton says. \"So then ... 45 to 50 minutes later he calls and says, 'Is there something you're not telling me?' and I say, 'No, what is there?' And he says, 'You didn't tell me you had a background.' \" Lofton had been out of prison for 20 years at the time, Cheryl reports. Seemingly Neutral Policies Can Be Discriminatory HUD's new guidance warns that landlords could be breaking the law when they refuse to rent to people with criminal records — even if they have no intention to discriminate — because such a policy would likely have a disproportionate impact on African-American and Hispanic applicants. Housing Secretary Julian Castro puts it another way, NPR's Corley reports: \"When landlords refuse to rent to anyone who has an arrest record, they effectively bar the door to millions of folks of color for no good reason.\" HUD notes that whether an individual landlord's policy has a discriminatory impact will need to be determined on a case-by-case basis. But on a national level, HUD provided a list of statistics — direct from the Justice Department — demonstrating disproportionately high rates of arrest and incarceration based on race. They noted African-American men are imprisoned at a rate nearly six times that of white men, and Hispanic men at more than twice the rate of white men. All Criminal Records Aren't Created Alike ... That doesn't mean landlords are completely barred from considering criminal records — but they'd have to prove that their policy legitimately serves to protect safety or property. Saying \"criminals are poor tenants\" doesn't cut it, HUD says: \"Bald assertions based on generalization or stereotype\" aren't sufficient. Barring people based just on arrest records is no good, HUD says, because arrests alone aren't proof of guilt. And even if you only consider convictions, refusing to rent to all ex-cons — \"no matter when the conviction occurred, what the underlying conduct entailed, or what the convicted person has done since then,\" HUD writes — also isn't defensible, since not all ex-cons will pose a risk to safety or property. Instead, HUD writes, landlords should have a policy that takes into consideration what the crime was and when it happened, as well as other factors, to reduce the discriminatory impact. (The only exception is if a conviction was for manufacturing or distributing drugs.) ... And You Can't Use Records As A Pretext For Discrimination HUD also warns landlords that if they do intend to discriminate, and use criminal records as a cover for their actions, they can be found in violation. For instance, landlords who reject black or Hispanic applicants ostensibly because of criminal records — but accept a white tenant with a similar criminal record — could be found guilty of violating the Fair Housing Act. That discrimination could happen even before a candidate applies, HUD writes: \"Intentional discrimination may be proven based on evidence that, when responding to inquiries from prospective applicants, a property manager told a African-American individual that her criminal record would disqualify her from renting an apartment, but did not similarly discourage a White individual with a comparable criminal record from applying.\" In both cases — whether the discrimination is accidental or intentional — each instance would have to be considered on a case-by-case basis. But \"arbitrary and overbroad", "Monte Ellis' whole world is being uprooted. \"They're just forcing us out,\" he says, as he watches his 11-year old sister, Ashay, at what passes for a playground in the battered McBride housing projects on the south end of Cairo, Ill. For years, families like the Ellises complained to the local housing authority of squalid conditions here — leaky ceilings, mold, bugs and rats. Sometimes there is no heat, so people turn their ovens on to keep warm. Things never got fixed. \"A lot of broken promises,\" Ellis says. Last year, when the federal Housing and Urban Development agency, HUD, took over the scandal-ridden local housing authority, there was hope that things would turn around. Instead, a few weeks ago, the dreaded news: The projects were deemed uninhabitable and will be demolished within months. HUD says it doesn't have the estimated $7.5 million to bring these buildings up to code. Instead it will offer relocation assistance and housing vouchers to the estimated 400 residents of the two projects. The anger here is palpable. \"It's not all about money, it's about us, too,\" Ashay Ellis, 11, says. \"We're not just gonna leave.\" The housing crisis is just the latest blow for this isolated rural town at the northern tip of the Mississippi Delta. Once a thriving river port and manufacturing hub, Cairo (pronounced CARE-row) today has one of the fastest depopulation rates in the United States. Most of the factories have closed. The town's history is also plagued with racial tension and violence as well as corruption and poverty. Many people who live in the two projects slated to close have few options. A lot of the other properties in town are abandoned or condemned. Some residents of the projects don't have cars. The nearest cities of size, Cape Girardeau, Mo. and Paducah, Ky., are close to an hour's drive away. Anyway, most people's families, support networks and jobs are here in Cairo. \"I go to Cairo High School,\" Monte Ellis says proudly. \"I want to see Cairo High School get big and succeed and you can't do that if there's no community.\" A domino effect Cairo and its schools were already on life support before the announcement that the projects are being demolished. One elementary school recently closed and the high school and middle school recently consolidated. If everyone from the projects were to leave town, the district's enrollment would drop another 40 percent, leading some to question whether the town is even viable without its school. There are real fears of a domino effect here, with the school district also being Cairo's largest employer. Sixth-grade teacher Mary Beth Goff got so frustrated that she had her students write letters to HUD Secretary Ben Carson, pleading with him to reconsider the decision. \"I get what Ben Carson says, public housing should be a springboard, not a hammock, I've read that statement,\" Goff says. \"But these are kids.\" In a letter back, the secretary promised to help the families find a better home. Goff says she will hold him to that. This housing crisis is just the latest disruption for her students. Most teachers have had to abandon their lesson plans to help kids cope — and survive. \"Our kids are living in conditions that they should not have to live in; I don't think anybody disagrees with that,\" Goff says. \"So then the question is, do you make it better or do you abandon them.\" For its part, HUD says it's committed to finding better, safer homes for the affected families. \"Nothing is simple with Cairo,\" says Jerry Brown, a deputy undersecretary at the agency. \"Because when you go there and you look at the units it literally tugs at your heart.\" But Brown says the unfortunate reality is that HUD is no longer in the housing construction business. It relies on private developers, and attracting them to an isolated, predominantly low-income rural area like Cairo is tough. The agency also says it doesn't have enough money to rehabilitate the projects as well as keep open the other Section 8 properties in town it acquired after taking over the Alexander County Housing Authority. Demolishing and rebuilding the projects entirely has an estimated price tag of nearly $40 million. Originally, residents were told they'd have 150 days to vacate after receiving their vouchers, but recently it was announced there is some flexibility. \"We're going to do everything we can to allow everyone that can find affordable housing in that community to remain there,\" Brown says. Saving Cairo Brown's right, there is stuff happening in a frenzy on the ground in Cairo right now to try to house the soon-to-be-displaced families who want to stay. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner sent down teams to assess abandoned properties to see which, if any, could be quickly brought up to code. The state's housing agency is offering grants of up to $35,000 to interested landlords. The city also recently held a landlord fair. \"I am 99.9 percent sure there will be housing available for those who want to stay,\" says Tyron", "About 7 percent of homeless people live in rural areas, but homeless advocates say services in those areas don't get as much federal funding as they deserve — partly because the number of homeless people might be underestimated. Official homelessness numbers come from the point-in-time count: A 24-hour tally of a community's homeless population on the streets or in shelters. But in rural areas such as Wyoming and South Dakota where shelter space is scarce, people often crash with friends or stay in cheap motels on cold nights. The 24-hour counts that happen across the country in January will miss these people in the official tally. \"They're not out in the open like they are in a larger city, because they find places,\" says Jennifer Cruz, a volunteer who drove around Cheyenne, Wyo., during a point-in-time count. \"I just met a gentleman who's been sleeping on his brother's couch, but he is homeless.\" To address this problem, volunteers in Wyoming are getting creative. They put up flyers around town advertising a free meal and hot drinks in Cheyenne's main plaza, where the homeless answer federal homelessness surveys. Even so, volunteers here are still going to miss some people who don't have a home — people such as Dale Dean. Dean is crashing on a friend's futon in the Pioneer Hotel, a cheap place in Cheyenne. \"Being as its wintertime, it gets very cold,\" Dean says. \"So far, I haven't (slept outside.) I've been pretty fortunate, you know. I've met enough people.\" There is only one homeless shelter in Cheyenne, and currently, its 90 or so beds are completely full. Dean's good luck is the reason why the point-in-time count isn't always accurate. This year, Dean won't be counted as homeless. The count is a standard used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is performed in January based on the logic that the cold weather will drive people into emergency shelters, where they are easier to find. It is important: The count will in part determine how much federal money state homeless services get. Advocates say when even a few homeless people aren't counted it can make a big difference in the funding. \"We have to use the HUD definition of homelessness,\" says Brenda Lyttle, homeless coordinator for the state of Wyoming. \"And the HUD definition is someone in a shelter or who is living in a place not meant for human habitation.\" Rick Garcia, the regional administrator for HUD in Denver, says the January count is the best time for the country as a whole. \"We are aware that the count certainly is not perfect,\" he says. \"I think the goal is that we have a count at one time of the year that everyone in the nation is creating.\" He says most people experiencing homelessness live in urban areas. Los Angeles counted more than 40,000 homeless people last year, while Wyoming counted about 800. To Megan Hustings, director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, the point-in-time count is just one of many challenges that those seeking to end rural homelessness face. \"Big cities, you will see big shelters. There's lots of different service organizations. Many small rural areas don't have any shelter whatsoever,\" she says. Laramie, Wyo., is an example. The nearest shelter to the university town with a population of about 30,000 is an hour away with no regular bus service to get there. Wyoming homeless advocates are now working on a plan to do another homeless population count this summer. It may not open the door to more federal funding, but it will help them get a better sense of homelessness in the state. ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: Getting an accurate count of a city or town's homeless population is a challenge, and it's even tougher in rural areas. Those communities are often short on shelters, so the homeless are spread out, spending cold nights in cheap motels or crashing with friends or family. So when the official one-day homeless count happens, called the Point-In-Time count, many get overlooked. Miles Bryan of Wyoming Public Radio reports. MILES BRYAN, BYLINE: During this year's count, volunteers fanned out across Cheyenne, Wyo., to find the town's homeless population. It happens all across the country in January, and it's a big job for just one day. Volunteer Jennifer Cruz has been driving around Cheyenne all morning and hasn't found anyone. JENNIFER CRUZ: They're not out in the open like you would see in a larger city because they find places. I just met a gentleman who's sleeping on his brother's couch, but he's homeless. BRYAN: To find as many people experiencing homelessness as they can, this year, volunteers are getting creative. They put up flyers around town advertising a free meal and hot drinks in Cheyenne's main plaza where people like Belinda Smith administer federal homelessness surveys. BELINDA SMITH: These questions are not mine, and if you don't choose to answer them, you don't have to. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: OK. SMITH: OK. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yep. SMITH: Do you drink alcohol? UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Some" ]

[ "This was a fantastic product. My wife loves cooking with these herbs. What a taste the lavender adds.The bag is tremendous and the quailty is amazing. I highly recommend this product. Order through Amazon.com was easy and quick. It was delivered in a few days. It was excellent service.This is clearly a 5 star product." ]

[ "Yogi's Breathe Deep is an OK tea for those of us who have asthma and other respiratory ailments. It's a blend of eucalyptus, thyme, and peppermint. Eucalyptus has clearing qualities, but the thyme and peppermint... are kind of mild. Thyme is one of those laidback Gallic herbs (it's in Herbes de Provence blends) Yogi Tea's <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CMIYX6\">Yogi Cold Season, Herbal Tea Supplement, 16-Count Tea Bags (Pack of 6)</a> is MUCH stronger, since it blends eucalyptus with the heady herbs of cinnamon, clove, and cardamom. Breathe Deep is great... but Cold Season has amazing clearing qualities.", "I've been using rendered duck fat from another company that's 4 times as expensive but not any better. I use it to make a chicken liver pate that convinces even the best palletes that it's duck liver pate. This is enough duck fat for about 1-2 pounds of raw livers (depending upon your fat tollerance).<br /><br />My secret pate recipe:<br /><br />5 ounces rendered duck fat<br />1 lb chicken livers<br />1 large shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped (2 1/2 tablespoons)<br />1 tsp herbs de Provence (rosemary, marjoram, thyme work well)<br />2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed through a press<br />1 tsp sea salt<br />1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper<br />1 tbs cognac or dry sherry<br />One loaf of 2\"x2\" rye or pumpernickel bread (look for this at the deli counter)<br />Olive oil<br />Garlic salt<br />Pate: Fry the first six ingredients until the livers are cook thoroughly. Allow mixture to cool slightly so you don't melt your food processor. Add cooked mixture to food processer and blend away. Adjust seasoning and add cognac. Cool in refrigerator.<br />Bread: Heat oven to 400F. Coat bread slices with olive oil and place in a single layer on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with garlic salt. These cook quickly so check them after 3 minutes. You want a hard crouton-like doneness.", "Love love love these lentils - they cook really fast and are healthier than beans! Here's a recipe that my even the one eyebrow raisers like:<br /><br />In a large stock pot cook a half package of bacon ends and pieces, when the bottom of the pan starts to brown and the bacon is nearly done add about 1/3 of a bottle of cheap merlot wine and get the bacon unstuck from the bottom next, chop two or three leeks ( green tops and all! ) and add those to the bacon/wine debauchery that is happening, add your conveniently packaged and delivered (and recently rinsed) Barry Farm lentils. Cover with enough water that the lentils rest under about half an inch of water. Add salt, pepper and herbs de Provence set on a medium low heat - cover for a soup, it should be ready in a little less than an hour- or - cook uncovered for about an hour for a more robust lentil side dish or some bed-for-my-salmon main course action. Quick, easy, almost healthy (curse my love of bacon !) and de-lic-ous enjoy!<br /><br /><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FA68HY\">Black Beluga Lentils, 1 lb.</a>", "I was born in Argentina and this is a top of the line dulce de leche, to eat with toasts or as add-on to cakes (comparable to Chimbote).<br /><br />Note: I noticed that dulce de leche is an acquired taste. So unless you grew up eating it, you may consider dulce de leche to be a little too sweet.", "I'm a little perplexed by all the great reviews. This was the most bland chowder I've ever had. I prepared it with just milk and a little butter, and it tasted like nothing! Added some salt and white pepper, still nothing. Added some black pepper and Provence herbs, now it tastes like herbed potato soup.<br /><br />On the plus side the clams were nice big chunks and the potatoes were tender. The consistency was pretty good too. It just had no flavor. Not going to be buying this again, certainly not when it's this expensive, too.", "Este es el mejor mate de coca he tenido el placer de tomar, mi padre es Boliviano y anteriormente tom&eacute;, Mate de coca Windsor, Lupi e incluso Frute y Delisse del Peru. MacMate es una marca solo hecha para exportaci&oacute;n y es casi imposible encontrarla en Bolivia. Dentro de cada bolsita de mate se puede ver peque&ntilde;as hojuelas de coca que le dan un sabor especial mientras que las otras marcas contienen coca casi en polvo.<br />Generalmente uso el mate de coca para el dolor de estomago, indigesti&oacute;n y acidez estomacal o para reemplazar mi caf&eacute; de la ma&ntilde;ana pero &uacute;ltimamente lo uso como suplemento diet&eacute;tico, una vez que la coca es macerada por una semana en el Aloe Vera, se genera una bebida que f&aacute;cilmente quita el apetito y ayuda a bajar de peso saludablemente adem&aacute;s que limpia el estomago.", "Es la primera vez que me decidi a tomar mate, no sabia nada de marcas asi que por pura corazonada compre cruz de malta. El efecto es increible, tomar mate es un habito muy bueno, que el cuerpo agradece, el estado de animo se eleva, respiras mejor, no hay fatiga en todo el dia y duermes excelente, la piel de tu rostro empieza a adquirir vitalidad.<br /><br />En cuanto a la yerba cruz de malta les puedo decir en este momento a 3 semanas de estarlo consimiendo y despues de probar otras dos marcas que fueron taragui y canarias, que Cruz de Malta es deliciosa, con un sabor muy agradable, y dura mucho, las otras que probe tenian un sabor escandaloso y me provocaron agruras.<br /><br />De verdad Cruz de Malta creo que es muy recomendable, quiero probar rosamonte que me late bien tambien pero ya sera despues.", "I got this basket today and it was the biggest waste of money.<br />There were two small truffles, 1.43oz and 1.60oz. 4 thin small biscoffee .85oz, almonds 1oz, peanuts 1oz. Bag of ginger snaps 2.13oz. Chocolate napolitan milk and dark chocolate 6 pieces each at 1oz each. Stoned wheat wafers at 1/2oz. nuts and fruit 1oz, carmels flear de sol 6 pieces, and Italian herb cheese 3.5oz that was overpowering garlic flavored.<br />Basically what you paid for was a basket and cellophane with samples inside.<br />The price was outrageous. DO NOT ORDER THIS BASKET FOR A GIFT, YOU WILL BE EMBARASSING YOURSELF.", "Our household consumes very little salt as such (other than the salt that is included in other substances such as soy sauce). For the \"big jobs\" (brining a turkey, for example), we use Diamond Kosher salt, but for SEASONING we have for the past decade or so used only Belamandil Flor de Sal. Where taste is the paramount criterion, we have found no equal to Portuguese Flor de Sal.<br /><br />As with other sea salts where the place of harvesting is specifically designated, such as Fleur de Sel from the region around Nantes, France, or Maldon salt from Britain, or Trapani salt from Sicily, it is the components of the salt that are not sodium chloride (NaCl) that distinguish Flor de Sal from other seasoning salts. Although nothing has been added by human hands to the Flor de Sal that has been harvested from the ocean, at least four percent of Belamandil Flor de Sal comprises minerals that are not NaCl, and that four percent makes all the difference. In case your mind's eye conjures visions that the non-NaCl component is the garbage that you may have seen dumped into the Mediterranean, put your fears to rest. The coast of the Algarve region of Portugal, where Belamandil Flor de Sal is harvested, is on the Atlantic side of the Straits of Gibraltar, a part of a very large and self-healing Atlantic Ocean ecosystem.<br /><br />Also, like the French Fleur de Sel, the Portuguese Belamandil Flor de Sal is only the \"flower\" of the salt, skimmed from surface blooms, rather than, as many sea salts are, evaporated from large quantities of sea water that have been scoured from varying depths of the ocean. Flor de Sal's surface blooms have been exposed to direct unfiltered sunshine (they disappear in rainstorms), a natural purifying process. The process causes the salt to form small thin wafers rather than clumpy amorphous granules, and that shape causes the Flor de Sal to have a tactile but quickly yielding crunch that is very different from chomping down on grains of ordinary table salt.<br /><br />As gourmet foods go, Flor de Sal is a great bargain. For the price of only enough gasoline for a very few days of an urban commute to work, you can buy more than a full pound of Flor de Sal, which will go a LONG way. You will enjoy the Flor de Sal much more than the commute, I guarantee you.", "De Cecco pasta is always the best. These orecchiette are the only ones I use to prepare with rapini. These De Cecco orecchiette keep well the cooking, don't become mushy or sticky as other brands.", "I purchased this chestnut flour for its gluten-free properties, looking forward to making crepes and creme de marrons with it. The crepes were a fantastic success; I can't wait to make the creme de marrons. This will be a regular part of our kitchen pantry.", "I spend part of every year in Argentina and I miss their wonderful Dulce de Leche, This is the perfect product for those of us in the U S that like that rich carmel sweet taste served so many ways. I use it especially to make homemade Cinammon Dulce de Leche Ice Cream. WOW!", "I was very displeased when I received the Feuilles de Brick. I had to cater for an important client. All the ingredients ready to be assembled in the Feuilles and due to their dryness (the Feuilles de Brick) I could not bake my desserts.", "Having searched for a Val de Saone brie on the internet I ordered from Le Village and received a substitute Eiffel Tower which Igourmet had also substituted. Although the Eiffel Tower is excellent it is no substitute for the Val de Saone. Contacted LeVillage and received no answer.", "I received a different box on Mate De Coca, not from Delisse.<br />I wanted specifically Delisse which I bought in Peru. However the box I received was Mate de Coca and good nonetheless.", "I wouldn't say this is my favorite salt or even my favorite flur de sel as their are many. It is a quality product and great value though. The crystals are a little small and lack the crunch of some other flur de sel's I've tried. Definitely worth keeping in the collection though.", "Fleur de Sel, known in Portugal as Flor de Sal, is hand-harvested, in the Algarve region of Portugal. During the harvest process, the first layer produces the finest and most mineral-rich crystals, to ultimately be used, not during the cooking process, but to season dishes prior to serving. Flor de Sal is used to greatest effect with simple dishes and foods that will accentuate its unique sweet and creamy flavor. In days gone by, Portuguese salt workers referred to Flor de Sal as \"salt cream,\" as it was (and is still) collected from the salt pan (salina) surface as cream is from the milk). The second (called Gray Salt) and subsequent layers are coarser and less pure in flavor and color. These subsequent layers, however, still produce hand-harvested sea salt, as with our Sal Marinho Tradicional. These salts are superior to processed salts in terms of purity and taste.<br /><br />The taste difference between Flor de Sal and lower grades of salt can be compared to the difference between pure, high-grade maple syrup and corn-syrup-based artificial pancake syrups. Most people who have tried maple syrup never want to go back to eating the artificial syrups because the real maple syrup has a subtle and rich flavor, which artificial syrups totally lack. Likewise, Flor de Sal has a rich, creamy, sweet flavor (and melts on your tongue). It also contains trace minerals needed for good health such as magnesium, iron, calcium and potassium.", "\"Oh well, next year for sure,<br /><br />U see, it's hard being a detective at four\"<br /><br />Crix really is \"de vital supplies\". Crix with (literally) anything. For the non-Trinbagonians, try Crix with jams, jellies, avocado, & even in Chocolate milk (\"biscuit in tea!!!\"). LOL.<br /><br />Dey now realize that \"Trini (X'mas) is de best\".", "ES UN HIDRATANTE DE MUY ALTA CALIDAD,ES EXELENTE PARA LARGAS JORNADAS,DE EJERCICIO,TE RECUPERA MUY RAPIDO,EVITA EL AGOTAMIENTO,Y TE DA ENERGIAS EXTRAS,YO PERSONALMENTE CORRO EN BICICLETA 100 KILOMETROS POR DIA,POR 3 DIAS A LA SEMANA,Y HA HECHO MARAVILLAS CONMIGO<br />LO RECOMIENDO,ES EXELENTE", "Esta salsa no es facil de conseguir, a menos que tengas mercados asiaticos cerca de tu casa, tiene un balance perfecto de acidez y picante con unos toques dulces que apenas se pueden percatar.<br />La puedes usar para cocinar, aderezar, sazonar y es muy versatil.<br />que bueno que Amazon tiene este producto, algunos se pueden parecer, pero yo recomiendo exactamente esta salsa.", "Dulce de Leche La Salamandra is absolutely delicious. I think it's the best Dulce de Leche. A taxi driver in Buenos Aires told my husband and I that we shouldn't even bother buying any other brand. And he was right! it's sooo good!", "I have had mate de coca in recent travels and enjoyed the fact that it gave me energy without messing with any of my other systems as caffeine often does. There are a few things you'll notice when drinking real mate de coca. The initial most obvious effect is the slight numbing sensation you experience in your mouth when you take a sip.<br /><br />I recently ordered this product and it has failed to have the same effect that true mate de coca has. This leads me to believe that this is not real mate de coca. I'm not sure if this is because this particular re seller decides not to sell the real thing, or if it's because the actual product apparently has some ambiguous legal issues here in the US which forces the real thing to be stripped of the elements which stimulate alertness. As far as my reading is concerned coca tea is in fact legal in the US, although it seems as if that may not always be the case.", "I love Goya Agua de Coco, but it always has some sweetener added to it. I have been looking for the unsweetened Goya Agua de Coco for a long time. Most of the coconut water products out there are too expensive. Thank you for carrying this product, and at a reasonable price. It arrived in excellent condition, and the taste is very refreshing! I'm sure that I will be ordering it again.", "I stopped purchasing other brands of spaghetti because the De Cecco brand is far superior in taste and quality.<br />My local supermarket has this item for around $3.00 a box and are usually limited on supply so its wonderful purchasing this item on amazon and you cant go wrong with the price.<br />De Cecco all the way for now on!", "I read a review in a food magazine concerning the best tasting pasta and the article recommended De Cecco. We have really enjoyed it; this pasta has a lovely texture and is better than most grocery store brands. <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EPPBCM\">De Cecco Spaghetti, 16 Ounce Boxes (Pack of 5)</a>", "I BOUGHT THIS FOR MY AUNT FOR CHRISTMAS AS SHE ONLY DRINKS DE-CAFINATED COFFEE AND DIFFERENT VARITIES ARE HARD TO FIND.", "La caja es un bonito regalo, pero prefiero, por mucho, los sabores de Bigelow y Tazo.", "For any gourmet cook who wants to please his/her holiday guests, this chestnut puree is at the heart of a classic Buche de Noel!", "You can get DE coffee in USA at hollandsbest website. Great grind and aroma. You have to feel it to believe it.", "I thought this was like tuna fish but it is not. It is just like the taller cans of salmon with bones in it just a shorter version. The salmon is good if you can get pass the bones.<br /><br />What I do is de-bone seven cans at a time and freeze them because it is a headache to have to de-bone a can each and every time. Since this works for me I will continue to buy this product.", "I was trying to find Tapioca flour to make Brazilian cheese bread, Pao de Queijo. The quality is #1. Made great bread.", "Me dieron dos cajas cuando naci&oacute; mi hija, y yo simplemente no confiaba mucho en el tema. Pero es ABSOLUTAMENTE maravilloso. De efecto r&aacute;pido (mucho m&aacute;s que el motilium) y son de gran eficiencia.<br /><br />Muy recomendado para qui&eacute;n necesite producir m&aacute;s leche" ]

[ "life force" ]

[ "This Means War", "Mean Girls", "by means of friction", "Too Mean", "What a Life!", "What A Night", "What If It's You", "What You Want Is What You Get", "What Car?", "What You Cache Is What You Get", "by means of strain or distortions", "What If We", "What a Waste", "Robert Means Thompson", "ways and means committee", "For What It's Worth", "At What Cost", "mean cell volume", "Mean Everything to Nothing", "California's Mean Streets", "by means of confusion error", "What Kind of Man", "Greenwich Mean Time", "Home Means Nevada", "It Don't Mean a Thing", "What Mattered Most", "Mean Joe Greene", "Mean Girls 2", "What happens in Vegas", "Doesn't Mean Anything", "What Kinda Love", "by any means necessary" ]

[ "Motorola posted a loss from continuing operations of $38 million, or 2 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.35 billion, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier." ]

[ "- Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. posted a quarterly loss on a 24 percent fall in revenue, as its housing group witnessed its lowest shipments since 1961.", "Northwest Airlines Corp. NWAC.O, the No. 4 U.S. carrier, posted a wider quarterly loss on Wednesday as high fuel prices and low revenue weakened the industry.", "Contract electronics manufacturer Solectron Corp. on Tuesday posted a narrower quarterly loss, helped by a 23 percent rise in revenue but issued a forecast at the low end", "Plus: SAP revenues solid, outlook moderate...Phone sales boost Nokia profits past forecasts...eBay posts large quarterly loss on Skype write-down...IBM services buoy earnings...Yahoo net profit falls.", "Adult entertainment publisher Playboy Enterprises Inc posted a quarterly net loss on Wednesday and said it expects magazine advertising revenue to fall 30 percent in the first quarter.", "The video game maker largely met Wall Street’s forecasts, despite posting a quarterly loss because of reorganization charges and deferred revenue.", "TiVo posted a small quarterly profit reversing a year-ago loss on higher revenue from subscribers to its digital video recording service.", "KB Home , the No. 5 U.S. home builder, posted a quarterly net loss on Thursday as home revenue dropped sharply due to the weak housing market.", "Qwest Communications International Inc. on Thursday reported a third-quarter loss, citing charges and lower revenue. The provider of voice, video and data services posted a quarterly loss of $569 million, or", "Sun Microsystems today posted a narrower quarterly loss as revenue rose year over year for the second consecutive quarter after three years of declines.", "Network computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday posted a narrower quarterly loss as revenue rose year over year for the", "Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. on Wednesday posted a wider quarterly loss and said 2005 sales would fall short of analysts' average targets.", "Shares in handset and appliance maker LG Electronics surged as much as 7.6 percent on Friday, after the South Korean firm reported strong profits while bigger rival Motorola posted another quarterly loss.", "Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. on Tuesday posted a smaller quarterly loss on better-than-expected subscriber growth and forecast full-year revenue above Wall Street forecasts.", "DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. posted on Tuesday quarterly revenue ahead of Wall Street forecasts, but it made a loss due to charges associated with its film \"Flushed Away.\"", "Computer Sciences Corp. , the fifth-largest U.S. technology services seller, posted quarterly revenue on Wednesday that missed Wall Street expectations, hit by a fall in U.S. commercial-sector sales.", "Playboy's center folds as the company posts a surprising quarterly loss.", "Network computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. on Thursday posted a narrower quarterly loss as revenue rose for the second consecutive quarter on higher sales of servers after three years of declines.", "Stun gun maker Taser International posted a better-than-expected second-quarter profit, recovering from a year-ago loss, on its highest-ever quarterly revenues.", "U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, as Motorola Inc. MOT.N sank 7 percent after giving a disappointing profit outlook, and other companies posted uninspiring quarterly earnings.", "Plus: Phone sales boost Nokia profits past forecasts...eBay posts large quarterly loss on Skype write-down...IBM services buoy earnings...Yahoo net profit falls...Samsung posts strong quarter.", "Shares of Ciena Corp. rose 13 percent before the bell on Thursday after the telecommunications equipment maker posted a wider quarterly net loss but forecast further revenue growth in the current quarter.", "Ruby Tuesday Inc posted a quarterly net loss on Wednesday, reversing a year-ago profit, as the restaurant chain operator faced falling same-restaurant sales and remodeling costs.", "JDS Uniphase Inc. on Tuesday said it expects to post a wider quarterly loss than previously projected, citing factors including a revenue decline from a major customer for consumer optics and display products.", "Blockbuster Inc. on Wednesday posted a &#36;1.42 billion quarterly loss due to a charge, while profit from its operations slid due to higher marketing costs, falling rental demand and escalating competition.", "As price competition takes its toll, AMD Thursday posted its third consecutive quarterly loss, saying that although revenue was relatively solid, it suffered a sharp second-quarter drop in income.", "The Cooper Companies posts a Q2 loss upon restructuring, but revenues continue to grow.", "Texas Instruments Inc posted a 10 percent rise in quarterly profit on Monday, but gave a disappointing revenue forecast due to the loss of some business at customer Ericsson, sending its shares down as much as 4 percent.", "Handheld computer maker palmOne on Monday posted a quarterly profit, versus a loss a year earlier, on stronger revenue spurred by solid sales of its Treo 600 mobile phone and other digital devices.", "Blockbuster Inc. BBI.N on Wednesday posted a $1.42 billion quarterly loss due to a charge, while profit from its operations slid due to higher marketing costs, falling rental demand and escalating competition.", "Monsanto Co., a producer of Roundup herbicide and insect-resistant seeds, posted narrower fourth-quarter losses on Wednesday, but said lower Roundup herbicide sales in the United States hurt total quarterly revenue.", "Is There a Future for LookSmart? Former search giant LookSmart has reissued investor guidance numbers for the last quarter of 2004. Posting lower revenues than expected, the beleaguered firm admitted it overestimated potential revenues by about $2million and underestimated quarterly losses by about $700,000. The erroneous projections, originally issued in ..." ]

[ "Elstree" ]

[ "that which burns", "that which purifies", "that which is heard", "production", "the program in which they are enrolled", "Productivity", "speed at which they expand", "that which is done by an agent", "A Stranger in Town", "Jeff Townes", "Leave This Town" ]

[ "The question of converting coordinates of adjacent zones often rises in the mapping of regional hydrogeology. A transformation program is coded using VC++.It is convenient and effective in interconversion between geographical coordinate and Gauss horizontal coordinate. " ]

[ "An algorithm based on flux difference splitting is presented for the solution of two‐dimensional, steady, supercritical open channel flows. A transformation maps a non‐rectangular, physical domain into a rectangular one. The governing equations are then the shallow water equations, including terms of slope and friction, in a generalised coordinate system. A regular mesh on a rectangular computational domain can then be employed. The resulting scheme has good jump capturing properties and the advantage of using boundary/body‐fitted meshes. The scheme is applied to a problem of flow in a river whose geometry induces a region of supercritical flow.", "The purpose of this book is to develop, apply and evaluate a method by which the Admiralty Chart 5080 of Lough Derg can be transformed to a GNSS compatible version, with the end product being a digital file containing the Admiralty Chart and all the relevant spatial information needed. The book is focused on the different transformations methods where-by the paper version of the Admiralty Chart can be transformed to its equivalent digital version in GNSS compatible ITM coordinates. The book used the OSi Discover Series, 1:50,000 ITM mapping to georeference the Admiralty Chart that has no known coordinate reference system.", "This paper presents a new solution of spatial similarity transformation using plane transformation. ::: The transformation creates a relationship between the coordinates of different ::: points of two coordinate systems. ::: The mathematical background of the transformation it discussed in detail, and a ::: mathematical solution it presented to solve the transformation task in case of larger angles ::: too. Finally, two examples of practical application of the transformation procedure are ::: presented and calculated.", "Shallow-water equations in a domain representing a strait are transformed into curvilinear coordinates concordant with the domain configuration and mapping the domain onto a rectangle with two opposite open boundaries. The initial boundary value problem for the equations in the form of contravariant fluxes is considered and compared with a reduced formulation of boundary conditions for equations linearized near the boundary. A method for numerical integration of the transformed boundary value problem is discussed. Particular attention is given to modification ensuring stable computation in the case of strong nonlinearity and variability of domain metric.", "With the development of mapping and measure technology,the application of geocentric right-angled coordinate is becoming more and more important.In the case,geodetic coordinate transformation is becoming the problem often confronted with us.The computing of latitude is the key of geodetic coordinate transformation from geocentric coordinate which conventionally uses iterative methods.Now,many methods are used for the computing of latitude,ie,Heikkinnen arithmetic,Ozone arithmetic,polynomial approach arithmetic,ameliorative bowring arithmetic,and so on.In this paper,a Newton-Raphson arithmetic for geodetic coordinate transformation from geocentric coordinate is introduced.With the example of calculating,It is proved to be a method of geodetic coordinate transformation with high accuracy as well as an appropriate computing velocity.It can be used in some application fields with high accuracy.", "In 2010-2012, the hydrogeological model (HM) of Latvia (LAMO) was developed by the scientists of Riga Technical University (RTU). LAMO comprises geological and hydrogeological data provided by the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LEGMC) for the active groundwater zone of Latvia. In 2013-2015, LAMO was notably upgraded. The number of HM layers and the density of hydrographical network (rivers, lakes) were increased, cuttings of river valleys into primary geological layers were done, plane approximation step was reduced twofold, transmissivity distributions of aquifers were refined by creating variable permeability maps. In the paper, new methods are described for obtaining more reliable permeability maps by using pumping data of wells. Computer-based checking of initial data for wells was accomplished, and some drawbacks of the former maps were eliminated.", "AbstractThe need for transformation parameters from the Cape Datum which is based on the modified Clarke 1880 ellipsoid to the WGS 84 ellipsoid is increasing with the increasing popularity of the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a surveying tool. This paper presents the result of Clarke 1880 UTM coordinate conversion to UTM coordinates based on WGS 84 for the primary control stations in Zimbabwe.The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) for the transformed coordinates on a central meridian (CM) of 27 are 70 cm and 143 cm for the Y and X coordinates respectively. For the zone with a central meridian of 33 the RMSE are 97 cm and 74 cm respectively. Using the ten common points based on one central meridian of 30 the corresponding RMSE are 81 cm and 91 cm respectively.", "Transformation methods are a very powerful tool in finite element modelling. In many cases, an adequate mapping transforms the problem into an easier one or allows advantage to be taken of the symmetries. This paper demonstrates that any mapping can be handled automatically provided the classical vector analysis approach is given up for the benefit of a differential geometry approach. As a first example, it is shown that axisymmetrical problems need no more a particular treatment provided the mapping of the cylindrical coordinates on the cartesian ones is considered as it is. Furthermore, a novel axisymmetrical formulation is proposed which relies on one further transformation and improves considerably the quality of the interpolated field. Transformation methods are also of great help to model the infinite space by means of finite elements. Many authors have presented such transformations which are often instances of the same general shell transformation that is presented here.", "Thurston developed shearing earthquake maps as transformations in the Teich- muller space of hyperbolic Riemann surfaces, and McMullen expanded these transformations to include grafting earthquake maps on hyperbolic surfaces. Subsequently, the authors defined an ex- tension of these transformations in describing complex earthquake maps on the Teichmuller space of compact tori. In this paper, we develop computational methods for these transformations using the techniques of circle packing.", "An experimental investigation of the scale and rotation invariant joint transform correlator is performed. The mask for the log-polar coordinate transformation is obtained with a Lee's binary interferogram computer generated hologram with a mapping of 4 (pi) .", "The paper sums up the practical experience for GPS-RTK in the process of the topography mapping,indicates from the working principle of GPS-RTK,the coordinate conversions and the collection for split points out of door,breaks through the conventional survey ideas,and alters the procedures of the regular topographical mapping out of doors,so as to achieve to improve the working efficiency with the premise of ensuring the quality of results.", "Abstract The benefits of GIS application methods for analysis and numerical model preparation of hydrogeological surveys are summarized in the presented article. The article is focusing on the problem of connection between geographic information system and methods of hydrogeological survey, especially hydrogeological modelling in terms of input data preparation, creation of analyses and visualization of the results. It also describes a methodology of the work in the frame of creating local GIS for landslide.", "It is important to obtain the hydrogeological parameters of the confined aquifer near the impermeable boundary.This paper elaborated the process of obtaining the hydrogeological parameters of the Confined aquifer near the Impermeable boundary and discussed the results in detail,taking the pumping test in Xiaoyujiazhuang of Chaigouzhen,Gaomi for example.", "In this paper,according to the results of hydrogeology investigation and experiences summed up by our predecessors,we discussed on the representative enrichment mechanism and exploitation pattern of groundwater in the front of mountain around Inland Basin.We try to offer the technical guide on hydrogeology investigation and groundwater exploration in similar regions.", "The aim of the study was to analyse spatial variability of selected parameters of subsurface waters in the area of approximately 10 ha, located in the valley of the Ciemiega River in the village of Snopkow, near Lublin, Poland. For the purpose of this study, nine sections were delimited, each with four points of collecting groundwater. In the groundwater samples, there were measured $${\\text{NH}}_{4}^{ + }$$ ::: , $${\\text{NO}}_{3}^{-} ,$$ ::: and $${\\text{NO}}_{2}^{-}$$ ::: . Due to the small number of samples, the analysis was limited to deterministic interpolation methods. The following methods were compared using leave-one-out cross-validation procedure: triangulation, inverse distance weighting, radial base function, and modified Shepard’s method. The methods which proved to be optimal were used to create spatial variability maps of the analysed parameters. Spatial interpolation and visualization of the results were performed in Surfer ver.16, and other calculations were conducted using R software.", "The paper gained formula that adopted computer computation based analyzing transformation formula between geodetic coordinate and Gauss plane coordinate.It adopted method that programs many subprogram and realized transformation between geodetic coordinate and Gauss plane coordinate,programs to realize transformation Beijing 54 coordinate,Xi'an 1980 coordinate,30 band Gauss plane coordinate and 60 band Gauss plane coordinate.The paper analyzed precision about transformation results,drew a conclusion that it can meet ordinary production use adapting the transformation program,but there was a little error.", "A seven-parameter datum transformation model is constructed for transformations between the World Geodetic System (WGS84) datum and the Hong Kong 1980 local datum. The solution is tailored by biasing the height information in the WGS84 system to obtain better agreement with the Hong Kong datum height values. The influence of the tailoring process on the accuracy of the model parameters is assessed.", "In order to improve the Moroccan Health Emergency Services (HESs) at the regional level, we have established the HESs-RN (Regional Network) Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping on the basis of 1) proposing the structuring of HESs in the form of the HESs-RN modeled as a graph 2) modeling the HESs-RN by considering a medical emergency event as the Occurrence of events of Health Emergency (OHE), 3) proposing a Decision Support Model (DSM) to manage and control at best the different HESs-RN's OHE, and in particular to determine, in real time, the fastest path for the patient's transfer. This DSM supposes that the HES-RN nodes cooperate autonomously using best practices HES protocols and that they are regulated by the Health Emergency Assistance node.", "It has become apparent that the validity of raster data transformations for various map projections can have significant effects on Earth modeling results. This research investigated three related geospatial information science topics: dynamic projections; the relationships between representations and features, categories, and patterns; and resampling procedures. Empirical investigation compared results of projecting global datasets from geographic coordinates to ten common projections. Analysis of categorical areas indicates a dependence on resolution with errors among equal-area projections ranging between 2 and 20 percent. Error analysis indicates problems in reprojection with specific projection-to-projection transformations yielding better results. Examination of the resampling methods associated with projection of categorical datasets has resulted in the development of a new method. Integrating these lessons, we developed a decision support system for selecting an optimum projection.", "Based on the analysis of regional geology and hydrogeological conditions of Wannian mine of Fengfeng coalfield, according to field's borehole data, geological data and hydrogeological data, we use GMS software to make the three-dimensional visualization strata modeling in Wannian mine of Fengfeng coalfield. Through cutting geological model built in different directions or at different levels and rotating to different directions and different angles, the complex underground geological environment is displayed in three-dimension, which helps geologists to analyze the geological conditions and solve various geological problems.", "According to some embodiments, a method and system for improving the maps of the target anatomical region, as receiving a mapping data from multiple mapping electrodes is moved to a position between the plurality of mapping electrodes and a step of receiving a high-resolution mapping data from the configured high resolution roving electrodes, mapping system uses a processor to receive data from multiple mapping electrodes from and high resolution roving electrode, the target anatomy supplement map, and is configured to create to improve or refine, or a high-resolution three-dimensional map directly.", "In texture-plus-depth format, depth map compression is an important task. Different from normal texture images, depth maps have less texture information, while contain many homogeneous regions separated by sharp edges. This feature will be employed to form an efficient depth map coding scheme in this paper. Firstly, the histogram of the depth map will be analyzed to find an appropriate threshold that segments the depth map into the foreground and background regions, allowing the edge between these two kinds of regions to be obtained. Secondly, the two regions will be encoded through rate distortion optimization with a shape adaptive wavelet transform, while the edges are lossless encoded with JBIG2. Finally, a depth-updating algorithm based on the threshold and the depth range is applied to enhance the quality of the decoded depth maps. Experimental results demonstrate the effective performance on both the depth map quality and the synthesized view quality.", "\"Shows the locations for the borings and electrical earth resistivity transects that provided the data used to map the surficial geology ... and the bedrock topography and drift thickness ... of the northern Beecher West and southern Steger 7.5-minute Quadrangles.\"", "We describe the 3-D integration and simultaneous display of images of brain anatomy, metabolism and vasculature. Data are registered with interactive software or with transformation algorithms which match homologous points from each volume. For neurosurgical procedures, a rigid frame, fixed to the patient's head, is equipped with fiducial markers that map images into a common coordinate system. A computerized 3-D brain atlas, customized to individual anatomy by non-linear warping and/or by interactive modification, measures regional volume or metabolism. 3-D vascular images are correlated with anatomy by direct voxel merging or by overlaying stereoscopic angiograms.", "We show how to implement a Rindler transformation of coordinates with an embedded quantum simulator. A suitable mapping allows to realise the unphysical operation in the simulated dynamics by implementing a quantum gate on an enlarged quantum system. This enhances the versatility of embedded quantum simulators by extending the possible in-situ changes of reference frames to the non-inertial realm.", "A fast algorithm is developed to transform an arbitrary point into fundamental regions, which avoids the intrinsic difficulty of the infiniteness of hyperbolic groups. A flexible construction of invariant mappings, independent of the mapping form, is achieved by imposing the continuity of the mapping on its parameters. The fast algorithm combined with the resulting invariant mapping contributes to a simple and efficient method to generate various aesthetic hyperbolic patterns.", "Gauge theories on q-deformed spaces are constructed using covariant derivatives. For this purpose a ``vielbein'' is introduced, which transforms under gauge transformations. The non-Abelian case is treated by establishing a connection to gauge theories on commutative spaces, i.e. by a Seiberg-Witten map. As an example we consider the Manin plane. Remarks are made concerning the relation between covariant coordinates and covariant derivatives.", "It is found that basin hydrological response and model effective parameter identification in relations with the drainage basin dominating geomorphological parameters is directly influenced by the scale of DEM resolution. Thus a scale independent relationship in flood routing models is necessary for consistency in rainfall runoff translation at a scale of interest. To overcome this problem downscaling methods of dominating geomorphometric parameters are used to obtain the scale invariant distribution function of cross-section, depth, discharge and wave celerity from different DEM resolutions. The downscaling methods of the flow variables is then coupled with the Muskingum-Cunge routing method to develop a scale invariant routing model.", "Summary We present an imaging methodology that resulted in significant enhancements in defining the subsurface geology in a survey in the Appalachian Foothills. The key technologies used were (a) high resolution statics correction, (b) anisotropic model building using Focusing Analysis (FAN), (c) azimuth sector grid tomography, and (e) anisotropic Kirchhoff migration from topography. Approximately 60 square miles of land, wide-azimuth seismic data located in the Appalachian Foothills were imaged. Significant improvements were achieved by processing the data with the new imaging methodology. Also, the seismic image matches with the lateral well information with less than 1% depth error. Azimuth sector tomography indicates a fast and slow velocity orientation which correlates well with possible fracture orientation.", "According to CASS7. 0 cross- section method,the quantities for earth rock excavation under complicated geological conditions are calculated perceptually and accurately by using 3D polylines and surface domain of AutoCAD. Thus,a new calculation method is proposed by the engineering data of the section in Shahe Aqueduct of MRP of South- to- North Water Diversion Project. Firstly,the original cross- sectional diagram is obtained from the field terrain data,and then the post- excavated digital topographic map is generated on the basis of DTM. Various geological boundaries and points of boundaries are marked on the map and illustrated in the original cross- sectional diagram. The final diagram containing the original ground lines and designed terrain lines and multi- sectional geological boundaries is formed. The result shows that the diagram drawing can realize the separate quantity calculation for multi- stratified geological structures and intuitive description of the quantities for earth- rock excavation.", "This study was carried out to determine a theoretical relationship between geo-electrical data and hydraulic parameters by modifying the theories previously developed in laboratories and up-scaling the processes of pore network structures into field scale parameters. A linear relationship between transmissivity and formation factor has been developed and consequently tested on data from a typically hard rock terrain found in the Jangaon sub-watershed, Andhra pradesh, India. ::: ::: ::: ::: Key words: Aquifer characterization, geo-electrical data, formation factor.", "In order to properly correlate the airborne early warning radar intelligence to the ground radar intelligence,a coordinate conversion model was presented,where the model converts the airborne early warning radar intelligence data form the plane coordinate system to Beijing 54 coordinate system in three steps.Relative to the conventional method of coordinate transformation,using this model can effectively reduce the influence of the earth’s surface errors,and make the calculation results with higher precision,thus improving effectively the accuracy of intelligence correlation." ]

[ "Bangladeshi garment-makers continue to face \"life-threatening\" conditions in thousands of factories, five years after the collapse of a workshop that killed 1,134 people.\nThat's according to a study by New York University's Centre for Business and Human Rights, which found that 3,000 of Bangladesh's 7,000 factories endanger the lives of their low-wage garment workers.\nThe majority of larger factories have complied with safety standards introduced by global fashion brands in the wake of the 2013 Rana Plaza tragedy.\nNYU said addressing dangerous factories could cost up to $1.2 billion.\nIn a report marking the fifth anniversary of the disaster, international firms and government organizations were warned that they must take \"shared responsibility\" to improve the lives of those working in supply chains.\n\"Those who benefit from the Bangladeshi garment industry's low-cost, high-volume model, also have an obligation to do more,\" said Michael Posner, professor of ethics and finance at New York University's Stern School of Business.\nThe Rana Plaza collapse sparked international condemnation and scrutiny of an industry notorious for its hazardous workplaces and poor wages.\nMajor Western clothing brands and retailers, including H&M and Primark, joined trade unions to create the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh in 2013.\nThe accord is a legally-binding agreement by which brands must shoulder the costs of improving health and safety in Bangladeshi factories. But joining it is a voluntary act.\nThe current agreement expires in May, with 154 brands signed up to the renewed 2018 accord.\nThe majority of signatories are German brands, including sportswear giants Adidas and Puma. Twenty U.S brands have signed up to the 2018 accord.\nHowever, smaller factories are more likely to pose a higher risk to life than larger factories, as many are not covered by the accord and often receive subcontracted work." ]

[ "Bangladeshi firefighters search for bodies after a landslide in Rangamati on June 14, 2017. Rescue workers battled June 14 to reach victims of the worst landslides ever to hit Bangladesh, as the death toll rose to 146, with dozens more still missing. Pic/AFP\nDhaka: The death toll in the devastating floods in Bangladesh triggered following torrential rains has reached 151 as rescue teams continue to look for 10 people who remain missing, a disaster management official said on Thursday.\nSo far, 107 deaths have been reported from the Rangamati district, 35 in Chittagong, six in Bandarban, two in Cox's Bazar and one in Khagrachhari, Bangladesh's Disaster Management Director Reaz Ahmed told Efe news.\nDidarul Alam, fire services chief for Rangamati district, said that in the last few hours, rescue workers have recovered the body of a woman, who had drowned, and also pulled out another two bodies from under the mud from different parts of the region.\nBefore the latest update, the death toll in the district, the worst affected, had stood at 104, Ahmed said.\nHeavy downpour began lashing the country since last week and intensified between Tuesday and Wednesday, with Rangamati recording 343 mm (13.5 inches) of rain in 24 hours due to a persistent depression in the Bay of Bengal.\nAt this time of the year, southern Bangladesh is normally hit by tropical cyclones, some of which in previous years have caused widespread damage and claimed many lives.", "Dhaka\nAt least 147 people have been killed in Bangladesh and neighboring regions of northeast India after heavy rains triggered a series of landslides and flooded swaths of land over the past two days, officials say. The densely-populated Bangladesh is battered by storms, floods, and landslides every rainy season. The latest casualties come weeks after Cyclone Mora killed at least seven people and damaged tens of thousands of homes in the country’s southeast. Landslides hit three hilly districts in Bangladesh’s southeast early on Tuesday, killing 98 people in Rangamati, 32 in Chittagong, and six in Bandarban, said Reaz Ahmed, the head of the department of disaster management.\nMany people are still missing and the death toll could rise further as rescuers search for bodies, Ahmed told Reuters. The death toll included four soldiers who were trapped by a landslide after they joined the rescue operation in Rangamati, he said.\nShah Kamal, the secretary of Bangladesh’s disaster ministry, said there had been no rain on Wednesday and rescue operations were in full swing.“It is a great relief. Some areas in the district are still cut off but people are being moved through navy boats,” he told Reuters by telephone from Rangamati.—Agencies", "Dhaka: The death toll in the devastating floods in Bangladesh triggered following torrential rains has reached 151 as rescue teams continue to look for 10 people who remain missing, a disaster management official said on Thursday.\nSo far, 107 deaths have been reported from the Rangamati district, 35 in Chittagong, six in Bandarban, two in Cox`s Bazar and one in Khagrachhari, Bangladesh`s Disaster Management Director Reaz Ahmed told Efe news.\nDidarul Alam, fire services chief for Rangamati district, said that in the last few hours, rescue workers have recovered the body of a woman, who had drowned, and also pulled out another two bodies from under the mud from different parts of the region.\nBefore the latest update, the death toll in the district, the worst affected, had stood at 104, Ahmed said.\nHeavy downpour began lashing the country since last week and intensified between Tuesday and Wednesday, with Rangamati recording 343 mm (13.5 inches) of rain in 24 hours due to a persistent depression in the Bay of Bengal.\nAt this time of the year, southern Bangladesh is normally hit by tropical cyclones, some of which in previous years have caused widespread damage and claimed many lives.", "Dhaka/Bangladesh: Heavy rains have triggered a series of landslides and floods in Bangladesh and northeast India, killing at least 156 people over two days, and officials warned on Wednesday the toll could rise.\nDensely populated Bangladesh is battered by storms, floods and landslides every rainy season. The latest casualties come weeks after Cyclone Mora killed at least seven people and damaged tens of thousands of homes.\nLandslides hit three hilly districts in Bangladesh's southeast early on Tuesday, killing 100 people in Rangamati, 36 in Chittagong and six in Bandarban, said Reaz Ahmed, head of the department of disaster management.\nFresh landslides on Wednesday killed one person in the district of Khagrachari and two in the coastal town of Cox's Bazar, he added.\nThe town bordering Myanmar is home to thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees and was just beginning to recover from Cyclone Mora.\nAhmed said many people were still missing in the landslide-hit districts and the death toll could rise further as rescuers search for bodies. The toll included four soldiers trapped by a landslide during a rescue operation in Rangamati, he added.\nShah Kamal, the secretary of Bangladesh's disaster ministry, said there had been no rain on Wednesday and rescue operations were in full swing. \"It is a great relief. Some areas in the district are still cut off but people are being moved through navy boats,\" he told Reuters by telephone from Rangamati.\nBut weather officials in Bangladesh have forecast light to moderate showers accompanied by gusty or squally wind during the next 24 hours in places like Chittagong. In the Indian states of Mizoram and Assam, which border Bangladesh, at least 11 people were killed as incessant rains flooded major cities.\nAuthorities in Mizoram retrieved nine bodies, but about seven people were still missing after landslides caused several homes to cave in, the state's urban development minister said. India was ready to support Bangladesh with search and rescue efforts if needed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office said in a statement.\nOutside help might not be needed, however, two Bangladesh government officials said.", "DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) \" Rescuers struggled on Wednesday to reach villages hit by massive landslides that have killed at least 140 people while also burying roads and cutting power in southeastern Bangladesh, officials said.\nTo clear paths for rescue workers, villagers joined firefighters and soldiers in cutting fallen trees and clearing mud and debris unleashed by the landslides Tuesday in five hilly districts. But rescuers have been unable to get heavy machinery to the remote areas to help dig through the debris, military spokesman Rezaul Karim said.\n\"We are using speedboats to reach some of the affected spots. It is almost impossible to reach many of the affected places by road,\" said Shah Kamal, secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management.\nOfficials would not say whether there were people still missing, even as the death toll doubled overnight and more districts were reportedly hit by the landslides.\nAdvertisement\nSome villagers were taking refuge in government shelters, but officials could not say how many. With cellphone services and power cut off in the region, information was slow to trickle out.\nOne villager described living through a landslide that killed her three children as they slept early Tuesday, according to the newspaper Prothom Aloo.\nSwapan Barua said he was trying to clear rainwater from his thatched-roof home when huge chunks of mud swept through, burying the children in their beds, according to the newspaper.\nFour soldiers died when a mudslide smashed into them while they were trying to clear a blocked road in the remote Rangamati district on Tuesday, said army official Mohammed Redwan.\nThe worst-hit areas were in Rangamati district, where mostly tribal villagers live in small communities near a lake surrounded by hills. Officials reported 103 dead and at least 5,000 homes destroyed or damaged in Rangamati.\nAnother 28 were killed in the coastal Chittagong district, six died in Bandarban, two in Cox's Bazar and one in Khagrachhari.\nThe delta nation of Bangladesh is frequently hit by strong storms, torrential rains, flooding and landslides. But experts said this week's tragedy was also the result of uncontrolled denuding and soil harvesting in hills above where villagers had set up unplanned settlements.\nMany people in hilly regions ignore authorities' calls to avoid constructing homes on slopes.", "The Rana Plaza factory building was expanded illegally, with extra floors stacked one on top of another. An engineer had declared it unsafe, and the thousands of people who worked inside, stitching garments for clothing brands from around the world, knew it was trouble.\nProtesters placed flowers at a makeshift monument near the abandoned factory site, just outside the capital Dhaka, and urged that the owner of the collapsed building, imprisoned on murder charges, be given the death penalty.\nDHAMRAI, Bangladesh—A few hundred workers, activists and relatives of victims of a 2013 garment factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1,134 people and left thousands injured held a rally Tuesday as the country marked the fifth anniversary of the disaster.\n“That factory was very risky,” said Khadiza Begum, who was working there the day the complex collapsed. “It had weak pillars. It had narrow stairwells. It had no fire exits.”\n“We saw cracks in the building before it collapsed on us,” she said.\nThe tragedy killed 1,134 people, many of them young women supporting extended families, and injured more than 2,500. It focused international attention on Bangladesh’s role as the world’s second-largest garment producer, and led the government and manufacturing associations to promise big improvements.\nMany of the world’s top clothing brands said they would stop contracting with factories if they failed to improve safety for their workers. European and U.S. brands set up programs meant to improve safety.\nFive years later, the situation is complicated, according to a recent study conducted by the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University’s Stern School of Business.\n“We have found tremendous improvement in the larger factories” involved in the safety programs, Paul Barrett, deputy director of the centre, said in an email. “But two other categories — factories overseen by the government and subcontracting facilities not overseen by anyone — remain at risk.”\nThe centre’s survey of conditions at Bangladesh’s textile factories found that workers at about 3,000 of the country’s 7,000 factories are still exposed to life-threatening risks, ranging from a lack of fire safety equipment to serious structural flaws. The dangerous factories, often small, sometimes subcontract work from larger factories that deal with foreign brands.\nSuch factories rarely allow access for journalists, though the best-equipped ones are eager to show off their workplaces.\nS.M. Khaled is the managing director of the Snowtex Outerwear Ltd. Factory, a $42 million complex built after the 2013 disaster in the industrial suburb of Dhamrai, outside the capital Dhaka.\n“The collapse of Rana Plaza was a wake-up call for us — for the industry and for the buyers,” he said as he walked through the factory. “Look at my factory. Look around. I have done my best to keep it safe for the workers.”\n“We have invested a lot to keep my factories safe and compliant,” he said.\nSnowtex, which does business with some of the world’s top brands, has about 8,000 workers in its five-storey factory, each floor spread over 52,000 square feet. It’s just a few kilometres from where Rana Plaza stood.\nThe factory has wide stairwells, emergency exits, fire-safety equipment, sprinklers and first-aid equipment on hand. Workers have been trained in fire-safety and rescue techniques and the factory runs regular fire drills.\nAll that is a relief to Begum, who was trapped for hours after the Rana Plaza collapse. She was so shaken by the experience she didn’t work for two years.\n“I took a job at a garment factory, but after one or two days there I had the feeling that the floor was shaking, or the building would fall down. I was afraid, and after one or two days I couldn’t work anymore,” she said.\nEventually, her family desperate for money, she got a job at Snowtex.\n“It’s very different here,” she said, sitting in front of a sewing machine. “This building is good and strong.”\nTextile exports are a huge business for Bangladesh, bringing in $28 billion annually, mostly from Europe and the United States.\nMany of the improvements after the Rana Plaza collapse were brought on with pressure from the foreign safety initiatives: the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, organized by European brands, and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker safety, which was backed by North American retailers. Under the programs, some 2,300 factories have been inspected and many have upgraded their safety standards.\nIndustry insiders guardedly admit that subcontracting remains a problem, since larger businesses sometimes contract some work out to smaller, less-safe factories. They insist those deals are being phased out.\nKhaled said the established factories know they are being monitored by the international brands, and don’t want to get in trouble by subcontracting.\n“This is no longer a major concern like it was before,” he said, adding that many smaller factories only produce clothes for local markets.\nBut Barrett disagrees.\n“Subcontractors do exist and play an important role in the industry,” he said in an email. “Denial has consequences.”\nWorker safety should not depend on where the clothing is being worn, Roy Ramesh Chandra, president of Bangladesh’s United Federation of Garment Workers, said in an interview.\n“Authorities need to address all the factories — whether it is producing for export” or for Bangladeshis.", "In this April 19, 2018 photo, trainees at a garment factory work at Snowtex garment factory in Dhamrai, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Photo | AP)\nSAVAR: Hundreds of people staged tearful tributes Tuesday at Rana Plaza, scene of one of the world's worst industrial disasters in 2013 when the complex of clothing factories collapsed and killed at least 1,130 people.\nSurvivors and the relatives of the dead placed wreaths at a concrete hammer and sickle memorial as labour groups demanded justice in a rally marking the catastrophe's fifth anniversary.\nSeveral people held photos of those missing and unaccounted for since the collapse. About 3,500 workers were inside the complex making clothes for top western brands when the tragedy struck, injuring nearly all those who survived.\nA murder trial in the case has been repeatedly held up and noone has been convicted over the disaster despite persistent accounts of negligence.\nAbdul Awwal, 58, went to the scene at Savar in the Dhaka suburbs from the northern rural district of Pabna to honour his 25-year-old daughter, Rozina Khatun. Her body has still not been found.\n\"She left an 11-month-old son. Her husband got married again leaving the son to us. Even after DNA tests on (the) bodies, I still have no trace of my daughter's body,\" said Awwal.\n\"The boy does not have any memories of his mother. He doesn't even have a grave to mourn at,\" he added, breaking into tears.\n\"I demand justice. I demand the body of my daughter.\"\nPolice said some 500 people held demonstrations and small marches on the highway in front of the ruins at the start of the day.\nOthers arrived as the day wore on and placed wreaths at the memorial.\nPolice inspector Abdul Goni told AFP about 300 police had been deployed to prevent unrest.\n- 'Living dead' survivors -\nUnion leaders and survivors have expressed anger at the slow pace of the trial against Sohel Rana, whose family owned the complex, which collapsed after it was illegally extended.\n\"We demand justice, We want Rana to be hanged. We want other criminals to be hanged,\" workers chanted as they marched in front of the hole where the complex once stood, which has since been turned into a pond adorned with hyacinths.\n\"The injured workers have become living dead. We demand the quick trial of the culprits. Five years have gone and yet there is hardly any progress in the murder trial,\" said union leader Jolly Talukder.\nTalukder also demanded the release of some 1.22 billion taka ($14.5 million), which she said was donated to a government fund to help Rana Plaza victims.\nThe collapse triggered international outrage.\nEuropean and US clothing brands -- including Primark, Mango and Benetton -- were pressured to improve pay and conditions at Bangladeshi factories.\nEmploying some four million workers, wages in the Bangladeshi sector start at $65 a month, among the world's lowest.\nGroups which oversee safety upgrades say factories have improved since the Rana Plaza tragedy. The 20 reported accidents in 2017 was the lowest number in recent years.\nA group representing more than 100 European brands warned however that \"major life-threatening safety concerns remain\" among the country's 4,500 textile plants.\nSeveral foreigners representing international textile brands also came to the memorial to pay their respects to the dead workers.", "Julhas Alam, The Associated Press\nDHAMRAI, Bangladesh -- A few hundred workers, activists and relatives of victims of a 2013 garment factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1,134 people and left thousands injured held a rally Tuesday as the country marked the fifth anniversary of the disaster.\nProtesters placed flowers at a makeshift monument near the abandoned factory site, just outside the capital Dhaka, and urged that the owner of the collapsed building, imprisoned on murder charges, be given the death penalty.\nThe Rana Plaza factory building was expanded illegally, with extra floors stacked one on top of another. An engineer had declared it unsafe, and the thousands of people who worked inside, stitching garments for clothing brands from around the world, knew it was trouble.\n\"That factory was very risky,\" said Khadiza Begum, who was working there the day the complex collapsed. \"It had weak pillars. It had narrow stairwells. It had no fire exits.\"\n\"We saw cracks in the building before it collapsed on us,\" she said.\nThe tragedy killed 1,134 people, many of them young women supporting extended families, and injured more than 2,500. It focused international attention on Bangladesh's role as the world's second-largest garment producer, and led the government and manufacturing associations to promise big improvements.\nMany of the world's top clothing brands said they would stop contracting with factories if they failed to improve safety for their workers. European and U.S. brands set up programs meant to improve safety.\nFive years later, the situation is complicated, according to a recent study conducted by the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University's Stern School of Business.\n\"We have found tremendous improvement in the larger factories\" involved in the safety programs, Paul Barrett, deputy director of the centre, said in an email. \"But two other categories -- factories overseen by the government and subcontracting facilities not overseen by anyone -- remain at risk.\"\nThe centre's survey of conditions at Bangladesh's textile factories found that workers at about 3,000 of the country's 7,000 factories are still exposed to life-threatening risks, ranging from a lack of fire safety equipment to serious structural flaws. The dangerous factories, often small, sometimes subcontract work from larger factories that deal with foreign brands.\nSuch factories rarely allow access for journalists, though the best-equipped ones are eager to show off their workplaces.\nS.M. Khaled is the managing director of the Snowtex Outerwear Ltd. Factory, a $42 million complex built after the 2013 disaster in the industrial suburb of Dhamrai, outside the capital Dhaka.\n\"The collapse of Rana Plaza was a wake-up call for us -- for the industry and for the buyers,\" he said as he walked through the factory. \"Look at my factory. Look around. I have done my best to keep it safe for the workers.\"\n\"We have invested a lot to keep my factories safe and compliant,\" he said.\nSnowtex, which does business with some of the world's top brands, has about 8,000 workers in its five story factory, each floor spread over 52,000 square feet. It's just a few kilometres (miles) from where Rana Plaza stood.\nThe factory has wide stairwells, emergency exits, fire safety equipment, sprinklers and first-aid equipment on hand. Workers have been trained in fire safety and rescue techniques and the factory runs regular fire drills.\nAll that is a relief to Begum, who was trapped for hours after the Rana Plaza collapse. She was so shaken by the experience she didn't work for two years.\n\"I took a job at a garment factory, but after one or two days there I had the feeling that the floor was shaking, or the building would fall down. I was afraid, and after one or two days I couldn't work anymore,\" she said.\nEventually, her family desperate for money, she got a job at Snowtex.\n\"It's very different here,\" she said, sitting in front of a sewing machine. \"This building is good and strong.\"\nTextile exports are a huge business for Bangladesh, bringing in $28 billion annually, mostly from Europe and the United States.\nMany of the improvements after the Rana Plaza collapse were brought on with pressure from the foreign safety initiatives: the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, organized by European brands, and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker safety, which was backed by North American retailers. Under the programs, some 2,300 factories have been inspected and many have upgraded their safety standards.\nIndustry insiders guardedly admit that subcontracting remains a problem, since larger businesses sometimes contract some work out to smaller, less-safe factories. They insist those deals are being phased out.\nKhaled said the established factories know they are being monitored by the international brands, and don't want to get in trouble by subcontracting.\n\"This is no longer a major concern like it was before,\" he said, adding that many smaller factories only produce clothes for local markets.\nBut Barrett disagrees.\n\"Subcontractors do exist and play an important role in the industry,\" he said in an email. \"Denial has consequences.\"\nWorker safety should not depend on where the clothing is being worn, Roy Ramesh Chandra, president of Bangladesh's United Federation of Garment Workers, said in an interview.\n\"Authorities need to address all the factories -- whether it is producing for export\" or for Bangladeshis.", "DHAKA The High Court of Bangladesh on Sunday upheld the death sentences of two members of a banned Islamist group accused of killing a blogger, a court official said.\nThe two were sentenced to death in 2015 for killing Ahmed Rajib Haider, a youth group activist campaigning for a trial of war criminals, including those involved in Bangladesh's independence war with Pakistan in 1971.\nRajib was hacked to death in Dhaka in 2013.\nThe two convicts, Redwanul Azad Rana and Faisal Bin Nayem, are members of the Islamist group Ansar al Islam, linked to al-Qaeda. In 2015, Dhaka police announced a reward of 500,000 taka ($6,410) for Rana, believed to be the most senior leader of the group. He has gone into hiding.\nRana is also accused of hacking to death another blogger, Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen Avijit Roy, in the same year.\nBangladesh has been battling a rise in Islamist-linked violence in the past four years. Since July, several militants have been arrested or killed in police operations for involvement in last year's attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed.\nSince 2013 Islamist militants killed or seriously injured 48 people in Bangladesh, including at least six online critics of religious militancy who were hacked to death.\nIslamic State and al Qaeda have made competing claims over the killings of foreigners, liberals and members of religious minorities in Bangladesh, a mostly Muslim country of 160 million people.\nThe government has consistently ruled out the presence of foreign groups, blaming domestic militants instead.\n(Reporting by Serajul Quadir; Editing by Clelia Oziel)", "Five people have perished in a raging inferno that tore through a hotel and casino complex in Manila, authorities said Monday, after firefighters battled more than 24 hours to douse the flames.\nRescuers said billowing smoke, sometimes so dense it obscured the 22-floor Waterfront Manila Pavilion, had hampered their efforts to contain the blaze which started Sunday morning.\nThe dead were all casino employees, and another of the workers was still in critical condition. About 20 people were injured.\nSome 300 guests and staff were evacuated safely, hotel and fire officials told a press conference.\n“We are hoping no one was left behind in the rooms. Our firefighters have not yet gone up all parts of the building,” Metro Manila Development Authority acting chief Jojo Garcia said.\nSome firefighters were treated after inhaling the dense smoke, which shrouded the chaotic scene on Sunday.\n“The smoke was so big, so you can just imagine, there was zero visibility and our firefighters had difficulty breathing. Even outside the building there was zero visibility and it was much harder to operate inside,” Manila district fire marshal Jonas Silvano told radio DZBB.\nDeadly blazes break out regularly in the Philippines, particularly in slum areas where there are virtually no safety standards.\nThe deadliest in recent years was in suburban Manila where 72 people died in 2015 at a factory which makes rubber sandals.\nBut more modern buildings have also gone up in huge, deadly blazes.\nIn December, 38 people died in a fire at a four-storey shopping mall in the southern city of Davao.", "The factory building had been expanded illegally, with additional floors stacked one on top of another. An engineer had declared it unsafe, and the thousands of people who worked inside, stitching garments for clothing brands from around the world, knew it was trouble. \"That factory was very risky,\" said Khadiza Begum, who was working at Rana Plaza the day the complex collapsed, five years ago Tuesday. \"It had weak pillars, it had narrow stairwells, it had no fire exits.\"\n\"We saw cracks in the building before it collapsed on us,\" she said.\nThe tragedy killed 1,134 people, many of them young women supporting extended families, and injured more than 2,500. It focused international attention on Bangladesh's role as the world's second-largest garment producer, and led the government and manufacturing associations to promise big improvements. Many of the world's top clothing brands said they would stop contracting with factories if they failed to improve safety for their workers. Five years later, the situation is complicated, according to a recent study conducted by the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University's Stern School of Business.\n\"We have found tremendous improvement in the larger factories,\" that have signed onto two major safety programs organized by foreign brands, Paul Barrett, deputy director of the center, said in an email. \"But two other categories -factories overseen by the government and subcontracting facilities not overseen by anyone -remain at risk.\"\nThe center's survey of conditions at Bangladesh's textile factories, found that workers at about 3,000 of the country's 7,000 factories are still exposed to life-threatening risks, ranging from a lack of fire safety equipment to serious structural flaws. The dangerous factories are often small, but sometimes subcontract work from larger factories that deal with foreign brands. Those factories rarely allow access for journalists, though the best-equipped factories are eager to show off their workplaces. S.M. Khaled is the managing director of the Snowtex Outerwear Ltd. Factory, a $42 million complex built after the 2013 disaster in the industrial suburb of Dhamrai, outside the capital Dhaka.\n\"The collapse of Rana Plaza was a wake-up call for us -for the industry and for the buyers,\" he said as he walked through the factory. \"Look at my factory. Look around. I have done my best to keep it safe for the workers.\"\nTextile exports are a huge business for Bangladesh, bringing in $28 billion annually, mostly from to Europe and the United States. Industry insiders guardedly admit that subcontracting remains an issue in the garment industry, with larger businesses sometimes contracting some work to smaller, less-safe factories. They insist those deals are being phased out.\nKhaled said the established factories know they are being monitored by the international brands, and don't want to get in trouble by subcontracting. Worker safety should not depend on where the clothing is being worn, Roy Ramesh Chandra, president of Bangladesh's United Federation of Garment Workers, said in an interview.\n\"Authorities need to address all the factories -whether it is producing for export\" or for Bangladeshis.", "Officials say rescuers are searching for up to six people still missing after landslides killed at least 141 in southeastern Bangladesh.\nFire department deputy director Jasim Uddin said Thursday that all of those still missing were in the worst-hit region of Rangamati.\nElsewhere, the government turned its focus to providing food and other aid to some 4,500 people whose homes were swamped by mud and debris unleashed in the landslides Tuesday.\nWith power cut off since Tuesday in the remote, hilly region, information was slow to trickle out.", "ISLAMABAD: At least five people including a pedestrian woman was injured when the roof of a factory collapsed in Lahore.\nRoof caved in after a cylinder blast in the Nimko manufacturing factory in Shadbagh China Scheme area, reported a private news channel (Dunya News).\nA pedestrian woman Razia, labourers Shafique and Aqeel, guard Nasir and a man Javed were wounded in the incident.\nThey all were immediately shifted to hospital where two are said to be in critical condition.\nPolice while gathering proofs has initiated a probe into the incident.", "By Paul Barrett\nApril 24 (Reuters) - Five years ago this week, just after thousands of garment workers had settled in behind their sewing machines, a poorly built eight-story Bangladeshi factory complex called Rana Plaza buckled and collapsed. More than 1,130 people, mostly young women, died; 2,500 were injured.\nIn the years since the worst disaster ever in the apparel industry, Bangladesh has become a laboratory for testing factory safety. Western brands and retailers that source low-priced clothing there have inspected 2,300 active factories and pressured suppliers to make real improvements. Dozens of shoddily built facilities have closed altogether.\nBut the Bangladesh experiment has been only partially successful. The European and American companies limited their reach and left thousands of factories untouched. The Bangladeshi government, meanwhile, has demonstrated little willingness to change its lackadaisical attitude toward regulation. Millions of garment workers remain at risk, especially those working for subcontractors-small second- and third-tier factories often completely unknown to Western brands.\nThe turmoil in the wake of Rana Plaza constituted a public relations crisis for Western brands and retailers. Some 250 companies have formed a pair of initiatives: the European-dominated Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, whose leadership includes trade unions, and the American-led Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. These groups inspect factories, oversee remediation of safety problems, and collectively cut off any suppliers that fail to comply.\nWithin their self-assigned jurisdictions - defined as the body of factories with which their members directly do business - the Accord and the Alliance have performed impressively. The Accord reports that 85 percent of the hazards its inspectors identified have been fixed. These include blocked exits, inadequate sprinkler systems, faulty electrical wiring, and unstable support pillars. The Alliance reports an 88 percent remediation rate.\nCatastrophic accidents have declined in Bangladesh. In 2013, there were 17 accidents, including Rana Plaza, that resulted in five or more deaths and/or 10 injured workers. Each year from 2014 through 2017, this number has hovered between two and five such accidents, according to data analysis contained in a new report by the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.\nBut the mission of making factories safe in Bangladesh isn´t even close to done. The Accord and Alliance will not continue indefinitely. The Alliance plans to wrap up its work by the end of 2018. The Accord will renew its mandate every six months, but only through mid-2021. At some point, the factories that the two initiatives have overseen will return to the supervision of the Bangladeshi government, which is notorious for having ignored death traps like Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions, where a November 2012 fire killed 112.\nSubcontractors present a big challenge. These smaller shops help \"mother\" factories handle sudden volume increases and changed orders. No one has an exact count of subcontractors, most of which operate with little or no regulation. While the NYU Stern Center estimates that there may be as many as 3,000 of these factories, the government denies a subcontracting system even exists.\nBut on a recent fact-finding trip, researchers from the NYU Stern Center visited two subcontracting factories of 150 and 200 workers each. They weren´t hard to find. At one, the owner told of receiving a list of fire-safety mandates from a government inspector. The owner said he´d lost the list and, in any event, didn´t have the money to install sprinklers or a fire alarm. He didn´t seem in the least concerned.\nIt´s vital that the Bangladeshi government recognize the presence of garment subcontractors - as well as its larger long-term duty to regulate the industry with vigor. In the short term, though, those with an interest in the country´s apparel business ought to band together and finance a task force devoted to finishing the work the Accord and Alliance have begun.\nA \"shared responsibility\" task force could seek to address human rights challenges by means of the collective action of major stakeholders. Variations on the model have been used for years by international organizations that convene donor conferences to respond to refugee crises. In the supply-chain context, the goal ought to be protecting workers and spreading the benefits of globalization more evenly.\nThe task force should be Bangladeshi-led and include Western brands and retailers that have profited from selling Bangladeshi-made clothes. Western governments also need to step up, recognizing that their citizens benefit from the opportunity to buy these clothes at low prices. Traditional international funding agencies like the World Bank also ought to do much more to protect the workers in this sector. There is a role for private philanthropies, too.\nA rough estimate of how much such a task force should seek to raise is $1.2 billion. This represents an approximation of the number of factories that haven´t been renovated multiplied by $250,000 - a ballpark figure for an average remediation.\nWhatever budget the task force sets for itself, the amount should be understood as paying for the attainment of safety today. Once current gaps have been addressed, responsibility ought to shift to the government of Bangladesh. The fifth anniversary of Rana Plaza calls for a renewed and collective commitment to a safe and secure garment industry. (Reporting by Paul Barrett)", "A powerful blast tore through a fireworks factory in southern India Wednesday, killing nine labourers who had just reported for work, police said.\nThe manufacturing unit in the Warangal district of Telangana state burst into flames soon after the workers entered at about 11am (0530 GMT), a local police official said.\n\"We have counted the bodies of nine people. Four others are injured and are undergoing treatment,\" police spokesman Mohana Krishna told AFP.\nWARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES\nImages showed thick black fumes billowing out of the factory premises with one of its gates shattered by the impact of the explosion.\nFirefighters battled to douse the flames and rescue those trapped, but some victims were charred beyond recognition by the time they were reached.\nLocal media reports said the explosion was likely triggered by an electrical short circuit.\nWorkplace accidents are common in India, thanks to poor safety standards and lax enforcement of regulations.\nIn January, 17 workers died in a fire at a plastic manufacturing facility in New Delhi and 13 people lost their lives last November in northern Ludhiana city in a similar accident.", "It would take weeks before the full number of dead from the Rana Plaza factory collapse was clear. “Each time we moved a slab of concrete, we found a stack of bodies,” Brigadier-General Siddiqul Alam, the Bangladeshi army officer who oversaw the recovery operation, told the BBC on May 10, 2013.\nOn April 24, an eight-story tower, bustling with workers in multiple factories—some making clothes for international brands—had crumbled into rubble. All told, 1,134 were killed, and more than twice that injured.\nThe worst industrial disaster in Bangladesh’s history, it offered an uncomfortable echo of another tragedy that had happened oceans away and a century earlier. On March 25, 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City killed 146 garment workers, many of them young immigrant women and girls. That disaster is often credited with galvanizing America’s nascent organized labor movement, and spurring a process that led to public safety improvements and laws to protect workers.\nAnd yet 102 years later in Bangladesh, garment workers were still facing the same struggles and hazards. Only, in Rana Plaza the numbers involved were far larger. Estimates of how many people Bangladesh’s garment industry employs vary quite a bit, but reach as high as just under 5 million—the size of New York City’s entire population in 1911.\nRana Plaza from above. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)\nAfter both these horrific, preventable tragedies—as warnings ignored and stairways barred by locked doors leaked out—there was a wave of outrage and action. The main outcome of each was much-needed attention finally being paid to the unconscionable safety hazards in factories.\nThe Triangle fire led to rounds of inspections and important legislative reforms, at the local and state level, that made factories safer for workers. After Rana Plaza, two campaigns of inspections and remediations sought to reform much of Bangladesh’s garment industry. Five years after the collapse, as these agreements, which center on the economic leverage held by international brands, reach their deadlines, they too have made many factories safer.\nBut unfortunate differences are also emerging. The Triangle fire led not only to health and safety reforms, but also spurred on the burgeoning US labor movement, presenting a stark window into the chronic labor abuses that garment workers suffered, including poverty wages, excessively long hours, and child labor.\nIt remains unclear whether long-lasting labor reform will happen in Bangladesh, but unless circumstances in the country change dramatically, it seems unlikely to. After a brief period of workers’ unions growing, they’re again stagnating, and they face tight restrictions by Bangladesh’s government. The country’s workers—the lowest paid among the world’s top 10 apparel exporters—saw an increase in the minimum wage just after Rana Plaza, but that rate hasn’t moved since, and in terms of purchasing power, is steadily shrinking.\nOf course Bangladesh’s garment industry exists in a very different world from the Triangle factory. Its workers are at the end of a long, global chain of multinational corporations hopping the globe in search of the lowest prices they can find. Bangladesh’s economy has grown by accommodating these international brands, including H&M, Gap, Inditex, and Walmart. The Bangladeshi people have benefited—at least according to the common narrative that low-skilled work in poor conditions is a normal phase of a country’s economic development as it becomes wealthier.\nBut for now at least, Bangladesh remains attached to its role as some of the world’s cheapest labor, relying on it for its main competitive advantage. The years since Rana Plaza only serve to emphasize the point, and show just how much power is now concentrated in the hands of multinational corporations.\nThe corporate effort to reform a national industry\nThe aftermath of Rana Plaza represents an unprecedented effort by international brands to reform an entire industry—a new role for clothing companies. Historically, governments move to regulate, or private owners are forced to act after pressure from the workers themselves.\nIn New York in the early 20th century, the flourishing progressive movement was already concerned about the consequences of society becoming rapidly industrialized, and trade unions were gaining political power. About a year and a half before the Triangle fire, 20,000 to 30,000 garment workers went on strike in New York, in what became known as the Uprising of the 20,000. The workers looked to trade unions for help in the face of police intimidation, and earned political leverage by joining the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. After the Triangle fire, New York’s city government—and some in the political machine known as Tammany Hall—saw the wisdom of joining forces with these reformers.\nIn Bangladesh, unions have been demanding change, but corporations have been the ones with the clout to push for reforms. After Rana Plaza, two coalitions of international clothing brands and various other stakeholders formed with the goal of making Bangladesh’s garment industry safe. The Accord and the Alliance, as the two coalitions are known, have significant differences in structure. The big distinction between them, which has led to some sniping back and forth, is the largely European Accord also included global trade unions and could impose sanctions on brands if they didn’t meet their obligations. The Alliance’s mostly American signatory brands don’t face the same penalties.\nBut both have functioned by leveraging their brands’ economic power within Bangladesh to get factory owners to upgrade their facilities. Factories that didn’t comply face being cut out by all the brands in the agreement. “Nothing quite like this had been tried before, certainly not at this scale,” notes a recent report by the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights on the progress made since Rana Plaza.\nThe structure of these agreements is a tacit acknowledgement that the brands—not the factory owners, and not the local unions—are the ones in power, and that the government couldn’t be relied upon to do the job.\nThe good news is that the industry is actually safer. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly, research director for the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, has spent time on the ground in Bangladesh researching the garment industry, and says despite their differences, from what she’s seen both groups have succeeded in improving safety at the factories under their watch.\nA factory near Rana Plaza awaits inspection after the tragedy. (Reuters/Krista Mahr)\nThe Accord reports that 84% of the safety problems it identified in its initial factory inspections have now been fixed. The Alliance says 89% of the issues that were not in compliance with its standards have now been addressed. These improvements include installing proper fire doors, updating electrical wiring, and making structural upgrades. There has also been only one major fatal incident in a Bangladesh garment factory since Rana Plaza. It occurred when a boiler exploded, killing 13 people at an Accord factory last year.\nHazards do persist—a fact the Accord candidly admitted in a January progress report (pdf), stating that “life-threatening safety concerns remain outstanding in too many factories.” Baumann-Pauly points out that factories made the easy, inexpensive fixes first, meaning some of the work left involves complex upgrades that require big investments, such as installing sprinkler systems. Funding such fixes has been an ongoing issue, and will continue to be.\nThe center’s report also detailed what is maybe the biggest safety gap that remains: the thousands of factories not covered by either agreement. There are some 1,650 other garment factories producing for the domestic market or for export to countries such as Turkey and Russia that are under the oversight of the Bangladeshi government, which has been far less effective at ensuring factories make the fixes needed. Beyond these, a vast unregistered industry of subcontracting factories exists outside the scope of any safety regulations, waiting for the inevitable overflow orders that the directly contracted factories can’t handle. Estimates of its size vary, but it could include as many as 4,000 facilities.\nThe brands have spearheaded the effort in part because they undoubtedly recognize it’s the right thing to do. But one of the consequences of Rana Plaza was that it put clothing companies’ reputations and brand images in jeopardy—turning off customers who increasingly identify as “conscious” and seek a positive story about the clothes and products they buy. Images of bodies being pulled from the rubble cast a harsh spotlight on a trade regime these companies had long benefitted from, and even helped to create.\nHow Bangladesh built its massive garment trade\nBangladesh’s garment industry first emerged in the 1970s, some time after the Bangladeshi military took over in a coup, halting the country’s move toward socialism and shifting it toward development through foreign investment and private business. The country benefited from a global export-quota system called the Multi-Fibre Arrangement, which exempted it from limits on sales of clothes to the US and Europe. When Korean and Taiwanese companies started hitting their limits on exports to the West, they opened factories in Bangladesh.\nBangladesh continued to attract foreign business to its garment industry by promoting its low costs. As Baumann-Pauly and her co-authors explained in their report:\nThe government signaled to foreign fashion brands that the country’s poor rural population provided a large labor pool eager for $1-a-day jobs. “They used words like ‘value,’ ‘good bargain,’ and ‘reliable workforce,’ and the brands understood what they meant—low wages and low prices for the clothes,” says Sanchita Saxena, director of the Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.\nSteadily the companies poured in. Today, Bangladesh is the second-largest garment exporter in the world, after China. In 2016, it exported more than $28 billion worth of clothes. H&M, Inditex, Gap, Walmart, C&A, and numerous other international labels have flocked to the South Asian nation, all seeking low-cost production. Clothes have steadily grown to account for more than 80% of its total exports.\nRock-bottom wages for workers are a key component of Bangladesh’s low prices. In December 2016, tens of thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers went on strike, demanding higher pay. The minimum wage, set in 2013, is 5,290 taka per month (about $64), though too often garment factories have failed to pay even that. Workers want to see wages roughly triple, to 16,000 taka (about $192).\nMany workers do earn more than the minimum. A Fair Labor Association (FLA) study of data from thousands of workers, collected over three years, found their average wages were 7,797 taka per month.\nThe amount, though, is just barely above the World Bank poverty line, and far short of a “living wage” that would allow workers to meet their needs, support their families, and still have a small amount left over to save. And many only reach that level of pay by working gruelingly long hours.\n“To supplement their income, all workers in this study were depending on overtime, which accounts for more than 20 percent of the average worker’s wages,” the FLA report states. “Half of all workers studied were regularly working more than 60 hours a week, despite the negative effects on worker health and wellbeing of such long hours.”\nIn theory, wages should be rising as Bangladesh gets better at churning out clothes, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. Between 1994 and 2015, Bangladesh’s labor productivity increased 391%, yet wages rose only 22%, according to a large-scale study on Bangladesh by Lilac Nachum, a professor of international business at City University New York.\nIndications are that the sourcing practices of international brands are playing a role in keeping wages down. Mark Anner, director of Penn State University’s Center for Global Workers’ Rights, reported in a study released in March (pdf) that brands are generally paying less for garments today than they did before Rana Plaza.\nThe price of men’s and boy’s cotton trousers exported to the US (Bangladesh’s top garment export to the country) fell about 13% between 2013 and 2017. Similarly, the price paid for t-shirts exported to the EU (again, Bangladesh’s top garment export in that case) fell about 5%. External factors, such as cotton prices and exchange rates, couldn’t account for the drops.\nThe study also included an analysis of 223 surveys completed by suppliers in Bangladesh. The suppliers reported declining prices too. And their profit margins fell 13.3% from 2011 to 2016, while the lead times that brands gave them to get their work done shrank.\nBrands essentially want faster work, and to pay less for it. As they squeeze suppliers, workers are feeling the effects. “This report finds that gains have been severely limited [since Rana Plaza] in regard to wages, overtime hours, and work intensity in part due to the sourcing practices of the brands and retailers that sit at the top of global supply chains,” it states.\nThe high price of low costs\nThe low costs of work in Bangladesh come at a price. Anner’s report found, for instance, that in recent periods when the prices suppliers get for their garments dropped, violations of labor rights tended to increase.\nIn fact, the drive to keep things cheap has shaped the entire industry. Dhaka’s garment factories sprung up haphazardly over the decades, many of them built in spaces never designed to house industry, such as residential apartments. The deaths at Rana Plaza were a consequence of such practices. Anner’s report offered a summary of the situation:\nThe price squeeze in garment global supply chains has also impacted building safety. Long before Rana Plaza, Michael Piore emphasized the pressure supplier factories face to keep fixed costs low—notably, building overhead—in an industry with significant fluctuations in order volume and thus income. He notes, “To minimize that [building] cost, the employer will seek out cheap—that is, substandard—factory housing. […] The attempt to reduce rent paid per worker is the chief cause of congestion in sweatshops, affecting the way in which material inventories, supplies, equipment, and work-in-progress block aisles and exits. It is also the source of unhealthy and dangerous conditions (poor wiring and ventilation, unsanitary or nonexistent bathrooms, fire hazards).”\nThe risk to suppliers who raise their prices to move into better spaces and pay better wages is that, if they charge higher prices to offset the costs, they could lose valuable business. Brands’ globalized supply chains make it easy enough to shift orders from one country to another, depending on where the price is lowest. “If company A has to place an order, the sourcing team takes costing from 10 or 15 different factories from five different countries,” Sanjay Kumar, the director of SEWA Bharat, part of a national trade union that represents 1.9 million informal workers across India, told Quartz in 2015. “Whoever quotes the lowest price, the brand will go to that factory, that country.”\nBangladesh accommodates these demands for cheaper and faster work because it still desperately needs the business. The great paradox of its garment industry is that the country has benefited greatly from this dangerous, exploitative trade. Poverty rates have fallen dramatically over the decades. Despite the poor conditions, low pay, and long hours, workers often say they want more work, not less.\nThe government also has an incentive to keep prices low. “The government of Bangladesh—and many of the countries that host the global garment industry—considers low wages to be a comparable advantage and […] cheap labor to be something that is their right to kind of exploit,” said Sarah Fox, the former special representative for international labor affairs at the US Department of State, at an April 10 summit on the progress since Rana Plaza held at the Ford Foundation in New York. (It perhaps doesn’t help that approximately 10% of Bangladeshi lawmakers have a direct stake in the garment industry, and the number jumps even higher when you consider family links to the industry too.)\nAs part of the US state department, Fox was involved in talks with Bangladesh’s government about labor rights and other issues. “The government of Bangladesh was very concerned right after the Rana Plaza collapse that it was going to lose this industry and was willing to make significant commitments on paper to improvements, not just in building safety but improvements in freedom of association particularly,” she said. Despite the high hopes, the reforms haven’t happened.\nUnions have always been an important tool for workers to counter low wages and poor labor conditions. After Rana Plaza, there was a spike in unions approved by the government, but that momentum has since fallen off.\nBoth Fox and Anner, who also spoke at the Ford Foundation summit, noted that Bangladesh makes it exceedingly difficult for workers to unionize. There are “onerous” bureaucratic procedures involved, and 30% of workers in a factory must join to form a union—a bar that bodies such as the International Labour Organization and Human Rights Watch have deemed unreasonably high.\nWorse still, union leaders may be threatened, beaten, or in some cases jailed. After the wage strikes in December 2016, the police targeted labor activists.\nThe government also refuses to allow unions in what it calls export processing zones (EPZ). They’re set up specifically to attract foreign investment. “The primary objective of an EPZ is to provide special areas where potential investors would find a congenial investment climate free from cumbersome procedures,” the EPZ authority says on its website. Apparently those “cumbersome procedures” include workers organizing to advocate for their rights.\nWhile brands have taken the lead on factory safety, they’ve been more reluctant to do so on labor rights. Many did make a show of publicly pulling out of a big garment summit in Bangladesh to protest the arrests of workers and labor activists after the December 2016 protests, but behind the scenes they’ve been less eager.\nGarment workers in Bangladesh protest the arrest of labor activists. (EPA/Abir Abdullah)\nChristy Hoffman, deputy general secretary at UNI Global Union, one of the founding unions in the Accord, said at the Ford Foundation summit that the Accord “faced more resistance” when it came to adding in stipulations about freedom of association and raising wages in the Accord extension. When I asked her to clarify where the resistance was coming from, she replied in an email, “The brands as a group have been reluctant to expand the Accord beyond building and fire safety.”\nThe Accord extension (pdf) does have a vague line about brands promoting respect for workers’ right to freedom of association, as outlined by the ILO, but that’s all. (It’s worth noting, though, that some signatories, such as H&M, do have individual policies promoting workers’ unions.)\nA big reason for the hesitation stems from the fact that wages and labor rights are more abstract issues to solve than buying fire doors or fixing other clearly defined safety hazards in factories. You can’t simply raise wages one factory at a time, for instance, because it makes some more able to compete for business than others. Any real solution has to be industry-wide. Brands don’t want to own the problem, even if they helped to create it and continue to profit from it. It’s not something they can fix on their own.\nBangladesh’s future\nThe traditional idea of development has countries starting off by making things like clothing and gradually moving up the value chain until they’re making things like electronics and airplanes. For decades now, Bangladesh has been stuck in the clothing phase.\nUnless it starts to diversify its economy and really make investments in building the skills of its workers, the situation seems unlikely to change. (Not doing so could also be disastrous, the ILO has warned, as automation replaces more and more low-skilled workers.) On the contrary, despite increasing competition from countries such as Ethiopia, Bangladesh remains committed to providing international clothing labels with some of the lowest prices anywhere in the world.\nThat doesn’t appear to have changed since Rana Plaza, which is where that tragedy starts to diverge most from the path laid out by the Triangle Shirtwaist fire a century earlier. Sarah Labowitz, the co-founder and former co-director of NYU Stern’s Center for Business and Human Rights, reflected on the differences between then and now in a March 2016 post on the anniversary of the Triangle fire.\n“Looking around the world at today’s low-wage garment manufacturing hubs, they look very different than New York and the United States in 1911,” she wrote. “In the United States in the aftermath of the Triangle fire, it took concerted government action to enact and enforce labor rights protections for workers (a struggle that is ongoing). In today’s low-wage garment producing hubs, governments are not proving capable or willing to take similar action.”\nInternational brands, for better or worse, have more power than ever. It’s good that they stepped up and made the effort to reform Bangladesh’s garment industry. But their involvement shouldn’t end there, and creating the conditions for safe factories and adequate pay for the people in their supply chains, whether directly or indirectly, shouldn’t be voluntary.\nNeither should governments leave it to multinational corporations to solve problems like those that led to the Rana Plaza collapse. Various onlookers are concerned that once the Alliance and Accord transition their work to the government and leave Bangladesh, the garment industry will backslide as inspections drop off and rules go unheeded. And there’s little reason to hope that factory owners will start listening their workers’ demands, not stifle them.\nAt this stage, any realistic solution is going to require cooperation from all parties involved. As consumers, we are responsible to some degree. Conscious consumerism is not a cure; your purchase of an organic cotton t-shirt probably does even less than you think. We need to be aware of how our choices play out in the world, and use that information to find meaningful ways to effect change, such as being informed and active voters. We live in a globalized world, which means we’re all in this together now.", "Hundreds of rescuers -- including soldiers, firefighters, police and volunteers -- were still digging through vast piles of mud on Wednesday, a day after landslides killed at least 140 people in southeastern Bangladesh.", "Five years ago this week, just after thousands of garment workers had settled in behind their sewing machines, a poorly built eight-story Bangladeshi factory complex called Rana Plaza buckled and collapsed. More than 1,130 people, mostly young women, died; 2,500 were injured.\nThe ruins of the Rana Plaza complex after its collapse on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka on April 24, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj\nIn the years since the worst disaster ever in the apparel industry, Bangladesh has become a laboratory for testing factory safety. Western brands and retailers that source low-priced clothing there have inspected 2,300 active factories and pressured suppliers to make real improvements. Dozens of shoddily built facilities have closed altogether.\nBut the Bangladesh experiment has been only partially successful. The European and American companies limited their reach and left thousands of factories untouched. The Bangladeshi government, meanwhile, has demonstrated little willingness to change its lackadaisical attitude toward regulation. Millions of garment workers remain at risk, especially those working for subcontractors—small second- and third-tier factories often completely unknown to Western brands.\nThe turmoil in the wake of Rana Plaza constituted a public relations crisis for Western brands and retailers. Some 250 companies have formed a pair of initiatives: the European-dominated Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, whose leadership includes trade unions, and the American-led Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. These groups inspect factories, oversee remediation of safety problems, and collectively cut off any suppliers that fail to comply.\nWithin their self-assigned jurisdictions — defined as the body of factories with which their members directly do business — the Accord and the Alliance have performed impressively. The Accord reports that 85 percent of the hazards its inspectors identified have been fixed. These include blocked exits, inadequate sprinkler systems, faulty electrical wiring, and unstable support pillars. The Alliance reports an 88 percent remediation rate.\nCatastrophic accidents have declined in Bangladesh. In 2013, there were 17 accidents, including Rana Plaza, that resulted in five or more deaths and/or 10 injured workers. Each year from 2014 through 2017, this number has hovered between two and five such accidents, according to data analysis contained in a new report by the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.\nBut the mission of making factories safe in Bangladesh isn’t even close to done. The Accord and Alliance will not continue indefinitely. The Alliance plans to wrap up its work by the end of 2018. The Accord will renew its mandate every six months, but only through mid-2021. At some point, the factories that the two initiatives have overseen will return to the supervision of the Bangladeshi government, which is notorious for having ignored death traps like Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions, where a November 2012 fire killed 112.\nSubcontractors present a big challenge. These smaller shops help “mother” factories handle sudden volume increases and changed orders. No one has an exact count of subcontractors, most of which operate with little or no regulation. While the NYU Stern Center estimates that there may be as many as 3,000 of these factories, the government denies a subcontracting system even exists.\nRelatives of victims killed in Rana Plaza mourn at the site on the fourth anniversary of the collapse, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain\nBut on a recent fact-finding trip, researchers from the NYU Stern Center visited two subcontracting factories of 150 and 200 workers each. They weren’t hard to find. At one, the owner told of receiving a list of fire-safety mandates from a government inspector. The owner said he’d lost the list and, in any event, didn’t have the money to install sprinklers or a fire alarm. He didn’t seem in the least concerned.\nIt’s vital that the Bangladeshi government recognize the presence of garment subcontractors — as well as its larger long-term duty to regulate the industry with vigor. In the short term, though, those with an interest in the country’s apparel business ought to band together and finance a task force devoted to finishing the work the Accord and Alliance have begun.\nA “shared responsibility” task force could seek to address human rights challenges by means of the collective action of major stakeholders. Variations on the model have been used for years by international organizations that convene donor conferences to respond to refugee crises. In the supply-chain context, the goal ought to be protecting workers and spreading the benefits of globalization more evenly.\nThe task force should be Bangladeshi-led and include Western brands and retailers that have profited from selling Bangladeshi-made clothes. Western governments also need to step up, recognizing that their citizens benefit from the opportunity to buy these clothes at low prices. Traditional international funding agencies like the World Bank also ought to do much more to protect the workers in this sector. There is a role for private philanthropies, too.\nA rough estimate of how much such a task force should seek to raise is $1.2 billion. This represents an approximation of the number of factories that haven’t been renovated multiplied by $250,000 — a ballpark figure for an average remediation.\nWhatever budget the task force sets for itself, the amount should be understood as paying for the attainment of safety today. Once current gaps have been addressed, responsibility ought to shift to the government of Bangladesh. The fifth anniversary of Rana Plaza calls for a renewed and collective commitment to a safe and secure garment industry.\n(Paul Barrett is deputy director of ‎NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights and a former editor at Bloomberg Businessweek @AuthorPMBarrett)", "Story highlights Hundreds of houses were completely enveloped by landslides at night\nThe casualties included included two Army officers and two soldiers\nDhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) Heavy overnight rains triggered a series of landslides Tuesday in southeast Bangladesh, killing at least 133 people and injuring many more, officials said.\nThe highest total, 98 deaths, were reported in the hilly Rangamati district, where rescuers found bodies buries under mud, relief and rehabilitation officer Biswanath Majumder told CNN.\nAnother 29 died in the port city of Chittagong and six others died in the neighboring Bandarban district, said Reaz Ahmed, director general of the Department of Disaster Management.\nRescue operations led by Bangladesh Army troopers were ongoing late Tuesday as many people were still missing, Ahmed said.\nFirefighters search for bodies in Bandarban. Authorities fear the death toll will rise.\nThe casualties included included two Army officers and two soldiers who were trapped under a fresh landslide while taking part in rescue operations, he said.\nRead More", "DHAKA, Apr 24 (IPS) - Asma saw the roof collapse over her colleagues. Johora was dragged out of the rubble by her hair. Shirin was only 13 years old when her eyes and airways were filled with concrete dust. Five years have passed since the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1 134 people.BANGLADESH. Garment factories lie side by side along the freeway leading into the capital, Dhaka. But between the concrete blocks, a square, uninhabited piece of land is overgrown with greenery. This is where Rana Plaza used to be. Shirin Akhter, 18, turns her eyes away.\nSince the accident, Shirin Akhter is too afraid to work in the garment industry again. Credit: Jonas Gratzer Arbetet-Global/IPS\n\"I don't feel good about being here,\" she says.\nFive years have passed since the factory collapsed in what became the most deadly industrial accident in modern times.\nShirin was only 13 but had already worked in the garment industry for two years.\n\"I was very young. When visitors came to the factory, I had to hide in a storeroom. But there were other girls there who were even younger,\" she says.\nThe memories are still fresh. The muffled sound of the roof caving in. The concrete dust that filled eyes and lungs. The horror when discovering that the exit was blocked by rubble.\n\"We were huddled together in the stairwell, many cried and were scared. One person had broken their skull bone. When I saw the pouring blood, I started crying too,\" says Shirin Akhter.\nOn the morning of April 24, rumours were swirling. The day before, large cracks had been discovered in the eight-storey Rana Plaza and the 5 000 garment workers who worked in it had been evacuated.\n\"Nobody wanted to go in, but the management said we would lose our jobs if we didn't,\" says Johora Khatun, 22.\nAsma Begum, 28, walked up the stairs up to the factory's third floor. For just under an hour, she and her colleagues sat by powerless sewing machines.\n\"Then they started the generator. Five minutes later, the building collapsed. I think it was the vibrations that did it.\"\nAt 08.57am, the top floor collapsed. Asma Begum began running towards the exit as soon as she heard the sound. Shortly after, sha saw the ceiling coming down on top of her colleagues.\n\"I was sitting by the stairwell. But there were 1 000 people on my floor and not everyone made it out.\"\nJohora Khatun worked on the same floor, but further into the room.\n\"I started running but fell after a few metres.\"\nShe was saved by a sewing table. Johora Khatun avoided being crushed but found herself stuck under concrete and rubbish.\n\"For the first few hours, I thought I might survive, but then I lost hope.\nWhen rescue workers finally arrived, they could not reach Johora's arms and had to pull her out of the rubble by her hair.\nThe search for survivors continued for weeks. The final death toll was recorded as 1 134. Another 2 500 were injured.\nThe Bangladesh garment industry had claimed fatalities before, but Rana Plaza put the working conditions in the international spotlight. The disaster was too big to ignore.\nJust a few weeks later, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh came into force. As a part of the five-year deal, about 200 international fashion companies committed to fund workplace improvements at their subcontractors.\n\"Thousands of things have been repaired and fixed. It has definitely contributed to a safer working environment,\" says Petra Brännmark, communications manager at the global labour union IndustriAll, which was a key driver of deal negotiations.\nThe Accord ends in May. As of yet, 144 fashion companies have signed a five-year extension. The number of final signatories will give an indication of how highly the international buyers value the safety of the garment workers, now that the media has turned it's spotlight off.\n\"Not all those who signed the first accord have signed the second one yet,\" remarks Petra Brännmark.\nThe perception that the accord has been a success is shared by workers' organisations in Bangladesh. Babul Akhter is the chairman of the trade union organisation BGIWF, which organizes 29,000 garment workers:\n\"Rana Plaza attracted the attention of the world and opened a small window for us. Much has changed. The working environment is better, and all factories have fire protection equipment now.\"\nBut the price was high. It was paid by those who died. By those who lost their relatives. And by those who survived — but for whom life never became the same again.\nOne year after Rana Plaza, Shirin Akhter once again took up employment at a garment factory, but only managed five days before the panic attacks became too strong.\nWithout income, she is regarded as an economic burden for the family and her stepfather has decided she needs to get married.\n\"I would like to study,\" she says. But my stepfather is the family's only breadwinner. He decides.\"\nThis story was originally published by Arbetet Global\n© Inter Press Service (2018) — All Rights Reserved Original source: Inter Press Service\nWhere next?\nShare this Bookmark or share this with others using some popular social bookmarking web sites: Email\nEmail Facebook\nFacebook Twitter\nTwitter WhatsApp\nWhatsApp Google+\nGoogle+ Reddit\nReddit Digg\nDigg del.icio.us", "Photo: Fadime oban/EyeEm/Getty Images\n“Where did you get your clothes?” is a fairly simple question. Most of the time, the answer is a brand (Zara) or, if you’re celebrity, a designer (Raf Simons). But this week, a group of fashion-industry activists are encouraging people to ask for a better answer.\nToday is the five-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse that claimed the lives of 1,134 garment workers in Bangladesh, and many in the fashion industry are asking, “What has changed?” and demanding transparency from brands about how their products are made. Since fashion is largely not an automated industry (yet), the work is done by real people working in factories. Often, the factory conditions are unsafe, but it can be hard for the brands to even monitor safety, since they frequently outsource production to third parties.\n“Who Made My Clothes” is part of Fashion Revolution Week, led by the global education and policy NGO Fashion Revolution. One of Fashion Revolution’s biggest initiatives is publishing a yearly report, called the Fashion Transparency Index. Each brand is given a score out of 250, and in 2018 the average score was 21 percent. If that sounds bleak, at least there’s an upside. In addition to asking for more transparency from brands that aren’t transparent, this week is about focusing on brands that are doing well, according to the Executive Director of Fashion Revolution USA, Lauren Fay.\n“[Fashion Revolution week] is the time of year when we give the mic to the brands that are doing well,” Fay told the Cut. “It’s in memorandum of Rana Plaza and to show that fashion can be the total opposite of that scenario.”\nFashion Revolution has events organized in six continents combining designers, activists, and academics who are interested in all varieties of sustainable fashion. They’re also encouraging consumers to post selfies of their inside-out clothes and asking the brands who produced them to be more transparent with the hashtag #whomademyclothes.\n“Rana Plaza is this lightning bolt of tragedy which is highlighting the frenetic pace and pressure that is put on these factories and therefore the workers to produce, produce, produce for less, and less and less,” Fay said.\nGetting involved can be as simple as taking a selfie and tagging a brand. For more ways to join the revolution, visit their website. But Fay says everyone can be a fashion revolutionary, with or without the social-media engagement.\n“It comes down to just being mindful and thoughtful about your purchases and buying less, and keeping things for longer.”", "(Paul Barrett is deputy director of ‎New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. The opinions expressed here are his own.)\nBy Paul Barrett\nApril 24 (Reuters) - Five years ago this week, just after thousands of garment workers had settled in behind their sewing machines, a poorly built eight-story Bangladeshi factory complex called Rana Plaza buckled and collapsed. More than 1,130 people, mostly young women, died; 2,500 were injured.\nIn the years since the worst disaster ever in the apparel industry, Bangladesh has become a laboratory for testing factory safety. Western brands and retailers that source low-priced clothing there have inspected 2,300 active factories and pressured suppliers to make real improvements. Dozens of shoddily built facilities have closed altogether.\nBut the Bangladesh experiment has been only partially successful. The European and American companies limited their reach and left thousands of factories untouched. The Bangladeshi government, meanwhile, has demonstrated little willingness to change its lackadaisical attitude toward regulation. Millions of garment workers remain at risk, especially those working for subcontractors—small second- and third-tier factories often completely unknown to Western brands.\nThe turmoil in the wake of Rana Plaza constituted a public relations crisis for Western brands and retailers. Some 250 companies have formed a pair of initiatives: the European-dominated Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, whose leadership includes trade unions, and the American-led Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. These groups inspect factories, oversee remediation of safety problems, and collectively cut off any suppliers that fail to comply.\nWithin their self-assigned jurisdictions — defined as the body of factories with which their members directly do business — the Accord and the Alliance have performed impressively. The Accord reports that 85 percent of the hazards its inspectors identified have been fixed. These include blocked exits, inadequate sprinkler systems, faulty electrical wiring, and unstable support pillars. The Alliance reports an 88 percent remediation rate.\nCatastrophic accidents have declined in Bangladesh. In 2013, there were 17 accidents, including Rana Plaza, that resulted in five or more deaths and/or 10 injured workers. Each year from 2014 through 2017, this number has hovered between two and five such accidents, according to data analysis contained in a new report by the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.\nBut the mission of making factories safe in Bangladesh isn’t even close to done. The Accord and Alliance will not continue indefinitely. The Alliance plans to wrap up its work by the end of 2018. The Accord will renew its mandate every six months, but only through mid-2021. At some point, the factories that the two initiatives have overseen will return to the supervision of the Bangladeshi government, which is notorious for having ignored death traps like Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions, where a November 2012 fire killed 112.\nSubcontractors present a big challenge. These smaller shops help “mother” factories handle sudden volume increases and changed orders. No one has an exact count of subcontractors, most of which operate with little or no regulation. While the NYU Stern Center estimates that there may be as many as 3,000 of these factories, the government denies a subcontracting system even exists.\nBut on a recent fact-finding trip, researchers from the NYU Stern Center visited two subcontracting factories of 150 and 200 workers each. They weren’t hard to find. At one, the owner told of receiving a list of fire-safety mandates from a government inspector. The owner said he’d lost the list and, in any event, didn’t have the money to install sprinklers or a fire alarm. He didn’t seem in the least concerned.\nIt’s vital that the Bangladeshi government recognize the presence of garment subcontractors — as well as its larger long-term duty to regulate the industry with vigor. In the short term, though, those with an interest in the country’s apparel business ought to band together and finance a task force devoted to finishing the work the Accord and Alliance have begun.\nA “shared responsibility” task force could seek to address human rights challenges by means of the collective action of major stakeholders. Variations on the model have been used for years by international organizations that convene donor conferences to respond to refugee crises. In the supply-chain context, the goal ought to be protecting workers and spreading the benefits of globalization more evenly.\nThe task force should be Bangladeshi-led and include Western brands and retailers that have profited from selling Bangladeshi-made clothes. Western governments also need to step up, recognizing that their citizens benefit from the opportunity to buy these clothes at low prices. Traditional international funding agencies like the World Bank also ought to do much more to protect the workers in this sector. There is a role for private philanthropies, too.\nA rough estimate of how much such a task force should seek to raise is $1.2 billion. This represents an approximation of the number of factories that haven’t been renovated multiplied by $250,000 — a ballpark figure for an average remediation.\nWhatever budget the task force sets for itself, the amount should be understood as paying for the attainment of safety today. Once current gaps have been addressed, responsibility ought to shift to the government of Bangladesh. The fifth anniversary of Rana Plaza calls for a renewed and collective commitment to a safe and secure garment industry. (Reporting by Paul Barrett)", "Five years ago today, the Rana Plaza building in Savar, Bangladesh collapsed, marking the most deadly accident in the history of the apparel industry. Thousands of workers at their sewing machines and cutting stations were at work in the five factories when the building crumbled, trapping them under concrete and rubble. 1,138 of them died, while thousands more were left with life-changing injuries. Many brands and retailers saw this horrific wake-up call to change their producing standards and implement strict rules of compliance, but there is one factory owner in Bangladesh who has been working hard over the past ten years to ensure everything from the building itself to its workers are protected and able to grow sustainably.\n\"I am in a very unique position in the industry. A lot of people like to talk about what needs to be done when they themselves are not even in the position to do what needs to be done,\" admitted Mostaqiz Uddin, Managing Director, CEO, and Founder of Denim Expert Ltd to FashionUnited at denim trade fair Kingpins Amsterdam. There are not many factory owners like Uddin and Denim Expert is among the few factories in the world which can proudly proclaim to be among the safest, following inspections by the Bangladesh Accord and Alliance.\nHow Mostaqiz Uddin managed to build one of the safest denim manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh\n\"Inspectors from the Accord came to see my factory and they were amazed to see how structurally sound the factory really is,\" he said. Boasting a fully integrated production line, the manufacturing facility, located in Chittagong, was built on top of 100 feet of underground piling to ensure a solid foundation. In addition, its steel-concrete foundation and stone building structure also ensure the building is earthquake proof, thereby ensuring the safety of his 4,000 workers. “I can take my own responsibility for my life, but how can I risk the lives of 4,000 people?” He asked, wondering why other factory owners and manufacturers do not think along the same lives. “We are in the business, we are making the money - it's our responsibility, simple.”\n\"Five years after Rana Plaza, we can say that we have one of the safest factories in the whole world as it has been inspected so many times\" Mostaqiz Uddin, Managing Director, CEO, and Founder of Denim Expert\nIt was Uddin own choice to build the safest factory he could, a decision he made years before Rana Plaza took place. Work on the production facility first began in 2005 and it took nearly two years to complete. \"My factory is a bit different than other factories in Bangladesh. People asked me ‘why are you taking so much time to build a factory? You could build five factories with that amount of money.’ I said it is because I want to make it safe. Then people asked me what is the definition of a safe factory, as they did not know. Unfortunately in 2013, Rana Plaza happened and then people began to understand what building a safe factory really means.\" Now Uddin is dedicating himself to driving real change within the denim industry, focusing on how he can help improve conditions and share knowledge.\nIn addition to managing Denim Expert, which products 320,000 products per month and works with some of the largest names in the fashion industry such as Inditex, Bestseller, Primark and Arcadia Group, he also launched the Bangladesh Denim Expo in 2014. \"Other manufacturers and companies started coming to me and asking me for tips and advice on how to improve their own business and practices, so it seemed like the natural next step.\" Out of the 70 plus exhibitors showing at Kingpins Amsterdam, 42 of them are set to exhibit their latest innovations at the Bangladesh Denim Expo, which is set to take place from May 9 to 10. Uddin also runs a sustainable apparel forum in Bangladesh, dedicated to promoting sustainability and helped launch the first fashion technology summit in Bangladesh two months ago. \"The summit was all about technology and how it can help improve the textile industry in Bangladesh,\" continued Uddin.\n\"All the things I do is to promote my industry, to help make the industry better.\" Through Denim Expert, the Bangladesh Denim Expo and his other project, Uddin hopes to help drive change towards a more sustainable, transparent and ultimately responsible industry but is aware he is an exception. \"Unfortunately our factory is not represented throughout Bangladesh, it is the expectation. I can’t say that the entire industry is working like us.\" Although Rana Plaza took the lives of more than a thousand workers, Uddin does believe that things have changed since the disaster, in part thanks to initiatives like the Accord and Alliance. \"I think this is the most transparent industry hub in the whole world. No other country has had their garment industry inspected factory by factory as we have,\" he pointed out, noting that most factory owners followed all guidelines and recommendations set by the Accord.\n\"We [as manufacturers] need to be morally responsible and ethically strong and honest about our own practices\" Mostaqiz Uddin, Managing Director, CEO, and Founder of Denim Expert\nHowever, at the same time, he is very aware that there is still a long way to go and there remain many areas in which the textile industry can improve in. \"We still have some factories that are not 'fit', but we are continuously working and progressing to make sure they are. We are committed to changing for the best and welcoming the European support and advice.\" And even though his own factory is among the safest in Bangladesh, he is continually focusing on how Denim Expert can improve worker conditions, as well as become more sustainable, transparent and responsible. For example, Denim Expert just launched its first in-house sustainable denim range for men for Spring/Summer 2019. The collection was made using the latest technologies, such as laser, thereby significantly reducing the manufacturing facilities consumption of water.\nUddin is also keen on implementing a system, such as Product DNA, to map, trace and publish the traceability of his products - even if his customers are not asking him as he believes that companies should be transparent in all areas of their business, at every stage in their supply chain. \"I am making these denim products for my customers, I want them to be transparent. I want to use respect-code.org tracing system as I want that level of transparency in my business. I think that the responsibility and traceability should come from manufacturers themselves, not legislation.\" Although he is aware that companies like Inditex and Bestseller already have their own tracing systems in place, he still is missing this sense of responsibility for transparency among other denim and garment manufacturers in Bangladesh.\n\"For me, I make things very simple. I do not believe in just relying on compliance - that is just a minimum standard to meet. I am not here to fulfill things at the lowest levels, I want to ask what is our own responsibility. Until businesses step up and take responsibility for sustainability, traceability, transparency and social rights we will always be waiting for the government to regulate us.\" This is a bold statement for any business to make, especially an apparel producer in a country which lacks strict legislation concerning working conditions and minimum wages. But as Uddin pointed out, it should not solely be up to the manufacturers - brands and retailers also need to come together and establish a minimum standard, a certain level of compliance they all demand. This way, they can present a united push for better conditions for workers that manufacturers have to meet, ensuring equality for all and a leveled base.\n“We can really change the apparel sector if we want, it is all about our willingness. We have sent people to the moon, so why can’t we make the denim industry more transparent?” Mostaqiz Uddin, Managing Director, CEO, and Founder of Denim Expert\n“The whole industry should be united in looking at what is best practice for the sake of the planet,” he continued. “For example, if we ban PP (potassium permanganate) spray in Bangladesh, but China continues to use it, then what? Equality will only come if we stand together.” Collaboration is key to making substantial change, as Uddin is disheartened how retailers, factories, and governments have been passing around the ball of responsibility. But he is not hopeless all is lost and believes change will happen soon enough. I feel as if people are becoming more and more conscious each day, asking who made my clothes. Smart manufacturers will react to this, as will smart retailers to safeguard their businesses for the future.” Those who fail to respond to consumers increasing demand for transparency, who are not ethically or morally strong enough, are unlikely to thrive in the future, according to Uddin. Although he understands that financially it may be difficult for some players to shift their production facilities to become more sustainable, he is adamant there is a balance to be maintained.\n“My business has not grown over the past ten years,” he proclaimed, before explaining that is has grown in different areas. “We have grown a lot ethically, sustainably, responsibly, in terms of traceability. I ask how we can be more responsible when it comes to looking after our environment. I want to enrich our ethics and in five years time I hope to be an example for the rest of the industry.” Uddin is a proud owner and it is clear that he loves his workers and they love him. Unlike many business owners, he sees his workers as part of his family and is well aware that happy workers define his success. What’s more, his workers are a source of inspiration and pride for him, and he would rather improve working conditions for them than focus on achieving certain certifications. “If I am honest, I am more proud of the fact that my workers write messages to me on my social media wall than if they weren’t,” he said when a certain member of parliament asked if he felt embarrassed by this.\nIn order to maintain high safety standards at Denim Expert, all workers are routinely trained in health care and fire safety. The HR and compliance department carry out monthly routine evacuation trainings unannounced and workers who handle chemicals are regularly trained. In addition, the company also focuses on providing appropriate salaries for workers, extensive medical care, and education. Denim Expert also provides workers with financial support for major life events such as marriage or medical treatment. Now Uddin is calling on other manufacturers in Bangladesh, and other producing countries to step up and take better care of their workers. “Treat them like they are part of your family, ultimately you will only be more successful. You will grow. Plus, you will never be able to achieve what you dream of achieving without your happy worker.” It is not just Uddin’s workers who see him a game change, other industry insiders acknowledge his positive influence on the denim industry in Bangladesh. “People really see him as a change maker in Bangladesh,” said Mitchell Vassie, owner of Vassie Creative Direction Concept and Design Agency. “He truly is one of a kind and his workers do really love him.”\nPhotos: Courtesy of Denim Expert Ltd.", "The death toll from two days of heavy monsoon rains in upper parts of the country has risen to 15, officials said on Wednesday.\nThe heaviest rains seen in Lahore since 1980 continued into Wednesday, flooding streets and causing some residents to join small demonstrations against local authorities.\nRescue officials and police confirmed the death toll, saying most deaths were caused by electrocution and homes caving in.\nThe city’s submerged stre­ets and widespread power breakdowns exposed the lack of preparedness of civic departments to deal with the monsoon downpour.\nA portion of The Mall, near the recently dug underground station of the Orange Line Metro Train, caved in on Tuesday because of heavy rainfall, forming two large craters on a newly-constructed stretch of Mall Road, near the General Post Office intersection.\nRainwater kept draining into the yawning gaps that opened up, threatening the foundations of the multi-billion-rupee underground rail station and the adjacent historic buildings.\nThe Flood Forecasting Division in Lahore said the rain spell was likely to subside today (after 24 hours) in upper parts of the country and after 48 hours in south Punjab. Scattered winds and thunderstorms, with isolated heavy rainfall, are expected over upper catchments of all major rivers along Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions over the next 24 hours.\nPakistan has long struggled to cope with the annual monsoon rains, which trigger flash floods and mudslides that destroy homes.", "In Bangladesh, more than 4 million women work in garment factories.\nPretty much every one of them is a total badass.\nMost of these women were born in rural villages. To become a garment worker, they had to muster the courage to leave their homes and their families, move to a city like Dhaka, which is almost as large as New York, and get a job—all on their own as single women. That’s radical stuff in the country’s conservative culture.\nThat means that Bangladesh is home to 4 million women (think: more than the entire population of Los Angeles) who have demonstrated incredible nerve and grit, but are stuck in an industry that offers staggeringly few opportunities for advancement.\n“We figured, anywhere where you have a congregation of 4 million women like that,” says Kama Ahmad. “You’ve got to have some extraordinary ones.”\nAhmad is the founder of Asian University for Women , a school that plucks promising women out of disadvantaged situations from across Asia, gives them scholarships, and provides them with a top-notch education. A few years ago the university started a new program, called Pathways to Promise, that specifically targets garment workers in Bangladesh. The big idea is that a few women, if educated, might be able to challenge systemic problems in the country’s largest and most troubled industry.\nBangladesh’s $28 billion garment industry supplies a growing share of the world’s clothing, second only to China. It’s become such a huge player by making clothes that are just so darn cheap—and its factories can do that because the country’s minimum wage is one of the lowest in the world, and there’s very little government regulation. Translation: Workers get paid really low wages, and often work in unsafe conditions. It’s the worst kind of dead end job.\nSo imagine that’s your life, and then you’re called to a meeting on the factory floor, and told that you can take an entry test that could qualify you for a free education. Plus, Ahmad somehow pulled off the impossible: He convinced a handful of factory owners to continue paying the young women as they go through the five-year program, so they can continue sending money back home to their families.\nThe standards are relatively lax at the time of admission, to account for the fact that these women have generally had very little schooling. But by the time they graduate, students are on par with graduates from any other top college. Graduates are working at the World Bank and for top government officials. They’re in graduate school at places like Oxford, Stanford, and Columbia.\nBut what’s even more exciting is the group of students who approached Ahmad to ask him to add a finance program to the curriculum. They need it, they said, so that someday they can start their own garment factories. “And that is the core idea,” Ahmad says. “That they will do things in light of their own life experience that set a different standard, that come from a different perspective.”\nYou probably remember the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, when a shoddy building housing garment factories collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people. The incident sparked outrage around the world, but reform has been slow to come, and recent reports show that the garment industry still lacks transparency . In other words, factory owners are still forcing their employees to work long hours for little pay in terrible conditions. And we're still wearing the clothes they make.\nTo put it simply: It’s hard to imagine Rana happening in a factory owned by a former garment worker.\n“We might be able to help end the tragedy of these women being perennially represented by someone who has no sympathy for their lived experience,” Ahmad says. “These smart, talented women might finally give a voice to people who have never had one before.”", "We trust the tags on our clothes to truthfully identify where the clothing was made. But they don’t always tell the whole story.\nReuters reports that it is becoming increasingly common for Chinese textile firms to take orders from international fashion brands and then send fabrics and other raw materials to North Korean factories just across the border, where worker wages are much lower, to be sewn into the finished clothes. The clothes are sent back to Chinese ports and exported globally, bearing “Made in China” tags.\nA concern for fashion brands and Western shoppers is that in addition to their reportedly harsh working conditions, North Korea’s state-owned factories help support the North Korean regime. Money from exports can even be funneled (paywall) back into the country’s weapons program.\nBrands may or may not know it’s happening. “We will ask the Chinese suppliers who work with us if they plan on being open with their client—sometimes the final buyer won’t realize their clothes are being made in North Korea,” one Korean-Chinese businessman told Reuters. Like many of the news outlet’s sources, he works in the Chinese border city of Dandong, where much of the trade between the two countries passes through, and where numerous clothing agents serve as middlemen between Chinese manufacturers and international brands.\nInternational supply chains in fashion are notoriously opaque. A brand headquartered in New York, for instance, will often use go-betweens to negotiate with factories in Asia. If the brand wants to keep an eye on the factories, it must spend time and money monitoring them, or trust the middlemen and factories when they say everything is fine. The scenario is how international brands, such as Benetton, were able to claim they didn’t know their clothes were being made at the Rana Plaza factory complex in Bangladesh, which collapsed in 2013, killing 1,134 people.\nLast year, Australian surf brand Rip Curl issued a public apology after Fairfax Media discovered that a factory near Pyongyang was making Rip Curl clothing that was sold with a “Made in China” tag. The label called it a case of unauthorized subcontracting. But the practice is evidently common enough that it’s nicknamed “China plus one” in the garment industry, Michelle O’Neil, national secretary of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia, told the Guardian.\nA separate but related issue is the number of North Korean workers entering China to work, including at clothing factories, which hire the immigrants because they can pay them much less than Chinese workers. In those cases, the “Made in China” tag is accurate, but the situation is still problematic for foreign brands. North Korea has sent tens of thousands of people abroad against their will to work and remit most of their income to the North Korean government. Estimates vary, but typically the workers keep anywhere from 10% to about one-third of their wages and turn over the rest.\nIn recent years, North Korea had ramped up the practice (paywall) as UN sanctions financially squeezed leader Kim Jong-un’s government. Go Myong-hyun, a researcher with the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, estimates that there are about 20,000 North Korean nationals in northeast China alone, working in labor-intensive jobs such as garment manufacturing and bringing in between $100 million to $200 million every year for the regime.\nLast year, Radio Free Asia reported that firms in northeast China producing clothes for companies including Calvin Klein and Levi’s had hired hundreds of North Koreans. If true, it’s also entirely possible that Calvin Klein and Levi’s had no idea, and neither did the customers buying their products.\nWe’ve reached out to Calvin Klein and Levi’s for comment and will update this story with any reply.", "Forget fast fashion. These days it’s all about swishing, upcycling and ethical apparel. Here's our pick of the best events in London this week repping sustainable garms:\nAround 235 million items of clothing end up in landfill each year in the UK. Help change their fate by picking up preloved garms while sipping beer and listening to DJs at a market that’s on a mission to change our throwaway culture.\nRed Gallery. Old St. Sun Apr 29. Free entry.\nIn 2016, Emma Watson showed up to the Met Gala in a Calvin Klein gown created using recycled plastic bottles. It’s just one of many sustainable outfits on show at this exhibition tracing the relationship between fashion and the natural world.\nV&A. South Kensington. Until Jan 27 2019. £12.\nFive years on from the Rana Plaza tragedy, join panel talks discussing ethical fashion and buy sustainable pieces at this pop-up shop and event series. Profits go to the Bangladesh garment workers’ trade union federation.\nThe Old Truman Brewery. Shoreditch High St Overground. Until Sun Apr 29. Free-£18.\nAll about sustainable living? Here are 29 small ways to save the planet\nFind more things to do this April with our guide to the best events to head to this month", "Visual Arts Center Director Kirsten Furlong finds that political and social tensions naturally lend themselves to be the inspiration for great art. That’s why she organized the VAC’s newest exhibit, Crafting Resistance, which opened on Jan. 26. and remains open until March 28. The exhibit’s theme surrounds an array of social issues that dominate the political atmosphere, including race, social justice, environmental awareness, equal rights and human rights.\n20 artists from the U.S., Canada and Mexico were selected by Furlong to be part of the exhibition, and their mediums vary from ceramics to wood and printmaking.\n“I had a lot of people really interested. It was just the right moment to have a show like this because people are just really in the mood since the election,” Furlong said.\nAll mediums used in the 20 pieces are considered “crafts.” Furlong said the process of researching the artists, selecting their work and having it shipped to Boise State and installed took a couple of months, but the work paid off.\n“We had a good turnout for the opening reception. Since then we’ve had various classes and lots of art students and people on campus that are interested in art,” Furlong said.\nNext to each piece is an artist’s statement about what their submission’s message is. Artist Gregory Climer’s submission, titled “Factory Collapse at Rana Plaza” uses out-of-focus imagery sewn into quilt patchwork to depict the April 23, 2013 collapse of the sweatshop in Bangladesh that killed nearly 1,200 employees. Climer wrote that although consumers see disasters like this in the news and know that a large portion of their garments are made in similar conditions, they do little to alter their shopping habits.\n“The work is designed to be both viewed on screen and in the real world. By creating work that comes into focus on the screen and using a combination of traditional and new techniques, I am exploring the perception on multiple levels and our ability to disconnect from the world around us,” Climer said.\n“I noticed a lot of people spending a lot of time looking at it, and I think the message behind this piece is very powerful, but it’s also just understanding the bigger ideas behind the show,” Furlong said.\nAnother artist, Io Palmer, submitted two racks of wire hangers holding two dimensional blots of paint. The piece, “97 Spills” is environmentally oriented, with each blot representing the shape of the growing BP oil spill from an aerial perspective.\n“By borrowing from events in society that symbolize our collective fractures and class disparities, this work reflects and interprets the manifestation of societal excesses within today’s highly competitive capitalistic society,” Palmer said in her artist’s statement.\nStudents interested in seeing Crafting Resistance can do so by visiting Gallery 1 in the Visual Arts Center located in the Liberal Arts Building.", "Baahubali 2 star Prabhas is not ready to reveal anything about his Bollywood debut. Baahubali 2 star Prabhas is not ready to reveal anything about his Bollywood debut.\nBaahubali 2 is a bandwagon that everyone wants to get on. The epic which is heading to its conclusion is not just the most-awaited film in India at present, it is also something of an obsession. Its cast is also enjoying the unbelievable media and public interest at present. From ‘Baahubali’ Prabhas to ‘Bhallaladeva’ Rana Daggubati, the cast is being asked about their future plans. Now, while Rana is already an established name in Bollywood, Prabhas is yet to make his Bollywood debut. The million-dollar question is, does Prabhas have Bollywood in his sight?\nDNA reported that Karan Johar, who is presenting Baahubali 2 in Hindi, is trying his best to persuade Prabhas to make his Bollywood debut in his production. The report said that the project is in the works and details will be revealed once Baahubali 2 is out. Given the fact that the film’s Baahubali is a sensation across India, his Bollywood debut will not only help Prabhas’ career but Karan’s business interests too. However, Prabhas is yet to say yes. In fact, recently indianexpress.com met Prabhas and posed the same question. The affable actor tried his best to dodge the question, preferring to just smile in answer. However, when pressed, Prabhas told us, “One day I will answer that question.” In other words, Prabhas is not saying never but is not ready to reveal anything as of now.\nAlso see| Baahubali 2: Never-seen-before pics from Baahubali The Conclusion sets reveal how SS Rajamouli epic came to life\nInstead, the actor has signed a new Telugu film after giving almost five years of his life to Baahubali. Sources close to the industry revealed that the yet-to-be-titled project will be a multilingual film (Telugu, Tamil, Hindi) and will be made on a whopping budget of over Rs 150 crore.\nFor all the latest Entertainment News, download Indian Express App now\n© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd", "Chittagong, Bangladesh (AFP) June 14, 2017 - Rescue workers were Wednesday battling to reach remote areas of Bangladesh hit by landslides and heavy rains that have killed at least 137 people, with dozens more missing.\nAuthorities say hundreds of hillside homes were buried by landslides in the southeast of the country as people slept in the early hours of Tuesday.\nThe landslides were triggered by heavy monsoon rains, with 343 millimetres (13.5 inches) of rain falling on the area on Monday.\nFirefighters in the worst-hit district of Rangamati said they had pulled 18 people out from under the mud on Tuesday, but hopes of finding more survivors were fading as the hours went by.\n\"People called us from several places saying people had been buried. But we did not have enough men to send,\" said Didarul Alam, fire services chief for Rangamati district.\n\"We have been unable to reach some of the more remote places due to the rain. Even in those places we have reached, we have been unable to recover all the bodies.\"\nOne survivor told how she and her family sought shelter at a neighbour's house after their own home collapsed, only to be hit by a second landslide.\n\"A few other families also took shelter there, but just after dawn a section of hill fell on the house. Six people are still missing,\" Khatiza Begum told a local news website from a hospital in Rangamati.\nRangamati district chief Manzurul Mannan told AFP 98 people had been killed there and 200 injured, some of them seriously, Another 15-20 people are still missing, he said.\nAuthorities have opened 18 shelters in the worst-hit hill districts, where 4,500 people have been evacuated, a minister said.\nAmong the victims were two fishermen who drowned after their trawler apparently capsized.\nThe monsoon rains came two weeks after Cyclone Mora smashed into Bangladesh's southeast, killing at least eight people and damaging tens of thousands of homes.\nSouth Asia is frequently hit by flooding and landslides in the summer with the arrival of the annual monsoon rains.\nMore than 200 people were killed in Sri Lanka last month when the monsoon triggered landslides and the worst flooding the island has seen in well over a decade.", "Selvi Murugesan spent 13 years making buttonholes for shirts and stitching on buttons for one of India’s biggest clothing manufacturers “without raising her voice” but says she now risks losing her job for speaking out.\nFor three months she has been “waging a war” against her employer for suspending her amid a broader push across India for the fashion industry to improve workers’ conditions as trade unions start to play a more high-profile role.\nMurugesan, 35, said she protested because she did not receive her full annual bonus and her employer started deducting costs for her bus to and from work from her salary.\n“I didn’t create any trouble in the factory in all these years,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a series of conversations over the phone and in person. “When I asked for my bonus and joined a few workers in a protest outside the factory sometime in October, the managers said I was out of line and suspended me.”\nMurugesan’s employer, Chennai garment exporter Celebrity Fashions Ltd that supplies various Western brands, said she and 13 other workers were suspended for obstructing employees from entering the factory on the outskirts of Chennai.\nHuman resources spokesman Charlie Roy said by email that an internal enquiry was underway to investigate the grievances of the 14 workers and the company will abide by its outcome with internal committees in place to handle staff complaints. “The workers were suspended due to their riotous behaviour during an uninformed demonstration in front of the factory premises,” he said. “Based on the complaint from a majority of the workers and to safeguard employees and the company we were forced to suspend our own employees who were maliciously motivated.”\nThe row is one of the latest disputes between workers and employers in India’s multi-billion dollar textile and garment industry that employs some 45 million workers, mostly women.\nCampaigners say many of these women are underpaid, some work 14-hour shifts, and some face verbal and sexual harassment.\nThe fashion industry has come under pressure to improve conditions and workers’ rights, particularly after the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh in which 1,136 workers were killed.\nIsolated and\nA growing number of workers in the south Indian garment hub have been suspended or dismissed within days of joining unions or attending events primarily to demand the implementation of revised minimum wages, campaigners and union leaders said.\nA landmark 2016 court ruling declared that garment workers should receive a pay rise of up to 30% and that they could claim arrears going back to 2014.\n“We have increasing number of workers coming to our office and saying they were forced to sign resignation letters, but in fact, need the job to support their families,” said Sujata Mody, of Penn Thozhilalargal Sangam, a women workers’ union. “Women are suddenly finding themselves unemployed for taking leave to care for a sick family member or if they are found talking to a union member and sometimes even if they happen to have a pamphlet that talks about their rights.”\nMody co-authored a report funded by the International Labour Organisation, which found grievance redressal mechanisms in India’s garment industry were “virtually absent” in factories.\nIt said garment workers in Chennai who raised issues were “isolated” and kept under the watch of human resource officials.\nThe International Labour Organisation says freedom of association is a “human right” and encourages companies not to discriminate against workers joining or forming unions.\nThe study also criticised factory committees, saying they rarely have guidelines to address workers’ complaints.\nCampaigners say factories are resistant towards workers joining external unions. Like most factories, Celebrity Fashion does not recognise the Garment and Fashion Workers Union, which Murugesan has joined.\nRoy said the union did not have the support of employees. “This external union is not able to represent the grievances of our employees in a fair and correct manner to ensure proper redressal,” he said.\nMody said management prefer taking cases before the government’s labour department for conciliation talks but this could mean workers travelling up to 50 km (30 miles) to attend, making it difficult to sustain protracted struggles.\nBut Murugesan is ready for the fight. “My co-workers – many are also friends – have been instructed not to talk to me by the managers,” she said. “They are scared of losing their jobs and so I hope that my voice is heard and we all get justice.”\nThis article first appeared on Thomson Reuters Foundation News.", "Bangladeshi firefighters pull a man from the mud Wednesday in Rangamati, after a landslide there killed scores of people. As rescue workers continue to search the area for missing people, authorities warn that the death toll is likely to rise.\nStart the conversation, or Read more at National Public Radio." ]

[ "So, is this considered a proper German word these days? If so, when did it become an actual loanword rather than something foreign?\n\n\nIn living and lively german language, there are a lot of Anglicisms used all day.\nWith spoken or even written language.\n\nIMO that ultimately started, after some campaigns the national socialist party failed to keep out \"undeutsche Sprache\" from the every day spoken language with loosing the war, and all their faces.\n\nIt's always a bit hard to tell when exactly a loanword was adopted with the language.\n\nNevertheless the terms clever or smart are well adopted and still in use (not like a temporary fashion, and of course no pun intended here)." ]

[ "How common is this? Does it suggest a particular style or register?\nIt is a very common use of “ou” in a list. No particular register, just to express the fact that you can choose between the elements of the list.\n\nIs it only used in lists that could mean something like “such as”? If not, where else?\nNot like “such as”, more like “One way or another”, not used to compare but to give another choice.\n\nWould “et” sound strange here? For example, would “et” suggest that the list is exhaustive?\nIf you used “et” here, you would suggest that every element of the list is part of the same group.\nExemples : Clever, cool and big are adjectives. You can pick clever, cool or big to describe something or someone.\n“Et” would not sound strange, it would change the meaning of the sentence.", "I found the Chomsky article at http://www.pitt.edu/~perfetti/PDF/Chomsky.pdf and the section you asked about is on pages 9 and 10.\nHe says that the weird stuff going on in sentences (1) and (2) is similar to some other weird stuff in the following, which I will call sentences (3) and (4) (but note that Chomsky's numbering is different):\n\n\nJohn is too stubborn to talk to Bill.\n\nJohn is too stubborn to talk to.\n\n\n\nHere, the second, weird, sentence (4) is easier to understand than the weird sentence involving catching (2). (4) means\n\nJohn is so stubborn that some arbitrary person won't talk to him. (Chomsky's explanation)\n\nMy explanation, in case it helps:\n\nJohn is just too stubborn to be talked to. In other words, John is so stubborn, nobody can talk to him.\n\nIt's kind of like an optical illusion (trompe l'oeil), where if you look at something one way, you see one thing, but if you look at it another way, you see something quite different.\nHere again is the sentence you asked about:\n\n\nJohn is too clever to expect us to catch.\n\n\nI find that my understanding of this is quite fleeting. I sort of see it very briefly, but then when I try to concentrate on it, whoosh, it's gone, and I'm confused again. But I find it easier to hold onto Chomsky's point of view in a simplified form:\n\n2a. John is too clever to catch.\n\nmeaning that John is too clever to be caught, i.e. for anyone to catch him.\nI hope you're starting to get it, I think that's the best I can explain it.", "We can compare the degrees of various qualities, and say they are equal, e.g. 'He is as clever as he is insane', 'my car is as efficient as it is stylish', 'my cousin is as stupid as he is ugly'. The implication is usually that both qualities are strongly, notably or definitely held.\n\nAs... as (Cambridge)", "For over a century people have described music by Brahms in this way; the word they often use is academic. Typically this word means exactly what you intend: the use of advanced, clever counterpoint and with a heavy emphasis on developed motives (and thus \"minimal amount of thematic material\" due to the motivic economy on display).\n\nIn other contexts, musicians will say something is in the learned style to describe music that uses contrapuntal techniques. But this phrase, at least in my experience, isn't specific in terms of the amount of thematic material used.", "Congratulations on thinking of it. I think many sci-fi and fantasy authors stumble on this point and make their non-human characters use human references.\n\nI think the straightforward thing to do would be to use a different word that expresses the quality you're referring to. Her \"compassion\" maybe? I see someone else mentioned \"goodness\". \"Decency\"? \"Insight\"? Etc.\n\nYou don't say what kind of creatures these are, but if they are, say, elves, you could say \"her elvishness\". But that would call attention to the word choice which may not be appropriate here.\n\nReminds me, in the Disney movie \"Little Mermaid\", they had a wonderful line where the mermaid wants to say that her friend is lacking in courage in a playful way. A human would say, \"You're such a chicken.\" But of course a mermaid would be unlikely to think of chickens, and the writers were clever enough to have her say, \"You're such a guppy.\" I thought that was a very clever word choice.\n\nI've seen many sci-fi movies where two aliens are talking and one of them says, \"The humans would call this ...\" or \"Humans have a saying ...\" 90% of the time I think, Why would the aliens use a human allusion at this point? Maybe if it was a particularly insightful quote, but often it's used for very routine things, where it would be surprising if the aliens didn't have something equivalent in their own language. I'd expect aliens to use human words or sayings less often than, for example, Americans use German words or sayings. Not unheard of or impossible, but rare. It strikes me as lazy writing: the writer wants to use a clever quote or reference, realizes that aliens would rarely reference humans like this, and so he tries to explain his way out of it by having the aliens basically admit that it's a strange reference to use but, etc.\n\nI've never written a science fiction novel, but I hope that if I ever do I make sure that the alien references make sense. Like if I've said that the alien world is broiling hot, I hope I don't later have an alien refer to \"a blizzard of paperwork\". If I say their planet has no moon, don't later have them talk about \"tidal changes\". Etc.", "Conventional abbreviation of Часто задаваемые вопросы in Russian Internet lingo is ЧаВо which is clever because it also reminds of the pronunciation of colloquial interrogative word чего? meaning что?\n\nBut it seems to have fallen out of use or in fact has never really caught on and very rarely, if at all, appears on websites these days.", "You try to be too literal: These functions are defined using an infinite sum, but of course computers can not execute infinite sums. Rather, they need to truncate any sums after a finite number of terms so that they can return a result after a finite amount of time.\n\nBut even then, functions like yours might be defined this way, but that's not how they are actually implemented. There are very clever ways to evaluate these kinds of functions in different ways for given arguments that yield high accuracy without having to sum to large numbers of terms. In other words, we only define but not implement these functions in the way you show.", "交替 and 更迭 are two similar terms that complement each other in an four characters idiomatic phrase. Using four characters idiomatic phrase is a very common practice in Chinese speech. \n\nFor example:\n\n小心 (careful) and 謹慎 (cautious) have similar meaning, it is often put together as an idiomatic phrase (but not a true idiom)\n\nYou can say \"你要小心\" or \"你要謹慎\", they deliver a similar message, and both are to the point. \n\nYou can also combine the two adjectives into one idiomatic phrase \"小心謹慎\" and say \"你要小心謹慎\" to illustrate a more detailed message and add literary flair to your speech. \n\n\"雨天與晴天交替更迭\" is grammatically correct and detailed. However, it would be more elegant to say \"晴雨交替\" or \"晴雨更迭\" (another way to make idiomatic phrase is reduce a long phrase into four characters phrase)\n\nMore examples:\n\n縱横 (intersecting) 交錯 (crossing) --> 縱横交錯\n\n聰明 (intelligent) 伶俐 (smart) --> 聰明伶俐\n\nWe do it in English too, e.g. \"He is a clever, smart man\"", "Before going into my explanation about Esperanto, I would first want to point out that I understand the difference between the three English words \"smart\", \"intelligent\" and \"wise\" in a different way than the way the difference has been presented in the question. (I am not a native speaker of English, but I have lived in the UK for six years, so I believe that I have some competence in judging the meanings of English words; additionally I have checked some online resources that describe the difference between the meaning of the words.) For me, the difference between \"smart\" and \"intelligent\" is mainly about more practical vs. more abstract mental skills. The difference between \"wise\" and the other two is that wisdom is something you acquire through a lot of real life experience, so the adjective \"wise\" can hardly ever be applied to young people. \n\nIn Esperanto, there are only two very commonly used adjectives, \"saĝa\" and \"inteligenta\", for expressing the general mental skills expressed by the three English adjectives \"smart\", \"intelligent\" and \"wise\". While \"inteligenta\" emphasizes more the abstract mental skills needed for scientific thinking, \"saĝa\" emphasizes more the practical mental skills acquired through life experience. So I would always translate \"intelligent\" as \"inteligenta\" and \"wise\" as \"saĝa\", but for \"smart\" the translation depends on the context: Sometimes \"saĝa\" can be misleading, because it might be misunderstood as \"wise\", i.e. being able to make good judgements due to a lot of life experience, and sometimes \"inteligenta\" can be misleading, because it can be misunderstood as \"intelligent\", i.e. having abstract as opposed to practical mental skills. Which one to choose depends on which of these potential misunderstandings is more likely to happen in the given context. Personally, in case of doubt I generally go for \"saĝa\" because of its shortness.\n\nAnother word with a meaning similar to \"smart\" is \"sprita\" (literally \"witty\" or \"clever\"). My impression is that it is used much less nowadays than in classical texts, but maybe it should have a bit of a come-back.", "Of course accounts must never be automatically merged without explicit prompting and re-verification of all email addresses. \n\n\nWrongthink: Someone posting on for example, Islam, or Judaism, or Christianity, or Politics may not want that account associated with their main account because it may harm their careers if bigots at their workplace become aware of their wrongthink.\nWork email addresses Email addresses don't necessarily belong to the same person for life. Often at work leavers' email addresses are redirected to a team member or shared mailbox: That's my practice when I've been in charge of that. \n\nShould Clever Bob's replacement Stupid Joe be able to take over his 10k reputation just because Clever Bob used a work email address as an alternate login? Maybe you think Clever Bob must not be so clever, but was it really made clear to Clever Bob that this was a possibility?\nOld or obsolete addresses: Alternatively some freemail providers will re-issue email addresses which have not been logged into for a period of time. Unless you are affirmatively checking that the email is live every few months, you have no reason to assume it hasn't been reissued.", "The words \"的\" for adjectives or \"地\" for adverbs are optional. e.g. 快速上升 = 快速地上升 (ascend rapidly), 聪明人 = 聪明的人 (clever man). Ancient Chinese didn't have these conjunctions/sometimes used other conjunctions(e.g. 然). You might treat the version without these conjunctions as a bit more formal/written, but that's not always the case. Either version is perfectly understandable/acceptable to people.", "Originally it means empirical wisdom gleaned from the streets.\n\n市井聪明, 街市里积累的智慧\n\n市井 [street]∶街市,\n [urban vulgar class] 指城市中流俗之人\n\nSource: http://baike.baidu.com/view/849797.htm\n\n聪明【英译】wise；sensitive clever；smart\n\nSource: http://baike.baidu.com/subview/95047/11119951.htm", "I've come to learn about GPT-2 through Robert Miles AI safety Youtube channel and intend to look into it in more detail.\n\nFrom my current understanding, GPT-2 is pre-trained to \"understand\" \"natural\" language (for any definition of the words in quotes). However you would want it to not only understand general text but generate text similar to some specific \"genre\", e.g. scientific articles, youtube comments, twitter messages, you name it.\n\nSo using its pre-trained understanding, it analyzes the structure of sample texts and replicates this structure.\nFor scientific articles this structure could be:\n\n\nAbstract\nContext of research topic\nIntroduction of researchers\nExplanation of methods/experiments/discoveries\nResults and interpretation\nFuture research and application\n\n\nFor Youtube comments the structure is probably more chaotic but could include a vague reference to former comments, insults, nonsensical bar-grade philosophy, internet slang and smileys.\n\nTL;DR: The domain specific text is only used to tell GPT-2 what you're looking for. You basically hand it context to work with, instead of prompting \"Say something clever\" (my least favorite line at parties, when I've been introduced as clever).\n\nP.S.: Take this with a grain of salt. It's 90% conjecture from incomplete information.", "Distribution of GFP\n\nWhen used as a reporter usually GFP is expressed by the cells themselves or attached to an antibody and injected. It ends up everywhere, is what I mean.\n\nLocalization of GFP\n\nThere are three solutions to the hidden-behind-tissue problem for fluorescence. \n\n\nUse a functionally 2D sample (nematodes, mouse limbs, etc)\nSacrifice the organism(if it's not dead already) and use optical clearing\nCleverness\n\n\nOf these cleverness is the most interesting. Types of cleverness include time-resolution imaging(Light scatters instantly but most fluorescent proteins take a few nanoseconds to relax) to separate fluorescence from backscatter. Excite a slice of the sample and look at it from a slight angle 3 ns later, and you should see a depth-map. Repeat. \n\nYou could also use optical tomography to essentially use computers and many cameras instead of time-delay imaging to solve for the 3d distribution of signal. Computed tomography is much cheaper, mostly because you don't need a nanosecond-scale laser + capture system(those are expensive).", "Answer: \n\n\n $a$ = r, $b$ = i, $c$ = t, $d$ = e, $x$ = $∠$\n Note: The shapes on the right are combined to make a symbol representing the word on the left.\n\n\n$abcd = \\large ○ \\normalsize + ▿\\ + $ \n\n\n Word = rite\n Depiction = Masonic ritual symbol (per @Timoris) or Wicca ritual pentacle, triangle + arrowhead make a star (intended answer per @Chrone) \n\n\n$cbad = \\large ● \\normalsize + \\small ○ $ \n\n\n Word = tire\n Depiction = tire image \n\n\n$cbda = \\text{△} \\normalsize +\\ —\\ +\\ –\\ $ \n\n\n Word = tier\n Depiction = (per @Timoris) tier image\n\n\n$cab \\normalsize + x = x\\ +$ \\\n\n\n Okay, I found this one to be particularly clever:\n $x$ is $∠$\n thus $cab$ + $x$ = $x$ + \\ becomes\n tri $∠$ = $∠$ + \\\n or rather:\n triangle = $△$", "The usual idiomatic expression that has been cleverly changed is:\n(in) the grand scheme of things.\n\nHere, the author has substituted themes for things.\n\nThis is a typical literary device. It could be considered a catachresis: \nThe inexact use of a similar word in place of the proper one to create an unlikely metaphor. (Wikipedia definition).\n\nIt is probably also some other fancy Greek word which I have forgotten or overlooked. \n\nThe grand scheme of themes would be the major issues for Classicists (scholars of Greek and Latin).", "My guess is you are looking for surreptitiously, though stealthily, sneakily, and slyly also fit the criteria. \n\nFor future inquiries of this kind, try thesaurus.com.", "When you cast Clever Impersonator, it is still Clever Impersonator and has all the properties of Clever Impersonator, most notably here having CMC 4. It is only when the spell resolves and it enters the battlefield that you choose which nonland permanent it is going to copy and it takes on the characteristics of Shark Typhoon.\nTherefore:\n\nYes, it can be countered (because it has CMC 4)\nNo shark token will be created because it's a creature spell.\nNo, it still costs 2UU to cast.", "I agree with varro that neither translation is correct.\nThe most sensible translation seems to be indeed \"I, the speed, eradicate\".\nIt's a weird personification, but possible.\nHowever, it is more likely to be wrong than clever.\n\nI suspect that someone looked up the two words in a dictionary but did not realize that the words might need to be inflected.\nThey are precisely in the form listed in many Latin dictionaries.\nTherefore the first person singular is possibly coincidental.\n\nIf you want to say \"I eradicate the speed\", the speed needs to be in accusative: Velocitatem eradico.\nIf you want to say \"I eradicate with speed\", the speed should be in ablative: Velocitate eradico.\nIf you want to replace \"I eradicate\" with \"we eradicate\", just replace eradico with eradicamus.\nThe English verb \"eradicate\" is just one possible translation for eradicare; there are also other options like \"get rid of\" or \"eliminate\" as you suggested.\n\nI know, they are not likely to change the wording now, but I just wanted to record how the thing should be written properly.\nAs with any language, you should not be using it in important situations without consulting an expert.", "Here is a list of words:\n\n\nвъёбывать - colloquial and obscene, like Clever Masha told. \nColloquial, but not obscene:\nишачить \nвкалывать\nпахать\nгорбатиться - similar to горбить спину\n\n\nNot colloquial\n\n\nгнуть спину, горбить спину - this one is poetic and slightly archaic. About one who works hard for somebody else, especially if he remains poor in spite of the hard work.\nработать (пахать) как лошадь (как вол, как ломовая лошадь, как каторжный)\nработать не разгибая спины\nработать на износ - to work so hard that one eventually becomes unable to work anymore (i.e. because of health problems caused by overworking)\n\n\nAll of these are about hard and long work. You cannot say \"я повъёбывал полчаса, а потом пошёл в кино\".\n\nFor fixing something which does not function properly, especially in a computer area, there is a word \"трахаться\", i. e. \"я всё утро трахался с этим долбаным линуксом\".", "Seems that it is best to go for the long words. Check out this article about a spelltower genius.", "That adds a bit of contempt and disregard I'd say. One more thing adds up in this particular phrase: the prefix \"по\" in \"поумнее\". We can compare\n\n\n Если бы они были умнее, то могли бы сами так делать\n\n\npretty neutral, however a bit of disregard exists even there, but that's the usual thing in phrases like \"if they had been smarter\".\n\n\n Если бы они были поумнее, то могли бы сами так делать\n\n\nadds up to that. And then your phrase\n\n\n Были бы они поумнее, могли бы сами так делать.\n\n\nI think that the maximizing of that disregarding effect is reached exactly because you throw some words \"если, то\" away. The phrase start to sound as if it was spoken by an old woman from a village. And if she knows how to make the things properly....", "Usually used when ingenuity is involved. Example sentences (with translations) are available on Space ALC, for example\n\nその映画には、新しい工夫が無数にこらされている。\nThere is an enormous amount of invention in the film.\nちょっとした工夫を必要とする\nrequire a little ingenuity", "The bilateral filter is just that: a filter. It does not decompose the image into anything. It just attenuates \"medium\" frequency content in a clever manner. In other words, it smooths things that are mostly smooth further, and leaves sharp edges sharp. What you are left with has more low and high frequency content (on a relative basis) than what you started with.\n\nThe Fourier transform, on the other hand, actually does reveal the entire spectrum for an image. Unlike a filter, it does not change the information content of an image. It just rearranges it into the frequency, rather than spatial, domain. The bilateral filter does not reveal the spectral content of an image, so really only the Fourier transform (or one of its related transforms, like cosine and wavelet) can be used to get the high and low frequency components of an image.", "Another good word would be reticent: inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech.", "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellerism\n\nIt's based on the Charles Dickens idea of using clichéd sayings in unexpected ways.", "Lives in the jungle? - ELEPHANT, PLANT, ANT\n Is far away? - DISTANT\n Is extraordinarily large? - GIANT\n Works for a master? - SERVANT\n Is good-natured? - PLEASANT\n Is unchanging? - CONSTANT\n Is luxurious? - ELEGANT, EXTRAVAGANT\n Is one who takes part? - PARTICIPANT\n Is a very small child? - INFANT\n Is sleeping? - DORMANT\n Is very bright? - BRILLIANT\n Is empty? - VACANT\n Is immediate? - INSTANT\n Is plentiful? - ABUNDANT\n Has moved to a different country? - IMMIGRANT\n Is meaningful? - SIGNIFICANT\n Is something that grows? - PLANT\n Has influence over others? - DOMINANT\n Is unsure and indecisive? - HESITANT\n Lives in a certain place? - INHABITANT", "The word is currently recorded as a noun, adjective, and verb in my copy of the OED. It seems the noun is the oldest form.\n\nFull credit to EtymOnline for this one:\n\n\n savvy (n.) 1785, \"practical sense, intelligence;\" also a verb, \"to know, to understand;\" West Indies\n pidgin borrowing of French savez(-vous)? \"do you know?\" or Spanish\n sabe (usted) \"you know,\" both from Vulgar Latin *sapere, from Latin\n sapere \"be wise, be knowing\" (see sapient). The adjective is first\n recorded 1905, from the noun. Related: Savvily; savviness.", "That's a clever play on words. Pasar means &quot;to happen&quot; and &quot;to pass (by)&quot;. In this case, it means the former in one verse and the latter in the next.\n\nYo quería que nos pasara = &quot;I wanted it to happen to us&quot; (what exactly should have happened it left implicit, but I assume it's finding love, a relationship, etc.).\nY tú, y tú / Lo dejaste pasar = &quot;And you (and you) let it pass by&quot; (that is, you allowed it—the chance for something significant to happen—to pass by and be lost).\n\nOf course the second verse could be interpreted differently, with pasar having the same meaning as in the first. That is, Lo dejaste pasar = &quot;You let it happen&quot;. But the tone and theme of the song suggest to me this is isn't the idea. When someone wants something good in love to happen and the other person lets it happen, then usually no song is written about it. Besides, it would be rather clumsy to use the same verb in this way if not for wordplay.", "There are alternatives to an s box. You might say that they are evolutionary extensions of the traditional s box. But they are all very much more complex.\n\nAs you know, an s box is typically implemented as a RAM based look up table. So for an 8 bit s box, there are 256 possible inputs and outputs, requiring 256 bytes of storage. This is 2^8. If you had a primitive that required a 16 bit s box, you'll need 2^16 or 65,536 lookup values. So this would be suitable for a 16 bit processor. \n\nIf you go wider, the memory required for a look up table becomes onerous for today's processors. (You might manage a 24 bit lookup table, but processing 24 bit words on 32 bit processor is a PITA.) You can opt for a real time computed s-box.\n\nInstead of a static lookup table, you perform a computation on the inputs to the real time computed s-box, and output a value determined in accordance with some formula you've devised. It's usually some form of mini hash. It allows s boxes of arbitrarily large width. A good example is The Diffusion Layer (MR) algorithm of the Whirlpool hash. That's 256 bits wide and uses clever Galois field theory. A passive s box would be impossible at this width. That transformation matrix could easily be widened to 16 * 16 values creating a 512 bit s box and a Whirlpool block size of 2048 bits. Or even more.\n\nAnother form of active s box can be implemented without the clever Galois mathematics using Pearson hashes. An 8 bit hash output is generated per each pass over the input bits. Using a unique permutation table for each byte means that the active s box can be extended to any size. I've successfully used this for a 2048 bit box. The penalty is 256 permutation tables, but this is easily within the capacity of a small desktop /tablet. The security of this technique may be acceptable when used in conjunction with a good permutation and key round functions.\n\nYou'll find that any reasonably secure algorithm can be used to compute the outputs of a real time computed s-box. There's also this question regarding similar active s boxes. The security of a primitive doesn't just come from an s box. Indeed Keccak has no real s box but is ostensibly secure at the moment. And a great deal of security comes from the number of rounds, not just the complexity of the rounds. The upshot is that it doesn't have to be dead clever to be dead 'ard. Skein follows this principle.", "Use special blocks: \n\n#+begin_fancyquote\n Something very witty!\n#+end_fancyquote", "I'll go with \"comprehensible\".\n\n\n adj. Readily comprehended or understood; intelligible. American\n Heritage Dictionary\n\n\nExample sentence:\n\n\n \"I like this definition because it's really concise and\n comprehensible, but are you allowed to use the word in the definition\n of the word?\"" ]

[ "(CNN)Soon, America will be too fat to fight. Forget about rampant diabetes, heart attacks and joint problems -- the scariest consequence arising out of our losing battle with the bulge is the safety of our country. In about five years, so many young Americans will be grossly overweight that the military will be unable to recruit enough qualified soldiers. That alarming forecast comes from Maj, Gen. Allen Batschelet, who is in charge of U.S. Army Recruiting Command. Obesity, he told me, \"is becoming a national security issue.\" I was so taken aback by Batschelet's statement that I felt the need to press him. Come on! Obesity? A national security crisis? The General didn't blink. \"In my view, yes.\" Of the 195,000 young men and women who signed up to fight for our country, only 72,000 qualified. Some didn't make the cut because they had a criminal background, or a lack of education, or too many tattoos. But a full 10% didn't qualify because they were overweight. Before you accuse me of sensationalizing, it's that 10% figure that worries General Batschelet the most. \"The obesity issue is the most troubling because the trend is going in the wrong direction,\" he said. \"We think by 2020 it could be as high as 50%, which mean only 2 in 10 would qualify to join the Army.\" He paused. \"It's a sad testament to who we are as a society right now.\" The problem is so worrisome for the Army that recruiters have become fitness coaches, like the trainers on the NBC show, \"The Biggest Loser.\" Yes, your tax dollars pay for Army recruiters to play Dolvett Quince or Jillian Michaels to whip could-be recruits into shape with the hope they can diet and exercise their way to become real recruits. If they lose enough weight, they're sent to boot camp. Some make it; many don't. But, General Batschelet told me the Army must try. \"We are the premier leader on personal development in the world,\" he told me. \"We want to see you grow and become a leader. That is a great strength in our Army.\" Except the Army never considered the type of growth it's now contending with. Nowadays \"personal development\" means working on both character and ... girth. The general, along with so many others in this country, is struggling with why so many Americans, despite all the warnings, continue to eat too much and exercise too little. I have a theory. It ain't pretty. But it's got to be true: We just don't care. \"The acceptance of obesity is prevalent,\" according to Claire Putnam, an obstetrician and gynecologist who believes obesity is a national crisis right now. \"When you look around you, 70% of adults are overweight or obese. It's seems normal,\" she said. Just look at the numbers: More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese. Seventeen percent of all children and adolescents in the U.S. are obese. That's triple the rate from just a generation ago. So, maybe we should face the fact that we've grown comfortable with our girth. It is crystal clear we haven't the foggiest idea of who needs to lose weight and who doesn't. Just the other day, Twitter trolls scolded the singer, Pink, for gaining weight. Pink is not remotely fat. Neither is Selena Gomez, haters. Or Britney Spears, hecklers. If 70% of us are overweight in this country, why are there so many willing to fat-shame people who are not remotely obese? Maybe it's easier to criticize others for carrying extra weight than to admit we have a weight problem ourselves. Because it is abundantly clear we are wallowing in denial. Dr. Putnam points to one of Kaiser Permanante's medical questionnaires. You know, the paperwork patients are asked to fill out before they see the doctor. There is actually a box on the form that allows the patient to \"opt out of talking about obesity.\" Some patients refuse to step on the scale. \"You want to be sensitive to that patient,\" Putnam told me. \"You don't want to nag. But, doctors need to step in and say we need to fix this.\" CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, agrees with Putnam. \"Perceptions of weight are a big part of the problem,\" he said to me. \"If a person is overweight -- as difficult as it is -- they ought to be told. You know, this issue reminds me of the issue with concussions. We should call them what they really are: a brain injury, not 'getting your bell rung.' In the same vein, we should tell people who are overweight or obese that, clinically, they're 'overweight' or 'obese' and at risk for just about every chronic disease in the book.\" In other words, chubby is not the proper way to describe a person who is obese. Just like \"fat\" is not the proper term for Pink or Selena Gomez. And, yes, semantics matter. According to the CDC, 81% of overweight boys and 71% of overweight girls believe they are just the right weight. We've clearly lost our perspective on what's normal when it comes to a healthy weight. So much so it's becoming a national security problem. So what will it take? The answer cannot be the U.S Army." ]

[ "Obese workers are 'lazy' and 'unable to fulfil their roles' and as a result are less likely to be hired, a new survey has revealed. Almost half of 1,000 British companies questioned said they are less inclined to recruit an applicant after interview if they are obese or overweight. Among the reasons given were that overweight workers 'are unable to play a full role in the business', 'they're lazy', and 'they wouldn't be able to do the job required', the research shows. Beverley Sunderland, managing director, at Crosslands Employment Solicitors, who commissioned the research, said: 'Our research shows that prejudiced attitudes towards hiring obese workers are rife among British employers.' A survey of 1,000 British companies revealed almost half are less inclined to recruit an obese applicant, fearing 'they're lazy', and 'unable to fulfil their roles as required', because of their weight . The findings come in the wake of a European court case brought by unions and lawyers on behalf of 25st childminder Karsten Kaltoft, 50, who claimed he was sacked by his local authority in Denmark in 2010 for being too fat. In December European judges ruled that obesity qualified as a disability if it 'hinders the full and effective participation of the person... on an equal basis with other workers', when doing their job. Body Mass Index, calculated from a person's weight and height, is accepted as a reliable indicator of obesity. According to the World Health Organisation, the ideal BMI for most adults is between 18.5 and 24.9. If a person's BMI is 25 to 29.9, they are classed as overweight. At between 30 and 39.9 they are obese and 40 or over is very – or morbidly – obese. Doctors say being overweight or obese can increase the risk of health problems, including heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Earlier this year the European Court of Justice's advocate general, Niilo Jaaskinen, who advises the court, suggested that very severe obesity – classified as a BMI of more than 40 – could be considered a disability. But yesterday's ruling does not state what level of obesity would be classed as 'disabled'. It stated: 'It is for the national court to determine whether [an individual's] obesity falls within the definition of 'disability'.' Ms Sunderland said following the case, 'it appears on the face of it that the odds are against you getting a job if you are overweight'. 'But the law is on your side, as discrimination law warns against making \"stereotypical assumptions\" at every stage of the recruitment process and this applies to both existing employees, or people applying for a job,' she added. Given the ruling at the European Courts of Justice, employers now have to find way to accommodate obese workers who fall within this definition of 'disability', while larger job applicants need to ensure they are not discriminated against, Ms Sunderland said. Critics at the time warned it could encourage the overweight to avoid slimming down in the hope of securing a payout. Companies could also face millions of pounds of costs to alter offices and factories, including providing: . The survey revealed 61 per cent of employers were worried about the potential costs to the business of accommodating the side effects of overweight staff. In December European judges ruled that obesity qualified as a disability, after a case brought by unions and lawyers on behalf of 25st childminder Karsten Kaltoft, 50, pictured, who claimed he was sacked by his local authority in Denmark in 2010 for being too fat . Sixty-three per cent also cited a fear of being taken to court on grounds of discrimination, if the disability needs of obese workers were not met. Just over a quarter (26 per cent) said they were less inclined to hire obese people due to their lack of awareness of the laws linked to employing overweight workers. Yet the lack of understanding of the law could land employers in hot water, Ms Sunderland warned. More than half of employers questioned were unaware that if an obese person tells an employer about their long-term conditions at interview and the company does not employ them, the applicant could try to claim disability discrimination on the basis their obesity prevented them being employed.", "A 61-year-old soldier says he has been kicked out of the army because he is 'too old' - even though he can still run a mile-and-a-half in just ten minutes. Fitness fanatic Kevin Fulthorpe spent 25 years in the army reserve, where he gave fitness training to his younger comrades. The sergeant, who is an amateur boxer and has won cross country honours for the army, also claims that he is fitter than most men half his age. Scroll down for video . Kevin Fulthorpe, 61 (left and right), from Cardiff, says he has been kicked out of the army because he is 'too old' - even though he can still run a mile-and-a-half in just ten minutes . The sergeant (pictured) can also do 44 press-ups in two minutes and 50 sit-ups in the same amount of time . But the military has now forced him to retire - even though he can still pass a military fitness test with flying colours - due to what he claims is age discrimination. The sportsman, from Cardiff, can still do 44 press-ups in two minutes and 50 sit-ups in the same amount of time - the requirements needed to qualify as a new reservist recruit for the Parachute Regiment. He said: 'How dare the Army tell me I'm too old to do my job - it's a kick in teeth. 'I have a lifetime working in fitness, I feel I have so much to give in an era where fitness and obesity is a growing problem. 'The army does not exempt people on gender, ethnicity or religion but it discriminates against age.' The usual age for the army to retire non-commissioned officers is 55, but Mr Fulthorpe has been given year-on-year extensions owing to his fitness. He hoped to continue working with the army reserve as a fitness instructor after turning 61, but was told it was time for his retirement. Mr Fulthorpe has also taken part in several marathons, half-marathons and triathlons. But the military has now forced him to retire, even though he can still pass a military fitness test with flying colours. He also claims he is fitter than most people half his age . Mr Fulthorpe has won cross-country honours for the army and has recently taken part in marathons, half-marathons and triathlons . He has been an amateur boxer and is still a chief inspector for a UK-wide boxing safety board. Age Cymru's chief executive Ian Thomas said: 'Kevin's story clearly demonstrates the demoralising effect that age-based policies can have on us. 'We have an ageing population and age discrimination by most employers is now illegal. 'However older people are the ones who are most likely to suffer long-term unemployment and many still face major barriers in employment and new work opportunities. The fitness fanatic spent 25 years in the army reserve, where he gave fitness training to younger comrades . Mr Fulthorpe (pictured left and right) is now claiming that he has been a victim of age discrimination. The usual age for the army to retire non-commissioned officers is 55 . 'It is time to turn our backs on old fashioned ideas about age and ageing.' The army has recently extended age limits for reservists for specialist roles such as intelligence experts and medics, as it tries to grow the reserve to 30,000. A spokesperson said: 'While we cannot comment on specific cases, the normal retirement age for Regulars and Reservists is 55, and on occasion units can extend an individuals service yearly up until the age of 60. 'Decisions to extend service beyond the age of 60 are only taken in exceptional circumstances and on a case by case basis.'", "When former U.S. soldier Jordan Matson learned about ISIS rampage across Iraq and Syria, he knew he couldn't sit back and do nothing. So the 28-year-old food packaging worker from Sturtevant, Wisconsin contacted the Kurdish militia - known as the People's Protection Units or YPG - through Facebook. 'I prayed about it for about a month or two,' Matson, a Christian, told CNN. 'And I really soul searched and said, \"is this really what I want to do?\" Eventually, I decided to do it.' Matson flew to Turkey and was taken to Rojava, a Kurdish-controlled area of northern Syria. For the past month, he has been a volunteer fighter helping to defend three small statelets in the area. Scroll down for video . Fighter: Jordan Matson, 28, has been fighting for the Kurdish militia in Northern Syria for a month . During his two years in the U.S. military, he never served abroad - but on the second day fighting in Syria, he was struck by a mortar round during a firefight with ISIS. As he recovered from his injuries - which sometimes still cause him to squint - he helped out the militia by taking to social media to recruit others, CNN reported. He's been contacted by many former soldiers from across Europe, America and Australia, he said. They are attracted to fighting for the Kurdish militia for the same reasons as he was. 'ISIS has threatened all these countries... to push their agenda in those nations,' he said. 'And the veterans of those nations who love their countries don't want to sit by while this is happening.' Calling: Matson, who is from Wisconsin, (pictured at home before heading to Syria) said he had long wanted to be a soldier and felt at home fighting on behalf of the People's Protection Units . New life: He left for Syria with a set of clothes, boots and deodorant - and quickly settled in, he said . While ISIS's efforts to encourage people to join their forces using social media has been documented, Matson's work gives an insight into how the Kurdish militia are recruiting from overseas using the same methods. Matson recently posted a message to his Facebook page, urging would-be fighters to 'be patient as the outcry to join the fight is immense'. Devoted: He said he is willing to 'stay until the end' Of his own decision, he added: 'These people threatened American citizens, and bring harm to us. I think I decided enough was enough, and I decided to come out this way.' He had contacted the group online after ISIS captured Mosul in Iraq. 'All the American veterans that have died over there and paid their lives for that country so they could have a democracy - that just resonated in my mind,' he said. 'And I couldn't live with myself letting that country fall, and all my brothers' lives be for nothing.' But as well as fighting for Americans - 'so [ISIS] can't take it to us' - he said he's also fighting for the Kurdish people. Aside from his political and religious beliefs, Matson explained that he was also driven to help because he has always wanted to be a soldier. After being honorably discharged from the Army in 2007, he missed military life. But due to problems with his record, he could not return, so fighting abroad has allowed him to realize his dream. 'Over here, everything makes sense,' he told CNN. 'I'm at peace being here.' U.S. law enforcement officials said it is illegal for an American to join a Syrian militia, but Matson's decision has been met with support from Americans, with some deeming him a hero online. He said that although he believes the U.S. government is watching what he does, he does not think they will deny him re-entry when he tries to go home. But if that does happen, he would remain in Kurdistan, he said. 'Once this fight is over, and ISIS has been crippled, then the next stage of my life, then I'll think about that,' he said. New friends: Matson, pictured second left, said he could not allow ISIS to take control of places, including in Iraq, after Americans had fought hard - and lost their lives - for their democracy . Matson is not alone: Brian Wilson, a 43-year-old Desert Storm veteran from Ohio, is another of the few Americans that traveled to 'help the YPG.' Earlier this month, Wilson's family said they were still unsure why he left behind his children to join up with the Kurdish militia, though a relative said: 'He's a real big history buff and he has talked about the situation there.' While Wilson waits to join the YPG fighters in battle, he says that the Kurds have welcomed him in their territory. 'Everything has been fine. They're very nice, very accommodating, hospitable. Very good people,' he said in a video.", "His family have claimed an estimated £342,000 in benefits over the last 18 years. But a jobless father who once tipped the scales at 26 stone has turned down jobs that recruitment consultants said he would be able to do. Philip Chawner, 56, who has been a full-time carer for his obese wife for the last 23 years, rejected posts offered to him in a television interview. Scroll down for video of Mr Chawner turning down work . Can't work: Philip Chawner turns down work offered to him by a recruitment consultant because of arthritis and a problem with his legs . Job offers: Recruitment consultant Christopher Lord offers work to Mr Chawner - but he says he can't do it . Mr Chawner, his wife Audrey and their two daughters once weighed a combined 83 stone and were dubbed 'the telly tubbies' by their neighbours in Blackburn, Lancashire. Their daughter Emma, 23, famously appeared on the X-Factor six years ago wearing a wedding-style dress made by her dad. She was kicked off after the first . audition, but not before the family were evicted from their previous . house after neighbours complained about her singing at 3am. Lorraine Kelly tried to get the whole family to slim down in a six-part television series called 'The Chawner Challenge' on the Biography channel. Mr Chawner, a registered carer who was once a lorry driver, said he has lost seven stone and the weight is still falling off - but he is still unable to work because of his medical problems. Obese family: Philip Chawner, his wife Audrey and daughters Emma (front right) and Sam (front left), pictured here with Lorraine Kelly (centre) once weighed a combined 83 stone and were dubbed 'the tele tubbies' by neighbours . Can't work: Philip Chawner and his wife Aubrey said they were unable to work because of their medical conditions . When jobs were offered to him by a local recruitment consultant on ITV's Daybreak, he insisted arthritis and a problem with his legs prevented him from doing physical labour. His daughters Sam and Emma did at least eventually land regular work last year. Recruitment consultant Christopher Lord told him: 'We have got a couple of agencies we would like to run past you. First one is a sprinter van driver with dry pet food products. Is that something that you would be able to do?' Too fat to work: Phillip and Audrey Chawner with Aled Jones and Lorraine Kelly on Daybreak this morning . Audition: Emma Chawner appeared on X-Factor - and was swiftly kicked off . But he replied: 'There would be a problem with lifting the bags, I've got problems with arthritis in my shoulder.' Mr Lord then offered him a second post. 'This is a film packing role - you would be on your feet for eight hours a day,' the recruiter said. Mr Chawner replied: 'Yes. I can't really stand on my feet very well because I have got this heat thing in my legs.' Pressed on whether he could in fact manage the work, he again insisted his shoulder was a problem. Mr Lord told Daybreak he believed the father-of-two was able to do some light work if he wanted to. 'We would be able to put him into a few roles fulfillment packing roles with light duties. I would say he would be able to carry those out. Whether he wants to I don't know.' Mr Chawner said he has been a 24-hour carer for his wife Audrey, 61, since 1990 because she suffers from a series of health problems including epilepsy. Former Apprentice contestant Katie Hopkins attacked Mr and Mrs Chawner and said it wasn't right that taxpayers were paying for them to sit at home. She told them: 'I have no sympathy at all for your . situation. I think if you are obese or morbidly obese the . situation lies in your own hands. 'I think as a taxpayer, speaking for . other taxpayers out there I can't understand for one moment why we are . paying people £17,000 or £18,000 on average to stay at home, that doesn't seem . right to me.' She added that the family's situation will not sit well with people who go out of work to pay and pay taxes to fund their benefits. 'People are getting up at 6am to go to work they are getting home very late. They are missing putting their children to bed and they are missing the things they would like to do,' she added. 'What they are seeing in return is you are sitting on a sofa all day not going out to work but being supported by their taxes.' Attack: Businesswoman Katie Hopkins, right, said she had no sympathy for the parents who have claimed around £342,000 in benefits over the last 18 years .", "Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN)It is a strangely detached scene for the close of America's longest war: military trainers bouncing between multi-million dollar, high security bases, on Black Hawks, miles from the front line. But it is how Washington wants this to be. And even though the departure of American troops will be fractionally slower, they will all be inside the U.S. Embassy by the end of next year, making these some of their last weeks outside of the wire. We are near Jalalabad, at a regional logistics hub for the Afghan police force -- a generous facility that was originally intended to resupply the entire east of the country with uniforms, ammunition, even fuel for vehicles. The intentions, first hatched in 2011 when the U.S. had tens of thousands of troops and still large ambitions for their war here, were large in scale. But the project has been handed between rotations of U.S. officers and is perhaps a little distant from its first conception. We are taken on a proud tour of a series of clean and newly painted blocks. Dozens of Afghan police gather there, and mill around, waiting for their commanders to arrive. Nick Paton Walsh's Afghanistan series: Afghan forced to marry her rapist . Yet a few problems are immediately visible. There are no doorhandles on the outer doors -- we're told they've been removed while a new master key is being sought. There seem to be few supplies in the actual hub. We ask the Afghan policemen how many of them get resupplied there, at this stage, four months since it opened, and they say: none. About 20 units a month file paperwork for resupply in the base, but supplies often still come from where they did before -- Kabul. U.S. officials told us they are optimistic the logistical road ahead can be smoothed -- that in the 18 plus months they have left they can get the Afghan army and police up to furnishing themselves with the supply lines they need. But here, now, that seems far away. As does the base, incidentally. It's quite a rough drive from the main road, surrounded by hills, and with at best patchy cellphone coverage -- far from ideal for a transit hub. Nick Paton Walsh's Afghanistan series: ISIS recruits in Taliban territory . And it is far away in terms of its cost. Like so much in the most costly of wars, its price tag may have made sense in briefings on Capitol Hill, where effectiveness is gauged in millions, but here in dusty eastern Afghanistan, it seems exorbitant. This as-yet, partially functional resupply hub cost $21 million, a price that presumably includes new doorhandles. There are about fifty Afghan police currently on the base -- meaning each one has so far cost $400,000 to the US taxpayer. But this is an unfair way of representing the challenge the U.S. trainers here face: working, as they are, against a clock, with diminishing resources and public interest, in an endlessly complex and often corrupt land where, when the Taliban aren't thriving, ISIS are waiting in the wings to fill the gap. With the clock ticking in the background, U.S. officer Colonel JB Vowell remains upbeat: \"It's going to be a challenge, to get all those little hubs and spokes -- logistics to maintenance, supplies, resupply. I'm optimistic though; much of this didn't exist in November.\" On the outskirts of the base are the relics of the U.S.'s military involvement in a conflict that still continues to kill Afghan security forces at an accelerated rate. SUVs, even old American Humvees -- now gifted to Afghan police to drive around -- lie disabled by mine strikes. The Americans were hoping the police could stack the vehicles here, assess their resupply needs, or cannibalize the damaged vehicles for spare parts. Throughout, the surreal changes in how this war was, and continues to be, fought are omnipresent. Years ago, the threat would have mostly been from insurgents taking potshots at an American base. Now we are far from the threat, but another has taken its place. Surrounding our crew at all times are \"Guardian Angels\" -- U.S. soldiers on guard duty, protecting their own from rogue Afghan police or soldiers, trying to prevent the newest and most serious scourge -- \"green on blue\" attacks, in which Afghan security forces turn their guns on Americans. It is a strange experience to be protected from those who America seeks to hand the country over to. But this is how the war ended. Not with ideological victories, or dramatic withdrawals, just the slow and deliberate stepping to one side.", "By . Mail Foreign Service . PUBLISHED: . 08:20 EST, 14 March 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:12 EST, 14 March 2012 . A Congolese warlord was today convicted of snatching children from the street and turning them into killers in the International Criminal Court's first judgment at the Hague in ten years. The actress Angelina Jolie was in the public gallery to see Thomas Lubanga sentenced, as he sat wearing an ivory-colored robe and skull cap with his hands clasped in front of him. The judges found Lubanga guilty of kidnaping youngsters from their families and using them as soldiers 2002-2003 in the armed wing of his political movement, the Union of Congolese Patriots. Lubanga was ruled to have 'personally used children below the age of 15 as his bodyguards'. Congolese militia chief Thomas Lubanga smiles and shakes the hand of a member of his legal team in the International Criminal Court in the Hague before his conviction today . Angelina Jolie, pictured at her Amsterdam hotel today, was int he public gallery at The Hague to see Thomas Lubanga sentenced . Ms Jolie was thrilled with the verdict. She said afterwards: 'This is their day - where these children will feel . there is no impunity for what happened to them, for what they . suffered.' Presiding judge Adrian Fulford said: 'The prosecution has proved beyond . reasonable doubt that Mr. Thomas Lubanga is guilty of the crimes of . conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 years and using . them to participate actively in hostilities.' As he left court flanked by guards, Lubanga nodded and smiled to supporters in the public gallery. A sentencing hearing will now be scheduled. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. While the three-judge panel unanimously convicted Lubanga, it also harshly criticised prosecutors as 'negligent' for using intermediaries to deal with witnesses in Congo. Fulford said three intermediaries . 'persuaded, encouraged or assisted witnesses to give false evidence' and . scrapped the evidence of three witnesses. 'The . Prosecutor's office must review its limited investigation strategy . adopted in the Lubanga case, especially in light of such decisions . precluding victims from participating in trials and obtaining . reparation,' said Michael Bochenek of Amnesty International. 'Lessons need to be learned for future cases.' Amnesty . also criticised the court for not charging Lubanga with sexual violence . crimes, saying the decision potentially denied 'justice and reparation . to many more victims.' However, . other witnesses and video of Lubanga speaking to recruits, some of them . children, at a training camp provided enough evidence to convict him. Prosecutors said Lubanga recruited the children fight in a brutal ethnic conflict in the Ituri region of eastern Congo. Under armed guard: Lubanga during a rally in the Congo in 2003, left, and Aime Dieudonne, right, one of the young combatants recruited to fight for the rebel Union for Congolese Patriots, also pictured in 2003 . The trial, which began in January . 2009, is the first at an international court to focus exclusively on the . use of child soldiers and activists say it should send a clear message . to armies and rebels around the world that conscripting children . breaches international law. The . United Nations estimates tens of thousands of child soldiers are still . fighting in conflicts from Africa to Asia and Latin America. 'The . guilty verdict against Lubanga is a strong warning to military . commanders in Congo and elsewhere - using children as a weapon of war is . a serious crime that can lead them to the dock,' said Geraldine . Mattioli-Zeltner of Human Rights Watch. The first verdict is a coming of age for . the court set up to prosecute war crimes suspects in countries unable . or unwilling to try them. Child fighter: Another young recruit for the UPC in the Congolese town of Bunia is watched by a United Nations armoured personnel carrier . So far, prosecutors have opened seven investigations and have just five suspects in custody, including former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and former Congo Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba. However, questions still remain about the its effectiveness. The court has no police force to arrest suspects and can only launch investigations in the 120 countries that recognise its jurisdiction, or if the Security Council orders a probe. That means that the court is powerless to intervene in the bloody conflict tearing Syria apart because Damascus has not recognised the court and the Security Council is bitterly divided. The inability of the court to have suspects arrested turned into a global online sensation last week with the release of the Kony 2012 video by American activists, which highlighted the case of notorious Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony, the first person indicted by the court who remains a fugitive more than six years later.", "A hairdresser claims obese workers ruined her business and lost her clients by prioritising food over customers. Zena Claire claims three former staff at her salon in Barnsley, south Yorkshire, were obese and faked appointments so they could sneak out to get takeaways. They also turned up eating a McDonald's when they should have been starting their shift. The 42-year-old mother of two said the three obese girls she employed caused her to lose clients and will make her think twice about employing severely overweight people in future. A salon owner said obese employees ruined her business after they booked in fake clients so they could go out on breaks or finish early to eat takeaways, or brought in fast food to eat before they started work . She said: 'It had a massive impact on my business. 'They were going to eat food rather than looking after clients. They were pretending to book clients in, having extended breaks and finishing early to go to the chippy.' Ms Claire estimates the three workers would book up to five fake appointments a week, costing her a considerable amount of money in lost bookings. She said when the non-existent clients did not turn up they could use the time to do nothing, or go out and get a KFC. She said they also brought in a McDonald's, which they would eat in the staff room at the start of the day - often cutting up to 40 minutes into their shifts. She told the Sun: 'One day five packs of caramel biscuits I'd left out were eaten all at once, along with two litres of orange juice.' 'I lost clients and product sales all because they prioritised food over work,' she added. The hairdresser said she will not ban obese people working for her in future because she will offer everyone an equal chance but the experience has made her think twice as she must base her decision on 'production value.' She claimed the girls were not attentive to clients and their lives 'revolved around food.' Experts said the difficulty in getting a job if you are obese is quite prevalent among overweight people . About one in every four adults in the UK are classed as obese, and it is known that larger people often face obstacles in getting jobs. Tam Fry, director of the National Obesity Forum, said: 'Unfortunately it is quite prevalent that if you are overweight or fat and you are in a position where the public sees you or you are an ambassador of the establishment then there's a huge tendency not to give a job to anybody who isn't regarded by society as being as 'perfect' as possible. 'Also there are many jobs where being overweight actually could be a real problem at times of emergency. 'It's a truism to say that if you are fat, fat in the sense of just appearing to be fat, that's going to work against you. That's a very big wake-up call for young people to take a grip on themselves.' Ms Claire claims her three workers would book fake appointments so they could go out to get takeaways . Mr Fry said the question of obese workers was a difficult one in the beauty industry because if a person can do a job not allowing them to do so because of their weight is discrimination. However he said image is an important factor in the beauty industry, and any issues the employer has with their work must also be taken into consideration. Last year a survey of HR and recruitment professionals in America found that half of employers find obesity to be an undesirable trait. The study by researchers from Virginia Tech and the University at Buffalo found that when faced with the option of two candidates with identical qualities - the only difference being that one is obese - more than half of respondents said they would prefer to hire the candidate with a more healthy weight. Nearly 1million people in the UK are classed as morbidly obese, and thousands of adults are believed to get Disability Living Allowance because they are unable to work because of their size.", "By . Mark Nicol . PUBLISHED: . 17:01 EST, 9 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:03 EST, 9 February 2013 . With an automatic rifle slung over her shoulder and her sights trained on Taliban territory, Alex Neil looks every inch a frontline soldier. Her role as a supply driver takes her deep into the war zone. She has been engaged by the enemy and  is expected to eliminate any insurgent who poses a lethal threat to her colleagues. Given that responsibility, Alex, 25, is a soldier first and a woman second. Everything about her appearance is geared towards operational effectiveness. Her mousy hair is pulled up inside her helmet, her body armour is strapped tightly to her torso and her SA80 rifle is fully loaded, with 30 high-explosive rounds ready for firing. Overall, Alex comes across as a contented soldier who relishes her role as part of 12 Close Support  Logistic Regiment. And, as the name of her unit suggests, she is seldom far from the action. In the line of fire: Army driver Alex Neil, 25, is angry at MoD ban that thwarts her dream role in the infantry . But one aspect of military life  perturbs Alex – that, as a woman, she is banned from transferring to any regiment in the infantry or the armoured corps. The decision appears blatant discrimination by the Ministry of Defence and it is now under scrutiny following a landmark step in America allowing women to fill all military roles. ‘If a woman is good enough, why not? Our infantry should definitely be opened up to female recruits,’ says Alex, fixing me with a steely gaze. ‘We carry the same amount of kit as the guys, we’re trained the same and we do many of the same jobs. ‘If it is opened up, I would certainly be tempted. Do the boys want us to join? I’m not sure. We work very hard and we deserve the chance. I am fit – I do a lot of running – and while some men might be fitter, by no means all are. I want a challenge, that is why I joined the British Army. Before that I was working in an office for four years. ‘I knew I had to get out of there and find something more exciting.’ Alex certainly shows no signs of wilting under the dangers and hardships she endures – the dusty  conditions and the sleep deprivation – when we meet in Helmand’s Nahr-e Bughra district. This is the area that was once christened the ‘Heart of Darkness’, such was the potency of the Taliban threat. But wearing her greyish green ‘multi-cam’ fatigues, Alex effortlessly blends into her harsh surroundings. She says that spending so much time with the men in her unit has meant that their speech and behaviour has rubbed off on her. High-risk: Private Nichola Bateman, a medic, treats casualties on patrol and said: 'I would recommend the same career to any woman or man' ‘I’ve ended up speaking like them and picking up their crude jokes,’ she says, ‘because we’re all part of the same team, the guys and the girls. Our job is to bring essential supplies to locations like this. We’re here for anything from six to 36 hours at a time, delivering ammo, food, you name it. And I have been engaged  by the enemy before, so I definitely know I’m on the front line.’ Back at Camp Bastion, the British HQ in Helmand, I saw scores of female soldiers maintaining their  fitness with long runs and sprint  sessions. They also carry more equipment than they used to on patrols. Pint-sized Private Nichola Bateman, for example, routinely carries 90lb on her back on battlefield hikes. This feat is all the more remarkable as her burden equates to fully two- thirds of her bodyweight. But the bubbly, 5ft 1in medic is too modest to accept any praise for it. ‘It might sound like a lot to carry but I get trained to do that, it is my job,’ she insists. ‘I go out on patrol with the guys as their medical support, with the same dangers. It is scary but I got used to it and learned more every day. Treating my first casualty was nerve-racking but I don’t think he cared if I was a woman or a man.’ Like Alex, Nichola is eager to emphasise that her gender is a secondary issue. So too is Nichola’s age. She is only 21 but is already a fully qualified Combat Medical Technician (First Class) – after leaving school with no qualifications for a medical career. Blatant discrimination: The decision by the Ministry of Defence to ban women transferring to any regiment in the infantry or armoured corps is under scrutiny following America's landmark step allowing women to fill all military roles . Nichola, from Darlington, Co Durham, . adds: ‘First and foremost out here I am a medic, not a woman. We are all . treated the same, male and female soldiers. ‘I . know the public see it a bit differently, which is quite annoying, but . we are equals. There are so many women on the front line doing very . important jobs. I am just one of them and the guys treat me just the . same. We’re all a band of brothers. ‘Do I think they’d treat me differently if I got wounded – would they lose their concentration and focus? I don’t think so. ‘I am lucky to be surrounded by such talented guys. And I am here with them because when I left school none of the jobs available on civvy street were as exciting or challenging as the military. So I joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. Agreed: Former Secretary of State for Defence, Liam Fox endorsed a review that said women's capability under fire was beyond doubt . ‘I would recommend the same career to . any woman or man. Yes, it is dangerous but I expect the danger now and . deal with it on a daily basis.’ The . MoD insists there remains no way of knowing if mixed-gender teams . function as well as all-male teams in close-combat environments – a key . argument used to justify the exclusion of women from combat units. Its most recent review of the policy, . published in 2010, said women’s capability under fire was beyond doubt . but added that the situations they currently find themselves in were . ‘not typical of the small tactical teams which are required deliberately . to close with and kill the enemy’. With military chiefs opposed  to the units being opened up to women, the then Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox, endorsed the review. His decision was legally watertight because in test cases – brought before the UK courts and the European Court of Justice – gender inequality has been permitted when it has been intended to address a legitimate aim and was proportionate in the means of achieving that aim. The only glimpse of hope for female soldiers is that, under European Union law, the UK must reassess such discriminations at least every eight years. However, not every female on the front line wants to beat the guys at their own game. Twenty-four-year-old Private Alisha Henderson, originally from Edinburgh, is only too happy to play a supporting role. Speaking in the canteen at Forward Operating Base Shawqat, in Nad-e Ali district, she said: ‘Some women in the Army say you should push for equality – but I think it is impossible for most women to be as strong as men. I feel my role is in the kitchen and I’d be more of a hindrance to the lads if I went out on the ground with them. I am happy looking after them in here. ‘That is not to say I don’t have a frontline role, because I do. While I am a chef I also do guard duties two or three times a week, watching to see if the enemy approach the base. There’s a rifle and a machine gun in the guard post and, if required to, I would engage.’ An MoD spokesman said there were no plans to review the policy. Too risky: Afghan president Hamid Karzai has criticised civilian casualties caused by night raids launched by ISAF troops . Missions against the Taliban are being cancelled because it is considered too risky to go out in the rain or at night. The move follows criticism from Afghan president Hamid Karzai over civilian casualties caused by night raids launched by ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) troops. But the latest restrictions on UK operations have led to claims that, in the lead-up to the withdrawal of British troops next year, commanders are becoming too risk averse. Former Army commander Patrick Mercer MP said: ‘Stopping operations when it is wet and dark must be deeply frustrating for professional soldiers.  In war there is always a balance. We must not become risk-averse – otherwise the enemy will take full advantage.’ The restrictions caused by bad weather apply to what military personnel call ‘deliberate operations’ – those that are planned in advance and are not regarded as time-sensitive. Military sources say the greatest concern surrounds the safety of the RAF’s fleet of Chinook and Merlin helicopters. The pilots’ ability to take off and land is compromised in bad weather. An MoD spokesman said: ‘We are unable to provide further details due to operational security.’", "Hard-pressed businesses face costly bills after European judges controversially ruled that obesity can be classed as a disability. Companies will be forced to make concessions for overweight staff that could include extra-large office furniture, medical advice or exercise facilities. Firms could also face expensive compensation claims for discrimination if they sack someone for being overweight. Scroll down for video . Obesity can be classed as a disability, the highest EU court has today ruled after 25-stone Danish childminder, Karsten Kartoft, pictured, took action when he was sacked for being unable to tie the shoelaces of the children he was caring for, without the help of a colleague . Important to the landmark ruling is the EU court's judgment that the origin of the disability is irrelevant – even if someone's obesity is caused by overeating. Critics warned it could encourage the overweight to avoid slimming down in the hope of securing a payout. Companies could also face millions of pounds of costs to alter offices and factories, including providing: . The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that obesity qualified as a disability if it 'hinders the full and effective participation of the person… on an equal basis with other workers' when doing their job. Health campaigners and business leaders criticised the ruling, binding across the EU, with one saying it was the closest they had seen to the 'law being an ass'. National Obesity Forum spokesman Tam Fry said: 'This has opened a can of worms for all employers. They will be required to make adjustments to their furniture and doors and whatever is needed for very large people. It will cause friction between obese people and other workers.' The top European court was asked to rule on a case brought by unions and lawyers on behalf of 25st childminder Karsten Kaltoft, 50, who claimed he was sacked by his local authority in Denmark in 2010 for being too fat. The council allegedly claimed his weight meant he was unable to perform basic duties and even required help from a colleague to tie children's shoelaces. Denmark asked the ECJ to determine whether EU law outlawed discrimination on the grounds of obesity, along with factors such as religion, belief, age or sexual orientation. If a person had long-term medical problems because of their condition, for example joint problems or diabetes, they would be protected by the EU's Employment Equality Directive. But Mr Kaltoft, who has a body mass index of 54 – almost twice the official obesity level – said he did not believe he was disabled. A quarter of adults in Britain are clinically obese. Neil Carberry, of the Confederation of British Industry, said: 'Businesses will be looking for a common sense approach to this ruling, as employees need to be able to do their job. It is unclear from the ruling what it would be reasonable to expect employers to do, so the Government will need to work with businesses to establish clear guidelines and avoid unfair costs being levied on firms.' Though Mr Kaltoft claims his weight was mentioned in a meeting discussing his dismissal, his employers deny it was a reason for terminating his contract. The Danish court asked the EU court to specify whether EU law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of obesity and whether obesity can constitute a disability . Body Mass Index, calculated from a person's weight and height, is accepted as a reliable indicator of obesity. According to the World Health Organisation, the ideal BMI for most adults is between 18.5 and 24.9. If a person's BMI is 25 to 29.9, they are classed as overweight. At between 30 and 39.9 they are obese and 40 or over is very – or morbidly – obese. Doctors say being overweight or obese can increase the risk of health problems, including heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Earlier this year the European Court of Justice's advocate general, Niilo Jaaskinen, who advises the court, suggested that very severe obesity – classified as a BMI of more than 40 – could be considered a disability. But yesterday's ruling does not state what level of obesity would be classed as 'disabled'. It stated: 'It is for the national court to determine whether [an individual's] obesity falls within the definition of 'disability'.' Jane Deville Almond, chairman of the British Obesity Society, said obesity should not be categorised as a disability. She said: 'I think the downside would be that if employers suddenly have to start ensuring that they've got wider seats, larger tables, more parking spaces for people who are obese ... we're just making the situation worse. '[It is] implying that people have no control over the condition, rather than something that can be improved by changing behaviour.' Julian Hemming, employment partner at law firm Osborne Clarke, said: 'This ruling is a real problem for employers. It's still not clear enough for them to be sure that they're going to be on the right side of the law. 'This test could mean that businesses face claims from obese staff for failing to make reasonable adjustments to their role if the job entails tasks where they would be on an unequal footing with other staff – tasks that require full mobility such as stacking shelves in a supermarket. 'Employers will need to consider whether they make adjustments for obese staff to protect themselves from discrimination claims.' Weight loss expert Steve Miller, who presents TV's Fat Families, said: 'The world has gone crazy. It is an insult to those people who are genuinely disabled. 'Being obese is self-inflicted – when people fall into bad habits, we are ourselves responsible to take action to reverse that. 'If we say being obese is a disability, there is a danger it will encourage people to stay fat to enjoy a life on benefits and celebrate the joy of getting a free car parking space.' According to the World Health Organisation, a person is obese if their body mass index – calculated using weight and height – is over 30. Firms will not need to carry out alterations at work in anticipation of employing obese people, but would be expected to deal with individuals on a case-by-case basis.The Disability Discrimination Act already states that businesses must pay for reasonable changes to the workplace to meet the needs of disabled employees, and this enjoys business support. A Government spokesman said: 'Today's judgement does not change anything and does not mean someone can claim benefits simply for being obese.' The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, ruled that if obesity could hinder 'full and effective participation' at work then it could count as a disability .", "By . Snejana Farberov . and Associated Press Reporter . 'Ring leader': Sgt 1st Class Gregory McQueen faces charges of abusive sexual conduct for allegedly recruiting female soldiers in Fort Hood to work as prostitutes . Two female soldiers testified Tuesday that a non-commissioned sexual-assault prevention officer at Fort Hood recruited them and other cash-strapped servicewomen to work as prostitutes. Their testimonies came during an Article 32 hearing to determine whether Sgt. 1st Class Gregory McQueen will face a military court-martial on more than 21 criminal charges filed in March that include pandering, adultery and sexual assault. The first to testify was a female private who said she was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony. ‘Basically, it was having sex with higher-ranking officers for money,’ the private said, according to the Killeen Daily Herald. She was 20 at the time of the alleged misconduct and said she confided in McQueen, telling him she was experiencing money problems after her husband left her and her 3-year-old son and drained the couple's bank account. She also testified that McQueen had sex with her and took photos of her naked to show potential clients. The woman . alleged that McQueen visited her home on the Texas base and asked her to . 'act out' on him what she would do with clients. Another soldier at the Army base in central Texas, Master Sgt. Brad Grimes, 37, has already been demoted and reprimanded in the case for conspiring to patronize a prostitute and solicitation to commit adultery. The private testified Tuesday that McQueen arranged for her to have sex with Grimes for $100. A second female soldier testified that McQueen sexually assaulted her and also attempted to recruit her to join the prostitution ring, but she declined. The names of the female soldiers who testified — three in all — have not been released. Anu Bhagwati, executive director of Service Women's Action Network and a former captain with the Marine Corps, said prostitution rings are not uncommon within the military and the allegations against McQueen were no surprise. Hearing: Sergeant Gregory McQueen appeared before a Fort Hood military court on Tuesday over claims he set up a prostitution ring . ‘Institutionally, a lot of . inappropriate behavior is condoned,’ she told The Associated Press. ‘Women are so few within the military still that I think predators look . at women as fresh meat and the military as an institution where they can . get away with criminal activity.’ More testimony is expected Wednesday, including from Grimes. The investigation into McQueen began in . May last year, and he was charged in March with abusive sexual contact . and other alleged misconduct. If convicted, the former coordinator for the base's sexual assault and harassment program could face court-martial. The case has brought renewed focus on the prevalence of sexual assault within the military. In March, the U.S. Senate blocked a bill that would have stripped military commanders of their authority to prosecute or prevent charges for alleged rapes and other serious offenses.", "Most obese people are in denial over their weight, not accepting they are clinically 'obese', a new study by Cancer Research has found . Most obese people are in denial about their weight, refusing to believe they are 'obese' or even 'very overweight', new research has found. In one of the first studies of its kind to examine perceptions of obesity, fewer than 10 per cent of those who are clinically obese accept they have a serious weight problem. A survey carried out in 2012 examined 2,000 adults and found only 11 per cent of obese women accurately acknowledged they were 'obese'. Most of the women questioned believed they were either 'very overweight' or 'just right', Cancer Research said. Among men taking part, only seven per cent correctly judged their own weight, accepting they were 'obese'. Sixteen per cent of obese male responders classified themselves as 'very overweight'. Researchers discovered only 10 per cent of those taking part knew the Body Mass Index threshold for obesity. However those who knew a BMI of between 30 and 39.9 made a person obese were more likely to define themselves as such. Experts fear as bigger sizes become the new 'normal', people are less likely to recognise the health problems linked to their weight. Professor Jane Wardle, co-author of the study and director of the Cancer Research UK centre at UCL, said: 'It's a real worry that people don't recognise that their weight places them in the obese category. 'It means they aren't aware they are at increased risk of a number of health problems including cancer. 'This is despite increased media coverage of obesity, and public health campaigns aimed at improving public awareness.' She added that the term 'obese' is often considered derogatory, which may be why so many people reject it. 'Mass media often illustrate obesity in a way that people find offensive, with pictures of bulging beer bellies and huge behinds, so people shy away from these images. 'But we also asked people whether they felt they were \"very overweight\" and the majority of those who were obese did not accept this term either. 'This is a real problem, as it means they are unlikely to identify with health messages on the subject of weight. She added: 'We need to establish better ways for health professionals to address this sensitive subject and communicate with people whose health would benefit from positive lifestyle changes.' Around 18,000 cases of cancer in the UK each year are linked to being overweight or obese. Excess weight is known to increase the risk of several types of cancer including cancers of the breast in post-menopausal women, bowel, womb, oesophagus, pancreas, kidney and gallbladder. Excess weight is known to increase the risk of several types of cancer including cancers of the breast, pictured under the microscope, bowel, womb, oesophagus, pancreas, kidney and gallbladder . Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK's head of health information, said: 'This study provides an interesting insight into how people who are overweight view themselves. 'Carrying those extra pounds can have serious health implications. 'Fat cells are active, releasing hormones and other chemicals that affect many parts of the body, and increase the risk of cancer. 'Maintaining a healthy body weight is one of the most important ways of reducing the risk of cancer, for both men and women. 'It's so important that health messaging and awareness campaigns are as effective as possible in supporting people of all shapes and sizes to make healthy choices.' In a separate study scientists in Liverpool discovered the majority of people, including doctors, are unable to visually identify whether a person is a healthy weight, overweight or obese. Psychologists at the University of Liverpool asked participants to look at photographs of male models and categorise whether they are a healthy weight, overweight or obese according to World Health Organisation BMI guidelines. They found the majority of people surveyed were unable to correctly identify the models' weight. Instead they underestimated weight, often believing overweight men to be healthy. In a related study, surveying healthcare professionals, researchers also found GPs and trainee GPs were unable to visually identify if a person was overweight or obese. A separate study at the University of Liverpool found GPs and trainee GPs were unable to visually identify if a person was overweight or obese . The scientists also examined whether increased exposure to overweight and obese people affected a person's ability to estimate the weight of a person. Their findings suggested that exposure to heavier body weights may influence what people see as a normal and healthy weight and causes people to underestimate a person's weight. Psychologist, Dr Eric Robinson, who conducted the research, said: 'We wanted to find out if people can identify a healthy, overweight or obese person just by looking at them. 'Primarily we found that people were often very inaccurate and this included trainee doctors and qualified doctors too. Moreover, we found that participants systematically underestimated when a person was overweight or obese. 'Our study of GPs also found a tendency to underestimate weight which has important implications as it means that overweight and obese patients could end up not being offered weight management support or advice.' Recent studies have found that parents underestimate their overweight or obese child's weight and this could also act as a barrier to intervention. Dr Robinson added: 'Over the last 30 years we have seen changes to population body weight, so examining how this has affected how we view our own and other people's body sizes is an interesting area of research.' The UK has the highest level of obesity in Western Europe. Obesity levels in the UK have more than trebled in the last 30 years and, on current estimates, more than half the population could be obese by 2050. More than half of the adult population in the EU are overweight or obese.", "(CNN) -- This holiday season, the Colombian military is trying a unique angle to get guerrillas to lay down their arms: It is creating Christmas trees deep in the jungle in hopes the holiday spirit will tug the rebels back home. The first tree of \"Operation Christmas\" was decorated in the jungle of southern Colombia, the military said. Two units in two Blackhawk helicopters dropped in on a supply path that the guerrillas are known to use and picked a 25-meter (82-foot) tree to decorate with sparkling blue lights. A commercial made by the military shows the soldiers, dressed in camouflage uniforms and face paint, wrapping 2,000 lights around the branches and trunk. The tree was rigged with a motion sensor that will turn the lights on when someone walks by. A banner next to it says, . \"If Christmas can come to the jungle, you too can come home. Demobilize. At Christmas, everything is possible.\" Officials hope the gesture will be enough to lure rebels away from the jungle. \"For us, the most important month is December,\" Colombian military spokeswoman Marcela Duran said. \"Many make the final decision about demobilizing this month.\" She says that traditionally, the holiday season sees a larger number of defections as rebels reflect on the positives and negatives of their situation. When they were recruited, many of the rebels did not know that it would mean being isolated from their families, she added. The tactic is a shift from what has been an aggressive military campaign against the rebels this year. In September, a military raid claimed the life of the No. 2 leader in a Marxist guerrilla group that has been at war with the Colombian government since the 1960s. Victor Julio Suarez Rojas, also known as Jorge Briceno Suarez and by the nom de guerre Mono Jojoy, was the military leader for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly called the FARC. It was one of a number of military successes for the government this year. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, a former defense minister, was known for his tough line against the rebels, but he also has a softer side, an analyst said. During his time as defense minister, the government began using billboards and radio advertisements in areas where the rebels operate at an unprecedented level, said Adam Isacson, senior associate at the Washington Office on Latin America. Operation Christmas sounds a bit gimmicky, he said, but \"rather than trying to kill all the rank-and-file guerrillas, it's better to try to convince them to leave.\" FARC leaders tell their followers that they will be killed if they turn themselves in, but the advertisements and Christmas trees give another message, he said. Despite the military successes this year, \"the challenge is that their recruitment at the youngest levels is very easy,\" Isacson said. The tree decorating is probably aimed at those young recruits. In all, 10 jungle trees throughout the country will be decorated as part of Operation Christmas. This year, 2,411 guerrillas have demobilized, including 140 during this holiday season, the military said. In 2009, a total of 2,638 rebels laid down their arms.", "By . Ian Drury, Peter Campbell and Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 19:33 EST, 20 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:13 EST, 21 November 2013 . The boss of the private company responsible for Army recruitment has blamed Britain 'not having any wars on' after he failed to sign up enough new soldiers. Paul Pinder, the chief executive of Capita which has a £400m Ministry of Defence contract to recruit full and part-time soldiers, made the remark as he was grilled by MPs on his failure to hit targets. He was immediately accused of 'disrespecting' 6,000 service personnel currently battling the Taliban in Afghanistan and those killed and maimed on the frontline during the 12-year conflict. Since Capita took charge of bringing in new recruits the number of interviews and selection tests has plummeted by more than a third. Blame game: Paul Pindar, chief executive of Capita, has been accused of 'disrespecting' 6,000 service personnel currently battling the Taliban in Afghanistan after he said a recruitment problem was caused by a 'lack of war' Just two weeks ago father-of-two Sergeant Major Ian Fisher, 42, of the 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment, died in a suicide blast in Helmand. Mr Pinder was being questioned by the Public Accounts Committee on why Capita was failing to meet recruitment targets despite being paid huge sums of taxpayers' money. He said: 'I'm not being flippant when saying this, but we actually have the disadvantage of not having any wars on. 'Soldiers like to join the Army when there's actually something for them to do. It's actually true.' 3,259 potential troops sent to Army selection interviews, compared with 5,042 the previous year. 195 would-be officers were recruited compared to 379 a year earlier. 367 potential Territorial Army troops were recruited by Capita against a target of 1,432. Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said: 'That was awful. It's a kick in the teeth to the soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan.' Mr Pinder last year received £2million in pay and perks compared to the £17,000 salary of a new Army private was roundly criticised last night. Madeleine Moon, of the Defence Select Committee, said: 'This is a pathetic and offensive attempt to excuse his company's failure to recruit service personnel. 'It is insulting to all of the service personnel who have served and are serving our country on a variety of settings around the world.' Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded British troops in Afghanistan, said: 'For the chief executive of the company that is responsible for recruiting for the Army not to realise we are today fighting a war which has seen some of the most intense battles since World War 2 and in which 446 soldiers have been killed is quite extraordinary and raises further questions about the viability of Capita in this role.' A serving military officer who has fought in Helmand said: 'This is thoroughly disrespectful. His company is in charge of recruiting for the Army - it's astonishing he isn't aware we have thousands of personnel risking their lives on the frontline.' Killed: Ian Fisher, from the 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords), who died in Helmand two weeks ago . Sergeant Major Fisher was deployed with his company on a two-day operation when a vehicle-borne suicide attack was launched . The Ministry of Defence privatised Army recruitment in April. The ten-year deal was supposed to free 1,000 soldiers from recruitment roles and enable them to return to frontline duties. But problems in installing and using a secure computer system meant Capital had suffered problems in drafting new soldiers. In the first four months of its contract, Capita sent 3,259 potential troops to Army selection interviews, compared with 5,042 the previous year. Only 195 would-be officers were recruited compared to 379 a year earlier. And 367 potential Territorial Army troops were recruited by Capita against a target of 1,432. The row broke out as the Defence Secretary narrowly avoided a humiliating Commons defeat over controversial plans to replace full-time troops with Army reservists. Defence secretary Philip Hammond came under fire is axing the number of regular soldiers from 102,000 to 82,000 while doubling the number of part-time troops to 30,000 to save money. Tory rebels, spearheaded by former infantry officer John Baron, had tabled an amendment urging ministers to halt the shake-up. Mr Baron said: 'Things are not going well, recruitment targets for reservists are being badly missed, Territorial Army numbers are falling and there is a widening capability gap as a result.' His plot was backed by Labour and the DUP. Shadow defence secretary Vernon Coaker said: 'If we don't get it right we are taking risks with this country's defence and security.' But Mr Hammond said the amendment would halt the process of recruiting reservists, sending 'completely the wrong signal to those thinking of joining the reserves'. He said it would 'hit morale among the existing reserve forces and make future recruitment a much more difficult task.' The rebel amendment was defeated by 306 votes to 252, Government majority 54.", "(CNN) -- In \"Glorious Mission Online,\" China's first online game co-developed by the People's Liberation Army and released to the public, players join the ranks of the country's military to take on the enemy. The game was originally developed by China's military as a training and recruitment tool and featured Chinese forces taking on American soldiers. But the game drew massive nationwide attention because of one level, which pits Chinese soldiers against a different enemy -- Japan. This level is set on an island chain disputed between China and Japan. The game asks players to defend the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan. Both countries claim sovereignty over the remote, rocky islands, which are near important shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and possible mineral deposits. Japan currently administers the area, but since late last year, China has mounted a concerted campaign to try to change the situation. Chinese and Japanese ships cluster around disputed islands . So popular was the game in stoking nationalism amid growing tension between the East Asian neighbors over the islands, developers have officially changed the name of the island mission level to \"Defending the Diaoyu Islands.\" \"The part where we defend the Diaoyu Islands and the aircraft combat were fun! All Chinese should play,\" posted @Gaici2hao. @Haidaoshengmingyue posted: \"We fought with the Japanese yesterday in Shanghai and the Diaoyu Islands, it's cool.\" Although interest in the game has centered on the territorial issue, game developer Gu Kai says this was not the intention. \"I think the game has been misinterpreted a little bit,\" says Gu, whose firm Giant Interactive Group, Inc. co-developed the game with the Nanjing Military Area Command of the PLA. Gu says the company never specified the island area as the disputed territory in the first place, and the decision to label the mission was in response to growing public interest over the topic. The idea of using military-themed game to train soldiers or serve as a recruitment tool is not new. The U.S. army has an online game called \"America's Army\" that allows players to go on training missions and fight each other online. According to Gu, \"Glorious Mission\" targets nationalistic youths who are attracted to online games. A press release from Giant Interactive Group claims that the game presents a full picture of the PLA's daily operations and calls upon youths to join the army, defend their country, and strengthen the \"Chinese Dream.\" Gu says it is hoped the game will help recruit more recent graduates who are experiencing increasing difficulty in a declining China job market, together with well-educated college graduates. Compared to other countries, China is relatively late in terms of using games as military training and recruitment. \"For a long time, Chinese military has been distant and mysterious to the public, but the game opens a door for young people to learn about the PLA and how the military operates,\" Gu says. \"The game aims to provide players with an authentic experience; even the voices are from real soldiers.\"", "Soldiers from Commonwealth countries have been banned from joining Britain’s Armed Forces unless they have lived here for five years. The residency test, which came into force yesterday, will prevent overseas recruits joining immediately as they do now. The Ministry of Defence reinstated the requirement, which was scrapped in 1998, as it attempts to reduce the size of the military by nearly 30,000 troops. Cutbacks: Commonwealth citizens will be require to have lived in Britain for five years before they are eligible to join the Armed Forces . Recruits from Commonwealth countries have a long and distinguished history of serving in the Armed Forces. In the First World War, 1.2million men from the Indian Army fought alongside the Allies with 74,000 losing their lives. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa all lent troops during World War Two. And Britain's Commonwealth companions have proved to be brave in the battlefield. Johnson Beharry, pictured above, originally from Grenada, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his valour while serving in Iraq. Others to have been given the highest military honour include two Australians Keith Payne and Rayene Stewart Simpson for their actions in the Vietnam War. But the controversial move could lead . to accusations of betrayal because Commonwealth troops have shed blood . for the UK on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan – as well as in . previous conflicts such as the two world wars. In the past decade 24 Commonwealth soldiers have been killed in conflict. Dozens more have been wounded. If the rules had been in place when . Sergeant Johnson Beharry arrived in Britain from the Caribbean island of . Grenada in 1999, he would not have been permitted to join the Army in . 2001. And the soldier, who serves with the . 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, would not have . been on the Iraq battlefield in 2004, when he won the Victoria Cross for . twice saving comrades in ambushes. Typically, 500 Commonwealth soldiers . are among the 7,000 new recruits each year and the residency rule could . leave the Forces perilously overstretched if they failed to recruit . enough British soldiers. Throughout the infantry, about one in . ten soldiers is from outside Britain. Many join units that fail to . recruit their full complement of soldiers  at home. But Armed Forces Minister Mark . Francois said the rule was unavoidable as the military coped with . sweeping cuts. In a written ministerial statement he acknowledged the . contribution of Commonwealth citizens serving in the British Armed . Forces. But he added: ‘In order to deliver . the future structure of the Armed Forces under the requirements of the . Strategic Defence and Security Review, we are already reducing their . size by adjusting our recruit intake and making some redundancies. ‘We are confident that we will still  be able to meet our recruitment targets.’ Change: The ruling had been scrapped in 1998 but is now being reinstated, effective immediately . The changes will not affect Gurkhas or those from the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus and Malta. Labour defence spokesman Jim Murphy . said: ‘When rightly recruiting those from the UK, ministers must never . undermine the many sacrifices and commitments made by those from the . Commonwealth who have served on frontlines across the globe in the name . of British national security. ‘The country will want to know this is based on the best possible military advice and nothing else.’ Colonel Richard Kemp, who  commanded British forces in Afghanistan, . praised the long tradition of ‘sterling service’ that Commonwealth . soldiers have provided – ‘and still provide’ – in the Army. He said the Armed Forces had . ‘depended heavily’ on Commonwealth troops to bring units up to strength . and accused the MoD of using ineffective recruiting techniques. But he added: ‘However, at a time . when our Armed Forces are reducing to the lowest levels in more than a . century, it is right that priority should be given to British citizens.’ An MoD spokesman said: ‘At a time . when we are having to reduce the  size of our Armed Forces, it is only . right we focus on recruiting  UK personnel.’", "Washington (CNN) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to become the nation's fourth female Supreme Court justice, setting up a final confirmation vote by the Senate. The committee vote broke down mostly along partisan lines, with one Republican joining the panel's Democrats in sending the nomination to the full Senate on a 13-6 vote. Democrats repeatedly characterized Kagan as a strong legal thinker who would be a fair judge, while Republicans slammed her as an inexperienced activist who would be unable to divorce her legal judgments from her political opinions. Members on both sides expressed frustration with a confirmation hearing process many observers say increasingly yields few clear answers about a nominee's judicial philosophy. \"Elena Kagan is one of this country's leading legal minds, and has shown throughout this process that, if confirmed, she would be a fair and impartial Supreme Court Justice who understands how decisions made by the Court affect the lives of everyday Americans,\" President Barack Obama said after the vote. The \"vote by the (committee) is a bipartisan affirmation of her strong performance during her confirmation hearings.\" \"There is no question about Elena Kagan's qualifications,\" said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California. \"In my view, there is no good reason to deny her appointment.\" She is clearly among nation's \"top legal minds.\" \"Her grasp of each area of the law, and to reason within it, compared favorably with any of the nominees I have seen come before us,\" Feinstein added. \"Candidly, it surpassed some.\" Kagan has demonstrated a \"keen intellect,\" \"judicial modesty,\" and respect for legal precedent, said Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin. \"I'm confident she will make a superb Supreme Court justice.\" Not so, said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. Kagan has \"extremely limited experience\" as a practicing attorney, he said. Her record \"has not been (one) of impartiality.\" She has \"far left ideological beliefs\" and is likely to use an \"outcome-based approach\" to cases. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, called Kagan's June testimony \"disingenuous\" and \"deceptive.\" Her \"policy preferences will influence her legal judgments\" if confirmed, he predicted. Among other things, the committee's Republicans highlighted Kagan's role in limiting military recruiters at Harvard Law School because of the \"don't ask, don't tell\" policy, which bars openly gay and lesbian soldiers from military service. Several Republicans have said Kagan, who was the law school dean, sought to treat the military as second-class by denying recruiters access to the campus Office of Career Services. Kagan has argued she provided an \"equally effective substitute\" by requiring military recruiters to use a veterans service office. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, broke with other GOP committee members by voting for Kagan's nomination. Graham -- also the lone committee Republican to back Justice Sonia Sotomayor's nomination last year -- said he had \"100 reasons\" to oppose Kagan's nomination on philosophical grounds. But, he argued, elections have consequences, and senators should be deferential to presidential nominating decisions. Kagan, he argued, is sufficiently qualified, has a good character, and is capable of acting as a judge as opposed to a politician. Noting the controversy over Kagan's role in Harvard's military recruiting controversy, Graham said he would oppose her nomination if he believed she has \"animosity in her heart\" for members of the armed services. But \"I believe she is ... very patriotic,\" he said. Graham said he is hopeful that Democrats will follow his lead the next time a Republican president makes a high court nomination. If a liberal such as Kagan can be confirmed, he said, \"I hope Judge (Robert) Bork can be a conservatives' hero\" and be confirmed as well. Many legal and political analysts said the hearings went as expected, with clear ideological divisions, and very little of substance revealed about Kagan's views of specific issues. \"It's a real advantage for Elena Kagan that she's never been a judge with controversial opinions, so she was nominated just because of her lack of an explicit paper trail,\" said Mark Miller, a lawyer and political science professor at Clark University. \"And that's what the current politics of Washington demanded. I think Obama wanted a relatively easy confirmation and it looks like he's going to get it.\" The committee's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, noted Kagan did not advise the Obama administration on legal and constitutional issues surrounding a massive overhaul of healthcare. Her supplemental written responses Monday to questions from GOP senators seemed to indicate she would not recuse herself as justice if the legislation were appealed to the high court. In reference to a pending lawsuit over the legislation by several state attorneys general, Kagan wrote, \"I attended at least one meeting where the existence of the litigation was briefly mentioned, but none where any substantive discussion of the litigation occurred.\" Kagan added she was neither asked nor offered any opinion about the legislation or any appeals, and did not review any internal administration documents. Her new answers also offer a possible reason -- she purposely scaled back her job duties as solicitor general in April, after the White House quietly told her she was being seriously considered for the high court. Kagan was eventually nominated May 10. The full Senate vote is expected to vote on Kagan's nomination before departing for its August recess. If approved, Kagan will fill the seat of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens and become the 112th person to join the high court. CNN's Alan Silverleib and Bill Mears contributed to this story .", "Women soldiers should be allowed to fight alongside men on the frontline for the first time, a report will recommend today (file picture) Just 34 women will be tough enough for front line action, it has emerged. It comes as the first female to command an all-male squadron has warned that putting women on the front line could make the army less effective. Major Judith Webb said that women were 'physically different' - even though she believed in 'equality'. Her comments came as a report recommended that women soldiers should be allowed to fight alongside men on the frontline for the first time. The Ministry of Defence is moving towards the historic change after a six-month review into whether women should be able to serve in infantry and tank regiments. Female fighters could be in combat roles as soon as 2016, senior defence sources have told the Daily Mail. But the review estimates that, on current levels of recruitment, around seven women a year would pass through training to qualify for infantry units and around the same number for the RAF Regiment, according to The Telegraph. About 14 would qualify for the Royal Armoured Corps and only six for the Royal Marines. The review has quashed doubts within the MoD that allowing women to serve in frontline roles would damage the ‘cohesion’ of the armed forces on the battlefield. Military top brass will say there needs to be further research into the ‘physiological demands’ placed on those in close combat roles. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Major Webb, who retired in 1986, said: ‘We had a maximum of four women in my squadron and it was perfectly natural and normal for the guys would do all the heavy jobs and those jobs that were physically demanding while women would do the slightly less physical it was just the normal course of events. ‘When we are talking about an infantry section of eight guys and you’ve got one person who is not actually as physically strong or as physically capable as the other seven over possibly an extended period of time, which is what has not been tested, that could create an effect on our combat effectiveness,’ added major Webb, who was the first woman to command an all-male field force squadron in the British Army. A senior defence source told the Mail: ‘The review has concluded ministers are minded to approve women in combat roles.’ Last night politicians welcomed the findings, which are due to be published today. Labour MP John Woodcock, a member of the Defence Select Committee, said: ‘This is a challenging but hugely welcome step forward that will help make our armed forces the very best they can be. 'Keeping our country safe is too important to exclude anyone who can play a role – that means giving women the chance to serve on the frontline in addition to all the other ways in which they are excelling already in the forces.’ But some senior officers fear that repealing the centuries-old rule will lead to a drop in standards in the armed forces. Major General Patrick Cordingley called the change a ‘mistake’. Mr Cordingley, who commanded the Desert Rats during the first Gulf War, told the Mail: ‘There is a political imperative. However, I think that it is a mistake from the armed forces. The Ministry of Defence is moving towards the historic change after a six-month review into whether women should be able to serve in infantry and tank regiments (file picture) 'I can understand why politically it is a good thing to be seen to be doing – on the other hand, the practicalities of women in the infantry and armoured corps are considerable and should not be overlooked. ‘Being in a fighting unit, you need to concentrate on the enemy, you don’t want distractions looking after women, which inevitably you will do. It is a diversion.’ Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, previously said women fighters would harm the ‘warrior ethos’ and damage the fighting capabilities of the soldiers. Women can already find themselves on the frontline and extremely close to the enemy while serving as medics, intelligence specialists, artillery spotters, logisticians or signallers. They also serve with distinction as combat pilots. In light of the findings, a senior military source said: ‘There is a real desire among ministers and the military to open up ground combat roles to women. ‘This detailed review is a big step forward in the process, however, it is clear further work needs to be done before a final decision is taken. Labour MP John Woodcock (left) said allowing women into infantry and tank regiments 'a challenging but hugely welcome step forward', but Major General Patrick Cordingley (right) called the change a 'mistake' ‘The wellbeing of all our personnel is of the utmost importance, but there is genuine hope this will be a reality come 2016.’ If the plans go ahead, women on the frontline will be subject to the same physical tests as men. It is understood only a small minority of the 16,000 women serving in the armed forces would want to or be capable of passing the tests. The next research programme is expected to deliver a report in 2016, which will inform a final decision on whether the exclusion can be safely lifted. Britain is behind the times on the matter compared to other countries. Of the 28 members of Nato, just two others, Turkey and Slovakia, still bar women from combat roles. The US lifted its ban last year, joining countries including Germany, Canada, France and Israel. As part of the UK review, thousands of officers and members of other ranks across the armed forces were invited to fill in a confidential questionnaire.", "By . Harriet Hernando . One of only three surviving 'Lord Kitchener Wants You' First World War recruitment posters has gone under the hammer for a world record £30,000. The incredibly rare poster was responsible for the enlistment of millions of men and has since become one of the most iconic images of the war. But despite its success and popularity, it was not produced on the same scale as other recruitment posters - and only three originals survived. Patrick Bogue of Onslow Auctions sold the incredibly rare piece of history, which is only one of three left in the world, for a record £30,000 . The other two are in the Imperial War Museum in London and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, meaning this poster was the only one in the world that was available for sale. The poster started off life as the front cover of a 1914 edition of magazine London Opinion which had commissioned renowned artist Alfred Leete. The Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, which commissioned all the recruitment posters, spotted the artwork and turned it into a poster. Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, was a well-respected military leader and the poster became one of the enduring images of the war effort . It was then plastered on billboards around the country - but only 10,000 were made. Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, was a well-respected military leader and the poster became one of the enduring images of the war effort. The poster was so successful it was copied by the Americans who replaced Kitchener with Uncle Sam. Kitchener was killed in 1916 when the warship taking him to negotiations in Russia was sunk by a German mine. The poster for sale was bought at auction in 1983 for £100 and has remained in a private collection ever since. Experts had tipped it to fetch £15,000 but were shocked when it went for almost double that, setting a new record for the sale of a war poster. It was snapped up by a London-based collector for £27,540 in an online sale by Dorset-based auction house Onslows. Patrick Bogue, auctioneer, said: 'When war broke out in 1914 the British army had a real problem on their hands because they only had about 150,000 soldiers. 'Lord Kitchener was a respected leader and strategist who had found fame in the Boer War and during the last days of the British Empire. 'He was too old to serve as a general and so he was hired to take on the mammoth role of recruiting more soldiers.' Thousands of poster were reproduced and distributed around the British Empire. The Lord Kitchener poster however, was only displayed in Britain, but it was an instant hit. Mr Bogue said: 'It was so popular that the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee sought permission to use the front page as a recruitment poster. 'The only thing different was that they changed the wording from 'needs you' to 'wants you'. 'It was a hugely successful poster and was responsible for tens of thousands of men enlisting in the army. 'Only two other original copies exist and they are both in museums. 'The Lord Kitchener poster is the holy grail of historic recruitment posters and this copy is the only one in the world that you could actually buy. 'We had hoped it would sell for a decent amount but we were delighted when it sold for so much. 'It just goes to show how much value is put on such a rare, historic poster as this.' At the outbreak of war in 1914, many young men were quick to enlist into the Army - spurred on by a desire to serve their country, or simply to avoid unemployment. By the end of September 1914 more than 750,000 men had joined up.However, within a year of Great Britain's declaration of war in August 1914, it became obvious that the country would not be able to continue fighting with just voluntary recruits.Although the famous 'Your Country Needs You' poster helped encourage more than one million men to enlist by January 1915 this was not enough to cover the rising number of casualties and the government decided there was no choice but to bring in conscription - compulsory active service.The Military Service Act became law in March 1916 and imposed conscription on all single men aged between 18 and 41, other than the medically unfit, teachers, clergymen and certain industrial workers.Conscientious objectors who opposed fighting on moral ground were also spared the draft, as were those living in Ireland, and men called up could appeal against the call up at a local Military Service Tribunal.Throughout the war around 2.5 million men joined the Armed Forces through conscription, with 1.1 million of them joining during the first year.", "By . Ian Drury . Desperate defence chiefs will give £10,000 ‘golden handcuffs’ payments to regular soldiers who join the reserves in a bid to boost Army recruitment. Ministers have pledged to double the cash incentive for troops who quit or face redundancy and instead sign up to be so-called ‘weekend warriors’ amid a mounting recruitment crisis. And £300 will be paid to any civilian who wants to enlist in the Army Reserve – formerly the Territorial Army – as a lure to push ahead with their application. Desperate defence chiefs will give £10,000 'golden handcuffs' payments to regular soldiers who join the reserves in a bid to boost Army recruitment . Military chiefs have also held top-level meetings with National Health Service executives in an attempt to get more medical staff to join the part-time force. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond wants to double the number of reservists while axing full-time troops. Under controversial plans outlined in the 2010 defence review, the size of the regular Army is being slashed from 102,000 to 82,000 while doubling the reserve from 15,000 to 30,000. Thousands of troops have been laid off. It has been billed as the biggest change to the military reservists since the Second World War. But Mr Hammond is facing growing criticism that the plans are badly thought through amid concerns commanders will fail to meet the deadline to hit manning targets. Embarrassingly, the number of Army reservists actually fell by 50 – to 19,150 – in the year to January, according to the latest Ministry of Defence personnel figures. The recruitment crisis has been exacerbated by a bungled IT project to handle paperwork at recruiting offices. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond wants to double the number of reservists while axing full-time troops . Now Major General Ranald Munro, the head of the Territorial Army, is under growing pressure to hit targets. The £10,000 – up from £5,000 - will be paid over three years. The scheme, for troops up to the rank of Captain, started this week. So far this financial year, 790 full-time soldiers have transferred to the Army Reserve. Attracting more regular soldiers into the part-time force saves money because a former full-time soldier does not need basic training. Civilians who join with no experience will get £300. The money will cover the cost of petrol for driving to recruitment centres and help to maintain an applicant’s interest while waiting for medical and other pre-training checks to be completed. In what is seen as a crisis move, top brass have met with NHS chiefs to try to free up more health staff to sign up to the reserves. But health chiefs say the NHS - which already provides 2,000 people to the Army Reserve - cannot release staff unless the Government pays for more costly agency nurses and doctors to replace those on military duty. As part of the MoD’s ‘Reserves In The Future’ plan, 29 per cent of the Army will be made up of part-time soldiers. They will be responsible for delivering capabilities including linguists, computer technicians and cyber-warfare teams. They will also be required to bolster infantry battalions, providing specialist medical skills such neurosurgeons and anaesthetists. But senior officers are concerned that young men and women no longer see the Army Reserve as an attractive option. He said: ‘We have tried everything and it is not working. People simply are not interested and we are now in a situation in which we are desperate to pull people into uniform to meet the manning targets. ‘We have lots and lots of officers but not enough soldiers. The situation is very bad.’ Under the shake-up, Mr Hammond has vowed to spend £1.8billion ensuring the reserves have better equipment, new uniforms and are more professional by making them train overseas and alongside regular troops. Overhauling the image of the TA by rebranding it the ‘Army Reserve’ is an attempt to help shed its ‘Dad’s Army’ reputation. Reservists would be expected to take on more front line duties, but critics fear the changes will undermine Britain’s military prowess on the world stage. Mr Hammond said recently he wanted to develop a culture where regular soldiers often wanted to become reservists after leaving full-time service. He said: ‘Ex-regulars deliver a robustness because most of them will be experienced. Many of them will have seen combat operations. They give a backbone to the Reserve.’ An Army spokesperson said: 'Having already had over 1,400 ex-regulars join the Army Reserve over the last two years, we want to build on this by recognising their immense value and unique professional contribution by doubling the financial incentive for ex-regulars joining the Army Reserve. 'Ex-regulars bring exceptional practical and operational experience to the Reserves. We are reforming and revitalising our Reserve Forces, investing £1.8bn in better training and equipment and fully integrating them with the rest of the Army.'", "They dress like allies, but they kill like enemies. Gunmen wearing Afghan military uniforms turning against coalition troops has been an ongoing nightmare for NATO's International Security Assistance Forces. It happened again Tuesday, when a man believed to be an Afghan soldier killed U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Harold Greene and shot several others at a military training facility in Kabul. It's impossible to tell if or when the next \"green-on-blue\" attack might occur. But here's what we do know: . How often do these attacks happen? Such assaults were rare in the first few years of the Afghan War, averaging no more than one a year through 2008, according to the New America Foundation. But after the \"surge\" of 33,000 U.S. troops in 2009, the number of insider attacks jumped to four. The attacks spiked in 2012 with 48, according to a Pentagon report. The incidents have declined since then, with 15 attacks in 2013 and two in the first quarter of 2014, as more troops withdraw and coalition forces try new ways of mitigating the attacks. \"Despite this sharp decline, these attacks may still have strategic effects on the campaign and could jeopardize the relationship between coalition and ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) personnel,\" a U.S. Defense Department report said. Who carries out these attacks? Sometimes it's actual Afghan soldiers or police officers; sometimes it's insurgents such as Taliban militants disguised as Afghan security forces. The Taliban acknowledged Gen. Greene's killing Tuesday, but hasn't claimed responsibility for it. Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said officials believe an Afghan soldier was the gunman. An ISAF official said the group of coalition forces was standing outside, and the attacker shot from inside a nearby building at a distance of about 100 yards. The Pentagon isn't commenting on the possibility of Taliban involvement, saying the Afghan military and international forces are in the early stages of an investigation. But the Taliban have claimed responsibility for previous attacks. The terror group even released a video showing how their fighters trained to break through the fence at Camp Bastion, the site of a 2012 assault that left two U.S. Marines dead and six jets destroyed. NATO said the Taliban militants were wearing U.S. Army uniforms. They also carried automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and suicide vests. What are the motives? The intentions can run the gamut. Witnessing the horrors of war sometimes inspires soldiers to turn against their onetime allies, said Philip Mudd, a CNN counterterrorism analyst and former CIA official. In 2012, the deadliest year of insider attacks, a Defense Department official said the United States estimated 40% of them were due to Afghan members' own combat or emotional stress, and 15% are a result of intimidation by the insurgency or actually being recruited by it. The official said about 10% came from impersonators who are not part of the military. But in more than 30% of the assaults, no clear motivations were found. In many cases, such as in Tuesday's attack, the answer might never be known because the assailant was killed. How does the Afghan military vet its soldiers? Military recruits are vetted by their high school grades, an entrance exam, a health screening and biometrics, said Daulat Waziri, deputy spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense. They must also pass a background check and provide two references who are government employees. It's still unclear whether the gunman in Tuesday's attack had Taliban ties or whether he slipped through the military's screening process. \"I don't think we should look and make judgments about the vetting process too quickly,\" Mudd said. \"You would think on the surface that maybe he was recruited by the Taliban. That's not necessarily the case.\" What about allied forces turning against Afghan civilians? In March 2012, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales slipped away from the camp where he was stationed and into a village in Kandahar province, where he began shooting at civilians. He returned to the base, reloaded, and went out again to target another village. He left a trail of blood and gore in both villages, with nine children among the dead. Witnesses claimed the U.S. soldier dragged some bodies of his victims' outside and set them ablaze. By the end of the rampage, 16 villagers were dead. Bales was charged with murder and eventually sentenced to life in prison. Bales described his attack as \"an act of cowardice\" and said he'd taken steroids and drank sporadically. The Taliban vowed to retaliate \"by killing and beheading Americans anywhere in the country.\" What can be done to mitigate insider attacks? Coalition forces have started using what they call \"guardian angels,\" or armed troops who oversee others during meal times and when soldiers are sleeping. Two years ago, after the deadliest spate of attacks, troops started receiving a fold-up pamphlet called \"Inside the Wire Threats - Afghanistan Green on Blue\" to help prevent such assaults. A Defense Department official said it advises troops under attack who have their own weapons on them to \"resolve the situation with forces at hand\" and not wait for backup. Unarmed troops at meetings or dining halls have been vulnerable in the past, but now, all are carrying their weapons, preloaded with a magazine of ammunition. Weapons must be within arm's reach at all times, according to U.S. military sources. The pamphlet also offers broad indicators of behaviors by Afghans that could indicate they are a threat, the Defense Department official said. Things to watch for include complaints about other countries or religions, comments that advocate violence, a personality change, becoming isolated and not wanting to be around others, speaking in favor of radical ideology or showing an undue interest in coalition base headquarters or living quarters. But Kirby said insider attacks are \"a pernicious threat\" that are \"difficult to always ascertain, to come to grips with ... anywhere, particularly in a place like Afghanistan.\" \"Afghanistan is still a war zone,\" he noted. What's the future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan? In February, the Obama administration announced it had started planning for the possible withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2014 if Afghanistan did not sign a security agreement pertaining to rights of U.S. troops operating there. President Barack Obama called for 9,800 U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan after the end of 2014, along with some allied forces. The number would get cut roughly in half by the end of 2015, and a year later the U.S. military presence would scale down to what officials described as a \"normal\" embassy security contingent.", "London (CNN) -- British government ministers fought back Sunday against accusations they had taken their eye off the Olympic security ball, rejecting accusations they were warned nearly a year ago about the security giant contracted to provide guards for the Games. G4S, the security contractor, admitted on Wednesday that it would not be able to provide more than 10,000 security staffers by the time the Olympics begin in less than two weeks. The government hurriedly announced it would bring in 3,500 military personnel to boost security for the Games. Sports Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Sunday it should be no surprise that some contractors were unable to meet their commitments. \"It's completely normal that you're going to find some contractors on a project of this size who aren't going to be able to deliver what they promised,\" he said on the BBC's Andrew Marr show. He praised the contractor as being \"honorable\" for having admitted the problem, apologizing and covering the costs of bringing in military personnel. And he reiterated that the government learned only last week that G4S would not meet its commitment. \"Management told us right up until last week that everything was on track,\" Hunt said. The contractor said Saturday it stands to lose up to $77 million after failing to recruit enough staff. Also on Sunday, the Home Office rejected a newspaper report that it had been cautioned about G4S in September of last year. The Home Office, which is responsible for domestic security, said it was \"inaccurate\" that a report by the police watchdog agency Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary \"should have raised alarm bells about the readiness of G4S.\" The report \"into Olympics security preparedness -- which has never been published -- raised serious issues over G4S last year,\" the Independent on Sunday said. The Home Office denied that. \"While an early inspection highlighted issues to be addressed, a report in February 2012 said that LOCOG was on track to deliver the required number of security personnel,\" the Home Office said in a statement. LOGOC is the London Olympic Games Organising Committee, which is running the Games. G4S chief executive Nick Buckles said Saturday he was \"deeply disappointed\" the firm was unable to live up to its contract with LOCOG. \"We clearly took in a contract in good faith,\" Buckles said. \"We were a vital part of securing the games. The military would have to be called in to help us through that process. We know a number of these soldiers had had to cancel leave to come back and help us with the process ... we feel we caused a huge problem.\" Buckles acknowledged the company was at fault and said it was grateful the military is providing support. \"We are sorry they had to give up leave, truly,\" he said. \"It is down to G4S ... we were contracted to deliver staff. We should have done that.\" London Olympics organizer defends security contractor . The military deployment means that 17,000 military personnel will be on duty in the United Kingdom during the Games, compared with the 9,500 currently in Afghanistan. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the security operation will not impact operations in Afghanistan, which is the main effort for the military. Some personnel who would have had leave over the Olympic period will have the leave rescheduled, the spokesman said. G4S had been expected to recruit a staff of about 10,400 as part of a total security force of 23,700 for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The staffers were to provide venue perimeter security, including manning X-ray machines, conducting spectator and vehicle searches and operating closed-circuit television, said G4S spokesman Adam Mynott. The contractor said this week that while 4,000 are already at work across 100 venues, more than 9,000 are still going through the training and vetting process. In a statement Saturday, the company said it had \"encountered significant difficulties in processing applicants in sufficient numbers through the necessary training, vetting and accreditation procedures. As a result, we will be unable to deliver all of the necessary workforce numbers.\" UK: 3,500 extra troops called in for Olympic security . That failure is likely to cost the firm between £35m and £50m ($54 million -$77 million), it said. G4S \"deeply regrets that, despite the relentless efforts of so many of its people, it is unlikely to deliver in full its obligations to LOCOG, to the government and to everyone with an interest in these Games.\" Britain is on a heightened state of alert ahead of the Games, which open on July 27. Home Secretary Theresa May said Thursday that \"there is no question of Olympic security being compromised.\" But opposition lawmakers have described the situation as a \"shambles,\" saying it raises concerns over the government's grip on the preparations for the Olympics and Paralympics. LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe said Friday he was \"extraordinarily impressed with\" private contractor G4S so far. Coe said he was happy with the security staff on site and that while G4S has \"challenges,\" it would get there. Olympic organizers have agreed to give 10,000 tickets to the armed forces to compensate for the short-notice deployment, the Ministry of Defence said. The questions over security staff come as Britain gears up to welcome many of the visiting teams' officials this weekend ahead of the athletes' arrival on Monday. One headache was removed for organizers with the reopening Friday of the main highway linking Heathrow airport with central London. The busy M4 motorway had been closed for a week for emergency repairs to a viaduct. Is Olympic-level security already under way in Britain? CNN's Erin McLaughlin, Susannah Palk and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.", "Washington (CNN) -- Last month, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the threat of terrorism to the United States is at its \"most heightened\" since the September 11, 2001, attacks -- a threat that she asserted has taken on a new and disquieting form because of the growing emphasis by Islamist terrorist groups on recruiting Americans. Napolitano's warning came at the first in a series of hearings convened by the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King, R-New York, who is determined to investigate what he terms the radicalization of Muslim-American communities, a problem he says is compounded by their lack of cooperation with law enforcement. The hearings, scheduled to begin in earnest Thursday, have caused consternation among many Muslim-Americans who worry that they will devolve into a McCarthyite witch hunt. So, how real is the \"homegrown\" Islamist terrorist threat? The New America Foundation and Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Public Policy examined the post-9/11 cases of Americans or U.S. residents convicted of or charged with some form of jihadist terrorist activity directed against the U.S., as well as the cases of American citizens who have traveled overseas to join a jihadist terrorist group. Read the full report . The number of such cases has certainly spiked in the past two years. In 2009 and 2010, there were 76, almost half of the total since 9/11. This increase was driven in part by plots that could have killed dozens, such as the attempt by Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American, to bomb Times Square in May. It was also driven by nine arrests in FBI sting operations and the 31 people who were charged with fundraising, recruiting or traveling abroad to fight for the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab. Only four of the homegrown plots since 9/11 progressed to an actual attack in the U. S. -- attacks that resulted in 17 deaths. The most notable was the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in which Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly killed 13 people. By way of comparison, 73 people were killed in hate crimes in the U.S. between 2001 and 2009, according to the FBI. And more than 15,000 people are murdered in the U.S. every year. None of the 175 individual jihadist terrorism cases we investigated involved plotting with chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. Given all the post-9/11 concerns about terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction, this is one of our more positive findings. The U.S. military, fighting wars in two Muslim countries, is firmly in the cross hairs of homegrown jihadist militants. Around one-third of such cases involved a U.S. military target, ranging from the U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, to American soldiers serving overseas. And in a third of the cases, the individuals involved were training on weapons or were manufacturing or acquiring weaponry. Contrary to King's assertion that Muslim-American communities have not cooperated with law enforcement, more than one-fifth of the post-9/11 Islamist terrorism cases originated with tips from Muslim community members or involved the cooperation of the families of alleged plotters. (Not included in our total were the tips from the local community that led to investigations into the disappearances of Somali-American youths in Minnesota to fight for Al-Shabaab, because it is difficult to put an exact number on the cases affected by those tips.) Tips from Muslim communities and families warned authorities, for instance, about the danger posed by Daniel Boyd, who was planning to attack the Quantico base in 2009, as well as the \"D.C. 5,\" who tried to join militant groups in Pakistan the same year. A third of cases we surveyed involved the use of an informant, while a further one in 10 involved an undercover federal agent. (Five cases involved both). The large number of informants and undercover agents driving these cases raises the issue of how many of these arrests happened because the defendants were entrapped. While no one in a terrorism case since 9/11 has successfully used an entrapment defense, some of these cases certainly raise the specter of entrapment. For instance, in 2009, a government informant promised $250,000 in cash and a BMW to a group of impoverished men if they would participate in a plot to attack synagogues in the Bronx and an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, New York. We also found that rather than being the uneducated, young Arab-American immigrants of popular imagination, the homegrown militants do not fit any particular socioeconomic or ethnic profile. Their average age is 30. Of the cases for which ethnicity could be determined, only a quarter are of Arab descent, while 13% are Caucasian, 10% are African-American, 18% are South Asian, 20% are of Somali descent and the rest are either mixed race or of other ethnicities. About half the cases involved a U.S.-born American citizen, while another third were naturalized citizens. And of the 94 cases where education could be ascertained, nearly two-thirds pursued at least some college courses, and one in 10 had completed a master's degree, Ph.D. or doctoral equivalent. The data on jihadist terrorism cases shows that there is a tiny but growing problem of militancy in the Muslim-American community, but it also shows that the consequences of this are quite small. King has every right to investigate this phenomenon, but given the larger domestic problem of hate crimes, his committee would be well-served to focus on that issue as well. And the data shows that Muslim-American communities may prove to be the congressman's best ally in the fight against radicals in their midst. Given that finding, the worst possible outcome of King's hearings would be to alienate the very constituency that is best-suited to root out the militants in their community.", "Australian Zaky Mallah, the first person charged with terrorism in Australia, is hoping to be signed up to fight with a Ukrainian military unit which is recruiting Australians. The Asov Battalion - which Sydney man Mr Mallah, who was jailed in maximum security for two years before being acquitted of terrorism charges, has applied to join - has set up a Facebook page in its recruitment drive for men to join for a minimum two months. The battalion describes itself as a military wing of the Ukrainian Government and is open to 'all foreign volunteers' to join a revolution . 'This is a revolution for idealists... You will get over here and will find only problems, war, adventure, maybe death, serious wounds, but for sure also great memories and friends for a lifetime,' the revolution's call to arms poster reads. Scroll down for video . Australian man Zaky Mallah, 30 (pictured in his western Sydney apartment with the flag of moderate Syrian rebel group, the Islamic Front) travelled to Syria in 2012 and went on the frontline with the Free Syrian Army. Now he has applied to go to Kiev and join the Ukrianian group, the Asov Battalion to fight the Russians . Join the revolution: Zaky Mallah was sent this recruitment poster and a Facebook letter asking for foreign volunteers to go to Kiev and fight with a Ukrainian Battalion against Russian forces on the Black Sea . Zaky Mallah is pictured with a firearm on his tour to Syria in 2012, where he met with troops of the Free Syrian Army on the frontline, but 'did not engage in any hostile acts' Asov Revolution's Vadim, 34, the battalion's deputy commander who goes by the nom-de-guerre 'the Trojan' and does not identify himself for security reasons, is pictured readying fotrifications for volnuteers and troops to fight in the Mariupol area . Zaky Mallah said he is 'just waiting' for the Ukrainian battalion group Asov to contact him after he applied to join up and fight the Russians in a region on the Black Sea . All volunteers have to do is get themselves to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev and prepare to become a fighter, a combat trainer or an interpreter. 'Just get there and they will take care of you,' the Asov Revolution page says. 'Sleeping, eating, basic training at our Kyiv [Kiev] military base, etc until you are fit enough and are ready to be sent to our base in the southeast of Ukraine and join the fight.' Zaky Mallah, 30, from Westmead in western Sydney, has already applied and even though he speaks no Russian or Ukrainian is hoping to qualify with his experience of travelling to the front line in Syria in late 2012 with the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Ukrainian soldiers fight in the Donetsk region this week in the south of Ukraine near the Russian border . In 2003, Mallah, a Lebanese Australian, was charged under Australia's then new anti-terrorism laws after he made a video which Federal Police and ASIO said contained a planned suicide attack on Federal Government offices in Sydney. He spent two years in the high maximum security Multi Purpose Unit at Goulburn prison awaiting trial, before being acquitted. It was only in 2009 that he was able to obtain an Australian passport. Two years ago Mr Mallah travelled to Syria and lived with the FSA rebels engaged in the bloody civil war against Muslim hardliner President Bashar el Assad 'before it got crazy over there'. After returning home, he encouraged young people to go to Syria and engage in jihad to experience the freedom fight taken up against El Assad, but since the rise of ISIS and al Nusra he has changed his mind. The Asov Revolution group (pictured, training volunteers this week in Mariupol) says an 'international unit is now under construction in the Mariupol region' on the Black Sea for the battalion which was a division of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs . It asks applicants to list their military experience, motivation and family and work commitments, and stresses 'that this is a volunteer unit. Nobody is getting paid, including the Ukrainians. We have a very limited budget' Two years ago Zaky Mallah travelled to Syria and lived with the FSA rebels engaged in the bloody civil war against Muslim hardliner President Bashar el Assad 'before it got crazy over there' He now describes the extremist group which has taken over the rebel fight in Syria as 'a barbaric cult' and criticises the friend he knew as a teenager, Khaled Sharrouf, for joining ISIS. 'He is full of hate and he is involved in a massive propaganda war with a group that is intent on starting a new Islamic state,' Mr Mallah told Daily Mail Australia. 'But I don't believe he's anywhere near the front line or fighting. Those pictures with the severed heads are propaganda photos and Australians who have joined ISIS are both arrogant and ignorant. 'If the [el Assad] regime ends in Syria there will be a mess, massive in-fighting between the rebel groups.' He said if he were to return to Syria, he would fight for the moderate group, the Islamic Front, whose flag hangs on the wall in his Sydney apartment. While Mr Mallah admits he is looking to join the Asov Revolution in Ukraine partly because the Valdimir Putin-backed Russian rebels are also supporters of the al Assad regime in Syria, he says the Ukrianian group is fighting a legitimate battle to retain its territory for its people. 'It's a revolution and I'd like to join in and kick some Russian a**e, but I want to contribute something useful and go to the front line and help with providing food, cleaning military or humanitarian aid, doing security checks, whatever is required.' Ukrainian servicemen from the Asov Revolution in mariupol - the fighting group which Zaky Mallah has applied to join. Mr Mallah admits he is looking to join the Asov Revolution in Ukraine partly because the Valdimir Putin-backed Russian rebels are also supporters of the al Assad regime in Syria, he says the Ukrianian group is fighting a legitimate battle to retain its territory for its people . Zaky Mallah said he his happy to obey the Asov Battalion edict that as a volunteer he must get himself to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv (pictured) (Kiev) and prepare to become a fighter, a combat trainer or an interpreter. 'Just get there and they will take care of you,' the Asov Revolution page says . Mr Mallah said the Australian Government's laws under the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act which precluded its citizens engaging in 'hostile' acts in foreign countries would not apply to him because he did not intend to engage in actual war. He said before he left he would meet with ASIO or Federal authorities who had delayed in 2012 trip to Syria. The Asov Revolution group's recruitment literature says an 'international unit is now under construction in the Mariupol region' on the Black Sea for the battalion which was a division of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Zaky Mallah said the Australian Government's laws under the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act which precluded its citizens engaging in 'hostile' acts in foreign countries would not apply to him in the Ukraine because he did not intend to engage in actual war . It asks applicants to list their military experience, motivation and family and work commitments, and stresses 'that this is a volunteer unit. Nobody is getting paid, including the Ukrainians. We have a very limited budget'. 'Participation in combat operations is a plus, but not an obligation for volunteers of a certain age who can provide good military training,' the call-up says. 'So basically you need to get to Kyiv when we give you the green light. You will be provided with a telephone number, an e-mail address, and a name of an English speaking person from the Social-National Assembly (SNA), a political branch of Azov battalion. 'Remember that we are the military wing of SNA ... we are Socialist, Nationalist and Radical. 'We do have strong ideas about the future of Ukraine and Europe. 'Nobody is getting paid, this is a revolution for idealists ... You will get over here and will find only problems, war, adventure, maybe death, serious wounds, but for sure also great memories and friends for a lifetime.'", "By . Suzannah Hills . and Leon Watson . Preacher: The guide was written by Samir Khan who was killed by U.S. airstrikes in Yemen . A bizarre 'must-read' English language manual for Westerners wanting to become a terrorist has been published by Al Qaeda, it emerged today. The glossy 16-page guide includes rules that recruits must follow as well as recommendations on how to cope with the hardships and dangers of life as a jihad. It includes everyday advice on taking showers, camping and how to avoid difficult questions - but also suggests new recruits target the U.S.. The guide was written by Samir Khan, an American who served as the top propagandist for the Yemen-based branch of Al Qaeda, who was killed by US Hellfire missiles during a drone attack. He died in September 2011, along with the U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al Awlak. It starts by saying: 'For those Muslims coming from the West, this is a must read document as it includes an invaluable information which will enable them to appropriately understand the importance of their role in the scale of this battle and provide them with a visibility to aptly choose their next step.' The first section of the guide is titled 'cleanliness' and states: 'In some cases, you will be staying with a few brothers in a tight room or house. 'In order to avoid unnecessary problems, encourage yourself and your brothers to clean the room(s) on a regular basis. As for yourself, a daily shower is ideal but not possible in many cases.' Khan then goes on to offer advice on how to cope with the life of a jihad. He says: 'If you feel terrified close your eyes and imagine yourself inside paradise. Think of your hoor [virgins] that are awaiting you as well as meeting the prophets.' Another section urges Western recruits to stay on their home 'sand, rocks or grass' and attack 'America in its own backyard'. The guide continues: 'The effect is much greater, it always embarrasses the enemy, and these types of individual decision-making attacks are nearly impossible for them to contain.' Bizarre: The front page of the jihad manual Expectations Full written by Samir Khan . The guide includes a section on bringing your family to jihad training with terrorists . Khan states: 'In al-qa’idah, we don’t care about the size of your muscles, how fast you run, how strong your legs are and so on - although these things will be strengthened - but we put a special focus on \"lasting long\" and outdoing the enemy in patience. 'In short, prepare for the worse, and hope in the best.' The manual, which also praises cleanliness, says secrecy is one of the pillars of modern day jihad, advising recruits not to reveal their place of birth to other jihadists and to refrain from asking them too many questions. The guide also urges 'brothers' to attack America. Pictured here is the Brooklyn Bridge in New York . On involving family members in acts of terrorism, it says: 'If you have a family that you want to bring to jihad, it may or may not be possible depending on the logistics of the mujahideen. 'In Yemen for example, it's extremely difficult to bring your wife and kids to live amongst the mujahideen. In other lands, this may not be a problem. 'So if you know that the land you are going to is tight on this, then what you can do is bring your family to the land, but keep them in a city where they will be safe and protected by friends. Samir Khan was a top figure in Al Qaeda in Yemen, where soldiers pictured above are still regularly fighting Al Qaeda-linked militants in the southern province of Abyan . Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, pictured in Afghanistan . 'You don't want to risk them being captured by the murtadeen and witnessing them getting raped and tortured in order to extract information about you.' The manual also gives a quick guide to camping: 'Living outdoors will be the most difficult of bases to stay in. In some bases, it won't be too bad since the mujahideen will erect tents and there might be some basic comforts. 'It is possible though that there will be incidents were none of this will be available and you will have to sleep on sand, rocks or grass. They may or may not have blankets and sleeping bags available. 'As for the weather, you should do some research into the country before arriving as to what it’s like during the day and night, especially in deserts, mountainous regions and forests. 'You will want to wear your boots/sneakers/sandals most of the time in the outdoors, but you should get used to taking it off everyday or at least every 3 days to avoid running into foot problems. 'A brother in Afghanistan sticked to taking his boots off every 3 days but didn’t do a good job of washing his feet thoroughly; after some time, he developed a strange foot disease where his small toe was pushed underneath his foot. 'After that, he could no longer walk. Take good care of your feet and wash them properly.'", "By . Sophie Borland . One in four visits to A&E is made by a patient who cannot get an appointment with their GP, according to research. The first study to estimate the scale of the problem has found that 5.8million visits a year are directly down to patients being unable to see their family doctor. Last week, the number of patients arriving at casualty reached a record high of almost 300,000 – a 10 per cent rise on the same period three years ago. Researchers found that 18 per cent of patients surveyed had been unable to get a convenient appointment and 1.67 per cent had resorted to going to A&E . Patients have been finding it increasingly difficult to get a GP appointment and waiting lists have soared with the rising population and longer life expectancy. But the situation is made worse by the fact that many surgeries routinely shut their doors for up to four-and-a-half hours for lunch or for an entire afternoon during the week. And it is almost impossible to see a GP out of hours because, since 2004, doctors have been allowed to subcontract the work to private firms who employ locums. In the first study of its kind, researchers from Imperial College London, analysed the Department of Health's annual GP patient survey which covers one million people. They found that 18 per cent had been unable to get a convenient appointment and 1.67 per cent had resorted to going to A&E. If these findings are representative for the 345.6million patients who try and see their GP every year, it means 5.77million are ending up in casualty because they cannot get an appointment. This is just over a quarter of the total 21.7million A&E attendances a year. Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt has been warned plans to name and shame doctors over cancer delays 'could backfire' Last night Joyce Robins, co-director of Patient Concern, said: 'The crowds at A&E just rise and rise because people can't get an appointment. You have to wait hours in A&E, it's not an easy option. People are just upset and worried, it's hopeless. 'GPs used to be open much longer and . if they weren't at the surgeries at least you could get hold of them. I . remember doctors ringing me out of hours and talking me through my . problem. Now you just get a recorded message … and that's the end of it. We need more doctors. It's getting very serious.' Thomas . Cowling, a researcher at the School of Public Health at Imperial . College London, said: 'There has been a lot of talk in recent years . about rising numbers of A&E attendances and the impact that this . might be having on A&E departments. 'It . has been suggested that a lack of access to GPs could be a factor but . there hasn't been much evidence … The aim of this analysis was to inform . the debate – until now, the numerical scale of the problem hadn't been . estimated.' The study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, did not break down whether patients had tried in vain to see their GP during the normal working week or out of hours. But an investigation by the Mail this month found that more than a quarter of surgeries close for at least one afternoon during the week with some shutting for four-and-a-half hours at lunch. A few offer evening and weekend appointments but most put patients through to private, out-of-hours firms who provide a patchy service staffed mainly by locums. Last week there were 299,031 A&E attendances, the highest since records began in 2010 and a rise of 5 per cent compared to the same period last year. But GPs also say they cannot cope with the demands of the rising, ageing population on top of a recruitment crisis. Some under-pressure surgeries have had to strike patients off arbitrarily including one in Watton, Norfolk, which removed a 95-year-old widow from its books. Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chair of the British Medical Association's GP committee, said: 'There are not enough GPs and other staff available to treat the sheer number of people coming through the surgery door. This is not a problem that is going away, we need urgent action.' Dr Clifford Mann, president of the College of Emergency Medicine, said that 'a significant number of patients could be seen elsewhere if that capacity existed'. He added that the College's own research had estimated that just two million patients went to A&E after failing to see their GP – fewer than the Imperial College study. Yesterday Tory MPs urged David Cameron to increase the NHS budget in the face of unprecedented demand from patients. Dr Sarah Wollaston, a qualified GP, and former health secretary Stephen Dorrell wrote to the Prime Minister warning him the system could 'collapse' within five years. NHS England's director of operations, Dr Sarah Pinto-Duschinsky, said: 'Emergency admissions to hospital remain high and NHS England is redoubling efforts to ensure patients have speedy access to care, and address performance issues quickly.'", "Still smiling? Nick Buckles, chief executive of GS4, does not know if all Olympic security staff will be able to speak English . Having been forced to apologise for failing to recruit enough Olympics security staff G4S's boss was left red-faced again today after he admitted he had no idea if those who are working could speak English. Asked whether all the security guards the company had recruited could speak fluent English, chief executive Nick Buckles said it was a 'difficult question to answer'. He added: 'I am pretty . sure that they can, but I can’t say categorically as I sit here today.' Later asked the same question by Sky Mr . Buckles said: 'As part of the SIA (Security Industry Authority) training . and as part of the SIA certification you have to be able to speak . English. That’s the standard for the UK security industry.' The G4S supremo's latest revelation follows his apology for failing to provide enough security for the games -  causing the army to be drafted in to plug the hole. Mr Buckles, who earns £1.2million a year, said accepted full responsibility for the fiasco  over providing guards  for the Olympics and has today confirmed the penalty . payment would be in the range of £10million to £20million as a result of the . firm’s failure to meet its commitments. In a statement late last night, the . company disclosed that it stood to lose up to £50 million on its £284 . million contract with the Games organisers, Locog, as a result of the . fiasco. It said it ‘deeply regrets’ the mistakes . which led to 3,500 servicemen being summoned at the 11th hour to plug . gaps in its Olympics security operation. The admission apparently . followed heated discussions with furious Home Office officials. Today G4S has said it will meet the full cost of deploying thousands of extra troops to the London Olympics after it failed to supply sufficient numbers of security guards. However Mr Buckles said that the bulk of the loss would come from paying the Ministry of Defence to supply 3,500 additional troops to make up the shortfall. 'We accept that we underestimated the task of supplying staff for the Olympics. We deeply regret that,' Mr Buckles told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. Despite having signed the initial contract in 2010, Mr Buckles said that he had only realised 'eight or nine days ago' that there would be a shortfall in the numbers. 'We are recruiting a large number of people, they are all working through a process of interview, two or three different degrees of training, licensing, accreditation,' he said. Reinforcements: Police patrol the River Lea near the Olympic stadium in a powerboat. They will be providing extra security and emergency responses if anything happens . 'Our review process was around the number of people applying for interviews, we had 100,000 of those, the number of people interviewed which was 50,000. 'So basically you work through that process of numbers and as they were getting ready for deployment over a period of time, it’s only when you get closer and closer to the Games that your realise that the number isn’t as high as you expect.' The Daily Mail has also revealed . police would also have to deploy several hundred extra officers to do . work which should have been done by G4S guards. Senior police officers welcomed G4S’s apology, but privately expressed fears that it was ‘too little and too late’. G4S said it accepted responsibility for the additional cost of the increased military deployment. It is the first open acknowledgement by chief executive Nick Buckles that the world’s largest security provider has dismally failed in its obligations to provide 10,000 staff for Olympic venues since news of the recruitment scandal emerged on Wednesday. ‘The company is also incurring other significant costs as it endeavours to meet the contract challenges,’ the firm admitted. ‘Whilst it is not possible to gauge the precise financial impact, it is estimated that the company will incur a loss on the contract in the range of £35 million to £50 million, all of which will fall in the current financial year.’ Call up: Extra police have been drafted in to fill the gaps in Olympics security caused by blundering private firm G4S . It is understood the deduction in pay for the Olympics work will take G4S out of profit on the Games contract. In its statement, G4S said it had run into difficulties in processing applicants in sufficient numbers through the necessary training and vetting procedures in what it described as ‘an extremely complex workforce supply contract’ on an ‘unprecedented scale’. ‘As a result, we will be unable to deliver all of the necessary workforce numbers,’ it said. ‘We have worked very closely with Locog throughout the build up. At the point we felt that we could no longer assure the scale of the security workforce we had committed to, we advised them of the situation.’ Mr Buckles, who has been summoned to give evidence before the Home Affairs Select Committee next Tuesday, said: ‘We are deeply disappointed that we have not been able to fully deliver against our contract with Locog and that it has been necessary to call upon the additional military personnel.  In partnership with the military and Locog, we are working flat out around the clock to resolve the situation.  We are determined that together we will deliver a successful and secure Games.’ John Connolly, G4S Chairman, added: ‘It is a significant disappointment to everyone at the Company that we have fallen short of our obligations.’ Debacle: The officers will join an additional 3,500 troops who have been drafted in to help protect the Olympic park . As the apology was released, the Mail learnt that several hundred extra police are to be drafted into the Olympics security operation to fill the gaps caused by the blundering private firm. It comes only two days after 3,500 troops had to be called up to help protect the Olympic Park.The latest move is a major embarrassment to Home Secretary Theresa May, who is coming under increasing pressure over her handling of the affair. A senior security source said: ‘Behind the scenes, some senior officers are seething. They have lost confidence in G4S and are angry that they have been left to pick up the pieces.’ G4S admitted earlier this week it might not be able to provide enough guards, resulting in the Army being called in. Now, amid fears G4S will still not be able to provide anywhere near the revised number of security guards it has promised for the Games, police chiefs have been forced to put hundreds of extra officers on Olympics duties. On guard: Two RAF men show off their sniper rifles as the their helicopter hovers over London as part of the Olympic security effort . A total of 17,000 servicemen and women . will now be involved in the Olympics, including 11,800 soldiers, 2,600 . sailors and marines, and 2,600 airmen . They are expected to carry out basic functions such as guarding entrances, and possibly searching spectators and bags. Around 12,000 officers were already due to be on duty across the Olympic venues on peak days, but this figure is now likely to top 13,000.The decision to call in extra police was seen as a sign of the complete lack of confidence senior officers have in G4S. Retired Met chief superintendent Kevin Hurley said: ‘I suspect a number of senior officers who, with their teams, have worked very hard preparing for the Olympics will feel very disappointed at being let down at such a late stage by a private security firm.’ A total of 17,000 servicemen and women will now be involved in the Olympics, including 11,800 soldiers, 2,600 sailors and marines, and 2,600 airmen. Some 11,000 of these will be involved in the security of more than 30 sporting venues and some 70 non-competition venues, including car parks and hotels, while others will carry out specialist support roles. Overall, the security force for the Games will include a mix of military, private security guards and more than 2,000 unpaid London 2012 volunteers. Pointing the way: A steward directs arriving soldiers to the Olympic Park site using a novelty foam hand . Reinforcements: A group of squaddies walk towards an exit from the Olympic Park . A soldier cycles and carries a second bike on the tow path of the River Lea, where his colleagues are temporarily stationed . Last night it was claimed that management at a G4S vetting centre were aware six months ago that it would not meet recruitment targets it was set to provide security at the Olympics. A former employee told Channel 4 News the company knew in January that there would be serious problems reaching the new level of 10,000 Olympic security staff – a figure revised up from 2,000 by London 2012 organisers Locog in December. G4S has not yet responded to the whistleblower’s allegations. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said several hundred officers would be deployed at venues in Dorset and the West Midlands to plug the gap left by G4S. Met Police Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, National Olympic Security Co-ordinator, said:  ‘This is not impacting on our existing plans for the safety and security operation, which we are confident we can still meet.’ The part of the M4 linking Heathrow with West London which was closed for nearly a week while a crack was repaired was reopened yesterday, but can be used only by cars. Buses or lorries over 7.5 tons are still banned. Thumbs up: London Mayor Boris Johnson greets a security staff member at the Olympic Park and claims the Games will be better because of an increased army presence .", "The largest study of mental-health risk ever conducted among the U.S. military has found that many soldiers suffer from some form of mental illness, and rates of many of these disorders are much higher in soldiers than in civilians. The study's findings, related to suicide attempts and deaths, were released in a series of three reports published in this week's edition of JAMA Psychiatry. Authors found significant differences in the rates of disorders like major depression, intermittent explosive disorder and post-traumatic stress, said Harvard epidemiologist Ronald Kessler, the lead author on one of the studies. Almost 25% of nearly 5,500 active-duty, non-deployed Army soldiers surveyed tested positive for a mental disorder of some kind, and 11% within that subgroup also tested positive for more than one illness. Some of those conditions are related to the hard experience of a wartime Army, but Kessler said nearly half of the soldiers who were diagnosed with a mental disorder had it when they enlisted. \"Obviously, the kind of person who joins the Army is not the random person in America. You're patriotic and adventurous and maybe a little more aggressive,\" he said. But the rates of conditions like attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and intermittent explosive disorder in the study matched a pattern researchers also found in the newest recruits. \"We've gone back to some new soldiers the very first day they're in the Army,\" said Kessler, the McNeil Family professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. \"They get their hair cut, they get their blood tested and they sit down and talk to us -- and they have the same high rates.\" At the Pentagon, Lt. Col. Cathy Wilkinson said the Defense Department is reviewing the results and would work to include them into the military's mental health procedures. \"Our most valuable resource within the department is our people,\" Wilkinson said in a statement issued to CNN. \"We are committed to taking care of them, and that includes doing everything possible to prevent suicides in the military.\" The rate of major depression is five times as high among soldiers as civilians; intermittent explosive disorder, which results in episodes of extreme anger, is six times as high; and post-traumatic stress disorder was nearly 15 times higher than among civilians, the study found. Much of the data used in the reports was taken from the Army's STARRS (Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers) survey of almost 5,500 soldiers. The project was collaboration between the U.S. Army and the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health. The survey looked at disorders that included clinical depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder and PTSD. Authors also noted that alcohol and drug use were common. When it came to suicidal thoughts, one study found about 14% of soldiers had thought about taking their lives, while 5.3% had planned a suicide and 2.4% had actually made one or more attempts. Most suicides occurred back home, not in Afghanistan or Iraq, and the rate has increased among troops who have never been deployed overseas, Kessler said. Despite concerns about the effects of multiple combat tours and shorter stints at home during more than a decade of war, Kessler said veterans appear to fare better than younger soldiers. Those who suffer from mental health problems are \"substantially less likely\" to re-enlist, while troops on their second or third hitch are more likely to enjoy Army life. \"If you can get them through the first tour, if they deploy, they come back and they decide they want to sign up again, those are the people who have lower rates,\" he said. The problems are largely among \"the young guys who are in their first tour, who don't know what they're getting into.\" But overall, the three papers painted a disturbing picture of the military and mental illnesses. Although the causes for the rise in Army suicides still remain unknown the authors hoped their data might be useful to the military to help develop outreach programs for new soldiers as well as those who are already in the service. \"These studies provide knowledge on suicide risk and potentially protective factors in a military population that can also help us better understand how to prevent suicide in the public at large,\" said National Institute of Mental Health Director Dr. Thomas R. Insel. Kessler said the Army \"does a very good job\" of making mental health services available to its soldiers and encourages them to step forward when they have a problem. But he said the study shows how many people are coming into the service \"with emotional problems that need to be addressed in the United States.\" \"We've got to figure out some ways to get people early in the process, as part of the process, saying, 'Look, you're making yourself the most complete soldier, the most effective person. You've got to prepare yourself mentally, as well, and be willing to admit that everybody has problems,' \" he said. At last, suicides among military family members could be tracked . Why suicide rate among veterans may be more than 22 a day . Websites become tool for helping veterans .", "(CNN) -- \"If 'don't ask, don't tell' is repealed and you are assigned to bathroom facilities (that have)] an open bay shower that someone you believe to be a gay or lesbian service member also used, which are you most likely to do?\" -- Question on 2010 Department of Defense Comprehensive Review Survey of Uniformed Active Duty and Reserve Service Members* . It seems that ensuring shower security for American soldiers and Marines is critical to maintaining our global military pre-eminence. If our brave men and women cannot comfortably bathe in environments free from the risk of homosexual lust, how can we expect them to battle armed Taliban insurgents and other enemies? In order to assess the gay shower hazard and other threats to military readiness if the \"don't ask, don't tell\" policy were repealed, the Department of Defense surveyed American troops over the summer. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, found the results reassuring. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee, \"Repeal of the law will not prove an unacceptable risk to military readiness. ... I believe our troops and their families are ready for this,\" although he acknowledged, \"some soldiers and Marines may want separate shower facilities.\" Sen. John McCain, despite having promised in 2006 to respect the judgment of military leaders, disputed the results of the survey. He questioned whether the sample size was representative and noted that soldiers and Marines in combat units were especially concerned about the effects of repeal. Insisting that \"one of our highest responsibilities is to the men and women of our armed services,\" the Senate's self-declared straight-talker demurred, \"it may be premature to make such a change at this time and in this manner, without further consideration of this report and further study of the issue by Congress.\" While the government certainly has profound responsibilities to the men and women of our armed services, it is not clear why the precise breakdown of their opinions on \"don't ask, don't tell\" matters one whit when assessing whether gays and lesbians are permitted to serve with them. When President Harry Truman ordered the armed forces to integrate in 1948, he did not first commission a survey asking white soldiers what they would do if they had to share a shower bay with a black soldier. If he had, the response in an era of segregated bathrooms would have been unenthusiastic to say the least. There had been some 1940s military surveys about integrating the armed forces; they showed that opposition by white soldiers ran as high as 80 percent. But as Truman knew, civil rights are not a matter of popular opinion. \"Whereas it is essential that there be maintained in the armed services of the United States the highest standards of democracy,\" he wrote in the executive order, \"there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.\" Of course, most of those who support the military's prohibitions against gays and lesbians reject the analogy. They do not believe that America's servicemen and women deserve equality of treatment without regard to sexual orientation. But if gays and lesbians have no right to equality of treatment, why bother with surveys at all? The military could just bar them from serving, as it used to. Or they could even take the matter to the logical extreme by emulating the old racist segregationists. If sexual orientation is not a civil rights issue, why not create segregated units? Gays and lesbians could have their own barracks, their own ships and their own shower bays. They could even design their own uniforms, adding to those dull dress whites with optional leather pants, fishnets and sequined cocktail dresses. Not only would segregated units aid military recruitment, they would boost morale among the straight troops by siphoning now-closeted gay and lesbian troops into the new homosexual units. Straight soldiers and Marines would no longer have to worry about being surreptitiously ogled in the shower by gays and lesbians pretending to be straight, so they would be able to battle Taliban insurgents with even more unity and effectiveness. There is one potential problem. Because of a shortage of homosexual officers, straight officers would have to lead homosexual units until new gay and lesbian officers could be trained This might cause morale problems among the straight officers. Fortunately, officers are likely to have private showers, avoiding at least one problem. They could also be selected from among those who indicated that if they were assigned to a shower bay with gays or lesbians, they could choose the answer: \"Take no action.\" Other than the officers and the uniforms, the homosexual units would be equal in every way to the straight units: separate but equal. It's a perfect solution. Unless, that is, sexual orientation is a civil rights issue after all. The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Michael Wolraich. *Answers: 1) Take no action 2) Discuss how we expect each other to behave and conduct ourselves while sharing a room, berth or field tent 3) Talk to a chaplain, mentor, or leader about how to handle the situation 4) Talk to a leader to see if I have other options 5) Something else 6) Don't know .", "Is obesity a disability or a self-inflicted condition triggered by a lack of willpower and overeating? And should people who are overweight be protected by the same discrimination laws that were put in place to shield those who are wheel-chair bound, people with learning difficulties, hearing and visual impairments or those with autism spectrum disorders? A landmark test case being brought before judges at the European Court of Justice today has sparked a vigorous debate on the issue. The result of it may mean British companies will have to treat obese workers as 'disabled', making allowances for their size by providing larger seats and parking spaces closer to the office. A landmark test case is being brought before judges at the European Court of Justice today by Karsten Kaltoft, pictured, which could result in obesity being classed as a disability for employers in the UK . Mr Kaltoft was sacked by his local authority in Denmark for being unable to perform his duties as a childminder because of his 25 stone size . Karsten Kaltoft is taking action after he was sacked by his local authority in Denmark for being unable to perform his duties as a childminder, due to his size. The council, Billund Kommune, claimed the 25 stone childminder was so fat that he required help from a colleague to tie up children's shoelaces. If successful in redefining obesity as a disability, Mr Kaltoft's lawyers could force widespread changes in the way bosses deal with staff. Currently in the UK the law is clear, the Equality Act 2010 refrained from classing obesity as a disability. Instead the Government definition is that a person is 'disabled under the Equality Act 2010, if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' negative effect on a person's ability to do normal daily activities.' However for many people living with a disability, they self-define themselves as such, basing their disability more on the barriers society puts in the way of them leading the life they wish. For someone bound to a wheelchair steps to a cinema or restaurant, can provide a barrier and as a result a person is likely to class themselves as disabled. Debating the issue on today's Good Morning Britain, writer and broadcaster Carole Malone and journalist Ursula Hirschkorn, explored both sides of the issue. Ms Hirschkorn said: 'I am not sure it (obesity) should be treated as a disabilty. 'But what he is trying to say is if you are going to have anti-discrimination laws, they need to be universal. 'Should it distinguish between what employees you are going to protect and those you are not going to protect? Journalist Ursula Hirschkorn (left) and broadcaster and writer Carole Malone (right) debated this issue on today's Good Morning Britain . 'It is not about saying if I am fat I am disabled, rather it is about if I can't do my job because I am fat, I deserve the same protection as someone who can't do their job because they are disabled, or pregnant.' But journalist and writer Ms Malone argued obesity is not a disability, rather a self-inflicted condition brought on by people who cannot resist the urge to eat. When asked whether people should be protected by anti-discrimination laws because they are obese, she said: 'Not in the case of people who self-inflict their disability. 'In the case of this Danish guy, he was 25st. All he needed to do was eat less doughnuts and less Danish pastries and he would have been able to bend down and tie the children's shoe laces. Ms Malone argued in '95 per cent of cases' obesity is self-inflicted 'by people lacking discipline and self-control' 'But because he didn't, he couldn't. And clearly is literally not fit enough to look after those kids. 'If you can't bend down to tie your shoe lace you can't help them if they fall down, you can't react quickly enough if something happens. 'That man was clearly not suited to that job.' Challenging Ms Malone's suggestion that 'obesity is self-inflicted in 95 per cent of cases', Ms Hirschkorn branded the statement 'unfair'. She said: 'At the end of the day if you are completely drunk and take a dive into a shallow swimming pool and end up disabled, that is self-inflicted. 'I am not saying that person should not be protected but equally you don't know why people become fat, the vast majority of people become fat because they have psychological issues or health problems.' Ms Malone responded: 'That is simply not true. We are both, I would say, a bit overweight (to which Ms Hirschkorn agreed). There is no disability, no psychological problem, I am overweight. 'The majority of people who are overweight have psychological problems, no they don't. The majority of people who are overweight have no discipline and no self-control.' She added: 'The Equality Act 2010 ruled that obesity is not a disability. 'What is going to happen if this court ruling happens, it is going to punish people who are overweight because employers will not employ fat people, or people they think might get fat. 'Why should you get special treatment if you have abused your body knowingly - that is what a lot of obese people do. 'People generally get fat, in 95 per cent of cases, because they eat too much.' Disability charity Scope asked users and supporters for their views on the debate, via Twitter and Facebook, yesterday. The overwhelming response from members of the public was that obesity should not be classed as a disability.", "Soldiers announced that they had seized control of Mali yesterday in an angry reaction to the government's weak response to an uprising of Gaddafi fighters in the country's north. They ousted the president just one month before he was due to step down at the end of his legal term and said on national television they were suspending Mali's constitution, dissolving its institutions and imposing a nationwide curfew. The soldiers had complained that the . civilian government had not done enough to combat a rebellion by ethnic . Tuareg separatists - Azawad National Liberation Movement - made up of . Gaddafi fighters, who want to carve out a homeland in the country's . northern desert. Take over: Soldiers announced that they had seized control of Mali yesterday in an angry reaction to the government's weak response to an uprising of Gaddafi fighters in the country's north called the Azawad National Liberation Movement . They stated that the country is now . under the control of the military's National Committee for the . Reestablishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State, or CNRDR . and said they were suspending Mali's constitution and dissolving its . institutions. Mali, which supports Western counter-terrorist efforts in western Africa, has been under siege since Malian combatants, who had . fought to defend the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, fled back home last year after his defeat. They brought with them powerful and sophisticated weaponry and formed the most powerful Tuareg-led rebel . group the region has known - the Azawad National Liberation Movement . (MNLA). The current whereabouts of President Amadou Toumani Toure who has overseen a decade of relative stability, is unknown but officials in his camp and diplomats said they believed he was being protected by a pocket of loyalist soldiers. Mutinous soldiers said they would launch an attack on the parachute regiment they believe is protecting the president. Toppled: They ousted the president just one month before he was due to step down at the end of his legal term and said on national television they were suspending Mali's constitution and dissolving its institutions . Angry response: The soldiers had complained that the civilian government had not done enough to combat a rebellion by ethnic Tuareg separatists who want to carve out a homeland in the country's northern desert . Mutiny:The exact whereabouts of President Amadou Toumani Toure, pictured here in November, is unknown but officials in his camp and diplomats said they believed he was being protected by a pocket of loyalist soldiers . 'We will finish it this evening,' said one soldier at an abandoned fuel station in Bamako. The MNLA rebels, have been fighting since mid-January for an independent north. They have pushed government soldiers out of remote towns but had not yet threatened the regional capitals of Kidal, Timbuktu and Gao. Mali's Tuaregs have long complained that they have been marginalised by the southern government and have staged several rebellions over the years. Joined by young recruits and former rebels who had been integrated into the Malian army in recent years, the MNLA fighters took over several key northern towns in just two months. Rebels pledged yesterday to take . advantage of the chaos as senior civilian and military officials in . northern regions were arrested by mutinous soldiers. Sporadic . gunfire rang out in Bamako late last night and the streets were largely . deserted but mutinous soldiers moved around the capital on trucks, . motorcycles and on foot. A . Malian officer in the northern town of Kidal said rebels had occupied . the military camp in Anefis, 100 km (60 miles) to the southwest, after . government forces withdrew. 'The army has pulled back to Gao,'  a . source in Timbuktu, another main town in the north, told Reuters, . asking not to be named. 'There is no longer any military leadership. (The rebels) will take the towns in the north,' he said. Focus: The coup is a major setback for one of the region's few established democracies in the volatile Saharan region and the presence of the al-Qaeda affiliate now turns a local dispute into an international security issue. The coup is a major setback for one of . the region's few established democracies in the volatile Saharan region . and the presence of the al-Qaeda affiliate now turns a local dispute into an international security issue. Even . before the Tuareg rebellion, there was frustration in the West at . Bamako's unwillingness to act against the al-Qaeda allies. Now as the government seeks military support in its fight against the Tuareg rebels, a tougher line will be demanded. Toure, . 63, a former paratrooper who seized power in 1991, had gained the . nickname 'Soldier of Democracy' in his West African state and had been . preparing to cede power in April after an election. Mali has been under siege since Malian combatants, who had fought to defend the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, fled back home last year after his defeat . Mali's neighbours, the United Nations and world powers from Paris to Washington called for a return to constitutional rule. The regional decision-making body ECOWAS Commission said it would not recognise the junta. The 7,000-strong army has for weeks sought better weapons to fight the rebels. Captain . Amadou Sanogo, president of the newly formed National Committee for the . Return of Democracy and the Restoration of the State (CNRDR), said the . poor handling of the crisis in the north was mostly to blame for the . coup. Speaking to . pan-African television station Africable, Mr Sanogo, who said he . received training from U.S. Marines and intelligence, pledged not to . remain in power but refused to give a timeframe for restoring civilian . rule. 'Three months, 6 . months, 9 months, it will depend on the structure that we put in place . for me to go back to being a soldier. Someone else will do the rest,' Mr . Sanogo said. 'We have come asking for decent living conditions and to be treated well ... we will fight for this,' he added. Restoring state authority to the north was the priority, he said. But, . amid reports of arrests of ministers and other senior government . officials, Mr Sanogo implied that those detained would face trial for . alleged crimes. 'We are not . killers. I am not a killer. But the moment was right and everyone will . have to face charges before the appropriate authority,' he said. The events that culminated in the coup began on Tuesday morning at a military camp in the capital, where Defence Minister General Sadio Gassama came for an official visit. In his speech to the troops, the minister failed to address the grievances of the rank-and-file soldiers. The rebellion has claimed the lives of numerous soldiers, and those sent to fight say they are not given sufficient supplies, including arms or food. Recruits started firing into the air on Tuesday morning. By afternoon, troops had surrounded the state television station in central Bamako, located in southwest Mali, yanking both the television and radio signals off the air for the rest of the day. By last night, troops had started rioting at a military garrison located in the northern town of Gao, some 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometres) away. The government has not disclosed how many government soldiers have been killed. The toll is believed to be significant and in February, military widows led a protest, publicly grilling Toure on television over his handling of the rebellion. On state television today the putschists announced a curfew starting at dawn until further notice and the closure of the airport. They called for calm and said violence and pillage would not be tolerated. Their spokesman, who was identified on screen as Lt Amadou Konare, said the coup was caused by the government's incompetence in dealing with the insurgency.", "(CNN) -- Here's a thought to chew on: America's most intractable problems all double back to our collective mistreatment of animals. Sounds crazy, right? Well, humor me for a minute. Our own lives would improve if we started showing some basic decency to the 9 billion cows, calves, pigs, lambs, turkeys and chickens that are slaughtered a year in the United States. More than 99% of farm animals in the U.S. are raised in factory farms, many unable to even turn around in small cages. A slew of investigations by Mercy for Animals, PETA and the Humane Society of the United States have uncovered repeated instances of vicious abuse of animals headed for slaughter. The latest Humane Society undercover investigation of a large veal calf slaughterhouse in New Jersey showed abuse too gruesome to display on television and resulted in the temporary shutdown of the facility by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. \"Animal abuse is the norm in the meat industry,\" says Paul Shapiro, vice president of farm animal protection at the Humane Society. \"Many standard practices in animal agribusiness are so cruel that they're just out of step with mainstream American values about how animals ought to be treated.\" The society cites piglet tail docking and castration without anesthesia, the confinement of pigs to crates where they cannot turn around and cutting off the beaks of egg-laying hens before they're confined to tiny cages. If all of this sounds hideous, it is. And here's how it hurts us humans. The obesity crisis: Two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. The American Medical Association has declared obesity a chronic disease in an attempt to get a grip on what some label the 21st century plague. A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that kids who are overweight in kindergarten are often condemned to future obesity. It also showed obesity is highest in the poorest socioeconomic sectors of society, further hobbling already disadvantaged kids. The rise of obesity has paralleled the rise of fast food, laden with meat and dairy products: burgers and shakes. Obesity affects every aspect of a people's lives, from health to relationships. Less fast food would help stop the obesity epidemic and would also mean raising and killing fewer animals. A 2010 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded, \"a plant-based diet seems to be a sensible approach for the prevention of obesity in children.\" The health care crisis: The myriad of serious health risks resulting from poor diet include high cholesterol, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and even sleep apnea. Eating too much meat and dairy products, combined with excessive intake of sugars and starch, plays a big role in these medical issues. Cholesterol does not exist in vegetables. Vegetables do not clog arteries. A report by the Union of Concerned Scientists says we could save 100,000 lives and $17 billion in health care costs from heart disease every year if Americans ate more fruits and vegetables. The report begs Congress to slash farm policies that subsidize Big Ag's massive production of junk and fast food. Critics say the $956 billion farm bill that just passed is simply a bait and switch that cuts direct subsidies but replaces them with generous crop insurance. That brings us to money. The deficit: Skyrocketing health care costs are a key factor in the ballooning deficit. The yearly medical costs of obesity are estimated to be as high as $190 billion a year, according to a study reported in the Journal of Health Economics, with expenditures of almost $1,200 more a year to treat obese Americans compared with those of normal weight. Natural disasters: Extreme weather phenomena is on the rise leading to more massive, destructive storms as a result of climate change. Hurricane Sandy alone cost $70 billion in damage and lost economic productivity. Meat production is one of the leading causes of climate change because of the destruction of the rainforest for grazing lands, the massive amounts of methane produced by farm animals and the huge amounts of water, grain and other resources required to feed animals The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization found the production of meat contributes from 14% and 22% of the world's greenhouse gases. Hunger: Every five seconds a child dies somewhere in the world of malnutrition or starvation. World hunger could be eliminated if all the produce fed to cows, chickens and pigs raised for human consumption was distributed directly to hungry humans. Bill Gates, who is championing meat alternatives in his \"Future of Food\" project, puts it succinctly when he notes: \"For every 10 kilograms of grain we feed cattle, we get 1 kilogram of beef in return. The calorie kick-back is just too low to feed a growing world population.\" Some of the smartest people in America, from Bill Clinton to Bill Gates, are starting to see the big picture. Clinton, after having quadruple bypass surgery and later stents to open his veins, publicly adopted a plant-based diet. Bill Gates, in his Future of Food project, sums up the unsustainability of our food system succinctly, noting: \"raising meat takes a great deal of land and water and has a substantial environmental impact. Put simply, there's no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people.\" The human population of Earth is expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050. Now, it's time for the rest of us to wake up and vote with our shopping carts. American taxpayers and consumers are being exploited right along with the animals. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jane Velez-Mitchell.", "By . Helen Lawson . PUBLISHED: . 06:29 EST, 14 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:36 EST, 14 June 2013 . A woman who claims she was raped by a Marine at the Capitol Hill barracks has waived her anonymity to speak out about her ordeal. Karalen Morthole, 23, said she thought she would be 'safe' among the marines during a party at the base following an Independence Day baseball game in Washington DC. She told NBC News: 'In my head, I thought these are people who are supposed to be protecting me.' Scroll down for video . Karalen Morthole told NBC that she thought she would be safe at the marine barracks at Capitol Hill . WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW AT NBC.COM . Ms Morthole, a bartender who recently graduated from the capital's Catholic University, told the channel how she was socialising with friends at the Ugly Mug bar across the street from the barracks. A marine invited her to a party at a pub on the base, where she entered in the early hours of July 5 without needing to show I.D. Ms Molthole told NBC that the group drank 'a lot' of Irish whiskey shots and another marine became sexually aggressive. She says he pinned her against a wall, got close to her face and repeatedly told her: 'I'm going to [blank] you.' 'I was very scared,' she said. 'I can just remember being in excruciating pain and crying and asking him to stop.' Ms Molthole claims the alleged attacker, Master Sgt Ronald Bohlayer, tried to force her into a cab with him after he raped her, but she refused. Master Sgt Ronald Bohlayer is accused of raping Ms Morthole and faces a court martial . 'He got within six inches of my face and started . screaming obscenities at me, which prompted the guard I was standing . next to to hold up his arm and say, \"Stand down\",' she said. Ms Molthole said she visited hospital a week after the attack and reported the alleged assault to police a week later. This week, a Marine Corps general ordered that Bohlayer should be charged with rape, indecent exposure and disorderly conduct reports NBC News. Bohlayer denies the charges. Previously, a local prosecutor ruled that Bohlayer would not be charged because the evidence amounted to 'he said, she said', following her testimony to a grand jury. A previous Marines investigator said the allegations were 'baseless' and should be dismissed, but recommended bringing lesser charges against Bohlayer. The marine's lawyer, Major Joseph Grimm, claims the new charge is politically influenced by publicity around sexual assaults in the US military. The charge sheet against Bohlayer alleges that Ms . Morthole was 'incapable of . consenting . . . due to impairment by alcohol, and that her impairment . was known or reasonably should have been known by the accused.' The 22-year-old marine served in Iraq and was awarded the Bronze Star for his 2010 tour of duty in Afghanistan, his lawyer said. A Marine Corps spokesman would not . comment on the Bohlayer case, including the accusation from Major Grimm . that the case was being influenced by politics. Eugene Fidell, who teaches military law at Yale Law School, said it was rare for a senior authority to order charges to be brought when an investigator had recommended they be dismissed. He told NBC the Marine Corps general who ordered Bohlayer be charged, Major General Kessler, was navigating a 'minefield' in the wake of the case of James Wilkinson, whose conviction for sexual assault was overturned by an Air Force general. Bohlayer faces court martial on charges of rape, indecent exposure and disorderly conduct . This drew fire from members of Congress who said top military officials should not be allowed to make decisions in sexual assault cases. Mr Fidell said the Major General faced accusations of being unwilling to 'make the difficult decision' to send Bohlayer to trial if he had not ordered the court martial. The military law expert said Ms . Morthole's acknowledgement that she and her friends had been drinking . could help the prosecution to show she was unable to defend herself or . call for help. The issues surrounding sexual assault within the military are being examined by the Senate Armed Services Committee, which has been considering seven bills. The measures include one requiring a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for a member of the armed services convicted of rape or sexual assault in a military court. Both the House and Senate appear determined to shake up the military's culture in ways that would ensure victims that if they report a crime, their allegations won't be discounted and their careers won't be jeopardized. The committee last week approved provisions in the defense bill that included stripping military commanders of the power to overturn convictions in rape and sexual assault cases. The panel also voted to require that anyone found guilty of a sex-related crime receive a punishment that includes, at a minimum, a dismissal from military service or a dishonorable discharge. The attack allegedly took place at the Marines Barracks in Washington DC . Officers, commissioned warrant officers, cadets and midshipmen convicted of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy or attempts to commit those offenses would be dismissed under a mandatory minimum sentence. Enlisted personnel and noncommissioned warrant officers convicted of similar crimes would be dishonorably discharged. In one hearing, Senator John McCain told the committee he could not advise women to join the military amid the widespread reports of sexual assaults within the armed forces. He also questioned what the impact of the crimes would be on both male and female recruits if the military did not tackle the problem. Senator McCain said: 'At its core, this is an issue about defending basic human rights but it's also a long-term threat to the strength of our military. 'We have to ask ourselves: if left uncorrected, what impact will this problem have on recruitment and retention of qualified men and women? ''I cannot overstate my disgust and disappointment over continued reports of sexual misconduct in our military. We’ve been talking about this issue for years and talk is insufficient.' The Pentagon estimated recently that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, up from an estimated 19,000 assaults in 2011, based on an anonymous survey of military personnel. While the number of sexual assaults that members of the military actually reported rose 6 percent to 3,374 in 2012, thousands of victims were still unwilling to come forward despite new oversight and assistance programs aimed at curbing the crimes, the report said. There were nearly 800 reports of sexual assault cases in the Air Force last year, ranging from inappropriate touching to rape. That is a nearly 30 per cent increase from 2011, when 614 cases were reported. Many of those cases stem from a single base near San Antonio where dozens of young female recruits and airmen were victimized by their instructors. An inquiry into Lackland Air Force Base found that 32 military training instructors allegedly engaged in inappropriate or coercive sexual relationships with 59 recruits and airmen at Lackland, according to the Air Force. Six instructors have been convicted in courts-martial on charges ranging from adultery, rape and conducting unprofessional relationships. Nine more instructors are awaiting courts-martial. Two more received nonjudicial punishments. Fifteen 15 instructors remain under investigation. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons." ]

[ "* your neurological response to pleasure and pain are similar, and feeling both at the same time can enhance pleasure...even \"normal\" people are likely to engage in hair pulling, scratching, biting, and spanking during sex * having no control can be liberating, as you have no burden of making choices * similarly, having someone trust you enough to give up control can be arousing * people with a history of abuse can use it to relieve the abuse, but but with a better outcome...or sometimes they are just messed up and tie the two together" ]

[ "BDSM should be safe, sane and consensual. Both partners should be agreeing to what boundaries they want to push, which ones they want to leave in place, and everybody involved should always be able to stop at any point during either through using no and/or a safeword (depending on what sort of scene you are doing). 50 shades is not safe, nor sane, and definitely not consensual. The guy stalks his partner, threatens her, controls her through expensive gifts, pretty much throws a mental tantrum when she uses her safeword and on at least one occasion disregards her use of no/her safe word entirely. We call that rape. Plus, there are a lot of people who aren't really happy with how the guy's backstory and his interest in BDSM were linked. It really feeds into the whole 'all people into BDSM have to be mentally damaged' stereotype, which is hardly true.", "Possible TMI, bear with me. POV porn does nothing at all for me. I don't enjoy pretending I'm having sex with the actress, I enjoy watching two people have sex. I also like to see her whole body, not a closeup of genital etc. There's probably some deep seeded psychological issue at play here, but I just know what I like.", "Distress empathy, and related concern.^1, ^2 (ie; Your capacity to share and recognize the emotions experienced by another being, real or otherwise fictional.) While preferences for that differ from person to person, being able to relate with something that feels uncommon is reassuring. Dark and morbid things happen to certain people, and they'll sometimes have trouble finding someone else that can understand how they feel. Maybe *they* don't even know how they feel. If that's the case, an occurrence of perspective-taking can be observed.^1 And then, sometimes people just enjoy sympathizing. Maybe they've never been through what an author is describing, and simply appreciate it. *The purpose of art is to comfort the disturbed...* *And perhaps disturb the comforted.* *** ^1 Rogers K, Dziobek I, Hassenstab J, Wolf OT, Convit A (Apr 2007). ^2 Decety J., Meyer M. (2008). \"From emotion resonance to empathic understanding: A social developmental neuroscience account\".", "I feel like this is an extraordinarily broad question. What does OP mean by \"historical context,\" for instance? Are they interested in the history of BDSM, how it's developed over time, how it developed into its own recognized subset of general sexuality? Perhaps how BDSM-like activities were practiced in the past?", "Wow. I... wow. I don't know what to say. Thank you so much! I really enjoyed writing that response, and I'm glad people enjoyed reading it! :)", "Sad to say, it is not unusual human behavior to refuse to accept facts that are contrary to one's world view. The facts are indeed what they are, but in this case, emotions, psychology, and economic interests all conspire to render some people highly resistant to reality.", "You should read a book called 'Emotional Design' by Donald Norman in which he explains the 3 levels (visceral, behavioral, reflective) of how we react to certain objects. I can't really answer your question, because I don't know enough about the psychology of design. However I might be able to help you answer it by asking a question instead. What even is objective good design? Isn't what we view as pleasant mostly related and heavily influenced by our environment?", "First thing I have to say is as with most things neurologically, we don't really *know* what's going on, at a fundamental level. What we do know, though, is that memory and emotions are closely connected, neurologically. In order to make new memories, we run information through what's called the [papez circuit](_URL_0_), which is a circuit of deep brain structures. The nuclei of the papez circuit (i.e., amygdala and parahippocampus) process different emotional states. Amygdala processes fear, dread, and avoidance, for example. [People can lose their amygdala and exhibit rather fascinating fearless behaviors](_URL_1_). This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, where, in lesser vertebrates, learning and memory would necessarily be related to things such as remembering what to avoid and what to eat, things that would stimulate an emotional response.", "I’m no expert by any means but the way I think most psychologists see it, Freud laid a foundation for what psychology is today. Before Freud people thought everything was decided through how much the dude upstairs liked you.", "For an exhaustive look at what is to come, you may enjoy the Timeline of the Far Future in Wikipedia: _URL_0_ First time I looked through this list, I felt a little . . . depressed. Seeing as how the universe will eventually run out of energy, time, life . . you know . . . everything.", "Two things [Mirror Neurons](_URL_1_) and [Psychological Pain](_URL_0_). Mirror Neurons fire when we see something happen to someone else. They are suspected to be how we guess other people feel. Allowing us to experience a bit of what they feel. Psychological pain is the concept that emotional/social pain is perceived by the brain roughly the same way as physical pain. So when we see someone else doing something excessively embarrassing our mirror neurons inflict a little bit of psychological pain on us and we cringe.", "Looking at different perspectives with the goal of reasoned understanding, basically. Working around personal bias and assumptions and emotion. For example, we are having a disagreement because I like dogs and you like cats. We could sit down and talk logically about the attributes of each, and decide that they are equal but suited to different needs. In contrast, if we were *debating* cats and dogs, we might use emotions to appeal to the audience in pursuit of victory over logic and reason. I most familiar with this via psychology, where dialectic thinking can help people react more helpfully to conflict/problems and build empathy. (i.e. \"I feel angry and my instinct is to lash out, but it isn't necessarily the truth. I need more information so I can understand what was really going on when my friend said something that I interpreted as a insult.\")", "Journalistic integrity has existed throughout the centuries, protecting sources to get to the truth. Vice is offering anonymity to get the story. Ego is what likely keeps the dealers willing to tell their story in disguise just to be on television. I imagine it appeals to the rush of the drug dealer lifestyle some people who thrive in that community come to expect and enjoy on some level.", "This is dealt with in the field of psychology research, specifically [positive psychology](_URL_1_), which deals with [subjective well-being](_URL_2_). You might also want to read about [flow](_URL_0_), which in psychology refers to the state of being fully absorbed by, focused on, and enjoying the process of a physical or mental activity.", "3 ways of presenting an argument: Pathos: Authority, I'm in charge so listen AND believe me. Generally appeals to Authority, Tradition, or Reputation. Logos: Logic. I'm smart, what I'm saying is logical. Believe me. Generally appeals to Clarity, Logic, and Evidence Ethos: Feelings, emotion, empathy. What I'm saying will make you feel bad, then I'll you what we can do to *feel better*.", "Because typically things that are popular appeal to what is called \"the lowest common denominator.\" Say there is a popular movie. I love movies, and sometimes popular movies are very good, but generally if it is popular it makes me think that it's primary strong points are things that everyone can enjoy, like sex and violence or some contrived story that has been told thousands of times by better movies. Movies i typically like (but again, there are lots of exceptions) are ones that require me to think, or that have morally ambiguous characters, things that, typically, aren't as successful on a large scale like crazy special effects or sexy ladies might be. There is also the fact that people feel like they know something others don't when they like something more obscure, but i think generally speaking that is not as important as the fact that most of what is popular is unoriginal and appeals to people's most basic mental functions. .", "People crave psychological validation. They usually don't get as much as they'd like through their jobs/etc, so they seek it elsewhere. Hence why people horde Reddit karma, or perform tasks in video games that they don't particularly enjoy to unlock an award.", "You are too kind! Thanks. I hope people will continue to enjoy it; as for me, it's like a journey where you know more or less your final destination but don't really know what turns lay ahead... Since most of the time I don't know in advance what's going to be the focus of the next week, I suppose this helps keeping it \"open\" - as I don't have to pick in order to follow a line of thought or a specific theme. Eventually, maybe, a coherent picture will surface, that retains an idea of the size and scope of the processes involved. And for anyone who has suggestions or would like some topic to be touched upon... just let me know!", "I think it's down to how emotion is felt. We tend to worry and fret about stressful/unpleasant things whereas we enjoy happy things and tend to reflect on them later. I find it particularly interesting how very traumatic events can be completely blocked out, I'd love to know the science behind all this.", "I assume it to be an oral stage fixation (psychology related). Freud came up with an idea that people go through stages in life to fully mature, and the oral stage is when you are an infant (suckling etc). When you are a baby and don't get weaned off of the oral stage properly or some emotional conflict occurs, you could get a fixation to satisfy this desire you have. This could include chewing on pencils, fingernails, ice, all of those odd quirks people know of. I understand it as these people need subconscious comfort and revert back to the oral stage of satisfaction to help.", "Part of our enjoyment for music is how our brains deal with the musical patterns over time. You basically end up predicting what comes next - and how close that prediction is affects how your brain enjoys that music. So, I could listen to someone really quite talented, but from such a different genre that it doesn't 'fit' with what my brain expects for music. As a result, I quite possibly won't enjoy it, even if its a very good example of music in that genre. If you slowly drift over time, what your brain expects will changes with you - hence a genre you enjoyed before may not sound as good as what you've conditioned yourself to enjoy currently.", "\"It is the way it is\". The argument of homosexuality being a choice is basically \"They want to be gay\". Now I know that sounds funny, and that's because it doesn't really make sense. Why would a straight person, attracted to the opposite sex, willingly fight, strive, and be abused to be gay? It just doesn't make sense. The \"other side\" says people are born how they are, if they like one thing, or another, or both, it is part of who they are. You can't just decide to not like your favorite food or soda any more. You can't rock out to your favorite song, then half way through it say \"this sucks\" and never listen to it again. The argument of the other side is that people enjoy what they enjoy and feel how they feel, there's no decisions going on (consciously or otherwise). I don't meant to press personal bias, but it is slightly aggravating hearing about how one lifestyle is a choice and it is criticized by people living an equally opposite lifestyle that is apparently not by choice.", "Ethos - Ethics. Knowing right from wrong. Logos - Logic. Knowing what can be proven and is factual. Pathos - Emotions. Knowing how someone feels about something.", "I'm not sure about the psychology of it, but for me it's because I hate attention. I don't enjoy conversation and hate being talked to, praised, or generally being looked at. I'm also terrified that I'll accidentally give people information I didn't want them to have either through saying the wrong thing or even my body language. Not sure if I'm an odd case or a textbook case of shyness.", "Scientifically, we don't really know. What we do know is that there are two ways to produce tears: through reflex or emotion. Reflex might be getting dust in your eye, or cutting an onion- if certain nerves are sevred, this reflex crying will go away. HOWEVER, emotional crying does not go away if these nerves are severs- so you WON'T cry at an onion, but you WILL cry watching the Lion King. Emotion triggers physical reactions in your body- from goosebumps when your scared, to hyperventilating when you panic. Tears are another one of these physical responses- we don't know the exact details of how and why they happen.", "From what I know of psychology, manipulators are somewhat sociopathic. They empathize less with others, and so see others less as actual people and more like means to get what they want. It's more natural then to manipulate others, so they start from a young age, and they simply get a lot of practice.", "Friendship has no motive behind it. You enjoy the each others company. Networking introduces you others who, at some point in time, might be beneficial to know for business purposes. Depending on your line of work networking can be important. A restaurateur would certainly like to have a relationship with suppliers. Maybe one day his normal supplier cannot fulfill an order, or, maybe he wants something special for a party in his restaurant. He can flip through the phone book or he can call a guy he met at a convention. People like to do business with people they know when possible. Talk about business, what you wish you had or what you can do. But also ask about family and hobbies. That's how you get to know people and that's how you build relationships.", "Companies don't want you to know what everyone else makes. It's harder to value your own worth when you only know what you make. When people know what others make, they might be more likely to demand more. So, by making sure only you know how much you make (whether through contract language or through it being \"frowned upon\"), the company tends to get to pay people less", "Well we know what emotions are right? Happy, sad, angry, playful, etc. A mood is basically a state of being predisposed towards a certain emotion. In a \"bad mood\" would mean temporarily predisposed towards feeling emotions generally considered bad, such as angry or sad. What causes the predisposition is a combination of factors that have affected the individual's state of mind. These can be a wide variety of things such as how much sleep they got, are they hungry, what has recently happened to them, what things has their mind been focused on, what other stressors are affecting them and how much/little stress relief have they had, and so on.", "the current state of neuroscience does not have an answer to this question. the specific biological and physical mechanism by which the brain stores and retrieves memories is unknown. the best we have at the current time are some purely psychological models about the characteristics of memory, combined with some extremely vague neurological hypotheses about what regions of the brain are likely important for memory. we don't know anything specific about how it works though.", "My guess would be that this phrase is used to remind you that these are actual individuals who served. \"People\" is a very general and anonymous word, it's not easy to think of an image when thinking of people. \"Men and women who served\" on the other hand immediately brings up an image of men and women in the army fighting for their country. It appeals to the emotion, which is probably what the person who's saying this wants to happen.", "Basically, pretty much every thought and emotion that you feel is the result of chemicals (neurotransmitters) in your brain. Depression is usually associated with lower amounts of serotonin and/or norepinephrine. You release these chemicals when you feel a particular emotion or mood, and then it is reabsorbed (reuptake). You'll most commonly see commercials for SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or SNRIs (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors). They prevent your brain from reabsorbing serotonin and/or norepinephrine, which in turn helps some people fight depression. Another type of antidepressant is the MAOI (Monoamine oxidase inhibitors), but I'm not quite as certain as to how that works. Most of this comes from what I remember from psychology backed up by Wikipedia." ]

[ "That sweet reaction GIF finally has a place on Facebook.\nAfter a months-long test of the feature, the social network announced that it's finally rolling out support for GIFs in Facebook comments.\nBeginning today, anyone can add a GIF to a Facebook comment using a new GIF button that appears alongside the emoji picker. Much like the GIF button in Facebook Messenger, the new GIF comments are sourced from Facebook's GIF partners, including Giphy, Tenor, and Disney.\nImportantly, there are a few limitations. Though you can search for GIFs using the feature's built-in search, adding a specific GIF you have in mind may be a bit more difficult. You can't upload your own GIFs or post GIFs via a URL like you can with a normal Facebook post.\nFacebook has a complicated history with GIFs. The social network supported GIF uploads in early versions of the service but discontinued it more than a decade ago. In 2015, Facebook reversed course and added support for GIF links via Giphy or other sources and added a GIF button to its Messenger.\nDespite the restrictions, though, Facebook's GIF features remain hugely popular. Facebook users exchanged nearly 13 billion GIFs on Messenger in 2016 alone, according to the company, which works out to about 25,000 GIFs each minute." ]

[ "(Picture: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\nPicture the scene – you’re getting roasted in the group chat, and you’ve got absolutely no comeback.\nThe only thing for it is a well-researched gif, showing you are both unbothered and have the humour to fight back.\nYou’ll need to be quick though, meaning a handy way to send them is imperative.\nHere’s how to find and use the most popping gifs on WhatsApp on your iPhone.\nUsing camera roll\nClick the + button\nSelect Photo & Video Library and your camera roll should appear\nA small magnifying glass should show in the bottom-left corner with the word ‘GIF’\nSelect this and rows of gifs will show\nYou can then either browse or search for whatever gif you wish\nAdvertisement\nAdvertisement\nUsing another app\nGiphy’s gif keyboard app is another choice you can go for, that you can use on any supported platform, like Facebook Messenger or Twitter.\nGo to the App Store or Google Play Store, and search ‘gif keyboard’.\nOnce it’s downloaded, just change the keyboard with the icon you’d normally use to open the emoji keyboard.\nOnce you’re in the gif keyboard, you can search for whatever gif takes your fancy.\nMay we recommend a Rihanna eye-roll?\nAlternatively, you could always try saving gifs from the likes of Google images.\nHowever, even if you can see the images moving when you save them, sometimes the default for your device is to save them as still.\nUsing the two methods above, though, means you’ll never be short of a sassy comeback again.\nMORE: How to recall a WhatsApp message\nMORE: How to know if someone has blocked you on Whatsapp", "Facebook is ready to turn on what promises to a a pre-eminently irritating new feature that will make all our devices even noisier.\nIn the coming weeks, the company will launch an update that means all of the auto-play videos that currently litter your news feed will automatically play with the sound on. But why? Well, apparently it’s what the majority of users want after Facebook claimed testing showed a good reaction and it received ‘positive feedback’.\n“With this update, sound fades in and out as you scroll through videos in News Feed, bringing those videos to life. As people watch more video on phones, they’ve come to expect sound when the volume on their device is turned on,” Facebook announced.\nRelated: MWC 2017\nDon’t worry though, your phone isn’t about to start blurting out the sounds of a food mixer when you whizz past another auto play recipe vid. As long as your device is set to silent no sound will be heard and there's also an option to turn off the feature by switching off the ‘Videos in News Feed Start With Sound’ option in settings.\nAnother exciting addition to its video arsenal is the ability to watch a video whilst scrolling down your news feed. From now on you can minimise the video you are watching to a picture-in-picture view in the corner of the screen, much like the YouTube app, and continue to scroll the News Feed at the same time. Android users have it even better as you can keep the video playing in the corner of the phone even after you’ve left the Facebook app.\nFacebook is also moving to improve vertical videos on mobile devices in the shape of a new larger preview of that type of video on iOS and Android devices.\nThe final part of the update involves a new Facebook Video App for TV that will soon hit the app stores for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart TV. The app optimises the viewing experience on larger devices and further underlines Facebook’s huge push into the wider video space.\nWatch: TV Buying Guide\nIs adding sound to auto-play videos a bad idea on Facebook’s part? Let us know in the comments.", "Today marks the 30th anniversary of the GIF, and in celebration, Facebook is introducing a new feature.\nFacebook users can now send GIFs in comments directly from a button, allowing them to send an animated image when they just can't find the words.\nAs part of the celebrations, the social media firm is also releasing a poll asking users to answer one of the longest-standing questions in the technology world – how do you pronounce GIF?\nScroll down for video\nFacebook users can now send GIFs in comments directly from a button, allowing you to send an animated image when you just can't find the words\nHOW TO ADD A GIF INTO A COMMENT To add a GIF into your comment, just tap the GIF button in the comment bar. You can then type in what you're looking to say and pick the perfect GIF.\nSince 2015, users have been able to send GIFs in comments by copying and pasting the URL of a GIF from an external website.\nBut Facebook hopes that by adding a GIF button directly into the comment bar, it will encourage more people to reply with animated images.\nIn a blog introducing the feature, Facebook said: 'Today we're introducing the ability to add GIFs in comments for all people on Facebook globally.\n'Just tap the GIF button when you go to make a comment, type in what you're looking to say, and add the GIF that really nails it!'\nGIFs were introduced to Facebook Messenger in 2015, and since, people have sent nearly 25,000 GIFs every minute.\nAnd in the past year, GIF sends on Messenger tripled to nearly 13 billion.\nFacebook is also introducing 20 GIFs featuring some of the internet's most recognisable faces, including DNCE, Logan Paul and Landon Moss (pictured)\nGIFS ON MESSENGER - AN INSIDE LOOK Facebook has released statistics on GIF use on Messenger, which has been available since 2015: - People on Messenger sent nearly 13 billion GIFs in the last year, or nearly 25,000 GIFs every minute - GIF sends on Messenger have tripled in the past year - New Year’s Day 2017 was the most popular day ever for GIF sends on Messenger, with more than 400 million GIF sends\nFacebook is also introducing 20 GIFs featuring some of the internet's most recognisable faces, including DNCE, Logan Paul and Landon Moss.\nFacebook said: 'Each GIF is a unique and shareable morsel of human expression.\n'They will be available to use by searching #GIFparty when sharing a GIF on Facebook or Messenger or by visiting GIPHY.com/Facebook.'\nFinally, as part of the 30 year celebrations, Facebook is looking to solve the long-standing debate over how the word 'GIF' is pronounced.\nOver the next few days, US Facebook users may see a poll asking them to cast their vote, with the results revealed later this week.", "Imgur, the hugely popular photo and GIF sharing site with over 250 million users, is the latest to board the ephemeral storytelling train.\nLike the ‘stories’ feature inside Snapchat and Facebook/Instagram, which has cloned the heck of Snapchat, Imgur has moved into lean-back content with the arrival of ‘Snacks’, a new feature that sits at the top of its mobile app.\nWith Snacks, Imgur is letting users watched an ongoing array of GIFs in one sitting. When one GIF is done, another replaces it immediately to keep the experience continuous. Unlike Snap, the content is actually standalone as it appears to be pulled from Imgur’s vast library of content.\nThe result is something that is similar to Vine.\nAll in all, the feature seems ideal for Imgur users who are looking to fill a little free time, perhaps on the train or bus to work, without the hassle of having to manually find content. You can also follow GIF creators, too, making it a neat vehicle for discovery.\nSnacks can be found under the ‘search’ tab inside the Imgur app where they are matched to the day’s feature tag — which happens to be Ocean today. Bad news for Android users, it looks like this feature is only on iOS at this point.\nImgur started out as the de facto photo service for Reddit but over the past year it has pushed to become a solution platform in its own right. It added chat features and the ability to follow other users last year, and last month it added a favorites folder which, while minor on the surface, finally allows users to stash their favorite media in a single place.\nWhile it is smart to build a base that isn’t reliant on third parties, Imgur’s hand was rather forced by Reddit when it added image uploads in May 2016 to end its reliance in Imgur. Reddit has since added more social features like location tagging and its own video platform, to continue the separation.\nIt hasn’t all been plain sailing for Imgur, though. More than 1.7 million emails and passwords were affected by a 2014 hack which was disclosed last month by Imgur.\nThe hack wasn’t anything like the size of Yahoo — which is owned by TechCrunch parents AOL and Verizon and had most of its three billions users affected by a series of attacks — or Uber, which recently disclosed that 57 million accounts were compromised.\nImgur was also recognized for the speed of its disclosure. It said it only became aware of the hack on November 23, and by the morning of November 24 it had begun notifying impacted users (via their registered email address) and forcing password resets. It also released a blog post that same day.\nFeatured Image: Jon Russell/Flickr", "Facebook is experimenting with privacy settings that apply to individual comments. This means that you could write a reply to a thread, but only pre-approved individuals can see it. Here’s what it looks like:\nClicking the padlock icon brings up the security settings. This has four options: friends and post owner only; friends only; post owner and commenter only; and everyone else.\nFrom what we can tell, this is a small-scale test that’s only available to a handful of users. That’s a shame, because I can imagine this being beneficial for engagement.\nOn a hotly contentious news story, for example, someone may be wary of posting a comment, lest they receive abuse. By ensuring the comment is only viewable by their friends, this isn’t an issue.\nWe’ve reached out to Facebook for comment, and to ask about plans for a wider roll-out. If they get back to us, we’ll update this piece.\nRead next: Comcast continues to inject its own code into websites you visit", "EDITOR’S NOTE: Sam Collins will return on Feb. 21.\nFanboys rejoice! Order has once again been restored to the Wall Street hierarchy. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL ) has finally joined the ranks of market leaders resting at all-time highs. At $133.29, yesterday’s final print was good enough to register a new record closing high for AAPL stock.\nThe ascent bested its previous record notched in 2015 by a few pennies. With the king of all i-Things now appropriately perched at new heights, the question plaguing spectators is whether or not now is the time to take a bite.\nThe answer, in short, is no.\nAs exciting as milestones like new record highs can be, the reality is Apple stock is extremely extended. Such lofty levels leave much to be desired on the risk/reward front. While the new highs may indeed spark renewed interest in the stock, its overbought status is simply too big of a negative to ignore.\nSource: OptionsAnalytix\nRemember, traders should focus less on what action they think may generate profits this time and more on what action they think will create profits most of the time.\nAnd let’s be honest — most of the time, chasing a stock already perched in the nosebleeds is a money loser.\nSell AAPL Puts for Profit\nStock investors should be praying to the market gods for an Apple stock dip in the coming days. Or, better yet, sell out-of-the-money puts to create a potential win-win scenario. Right now you can sell the Mar $130 put option for $1.08. The short put obligates you to buy 100 shares of AAPL if the stock falls below $130 by expiration. Since you received $1.08 up front, your effective purchase price will drop to $128.92 which is a modest 3.3% discount to Monday’s closing price.\nAnd if AAPL stock remains above $130, you can simply keep the $1.08 and then consider selling another put for April.\nAt the time of this writing, Tyler Craig had no positions in any of the aforementioned securities.\nTell us what you think about this article! Drop us an email at editor@investorplace.com, chat with us on Twitter at @InvestorPlace or comment on the post on Facebook. Read more about our comments policy here.", "If you are on Facebook you have watched videos on the service before. Facebook has announced that it has rolled out some updates to make watching videos on the network richer, more engaging, and more flexible. Previously when you happened on a video in your Facebook feed, it would play but there was no sound.\nDon't Miss: The NES Classic In Stock at these Stores\nIf you wanted to hear the sound, you had to tap the video. Facebook says that it tested sound on in News Feeds and received positive feedback and the feature is slowing rolling out to more people. With the new feature the sound for videos will fade in and out as you scroll through videos in the News Feed.\nThis also means if you are trying to watch a video in silence, it will be more difficult to do. You will now need to set your phone to silent to block sound or switch off a setting called \"Videos in News Feed Start with Sound.\"\nFacebook has also made some changes to make vertical videos look better on your mobile device. This goes along with the testing that started in 2016 that gave a larger preview of vertical videos in the News Feed on mobile. That feature received positive feedback and will now roll out to everyone on iOS and Android.\nVideos can now be minimized to a picture-in-picture mode that will allow you to watch the video and keep scrolling your feed at the same time. Facebook is also rolling out a Facebook Video App for TV. The app will be available soon for Apple TV, Amazon fire TV, and Samsung Smart TV platforms. The app will allow the watching of videos from Facebook on a larger screen. More platforms are in the works and Facebook only says the apps will be available \"soon.\"", "Facebook's auto-playing videos are about to get much more annoying.\nIf you're not a fan of Facebook's auto-playing videos, get ready to be annoyed. Starting today, videos will auto-play with the sound enabled by default. If you don't have your phone set on silent, every time you scroll past an auto-playing video, you'll now hear the audio associated with it.\nFacebook says that it introduced the change after receiving \"positive feedback\" from a beta test conducted last year:\nVideos in News Feed have previously played silently — you tap on a video to hear sound. As people watch more video on phones, they've come to expect sound when the volume on their device is turned on. After testing sound on in News Feed and hearing positive feedback, we're slowly bringing it to more people. With this update, sound fades in and out as you scroll through videos in News Feed, bringing those videos to life.\nAlthough videos will now play with the sound enabled, you'll be able to turn it off via settings:\nIf your phone is set to silent, videos will not play with sound. If you never want videos to play with sound, you can disable this feature by switching off \"Videos in News Feed Start With Sound\" in Settings. We'll also be showing in-product messages to tell people about the new sound on experience and controls.\nYou can now minimize a video and scroll through your News Feed, with the video continuing to play in the corner of your screen. Facebook is also making changes to the way vertical videos look on Android and iOS, including larger previews. Finally, Facebook's video app will make its debut on Amazon Fire TV, Samsung's smart TVs, and Apple TV.", "It's simple really. #DubNation loves playoff basketball. High flying dunks, half-court three's and blocks at the rim are all rewarded with a roaring sea of yellow in Oracle. The team is fueled by the energy our fans bring and it is easy to see...just take a look at our bench!\nThree-point goggles? Fist pumps? The Steph Shimmy? It's hard to name them all but it sure seems like our bench has the full variety covered.\nDo you have a favorite? Check out the top 10 bench reactions from the Western Conference Finals, in GIF form!\nYou ready?\nLet's get started.\n10. Flex on 'em Dray'\nDray's defensive effort helped the Dubs through the series and helped keep Dub Nation on their feet\n9. Feelin' It\nSometimes you just got to break it down to get loose\n8. More Dancing\nDancing with the stars, Dubs edition anyone?\n7. Even More Dancing Dubs\nA pregame tradition of the Dubs, but this just gets better everytime we watch it.\n6. What's The Sitch?\nHello, This is Nick Young speaking...yes I'm at the game and STEPH HIT ANOTHER THREE...I'll have to call you back later\n5. Hold Me!\nSomething must have went incredibly right to warrant this reaction.\n4. Go Ahead Then!\nPlayoff basketball has us all like...\n3. Steph for THREE\nRemember when Steph hit a 3 and did this?\n2. YEAH!\nSo we all did this.\n1. Every Kiss Begins With Klay\nWe love you Dub Nation.\nIt's Not Over\nAnd don't worry, we're headed on to the NBA Finals and with that...more bench reactions!", "Those annoying colored posts on Facebook aren't going anywhere. In fact, they're getting an upgrade.\nFacebook has been quietly adding patterns, textures, illustration, and more to the status cards. Users around the world have been noticing a number of new background options in different colors.\nThe company has reportedly experienced a decline in users posting statuses and the colored cards are an attempt to turn the ship around.\nImage: facebook Image: facebook\nThe expanded backgrounds for comments now seem to include a range of images like hearts and flowers, textured images like silk, and patterns like polka dots and confetti.\nImage: facebook Image: facebook\nIt won't be long until Facebook starts pushing more people to use the new patterns, so don't be surprised if you start seeing them on a News Feed near you. The images that seem fit for a scrapbook are cute, but too many clogging your Feed could quickly get tiresome.\nWe reached out to Facebook about the new backgrounds, but did not hear back before publishing.", "The age of scrolling through your Facebook news feed past mercifully silent auto-playing videos is over.\nFacebook announced a suite of new changes to its video platform today, including a new setting that will auto-play videos with the sound turned on by default.\nVideos have auto-played on Facebook’s News Feed for some time, leading to a curious rise of “silent movies” as publishers adapted to knowing that the majority of viewers would be watching, but not listening, to their work.\nFacebook added improvements to the mobile video experience, too. Now after a few seconds of watching, vertical movies will automatically fill the screen until users scroll away.\nThankfully – for those who don’t want videos to suddenly play out on the bus – if your phone is set to be completely silent, Facebook will not override that. You can also turn it off completely in the Facebook app’s settings.\nWatch video below,", "Facebook has been really pushing videos onto their users, and a lot of publishers and brands have been riding on this as well. That’s why it’s no surprise that the latest update to the app focuses on new ways of watching and enjoying these videos on your timeline, whether you’re on your mobile device, a desktop. And now even smart TVs can join in the fun as the social media giant introduces a video app for those times when you want to watch your FB videos on a bigger screen.\nWe all know that most if not all of the videos on your timeline autoplay when you scroll through them, but the sound is automatically turned off, to the relief of some people. But now, those same people will not like the fact that the sound will now automatically play, and then fade in and out as you scroll through them. But if your phone is set to silent, it will still have the sound turned off. Also, you can disable this feature if you’re not that crazy about sound that will suddenly come out as you look through your feed.\nAnother new feature is that vertical videos will look better on your mobile device as it how adjusts to fit your screen. Basically, it expands to full screen when it’s in that format. But if you want to continue scrolling through your feed but still watch a video, you can minimize it to the picture-in-picture view, and drag it to any corner you prefer. You can also keep the video playing even when you go to another app outside of Facebook.\nThey are also now launching a Facebook video app for your smart TV so you have the option to watch on a bigger screen. You will be able to watch videos shared by your friends, live videos, most popular videos from around the world, and even your saved videos.\nSOURCE: Facebook", "‘Monster of the Deep’ Adds Latest VR Outing to Final Fantasy XV\nAt Sony’s E3 Conference this year, we got a brief glimpse of what to expect with Playstations future VR line up, and we were surprised to see the unlikely face of Noctis grace our screens once more. It was hard to imagine just what part of Final Fantasy XV we might be able to play in PSVR: could it be driving? Some new form of combat? Well, we got our answer in short order and it was… well, check it out for yourself:\nYes that’s right, the unexpected Final Fantasy XV VR title is none other than Noctis’ favorite pass time: fishing. Monster of the Deep will see players relax and unwind with the future king at his favorite watering holes as you cast your line and reel in some fish for the whole gang to eat. Noctis seems to have access to a fish finder, as well as several other tools at his disposal, however we also see that Noctis will be going up against some very aggressive prey (or predators?) with only his trusty fishing rod to help him out.\nDetails about the game otherwise are scarce at this time, but at the moment this seems like a fun little escape and yet another enticing outing in the world of Final Fantasy XV. For more information you can check out the official website, but beware of some minor translation issues. Monster of the Deep is set for catch and release in September 2017.\nAre you ready to kick back and toss a virtual lure in the world of Final Fantasy XV? Let us know what you think of this interesting little detour on Facebook, Twitter, or the Comments section below.\nSource: Press Release", "Why it matters to you Despite being 30 years old, the GIF image format is more popular than ever, particularly on social networks like Facebook.\nThe image format, Graphics Interchange Format, or GIF – commonly associated with those animated, looping photographs – is turning 30 on June 15, and Facebook is celebrating by adding the option to find and use GIFs within comments. Facebook is also asking readers that quizzical question, how do you pronounce GIF anyway?\nGIF support isn’t new to Facebook, of course, but the company says GIFs have become increasingly popular since support was introduced to Facebook Messenger in 2015, allowing users to chat with GIFs without opening up a web browser to find the appropriate animation. To date, users have shared almost 13 billion GIFs – from cute animations to funny video-like memes – inside the Messenger app in the last year alone, which amounts to about 25,000 per minute. That number is triple the amount of GIFs sent from the previous year, Facebook says.\nFor GIF’s 30th milestone, Facebook is rolling out the ability to send a GIF in the comments without leaving the platform. The feature, which had been available to select users but is being opened to all global users, just requires tapping the GIF button when commenting, then typing in a few words to find the appropriate GIF – similar to how a GIF is sent in Messenger. Previously, GIFs could only be uploaded to comments by adding a link from Giphy, the GIF library.\nSeveral new GIFs were created for the occasion, in partnership with Giphy. Facebook designed 20 unique GIFs designed starring internet celebrities, including DNCE, Logan Paul, DREEZY, Amanda Cerny, Wuz Good, Brandi Marie, Landon Moss, Patric Starr, and Violet Benson. Besides comments, these 20 animations are accessible inside the Facebook and Messenger apps, as well as Giphy (simply search for #GIFparty or head to giphy.com/facebook).\nBut is GIF pronounced with a hard or soft “g” sound? That’s what Facebook will be asking users in a poll. Despite the file format being around for thirty years, there isn’t a general consensus on whether to pronounce the abbreviation like “gift” (without the T) or with a soft “g” like Jif, the peanut butter brand – how GIF’s inventor, Steve Wilhite, says it’s suppose to be pronounced. The poll will pop up in users’ newsfeed, and maybe settle the debate once and for all (we doubt it).\nThe GIF has been around since 1987 – which makes it older than the World Wide Web – created by a group of programmers led by Wilhite. At the time, the format became popular for still images because the compression algorithm allowed for colored images to take up less digital space. In fact, the first photo on the web was a GIF. While JPEG has superseded GIF as a default format for photos, GIF has regained popularity for looping animations and videos and its universal support by browsers. Happy birthday, GIF!", "After months of speculation and trash talk, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor have finally confirmed they will face each other in a much-anticipated boxing match in Las Vegas later this year.\nThe two fighters have agreed to a money-spinning 12-round bout at the T-Mobile Arena on August 26, with Mayweather set to earn over $100million (£78.4m) for the fight.\nUFC lightweight champion McGregor will also take home a similar figure for the crossover fight which has already set chins wagging across the sporting world.\nFloyd Mayweather will face Conor McGregor in a boxing match in Las Vegas on August 26\nMcGregor mocked Mayweather's age when confirming the fight, posting a picture of his father\nMcGregor took to social media on Wednesday night to confirm the fight and took yet another shot at his rival - posting a picture of himself facing Mayweather's 64-year-old father - Floyd Mayweather Snr, alongside the caption: 'THE FIGHT IS ON.'\nUFC fighters were quick to react to the news of the fight, with welterweight Belal Muhammad light-heartedly putting himself forward as a last-minute replacement.\nUFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic took to Twitter to challenge British superstar Anthony Joshua to a fight, saying: 'Hey @AnthonyJoshua let's have a proper tussle and still have time for tea and crumpets before the main event!'\nNate Diaz posted a picture of his win over McGregor when commenting on the upcoming fight\nMcGregor bout to take the biggest L in boxing history, y'all heard it here first #MayweatherMcGregor — Marshawn Lynch (@MarshawnLynch24) 14 June 2017\n4 years ago, Conor McGregor picked up a welfare check of $235.\nHe'll likely walk away with $100,000,000+ from Mayweather fight. — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) 14 June 2017\nPeople telling me Mayweather will have his hands full trying to land on McGregor -STOP IT! I respect McGregor BUT i ain't Floyd and i landed pic.twitter.com/gd4dFi3XUU — Chris van Heerden (@TheHeat001) 14 June 2017\nSouth African boxer Chris van Heerden believe McGregor has little chance of victory, after posting a video of himself landing punches while sparring with the Irishman in a training session.\nHe said: 'People telling me Mayweather will have his hands full trying to land on McGregor -STOP IT! I respect McGregor BUT i ain't Floyd and I landed.'\nOakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch also expects a comfortable victory for the American.\n'McGregor bout to take the biggest L in boxing history, y'all heard it here first,' he posted to his Twitter account.\nI know a guy If either Floyd or mcgregor get hurt — Belal muhammad (@bullyb170) 14 June 2017\n'F**k Floyd Mayweather!'\nConor McGregor's simple message to Money May...roll on August 26! �� #MayweatherMcGregor pic.twitter.com/heKEZFWhlC — BT Sport UFC (@btsportufc) 14 June 2017\nMeanwhile, Nate Diaz and McGregor's personal rivalry shows no sign of abating after the former took to social media to ridicule the upcoming fight.\nDiaz posted a picture of his victory over McGregor in 2016, alongside the caption: 'It's gonna be a good fight for that #2 spot.'\nBoxing and MMA fans have also voiced their predictions for the fight, with many expecting an easy win for Mayweather.\n'Feel free to save this gif for the #MayweatherMcGregor fight...,' posted one fan on Twitter, alongside a gif of a leprechaun wildly swinging at thin air.\nHey @anthonyfjoshua let's have a proper tussle and still have time for tea and crumpets before the main event! #MayweatherMcGregor — Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocicufc) 14 June 2017\nFeel free to save this gif for the #MayweatherMcGregor fight... pic.twitter.com/o8Or5RtARx — �� (@eaglemoustache) 14 June 2017", "Photo: Carl Court (Getty)\nSure, you can share your friends’ posts on your Facebook page, or retweet a hot take to your followers on Twitter, but Instagram has been relatively conservative when it comes to letting users publicly redistribute posts on the social network. According to a report from TechCrunch, however, Instagram is testing a feature that makes it easier to share content to your own Stories feed talk shit about your haters.\nThe new feature lets users embed public Instagram photos inside the Stories section of the app. A Facebook spokesperson told Gizmodo the company is testing the feature with a “small percentage” of users. According to TechCrunch, you’ll be able to adjust the size and positioning of the shared post, as well as take advantage of Instagram’s own creative tools so you can add your own two cents, because everyone loves commenting on everything.\nAdvertisement\nScreenshot: TechCrunch\nReposting—or “Regramming”—on Instagram via third-party services isn’t new, and there are obvious benefits to being able to re-share posts from yourself or others in the context of your more ephemeral Story content. But if you’re worried you’ll have your own posts used against you when someone decides to get on your bad side, the problem should be easily remedied. You’ll be able to disable the feature on your own posts in the app’s settings, according to TechCrunch.\nIn the meantime, I think I’ll pass on using the new re-sharing option. I’m already averse to watching Instagram Stories, mostly because the slice of life that’s offered for viewing there is pretty bland (sorry, friends). With Instagram adding the option to—let’s be real—go to town on whatever post you’re sharing, I can only imagine its utility to me will degrade even further. Besides, I’ve already got a place I can go to look at Instagram posts: the Instagram feed, literally pixels below the Stories section.\nAdvertisement\n[TechCrunch]", "The Tri-State has caught World Cup Fever!\nLooking for a place to watch the Final match on a giant screen?\nI know where you can do that…\n“Join us in the Newburgh Town Hall parking lot (23 W Jennings St in downtown Newburgh, parking lot is on the river side of the building) at 10:00am on Sunday, July 15 for a free community viewing party of the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ final! Come watch the final with the crowd in HD on a 12ft LED screen.\nFood, drinks and beer will be available for purchase from The Pizza Revolution.\nBring your own chairs to sit in the parking lot and enjoy the game.”\nFind the link to the Facebook event here.\nLike what I do? See more on Evansville’s YouTube Channel, The Best Day Ever Evansville Channel.\nHaving trouble viewing my videos on your device? (There should be one in this story…)\nLet’s fix that.\nTry going through your web browser, or download the 44News app for Android or iPhone.\nAnd find that epic city calendar at The Best Day Ever Evansville.\nGretchin’s jewelry provided by: Premier Designs Independent Consultant Donna Robinson\nComments\ncomments", "REX/Shutterstock\nThis is crazy. Gospel singer Kim Burrell took to Facebook Live to defend her homophobic comments she previously made at her church — and she did not apologize.\nPeople called out Kim Burrell, 44, a Grammy-nominated gospel singer and evangelical pastor for her homophobic comments she made while preaching to her congregation on December 30. She broadcasted her sermon of Facebook Live, where viewers were shocked by what they heard Kim say.\n“I came to tell you about sin,” Kim told church-goers and the rest of the Internet. “That sin nature… That perverted homosexual spirit, and the spirit of delusion and confusion, it has deceived many men and women… You as a man, you open your mouth and take a man’s penis in your face, you are perverted. You are a woman and will shake your face in another woman’s breast, you are perverted.\nKim received an enormous amount of backlash for her statements and took to Facebook Live again to make an apology of sorts. “I came on because I care about God’s creation and every person from the LGBT and anything else, any other kind of thing that is supporting lgbt – I never said LGBT last night. I said S-I-N.” She also said, “To every person who is dealing with a homosexual spirit I love you because God loves you, but God hates the sin in you and me.”\nAfter defending herself, Kim refused to apologize for her remarks. “I make no excuses or apologies. My heart is a pure as it comes and you know it when you hear me sign, that’s why you follow me.”\nShe then went on Facebook Live again for a final video in which she addressed the people who believed she said “gays were going to hell,” and said, “it’s incompetent. It’s childish. It’s not of my nature – natural or spiritual.” Kim also specified her comments were made to “church people…those who were in my church – my church where I pastor.”\nKim finally even went her own supporters. “All y’all that say, ‘we’ve been supporting you.’ I have yet to sell a million records so where all y’all at? ‘We’ve been the ones supporting you.’ I have yet to win a Grammy. Where is the support, for real?” She then finally signed off.\nHollywoodLifers, what do you think of Kim’s “apologies?” Tell us in the comments below!", "Facebook's news feed is about to get a lot noisier with the introduction of videos that automatically play with sound, a feature that could lead to embarrassment for users who secretly scroll through Facebook in meetings or under the dinner table.\nThe social network is today adding a new feature that will mean sounds play out loud on videos when they automatically start rolling as users scroll past.\nThe update, which some users have described as annoying, means that the accompanying sounds on videos will fade in and out if the user's phone is on loud.", "Those gifs that seem to saturate your social media, text messages, and entire online life are older than you might expect. The .gif file format was introduced 30 years ago.\nSource: CNN", "[This story contains full spoilers for the season two premiere of HBO's Westworld.]\n\"The maze isn't meant for you.\"\nThe Man in Black (Ed Harris) encountered those six frustrating words on more than one occasion in the first season of Westworld — but much like another bald hunter on another Bad Robot show, the gunslinger we now know as William doesn't like being told what he can and can't do.\nWith that said, the maze William sought throughout season one truly wasn't meant for him, and not for any personal reasons. As revealed in the finale, the maze was an exercise for hosts to discover their own consciousness, represented literally in the form of a handheld marble game; not so impressive to William, based on how he idly minded the game once he found it.\nIn season two, however, William is walking on a new path that's very much meant for him: the \"game,\" as the Little Boy (a young host version of Robert Ford, played by Oliver Bell) names it. Given how much of a central role the maze played in the first season, one imagines the game will have an equally vital role this year — and in that spirit, we're laying out everything we know about Ford's new activity for the Man in Black below, updating throughout the season with more information as it comes in.\nFrom season two, episode one, \"Journey Into Night\" (aired 4/22/18):\n• First, let's put down on paper what young Ford tells William about the game: \"What I've always appreciated about you is you've never rested on your laurels. You made it to the center of Arnold's maze, but now, you're in my game. In this game, you have to make it back out. You must find the door. Congratulations, William: this game is meant for you.\"\n• Young Ford mentions \"the door\" as the key object of the game, and the name is the same as the subtitle creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy bestowed upon season two: \"The Door.\" The masterminds behind Westworld have described the season as \"a search for what else is beyond the park, and what else is in the park.\"\n• As a pivotal member of the Delos board behind Westworld, William knows a lot about the park from a bird's eye view, and even on a gritty street level given the blood, sweat and tears he's poured into his immersive trips. But there are doors that are hidden even to someone with Bernard's (Jeffrey Wright) clearance levels, as seen in Charlotte (Tessa Thompson) activating a hidden outpost in the season premiere. One can easily see the Man in Black having a similarly profound level of ignorance to Westworld's secret passageways, both the literal and figurative ones.\n• On a fundamental level, a maze is something you're \"in,\" while a door is something you pass through. The maze implies discovery and transformation; the door implies momentum and action, even transportation. This season, we're finally set to explore the multiple parks outside of Westworld. Will the door require William to transport to one of these parks?\n• Ford offers a clue: \"The game begins where you end, and ends where you began.\" William first arrived at the Mesa on a train ride, and first arrived in Westworld proper through a door that led to another train. If the door is something literal, the very first door in Westworld we ever saw William walk through seems as strong a guess as any.\n• William snarls at Ford: \"Even now, you're speaking in code?\" Ford retorts: \"Everything here is code, William. You know that more than anyone.\" If everything here is code, then Ford's comment about everything being a code is also probably a code. Insert mindblown Eric Warehim gif here.\n• Ford's final words: \"The game will find you.\" The way it's phrased makes it sound like the game is something with agency. Paired with the game being where William begins and ends, one wonders if the game is none other than the most important host in the Man in Black's life: Dolores.\nFrom season two, episode two: \"Reunion\" (airing 4/29/18):\n• Facts, theories and wild speculation from episode two will be posted here on April 30.\nWhat are your theories about the game? Sound off in the comments below and follow all of our coverage over at THR.com/Westworld.", "Comet 67p/Churyumov-Gerasimenko may have a long and complicated name but Twitter user landru79 certainly made sure people will remember it. On April 23, he tweeted a beautiful GIF compiling images of the comet, which the European Space Agency (ESA) has made public since March 22, and his work has caused somewhat of a sensation in the few hours since.\nThe short video reveals what seems to be a cosmic “snowstorm” raging on the surface of the comet and has been described by New Scientist as “a cosmic winter wonderland.”\nAlthough the “snowstorm” depicted in the GIF is not actual snow, as it was soon made clear by astronomers commenting on the tweet, the short video is undeniably beautiful and it still gives us a sense of what it’s like to fly past a comet as it tumbles through space.\nAccording to LiveScience, the GIF was processed from 25 minutes’ worth of images beamed back to Earth on June 2016 by ESA’s Rosetta probe, which chased comet 67P for a decade before finally deploying its Philae lander on the comet’s surface in 2014, ESA informs.\nThe footage used by landru79 to create the now-famous GIF was captured by Rosetta’s OSIRIS, or Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System, notes Gizmodo. Three months after these photos were taken, Rosetta’s instruments went dead and the small spacecraft crashed into the comet, thus ending its long and fruitful mission.\n#ROSETTA ???? OSIRIS #67P/CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO new albums ????–ROSETTA EXTENSION 2 MTP030– Miércoles 1 Junio 2016 all filters stacked pic.twitter.com/Bf173Z5g79 — landru79 (@landru79) April 23, 2018\nSoon after landru79 tweeted his GIF, ESA’s senior science advisor Mark McCaughrean commented on the post, explaining what the “snowstorm” seen on comet 67P really is.\nMost of the “snowfall” in the footage is actually made of cosmic rays, high-energy particles that register as streaks of light when they trigger the camera’s sensors. The rest of it is an illusion created by dust and ice particles that float above the 67P’s surface.\nPretty wild ???? My immediate guess is that this is foreground sun-illuminated dust quite close to the spacecraft & as it moves through that dust, it creates an illusion of snow\" falling on Comet #67P kilometres away in the background. Cool though ???? @BadAstronomer — Mark McCaughrean (@markmccaughrean) April 23, 2018\nThe footage also captures the stars behind the comet’s rocky cliffside, which McCaughrean was called in to identify. He replied with a comment revealing the stars are part of the Canis Major constellation.\nEarlier today, landru79 tweeted a second GIF made from the same footage, in which the starfield in the clip is frozen in place to make it easier to spot the movement of the comet.\nSi apilamos todo el set alineando con las estrellas de fondo se distingue mejor que son estrellas y q es polvo (olvidaos de rayos cósmicos ) #ROSETTA ???? OSIRIS #67P/CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO new albums ????–ROSETTA EXTENSION 2 MTP030– Miércoles 1 Junio 2016 all filters stacked???? pic.twitter.com/UyZ628JxKP — landru79 (@landru79) April 24, 2018\nLandru79 announced he also plans to make a full-color version of the GIF by using the color information transmitted by Rosetta.\nComet 67P was discovered in 1969 and has been spotted since then every 6.5 years, as it orbits the sun in an elliptical path between the orbits of Jupiter and Earth. To see it in flight, check out this animation by ESA.", "128 SHARES Facebook Twitter VIEWS\nFeatured Image Via\nWhatsapp have created a lifesaver.\nInstant Messaging has revolutionised the way that we get in contact with people. It keeps us all glued to our mobile phones; we don’t have to be in the same country as somebody to have an entire conversation!\nBut, this does get us into some trouble.\nThe heat of the moment sometimes takes the argument too far, or a drunken night sparks a controversial comment being sent into the cyber network web. Hiding behind a mobile phone means that we get much braver than we would in real life, but once that message is sent, the reality starts to set in.\nWhatsapp has finally put in a feature to stop that onset of guilt after pressing send. So, as long as the message hasn’t been read by the recipient, you can delete or edit it. Brilliant!\nThe beta version on iPhone is already available, you just need to activate it! So, perhaps take a look at that if you’re a bit of a hot head! Don’t worry Android users, I’m sure it’ll be your turn soon.\nDo you think this is a great feature to have?\nPerhaps this guy could have found this feature good to have!", "Share This Video Facebook Twitter EMAIL\nMarvel‘s Runaways got to a slow start. Part of that was just the show wanted to firmly establish both what these kids were leaving behind and just why their parents were so willing to stuff people into a glowing box of radioactive fire. But, last week, everybody got their powers (or at least close enough), and we finally found out Pride’s motivation, so now the season can really get going.\nWhat’s been really interesting, and sometimes frustrating, is how close they’ve stuck to the comic in some respects while turning away from it in others. After all, these kids haven’t actually run away yet, despite the title of the show. And perhaps the problem is that it arrives every Tuesday, instead of all at once as a binge-watch. But, once the impatience worn off, Runaways has begun to live up to the promise of the first two episodes. So now the question becomes where they go next, especially now that, in most cases, their parents are fully aware the kids have superpowers and know they’re villains.\nThis Week’s Geeky TV\nMonday, December 11th\nThe Gifted, 8pm, Fox: We haven’t talked much about Fox’s X-Men show, but it is pretty fun, and if you’re caught up on your other shows this week, it’s worth a shot to get caught up before the season finale arrives in January. The show’s just taking a break over Christmas.\nWednesday, December 13th\nRiverdale, 8pm, The CW, Midseason Finale: Last episode, everybody broke up with everybody, so hey, surely that’s not going to end with somebody getting shot by the insane vigilante stalking Betty. Right?\nFriday, December 15th\nAgents Of SHIELD, 9pm, ABC: Last episode, they decided to put highly-trained secret agent Daisy, who over the last five years has beaten up everybody from HYDRA agents to tools of Satan, into the gladiatorial ring. Maybe bring a shovel to scrape up the other guy.\nAnything we missed? Let us know in the comments!", "Image: All images: The CW.\nFor the last season and a half Supergirl has had a big issue with one of its main characters. Mon-El has too often been the complete antithesis of what the show should be—a brash dude who always knows best and whose story always comes at the expense of the show’s robust group of women. He and every story he’s touched has turned into a complete mess, but, in a surprisingly thoughtful episode last night, Supergirl might have finally fixed the character.\nWithout, you know, forcing him to grow a beard and sending him to the 31st century.\nIf you come to Supergirl just for flying robot monkeys and ice giants in the shape of Jor-El than last night’s Supergirl was probably a snooze. There was no big monster of the week, and the season’s villain, Reign, only showed up in surveillance footage. The geekiest thing to really happen was Mon-El finally donned a proper red set of jammies with blue cape, as every iteration of Mon-El is eventually destined to do.\nYour browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF GIF: The CW\nAdvertisement\nAfter Mon-El got the cool fight scene last week and took out a robot dinosaur with his cape, this week he offered to teach Kara to do the same. It could have just been more of the show pussyfooting around the idea od Mon-El possibly leaving his wife for his ex-girlfriend, but this also happened to be the episode dealing with J’onn’s father’s Martian dementia.\nAnd as you know from that one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, any time a fatherly figure spends centuries emotionally repressing himself only to have it psychically affect everyone around him we, the viewers, benefit.\nIn Star Trek’s case it meant Wesley getting physically slapped, and in the case of Supergirl it meant Mon-El getting verbally slapped. Did you feel Mon-El overtook Kara’s story? He gets called out for that. Had a beef with how quickly the romance moved and how it seemed like he made no effort to be better? Called out for that, too. Upset with how he’s suddenly a very wise fighter and willing to teach Kara despite her being his mentor? Not only is he called out for that, but Kara punches him across a room over it.\nAdvertisement\nIf you’ve stuck with the show this long, then this was a deeply cathartic moment. Seeing the characters, and the show, finally acknowledging how profound a fuckboy Mon-El has been was immensely satisfying, and it was genuinely powerful for Kara to finally realize how unrealistic and rose-colored she’s been remembering her relationship with him had been, spurred mainly because of her grief at losing him last season.\nThe first setting in fixing a problem is admitting you have a problem, and Supergirl finally fessed up. Finally, maybe, the Kara and the show’s crush on Mon-El is completely over and done with, and we can go back to a show about robots and ice giants, and aliens fighting each other with their capes.\nAdvertisement\nAssorted Musings:\nAlso this week! Lena Luthor has imprisoned Sam “for her own good” and experiments on her to prove she’s Reign. Neither of them have elected to tell their friends about this—including the government agent/xenobiologist Sam first confessed to. That will probably be a problem at some point.\nCarl Lumby’s M’yrnn J’onzz is no longer allowed to be psychic, and it’s telling that you actually understand his heartbreak—even if the show compares being psychically neutered with having your car keys taken away.\nLena and James are still dating. For two such beautiful people that relationship is totally devoid of anything genuinely interesting.\nConfirmed: Kara doesn’t rip off every shirt when quick changing into Supergirl. Sometimes she carefully unbuttons a blouse because she likes it.\nPam from HR is a force to be reckoned with.", "Photo: Carl Court (Getty)\nInstagram is finally giving users the ability to download some of their data. After teasing the tool a few weeks ago, the Facebook-owned service released a data export feature today, and it does more than just let you retrieve a copy of your filtered photos.\nAll users can now access the data export tool from the web, with iOS and Android support rolling out within an unspecified timeframe, TechCrunch reports. During the export process, Instagram tells you what you’re getting, though the description is a little vague:\nWe’ll email you a link to a file with your photos, comments, profile information and more. We can only work on one request from your account at a time, and it may take up to 48 hours to collect this data and send it to you.\nScreenshot: Patrick Austin (Gizmodo)\nWhile Instagram warns “it may take up to 48 hours” to get a link to your data, your link may arrive much sooner. In our experience, the export also included recent posts to our stories feed and .Json files documenting past likes, followers, and direct messages. Instagram says you can only request a link to your data every four days, so keep that in mind.\nAs for where you should plop your exported photos, there aren’t a ton of popular, social alternatives to turn to. Regardless, if you’re already using a service like Google Photos for every other candid shot you take, you may want to just dump ‘em there.\nAdvertisement\nHow to export from the web:\nLog in to Instagram.com and visit the Privacy and Security page.\nHit “Request Download” under the Data Download section.\nEnter your email and Instagram password.\n[TechCrunch]", "Two weeks ago TechCrunch called on Instagram to build an equivalent to Facebook’s “Download Your Information feature so if you wanted to leave for another photo sharing network, you could. The next day it announced this tool would be coming and now TechCrunch has spotted it rolling out to users. Instagram’s “Data Download” feature can be accessed here or through the app’s privacy settings. It lets users export their photos, videos, archived Stories, profile, info, comments, and non-ephemeral messages, though it can take a few hours to days for your download to be ready.\nAn Instagram spokesperson now confirms to TechCrunch that “the Data Download tool is currently accessible to everyone on the web, but access via iOS and Android is still rolling out.” We’ll have more details on exactly what’s inside once my download is ready.\nThe tool’s launch is necessary for Instagram to comply with the data portability rule in European Union’s GDPR privacy law that goes into effect on May 25th. But it’s also a reasonable concession. Instagram has become the dominant image sharing social network with over 800 million users. It shouldn’t need to lock up users’ data in order to keep them around.\nInstagram hasn’t been afraid to attack competitors and fight dirty. Most famously, it copied Snapchat’s Stories in August 2016, which now has over 300 million daily users — eclipsing the original. But it also cut off GIF-making app Phhhoto from its Find Friends feature, then swiftly cloned its core feature to launch Instagram Boomerang. Within a few years, Phhhoto had shut down its app.\nIf Instagram is going to ruthlessly clone and box out its competitors, it should also let users choose which they want to use. That’s tough if all your photos and videos are trapped inside another app. The tool could create a more level playing field for competition amongst photo apps.\nIt could also deter users from using sketchy third-party apps to scrape all their Instagram content. Since they typically require you to log in with your Instagram credentials, these put users at risk of being hacked or having their images used elsewhere without their consent. Considering Facebook launched its DYI tool in 2010, six years after the site launched, the fact that it took Instagram 8 years from launch to build this means it’s long overdue.\nBut with such strong network effect and its willingness to clone any popular potential rival, it may still take a miracle or a massive shift to a new computing platform for any app to dethrone Instagram.", "It’s hard to imagine the app without them, but Facebook’s autoplaying videos were a bit controversial back when they first started hitting users’ feeds almost 4 years ago. Worries over the app using excessive data were among some of the biggest concerns, but the fact that autoplaying videos were silent meant the they weren’t too intrusive. That is, until now.\nFacebook announced today a handful of new features they hope will make videos a more pleasant experience in their app. One of which is the fact that videos — which already play automatically in your feed — will now do so at full volume by default. Before you freak out, Facebook says the app will still respect your phone’s current volume settings (so if your phone is on silent, videos be silent) and that there will be a new setting to mute autoplaying videos in your feed. Autoplaying videos wont interrupt media playback with music apps, so you don’t have to worry about it interfering.\nAlso planned for the app is a sort of picture-in-picture mode when you want to continue watching a video while you scroll through your feed (similar to the YouTube app), or even if you leave the app to do something else on your device thanks to a floating window. Smaller tweaks like full screen vertical video has also been added, but the biggest news could be the arrival of a Facebook video app for TV.\nThe Facebook video app — launching soon on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Samsung Smart TV — will give users the ability to browse Facebook videos on the largest screen in their home: the TV. The app is essentially Facebook’s version of YouTube, allowing users to watch videos shared by friends, check out trending videos from around the world, get recommend videos based on your interests, check out videos you’ve saved for later/uploaded/shared, and (the one feature I’ve been waiting for) revisit your video history.", "Get ready for the videos you scroll past in your Facebook feed to play with the sound on.\nAfter initially muting videos by default, Facebook announced on Tuesday that videos on its social network will now play with the sound enabled.\nFacebook said it's making the change after getting \"positive feedback\" from users it has already tested the experience with, but the move could potentially anger users that have grown accustomed to only hearing sound when they choose to tap into a playing video.\nThe main catch is that videos will still be muted by default if your phone is set to silent. Facebook is also letting people disable the behavior entirely by unchecking a new “Videos in News Feed Start With Sound” option in its app's settings.\nFacebook enabling sound by default is just one part of its multi-pronged strategy to be more of a destination for watching videos. The company is also releasing a standalone TV app and funding its own original shows.", "You are about to activate our Facebook Messenger news bot. Once subscribed, the bot will send you a digest of trending stories once a day.\nStart the conversation, or Read more at TechCrunch.", "News for Tonight’s WWE RAW – Final Hype for SummerSlam, Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax, More\nTonight’s WWE RAW takes place from the TD Garden in Boston with the final build for Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.\nTonight’s show will feature Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax with the winner facing RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss on Sunday. No other matches have been announced for tonight but we do know that WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is scheduled.\nWWE is focusing on the following points for tonight:\n* Every woman for herself: Sasha vs. Nia\n* Joe is gonna get you\n* Mizzed opportunity with The Miztourage and Jason Jordan\n* Face your fear, Finn Balor\n* Brothers on the mend, Rollins and Ambrose\nFollow Marc on Twitter at @this_is_marc. Send any news, tips or corrections to us by clicking here.\nBig News on a Crazy Brock Lesnar Feud, “Broken” Hardy Plans for WWE RAW Revealed, Vince McMahon Upset with WWE Newcomer, New GIFs & Galleries, More\n(Visited 5 times, 5 visits today)", "Your new feed is accessible from its own tab on your Imgur home screen, right next to the \"Most Viral\" tab. You'll need to tap through a few tags of your own interests and your feed will fill up with images and GIFs from the people and tags you follow. You can up/down vote, comment and add favorites from the endless scroll of Imgur content. It's a nice way to just browse stuff you're interested in, instead of what's most viral on the service.\nYou can find Snacks in the search tab within the Imgur app. You'll see a bar at the top, just under the search field, with a curated list of GIFs that you can tap and just, well, watch. There doesn't appear to be a way to create your own list, unfortunately, which separates Snacks from the other social media story features." ]

[ "Objective To analyze and summarize the experience of using laparoscopy in diagnosis and treatment of abdominal injury.Methods The clinical data of 42 abdominal injury cases with laparoscopy from 2009 to 2012 were analyzed retrospectively.Results Among these patients,26 cases were closed abdominal injury,16 cases were openness abdominal injury.22 cases were diagnosed and treated by laparoscopy,9 cases by laparoscopy assisted technology.11 patients were converted to open operation.All the cases were diagnosed and confirmed.These abdominal injury cases included abdominal wall penetrating injury,rupture of small intesting,rupture of colon,stomach rupture,omentum or mesenteric hematoma,hepatic rupture,splenic rupture.Conclusions The application of laparoscopy and laparoscopy assisted technology in diagnosis and treatment of abdominal injury possesses high clinical value." ]

[ "The treatment of lesions due to blunt abdominal trauma has changed considerably in the last decade. With a view to the prevention of immediate and later complications of splenectomy, conservative surgical technique have been put forward, or else, when the haemodynamic conditions of the patient permit, techniques of non-operative monitoring of splenic lesions. Laparoscopy today constitutes an approach to the diagnosis and treatment of blunt abdominal trauma which decisively favours conservative treatment. The experience presented bears witness to the potential usefulness of laparoscopy in these cases. Technological progress will widen the possibilities of this method and more detailed studies will define its exact indications.", "Objective To explore the effect of therapeutic laparoscopy on soluting adhesive ilus.Methods Eigty-five cases of adhesive ilus performed lysis with laparoscope from 2005 to 2007,Their clinical data were retrospec-tively analyzed.Results Seventy-nine cases of patients were treated by laparoscopy;6 cases were converted to laparotomy because of intestinal injury.79 patients successfully treated by lapamscopie were followed up,and none of them recurred.Conclusions Lysis with laparoscope for adhesive ilus is minltraumatic,operating lightly and softly,which issens the occurrence of adhension in abdominal cavity again.The laparoscopy provides a new technique for surgery in adhesive ilus.", "Objective To explore the significance of application of laparoscopic approach in diagnosis and treatment of patients with unexplained abdominal pain.Methods The clinical data of 30 patients with unexplained abdominal pain performed laparoscopic approach were retrospectively analyzed.Results All 30 patients were diagnosed through laparoscopy,26 of them had perforation of upper digestive tract,2 patients with primary gastric cancer,2 patients with intestinal tuberculosis.The perforation of upper digestive tract in 26 cases had been repaired on time,2 patients with primary gastric cancer without primary lesion through gastroscopy were treated with chemotherapy,2 patients with intestinal tuberculosis were treated with anti-tuberculosis therapy.Conclusion Laparoscopic approach can provide with obvious substantivity and reliability in diagnosis and treatment of unexplained abdominal pain,and the majority of patients can get better therapeutic effect,so it is worthy to be recommended for clinical application.", "Objective To explore the application of laparoscopy for non-traumaic acute abdomen. Methods 92 cases of emergency laparoscopy were analyzed retrospectively. Results All patients were diagnosed during operation. Laparoscopic operations were successful in 82 cases, the achievement ratio was 90% (82/92). The other 10 patients converted to laparotomy. Conclusions Emergency laparoscopic exploration not only can affirmed the diagnosis for acute abdomen with unknown causes but also offer a therapeutic method in 90% of patients at least.", "Abstract Bowel injury is common during operative laparoscopy, yet injury by the suction-irrigator has never been reported to our knowledge. An injury to the sigmoid colon by suction-irrigator occurred during intestinal retraction. Primary repair was performed through minilaparotomy incision. In addition to the potentially damaging effect of the instrument, a firm, distended, and unprepared bowel was a leading factor in this injury. We recommend that all patients have bowel preparation before operative laparoscopy, and that great care be taken for all surgical manipulations, even when employing traditionally atraumatic instruments.", "The acute abdomen continues to demand a large proportion of the general surgeon's workload. Recent studies have demonstrated that management errors can be significantly reduced using selective laparoscopy and this should now become routine practice. The continuing advances in laparoscopic surgery that permit many emergency procedures to be performed by this route provide increased impetus for a combined approach using diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopy for the management of the acute abdomen. Results of current studies must be awaited before the exact role of emergency laparoscopic surgery can be defined, but early reports suggest several advantages in using laparoscopy to manage conditions such as acute appendicitis, perforated peptic ulcer and gynaecological emergencies.", "Abstract The last ten years have been characterized by a tremendous change in laparoscopy. Initially used exclusively for diagnosis, laparoscopy is now a surgical method in its own right and plays a strategic role. Long-term evaluation of results for various pathologies (such as ectopic pregnancy and tubo-peritoneal sterility) means that just one laparoscopic procedure can be used for diagnosis, selection of the best therapeutic approach and also for treatment in those cases where laparoscopy is the optimum choice. Other more recent indications (including hysterectomy, lymphadenectomy etc.) which are now possible thanks to recent technological developments (such as clips and mechanical sutures) need long-term analysis of their results.", "In the clinic 3 patients were treated for inborn diaphragmatic Morgagni-Larrey hernia. The modern videoendoscopic methods application, including laparoscopy, have permitted to improve significantly the operation results and security, to reduce the patients stationary treatment duration. Since the disease is diagnosed it is necessary to perform operative intervention for the severe complications prophylaxis. Further studying of the disease is expedient for surgical technique and the treatment results improvement.", "We analyzed the method of perioperative care of 168patients with laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy,and discussed the key points in nursing work,such as psychological support,correct preoperative evaluation,close postoperative observation,rehabilitation guidance.The results showed that the cure rate was 87.50%,the improvement rate was 12.50%.The method is satisfactory without any case developing complications,and worthy of clinical application.", "Objective:To investigate the application value of gasless laparoscopy in gynecologic surgery.Methods:The curative effect of gasless laparoscopic gynecologic surgery since 2006 was retrospectively analyzed,and compared with pneumoperitoneum laparoscopy at the same time.Results:Significant differences were observed between the two techniques in the following variables:operating time,blood loss,post-operative anal flatus,body temperature,time of abdominal distention.Conclusions:Gasless laparoscopy is superior to pneumoperitoneum technique in the areas of intraoperative ventilation,hemodynamics,postoperative pain.It can be considered as a future research direction in laparoscopic surgery.", "Objective:To explore the safety and feasibility of laparoscopy combined with colonscopy available to patients with colonic polyps.Methods:Eight cases with endoscopically unresectable colonic polyps or complications were performed by laparoscopy combined with colonoscopy.Of them,a colonic perforation occurred during therapeutic colonscopy;a copious bleeding underwent post-therapeutic colonoscopy;a large polyps with thick stalk of sigmoid colon undergoing polypectomy;5 cases underwent laparoscopic segmental colon resection.Results:Eight cases were performed by laparoscopy successfully.There were no complications or conversions to open surgery.Conclusions:Colonoscopy combined with laparoscopy available to patients with endoscopically unresectable colonic polyps is safe and feasible.", "Objective To observe the effect and significance of laparoscopy combined with hysteroscopy in treatment of infertility in clinic.Methods 200 cases of infertility patients in our hospital randomly divided into observation group and control group,observation of laparoscopy combined treatment group,control group patients with laparoscopic treatment alone.Contrast observation and adverse reactions of the two groups of patients.Results The total effective rate of observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group,the adverse reaction was lower than the control group,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).Conclusion The implementation of combined laparoscopy and hysteroscopy in treatment of infertility,can be intuitive treatment,and more ideal curative effect,less adverse reaction,it has clinical value.", "DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5915/22-2-13559 In the last two decades, developments in gynecologic endoscopy have had an impact on our specialty that is equaled only by the introduction of sophisticated radioimmunoassays. With the exception of dilation and curetage (D&C), laparoscopy has become the most frequently performed gynecologic procedure by obstetricians and gynecologists. Although originally introduced as a diagnostic procedure, not surprisingly and within a short time it became an operative procedure. As time went by, more sophistication in operative laparoscopy was obtained because of the development of modern optics and better operative instruments. The latest tool introduced to operative laparoscopy was the laser. This article will discuss all laser laparoscopic procedures that should be done in the field of reproductive surgery.", "Objective: To analyze and summarize the experiences of early diagnosis and surgical treatment of thoraco-abdominal injuries. Method The clinical materials of 61 cases of thoraco-abdominal injuries were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Among 61 cases, there were 35 cases with blunt injury and 26 cases with penetrating injury. 58 cases had been found preoperatively. 52 cases were cured and 9 cases died, including 4 cases dead of hypovolemic shock, 3 cases of MOF and 2 cases of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Conclusion: The thoraco-abdominal injuries is a kind of critical illness. Early diagnosis, active perioperative treatment and postoperative complication prevention are the key factors to increase therapeutic effect and lower mortality.", "Abdominal bloating is a common clinical presentation and can impact significantly on the quality of life. It can be functional or signify more serious pathology. ::: ::: We present a case presentation of a 38-year-old man who presented with recurrent episodes of abdominal bloating and severe debilitation for many years. He had suffered weight loss and was unable to tolerate solids. Ten years ago, he underwent an emergency laparotomy for sigmoid volvulus. In the presence of anaemia, normal imaging, and normal endoscopy, a laparoscopy was performed. At surgery, several adhesional bands were identified and resected. He had an uncomplicated recovery. ::: ::: Acute and chronic adhesional bowel obstruction are common presentations and carry a significant morbidity and mortality. Elective laparoscopy can be a valuable tool for diagnostic and treatment purposes. Pathology should be suspected in cases where weight loss is a feature.", "Blunt abdominal injury in children can be a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The extent and localization of organ damage cannot be always thoroughly investigated noninvasively and in spite of modern imaging techniques and a laparotomy may be necessary for diagnosis, even though it carries a significant morbidity. We present a rare case of isolated gastric rupture after blunt abdominal injury in a 12 year old boy that sustained a bicycle accident. He was hemodynamically stable, had signs of acute abdomen and axial tomography was inconclusive as of the site of visceral perforation. Definitive diagnosis and treatment were carried out laparoscopically with excellent results. Laparoscopic surgery in cases of blunt abdominal injury with gastric rupture can serve both as a diagnostic and therapeutic modality with the additional advantage of being less traumatic. The accumulation of relevant experience is mandatory in order to establish this modality in the diagnostic and therapeutic protocols.", "Traditional open surgery of esophageal cancer is commonly accompanied with relatively big trauma,high morbidity rates and signicant perioperative mortality.More recently,the increasing use of video-assisted thoracoscope and laparoscope technologies in esophagectomy have had the potential to reduce surgical trauma,blood loss,hospital stay and perioperative morbidity.As a review,this article summarized the domestic and international reports of minimally invasive esophagectomy,while respectively analyzed applications of thoracoscope,surgical patterns,positions and the advantages and disadvantages.", "Excellent hemostatic tools are now available for the gastrointestinal surgeon. Each technology has its benefits and indications. Knowledge of these technologies can improve efficiency and outcomes for both open and laparoscopic procedures. There is a learning curve associated with the use of these devices, and proper training and understanding of the technology will result in safer and more effective results.", "Treating victims of penetrating trauma is challenging, especially in a mass-casualty or resource-limited setting. The traditional focused assessment with sonography for trauma examination is a well-established clinical tool in the initial evaluation of trauma victims. This article describes a novel technique of systematic sonography of the abdomen to look for occult wounds, which is used in conjunction with the focused assessment with sonography for trauma examination to evaluate occult intraperitoneal injury and improve patient treatment and use of resources. The technique is highlighted in a case of a child injured in a conflict zone in northern Iraq.", "Drainage of the mediastinum or thoracic cavity following bypass surgery is a routine procedure. A case is reported where pneumoperitoneum developed after the surgical procedure with vague abdominal symptoms accompanied by fever and leukocytosis. Because of the possibility of a rupture of an intra-abdominal organ laparoscopy was performed in this very ill patient and laparotomy avoided. Attention is drawn to this particular group of patients with the sequela of pneumoperitoneum in which laparoscopy can solve the diagnostic dilemma.", "ObjectiveThe authors describe the technique of staging laparoscopy with laparoscopic contact ultrasonography in the preoperative assessment of patients with liver tumors, and assess its impact on the selection of patients for hepatic resection with curative intent.Summary Background DataLaparoscopy", "In a child two previously migrated abdominal catheters from ventriculoperitoneal shunts were removed from the abdominal cavity by use of laparoscopy. Avoiding the usually longitudinal laparatomy, two small incisions were necessary to insert the laparoscope (sub-umbilical incision) and grasping forceps (left iliac pit incision). Laparoscopy allowed for identification of a working ventriculoperitoneal shunt, that was correctly in place, and for removal of two old migrated catheters. The child was mobilized the same day and the post-operative course was uneventful.", "Exploratory laparoscopy of the right dorsal portion of the abdominal cavity was performed on a Standardbred filly because of signs of mild abdominal pain of 7 days' duration. On the basis of clinical examination, diagnosis was suppurative peritonitis, abdominal adhesions in the area of the right ovary, and right displacement and impaction of the pelvic flexure of the ascending colon. During laparoscopy, an abdominal adhesion between the right uterine horn, the cecum, and the pelvic flexure was identified. The abdominal adhesions were either stretched with laparoscopic forceps used as a probe or dissected bluntly with the tips of a pair of 10-mm laparoscopic Kelly forceps. Antibiotics were administered for 21 days after surgery. The horse fully recovered and raced 11 months after the surgery.", "The management of full-thickness rectal prolapse involves surgical intervention in the majority of cases. Many procedures have been described employing both perineal and abdominal approaches. Abdominal procedures result in more durable repair of the prolapse; however, the procedures require general anesthesia and are reserved for younger healthier patients. Laparoscopy has been utilized in the treatment of rectal prolapse since its introduction for colorectal procedures; recent studies have found equivalent long-term results and short-term outcomes.", "Objective To study the effect of combined endoscopy and laparoscopic mini-invasive management for cholelithiasis.Methods Clinical data of 114 cases of cholelithiasis treated by combined endoscopy and laparoscopy were reviewed.Results All patients underwent ERCP successfully,and EST were successful in 112 patients(98.2%).After EST,8 patients complicated with acute pancreatitis,41 with increased hemodiastase for short time,20 with increased bilirubin lightly.LC were performed in 28 cases,including fibercholangioscopy for the treatment of cholelithiasis in 12 patients.One patient was converted to laparotomy without severe complications.One patient suffered from duodenum perforation during EST.EST combined with laparoscopic cholecystectomy and fibercholangioscopy had a high success rate(96.4%,110/114)for cholelithiasis.Conclusion Laparoscopic cholecystectomy combined with EST and fibercholangioscopy has many advantages in management for cholelithiasis,such as minimal invasion,rapid recovery and better result.", "Objective To analyze the clinical effect and complications of cholecyst retention cholelithotomy with laparoscopy and choledochoscopy on cholecystolithiasis.Methods Fifty-five cases of cholecystolithiasis who received cholecyst retention cholelithotomy with laparoscopy and choledochoscopy were retrospectively analyzed.The success rate,operation time,operation injury,length of stay and complications after operation were recorded.Results The success rate was 98.2%,average operation time was(48.2±4.3) min,average amount of bleeding was(13.3±2.5) mL,and average length of stay was(3.9±0.5).There were no biliary leaks,bleeding,infection and diarrhea in all 55 patients.Conclusion The method of cholecyst retention cholelithotomy with laparoscopy and choledochoscopy on cholecystolithiasis is a safe and efficient surgical approach.It's worth to be popularized and applied.", "Background ::: Surgical treatment of ventral hernias has changed dramatically over the past decades by the introduction of laparoscopy and prosthetic biomaterials for reinforcement of the abdominal wall. There are many meshes available on the market for laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR), and new meshes are introduced regularly. Experimental and clinical documentation for safety and efficacy are, however, often not available for the clinician. The choice of mesh may therefore be difficult in clinical practice. We present a review of the current literature regarding safety measures such as adhesions, fistulas, and infections as well as the available data on pain, recurrence, mesh shrinkage, and seroma formation after LVHR.", "Abstract A fan retractor and a mechanical lifting arm were developed to achieve planar displacement of the anterior abdominal wall for gasless laparoscopic procedures. The technique permits the use of conventional open surgical instruments as well as laparoscopic tools through minilaparotomy incisions. It also potentially addresses the technical constraints imposed by pneumoperitoneum, and physiologic concerns regarding carbon dioxide insufflation. Gynecologic, general surgical, and trauma procedures were performed in 104 patients, with successful completion of 86.5%. Continued application is necessary to delineate the full range of benefits oflaparoscopy without insufflation", "Abstract Thoracic endometriosis syndrome is a relatively uncommon disorder characterized by recurrent pneumothoraces, hemothorax, chest pain, dyspnea, and hemoptysis within 48 to 72 hours of menstruation. A 34 year old, ASA physical status 2 woman with recurrent catamenial pneumothoraces due to thoracic endometriosis syndrome is presented. After treatment with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, she underwent successful elective diagnostic abdominal laparoscopy without incident. The presence of parenchymal injury and damage predisposes these patients to ventilator-induced lung injury. Postponement of surgery until the intermenstrual period, with lung protective ventilation, allows patients with this disease to successfully undergo general anesthesia and surgery.", "After the first successful laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Europe by Phillipe Mouret, the method quickly became established all over the world. In the meantime, its advantages and complications have been identified. In rare cases, major vascular injuries occur as serious and deadly complications of laparoscopic surgery. We present the case of a patient with a sizable pseudoaneurysm of the abdominal aorta that was identified 5 months after the performance of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy at another hospital. Thereafter, we review the literature in search of some methods that can be used to avoid vascular injuries.", "One hundred thirty-two children and adolescents with penetrating abdominal trauma have been reported. Eighty-two of these patients had intraperitoneal injuries. Five of the injured patients died, and 35 suffered complications. Patterns of organ injuries were found to be similar to a previously studied adult series. Satisfactory results were obtained by simple management of specific injuries. Ninety-five per cent of the injured patients and 80% of uninjured patients could be accurately identified at initial physical examination. Selective observation of penetrating abdominal injuries can be safely employed in children and adolescents. Language: en", "The experience of treatment of 69 injured persons with posttraumatic retroperitoneal hematoma suffering severe multiple combined abdominal trauma was analyzed. Application of the classification proposed permits to formulate diagnosis and to choose the tactic of treatment correctly. The intraoperative tactics algorithm was elaborated. It promotes the correct analysis of intraoperative findings and reduction of the diagnostic mistakes frequency as well. In the presence of vast defect, making impossible to suture over the parietal peritoneum, extraperitonization using cerebral dura mater was done. Operative intervention was concluded by drainage with subsequent laserotherapy." ]

[ "I was very fond of the movie but haven't watched it in several years. I had never read the book, but given my enjoyment of the movie I thought it was worth a shot. I enjoyed it and it had been long enough since I last saw the movie that I didn't have those frustrations that you can sometimes have when the movie and book are dissimilar. It was sort of like revisiting a favorite spot it seemed familiar :-)" ]

[ "Dont particularly like the beans used. They are squishy and this most likely won't last long with daily use that my kids will put it through.", "I picked up a bag of this through the Vine program which offers products to Amazon members to review. I was surprised on reading the ingredients once I got it though, considering this is supposed to be a \"premium\" Iams product to find chicken by-product as the first ingredient. Hardly a \"premium\" protein source, and not one I would want to use regularly with my senior dog. Likewise it contains too many grains for my liking, particularly ones like corn which simply are not a good thing to feed dogs, particularly senior dogs who need easy-to-digest ingredients. I found my dog who is typically not very picky, was not very fond of this food, and only ate it reluctantly, so to use it up, I'm mixing it in with a higher quality, good ingredient food that he likes better. I'd definitely pass on this food in favor of better ones particularly for older dogs.", "Excellent vacuum for the price. It was easy to assemble and works great. I particularly like the attachment for cleaning small surfaces such as steps - it is sized right for the job and allows for full control of the head while working in tight spots.", "I really like it, but these headphones do not work with iPhone 6. Frequent uncontrolled Siri engagements, costant play interruptions , static noise. Not MFi certified by apple", "I'm in awe! This novel incorporated all the classic elements of the Cinderella fairy-tale into a sci-fi, futurist retelling. And it was flawless, each character represented perfectly! I'm amazed by the genius behind Marissa Meyer's work. But not only did the story fit in all the elements of a Cinderella tale, it also was unique, suspenseful, and fun all on it's own.\n\nSo, since it's a futurist retelling, instead of it being 'Cinderelly, Cinderelly, washing the dishes, do the mopping' it was 'Cinder, fix the android robot, fix the hover craft'. Cinder is a cyborg (a human with mechanical parts), a 2nd-class citizen in her world, and there's no way she'll ever go to the ball. Not that she even wants to. She's too busy working as a mechanic and earning a living for the family. Her robot sidekick Iko--who I liked to think of as the fairy-godmother of the story--is practically her only friend until she meets the prince. Wearing a hoodie as disguise, the story kicks off the moment Prince Kai visits Cinder's booth in the crowded New Beijing market place and asks her to fix his android.\n\nI read this one at hyper-speed, as I couldn't get enough, and loved every moment of the story until the very end. It ends on a cliff-hanger. Picture the movie Ever After with Drew Barrymore: she goes to the ball... the prince is so excited to see her until it's revealed that she's not royalty as he thought but a lowly peasant... the step-mom rips off her wings... Drew runs away in tears leaving her shoe behind... the prince is angry thinking he was betrayed until he realizes that it doesn't matter if Drew is royalty or not because he loves her just the same... the end. Now picture the movie ending before the prince's realization. What if he never brought Drew Barrymore the shoe, expressed his love, called her by her real name? The movie would have felt unfinished. Well, that's how--more or less--this book ended.\n\nBut, book #2 is already out so hopefully I'll have my ending soon enough :)\n\nBottom line: Buy it! Read it! I really liked it!", "It is a beautiful watch and particularly it looks like an expensive one. This watch is not sold in Invicta shop in Singapore.\nGood value for your money.", "I'm using these gloves to provide more padding to my palms as I recover from carpal tunnel release surgery. They are particularly helpful for driving and fit, well, like a glove!", "Beautiful ring for the price. I have gotten multiple compliments at work. It does look like an engagement ring....but I wear it on my right hand for less confusion.." ]

[ "As of 2012 (Nuclear and Emerging Technologies in Space meeting at LPI) the outline of development program is as follows:\n\nSee this pdf file for links to papers.\n\n(note: only tangible test &amp; evaluation items listed)\n\n\nManufacture and test fuel elements in two compositions: NERVA composite, and Uranium dioxide UO2 in tungsten ceramic-metallic \"cermet\". Testing will be conducted at DOE facilities and at Marshall (NTR Element Environmental Simulator)\nConduct safety tests at Nevada Test Site by injecting hot gas with Krypton-85 tracer to find out if future testing will not leak radioactive particles.\nAfter that NASA and DOE will go for approval of testing by higher-ups in 2015.\nIf approved, full scale testing will be started at Nevada Test Site in late 2019.\nFlight technology demonstration mission is scheduled for 2023." ]

[ "50 years old abort routines are hard to come by, but the NERVA-specs (unclassified 9/8/1970) clearly specify a malfunction mode in which the engine should be able to provide a minimum of thrust and impulse. The values stated (thrust of 30000 pounds, impulse of 10⁸ lb-seconds) are enough to direct the upper stage away from densely populated areas, towards a landing in the ocean. The engine should also be capable of operating with just one turbo pumpNormal procedure for saving the crew during a launch failure is separating the capsule from from the rocket, and fire a solid rocket escape tower to get away, followed by a normal descent with parachutes. The Mercury capsules, pre-dating the NERVA program, was equipped with escape towers.", "&quot;Design concept&quot; sounds like it's Technology Readiness Level 2: &quot;technology concept and/or application formulated&quot;. In short, what UNSC-Tech has delivered is a paper design for a rocket engine. For comparison, NERVA reached TRL 6, firing a prototype engine into a near-vacuum.", "At their core nuclear rockets working by heating a working fluid and running it out a nozzle are still constrained by the same physics as a chemical rocket where exhaust temperature cannot be much higher than the melting point of nozzle (cooling the nozzle lets you cheat a bit), putting limits on how much energy can go into the fuel. \n\nNuclear rockets get some advantages from the fact that exhuast is pure H, which boosts ISP, having a single tank structure and less exciting chemistry in the engine (no oxidisers). \n\nWhere they lose out on is the method of adding heat to the working fluid. For a chemical rocket this is pretty straight forward, pump in your chemicals and let them react and the heat happens without further engineering.\n\nFor a nuclear rocket you need to come up with a method of transferring all that nuclear energy into heat in fuel, and that generally means lots of surface area which translates into mass and therefore lower thrust/weight. \n\nOrion, and some other hypothetical magnetically contained systems bypass the solid nozzle and the related constraints. In the case of Orion the 'nozzle' could be described as the plasma going in all directions other than the pusher plate and pretty much unconstrained by temperature (if somewhat inefficient).", "Apparently, at least one OTRAG rocket test used diesel. OTRAG's intended fuel was kerosene with a nitric acid/$N_2O_4$ blend for oxidizer, so I would guess they used a similar oxidizer with diesel.\nMost large rocket engines pass the fuel through tubes surrounding the combustion chamber for cooling; normal kerosene and other common hydrocarbon fuels tend to &quot;coke&quot; (polymerize) and block the cooling channels and/or partially vaporize, either of which creates hot spots, promoting more coking and/or vaporization causing a runaway thermal failure. RP-1 is a specification for narrow-cut kerosene that minimizes this problem, widely used in modern rocket engines, but at the other extreme, diesel is more prone to coking, making it unsuitable as rocket fuel.\n\nAlso, if available, what ISP was achieved using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizer, and what fuel mixer was likely used?\n\nThe liquid propellants table from Wikipedia has a few entries with hydrogen peroxide, getting a few percent less specific impulse with the same fuels combusted with LOX. The highest-performing peroxide combination given there is with a hydrazine/beryllium mix, about 403 sec (3954 m/s exhaust velocity) vacuum specific impulse; I don't know if that was ever actually fired on a large scale.\nNote that peroxide is denser than LOX, so you get some small additional benefit in smaller tankage, smaller structure, thus less drag, so the difference in total launcher system performance is smaller than the direct $I_{sp}$ comparison.\nThe only large rocket I know of that used peroxide was Black Arrow, which combusted kerosene with 85% peroxide/15% water. Hydrogen peroxide can be challenging to handle and store at higher concentrations, though its reputation is probably worse than it deserves.", "I'm assuming that the goal is to get to orbit with a hybrid between a nuclear turbojet and a nuclear thermal rocket. \n\nBe aware that H2O is a significantly heavier molecule than H2, so mixing your hydrogen with oxygen is unlikely to improve V_exh, even if it increases the temperature somewhat. \n\nOn that basis I'm going to guess the answer is no, and that the best solution for your hybrid is to get to the fastest possible steady state as a turbojet, then pitch up and escape the atmosphere as a nuclear rocket.", "The requirement is for the same configuration. The Delta IV is a highly configurable rocket, and has been flown in the following modes:\n\n\nDelta IV-M 3 times, no failures\nDelta IV-M+ 19 times, no failures\nDelta IV Heavy- 9 times, 1 failure. 6 in a row success.\n\n\nSo, the Delta IV-M+ configuration has the required 14 consecutive flights. Assuming the proper instrumentation was on board as required per the NASA flight requirement matrix, the only thing that would be required is for ULA to present the data to NASA to get the certification. \n\nAnd in fact, it turns out that the Delta IV is Category 3 certification for the Delta IV in 2007. I assume that is only for the M and/or M+ configuration, and not for the Heavy configuration. It, however, does not have Nuclear certification, which is explained in more detail in this answer.", "There's no fundamental difference between a rocket with boosters and a bigger rocket. For a given set of propulsion technologies, the payload capability of a launcher is generally proportional to the launch mass of the rocket -- some features don't scale that way, but the fuel load does, and makes up over 90% of the mass. \n\nSo if you want more payload capacity, adding boosters is a good thing. \n\nIn practice, we often see boosters using a cheaper and less efficient type of propulsion than the core stage -- solid rocket motors, usually. These are less mass efficient than liquids, but much more cost efficient, so they're advantageous to use at the very beginning of flight. \n\nYou mentioned nuclear fuel; assuming you're talking about a nuclear thermal system like NERVA or Timberwind, those have relatively low thrust, so you'd almost certainly pair them with solid rocket boosters for a practical launcher.", "As you stated, radiation is the only method of removing excess heat from a conventional spacecraft in vacuum. Designing a spacecraft to radiate heat appropriately is important and yes, it does add mass to the overall thermal control system. The best way to reduce that mass is to try and ensure the spacecraft doesn't need to radiate as much heat. For example, heat is desirable for maintaining electronics, propellant, or other components within required temperature ranges, so taking advantage of a nuclear source to provide that heat makes it an asset instead of waste (or at least some of it).\n\nOn the other hand, if you are talking about a nuclear thermal rocket engine then most of the heat generated by the nuclear source is ejected along with the exhaust. (See Deer Hunter's comments below.)\n\nFor your secondary question: using heat radiation pressure for thrust has definitely been considered (check out nuclear photonic propulsion). Also, that kind of effect has been observed as a perturbation on spacecraft already (see the Pioneer effect).", "I can answer this part \"Has this same (or similar) design always been used for such tests?\"\n\nIn the early days of the program Shuttle would occasionally do a pad test where the main engines were fired briefly. \n\n\r\n \r\n \n\nDuring this test (and at all other times) the Shuttle/External Tank/Solid Rocket Booster stack was held down to the Mobile Launcher by eight bolts. Four of these bolts connected the aft skirt of each Solid Rocket Booster to the Mobile Launcher. The bolts were 28 inches long and 3.5 inches in diameter. You can see the hold-down post which was the interface between the bolts and the Launcher in the picture below.\n\n\n\nA schematic of the holddown post and bolt is shown here.\n\n\n\nFor a real launch, the nuts were blown in half by pyrotechnic devices (2 per nut, for redundancy). Here is a picture of the nuts after launch.\n\n\n\nI am not sure you can accurately characterize this as \"simple\" but it was generally reliable. I am aware of a couple of problems that occurred throughout the years, the amusingly named \"stud hang ups\" and an incident on STS-112 where one set of redundant pyros didn't fire.", "There were several factors in the launch date\n\n\nThe late John F. Kennedy had promised to go to the moon within the decade. This was a secondary concern, but an important one nevertheless\nThe failure of the Soviet N1 rocket on July 3, 1969. The Soviet program was desperately trying to keep up with the American program. NASA feared the Soviets would overtake them if they slowed down.\nThe Apollo Program was at peak capacity. Apollo 4 launched Nov 9, 1967. Between then and Apollo 13 on Apr 11, 1970 (30 months), NASA would launch an impressive 10 Saturn rockets (1B and V), 6 of which went to the moon in some fashion\n\n\nIn short, temperature does not seem to have been a concern. Apollo rockets were launched in all seasons.", "Yes,you can find the PDF here\n\nThe abstract:\n\n\n Propellantless propulsion is believed to be the best option for\n interstellar travel. However, photon rockets or solar sails have\n thrusts so low that maybe only nano-scaled spacecraft may reach the\n next star within our lifetime using very high-power laser beams.\n Following into the footsteps of earlier breakthrough propulsion\n programs, we are investigating different concepts based on\n non-classical/revolutionary propulsion ideas that claim to be at least\n an order of magnitude more efficient in producing thrust compared to\n photon rockets. Our intention is to develop an excellent research\n infrastructure to test new ideas and measure thrusts and/or artefacts\n with high confidence to determine if a concept works and if it does\n how to scale it up. At present, we are focusing on two possible\n revolutionary concepts: The EMDrive and the Mach-Effect Thruster. The\n first concept uses microwaves in a truncated cone-shaped cavity that\n is claimed to produce thrust. Although it is not clear on which\n theoretical basis this can work, several experimental tests have been\n reported in the literature, which warrants a closer examination. The\n second concept is believed to generate mass fluctuations in a\n piezo-crystal stack that creates non-zero time-averaged thrusts. Here\n we are reporting first results of our improved thrust balance as well\n as EMDrive and Mach-Effect thruster models. Special attention is given\n to the investigation and identification of error sources that cause\n false thrust signals. Our results show that the magnetic interaction\n from not sufficiently shielded cables or thrusters are a major factor\n that needs to be taken into account for proper µN thrust measurements\n for these type of devices.", "The external Thermal Protection System (TPS), at least, seems to have survived in good shape. This article states that only five tiles were lost during the mission, this article says seven.\n\n\n\n(picture is from 2nd link above)\n\nI have not found any reports on the condition of other Buran systems postflight, at least in English. It is reported that the vehicle was not fully kitted out with the systems that would have been required for an operational mission; for example, the planned fuel cells were not installed, instead batteries powered the test flight.", "Could you make a nuclear thermal rocket using water as a reaction mass? Sure! People have looked at that, as it would be nice to be able to refuel rockets in space from things you find (see Nuclear thermal rockets using indigenous extraterrestrial propellants)\nCould you launch from Earth with such a rocket?\nWell, maybe.\nWould it be worth it?\nMaybe not.\n\nLets assume first that you can have a nuclear rocket with a sufficient thrust-to-weight ratio to get off the ground. The classic NERVA design might not have had this property, but things like Project Timberwind or DUMBO both suggested this might be possible... the latter even suggested a better thrust-to-weight than the Space Shuttle's main engines using water as reaction mass. Real world politics shelved those designs (at least in part due to ecological concerns about running an open cycle nuclear reactor in the biosphere we live in).\nAnyway. I'll be pulling in some stuff from this related answer which may be of interest to you. An important figure of merit in a rocket engine is the &quot;characteristic velocity&quot;:\n$$c_* \\propto \\sqrt{\\frac{T_t}{M_w}}$$\nwhere $T_t$ can be taken to be the exhaust temperature, and $M_w$ is the molecular weight of the gas species in the exhaust.\nProblem is that having your exhaust made up of big, heavy molecules like H2O limits its velocity. You can counter this by increasing your operating temperature, but now you're running into problems with your engine melting.\nA solid-core nuclear thermal rocket has a chamber temperature pretty similar to that of a modern hydrogen-oxygen rocket, and if your NTR runs on water then its exhaust products will be the same too, which means you end up with the same rocket performance.\nWe don't have any single-stage-to-orbit LH/LOX rockets. Your water-NTR would end up needing something like the Space Shuttle's arrangement of disposable boosters and a massive reaction mass tank. That's a lot of hazardous nuclear material, radioactive exhaust, untried technology and great expense for not a lot of gain! it'd be better to use a regular rocket to fly a low-thrust, high-efficiency nuclear rocket into space instead.\nIf you were prepared to stretch the bounds of plausibility a little, you could imagine a Closed-Cycle Gas-Core NTR which might be able to offer an efficient SSTO when fueled with water. Maybe. The engineering required to build such a thing is quite beyond us right now, and quite frankly I'd expect to see working fusion reactors and electromagnetic launch systems before anyone built a nuclear lightbulb like this.", "Almost certainly. The predecessor H-IIA rocket delivered the orbiter SELENE to the moon in 2007. The SELENE-2 mission slated for 2018 or 2019 will use either an H-IIA or an H-IIB launcher -- it's not entirely clear which from the references I've found, but I think it will be the H-IIA, as the payload is not significantly heavier than that of SELENE.", "The Centaur upper stage is the one that springs instantly to mind. Its first successful flight was in 1965, and it is still being used by ULA as an upper stage for its Atlas V.", "Most likely not, at least not in the way these claims are suggesting. The article's claims are shaky at best, and go against both US and German reports regarding Germany's nuclear program at the time.\n\nAPO 696: Two problems here. The linked articles base their claims on the \"Recently declassified file APO 696 from the National Archives in Washington\". A quick search through the national archives doesn't show any such document, though admittedly it could be part of some other documents and hard to find. Regardless, if it was declassified and public, there would have been no reason for them to not link the documents in the article. \n\nFurthermore, 'APO' seems to mean 'Army Post Office', and according to this document 'APO 696' seems to have been located in New York. Perhaps the actual document the claims are referring was found at that post office and has another official name, however this again leads to question as to why the articles wouldn't give the actual name of the document or where to find it. It's more likely that 'APO 696' sounded official enough to be a believable document, so they used it without verifying whether it existed.\n\nLuigi Romersa's Claim: The references to Romersa are likely references to the book Hitlers Bombe by Rainer Karlsch. However, a quick look at the Wikipedia article for it shows that not only did Karlsch's sources not claim to have witnessed a fission bomb but rather a dirty bomb or some other related device, he himself stated that he did not have any conclusive proof to back up the claims. So, clearly not the best source, but perhaps his sources were correct and they are the only people willing to talk about seeing it.\n\nFeasibility: There is a lot of documentation on the German nuclear program, all of which points to the fact the German nuclear program was, at best, many years away from producing a bomb. One source of info regarding Germany's nuclear program is Albert Speer's Inside the Third Reich. I don't have the actual text to cite, however according to Speer there was little hope in producing a working nuclear weapon. \n\nThey had apparently solved the physics behind making a bomb, however the project to develop such a bomb was scrapped in mid-1942 when estimates stated that they would have it working no sooner than 1947, and only if they put their full focus behind it. Furthermore, by mid-1943 Speer allocated Germany's uranium stock to the production of ammunition. Further German nuclear research focused mainly on energy production, not bombs.\n\nThe Sites: It is very obvious where nuclear weapons are tested, as they leave behind various types of radioactive material that can rarely be found naturally. At least one site, the location mentioned by Karlsch, was tested in 2006 and no abnormal radiation levels were found. Although a lack of evidence doesn't necessarily mean a lack of an event, if any serious tests occurred there would certainly be some radiological evidence today, not to mention the fact that seismological data from the explosion could have been collected a thousand kilometers away.", "To start with, we do have:\n\n\nLUCIA, a Correlation Program, 2019, developed by Kähler and Olsen. Nonorthogonal internally contracted multi-configurational perturbation theory and Dynamic correlation for nonorthogonal reference states.\nQ-CHEM.\nGronOR: Massively parallel and GPU- accelerated non-orthogonal configuration interaction for large molecular systems.\nTURTLE, an Ab ignition VB/VBSCF Program, 1988-2000, developed by J. Verbeek, J. H. Langenberg, C. P. Byrman, F. Dijkstra, and J. H. van Lenthe.\n... continue the list ...", "Some form of electric drive might work if your spaceship had lots of power to spare (for instance if it had a nuclear reactor onboard or as part of the main engines).\nSomething like VASIMIR or even just a miniaturised coilgun could possibly be made to work using electric and magnetic fields to accelerate plasma or small solid objects (think sand grains) to higher velocities than a thermal rocket can achieve. VASIMIR calims 5N thrust for 40kW, which might be OK for an RCS if the mass of the drive could be made small enough.\nDefinitely some decades down the technology development track, though, not available now.", "You asked this 8 days before NASA published a description of on how they're testing the heating: http://www.nasa.gov/sls/base-heating-tests.html\n\nApparently the answer is to build a 2% scale model of the entire rocket including engines and boosters and fire it in short duration bursts of 50-150 milliseconds at a time in a shock tunnel (CUBRC is working with NASA, so probably these tunnels) that's producing flight conditions for various stages of the flight.\n\n\n(Image from NASA in the article linked above)\n\nThe short duration of testing is is mandated by what the model can handle without melting and very short operation time of a shock tunnel (Wikipedia quotes 20 milliseconds, though that isn't for a CUBRC tunnel).\n\n\n Testing of the mini models will provide data on the convective heating environments the base of the rocket will experience upon ascent for both planned and unplanned flight conditions. Data from the test series will be used to verify flight hardware design environments and set specifications for the design of the rocket's base thermal protection system. The system keeps major hardware, wiring and crews on future missions safe from the extreme heat the boosters and engines create while burning during ascent.\n\n\nNote that this isn't testing the actual shielding, it's just providing the data required to determine how much shielding is required. Given knowledge of the heating it has to withstand the shielding can be tested separately to prove it handles the heat load before stacking all the rockets together. I wouldn't be surprised if the first time they test the shielding with an actual SRB on one side and a block of SSMEs on the other is the first time they launch it.\n\nExperimental data is collected by:\n\n\n The full-stack configuration has 200 heat flux and pressure sensors within the aft section of the rocket to collect data on the base flow environment.\n\n\nand\n\n\n The test program uses new technology that wasn't available during past human spaceflight programs, such as high-speed visible light and infrared cameras, laser diagnostics and new designs of the model propulsion systems that more adequately simulate the SLS full-scale systems.\n\n\nThe first article I linked mentioned that the testing should be done by early summer of 2015. I haven't found any recent references to the testing, but I did find this older NASA post about the scale rockets before they were attached to a model of the rocket for shock tunnel testing. That included a video of a ~65ms long hot-fire test of the core:\n\n\r\n \r\n \n\nNo video of firing with the boosters attached but there was this still image (with an old configuration where the core was turned 45 degrees with respect to the boosters):", "Nuclear bombs produce 3 effects on Earth\n\n\nThermal flash\nNeutrons\nBlast (caused by conversion of X-rays into heat)\n\n\nIn space, you need only concern yourself with the neutrons and X-rays.\n\nRadiation Enhanced Bombs\n\nAccording to Atomic Rockets: Radiation Flux:\n\n\n A one megaton Enhanced-Radiation warhead (AKA \"neutron bomb\") will\n deliver a threshold fatal neutron dose to an unshielded human at 300\n kilometers.\n\n\nNormal Nuclear Weapons\n\nA non-radiation enhanced bomb produces much less neutron radiation but more X-ray radiation. A 1 kton nuclear bomb is borderline survivable at a range of 30 km due to the X-ray flux.\n\nThe survivability range of nuclear bombs scales (roughly) linearly with bomb yield and as the inverse square of distance between bomb and victim. Meaning a 1 mton bomb would be borderline survivable at a range of ~900 km due to X-ray flux.\n\nAll numbers are for unshielded humans. Shielding can significantly alter these numbers.\n\nShielding\n\nThe effectiveness of X-Ray shielding is primarily determined by the amount of mass it contains (high atomic mass materials work slightly better than low atomic mass ones).\n\nThe effectiveness of neutron shielding is dependent upon the number of low atomic mass nuclei between the bomb and the victim. High atomic mass nuclei in your radiation shielding can make neutron radiation more difficult to manage.\n\nEdit 10/09/2015:\n\nI concur with Thucydides, anyone interested in this topic should go to Atomic Rockets and read all relevant sections. It includes a description of what a nuclear detonation would look like, what effects it'd have on spacecraft, etc.\n\nAs for survivability, my answer only considers a person wearing a minimal spacesuit for protection. The actual physical damage a 1 kton weapon would inflict on a body (human or otherwise) at a range of 30 km would be minimal. A person at that range would be hit with a lethal dose of radiation. Without medical care it might take them days or longer to die in an extremely unpleasant manner.\n\nEdit 10/10/2015:\n\nYou should also realize that being outside the \"deadly\" zone listed above does not necessarily mean you will live. Radiation sickness is nasty and you'll require intense medical treatment in order to survive a large dose. Atomic Rockets has a Acute Radiation Syndrome Chart which tells you what symptoms you can expect from a given dosage. The chart gives you a probability of surviving any given dosage.\n\nMy numbers were for ~2.0+ Gray dosage - this gives you a survival probability of 35-40%.", "Unlike the short-range rockets which are all solid fueled, making a solid-fuel long range rocket is very challenging. The main technical problem is that the fuel block which is very large can develop a crack under mechanical and thermal stress. The flame will immediately spread into the crack, and the whole thing will explode.\n\nThe second difficult problem is how to cool down the nozzle. In the liquid-propelled rockets it is cooled by the fuel. In short range rockets the engine works very short time and no cooling is needed.\n\nFor the history of German rockets, and in general for the early rocket history (till the late 40-s) there is an excellent classical book:\nWilley Ley, Rockets, Missiles and Space travel. (Strongly recommended).\nThe Russian side of the story is described in the books of Chertok (4 volumes in Russian).\nHe mentions a breakthrough in solid fuel development made in Caltech in the early 50-s, the thing they just could not match in Soviet Union.\n\nAll early Soviet long range rockets, even those launched from submarines were liquid fueled. Because the Soviets could not develop solid fuel technology needed for large enough engines. (Just imagine a liquid fuel rocket launched from a submarine!!) Earlier models could not be kept fueled inside in a submarine, so they had to undergo a long and extremely dangerous fueling procedure immediately before launch. If the launch was aborted after the fueling began, the rocket had to be just damped overboard:-) \n\nThis shows that the problem is highly non-trivial.\nRoughly speaking the fuel block must be mechanically strong and elastic.\nAnd the nozzle has to withstand enormous temperature for relatively long time.\n\nI am afraid that a complete scientific story of (long range, intercontinental) solid fuel rockets is not written yet: the Russians used liquid fuel rockets until recently, and maybe still using some of them.\n\nEDIT. 1. I should mention that liquid fuel rockets have also some advantages: you can regulate the engine power during the flight. It is much more difficult with solid fuel.\n\n\nActually all three currently operational Russian submarine based ICBM use\nliquid fuel, one of them has liquid and solid on various stages. See \nWikipedia article \"Submarine-launched ballistic missile\".", "Ground testing of heatshield components and materials can and has been done in arcjet facilities.\n\n(image source)\nAn arcjet typically combines a super- or hyper- sonic wind tunnel with a large electrical heating device. &quot;The\ngases (typically air) pass through a nozzle aimed at\na test sample in vacuum, and flow over it, producing\na reasonable approximation of the surface\ntemperature and pressure and the gas enthalpy\nfound in a high velocity, supersonic flow of the kind\nexperienced by a vehicle on atmospheric entry.&quot;\n\n(sourced from first link)\nNASA Ames has four arcjet facilities in its arcjet complex. &quot;The largest power supply can deliver 75 MW for 30 minute duration or 150 MW for 15 second\nduration.&quot;\nJohnson Space Center also had an arcjet facility that was last used heavily during development of shuttle tile repair materials and procedures after the Columbia failure. It was closed in 2014 due to redundancy with the Ames facility.\n\n(image source)\nThe first link in this answer is a very good overview of arcjet testing and facilities, please see it for further reading.\nSection 4 of the document &quot;Test Planning Guide\nfor\nNASA Ames Research Center\nArc Jet Complex and Range Complex&quot; contains a detailed description of the arcjet facilities at Ames.", "Sure, lots of sounding rockets, like these from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility:\n\n\n\nThis one had pretty darned big fins:\n\n\n\nSimilar fins on this one:\n\n\n\nThis one had small fins, but it really didn't need them:\n\n\n\nThe old Scout rocket had small fins too:", "Initially I thought it was the LV-3B mercury rocket, but upon some more reading I think its an SM-65 nuclear missile. The missile body was adapted for use as a launch vehicle by the Mercury program, so I think this is a missile, not a rocket.", "The simple answer is: it was just a partial test.\n\nFrom the official ISRO press release, 2014-12-18:\n\n\n [T]his suborbital experimental mission was intended to test the vehicle performance during the critical atmospheric phase of its flight and thus carried a passive (non-functional) cryogenic upper stage\n\n\nSpecifically, the test objectives were:\n\n\n \n Flight validation of the complex atmospheric flight regime of LVM3\n Validation of new design features\n Overall integrity of the mission design, simulation and software implementation\n Study the re-entry characteristics of Crew Module CARE\n \n\n\nLaunching on a vehicle that, were its upper stage not replaced with liquid nitrogen ballast, would have been capable of achieving a real orbit seems a bit wasteful to me, but then again it was also that vehicle's maiden flight (i.e., the vehicle was also being tested), a suborbital hop is safer for existing space infrastructure in the event of a loss of control, and an easier re-entry test makes it more likely that the other mission testing objectives could be met (for being less likely to fail).", "A satellite with SNAP-9A plutonium energy unit was launched from Florida in 1964. It failed to reach orbit.\n\nDebris fell in Southern hemisphere including Madagascar.\n\nIt's more than 14000 km fom the launch site.\n\nhttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_for_Nuclear_Auxiliary_Power", "Barely, but it involving shenanigans even less practical than a Jupiter flyby.\nThe lowest delta-v cost trajectory without any planetary flybys from Earth to a 1.35AU-5.4AU 79.11° orbit is the following:\n\nDo a burn in LEO, reaching a solar system escape trajectory. Cost: 8750m/s\nAt the edge of the solar system, do an inclination change and set the periapsis to 1.35AU. Cost: ~0m/s\nAt 1.35AU, lower the apoapsis to 5.4AU. Cost: 3830m/s\n\nThe first burn is quite comparable to what was done for the New Horizons spacecraft. It didn't accelerate quite as much (as it too used a Jupiter flyby), but it was considerably lighter, allowing for an extra mass ratio of 1.3 for the upper stage.\nAt the moment, we don't have anything much beefier than the Atlas V launching New Horizons, so the extra 3830m/s can't be crammed in anywhere else if we use chemical rocket engines.\nBut the final apoapsis lowering can conceivably be performed by an ion engine, as 1.35AU is well within where solar panels provide enough power for that. From Dawn acceleration data, this would take two or three passes.\nIn the end, this ends up taking much more time than doing a flyby of Jupiter.\n\nThe final orbit of Ulysses is however chosen specifically because it can be achieved with a Jupiter flyby. Aiming for any 79° orbit, we could use the recipe above, just removing step 3)\nDoing a heliocentric inclination change of 79° directly from LEO is more in the order of 16km/s, outside our current capabilities.", "It depends on what you consider worse. \n\nTime magazine lists an incident that occurred on December 18 1970 at Yucca Flat Nuclear Test site where radioactive debris from the underground test of a 10 Kiloton Nuclear detonation was vented into the surrounding atmosphere. However the Department of Energy stated afterwards that the 86 workers who were exposed did not receive a dose that exceeded site guidelines (whatever they were...) (Source)\n\nThe USAF has had many nuclear related incidents, including recently (some are listed in the Time article above) which occurred outside of a Nuclear Facility (unless you count the aircraft carrying them as a Nuclear Facility).\n\nFor example, in 2007 a USAF B52 sat on the ground at Barksdale AFB for ~36 hours with six AGM-129 ACM Cruise Missiles, each containing a Nuclear warhead, without guard or any of the mandatory security measures in place because the warheads were supposed to be removed before flight. This is an example of a failure of procedure in a USAF base that could be argued as being a Nuclear facility, as the warheads should have been removed and logged into storage in an appropriate facility.\n\nFurthermore, a recent Guardian (UK) article relates that in 1961 a 4 Megaton H-Bomb came perilously close to detonating after it was released when the bomber carrying it entered a tailspin. For one of the bombs 3 out of 4 safety mechanisms to prevent accidental detonation had failed to operate and that the forth (which saved the day) was highly vulnerable to failure.\n\nThe information in the article was uncovered by Eric Schlosser who, as covered in the article:\n\n\n discovered that at least 700 \"significant\" accidents and incidents involving 1,250 nuclear weapons were recorded between 1950 and 1968 alone.\n\n\nAll of this comes with the caveat that I'm not at all qualified to describe any of these as being worse than Three Mile Island. Some are certainly much more terrifying to me personally.", "The reason(s) can be gleaned from the previous year's Country Reports on Terrorism, released (regularly) by the State Department. Basically, it says that (1) NK hadn't sponsored a terrorist attack in a long time (it happened to be a 20 years anniversary) and (2) the US had formally committed to [at least envisaging] this step as part of the nuclear deal then pursued.\n\n\n The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was not known to have sponsored any terrorist acts since the bombing of a Korean Airlines flight in 1987. The DPRK continued to harbor four Japanese Red Army members who participated in a jet hijacking in 1970. The Japanese government continued to seek a full accounting of the fate of the 12 Japanese nationals believed to have been abducted by DPRK state entities; five such abductees have been repatriated to Japan since 2002. In the February 13, 2007 Initial Actions Agreement, the United States agreed to \"begin the process of removing the designation of the DPRK as a state-sponsor of terrorism.\"\n\n\nThe full text of the latter agreement can be found (nowadays) only a Japanese official site (they were part of the six participants). In return (for this a quite a few other carrots) NK promised to fully renounce its nuclear programs:\n\n\n [...] includes provision by the DPRK of a complete declaration of all nuclear programs and disablement of all existing nuclear facilities, including graphite-moderated reactors and reprocessing plant [...]\n\n\nwhich of course they didn't do... Wikipedia has a longer article on the six party talks and how they eventually flopped. Basically the NK issued a declaration of programs that the US said was incomplete, and so it didn't release the aid promised (among the carrots). In response NK resumed missile and nuclear tests... as well a military confrontation with South Korea. \n\nOf some interest in regard to the terrorism designation, the Obama administration decided that the subsequent [mostly naval] confrontations with South Korea were purely military, and thus did not add NK back to the terrorism list. Trump added NK back to the list after the assassination (with the nerve agent VX) of Kim Jong-Nam in Malaysia; at least assassination(s) abroad were mentioned in the Trump statement:\n\n\n “In addition to threatening the world by nuclear devastation, North Korea repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism including assassinations on foreign soil,” Trump said.", "The V2 rocket used 75% ethanol / 25% water for fuel. Purer ethanol was available but led to combustion temperatures that were too high; diluting the fuel limited the temperature so the engine could survive the burn but also changed the rocket's thrust properties. \n\nAerojet has demonstrated thrust augmentation of a (simulated) NTR by injecting liquid oxygen into the hot H2 stream in the expansion nozzle. ISP drops but thrust/weight increases; varying the LOX mass ratio allows throttling of the ISP vs thrust until the LOX is expended.", "The Russian Proton booster uses storable propellants (nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine). Nasty stuff, but room temperature.\n\nhttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_(rocket_family)", "Aon International Space Brokers does, according to this article. Although they likely only cover liability type losses from SpaceX, not the cost of the rocket themselves. In fact, this 2012 FCC document states that SpaceX has 3rd party liability insurance for the first 45 days after a launch, afterward which they are self-insured.\n\nEach payload that is on any rocket tends to be insured to some extent by the payload owner. They may use a variety of insurance providers. These insurance providers will typically review the tests of the satellites and rockets to ensure they are satisfied before agreeing to the launch, and are thus given a seat in making launch decisions." ]

[ "Each day, during the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, our two guest bloggers will be offering insight and reporting from the convention floor. First up is author and Columbia University professor Farah Jasmine Griffin. Here, she writes about the \"jarring but not surprising\" aspects of yesterday's interfaith worship service. This will be a convention of firsts: it will showcase the New Democratic Party -- one led by the first African American, Barack Obama, to receive the nomination of a major party. And yet, we know it is a convention that will be marked by tension as well, particularly the tensions and challenges brought by those who supported his fiercest rival, Senator Hillary Clinton, ironically, who is the first woman to have been a serious contender for the office of President of the United States. Sunday saw the first official activity of the Convention, the Faith in Action Interfaith worship service, conceived of and hosted by Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, herself a Pentecostal minister. This event was scripted to demonstrate unity in diversity. It was the first such faith event to be held at a Democratic Convention, a kind of culmination of the party's recent efforts to win over and welcome people of faith. There are millions of religious people who vehemently disagree with the religious right on economic issues, the war and the environment (though many do share with the Right convictions against a woman's right to choose and homosexuality). The forum provided a platform for airing some of these countering views. It was jarring but not surprising that a few anti-choice protestors sought to disrupt the service. What was surprising was when one of the most effective and compelling speakers pronounced from the podium that he is a dedicated pro-life Democrat. Bishop Charles Blake is the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, one of the largest and most powerful Pentecostal denominations. In one powerful gesture, he both proclaimed his opposition to a major part of the Democratic Party Platform (choice), while at the same time launching a scathing critique of the Religious Right's disregard for the lives of children already born who live in poverty and hunger today. Sister Helen Prejean, anti-death penalty activist and author of Dead Man Walking, was perhaps the most powerful and passionate of the speakers. She urged us to consider the dignity of those we send to death row; linked our disregard for their lives to our nation's disregard for the rights of poor people and people of color; and made a connection between our practice of state sanctioned murder and our willingness to turn a blind eye to state sanctioned torture against our enemies. Hers was also a pro-life stance, guided by a vision of her faith not shared by the religious right. There was Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb -- who advocates educational vouchers -- and Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President of the Islamic Society of North America, who spoke of Muslim Patriotism and acknowledged the role of Christians and Jews in helping to ensure the Muslim Civil Liberties in the wake of intense scrutiny and harassment faced by Muslims since 9/11. Though the service was ecumenical, it was largely focused on the three Abrahamic faiths. There was one Buddhist reading by a student, Kathryn Ida. Although the speakers represented a diversity of faiths, the service itself seemed largely Christian because of the musical selections and the exuberant shouts of \"Amen!\" from the audience. Nonetheless, it successfully showcased the religious diversity of the party, articulated a common vision of justice and equality and painted a portrait of the party as a place welcoming of religious people. However, left unspoken were the challenges that this new direction will pose for a party that has long supported the right of women to choose what happens to our bodies by opposing state intervention in this most personal matter. Also left unspoken were the rights of gay people who have found the party a place welcoming of them and supportive of many, if not all, of their legal and civil rights. Although this latter issue was not raised yesterday, it is surely yet another point of difference and tension between Democrats at this convention and in the future." ]

[ "Amid furor over an email leak that revealed a bias against Bernie Sanders inside the Democratic National Committee, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Sunday she will step down as chair. Wasserman Schultz will still open and close the convention, she said in a statement, and \"address our delegates about the stakes involved in this election not only for Democrats, but for all Americans.\" \"We have planned a great and unified Convention this week and I hope and expect that the DNC team that has worked so hard to get us to this point will have the strong support of all Democrats in making sure this is the best convention we have ever had,\" the statement continued. Donna Brazile, former Al Gore campaign manager and Bill Clinton adviser, will be the interim committee chair through the election, according to a verified tweet from DNC Communications Director Luis Miranda: In response, Sanders said Wasserman Schultz made \"the right decision for the future of the Democratic Party. President Obama, who appointed Wasserman Schultz in 2011, praised her service, saying the Florida congresswoman's \"leadership of the DNC has meant that we had someone who brought Democrats together.\" In a statement, Hillary Clinton thanked her \"longtime friend\" for her leadership. \"There's simply no one better at taking the fight to the Republicans than Debbie.\" Clinton also announced that Wasserman Schultz will serve as honorary chair of the campaign's \"50-state program to gain ground and elect Democrats in every part of the country\" and that the two will campaign together both to help elect Clinton to the White House and to help with Wasserman Schultz's House re-election campaign. Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort said Wasserman Schultz resigned over \"her failure to secure the DNC's email servers and the rigged system she set up with the Clinton campaign.\" He said Clinton should follow Wasserman Schultz's lead and drop out over her failure to safeguard top-secret, classified information both on her unauthorized home server and while traveling abroad. Wasserman Schultz's emails only put the Democratic Party at risk, he said, but Clinton's emails put all of America at risk. Earlier in the day, Wasserman Schultz was replaced as chair of the Democratic National Convention, which begins Monday in Philadelphia. Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge was named the new convention chair. The emails, which were released by WikiLeaks just days before the party's convention launches in Philadelphia, appear to show top DNC officials trading ideas on how to hurt Sanders at the polls. In one email out of the 20,000 leaked, the committee's chief financial officer, Brad Marshall, appears to float an idea to question the Vermont senator's Jewish faith. In an interview with CNN, Sanders, once again, called on Wasserman Schultz to resign. \"It goes without saying the function of the DNC,\" Sanders said, \"is to represent all of the candidates to be fair and even-minded.\" Sanders also called the emails an \"outrage\" and \"sad\" but also said they do not come as \"a great shock.\" He believes that the DNC was \"at opposition to our campaign\" all along, he said Sunday morning. \"I mean, there's no question to my mind and I think no question to any objective observer's mind that the DNC was supporting Hillary Clinton, and was at opposition to our campaign,\" Sanders said. He had been saying for months that he believes Wasserman Schultz should resign. She should step down, he said, \"not only because of the prejudice I think [the DNC] showed during the campaign but also because I think we need new leadership that will open up that party\" to working people, young people and \"have the kind of vitality we need.\" Clinton has had a long-standing relationship with the DNC and Wasserman Schultz. Wasserman Schultz was the co-chair of her 2008 bid for president. Sanders is a relative newcomer to the Democratic Party and the DNC, having long served as an independent in the Senate. Still, Sanders and others feel that the DNC chair should remain neutral during a nominating process. On NBC's Meet the Press, Sanders wouldn't say whether Wasserman Schultz should be forced to resign before the Democratic convention begins. But some of his supporters went there — commentator and activist Van Jones tweeted that he'll speak out until she steps down: She will not have a speaking role at this week's convention, according to several reports. Blowback to the emails came from all corners of the political world Sunday — including Clinton supporters and Donald Trump. Former DNC Chair and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is a Clinton supporter, called the leak \"very disturbing\" if true and told NPR that the chair's job should be \"to remain neutral.\" \"I sat in that chair in 2004 trying to navigate all the different candidates we had,\" he said. \"But if you had people in there who were trashing one of the candidates, I can tell you this, if I were still chairman, they wouldn't be working there. I m", "During normal times, the concrete alleyway behind the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Sacramento, Calif., goes mostly unnoticed. Cars and delivery trucks pass through, crows fly over at dusk and homeless people sleep there at night. But since July, when California banned indoor religious services in many counties in order to stop the spread of COVID-19, this alley has been a place of worship. One recent Sunday morning, about 100 Catholics gathered six feet apart in the corridor for a 7:30 a.m. Mass. Some stood in a nearby parking structure. Others were in the parking spaces usually used by church staff. They sang faintly behind masks. Rev. Michael O'Reilly preached from a fire escape, three stories above them. \"I'm a little afraid of heights,\" said Father O'Reilly, rector of the Sacramento cathedral. But at the same time, he praised the opportunity. \"It gives me a new perspective on the congregation here.\" Rather than a choir, a solo vocalist led songs from the second-floor fire escape, far away from parishioners. Maria Balakshin, who has been attending Mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament since the late 1990s, misses the beauty of the interior. \"Even though we're in an alleyway, they've made it as attractive as possible,\" she said. After California announced in July that counties on the state's coronavirus watch list would not be allowed to have indoor worship services, Sacramento's bishop said Catholics could worship outdoors in affected counties. Worship and sacred space Modern-day Catholic worship rarely happens outdoors or outside of a church building. Canon law says the Eucharist must be celebrated in a sacred space, except when specific circumstances require otherwise, such as when large crowds gather to see the pope, or to accommodate migrant workers, or soldiers during wartime. But normally, priests need to \"make a good case\" to offer a Mass outside of a church building in the Sacramento Diocese, explains Rev. Brian Atienza, who helped the bishop write the rules. \"If it's necessary to move it elsewhere, you can seek permission, but you have to make sure that the dignity of the sacrament is preserved, and maintained and respected,\" he said. Susan Abraham, professor of theology at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., says outdoor Mass is not embraced by the Catholic Church during normal times, in part, because there can be many distractions. \"There is a certain precision in the way the rituals and the sacraments are celebrated,\" said Abraham. \"There is a wondering, will the going-to-the-outdoors compromise this precision? And I would say that is a legitimate worry.\" For example, she said, most parishioners would be aghast at the idea of the communion wafer getting blown away in the wind or being soaked in a rainstorm. Abraham, a Catholic herself, says the weekly experience of physically being in a church is meant to remind the faithful of God's holiness. But the pandemic is a good time to rethink that. \"I am not a fan of understanding only the church as a holy place or holy space,\" she said. \"This is a new time for us to think about time and space in a far more expansive way.\" During an August Mass behind Sacramento's cathedral, candles burned in the light of day. An organ filled the alleyway with music. O'Reilly preached about not letting anything get in the way of being close to God, not even a virus. Some parishioners knelt on the cement pavement as they worshipped. Maria Balakshin said attending Mass outdoors has been a very spiritual experience. \"To me, personally it is more intimate,\" she said. \"The people who are here are really true Christians who want to practice their faith.\" This congregation's prayers may be making this alley more sacred during the pandemic. But when California lifts the ban on indoor worship, these parishioners will likely go back to church as usual inside the cathedral.", "We&#8217;re joined by Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez and Our Revolution President Nina Turner. We&#8217;ll talk about the Donna Brazile bombshells: Did the DNC rig the Democratic primary for Hillary Clinton? Plus, it&#8217;s Election Day in some states around the country. This show will air at Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST.  Democrats still aren’t over the 2016 primary race that pitted Hillary Clinton against Bernie Sanders.  Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile has penned a book saying the Clinton campaign basically took over the DNC as Hillary battled Bernie.  “Rigged primaries?” is the headline question.  The book is out today &#8211; Election Day of all things.  This hour, On Point: the current DNC chair Tom Perez, a Sanders champion, and more on Donna Brazile’s bombshell. &#8212;Tom Ashbrook Guests: Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee. (@TomPerez) Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution. (@ninaturner) Philip Rucker, White House bureau chief for the Washington Post. (@PhilipRucker) Gabriel Debenedetti, national political reporter for Politico. (@gdebenedetti) From Tom&#8217;s Reading List: Washington Post: Brazile Says She Found &#8216;No Evidence&#8217; That Democratic Primaries Were Rigged For Clinton — &#8220;Former Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile said Sunday that despite a joint fundraising agreement between the DNC and Hillary Clinton&#8217;s campaign, there was “no evidence” that the 2016 presidential primaries were rigged, while her successor, Tom Perez, said the DNC is working to earn back the trust of voters.&#8221; Donna Brazile, via Politico: Inside Hillary Clinton&#8217;s Secret Takeover Of The DNC — &#8220;I had promised Bernie when I took the helm of the Democratic National Committee after the convention that I would get to the bottom of whether Hillary Clinton’s team had rigged the nomination process, as a cache of emails stolen by Russian hackers and posted online had suggested. I’d had my suspicions from the moment I walked in the door of the DNC a month or so earlier, based on the leaked emails. But who knew if some of them might have been forged? I needed to have solid proof, and so did Bernie.&#8221; New York Times: &#8216;Very Frustrated&#8217; Trump Becomes Top Critic Of Law Enforcement — &#8220;In a barrage of a dozen tweets on Thursday night and early Friday, Mr. Trump railed at law enforcement agencies for not investigating Democrats. He cited Tony Podesta — the brother of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John D. Podesta — who stepped down from his firm this week amid scrutiny of his lobbying business by Mr. Mueller. And he cited a book excerpt by Donna Brazile, the former interim Democratic National Committee chairwoman, who wrote that last year’s primaries were tilted by a fund-raising agreement that the committee made with Mrs. Clinton.&#8221;", "Churches around the country are weighing whether to suspend worship services in response to the coronavirus, with their decisions dependent on their size, their proximity to an outbreak, and perhaps even their political leanings. In the most aggressive response, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have temporarily suspended \"all public gatherings\" of church members worldwide. According to a church statement, members are encouraged \"to care for one another\" in lieu of attending worship services. Roman Catholic and Episcopal leaders are generally leaving the decision of whether to suspend worship services to local diocesan authorities. The Catholic archdioceses of Washington, D.C., and Seattle have both ordered the cancellation of public masses, for example, while other dioceses have not yet done so, opting to mitigate the threat of virus contagion by limiting physical contact or modifying Communion practices. All Episcopal churches in Maryland and D.C. have canceled services, at least temporarily. In some cases, church decisions are being dictated by local government decrees. After Utah Gov. Gary Herbert asked for an end to all public gatherings of more than 100 people, church leaders across the state agreed to suspend worship services temporarily. In response to a similar request from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, many churches in that state also announced a suspension of services, though some church leaders are resisting the governor's call. Aaron Harvie, senior pastor of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, told The Washington Post that he has no plans to cancel services at his church, which has 7000 members in three campuses. \"If we shut down services, it would add to fear,\" Harvie said. He told the Post he would like to tell the governor that he is treading into an area where \"you don't actually have direct responsibility or authority.\" Some church leaders close to the Trump administration have been especially resistant to any pressure to suspend worship services. Robert Jeffress, the senior pastor at First Baptist in Dallas, Texas, and one of Trump's most outspoken admirers, told his congregation he wanted to avoid \"pandemic panic.\" \"I know some people are saying, 'The NBA is canceling games, why don't you cancel church services?'\" Jeffress said in an interview with the Dallas TV station KDFW. \"Respectfully, what we do is more important than what the NBA is doing. That's entertainment, and that's optional. Worship is essential.\" Jeffress, however, may be forced to adjust his church's worship plans after Dallas County on Thursday evening issued a \"public health emergency,\" ordering a ban on public gatherings of more than 500 people. The decree does not affect Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, located in a neighboring county. Though Prestonwood is one of the largest churches in America, with 45,000 members spread across three campuses, Senior Pastor Jack Graham, another fervent Trump admirer, initially refused to suspend mass worship services. \"We're not going to shut down with the current information that we have,\" Graham told his congregation. On Friday, however, Graham and his associates changed their mind. \"After much discussion and prayer and given how quickly the coronavirus pandemic is evolving in our communities,\" Graham announced, \"we have made the difficult decision not to meet in person for services this weekend.\" In the Seattle area, home to the most serious coronavirus outbreak, church leaders have willingly agreed to suspend worship services. \"Obviously, there's no substitute for meeting in person, but we know that's not wise,\" says Ryan Falls, pastor at Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, which has closed its doors indefinitely. The church is just a 10-minute drive from Kirkland Life Care Center, the senior living facility where 26 residents have died so far as a result of the coronavirus. Falls is continuing to deliver sermons, but without facing his congregation. He films the sermons in a media room at the church for uploading via the church website. Another church in the Kirkland area, Overlake Christian, has not yet locked its doors, but is considerably scaling back its worship services. \"We are strongly encouraging people to stay home and worship with us online,\" says associate pastor Phil Chenery, \"but we tell people that we are here if you want to join us.\" Though weekly church attendance averages 1,500, only about 100 worshippers showed up last Sunday, Chenery says. The suspension of worship services is likely to affect churches across the country differently, depending on their size and available resources. Megachurches, generally defined as having more than 2,000 members, are best positioned to withstand extended closures, largely because of their extensive online operations. \"Megachurches have gone into high tech, rather than high touch,\" says Scott Thumma, who studies the megachurch phenomenon at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. \"So in", "Every day, for more than three months, a church service at a small Dutch chapel went on around-the-clock. Pastors worked in shifts. Volunteers worshiped. The Bethel Church in The Hague started its nonstop service on Oct. 26 to protect an Armenian immigrant family from deportation, under a Dutch law that forbids police from disrupting a church service to make an arrest. For 96 days, the Tamrazyan family lived in the red-brick church building in a residential neighborhood. The family of five has resided in the Netherlands for nearly nine years since fleeing Armenia, The Associated Press reports, and the country's highest court ruled last year that they must return. But the service came to an end Wednesday, in response to a policy shift from the government that provides temporary protection to the family, including the parents, two daughters and a son, among other migrants. The Dutch ruling coalition said Tuesday it would review the cases of hundreds of young migrants whose asylum applications had been rejected because they had not cooperated with deportation orders – cooperation is a qualification for amnesty in the Netherlands, The New York Times reports. Then on Wednesday, State Secretary for Justice and Security Mark Harbers told lawmakers that families would be allowed to stay in the Netherlands while their children's cases are processed, AP reports. It's not clear how long the review will take. Most of the children are expected to be eligible for amnesty, according to Harbers. \"We are extremely grateful for a safe future for hundreds of refugee families in the Netherlands,\" said Theo Hettema, a church official, in a statement. \"For months we have held up hope and now that hope is taking shape.\" Hundreds of pastors from the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium rotated through the church between October and January to carry on the service, The Guardian reports. Pastors said they were taking part on behalf of all the children of asylum-seekers, not just the Tamrazyan family. \"The Protestant Church of The Hague respects court orders,\" the community center wrote in a statement in November, \"But finds itself confronted with a dilemma: the choice between respecting the government and protecting the rights of a child.\" At the close of the service Wednesday, one of the Tamrazyan children, Hayarpi, read a poem. She has cataloged her experience in poems posted to a blog. A poem from December reads: \"Around-the-clock 7 days a week We praise and worship God It makes the flowers in my heart grow It makes me thankful In a way I've never been before.\" The continuous service – which lasted about 2,300 hours – didn't manage to snag the title of longest religious ceremony in the world. That record goes to a years-long mask festival in Mali, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Churches in the United States can't provide the same level of legal protection to migrants as the Bethel Church: The U.S. government has the right to enter places of worship with a warrant, as NPR has reported, and it's illegal to harbor someone labeled as a fugitive. But religious institutions have still served as de facto sanctuaries for immigrants, in part because of the optics of immigration officials entering a place of worship. It's federal policy to avoid immigration enforcement in \"sensitive locations\" – like churches and schools – without pressing circumstances.", "California churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship can reopen, the California Department of Public Health announced on Monday. Additionally, in-store retailers are allowed to resume business throughout the state. The changes are part of Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest round of modifications to the state's stay-at-home order that is intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The new guidelines for \"places of worship and providers of religious services and cultural ceremonies\" stipulate religious centers must limit attendance to 100 people or 25% of the building's capacity, whichever is lower. The guidelines recommend against passing collection plates and baskets or sharing other communal religious objects and urge worshippers to refrain from singing or performing group recitations because of the \"increased likelihood for transmission from contaminated exhaled droplets.\" The state also requires religious leaders to ensure more than 6 feet of physical distancing among congregants. \"Congregants engaging in singing, particularly in the choir, and group recitation, should wear face coverings at all times and when possible, these activities should be conducted outside with greater than 6-foot distancing,\" state the California Department of Public Health guidelines. Reopening must be approved by each county's public health department before going into effect. Additionally, county officials can add their own rules and restrictions. The state will reevaluate the guidelines after 21 days. Worship services were temporarily halted and nonessential retail stores have been closed throughout most of the state since March 19 under Newsom's initial order, though some rural counties received permission to begin partial reopening earlier this month. Now, the California Department of Public Health has cleared the way for stores across the state to begin making sales again. The state's retail guidelines do not require but \"strongly\" recommend employee screenings, face coverings and social distancing. On Friday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Newsom's order banning in-person religious services in a challenge brought by South Bay Pentecostal Church. The church filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday. President Trump has called on places of worship to reopen and has said he will \"override\" governors who refuse to do so, though it's not clear he has such authority. Some of California's largest counties, including Los Angeles and several in the San Francisco Bay Area, have yet to approve the reopening of either worship services or in-store retail.", "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is crafting a new storyline about who may have provided the material he published that caused an implosion in the Democratic National Committee's leadership this summer. U.S. officials and private sector cyber-experts have said they're highly confident that hackers associated with Russia's intelligence services compromised the DNC's email system and extracted emails that embarrassed the party's leadership. But it appears Assange wants to puncture the narrative that he's a cat's paw for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that to do so he has seized upon an unsolved homicide in Washington, D.C. Assange has insisted there's no proof the DNC material came from Russia. Then he told an interviewer on Dutch TV this week that he wouldn't reveal the source of the DNC material, but said that WikiLeaks' sources face all kinds of dangers. He cited the case of Seth Rich, a 27-year-old employee of the DNC who was shot and killed early on July 10. Police say they have no suspects. \"We have to understand how high the stakes are in the United States, and that our sources face serious risks. That's why they come to us so we can protect their anonymity,\" Assange said. He made clear that Rich's case had come to \"no conclusion\" but that Rich's death was an example of the dangers that could befall whistleblowers – \"our sources take risks and they become concerned to see things occurring like that.\" WikiLeaks later offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of Rich's killer, as described by reporter Patrick Madden of NPR member station WAMU in Washington. D.C. investigators say they have no information to suggest Rich's death is connected to his job at the DNC, Madden wrote. Federal law enforcement investigators declined to comment to NPR. The Democratic National Committee has not yet responded to a request for comment on the story. The Two-Way Blog plans to update this post if it does. WikiLeaks' desire to broach Rich's case and raise questions about his fate follow charges by Democrats, and issues raised in press reports, about Assange's ties to the Kremlin. Assange has hosted a talk show on Russia's state-controlled RT network, and his release of the DNC email material followed vocal expressions of support by the Kremlin for Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. Russian political commentator Aleksandr Dugin, for example, argues that Hillary Clinton is the candidate of \"neoconservatives\" like those who backed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and as such she is too dangerous for Russia and the world. Dugin has endorsed Trump. Trump's campaign has disclaimed any connections with Russia. Assange, WikiLeaks and their supporters have also been keen to distance themselves from the connection cyber-analysts have made between the DNC compromise and Russian intelligence. Instead, they've emphasized the public concessions by some U.S. intelligence officials that they don't have conclusive proof that Moscow hacked the DNC. Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept, who helped break the revelations of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, described what he called the \"long, ugly history\" of American politicians tying their opponents to Russia. Democrats have seized on the \"Russian meddling\" storyline to \"vilify anyone perceived to be an impediment to Clinton's victory,\" he wrote. Rich was killed July 10 and WikiLeaks issued the first of its DNC material July 22. The notion he may have been the latest Snowden or Chelsea Manning, risking everything to expose what he knew, is catnip for conspiracy theorists online. And it's only the latest example of implications by critics of Bill and Hillary Clinton that they have a history of killing their enemies: In May, Trump suggested there was something \"very fishy\" about the 1993 death of Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster, which was ruled a suicide. Allegations of foul play in that case have followed the Clintons ever since. Foster's sister, Sheila Foster Anthony, called Trump's allegations \"beyond contempt\" in a Washington Post column at the time, and the family of the slain DNC staffer, Rich, reacted just as strongly this week. A spokesman for the Rich family told Business Insider on Wednesday that they welcomed all efforts to find Rich's killer, but pleaded to keep his name out of conspiracy theorizing. \"Some are attempting to politicize this horrible tragedy, and in their attempts to do so, are actually causing more harm than good and impeding on the ability for law enforcement to properly do their job,\" the family's statement said. \"For the sake of finding Seth's killer, and for the sake of giving the family the space they need at this terrible time, they are asking for the public to refrain from pushing unproven and harmful theories about Seth's murder.\" Rich's father told the Washington Post he is offended by the \"bizarre\" reports, saying \"I don't want to play WikiLeaks' game.\" Nevertheless, he said he hoped the re", "Updated at 1:30 p.m. ET Police in Quebec City have arrested a suspect following a shooting at a mosque there that left six people dead and wounded eight others Sunday night. After initially saying they had two suspects in custody, police said Monday that they determined one of the men was instead a witness. According to Canadian authorities, a gunman opened fire inside the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre around 8 p.m. ET, as about 40 people were gathered for evening prayers. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Province Premier Philippe Couillard have described the shooting as an act of terrorism. On Monday, Trudeau delivered a formal address to the House of Commons. \"These people were just that — people, ordinary Canadians. They were brothers, uncles, fathers and friends,\" he said. \"These were people of faith and of community, and in the blink of an eye, they were robbed of their lives in an act of brutal violence.\" He added: \"We will not close our minds. We will open our hearts. ... let us strive to be the best version of ourselves in these dark hours.\" In a statement late Sunday, Trudeau said he felt \"tremendous shock, sadness and anger\" upon learning of the shooting. \"We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge. ... It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear. \"Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance.\" Police have not released details about the suspect in custody, or what motivated the attack. \"Why is this happening here? This is barbaric,\" the mosque's president, Mohamed Yangui said to reporters, according to the AP. Yangui was not inside the mosque when the shooting occurred but said he received frantic calls from many who were inside at the time of the gunfire. Mohamed Labidi, the mosque's vice president, told the wire service that a university professor and a businessman were among the victims. They were shot in the back, he said. Reuters reports that \"incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years.\" Here's more from the news service: \"The face-covering, or niqab, became a big issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election, especially in Quebec, where the vast majority of the population supported a ban on it at citizenship ceremonies. \"In 2013, police investigated after a mosque in the Saguenay region of the province was splattered with what was believed to be pig blood. In the neighboring province of Ontario, a mosque was set on fire in 2015, a day after an attack by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris.\" Last June, during the holy month of Ramadan, as the CBC reported, someone also left a pig's head at Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre, where Sunday night's attack took place. \"Tonight, Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a mosque in Quebec City,\" Trudeau said. \"My thoughts are with victims & their families.\"", "Updated at 2:03 p.m. ET The Democratic National Committee dramatically reduced the power and influence of \"superdelegates\" in selecting the party's presidential nominee at its summer meeting in Chicago on Saturday, ahead of what's expected to be a wide-open Democratic field in 2020. DNC members voted on a proposal to take away the role of elected officials and other party dignitaries in selecting a nominee at the Democratic convention — leaving it up to delegates selected in primaries and caucuses only — unless the process becomes deadlocked. Opponents of the move stood down and the measures were adopted in a voice vote. A DNC panel overwhelmingly approved the move earlier this summer. The reforms adopted also encourage states that hold presidential caucuses, run by state parties, to switch to primaries, administered by state and local election officials. They require states with caucuses to provide for absentee participation, citing barriers to participation ranging from military service to child care to disability. The proposal had broad support among the top leaders of the DNC, including chairman Tom Perez and vice chair Michael Blake. \"Voters want us to be listening to them, and this is a way to show that we're listening, to show that we're understanding the changes that had to be made after 2016,\" Blake said Friday. Rallying his party ahead of national elections in 2018 and 2020, Perez told the party members gathered in Chicago on Saturday, \"Folks, what we all have in common is we're here to win elections.\" Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose supporters pushed for reforms after the contentious 2016 primary, expressed approval of the vote. \"Today's decision by the DNC is an important step forward in making the Democratic Party more open, democratic and responsive to the input of ordinary Americans,\" Sanders said in a statement. \"This has been a long and arduous process, and I want to thank Tom Perez and all of those who made it happen.\" The 2016 Democratic primary was fought bitterly for a number of reasons, but the issue of superdelegates — who are unbound by primary results and free to support whichever candidate they choose — loomed large over the fight between Hillary Clinton and Sanders, whose supporters railed against the party establishment. That's despite the fact that the votes of superdelegates never overturned those of primary voters in picking the Democratic presidential nominee, since they were first part of the process in the 1984 election. In 2016, Clinton overwhelmingly earned the backing of the party's superdelegates. She also won the majority of delegates decided in primaries and caucuses, but many Sanders supporters felt that support from the party establishment was an unfair advantage that gave her campaign an aura of inevitability. They saw the process as a means by which the Democratic establishment could prevent outsider candidates from seriously contending for the nomination. After the 2016 election, the DNC's Unity Reform Commission recommended drastically reducing the number of superdelegates. Instead, the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee voted 27 to 1 in June to prevent superdelegates from voting on the first round of ballots at presidential nominating conventions. \"No candidate should have an accumulated lead, whether real or perceived, before a first ballot is cast,\" Perez said at the time. The proposal won support among progressive Democrats and lawmakers, including Sanders, as well as outside activists. Michigan Education Association president Paula Herbart told NPR that she believes the proposal will help keep the Democratic Party relevant. \"We've always said that we are the party of all, and we are proving it by working this resolution and moving and changing our rules,\" Herbart said. \"When we include all voices, we have the power to move mountains.\" But some opponents launched a last-ditch effort to sink the proposal at this week's DNC meeting, arguing it disenfranchises top party officials. \"We're up against a wall,\" Bob Mulholland, a superdelegate from California, told Politico this week. \"We're going to fight it like hell.\" In a letter to Perez, Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, made a similar argument, saying the proposal would \"disenfranchise elected officials for no substantive reason and would create unnecessary competition between those elected and their constituents.\" \"The thought that a member of Congress would have to compete with their constituents in an election to secure a first ballot vote on the party's nominee creates unnecessary friction between those elected and the people they are elected to serve,\" he wrote. The proposal also drew criticism from a former interim DNC chair, Donna Brazile, in a bylaws committee meeting Friday. \"At a time when we're trying to figure out as a party if we're gonna disenfranchise those who are party leaders, party officials, party donors, party activists and [the] grassroots, ", "The Supreme Court has rejected a California church's attempt to overturn the state's coronavirus restrictions on in-person religious services. In a 5-4 decision issued late Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court's liberal bloc in upholding the state's right to impose limits on congregations in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. \"Although California's guidelines place restrictions on places of worship, those restrictions appear consistent with the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment,\" Roberts said, in an opinion that denied a request by the South Bay United Pentecostal Church for relief from the rules. The Chula Vista-based house of worship sued Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, over an order limiting congregations to 25% capacity or 100 attendees, whichever is lower. The plaintiffs told the court its services typically attract 200 to 300 congregants. Worship services and nonessential retail were halted for more than two months in California, which has recorded nearly 107,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 4,000 deaths. During the lawsuit's path through the lower courts, the state issued guidelines earlier this week allowing for a limited reopening — but that did not satisfy the plaintiffs, who felt the eased restrictions remained unconstitutional. In rejecting that challenge, Roberts wrote that the Constitution generally grants broad leeway to state leaders in circumstances of medical uncertainty. In particular, the chief justice found that Newsom's order was consistent in limiting not just religious services, but also various kinds of activities \"where large groups of people gather in close proximity for extended periods of time.\" \"The notion that it is 'indisputably clear' that the Government's limitations are unconstitutional seems quite improbable,\" wrote Roberts. The court's four reliably conservative justices — Samuel Alito Jr., Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas — dissented. Kavanaugh said the guidelines violate the First Amendment because they \"discriminate against places of worship and in favor of comparable secular businesses.\" Unlike Roberts, who said church services were on par with sporting events, concerts and other large secular gatherings also limited by the order, Kavanaugh compared the church with secular spaces that were excepted from the restrictions, such as supermarkets. The court's newest justice argued that, in this sense, the limits single out religious services. \"The State also has substantial room to draw lines, especially in an emergency,\" he said in the dissent. \"But as relevant here, the Constitution imposes one key restriction on that line-drawing: The State may not discriminate against religion.\" In a separate case, the court also rejected a lawsuit from two churches in Illinois seeking to block Gov. J.B. Pritzker's rule limiting religious services to just 10 worshipers. Pritzker later modified the order to allow for up to 100 people at services, and the court denied the churches' request for relief without a noted dissent. The limits on church services have been a flashpoint in the national conversation surrounding the coronavirus, with President Trump wading into the controversy earlier this month to push for churches' right to reopen. Even as many states — such as California and Illinois — have moved to loosen their restrictions in recent weeks, critics continue to argue that the rules on houses of worship are discriminatory. Earlier this week, California, officials said they plan to reevaluate the reopening order based on where matters stand with the coronavirus in mid-June.", "When 31 governors called for a ban on Syrian refugees coming into the U.S. after last November's terrorist attacks in Paris, it united faith-based communities across the country. They are challenging the wave of opposition to these refugees by taking a leading role in resettling them. \"If they didn't have the churches and synagogues providing what they do, this system would collapse,\" says Jennifer Quigley, referring to the federal resettlement program that is now under attack from Congress and many governors. Quigley is a strategist for refugee protection with Human Rights First, an advocacy group that has pressed the administration to increase Syrian resettlement from the pledged goal of 10,000 in 2016 to 100,000 in fiscal year 2017. In Highland Park, a diverse, densely populated township in central New Jersey, a young pastor, the Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, has become a powerful advocate for refugees, raising money, creating an interfaith coalition and starting a refugee-staffed church cafe. \"Refugees are facing crises every day against extremists in the world. We need to stand with refugees, especially now,\" he says. Kaper-Dale and his wife, Stephanie, serve as co-pastors at the Reformed Church of Highland Park. Their local interfaith coalition has supported 14 refugees so far this year from countries including Colombia and Syria. In addition, Kaper-Dale's church is supporting a Syrian family applying for asylum. Their interfaith coalition is committed to resettling 50 more refugees from Africa and the Middle East, who are expected to start arriving in the fall. Last November, Kaper-Dale organized a rally two days after the Paris attacks. He says 300 people took part from 30 different congregations. \"Five major faiths showed up, stopping at seven houses of worship to hear Scripture and proclamations from community leaders about why we are to welcome refugees,\" says the 37-year-old activist pastor. Even as Congress and President Obama fight over whether to accept Syrians under the current federal program, there is a \"real desire at the grass roots, stepping up to the plate in new ways,\" says Shaun Casey, the State Department's special representative for religion and global affairs. Casey has visited refugee support groups in states where governors oppose resettlement. \"Different religious communities are meeting each other for the first time over refugee resettlement. It's happening all across America,\" he says. \"They are all animated by theology; this is fundamentally who they are.\" At the Highland Park Reformed Church, the commitment to the gospel is demonstrated in the church kitchen, where the smell of baked chicken and Middle East spices gusts from the oven. In April, the church opened the Global Peace Café, a community-based restaurant. The menu is as varied as the refugee chefs who cook here. \"We have Najla from Syria, we've got Yvonne from the Congo, we've got Jose from Colombia,\" says Kaper-Dale, introducing the kitchen staff on the day of my visit. At a time when the dominant political narrative paints refugees as a security risk, the café demonstrates that refugees have something to offer, he says — a positive picture \"around empowering people as they come to this country for the first time.\" Syria is on the menu when I visit. Najla is the day's chef. She asks to withhold her last name to protect relatives still in Syria. She supervises the cooks, and chops neat piles of mint, lemons and eggplant. Then she corrects the spices for a lunch prepared for more than 40 diners, based on recipes from her homeland. For some local customers, it's their first taste of Syrian cuisine. \"When they taste Syrian food, they like it too much, and they come back again to eat it,\" she says. Najla arrived in the U.S. 10 months ago with her husband and daughter, after the United Arab Emirates abruptly canceled a residency permit — which ended her job at an insurance company in Dubai. The family was forced out and feared a return to Syria. Kaper-Dale's church found out about her case via a nonprofit that helps asylum seekers, and stepped in to contact a lawyer for the U.S. asylum process, found and furnished an apartment — and offered Najla a turn as a chef once a week at the café. \"At the time, we were primed to receive refugees, but no agency was sending them our way. We decided to stretch into Syrian asylees,\" says Kaper-Dale. This small church is part of a larger movement of defiant faith-based groups challenging state governors. These groups have had a hand in the majority of resettlement cases in the U.S. New Jersey's Republican Gov. Chris Christie notified Washington in April that his state would no longer support refugee resettlement. But Christie has no authority over a federal program that has resettled more than 3 million refugees since 1975. \"The state doesn't have any authority to do anything to stop us,\" says Kaper-Dale. Christie, he says, \"has really been a leader in Islamophobia, as far as I'm concerned, ", "The Federal Bureau of Investigation says it is looking into the hacking of the Democratic National Committee computer system, after the website WikiLeaks published thousands of internal emails on the eve of the party's convention. How WikiLeaks obtained the emails is unclear. In a statement, the FBI did not confirm allegations by the Hillary Clinton campaign that Russian state intelligence actors were responsible for the email leak. It said only that \"The FBI is investigating a cyber intrusion involving the DNC and are working to determine the nature and scope of the matter. A compromise of this nature is something we take very seriously, and the FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace.\" NPR's Scott Detrow reported yesterday that Hillary Clinton's campaign and top Democrats allege Russia is behind the leaked emails: \"'Experts are now saying that the Russians are releasing these emails for the purpose of actually helping Donald Trump,' Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, told CNN on Sunday. \"'That foreign actors may be trying to influence our election — let alone a powerful adversary like Russia — should concern all Americans of any party,' said ranking House Intelligence Committee Democrat Adam Schiff on Monday.\" In June, the Democratic National Committee announced Russian hackers had been accessing its computer network for a year, including email servers. NPR's Scott Detrow and Brian Naylor reported on the hack in June, which was investigated for the DNC by the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike: \"According to CrowdStrike... one group of hackers tied to the Russian government has been stealing information from the national party for about a year. \"'They infiltrated the DNC's network last summer and were monitoring their communications, their email servers, and the like,' company co-founder Dmitri Alperovitch told NPR. \"A second group, also tied to Russia, accessed the DNC's network in April. 'They went straight for the research department of the DNC and exfiltrated opposition materials on Mr. Trump,' Alperovitch said.\" In an interview Monday with NBC, the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, refused to confirm whether the nearly 20,000 private emails his organization published came from a hack conducted by Russian state intelligence, saying it would be \"immoral and unethical\" to speculate about a source. Assange said \"The DNC has been riddled by hackers for years,\" adding that it was \"completely not proven\" whether Russia was behind the emails WikiLeaks published. Assange told NBC: \"It's fanciful to just try to go, well, some Russian attack software was used among a number of different hacks in the DNC a year ago, and then try to say that is the same process that led to [the WikiLeaks] publication. ... \"There have been [past] allegations that... [WikiLeaks] sources are dissidents within intelligence services. That's true. But there have been no credible allegations that our sources have been state intelligence agencies acting with the authority of the government.\"", "Kanye West has been rapping about God from early in his career, hearkening back to one of his first hits, \"Jesus Walks\" off his debut album, 2004's The College Dropout. Now, the 41-year-old rapper is hosting what he calls Sunday Services. They're exclusive, musical worship gatherings for the rich and famous, from Katy Perry and Diplo to Tyler, the Creator. \"They're held in a field in Calabasas [Calif.] or in some sort of indoor studio that's always saturated with bright, colorful light and a really good gospel choir runs through some gospel songs [and] a lot of Kanye West songs,\"Jia Tolentino, staff writer at The New Yorker, explains. West's latest Sunday Service was held last Sunday at Weekend 2 of America's premier music festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The performance took place on a grassy hill in the middle of the festival grounds. Performers wore faded mauve ensembles for the occasion and a sermon was given by fellow rapper DMX. Tolentino, who watched this gathering closely, says that West's services aren't so much about piety as they are about self-promotion. \"With Kanye, it's always been this very complicated dance between whether he is worshiping God or subsuming God to his own ends,\" Tolentino notes. \"He grew up Christian, he's spoken about that. There's always this sense though that he might worship God but never serve him. It's always seemed like God, in the end, would always serve him.\" But while many celebrities have seemed to find solace in God through millennial-friendly mega churches and organizations like Hillsong Worship, the difference with West, Tolentino says, is that he is the point of worship. \"He is the church... he is the text of the sermon. It's his songs. He is the worship. He is creating a church in himself and selling it, really,\" Tolentino says, pointing out that the key selling point to the Sunday Service gathering at Coachella was exclusive merchandise for exorbitant prices — from $50 tube socks to a $225 sweatshirt with the words 'Sunday Service at the Mountain' across it. \"It comes down to this complicated relationship between, you know, being a prophet or a supplicant,\" Tolentino says. To many who've watch West in the past few years publicly grapple with his mental health and come under scrutiny for supporting President Donald Trump, these Sunday Services are a sign that the rapper is searching for redemption. Tolentino is not convinced. \"There's so much ambient hunger and desperation in so many aspects of our culture right now,\" Tolentino says. \"The need, I'm sure is sincere. What kind of made me sad about watching it was it's just, 'Is this the thing that will fill it?' I'm not sure. It seems like the incorrect answer to an extremely real hunger.\"", "In Memphis, Tenn., water levels remain near record highs and have only just begun to recede. Hundreds of people are still living in shelters, which the interfaith community of Memphis is leading the effort to provide. Marcello Gonzalez, 29, stands inside the sprawling Hope Presbyterian Church just east of Memphis. He says the last time he saw the mobile home he owned with his wife and two little boys, it was full of water. \"I got my two kids, and I had to bring them over here because I don't have nowhere to go,\" Gonzales says. \"We're here now, and I want to say thank you to this church for help. They give us some food and they have showers, mobile showers in here.\" Gonzalez raves about how well his family is being treated at Hope Presbyterian, which is serving as the largest shelter for residents displaced by the floods in Shelby County. There are close to 180 people sleeping on cots and inflatable mattresses. They are fed three meals a day and get help with transportation, health care and other services. \"We're doing this because we just believe that's the church's responsibility,\" says Scott Milholland of Hope Presbyterian Church. \"Step up and be the church, take care of people and serve people — it's in our DNA and it has been.\" What's unique about this effort to shelter, feed and clothe flood victims in Memphis is that it's not being run by the Red Cross. That organization is usually the lead charity in providing shelter services in disasters, which it has an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to do. The Red Cross is in Memphis operating shelters as well as providing other disaster services. But when displaced residents check into Shelby County's center, they're assigned almost exclusively to one of the faith-based shelters that are part of the initiative called Shelby Cares. \"The interfaith community, not just Christian but Jewish as well, has looked up and said we want to take responsibility for the citizens of Memphis and we're willing to fund it,\" says Craig Strickland, senior pastor at Hope Presbyterian and coordinator of Shelby Cares. \"We believe that's what the faith-based community should be about.\" In between briefings at the Shelby County Emergency Management command center, Strickland recalls that the impetus for the initiative was Hurricane Katrina nearly six years ago. He says there was an enormous outpouring from the faith community in Memphis to help out during that crisis. \"A light bulb went off, and something changed,\" Strickland says. \"I don't know what. I think the church realized that they had abdicated part of their responsibility in society and they wanted it back. And so they began helping in Katrina. The problem was finding a strategic way to do that.\" Strickland says clergy started working with county officials well over a year ago to begin developing the strategic framework for this local, faith-based disaster response. The flooding is its first major test. Just a few weeks ago, the director of the White House Office of Faith Based Initiatives was in Memphis to take stock of Shelby Cares, which Strickland thinks could be a national model. So, what does the American Red Cross, which often leads churches into responding to disasters, think about this? \"It is a little bit different in that the churches are taking a more independent role in the community, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing,\" says Laura Howe, a Red Cross spokeswoman. \"It's interesting and refreshing in some respects to see the faith-based community coming together and taking the lead on their own, and there may be some things they can teach us, too,\" she adds. The bottom line, Howe says, is that people are being taken care of at a time when the need is great. STEVE INSKEEP, Host: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has urged residents living near the river to leave their homes. The river is now approaching levels not seen since historic floods in the 1920s and '30s. RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: From Memphis, NPR's David Schaper reports. DAVID SCHAPER: Twenty-nine-year-old Marcello Gonzalez stands in the sprawling Hope Presbyterian Church just east of Memphis. This hallway is next to the gym that is Gonzalez's temporary new home. He says the last time he saw the mobile home he owned with his wife and two little boys, it was... MARCELLO GONZALEZ: Covered. Full of water now. And I got my two kids and I had to bring them over here 'cause I have nowhere to go. We're here now and I want to say thank you to this church to help(ph)... SCHAPER: They're helping you? They're... GONZALEZ: Oh yeah, a lot. A lot. They give us some food, they have a shower, mobile showers in here. SCHAPER: There are close to 180 people here sleeping on cots and inflatable mattresses. They're fed three meals a day and get help with transportation, health care and other services. Scott Milholland is with Hope Presbyterian Church. SCOTT MILHOLLAND: You know, we're doing this because we believe that's just the church's r", "With COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths at record levels, a top public health official called on religious leaders to keep their worship spaces closed, despite rising protests from some church leaders. \"The virus is having a wonderful time right now, taking advantage of circumstances where people have let their guard go down,\" said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. \"Churches gathering in person is a source of considerable concern and has certainly been an instance where super spreading has happened and could happen again.\" Collins, himself a regular churchgoer who speaks often about his Christian faith, discussed measures that church leaders can take to protect their congregations in a Zoom conversation on Thursday with Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. \"Most churches really ought to be advised to go to remote services, if they're not already doing so,\" Collins said. His comments came even as the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a federal district court to reexamine its previous support for restrictions on indoor religious services in California. In a similar ruling last week, the Supreme Court struck down some restrictions on religious services in New York, ruling that the limits on in-person worship violated the First Amendment's protection of the right to free exercise of religion. In its Thursday ruling, the high court said the decision in the New York case meant the district court ruling upholding the California restrictions had to be reconsidered. The Pasadena-based Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry had challenged those restrictions, which had been imposed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions will remain in place at least temporarily, while the district court reviews its earlier ruling. The vast majority of churches around the country — as well as synagogues, mosques and temples — have followed public health guidelines and limited in-person worship or ended it all together, but some congregations are resisting. A pastor in Rocklin, Calif., who has defied Newsom's order, opened his service on Sunday by pulling out his cell phone and reading joyfully from last week's Supreme Court ruling. His celebration was misplaced, according to John Inazu, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who writes often on religious liberty issues. \"If you're a 5000-person church gathering in person without masks in violation of a state order, this ruling does absolutely nothing to help your cause,\" Inazu said. Last week's Supreme Court ourt ruling actually allowed for limits on worship services. At issue was how such restrictions can be imposed. Inazu says religious worship should qualify as an essential activity. The question, he adds, is whether and when worship restrictions violate the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. \"In many cases, this will be a discretionary decision by state and local officials,\" Inazu says. \"The court has weighed in and said at some extremes there are constitutional violations. But in most cases, this is going to be a gray area that's going to be the decision making of local officials.\" The rulings come as some church leaders are growing impatient at the continued pressure on them to keep their worship spaces closed. In his Zoom conversation, NIH Director Francis Collins noted how some churchgoers initially are compliant with public health guidelines, entering the church with their masks on and remaining six feet away from other churchgoers. \"Then you get to the end of the service,\" Collins said. \"You can't get a bunch of Christians not to hug each other and not want to shake hands with the pastor as they go out the door and maybe have a conversation a lot closer than six feet away. And that's where the trouble happens.\" Addressing the Christians tuned into the church-sponsored conversation, Collins urged them not to see a mask mandate as \"a political statement\" or \"an invasion of your personal freedom.\" \"This is a lifesaving device,\" he said. \"Think about it that way. And remember, when you put on that mask, you're protecting yourself from other people, but mostly you're protecting them from yourself. You're doing the altruistic, loving thing of saying, 'I'm going to protect people from me.' And that's a Christian action if ever I've heard one.\"", "Pope Francis wrapped up the first-ever papal trip to the Arabian Peninsula — a visit meant to highlight religious fraternity — by celebrating Mass before tens of thousands of people at a sports stadium in the United Arab Emirates. An estimated 180,000 people filled the seats at Abu Dhabi's Zayed Sports City Stadium for Tuesday's open-air Mass. Many attendees wore white baseball caps, waving Vatican City flags and cheering as Francis entered in a white, convertible popemobile. It was described as the largest public display of Christian worship in the Gulf state. People hailed from 100 countries, according to the Vatican. They included asylum-seekers, migrants and 4,000 Muslims. \"Someone who is afflicted, who suffers injustice, who does everything he can to be a peacemaker, knows what it means to suffer,\" Francis told the crowd in his homily. \"It is most certainly not easy for you to live far from home, missing the affection of your loved ones, and perhaps also feeling uncertainty about the future. But the Lord is faithful and does not abandon his people,\" he said. Francis added, \"Those who attack or overpower others are not blessed, but rather those that uphold Jesus' way of acting, he who saved us, and who was meek even towards his accusers.\" Prayers were said in multiple languages such as Tagalog, which is spoken by many people in the Philippines, and Konkani, spoken in parts of India. The mass came a day after Francis urged Muslim and Christian leaders to promote peace and religious tolerance in the region. On Monday, he met with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, a prominent center of learning for Sunni Islam. They signed a declaration promoting \"human fraternity,\" and appealed to religious leaders for peace between nations, faiths and races. \"We resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood,\" the document read. \"These tragic realities are the consequence of a deviation from religious teachings.\" The pope also spoke out about conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya. \"No violence can be justified in the name of religion,\" he told imams, ministers, rabbis and other religious leaders. The interfaith meeting on Monday was sponsored by the Muslim Council of Elders, an organization that NPR's Sylvia Poggioli says works to counter religious fanaticism and promote a moderate form of Islam. As many as 1 million people living in the UAE identify as Catholic, according to the Church. Many of those adherents are foreigners who arrived in search of work in a country whose population is comprised mostly of foreigners. Emirati leader Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed declared 2019 the \"Year of Tolerance\" to show the UAE as a \"global capital for tolerance.\" Human rights groups say that declaration \"rings hollow\" amid what they call a crackdown on free speech, while others point to multiple human rights abuses. As Poggioli reports: \"Sharia law prevails, and freedom of worship has a lot of restrictions. For instance, no church bells. There are no church bells. Crosses can't be seen in public, and conversion from Islam is a crime punishable by death.\" Francis' visit to the region represents what Poggioli calls \"an important encounter ... in an area where those people, that community, is growing at the same time that long-established Christian communities in the Middle East are dwindling.\" Francis' underscored both the beauty of diversity and the power of unity during Tuesday's Mass. \"You are a choir composed of numerous nations, languages and rites; a diversity that the Holy Spirit loves and wants to harmonize ever more, in order to make a symphony.\" In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI incited outrage in the Muslim world by quoting a 14th century Byzantine emperor's criticism of Islam: \"Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,\" Benedict said. That prompted 138 Muslim scholars to write a letter to Benedict and other Christian leaders emphasizing that world peace depended on harmony between the two faiths.", "Updated at 9:40 p.m. ET Pope Francis, in a speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, spoke of the need to preserve religious freedom throughout the world and warned against the use of religion \"as a pretext for hatred and brutality.\" \"In this place which is symbolic of the American way, I would like to reflect with you on the right to religious freedom,\" he said. \"It is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbors whose religious views differ from our own.\" He said the ideal of interfaith dialogue is for men and women from different traditions to come together in peace. \"Religious freedom certainly means the right to worship God, individually and in community, as our consciences dictate,\" the pontiff told a crowd before the historic hall. \"But religious freedom also goes along with places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families.\" He said history had shown \"the atrocities perpetrated by systems which claimed to build one or another 'earthly paradise' by dominating peoples, subjecting them to apparently indisputable principles and denying them any kind of rights.\" However, Francis warned that: \"In a world where various forms of modern tyranny seek to suppress religious freedom, or ... try to reduce it to a subculture without right to a voice in the public square, or to use religion as a pretext for hatred and brutality, it is imperative that the followers of the various religions join their voices in calling for peace, tolerance and respect for the dignity and rights of others.\" He spoke of the Quakers who founded Philadelphia, saying they were \"inspired by a profound evangelical sense of the dignity of each individual and the ideal of a community united by brotherly love. \"This conviction led them to found a colony which would be a haven of religious freedom and tolerance,\" he said. Earlier, en route to New York's JFK Airport, where he later departed for Philadelphia, the pontiff asked that his helicopter circle the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. \"You could see he was very, very moved,\" New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan told reporters, according to Reuters. \"And he said, 'You know, Buenos Aires was a city of immigrants too.' \" Later, Frances celebrated Mass in the city at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the largest brownstone structure in Philadelphia and the largest Catholic church in Pennsylvania. In a homily, Francis challenged young Catholics to service and emphasized that the \"immense contribution\" of women in the church. \"One of the great challenges facing the Church in this generation is to foster in all the faithful a sense of personal responsibility for the Church's mission, and to enable them to fulfill that responsibility as missionary disciples, as a leaven of the Gospel in our world,\" he said. \"This will require creativity in adapting to changed situations, carrying forward the legacy of the past not primarily by maintaining our structures and institutions, which have served us well, but above all by being open to the possibilities which the Spirit opens up to us and communicating the joy of the Gospel, daily and in every season of our life,\" the pope said. Francis then visited St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. On Saturday evening, he was the featured guest at the World Meeting of Families conference, treated to testimonials from families and performances from the likes of Aretha Franklin. \"The most beautiful thing that God did, says the Bible, was the family. All that love that He made in creation, He gave it and shared it and bestowed it on family,\" the pope said, in a speech before a crowd of some 18,000 attendees. \"In families, there is always light.\" On Sunday, his last day on U.S. soil, he will celebrate outdoor Mass, expected to draw 1.5 million people. NPR's Jeff Brady spoke with a souvenir seller outside the Philadelphia Convention Center who was happy for the surge in business, but not by the tight security measures. \"They shut down the whole city — they shut down the bridges, the buses — for one person! That's crazy! They don't do this for the President!\" Christian Andrews-Fulton said. As The Associated Press reports, the pope \"will give his attention to both the elite and the disadvantaged, this time visiting inmates in Philadelphia's largest jail. On Saturday night, he will be serenaded by Aretha Franklin and others on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at a festival celebrating families. He will return there Sunday for the Mass, his last major event before leaving for Rome.\" The trip to Philadelphia follows the pope's travels to Washington, D.C., and New York. In the nation's capital, he addressed a joint meeting of Congress, urging law makers to cooperate to solve problems such as inequality of opportunity and climate change — themes that he echoed and expanded on at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.", "In her new book, former party chairwoman Donna Brazile calls out the Clinton camp for the \"unethical\" arrangement it had with the Democratic National Committee, which \"made it difficult, if not impossible\" for her to do her job. Brazile, who headed the DNC after hacked emails showed staffers openly supporting Clinton in the primary, offers insight into the strategic deal, which she says allowed the campaign to \"get control over certain decisions and aspects of the DNC.\" She also shares concerns she had about the Clinton campaign before the election and the lack of outrage over Russian hacking. The long-time Democratic strategist spoke with NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro about the book, which has stirred a new round of recrimination about what went wrong within the DNC and the Clinton campaign up to the election. The campaign post-mortem is called Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House. Interview Highlights On whether the nomination process during the election was rigged No, the primary was not rigged. What I said in the book was that in exchange for bailing out the party, which was broke, the Clinton campaign would get control over certain decisions and aspects of the DNC that made it difficult, if not impossible for me to do my job. I call it unethical, but the primary itself was not rigged. On whether Bernie Sanders could have defeated Donald Trump You know, I have never once thought of that ... Hillary won more than 3 million votes over Donald Trump. She won 4 million more than Bernie Sanders. I think had the hacking not taken place, I think she could have won this election. On some of the failures of the Clinton campaign I respect those who are more educated about algorithms and data analytics. All I know when I was growing up, there was a certain person in every precinct that you contacted and said \"I need you to help us get out the vote.\" And I believe that Brooklyn [where the Clinton campaign headquarters was located] was missing a lot of that strategic sense because they were ... over-relying on data. On where the Democratic party goes from here I want my party to lead, I want my party to be victorious at the ballot box as you saw last week ... but I also want my party to learn from the mistakes of the past. You don't spend seven months of your life during one of the most extreme cyber espionage campaigns getting attacked, you know, each and every day to wake up the day after and say \"OK, let's go back to usual.\" No, we can't go back to usual as long as we have a president who will not acknowledge that the country was under attack by Russia, a president who will not work to ensure that we work to strengthen our democracy in the future and a president who continued to call the investigation a hoax. So if I'm angry about anything, it's that I'm disappointed that more Americans are not upset at the fact that we were hacked last year. On Democratic campaigning in the future We have to have a message for [voters]. We have to talk to everybody, whether you live in the suburbs or in the inner city. I think the Democratic party has to have a strong message. What we saw on Tuesday was that we have to field candidates all across America. Take a chapter from the book we just made on Tuesday, the history that we just made on Tuesday. We have to invest in these down ballot races, whether it's City Council or the school board, we have to essentially go back to the American people with a positive message moving forward, not just that we're anti-Trump. Although, Trump gives us enough ammunition every day to go after him. NPR Digital News Intern Isabel Dobrin produced this story for the Web.", "For years, small churches have been meeting in New York City public schools. Some want cheap rental space, and others are part of a \"church planting\" movement. The idea is to \"plant\" congregations, often in unconventional settings, to attract the unaffiliated. A federal court last year ruled that these school gatherings violate the separation of church and state. The congregations now have one week left to vacate. The Bible tells of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years, before entering the Promised Land. On a recent Sunday, Pastor Jon Storck joked that he envied the Israelites' mobile temple, called the Tabernacle. \"It's too bad we don't have a transportable worship area,\" Storck told Grace Fellowship Church, during a sermon about the superiority of faith and grace over bricks, mortar and other worldly attachments. Grace Fellowship has been gathering at PS-150 in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, N.Y., since 2006, but is scheduled to be evicted in a week by the city's Department of Education. The Presbyterian-affiliated church gets about 80 regulars and newcomers a week. The city rents school space to hundreds of different organizations — including dozens of churches. But since 1995, the city's Department of Education has been trying to evict religious groups in the name of separation of church and state. The department gave the churches until Feb. 12 to vacate. Last week, the department provided a list of 53 churches with active permits to worship in schools, but it's not clear how many are still in auditoriums like the one at PS-150. Some contacted by WNYC have already found new homes, and others are weighing different options for the future. Court rulings have gone back and forth. Last June, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city. The court said the city, in barring \"worship services,\" was excluding \"a type of activity\" but wasn't being discriminatory. And it ruled the city was neither infringing on personal expression nor free speech under the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court, in December, effectively accepted that argument when it declined to hear an appeal. State Sen. Martin Golden, a Brooklyn Republican, has sponsored a bill he says will override the distinction between religious clubs meeting in schools for education and edification, which is constitutional; and religious congregations making schools their own personal worship space, which isn't. The Education Committee passed his bill by a 17-1 margin this past week, and Golden expects it to go to the full Senate before the churches' Feb. 12 eviction deadline. A spokeswoman for his counterpart in the Assembly, Bronx Democrat Nelson Castro, said the committee is trying to get the bill on its agenda. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office has submitted a letter to the legislature asking it to defeat the bill, based on the federal court rulings. The New York Civil Liberties Union says Golden is missing the point. \"You have a right to pray, of course. You have a right to worship. Freedom of religion is critical,\" said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. \"But freedom for a church to take over a school and convert it to a house of worship is not what our Constitution stands for.\" Storck isn't sure what Grace Fellowship's next move is. He said he has leads on a couple of rental spaces in Sunnyside, and could also temporarily bring his flock to an affiliated church in nearby Astoria. He's also considering applying for a permit to use PS-150 in ways that are constitutionally permitted and don't involve formal worship. Fred Mogul reports for member station WNYC in New York.", "When undocumented immigrants move through government-run detention centers in the U.S., it can take months before they find out if they'll be deported or allowed to stay in the country. During this long wait, many become frustrated. And some turn to religion. It's the job of the in-house chaplain to help connect detainees to religious services. Keith Henderson, chaplain at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., says, \"I love it. I love the job,\" partly, he says, because he likes challenges. This facility holds nearly 1,600 people who face deportation. Henderson's job is to arrange worship services that match their religions and languages. The center currently offers services for eight different religions. \"We have Chinese. Korean. We have Spanish. We have English and we have Russian all going on at the same time, in one service,\" he says. More than 400,000 undocumented immigrants enter government-run detention centers every year around the U.S. Immigration officials say every detention facility has a chaplain like Henderson on staff. They help make sure religious needs get met — from Kosher meals to Catholic Mass, to Muslim and Sikh prayer services. Here, Henderson says about half the detainees take part in the worship services. And it can make a big difference. \"Some guys come, you know, and you watch them, they sit in the back and then after time they start really participating. So it's a transformation,\" he says. After the chaplaincy program started here in 2008, he says, the staff noticed a distinct change across the whole facility. \"The statistical — you know — violence and everything else just dropped,\" he says. About 75 percent of detainees in this facility come from Mexico and Central America. But the rest are from everywhere else. That diversity keeps Henderson on his toes. On a given day, he might get a detainee who's Jewish or Greek Orthodox, or who only speaks Japanese. So he works with a lot of interpreters and outside volunteer groups who bring all these religious services into the detention center. The Sikh prayer service, for example, is held here every Saturday. About 70 men in blue and orange jumpsuits are gathered in a large cafeteria, sitting together on flannel blankets. They're almost all from Punjab, India. Bandanas cover their heads. Dressed in business clothes, Balwant Aulck, leads the group. Aulck, from the Sikh Center of Seattle, says the chaplain called the center a few years ago, asking for books for the Punjabi detainees. \"I said, 'Well, we can do even more, you know.' And that's how it started,\" he says. Different volunteers from the Sikh Center come here every weekend to lead a prayer service that lasts about 20 minutes. \"Once they do prayer, then it kind of brings them calmness. Frustration goes out,\" Aulck says. Afterward, a few men gather around Aulck. Some talk about their families or their court case. \"I just try to make sure they're settled,\" Aulck says. \"What that means is, they accept the consequences.\" An official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement allowed NPR to interview a few detainees, but not use anyone's name. One man, who's lived in the U.S. for 22 years, says this group service reinforces his faith and helps him cope with some frustrations of daily life here. \"Me, and I have another guy — he's my celly — we doing every day 6 o'clock in the cell,\" he says. \"We sit down there in the blanket and we pray every day. But here, when you come here, they make a more better strength like you go in the church, you know.\" He says many guys here, they all pray for the same thing. \"God, just let us go from here. Just give us one chance to go there and we can be better person,\" he says. And the prayers lift them out of this place — If only for a few brief moments. \"When we pray, we feel like we go home, you know?\" he says. MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: More than 400,000 undocumented immigrants move through government-run detention centers every year around the U.S. It can take months before they find out if they'll be deported or allowed to stay. During this long wait, many become frustrated. Some turn to religion. It's the job of the in-house chaplain to help connect detainees to religious services, and we're going to hear now about the challenges of meeting the spiritual needs of detainees who come from all over the world. Liz Jones of member station KUOW has our story. LIZ JONES, BYLINE: The radio on Keith Henderson's hip crackles as we head into a meeting room. He's chaplain at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash. KEITH HENDERSON: I love it. I love the job. JONES: Partly, he says, because he likes challenges. This facility holds nearly 1,600 people who face deportation. Henderson's job is to arrange worship services that match their religions and languages. HENDERSON: We have Chinese, Korean. We have Spanish. We have English, and we have Russian all going on at the same time in one service. JONES: The center currently offer services for eight dif", "The members of a once-obscure Democratic Party commission have suddenly gained rock-star status. The 30 people on the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee are meeting this Saturday in Washington, D.C., to decide the fate of the disputed delegates from Florida and Michigan. Member Gary Shay of California says he receives 500 e-mails a day, most of them urging him to vote in favor of seating the delegates. Sarah Swisher, a former nurse from Iowa, says she marvels when she hears her name on CNN. Husband-and-wife committee members Don and Carol Fowler get the kind of coverage once reserved for Brad and Jen because they are on different sides of the great Democratic Party divide: He is for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and she is with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. And one committee member, Mark Brewer of Michigan, sits on the committee but at the same time has been challenging the group to seat his state's delegates. \"I'm not an old-time rules person,\" says South Florida lawyer Allan Katz, who joined the committee about a year-and-a-half ago. \"I didn't realize that I was consigning myself to Dante's seventh circle of hell.\" This weekend's meeting will decide the fate of 367 delegates — 211 from Florida and 156 from Michigan — which the committee stripped to punish the states for moving up their primaries. Clinton's campaign has been pushing for months to have the delegates count; her name was on the ballot in both states, and she won both. Obama's name only appeared on the Florida ballot. Delegate math aside, including Clinton's votes in Michigan and Florida would boost her ahead of Obama in terms of the overall popular vote. (This is also a disputed number because four caucus states did not tabulate a popular vote, but that's another story.) More recently, Clinton has argued that discounting the delegates would disenfranchise the states' voters. The Obama campaign says it is willing to meet the states halfway and has indicated that it would support seating the delegations at 50 percent strength. Striking a Balance Apart from the Clinton camp's pressure to seat the states' full delegations, the committee also needs to balance its own authority against the rights of Florida and Michigan voters. The committee does not want to dissuade voters from supporting the Democratic nominee in the fall, but it also does not want to let Florida and Michigan off the hook for shifting their primaries. The states' efforts kept the primary calendar in flux until late 2007 and contributed to the early start of the primary season, which began on Jan. 3 in Iowa. \"What's at stake is preserving the integrity of the process,\" Shay says. \"There were rules that were violated, and a remedy needs to be found within the rules that are acceptable.\" Members of the rules committee and DNC staff say they are leaning toward restoring half of the states' delegates — an approach the Obama campaign supports. A DNC staff memo about the conference says party rules stipulate that the states' delegates must be reduced by 50 percent, but Clinton advisers argue that the 50 percent penalty can be overridden by the committee and the full delegation seated. The Committee's Leaders The Rules and Bylaws Committee is led by longtime Democratic insiders Alexis Herman and James Roosevelt Jr., who is a grandson of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Both served in former President Bill Clinton's administration: Herman as secretary of Labor and Roosevelt as the associate commissioner of Social Security. Roosevelt has served as the co-chair of the rules committee since 1995. Colleagues describe Roosevelt, a lawyer by training and now the president and CEO of the Boston-based Tufts Health Plan, as detail-oriented. Fellow DNC member Marty Xifaras has known him since 1980. Although she calls the impending delegate negotiations \"charged,\" she says Roosevelt's institutional knowledge of the committee will lend the meeting greater credibility. \"There's no changing of the guard that could be perceived as political overtone,\" Xifaras says. \"These are the people who were in charge when the rules changed. These are the people who are in charge now.\" Herman has served as the co-chair of the Rules and Bylaws Committee since 2005, and she has held high-level positions in the Democratic Party –- as the DNC chief of staff for Chairman Ron Brown and as the CEO of the 1992 Democratic National Convention. Neither Roosevelt nor Herman has publicly endorsed a candidate. The committee has several Democratic heavyweights such as Harold Ickes, one of Hillary Clinton's top advisers; Donna Brazile, the campaign manager for Al Gore in 2000; and Alice Germond, the DNC secretary. The rest is made up of lawyers and state party members otherwise unlikely to appear on network TV. Saturday's Process In advance of the meeting, the members have received a 38-page memo that outlines a DNC analysis of the Florida and Michigan situation and copies of the challenges from both states. ", "Washington felt like a hall of mirrors on Monday. The CIA has concluded that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election to help Donald Trump win. But Trump says he doesn't believe that. And the FBI doesn't think there's enough evidence. The U.S. intelligence community had warned about the Russian meddling during the campaign. What's new is that the CIA says it is confident the Russians were acting with a specific goal in mind — to help Trump win. The entire country is now enmeshed in a story that seems to perfectly correspond with the state of politics and the national mood: tense, paranoid, zero-sum and subjective. It's a narrative with too few solid facts to be definitive but just enough that anyone can feel justified in drawing his or her preferred conclusions. Here's a look at what's known so far about the election-hacking story — and what isn't. 1. The U.S. government says Russia meddled in the presidential election The story first exploded in July, when the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks published a tranche of emails connected to the leadership of the Democratic National Committee. The messages revealed the gritty inner workings of the party elite and showed its preference for Hillary Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders supporters were outraged; the embarrassment prompted the resignation of DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Later, WikiLeaks released emails from Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, which depicted her and the campaign's ties to powerful bankers, internal jokes about the Benghazi investigation and other such exchanges. Combined with parallel stories about the FBI's investigation into the private email server that Clinton used at the State Department, the image was of an aloof influence broker who played by her own rules — an impression Clinton never shook. But the internal emails released by WikiLeaks, a site called \"DCLeaks\" and others were not \"leaks\" in the traditional sense — information knowingly given to reporters by an insider. They were stolen by hackers working for Russian intelligence agencies, the U.S. intelligence community concluded. After government officials had said so anonymously in press reports, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence affirmed it openly, on the record. That followed an online forensics report by the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which documented in June the evidence that connected the DNC compromise with Russia's domestic intelligence service, the FSB, and its military intelligence service, the GRU. 2. The U.S. intelligence community told the presidential candidates and Congress about the cybermischief during the campaign Trump and Clinton began receiving intelligence briefings after their respective party conventions, in keeping with a long tradition of preparing potential future presidents for what they could face in office. Intelligence officials told the candidates and their campaigns about the evidence for the Russian hacking then, and later during one of the presidential debates Clinton hammered Trump over what she called the support by Russia. Trump, then as now, said he didn't know whether the Russians were trying to help him, or that he didn't believe they were, and that no one could truly know what was happening in cyberspace. \"Maybe there is no hacking,\" he said at the time. Since then, he has asked on Twitter why the hacking story didn't come up before Election Day. In fact, the hacking story came up more than a dozen times during the campaign. On Fox News Sunday, he blamed what he called the sour grapes of Democrats who are still bitter about Clinton's loss. But Trump also told Fox News host Chris Wallace he'd be open to the investigation that Obama has ordered and that members of Congress also say they'll conduct into the Russian meddling. \"President Obama's been terrific,\" Trump said. \"I don't want anyone hacking us. And I'm not only talking about countries. I'm talking about anyone, period. But if you're going to do that, I think you should not just say Russia, you should say other countries also, and maybe other individuals. 3. Russia did more during the election season than release emails Commentators linked to the Kremlin talked openly about why they supported Trump and why they believed him to be a better candidate for Russia and the world. Russia's state media hailed Trump's election and praised the notion that he might nominate Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who has extensive ties in Russia, as secretary of state. The Kremlin also underwrites a team of so-called trolls to post on Twitter and elsewhere on social media. Putin and Trump also praised each other. But Russian diplomats also reached out to Trump's camp behind the scenes, and members of Trump campaign team also had their own previous contacts with Russia. All along, however, Trump disclaimed that he could be swayed by potential business contacts there and noted he's never met Putin. \"I ", "When most people drive to church on Sunday, it's to sit for an hour-long service on uncomfortable wooden pews. Not at the Daytona Beach Drive In Christian Church in Florida. As church attendance continues to decline in the United States, some parishes are doing what they can to draw congregants: embracing social media, loosening dress codes and even altering service times for big sporting events. At this church, people park in rows on the grass facing an altar on the balcony of an old drive-in theater. To hear the service, they switch on their radios. Pastor Bob Kemp-Baird was skeptical of the church's approach when he was first recruited two years ago, but now says he understands that the worship style works for his congregation. \"Is there a feeling of the presence of the holy in this place?\" Kemp-Baird asks. \"Is there a feeling that Christ's presence is made known? I do know: it lives here.\" Liturgical purists might balk at a worship style in which even Communion isn't very communal. Parishioners in their cars drink wine from plastic ramekins with tiny rectangles of bread under the lids. As they do so, the radio pipes out instructions over organ music: \"Remove this inner lid and, holding this cup, join me in prayer.\" But for the parishioners of the Drive In Christian Church, the drive-up approach works. When Shirley Oenbrink was battling stage 4 cancer, attending church provided her with strength through her illness, she says. But during her year of chemotherapy, she says she could barely get out of bed, let alone into a church pew. Now that she has beaten the cancer, having a private space during worship helps her cope with the emotional ups and downs of recovery. \"It the time to let the tears flow and you don't get questioned,\" she says. \"I don't like for people to feel sorry for me. And when I cry, my eyes get big, my nose swells up ... I need to stay in my car.\" For Russell and Teresa Fry, who are legally blind, the ability to walk to the church and hear the service through speakers is important. They say they both carry wounds from discrimination at churches they've attended in the past, and Teresa Fry says that makes her \"standoffish.\" \"I don't want to get hurt. So I stand back and wait for a second to see how they're going to react to me with being visually impaired, because my eyes do jerk a lot,\" she says. \"People sometimes think I'm kind of crazy when I'm not crazy.\" The Frys say the church is a safe place for people who need privacy and healing, and that the congregation readily accepted them. Other parishioners say the drive-in approach is perfect for those who have trouble walking or for antsy children who enjoy the open space. Others say they revel in the ocean air and Florida sunshine. And some say they like that the church welcomes the whole family, including pet dogs: When ushers hand out Communion, even the dogs get treats. At the service's close, things get even livelier when people use their car horns to \"clap.\" Those who want human interaction can then gather in the fellowship hall, which used to be the theater's concession stand. Today, it offers a Christian tradition that transcends even locked cars: doughnut hour. MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: Empty pews are forcing churches across America to get creative. Pastors are experimenting with all kinds of innovative ways to entice the faithful back into the flock - embracing social media, loosening dress codes, even moving service times around big sporting events. BLOCK: Amy Kiley of member station WMFE paid a visit to a Florida church that lets congregants attend Sunday service without having to get out of the car. AMY KILEY, BYLINE: Most people drive to church on Sunday get out of their cars and sit through an hour-long service on uncomfortable wooden pews. But not at the Daytona Beach Drive-in Christian Church. (SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORN) KILEY: People park on the grass in rows facing not a screen but an altar from on the balcony of a building at an old drive-in theater. To hear the service, they switch on their radios. BOB KEMP-BAIRD: Even as we go forth to build in this world of hope and peace... KILEY: Liturgical purists might balk at a worship style in which even communion isn't very communal. Parishioners in their cars drink wine from plastic ramekins with tiny rectangles of bread under the lids. KEMP-BAIRD: And now, with me, if you'll remove this inner lid and, holding this cup, join me in prayer. KILEY: Pastor Bob Kemp-Baird says even he was skeptical when the church recruited him two years ago. Now, he understands the worship style works for his congregation. KEMP-BAIRD: That was the big question I had. Is there a feeling of the presence of the holy in this place, even though people are coming to worship in their cars? Is there a feeling that Christ's presence is made known? I do know. It lives here. KILEY: The parishioners of the Drive-in Christian Church agree. Shirley Oenbrink is a stage four cancer survivor. She says attending church ", "Second of five parts For decades, China's Catholics -- estimated at more than 12 million -- have been bitterly divided. Some worship in China's government-sanctioned Catholic churches, others in \"underground\" churches loyal to the Vatican. But three years ago, Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Chinese Catholics -- the first from a pope in more than a half-century -- urging reconciliation. Yet China's Catholics have struggled to follow these instructions. Early morning in Sheshan, on the outskirts of Shanghai, Catholics kneel on the ground in front of the pilgrimage shrine to the Virgin Mary, known as the Marian shrine. A cacophony of prayer rises as different groups of pilgrims conduct their services, singing hymns of praise almost loud enough to drown each other out. Many of these groups of believers refuse to enter the government-sanctioned church nearby. They are part of the \"underground\" church, even though on this day they are worshipping openly and unimpeded. Some of these believers refuse to take Holy Communion from Beijing's officially appointed bishops, and instead follow bishops chosen by the Vatican. On this day, members of the government-sanctioned church are also out in force, holding an official procession up the hill at the Sheshan basilica, a cavernous, red-brick building with stained-glass windows, which was built in 1935. As choirs of white-robed priests sing hymns to the Virgin Mary, priests carry a statue of Mary out of the church, incense wafting over it, while nuns shower it with flower petals. The clergy in this procession belong to China's official Catholic church, sometimes known as the open church. In a bid to assert authority over China's Catholics, Beijing cut ties with the Vatican in 1951 and began the practice of ordaining its own bishops, some without the approval of the pope. These parallel acts of worship take place side by side on May 24, which Pope Benedict XVI has designated as the international day of prayer for China. It's a measure of what it means to be a Catholic in China that in the past this pilgrimage spot has been the subject of intense security by police and security forces, sometimes stopping pilgrims from entering. This year, however, there is little overt security, signaling a thaw. And that is echoed in some parts of China, where government-sanctioned believers and underground communities are taking steps to bridge that divide. One Diocese Closes Divide In Tianjin, 85 miles southeast of Beijing, the Rev. Zhang Liang wears purple robes and celebrates Mass inside an imposing domed cathedral, a state-sanctioned church whose pews are packed with worshippers on a weekday morning. He says the papal letter three years ago was a turning point. \"In the past, [the] Tianjin diocese was divided into above-ground and underground Catholics,\" he explains. \"The two factions argued, and it was awkward when they met. But Pope Benedict XVI issued a papal letter, and now we in Tianjin have reconciled with each other.\" During Mass, all priests in Tianjin publicly name Stephen Li Side as their bishop; he is a Vatican-appointed bishop unrecognized by Beijing. But in 2008, after the papal letter, the underground bishop himself urged his flock to worship in the state-sanctioned church. Zhang believes Chinese Catholics should take responsibility for healing the divisions themselves, instead of blaming the government. \"Why do you blame the government? It's like blaming the sun for not shining on you. If you take one step forward, there's the sunshine,\" he says. \"It's like saying, 'Will the government let me open this door or not?' \" Zhang says. \"The government doesn't care whether you open the door. You just think they care. Everyone is so busy prejudging, they don't dare do anything.\" Still, Some Priests Pay Heavy Price Just 25 miles away in the suburbs of Tianjin, another priest labors in very different circumstances. The small makeshift church where 83-year-old Melchior Shi Hongzhen has held Mass for the past 20 years sits beside a trash-filled ditch, accompanied by the roar of traffic from a busy highway. This is a place of exile for Shi, a coadjutor bishop -- a rank similar to an auxiliary bishop -- recognized by the Vatican in 1982 but not by the Chinese government. He has paid a heavy price for belonging to the underground church, including 28 years working in a factory at the time of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s and early '70s, when religion was outlawed. Other underground bishops have suffered, too, spending years, even decades in prison or under house arrest. Slightly deaf but cheerful, Shi spends his days reading in his book-filled study. He says he supports the steps toward reconciliation, but he will not join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a quasi-governmental organization that controls the Catholic church in China. \"The patriotic association is an organization of the country, like the Communist Party. You are free to join or not. I di", "Friday evening marks the first Shabbat since the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre last weekend, and Jewish leaders want Americans of all faiths to come and send, \"a resounding message that love triumphs over hate.\" The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is spearheading the effort using the #ShowUpForShabbat social media campaign. It is to both show solidarity for the 11 victims killed at the Tree of Life synagogue, but also to signal that the Jewish community will not live in fear. For those unable to attend Shabbat there will be a live stream of services from Central Synagogue in New York. One of the partner organizations with the AJC, the Jewish Federations of North America, also said the event will be one of \"prayer, compassion and unity — as one people.\" \"This Shabbat, we are responding with our greatest show of solidarity. A continental Solidarity Shabbat with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh,\" according to a statement by the federations. Shabbat is observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening and is a day of rest, celebration and congregation. Earlier in the day Friday, the last of the funerals for the Tree of Life victims will be held in Pittsburgh — for 97-year-old Rose Mallinger. As people take part in services, the horror of last weekend will be inescapable, especially for those in the Steel City. A beefed up police presence at Pittsburgh synagogues and other Jewish institutions will continue, as it has since the shooting. 'We practiced for that day, for the worst nightmare' Just this summer, Brad Orsini led an active shooting training at the Tree of Life synagogue. He's the Director of Community Security with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. He's a retired 28-year veteran of the FBI. A burly, Italian-American man with a shaved head who was raised Catholic, Orsini now teaches members of Pittsburgh's Jewish community how to stay safe. \"We practiced for that day, for the worst nightmare, and the worst nightmare happened,\" Orsini said. Part of his job is to help harden the city's synagogues and community centers to help fend off would-be attackers. He also conducts safety training at Jewish retirement homes, schools and daycare facilities. Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers was presiding over services when gunshots rang out last Saturday. Myers had trained with Orsini, and Orsini had convinced Rabbi Myers to carry his cell phone during Shabbat services, even though that runs counter to Jewish tradition. Myers told ABC News that, because of the training, he was able to call 9-1-1. \"I learned a number of important things from him. One of them was to carry my cell phone. I normally don't carry it on the Jewish Sabbath, but I learned from him. As he said, 'Rabbi it's a different world, you need to carry it.' And I'm so grateful.\" Myers said. Orsini said the training helped prevent more lives from being lost that day. Synagogues, churches and mosques in the U.S. have been adding security for years amid a string of mass shootings at houses of worship. Some have been paying for increased security measures through a Department of Homeland Security grant program. For his part, Orsini said it pains him that his job exists. \"It hurts me that Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh has to even hire somebody like me to secure people because they want to go pray.\" Orsini said he left the FBI hoping he would never have to see another crime scene. Then last week he found himself standing watch at the Tree of Life synagogue as Rabbis collected victim remains, according to their tradition.", "Protesters outside the Democratic National Convention are using Barack Obama's message of hope as a way to frame their demonstrations against Democratic Party politics, observes Youth Radio's Martin Macias. That solution-oriented framing is a departure from the \"lesser of two evils\" rhetoric that dominated DNC protests four years ago. This is part of Youth Radio and Day to Day's weekly What's the New What Series. ALEX CHADWICK, host: Back now with Day to Day. You've been listening this week, so you know not everyone in Denver is completely on with Senator Obama. But young protesters outside the con hall aren't so much chanting in frustration as they did somewhat four years ago. MADELEINE BRAND, host: This time young organizers and activists are trying to craft critical messages using Obama's rhetoric. Youth Radio's Martin Macias reports from the streets of Denver for this week's What's the New What. MARTIN MACIAS: What's the new what? Here at the Democratic National Convention, I've observed that Hope is the New Rebellion. Meaning protesters outside the convention are using Barack Obama's message of hope as a way to frame their demonstrations against Democratic Party politics as usual. Ms. JEAN STEVENS (Code Pink): What we're trying to do is be positive, be hopefully, you know, let Obama supporters know that we're here to keep ending the war on the forefront of their minds. MACIAS: That's 24-year old Jean Stevens with the female-led peace group Code Pink. Instead of their usual stop-the-war slogans, Code Pink's main chant today is Get Her Done. They're urging Senator Obama and other leaders to find quick and peaceful solutions in the Middle East. That sort of solution-oriented framing is a departure from the lesser of two evils rhetoric that dominated DNC protests like this one four years ago. GROUP LEADER: DNC... CHORUS: Shut it down! Unidentified Man: The Democrats are no different when it comes to oppressed people. Bush and Kerry are the same, they are figure. MACIAS: It appears the (unintelligible) aren't alone in embracing upbeat messaging. Other demonstrators carry colorful puppets and costumes at a march called the procession for the future. 23-year-old Christie Horner from Washington State is setting up a statue of liberty (unintelligible) an American icon, she says she wants to reclaim in the name of peace. Ms. STEVENS: I'm not protesting the DNC. I mean we need change, you know, we can do things non-violently and make a statement. There is no need to be yelling or condemning people. MACIAS: But Jean Stevens of Code Pink says despite the softer approach of this year's DNC protesters, they're still being criticized by party die-hards. Ms. STEVENS: People are saying you're preaching to the choir, why are you bringing, you know, negative energy? Why are you here? Obama's on your side, the Democratic Party is on your side? MACIAS: Stevens says there's a debate among activists groups here about what it even means to protest this week when so many young people are driving Barack Obama's campaign for hope and change. OK, if you're thinking there's no way the protests in Denver are a complete hippie hope-fest, you're right. There are those protesters who are openly disappointed with Obama. Here's 23-year old Emily Eisley(ph). Ms. EMILY EISLEY (DNC Protester): Such a bummer, like this whole area is so Obama-tized. We're from Detroit, and people are selling these t-shirts and pictures of Obama. A little picture of Malcolm X in the corner, and it's such a projection on what people want and what they're not getting - something more radical. MACIAS: Eisley has a poster that says Obama - different face, same system, no change. But even she's taking the opportunity to reach across the aisle to Obama supporters of every variety. Ms. EISLEY: I think we do need to use this moment strategically and say you're progressive, we're progressive, we need to unite for real change - and it comes from below. CHORUS: I miss America, my home, sweet... MACIAS: So it seems like hope is the new rebellion, at least this week, anyway. They could be singing a very different tune next week, at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. CHORUS: My long lost home. CHADWICK: That was Youth Radio's Martin Macias reporting from the Democratic National Convention. What's the New What is youth radio's and Day to Day's weekly series that's following cultural and social and political trends in young America." ]

[ "Thursday's election in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, could herald a change, but long-time incumbent, Cameroon's Issa Hayatou, is not giving up without a fight.\nHayatou, in charge for nearly three decades, has often been re-elected unopposed. On the two occasions when he did face a challenge, he won with landslides amongst the electorate of presidents of Africa's football associations.\nIn 2000, he beat Angola's Armando Machado by 47-4 votes and four years later he defeated Ismail Bhamjee of Botswana by 46-6 votes.\nAs he seeks an eighth term on Thursday, taking on Madagascar FA head Ahmad Ahmad, Hayatou knows that victory this time around will not come nearly as easily.\nWhether it is reality or bluster, Ahmad says that he has been pledged more than 30 votes, which would comfortably take him over the line.\nHis platform of administrative reform, financial transparency and a potential reorganisation of Caf competitions may be popular. But as the Malagasy freely admits what people say and what they actually do are often two very different things.\nYet should Ahmad shock many by winning, the roots of his success will be able to be traced back to February 2016 when the Fifa elections took place.\nAt that time, Caf publicly stated that it was supporting Fifa presidential candidate, and front-runner, Sheikh Salman of Bahrain and instructed all of Africa to do so as well.\nSo when Swiss-Italian Gianni Infantino was the surprise winner, it left Caf exposed.\n\"It's one of the arguments that pushed me to go for this election,\" Ahmad told me on Tuesday.\nInsiders say the leadership of both Fifa and Caf have been pulling in different directions ever since.\nThis was perhaps best illustrated by Infantino attending a birthday party for Zimbabwe FA president Phillip Chiyangwa in Harare last month. An event which Caf had described, for various reasons, as an \"attempt to destabilise\" African football's ruling body.\nChiywangwa is the campaign manager for Ahmad, so furthering the belief of those who claim that Fifa also wants change.\nWhat is also instructive is the paucity of African federation presidents who have been prepared to speak out publicly on Hayatou's behalf.\nOver the last month or so, the BBC has heard plenty from those who say they will be voting for Ahmad.\nYet trying to find balance in our coverage has been tricky.\nJust two men, the FA presidents of Comoros and Guinea-Bissau, have been prepared to offer public support for the Cameroonian. This appears at odds with the belief that Hayatou is guaranteed another term that would extend his reign past 30 years.\n\"There is no one among us who can lead Caf better than Hayatou right now,\" Guinea-Bissau Football Federation president Nascimento Irenio told the BBC on Tuesday.\n\"You cannot compare the value that exists in this man as a leader with any other person in [African] football.\"\nNonetheless, Hayatou's longevity is driving those who believe that Ahmad should be the next president.\n\"It is clear that the winds of change are blowing in Africa,\" says Liberia FA president Musa Bility.\n\"We want to move forward to a new development and a new generation of leaders. This is not a campaign in which we are going to get involved in mud-slinging and bad-mouthing. We just want change.\"\nWhether his manifesto pledges are really appealing or, more likely, the fact that he is the sole option for change, Ahmad freely admits he is only standing after being persuaded by at least 15 FA presidents to run.\nLargely because the existing Caf rules state that only a member of the organisation's Executive Committee can run for the presidency. And only Ahmad, a politician back home after being both a football player and coach in his younger days, was prepared to put himself forward.\nStanding in his way are not just 29 years of history but also the fact that Hayatou, a former athlete himself who once held national Cameroonian sprinting records, is a political survivor.\nDuring his time in charge, he has overseen a host of improvements to the African game but also suffered a fair share of controversies.\nThe Africa Cup of Nations has expanded from eight teams to 16, the number of African teams at the World Cup has increased from two to five, while club competitions have been remodelled and refinanced.\nCaf's own finances have also been greatly been boosted . And while on his watch, the first World Cup to be staged in Africa, took place in 2010 in South Africa.\nThere have, however, also been several question marks against the veteran. Chief among them the reprimand by the International Olympic Committee in 2011 after an ethics committee probe into the acceptance of payments from a marketing firm.\nBut through it all, Hayatou has stayed in power, with a vice-like grip according to his critics, but that grip could well be loosening.\nNonetheless, he has looked remarkably relaxed as he strolls in the corridors in his hotel in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.\nWhen I asked him for an interview on Tuesday, he accepted, but on the condition that it was done after Thursday's election.\nBut will he be talking then as Caf president or a man who is moving on after more than four decades in sports administration?" ]

[ "Referee Slim Jdidi admitted that he mistakenly issued the winger with a second yellow card for simulation in the semi-final against Ghana.\nThe Confederation of African Football (Caf) confirmed on Friday that the resulting ban would be overturned.\nJdidi has already been suspended for his performance in the semi-final.\nA senior Caf official told Reuters: \"The referee wrote the letter to the review committee saying he had made a mistake.\n\"The review committee examined footage of the incident and agreed Pitroipa had been fouled.\n\"It asked the disciplinary committee to verify its decision, which [it] is entitled to do under the terms of Caf's rules and regulations.\"\nBurkina Faso media officer Gabriel Nacoulma welcomed Caf's ruling ahead of the showpiece decider.\n\"We are all very happy with the decision, he is a very important player for us,\" Nacoulma told BBC Sport.\n\"We are very motivated to win. We have no injury concerns for the final.\"\nThe Stallions will play in their first Cup of Nations final, while Nigeria are seeking their third continental title.\nPitroipa, who plays for French side Rennes, will be a key player in Paul Put's side, who are missing top scorer Alain Traore.\nStriker Traore scored three goals in the group stage but suffered a thigh injury in the final group game against Zambia.\nPitroipa was shown a second yellow card in the final minutes of extra-time against Ghana by Tunisian official Jdidi, earning a caution for simulation even though John Boye appeared to trip the Burkinabe inside his own area.\nShortly after the match, which Burkina Faso won after a dramatic penalty shoot-out, officials from the West African nation made an official protest about the referee's performance to African football's ruling body.\nCaf President Issa Hayatou admitted earlier on Friday that refereeing mistakes had been made at the tournament.\n\"Overall we are satisfied but we experienced some mistakes with the referees especially at the semi-final between Ghana and Burkina Faso, and there were other errors too at the Tunisia v Togo [group] match,\" he said.\nCaf Secretary-General Hicham El Amrani, meanwhile, told a news conference in Johannesburg on Thursday that his body was unhappy with the standard of officiating in the Nelspruit semi-final.\nJdidi infuriated Burkina Faso when not only sending off Pitroipa after he had seemingly won a penalty but also awarding Ghana a debatable spot-kick themselves, before disallowing a legitimate-looking Stallions goal.\n\"We would have expected a better standard,\" El Amrani said.\nAlready missing the injured Traore for the first Nations Cup final in the Stallions' history, the absence of key man Pitroipa, who scored the match-winner in Sunday's quarter-final win over Togo, would have been another major blow for the Burkinabe.\nPrior to these finals, the Stallions had failed to win a match at the Nations Cup on foreign soil, having reached the semi-finals when hosting in 1998, but they now stand on the verge of their greatest triumph.", "Caf Secretary General Hicham El Amrani has also been charged.\nA lawyer representing both parties attended a hearing on Monday.\nWith Caf based in Cairo, Egyptian authorities maintain it is governed by local laws.\nThe African football body firmly rejects accusations it committed any wrongdoing when signing a multi-million dollar deal with sports agency Lagardere in June 2015.\n\"Caf categorically asserts that all claims against it are groundless and without merit,\" a statement read.\n\"Caf will vigorously defend its position, its right and reputation using all legal means available under international law.\"\nThe Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) started to investigate the Lagardere deal in June 2016, prior to asserting - in January 2017 - that Caf had engaged in monopolistic practices that infringed local laws.\nThe deal gives Lagardere rights to a variety of African football competitions, including the flagship Africa Cup of Nations, from 2017 until 2028.\n\"As a result, the board voted in favour of (referring) Hayatou and El Amrani for criminal prosecution,\" said the ECA in a statement dated 8 March.\nCaf stresses that the allegations accusing it of selling rights without opening them for due tender are incorrect.\nThe organisation, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this week, maintains it did not sell any broadcasting rights to Lagardere - merely appointing the French company as its marketing and media agent instead.\nLagardere paid $1bn to Caf for the privilege and while it then undertakes responsibility for negotiating deals across the globe, \"the rights remain vested at Caf\" - says Caf Communications Director Junior Binyam.\nThe resurgence of the ECA's interest comes at a critical time for Caf, which hosts its presidential elections on Thursday.\n\"The timing of the ECA's media campaign underlines its attempt to disrupt and undermine Caf at the time of its presidential elections,\" the Caf statement added.\n\"The referral of Caf's president and its secretary general, in violation of all Caf's constitutionally- and universally-protected rights of defence, only a few days before Caf's presidential elections is meant to tarnish Hayatou's image and exercise unfair external influence on the integrity of the whole electoral process,\" added Binyam.\nHayatou is seeking an eighth term as he stands against his sole challenger, Ahmad, who goes by one name and who heads up Madagascar's FA.\nThe African body also says it has not been given a chance to discuss the case with local authorities.\n\"In the ordinary course of any legal dispute under international norms, Caf would be given the opportunity to present its case to relevant authorities and have the right to be heard in accordance with due process,\" says Caf.\n\"To date, the ECA and the Public Prosecutor, in quite remarkable and unprecedented fashion for regulatory bodies, have attempted to conduct a trial by media offering Caf no right of defence and serving it with no formal charges other than through the media.\n\"Indeed, the Public Prosecutor has referred its fait accompli case to the Egyptian Economic court following only a few days of investigations without any communication or engagement whatsoever with Caf.\"\nBy contrast, ECA officials have often spoken to Egyptian media to air the organisation's claims.", "South Sudan's Chabur Goc Alei has also withdrawn from the race, as he did in 2016, while Zambian Kalusha Bwalya abandoned his bid over the weekend.\nThe withdrawals were revealed in a letter sent by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to the continent's member associations.\nCaf confirmed the eligibility of 10 candidates for next week's elections.\nThis came after Fifa's Governance Committee approved their candidacy following eligibility checks, which Fifa introduced following the corruption scandal of 2015.\nTopping the list are Caf president Issa Hayatou and Madagascar FA head Ahmad, the Cameroonian's sole challenger in the presidential elections on 16 March.\nWhoever wins the presidential vote in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa will automatically assume a vice-presidential role on the Fifa Council.\nFollowing the withdrawal of Jordaan, Goc and Bwalya, eight contestants are left to bid for the six further African places in the Fifa Council.\nOne of these will go to Burundi's Lydia Nsekera who is assured her place since Fifa stipulates there must be at least one female member from the continent.\nShe is the sole woman among the applicants.\nFive of the remaining contestants already sit on the Fifa Council: Tarek Bouchamoui (Tunisia), Almamy Kabele Camara (Guinea), Kwesi Nyantakyi (Ghana), Constant Omari (DR Congo), and Hany Abo Rida (Egypt).\nMeanwhile, both Augustin Sidy Diallo of Ivory Coast and Tanzania's Leodegar Tenga are bidding to be elected for the first time.\nThe successful candidates will all serve on the Fifa Council for a four-year spell that will end in 2021.\nAlei's withdrawal from the Fifa compounded a difficult period for the South Sudanese.\nOn Monday, he lost his presidency of South Sudan's FA (SSFA) as an Extraordinary General Assembly elected Adelmo Wani Agustino in his place on an interim basis.\n\"I may come back and contest in April,\" Alei, who had led the SSFA for six years, told BBC Sport on Tuesday.\n\"If you thought you could get rid of me easily, you are wrong.\"\nLast year, Chabur was accused of misappropriation of funds and gross mismanagement while in charge of the SSFA.\nHis presidency was saved by a letter in December from Fifa Secretary General Fatma Samoura, who recommended that he remain in office until given a chance to respond to allegations which he denied.\nThis week's SSFA meeting also dissolved the 15-member Board of Directors until fresh elections scheduled for April, when a new office will be constituted.", "Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee president, said Fifa must \"regain credibility\" after bans for Blatter, vice-president Michel Platini and secretary general Jerome Valcke.\nWorld football's governing body is investigating corruption allegations against the trio, who deny wrongdoing.\n\"Enough is enough,\" Bach said.\n\"Fifa must realise that this is now about more than just a list of candidates. This is also a structural problem and will not be solved simply by the election of a new president.\"\nThe three men are provisionally suspended for 90 days while Fifa's ethics committee continues its investigation. Issa Hayatou, who heads Africa's football confederation (Caf), will act as Fifa president during Blatter's ban, but will not permanently replace him.\nSouth Korean ex-Fifa vice-president Chung Mong-joon said his six-year ban - also handed down on Thursday - was \"politically motivated\" to sabotage his presidential campaign.\nBlatter won a fifth consecutive Fifa presidential election in May, but quickly announced his decision to step down in the wake of widespread corruption allegations against 14 Fifa officials and associates.\nHe is due to finish his term at a Fifa extraordinary congress on 26 February.\nUefa president Platini, 60, says he refuses to believe the \"farcical\" development is designed to \"crush\" his candidacy and still plans to stand. He has the full backing of Uefa, which is holding an emergency meeting next week, while Football Association chairman Greg Dyke says the FA will withdraw its support for the former France international midfielder if he is found to have \"behaved dishonestly\".\nChung, another leading candidate, maintained he would \"expose the injustice\" of his ban and help \"bring about a true rebirth of Fifa\" after describing the world football governing body as \"like the sinking Titanic\".\nPrince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, pushed Blatter to a second round of voting in May's poll, winning 73 votes, before standing aside in the contest. The 39-year-old is free of any corruption allegations and former FA chairman David Bernstein told BBC Sport the Jordanian was a \"person of repute\".\nHowever, Bernstein insisted that football needed a choice of strong candidates \"beyond reproach\" that had \"impeachable character and no baggage\" - even if that meant looking outside of the sport.\n\"Someone of a Seb Coe stature in football, a man of great reputation that has done a huge amount within and without the sport - that would be the best thing,\" said Bernstein.\nBritish former Olympic 1500m champion Lord Coe, 58, is the new president of the IAAF, the body that governs world athletics.\n\"If we can't find that person we should look externally,\" added Bernstein.\n\"This is a road crash we could see ahead of us. Blatter is a fool to himself to stay on for so long.\"\nKlaus Stoehlker, a close friend and advisor to Blatter, told the BBC that the suspended Fifa president had been \"put on the touchline\" but said he was confident that he would return to the helm of the organisation.\nHis 90-day ban would expire in January.\n\"He will be back early to hopefully organise the congress in 2016,\" Stoehlker said.\n\"It is a pity that after 40 years in football he should have this happen to him. This is not the end. He will have the final word.\"\nMedia playback is not supported on this device\nFormer England striker Gary Lineker supported Bach's calls for a new, untainted candidate in February's election.\n\"It just seems that everybody in Fifa or Uefa involved in the running of the game is implicated in some way, or certainly suspicious of bad behaviour in some way, so who knows how far it goes or how many dominoes will fall,\" said the former Leicester, Tottenham and England striker.\n\"The new leader needs to be somebody with integrity, above suspicion,\" he said. \"They need to do a total clean sweep and reform Fifa.\"\nLineker, 54, added: \"Sepp Blatter is remarkable in the sense that he seems to keep wriggling away from things, but it seems to be catching up with him. The house of cards appears to be collapsing at Fifa which inevitably leads to the man at the top at some point. He seems to have had more lives than a cat.\"\nSports Minister Tracey Crouch tweeted that Blatter's \"time at the top is up\" and he should resign immediately.\nShe later added: \"The only way forward for Fifa is full-scale reform. It has to be much more accountable, transparent and restore the faith of football fans across the world.\n\"Blatter has hung on to his position for too long and a new president must drive through widespread change.\"\nAnd players' association Fifpro said in a statement: \"A pattern has emerged that leaves little or no confidence in the ability of Fifa to reform from within.\"\nBlatter has been president of Fifa since 1998. He won a fifth term in May but just days later announced his intention to step down, amid corruption allegations after United States authorities indicted 14 Fifa officials and associates on bribery and racketeering charges.\nFormer France international Platini is a vice-president of Fifa and has held the post of president at European confederation Uefa since 2007. He was once seen as a key ally of Blatter but their relationship deteriorated when Platini urged Blatter to step down earlier this year.\nValcke is the general-secretary of Fifa and was effectively Blatter's second-in-command until he was suspended last month following allegations he was involved in a scheme to profit from the sale of World Cup tickets.\nBlatter is accused of signing a contract \"unfavourable\" to Fifa and making a \"disloyal payment\" to Platini, who is also president of European football's governing body - Uefa.\nThe ethics committee also opened an inquiry into Platini over the 2m euros (£1.35m) payment, which was made nine years after the 60-year-old carried out consultation work for Blatter.\nValcke was already on gardening leave from his Fifa post following newspaper allegations last month which implicated the 54-year-old in a scheme to profit from the sale of World Cup tickets.", "Safa has reached agreement with Baxter's current club SuperSport United for the 63-year-old to continue with them until July.\nThe Briton replaces Ephraim 'Shakes' Mashaba, who was sacked last year.\n\"The coach has the skills to navigate the tough qualification path for the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup,\" said Safa CEO Dennis Mumble.\n\"We thank SuperSport United for their support towards the goals of the association and its national teams.\"\nBaxter will continue with SuperSport for the final four fixtures of the Premier Soccer League season and for the Nedbank Cup semi-final on 20 May (and potentially, the final on 24 June).\nHe will also be in charge of the club's Confederation Cup group games, which are due to be completed in July.\nSuperSport will face TP Mazembe of DR Congo, Guinea's Horoya and Gabonese side Moumana in the second-tier continental club tournament.\nBaxter, who has previously coached South African giants Kaizer Chiefs, will also be given time away from club duties to prepare Bafana Bafana for their opening 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Nigeria on the weekend of 9-11 June.\nSouth Africa's all-time leading goalscorer Benni McCarthy, who was consulted during the selection process for the coach, thinks the appointment boosts his nation's chances of qualifying for big tournaments.\n\"Most definitely yes. He knows all the in-form players,\" McCarthy told BBC Sport.\n\"He'll make the right decisions and select the right players and he knows what's expected by the South African public.\n\"It's a great appointment,\"\nSuperSport United's CEO Stanley Matthews admitted the club were reluctant to allow Baxter to leave.\n\"We obviously did not want to lose Stuart as our coach,\" Matthews said.\n\"He has done a great job in getting us to the competitive level we expect as a club.\n\"We also understand that Stuart would like to have a final go at competing at a World Cup and that would be a fantastic achievement for the country as a whole.\n\"But right now our focus, and that of Stuart's, has to be on a strong finish to the League, becoming the first club to retain the Nedbank Cup and to fight our way through the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup.\"\nBaxter's first stint in charge of South Africa began in 2004 and he quit a year later after failing to lead Bafana Bafana to the 2006 World Cup finals.", "Setif's fate was sealed after Youcef Bellaili, Kaddour Beldjilali and Mohamed Amine Aoudia scored the goals to send the champions to their third defeat in the group stage of this year's tournament.\nIt means that Entente Setif cannot now qualify for the semi-finals, with one group game still remaining.\nSetif's defeat also guaranteed Al Merreikh of Sudan a place in the last four, even before they clinched a 3-2 win away to Mouloudia El Eulma of Algeria on Saturday.\nIt was Merreikh's first away group win after five failed attempts during two campaigns in the premier African Football Confederation (Caf) club competition.\nSurprise mini-league qualifiers Eulma were two goals ahead within 26 minutes through Younes Kadri and Abdelmalek Abbes.\nAlaa Eldin Yousif triggered the Merrikh fightback midway through the second half by nodding a cross into the corner of the net.\nWithin four minutes the visitors were level as Bakry 'Al Madina' Babiker swivelled inside the box to fire an unstoppable rising shot into the net after Eulma failed to clear a free-kick.\nA blatant foul gave Merrikh a penalty and Babiker blasted the stoppage-time spot-kick into the net as the goalkeeper dived the wrong way.\nGroup leaders USM have 15 points after five Group B matches, Merrikh 10, holders Setif four and Eulma are pointless.\nThe Group A runners-up will face USM in the semi-finals and Merrikh will tackle the Group A winners when the chase for the title intensifies next month.\nOn Sunday, Group A leaders DR Congo's TP Mazembe missed the chance of progressing to the last four as they lost 1-0 in Sudan to Al Hilal.\nAthar Al Tahir scored the only goal of the game after just seven minutes.\nMorocco's Mogrheb Tetouan beat visiting Smouha of Egypt 2-1 in the other Group B match on Sunday.\nThe results leave Tetouan, Hilal and Mazembe tied at the top of the group with eight points each going into the final round of matches.\nSmouha remain bottom of the pool and cannot advance to the semi-finals.\nIn the final Group A matches Smouha host Al Hilal while Moghreb Tetouan travel to play TP Mazembe.\nUnder the tournament regulations if two or more sides are level on points at the end of the group stage the head-to-head record is used to decide who progresses.", "NFF Executive Committee member Chris Green has insisted intentions should be secret until the 16 March election.\n\"I think we should conduct ourselves in a decent manner and let our votes count on the day,\" Green told BBC Sport.\n\"This is democracy and it's going to be a secret ballot - we have not to talk.\"\nEarlier this week, Pinnick told BBC Sport the NFF would be giving its vote to Ahmad Ahmad, the Madagascar FA president who is the sole challenger to long-standing Caf president Issa Haytou.\n\"That's really not the position (of the NFF),\" argued Green.\n\"Do not think the board sat, deliberated and decided that we should go for a particular candidate - no, we've not got there yet.\"\nGreen is keen that Ahmad should impress his vision upon more Nigerians than just Pinnick himself - with the latter saying he was impressed by the Malagasy's manifesto - before the country chooses its candidate.\nHayatou has ruled Caf for nearly three decades and Green added: \"I know of Hayatou, I don't know of Ahmad - I don't know his pedigree nor what he stands for.\n\"Hayatou has not done badly. He's not been against us from 1988 until today. In his own way, he has assisted football to grow in Nigeria.\n\"He's brought two international tournaments to Nigeria - the under-20 World Championship in 1999 and the under-17 World Cup (in 2009). We've also hosted the Africa Cup of Nations (in 2000).\"\nPinnick told the BBC that he had been given a mandate to vote for his own candidate following an NFF board meeting earlier this month.\nA statement issued by the NFF on Thursday confirmed that opinion.\n\"Every single member of Board spoke on the issue and expressed support for the NFF President, Mr Pinnick, to use his discretion and vote for that candidate who will best serve Nigeria's interest,\" read the statement.\n\"This support was given based on the fact (that) as the NFF president and a member of the Caf Organizing Committee for the Africa Cup of Nations, he is fully in tune with the political play at that level and knows what would be best for Nigeria.\n\"There is no division in the NFF Board,\" the statement added.\nHowever, Green appears to be at odds with his own board.\n\"Fortunately, unfortunately, Amaju will be the man who will cast his vote on the day,\" he said.\n\"If he comes out to support Ahmad, it will be unfortunate if it goes against what we here want as there's nothing we can do about it.\"\nThe elections to determine who will rule African football will take place in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.", "Media playback is not supported on this device\nIn a repeat of the 2011 final, which Japan won on penalties, the Nadeshiko could not live with their stronger and quicker opponents, who went 4-0 up when Lloyd scored an astonishing third from the halfway line.\nThe American midfielder put the 1991 and 1999 champions two goals up within five minutes in a stunning start to the match.\nLauren Holiday volleyed in after Azusa Iwashimizu's woeful header and Lloyd then caused pandemonium among the huge contingent of US supporters inside BC Place when she lobbed Japan goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori.\nThe 2011 winners retaliated thanks to a Yuki Ogimi strike and a Julie Johnston own goal, but Tobin Heath made it 5-2 before 60 minutes had elapsed and despite further pressure, English coach Jill Ellis's USA side held on.\nThe majority of the 53,341 fans inside BC Place erupted in joyous celebration at the final whistle before Confederation of African football (Caf) president Issa Hayatou, standing in at the final for Fifa president Sepp Blatter, presented the World Cup trophy to former captain Christie Rampone and veteran striker Abby Wambach.\nChants of \"U-S-A\" reverberated around the ground when they lifted trophy.\nThe pulsating finale to an entertaining tournament was the highest-scoring final in the tournament's history, and matched the highest scoring men's final, when Brazil defeated Sweden by the same scoreline in 1958.\nJapan, who made it to the final after beating England courtesy of Laura Bassett's own goal, were outclassed from the start and could not cope with the USA's set-pieces.\nBut they also suffered from a familiar foe as Lloyd added to the two goals she scored against Japan in the 2012 Olympic final between the two teams.\nHer third-minute opener was the quickest goal in a Women's World Cup final as she latched onto Megan Rapinoe's perfectly directed corner. The 32-year-old added another after Japan failed to clear a free-kick.\nIt got worse for Norio Sasaki's side when Iwashimizu gifted Holiday a goal when her clearance header merely looped up in the air and the USA midfielder took advantage.\nLloyd's wonder goal, which completed a first Women's World Cup final hat-trick and made her the tournament's joint top scorer along with Germany's Celia Sasic, appeared to have ended the game as a contest.\nSuch was the manner of Iwashimizu's display that the Japan defender she was withdrawn after 33 minutes to be replaced by former captain Homare Sawa, who was competing in her sixth World Cup.\nAlthough former Chelsea forward Ogimi turned and fired in before the break and Johnston's second-half own goal gave Japan hope, Heath took advantage from more poor Japanese defending to score the USA's fifth.\nJapan were determined not to give up as substitute Mana Iwabuchi caused problems for the US defence. But they could find no way past a resolute US side, who became the first team to win the Women's World Cup for a third time.", "Tunisia Defender Zied Boughattas opened the scoring for the hosts on the stroke of half-time and Ihab Msakni added the second in the 65th minute.\nThe second leg of that tie is on 18 May in Gabon, with the overall winners progressing to group stage of the tournament.\nEarlier on Friday it ended 0-0 between Al Ahly Tripoli and Misr Elmaqasah of Egypt, that games was played in Tunis because of the ongoing security concerns in Libya.\nThe tie will now be decided on 17 May in Egypt.\nEtoile and Al Ahly Tripoli had begun the 2016 season in the African Champions League, the most prestigious and richest club event on the African calendar alongside TP Mazembe of the DR Congo.\nReigning African champions Mazembe fell by two goals away to Wydad Casablanca and were held at home with the Moroccans equalising in stoppage time.\nEtoile and Mazembe have won nine Confederation of African Football titles each, achievements surpassed only by Al Ahly of Egypt with 18 triumphs.\nThe silver lining for Etoile is demotion to the Confederation Cup gives them a chance to win the competition twice in a row after beating Orlando Pirates of South Africa in the final last year.\nBrazilian striker Diogo Acosta has been in good form for the Red Devils from Mediterranean resort Sousse.\nIf Etoile can close the gaps exposed by Enyimba in Nigeria they should build a lead at home to surprise qualifiers Mounana of Gabon.\nRecently-appointed Mazembe coach Hubert Velud has appealed for patience from supporters disenchanted by failure to reach the Champions League group stage.\n\"I just got here,\" he said, referring to his arrival this year after the contract of fellow French coach Patrice Carteron was not renewed.\n\"Mazembe want to win trophies every year and we have the Confederation Cup in our sights now.\"\nThe club from Congolese mining city Lubumbashi have been goal shy lately, sorely missing Tanzanian striker Mbwana Aly Samatta, who moved to Belgium.\nGhanaian Daniel Nii Adjei showed signs of inheriting the leading scorer role, but has lacked consistency.\nMazembe host Stade Gabesien, a Tunisian outfit competing in Africa for the first time and unbeaten in qualifying tor the play-offs with two victories and four draws.\nHichem Essifi, the striker Tunisians call 'The Hulk' because of his imposing physique, will warrant special attention from the Congolese.\nThree days after winning the South African title a record-extending seventh time, Mamelodi Sundowns face Medeama of Ghana near Pretoria.\nSundowns goalkeeper Denis Onyango told BBC Sport: \"We have to switch our minds to a new focus and concentrate, we know we want the club wants which is to conquer Africa and that's what we have to think about.\n\"First we have to get to the group stage. But is a dream for the club and the players to conquer Africa and to make history - we know we have an opportunity to do it.\n\"We know we are playing a good team and we must give our best. We are taking it very seriously. If we can win 3-0 at home that would be fantastic.\"\nYoung Africans must shackle leading Confederation Cup scorer Arsenio 'Love' Cabungula from Angolan club Esperanca Sagrada in Dar es Salaam if they hope to become the first Tanzanian team to reach the group stage.\nThe match between Stade Malien of Mali and FUS Rabat of Morocco pits former Confederation Cup title-holders against each other in Bamako.\nMouloudia Bejaia of Algeria against Esperance of Tunisia and Al Merrikh of Sudan against Kawkab Marrakech of Morocco complete the first-leg schedule.", "Media playback is not supported on this device\nPlayers ducked bottles thrown from the stands, Ghana fans sought safety behind a goal, riot police used tear gas and a helicopter hovered over the stadium.\n\"It's now like a war zone,\" the Ghana Football Association (GFA) tweeted, claiming \"barbaric acts of vandalism\" while its president told the BBC it was lucky no-one was killed.\nWhen play resumed, Ghana sealed a 3-0 win to reach Sunday's final, where they will play Ivory Coast, who beat DR Congo 3-1 on Wednesday.\nGFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi blamed Equatorial Guinea supporters for \"unprovoked violent attacks\" inside the stadium.\n\"We are lucky that we haven't lost any lives, though people have sustained various degrees of injuries arising from objects thrown at them,\" he told BBC World Service.\nTrouble flared at half-time between Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.\nGhana players had to be protected by riot police using plastic shields as they left the field, already 2-0 up in the tie.\nThe second half was then halted eight minutes from time when Ghana supporters sought sanctuary on the field after coming under attack.\nConfederation of African Football (Caf) officials had used the public address system to threaten to call off the game if the crowd did not stop pelting Ghana's players.\nNyantakyi called security at the match \"a flop\" but said he expected \"more decency\" from fans.\n\"I don't think this is a fair commentary of Africa,\" he said.\n\"This has been a very successful tournament and this isolated incident of violence will leave a slur on the reputation of African football.\n\"A high profile game of this nature should have attracted policemen, intelligence officers and military.\n\"I couldn't have counted 50 policemen at the stadium. The rest were from Angola, who were not familiar with the terrain, so they didn't know how to handle the situation.\n\"So the Ghanaian fans were left at the mercy of these violent fans.\"\nBBC World Service reporter Piers Edwards was with the visiting supporters as they left the stadium and said some were taken to hospital.\nHe picked up several objects that ended up on the pitch, including a jagged piece of broken mirror, half a plate and a rock.\nPlay finally resumed after many fans had left the stadium, with both teams seeing out the final three minutes.\n--------------------------------\nBBC World Service reporter Nick Cavell in Malabo:\n\"The trouble began before half-time, with fans angry at some refereeing decisions. Bottles were thrown onto the pitch and the Ghana players were forced to leave the pitch at half-time under a tunnel made of riot shields. The bottle throwing continued after the break.\n\"Soon after the third goal went in, a section of Ghana fans pushed through a gate and made it onto the running track behind the goal. With them so close to the pitch, the match was stopped. Equatorial Guinea players pleaded with fans to stop throwing objects but to no avail.\n\"A police helicopter tried to intimidate fans by flying just 20 or 30 metres above their heads. Then police moved in with tear gas and batons to move the fans away. The press box emptied, too, as the tear gas spread.\n\"The Ghana fans were eventually guided to an empty area of the stadium and the match restarted for a token few minutes.\"\n--------------------------------\nThe Confederation of African Football (Caf) refused to take questions on the crowd trouble after the match.\n\"I didn't know what was happening,\" said bemused Ghana coach Avram Grant, the former Portsmouth, Chelsea and West Ham manager. \"I saw something on the pitch, some incident or violence.\n\"I can't say I wasn't concerned, I care about the security of my players, it's very important to me.\"\n--------------------------------\nBBC World Service reporter Steve Crossman in Malabo:\nMedia playback is not supported on this device\n\"The Ghana fans had Equatorial Guinea fans pelting them with bottles and stones. I saw a couple of seats thrown and then the riot police stepped in.\n\"The Equatorial Guinea fans, regardless if they were responsible, suffered, too. Tear gas was used. It got to our commentary position and we had to abandon our broadcast.\n\"You could see fans hanging off the stadium walls as they tried to get to safety. All in all, nobody comes out of this in any good shape at all.\"\n--------------------------------\nEquatorial Guinea coach Esteban Becker added: \"I am sad about the way the fans acted out there.\"\nEmilio Nsue, captain of Equatorial Guinea, said he was proud of the team for reaching the semi-finals but wanted to apologise for the crowd trouble.\n\"Regarding the public and the way they acted, I've never experienced that,\" he said. \"I'd like to say sorry. It was something we've never experienced before.\"", "The South Africans had been scheduled to play Sagrada Esperanca in Dundo on Saturday but now face a three-year ban from continental club competition.\nAjax insist Angolan officials have refused to provide details of domestic travel arrangements for the match.\nAnd the club says it has pulled out to ensure the safety of its players.\nThe South African club revealed it has been unable to obtain insurance for their trip to Dundo, which is some 1120km from the Angolan capital Luanda, because they do not know on which airline they will travel.\nConfederation of African Football rules state that internal domestic travel is the responsibility of the host association but repeated attempts by Ajax to find out how they will travel between Luanda and Dundo have produced no information.\n\"All they told us was 'get yourselves to Luanda and we'll sort out the rest'. But we want to know more precise detail than that,\" said Ajax coach Roger de Sa.\n\"We don't know if we are on a IATA-affiliated airline, because if not we have no insurance.\n\"We don't know where they are taking us and how much time they will force us to be in a bus. We have sent e-mail after e-mail but got no satisfactory response,\" he told BBC Sport.\n\"We get the feeling they are deliberately keeping us in the dark so that they can try and fatigue us with the internal travel arrangements.\"\nVisiting teams do not have to take bus trips longer than 200km in Caf competitions and so it is likely Ajax would have fly from Luanda to Dundo, usually a two-hour flight.\nAn Ajax club statement on Friday said: \"It is the responsibility of Angola to ensure internal travel but they have been unwilling, despite our numerous requests by e-mail and fax, to give us details of our internal flights.\n\"We have been in almost daily contact, left to plead for information but have been kept in the dark.\n\"Our own investigations reveal that there are problem with airport in Dundo, where the match is scheduled to take place.\n\"It is currently closed due to construction upgrades. The nearest alternative airport is Lucapa. However, the landing strip consists only of gravel which means that only certain types of aircrafts are able to land there.\n\"It is not possible to travel to Dundo by bus from Luanda, where we are due to arrive from Cape Town. It is a road trip of 12,000km and takes 18 hours.\"\nLate withdrawals by clubs from Caf competition automatically invoke a three year ban. Already Wallidan of the Gambia have pulled out of this year's competition for financial reasons.\nKaizer Chiefs and Moroka Swallows are two South African clubs previously been banned in similar circumstances." ]

[ "Auto mechanic & small engine repair. Full-Time | Pay: $17.00 - $25.00/hour. Needed - Auto mechanic experienced in gas and diesel engine maintenance and repair. Also will work with small engines on equipment maintenance and repair. This employee will work in our mechanic's shop providing fleet maintenance for various sizes and typ..." ]

[ "{ seoText: <b>How much does a Aircraft Mechanic make in Seattle?</b>The average Aircraft Mechanic salary is $50,000. In Seattle, a Aircraft Mechanic can make $49,004, which is 2% lower than the national median.", "How much does a mechanical engineer make? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that in 2012, the median mechanical engineer salary was $38.74 an hour, or about $80,500 a year.", "1 [Computer Engineer] | How Much Does a Computer Engineer Make Per Year With a Degree? 2 [Engineer Make] | How Much Money Does an Electrical Engineer Make a Year? 3 [Computer Scientist] | How Much Does a Computer Scientist Get Paid? 4 [Mechanical Agency Engineer Make] | How Much Pay Does a Mechanical Agency Engineer Make? Computer engineers design computers and the programs that allow them to function. Computer hardware engineers build the physical machines that store data and run programs, and software engineers -- sometimes called software developers -- design the programs themselves. Whether they want to focus on hardware or software design, computer engineers need at least a bachelor's degree.", "How much does a Mechanical Engineer II make? The median annual Mechanical Engineer II salary is $78,596, as of July 29, 2016, with a range usually between $72,036-$86,973, however this can vary widely depending on a variety of factors.", "How much does a Mechanical Engineer make in Seattle, WA? The average salary for a Mechanical Engineer is $80,613 in Seattle, WA. Salaries estimates are based on 627 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by Mechanical Engineer employees in Seattle, WA. Salaries for Related Job Titles Mechanical Engineering Intern $58K", "How Much Do Engineers Typically Make? Typical salaries for engineers vary by specialty, such as electrical, mechanical or environmental engineering. In addition, experience plays a role in earnings.", "Salary for a Mechanical Engineer with a Masters Degree. The salary you could make with a master's degree in mechanical engineering depends on several factors. Your job title, experience level, certification, skills and industry of employment all have an effect.Read about the job duties of mechanical engineers and how much they make.he salary you could make with a master's degree in mechanical engineering depends on several factors. Your job title, experience level, certification, skills and industry of employment all have an effect. Read about the job duties of mechanical engineers and how much they make.", "How much does a head NFL trainer earn per year? How much does a mechanical engineer make per year? Can a 23 year old with no officiating experience become an NFL referee?", "Wisconsin Mechanical Engineer I Salaries. How much does a Mechanical Engineer I make in Wisconsin? Wisconsin Mechanical Engineer I salaries vary greatly from town to town. See below for Mechanical Engineer I salaries, bonus and benefits information for 11 cities in the Wisconsin area.", "if you have been pondering on how much do mechanical engineers make the median annual wage for mechanical engineers is $ 83060 this is calculated by looking at the figure that half of the workers earned more than and half earned less than", "Aerospace, electrical, and mechanical engineers presumably are the most well-paid employees, but how much do engineers make, really? Find out here.", "If you were born with a wrench in your hand, you're ready for a career as an engine mechanic. Engine mechanic is a broad term for people who assess, maintain and repair engines. This could be in cars and light trucks, small engines like lawnmowers or outboard motors, aircraft engines, or diesel engines. Engine mechanics have a lot of technical know-how, using a number of hand tools and diagnostic equipment, and work with big and small mechanical components.", "Mechanical Engineer I Salaries in Los Angeles, California. How much does a Mechanical Engineer I in Los Angeles, CA make? The median annual Mechanical Engineer I salary in Los Angeles, CA is $71,203, as of March 31, 2017, with a range usually between $66,179-$77,180 not including bonus and benefit information and other factors that impact base pay.", "Companies that make mechanical systems tend to let mechanical engineers lead; those that make electronics assign the lead to software and electrical engineers. In the future, though, the issue may be decided by how colleges train the next generation of mechanical engineers.", "Mechanical Engineer I Salaries in Houston, Texas. How much does a Mechanical Engineer I in Houston, TX make? The median annual Mechanical Engineer I salary in Houston, TX is $64,798, as of March 31, 2017, with a range usually between $60,227-$70,238 not including bonus and benefit information and other factors that impact base pay.", "How Much Does a Mechanical Engineer Make? According to the BLS, mechanical engineers earned a median salary of $83,590 in 2015. The best-paid earned about $128,430, while the lowest-paid earned less than $53,640. Industries that pay well include oil and gas extraction as well as information services.", "2 Caterpillar Diesel Mechanic Salaries. Caterpillar Diesel Mechanics earn $40,000 annually, or $19 per hour, which is 5% higher than the national average for all Diesel Mechanics at $38,000 annually and 42% lower than the national salary average for ​all working Americans.", "How Much Do Mechanical Engineers Make by State? Given the advancement of oil and gas extraction, Alaska offers the best salaries for mechanical engineers among all U.S. states. Here, experts earn a mean wage of $62.70 per hour which translates to $130,420 per year, on average.", "How much does a Diesel Mechanic make? The median annual Diesel Mechanic salary is $50,865, as of March 31, 2017, with a range usually between $43,776-$55,844, however this can vary widely depending on a variety of factors.", "Filed Under: Salary in India Tagged With: industries & cities in india. Check out the annual average salary of mechanical engineer, Mechanical Engineering Salary: Know how much a mechanical engineering Salary earn by experience.echanical Engineering is one of the broadest fields of engineering with its applications ranging from aircrafts and medical devices to robots and ships etc. With bright prospects in computer applications, mechanical engineers can look forward to impressive pay packages. Let us learn more:", "Diesel mechanics nationwide earned a mean $20.63 per hour or $42,910 per year as of May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A diesel mechanic could earn $61,590 a year or more in the top 10 percent of earners. The median salary was $41,640 a year.", "How much do software engineers in the finance industry make? Why do software developers with Top Secret DOD clearances and Polygraph make so much money? How much do software engineers in Austin, Texas make? What makes a software engineer successful? Can we make a robot programmer instead of software engineers to code?", "I cannot make you a certified mechanical engineer but certainly you can learn a lot about mechanical engineering by reading this Learn from Home series on mechanical engineering.", "How Much Do Mechanical Engineers Make? According to May 2015 records from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual mechanical engineer salary is $83,590. In other words, the 277,500 mechanical engineers in the United States earn a mean hourly wage of $42.40. The bottom ten percent professionals earn an annual salary of $ $53,640, while the top ten percent brings home a six-figure average salary of $128,430 each year.", "How Much Does an Aircraft Mechanic Make? How Much Does an Aircraft Mechanic Make? Aircraft Mechanics are responsible for the safety of the crew and passengers as well as the successfulness of each aircraft flight.", "Best Answer: They get paid whatever the mechanic has negotiated with his employer. Could be $25-35 per hour, or it could be just above minimum wage. My guess is there are a lot more of them working for wages at the bottom of the scale.", "You can choose from numerous specialties, including aerospace, chemical, biomedical, electrical, civil, environmental and mechanical engineering. How much you'll earn as an engineer depends on many factors, including your specialty and experience. Important Facts About Engineers", "According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), mechanical engineers reported an average salary of $84,770 per year, as of 2012. While mechanical engineers don't usually make that much just starting out, a master's degree usually improves a mechanical engineer's starting salary.", "How much does a diesel mechanic make? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics records from May 2012, there were 230,030 diesel mechanics employed from coast to coast in the United States. The average annual diesel mechanic salary was $43,660, which is equivalent to a mean hourly wage of $20.99.", "Where would be the best place for an environmental engineer to work in terms of salary, Ontario, Alberta, BC ? Why is an environmental engineer always making so much less than a chemical engineer, petroleum engineer, mechanical engineer or pretty much any other types of engineer? Follow.", "Qualified Small Engine Repair Technicians are always in demand. According to the U.S. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Job prospects should be excellent for people who graduate from formal training programs..", "I recently discovered the Amazon Mechanical Turk program in which i can make money for small odd online jobs and I was wondering if there is a way I can find out how much I can make doing this without having to claim it on my taxes." ]

[ "People walk by a Wells Fargo bank branch on Oct. 13, 2017, in New York City.\nThe Federal Reserve said Friday it is restricting Wells Fargo's size in response to \"widespread consumer abuses.\"\nAs a result, Wells Fargo plans to replace three directors by April and a fourth by the end of the year, CNBC reported.\nShares of the bank fell more than 2 percent in after-hours trading." ]

[ "WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve is imposing more penalties on Wells Fargo, freezing the bank's growth until it can prove it has improved its internal controls. In addition, bank agreed to replace four board members.\nIt's the latest blow against the San Francisco bank that has had its reputation tarnished by revelations it opened phony customer accounts and sold auto insurance to customers who did not need it.\nThe new penalties were announced late Friday on Fed Chair Janet Yellen's last day at the central bank.\nFILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, file photo, a man walks past a Wells Fargo location in Philadelphia. The Federal Reserve is imposing more penalties on Wells Fargo, freezing the bank's growth until it can prove it has improved its internal controls. The new penalties were announced late Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, on Fed Chair Janet Yellen's last day at the central bank. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank,\" Yellen said in a statement. \"The enforcement action we are taking today will ensure that Wells Fargo will not expand until it is able to do so safely and with the protections needed to manage all of its risks and protect its customers.\"\nThe Fed said it is restricting the bank's assets to the level where they stood at the end of last year until it can demonstrate that it has improved its internal controls.\nThe announcement came after the close of trading on Wall Street Friday. Wells Fargo's stock fell more than 6 percent in after-hours trading.\n\"We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve's concerns,\" CEO Timothy Sloan said.\nWells Fargo said that it is confident it will satisfy the Fed's requirements and reiterated that it remains \"open for business.\"\nThe bank said it will continue to meet customer's financial needs, including saving, borrowing and investing.\nIt said it has the flexibility on its balance sheet to pull back from certain activities to meet the Fed's growth limits, although its exact steps have not been determined.\nSloan also emphasized that the order is related to prior issues, not any new matters.\n\"While there is still more work to do, we have made significant improvements over the past year to our governance and risk management that address concerns highlighted in this consent order,\" he said.\nThe company has agreed to replace three directors by April and another one by year-end. It did not specify which board members would be affected.\nThe Fed's new order marked the latest chapter in a series of scandals which have rocked the bank in recent years.\nWells Fargo has admitted that employees opened more than 3 million fake accounts in order to meet sales quotas. It ended up paying $185 million to regulators and settled a class-action suit for $142 million.\nIt also has admitted it signed up hundreds of thousands of auto loan customers for auto insurance they did not need. Some of those customers had their cars repossessed because they could not afford both the auto loan and insurance payments.\nAnd Wells Fargo also offered refunds to customers last year after acknowledging that its mortgage bankers unfairly charged them fees to lock in interest rates on mortgages.\nThe Fed's action came on a 3-0 vote. Randal Quarles, who is the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, has recused himself from participating in matters involving Wells Fargo.\n___\nSkidmore Sell reported from Portland, Oregon.", "The new penalties were announced late Friday on Fed Chair Janet Yellen's last day at the central bank. (Source: CNN)\nBy MARTIN CRUTSINGER and SARAH SKIDMORE SELL\nAssociated Press\nWASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve is imposing more penalties on Wells Fargo, freezing the bank's growth until it can prove it has improved its internal controls. In addition, bank agreed to replace four board members.\nIt's the latest blow against the San Francisco bank that has had its reputation tarnished by revelations it opened phony customer accounts and sold auto insurance to customers who did not need it.\nThe new penalties were announced late Friday on Fed Chair Janet Yellen's last day at the central bank.\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank,\" Yellen said in a statement. \"The enforcement action we are taking today will ensure that Wells Fargo will not expand until it is able to do so safely and with the protections needed to manage all of its risks and protect its customers.\"\nThe Fed said it is restricting the bank's assets to the level where they stood at the end of last year until it can demonstrate that it has improved its internal controls.\nThe announcement came after the close of trading on Wall Street Friday. Wells Fargo's stock fell more than 6 percent in after-hours trading.\n\"We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve's concerns,\" CEO Timothy Sloan said.\nWells Fargo said that it is confident it will satisfy the Fed's requirements and reiterated that it remains \"open for business.\"\nThe bank said it will continue to meet customer's financial needs, including saving, borrowing and investing.\nIt said it has the flexibility on its balance sheet to pull back from certain activities to meet the Fed's growth limits, although its exact steps have not been determined.\nSloan also emphasized that the order is related to prior issues, not any new matters.\n\"While there is still more work to do, we have made significant improvements over the past year to our governance and risk management that address concerns highlighted in this consent order,\" he said.\nThe company has agreed to replace three directors by April and another one by year-end. It did not specify which board members would be affected.\nThe Fed's new order marked the latest chapter in a series of scandals which have rocked the bank in recent years.\nWells Fargo has admitted that employees opened more than 3 million fake accounts in order to meet sales quotas. It ended up paying $185 million to regulators and settled a class-action suit for $142 million.\nIt also has admitted it signed up hundreds of thousands of auto loan customers for auto insurance they did not need. Some of those customers had their cars repossessed because they could not afford both the auto loan and insurance payments.\nAnd Wells Fargo also offered refunds to customers last year after acknowledging that its mortgage bankers unfairly charged them fees to lock in interest rates on mortgages.\nThe Fed's action came on a 3-0 vote. Randal Quarles, who is the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, has recused himself from participating in matters involving Wells Fargo.\n___\nSkidmore Sell reported from Portland, Oregon.\nCopyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.", "WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is imposing more penalties on Wells Fargo, freezing the bank’s growth until it can prove it has improved its internal controls. In addition, bank agreed to replace four board members.\nIt’s the latest blow against the San Francisco bank that has had its reputation tarnished by revelations it opened phony customer accounts and sold auto insurance to customers who did not need it.\nThe new penalties were announced late Friday on Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s last day at the central bank.\n“We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank,” Yellen said in a statement. “The enforcement action we are taking today will ensure that Wells Fargo will not expand until it is able to do so safely and with the protections needed to manage all of its risks and protect its customers.”\nThe Fed said it is restricting the bank’s assets to the level where they stood at the end of last year until it can demonstrate that it has improved its internal controls.\nThe announcement came after the close of trading on Wall Street Friday. Wells Fargo’s stock fell more than 6 percent in after-hours trading.\n“We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve’s concerns,” CEO Timothy Sloan said.\nWells Fargo said that it is confident it will satisfy the Fed’s requirements and reiterated that it remains “open for business.”\nThe bank said it will continue to meet customer’s financial needs, including saving, borrowing and investing.\nIt said it has the flexibility on its balance sheet to pull back from certain activities to meet the Fed’s growth limits, although its exact steps have not been determined.\nSloan also emphasized that the order is related to prior issues, not any new matters.\n“While there is still more work to do, we have made significant improvements over the past year to our governance and risk management that address concerns highlighted in this consent order,” he said.\nThe company has agreed to replace three directors by April and another one by year-end. It did not specify which board members would be affected.\nThe Fed’s new order marked the latest chapter in a series of scandals which have rocked the bank in recent years.\nWells Fargo has admitted that employees opened more than 3 million fake accounts in order to meet sales quotas. It ended up paying $185 million to regulators and settled a class-action suit for $142 million.\nIt also has admitted it signed up hundreds of thousands of auto loan customers for auto insurance they did not need. Some of those customers had their cars repossessed because they could not afford both the auto loan and insurance payments.\nAnd Wells Fargo also offered refunds to customers last year after acknowledging that its mortgage bankers unfairly charged them fees to lock in interest rates on mortgages.\nThe Fed’s action came on a 3-0 vote. Randal Quarles, who is the Fed’s vice chairman for supervision, has recused himself from participating in matters involving Wells Fargo.", "\"Widespread consumer abuses\" fueled the Federal Reserve's Friday decision to restrict Wells Fargo's asset size and call for the removal of four of the big bank's board members.\nWhile CNBC's Jim Cramer was surprised that the Fed didn't do something sooner, Fed Chair Janet Yellen's outgoing move was more brazen than the \"Mad Money\" host expected.\n\"This is a little more extreme than I thought that [the Fed] might do, demanding that the board change. More importantly, this limit of assets. This stock has been red-hot,\" Cramer noted. \"I don't think you could get a worse piece of news for the incredible ETF that had been the financials.\"\nShares of Wells Fargo briefly dipped by 6 percent in after-hours trading. A cross-selling scandal at the bank made headlines for much of 2017, culminating in a series of fines, downgrades and subsequent unfavorable findings by independent investigators.\n\"It's actually been one of the leaders in the bank group,\" Cramer said about Wells Fargo's stock. \"It's up 5 percent for the year. And when you cap assets, obviously, you lose one of the best narratives that was occurring at the bank, which is 'We're in recovery mode.'\"\nYellen, who ends her term at the Fed this week and starts a position at the Brookings Institution on Monday, said in a statement:\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank and the consumers harmed by Wells Fargo expect that robust and comprehensive reforms will be put in place to make certain that the abuses do not occur again.\"\n\"The enforcement action we are taking today will ensure that Wells Fargo will not expand until it is able to do so safely and with the protections needed to manage all of its risks and protect its customers,\" she said.", "2:02\nWells Fargo CEO: We should have done more sooner\n2:19\nCharlotte branch of The Federal Reserve ranks high in cash processing\n0:53", "“Until the firm makes sufficient improvements, it will be restricted from growing any larger than its total asset size as of the end of 2017,” the Fed said.\nWells Fargo said on Friday that it was working to address the problems, and the bank’s shares slid sharply in after-hours trading.\nThe central bank’s penalties are uncommon. The Fed’s regulators have routinely penalized banks for misconduct, but they have not previously imposed strict limits on a major bank’s growth.\nThe regulatory pendulum has recently been swinging in favor of big banks. President Trump and his advisers argue that regulators have gone too far in curbing banks’ activities.\nMr. Trump, however, has taken specific aim at Wells Fargo as a rogue institution. He wrote on Twitter in December that penalties against the bank “will be pursued and, if anything, substantially increased. I will cut Regs but make penalties severe when caught cheating!”\nOn a conference call with analysts and investors Friday night, Wells Fargo’s chief executive, Timothy J. Sloan, said the Fed’s actions related to past conduct that the bank was already taking steps to fix and that they did not affect the bank’s financial condition.\n“We want to have this cap lifted as soon as possible, and we’re going to work very hard to make sure that’s the case,” Mr. Sloan said. He added that the bank remains open for business and will continue to make new loans even as the Fed’s limits remain in place.\nAdvertisement Continue reading the main story\nWells Fargo said it would submit a plan to the Fed within 60 days for improving its board oversight and risk management practices. It will also submit to an independent third-party review that will be completed by the end of September.\nWells Fargo officials expect that they will be able to get the restrictions lifted within the next year, which they believe will minimize the financial impact of the penalty, according to a person close to the bank.\nNewsletter 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.\nThe Fed’s action Friday stunned industry observers.\n“I don’t remember the last time the board has ever done anything quite as dramatic as that,” said Evan Stewart, a regulatory lawyer at the law firm Cohen and Gresser, referring to the Federal Reserve Board. “It’s really quite a dramatic intervention by the major federal regulatory agency in the governance of a major bank.”\nFor years, Wells Fargo was the toast of the United States banking industry. It was showered with awards and praise for appearing to perfect the art of “cross selling,” in which it found creative new ways to peddle financial products to its existing customers. The bank’s savvy management of risk allowed it to avoid the worst of the financial crisis.\nWhile others retrenched, Wells Fargo substantially expanded, snapping up ailing North Carolina lender Wachovia, in late 2008. That acquisition was engineered in part by federal regulators, who viewed Wells as one of the country’s strongest, best-run institutions.\nThat reputation has crumbled recently, though. Wells Fargo was found by regulators to have systematically created fake customer accounts and misled customers and government officials.\nIt is unclear what impact the Fed’s penalties will have on Wells Fargo’s future. The bank had nearly $2 trillion in assets at the end of 2017. Going forward, the Fed will not let Wells Fargo’s average balance sheet expand beyond that size, according to a senior Fed official. Because large banks’ assets tend to expand as the economy grows, the Fed believes that this limitation will be a significant constraint on the bank’s ability to grow.\nOne of Wells Fargo’s primary regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, slapped significant restrictions on the bank last year, when it gave it a failing score on a key community lending metric. The low grade meant that Wells Fargo would need to clear extra hurdles to open new branches or otherwise expand its retail banking business.\nWells Fargo’s board has already undergone a makeover in the wake of the scandal, although half of its current board — eight members — were there at the time the scandal erupted. Wells Fargo on Friday night declined to say which four directors would be stepping down as part of the agreement with the Fed.\nAdvertisement Continue reading the main story\nWells Fargo’s current board chairwoman, Elizabeth A. Duke, took on the position last month, replacing Stephen W. Sanger, a 13-year board member who retired after a year filled with scandals. Two other longtime directors departed at the end of last year.\nLast year, a longtime Wells Fargo investor, Gerald R. Armstrong, submitted a shareholder proposal calling for the bank’s directors to be replaced. His proposal was voted down. Mr. Armstrong welcomed Friday’s news. “I hope they bring in some very effective new directors,” he said.\nA review that Wells Fargo’s board commissioned last year, conducted by four directors and the outside law firm Shearman & Sterling, found that lax internal oversight allowed problems to fester for years.\nThe Fed, in letters sent Friday to Wells Fargo board members, leveled harsh criticism on their oversight of the bank and made clear that more changes need to happen quickly.\n“Your performance in addressing these problems is an example of ineffective oversight that is not consistent with the Federal Reserve’s expectations for a firm of WFC’s size and scope of operations,” wrote Michael S. Gibson, the Fed’s head of banking supervision, in a letter to John G. Stumpf, the bank’s former chief executive. Mr. Stump retired under pressure in the wake of the scandal with a pretax payout of more than $80 million in stock options and other compensation.\n“The bank is lucky it is too big to shut down,” said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “A smaller bank might have lost its banking licenses.”", "By MARTIN CRUTSINGER and SARAH SKIDMORE SELL\nAssociated Press\nWASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve is imposing more penalties on Wells Fargo, freezing the bank's growth until it can prove it has improved its internal controls. In addition, bank agreed to replace four board members.\nIt's the latest blow against the San Francisco bank that has had its reputation tarnished by revelations it opened phony customer accounts and sold auto insurance to customers who did not need it.\nThe new penalties were announced late Friday on Fed Chair Janet Yellen's last day at the central bank.\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank,\" Yellen said in a statement. \"The enforcement action we are taking today will ensure that Wells Fargo will not expand until it is able to do so safely and with the protections needed to manage all of its risks and protect its customers.\"\nThe Fed said it is restricting the bank's assets to the level where they stood at the end of last year until it can demonstrate that it has improved its internal controls.\nThe announcement came after the close of trading on Wall Street Friday. Wells Fargo's stock fell more than 6 percent in after-hours trading.\n\"We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve's concerns,\" CEO Timothy Sloan said.\nWells Fargo said that it is confident it will satisfy the Fed's requirements and reiterated that it remains \"open for business.\"\nThe bank said it will continue to meet customer's financial needs, including saving, borrowing and investing.\nIt said it has the flexibility on its balance sheet to pull back from certain activities to meet the Fed's growth limits, although its exact steps have not been determined.\nSloan also emphasized that the order is related to prior issues, not any new matters.\n\"While there is still more work to do, we have made significant improvements over the past year to our governance and risk management that address concerns highlighted in this consent order,\" he said.\nThe company has agreed to replace three directors by April and another one by year-end. It did not specify which board members would be affected.\nThe Fed's new order marked the latest chapter in a series of scandals which have rocked the bank in recent years.\nWells Fargo has admitted that employees opened more than 3 million fake accounts in order to meet sales quotas. It ended up paying $185 million to regulators and settled a class-action suit for $142 million.\nIt also has admitted it signed up hundreds of thousands of auto loan customers for auto insurance they did not need. Some of those customers had their cars repossessed because they could not afford both the auto loan and insurance payments.\nAnd Wells Fargo also offered refunds to customers last year after acknowledging that its mortgage bankers unfairly charged them fees to lock in interest rates on mortgages.\nThe Fed's action came on a 3-0 vote. Randal Quarles, who is the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, has recused himself from participating in matters involving Wells Fargo.\n___\nSkidmore Sell reported from Portland, Oregon.\nCopyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.", "Responding to recent and widespread consumer abuses and other compliance breakdowns by Wells Fargo, the Federal Reserve Board on Friday announced that it would restrict the growth of the firm until it sufficiently improves its governance and controls. Concurrently with the Board's action, Wells Fargo will replace three current board members by April and a fourth board member by the end of the year.\nIn addition to the growth restriction, the Board's consent cease and desist order with Wells Fargo requires the firm to improve its governance and risk management processes, including strengthening the effectiveness of oversight by its board of directors. Until the firm makes sufficient improvements, it will be restricted from growing any larger than its total asset size as of the end of 2017. The Board required each current director to sign the cease and desist order.\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank and the consumers harmed by Wells Fargo expect that robust and comprehensive reforms will be put in place to make certain that the abuses do not occur again,\" Chair Janet L. Yellen said. \"The enforcement action we are taking today will ensure that Wells Fargo will not expand until it is able to do so safely and with the protections needed to manage all of its risks and protect its customers.\"\nIn recent years, Wells Fargo pursued a business strategy that prioritized its overall growth without ensuring appropriate management of all key risks. The firm did not have an effective firm-wide risk management framework in place that covered all key risks. This prevented the proper escalation of serious compliance breakdowns to the board of directors.\nThe Board's action will restrict Wells Fargo's growth until its governance and risk management sufficiently improves but will not require the firm to cease current activities, including accepting customer deposits or making consumer loans.\nEmphasizing the need for improved director oversight of the firm, the Board has sent letters to each current Wells Fargo board member confirming that the firm's board of directors, during the period of compliance breakdowns, did not meet supervisory expectations. Letters were also sent to former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf and past lead independent director Stephen Sanger stating that their performance in those roles, in particular, did not meet the Federal Reserve's expectations.", "By Ryan Tracy and Emily Glazer\nThis article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (February 3, 2018).\nWells Fargo & Co. will replace four board members and face limits on growing its banking business after an unprecedented action announced Friday by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which cited \"widespread consumer abuses.\"\nThe harsh rebuke of the third-largest U.S. bank by assets came on the last business day of Janet Yellen's tenure as chairwoman of the Fed. It prompted Wells Fargo's stock to fall more than 6% in after-hours trading on Friday. The bank also said it expected the action to reduce 2018 after-tax profit by $300 million to $400 million.\nThe Fed's enforcement action shows the difficulties Wells Fargo faces in overcoming the sales-practices scandal that engulfed it in 2016. That led to a public and political uproar, the abrupt departure of the bank's former chief executive and numerous governmental investigations.\nThe Fed has never before imposed such a broad, companywide growth restriction as part of an enforcement action, Fed officials said. Wells Fargo is barred from growing past the $1.95 trillion in assets it had at the end of 2017. Fed officials did say the company can continue to lend and take deposits.\nThe Fed imposed the penalties after officials concluded Wells Fargo had been growing without proper risk controls in place, the officials said. The central bank has seen some improvement in Wells Fargo's risk management lately but expects the bank to take further steps, they said.\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank and the consumers harmed by Wells Fargo expect that robust and comprehensive reforms will be put in place to make certain that the abuses do not occur again,\" Ms. Yellen said in a statement.\nWells Fargo said it was \"confident it will satisfy the requirements of the consent order\" that it agreed to with the Fed.\n\"We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve's concerns,\" said CEO Timothy Sloan, adding that they referred to \"prior issues where we have already made significant progress.\"\nWells Fargo recently said its chief risk officer will retire in 2018 and it is also bringing in a former New York Fed official to serve as its regulatory officer beginning in March. Both changes occurred after months of regulatory pressure over the bank's risk management work.\nUnder the Fed order, the bank agreed to tell the Fed within 60 days what it has already done and how it plans to enhance its board's governance oversight and the bank's compliance and operational risk management.\nThe Fed said the bank will also replace three current board members by April and fourth by the end of 2018. Wells Fargo has previously said it would add new directors to its 16-member board in 2018, with three directors expected to retire before its April shareholder meeting.\nIn September 2016, the bank settled allegations that it had years of improper sales practices that resulted in potentially 3.5 million accounts being opened without customers' knowledge. Elsewhere, more than 550,000 auto-loan and mortgage customers were potentially overcharged for products for years as well.\nSome members of Congress, in particular Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) have called on the Fed to force the replacement of Wells Fargo's board due to what they said were governance and risk-management failures.\nSince September 2016, Wells Fargo has replaced several board directors. More pressure was put on the bank after its annual shareholder meeting in April that year when nine of the bank's directors got votes of less than 75%.\nBesides the Fed, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has also been weighing a new enforcement action against Wells Fargo related to risk controls, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier in January.\nIn addition to its enforcement action, the Fed also wrote separate critical letters to former Wells Fargo chairmen John Stumpf and Stephen Sanger. Mr. Sanger became chairman after Mr. Stumpf left the bank in the wake of the sales-practice revelations. Mr. Sanger had previously been the board's lead independent director.\n\"Your performance ... is an example of ineffective oversight that is not consistent with the Federal Reserve's expectations,\" wrote Michael Gibson, who directs the Fed's division of supervision and regulation, to Mr. Sanger, who left Wells Fargo's board at the end of 2017.\nMessrs. Stumpf and Sanger didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.\nThe Wall Street Journal reported earlier in January that banking regulators downgraded one part of a secret assessment of bank's health and strength that focuses on Wells Fargo's management and its ability to manage risk.\nThe downgrade of the assessment, known as a CAMELS score, occurred over the summer of 2017, as Wells Fargo continued to grapple with issues related to how it treats customers.\nWrite to Ryan Tracy at [email protected] and Emily Glazer at [email protected]", "On Thursday, Portland City Commissioners are poised to consider a new five-year deal for banking services with an old partner - Wells Fargo.\nMayor Ted Wheeler himself questioned whether the city should end its relationship with Wells Fargo just last year. The San Francisco-based bank has paid or agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, class-action lawsuit settlements, refunds and other penalties in recent years in connection with customer-fraud allegations. While the bank has made management changes and is trying to rebrand itself, federal regulators were so concerned about its governance that in February they opted to put restrictions on its growth.\nAdmittedly, switching banking partners now would take more work at the negotiating table. And the contract itself isn't particularly rich - the city won't pay more than $600,000 over the life of the agreement for the business of maintaining the city's deposits, helping city bureaus issue payments and offering basic branch services for employees. But Wells Fargo's misleading answer on its application to a question on corporate responsibility should raise concerns as to whether the bank is truly past its misleading practices. Commissioners should consider that evaluators ranked J.P. Morgan Chase a close second to Wells Fargo. And importantly, while Wells Fargo scored better than Chase on its pricing proposal, Chase scored higher on corporate responsibility.\nThat's not a surprise. And it's not insignificant.\nThe city should take the smart step of ensuring that the values of its banking partner line up with the values of its constituents.\n- The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board", "April 12 Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Wednesday said it is selling 9 million shares of Wells Fargo & Co, and will withdraw its application for Federal Reserve permission to boost its ownership stake above 10 percent.\nBerkshire said it concluded after several months of talks with Fed representatives that boosting its stake in Wells Fargo \"would materially restrict our commercial activity\" with the bank.\nIt also said \"investment or valuation considerations\" were not factors in the sales. Wells Fargo has been beset by a scandal over its creation of unauthorized customer accounts.\n(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chris Reese)", "Regular market downturns are just part of being an investor, writes Tony Robbins. See full story.\nWells Fargo says impact from Fed sanctions may reach $400 million\nWells Fargo & Co. says the impact from sanctions put on the bank by the Federal Reserve after a wave of customer account scandals could reduce its profit this year by as much as $400 million. See full story.\nWhy the Nunes memo just might work\nNo, the Nunes memo may not have revealed a grand conspiracy against Trump as much as its authors purport. But as a political device, it’s too early to discount it. See full story.\nGood news for Super Bowl viewing — no more ads for toenail-fungus drugs\nRemember the anthropomorphic, helmeted foot hustling across a football field to ‘tackle’ toenail fungus? See full story.\nAre we heading for an Amazon-Alibaba e-commerce showdown?\nAmazon and Alibaba currently operate in opposite geographies, but with both companies expanding, a showdown could be coming. See full story.\nAmazon is one of many companies jumping on this greenery-over-cubicles movement. See full story.", "The Federal Reserve has dropped the hammer on Wells Fargo.\nScroll for more content...\nThe Fed handed down unprecedented punishment late Friday for what it called the bank's \"widespread consumer abuses,\" including its notorious creation of millions of fake customer accounts.\nWells Fargo won't be allowed to get any bigger than it was at the end of last year -- $2 trillion in assets -- until the Fed is satisfied that it has cleaned up its act.\nUnder pressure from the Fed, the bank agreed to remove three people from the board of directors by April and a fourth by the end of the year.\nIt is the first time the Federal Reserve has imposed a cap on the entire assets of a financial institution, according to a Fed official.\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank,\" outgoing Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said in a statement. Friday was her last day on the job.\nWells Fargo controls more money than any bank in the United States besides JPMorgan Chase, according to Fed data. But its reputation has been shattered over the past year and a half by a seemingly endless series of misconduct.\nMost prominently, Wells Fargo admitted that its workers responded to wildly unrealistic sales goals by creating as many as 3.5 million fake accounts. The bank has also said it forced up to 570,000 customers into unneeded auto insurance.\nThe bank agreed to the Fed's conditions under what's known as a consent decree. In a statement, Wells Fargo said it is \"confident\" it can meet the Fed's requirements.\nRelated: Elizabeth Warren wants the Wells Fargo board wiped out\n\"We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve's concerns,\" said CEO Timothy Sloan, whose predecessor, John Stumpf, resigned a month after the fake-accounts scandal broke.\nThe Fed will require Wells Fargo to turn in detailed plans of what it has done, and intends to do, to fix the board. Wells Fargo must also submit a broader explanation for how it will improve its internal controls and its handling of risk. Those plans are due in 60 days.\nBy September 30, Wells Fargo must engage a third party to review how the bank is executing those plans.\nWells Fargo will still be able to accept consumer deposits and make loans to consumers, the Fed official said. However, it will be up to the bank to determine what changes may need to be made to its business in order to stay under the asset cap.\nWells Fargo stock fell more than 6% in after-hours trading Friday.\nSen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and the most prominent of Wells Fargo's many critics in Congress, had begged Yellen to go after the board. Warren said in July that nothing would change at the big banks until \"actual human begins are held accountable.\"\nIn a tweet Friday, Warren lauded Yellen for taking action and reiterated the case for tough regulation.\n\"Chair Yellen's decision today to freeze the growth of Wells Fargo until it shapes up also demonstrates that we have the tools to rein in Wall Street -- if our regulators have the guts to use them,\" Warren wrote. \"This one hits them where it hurts.\"\nThe scandal broke into public view in September 2016, when regulators revealed that Wells Fargo had created millions of bank accounts for customers without their knowledge. The company admitted the fake accounts dated back to 2009.\nSince then, Wells Fargo has faced lawsuits, federal and state investigations, fines, and a grilling from Congress. The company ousted its CEO, John Stumpf, in October 2016. The number of customers opening new accounts at the bank plummeted. Workers alleged they were fired or retaliated against for speaking up about misbehavior.\nLegal bills cost the company $3.3 billion last quarter, Wells Fargo said in January.\nRelated: I called the Wells Fargo ethics line and was fired\nAnd the fake accounts aren't Wells Fargo's only problem.\nLast July, the company admitted it forced auto insurance on as many as 570,000 borrowers who didn't need it. About 20,000 of those customers had their cars wrongfully repossessed in part due to these unwanted insurance charges.\nIn August, Wells Fargo was sued by small business owners who say the bank used deceptive language to dupe mom-and-pop businesses into paying \"massive early termination fees.\"\nThe company was in the headlines again in October for charging about 110,000 mortgage borrowers undue fees.\nThe Justice Department fined the company in November for illegally repossessing cars from more than 860 service members. Federal law requires banks to get a court order before repossessing a car from members of the military.\n--CNNMoney's Matt Egan contributed to this report.", "[FILE] A stock photograph showing the exterior of a Wells Fargo bank building in New York, New York. (Photo: CNN)\nNEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey woman has sued Wells Fargo Bank, saying she was fired for refusing to participate in a scheme to manipulate accounts and sell products that weren’t in customers’ best interest.\nMelinda Bini filed a lawsuit in state court in New Jersey on April 5 against the bank and three supervisors from the branch she worked at in Highland Park, NJ.com reported.\nIn the lawsuit, Bini accused her superiors of running or knowing about the scheme and says she was retaliated against and later fired for refusing to participate.\nBini, a former assistant vice president and regional private banker, is seeking her job back and damages.\nWells Fargo paid $185 million in fines to federal and local authorities after it acknowledged that its employees opened as many as 2 million checking and credit card accounts without customers’ authorization.\nKevin Friedlander, a spokesman for the bank, said the company doesn’t tolerate retaliation against employees who express their concerns.\n“Our non-retaliation policy makes clear that no team member may be retaliated against for providing information about suspected unethical or illegal activities or possible violations of any Wells Fargo policies,” Friedlander said.\nFriedlander said the supervisors are still employed, but he wasn’t able to comment further on the allegations because it was an ongoing legal matter.\nCopyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.", "The Federal Reserve on Friday imposed an unusually harsh punishment on Wells Fargo for the “widespread consumer abuses” uncovered in the bank’s fraud scandal.\nWells will not be allowed to grow beyond the $1.95 trillion in assets it had at the end of last year “until it sufficiently improves its governance and controls,” the Fed said in a statement.\nRegulators have rarely intervened directly in a bank’s operations in the past, and it is unprecedented for the Fed to order a bank to stop growing altogether, officials said.\nBut Wells Fargo’s aggressive business strategy prioritized growth over effective risk management, leading to serious compliance breakdowns, the central bank said.\nIn 2016, Wells Fargo forked over a hefty $185 million settlement after employees opened 3.5 million unauthorized bank accounts and credit cards without their customers’ consent.\nThe Federal Reserve announced it was punishing Wells Fargo on Janet Yellen’s last day as chairwoman of the Federal Reserve. (Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS)\nThe employees, pressured by internal sales targets, used fake email addresses and forged signatures in the widespread practice known as “sandbagging.”\nThe bank also sold auto insurance to customers who did not need it and admitted its mortgage bankers unfairly charged customers fees to lock in interest rates.\nWells Fargo also overcharged their corporate clients on foreign exchanges and levied unusually high transaction fees, according to a Wall Street Journal report in November.\nIn a cease-and-desist order on Friday, the Federal Reserve blasted the bank’s board of directors for failing to oversee the bank, and ordered three members to be replaced by April.\nChair Yellen’s decision today to freeze the growth of Wells Fargo until it shapes up also demonstrates that we have the tools to rein in Wall Street – if our regulators have the guts to use them. This one hits them where it hurts. — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 3, 2018\nA fourth board member will be replaced by the end of the year, according to the Fed, without releasing specific names.\nThe announcement was made on Janet Yellen’s last day as chairwoman of the Federal Reserve.\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank and the consumers harmed by Wells Fargo expect that robust and comprehensive reforms will be put in place to make certain that the abuses do not occur again,\" Yellen said.\nThe bank must now submit a plan to the Fed within 60 days, detailing how it has enhanced oversight from its board of directors and improved compliance and risk management functions, and how it plans to improve further.\nTimothy Sloan, president and chief executive officer of Wells Fargo, testifies before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on October 3, 2017. (Alex Edelman/TNS)\nOnce the Fed approves those plans, Wells will hire third-party consultants to review them and monitor its progress until the regulator is satisfied.\nWells Fargo’s balance sheet expanded steadily from the end of 2013 to 2016, but growth slowed dramatically last year as it battled to address the issues raised by the scandal.\nThe news on Friday sent Wells Fargo shares tumbling by 6.1 percent to $60.10 in after-hours trading.\nSign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing!\nWith News Wire Services.", "5:51\nWells Fargo CEO grilled by lawmakers on whether or not bank will use forced arbitration in the future", "Guards hold back about 100 protesters gathered in a hotel lobby outside Wells Fargo & Co’s annual shareholder meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday.\nGuards hold back about 100 protesters gathered in a hotel lobby outside Wells Fargo & Co’s annual shareholder meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday. Photo: staff/Reuters\nWells Fargo & Co. WFC -0.18% re-elected all of its 12 board directors with more than 89% of preliminary votes, in a shift from the bank’s chaotic shareholder meeting last year.\nWells Fargo, which hosted the meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, near its mortgage-business headquarters, still heard complaints about Chief Executive Timothy Sloan, executive compensation and its relationship with the firearms industry during the 2 ½-hour-long meeting.\nWells Fargo Chairman Elizabeth “Betsy” Duke defended Mr. Sloan’s role as CEO, saying she disagrees with California Treasurer John Chiang’s and others’ calls for him to be removed.\n“Tim’s time with the company is an advantage and his commitment to change is unwavering,” she said. “I think he is the right CEO for Wells Fargo.”\nMs. Duke did acknowledge that “the company can perform better.”\nThough Wells Fargo’s sales-practices scandal erupted more than 18 months ago, it has continued to face regulatory scrutiny for a bevy of other problems. The bank late last week agreed to a $1 billion settlement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau related to its risk management in consumer-lending businesses.\nThat settlement forced the bank to adjust recently reported first-quarter earnings by $800 million. And Wells Fargo in February was hit with an unprecedented enforcement action from the Federal Reserve for failing to have proper risk controls. That order barred the bank from growing past the $1.95 trillion in assets it had at the end of 2017.\nWrite to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com", "The Federal Reserve announced Friday that it was imposing more penalties on Wells Fargo, freezing the bank's growth until it can prove it has improved its internal controls. In addition, bank agreed to replace four board members.\nIt's the latest blow against the San Francisco bank that has had its reputation tarnished by revelations it opened phony customer accounts and sold auto insurance to customers who did not need it.\nThe new penalties were announced on Fed Chair Janet Yellen's last day at the central bank.\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank,\" Yellen said in a statement. \"The enforcement action we are taking today will ensure that Wells Fargo will not expand until it is able to do so safely and with the protections needed to manage all of its risks and protect its customers.\"\nThe Fed said it was restricting the bank's assets to the level where they stood at the end of last year until it can demonstrate that it has improved its internal controls.\nStock price drops\nThe announcement came after the close of trading on Wall Street. The bank's stock fell more than 6 percent in after-hours trading.\nWells Fargo has 16 members on its board of directors. It agreed to replace three directors by April and another one by year's end. The letter did not say whether particular board members were being singled out. Fed officials referred questions about who will be replaced to the bank.\nIn a statement, Wells Fargo said it was \"confident\" it would satisfy the Fed's requirements.\n\"We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve's concerns,\" the bank's CEO, Timothy Sloan, said. \"It is important to note that the consent order is not related to any new matters, but to prior issues where we have already made significant progress.\"\nSloan said that \"while there is still more work to do, we have made significant improvements over the past year to our governance and risk management that address concerns highlighted in this consent order.\"\nThe Fed's new order marked the latest chapter in a series of scandals that have rocked the bank in recent years.\nFake accounts\nWells Fargo has admitted that employees opened more than 3 million fake accounts in order to meet sales quotas. It ended up paying $185 million to regulators and settled a class-action suit for $142 million.\nIt also has admitted it signed up hundreds of thousands of auto loan customers for auto insurance they did not need. Some of those customers had their cars repossessed because they could not afford both the auto loan and insurance payments.\nAnd Wells Fargo also offered refunds to customers last year after acknowledging that its mortgage bankers unfairly charged them fees to lock in interest rates on mortgages.\nThe Fed's action came on a 3-0 vote. Randal Quarles, who is the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, has recused himself from participating in matters involving Wells Fargo.\nWith Yellen's departure, Fed officials said that the central bank would still be able to deal with Wells Fargo issues with the two remaining board members — Jerome Powell, who has been a member of the Fed's board since 2012 and is taking over for Yellen as chairman on Monday, and Lael Brainard.\nMarvin Goodfriend, an economics professor from Carnegie Mellon University, has been nominated by President Donald Trump for one of the vacancies on the seven-member board, but the Senate has not yet acted on the nomination. Trump has not yet nominated people to fill the other vacancies.", "(CNN Money) — Angry shareholders slammed Wells Fargo on Tuesday for abusing customers and tarnishing its reputation.\n“This company has harmed and wounded millions of its customers,” activist shareholder Sister Nora Nash said at the bank’s annual shareholder meeting.\nDemonstrators gathered outside the meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, to protest Wells Fargo’s various scandals as well as its financing for fossil fuel projects and gun manufacturing.\nDespite criticism of Wells Fargo, the bank’s directors were all re-elected on Tuesday by a wide majority. None of the shareholder proposals pushing to rein in the bank received enough support to pass.\nCalifornia State Treasurer John Chiang contrasted the state of the bank with its long history in California, where it helped build countless roads, schools and dams.\n“Where is that bank today? Wells Fargo is a shadow of its former self,” said Chiang, who is running for California governor as a Democrat. “Today, it’s unfortunately known for targeting our community’s most vulnerable.”\nWells Fargo has admitted to opening as many as 3.5 million fake accounts, forcing customers into auto insurance they didn’t want and charging unnecessary mortgage fees.\nThe bank has also been accused of ripping off small business owners on credit card transactions and retaliating against workers who called the ethics hotline. Wells Fargo’s sales practices remain under investigation by the SEC, the Justice Department and the Labor Department.\nChiang criticized the board for failing to stop the fake-accounts scandal and expressed doubt about whether CEO Tim Sloan can turn the bank around.\n“Time has proven that Mr. Sloan cannot drain the swamp. He has become it,” Chiang said. “It’s time for him to go.”\nElizabeth Duke, Wells Fargo’s chairman, defended Sloan and pointed to steps he has taken to fix the bank’s culture.\n“Tim’s time with the company is an advantage. His commitment to change is unwavering,” Duke said to loud applause.\nWells Fargo shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bank’s compensation plan for Sloan and other top executives. Shareholder proposals, including one calling for a report detailing the risks involved in the bank’s sales tactics, failed to receive majority support.\nRelated: Wells Fargo’s 20-month nightmare\nNash, the activist shareholder, thanked Wells Fargo for agreeing to a proposal calling on the bank to publish a comprehensive report on the “root causes of past and present fraudulent activities.”\n“Your customers, who are guilty only of having trusted Wells Fargo to do the right thing, deserve an honest reckoning,” Nash said.\nFederal regulators fined Wells Fargo $1 billion last week for car insurance and mortgage abuses. In February, the Federal Reserve imposed unprecedented sanctions that prevent the bank from growing until it cleans up its act.\n“While we have more work to do,” Sloan said Tuesday, “we have made significant progress as we work to fix problems, make things right for our customers and transform to a better, stronger Wells Fargo.”\nHe pointed out that Wells Fargo has eliminated product sales goals, has tightened its risk management and now sends automatic notifications to customers when new accounts are opened.\nSloan and other Wells Fargo directors are up for re-election at Tuesday’s meeting.\nWells Fargo also came under fire for its support for the gun industry. While Bank of America and Citigroup have stepped away from the gun manufacturers, Wells Fargo recently said the bank will keep lending to the industry.\nJordan Ash of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers told Wells Fargo executives he was “alarmed” to read about Wells Fargo’s record on guns.\n“We must stop the gun violence epidemic in our country,” Ash said. “NRA leaders have launched shameful public attacks on educators and student survivors.”\nSloan responded during a contentious back-and-forth with Ash that Wells Fargo believes gun violence is best addressed by legislation.\n“We don’t think it’s a good idea to allow banks to decide what products and services Americans can buy. It shouldn’t be up to us to decide that,” Sloan said.\n© Copyright 2018 CNN. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.", "April 17 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co said on Monday the State of Nevada had extended its banking agreement with the scandal-hit lender until 2021.\nSeveral states, including California, Illinois and Ohio, have severed ties with the bank following a sales scandal that cost former Chief Executive John Stumpf his job.\nWells Fargo's agreement with Nevada also comes with a two-year renewal option.\nThe bank has been dealing with multiple lawsuits and regulatory inquiries since government investigations found in September that some of its employees had opened more than two million accounts without customers' knowledge.\nWells Fargo has been working to win back customer confidence following the scandal and paying a $185 million fine to the U.S. government. It has fired more than 5,000 employees, apologized to customers, changed compensation plans and scrapped sales targets. (Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)\nRead the original article on Reuters. Copyright 2017. Follow Reuters on Twitter.", "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will discuss potential changes to an Obama-era rule that prevents banks from making risky investments with their own money, after President Donald Trump promised to ease post-financial crisis regulations on banks to boost economic growth.\nContinue Reading Below\nThe Volcker Rule, as the regulation is known, was implemented as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law. It aimed to stop banks that received federally insured deposits from making speculative bets in pursuit of short-term profits, thereby increasing their chances of sustaining significant losses. These banks, which also conduct trades on behalf of clients and customers, are constrained when it comes to investing in hedge funds and private equity funds.\nMany industry lobbyists have said the rule is unnecessarily complex and burdensome. It is also challenging for banks to prove they are obeying the trading regulations.\nAfter its implementation, financial institutions were forced to overhaul their trading operations.\nTrump signed a bill to scale back some of the provisions in Dodd-Frank last week, which included eliminating Volcker Rule requirements on banks with assets under $10 billion.\nAdvertisement\nFed officials have said that banks, particularly those with smaller trading desks, spend too much time interpreting and trying to follow this 1,000-plus page rule.\nPotential changes are likely to include making it easier for banks to prove that they are not engaging in proprietary trading, tailoring the rule based on the size of the financial institution and clearing up other terms of the law, which JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon famously said required traders to get a psychologist and lawyer to properly interpret.\nBut it’s not just the central bank that will be needed to approve revisions to the Volcker Rule. The Securities and Exchange Commission and three other agencies would need to sign off on any new proposals.", "(CNN Money) — The Federal Reserve has dropped the hammer on Wells Fargo.\nThe Fed handed down unprecedented punishment late Friday for what it called the bank’s “widespread consumer abuses,” including its notorious creation of millions of fake customer accounts.\nWells Fargo won’t be allowed to get any bigger than it was at the end of last year — $2 trillion in assets — until the Fed is satisfied that it has cleaned up its act.\nUnder pressure from the Fed, the bank agreed to remove three people from the board of directors by April and a fourth by the end of the year.\nIt is the first time the Federal Reserve has imposed a cap on the entire assets of a financial institution, according to a Fed official.\n“We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank,” outgoing Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said in a statement. Friday was her last day on the job.\nWells Fargo controls more money than any bank in the United States besides JPMorgan Chase, according to Fed data. But its reputation has been shattered over the past year and a half by a seemingly endless series of misconduct.\nMost prominently, Wells Fargo admitted that its workers responded to wildly unrealistic sales goals by creating as many as 3.5 million fake accounts. The bank has also said it forced up to 570,000 customers into unneeded auto insurance.\nThe bank agreed to the Fed’s conditions under what’s known as a consent decree. In a statement, Wells Fargo said it is “confident” it can meet the Fed’s requirements.\nRelated: Elizabeth Warren wants the Wells Fargo board wiped out\n“We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve’s concerns,” said CEO Timothy Sloan, whose predecessor, John Stumpf, resigned a month after the fake-accounts scandal broke.\nThe Fed will require Wells Fargo to turn in detailed plans of what it has done, and intends to do, to fix the board. Wells Fargo must also submit a broader explanation for how it will improve its internal controls and its handling of risk. Those plans are due in 60 days.\nBy September 30, Wells Fargo must engage a third party to review how the bank is executing those plans.\nWells Fargo will still be able to accept consumer deposits and make loans to consumers, the Fed official said. However, it will be up to the bank to determine what changes may need to be made to its business in order to stay under the asset cap.\nWells Fargo stock fell more than 6% in after-hours trading Friday.\nSenator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and the most prominent of Wells Fargo’s many critics in Congress, had begged Yellen to go after the board. Warren said in July that nothing would change at the big banks until “actual human begins are held accountable.” Warren’s office had no immediate comment on Friday night.\nIn a tweet Friday, Warren lauded Yellen for taking action and reiterated the case for tough regulation.\n“Chair Yellen’s decision today to freeze the growth of Wells Fargo until it shapes up also demonstrates that we have the tools to rein in Wall Street — if our regulators have the guts to use them,” Warren wrote. “This one hits them where it hurts.”\nThe scandal broke into public view in September 2016, when regulators revealed that Wells Fargo had created millions of bank accounts for customers without their knowledge. The company admitted the fake accounts dated back to 2009.\nSince then, Wells Fargo has faced lawsuits, federal and state investigations, fines, and a grilling from Congress. The company ousted its CEO, John Stumpf, in October 2016. The number of customers opening new accounts at the bank plummeted. Workers alleged they were fired or retaliated against for speaking up about misbehavior.\nLegal bills cost the company $3.3 billion last quarter, Wells Fargo said in January.\nRelated: I called the Wells Fargo ethics line and was fired\nAnd the fake accounts aren’t Wells Fargo’s only problem.\nLast July, the company admitted it forced auto insurance on as many as 570,000 borrowers who didn’t need it. About 20,000 of those customers had their cars wrongfully repossessed in part due to these unwanted insurance charges.\nIn August, Wells Fargo was sued by small business owners who say the bank used deceptive language to dupe mom-and-pop businesses into paying “massive early termination fees.”\nThe company was in the headlines again in October for charging about 110,000 mortgage borrowers undue fees.\nThe Justice Department fined the company in November for illegally repossessing cars from more than 860 service members. Federal law requires banks to get a court order before repossessing a car from members of the military.\n— Donna Borak, Danielle Wiener-Bronner and Jackie Wattles; CNNMoney’s Matt Egan contributed to this report.\nThe-CNN-Wire\n(™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)", "By Renae Merle and Heather Long, The Washington Post\nWASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve levied an unprecedented penalty against Wells Fargo on Friday, blocking its ability to grow larger and pressuring the mega bank to replace four board members following widespread consumer abuses.\nThe surprisingly harsh consent order is the latest fallout from Wells Fargo’s admission more than a year ago that it had opened millions of sham accounts customers didn’t want. The agreement, which has been in the works for months, marks the first time that the Federal Reserve has placed limits on a bank’s assets.\nWells Fargo will not be allowed to grow its $1.95 trillion in assets until the Fed approves its remediation plan. The San Francisco bank can still be able to take deposits from customers and make loans, but cannot grow bigger through a merger or another major transaction until the Fed is satisfied the bank has sufficiently reformed itself.\nThe bank’s problems stem from its admission in 2016 that it had fired more than 5,000 employees over five years who opened millions of phony accounts in order to earn bonuses and keep their jobs. Some customers were wrongly charged with overdraft and other fees that harmed their credit scores. The bank faced an immediate backlash on Capitol Hill, forcing longtime chief executive John Stumpf to resign and some senior executives to give up millions of dollars in bonuses. More recently, the Fed said it was troubled to hear allegations that the bank charged hundreds of thousands of borrowers for unneeded automobile insurance and other products, driving some to default on their loans and see their cars repossessed.\n“We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank and the consumers harmed by Wells Fargo expect that robust and comprehensive reforms will be put in place to make certain that the abuses do not occur again,” Chair Janet Yellen said in a statement issued on her last day leading the central bank.\nWells Fargo must replace three of its 16 board members by April and another before the end of the year, under its agreement with the Federal Reserve. The board, critics say, failed to detect the problems and then was slow to respond.\nFor years, Wells Fargo dazzled Wall Street with strong growth and large profits. But, in recent years, Wells Fargo prioritized “overall growth without ensuring appropriate management of all key risks,” the Federal Reserve said in a statement. “This prevented the proper escalation of serious compliance breakdowns to the board of directors.”\nWells Fargo said that as part of its agreement with the Federal Reserve it would submit a plan detailing how it would enhance its corporate governance within 60 days. “We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve’s concerns,” Timothy Sloan, Wells Fargo’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.\nThe consent order addressed conduct that the bank has already taken several steps to address, Sloan said in a conference call with analysts, and would not affect its financial condition. Despite the severity of the consent order, he said, “we are open for business.”\nWells Fargo has struggled to put the scandals to rest as new revelations only magnified the extent of the abuses. For instance, Wells Fargo said last year that employees had created far more sham accounts – 3.5 million rather than 2 million – over a much larger period than it initially reported.\nIn December, President Donald Trump lashed out at the bank on Twitter. “Fines and penalties against Wells Fargo Bank for their bad acts against their customers and others will not be dropped, as has been incorrectly reported, but will be pursued and, if anything, substantially increased,” Trump said in a tweet. “I will cut Regs but make penalties severe when caught cheating.”\nWells Fargo’s rolling scandals have become an nuisance to the rest of the banking industry, which has hoped to benefit from the Trump administration’s focus on rolling back financial regulations that the White House complains has hampered economic growth. Democrats and consumer groups often point to the bank’s troubles as proof the industry needs more regulation, not less.\nYellen had previously called Wells Fargo’s conduct “unacceptable” but the penalty announced Friday came as a surprise and appeared to even satisfy one of the bank’s harshest critics, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.\n“Chair Yellen’s decision today to freeze the growth of Wells Fargo until it shapes up also demonstrates that we have the tools to rein in Wall Street – if our regulators have the guts to use them. This one hits them where it hurts,” Warren said on Twitter Friday. “Fines alone will never rein in fraudulent behavior at the big banks. We need tough penalties that affect the actual lives of the people who run the banks. By pushing out Board Members at Wells Fargo, Chair Yellen sent a strong message.”\n“While there is still more work to do, we have made significant improvements over the past year to our governance and risk management that address concerns highlighted in this consent order,” said Sloan, the bank’s chief executive.\nThe Fed governors voted 3-to-0 to approve the consent order. Randal Quarles, the Fed’s head of bank supervision, abstained from the vote because of his extended family’s ties to the bank.", "BRIEF-Wells Fargo Bank increases prime rate to 4.25 percent\n* Says ‍increasing its prime rate to 4.25 percent from 4.00 percent, effective tomorrow, June 15, 2017​ Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:", "VOL. 132 | NO. 244 | Monday, December 11, 2017\nWASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump weighed in on an investigation into scandal-plagued Wells Fargo, tweeting Friday that fines and penalties against the bank would not be dropped, and may actually be \"substantially increased.\"\nTrump's statement comes a day after Reuters reported that Mick Mulvaney, the president's budget director and now acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was weighing whether the bank should have to pay tens of millions in fines already levied against it for mortgage lending abuses.\nWells Fargo, the nation's largest mortgage lender, has offered refunds to customers this year after acknowledging that its mortgage bankers unfairly charged them fees to lock in interest rates on mortgages. It's just one of a number of legal problems the San Francisco-based bank is facing, most notably a scheme in which bank employees opened more than 3 million fake accounts in order to meet sales quotas. Wells Fargo employees also tacked on insurance for auto loan customers who did not need it, in some cases leading to defaults and repossessions.\nThe CFPB under previous director, Richard Cordray, was considering additional fines and penalties against Wells Fargo, but the investigation was frozen last month after Cordray resigned from federal watchdog agency, and Mulvaney took over.\n\"I'm looking at those (investigations) on an individual basis,\" Mulvaney told reporters last week.\nTrump tweeted that the fines and penalties for the bank's \"bad acts against their customers ... will not be dropped, as has incorrectly been reported, but will be pursued and, if anything, substantially increased.\"\nThe mortgage scandal impacted roughly 100,000 customers, which is substantially less than the number of customers who were give fake accounts, or who were stuck with unneeded auto insurance.\nWells Fargo & Co. had been fined $100 million by the CFPB, which at the time was the largest fine the agency had ever individually brought against a bank.\nWhile Trump signaled a tough hand against Wells Fargo, his appointments and recent actions have been more industry-friendly. Before his appointment, Mulvaney was a well-known critic of the CFPB saying the bureau had too much power with not enough oversight. Trump is likely to appoint a more business-friendly permanent director to the CFPB once he makes the announcement.\n\"I will cut Regs but make penalties severe when caught cheating!,\" Trump tweeted.\nEarlier this year, Trump signed a bill to overrule new regulations written by the CFPB that would have allowed bank customers to band together to sue their banks, banning what's known as mandatory arbitration agreements. There is now a push to get Congress to veto another set of new regulations proposed by the CFPB that would intensely regulate the payday lending industry as well.\n\"This tweet is nothing more than an empty promise,\" said Amanda Werner with Americans for Financial Reform, a liberal-leaning consumer advocacy group.\nCopyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.", "In its most recent quarterly report, Wells Fargo disclosed that it increased its estimate of the costs from legal claims to about $3.3 billion. Yet, for all the issues the bank has faced, the only regulatory action against it has been a $185 million settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, its lead regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Los Angeles City Attorney.\nA review of the Corporate Prosecution Registry maintained by the University of Virginia Law Library does not show Wells Fargo being the defendant in a criminal prosecution. It did settle a civil suit filed by the Justice Department in 2016 by paying $1.2 billion and admitted improperly certifying mortgages to obtain insurance from the Federal Housing Administration.\nThe bank has not been the subject of an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission over its disclosure or accounting practices, although last year its investment bank was sued, accused of fraud related to a bond underwriting in Rhode Island.\nWill Wells Fargo be held to account for the many ways in which it mistreated its customers? The prospect of governmental action appears to be diminishing, and any fines it might face are likely to be at the low end of the scale based on recent enforcement trends since the start of the administration of President Trump.\nNewsletter 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.\nPenalties imposed by financial regulators so far in 2017 are much lower than for the comparable period last year, according to The Wall Street Journal. That may be a reflection of the end of the financial crisis cases, but the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, stated during his confirmation hearing that “shareholders do bear those costs and we have to keep that in mind.”\nA report issued by the Environmental Integrity Project last week shows that federal environmental enforcement has also dropped, with fewer lawsuits against companies and a 60 percent drop in civil penalties during the first six months of the new administration.\nEven private litigation by consumers against corporations would be substantially reduced under a bill passed by the House in March. One part in the legislation would require each member of a class action to show the same injuries as all others before a federal court can certify it to proceed, severely limiting the number of such cases when the harm may not be the same to all.\nThe flow of information about potential problems in banks will be curtailed under new regulatory guidance from the Federal Reserve, which oversees the largest banks. To ease the burden on the board of directors, the Fed would no longer require that the findings of a supervisory examination of the bank be given to the directors, and instead management would be responsible for passing along information about those matters that affect corporate governance.\nAdvertisement Continue reading the main story\nOf course, the proposal is offered as a major benefit to corporate boards, with the Fed asserting that it will “improve corporate governance overall, increase efficiency, support greater accountability, and promote compliance with laws and regulations.” Directors would still be “responsible for holding senior management accountable for remediating supervisory findings,” although they might not be aware of them.\nOne of the basic requirements of corporate governance is the “Caremark duty” imposed on directors, named for an opinion from the Delaware Chancery Court in 1996. A board must put in place reporting systems to ensure that sufficient information reaches the directors to enable them to oversee the company and, when necessary, deal with problems. That duty does not permit delegating oversight responsibility to management, and directors should not just sit back and wait for information to pop to the surface.\nA problem in holding individuals accountable for misconduct in an organization is the disconnect between the actual decisions and those charged with overseeing the company, so that executives and corporate boards usually plead ignorance about an issue until it is too late. As Gretchen Morgenson pointed out in her Fair Game column about the Fed’s proposal, “reducing the information flow between bank boards and their examiners just doesn’t seem smart.”\nGovernment regulation and enforcement can be a ham-fisted way of ensuring corporate compliance, so decreased regulation and lower penalties do not necessarily mean there will be an uptick in the number of violations. But if the regulatory environment sends the message that there will be few consequences for misconduct, then there may be little need to even seek forgiveness when there is a reduced prospect of being caught and punished.", "On Saturday author/blogger Cory Doctorow launched a new barrage of criticism towards Wells Fargo Life Pro Tip: if you don't like banks, join a credit union.", "April 13 WELLS CFO SAYS AUTO LOAN PORTFOLIO WILL CONTINUE TO DECLINE AS BANK TIGHTENS UNDERWRITING STANDARDS WELLS CFO SAYS HEADCOUNT WILL DECLINE OVER TIME DUE TO OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES AND IF MORTGAGE DEMAND DECLINES WELLS FARGO CLOSED 39 BRANCHES IN 1Q, ON TRACK TO CLOSE 200 THIS YEAR-CFO WELLS FARGO WILL SAVE $2B ANNUALLY STARTING IN 2018 AND REINVEST IN BUSINESS--CFO WELLS FARGO CEO SLOAN SAYS NET INTEREST INCOME EXPECTED TO GROW DURING 2017 WELLS FARGO CEO SAYS SALES SCANDAL WILL CONTINUE TO HURT NEW ACCOUNT AND CREDIT CARD OPENINGS IN 2Q, THEN REBOUND WELLS FARGO CEO SAYS IT IS 'DIFFICULT TO PINPOINT' REVENUE IMPACT FROM SALES SCANDAL WELLS FARGO CFO SAYS 'EXPECT A BIGGER NUMBER' THAN $2B IN ANNUAL COST CUTS TO BE ANNOUNCED AT UPCOMING INVESTOR DAY WELLS FARGO CEO SAYS BANK CAN DO BETTER THAN PRIMARY CHECKING ACCOUNT GROWTH OF LESS THAN 2 PCT WELLS FARGO FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS CALL HAS ENDED Wells fargo & co ceo sloan on earnings call says current efficiency ratio 'not acceptable' (Reporting by Dan Freed in New York)", "The Federal Reserve has dropped the hammer on Wells Fargo.\nThe Fed handed down unprecedented punishment late Friday for what it called the bank's \"widespread consumer abuses,\" including its notorious creation of millions of fake customer accounts.\nWells Fargo won't be allowed to get any bigger than it was at the end of last year -- $2 trillion in assets -- until the Fed is satisfied that it has cleaned up its act.\nUnder pressure from the Fed, the bank agreed to remove three people from the board of directors by April and a fourth by the end of the year.\nIt is the first time the Federal Reserve has imposed a cap on the entire assets of a financial institution, according to a Fed official.\n\"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank,\" outgoing Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said in a statement. Friday was her last day on the job.\nWells Fargo (WFC) controls more money than any bank in the United States besides JPMorgan Chase, according to Fed data. But its reputation has been shattered over the past year and a half by a seemingly endless series of misconduct.\nMost prominently, Wells Fargo admitted that its workers responded to wildly unrealistic sales goals by creating as many as 3.5 million fake accounts. The bank has also said it forced up to 570,000 customers into unneeded auto insurance.\nThe bank agreed to the Fed's conditions under what's known as a consent decree. In a statement, Wells Fargo said it is \"confident\" it can meet the Fed's requirements.\nRelated: Elizabeth Warren wants the Wells Fargo board wiped out\n\"We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve's concerns,\" said CEO Timothy Sloan, whose predecessor, John Stumpf, resigned a month after the fake-accounts scandal broke.\nThe Fed will require Wells Fargo to turn in detailed plans of what it has done, and intends to do, to fix the board. Wells Fargo must also submit a broader explanation for how it will improve its internal controls and its handling of risk. Those plans are due in 60 days.\nBy September 30, Wells Fargo must engage a third party to review how the bank is executing those plans.\nWells Fargo will still be able to accept consumer deposits and make loans to consumers, the Fed official said. However, it will be up to the bank to determine what changes may need to be made to its business in order to stay under the asset cap.\nWells Fargo stock fell more than 6% in after-hours trading Friday.\nSen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and the most prominent of Wells Fargo's many critics in Congress, had begged Yellen to go after the board. Warren said in July that nothing would change at the big banks until \"actual human beings are held accountable.\"\nIn a tweet Friday, Warren lauded Yellen for taking action and reiterated the case for tough regulation.\nChair Yellen's decision today to freeze the growth of Wells Fargo until it shapes up also demonstrates that we have the tools to rein in Wall Street -- if our regulators have the guts to use them. This one hits them where it hurts. — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 3, 2018\n\"Chair Yellen's decision today to freeze the growth of Wells Fargo until it shapes up also demonstrates that we have the tools to rein in Wall Street -- if our regulators have the guts to use them,\" Warren wrote. \"This one hits them where it hurts.\"\nThe scandal broke into public view in September 2016, when regulators revealed that Wells Fargo had created millions of bank accounts for customers without their knowledge. The company admitted the fake accounts dated back to 2009.\nSince then, Wells Fargo has faced lawsuits, federal and state investigations, fines, and a grilling from Congress. The company ousted its CEO, John Stumpf, in October 2016. The number of customers opening new accounts at the bank plummeted. Workers alleged they were fired or retaliated against for speaking up about misbehavior.\nLegal bills cost the company $3.3 billion last quarter, Wells Fargo said in January.\nRelated: I called the Wells Fargo ethics line and was fired\nAnd the fake accounts aren't Wells Fargo's only problem.\nLast July, the company admitted it forced auto insurance on as many as 570,000 borrowers who didn't need it. About 20,000 of those customers had their cars wrongfully repossessed in part due to these unwanted insurance charges.\nIn August, Wells Fargo was sued by small business owners who say the bank used deceptive language to dupe mom-and-pop businesses into paying \"massive early termination fees.\"\nThe company was in the headlines again in October for charging about 110,000 mortgage borrowers undue fees.\nThe Justice Department fined the company in November for illegally repossessing cars from more than 860 service members. Federal law requires banks to get a court order before repossessing a car from members of the military.\n--CNNMoney's Matt Egan contributed to this report.", "FILE PHOTO - A Wells Fargo branch is seen in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, U.S. on February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo\nWells Fargo & Co's failure to convince regulators it can go through bankruptcy without severely disrupting financial markets is effectively costing the bank $100 million in trading revenues each quarter, its management said on Thursday.\nIn December, Wells Fargo failed a so-called living will test administered by U.S. bank regulators. As a result, the bank is not allowed to establish international bank entities or acquire non-bank subsidiaries until regulators sign off on an amended plan.\nRegulators can eventually force Wells Fargo to shrink its balance sheet to the level it was at on Sept. 30 if it does not appease them within two years.\nInstead of waiting for that possibility, the third-largest U.S. bank is keeping its balance sheet at that size.\n\"Because we wouldn't want to put ourselves in the position of having to make an abrupt change for something that was out of our control, we decided to leave things at that level, and they're still operating there today,\" Chief Executive Tim Sloan said on a call with analysts after the bank reported first-quarter earnings.\nChief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry said Wells Fargo is holding lower trading assets to maintain balance sheet size, a decision that prevents the bank from earning an extra $100 million per quarter.\n(Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Meredith Mazzilli)", "April 12 Berkshire Hathaway Inc:\n* Press release - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. News release\n* Berkshire Hathaway Inc says in near future, intend to sell 1.9 million shares of Wells Fargo in addition to shares being reported on Wednesday's form 4\n* Says the sales of Wells Fargo shares are not being made because of investment or valuation considerations\n* Berkshire Hathaway says Wells Fargo stock sales \"solely motivated by desire to return to a percentage ownership below 10 pct notification threshold\"\n* Berkshire Hathaway - commitments required of co by federal reserve to retain ownership of 10 pct or more of Wells Fargo's outstanding common stock would materially restrict commercial activity with Wells Fargo\n* Berkshire Hathaway - on April 7, informed Federal Reserve we were withdrawing filing and that we intend to reduce ownership in Wells Fargo common stock below 10 pct within 60 trading days\n* Berkshire Hathaway - will file a form 4 with SEC reporting sale of 7.1 million shares of Wells Fargo common stock during period between April 10 and April 12 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:", "FILE PHOTO - A Wells Fargo branch is seen in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, U.S. on February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo\nWells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) has restructured its credit card processing business after an internal probe found some employees had falsely reported customer sales numbers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.\nThis raises questions about the scope of the sales scandal that hit the lender's retail banking business last year and cost Chief Executive John Stumpf his job.\nThe probe also found that employees had pushed small firms toward more expensive contracts as part of aggressive sales tactics, the Journal reported.\nWells Fargo was not immediately available for comment.\nThe company had said on a conference call in January that it had made progress on evaluating potentially unauthorized credit card accounts, including any impact to customers' credit scores and analysis of credit signatures to verify authorization.\n\"We want to identify anyone who was negatively impacted so we can make things right,\" Chief Executive Tim Sloan said on the call.\nMerchants have battled for years with banks, in the courts and in Congress, over how much they must pay for accepting card payments.\nRevelations of Wells Fargo's problems with small-business customers come almost a month after it reached a $190 million settlement over opening as many as 2 million accounts in retail customers' names without their knowledge.\nThe bank has said it fired more than 5,000 employees for improperly opening the accounts.\nWells Fargo is also battling lawsuits from former employees, customers and shareholders related to the issue.\nShares of Wells Fargo, which is expected to report first-quarter results on April 13, were up 0.3 percent in premarket trading.\n(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)" ]

[ "I've a difficult time drinking red raspberry leaf tea in the past. I wanted to try it again during my second pregnancy for uterine health. This time I steeped it in boiling water, added lots of honey, and poured it over ice. It's still not the best tasting tea variety, but this particular brand seems a bit more palletable than some others. As far as it's potency/effectiveness, I suppose I won't know until the baby comes (although realistically I'm not sure I'll even know then).<br /><br />This price is amazing, too. I kicked myself for paying twice as much at a local health food store. I will definitely be buying my next box here instead." ]

[ "I'm a chiropractor specializing in fertility, pre-natal, and pediatric care. I always have this tea here in the office because of it's healing and soothing effect on the female reproductive system. I recommend it for menstrual cramps, any cycle irregularity, during pregnancy, and general uterine health. It's a miraculous ancient remedy used by native cultures for centuries. I've always loved the quality of Yogi Teas and their Red Raspberry Leaf is delicious. For those who haven't tried it, it's like a mild black tea in flavor and naturally a little sweet. Try drinking it throughout your next period and see how soothing it is for yourself. I usually drink a cup every day and maybe two during my period. Enjoy! Colleen [...]", "I have drank this tea for both of my previous pregnancies (as suggested by my first midwife) and definitely plan on getting for our current pregnancy. I drink about three cups a day then the last month, I start to drink a lot of straight Raspberry Leaf. I have had 2 very easy pregnancies and labors.<br /><br />Raspberry Leaf Tea is very high in an assortment of nutrients including calcium, iron, and B vitamins, all of which are very important during pregnancy. The herb also contains a variety of chemicals -most of which have yet to be identified- that produce a direct effect on the pregnant uterus. They have been shown to strengthen the uterine wall, relax smooth muscle, and help to make delivery easier and speedier by helping the uterus contract more efficiently.<br /><br />Historically women have taken raspberry leaf tea throughout their pregnancies up to and including childbirth. Many mothers extol this herb's ability to make childbirth easier and less painful. In a letter to the editor of the medical journal The Lancet, Dr. Violet Russel wrote \"somewhat shamefacedly I have encouraged expectant mothers to drink this infusion. In a great many cases labour has been free and easy from muscular spasm.\"", "Let me say, the first time I tasted Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Gardens Green Tea, I was in heaven. Had I written this review then, when the tea was a lovely shade of transparent red-purple with a light blackberry flavor, I would have given it 20 stars. But according to Celestial Seasonings Customer Support, they have changed the recipe, removing the hibiscus and blackberry and leaving that delightful \"Mr's Yuk's Bathwater\" flavor in it's place. I kid you not. The tea is now a sickly yellow green with less hint of raspberry now, than before. The box still looks the same, and the ingredients list still includes hibiscus and blackberry - but it's a lie! Let the drinker beware.", "I bought the Red Goji Raspberry, Purple Acai Blueberry and White Mangosteen Peach teas to try out when they first came to the market. Out of the three, I enjoy Purple Acai Blueberry the best, but Red Goji Raspberry is also quite enjoyable. For me, the main difference is in perceived sweetness, I don't like fruity \"teas\" and this raspberry flavor seems to come out sweeter than blueberry (I don't add sugar to my teas). Other than that, it's a great tea and might be preferred by many. Again, one can smell green tea with a fruity background, it has a good color and a pleasant taste, and has no artificial put-off what-so-ever (which for me is very important). However, this tea surely is NOT for people who enjoy strong artificially flavored teas, particularly all the colorful berry mixes out there.", "I didn't buy my first box at Amazon, but I will buy future boxes here - awesome deal. I bought this tea because everything gives me migraine and I wanted a non-caffeinated, warm beverage to enjoy multiple times during the day. I read somewhere that raspberry leaf tea is good for headache, so I gave it a try. It's GREAT! I don't know why these other reviewers are brewing it for 20 minutes, but no wonder they don't like the taste. When brewed for 3-5 minutes, in 16 ounces of boiling water, in a Starbucks ceramic \"Venti\" mug, the taste is lovely. No sugar, no milk, just tea. I don't know if it's going to enhance my lady parts or not, but I love this tea!!", "I love this tea, I have used it for years. I used to use plain raspberry leaf tea (that's what relaxes the muscles and eases cramping), but this tea adds other ingredients, plus ginger, which is just so warming to the body, and when it starts warming me up, I feel more relaxed, and that makes the cramps lessen too. Sometimes I still pop an ibuprofen if it's a bad month, but always having this tea on hand really makes a difference for me!<br /><br />I drink it throughout the month too, often in the winter because of the warming qualities, or when I feel stressed, because the muscle relaxant ingredients do help with that as well. I'm a skeptic about most things, but I'm a believer in this tea!", "I love iced tea. I was given iced tea in my bottle as a baby. My mom and Granny always used Lipton loose leaf. As an adult I started short cutting with tea bags and they were OK. Years ago I started buying Snapple bottled tea with Raspberry, Lemon, or Peach flavors. They are a delicious change but a bit expensive. I moved and Snapple is not available here. So I started buying powdered flavored instant teas. Nasty! I was on a mission if Snapple could do it, so could I.<br />I wanted the great flavor of home brewed tea and I sometimes want it to be flavored. I bought a Mr Coffee Iced Tea Maker for the ease of use. I bought Loose leaf Lipton tea because that is what I was weaned on. 1 bought the 4 cup paper coffee filters as they fit the tea maker perfectly. I've tried several products and Torani Syrups are the best and reasonably priced. I now make great flavored tea that is as good, if not better, than any I've ever bought anywhere.<br />I use the Tea Maker now according to Mr Coffee instructions using ¼ cup Lipton loose leaf tea. I use ½ cup of sugar and ½ cup of Torani Raspberry or Peach syrup. Oh Baby! Great tea! I wonder how the blackberry syrup would taste.<br />BTW I bought it with super saver shipping and it arrived quickly. Great Job Amazon!", "I was looking at the reviews while considering purchase of Raspberry Leaf Herbal Tea. Many of them didn't make sense in relationship to raspberry tea, until I noticed that the header of each review mentioned what tea the review was for. All the different teas made by Yogi Woman seem to be mixed together. Not very helpful, Amazon.", "I decided to try the red raspberry leaf tea because my Dr said I should not take ibuprofen until my stomach healed. I get really wicked cramps and need to take four ibuprofen every 4-5 hours for the first two days. I started drinking the tea a day before period as someone suggested online. I used 3 heaping tablespoons of tea for 32 oz of water. I let the tea steep with a plate over it. I drank two cups every hour. I upped it to four cups an hour to see if this would further help me. It did not. This takes the edge off the cramps so I can bear it but I am not comfortable. I am dreading the next few days of cramps without ibuprofen because this does not help me enough. If you are one of those lucky ladies who can take two ibuprofen every six hours for cramps this will probably work for you. If you get severe cramps I doubt it will help. If the natural thing helps as good or better than the drug then I am all for it. THis is not the case with this tea. By the way I also tried the ALvita brand tea some ladies said worked better. It did no better in relieving the cramps than this bulk product. I am disappointed it is not helping me more than it is.", "Raspberry Tea is one of my favorites. I love tea, and I love raspberry. This tea has a rich, strong raspberry flavor - but not too strong - it is just right.<br /><br />Icy raspberry tea is perfect. I put the bags in my water bottle with water, put it in the freezer until ice shards start to form. It is perfect and delightful.", "I drank 3 cups brewed with 2 tea bags each of this tea for the last few months of my pregnancy. The amount of time I spent pushing my son out totaled 5 minutes. My midwife had said there were lots of anecdotal reports of raspberry leaf tea causing easier labors but I was skeptical. Obviously, my experience made me a believer!<br /><br />I found this tea's taste to be no different from the more expensive brands. And I appreciate that the design of these teabags is less wasteful by not using strings, tags, or staples like most teas.", "I have always wanted a natural delivery. My friend who's had 2 other kids told me to take red raspberry tea leaf to strengthen our uterus, birth canal, etc... I started drinking this during my whole pregnancy. 1 tea bag during the first trimester and the 2nd trimester and on my third trimester, i put 2 bags, the last two weeks, i drink 2 bags every meal...<br /><br />I only had to push for 1.5 hours. didn't feel pain during contraction until 10 CM. and no epidural", "well, here i am again in my 3rd trimester...and i did some research on the benefits of drinking raspberry leaf tea during this time...and apparently for women it's good to drink just in general, pregnate or not. so, being a yogi tea lover i ordered a box. i find it very convinient to be able to buy a 6 pack (16 bags per box) at this price b/c it averages out to about 2 dollars less than you pay per box at whole foods or other grocery stores. also, i dont worry about running out in a week. i like to double up the tea bags, i drink about 4 cups per day. it tastes great in my opinion, and today i just added a fresh lemon from my lemon tree! delicious!! as far as the benefits for my uterous i cant really comment on since i'm not a obgyn, and i havent had my baby yet so i dont know if this tea will play any part in easing my labor. but i can tell you that i love this tea, it tastes great, it makes me feel like i'm doing something good for my body & it's a great price. i will continue to drink it after giving birth b/c from what i've read there are also post partum benefits of drinking raspberry leaf tea.", "They have been a wonderful company to work with and I can tell that their customer service is excellent. They truly care about the quality of their product and the satisfaction of customers (and bloggers like myself!)<br /><br />Freshness<br /><br />Shipping for the product was fast. The first thing that struck me was the aroma as I was opening the shipping package. I could immediately sort out the mint and raspberry tea blend. It was a clear sign to me that their teas are fresh.<br /><br />Inside the product box, the 16 tea bags were sealed in two small plastic bags (each containing 8 bags), preserving the freshness of half of your stash until it's time to open the second set.<br /><br />Ingredients<br /><br />Reading through the ingredients, this tea contains no flavorings, just pure natural herbs. All of the herbs contained in Earth Mama Third Trimester Tea are beneficial for pregnancy - red raspberry, spearmint, stinging nettle, oatstraw, chamomile, rosehips, and alfalfa - all 100% certified organic by the FDA. Red Raspberry Leaf is the first ingredient and there are no fillers!<br /><br />The hint of mint is a nice thouch for those who do not like drinking straight Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. It also opens the sinuses - an added benefit if you struggle with stuffiness or other sinus problems during pregnancy.<br /><br />Benefits<br /><br />As if I wasn't already thrilled with my box of Third Trimester Tea, it also came with a coupon on the inside of the box for 50 cents off my next box.<br /><br />I find this tea calming and relaxing. Anytime I am feeling stressed, I know that a cup will put me at ease.<br /><br />I have very little criticisms of Earth Mama Angel Baby Third Trimester Tea (and I always look for something!) There are no tags on the tea bags (for hanging over the side of your cup), which is not a big deal in my opinion.<br /><br />Review originally published at: NaturalFamilyToday.com<br /><br />Disclaimer: Earth Mama Angel Baby provided this product for my review at no cost.", "****<br />Stash's Wild Raspberry Caffeine Free Herbal Tea is strong and fruity, great if you love the taste of raspberry and hibiscus, which I do. It contains hibiscus, orange peel, lemongrass, rosehips, natural raspberry flavor, licorice powder, and citric acid. The package says it also contains soy, but that makes little sense to me. It is a fine tasting herb tea.<br /><br />If you like a more subtle tea, you may not be crazy about Wild Raspberry. But if you like Celestial Seasonings and other commercial teas, I think that this is a good one. The reason I gave this tea four stars instead of five is that it isn't as pure as it could be (contains additives and flavorings) and I can tell. I prefer a more subtle tea. And I save five stars for the very best teas I've tried. But for those of you who like a lot of flavor, and can't taste the additives, it's just fine!<br /><br />Recommended.<br />****", "During my first pregnancy, I drank this tea quite often. There are so many herbs that you \"shouldn't\" eat or drink while pregnant, it is nice to have a good tasting tea to enjoy, and that actually benefits you during pregnancy. I think this tea is supposed to be for 2nd & 3rd trimester use. I've also tried their nursing tea (which is really quite a lot better than the Yogi Nursing Tea, in my opinion), and I've tried their raspberry leaf tea (I'm not a huge fan of the taste, but the raspberry leaf is supposed to do great things for the uterus, so I will drink some later in the pregnancy. Sigh!) I was able to find this particular tea, the Pregnancy Tea, at a local store during my first pregnancy. During my next pregnancy, I went back to the same store (and a few others) to search for this product, but couldn't find it anywhere! I was pleased to find it here, at Amazon, for a good price. Since I would have ended up buying at least six boxes anyways, it was great to be able to buy in bulk & save a buck or two a box in the process. I like it, I drink it, and I'm going to go enjoy a cup right now.", "The original Red Zinger formula had about twenty herbs and made a red, sour-sweet minty tea that was original and popular. The formula was revised maybe 20 years ago to a simpler hibiscus-rose hip mix and still makes a nice, red tea. Various fruit essences were added, such as raspberry, mountain berries and now tangerine orange. This is somewhat different than Mandarin Spice (no cinnamon or clove) and it's very like Red Zinger with a slight tangerine overtone. It's delicious hot, but if you like juices or your kids love juice, you can make up this tea to a rather strong brew, chill it, and mix it fifty-fifty with your juice of choice (apple, cranberry, grape for example. I don't think orange would be that good, but it might, who knows?)<br /><br />The idea is to cut the sugar of juices down and still have a refreshing cold beverage. Drinking this mixed with juice will cut your sugar intake and your juice bill. And it's a healthy tea.<br /><br />We drink it all winter long, keeping a hot water pot going and making big mugs of tea to stay hydrated and it even keeps you warm. Sipping hot, sugar-free tea keeps you from eating junk, satisfies your sweet tooth and keeps you away from artificial sweeteners, caffeine and other less-healthy beverages.", "I read and read about midwives etc who recommended red raspberry leaf tea for strengthening and toning the uterus in preparation for labor. I finally bought this, and worked myself up to 3 strong cups of it a day after my 36th week. I'll just tell you what I know. This was my 2nd pregnancy. With my first I went almost to 42 weeks and then induced (and subsequently c-sectioned). This time, I spontaneously went into labor at week 38 (and had a VBAC). My labor was about 2 hours long. INTENSE (and kind of terrible). I don't know if this tea really did strengthen my uterus into being more efficient, or if it brought on labor. I definitely had a very different outcome this time around. And if nothing else, how can it harm? Hey, you're not only getting hydrated, but it's good for the psyche too. You feel like you're doing something to help your little one come out to your arms, safely. I'd do it again.", "I love The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's Special Dutch Chocolate Powder. I've tried many hot chocolate drinks, and this special Dutch chocolate powder is one of the best. It's flavorful, smooth, and doesn't leave much residue in my mug after I'm done with the hot chocolate. The 22 oz. container is the perfect size to serve your whole family, and it lasts for a while. And you can use the nice container for other stuff after the chocolate powder is gone. This Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Dutch Chocolate Powder mix is multi-functional as well. On the container, there are recipes for not only Hot Chocolate but also Cafe Mocha and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's Original Ice Blended Coffee drink. The chocolate powder contains 15% calcium, 4% vitamin C, 2% iron, and five grams of protein per serving size. Since there are no Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores near where I live, it's great to order Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf products online through Amazon or The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's website. I also highly recommend The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's Vanilla Caramel flavored coffee, Raspberry Cream flavored coffee, Limited Edition Blueberry Streusel flavored coffee, Blueberry Peach Green Tea, Spring Peach Oolong, and Lemon Chamomile. Anyways, I give a big thumbs up to the Dutch Chocolate Powder mix!", "Take the warm scent of Italian Bergamot and blend it with natural raspberry flavor and swirl it into South Indian black tea and what you are creating is a raspberry dream of a tea. This tea, if made with powdered milk, honey, vanilla syrup and a packet of stevia becomes creamy.<br /><br />Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of sugar and you have a honey and vanilla raspberry bergamot tea. I don't think you can only use one teabag. I use four in 16 ounces and like it a little stronger. It is like a raspberry chai without the spice. Perfect for tea parties or sipping in the morning while enjoying a raspberry muffin.<br /><br />The people who pick the tea leaves are paid a fair wage and the positive energy really does come through in the flavor of the tea. The tea leaves are also organic.<br /><br />I think this is the most delicious tea I've ever tasted! Once you try this flavor, you will want to try all the flavors. I'm trying the green tea with mint and also love the Fireside Chai.<br /><br />~The Rebecca Review", "*****<br /><br />This Bedtime Tea from Yogi Tea is an caffeine-free herbal tea that is relaxing and a natural sleep aid. Bedtime Tea is made from organic licorice root, organic spearmint leaf, organic chamomile flower, organic skullcap leaf, organic cardamom seed, organic cinnamon bark, organic St. John's Wort leaf & flower, organic rose hips, natural orange flavor, valerian root extract, organic raspberry leaf, organic English lavender flower, stevia leaf, and passion flower extract. The taste is mild, delicious, herb-y, and very slightly sweet. It is subtle and lovely.<br /><br />I am definitely impressed with this tea and with Yogi Teas in general. Bedtime Tea comes with an expiration date (a good thing, because it's not full of preservatives, plus you can tell if it is fresh). Yogi Tea seems to be another company (like Numi, Aspen, Traditional Medicinals) that values sustainable and healthy practices. Their web site has a helpful glossary of tea ingredients and is beautifully designed, with info about each tea they make.<br /><br />There is a warning on the box that this tea is not to be used during pregnancy or while nursing. If you are taking MAO inhibitors or other prescription drugs, you should consult your physician or health care professional before use. There are no other cautions or warnings on the box except the standard disclaimer that the tea is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.<br /><br />Best of all, it works...I love drinking it before bed to relax and drift off into blissful sleep. This is a great tea that I highly recommend.<br /><br />*****", "I love having a cup of Dandelion Root Tea to start my day. I have fibroid and needed to give up my coffee habit. This tea is slightly bitter but with a teaspoon of honey, it is nice and smooth. It is relaxing to sip on and ease into your day.<br /><br />I do a routine of this tea for 3 to 4 weeks and then switch over to Red Raspberry tea. This routine plus some other natural remedies have resulted in decreased complications from my fibroid.<br /><br />I am an Amazon Prime member and this item was delivered in 1 day.", "Mighty Leaf Tea pouches are near whole leaf tea in a handsewn pouch. As easy to use as Lipton tea bags, but far more delicious. Green tea offers anti-oxidant benefits, and the leafs are distinguishable as such, rather than crumbled powder in more conventional American tea bags. Mighty Leaf Organic Hojicha is flavorful, full-bodied, light colored tea. It's good for you, good for the environment.", "I ordered this product when it was on sale a while back, and got the 6 pack of boxes. After brewing a few tea bags, I thought the Red Goji/Raspberry flavor was indeed there, but the low amount of tea in each tea bag, didn't deliver almost any kind of caffeine lift. Each tea bag has very little tea in it. I called Lipton to complain, and the nice lady on the other end, pointed out that each tea bag has 1.2 grams of tea in it. (My box actually says 1.3g) Hmm, I thought, how much tea by weight does an average tea bag of green tea have? My unflavored Meijer green tea bags have 2.2 grams of tea! The other two flavors of Lipton tea I bought also have a lot more tea in them when compared to the Red Goji/ Raspberry Lipton Tea. The Lipton Lemon Ginseng tea has 1.7 grams of tea, and the Orange passion fruit & Jasmine has 2.0 grams of tea! Why on earth has Lipton shortchanged the amount of tea in the Red Goji Tea? Just add some more green tea Please Lipton! This product is a disappointment!", "So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the teas in the \"zinger\" series. I like Celestial Seasonings in general. Of course, the tea bags have no strings and that is something of an annoyance, but other than that, the teas are tasty and enjoyable. Zinger really is a great description of the product. It has a surprising and deeply flavorful taste and an aroma to match. The lemon has a fresh, rich lemon flavor. The raspberry embodies the flavor of raspberry as well. The Red Zinger, however, is the best of them all. I have yet to find a better tea in the series. I would give it 4.5, but Amazon only allows integers. There are some teas that I have tasted that are better, but only rarely. It is a great option for those who enjoy herbal teas.", "This tea doesn't taste much like raspberries to me but it i a great help during my monthly period pains. Without this tea I get pain so bad that I can barely stand and have broken into sweats from the pain (I don't usually sweat easily). Since I can't take most pain relievers due to a bad stomach I decided to look for something holistic. I try to take it when I know my period is coming I take this tea a my pain is mostly gone but it only takes like 20mins to work if that day comes before I expect. If you get bad cramps, I highly recommend you try this tea!", "South African Red Rooibos tea, like all \"red teas\" isn't really a tea at all, but is made from a tealike shrub.<br /><br />Never mind the technical aspects of tea cultivation . . .<br /><br />I bought this tea on a lark---I liked the easygoing look of the teacup-holding lion on the box. Not really the best grounds for picking a tea, but in this case it worked.<br /><br />When steeped, the tea takes on a distinctive reddishness, with hints of fruitiness underlying a definite but undemanding soft vanilla flavor against tongue and palate, which is a perfect relaxant, especially when you ensconce yourself in a comfortable chair before the fireplace at the end of a workday (a light misty rainfall is optional for mood), and sip contentedly while reading your latest Amazon.com selection.", "Raspberry Gardens contains healthful green tea, which is known to provide many health benefits such as providing antioxidants which help mitigate the problems of aging, and assisting with weight loss. The aroma of this tea is raspberry as advertised. The flavor is tart and flat--dominated by hibiscus. Raspberry flavor is very faint.<br /><br />Celestial Seasonings gets extra points for their packaging: they utilize 100% natural recycled paperboard in their boxes and they don't package each tea bag individually. Instead they use a system of a waxed paper bag inside the box that stays shut when you fold it. It keeps the bags fresh and utilizes less packaging than individually wrapping each bag. They put a caffeine meter on the box to compare this tea with cola and coffee beverages-this tea has 15 mg of caffeine compared to 90 in a cup of drip coffee. The level of antioxidants would be a good addition. The art they use on each box is beautiful as are the quotes and information they put on every surface.<br /><br />Quote from the box: \"The friend who holds your hand and says the wrong thing is made of dearer stuff than the one who stays away.\" Barbara Kingsolver.", "I love Mighty Leaf teas and have found no other teas that can match their quality, taste, and freshness. However the Bombay Chai falls far below my expectation for an authentic chai tea. The tea tastes very weak and is lacking the robust black tea taste that a chai tea should have. The taste created by Bombay Chai departs from the traditional chai tea taste. In my opinion, this tea cannot even be considered a \"chai\" tea. Yes, the spices used are traditional chai spices, however the flavor is not that of chai. After my great experience with other Mighty Leaf teas, I was greatly disappointed with their attempt at a chia tea recipe.<br /><br />Yet in spite of Mighty Leaf Bombay Chai's shortcoming, this tea is still far more healthy and tasty than the boxed chai teas on the market - Oregon Chai and Tazo Chai (sold by Starbucks). These boxed chai teas are what most Americans consider chai, however they are very far from it. These boxed chai teas are dessert drinks that are loaded with sugar digest horribly.<br /><br />Chai tea spices are medicinal in nature, supporting the function of different organs and reducing the \"dampness\" (Chinese Medicine) or \"kapha\" (Ayurveda Medicine) of the milk used to create a more balanced drink.<br /><br />I have traveled India and tasted authentic chai tea - both in south India and north India (subtly different recipes). I have even had the pleasure to taste very rare varieties of black tea leaves. Unfortunately I have never tasted chai tea outside of India that resembles what I have enjoyed in India. My own experiments with chai spices have created chai tea that is closer than what is sold in America, however there is a uniqueness to chai tea in India that is difficult to replicate.<br /><br />I find that I can create a more authentic chai tea by using Mighty Leaf Organic Breakfast Tea combined with a blend of chai spices (cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and cloves). Or if I am in a hurry, I skip the spices and use a tea bag of Tulsi Red Chai Masala (caffeine-free Roiboos tea, not black tea). I find this unique combination of black tea and roiboos a tasty recipe.<br /><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VDP11Y\">Organic India Tulsi Red Chai Masala, 18-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6)</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ET5Y0M\">Mighty Leaf Tea, Organic Breakfast, Tea Bags, 15-Count Box, Biodegradable Whole Leaf Pouches (Pack of 3)</a><br /><br />-- My Praise for Mighty Leaf Teas ---<br /><br />Mightly Leaf Tea should be considered in a class of it's own for tea. The leaves and herbs used are extremely fresh. When you open a plastic (not paper that breathes) pouch, you are immediately hit with the sweet aroma of fresh tea. I have never smelled another tea bag that even comes close to the freshness. Even most bulk teas are not packaged correctly or quick enough at the manufacturer to keep this much freshness in the tea.<br /><br />Mighty Leaf Tea is a bit more expensive than other organic tea, however the quality of the leaves and herbs is the highest. Might Leaf Tea uses large pieces of leaves, herbs, and flowers - unlike most teas that use shreds of leaves. Shredded tea oxidizes very quickly due to the increased surface area. This results in tea that loses flavor and smell very quickly.<br /><br />Mighty leaf uses silk bags which have larger pores than paper bags. This means that the water penetrates the tea bags more fully, allowing the newly tea-infused water to spread to the cup more quickly. Brewing tea too long will create a bitter taste. The problem with most paper tea bags is that infused tea water cannot spread quickly enough through the cup to create a bold, full flavor before the 3-5 brewing time has passed. This means that either your tea is not full flavored or is bitter. Mighty Leaf solves this problem by using silk bags.<br /><br />Each Mighty Leaf Tea bag is sealed in a plastic pouch. Since plastic is less porous than paper, these pouches keep the tea and herbs fresher longer.<br /><br />There is nothing to not like about Mighty Leaf Tea. I only wish that Mighty Leaf Tea started selling Tulsi tea and I would be in Heaven.<br /><br />Mighty Leaf Tea is clearly the creation of tea experts who appreciate the highest quality organic ingredients. They have created a tea bag system that is far beyond what any other company has done. Every type of tea that Mighty Leaf Tea offers tastes incredible. So choose your favorite flavor and enjoy tea as it should be experienced - fresh, bold, and delicious.", "A bowl of healthy, crunchy goodness. It gives my jaw a workout. Although crunchier with BOTH red raspberries and strawberries than Special K, I like the taste of Special K Red Berries better.", "WITHOUT USING FRESH RASPBERRIES, THIS IS THE BEST TEA I HAVE FOUND. I DRINK COFFEE WHEN I FIRST GET UP IN THE MORNING, AND THEN I DRINK NOTHING BUT CRYSTAL LIGHT RASPBERRY TEA THE REST OF THE DAY.", "Red rose is the only black tea worthy to drink and I have been drinking it for almost 50 years since my French grandma got me on it. My kids are also hooked now and I told my daughter that when I am on my deathbed all I want is a cup of RedRose with milk and sugar. Truly--it is clean, strong, with a complex flavor. I guess you can tell I highly recommend it." ]

[ "When MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts married his long term partner, Patrick Abner, it was the culmination of a 12-year cross-country romance. Mr Roberts and Mr Abner, both 40, followed each other as their careers exploded -- moving the couple from Virginia to Philadelphia to Atlanta to Washington to Los Angeles and finally New York." ]

[ "Lighthouse design was the family profession: Thomas's father (Robert's grandfather) was the famous Robert Stevenson, and both of Thomas's brothers (Robert's uncles) Alan and David, were in the same field.", "Rob Thomas (III) Rob Thomas was born on February 14, 1972 in Landstuhl, West Germany as Robert Kelly Thomas. He has been married to Marisol Thomas since October 2, 1999.", "…in full by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel A. Alito and in part by Justice Clarence Thomas. Roberts and Scalia also filed separate concurring opinions, while Thomas filed a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.", "Thomas Robert Malthus was an English cleric, scholar and economist who predicted that unchecked population growth would lead to famine and disease. His seminal work was titled An Essay on the... Thomas Robert Malthus was an English cleric, scholar and economist who predicted that unchecked population growth would lead to famine and disease. His seminal work was titled An Essay on the... Star Gazing", "Rob Thomas Net Worth is $17 Million Rob Thomas Biography. Robert Kelly Thomas was born on 14 February 1972 in Landstuhl, (then)West Germany, singer, songwriter, solo performer and rock recording artist who has also worked and written with several world-famous music legends. So just how rich is Rob Thomas?", "Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was born May 13, 1986 in London, England, to Clare (Charlton), who worked at a modeling agency, and Richard Pattinson...", "Robert Pattinson, Actor: Twilight. Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was born May 13, 1986 in London, England, to Clare (Charlton), who worked at a modeling agency, and Richard Pattinson, a vintage car importer. He enjoys music and plays both the guitar and piano.", "THOMAS GOULD (1455-May 05, 1502), THE SON OF ROBERT GOULD AND IDONEA MYCHELDEVER, MARRIED ELEANOR STAVERTON. THEIR SONS WERE: James Gould who married Margaret Appleton, John Gold Gould who married Katherine Preston, Thomas Gould (1472-April 13, 1525) who married Edith Appleton. 1 Thomas Gould1. 2 M, #87638, b. circa 1437, d. 5 May 1502. 3 Father Robert Gould1 b. c 1410. 4 Mother Idonea Mycheldever1 b. c 1410.", "Robert L. Duncan and John Wynn served as adminstrators with Mary Goodson for Thomas B. Goodson's estate. John Wynn(e) was married to Elizabeth Jett McCown, sister of Susan Zenatope McCown, who married James Polk Goodson, one of Thomas' sons with Martha.", "Robert Pattinson. Robert Pattinson Net Worth is $55 Million. Robert Pattinson has an estimated net worth of $55 million. Robert Thomas Pattinson was born May 13, 1986 in London, England. He became involved in amateur theatre at a young age through the Barnes Theatre C. Robert Thomas Pattinson (bor...", "Rob Thomas was born on February 14, 1972 in Landstuhl, West Germany as Robert Kelly Thomas.", "Barings remained a powerful firm, however, and in the 1830s the leadership of new American partner Joshua Bates, together with Thomas Baring, son of Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet, began a turnaround.", "Thomas Jefferson was the President when the Louisiana Purchase transaction was negotiated. The people who actually signed the Purchase Treaty were James Monroe, Robert Liv … ingston, and Barbe Marbois.", "Along with M. Thompson, our clients also searched for the following authors: William John Huggins, Thomas Buttersworth, Robert Bowyer, Arthur Abbott, Robert Dodd, Thomas Medland, James Northcote.", "Robert Tapia, a resident of San Jose, California, is a Partner and Financial Advisor with Stratos Wealth Partners in Los Gatos, California. Prior to joining Stratos, Robert was a financial advisor at Waddell & Reed. Robert incorporates... Read more.", "Someday is track #9 on the album Cradlesong. It was written by Thomas, Robert Kelly / Serletic, Matt / Carter, Shy. Someday is track #9 on the album Cradlesong. It was written by Thomas, Robert Kelly / Serletic, Matt / Carter, Shy.", "It was General George Meade that defeated Robert E. Lee at the battle of Gettysburg. As for Robert Stonewall Jackson... It's Thomas Stonewall Jackson.", "Clarence Thomas. Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American judge, lawyer, and government official who currently serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Thomas succeeded Thurgood Marshall and is the second African American to serve on the court.", "Robert Fulton's steamboat the Clermont was undoubtedly the pioneer of practical steamboats. In 1801, Robert Fulton partnered with Robert Livingston to build the Clermont.", "Going into the play, we know that Thomas More is a saint and a martyr. Most people consider a saint to be a man of principle, and a martyr is a man who dies for his beliefs. But Saint Thomas More as characterized in Robert Bolt’s play has other reasons for refusing to agree to King Henry’s oath.He is not concerned with doing what is right according to Christian dogma.ost people consider a saint to be a man of principle, and a martyr is a man who dies for his beliefs. But Saint Thomas More as characterized in Robert Bolt’s play has other reasons for refusing to agree to King Henry’s oath.", "Thomas P. Brown Tom Brown is a consultant for Camp One Ventures, LLC. He has more than fifteen years experience in the payment industry, including a stint at Visa U.S.A. Inc., where he worked on the company’s reorganization and eventual IPO (NYSE: V).", "Divorce & Criminal Defense Lawyers in Stuart FL. Experienced former prosecutors—one a former Marine—protect client rights. When Thomas L. Colter completed his service in the U.S. Marine Corps and became an attorney, he kept his sense of fairness, fighting spirit, and motivation to defend those in his care. He also brought with him a philosophy that guides the law firm of Colter Law Group and benefits clients every day.", "In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the Corps of Discovery, and named as its leader his personal secretary and U.S. Army Captain, Meriwether Lewis, who selected William Clark as his partner.", "Chief Justice John Roberts was exposed to the function of the Supreme Court shortly after he was admitted to the bar when he served as a law clerk for William Rehnquist, the man who he would eventually replace as the Chief Justice of the United States.", "“My philosophy is to never lose sight of the client’s objectives.”. Tom became the first law clerk to ascend to ownership at TELG in 2013, cementing the firm’s reputation as a nurturer of quality legal talent. He joined the firm in 2004 while attending the George Mason University School of Law as an evening student.", "The London born actor who got really famous with his role the “Twilight” series is also a talented musician and producer. Biography: Robert Pattinson was born on May 13, 1986 in London, England. His birth name is Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson and Rob is his nickname.", "Famous bearers include the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and the American musician Bob Dylan (1941-), real name Robert Zimmerman, who took his stage surname from the poet's given name.", "Clarence Thomas is an American judge, lawyer, and government official who currently serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Thomas succeeded Thurgood Marshall and is the second African American to serve on the court. Thomas grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and was educated at the College of the Holy Cross and at Yale Law School. In 1974, he was appointed an Assistant Attorney General in Missouri and subsequently practiced law there in the private sector. In 1979, h", "6' 1 (1.85 m). Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was born May 13, 1986 in London, England, to Clare (Charlton), who worked at a modeling agency, and Richard Pattinson, a vintage car importer.", "Robert Pattinson Actor | Soundtrack | Writer Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was born May 13, 1986 in London, England, to Clare (Charlton), who worked at a modeling agency, and Richard Pattinson, a vintage car importer. He enjoys music and plays both the guitar and piano. When Robert was fifteen, he started acting in amateur plays with the Barnes Theatre Company.", "The Confederate general who became famous for his strategy and courage during the First Battle of Bull Run was A. George McClellan B. Robert E. Lee C. Joseph Hooker D. Thomas Stonewall Jackson. History.", "Email: tlucente@civitasmedia.com. Thomas J. Lucente Jr. is the Editorial Page Columnist and Night Editor at The Lima News. His columns have appeared in newspapers across the country and he has won several writing awards. Lucente is also an attorney admitted to practice law in the state of Ohio." ]

[ "The conservative leaders who are Christian say Reed is to blame for Dole's campaign problems." ]

[ "Christian conservative leaders have blamed Bob Dole for the debacle of his own campaign.", "Reed rile the Christian conservatives up.", "Reed calmed the Christian conservatives down.", "Conservatives have decided that they will blame Clinton.", "Bob Dole has a new prostrate.", "Who is Bob Dole?", "They had some reasons why they thought Bob Dole lost.", "Conservatives are still figuring out who to blame between Democrats and Clinton.", "Conservatives have attacked ENDA in several ways.", "Bob Dole was born in Kansas.", "Bob Dole was around in 1981.", "Before the inquiry about Bob Dole...", "Bob Dole ran his campaign on increasing income taxes.", "Dole thought this situation was tearing him apart.", "Bob Dole is not brain-dead.", "Conservatives are battling now.", "I'm Bob Dole, president.", "Liberals are anti-Christian.", "Dole is not doing very well in the race.", "Chris DeMuth's contribution is a perfect example of the dead weight on Bob Dole's campaign.", "The scandal is often blamed on Clinton's enemies.", "Reed's credibility and reputation are currently in free-fall.", "Lately, Clinton is being blamed for corrupting Gore.", "Some Republicans say he is a terrible person.", "Bob Dole did not get the nomination.", "They blamed Canada.", "THe christian right knows a lot about politics.", "The position taken by Dole is wrong for America.", "Subsequent to an inquiry about Bob Dole's...", "The scandal is usually blamed on the Clinton family.", "Like Bob Dole when he was young.", "Bob Dole was born in Paris, France." ]

[ "Steve Inskeep speaks with reporter Jonathan Martin of Politico. The publication is reporting that presidential candidate Herman Cain was accused of inappropriate behavior by two female colleagues while he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s. The women later left the organization and are said to have received five-figure payouts and signed nondisclosure agreements about the incident." ]

[ "In case you haven't heard yet: Republican Herman Cain effectively ended his presidential campaign this afternoon, as the toll from allegations about sexual harassment and an affair (all of which he has denied) combined to effectively end his chances at getting the GOP nomination. Here's how the story is playing: -- \"Campaign Over, Cain Vows To Go With 'Plan B'.\" (NPR.org) -- \"Cain Suspends Presidential Campaign, Cites 'Hurt' Caused by 'False' Allegations.\" (Fox News) -- \"G.O.P. Presidential Candidate Says He Will Not Go Away.\" (The New York Times) -- \"Fight For Herman Cain Supporters Begins.\" (Politico) -- \"How the Cain Train Changed the Route to the White House: Unorthodox presidential campaign taught political veterans new lessons.\" (National Journal) Our colleagues at It's All Politics follow the ups and downs of the campaign.", "Herman Cain's sexual harassment crisis worsened Wednesday with a third woman telling a news organization that he sexually harassed her when they both worked at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. Meanwhile, in another stunning turn, a male Republican pollster went on the record with a news organization to say he actually witnessed Cain's alleged harassment of one of the former trade association employees and indicated that the Republican presidential candidate's behavior wasn't exactly a secret at the time. According to the Associated Press, the third woman has asked that her name not be made public out of fear of retaliation. Read More But the story she told the news agency offered some of the sharpest details yet of Cain's alleged actions when he served as the unpaid chair of the restaurant association from 1996 to 1999. AP reported: A third former employee says she considered filing a workplace complaint over what she considered aggressive and unwanted behavior by Herman Cain when she worked for the presidential candidate in the 1990s. She says the behavior included a private invitation to his corporate apartment. She worked for the National Restaurant Association when he was its head. She told The Associated Press that Cain made sexually suggestive remarks or gestures about the same time that two co-workers had settled separate harassment complaints against him. The employee described situations in which she said Cain told her he had confided to colleagues how attractive she was and invited her to his corporate apartment outside work. She spoke on condition of anonymity, saying she feared retaliation. Cain's campaign declined to comment. Adding to the expanding sense of crisis for the Cain campaign was a report from a man who said he worked as a polling consultant for the restaurant association when Cain was its chairman and that he witnessed Cain's harassment of one of the now three women who have told journalists they were the targets of unwanted sexual attention from Cain. Chris Wilson, a Republican political consultant who did work for the trade group when Cain was there and does work for super PAC supporting Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presidential bid now, told KTOK, an Oklahoma news radio station, that he saw Cain harass a trade group employee more than once. An excerpt from the KTOK website: Interviewed today on KTOK's Mullins in the Morning, Wilson, of Wilson-Perkins-Allen Opinion Research headquartered in Washington, D.C. explained he was a witness to the incident. \"I was the pollster at the National Restaurant Association when Herman Cain was head of it and I was around a couple of times when this happened and anyone who was involved with the NRA at the time, knew that this was gonna come up.\" Wilson described the woman as a low level staffer who was maybe two years out of college. \"This occurred at a restaurant in Crystal City (Virginia) and everybody was aware of it,\" he continued. \"It was only a matter of time because so many people were aware of what took place, so many people were aware of her situation, the fact she left---everybody knew with the campaign that this would eventually come up.\" Wilson said for legal reasons, he can not discuss details of the incident. \"But if she comes out and talks about it, like I said, it'll probably be the end of his campaign.\" Politico, which broke the initial story of the harassment accusations, has a bit more from Wilson's KTOK interview. Wilson said there were others present who saw Cain's behavior towards the woman and that others asked Cain to stop. The two women previously reported by Politico to have accused Cain of sexual harassment during their time at the restaurant association have so far also not allowed their names to be made public and haven't come forward. According to the New York Times, one woman received a settlement of $35,000 and left the trade group. No details have been reported as of yet on the settlement for the other woman in Politico's reports. It's also been reported that at least one of the women signed a non-disclosure agreement with the restaurant association when she left the organization. The lawyer who has represented her at the time she initially brought charges in 1999 has said that his client would go public if the trade group would release her from the confidentiality pact. Also on Wednesday, Politico reported that an Iowa radio host told them that Cain said made inappropriate comments to women staffers at his radio station. Asked by NPR for a statement, Cain campaign spokesman, J.D. Gordon, issued the following: \"Mr. Cain has said over the past two days at public events that we could see other baseless allegations made against him as this appalling smear campaign continues.\" \"He has never acted in the way alleged by inside-the-beltway media, and his distinguished record over 40 years spent climbing the corporate ladder speaks for itself.\" \"Since his critics have not been successf", "Catching up on the latest news about the allegations, which he says are false, that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain sexually harassed some women when he was heading the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s: Read More -- The campaign's response: Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon again said the candidate \"has never acted in the way alleged by inside-the-Beltway media, and his distinguished record over 40 years spent climbing the corporate ladder speaks for itself.\" He said, as Cain also has, that the candidate is the subject of \"baseless allegations.\" -- A third woman: Meanwhile, a third woman has told The Associated Press that Cain made sexually suggestive remarks and gestures toward her when she worked with him at the association. According to the AP, the woman, who \"spoke only on condition of anonymity, saying she feared losing her current job and the possibility of damage to her reputation ... said in interviews that Cain was aggressive and inappropriate with her, even extending a private invitation to his corporate apartment.\" \"The woman said she did not file a formal complaint against Cain because she began having fewer interactions with him,\" the wire service adds. -- Another woman defends him: But another woman who worked with Cain at the association, the AP reports, says he was \"a good boss.\" Christina Howard added she \"felt no problem going into his office and asking for his advice.\" -- A witness? As Frank James reported on It's All Politics, \"Chris Wilson, a Republican political consultant who did work for the trade group when Cain was there and does work for super PAC supporting Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presidential bid now, told KTOK, an Oklahoma news radio station, that he saw Cain harass a trade group employee more than once.\" KTOK adds that \"Wilson said for legal reasons, he can not discuss details of the incident.\" -- Cain blames Perry; Perry campaign responds: Cain on Wednesday accused his Republican rival Perry \"of orchestrating the original report about allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior,\" Politico writes. \"In separate appearances Wednesday evening, both Cain and his campaign manager, Mark Block, asserted that the Perry campaign was behind Politico's report Sunday that, as head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained about inappropriate behavior by Cain and ultimately signed confidential agreements that gave them financial payouts to leave the association.\" A spokesman for the Perry campaign, Ray Sullivan, said \"no one at our campaign was involved in this story in any way.\" -- Statement coming from one woman? Joel P. Bennett, an attorney for one of the two women in the original Politico report about the allegations, told NPR and The New York Times that he is drafting a statement for his client and will consult with the restaurant association today about issuing it even though the settlement the woman reached when she left the association included a confidentiality agreement. Bennett has previously said his client believes Cain has not been telling the truth about what happened. Update at 6:00 p.m. ET. Restaurant Association Decision Upcoming: NPR's Liz Halloran reports at It's All Politics that the National Restaurant Association should make a decision as to whether to release one of the women from a non-disclosure agreement. Also, Politico reported that same woman received $45,000 to settle her complaint against Cain. The woman's attorney, Joel P. Bennett, would not \"confirm or deny\" the report to NPR.", "\"I have never sexually harassed anyone,\" Republican presidential contender Herman Cain told Fox News Channel this morning. The former business executive said he was \"falsely accused\" of harassment \"while I was at the National Restaurant Association\" in the early 1990s. Cain, appearing on Fox just after 11:20 a.m. ET, said that if the restaurant association, where he served as CEO from late-1996 to mid-1999, paid any accusers to settle such claims, \"I wasn't even aware of it and I hope it wasn't for much.\" His comments come after a Politico report about the allegations that has dominated this morning's campaign news. Meanwhile, as our colleague Frank James reports on It's All Politics, \"there's a report that [Cain's] campaign may have received early help from a company run by his campaign aides, a situation which legal experts say could have violated federal election and tax laws.\" Cain is speaking and taking questions at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., starting at 1 p.m. ET. It's being webcast by the club and on C-SPAN.org. Update at 1:30 p.m. ET. A \"Witch Hunt\": At the Press Club, Cain just added that when the accusations were made, \"as the leader of the organization I recused myself and allowed my general counsel and human resources officer to handle the situation. ... It was concluded ... that it had no basis.\" And he repeated that if any money was paid to any accusers, \"I'm unaware of any sort of settlement. ... I hope it wasn't much because I didn't do anything.\" Asked if he knows who might have told Politico about the accusations, Cain said \"I have no idea. ... We have no idea the source of this witch hunt.\" Our original post (\"Reporter: Herman Cain Story Based On Documentation, Dozens Of Sources\") and earlier updates follow: The most-talked-about campaign story from the weekend is Politico's report that: \"During Herman Cain's tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm.\" Sunday morning, Politico reporter Jonathan Martin — who says he had been trying to get a comment from Cain for more than a week — asked the Republican presidential contender about the allegations. Politico writes that: \"In a tense sidewalk encounter Sunday morning outside the Washington bureau of CBS News — where the Republican contender had just completed an interview on Face the Nation — Cain evaded a series of questions about sexual harassment allegations. \"Cain said he has 'had thousands of people working for me' at different businesses over the years and could not comment 'until I see some facts or some concrete evidence.' His campaign staff was given the name of one woman who complained last week, and it was repeated to Cain on Sunday. He responded, 'I am not going to comment on that.' \" After being asked four times whether he has ever been accused of harassment by a woman, Cain responded: \"Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?\" Politico says. Later Sunday, in a statement to The Associated Press, Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon said \"inside-the-Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain. Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain's tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts.\" The AP adds that \"asked if Cain's campaign was denying the report, Gordon said, 'Yes.' \" And Gordon later told the wire service that \"these are baseless allegations. To my knowledge, this is not an accurate story.\" Conservative columnist/blogger Byron York has more from Gordon's statement on the Washington Examiner website. Today on Morning Edition, Martin told host Steve Inskeep that Politico's story is based on documentation it has reviewed and interviews with \"dozens of individuals,\" including current and former employees of the restaurant association and current and former board members of the trade group. Politico's reporting, according to Martin, indicates the two women felt that Cain had made \"verbal and physical gestures\" that made them uncomfortable. They accused him of inappropriate \"comments ... questions ... some touching\" and some physical gestures, Martin said. Each of the women signed \"five-figure compensation packages and non-disclosure agreements,\" according to the reporter. Politico says it has confirmed the accusers' identities, \"but, for privacy concerns, is not publishing their names.\" Today at 9 a.m. ET, Cain is due to speak at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. And at 1 p.m. ET, he's due to speak at the National Press Club, also in Washington. Both events are to be webcast on C-SPAN.org. Update at 11:15 a.m. ET. Cain To Be On Fox Short", "Ben Adler reports on Republican and conservative politics and media for The Nation as a contributing writer. Conservative activists and talking heads, taking their cue from Herman Cain's campaign, are dismissing the revelation in Politico that Cain was accused of sexual harassment by two employees when he was president of the National Restaurant Association. Politico gave Cain ten days to respond to queries to their detailed and thoroughly reported article, and he provided only inscrutable answers that verged on an admission: In a series of comments over the past 10 days, Cain and his campaign repeatedly declined to respond directly about whether he ever faced allegations of sexual harassment at the restaurant association. They have also declined to address questions about specific reporting confirming that there were financial settlements in two cases in which women leveled complaints.... Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon told POLITICO the candidate indicated to campaign officials that he was \"vaguely familiar\" with the charges and that the restaurant association's general counsel had resolved the matter. Rather than furnish a compelling argument for himself in the Politico story, since Cain didn't have one to make, he waited for the piece to come out, then went after them with name-calling. As CNN reported, \"A statement from Cain's campaign vice president J.D. Gordon did not directly address the allegations and called the report a sign the media 'have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain.... Since Washington establishment critics haven't had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain's ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can.\" (Coincidentally, Gordon himself sent a public letter in 2009 accusing a Miami Herald reporter of sexual harassment.) Anyone with half a brain can see this for the dishonest misdirection it is. A report on an unflattering aspect of your personal history is not an \"attack.\" Nor does Politico count as one of Cain's \"critics.\" Politico is a straight newspaper, not a journal of opinion. (Disclosure: I worked there for a year, so I speak from experience.) The article did not attack or criticize Cain. It did not say, \"You should not vote for Herman Cain,\" or \"Herman Cain would make a bad president,\" or even \"Herman Cain may be a bad boss for women.\" It made no value judgments of any kind. It simply reported the facts. But most conservative media blowhards are echoing Cain's talking points. As partisan hacks who prize their side's victory over truth, they are completely incapable of recognizing that Politico has no anti-Cain agenda. As far as most conservatives are concerned, if a newspaper runs a story that reflects poorly on Cain, it might as well be a Democratic press release. Rush Limbaugh lumped the Politico piece with another recent article by an objective newspaper that he didn't like—the Washington Post's discovery that Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) routinely lied about his parents' immigration from Cuba—as partisan smears of non-white Republicans. \"This story appears to me to be a close relative of the hit job that the Washington Post is doing on Marco Rubio,\" said Limbaugh on his radio program. \"And it's not news. This is not a news story. It is gutter partisan politics and it's the politics of minority conservative personal destruction.\" On Fox News Ann Coulter said, \"This is the second time a conservative black has had outrageous and what appears to be a false allegation of a sexual nature leveled against him by the left, Clarence Thomas being the first.\" This—unlike the accusations about Cain which we simply do not have enough evidence to assess—actually is a falsehood. The allegations against Cain were not leveled by \"the left.\" They were made by employees of Cain's. They were reported to the public by Politico, which is a newspaper, not \"the left.\" She and host Sean Hannity agreed that it constitutes a \"double standard,\" that liberals accuse conservatives of being racist for criticizing Obama, but themselves criticize Cain. That, of course, is completely irrelevant, since Politico reporters are not professional liberals and the story does not constitute a critique of Cain as such. What's especially telling about these conservative responses to Politico's scoop is that no one on the right feels the need to even establish their premise that Politico is part of \"the left.\" Politico has no political orientation, and they strive for neutrality in their reporting. You cannot simply assume that an article in Politico comes from a left-leaning or \"anti-Cain\" perspective. You could attempt to prove that—despite their claims of neutrality—Politico has such a bias, but that would require factual research and intellectually honest analysis, which are anathema to conservative talkers. The Cain campaign, Coulter, Hannity, Limbaugh et al. performed no rigorous, or even half-assed, examination of Politico's coverage of politics in general ", "A woman who accused GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment when he headed the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s alleged Friday that the incidents were \"a series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances from the CEO.\" In a brief statement released by her lawyer, the woman, who continued to maintain her anonymity, responded to Cain's claims this week that the harassment charges were either false, or that the woman had misinterpreted his brand of humor. Her lawyer, Joel Bennett, said she decided to make the statement to refute Cain's denial, but declined to provide specific details of the alleged incidents of harassment. \"She has decided to not relive the specifics of the incidents,\" Bennett said in a statement outside his Georgetown office late Friday afternoon. His client was one of two women who received cash payments in 1999 settlements with the association to resolve harassment complaints. Bennett also said there was \"more than one incident\" of harassment but declined to characterize \"what was physical, what was verbal.\" Read More Cain campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon responded to NPR's request for comment on Bennett's remarks by emailing this statement: \"We look forward to focusing our attention on the real issues impacting this country — like fixing this broken economy and putting Americans back to work through our 9-9-9 plan, as well as strengthening national security.\" Friday's statement by Bennett was the first direct public comment by the woman since the controversy engulfed Cain early this week after Politico reported the harassment allegations by two women. The second woman has not commented publicly, or released any statements. Bennett's comments came after he reached agreement with the Washington-based restaurant lobbying group allowing his client to speak about the confidential agreement that had settled the complaint a dozen years ago. Bennett had argued that his client, a longtime government professional who has been married for 26 years, should be allowed to speak because Cain may have violated the agreement's confidentiality requirements by talking this week about settlements made to the women, and characterizing the terms of cash buyouts the women received. The top official at the association, which Cain left in August 1999 before the end of his three-year term, said Cain did not sign the agreement with Bennett's client. \"Mr. Cain was not a party to that agreement,\" Dawn Sweeney, the association's current president and CEO, said in a statement. \"The agreement contains mutual confidentiality obligations.\" Sweeney added: \"Notwithstanding the association's ongoing policy of maintaining the privacy of all personnel matters, we have advised Mr. Bennett that we are willing to waive the confidentiality of this matter and permit Mr. Bennett's client to comment.\" \"As indicated in Mr. Bennett's statement,\" Sweeney said, \"his client prefers not to be further involved with this matter and we will respect her decision.\" Answering reporters' questions after he read his client's statement, Bennett said Cain's characterization this week of the settlements with the women as \"severance payments\" was \"inaccurate.\" Severance payments, he said, are unrelated to conduct or performance. \"This was a settlement of an internal complaint of sexual harassment,\" Bennett said, adding that he would be \"astounded\" if the complaint had not been brought to Cain's attention. Bennett also characterized as \"meaningful\" the fact that more than one woman has alleged harassment by Cain during his time at the association. Cain has given evolving accounts about his knowledge of the complaints and settlements since the original Politico report last Sunday. But so far that does not seem have to hurt his standing in the polls. The Politico report also led to a vigorous media pursuit of the women's identities, which is only expected to intensify after Friday's statement. The developments came in the wake of an Associated Press report about a third anonymous accuser, who said she was also harassed by Cain while employed at the association. Additionally, a Republican pollster claimed to have witnessed inappropriate behavior by Cain toward a female subordinate during a late-1990s social event. The pollster, Chris Wilson, did work for the association during Cain's tenure. He now works for one of Cain's opponents for the Republican nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Earlier, people who had direct knowledge of the case at the time it unfolded told NPR that the alleged harassment was persistent, usually but not exclusively verbal, and involved sexually graphic comments and approaches when the women were alone with Cain work situations. Those same sources have also told NPR that at least one of the women reported her allegations to a supervisor, who passed it on to the organization's human resources department. But the alleged behavi", "Businessman Herman Cain drops out of the race for Republican Presidential nomination. Cain has spent the past month defending himself against accusations of sexual harassment. This week, an Atlanta woman stepped forward to claim that she and Cain had an affair for 13 years. Saturday in Atlanta, Cain continued to deny all allegations against him but said he is suspending is campaign \"because of the continued distraction — the continued hurt — caused on me and my family.\" Weekends on <em>All Things Considered</em> guest host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Kathy Lohr in Atlanta.", "Republican presidential front-runner Herman Cain has stumbled before, and on big issues ranging from his position on legal abortion to the effects of his radical flat tax plan on the poor and middle class. But his response to a Politico report that he faced two sexual harassment complaints that were settled with cash payments more than a decade ago presents a new kind of threat to his cometlike ascendancy in the Republican race. \"He has surged in the polls because he had a clear economic message,\" says conservative pollster and strategist Kristen Soltis. \"This is a huge obstacle for staying on that message.\" Cain is essentially tied for the lead in two major new polls, one out of Iowa, where the primary and caucus season kicks off Jan. 3, and one out of Texas, where he is running even with that state's governor, Rick Perry, in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Soltis' advice to Cain? Get the truth out because, as always, she says, \"the longer it's strung out, the more damaging it becomes.\" Cain's attempts to get out his version of what happened with the two women who worked for him when he headed the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s, however, have only raised more questions, including those of his own veracity. Campaign officials first attempted to discredit the story with a blame-it-on-the-Beltway-media gambit. Then Cain himself declared Monday on Fox News that he had been \"falsely accused\" of harassment when he headed the National Restaurant Association. In later comments at the National Press Club, Cain said he was a victim of a \"witch hunt.\" And the settlements with the women? If there were agreements, Cain said, he \"wasn't aware of it.\" They would have been handled by \"people who worked for me,\" he said. \"I am not aware of a settlement that came out of\" the accusations, he said, adding that he \"recused\" himself from settlement deliberations, leaving the work to his general counsel and human resources official. Cain's claims of ignorance about financial settlements with the complainants have struck employment law experts as highly improbable. For Cain not to have known that the association settled sexual harassment complaints against him \"would be highly unusual, extremely unlikely, and I would be shocked if that were the case,\" says Patricia Barasch, president of the National Employment Lawyers Association. Bruce Fredrickson, a Washington-based employment lawyer, had a similar take. If the women's complaints were directly against Cain, which the Politico story alleges, \"his account would be rather implausible to me,\" said Fredrickson, past president of the National Employment Lawyers Association, particularly if the complaints were resolved with a monetary settlement. Politico characterized Cain's alleged inappropriate behavior as ranging from conversations \"filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature\" to physical gestures the women \"regarded as improper in a professional relationship.\" Cain's account would become even more questionable if the women had pursued their complaints through the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or through the courts. In an interview Monday with Bloomberg News, Cain said that the EEOC had investigated allegations he sexually harassed an employee and found \"no basis\" to pursue the case. Cain's assertion that he was falsely accused by the women could also violate the settlement's nondisclosure agreement, say employment law experts, depending on how that agreement was written. A typical resolution often prevents both parties from discussing the underlying allegations that led to the settlement, permitting only a public acknowledgment that the matter has been settled to the satisfaction of the parties, according to employment lawyers. Sometimes, however, confidentiality agreements only restrict the person making the complaint. If the association's settlement with the women also included a non-disparagement clause, his statements that essentially accuse the women of lying could also violate the terms of the agreement. Cain headed Godfather's Pizza before taking the helm of the National Restaurant Association in 1996. He left the lobbying group in 1999. The women involved in the sexual harassment complaints against Cain have been bound by a nondisclosure agreement signed as part of the settlement, according to Politico. GOP strategist Ed Rogers characterized Cain's past 12 hours as \"the definition of off message.\" \"We are going to find out who the accusers are,\" Rogers said. \"We are going to find out if there's any paperwork. The usual suspects will howl that this disqualifies him, and some will say the political statute of limitations has run out.\" Rogers dismisses suggestions that another Republican presidential candidate may be behind the harassment revelations. Cain is a \"placeholder\" in the polls, Rogers says, a candidate for people waiting to commit to another. \"Any campaign would be terrified of ", "GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has been dogged by allegations that he sexually harassed several women. This week, an Atlanta woman claimed she and Cain had a 13-year affair that ended earlier this year. Now Cain has scheduled an event Saturday afternoon, where he is expected to announce the future of his candidacy. Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Don Gonyea.", "Emily Douglas is the web editor at The Nation. The sexual harassment allegations against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain have been on a low boil since Politico first reported that at least two women complained to senior staff at the National Restaurant Association that Cain had behaved inappropriately towards them in the workplace. But, with the accusers bound by confidentiality agreements, details were not forthcoming, and pundits and politicians on the right were free to run with \"gender harassment denialism,\" as Dahlia Lithwick put it—dismissing the claims, as they cast sexual harassment as a \"mass delusion of hyper-sensitive ladies.\" If anything, the accusations motivated Cain's supporters—he raised $2 million in the week after the allegations became public—and boosted his poll numbers—Cain is now tied with Romney as the front-runner for the Republican nomination. Now, a fourth woman put her face, and her name, to the allegations. She's Sharon Bialek, and she sought Cain's professional advice after being let go in 1997 by the educational foundation of the National Restaurant Association. She and Cain had met at an industry conference a year prior; they had gotten along well, and once she was out of a job, Bialek sought to reconnect with Cain in DC for advice on seeking work. She thought they would meet in a bar in the lobby at the Capitol Hilton, but they ended up in a car together, and in the course of their discussion about employment options she might pursue, \"He suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt and reached for my genitals.\" He also, she said, \"grabbed my head and brought it towards his crotch.\" (As Jeffrey Toobin and and E.J. Graff quickly observed, this describes sexual assault, and could also be considered sexual harassment.) She told her boyfriend and another friend at the time, but did not press charges or notify the NRA. She didn't make a complaint at the time, she said, because she wasn't working at the National Restaurant Association anymore; she is still not pursuing a legal claim. She's speaking out now to \"give a face, and a voice\" to the women who can't or don't want to. After Bialek finished speaking, her lawyer, Gloria Allred, was immediately peppered with questions. Why did Bialek wait so long to come forward? What kind of work does she do? So she's a full-time single mother—is she on public assistance? Allred's responses were media-ready: she did tell two people at the time—both of whom have submitted written statements to that effect, under oath—and she's coming forward now because of the other women's accusations; no, she's not on public assistance. But the rush to find vulnerabilities in Bialek herself—not only her story—typifies the character-based scrutiny that accusers of sexual harassment or assault face. It's a stated reason why one of Cain's other accusers decided not to come forward. Time will tell how the pontificators who used the previous allegations to deny the very existence of sexual harassment will react to this story and this accuser. Perhaps now that they have a concrete example of what sexual harassment can look like—what can happen to women when they seek professional advice from male mentors—they'll change their tunes. But even if they do, the bigger problem may be that even if voters generally come to believe that the allegations are true, they just won't care. In the same Gallup poll that determined that Cain and Romney are tied for front-runner status, over a third of Republican voters said the charges are \"probably or definitely true.\" An ABC poll found that 55 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents \"say they do not regard the allegation of sexual misconduct as a serious matter.\" In focusing on the consequences for Cain's campaign over the reporting on sexual harassment as an issue, E.J. Graff points out that the news media share the blame for minimizing the reality of workplace harassment. And plenty of pundits have lumped these accusations in the \"sex scandals\" category, neglecting to recognize the distinction between bad choices that were consensual and bad choices that were abuses of power. It's not only Republicans who misunderstand the severity of sexual harassment, and its relevance to the pursuit of public office. For her part, Bialek, a registered Republican, seems to want Cain to admit wrongdoing and go on running for president. \"Mr. Cain, I implore you, make this right,\" she said. (Cain gave a keynote at one of the events where Bialek met him and she found him inspirational; afterward, she asked him, \"When are you running for president?\") I can't imagine Cain fessing up and staying in the race. But I can hope that Bialek, who will be on at least two morning shows tomorrow, will use her platform to educate the American electorate about what sexual harassment really is.", "Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is trying to get back on point after sexual harassment allegations against him surfaced in the media. The allegations haven't seem to hurt Cain, polls show he's still running about even with Mitt Romney.", "(New material based on NPR reporting added to the top of this post at 1:55 p.m. ET.) Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is reassessing \"where we stand and the road ahead,\" his campaign spokesman says in an email sent to NPR this afternoon. Earlier today, Cain's campaign director in Iowa told The Associated Press and confirmed to NPR that the candidate was assessing the campaign's financial viability but still plans to move ahead at this time. That Iowa campaign aide, Steve Grubbs, reports Cain said to senior staff today during a conference call that new allegations from a woman who claims to have had a long affair with him have taken an emotional toll on his family. Cain also said the allegations — which he denies — have damaged his fundraising, Grubbs says. But, Grubbs added during a phone conversation with NPR's Tamara Keith, \"as far as I heard, we're moving ahead\" with the campaign — even though Grubbs said Cain also spoke of \"reassessing\" the campaign over the next few days. The campaign spokesman, J.D. Gordon, says in the email to Tamara that the reassessment is \"similar to other times in the campaign's history.\" \"We're looking forward to getting back on message tonight with the Foreign Policy and National Security speech at Hillsdale College in Michigan,\" Gordon added. Earlier, National Review's The Corner blog cast a slightly different take on the news. It wrote that \"in a conference call this morning, Herman Cain told his senior staff that he is 'reassessing' whether to remain in the race. He told them he will make his final decision 'over the next several days.' \" Cain's campaign, as we've reported, had earlier been rocked by allegations that he sexually harassed women while he was at the helm of the National Restaurant Association. He denies those allegations as well. It's All Politics follows the campaign news. Update at 12:17 p.m. ET. More From The AP — 'Some Uncertainty' From Cain: \"One participant on the call, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the conversation, said that as part of that assessment, Cain's campaign is examining the impact of the newest allegations,\" the AP now adds. \"This person described the tone as positive but also said there was some uncertainty coming from Cain.\" And Politico reports that it's been told Cain has also been calling individual supporters \"to ask for their advice on how to proceed in the presidential race.\"", "Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was consistent Monday in saying he has \"never sexually harassed anyone.\" But some parts of his response to a Politico report about past allegations had shifted by day's end. After saying earlier in the day that he was \"unaware of any sort of settlement\" being reached with any woman who once worked with him at the National Restaurant Association, Cain said last night on Fox News' On the Record with Greta Van Susteren that he now does remember the association's general counsel telling him that \"because there was no basis for this, we ended up settling for what would have been a 'termination settlement' ... maybe three months salary or something like that.\" Cain was heading the association at the time. Asked by Van Susteren if he had signed off on the settlement, he said: \"I don't recall signing it.\" Also last evening, on the PBS NewsHour, Cain said that he only knew of one claim of harassment that had been made against him while he was at the association. Politico reported there were two. He had this exchange with host Judy Woodruff about what he remembers regarding that one allegation: Doesn't Think His Behavior Was Inappropriate; Read More: Cain: \"One incident with the one who made the formal charge, the only one that I could recall after a day of trying to remember specifics, was once I referenced this lady's height and I was standing near her, and I did this saying, you're the same height of my wife, because my wife is five feet tall and she comes up to my chin. This lady's five feet tall and she came up to my chin. So obviously she thought that that was too close for comfort. It showed up in the actual allegation. But at the time when I did that, you know, it was in my office, the door was wide open, and my secretary was sitting right there, as we were standing there and I made the little gesture. Other than that, I can't even recall what some of the other things were. And as I mentioned, they were all found to be baseless.\" Woodruff: \"And there was some mention of a hotel room at a convention or at a meeting. Did any one of these women, were they ever asked to meet you, or. ...\" Cain: \"That I absolutely do not recall. You know, I have no recollection of that.\" Woodruff: \"Was there any behavior on your part that you think might have been inappropriate?\" Cain: \"In my opinion, no. But as you would imagine, it's in the eye of the person who thinks that maybe I crossed the line.\" NPR's Tamara Keith rounded up the story on Morning Edition.", "A few of the developments since our last post about the sexual harassment allegations against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain — who calls them \"false, anonymous, incorrect accusations\": She Wanted To \"Get To A Safe Place;\" Read More: -- Karen Kraushaar, the long-time federal employee and registered Republican whose identity became known Tuesday, says she did not want her case against Cain to go public. Kraushaar complained about Cain's behavior in the late 1990s when he headed the National Restaurant Association and she worked for the organization. The association eventually reached a cash settlement with her and Kraushaar left in 1999. \"I wanted to have a clean record and just get out of there,\" she told NPR's Liz Halloran. \"When this happens to you, you're in a weakened state, a vulnerable state. ... You've got to get a new job and get to a safe place.\" \"I thought I had achieved that.\" -- The Associated Press reports that three years after her departure from the restaurant association, Kraushaar complained about unfair treatment at the Immigration and Naturalization Service, where she then worked. The issues: Kraushaar wanted to \"be allowed to work from home after a serious car accident,\" AP says, and she accused a manager \"of circulating a sexually charged email.\" According to the wire service: \"To settle the complaint at the immigration service, Kraushaar initially demanded thousands of dollars in payment, a reinstatement of leave she used after the accident earlier in 2002, promotion on the federal pay scale and a one-year fellowship to Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, according to a former supervisor familiar with the complaint. The promotion itself would have increased her annual salary between $12,000 and $16,000, according to salary tables in 2002 from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. \"Kraushaar told the AP she considered her employment complaint 'relatively minor' and she later dropped it.\" -- On Fox News Channel's Hannity last night, Cain campaign chief of staff Mark Block said he had confirmed that Kraushaar's son works for Politico, the news outlet that broke the news on Oct. 31 that two women who worked for the restaurant association in the late '90s had accused Cain of sexual harassment. But Josh Kraushaar, who left Politico a year ago and is now executive editor of National Journal's The Hotline, is \"not related to Karen Kraushaar at all,\" as he tweeted Tuesday. He had also posted before Hannity went on the air that \"if anyone was wondering, I am NOT related to Karen Kraushaar, the woman who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment. Strange coincidence.\" Cain campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon sent NPR's Halloran an email early today saying that \"based upon information available at the time of Mr. Block's Tuesday night interview on Fox News, the campaign was led to believe that Mr. Josh Kraushaar, currently with the National Journal and a former employee of Politico, was the son of Karen Kraushaar. Mr. Josh Kraushaar is in fact, not related to Ms. Karen Kraushaar.\" -- Karen Kraushaar has suggested, Politico says, that \"she would like to band together with the other three women accusing Cain of harassment. 'That would be my preference, that we all go together in a joint press conference,' she said, noting that she's turned down interview requests from a number of TV news shows.\"", "One of two women who settled sexual harassment complaints against GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain when he headed the National Restaurant Association will know by Friday whether the group will release her from a confidentiality clause that prevents her from speaking about the agreement. The woman, however, is unlikely to go public even if the lobbying group lifts the confidentiality requirements imposed as part of the 1999 cash settlement, her lawyer says. \"My expectation is if we reach an agreement, the statement that will be issued will not identify her,\" lawyer Joel Bennett told NPR. \"I have no intention of releasing her name.\" \"My understanding is also that she has no intention of releasing her name,\" Bennett said. \"She's a private person who does not want to become a public figure.\" People who had direct knowledge of the complaints at the time have told NPR that they detail persistent harassment by Cain. The harassment has been described to NPR as frequent, usually but not exclusively verbal, and involving sexually graphic comments and approaches when the women were alone with him in work situations. Those same sources also say that the two women independently pursued their complaints, unaware of the other's claim, and that at least one of the women reported her allegations to a supervisor, who passed it on to the organization's human resources department. But the alleged behavior by Cain did not stop, NPR's sources say. Read More Cain has denied the allegations. When asked for comment, Cain campaign spokesman JD Gordon responded with this statement: \"Mr. Cain has said over the past two days at public events that we could see other baseless allegations made against him as this appalling smear campaign continues.\" \"He has never acted in the way alleged by inside-the-beltway media, and his distinguished record over 40 years spent climbing the corporate ladder speaks for itself,\" Gordon continued. \"Since his critics have not been successful in attacking his ideas, they are resorting to bitter personal attacks. Mr. Cain deserves better.\" The restaurant association in a statement acknowledged Thursday that its outside counsel has been asked to act by Friday afternoon on Bennett's request on behalf of his client. \"We are currently reviewing the document, and we plan to respond tomorrow,\" said Sue Hensley, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Communications for the National Restaurant Association. Bennett also declined to \"confirm or deny\" a Politico report that his client received $45,000 to settle her complaint against Cain. A second woman, who also alleged that she was sexually harassed by Cain when he ran the association between 1996 and 1999, reportedly received a year's salary of $35,000 to settle her complaint, according to the New York Times. Bennett characterized his client as a communications professional who does not want to appear in public or speak on the record. He will handle public statements, Bennett said, until his client advises him otherwise. A story last Sunday in Politico that revealed the existence of the 12-year-old settlements with the two women started the firestorm around Cain, who has given evolving accounts about his knowledge of the complaints and settlements. It has also led to a vigorous media pursuit of the women and their identities, a race which is only expected to intensify with the release of Bennett's client from confidentiality restrictions. Bennett's client currently works for the federal government in a non-political, professional job. Thursday's developments, and the emergence this week of a third anonymous accuser and a man claiming to have witnessed inappropriate behavior by Cain, continued to complicate his run for the GOP presidential nomination. Pollster Chris Wilson, who does work for Perry's campaign alleged during an interview with radio station KTOK, says that he saw Cain acting inappropriately toward a female association employee at a suburban Washington restaurant. Wilson was doing work for the association at the time. As Cain has risen in the polls, so has scrutiny of his past, including his stewardship of the Washington-based restaurant association after he left his position as the head of Godfather's Pizza. Cain, 65, has characterized the women's claims as false, and described the situations in question as benign. He has suggested that the women who complained about his behavior didn't understand his brand of humor, and accused presidential opponent Rick Perry's campaign of being behind the leak of the more than decade-old allegations. Perry's campaign has strenuously denied the assertion. ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: NPR has learned some of the details of sexual harassment allegations surrounding GOP candidate Herman Cain. It seems that the alleged inappropriate behavior involving female subordinates went beyond verbal. Cain says the accusations are false, a character", "An Atlanta woman has told a local TV station that she had a 13-year-long sexual relationship with GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain. For several weeks now, Cain's campaign has been dogged by several accusations of sexual harassment. Melissa Block talks with NPR national political correspondent Don Gonyea.", "Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain stood his ground, repeating that the accusations of sexual harassment made against him while he was the head of the National Restaurant Association are \"false, anonymous, incorrect accusations.\" In a press conference in Arizona, Cain repeated twice, \"I have never acted inappropriately with anyone. Period.\" The former Godfather's Pizza CEO added that the scandal and the media feeding frenzy were not going to push him to quit the GOP presidential race. \"Ain't gonna happen,\" he said. Cain did address allegations made by Karen Kraushaar, the 55-year-old woman identified today as one of the two women who in the late 1990s settled claims of sexual harassment against him. \"When she made her accusations they were found to be baseless,\" he said. She could not find anyone, he added, to corroborate her story. Cain said he'd be willing to take a lie detector test and said the allegations made yesterday by a woman — Sharon Bialek of Chicago — who says he sexually harassed her in the late 1990s \"simply did not happen.\" He repeated what he said in an earlier interview, that he did not recognize her \"face, name or voice.\" Our friends at It's All Politics are the lead on this story, so they'll have much more. Update at 6:15 p.m. ET. A Little More Detail: We wanted to add a few more highlights from the press conference: -- Cain suggested that other accusers might \"come out of the woodwork.\" Not, because he's aware of any others, but because of the zeal to keep him out of the White House. \"The machine to keep a business man out of the White House is going to be relentless,\" he said. -- The press conference started with an appearance from noted attorney Lin Wood, who represented Richard Jewell, the security guard falsely accused in the Atlanta Olympic bombing. Wood said that Cain was on trial in the \"court of public opinion,\" and now \"Herman Cain has to respond to hearsay,\" without the benefit of the justice system. -- Cain said that throughout his professional career, \"respect for women [has been] a priority.\"", "GOP presidential contender Herman Cain may have a difficult time getting his campaign back \"on message\" after a week spent responding to allegations of sexual harassment. Attorney Gloria Allred held a news conference in New York on Monday afternoon for a woman who says she was sexually harassed by Cain.", "After watching a woman accuse him Monday of groping her and other inappropriate sexual behavior, \"I says 'well, I know what we got to do,' because there's not a ounce of truth in all of these accusations,\" Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said early today on ABC TV's Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Cain said he'll be holding a news conference this afternoon in Phoenix to address the allegations. The candidate was responding to yesterday's news conference during which Sharon Bialek of Chicago, who once worked for the National Restaurant Association when Cain headed the organization, said that in a 1997 encounter he reached under her skirt and tried to pull her head toward his lap. Bialek said that after she resisted the alleged advance, Cain took her back to the Washington, D.C., hotel where she was staying. She is the first woman to come forward publicly with such a charge about the candidate, who for more than a week has been the subject of stories about women who accuse him of sexual harassment. Cain and his aides say he never harassed anyone, even though the restaurant association did reach cash settlements with two of the accusers. Politico broke the news about such accusations on Oct. 31, with a story about two women (who remain unidentified) who reached settlements with the association. Since then, The Associated Press has reported that a third woman, also unidentified, says Cain harassed her. Today, the conservative Washington Examiner reports that a \"fifth woman [has raised] questions about Cain's behavior.\" Donna Donella of Arlington, Va., said that in 2002 Cain asked her to \"help arrange a dinner date for him with a female audience member following a speech he delivered,\" the Examiner reports. It adds that Donella and others involved in the speaking event, \"were suspicious of Cain's motives and declined to set up the date. Cain responded, 'Then you and I can have dinner.' That's when two female colleagues intervened and suggested they all go to dinner together, Donella said. Cain exhibited no inappropriate sexual behavior during the dinner ... she said.\" Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune writes of Bialek, 50, that \"the emerging portrait of Herman Cain's most recent accuser shows a suburban homemaker with a history of financial and legal troubles, but one who supporters say has the guts to do the right thing.\" Update at 11:20 a.m. ET. Cain's Appearances Today: At 2:30 p.m. ET, the candidate is due to be on the websites of ABC News and Yahoo, which are teaming up today to stream live interviews with all the major GOP contenders. His news conference in Arizona is set to start at 5 p.m. ET. Update at 7:50 a.m. ET. Bialek Stands By Her Story: On the morning TV news shows today, The Associated Press writes, Bialek \"stood by her assertion ... that Cain had made an inappropriate sexual advance toward her\" and said \"I'm just doing this because it's the right thing to do.\" NPR's Tamara Keith reported on the latest developments earlier today for Morning Edition.", "In what may be the most impressive and surprising sign of the Herman Cain phenomenon yet, the Republican presidential candidate was essentially tied with native son Gov. Rick Perry in Texas, of all places. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll put Cain at 27 percent support and Perry, the three-term governor at 26 percent. The margin of error was plus/minus 3.46 percent. And in what was an even more extraordinary finding, Cain had his biggest lead over Perry among the most conservative Republicans. The poll was taken before Politico's Sunday report that Cain was accused of sexual harassment by two women when he headed the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s. Cain forcefully denied the allegations during a short Fox News interview Monday, saying \"I have never sexually harassed anyone,\" and \"I was falsely accused..\" Read More As Ross Ramsey reported in the Texas Tribune: \"Texans appear to be subject to the national dynamic,\" said Jim Henson, who teaches government at UT, runs the Texas Politics Project there and co-directs the UT/Tribune poll. \"And the dynamic when we were out in the field was that Herman Cain was ascendant. He had really grabbed the attention of the conservatives in the GOP primary race in particular. And we saw that reflected in this poll.\" Though they're statistically tied — Cain's lead over Perry is well within the survey's margin of error — the former executive leads Perry among rural voters in Texas, and has a smaller lead among suburban Republicans. Perry has a 2-point edge over Cain in urban Texas. Break that down a little more and the poll found Cain with a big lead over Perry in Houston and in Austin, while Perry had smaller advantages over Cain and the other Republicans in Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio. \"Maybe the most important number is that Cain is up 37 percent to 24 percent among the most conservative voters,\" said Daron Shaw, co-director of the poll and a UT government professor. \"Perry wins with every other group.\" It's hard to interpret this poll as anything other than very bad news for Perry. Texas is obviously a key part of his base. If he can't do better than a tie with a rival who is not well known in his own state, Perry has some serious problems, indeed. Importantly, it's just one more sign of weakness that reasonably could expected to hurt his abilities to raise money nationally.", "Two weeks ago, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain found himself fending off reports of sexual harassment published in the Washington political newspaper Politico. \"As far as we're concerned ... enough said about the issue. There's nothing else there to dig up,\" he said. That was, predictably, not the end of the story. It continues on, unsettled, which says something about the age-old idea of \"controlling the story.\" NPR's media correspondent, David Folkenflik, has this news tip: Just because the subject of a story says it's over doesn't mean that's true. He tells Weekend Edition Sunday host Audie Cornish the Murdoch family also tried to put a stop to a story that just wouldn't end. Four years ago, Folkenflik says, they tried to limit the problem to the first two arrests. Since then, many more people have become involved in the investigation. Containing a story, Folkenflik says, \"depends on what kind of information you bring forward, and it also depends on the nature of the story itself.\" When questions were raised about whether President Obama was born in the United States, a requirement for the presidency, the story didn't end when Hawaiian officials said he was born there. The president had to hand the press his long-form birth certificate. \"He finally gave the most incontrovertible, most authoritative source he could, and the story evaporated at that point,\" Folkenflik says. In the current media climate, it's harder to reign in a story once it has been set loose, he says. \"I think the way in which you deal with it is with speed and with fullness,\" Folkenflik says. \"But, you know, until you do that in a credible way, you're not going to be able to get to the end of the story.\" Which other public figures have effectively ended a story by revealing evidence up front? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: It was nearly two weeks ago that political news site Politico first reported on sexual-harassment allegations against Herman Cain, stemming from his time as head of the National Restaurant Association. And in the first days of the story, Cain hit back against the allegations. HERMAN CAIN: As far as we're concerned, you know, enough said - enough said about the issue. There's nothing else there to dig up. CORNISH: That was, predictably, not the end of the story. Three days later, another report of inappropriate behavior surfaced. The following week, yet another accusation and another attempt to quash the story. CAIN: It wasn't anything behind closed doors. I gestured because of her height, comparing it to my wife's height. End of story. CORNISH: Heading into the debate this weekend, Cain was refusing questions other than to say he wants to get back on message. But is that the end of the story? Joining us in-studio to talk more about it is NPR's media correspondent, David Folkenflik. So David, what say you? What's the news tip for today? DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Well, I think the news tip here is that just because the subject of a story says it's over, doesn't mean that's true. CORNISH: But they say end of the story all the time. And if you cover politics, not only do they say, end of the story, they say: This isn't a story. So what's the big deal? FOLKENFLIK: All right. So maybe that means this tip isn't being absorbed ahead of time by the politicians who could take it to heart. After all, I don't think Herman Cain was served well by letting this dribble out for 12, 14 days before kind of coming to some sort of resolution. It's helpful to think about this as a reader, as a listener, as a viewer, to say OK, just because somebody says that's it; I draw a line on it; it's done; doesn't make that the case. Last week, I was in England covering the Murdock family trying to deal with the fallout of that huge phone-hacking and police bribery scandal there. They had tried to draw a line on it and said look, this was limited. Four years ago, the arrest of one reporter who focused on the royal family, and one private investigator he hired, wasn't a big deal. What we now know is that police are looking into the fact there were nearly 6,000 people targeted for this kind of hacking, and 22 people have been arrested. They closed down a paper; they lost editors; they lost executives. And how they deal with it affects their credibility. Similarly, how Herman Cain deals with this story affects how we look at him. If you think about the Cain instance, Politico came forward with this story about a couple of women who'd raised questions of sexual harassment and been paid, perhaps, to leave the association he used to lead. And we had no sense of what those allegations were. We had no sense, really, of how he had dealt with them. And so if you're a voter thinking about the Republican primaries, you didn't have enough information to go on; to decide hey, how should I judge this candidate, given the information I have? CORNISH: But David, how do you contain a story once the press is on your sc", "Herman Cain is near the top of a new national poll, despite battling allegations of sexual harassment from a dozen years ago. So what do his likely fans at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation conference think of Cain and charges against him? NPR's Andrea Seabrook was there and talked to some of them.", "The news that Herman Cain is reassessing his campaign, and reports that he is again having trouble raising money, suggest that we are seeing the beginning of the end of his presidential campaign, that we are now in Cain campaign death watch mode. Cain's surge to the top of the Republican presidential field always seemed improbable, just as unlikely as Rep. Michele Bachmann's. Both raised doubts about whether they had the right temperament, political skills, ideologies and gravitas to be president. While Bachmann's was ultimately eclipsed by the entry into the race of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Cain managed to pull off the uncanny trick of a self-eclipse. (Actually, Perry managed this trick, too.) Read More Whatever happens from hereon in, Cain will always have those precious few weeks where he was atop some national and state polls. He became the first African-American in a Republican presidential nomination race to achieve that. His accomplishment, unfortunately, has been somewhat sullied, to say the least. Even after the first reports of sexual harassment emerged, he was able to keep support which was even more remarkable. Think about it. A black man was accused of sexually harassing several women, at least two of whom were white. One of the women told a lurid story in she alleged that Cain touched her in ways that, if you believe her story, went way beyond harassment. And yet for a while he still sustained some level of support in an overwhelmingly white political party. Political scientists and psychologists will likely be studying the dynamics of this race for years and maybe we'll get a better understanding of what exactly was going on. But now the latest twist in the story, the emergence of Ginger White who claims to have a had 13-year affair with the married Cain, seems like it may the final microburst on a campaign that had already lost a lot of lift because of the harassment charges and gaffes like his Libya meltdown. The wonder is not that Cain is where he is now (who foresaw the sexual conduct maelstrom?) but that he ever surged to begin with. As we have seen, not all Republican candidates catch a wave. Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman have been waiting for theirs but so far it's been in vain.", "The Herman Cain campaign is on the defensive Tuesday following a video that shows the candidate grasping and stammering for an answer to a question about Libya. The video was recorded during an interview with editors and reporters of the <em>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</em>. Melissa Block talks with Craig Gilbert, the newspaper's Washington bureau chief, who was part of the interview.", "Mitt Romney hasn't had to do much more lately than to sit back and watch his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination deal with their own often self-inflicted damage. But on Tuesday when given the chance during an ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos to offer an opinion on the Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal, he did. He made his first public comments on the matter the day after a woman named Sharon Bialek publicly accused Cain of an aggressive, vulgar and unsought sexual come-on in 1997. An excerpt from the ABC News website: \"These are serious allegations, George,\" said Romney in an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos that aired on ABC News and Yahoo. \"And they're going to have to be addressed seriously. I don't have any counsel for Herman Cain or for his campaign, they have to take their own counsel on this.\" \"Any time there is an accuser that comes forward with charges of this nature you recognize this is a very serious matter and it should be taken seriously,\" said Romney. Read More Four women have accused Cain of sexual harassment with Bialek of Chicago being the first one to appear before the public to make the charges. Cain has denied all charges of sexual harassment. His changing stories, however, about his awareness of settlements that were made by the National Restaurant Association when he was its chairman as a result of the accusations have raised questions about his credibility in many minds.", "It should have been another good weekend for Herman Cain. It wasn't. The heretofore surging Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was lifted by news Saturday that he was tied with Mitt Romney at the top of the Des Moines Register's poll of likely Iowa caucus attendees. Then he was hit by heavy turbulence when Politico reported that, as head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, he was at least twice accused of sexually harassing behavior by women who left after receiving payments from the trade group. By the time Halloween ends, Cain will have had at least two high-profile chances in front of TV cameras and audiences to answer questions about the charges at two previously arranged events. He had scheduled appearances at the American Enterprise Institute to talk about his 9-9-9 tax plan and another at the National Press Club. (And probably many other chances, too, since anytime reporters see him, they'll surely put relevant questions to him.) Cain's spokesman, Mark Block of the viral \"smoking\" video, told NBC News' Chuck Todd on MSNBC Monday morning: \"Herman Cain has never sexually harassed anybody, period. End of story.\" We don't think so. Read More Obviously, we can't know now how this will all play out. There's evidence some conservatives are rallying around him, viewing the revelation as a dirty trick by liberals. Some see similarities to sexual harassment bomb that went off during the Senate confirmation hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas But there's also the suspicion that Cain is on the receiving end of oppo research by one of his rival Republican candidates. Opposing campaigns would clearly have a motive for wanting to burst the Herman Cain bubble. Then there's the possibility that someone just thought the public had a right to know that these allegations existed and that there wasn't a political agenda per se. Of course, it could be some combination of the above. Whatever the case, Cain faced long odds to win the nomination even before the harassment allegations surfaced. Those odds have obviously gotten even longer. One problem for Cain is that most voters still don't know much about him. They know about his tax plan and they know that he's the charismatic black Republican with the stentorian voice. They may know he once ran Godfather's Pizza. But he hasn't been in the public's consciousness for all that long. They don't have a long experience of his character. So the report that his behavior made some women so uncomfortable at the restaurant association that they left and that the organization gave them money going out the door gains more traction than it would with a well-known candidate long viewed as having high character. How much Texas Gov. Rick Perry or any other anyone-but-Romney candidate will benefit from the disclosures is obviously on the minds of many as the new work week starts. While Cain appealed to some of the same Tea Party supporters as Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, those candidates have some serious weaknesses in voters' eyes also. So it's not so straightforward that any Cain loss of support would automatically mean significant gains for Perry or Bachmann.", "Yet another woman seemed ready to break her silence about Herman Cain on Friday, but it was not to be. The emergence this week of sexual harassment accusations made against Herman Cain has intensified curiosity about Gloria Cain, the candidate's wife of 43 years. Cain himself helped pique the interest earlier this week when he said America would soon \"meet my wife publicly in an exclusive interview that we are currently planning.\" And the New York Times, Politico and CNN reported that Gloria Cain would possibly appear on Fox News' \"On the Record with Greta Van Susteren\" on Friday. But the Fox News program has said it had not scheduled an interview with Gloria Cain. Read More Any interview could force Gloria Cain to address the allegations against her husband, placing her squarely under the hot lights that she's avoided for years. So far, Cain doesn't seem need her to come to his defense: A Washington Post/ABC News poll, taken after news the accusations broke, shows Cain statistically tied with Mitt Romney for the lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. High-profile spouses have become the norm in politics, but Gloria Cain, 65, has been largely absent from the campaign trail — and it's just the way she prefers it, according to family friends and the Cain campaign. In his memoir, Cain described his wife's reaction to his desire to run for the presidency as less than enthusiastic. \"Gloria didn't immediately jump up and down and cheer,\" Cain writes. \"In fact she was terrified! Scared to death!\" he wrote. \"That was because of the widely held perception of what it's like to be in politics — of what it can do to your family and to you, the candidate.\" By many accounts, Gloria Cain is the yin to Herman Cain's yang, declining the limelight about as much as her gregarious husband seeks it. \"She's absolutely delightful. Very private, but a very gracious lady,\" says Valerie Ferguson, an executive at Loews Hotel in Atlanta, where the Cains live in a suburb. \"He has a wonderful family. ...These are really, really great people. ...I say that as a Democrat.\" Cain also writes in his book that the couple met while in college. They wed just after Gloria Cain, who was a year behind her husband at a neighboring school, graduated. The Cains have two adult children and three grandchildren. The Daily Caller reported that Gloria Cain is a former schoolteacher, an active member at her church in Atlanta and most comfortable tending to the family. She cooks Sunday dinner for the entire family that Cain rarely misses, even during the campaign. Gloria Cain hasn't been shy about exerting her political independence from her husband, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The newspaper reports that while Cain has consistently voted for Republican candidates, his wife often has for Democrats—including for Barack Obama in 2008. In 2004, the paper notes, she did vote for a Republican—her husband, who ran for the Senate that year.", "This week was to have been Herman Cain's triumphant arrival in Washington, D.C., as a front-running GOP presidential candidate. Instead, he spent all five days dogged by sexual harassment allegations, capped on Friday by a statement from one of the victims through her lawyer. NPR's Tamara Keith recaps.", "New allegations of an old scandal suggest that Herman Cain has hit the political big time. Over the weekend, Politico reported that in the 1990s, while Cain was head of the National Restaurant Association, at least two female employees complained to co-workers and higher-ups about what they said was his inappropriate behavior. (One of the women confirmed the accuracy of the Politico account to NPR.) Cain denies the accusations. As Cain is a politician who has never been elected to, or held, a high political office, his learning curve must be near vertical. A more time-tested candidate might have faced these allegations earlier and perhaps been more adept at dealing with the situation. Regardless of what happens next, the Republican presidential candidate is in the spotlight and the country is getting a sharper-focused idea of who Cain really is and how he handles obstacles in his way. \"This sort of scandal would end the career of many a politician,\" Dana Milbank writes in The Washington Post. \"But the usual rules don't apply to Herman Cain. He survives gaffes and scandal the way he beat colon cancer — and whatever doesn't kill him makes him stronger.\" So far, Cain has overcome a cavalcade of skeptics and naysayers. Back in March, the White House Bulletin observed that Cain, a never-before-elected politician, is \"hardly on anyone's 'A' list.\" In May a columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that Cain \"is not a legitimate candidate for president.\" In July the news editor at Salon lumped Cain in with \"other flashes in the pan\" and said Cain had been \"completely eclipsed\" by Michele Bachmann. But in September Cain told a crowd: \"Just because somebody has never held high public office, some people are spreading the nasty rumor that Herman Cain can't win. Well, let me tell you what, that may be what they think, but the American people have a different idea.\" He was, as it turns out, delivering a victory speech to members of the Republican Party of Florida where he had just defeated ostensible front-runners Mitt Romney and Rick Perry in a straw poll. Since then Cain's campaign has gained steam and staffers and lots of money. The Journal-Constitution reports that the cash is rolling in at a rate of $1 million a week. In a recent CBS News/New York Times poll, Cain is the favorite among likely Republican voters, leading Romney 25 percent to 21 percent. And on Saturday Cain came out on top of all the Republican candidates in a Des Moines Register poll of voters likely to participate in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3. During the early stages of the 2012 presidential campaign, Cain has been disrespected, discounted, hooted at, laughed about, ribbed, ridiculed and written off. But he is still standing. And yet, there is one major hurdle of history that Cain may not be able to overcome in his run for the White House: In presidential elections, Americans rarely elect someone who has never held public office. Facing The Odds In 235 years of American politics, only a few presidential nominees of major political parties have been never-before-elected politicians. Most of those have been leaders in the military. (Please see box.) Though William Howard Taft was appointed to various vaunted offices — such as solicitor general and secretary of war — his successful campaign for president in 1908 was his first popular election. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover also ran for president as the Republican nominee in 1928 — without previous campaign experience — and won. Cain has juggled many jobs in his career, including restaurant-chain executive, chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and radio talk show host. But he has never held public office — though he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 and for the U.S. Senate in 2004 — and has never been a military leader. On many fronts, Cain's top-of-the-pack status is bucking traditions. As Nate Silver points out in The New York Times: Cain has no endorsements from key Republican officials and he hasn't hired well-known advisers. Given that there is so much anti-Washington sentiment in the air, there is no telling how the election will unfold. But even without this week's revelations, the odds are against Cain. Herman And Wendell Kyle Kondik, an analyst for the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, has studied the successes and failures of \"non-politician politicians\" in America's past. He says that the candidate of yesteryear who most resembles Cain is superlawyer Wendell Willkie, nominated by the Republican Party in 1940. The nomination of Willkie, Kondik says, \"came in a much different era from now, when the votes of primary voters hardly mattered at all: There were 3.2 million of them in 1940s Republican primaries, and only 21,000 cast their votes for Willkie. Willkie won the nomination in 1940 thanks in large part to the desires of internationalist eastern Republicans, such as publishing titans Ogde", "It's not like Herman Cain really has a real shot to win the New Hampshire primary. Indeed, any Republican presidential candidate not named Mitt Romney probably doesn't have much of a chance to win the Granite State. Still, one of the expected stops for conservatives who want to at least give the appearance of running a real New Hampshire campaign is visiting with the editorial board of the Manchester Union Leader. So it's noteworthy that Cain was a no-show at his scheduled meeting Thursday morning with the newspapers's journalists. The Union Leader evidently wanted to allow C-SPAN cameras in for the meeting. Read More Cain's campaign is understandably somewhat camera shy at this point after his devastating fumble on a question about Libya during his meeting with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's editorial board earlier this week. Apparently, there was a disagreement over how long the meeting would lgo as well, with the Cain campaign wanting it to be over shortly after pleasantries were exchanged and the Union Leader wanting access to Cain for about an hour. An excerpt from the Union Leader's story: Cain and his staff later contended the newspaper cancelled the interview. McQuaid responded, \"We had an hour-long interview scheduled. They, in effect, cancelled that, saying it could only be 20. \"It's kind of funny, I think, that with candidates complaining that the media doesn't give them enough time for depth, that Cain's camp blows off an in-depth interview,\" he said. Also, Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon told Politico that the campaign will not allow any future newspaper editorial board meetings to be videotaped. \"Videos are typically used for television and it's a newspaper. We decided we didn't want to do the video,\" Gordon said. McQuaid said he was not concerned about Cain not showing up. \"It's politics and campaigns. I don't think he's going anywhere from here at this point, anyway,\" he said.", "A day after denying an Atlanta woman's claim that she had shared a 13-year affair with him, Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain said during a morning conference call that he is \"reassessing\" his candidacy.", "This is shaping up to be a really blue Monday for Herman Cain and a very busy Halloween for political reporters. Not only is there the report of alleged sexual harassment during his time at the National Restaurant Association. Now there's a report that his campaign may have received early help from a company run by his campaign aides, a situation which legal experts say could have violated federal election and tax laws. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports: Herman Cain's two top campaign aides ran a private Wisconsin-based corporation that helped the GOP presidential candidate get his fledgling campaign off the ground by originally footing the bill for tens of thousands of dollars in expenses for such items as iPads, chartered flights and travel to Iowa and Las Vegas - something that might breach federal tax and campaign law, according to sources and documents. Read More Internal financial records obtained by No Quarter show that Prosperity USA said it was owed about $40,000 by the Cain campaign for a variety of items in February and March. Cain began taking donations for his presidential bid on Jan. 1. Prosperity USA was owned and run by Wisconsin political operatives Mark Block and Linda Hansen, Cain's current chief of staff and deputy chief of staff, respectively. That's the same Block, of course, who took a drag off a cigarette in that weird Cain campaign ad that was such a hot topic last week. And here's a passage from the story that, apropos of the day, may be the scariest for Cain and his aides: Election law experts say the transactions raise a host of questions for the private organization, which billed itself as a tax-exempt nonprofit, and the Cain team. \"If the records accurately reflect what occurred, this is way out of bounds,\" said a Washington, D.C.-based election lawyer who advises many Republican candidates and conservative groups on campaign issues. The lawyer asked not to be identified because of those affiliations. Michael Maistelman, a Wisconsin campaign attorney, agreed. \"The number of questionable and possibly illegal transactions conducted on behalf of Herman Cain is staggering,\" said Maistelman, a Democrat who has represented politicians from both parties on campaign issues. This type of story by itself would keep any presidential campaign busy on a normal day. But, of course, Cain is also dealing with the fallout from allegations that at least two women accused him of sexual harassment in the 1990s when he ran the National Restaurant Association during their time there. According to Politico, the women received were paid before they left and signed pacts committing them to silence on the matter. Cain appeared at the American Enterprise Institute Monday morning for a previously scheduled event to talk about his 9-9-9 tax plan. Although reporters were told the only questions he would entertain after a question and answer session with the moderator would be fiscal, ABC News' Jon Karl asked Cain about the harassment charges. Cain declined to answer, saying he was abiding by his hosts' groundrules. He promised he would field questions at a later appearance at the National Press Club. Block had prior campaign-law troubles. He was banned for several years from involvement in campaigns after Wisconsin election officials accused him of illegally coordinating the judicial candidate's campaign he was running with outside groups. Block settled without admitting guilt. Block has been associated with the political network created by the Koch Brothers as well. He headed Wisconsin's branch of Americans for Prosperity, the group underwritten by the Kochs." ]

[ "1-IN-3SAT is the following problem: given a 3SAT instance, determine whether there is a truth assignment in which each clause contains exactly one true literal. It is known that 1-IN-3SAT is NP-complete.\nGiven an instance of 1-IN-3SAT, construct an instance of your problem in which each clause corresponds to a triangle, and contradicting literals are connected by edges. Details left to you." ]

[ "We do not know for certain that independent set cannot be solved exactly in polynomial time. However, it is considered unlikely, and this is the famous P$\\neq$NP conjecture.\n\nIn cases where exact optimal solutions cannot (probably) be found in polynomial time, it is natural to look for approximately optimal solutions. Algorithms tackling this are known as approximation algorithms. If an algorithm always returns a solution whose value is within $\\rho$ of the optimum, then we call it a $\\rho$-approximation algorithm, and say that its approximation ratio is $\\rho$.\n\nA good example is MAX-3SAT, in which we are given a 3CNF formula, and our goal is to find an assignment maximizing the number of satisfied clauses. The corresponding decision version is a generalization of 3SAT, and so it is NP-complete. However, if we choose an assignment at random, it satisfies $7/8$th of the clauses in expectation, and we can in fact deterministically find such an assignment. Since the optimal solution satisfies at most a $1$-fraction of the clauses, this algorithm has an approximation ratio of $7/8$. It is a consequence of the PCP theorem that it is NP-hard to do any better (this is a result of Håstad). We say that MAX-3SAT is NP-hard to approximate within $7/8+\\epsilon$ for any $\\epsilon &gt; 0$.\n\nThe independent set problem is much harder than MAX-3SAT. Indeed, it is NP-hard to approximate within $n^{1-\\epsilon}$ for any $\\epsilon &gt; 0$. The best approximation algorithm known has approximation ratio $O(n(\\log\\log n)^2/\\log^3 n)$ (as per Wikipedia).\n\nIn practice, independent set can probably be approximated better, but this is different to formalize, since it is not clear what properties real-world graphs satisfy. For random $G(n,1/2)$ graphs (in which each edge is chosen with probability $1/2$ independently), there is a $1/2$-approximation algorithm (the approximation ratio is with high probability over the choice of the graph). \n\nSometimes one considers smooth analysis of algorithms to model real-world instances. The idea is that real-world instances are noisy, and so instead of being interested in a specific graph $G$, we should be looking at a \"neighborhood\" of $G$ formed from graphs close to $G$ (differing by a relatively small number of edges). It could be the case that some algorithm has good approximation ratio on most of the graphs in the neighborhood of any graph $G$. I am not aware of any such analysis for independent set.", "Note that there is a slight technicality with regards to whether you consider the graph where the clique is larger a \"yes\"-instance, or a graph where the independent set is larger a \"yes\"-instance (i.e. the complement problem) and what you do in the event of a tie. I have picked one particular way of settling ties, but this proof can easily be adapted to the other way of settling ties (i.e. by fudging with a $\\pm 1$).\n\nIf $NP\\not = coNP$ then neither this problem nor its complement is in $NP$, so neither problem is likely to be $NP$-complete.\n\nIt is $NP$-complete to decide whether a graph has an independent set of size $k$. We show that, if there exist polynomial certificates for your problem then there exist polynomial certificates for the complement of the independent set problem. We note that IS remains $NP$-complete even when restricted to maximum degree $3$ graphs and $k&gt;4$.\n\nGiven a graph $G$ that does not have an independent set of size $k$, we create a new graph $G'$ as the union of $G$ and a clique of size $k$ (note that this increases the independence number by one).\n\n$G'$ is a \"yes\"-instance of the problem \"Is the Clique greater or equal to the IS?\". A polynomial certificate for this fact would give a polynomial certificate testifying to the fact that $G$ does not have an IS of size $k$, which is impossible unless $NP=coNP$. (The largest clique in $G$ is of size $4$ since $G$ has maximum degree $3$, so the largest clique in $G'$ is of size $k$. The certificate for $G'$ thus has to certify that $G'$ has no IS of size $k+1$ and equivalently, that $G$ has no IS of size $k$).\n\nIf we instead consider the complement problem \"Is the Clique strictly smaller than the IS?\", we create $G'$ by adding a clique of size $k+1$ and then taking the complement graph $\\bar{G'}$. Since a Clique becomes an IS in the complement graph and vice-versa, the largest IS in $\\bar{G'}$ is of size $k+1$ while the largest Clique is of size at most $k$. $\\bar{G'}$ is thus a \"yes\"-instance of the complement problem, but a certificate for this fact would give a certificate for $G$ not having an IS of size $k$ which is impossible unless $NP=coNP$.\n\nHowever, the problem \"Is the Clique strictly smaller than the IS?\" is $NP$-hard. We reduce from Independent Set on a maximum degree $3$ graphs $G$ where $k&gt;4$. We create $G'$ by adding a clique of size $k$ to $G$. If $G$ has an IS of size $k$ then $G'$ has one of size $k+1$ (obtained by adding any of the clique's vertices to the IS). The largest clique in $G'$ has size $k$, so $G'$ is a \"yes\"-instance if and only if $G$ has an Independent Set of size $k$.", "Let's reduce multiway cuts problem, a variant of minimum $k$-cut, to your problem. In particular, consider the minimum 3-way cut problem, which is NP-hard for all edge weight equal to 1 (see The complexity of multiway cuts). \n\nA (minimum) 3-way cut problem is: given a graph $G = (V,E)$ and terminals $s_1,s_2,s_3\\in V$, find a minimum set of edges $E'\\subseteq E$ such that the removal of $E'$ from $E$ disconnects each terminal $s_i$ from the others. Its decision version is to find out if it's possible to disconnect $s_1,s_2,s_3$ by removing no more than $w$ edges, where $w$ is a part of the input. \n\nGiven graph $G$, terminals $s_1,s_2,s_3$ and integer $w$, we would like to reduce the 3-way cut problem to your \"strange graph partition problem\". For each terminal $s_i$, we add $N$ more verteces to be its neighbors. As hinted by its name, $N$ would be a sufficiently large number. The weight of all verteces are 0 except for $s_1,s_2,s_3$, whose weights are $1,10,100$ resp. Denote this new graph by $G'$. It's obvious that $s_1,s_2,s_3$ can be disconnected by removing $w$ edges in $G$ if and only if they can be disconnected by removing $w$ edges in $G'$. \n\nIf a partition $G'_p$ of $G'$ disconnects $s_1,s_2,s_3$, its score is roughly $10101/N$, or more precisely, no less than $$\\frac{10101}{N+n}$$\nas the part containing $s_i$ has no more than $N+n$ verteces, where $n$ is the number of verteces in $G$. On the other hand, if a partition $G'_p$ fails to disconnect $s_1,s_2,s_3$, its score is no more than $$\\frac{10060.5}{N-w}$$. When $N$ is sufficiently large, $\\frac{10101}{N+n} &gt; \\frac{10060.5}{N-w}$, so $G$ can be 3-way partitioned by removing $w$ edges if and only if $G'$ has a partition removing $w$ edges, whose score is at least $\\frac{10101}{N+n}$.", "This problem is way harder than set cover. Here is why...\n\nIntuitively, you can encode independent set as a problem of this type. Indeed, you are given an instance of independent set - a graph $G$ with $n$ vertices, and a number $k$, and the question is whether the graph $G$ has an independent set of size $k$.\n\nWe assume that $k$ is large (say, polynomial in $n$). \n\nIt is not hard to form a set system, with $n$ sets, such that any cover of the set system requires at least $\\Omega(k/\\log n)$ sets, and any specific set of $k$ sets cover the ground set. To this end, have a \"large\" ground set $X$ (say, of size $t$), and generate $n$ random sets (independently), where you pick every element $x \\in X$ to be in the $i$th random set with probability roughly $p = 10(\\ln n)/k$. Let $R_1, \\ldots, R_n$ be the resulting random sets, and observe that a union of any specific $k$ of them covers the ground set, with high probability. Indeed, the probability that an element of $X$ is not covered, by a specific $k$ sets is bounded by\n$$\nt (1-p)^k &lt; 1/10,\n$$\nfor $t = n^{O(1)}$.\n\nSimilarly, consider $k' = c (k/\\log n)$ random sets, where $c$ is a sufficiently small constant. We claim that with high probability their union does not cover $X$. Indeed, the probability a specific element is covered by such $k'$ sets is \n$1- (1-p)^{k'}$ which is a constant, say $\\alpha &lt; 1$. As such, the probability that these $k'$ random sets cover $X$ is at most $\\alpha^t$. In particular, the probability that any of the possible sets of $k'$ random sets cover $X$ is bounded by \n$$\n\\alpha^t * \\binom{n}{k'} &lt; 1/10,\n$$\nby taking $t$ to be larger than $20 (k/\\alpha) \\ln n$ (or some similar quantity).\n\nNow, associate with the $v_i$ vertex in $G$, the set $R_i$. Forbid the pair $\\{R_i, R_j\\}$ if the edge $v_iv_j$ is in the graph $G$.\n\nAny solution for the resulting instance, would be an independent set in $G$ of size $\\Omega(k / \\log n)$. The original independent set of size $k$ is a valid solution in the resulting instance (all with good probabilities). But that implies that using your problem, you can get a log approximation to independent set, which is an extremely unlikely event. More generally, a $\\beta$ approximation, would imply a $O( \\beta \\log n)$ approximation for independent set. Since independent set can not be approximated to within $n^{1-\\epsilon}$, you essentially get the same result for your problem.\n\nPCP people might be able to derive the above from their known machinery...", "A polytime algorithm that can find such a collection of edges even in the promise version of this problem can be used as a blackbox to solve the Hamiltonian Path problem in polynomial time, and thus this promise problem is NP-Hard under Cook reductions. The idea here is to use the algorithm for solving the promise problem on a sequence of graphs, many (but not all) of which potentially violate the promise given in the problem statement. Importantly, nothing is assumed of the output of the algorithm when it is fed a promise-violating graph as input, just that it outputs something (perhaps even adversarially). We can, of course, always cut the algorithm off and return the empty set as its solution if its execution is taking longer than some provided time bound (a bound only proven to hold only in promise-satisfying instances) and satisfy this requirement. It is the nature of the change in the algorithm's output (or lack thereof) on the sequence of instances that interests us.\n\nSuppose you have a graph $G=(V,E)$ in which you wish to determine the existence of a Hamiltonian path, and oracle access to a function $\\varphi$ such that $\\varphi(G) = h(G)$ (where $h$ is defined as in David's post) whenever $G$ contains a Hamiltonian path (and returns an arbitrary answer otherwise). Intuitively, the algorithm searches for a supergraph $H$ of $G$ on which $\\varphi(H) = h(H)$ is violated. If such a graph can be found, it must be the case that $H$ (and all of its subgraphs, including $G$) is not Hamiltonian. Conversely, not violating the inequality on any graph in the sequence shows that the original $G$ is Hamiltonian.\n\nNow construct a sequence of graphs $G_0 \\cdots G_{n-1}$ as follows:\n\n\nLet $G_0 = G$\nPick a permutation $\\pi$ of $V$ such that no $(\\pi_i, \\pi_{i+1})$ is an edge of $\\varphi(G_0)$.*\nFor $i = 1$ to $n-1$\n\nLet $e_i = (\\pi_i, \\pi_{i+1})$\nLet $G_i = G_{i-1}$ with edge $e_i$ added (if it did not already exist in $G_{i-1}$)\n\n\n\nNote that $h(G_x) \\supseteq h(G_y)$ when $x &lt; y$ (i.e. containment of some fixed edge in $h$ is hereditary among the $\\{G_i\\}$). Thus, if $e_i \\in \\varphi(G_i)$ for some $i \\geq 1$, it must be the case that $G$ does not contain a Hamiltonian Path, since $\\varphi(\\cdot)$ is not hereditary on this graph family (recall that $e_i$ is not in $\\varphi(G_0)$) and thus $\\varphi(G_i) \\neq h(G_i)$ for some $G_i$.\n\nHowever, if $e_i \\not \\in \\varphi(G_i)$ for all $i$, no single addition of an edge was necessary in the construction of the first (set of) Hamiltonian Path(s) in the sequence in which we constructed $\\{G_i\\}$. Since $G_{n-1}$ contains a Hamiltonian path by construction, a simple inductive argument implies $G_0$ must contain one as well.\n\nThus, Hamiltonian Path can be solved via $O(n)$ queries to an oracle solving this promise problem (assuming they produce an arbitrary output on promise-violating graphs), meaning that any time bound $f(n)$ for an algorithm solving this problem implies a time bound of $O(n f(n))$ for solving Hamiltonian Path, and thus $f(n)$ (and any provable upper bound on the running time for a TM solving this problem) cannot be a polynomial unless $P = NP$.\n\n*This is easy to do because $|h(G_0)| \\leq n$ by definition, and we could always of course prematurely determine the nonexistance of a Hamiltonian path if $|\\varphi(G_0)|$ is any larger than that.", "The problem is still NP-complete. Here's a reduction from the Treewidth problem on general graphs. Recall that for a graph G of treewidth at least two, the treewidth is not affected when subdividing an edge by a degree-2 vertex (i.e. replacing an edge $\\{u,v\\}$ by a new vertex $x$ and edges $\\{u,x\\}$, $\\{x,v\\}$ ).\n\nGiven an input graph $G$ on $n$ vertices, assume without loss of generality that it has treewidth at least two (otherwise we can solve the problem and output an equivalent constant-sized instance). Number the vertices of G from $1$ to $n$, in some arbitrary order. Now assign vertex $v_i$ to set $S_{2i}$, and observe that trivially, each set $S_i$ induces an independent set in the graph; we will maintain this during the following process. As long as the graph has an edge $\\{u,v\\}$ between two vertices which are not in adjacent sets, say an edge between a vertex in $S_i$ and one in $S_j$ for $i &lt; j$ and $j-i &gt; 1$, subdivide the edge, placing the newly created degree-2 vertex in set $S_{i+1}$. Since this subdivider vertex is placed between the endpoints of the subdivided edge, it decreases the difference between the indices of the sets that its neighbors are in, and therefore each edge of the original graph is subdivided no more than $n$ times. So this process terminates after a polynomial number of steps. The resulting graph $G&#39;$ was made from G by repeatedly subdividing edges, so its treewidth equals that of G. Let us verify that the resulting sets satisfy that all connected components of $G&#39;[S_i \\cup S_{i+1}]$ are bicliques. One of the indices $i, i+1$ is odd. By construction, the set for this odd index contains only degree-2 vertices which were added to subdivide an edge. Since the subdivider vertex was placed \"in the gap between its two neighbors\", each degree-2 vertex has one neighbor in the previous set, and one neighbor in the next set. So the set out of $S_i, s_{i+1}$ with odd index has only vertices which have degree one in the graph $G&#39;[S_i \\cup S_{i+1}]$, which shows that the graph is a disjoint union of stars which are bicliques. So the graph G' has treewidth equal to G, size polynomial in that of G, and can be constructed in polynomial time. Since treewidth is NP-complete, so is the restriction to your special graph class.", "Let $X = \\{x_1, \\dots, x_n\\}$ be an instance of $3$ partition where $n$ is a multiple of $3$ and each $x_i$ is strictly between $\\frac{3}{4n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i$ and $\\frac{3}{2n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i$. The problem remains NP-hard even with this restriction.\n\nThe instance of the job scheduling decision problem has $n$ jobs, $t_i = x_i$, $k=\\frac{n}{3}$, and $T=\\frac{3}{n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i$.\n\nIf the 3-partition instance is a \"yes\" instance, then there is a partition of $X$ into $\\frac{n}{3}$ sets $X_1, X_2, \\dots, X_{\\frac{n}{3}}$ such that, for each $j=1, \\dots, \\frac{n}{3}$, $\\sum_{x \\in X_j} x = \\frac{3}{n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i$.\nLet $\\alpha(i)$ be the index $j$ of the unique set $X_j$ containing $x_i$.\nThen $\\alpha$ is an assignment for the job scheduling instance in which, for each $j=1,\\dots,\\frac{n}{3}$, $u_j = \\sum_{i : \\alpha(i)=j} = \\sum_{x \\in X_j} x = \\frac{3}{n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i = T$. This shows that the job assignment instance is a \"yes\" instance.\n\nIf the job scheduling instance is a \"yes\" instance, then let $\\alpha$ be a corresponding assignment. For each $j=1,\\dots,\\frac{n}{3}$:\n\n\n$|\\{i : \\alpha(i)=j\\}| \\le 3$, as otherwise $u_i &gt; 4 \\cdot \\frac{3}{4n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i = T$.\n$|\\{i : \\alpha(i)=j\\}| \\ge 3$, as otherwise $u_i &lt; 2 \\cdot \\frac{3}{2n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i = T$, implying that $\\max_{j' \\neq j} u_j \\ge \\frac{\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i - u_i}{\\frac{n}{3}-1} &gt; \\frac{\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i - T}{\\frac{n}{3}-1} = \\frac{\\frac{n-3}{n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i}{\\frac{n-3}{3}} = \\frac{3}{n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i = T$.\n\n\nAs a consequence, the sets $X_1, \\dots, X_{\\frac{n}{3}}$, where $X_ j = \\{x_i : \\alpha(i)=j\\}$, contain $3$ elements each and form a partition of $X$. Moreover, $\\sum_{x \\in X_j} x = u_j \\le T = \\frac{3}{n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i$ and an argument similar to the one above shows that $\\sum_{x \\in X_j} x \\ge \\frac{3}{n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i$. This proves that $\\sum_{x \\in X_j} x = \\frac{3}{n}\\sum_{i=1}^n x_i$ and hence that the $3$ partition instance is a \"yes\" instance.", "The answer to the main question is yes, and the key to the construction is the notion of an expander graph.\n\n\n A (bipartite $d$-left-regular) expander graph between vertices $\\mathcal{I}$ and $\\mathcal{O}$ (the bipartition), where $|\\mathcal{I}|=|\\mathcal{O}|=n$, with expansion factor $c&gt;0$, is a graph which is $d$-left-regular, meaning that each $x\\in \\mathcal{I}$ has degree $d$, such that for all subsets $A\\subseteq I$ such that $|A|\\le n/2$, the set $B\\subseteq\\mathcal{O}$ of neighbors of elements of $A$ has $|B|\\ge (1+c)|A|$.\n\n\nThere are many proofs of existence of expander graphs like this by the probabilistic method and some deterministic methods as well; for the present purpose we only need that expander graphs as defined above exist for some constant $c&gt;0$ independent of $n$.\n\nGiven such a graph, we can construct a $n\\times n$ matrix from the adjacency matrix of the graph, with $\\mathcal{I}$ for the rows and $\\mathcal{O}$ for the columns. This matrix has exactly $k=dn=O(n)$ ones, because of the $d$ left regular property, and the expander property is unaffected by any permutations performed by the adversary.\n\nNow for $\\alpha&gt;0$, let $A$ be the last $\\alpha n$ elements of $\\mathcal{I}$ and let $C$ be the last $\\alpha n$ elements of $\\mathcal{O}$, after the adversary has chosen an ordering of the rows and columns. If there is no one in this square in the matrix, then there must correspondingly be no edge between $A$ and $C$, and hence the neighbors $B$ of elements of $A$ must satisfy $B\\subseteq C^c$, so by the expander graph property this implies\n$$(1+c)|A|=(1+c)\\alpha n\\le |B|\\le |C^c|=(1-\\alpha)n\\implies \\alpha\\le\\frac{1}{2+c}.$$\n\nThus any empty bottom right square must be smaller than $n/(2+c)\\times n/(2+c)$, so in the language of the OP, $$f(n,k)\\ge 2n\\left(1-\\frac{1}{2+c}\\right)=(1+\\epsilon)n$$\nwhere $\\epsilon=\\dfrac{c}{2+c}&gt;0$.", "This took quite a bit of work, but I got it in the end. Note that I used the development version (pymc 2.2grad) from github, not the older version available on pypi.\n\nAlso, this runs pretty slowly, since it doesn't make good use of numpy's array manipulation. For data sets of reasonable size, some smart preprocessing and a rewrite of the cutpoints node function could probably fix this.\n\nHere's full source code:\n\nfrom scipy.stats import norm, pearsonr\nfrom pymc import Normal, Lambda, Uniform, Exponential, stochastic, deterministic, observed, MCMC, Matplot\nfrom numpy import mean, std, log\nimport numpy as np\n\n#Set array dimensions\n(I, J, K, M, N) = (5, 20, 3, 4, 1000)\n\n#Set simulation parameters\nalpha_star = np.random.normal(0, 1, size=(I,K))\nbeta_star = np.random.normal(1, 1, size=(I,K))\nz_star = np.random.normal(0, 1, size=(J,1))\nw_star = np.array([0,1,3])\n\n#Generate data\ncoder = np.random.randint(I, size=(N))\ndoc = np.random.randint(J, size=(N))\nitem = np.random.randint(K, size=(N))\n\ncode = np.zeros(shape=(N))\nfor n in range(N):\n i, j, k = coder[n], doc[n], item[n]\n m = alpha_star[i,k] + beta_star[i,k] * z_star[j] + np.random.normal(0, 1)\n code[n] = 1+sum(m &gt; w_star)\n# print \"\\t\".join([str(x) for x in [i, j, k, m, code[n]]])\n\n#Set GLM parameters\nalpha = Normal('alpha', mu=0.0, tau=0.01, value=np.zeros(I*K))\nbeta = Normal('beta', mu=1.0, tau=0.01, value=np.ones(I*K))\n\nz = Normal('z', mu=0.0, tau=0.01, value=np.random.normal(0,1,J))\n\nw = Exponential('w', .1, value=np.ones(M-3))\n\n#Link functions\nmu = Lambda('mu', lambda alpha=alpha, beta=beta, z=z, i=coder, j=doc, k=item: alpha[i+I*k]+beta[i+I*k]*z[j])\n\n@deterministic(plot=False)\ndef cutpoints(w=w):\n w2 = [-np.inf, 0.0, 1.0]\n v = 1\n for i in w:\n v += i\n w2.append(v)\n w2.append(np.inf)\n\n cp = np.array( w2 )\n return cp\n\n\n@stochastic(dtype=int, observed=True)\ndef y(value=code, mu=mu, cp=cutpoints):\n\n def logp(value, mu, cp):\n d = norm.cdf(cp[value]-mu)-norm.cdf(cp[value-1]-mu)\n lp = sum(log(d))\n return lp\n\n#Run chain\nM = MCMC([alpha, beta, z, mu, w, cutpoints, y])\nM.isample(10000, 5000, thin=5, verbose=0)\n\n#Summarize results\nMatplot.summary_plot([alpha], name=\"alpha\", path=\"./graphs/\")\nMatplot.summary_plot([beta], name=\"beta\", path=\"./graphs/\")\nMatplot.summary_plot([z], name=\"z\", path=\"./graphs/\")\nMatplot.summary_plot([w], name=\"w\", path=\"./graphs/\")\n\nprint pearsonr( alpha_star.transpose().reshape((I*K,)), alpha.stats()['mean'])\nprint pearsonr( beta_star.transpose().reshape((I*K,)), beta.stats()['mean'])\nprint pearsonr( z_star.reshape((J,)), z.stats()['mean'])", "Wolfram Language (Mathematica), 146 bytes\n\nBlock[{c,g=GridGraph@{##}},Graph[Range[1##],Join@@Reap[Do[c@n/._c:&gt;#0[Sow[#&lt;-&gt;n];n],{n,RandomSample@AdjacencyList[g,c@#=#]}]&amp;@1][[2]],Options@g]]&amp;\n\n\nTry it online!\n\nBased on my answer to the question Maze Generation.\n\nReturns a Graph object.\n\nFor example, w = 20, h = 20 gives:", "Your problem reduces to graph isomorphism, so is not $\\mathsf{NP}$-complete unless the polynomial hierarchy collapses. \n\nIn fact, you've essentially already given the reduction in your question: given a 3-uniform (=every hyperedge has size 3) hypergraph $G$, construct from it the graph $f(G)$ which has the same vertex set, and such that $\\{u,v\\} \\in E(f(G))$ iff there exists a $z \\in V$ such that $\\{u,v,z\\} \\in E(G)$. (When $G$ is a hypergraph, I use $E(G)$ to mean the set of hyperedges.) Then $G_1$ and $G_2$ are isomorphic-in-your-sense iff $f(G_1) \\cong f(G_2)$ as graphs. It is not hard to check that this reduction only takes polynomial time (note that $|E(f(G))| \\leq |V(G)| |E(G)|$). \n\nIt is also probably worth mentioning that there is already a well-established notion of hypergraph isomorphism that is different from your notion. If we consider a hypergraph $G$ as a vertex set $V$ together with a collection of hyperedges $E \\subseteq P(V)$ (each hyperedge is a subset of $V$), then two such hypergraphs are isomorphic if there is a bijection $\\pi\\colon V_1 \\to V_2$ such that $E_2 = \\pi(E_1)$. (Here I am abusing notation twice: by \"$\\pi(E_1)$\" I mean $\\{\\pi(e) : e \\in E_1\\}$ and by $\\pi(e)$ for $e \\subseteq V$ I mean $\\{\\pi(v) : v \\in e\\}$.) Hypergraph isomorphism in this sense is Karp-equivalent to graph isomorphism, but by a slightly less immediate reduction than from your problem. However, fast (in theory) algorithms for hypergraph isomorphism are often more difficult than those for graph isomorphism (see, e.g. Babai and Codenotti, FOCS 2008).", "\"Complex\" problems are normally defined as problems which cannot be solved by (probabilistic) polynomial-time Turing machines. \n\nWhen there are extra information available for solving the problem, the model changes to machines which take advice. That is, instead of $\\rm{BPP}$ machines, we consider $\\rm{P/poly}$ circuits; i.e. polynomial-size circuits (equivalently, polynomial-time Turing machines which take polynomial advice).\n\nIn some cases, we may consider even stronger solvers: Instead of poly-sized circuits, we may use circuits whose size is sub-exponential. (e.g. circuits whose size is $n^{\\log n}$). One might note that, an exponential-size family of circuits can decide any language (even undecidable ones) by merely incorporating the look-up table in its code. (In particular, the size of the look-up table is $O(n2^n)$.)\n\nLet's consider the Decisional Diffie-Hellman (DDH) assumption. \nI don't go into details. Just assume that $p$ is a large prime, all computations are over $\\mathbb{Z}^*_p$, and $g$ is its generator.\n\n\n DDH: Distinguishing $(g,g^a,g^b,g^{ab})$ from $(g,g^a,g^b,g^c)$ is hard for $\\rm{PPT}$ machines.\n\n\nA stronger assumption is:\n\n\n DDH-1: Distinguishing $(g,g^a,g^b,g^{ab})$ from $(g,g^a,g^b,g^c)$ is hard for $\\rm{P/poly}$ circuits.\n\n\nAn even stronger assumption is:\n\n\n DDH-2: Distinguishing $(g,g^a,g^b,g^{ab})$ from $(g,g^a,g^b,g^c)$ is hard for sub-exponential circuits.\n\n\nI saw both DDH and DDH-1 assumptions in the literature. DDH-2 may also exist, but I can't recall whether I ever saw it.\n\nOne example of sub-exponential hardness assumption is that, some languages in $\\rm{E}$ don't have sub-exponential circuits. Such assumption is used by Impagliazzo &amp; Wigderson in P=BPP unless E has sub-exponential circuits:\nDerandomizing the XOR Lemma.\n\n\n\nDescription of Some Terms\n\nWhile obvious, I'm going to define several terms here. Let $f \\colon \\mathbb{N} \\to \\mathbb{N}$ be a function. Then:\n\n\n$f(n) = n^{\\Theta(1)}$ is called polynomial. (e.g. $n, n^3, 7n^{100}$.)\n$f(n) = n^{\\omega(1)}$ is called super-polynomial. (e.g. $n^{\\log n}, 2^n, 2^{2^n}$.)\n$f(n) = 2^{\\Theta(n)}$ is called linear exponential. (e.g. $2^n, 3^n, 10^n$.)\n$f(n) = 2^{n^{\\Theta(1)}}$ is called exponential. (e.g. $2^n, 3^{n^4}$.)\n$f(n) = 2^{n^{o(1)}}$ is called sub-exponential. (e.g. $2^{n^{1/n}}, n^{\\log n}$.)", "Nice question! I think that your notion of an \"effectively computable reduction\" is interesting and worth studying, but not as fundamental as standard reductions. Let me provide some observations about this notion that may be illuminating:\n\nObservation 1: it does not make sense to talk about effectively computable reductions from one language to another; only from a family of languages to another.\n\nIn particular, you seem to be mixed up when you write this:\n\n\n Most reductions for NP-hardness proofs I encountered are effective in the sense that given an instance of our hard problem, they give a polynomial time algorithm for our problem under question by using reductions. All reductions in the 21 classic problems considered by R. Karp work this way.\n\n\nA reduction from, say, VertexCover to 3SAT is a Turing machine $f$ that transforms instances of VertexCover into instances of 3SAT. Since it is a Turing machine, it is effectively computable by definition. So it is not surprising that all reductions you have seen of this form are effectively computable.\n\nIn other words, if we just look at reductions from one language to another, then every reduction is effectively computable!\n\nThis is different from the case of the Cook-Levin theorem, where we have to show a reduction $f$ from an arbitrary NP language to SAT. Then it might make sense to consider whether this reduction -- parameterized by the language in NP -- is effective or not. But that brings us to my second point:\n\nObservation 2: What counts as an effectively computable reduction depends on the representation of languages.\n\nThis is important because standard reductions (either many-to-one reductions or Turing reductions) do not depend on the way the language is represented. For a reduction from $L$ to $L'$, I consider $L$ and $L'$ to be subsets of $\\{0, 1\\}^*$. But for your notion of effectively computable to make sense, we need to have access to a representation of $L$ (we probably don't need a representation of $L'$).\n\nTo make this point clearer, consider the reduction in the proof of the Cook-Levin theorem, which you brought up. The proof considers a language $L$, represented by a polynomial-time nondeterministic Turing machine $N$. Then it shows that $L$ is reducible to SAT. You say that this reduction is not effectively computable, but that depends on how $N$ is represented, i.e., the definition of a polynomial-time nondeterminstic Turing machine $N$:\n\n\nDefinition 1: A polynomial-time NTM is a nondeterministic Turing machine such that there exists a polynomial $p(n)$, such that the TM always halts in time at most $p(n)$.\nDefinition 2: A polynomial-time NTM consists of a nondeterministic Turing machine, together with a polynomial $p(n)$. The way it runs is that, on any branch, it is only executed for $p(n)$ steps; if it does not halt in this time, then that branch is ignored.\n\n\nIt may seem that I am making Definition 2 up and that the definition is not natural, but actually both of these are perfectly valid definitions of a polynomial-time NTM that both have their merits. And for the classical theory of P, NP, and NP-completeness, both of these definitions are equivalent. The nice thing about Definition 2 is that an NTM is allowed to diverge on certain branches; you don't worry about that because the execution semantics says that we just forget about it once the running time goes above $p(n)$.\n\nHowever, the definitions become inequivalent when it comes to effectively computable reductions. Note that, according to Definition 1, when we are given a language defined by an NTM $N$, we have no idea what its running time is, so we may not be able to reduce it to SAT (more on this below). But according to Definition 2, part of the NTM $N$ is that it comes with a polynomial, and so we know its running time. Therefore, we can effectively reduce all NP languages to SAT if we are using Definition 2.\n\nAlso, we have only considered nondeterministic Turing machines; we could equivalently define NP using verifier Turing machines. Then the definition of an effectively computable reduction could be something else!\n\nTL;DR: Depending on how a language in NP is represented, and in particular depending on the definition of a polynomial-time NTM, it may be either true or false that every language in NP is effectively reducible to SAT. In other words, The set of effectively computable reductions changes depending on the model of computation used to represent languages in NP.\n\n\n\nNow at this point, given points (1) and (2), a question still remains: can the reduction in the Cook-Levin theorem be made to be effective? In particular, suppose we fix the following definitions:\n\n\nLanguages in NP are represented by nondeterministic Turing machines whose runtime is bounded by an unknown polynomial $p$ (i.e. Definition 1).\nGiven a language $L$, we say that the class of languages NP is effectively poly-time reducible to $L$ if the following holds: there is a TM $f$ that takes as input $\\langle N, w \\rangle$, where $N$ is a polynomial-time NTM and $w$ is any input to $N$, such that $w \\in L(N)$ if and only if $f(\\langle N, w \\rangle) \\in L$. Also, $f$ must run in polynomial time (in its input $\\langle N, w \\rangle$).\n\n\nIn other words, to address point (1), we are assuming that languages in NP are represented by nondeterministic Turing machines without an explicit polynomial bound. And to address point (2), in our definition of effectively reducible, we are talking about a reduction from a class of languages, in this case NP, to a single language.\nNow we have the following observation:\n\nObservation 3: (Cook-Levin is not effective) The class NP is NOT effectively reducible to SAT.\n\nLet us see why this is true. Assume towards a contradiction that an effective reduction $f$ exists. The idea is that we will try to solve a difficult (say, doubly-exponential-time) problem by taking its instance, turning it into a polynomial-time NTM, and asking $f$ to reduce it to SAT. So, let $L_{hard}$ be some problem that requires doubly-exponential time to solve (this exists by the Time Hierarchy theorem), and let $M_{hard}$ be a (deterministic) TM that solves it. Given any instance $w$ of the problem, define the following NTM $N_w$:\n\\begin{align*}\nN_w :=\n&amp;\\text{\"On any input $a$, first run } M_{hard} \\\\\n&amp;\\text{on input } w \\text{. When it halts, accept if} \\\\\n&amp;\\text{it accepts and reject if it rejects.\"}\n\\end{align*}\n\nNow we can use this to solve $L_{hard}$ in exponential time (not double exponential), as follows. On input $w$, we first construct $N_w$, which has size only a constant more than $w$. Then we pass $\\langle N_w, \\epsilon \\rangle$ (the second argument, $\\epsilon$, is just a placeholder here) to $f$ to reduce it to SAT. $f$ gives us back an instance of SAT that is at most polynomial size in $N_w$, and $f$ takes only polynomial time to run. So we end up with an instance of SAT of polynomial size in $w$; now we solve it in exponential time in $w$ using brute-force search.\n\n\n\nThis point (3) seems to suggest that most of the time, no interesting class of languages will be reducible in this effectively computable sense to a single language. It will just be too hard, because you can exploit this computability to then solve hard problems by encoding them as part of a TM input to the effective reduction. However, something is a bit fishy here, because if we feed the TMs $N_w$ into the Cook-Levin theorem reduction, we would end up with very large SAT formulas, exponential in $w$. So perhaps our definition needs to be tweaked so that $f$ runs in time polynomial in the running time of $N_w$, not just polynomial in the input $\\langle N_w, \\epsilon \\rangle$.\n\nObservation 4: If we allow Turing (many to many) reductions, then Cook-Levin can be made effective.\n\nAs D.W. says in a comment:\n\n\n I think one can construct an effective Cook reduction, by iterative doubling. Does that help?\n\n\nI also believe this is true. In particular, we can change our definition of an \"effective reduction\" from NP to a language $L$ by saying that the reduction does not just return an instance of $L$, but returns many instances of $L$ in sequence, and uses an oracle for $L$ to solve the original problem. Then to solve a general problem in NP, you could try larger and larger polynomials $p$ until you get the right one which bounds the running time. You can detect whether a particular polynomial bounds the running time on all branches of the NTM by a separate reduction to SAT.\n\nDisclaimer\n\nI am not an expert in this topic. These are just some preliminary notes on the idea, and I am not sure if someone has studied this in the literature.\n\nP.S. Although it may not be directly related, your question about considering effective reductions reminds me of an idea I had, about considering not just whether languages are in P or in NP, but whether they are provably so. This is related to the idea of developing a complexity theory that is effective or constructive. I asked and later answered question about defining provably P and provably NP languages here.", "Try this\n\nimport numpy as np\n\nN = 50 # band index\nv = 3 # direction x,y,z\ng = 30000 # real space grid points\n\na = np.ones((g,N,v), dtype = 'complex')\nb = np.ones((g,N,v), dtype = 'complex')\nc = np.ones((g,v), dtype = 'complex')\nH_vnn = np.zeros((N,v,N), dtype = 'complex')\n\nfor i in range(g):\n adotb = np.dot(a[i,:,:],b[i,:,:].T)\n H_vnn += np.array([c[i,v]*adotb) for v in range(3)])", "To simplistically answer your question, use the following:\n$Y = K^\\alpha (AL)^{1 - \\alpha}$\n\nIn order to prove all three can be equal:\nWe will assume that technological progress is labor augmenting (Harrod Neutral) or \"labor saving\", while holding the following true:\n\n\nReturns to capital are roughly constant over time.\nCapital share of income is roughly constant over time.\n\n\nThe Harrod Neutral is associated with a capital-output ratio that is constant (K/Y) in our \"steady state\".\n\nCapital Accumulation\nIn the basic Solow model, (1).\n$$ \\frac{\\dot{k}}{k} \\equiv s\\frac{y}{k}-(d+n)$$\n\nFor growth rate per capita capital to be constant, y/k = Y/K must also be constant. (Characteristic of the Harrod Neutral)\n\nWe Need To Define The Balanced Growth Path With Technological Progress\nTaking the original production equation:\n$Y = K^\\alpha (AL)^{1 - \\alpha}$\n\nand dividing by AL (number of effective labor units) we are given our production function representing effective labor.\n$$ \\tilde{y} \\equiv \\tilde{k}^\\alpha$$\n\nDoing The Same For Capital Accumulation\nFollow steps below:\n$$\\frac{\\tilde{\\dot{k}}}{k} = \\frac{dln(k/AL)}{dt}$$\n\n$$ \\frac{dlnK}{dt} - \\frac{dlnA}{dt} - \\frac{dlnL}{dt} $$\n\n$$\\frac{\\dot{K}}{K} - \\frac{\\dot{A}}{A} - \\frac{\\dot{L}}{L} = \\frac{\\dot{K}}{K} - g - n$$\n\nthen using this to finding our Capital Accumulation equation below:\n\n$$\\frac{\\dot{K}}{K} = S \\frac{{Y}}{K} - d$$\n$$\\frac{\\tilde{\\dot{k}}}{\\tilde{k}} = s\\frac{Y}{K} - d - g - n$$\nAnd, $$\\frac{Y}{K} = \\frac{Y}{AL} \\frac{AL}{K} = \\frac{\\tilde{y}}{\\tilde{k}}$$\n\nThen, \n$$\\frac{\\tilde{\\dot{k}}}{\\tilde{k}} = s\\frac{\\tilde{y}}{\\tilde{k}} - d - g - n$$\n\n$$\\tilde{\\dot{k}} = s \\tilde{y} - (d+g+n)\\tilde{k}$$\n\nFinally, combining our production function with capital accumulation we get an equation (6) that represents the Solow model with tech changes.\n$$\\tilde{\\dot{k}} = s \\tilde{k^\\alpha} - (d+g+n)\\tilde{k}$$\n\nSo our steady state is when (7) is true.\n$$\\tilde{\\dot{k}^*} = 0$$\n\nIf we set this to be true for our steady state (denoted by *) levels of capital and output per effective labor. (8 and 9)\n8: $$\\tilde{k^*} = [\\frac{s}{d+n+g}]^\\frac{1}{1-\\alpha}$$\n9: $$\\tilde{y^*} = [\\frac{s}{d+n+g}]^\\frac{\\alpha}{1-\\alpha}$$\n\nIn the steady state: (10)\nCapital (and income) per capita grow at the rate of exogenous technological growth.\n\n$$\\tilde{k} = K/AL$$\n$$k = K/L$$ \n$$k = A\\tilde{k}$$\n\n$$\\tilde{k} = \\tilde{k}^* = [\\frac{s}{d+n+g}]^\\frac{1}{1-\\alpha}$$\n$$k(t) = A(t)\\tilde{k}^*$$\n$$lnk(t) = lnA(t) + ln\\tilde{k}^*$$\n$$\\frac{\\dot{k}}{k} = \\frac{\\dot{A}}{A}$$\n\nIf you graph out\n$$\\tilde{\\dot{k}} = s \\tilde{k^\\alpha} - (d+g+n)\\tilde{k}$$\n\n\nAny savings rate changes, s, change the savings curve and therefore change $$\\tilde{k^*}$$\nPopulation or depreciation changes, n and d respectively, rotates the straight line, (d+g+n)k.\nChanges in these affect the growth rate of per capita capital and per capita income only outside the steady-state.\nexo-tech growth changes the graph sort of like n and d by changing the level of $$\\tilde{k^*}$$\n\n\nThis exo-tech growth changes the growth rate of per capita capital and per capita income in the steady state (along balanced growth paths).", "Algebraic geometry\n\n\nNoether's Normalization Lemma (NNL) for explicit varieties is currently only known to be in $\\mathsf{EXPSPACE}$ (like general NNL), but is conjectured to be in $\\mathsf{P}$ (and is in $\\mathsf{P}$ assuming that PIT can be black-box derandomized). Update 4/18/18: It was recently shown that for the variety $\\overline{\\mathsf{VP}}$ it is in $\\mathsf{PSPACE}$ over the rationals (Forbes &amp; Shpilka) and then over arbitrary fields (Guo, Saxena, &amp; Sinhababu).\nTesting whether a given set of polynomials has an algebraic dependence. This problem was recently shown to be in $\\mathsf{AM} \\cap \\mathsf{coAM}$ by Guo, Saxena, &amp; Sinhababu (improving the previous upper bound of $\\mathsf{NP}^{\\mathsf{\\# P}}$ due to Mittmann, Saxena, &amp; Scheblechner, also on the arXiv).\nThere are several (arXiv) new algorithms for computing topological invariants of complex varieties (with various restrictions like smoothness, etc.). I believe for most of these the optimal upper bound is still open.\nHilbert's Nullstellensatz (HN): given integer polynomials, decide if they have a common complex solution, is in $\\mathsf{AM}$ assuming GRH (Koiran). It is unknown if it is in $\\mathsf{NP}$.\nAlgorithms for resolution of singularities of algebraic varieties in characteristic zero. The current best time upper bound, due to Bierstone, Grigoriev, Milman, and Włodarczyk is $\\mathcal{E}^{d+3}$ where $d$ is the dimension of the variety and $\\mathcal{E}^{\\bullet}$ is the Grzegorczyk hierarchy of primitive recursive functions. There aren't particularly good (any?) lower bounds on this problem, but for a seemingly much simpler problems related lower bounds are known, namely: There are ideals in $n$ variables generated in degree at most $n$ that require $\\mathcal{E}^{n+1}$ such generators. So the current upper bound for resolution of singularities may not be far from the truth, but little is really known.\n\n\nIsomorphism problems\n\n\nMany problems on permutation groups - such as coset intersection, permutation group isomorphism, etc. - are in $\\mathsf{NP} \\cap \\mathsf{coAM}$, but it is unknown if they are in $\\mathsf{NP} \\cap \\mathsf{coNP}$, and it is suspected that they are not in $\\mathsf{P}$. Graph Isomorphism reduces to most of those problems, so a better upper bound on them implies a better upper bound on GI. \nIn particular, for permutation group isomorphism, the current best upper bound is $2^{O(n)}|G|$, and it is open if it can be done in $2^{O(n)}$ time (depending only on the degree of the permutation group and not on its order), let alone quasi-poly time like GI and coset intersection.\nGroup Isomorphism where groups are given by multiplication tables is known to be in $\\mathsf{TIME}(n^{O(\\log n)})$, but is suspected to be in $\\mathsf{P}$. Known to be in $\\mathsf{P}$ for several classes of groups (update 4/18/18: and a couple (arXiv) more (arXiv)), but not in general.\n\n\nOther\n\n\nUpdate 4/18/18: Tensor rank over any field $\\mathbb{F}$ is $\\exists \\mathbb{F}$-complete (Schaefer &amp; Stefankovic). Is tensor rank over $\\mathbb{Q}$ in $\\mathsf{NP}$? It is known to be $\\mathsf{NP}$-hard (Håstad), and over finite fields it is in $\\mathsf{NP}$.\nMore generally, many problems on tensors over $\\mathbb{Q}$ are $\\mathsf{NP}$-hard but not known to be in $\\mathsf{NP}$ (Hillar and Lim, also on the arXiv).\n\n\nIt would (somewhat sadly) seem that the Adleman-McCurley survey, despite being 21 years old, is pretty up to date in terms of number-theoretic problems, with the exception of the fact that we now know that $\\mathsf{PRIMES}$ is in $\\mathsf{P}$...", "Let’s call an assignment of vertex labels feasible if it satisfies all the inequality constraints, ignoring the condition on the number of distinct labels.\n\nHere is what I think is a proof that it is NP-complete to decide whether a given directed graph G=(V, E) with integer (possibly negative) edge weights has a feasible assignment of labels which uses at most k distinct labels, for k=|V|/2. We construct a reduction from the following NP-complete problem [WY92].\n\nEqual Subset Sum\nInstance: A finite set S of positive integers.\nQuestion: Do there exist two disjoint nonempty subsets S1 and S2 of S whose sums are equal to each other?\n\nLet S={a1, …, an} be a set of positive integers, where n=|S|. Construct a directed graph G with 2n vertices u1, …, un, v1, …, vn by connecting ui and vi in both directions for each i. Give the weight ai to the edge (ui, vi) and −ai to the edge (vi, ui).\n\nConsider the instance (G, n) of the current problem. Note that an assignment l of labels is feasible if and only if for each i, it holds l(vi)=l(ui)+ai. From this, we can prove the following, establishing that the above transformation is a reduction from Equal Subset Sum to the current problem.\n\nClaim. G has a feasible assignment which uses at most n distinct labels if and only if there exist two disjoint nonempty subsets S1 and S2 of S whose sums are equal to each other.\n\nProof. First observe that if we are given a feasible assignment l (which might use any number of distinct labels), we can construct a directed graph Hl from G by removing the edges with negative weights and merging vertices with equal labels. Note that Hl has exactly n edges whose weights are a1, …, an. Also, note that the number of vertices of Hl is equal to the number of distinct labels used in l.\n\nFor the “only if” direction, given a feasible assignment l which uses at most n distinct labels, consider the directed graph Hl. Since Hl has at most n vertices and exactly n edges, Hl contains a cycle C ignoring the direction of edges. Let S1 be the set of weights of edges appearing in C in one direction, and S2 be the set of weights of edges appearing in C in the other direction. It is easy to see that the sum of S1 is equal to the sum of S2.\n\nFor the “if” direction, fix S1 and S2 be the subsets of S satisfying the condition. Without loss of generality, assume that S1={a1, a2, …, as} and S2={as+1, as+2, …, as+t}, where s=|S1| and t=|S2|. Then we assign the following labels to the vertices of G:\n\n\nl(u1)=l(us+1)=0.\nl(ui)=l(vi−1) for 2≤i≤s and s+2≤i≤s+t.\nl(ui)=0 for s+t+1≤i≤n.\nl(vi)=l(ui)+ai for 1≤i≤n.\n\n\nIt is easy to verify that this assignment is feasible and uses at most n distinct labels. (The graph Hl in this case consists of two edge-disjoint paths from the vertex labeled 0 to the vertex labeled $\\sum_{i=1}^s a_i = \\sum_{i=s+1}^{s+t} a_i$ and n−s−t edges originating at the vertex labeled 0.) QED.\n\nReferences\n\n[WY92] Gerhard J. Woeginger and Zhongliang Yu. On the equal-subset-sum problem. Information Processing Letters, 42(6):299–302, July 1992. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0020-0190(92)90226-L", "This problem has a few simple constant-factor approximation algorithms, such as the trivial algorithm that picks the $C' \\in \\{\\emptyset, C\\}$ with a higher objective score.\n\nHere's a loose constant-factor hardness result. No significant effort was put into optimizing the constant. I'm sure others can find something tighter.\n\n\n\nLet $G = (V,E)$ be an instance of Max-Cut. We construct $A$, $B$, and $C$ as follows:\n\n\n$A$ contains two vertices, $a_{u,v}$ and $a_{v,u}$, for each $(u,v) \\in E$.\n$B$ contains two vertices, $b_{u,v}$ and $b_{v,u}$, for each $(u,v) \\in E$.\n$C$ contains one set $c_v$ for each $v \\in V$. \n$c_v := \\bigcup_{u \\in \\mathcal{N}(v)} \\{a_{u,v}, a_{v,u}, b_{u,v}\\}$, where $\\mathcal{N}(v)$ denotes the neighborhood of $v$ in $E$.\n\n\nEvery subset of $C$ naturally corresponds to a collection of vertices from $V$ (i.e. via the subscripts). Call the set of vertices in this solution $V_C$.\n\nNow for every edge $(u,v) \\in E$, we count how many vertices from $\\{a_{u,v}, a_{v,u}, b_{u,v}, b_{v,u}\\}$ belong to $S = \\left(A\\cap \\left(\\bigcup_{c \\in C} c\\right)\\right) \\cup \\left(B \\setminus \\left(\\bigcup_{c \\in C} c\\right)\\right)$.\n\n\nIf $u \\in V_C$ and $v \\in V_C$, then only $a_{u,v}$ and $a_{v,u}$ are in $S$.\nIf $u \\in V_C$ and $v \\not\\in V_C$, then $a_{u,v}$, $a_{v,u}$, and $b_{u,v}$ are in $S$.\nIf $u \\not\\in V_C$ and $v \\in V_C$, then $a_{u,v}$, $a_{v,u}$, and $b_{v,u}$ are in $S$.\nIf $u \\not\\in V_C$ and $v\\not\\in V_C$, then only $b_{v,u}$ and $b_{u,v}$ are in $S$.\n\n\nTherefore, the total number of vertices in $S$ is equal to $2|E| + |\\textrm{Cut}_E(V_C, V \\setminus V_C)|$. Thus, the optimal solution involves a Max-Cut computation.\n\nIf it is hard to distinguish Max-Cut instances with optimal value $\\geq \\alpha |E|$ from those with value $\\leq \\beta |E|$, then for your problem it's hard to distinguish instances with optimal value $\\geq (2+\\alpha)|E|$ from those with value $\\leq (2+\\beta)|E|$, for a hardness of $\\frac{2 + \\beta}{2 + \\alpha} = 1 - \\frac{\\alpha - \\beta}{2 + \\alpha} &lt; 1 - (\\alpha - \\beta)/3$. \n\nAt this point we can plug in our favorite result on the hardness of max cut. E.g. UGC implies that we can choose $\\alpha - \\beta &gt; .1$,$^*$ so this gives us a UGC gap of something less than $1-(1/10)/3 = 29/30$. Similar results can be had for NP-hardness, albeit with a slightly bigger constant.\n\n$^*$ Note: this is not quite $1-\\alpha_{GW}$, since $\\alpha_{GW}$ measures the gap ratio rather than the gap difference.", "Let's start from $m = 0.925 g˙\\ce{SO3}$ that will be heated at $900 K$. This is the amount of $\\ce{SO3}$ that will occupy a volume of $1.00 L$ after heating it at $900 K$ at $1 atm$. and after partial decomposition. In moles it is also $n_o$ moles $\\ce{SO3}$, $$\\ce{ $n_o = \\frac{m}{80 g/mol} = \\frac{0.925 g}{80 g/mol} = 0.01156 mol$}$$ At $900 K$, a fraction $\\alpha$ of these moles are decomposed into $\\alpha$ moles $\\ce{SO2}$ plus $\\alpha/2 $ moles $\\ce{O2}$. Then the total number of moles at equilibrium will be : $$\\ce{$n$ = $n_o$˙($1$ - $\\alpha$ + $\\alpha$ + \\alpha/2}) = n_o(1 + \\alpha/2) = 0.01156 mol (1 + \\alpha /2)$$ The total volume is : $$\\ce{$V = nRT/p= 0.01156 mol$(1 + \\alpha/2)$RT/p = 0.001 m^3$}$$ Simple rearrangement of this formula gives : $$\\ce{1 + \\alpha /2 = \\frac{0.001 $m^3·p$}{0.01156 $mol·RT$} = \\frac{0.001 $m^3$·101325 $Pa$}{0.01156 $mol$·8.314 $J mol^{-1}K^{-1}·900 K$} = 1.172 }$$\nThe degree of dissociation $\\alpha$ is equal to $\\alpha = 2 ·0.172 = 34.4$ %", "In a series of four papers recently posted on the arXiv, Béla Csaba, Daniela Kühn, Allan Lo, Deryk Osthus and Andrew Treglown show that every large $D$-regular even graph with $D \\geq 2\\lceil n/4\\rceil -1$ can be covered by edge-disjoint matchings, i.e. is class 1.\n\nIn a sequence of four papers, we prove the following results (via a unified approach) for all sufficiently large $n$:\n(i) [1-factorization conjecture] Suppose that $n$ is even and $D \\geq 2\\lceil n/4\\rceil -1$. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into perfect matchings. Equivalently, $\\chi'(G)=D$.\n(ii) [Hamilton decomposition conjecture] Suppose that $D \\ge \\lfloor n/2 \\rfloor $. Then every $D$-regular graph $G$ on $n$ vertices has a decomposition into Hamilton cycles and at most one perfect matching.\n(iii) [Optimal packings of Hamilton cycles] Suppose that $G$ is a graph on $n$ vertices with minimum degree $\\delta\\ge n/2$. Then $G$ contains at least ${\\rm reg}_{\\rm even}(n,\\delta)/2 \\ge (n-2)/8$ edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles. Here ${\\rm reg}_{\\rm even}(n,\\delta)$ denotes the degree of the largest even-regular spanning subgraph one can guarantee in a graph on $n$ vertices with minimum degree $\\delta$.\nAccording to Dirac, (i) was first raised in the 1950s. (ii) and the special case $\\delta= \\lceil n/2 \\rceil$ of (iii) answer questions of Nash-Williams from 1970. All of the above bounds are best possible. In the current paper, we prove the above results for the case when $G$ is close to the union of two disjoint cliques.\n\nFor (not necessarily regular) graphs of maximum degree down to $n/3$ the overfull conjecture is that the only obstruction to being class 1 is an odd order subgraph $H$ with more than $\\Delta(G)(|H|-1)$ edges (too many to $\\Delta$-colour).\n\nAdded by later editors:\nThere is also an old result by Richard Stong regarding 1-factorizability of even Cayley graphs:\nStong, Richard A., On 1-factorizability of Cayley graphs, J. Comb. Theory, Ser. B 39, 298-307 (1985). ZBL0581.05031.", "AutoHotkey (632)\n\nf(i){\no:={},f:={},n:=0\nloop,parse,i,`n\n{\na:=A_LoopField\nif A_index!=1\n{\n@:=Substr(a,1,1),#:=Substr(a,3,1),n+=($:=Substr(a,5))\nif !IsObject(o[@])\no[@]:={}\nif !IsObject(o[#])\no[#]:={}\no[@][#]:=o[#][@]:=$\n}\n}\nf[n+1]:=@,f[@]:=n+1,a:=\"\"\nwhile !a\n{\na:=0\nfor k,v in o\n{\nif !f[k]\n{\nc1:=c2:=s:=0\nfor k1,v1 in v\n{\nif f[k1]\nif s\n{\nif (r1==f[k1]-v1)or(r1==f[k1]+v1)\nc1:=r1\nelse r1:=c1:=\"\"\nif (r2==f[k1]-v1)or(r2==f[k1]+v1)\nc2:=r2\nelse r2:=c2:=\"\"\n}\nelse\nc1:=r1:=f[k1]+v1,c2:=r2:=f[k1]-v1,s:=1\n}\nif c1\nf[c1]:=k,f[k]:=c1,a:=1\nelse if c2\nf[c2]:=k,f[k]:=c2,a:=1\n}\n} \n}\nloop % 2*n+1\n{\nv:=f[A_index]\nif v\nz:=1\nr.=z?(!v?\".\":v):v\n}\nreturn Rtrim(r,\".\")\n}\n\n\nThe code can be more shortened by renaming all vars to 1 character .. It should then be about 610 characters.\n\nTest Cases\n\nv := \"\n(7,A,B,G,Q,U\nB,Q,4\nA,B,10\nG,U,13\nQ,U,10\nA,G,9\nG,Q,3\nA,Q,6 \n)\"\n\nmsgbox % f(v)\nmsgbox % f(\"3,P,H,I`nP,H,3`nH,I,1`nP,I,4\")", "I don't have a complete answer, but I think both problems are open.\n\n\n\nThe paper by Jajcay, Malni&#x10D;, Maru&scaron;i&#x10D; [3] is related to your first question.\nThey provide some tools to test vertex-transitivity. They say in the introduction that:\n\n\n For a given finite graph $\\Gamma$,\n it is decidedly hard to determine whether $\\Gamma$ is vertex-transitive,\n and the ultimate answer comes usually only after a substantial part of\n the full automorphism group of $\\Gamma$ has been determined.\n\n\nNote that vertex-transitivity test can be done by testing graph isomorphism $n−1$ times.\nMake two copies $G$ and $G'$ of your graph,\nwith special anchors (like paths of length $n+1$) at $u \\in V(G)$ and $v \\in V(G')$.\nThere is an isomorphism between $G$ and $G'$ if and only if\nthe original graph has an automorphism mapping $u$ to $v$.\nThus you can test vertex-tansitivity by fixing a vertex $x$,\nand checking that there are automorphisms mapping $x$ to all the other vertices.\n\nAlso note that if vertex-transitivity test can be done in polynomial time,\nthen so is isomorphism test for vertex-transitive graphs.\nThis is because two vertex-transitive graphs are isomorphic if and only if\ntheir disjoint union is vertex-transitive.\nI believe that complexity of graph isomorphism for vertex-transitive graphs is not known.\n\n\n\nFor the 2nd question, I found a partial result.\nA circulant graph is a Cayley graph on a cyclic group.\nEvdokimov and Ponomarenko [2] show that recognition of\ncirculant graphs can be done in polynomial time.\nAlso the book chapter by Alspach [1, Chapter 6: Cayley graphs, Section 6.2: Recognition]\nwould be interesting for you, although it says that:\n\n\n We shall ignore the computational problem of recognizing whether an\n arbitrary graph is a Cayley graph. Instead, we always assume that\n Cayley graphs have been described in terms of the groups on which they\n are built, together with the connection sets. For most problems this\n is not a drawback.\n\n\n\n\n\nBeineke, Wilson, Cameron. Topics in Algebraic Graph Theory. Cambridge University Press, 2004. \nEvdokimov, Ponomarenko. Circulant graphs: Recognizing and isomorphism testing in polynomial time. St. Petersburg Math. J. 15 (2004) 813-835. doi:10.1090/S1061-0022-04-00833-7\nJajcay, Malni&#x10D;, Maru&scaron;i&#x10D;. On the number of closed walks in vertex-transitive graphs. Discrete Math. 307 (2007) 484-493. doi:10.1016/j.disc.2005.09.039", "There are graphs with $\\chi(G) = 4$ and arbitrarily large $\\chi_r(G)$ (linear in the number of vertices) for a badly chosen roundtrip $r$.\n\nA family of examples can be constructed as follows: For an even integer $n \\geq 4$, consider the graph with vertex set $\\{v_i,v_i',u_i,u_i'\\mid 1 \\leq i \\leq n\\}$ and edges \n\n\n$v_iv_j'$ and $u_iu_j'$ for $i \\neq j$,\n$v_iv_{i+1}$, $v_i'v_{i+1}'$, $u_iu_{i+1}$, and $u_i'u_{i+1}'$ for $1 \\leq i &lt; n$, and \n$v_n'u_1$ and $u_n'v_1$.\n\n\nIn other words, the induced subgraph on the vertices $v_i,v_i'$ is a complete bipartite graph minus a matching plus a spanning path on both sides, and similarly for $u_i,u_i'$, and there are two additional edges connecting these two graphs. \n\nIt is easy to see that $\\chi (G_n) = 4$: Colour the path spanned by $v_i$ and $u_i'$ with colours 1 and 2 and the path spanned by $u_i$ and $v_i'$ with colours 3 and 4. Fewer colours are not possible because $G_n$ contains copies of $K_4$.\n\nFor $\\chi_r(G_n)$ consider the roundtrip $r$ given by\n$$\nv_1, v_2, v_1', v_2', v_3, v_4, v_3', v_4', \\dots, v_{n-1}, v_n,v_{n-1}', v_n', u_1, u_2, u_1', u_2', u_3, u_4, u_3', u_4', \\dots, u_n', v_1.\n$$\n\nWithout loss of generality assume that the chosen starting point $v$ is $u_i$ or $u_i'$, so the vertices $v_i$ and $v_i'$ are visited in order $v_1, v_2, v_1', v_2', v_3, v_4, v_3', v_4', \\dots, v_{n-1}, v_n,v_{n-1}', v_n'$. It is not hard to check inductively that\n\n\n$v_1$ and $v_2$ are coloured with colours $\\{1,2\\}$ (not necessarily in that order),\n$v_i'$ receives the same colour as $v_i$,\nfor $i \\geq 3$, the colour of $v_i$ (and thus also $v_i'$) is $i$.", "The desired property holds for Independent Set (and probably other problems) in graphs of suitably bounded tree width.\n\nFix any constant $\\epsilon&gt;0$ and consider the Independent Set problem restricted to graphs of tree width at most $n \\log_2(1+\\epsilon) = \\Theta(\\epsilon n)$, where $n$ is the number of vertices. Call this problem $\\Pi_\\epsilon$.\n\nLemma 1. The problem $\\Pi_\\epsilon$ has an algorithm running in time $O((1+\\epsilon)^n n^{O(1)})$.\n\nProof. This is a direct corollary of a result in [1] --- that Independent Set has an algorithm running in time $O(2^{\\text{tw}(G)} n^{O(1)})$, where $\\text{tw}(G)$ is the tree width of the given graph $G$. $~~\\Box$\n\nLemma 2. Assuming ETH, there is no algorithm for $\\Pi_\\epsilon$ that runs in time $2^{o(n)}$.\n\nProof. Per [2] Theorem 3.3, assuming ETH, there is no $2^{o(n)}$-time algorithm for Independent Set. Suppose for contradiction that there is an algorithm $A$ for $\\Pi_\\epsilon$ running in time $2^{o(n)}$. Construct an algorithm $B$ for Independent Set as follows:\n\nAlgorithm $B$ on input $G$, an arbitrary graph with $n$ vertices:\n\n\nLet $G'$ be the graph obtained from $G$ by adding artificial vertices, each with no edges, to bring the total number of vertices to $n'=n/\\log_2(1+\\epsilon)$. \nRun the algorithm $A$ for $\\Pi_\\epsilon$ on $G'$ to find a maximum independent set $I'$ in $G'$.\nLet $I$ be $I'$ minus all artificial vertices. Return $I$.\n\n\nGraph $G'$ has tree width at most $n'\\log_2(1+\\epsilon) = n$ because $G$ has tree width at most $n$. So $A$ returns a maximum independent set $I'$ for $G'$ in time $2^{o(n')} = 2^{o(n)}$. $I'$ must consist of a maximum independent set $I$ in $G$ together with all the artificial vertices. So $B$ returns a maximum independent set in $G$ in time $2^{o(n)}$, contradicting Theorem 3.3 of [2]. $~~~\\Box$\n\nNote: Edited 12/30/2019 to correct an error in the lower-bound argument.\n\n[1] Invitation to Fixed-parameter Algorithms. Rolf Niedermeier. Oxford Lecture Series in Mathematics and its Applications, Vol. 31. Oxford University Press, Oxford\n\n[2] Lower bounds based on the exponential time hypothesis. D Lokshtanov, D Marx, S Saurabh - Bulletin of the EATCS no 105, pp. 41 71, October 2011", "Depending on which version of the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) you're looking at, it's either NP-hard (finding the shortest possible route), or NP-complete (called the decision version of TSP; given a length $L$, determine if any tour of a given graph has length less than or equal to $L$).\n\nThe difference between the two is subtle, but important: NP-hard problems are at least as hard as any problem in NP. The way you show a problem is at least as hard as another problem is to use what's called a reduction. A reduction is a way of transforming your given problem into the problem you'd like to compare it with. In this case, if you want to compare TSP to, say, a known NP problem like 3-SAT (satisfiability of a Boolean statement consisting of clauses containing 3 literals), you would try to reduce TSP to 3-SAT. The idea is to convert an instance of a problem $a$ that we don't yet know how to solve into a problem $b$ that we do know how to solve, such that the solution to $b$ can be used to determine a solution to $a$. Then, by converting $a$ to $b$ and solving $b$, we've constructed an algorithm to solve $a$. If we know how long the conversion process -- that is, the reduction -- takes, and we know how long it takes to solve problem $b$, then we can figure out an upper bound on how long it takes to solve the problem $a$.\n\nThe most common and useful kind of reduction I saw in my introductory graduate-level theory of computation course was called a polynomial-time reduction, which is a reduction process whose algorithm takes polynomial time, as a function of some metric of problem size, to produce its output. This concept is then used to define what NP-complete means. A problem $p$ is NP-complete if it is in NP, and for every problem in NP, there exists a polynomial-time reduction from that problem to problem $p$. NP-hard can be defined a similar way: a problem $p$ is NP-hard if there exists a polynomial time reduction from an NP-complete problem to $p$.\n\nNow that all of that terminology is out of the way, to answer your question:\n\n\nIf you're talking about the NP-complete decision version of TSP, then any problem in NP can be reduced in polynomial time to TSP. Global optimization problems tend to be NP-hard (though I don't know for sure that all of them are, I do know that nonconvex optimization problem are NP-hard). Since NP-hard problems by definition are polynomial time reductions of NP-complete problems, TSP can be polynomial time reduced to NP-hard global optimization problems.\nIf you're talking about the NP-hard version of TSP, then no statements can be made about reductions of NP-hard global optimization problems.\nThere is nothing to suggest that NP-hard optimization problems can be reduced to either version of TSP. However, it is known that 0-1 integer programming is an NP-complete problem, so it can be reduced to TSP.\n\n\nA good, but dense, reference is Michael Sipser's Introduction to the Theory of Computation, 2nd edition. (Disclaimer: Professor Sipser taught my theory of computation class.)", "Since you specifically ask later about the version of the problem in which the given path is restricted in how many times it visits each vertex/edge, I assume that the original version of the problem has no such restriction. In other words, in the original version of the problem the \"path\" is actually a trail (i.e., any sequence of vertices such that each contiguous pair has an edge between them). Thus I will refer to the original version of the problem as the trail max-weight travel problem. The other version, in which the number of uses of each edge/vertex is limited, includes the case in which each edge/vertex can be used at most once (i.e., the trail used must be a simple path); I will call that subproblem the simple path max-weight travel problem.\n\nBelow, I prove that trail max-weight travel is weakly NP-hard and that simple path max-weight travel is strongly NP-hard.\n\ntrail max-weight travel is weakly NP-hard\n\nWe reduce from the Unbounded Knapsack problem: we are given a list of pairs of positive integers $(c_1, s_1), \\ldots, (c_k, s_k)$ where pair $i$ represents a type of item with cost $c_i$ and size $s_i$, a maximum size $S$, and a minimum cost $C$, and we are asked to decide whether it is possible to choose some quantity of each item so that the total size is at most $S$ and the total cost is at least $C$.\n\nSuppose we are given an input $(c_1, s_1), \\ldots, (c_k, s_k), S, C$ to the knapsack problem. Let $H &gt; S$ be any big (\"huge\") number. Then we build an instance of trail max-weight travel as follows:\n\n\nSet the graph size $n$ to be $k + 1$. Let $1, \\ldots, k+1$ be the vertices of graph $K_n$.\nSet the deadline $D$ to be $(k+1)H + S$.\nIf $1 \\le i &lt; j \\le k+1$ then set the weight $w(e_{ij})$ to be $0$. Set the travel time $l(e_{ij})$ to be $(j-i)H$.\nIf $1 \\le i \\le k$ then set the weight $w(e_{ii})$ to be $c_i$. Set the travel time $l(e_{ii})$ to be $s_i$.\nIf $i = k+1$ then set the travel time $l(e_{ii})$ to be $H$. Set weight $w(e_{ii})$ to be some number $M$ that is greater than $D (\\max_{i = 1}^k \\frac{c_i}{s_i})$. \nSet the start node to be vertex $1$.\n\n\nWe will show that a trail of total travel time $D$ has a weight of at least $M + C$ if and only if the answer to the given knapsack instance is \"yes\". This is sufficient to show NP-hardness.\n\nThere are two possible types of trails: those that use edge $e_{ii}$ with $i = k+1$ and those that don't. Call this edge $e'$. \n\nThe maximum weight gained per unit of travel time over all edges other than $e'$ is $\\max_{i = 1}^k \\frac{c_i}{s_i}$. Thus, any trail that does not use edge $e'$ will have a total weight of at most $D (\\max_{i = 1}^k \\frac{c_i}{s_i}) &lt; M$. Thus, trails that do not use edge $e'$ will have total weight less than $M$. \n\nClearly, some trail (whose travel time is at most the deadline) has total weight at least $M + C$ if and only if a trail using edge $e'$ (with travel time at most the deadline) has total weight at least $M + C$. Using edge $e'$ requires reaching vertex $k+1$ from vertex $1$. This requires using a travel time of at least $kH$. Then using edge $e'$ requires an additional travel time $H$. After that, there is not enough time left in the deadline to use edge $e'$ again. Thus, any trail whose travel time is at most the deadline and whose weight is at least $M + C$ will use edge $e'$ exactly once. \n\nSince traveling between vertices adds no weight, it should be clear that the optimal solution will always spend the minimum possible travel time between vertices. Fortunately, this is possible without bypassing any vertex (by going through the vertices in order $1, 2, \\ldots, k+1$). This means that there is always an optimal solution to the produced trail max-weight travel instance in which we pass through the vertices in order $1, 2, \\ldots, k+1$ taking one self loop at vertex $k+1$ (in particular edge $e'$) and some number of self loops at the other vertices. Traveling between the vertices has travel time $kH$ and weight $0$. The self loop at vertex $k+1$ has travel time $H$ and weight $M$. Thus, in order for this optimal solution to reach a weight of at least $M + C$ within a deadline of $D = (k+1)H+S$, it must be the case that the total travel time used on the self loops at vertices $\\{1, \\ldots, k\\}$ is at most $S$ and the total weight gained at those self loops is at least $C$. Since self loop $e_{ii}$ has travel time $s_i$ and weight $c_i$, this is exactly equivalent to the knapsack instance we started with.\n\nsimple path max-weight travel is strongly NP-hard\n\nWe reduce from the following NP-hard version of the Hamiltonian path problem: given graph $G$ and vertex $v$, decide whether there exists a Hamiltonian path in $G$ starting at $v$.\n\nSuppose we are given an instance of this problem with graph $G = (V, E)$ and vertex $v \\in V$. Then we build an instance of simple path max-weight travel as follows:\n\n\nSet the graph size $n$ to be $|V|$.\nSet the deadline $D$ to be $|V| - 1$.\nIdentify each vertex of $K_n$ with each vertex of $G$. Then for each edge $e$ of $K_n$: (1) if $e$ corresponds to an edge of $G$, set the travel time $l(e)$ to be $1$ and (2) if $e$ does not correspond to an edge of $G$, set the set the travel time $l(e)$ to be $|V|$. In all cases, set the weight of each edge to be $1$.\nSet the start node to be the node corresponding to $v$.\nAs always in the simple path max-weight travel problem, each vertex/edge can be used at most once: $h(\\cdot) = 1$.\n\n\nEach edge has the same weight, so maximizing weight is equivalent to choosing the longest simple path whose total travel time does not exceed the deadline. The only edges that can be used without exceeding the deadline exactly correspond to edges in $G$. Furthermore, each such edge has the same time limit: $1$. Thus, solving this instance is equivalent to finding the longest simple path in $G$ starting at $v$ of length at most $|V| - 1$. Such a path of length exactly $|V| - 1$ is a Hamiltonian path, so solving this problem requires being able to solve the Hamiltonian path problem in $G$. Thus the reduction is correct. Note that the size of each number in this proof is at most polynomial in the size of the input instance, so this is a proof of strong NP-hardness.", "Since any irregular, but decidable language answers the question with \"no, there are irregular languages that are decidable\", maybe some nuance for how this relates to the usual complexity classes.\n\nFor one thing, every regular language has at most linear time complexity (just use a DFA that recognizes the language and run the word on it and check whether you end up in an accepting state). Therefore, the deterministic time hierarchy theorem implies that there are languages that are decidable, but irregular, since it implies that the set of languages that, say, require at least quadratic but at most cubic time is nonempty; similarly for languages that require $\\Theta(2^{2^{2^n}})$ time. On the other hand, there are irregular languages that have linear time complexity, as illustrated by the example $\\{a^nb^n : n \\in \\mathbb{N}\\}$ that David gave.\n\nAnother surprising thing I became aware of only recently is that SAT, the NP-complete problem of deciding whether a CNF formula is satisfiable, is context-sensitive. To see this, remember that the automata recognizing context-sensitive languages are the linear bounded automata, which are nondeterministic Turing machines that are only allowed to use the space used for the input (or alternatively, only use linearly much additional space - using a speedup theorem, those definitions should be equivalent); here are references on the matter.\n\nAnd finally, a restricted version of the question (\"does NP-completeness imply regularity?\") can be answered by \"no, there are irregular languages that are NP-complete\". If P=NP, then all irregular languages that can be decided in polytime are NP-complete (since the reduction has all the power required for deciding any NP-problem, and so reductions always work), and if P$\\neq$NP, then all NP-complete languages are irregular: if they weren't, then there would be a regular language that is NP-complete, but regular languages can be decided in linear time, contradicting P$\\neq$NP.\n\nSo to sum up: decidability doesn't tell you much about where in the complexity zoo we are, and even knowing a language can be solved in linear time doesn't tell you anything about regularity. On the other hand, irregularity doesn't tell you much about time complexity either (maybe that implies that the language requires at least linear time - but I can't prove that off the cuff, not sure it's true!).", "I suppose an analogous question can also be asked for P and NP. If a problem is in NP, then can every problem in P be reduced in polynomial time to it?\n\n\nNo. There is a stupidly simple argument here: the empty language (i.e., a problem with no yes-instances) is in NP, but no problem in P can be reduced to it.\n\n\n Does there exist a problem that is hard to solve but problems in NP cannot be reduced to it in polynomial time i.e. it does not satisfy the definition of NP-hard but is strictly not in NP?\n\n\nYes (conditional on some complexity theory assumptions). Let's take some stupidly hard problem $L$. To keep this answer as simple as possible we will assume that $L$ is undecidable but this is not necessary; a language obtained by applying the Time Hierarchy Theorem to the Ackermann function would easily suffice. Assume that instances of $L$ can be padded, i.e., adding extra zeroes at the end does not change whether an instance is a yes- or no-instance. Starting with undecidable language $L'$, $L$ could be obtained by taking every string from $L'$ and appending a $1$ followed by an arbitrary amount of zeroes. Clearly $L$ is still undecidable.\n\nNow consider the subset of $L$ containing only those strings whose length can be expressed as a tower of powers of two (i.e., $1, 2, 2^2, 2^{2^2}, 2^{2^{2^2}}, \\ldots$). We split this subset into three languages $L_0, L_1, L_2$, depending on the height of the tower of powers of two. $L_0$ contains those strings where the tower has a height which is a multiple of $3$, $L_1$ contains strings whose height is $1$ modulo $3$, $L_2$ those strings whose height is $2$ modulo $3$.\n\nNeither $L_0, L_1$ or $L_2$ are in $NP$. If they were, we could decide $L$ by padding instances to make their length the appropriate tower of powers of two, and then solving them using the $NP$ algorithm. Obviously the padding can increase the length of the instance exponentially, but if $L$ is sufficiently hard (e.g., undecidable) this does not matter.\n\nNow, to answer the original question, can every problem in $NP$ be reduced in polynomial time to $L_0, L_1$ and $L_2$ (all of which are outside $NP$)? If we take some problem instance of a problem in $NP$, then at least one of the reductions (to $L_0, L_1$ or $L_2$) will result in an exponentially smaller instance. This is because the reduction, being polynomial, cannot increase the size of the instance too much, so (due to the large gaps in instance sizes) must - for at least one of $L_0, L_1$ or $L_2$ - give a much smaller instance as output.\n\nIntuitively, this sounds very unlikely. It would mean we could take an arbitrary problem in $NP$ and in polynomial time output an exponentially smaller instance (albeit of a much harder problem).\n\nFormally, this would mean that $NP\\subseteq P/poly$, a consequence which is regarded as unlikely since it would imply the collapse of the polynomial hierarchy.", "There is a precise relation at the level of complexes: $C^\\ast(X,\\mathbb Z)$ is a $G$-complex and as such it is perfect (that is quasi-isomorphic to a finite complex consisting of projective modules) and furthermore $C^\\ast(X/G,\\mathbb Z)$ is quasi-isomorphic to the derived functor value $R\\Gamma(G,C^\\ast(X,\\mathbb Z)$. The latter is mostly used through its consequent spectral sequence $H^\\ast(G,H^\\ast(X,\\mathbb Z))\\implies H^\\ast(X/G,\\mathbb Z)$ but (as with all spectral sequences) it contains some ambiguity which (somehow) has to be resolved.\n\nThis is mainly going from knowledge of the cohomology of $X$ to that of $X/G$. Going the other direction is more difficult as the $G$-cohomology kills a lot of information (if one works with rational coefficients instead, it just picks out the trivial representations). However, the fact that $C^\\ast(X,\\mathbb Z)$ is perfect helps out even though it can still be difficult to say something.\n\nAs an example of the relevance of perfectness consider the case when $G$ is cyclic (of order $n$, say) acting by fixed point free orientation preserving maps on the $k$-sphere. Then the cohomology of $X$ is the trivial representation in degrees $0$ and $k$. Such a complex is classified (this is essentially the Yoneda Ext-description) by an element $\\alpha$ in $H^{k+1}(G,\\mathbb Z)$. For $C^\\ast(X,\\mathbb Z)$ to be perfect we must have that $\\alpha$ must have order exactly $n$. This excludes $k$ even as the order then is always $1$ and for $k$ odd $\\alpha$ must be a generator of $H^{k+1}(G,\\mathbb Z)=\\mathbb Z/n$. It is now easy to compute $R\\Gamma(G,C^\\ast(X,\\mathbb Z)$ (and its additive structure is actually independent of $\\alpha$) but we have also obtained a (necessarily) non-trivial invariant of the action. When $k=3$ this is a well-known invariant of lens spaces." ]

[ "By . Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 07:54 EST, 26 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:06 EST, 26 March 2013 . Like the poet William Wordsworth, sprinter Usain Bolt and footballer Alan Ball, she’s certainly got the right name for her job - but could have ended up treading the boards if things had gone differently. Sara Blizzard, 42, is the presenter for the BBC weather forecasts on East Midlands Today and North West Tonight - at a time when Britain is being blasted by snow and bitterly cold temperatures. The presenter, who trained as a dancer and actor at Pattison College in Coventry, West Midlands, replaced Lisa Dransfield as the main weather presenter on BBC East Midlands Today in 1999. Apt name: Sara Blizzard, 42, is the presenter for the BBC weather forecasts on East Midlands Today and North West Tonight - at a time when Britain is being blasted by snow and bitterly cold temperatures . She first started broadcasting for hospital radio at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry and also worked behind the scenes at local independent station Mercia FM, before she joined Leicester Sound. Ms Blizzard was then asked for a screen test by Live TV in Canary Wharf, east London, and was offered a job as a newsreader and reporter at one of their affiliates in Liverpool, Merseyside. Her first day on screen was broadcasting from Aintree on the day of the Grand National IRA bomb scare in 1997, and she admitted ‘my knees didn't stop knocking until I got home in the evening’. She said in her presenter profile on the BBC East Midlands Today website: ‘I really do enjoy the job because it is so varied and always live. We do not have an auto-cue to rely on during the forecast. In sunnier weather: Sara Blizzard is pictured presenting at Trent Bridge in Nottingham in May 2012 . ‘We also have to talk for whatever duration is required, so it always keeps us on our toes.’ Ms Blizzard, whose surname is her family name, has more than 1,750 followers on Twitter and said in the profile that her best personal TV moment was ‘interviewing Freddie Starr and surviving it’. In addition to her TV work, she presents bulletins on BBC local radio and the Asian Network, while she is also the voice for the Traffic Master in-car information system used by various manufacturers. Ms Blizzard is presenting the weather at a time when thousands of people spent another night without power and transport routes remained impassable as the long winter continued its grip on the UK. People on Twitter described her name as 'apt', 'very funny' and 'prophetic', while Telford-based user Claire Alexander said: 'Think I'm being pranked - Midlands Today weathergirl is called Sara Blizzard'." ]

[ "Snow, sleet and blizzards have hit parts of the UK which could see areas of Britain wake up to a blanket of snow on Saturday morning. An 'area of rain, sleet and snow' is moving east across Northern Ireland, Wales, central and northern England and Scotland, forecasters said. Snow has forced Liverpool's John Lennon Airport to close. Planes from Malta, Berlin and Bucharest were sent to Manchester, while one from the Isle of Man had to turn back. A spokesman for the airport said: 'We are clearing the runway. We have had quite a deluge.' Scroll down for video . Drivers heave a stranded car up a steep hill in Nottingham, as it attempts to navigate its way through the slushy road . Snow fell across Derbyshire, leaving hundreds of people without electricity - motorists struggle on the A52 near Ashbourne (pictured) The blizzard conditions made travelling conditions treacherous for motorists - a tractor with a rope tows a car on the A52 in Derbyshire . Gritters and snow ploughs were out in force in Sheffield tonight, with cars sliding around and stuck in the snow . Snow has forced Liverpool's John Lennon airport to close and flights are being rerouted elsewhere to allow runways to be cleared . Maisy Byrne, aged nine, (left) and sister Lulu Byrne, aged seven, trudge through the snow as snow falls in Gateacre, Liverpool . Two children build up snowmen on sledges as snow fell in Mapperley, Nottingham - police issued warnings for the roads in the Midlands . A car lights up the snow falling tonight in Childwall, in Liverpool - much of the UK will experience snow overnight . A child poses with a snowball near Towcester in Northamptonshire as extreme weather struck the region . The heavy snow meant motorists ended up abandoning their cars in parts of Sheffield, Yorkshire . Referee Mark Clattenburg gazes up in to the stands as the snow fell heavily at the Hawthorns in West Bromwich today . England and Manchester City goalkeeper dives for the ball on the white ground under pressure from West Brom striker Brown Ideye . East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire was forced to suspend flights because of snow. Staff trying to clear the runway at 6.30pm were unable to say when it would reopen. Leeds Bradford International Airport was also forced to close tonight. A message on its website read: 'As a result of adverse weather conditions, Leeds Bradford International Airport is presently closed. 'We recommend you contact your airline or tour operator and check the status of your flight before arriving at the airport.' Elsewhere, passengers on board a flight to Hamburg said there were stuck at Manchester Airport for more than three hours because of snow. According to reports, the flight was delayed because it needed to be 'de-iced' by a special vehicle at the airport. Tonight, snow fell across Derbyshire, with severe weather leaving hundreds of people without electricity. Some 1,824 homes were hit by a power cut in the Ashbourne area of the Derbyshire Dales. Although power was restored to many, Western Power Distribution said staff were struggling to get to customers because of snow and bad weather. Police have issued warnings for roads in the Midlands and North West because of snow. Staffordshire Police tweeted: 'Difficult road conditions across Staffordshire. Only travel if necessary.' Cheshire Police said some roads were 'looking treacherous'. The worst affected areas are in the north of England, with Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield experiencing extreme weather. Earlier today, footballers played through a flurry of snow and fans shivered in the stands during a Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City at the Hawthorns. A driver nervously travels through the A5 near Towcester in Northamptonshire in what were tricky conditions for motorists . West Yorkshire Police tweeted a picture of the snow that closed the entry slip at Junction 22 tonight . A family walk through the snow in Ashbourne, in Derbyshire, this evening, where snowfall has led to blocked roads in the area . A group of men clamber out of a BMW in Childwall in Liverpool as heavy snow covered the cars . A flurry of snow fell in Birmingham - temperatures could also drop as low as -10C in some places at the start of next week . Twitter user @bookishbecca said 'Came home early to North Wales and glad we left when we did' Twitter user Julie Todd uploaded this picture of snow in Flint, North Wales where snow fell overnight . Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis signals as the snow falls during the Premier League match at the Hawthorns today . The Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City was played in snow - the away side won 3-1 . Today, the Met Office upgraded its cold weather alert to Level 3 Amber - one below a national emergency - saying there was a 90 per cent chance of severe cold, ice or snow in parts of England in the run up to New Year's Eve. Temperatures could also drop as low as -10C in some places at the start of next week. A spokeswoman said: 'Low pressure, tracking southeastwards over central and southern England later Boxing Day and overnight into Saturday, is expected to give a period of sleet and snow across the Midlands, some northern parts of East Anglia and southern parts of both NW England and Yorks and Humberside. 'Some significant snow accumulations are possible, especially on higher ground. Strong winds will develop in places for a time, exacerbating the chill. 'As the low clears away southeastwards, cold air will move south across the whole of England giving a risk of wintry showers and icy conditions across England for the rest of Saturday.' After a warmer than average Christmas Day yesterday, a thick frost was on the ground this morning and temperatures will continue to drop . It was a frosty morning on the River Frome in Dorset this morning but the clear skies made way for snow clouds in many areas tonight . A huge band of rain, sleet and snow is moving in from the Atlantic and will move across the whole of England and southern Scotland today. An area including Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, the Midlands, East Anglia, the North West, Yorkshire and as far south east as London and Kent has been put on a separate yellow alert for snow by the Met Office . Krista Mitchell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'This year as a whole has been very mild, so this could be the coldest spell that we've had. 'As we go towards Monday and Tuesday, we will see overnight temperatures really drop, with widespread frost and most places dropping below freezing.' The NHS and local councils have been put on alert and Public Health England have urged people to check on elderly neighbours. The authority's Dr Angie Bone said: 'We encourage people to keep an eye on the forecast and take the weather into account when planning activities over the following days. 'We also advise people to keep active in the home, have plenty of warm food and drinks, and maintain indoor temperatures to at least 18°C, particularly the older or very young, people with pre-existing health conditions, or who are not very mobile. These groups can be particularly vulnerable to the ill-effects of cold.' She added: 'Also take some time to think about how the bad weather may affect your friends, family and neighbours: it's important we all do what we can to protect those around us. 'If you do need to go out, remember to wear lots of thin layers and shoes with a good, slip-resistant grip to prevent any accidental falls.' Rain, sleet and snow may also affect south west Scotland and the Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders, forecasters said. The sudden cold snap is in contrast to yesterday, when above-average temperatures saw daffodils blooming in Guildford, Surrey . Sun in southern England saw many Britons enjoy a seaside walk, with some even eating their Christmas lunch next to the beach .", "Freezing Britain's unusually harsh winter could have cost thousands of pensioners their lives. This month is on track to be the coldest March for 50 years – and as the bitter Arctic conditions caused blackouts and traffic chaos yesterday, experts warned of an 'horrendous' death toll among the elderly. About 2,000 extra deaths were registered in just the first two weeks of March compared with the average for the same period over the past five years. Whiteout: Blizzards caused huge snow drifts leaving these cars nearly completely covered in Hadfield, Derbyshire . Blizzards: The Peak District was one of the worst affected areas as blizzards swept the UK overnight . And for February, 3,057 extra deaths were registered in England and Wales compared with the five-year average for the month. Campaigners at Age UK, which says 26,000 people die needlessly in winter every year, said the current weather could prove deadly for thousands more. Director general Michelle Mitchell said: 'Colder, harsher winters tend to lead to an increase in life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks and strokes which in turn leads to a high rate of excess winter deaths. 'For every one degree drop in average temperature, there are around 8,000 extra deaths.' The Office for National Statistics said the extra death rate 'could be to do with the prolonged period of cold weather we've been experiencing.' But it cautioned that it was too early to make an absolute link. The March figures are still provisional. Malcolm Booth, chief executive of the National Federation of Occupational Pensioners, said that last month almost 700 of his members had died, compared with 250 last year. 'If our membership is a representative sample that was replicated across the general population, then we could be looking at a horrendous number when all the figures are in,' he said. Snow the Welsh town of Llangollen which was cut off by road except for four wheel drive vehicles . Trapped: A car is buried in a snow drift in the Craigant Hills near Belfast, Northern Ireland . Tight squeeze: A motorist drives slowly past another vehicle that has been trapped in snow near Belfast . 'An increase in fuel costs and the extended winter means that more people are going to suffer, and more will be unable to afford to eat and heat their homes. It's a scary prospect.' It is not just pensioners who are at risk. The body of a 27-year-old man who went missing while walking home from a night out was found in deep snow in farmland near Burnley, Lancashire, yesterday afternoon. Police said the man would not be named until all family members had been informed. Chief Inspector Derry Crorken of Burnley Police said: 'Early indications suggest that it is a very tragic incident where a young man has been out with friends and has become caught up in the weather last night on his journey home. A sheep with her lamb (left) that was born during the heavy snowfall and blizzards that hit County Durham overnight and (right) Six-year-old Polly Johns and four-year-old brother Dylan enjoy sledging in Kington, Herefordshire . A soldier stands on guard during a snow shower on the first day the soldiers are wearing their summer red tunics outside Buckingham Palace . 'I would urge people to only go out if it is necessary.' Blizzards and power cuts wreaked havoc across large parts of the country yesterday, leaving snowdrifts of up to 15ft in Cumbria and night-time temperatures plunging to -7C (19F) in the Pennines. Power lines were down in Northern Ireland, Scotland and North Wales, leaving 50,000 homes without electricity. Ulster was hardest-hit, with 29,000 properties without power and 1,000 without water. The transport network was also crippled. East Midlands, Leeds, Robin Hood (Doncaster) and Humberside Airports were all forced temporarily to close runways for snow and ice to be cleared. Train services in the North-West were severely hit and even major roads were treacherous. In Cumbria 70 people were put up in a school after being stranded in their cars on the A595. A woman walking in the snow in Birmingham city centre . In North Wales, the Red Cross was brought in to transport vital medical staff to hospitals in 4x4 vehicles because the snow had made roads off limits to normal cars. The M62 near Rochdale was closed for a time but gritters were out to ensure the route between Manchester and West Yorkshire remained open overnight. Yesterday's sporting programme was also badly hit, with Northern Ireland's football World Cup qualifier against Russia called off for the second time in 24 hours as Belfast's Windsor Park was unplayable. Elsewhere, seven Football League games in the Midlands, Yorkshire and the North were cancelled and race meetings at Doncaster and Newbury were abandoned. Theme parks at Alton Towers and Drayton Manor Park closed, too. The Environment Agency had 59 flood alerts in place last night, covering the Midlands, East Anglia, the south east and the south west. Hundreds of schools were forced to close on Friday and many were expected to remain closed tomorrow, causing headaches for parents. Weathermen forecast that the harsh conditions would gradually diminish over the coming week but a biting wind from the east would ensure temperatures remain at 4-6C (39-42F), well below the seasonal average of 11C (52F). Greg Dewhurst of the Met Office said: 'While the rain, sleet and snow will peter out, it will still feel very cold because of strong easterly winds. The signals are that temperatures will start to return to normal after Easter.' The weather is also taking its toll on retailers, especially fashion chains where spring lines are remaining on the racks. For DIY chains and garden centres, this is normally one of the most important months. But Mandy Murphy of the British Retail Consortium said: 'Bad weather could feed through to sales being poorer than hoped for over the big bank holiday weekend.' It is all in stark contrast to the  same time 12 months ago, when sunbathers swamped beaches as temperatures hit 22C (71F), sparking fears of a possible drought.", "By . Martin Robinson and Leon Watson . PUBLISHED: . 02:32 EST, 12 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:40 EST, 14 February 2013 . Britain's icy blast of wintry weather will melt away to more balmy conditions today with temperatures rocketing into double figures. Much of the UK was covered with a thick blanket of snow yesterday as a weather system from the Atlantic brought in up to 6in (15cm) in places. The Met Office issued severe weather warnings for much of Scotland and northern England for, advising people to be careful in the icy conditions and low temperatures. Scroll down for video . Ice smash: At least seven cars and lorries were involved in this accident on the A96 Huntly to Inverurie road in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, but thankfully there were no serious injuries . The Met Office issued severe weather warnings for much of Scotland . and northern England yesterday, advising people to be careful in the icy . conditions and low temperatures. Above, the famous Antony Gormley . sculpture stares out over the snowy landscape . A man pulls grit along on a trolley in Ramsbottom in Bury, Greater Manchester . Many roads were impassable as winter . bites Britain yet again, while a number of crashes occurred in Scotland . and the North due to the icy conditions. But after yesterday's snowfall the UK will see much milder weather today, forecasters said. The mercury could rise as high as 12C . (54F) in the South West, 11C (52F) in London and 9C (48F) in the North, . the Midlands and Scotland. There will be no more snow this week, . but instead dry, sunny weather, according to Sally Webb, a forecaster . with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association. Unable to use their delivery van, florists Margaret Knowles and Claire Foster brave a blizzard in Buxton, Derbyshire, to deliver Valentine blooms . Traffic on the M62 outside Huddersfield . A stream runs down between snow-dusted hills outside Aberystwyth, Wales . Stranded: Two men help push a vehicle stuck on hill during snow in Blanefield, Scotland . No way through: A police officer issues advice to a motorist on a snow-covered road in Blanefield, Scotland . Fun for some: A man pulls a boy on a sledge in Blanefield, Scotland (left), while a driver attempts to grit the road beneath his lorry in the same town (right) Helping hand: A police officer shovels salt onto the road in Blanefield, Scotland. Weather forecaster have issued a yellow weather warning of up to 10cm of snow on higher routes . A car left abandoned by the side of the road in Blanefield is taken away . 'Heavy rain falling across much of . England and Wales this morning will clear through the South East around . noon, leaving a largely dry and sunny day,' she said. 'There will be isolated showers along western fringes, particularly in Scotland. 'It will stay dry overnight, with . clear spells and widespread frost, and temperatures getting down to 0C . in most places, and minus 2C (28.5F) in places like Cheshire. Blanket of snow: A gritter clears the road after heavy snowfall near Tomintoul in Scotland . Prepared: A snow plough is on stand-by on A66 in Cumbria as the next bout of snow arrived across northern England . Dawn dusting: Early morning snow falling on Johnshill in the village of Lochwinnoch around 20 miles west of Glasgow . 'Tomorrow there will be sunny spells, . though Scotland is still likely to see some showers overnight into . Saturday, but elsewhere it will be largely dry and sunny throughout the . weekend. 'Temperatures are going to stay fairly . mild, with 10C (50F) or 11C (52F) in western areas, 8C (46.5F) or 9C . (48F) in other areas and into next week.' But the warmer weather may just be a blip - forecasters suggest it will become cold again at the end of next week. The Environment Agency has eight flood . warnings in place - three in the Midlands, three in East Anglia and two . in the South West, and 132 less serious flood alerts, mainly in the . South East. However, forecasters say there is further proof that spring could . still be a long way off as forecasters warn Britain faces another month . of Arctic conditions. The snow is caused by a band of rain moving in from the Atlantic early today will turn into snow across much of England and . Scotland. Nick Prebble, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: 'There will be snow across much of England and . Scotland, and it will settle through the Midlands, the North and . Scotland. Ready: Police are on stand-by on the Cumbria and Durham border as today Met Office has warned of disruptive snow to spread . across Scotland and northern England . Warning: The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for much of . Scotland and northern England for. In this picture a gritter is . busy clearing the road after heavy snowfall near Tomintoul in Scotland . this morning . Difficult commute: Gritters have been out in force near Tomintoul (left) after snow hit Scotland again bringing traffic to a standstill on the M90 Northbound in Fife (right) 'The Midlands will see up to 4cm (1.6in), further north in England will . have up to 6cm (2.4in) while lower ground in Scotland could have 8cm . (3.2cm). But on higher ground that is likely to be more than 10cm (4in), . possibly up to 15cm (6in), with significant falls of snow.' But the freeze is likely to be short lived, and the snow will thaw and . melt away overnight as milder air comes in from the west, Mr . Prebble said, paving the way for dry, sunny spells until Friday. On Monday the heaviest snowfall was . in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire with nearly 5inches - 12cms - falling . overnight while much of London and the south-east saw several . centimetres overnight. Bird footprints in the snow, and leaves, at Maurice Lea Memorial Park in Swadlincote, Derbyshire . A deer pictured in a snowy field in the Highlands near Aviemore . Donkeys stand in snow-covered fields at the Hope Sanctuary near Leeds . Still busy working: As snow hits Scotland again, a farmer tends to his horses in a field outside Kingseat in Fife . Snow day: Rebecca Taylor Gibbs, two, from Glasgow, and mum Bethany Taylor (left), 26, play in the snow in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, while a woman nearby clears a car of snow following the snow shower .", "It will feel like -13C (9F) today as 60mph Arctic winds and snow sweep over the country creating ‘blizzard-like’ conditions. Forecasters said more than three inches of snow could be dumped on the Midlands and the North this afternoon and tomorrow, with high ground in Scotland expecting nearly six inches. Meanwhile temperatures will tumble from 10C (50F) in the North this morning to -2C (28F) tonight, and in Scotland they could drop to -4C (25F). Scroll down for video . Deep snow: England's highest ski club, the Lake District Ski Club, pictured yesterday, is situated at 2,788ft on part of the Helvellyn mountain range . Over it comes: The Met Office says the jet stream is forecast to move south of the UK from today, meaning Britain will be on its 'cold side' Lake District: The tow is not the easiest of places to get to - participants must take on the steep 90-minute hike from the village of Glenridding . Founded in 1936: The ski run, on the northern slopes of Raise Fell, offers spectacular views across the eastern Lake District fells . In the hut: Mountain snow is piled high in the Lake District, as hardy and dedicated skiers take to the slopes in the ski area . Coming up: A graphic forecasting the precipitation type through tomorrow into Thursday . The Met Office issued weather warnings for today and tomorrow, warning of travel disruption as snow falls and the wind picks up. Frank Saunders, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: ‘An active cold front is expected to push southeast across the UK during today, introducing an increasingly cold and unstable air mass. ‘Showers will become frequent and heavy, falling primarily as snow and driven well inland by strong to gale force northwesterly winds. ‘Commuters and other travellers seem likely to face a variety of winter hazards, especially later on today and early tomorrow, although it’s likely that snowfall in some areas may be more patchy, particularly towards the East.’ Dan Williams, spokesman for the Met Office, said: ‘Where snow does fall, we could see blizzard-like conditions because of high winds. It could make for some difficult driving conditions.’ He added that the cold spell is due to last until the end of next week, although there is no more snow forecast after tomorrow. SOURCE: Netweather . Surface pressure: A cold weather front will sweep across Britain today with temperatures forecast to sharply drop overnight into Thursday . Three-day forecast: Wintry showers are expected to hit the North and Midlands, as well as parts of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland . Alert: The Met Office has a yellow 'be aware' warning out for snow everywhere in Britain north of the Peak District for today and Thursday . Red, orange and green: This accumulation chart shows the forecast lying snow on Thursday, illustrating where the heavier falls are expected . Across the Atlantic: This current earth wind speeds map shows the snowstorm on the US east coast (bottom left), relative to Britain (right) 'Alert and readiness': The Met Office has issued a cold weather alert from today to Sunday, warning of increased risk to vulnerable patients . Meanwhile Public Health England issued a weather alert, putting hospitals and GP surgeries in northern England on standby for a surge of patients. Their ‘level two’ alert, which covers Yorkshire, the North East, the North West, the Midlands and East of England, also warns social services to keep a close eye on the elderly and vulnerable. Dr Angie Bone, head of the extreme events team at Public Health England, said: ‘Although many parts of the country have already seen colder weather this winter, it does look like we’re in for a further spell with bitter winds and snow showers likely to make it feel particularly cold. ‘In this sort of weather we know that older people and people in poor health tend to stay indoors. While this is sensible, it’s worth remembering these people may need help getting to a hospital or GP appointment, with shopping or prescription fetching, or just someone to talk to. ‘If you know someone in this situation, and most of us do, think about what you can you do to help out. ‘Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually working age adults who have most slips and trips outside in cold and icy weather, not older people, which is why it’s important to wear shoes with a good, slip-resistant grip to prevent any accidental falls.’ The bitter cold is being caused by the jet stream moving south of the UK, dragging cold northerly winds down from the Arctic. The snow and winds causing chaos in the US are part of a different weather system.", "Britain will be gripped by an 'arctic airmass' as freezing snow blizzards of up to 70mph are set to bring further travel chaos. The Met Office has issued yellow warnings - urging the public to be aware - for ice across the entire country and snow across the Midlands, northern England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It comes after 'thundersnow' storms battered large parts of northern Britain on Thursday, with up to 9in of snow falling in some parts of the UK. Scroll down for video . More snow to come: An Arctic blast will sweep across Britain this weekend bringing more extreme weather. Pictured, Curbar, Derbyshire today . With temperatures remaining low overnight, forecasters have warned that ice is likely to form on road surfaces and more snow is expected on high ground, especially across Scotland. But much of the UK will be affected by the conditions, with several crashes already reported today, including a seven-car pile-up in Cornwall. The Met Office have said on Sunday and Monday temperatures will drop well below freezing and will feel like -6C in parts of Scotland due to the northerly winds. Strong winds of up to 70mph are predicted in north-west Scotland, meaning blizzard conditions are likely, experts say. A Ryanair plane takes off from Stansted Airport in Essex this afternoon as snow and blizzards hit the region . Braving the cold: A woman shields herself with an umbrella in Banstead, Surrey today as freezing conditions spread to the south of the UK . Job commitment: A postman makes his morning rounds in Surrey today where a layer of snow has settled on the ground . MeteoGroup forecaster Chris Hogan said 'heavy snow showers' were forecast in higher areas as a band of cold weather moved south across England. London could also see a 'dusting' of snow, although sleet and rain were more likely, he added. The Met Office's chief forecaster Eddie Carroll said: 'Road surface temperatures will fall widely below freezing, leading to a risk of ice on untreated surfaces. 'This will be exacerbated by showers in places, more especially across Scotland, where 2-5cm of fresh snowfall may accumulate above 150m, with up to 10cm settling above 300m. 'Further south, a mixture of rain, sleet and wet snow is likely, with most of any settling snow taking place above about 200m. However, wet roads at low levels will contribute to the risk of ice formation.' The Met Office said sleet and snow showers would affect parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, with snow falling to lower levels and extending further south through the day. Longer spells of sleet and snow are also possible, especially across the high ground of Scotland and north-east England. Another plane taxis down a runway as sleet creates extremely low visibility at Stansted Airport in Essex this afternoon . Walkers brave the chill: A pair of dogs charge across a snow-covered field on a freezing day in Queensbury, West Yorkshire . Icy roads: A minivan pictured in Derbyshire today. The county has seen heavy snow in the last two days and many school were forced to close . 'Thundersnow' storms battered large parts of northern Britain on Thursday, with Derbyshire, above, one of the worst-affected regions . A dog walker strolls in Queensbury, West Yorkshire (L) and a labrador puppy sees snow for the first time ever in Cambridge today . Mr Carroll added: 'A very cold airmass will spread southwards across Scotland and Northern Ireland accompanied by strong winds, spreading southwards into northern England and north Wales later in the day. 'Frequent showers are likely to form in this airmass, and with the cold air snow is likely to accumulate, even to low levels in places. 'Periods of enhanced snowfall are possible within this general flow, perhaps more especially across the high ground of Scotland and north-east England, but these details are more uncertain. 'There is the potential for disruption throughout this period due to the accumulating snow and ice but also with temporary blizzard conditions leading to very difficult driving conditions.' Seven vehicles have been involved in a crash on the A30 near Bodmin, Cornwall today. It happened along a 750ft stretch of the road, and several people needed treatment for their injuries, police said this morning. Snowy outlook: Maps taken from the Met Office website show that the UK is expected to see more 'severe weather action' this weekend . The yellow 'Be Aware' warning from the Met Office continues to affect large parts of the UK until Tuesday . The Met Office has issued yellow warnings - urging the public to be aware - for ice across the entire country. Above Bretton, Derbyshire . Philip Mansfield posted this photo on Twitter today showing a deep layer of snow covering Rishworth Moor in West Yorkshire . The smash happened as snow fell again in many places during the night and forecasters warned of a weekend of wild weather, with gale force winds and more snow. A car and lorry crash on the M6, near Cheshire, also caused problems earlier - closing all but one lane southbound. This afternoon there was an accident on the M8 near Glasgow and a three-car smash on the M20 near Kent. Manchester Airport, which was forced to close both of its runways for several hours on Thursday, said a total of 36 flights inbound or outbound had been cancelled yesterday. It said on its website: 'We are fully open today, but as things get back to normal and aircraft get back to where they should be, passengers are advised to check with their airline for specific flight queries as some may be subject to delays.' Yesterday, commuters across the UK faced nightmare delays after accidents and treacherous conditions on motorways resulted in multiple lane closures, leaving thousands of people stuck in traffic as they made their way to work. The M4 was facing delays early this morning after a multiple car pile-up late last night. Queues stretched along the motorway after the smash at junction 15 near Swindon, Wilts, as sleet and rain which had fallen during the day turned to black ice. Several people needed treatment but nobody was killed in the accident which involved at least five vehicles near the junction with the A346. A Thames Valley Police spokesman said 'People are travelling too fast for the conditions - the road surfaces are lethal in places, like slippery glass.' Taking the plunge: Members of the Brighton and Hove Sea Swimming Club taking part in their daily exercise in temperatures of 4C today . Freezing dip: A swimmer emerged from the sea in Brighton this morning where temperatures are expected to reach a maximum of 4C . Risk: The Met Office said 'road surface temperatures will fall widely below freezing, leading to a risk of ice on untreated surfaces' Expected disruption: Britain is set for more travel disruption as forecasters predict more snow and blizzards in the next three days . The big freeze continues: Much of Britain can expect light or heavy snow today as seen in this accumulation forecast . A Level 3, or severe weather warning, has been issued across the North and West of England, affecting snow-hit Derbyshire, above . A well wrapped-up driver attempts to scrape snow from her car in Queensbury, West Yorkshire today . Strong winds create giant waves this afternoon at Seaham Harbour, located on the North East coast, near Durham .", "By . Tamara Cohen and Lucy Osborne . PUBLISHED: . 02:43 EST, 20 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 03:41 EST, 20 August 2012 . If you thought the weather forecast was too good to be true, you were probably right. The BBC has been forced to apologise on air for ignoring official weather predictions and forecasting sun when rain was on the way. Forecasters stuck to their own assessment of the weather and disregarded stormy warnings from the Met Office –  and as a result, many viewers were caught unawares when the heavens opened in parts of the country yesterday. Wet: Festival-goers at the V Festival in Staffordshire endured soggy conditions while temperatures soared across southern Britain to 30C. Weatherman Philip Avery made an embarrassed apology for the errors . Yesterday afternoon, weatherman Philip Avery made an embarrassed apology for the errors on the BBC News channel. He admitted: ‘There are thunderstorms which were not represented in our  forecasts over the past couple of days or so. 'I have to say we can’t even blame the computers, the computers actually wanted to put those thunderstorms in there but forecasters thought that it wasn’t supported by enough evidence and so we went for the dry, hot option. ‘Having said that, apologies to anyone who has had their next few hours ruined.’ Ominous: Dark clouds were seen as rain delayed play during the Third Investec Test Match at Lord's Cricket Ground in London yesterday . Last night a BBC spokesman said: ‘The weather team always endeavour to be open about forecasting and it was right to explain why today’s forecast didn’t capture weather events in some regions. ‘This was done following discussions with Met Office colleagues.’ While those in the south yesterday might not have minded the odd refreshing shower, those in the north were probably less thrilled. Temperatures soared to 30C (86F) in southern areas, but the rest of the country had a gloomy day of cloud and showers. An estimated half a million flocked to beaches at Brighton and Bournemouth to enjoy the hottest weekend of the year. The mercury hit 32.4C (90.32F) at the village of Cavendish in Suffolk on Saturday, and early indications were that yesterday was not far behind in the south east. A high of 30.6C (87.1F) was reached in Cambridge, and 30C (86F) in London. Wet revellers: After yesterday's sunshine the weather turned bad at the V-Festival in Weston Park, Staffordshire as a heavy band of rain swept across the West Midlands . Out in force: Brighton beach did not take long to fill out when the sun made an appearance this weekend . But across the north, west and Wales, temperatures were just 22C (72F) at best, although still above the 21C (70F) average for the time of year. There was surface water flooding in places, and a heavy band of rain over the Midlands in the afternoon left the 150,000 attending the V Festival in Staffordshire drenched. Yet back in the south, supermarkets saw bumper sales of ice cream and barbecue meat. In London, tourists jumped into Trafalgar Square to cool off, and England’s cricketers sweltered against South Africa at Lord’s. In Wigan and Manchester, however, conditions were rather breezier for footballers playing their first match of the season. It will remain very warm in the south east and east of England today with a high of 25C (77F), but will again be slightly cooler in northern and western areas. Temperatures will fall back to a more typical 22C (72F) across southern England by Wednesday and rain will be moving in towards the Bank Holiday weekend.", "(CNN)Haven't you had enough for a week, Old Man Winter? Apparently not, in New England at least, where even more snow fell -- or is expected to fall -- Friday, on top of the several feet that socked some places a few days ago. Wait, that's not all. After receiving up to 6 more inches of snow, bitter cold wind chills and strong winds into Saturday morning, the Boston area could see another snowstorm Sunday night into Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Granted, none of it will compare with the blizzard that blew through New England from Monday through Wednesday. Few communities were spared, with some getting buried under about 3 feet of snow. Others, such as the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, got hit by especially severe winds that knocked out power. And there was Marshfield, Massachusetts, which had blizzard conditions -- meaning a whiteout with heavy snow and regular winds of 35 mph or more -- for 14 hours and powerful storm surges that crumbled a seawall and significantly damaged 11 homes. The latest weather event isn't a blizzard, but rather a \"clipper\" storm swooping down from western Canada to the east. It gets its name from clipper ships, sailing vessels known for their cutting speed, the weather service says. This time around, Maine is in the bull's-eye. Snow had already begun falling before dawn Friday in Portland, and it's expected to add up to as much as 10 inches by the time it's over Saturday afternoon. That is not a lot for winter in Maine. But it could be a problem, considering that crews were still rushing Friday morning to clear out some of the 27 or so inches that fell from the earlier storm. \"Particularly after the storm we had Tuesday, which was a monster storm, the cleanup really takes a little bit longer. And to have this back-to-back storm, it just makes it much more difficult for us,\" Portland Mayor Michael Brennan told CNN. Some areas of Maine -- all of which is under a winter storm warning through Saturday -- will get hit even harder than Portland, with 2 more feet of snow possible in the northern part of the state. \"Clean up, clear out and stay safe,\" the Maine Emergency Management Agency advised residents. Some of that system will affect areas farther south such as Massachusetts, where daytime high temperatures should peak around or just above the freezing mark. That will seem practically tropical compared with the temps once the sun goes down, when wind chills will fall below freezing and wind gusts could top 43 mph. It won't get much warmer anytime soon. The forecast for Boston doesn't have temps getting beyond the 20s through Thursday, at least. That's not beach weather, but it's not surprising either. Speaking for Mainers, Portland's mayor expressed confidence that people will get through this latest wave of winter just fine. \"We really do have some practice at this,\" Brennan said. \"And this is winter in ... New England.\" CNN's Sara Ganim reported from Portland, Maine.", "By . Andy Dolan . When the country basked in temperatures warmer than the Mediterranean  earlier this month, it seemed spring had finally sprung. But just two weeks later, the weather is not so much balmy as barmy. Villagers woke yesterday to discover two inches of snow in rural  Shropshire, while blizzards caught walkers and cyclists by surprise on the Cumbrian Pennines. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Did you see snow last night? Please send photos to: mailonlinepictures@dailymail.co.uk . Active: Skiers were out at Cairngorm in the Scottish Highlands, where there is still a good covering of snow . Christmas scenes: Unseasonal snowy scenes greeted people waking up in Newcastle-on-Clun, Shrospshire . Covered: Residents in the Shropshire village of Newcastle-on-Clun couldn't believe their eyes when they awoke . Picturesque: The scene near the village of Newcastle-on-Clun, Shropshire, which greeted shocked resident Polly Smith as she awoke to about 2in of snow . Flurries: Mark Shackleton works at the Dartmoor Brewery in Princetown, Devon - the highest brewery in the British Isles, which is around 1,450ft above sea level, and took some photos of the snow falling last night . Unusual scene: Mr Shackleton said he had only previously seen snow in Princetown, Devon, in the 1990s . And in Devon – where businesses are . turning their thoughts to the summer tourist trade – snow  flurries gave . villages a winter  wonderland theme. The scenes prompted Ladbrokes to slash the odds of snow falling over the bank holiday weekend. Elsewhere, Devon and Cornwall were . lashed by 65mph gales which caused power cuts, ripped slates from roofs . and felled trees and telephone lines, while parts of Carmarthenshire . were soaked with three inches of rain – a month’s worth in just one day. Blizzards also fell over Wales as the . unseasonal conditions swept north east towards the Pennines and . Newcastle upon Tyne. The miserable weather was a far cry from the May . Day weekend, when temperatures peaked at 22C (71.6F) at Heathrow and . Doncaster – a degree higher than parts of the Mediterranean. Tough conditions: Snow blizzards fall across the Pennines in Cumbria today, forcing ramblers to wrap up warm . Difficult for drivers: Snow blizzards fall across the Pennines in Cumbria, covering vehicles and roads in snow . Cold grip: A snowball is held in the Pennines in Cumbria after an unusual amount of snow fell for mid-May . Hard work: A cyclist pushes their bicycle up a hill in the Pennines in Cumbria amid snow blizzards . Crash: Waves smash against the shore in Great Yarmouth harbour, Norfolk, during the cold and windy weather . Yesterday Polly Smith, who lives near . the village of Newcastle-on-Clun in Shropshire, said she was shocked to . see snow covering her car and garden when she pulled back her bedroom . curtains. ‘We’ve been here 28 years and it is the first time we’ve had . snow in May,’ she said. Several roads in the county were also . closed due to flash flooding.Around 1,800 homes around Penzance, . Cornwall, were hit by power cuts caused by fierce winds. Forecasters said the snow was caused . by very wet and windy weather in the affected areas, combined with . cooler than normal temperatures after sunset. The Met Office said the last widespread snowfall in May was on May 17, 1955, when it covered much of England and Wales. Slippery surfaces: A car is covered in a layer of snow after blizzards fell across the Pennines in Cumbria . Making their way: Ramblers tried their best to battle through the snow in the Pennines in Cumbria . Strange for May: Snow fell in two parts of Britain last night, including Princetown in Dartmoor, Devon . Downfall: These unseasonal scenes were witnessed as up to 2in of snow was reported in Princetown, Devon . Helen Chivers, from the Met Office, . said: ‘Over the higher fells we would expect to see snow falling on . between two to four days in May. It’s fairly rare but it’s not . exceptional.’ The wet and windy weather is expected . to continue today and tomorrow, with conditions likely to remain . unsettled into next week.The Environment Agency said 16 flood alerts . remained in place yesterday across Wales, the Midlands, the South East . and South West. Temperatures are likely to remain . slightly below the May average of 16C (61F) in the North, and only . marginally better further south. ÷ Last month was the joint coldest . April since 1989, averaging a temperature of 6.3C (43.3F), according to . the Met Office. It shares the dubious honour with April last year.' Looking out: A bleak day on the seaside at Porthcawl in south Wales as winds of up to 65mph battered British coastlines during the night resulting in trees blown down, in what was unusual weather for May . Beside the seaside: Conditions were bracing at Porthcawl in south Wales following strong winds in the area . It's not all bad: Forager Loren Materaacki was engulfed by wild garlic on Monday in Sixpenny Handley, Dorset .", "By . Martin Robinson . This winter has been the wettest in at least 248 years, and the fifth warmest since 1910. So perhaps it will surprise few that it will finish with snow and sleet. This morning – the last day of winter in the forecasters’ calendar – snow and sleet is sweeping across Wales, southern England and parts of the Midlands. As Communities Secretary Eric Pickles warned last night that the widespread flooding is set to continue for months, the Met Office confirmed that England and Wales have suffered the wettest winter since records began in 1766. Taste of things to come: Snow returned to County Durham today but the Met Office is warning that sleep and snow will fall across England and Wales today . Having fun: Monty, a Springer Spaniel enjoying a walk after fresh snow falls in Weardale but for millions snow could cause misery with hazardous conditions on the roads . Today: Snow has fallen on northern moorland and roads in the Pennines yesterday but the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for today . But the same Atlantic weather systems that caused the relentless rain and floods have also created a remarkably warm winter. Few . parts of southern England have seen any snow, with only sporadic . snowfalls in the north, and many areas have not had a frost since . November. The average temperature this winter has been a mild 5.2C . (41F) – 1.5C above what is expected. Southern England saw 12 per cent . more sunshine than average. Snow has been forecast for parts of the UK today . It has marked a dramatic change from the . previous three winters, which saw heavy blizzards throughout the UK and . below-average temperatures. Last year the three months of winter – . December, January and February – averaged 3.3C (38F). With the exception . of 2011-12, which averaged 4.6C (40F), every other winter since 2007-08 . has been colder than average. Mr Pickles said last night: ‘Further . groundwater flooding is unfortunately expected over the coming days in . the South and South East, and may be an issue for some months to come. ‘Local resilience forums continue to assess the risk to property.’ Forecasters . yesterday issued a yellow warning for snow, urging people to take care . of hazardous conditions on the roads, but said the snow was unlikely to . settle below high ground. Met Office spokesman Dan Williams said: . ‘Areas in the South East and West as well as the south-west Midlands may . see some slushy snow. Towards Bristol and Wales is also similar. We . were expecting more but we’ve revised our predictions. ‘The yellow . warning is in place from 2am till 3pm on Friday. It’s likely to be . slushy snow – we doubt it will settle. We’re not expecting it to be too . widespread. ‘Temperatures are cooler than they have been earlier this month but this isn’t out of the ordinary.’ Records . dating back to 1766 – the oldest weather data set in the world – show . that December, January and February have been the wettest ever recorded . in England and Wales. The weather series, which is compiled by the . Oxford Radcliffe Observatory on behalf of the Met Office, started . recording data from 50 weather stations in the 18th century. Today the information comes from thousands of hi-tech stations, which feed powerful computers. The . information shows 17.1in (435mm) of rain fell between December 1 and . February 24 this year, beating the previous highest total of 16.6in . (423mm) in 1915. Paul Mott from weather forecasters MeteoGroup, said snow was likely on high ground over 300 metres. He said: 'Through this morning there will be some snow likely over the hills of Wales and maybe over some western parts of the Midlands, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. 'It will mostly be confined to the hills, which could have a covering of between 1cm and 3cm (0.4in to 1.2in), and will continue through up until 9am or 10am, when it will die away.' Picture of Britain: Experts revealed today the past winter, which ends today, has been the wettest for 250 years . Spring is coming: Flowers can be seen blooming in Carlisle town centre as today marks the end of the winter period in the Met Office's records . Sunshine: Rubi the retriever and Sadie enjoy a stroll through the crocuses on a sunny day in Aberdeen, Scotland. Although parts of England will see their first snowfall of winter today, Scotland will miss out . Spring arrives: The two dogs enjoy running in the park in Aberdeen as it is revealed Britain has endured the wettest winter for 250 years . Late winter sun: Spring appears to be on the way as student Tina Ting sits among the crocuses in a park in Aberdeen, Scotland . Magical: Shetland Ponies grazing on Gwithian Towans in Cornwall in the early morning sunshine but the South West is expecting more heavy wind and rain into the weekend . Morning sun: Sheltand ponies graze on Gwithian Towans, Cornwall.The area is braced for heavy wind and rain today but should escape snowfall which will hit central southern England . Has spring sprung? A sea of crocuses has emerged at Lee on the Solent in Hampshire, but more bad weather is on the way .", "A potentially historic Nor’easter is churning its way toward the Northeast with potential hurricane force wind gusts and blizzard conditions dumping as much as two feet of snow in some places on Friday and Saturday. While the actual trajectory for the storm is still unknown, New York City could get around 10 inches and Boston could get slammed with as much as two feet with winds gusts up to 55 mph. A blizzard watch is now in effect starting Friday morning for much of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island with travel not recommended amid fears of dangerous white out conditions, the National Weather Service reports. Scroll down for video . Snowbelt: The East Coast could get hit with up to 12 inches of snow as a powerful system moves east . Variations on a storm: However, other weather prediction services show that the majority of the storm will be further north . Path: By Friday evening at 7pm the storm is projected to be just off the eastern coast of New Jersey as depicted by NOAA here . Knee deep: An accumulated snow forecast from Intellicast shows one storm system coming across the Midwest into the East Coast . The National Weather Service is forecasting 'a potential historic winter storm and blizzard' in Boston while issuing a blizzard watch throughout the area from Friday until Saturday afternoon. They . report the heaviest snow to begin falling on Friday night into Saturday morning . with 2-3 inches per hour possible and visibility less than a quarter of a . mile or less at times. Just south, most of New York state is under its own winter storm watch with snow likely to begin falling by early Friday morning and develop into heavier snowfall . throughout the afternoon. Heavy rain, snow, and wind gusts possibly more than 50 mph are . expected throughout Metro New York, Long Island, Connecticut and up into . Orange county, New Jersey creating fears of . potential power outages in freezing conditions and drifting and blowing snow making roads . impassable according to NOAA. 'As always in the winter season we are prepared for whatever Mother Nature brings,' New York Sanitation Dept. spokesman Keith Mellis told the New York Post of their 365 salt-spreaders standing by. 'Once we get a weather forecast that looks like the threat of snow, we have them pre-loaded. They’re our first line of defense,' he said. Widespread minor flooding and . moderate flooding along shoreline communities is also expected, . potentially causing moderate to significant beach erosion among some of . the hardest hit areas less than four months after Hurricane Sandy. The Weather Channel reports that the Midwestern storm pattern, which passed through Chicago and Milwaukee, will mix with wetter weather coming from New Orleans, Louisville, and even Atlanta. Bundling up: On Friday snow, seen in blue, is expected to blanket parts of the northeast while accompanying patches of ice, seen in pink and purple . Salt of the Earth: Municipal trucks fill up with salt Wednesday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in preparations for what could be a large snowfall . Weekend forecast: A 25-hour snow map released by NOAA shows the northeast for February 9 through the 10th with the region easily seen hit the hardest . Days ahead: A weather map shows the projected snowfall across the northeast for the next 48 hours before the start of Friday's storm . By Thursday night, forecasts predict that the clipper system will travel from the Great Lakes region to the East Coast, passing through Philadelphia, New York, and up towards Boston. Buffalo and Albany are also under the threat of significant snowfall, according to the NOAA. But other weather forecasters say that there will be little accumulation in New York and Philadelphia, instead forecasting rain and sleet. The contrasting situation of monstrous proportions - causing some to estimate seeing 38-inches of snow dumped on New york City - rests on the interaction between a small weather system near Chicago and another off the Carolina coast that has yet to form, the WSJ reports. If the two storms merge the massive snow fall is expected to pound the full northeast area. If it misses one another - even by 50 miles - the storm would be expected to shift its weight further north, sparing New York City instead with rain and light snow. 'Crunching all that data together inside my little weather brain, I haven’t seen anything that argues convincingly for more than six inches of snow in the five boroughs,' WSJ's Eric Holthaus reports. 'The National Weather Service agrees,' he continues, 'although totals could quickly increase further northward into Connecticut. More likely, the city will get two to five inches of slush mixed with rain.' The runaround: New York has experienced little snowfall this winter, but instead endured a bitter cold snap last month with single-digit temperatures . Blanketed: A horse grazes in a snow-covered field in Akron, New York on Monday, an area expected to see 6-12-inches of snow come Friday . Moving in: An NOAA satellite image taken Wednesday shows a low pressure system off the eastern United States with a frontal boundary over the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic with snow showers . Frigid: A projected map for the U.S. late this week shows temperatures dipping into the single digits in parts of the northeast . Philadelphia is also expected to be hit with 2-4-inches of snow, . beginning overnight on Thursday and continuing into Friday, with rain in . the southern areas of the region. Around Mount Holly, New Jersey, gusts are expected up to 55 mph at the Shore and 40 mph inland. Washington, D.C., which has seen little snowfall this season, will likely get rain. New York City has been largely spared its usual snowfall, which averages at around 25 inches as of February. This year, there has been less than eight inches of snowfall in the city. Last year, too, proved to be a dry winter for New Yorkers, with a similar average accumulation. Similarly Boston has only had 9.6 inches since December 1, putting it 14.3 inches below normal. Earlier this year, much of the country was hit with a vicious cold snap, with punishing winds and Arctic temperatures causing temperatures to plummet well below freezing.", "By . Liz Hull . PUBLISHED: . 18:19 EST, 4 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:14 EST, 4 April 2012 . Thousands of homes were still without power last night after gales and Arctic blizzards lashed northern Britain early yesterday. Motorists were left stranded on roads in some areas where eight inches of snow fell overnight, drifting to 4ft in places. Severe weather warnings were issued for parts of Scotland, Wales, northern England and the Midlands, where temperatures have plunged by as much as 20c in the last week. Flaky weather: Stuart Corner was forced to dig his car out of four feet of snow in Copley, County Durham, yesterday after blizzards swept across northern England after a heatwave . Abandoned: Cars litter Saddleworth Moor in Oldham (left) while drivers help a fellow motorist near Hartington, Derbyshire (right) Get the drift? Daybreak reporter Kate Fisher's coat turns white in the Peak District . Ice surprise: Families camping and caravanning at Marfit Head Farm in North Yorkshire were amused to wake up to snow . Seven crew members had to be dramatically rescued as 70mph winds and 17ft swells wrecked a cargo ship off the coast of north Wales, while there were reports of 40mph gusts felling trees and walls in Staffordshire and Shropshire. Hundreds of lambs also perished on the North York Moors after farmers were caught out by the storms. But while much of the North shivered in freezing conditions, there was very much a North-South weather divide. Tourists in the South were sunbathing and splashing around in the sea in milder temperatures of 12c (53.6f) in Bognor Regis and Brighton. Forecasters said anyone planning an Easter getaway in the UK need not be too disheartened because the freezing weather will not last. They said temperatures will begin to creep up today, giving way to dry and bright conditions for the weekend. Around 100,000 homes lost power following the bad weather, with engineers working to restore electricity to those in Scotland, Yorkshire, the North East, Derbyshire and the Peak District. Last night supplies had been re-established to most homes, although around 12,000 were still without electricity in Yorkshire and the North East. From spring to winter in 72 hours: Sheep bathing in sunshine in Teesdale, County Durham (left), while just days later the same landscape is blanketed in snow (right) Basking in it: Despite the freezing conditions in the North, temperatures were still holding up in the South, like in Bognor Regis (pictured) PS. It ain't half still hot on the south coast: At Bognor Regis, two friends from Buckinghamshire were even brave enough to take a dip in the sea . Scotland and northern England, especially around the Pennines, North Yorkshire and Cumbria, were the worst hit by the snow falls, although snow showers were reported as far south as Devon. Around eight inches fell near Durham early yesterday, which, coupled with strong gales, caused drifts of up to 4ft in places, bringing treacherous conditions to roads. As many as 40 vehicles were stranded between Tow Law and Castleside, while ten lorries were stranded following a blizzard on the M62 at Huddersfield. In Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, two-year-old Charlotte Robertson was forced to swap her T-shirt and skirt for a snow suit as the village – which last week enjoyed the hottest March temperature in Scottish history – saw temperatures drop from 23.6c (75f) to just 2c (36f). Angela Hodgson, who runs the Marfit Head Farm camp site, between Pickering and Whitby, in North Yorkshire, said visitors were shocked when they woke to 3ft of snow. ‘There are people camping and it’s 3ft deep,’ she said. ‘We were in our T-shirts and shorts last week having a barbecue, now look at this. They just want to get out and go home.’ A spokesman for the National Farmers’ Union said hundreds of lambs had been lost and farmers were struggling without power. ‘It’s come at the worst possible time,’ he said. ‘Lambing was going very well and some farmers may have been lulled into a false sense of security by last week’s warm weather and left their lambs out. ‘Loss of power supplies is very serious for farmers who need to clean their dairy equipment and heat sheds and lamps for livestock.’ The freezing conditions moved gradually south yesterday, bringing snow falls of up to four inches on high ground in Wales and sleet showers to parts of the Cotswolds, Salisbury plain and the South West. London and the South East escaped much of the bad weather and temperatures will return to normal for April today, with highs of 11c (52f) in the South, and 10c (50f) in the North. Good Friday will be mostly dry, although there could be the odd shower in northern parts, while Saturday is likely to be dry and cloudy everywhere. Charles Powell, forecaster for the Met Office, said temperatures would be ‘recovering’ today and tomorrow to those expected for this time of year. ‘Temperatures we experienced last week were extremely mild, well above average, whereas those over the past couple of days have been at the other extreme,’ he said.", "The BBC faced a deluge of complaints from listeners over its bizarre online coverage of a fictional flood disaster in The Archers. The Radio 4 drama's village of Ambridge, based in the fictional West Midlands county of Borsetshire, was flooded in the latest sensational storyline. Accompanying the show were live minute-by-minute updates of the floods on the BBC website, including weather forecasts and 'breaking news' headlines - but listeners said the graphics were 'insulting'. The BBC faced a deluge of complaints from listeners over its bizarre online coverage of a fictional flood disaster in The Archers, which included maps and graphics on the corporation's website . A fake BBC weather forecast showed rain falling on the fictional village of Ambridge, near Birmingham . This week's episodes of The Archers have followed events taking place over one day of severe rainfall in Ambridge, with the drama building throughout the day as the River Am burst its banks. The BBC put out fake tweets and warnings from the Environment Agency, as farmland around the fictional village became inundated with water - mirroring the flooding of the Somerset Levels this time last year. The rolling coverage included maps and graphics to help listeners understand what was happening, but some listeners said visual aids 'insulted their intelligence'. Some listeners added that they could not understand what was going on because of the loud background noise of rainfall and heavy winds. Echoing the floods in Somerset last year, the BBC live coverage reported farmers rapidly trying to protect their land and even linked to a real-life account of floods in Worcester. Under a 'breaking news' headline, the online update said a character on the programme was given CPR. A realistic weather forecast also appeared on the minute-by-minute internet coverage, but listeners said it insulted their intelligence . The BBC put out fake tweets and warnings from the Environment Agency, as farmland around Ambridge became inundated with water . In other developments on the Radio 4 drama, 16-year-old character Phoebe Aldridge went missing but was later found, and Rob Titchener was injured as he saved three people from flooded stables. The rolling updates on the BBC website included a video forecast by Midlands Today weather presenter Rebecca Wood, who warned people to be wary of floodwater and severe winds. Many listeners were unimpressed by the programme's online coverage, with some taking to forums to brand it 'insulting' and confusing. One fan wrote: 'It would 'help' me to feel I was regarded as an adult who knows this is all fantasy, that the residents of Ambridge do not exist, that they are not actually glugging about in the Am's excess water, rather than be told at the end of the episode that tweets and blogs about the flood from Ambridge residents can be read/heard. 'Cannot stand this cross over between fiction and reality, the fiction should be strong enough to stand in its own right and not need these add-on insults to intelligence.' The programme's storyline mirrored the reality of the flooding of the Somerset Levels (pictured) last year . Echoing the floods in Somerset last year, the BBC live coverage reported farmers rapidly trying to protect their land and even linked to a real-life account of floods in Worcester . Another wrote: 'A friend of mine, a loyal and forgiving listener, told me that when she saw on the Archers Home Page a 'weather forecast' for Ambridge that looks exactly like the real ones that appear on the BBC news pages, she felt really cross, felt that her intelligence was being insulted. 'She loves the fictional programme but knows its not real life and is angry that the programme makers think she is stupid enough to want this sort of nonsense.' Other complaints focused on the storyline being too confusing and background noise being too loud. 'You can't do this on the radio. Just shouting into the mic does not make it a dramatic and gripping storyline. No idea where anyone was half the time, whether they were driving, wading or climbing up the wall,' one listener wrote. A spokesman for The Archers said: 'The flood storyline has been building for some time. 'The Archers has a long tradition of reflecting the agricultural world and the current storyline, which fans will know has been building for over a year, mirrors what farmers across the country experienced in recent floods. 'When developing the script, the writers spoke to real-life farmers and it is their experiences that inspired this week’s events in Ambridge. 'This is the first time we have done live blogging and it has been amazing to see audiences engage with us and experience this week’s events as if they too were residents of Ambridge.'", "By . Katie Silver, Tamara Cohen and Chris Brooke . UPDATED: . 19:06 EST, 8 February 2012 . Britain will be blanketed in up to three inches of snow in the coming days as the latest band of wintry showers sweep across the country. Forecasters are predicting the snow for central and southern England as a weather front moves in from the North West. Up to three inches of snow are expected to fall this evening on the Midlands, Lincolnshire and East Anglia. London, the South and parts of Yorkshire are due to get up to 1.5inches. A bicycle in London is covered in icicles shows England's freezing snap is still here. Temperatures in the capital Tuesday night reached -9C . Walkers are surrounded by giant icicles as they slither towards The Headstone Tunnel on The Monsal Trail near Bakewell, Derbyshire . Area of concern: The Met Office is predicting up to three inches of snow on Thursday night, left, while in London the freezing weather resulted in these icicles, right . Temperatures will plunge as low as . minus 7c (19f) in central and eastern England tomorrow night, and . daytime levels will struggle to rise above minus 1c (30f) in some parts . of the country. Forecasters are warning that low temperatures will cause a ‘slow thaw’ leaving the snow on the ground well into the weekend. The cold snap is expected to have . relaxed its grip by Sunday, although night-time temperatures will still . fall below zero in parts of England into next week. Despite freezing conditions over most of England, much of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are experiencing milder weather. Today is expected to be dry and bright . in most parts of England and Wales but temperatures are only . expected to rise to around 3C. Tim Hewson, chief forecaster at the Met Office said: 'We are expecting snow across parts of the country later tomorrow and Friday. However, the Atlantic weather system bringing the mix of rain, sleet and snow is due to stall over the UK and we find ourselves in the battleground Britain scenario once again. 'Whilst there is uncertainty regarding where the heaviest and most persistent snow will fall, accumulations of up to about 10cm are possible in the worst affected regions. As a result there could be some disruption to travel.' The freezing temperatures have also brought tragedy. It has emerged that a man died after he jumped in a freezing pond to save his dog over the weekend. The body of Tim Waddingham, 53, was . found in a pond near the Wildwood Golf and Country Club in Cranleigh, . Surrey, on Sunday afternoon. Mr Waddington, a classic car restoration expert from Rudgwick, in West . Sussex, was overcome by the cold and drowned - while his pet dog . managed to scramble free. Walker Mark Proud from Weardale looks at the icicles at Gibson's Cave at Bowlees, Middleton-in-Teesdale, in northern England . Commuters to Leeds city centre along the Leeds-Liverpool canal in freezing cold Yorkshire . County Durham farmer Maurice Scott walks on Wednesday morning across his frozen field which is under a blanket of snow and frost after plunging overnight subzero temperatures . The areas worst hit with snow are expected to be . East Anglia and the Midlands with southern areas of England set to . experience a light dusting. The north and west will be milder and could have rain. The adverse weather conditions have seen the Met Office issue a level-three severe cold weather alert lasting until Friday. Victoria Kettley, forecaster for MeteoGroup said there was still some uncertainly over exactly how much snow will fall. She . said: ‘Scotland and Northern Ireland will see a front move in during . today which could bring some snow in western Scotland - possibly a . couple of centimetres on higher ground. ‘It . will push south east overnight and edge into Northumberland and Cumbria . by tomorrow morning. There could be rain, sleet and snow on high ground . as the leading edge of the front pushes through, as well as the risk of . freezing rain.’ Desolate and cold: riders go for a stroll . A dog stands in snow in a Colchester park in Essex as freezing weather continues to blight much of the UK . Ms . Kettley predicted the weather system would continue to push southwards . during today before finally reaching the South East on Friday. ‘Some . weather models are showing significant snow for the Midlands of up to . 6cm on Friday, but it is uncertain if the precipitation the front is . bringing will fall as rain, sleet, or snow,’ she added. However, as the front passes over the UK bringing the unsettled weather, temperatures are expected to show a slight increase. It warns: ‘There is a 100 per cent probability of severe cold weather and icy conditions until 10am on Friday in parts of England. This weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients.’ Meanwhile severe ‘yellow’ weather . warnings, instructing the public to be aware of icy roads, remains in . place in London and the South East, the East, the South West, the . Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and North East England. Drivers have been reminded that roads will still pose a risk even if the temperatures begin to warm. MeteoGroup . forecaster Nick Prebble said: ‘Road temperatures in winter can be a . couple of degrees centigrade lower than the air temperature, so there’s . still a risk of ice on the roads over the weekend and potentially into . next week.’ It's an unpleasant trip to work along the Leeds-Liverpool canal . The thick . blanket of snow that fell over parts of the UK at the weekend caused . major travel disruption with a spike in road crashes and breakdowns. A . handful of schools were also forced to close due to the adverse weather . conditions, while Heathrow Airport axed half of all flights on Sunday . night. An icy view over the frozen lake to Castle Howard Stately Home, in North Yorkshire. The manor was made famous by the Brideshead Revisited television series . Frozen north: Teesdale in the Pennines is picture-perfect at sunrise . The RAC said it had seen the busiest February weekend in its history, with 41 per cent more calls than usual. Award-winning businesswoman Mandy Reed, 47, died on Saturday night after apparently collapsing in the snow. The managing director of a successful Yorkshire Dales cheesemaking firm returned . alone from a family gathering by taxi. Her body was discovered in a . garden close to her home in Scorton, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, the . following afternoon. Police are not treating the death of the mother of two as suspicious. Initial inquiries indicate she may have died after collapsing in sub-zero temperatures. The area had several inches of snow on Saturday and temperatures overnight remained well below freezing. Ice-land: Skaters take to a frozen lake where they hope to hold the ancient British and Fenland Championships on the shallow waters of Sutton Gault in the heart of the Fens . On thin ice? Malcolm Robinson takes advantage of the freezing conditions ahead of the planned races . Bravery: Staff from Malton and Whitby Fire and Rescue Service centres during an exercise in a freezing lake near York, North Yorkshire on Wednesday . Rather you than me! A decidedly cold-looking firefighter takes part in the exercise . It . is the second death to hit the family after her husband David Reed . died from a heart attack in 2005 at the age of 46. She leaves behind two . children, Louise, 25, and Sam, 20. Ten-year-old Joshua Houlgate died while playing in the snow. He . was building an ‘igloo’ with friends near his home in Castleford, West . Yorkshire, on Sunday when he complained of feeling unwell and collapsed. A friend's father dialled 999 and tried to revive him with chest compressions for half an hour. Joshua’s mother Sara rushed to the scene and attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but their efforts were in vain. Joshua’s father Jeff said the boy had epilepsy when he was younger and doctors believe he may have had a fit. School friends built a snowman in honour of Joshua. The body of a man in his 50s who is believed to have frozen to death was found in a park in Hull on Monday. The overnight temperature was minus 7c (19f). Snowman in the wilds: Lions play with a smiling snowman at Linton Zoo in Cambridgeshire . Chill: Jeff Harrods shovels snow from the footpaths in Hutton-Le-Hole, North Yorkshire .", "(CNN) -- A rash of inclement weather shut down Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Tuesday morning, raising questions as to whether Super Bowl fans will face travel problems ahead of Sunday's big game. Icy road conditions on Tuesday forced schools and some government offices to close, while 60 municipal trucks salted and scraped their way through Dallas, Texas, said mayoral spokesman Frank Librio. But forecasters expect the blustery winter weather to leave the region -- and much of the country -- by Thursday, just as the first wave of pigskin enthusiasts are due to arrive. \"We have been planning for this for a whole year,\" Librio said of Sunday's match-up between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. \"We'll be ready.\" Both teams and their fans are cold weather clubs, accustomed to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. iReport: Planning for a Super Bowl road trip? But as a massive winter storm sweeps across the nation's heartland, up to 500 Dallas flights are expected to be canceled, said airport spokesman David Magana, making re-bookings difficult for those with early travel plans. With more than 30 states under winter storm warnings or blizzard warnings, air traffic came to a halt in some places. Dallas and Houston in Texas and Chicago, Illinois, are feeling the most impact, said FAA spokeswoman Tammy Jones. Transport personnel had reopened one runway at Dallas-Fort Worth airport by Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. Meanwhile, Dallas Love Field Airport was down to one open runway, according to the FAA. Forecasters say the sub-freezing temperatures will let up Friday, reaching highs of 42 degrees. But Super Bowl XLV, scheduled to begin Sunday at 6:30pm ET, is expected to draw thousands of fans to the Texan gridiron in search of warmer weather. Forecasters say Dallas temperatures will bump up to a high of 61 degrees by game day. While not exactly balmy conditions, the warm weather Super Bowl tradition could more abruptly end three years from now. The New Meadowlands Stadium, co-owned by the New York Giants and Jets, won the bid to host Super Bowl XLVIII in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Fans may be forced to don winter gloves underneath their foam fingers in what could be the nation's first true cold-weather classic in 2014. The big game is customarily played in either domed stadiums or warm weather states. The 1967 \"Ice-Bowl,\" in which the Packers edged out a 21-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys, was played in frigid temperatures at Lambeau Field in the 35th National Football League championship game. Green Bay then traveled to Los Angeles to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the very first Super Bowl.", "By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 06:14 EST, 14 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:42 EST, 14 December 2013 . Britain is set to be battered by a new freak weather system that could bring 100mph winds and blizzards in the run up to Christmas, forecasters say. A so-called Storm Emily could wreak havoc across much of the UK beginning from the middle of next week, potentially toppling trees and tearing off roof tiles. Weather Channel forecasters are naming the storm after Wuthering Heights author Emily Bronte, who died 165 years ago next Thursday - the day the storm is expected to strike. Scroll down for video . Scarborough, North Yorkshire, is battered by gale force winds last week: A new freak weather system could bring 100mph winds in the run up to Christmas, forecasters say . Cromer Pier, in Norfolk, which was closed to the public because of storm damage last week: The region could be set for fresh misery when strong winds start moving down from Scotland from Thursday . Meanwhile, the Met Office has issued a Yellow Warning for northern and western parts of the UK tonight, including Scotland and Northern Ireland, advising of possible travel disruption in those regions. And looking forward to next week there is the chance that potentially strong winds could spread south and east, battering areas still recovering from the worst tidal floods for six decades. The unsettled weather is being caused by several low pressure systems sweeping across the north Atlantic, between the British Isles and Iceland. Poor visibility: This week parts of Britain were enveloped by a thick blanket of fog. Until Thursday though most of the South can expect mild south-westerly winds and temperatures of up to 14C . Met Office forecaster Emma Corrigan . said this morning: 'Through today there's currently a low pressure . system out to the north east that's why we have that strong wind warning . out today. 'Winds . potentially up to 80 mph which could bring some disruption to travel and . outdoor activities. The winds do ease overnight but from tomorrow . there's another low pressure area up to the north west.' The location of the low weather system . to the north of the UK means that winds will blow in from the . south-east, keeping temperatures fairly mild for now at least. 'Through . today there's potential for seeing up to 12C to 13C in the South,' said . Ms Corrigan. 'The coldest temperatures will be up in Scotland tonight, . where temperatures could drop to freezing.' A jogger runs along Seaton Carew beach near Hartlepool at dawn today: The location of the low weather system to the north of the UK means that winds will blow in from the south-east, keeping temperatures mild . Glorious: The sunrise casts a warm orange light behind wind turbines off the coast at Seaton Carew beach . Conditions are likely to remain unsettled throughout the week, but the most disruptive strong winds are likely to remain in the north and the west. But by Thursday there is the potential for strong winds to spread south and east, perhaps picking up to gale force around coastal areas. It could bring fresh misery for people there after last week two people died and thousands were evacuated from their homes after that region was swamped by a record-breaking tidal surge. Weather Channel meteorologist Leon Brown told the Daily Mirror: 'From Thursday to Christmas there is a high risk of gales. 'At the moment there is a 30 to 40 per cent risk of severe gales for central and southern Britain on Thursday. 'Worst case is 70 to 90mph gusts across exposed parts of Wales and the south, but even 70mph gusts for central Britain would cause a lot of disruption.' Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, told the Daily Express: 'This weekend we are looking at winds of 70mph, but next week a much wider, deeper system could trigger gusts over 100mph.'", "Today is officially the first day of spring - but it will bring little respite to freezing Britain as snow continues to fall, closing schools and causing chaos on the roads. The country is on track to suffer its . coldest March in more than 50 years as conservationists warned that the . prolonged winter weather was damaging wildlife. The unrelenting cold weather is showing no signs of slowing this week as snow continues to fall across the North. Spring? A paperboy cycling through snow in Harrogate, Yorkshire today on the vernal equinox . Breaking through: Crocuses battling against the snow as the spring officially arrives . Emergency: Workers battle to clear the snow at a caravan park in Edmundbyers, County Durham . Clearing the way: Tractors working to clear a blocked road at Stanhope in County Durham . Today is the vernal equinox, . traditionally regarded as the end of winter and the day that spring . arrives, but the news could come as a surprise to Britons affected by . the snow and cold. More . light snow will settle throughout the day in the north-east of England . and eastern Scotland, adding to large amounts of up to 10cm which hit . the regions yesterday. Higher . ground will see up to another 5cm, while lower areas could see around . 2cm - along with parts of Northern Ireland and Wales. The Midlands and Lincolnshire should also prepare for the risk of light snow today. Biting . temperatures of around just 1C will keep their hold on the North and . rise just a few degrees in the Midlands. Further south they will hit . highs of around 9C in Devon. Braving the cold: An early-morning dog walker who donned wellies in the Harrogate snow . Roads: Travel chaos was expected as streets across the North were covered in ice today . Trudging to work: A man walks though the snow as spring seemed far off from arriving in Britain . Contrast: Last year County Durham looked almost African (above), but this year it is covered in snow (below) The Met Office has warned the public to take care in potentially icy conditions because of the low temperatures. But Friday will see a return of heavier snow storms, which will spread further south to the Midlands. The Central England Temperature – . covering an area bounded by Lancashire, Bristol and London – shows . temperatures have been 2.8C lower than normal for the month. The last time March was so cold was in 1962, when the average temperature was 2.4C (36F) – or 4.1C below the norm. Hard at work: Jo Bainbridge outside her caravan making a snowman on Wednesday . Job well done: The proud artist sits with her handiwork outside her home in Edmundyers . Taking advantage: A photographer captures the spectacular scene in Country Durham . Out and about: A woman takes her dog for a stroll at Blakey Ridge on the North York Moors . Beautiful: A hiker overlooks the scene at the spectacular national park . A forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: 'It's another cold day in a very cold week. 'There . will be more snow in the north but not as heavy as yesterday, though . there is a risk it will move slightly lower than yesterday down to the . Midlands and through Lincolnshire. 'But . there is a chance of more heavy snow in the north on Friday, which at . the moment looks like it could also hit parts of the Midlands.' Blizzards which hit Scotland yesterday closed dozens of schools and caused hazardous conditions on the roads. Freeze: Parts of Britain have been blanketed in snow this week despite the arrival of spring . Record: The month is likely to be the coldest March in half a century, according to experts . Tracks: The unusually cold weather has seen much of the North blanketed in snow this month . Chilly: Scientists have warned that the cold weather could affect wildlife as it delays the onset of spring .", "(CNN) -- The winter storm system that walloped the Midwest moved east Friday night, bringing with it not just snow but powerful winds -- all of which made travel perilous and last-minute Christmas shopping more complicated across several states. Earlier this week, blizzard-like conditions left many locales white less than a week before the holiday. Many communities in central Iowa, for instance, got about a foot of snow, and the city of Madison, Wisconsin, got 15.2 inches Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. This much snow generally isn't expected as the system moves east, hitting Ohio, Pennsylvania and upstate New York. But that doesn't mean there haven't been -- and won't still be -- plenty of headaches. Snow is hardly foreign to these areas. But the addition of strong winds, especially in mountainous areas and along the Great Lakes, makes staying on snow-slickened roads even harder. \"It's scary,\" Esther Boyer told CNN affiliate WDTN, soon after her car slid into a ditch Friday in western Ohio. \"I guess I was just driving too fast, and you should slow down a lot sooner.\" The lone blizzard warning, in effect Friday night through 6 p.m. Saturday, was for parts of northern West Virginia and north-central Maryland. The National Weather Service predicts 8 to 12 inches of snow and sustained winds of up to 35 mph, with gusts blowing up to 60 mph. \"Strong winds will cause blowing and drifting of snow with blizzard conditions expected at times with visibilities of one quarter mile or less (and) wind chill temperatures in the single digits ... also possible,\" the agency's forecast said. \"Downed trees and power lines could result from the strongest gusts on Saturday.\" More populated areas -- many of which, such as Buffalo, Cleveland and Erie, Pennsylvania, were seeing snow around 9 p.m. Friday -- are also expected to be hit hard. The latter two cities are among those facing a winter storm warning through 7 p.m. Saturday. The weather service's forecast calls for 5 to 7 inches of snow, with 10 inches possible in spots, plus regular winds approaching 30 mph and up to 45-mph gusts by Lake Erie. A similar warning applies to western Pennsylvania, where 5 to 9 inches of light to moderate snow -- some of it \"heavier, lake-enhanced snow\" -- and gusts as strong as 40 mph are expected. Even more snow, between 10 to 18 inches, is forecast farther south in Pennsylvania and in northern Maryland, with 50-mph gusts possible. \"A winter storm warning means that snow will make travel dangerous,\" the weather service said. \"If you must venture out at all, use extreme caution.\" These advisories follow severe weather farther west that caused major problems earlier this week. While the city itself was largely spared of snow, Chicago's two airports -- O'Hare and Midway -- were clogged with travelers due to flight cancellations. Blinding snow is blamed for a 30-car pileup on Interstate 35 near Fort Dodge, Iowa, that killed two people, said Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Scott Bright. It was one of close to 100 weather-related accidents reported around the state by Thursday morning, according to Bright. CNN's Stefan Simons, Jim Kavanagh, Jareen Imam, Laura Smith-Spark, Carma Hassan and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.", "(CNN)This is no ordinary snow storm, weather experts say. The National Weather Service is using terms such as \"life-threatening\" and \"historic\" to describe the system ready to spread across the Northeast. The storm could dump up to 3 feet of snow in Boston and New York before it ends Tuesday, along with freezing rain and strong wind gusts possibly reaching hurricane level. Blizzard and winter storm warnings are up from New Jersey through Maine and into Canada. Airlines began canceling flights by the hundreds. FlightAware, a travel website, put the total at more than 1,800 early Monday . \"We plan to cancel all flights Tuesday at Newark, LaGuardia and JFK, as well as Boston and Philadelphia,\" said United Airlines Spokeswoman Mary Ryan. Other airlines were implementing similar measures. Check first if you're flying into or out of the region. \"I want everyone to understand that we are facing -- most likely -- one of the largest snowstorms in the history of this city,\" said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. He repeated throughout a Sunday afternoon news conference that people should expect delays, very slow or stalled commutes Monday evening. Whatever people do to be cautious, he said, do more. \"My message to all New Yorkers is prepare for something worse than we have seen before. Prepare to be safe. Take every precaution. Now is the time to get ready for this extreme weather,\" he said. \"Don't underestimate this storm.\" The Weather Service says whiteout conditions will make travel extremely dangerous in the entire affected area. Wind gusts in the New York City area could hit 65 mph. The blizzard warning is in effect from 1 p.m. Monday through Tuesday, with the worst conditions expected from late Monday evening through midday Tuesday. In Massachusetts, emergency management officials warned that the winter storm will be potentially \"historic and destructive.\" Snow in the southeastern part of Massachusetts could morph into a period of freezing rain. And a major nor'easter is likely to develop on Monday and move up the northeast coast, forecasters said. Travel across Massachusetts during the storm could be impossible and life-threatening, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. It's unclear just how much snow might be on the way, but the National Weather Service is saying 1 to 2 feet is possible. The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency tweeted Sunday that the state would be under a blizzard watch Monday. That area's storm conditions aren't predicted to let up until Wednesday morning. Christine Carew, a sales associate in Boston, said customers have been coming into the hardware store to grab last-minute snow supplies. Parents and their children have popped in to buy sleds and others are picking up shovels, ice melt and snow brushes. \"This is kind of typical,\" she said about Boston getting a lot of snow. \"We're more prepared for it. We know it's going to happen.\" There's little chance the store will be closed Monday, no matter how hard it snows. The manager, she said, lives above the store. Eight counties in Massachusetts are already under a winter storm watch: Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester, Barnstable, Nantucket and Dukes. A blizzard watch is in effect for Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth counties. Barnstable, Nantucket and Dukes counties also face a high wind watch. Derek and Jim Missert have lived in the Boston area for years. On Sunday they prepared to ride out the storm by being as prepared as they usually are, with plenty of food and water on hand. Jim Missert lives outside the city, so he expects to lose power and has a generator. Derek Missert expects that he'll not lose electricity as he works from home in the city. There could be coastal flooding in the state starting early Tuesday with pockets of major flooding on east-facing coastlines, the state emergency agency said. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged New Yorkers to prepare immediately for the storm, saying they should plan for \"major disruptions\" during Monday and Tuesday morning commutes. Roads could be closed and power could go out, he said in a news release Sunday, and New Yorkers need to look out for downed power lines and tree limbs. Cuomo directed all state agencies to prepare. New York has at least 1,806 plows and more than 126,000 tons of salt to spray on roads across the region. The National Guard will also have six dozen personnel and 20 vehicles stationed throughout the state starting on Monday morning. The mayor of Danbury, Connecticut, Mark Boughton, recently made the news for creating the popular Twitter hashtag \"#Icezilla\" when a major storm hit his area. CNN's Sara Ganim contributed to this report.", "Britain woke up to a freezing morning today as temperatures dipped to -6C in the South and up to eight inches of snow was forecast in the North. The Met Office has a yellow 'be aware' snow warning in the North and Scotland today, which widens to cover the Midlands tomorrow and on Tuesday. Gusts of 60mph are expected to create blizzard conditions, with heavy snow expected on high level routes and some accumulations at lower levels. White landscape: Snow-covered trees alongside the River Garry, near Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands . Horses for courses: The start of another winter blast of weather for the north of England as snow blankets areas of Nenthead, Cumbria, today . Motoring on: A Nissan Pathfinder Sport makes its way down a snow-covered road in Nenthead, Cumbria, today . Clearing the way: The winter blast caused problems in Cumbria today. Pictured, a snow plough clears snow from the A6 where several vehicles were stuck near Shap . Stuck: Several vehicles were stuck in snow on the A6 near Shap resulting in the road being closed on the final week of meteorological winter . Warning: Gusts of 60mph are expected to create blizzard conditions, with heavy snow expected on high level routes. Pictured, a lorry on the A6 . Closed: Bad weather for the north of England caused problems in Cumbria today leaving vehicles stuck in snow on the A6 near Shap . In the Peak District: Snow settles on the back of sheep as they graze in a field in Buxton, Derbyshire . Dashing through the snow: A East Coast train makes it way along the track near Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands this morning . Blizzards: A women walks her dog during heavy snowfall in a field near Blair Atholl, Perthshire . Making a path: Gritters take to the A9 to keep the road clear near Dalwhinnie, in west of the Cairngorms National Park today . Having fun: Jackie and Sam Adamson (left) sledging at Glenmore in the Cairngorms, where Louise Martin (right) was also seen going downhill . High tide: Richmond and Isleworth in west London was flooded after the Thames burst its banks last night, but that didn't stop this person from taking their dog for a walk . My car! The Environment Agency has issued flood warnings for riverside properties in Richmond and Isleworth due to exceptionally high tides . Great outdoors: Sleet falls as a woman and her dog walk through Ashwood Park in Buxton, Derbyshire . Covering: Snowy acorns near Blair Atholl, Perthshire, today. A Met Office snow warning is in place for the area until Tuesday . And more than 50 flood alerts and nine warnings were in place for England and Wales this morning, as well as eight and two respectively for Scotland. Meanwhile wave swells of up to 50ft are expected off the Republic of Ireland within 24 hours, with ‘super tides’ forecast until tomorrow. These are caused by the astronomical tide being at an 18-year peak, although the height will not be unusual because the weather is normal for winter. However, strong winds and higher tides than average have prompted a warning over a flooding risk brought on by large waves in coastal areas. The Environment Agency said it was urging people to ‘take care near coastal paths and promenades and not to drive through flood water’. Overnight rural parts of England saw freezing temperatures, with -6C (21F) in Benson, Oxfordshire, and -7C (19F) observed in the Scottish Highlands. Brave couple: Nicola Clyde, left, and Jonathan Carroll, right, go out for a walk in the snow in Blair Atholl, Perthshire . Warm coat: A highland cow stands in the snow near Trinafour, Perthshire, as Scotland expected up to 8in to fall over the next few days . Swirling: People watching sledgers at Glenmore in the Scottish Highlands are suddenly engulfed in snow today as the wind picks up . Chilly start: A man and woman enjoy the early morning frost at Richmond Park in south-west London today . Free-roaming: A sharp frost turned Hampshire's New Forest into a winter wonderland early this morning - but rain is on the way today . Deer in the park: There was early morning frost in Richmond today, while elsewhere in the South temperatures dropped to -6C overnight . High tide: A surfer enjoys the conditions at Porthcawl, South Wales, with swells of up to 50ft expected off the Republic of Ireland tomorrow . Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said: ‘It's set to be a very wet and windy day for most parts. ‘Across northern parts temperatures will reach a maximum of around 5C (40F), while the South West will briefly hit 10C (50F).’ Another forecaster, Chris Page, said wind gusts of up to 60mph are likely, especially in coastal areas, adding to the blizzard-type conditions. He said: ‘It doesn't necessarily mean that every single place within the warning zone will see snow. It's a hit-and-miss scenario [with the showers].’ Icy conditions are forecast tomorrow and Tuesday, as slow melts away leaving a risk of slippery patches on untreated surfaces. A Met Office warning for 4in of snow today was valid from 6am to 5pm, covering all of mainland Scotland and most of northern England. Forecast: The Met Office said today will be 'very wet and windy' in most areas - with temperatures only expected to hit 10C in the South West . 'Be aware': The Met Office has a snow warning in the North and Scotland today, which widens to cover the Midlands tomorrow and on Tuesday . Environment Agency flood watch: More than 50 flood alerts and nine warnings were in place for England and Wales this morning . Snow in red, rain in blue: Blizzard conditions are expected, with heavy snow on high level routes and some accumulations at lower levels . A separate alert issued from midnight tonight until 3pm on Tuesday covers as far south as the Peak District and also includes a warning for ice. There was only one report of severe delays on a motorway this morning - between junction 7 and 6A of the M1 near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. In the Lake District, motorists got into difficulties on higher routes. Cumbria Police's road traffic unit tweeted: ‘Kirkstone Pass and The Struggle closed. ‘Several vehicles stranded and RTCs (road traffic collisions). Treacherous conditions. Please do not go there.’ Yesterday snow was seen in parts of Surrey and a light dusting visible in the early hours in London, while Cumbria was covered in several inches. Commonly referred to as super tides, spring tides or 'super moon' tides, they are governed by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun. In a blog on its website, Met Office analysts said these tides occur when the pull of the sun and moon align and combine. When the gravitational pulls offset each other, we get smaller tides known as neap tides. We are currently at the height of these pull increases. The experts added: 'However, there is a longer cycle at work too, associated with the gravitational pull of the planets in the solar system. 'This means we can see additional, albeit relatively small, increases and decreases in the size of spring and neap tides over long periods of time.' This is the moment a deer swam through a flooded wetland after being caught out by the highest spring tide in 20 years. With water rapidly rising to about 7ft, the animal battled through water with only its head above the surface. But the deer made it to the other side of Steart Marshes near Bridgwater, Somerset, and even stuck its tongue out at the photographer. Getting across: This deer swam through a flooded Steart Marshes in Somerset, after being caught out by the highest spring tide in 20 years . Soaked: With water rapidly rising to about 7ft, the animal battled through water with only its head above the surface . It was one of five deer that did not expect the sheer volume and speed in which the wetlands was flooded. But none were hurt. Photographer Robin Morrison said: ‘I don’t think the deer were bothered. They normally move around and find higher ground. ‘But the volume and speed [yesterday] was a different level. They must have thought “oh, we better get out of here”. ‘They are obviously very good swimmers. They just got to higher ground, had a bit of a shake and then basked in the sun for a while.’ Unhurt: It was one of five deer that did not expect the sheer volume and speed in which the wetlands was flooded . Spotted: The photographer said the deer which escaped the flooded wetland are 'obviously very good swimmers' and made it to higher ground .", "(CNN)Boston's brutal winter has made its way into the record books. After yet another blizzard last week, the city marked its snowiest month since record-keeping started in 1872, forecasters said Sunday. \"It's official, Boston has reached its snowiest month on record with 45.5 total inches,\" the National Weather Service tweeted early Sunday. \"The old record was 43.3 in January 2005.\" And as the inches piled on, the city marked another milestone: third snowiest winter on record, with 89.2 inches so far. Forecasters predict that a blizzard will linger until Sunday night. Cape Cod and the islands off the Massachusetts coast could see hurricane-force winds. Track the storm . Meanwhile, wind chill warnings were in effect for Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut and parts of Maine and Pennsylvania. \"A wind chill warning means the combination of very cold air and strong winds will create dangerously low wind chill values. This will result in frost bite and lead to hypothermia or death if precautions are not taken,\" the weather service said. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has declared the next seven days ''Valentine's Week'' in an attempt to help restaurants, flower shops and other small businesses hurting from the record-setting snowfall. Speaking to reporters about storm preparations for the fourth time in three weeks, the governor quipped, \"There's a little bit of deja vu all over again.\" Your images of winter weather . The blizzard will bring drifting snow in many parts of eastern Massachusetts, Baker said. Already, the snowfall is expected to be more than what was forecast as recently as Saturday night, Baker said Sunday morning. He urged drivers to stay off the roads. On Sunday, officers responded to reports of a wreck that may have involved upward of 20 vehicles on I-95 in Waltham, state police in Massachusetts said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of major injuries. A snow squall was cited as a possible contributing factor to the crash. \"Tomorrow is a holiday (Presidents Day), and it's probably a really good time for everybody to come up with neat things to do indoors and right around your house,\" Baker said. How to beat the winter blues . Sunday's storm will compound the exasperation caused by four weather systems that have dumped piles of snow on the city. Eastern Massachusetts is under blizzard warnings, as are parts of eastern Maine. The snowfall is lighter, relatively speaking, in the western part of the state and heavier in the east. It's expected to let up on Sunday afternoon. Some gusts have been reported at more than 50 mph. Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph will cause the snow to blow around and hamper visibility. Power outages can be expected in many areas, the National Weather Service said. The collecting snow caused damage to an apartment complex in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, police there said. A partial roof collapse at the apartment complex displaced 30 people, Portsmouth police Capt. Ken Smith said. \"There were no injuries, but it did damage to two units on the upper floor,\" Smith said. \"This was most likely caused by snow load.\" About 20 miles to the south, in Seabrook, New Hampshire, a portion of a strip mall also collapsed because of snow, according to Mark Bibau of the local fire department. No one was in the affected businesses at the time of the collapse, he said. \"A lot of these commercial buildings are flat (roofed),\" he said. The chief is going around town looking at buildings \"with a critical eye,\" Bibau added. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, better known to many as The T, won't run Sunday, when the worst of the weather will hit. There will be no subway, bus, commuter rail, trolley or ferry service. It's the third time the subway has shuttered service because of a serious storm. Officials will decide on Sunday whether to cancel service for Monday. And Amtrak has canceled six trains for Sunday. There is no ban on driving, but it seems like a pretty bad idea. \"Travel will become nearly impossible,\" the National Weather Service said. The snow will be a light snow, so it will fly around easily in the strong winds. Visibility will be a quarter mile or less during the storm. More 1,800 flights have been canceled for Sunday, according to Flightaware.com, which tracks cancellations for weather and mechanical reasons. Many of those canceled flights were scheduled to depart from Boston and New York-area airports. Already for Monday, around 100 flights have been canceled. CNN's Mariano Castillo, Carma Hassan, Paul Matadeen and Michael Guy contributed to this report.", "By . John Stevens and Rob Cooper . UPDATED: . 08:43 EST, 8 December 2011 . Hundreds of schools are closed in Scotland today as Britain is battered by winds at over 100mph. Snow is expected as far south as Birmingham as Arctic conditions sweep in across the country. London will experience gusts of up to 55mph, forecasters said. Today gusts of 113mph were recorded at Cairngorm, Scotland, on top of a mountain, reports said. High winds: The coast at Saltcoats in Ayrshire, Scotland, is battered by seawater as the coast is hit by gusts of up to 90mph today . Storm damage: A roof is torn off a house in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, today as high winds battered Scotland . I've got it covered, kind of: A woman struggles in high winds in Glasgow, Scotland, as the country braced itself for hurricane-force winds . The Scottish Government advised schools to stay closed and said the travel warning was 'unprecedented for high wind'. Motorists north of the border were . told to 'exercise extreme caution' and check conditions before . travelling. The Forth Bridge has been closed as a precaution. Weather forecasters said the low pressure over the Western Isles was causing strong winds as far south as Merseyside and north Wales. Coastal areas will be hardest hit by the westerly wind and gusts have already reached 54mph in Crosby, near Southport, and 56mph in Hawarden, Deeside. The wind speeds are expected at peak at about 65mph or higher later today. Stormy weather also battered northern England with heavy rainfall in Cumbria, widespread localised flooding and gale force winds of up to 70mph expected. The Environment Agency has issued seven flood alerts at different locations on 12 rivers and lakes in the county. One flood warning was also issued by the agency on the River Greta at Keswick due to rising water levels caused by heavy rain. Cumbria Police said they received a number of calls this morning from motorists who had become stuck in flood water in the south of the county. They included one driver who got stuck on the A591 near Ambleside which was temporarily closed due to flood water. Other motorists got their cars stuck in water on roads in Windermere, Troutbeck and Selside. Police in the county are urging motorists to take extra care and slow down because of hazardous surface water on many roads. In Scotland, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today warned that the country will be hit by gales which are worse . than they have seen for 'many years'. She said: . 'The very latest information from the Met Office's chief forecaster . shows that we can expect very severe gales, at wind speeds not seen for . many years, across large parts of western, central and southern Scotland . throughout Thursday. Festive preparations: This 30ft Santa on the roof of a pub in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, has been left shaking in the wind today . 'On . the basis of the earlier red warning from the Met Office, some councils . had already taken the precaution of closing schools early to make sure . that parents can safely collect children before the most dangerous . weather and travel conditions arrive. 'In light of the latest forecast, and in . particular the timings which suggest the severe weather affecting the . west-central part of the country earlier than originally anticipated, . some of these closure timings may have to change. However, this morning she told the BBC that individual headteachers should decide for themselves whether to open today. Of Scotland's 32 local authorities, Aberdeen City Council, Angus Council, Dundee City Council, Scottish Borders Council, Shetland Islands Council and Orkney Islands Council have no plans to close schools today. All schools in nine local authorities have closed, with the rest expecting to shut their doors at 12pm. No schools in Glasgow - Scotland's biggest local authority - are open today. All classes at Glasgow and Strathclyde universities were cancelled, affecting thousands of students. East . Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, South . Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire councils also said . all their schools were closed. The Met Office issued its strongest . warning – a red alert – for winds in Scotland and warned parts of . England and Wales to 'be aware'. Guidance related to red alerts suggests 'widespread structural damage' is likely. Roofs could be blown off, mobile homes overturned and power lines brought down. Forecasters also predict 'widespread transport disruption' due to roads blocked by fallen trees. Northern Ireland and Scotland will experience the highest winds, but other parts of the UK are likely to face gusts of up to 60mph and heavy bursts of rain. Across England, the Government issued its first winter health alert, telling hospitals to prepare to be busier than usual. A deepening Atlantic low pressure . system is bringing winds ranked at the maximum force of 12 on the . Beaufort scale, with gusts expected to blow vehicles sideways and cause . bridge closures. Stormy: Rough seas batter the famous beach front in Blackpool, Lancashire, today as Britain is hit by high winds . The storm is also sucking Arctic winds . south, bringing up to four inches of snow from tomorrow   across . western England as far south as Birmingham, with up to a foot on the . Scottish hills. Alison Richards of the Met Office . said: 'We do not issue red warnings lightly. That is why people need to . take heed of it and take appropriate action.' Southern and central Scotland are covered by the red alert for winds of up to 100mph for 24 hours from this morning. Northern England and the rest of . Scotland are on amber alert for 60mph winds, and a yellow  alert – . meaning 'be aware' – has been issued for the Midlands and north Wales. From tomorrow, blizzards, snowdrifts . and black ice on roads and pavements are also expected, with wind and . rain making it feel much colder across the UK. Met Office forecaster Dan Williams . said: ‘From this evening there is a snow . risk as far south as Birmingham – the furthest south that snow has been . forecast this winter. Fierce winds: Two walkers are covered in sea spray as they make their way along the sea front in Portsmouth, Hampshire . Rough seas batter the coast as a woman walks her dog this morning in Blackpool, north-west England . 'As the storm passes tomorrow, the back side of it brings cold . polar air and the snow risk, which is now through Friday as well as . Saturday. 'We have issued a level two [yellow] . alert in conjunction with the Department of Health to let vulnerable . people know about the cold weather and so health services can get their . resources ready. 'We will monitor how the situation . develops and, if it pans out as predicted, the alert could be upgraded . to level three [amber]. 'Saturday will have a frosty start with patchy road ice and wintry showers in the north. 'The south and east will be drier, . albeit cold, with wintry showers on hills in Scotland on Sunday  and . more very changeable weather to come.' This time last year, swathes of the . country was already covered in thick snow, causing hundreds of . schools to be closed, flights delayed and widespread chaos on the roads – . and forecasters are now warning of a potential repeat as conditions . will only get worse as the week goes on. Police across the . north of England and Scotland are warning motorists to take extra care. Night . temperatures will fall to sub-zero across many parts by tomorrow night, . bringing the risk of black ice  on Saturday. Stormy seas: A couple today walk along a wet and windy promenade in Blackpool, as Britain braces itself for winds of up to 100mph .", "The big freeze will turn into a deep freeze tomorrow as temperatures hurtle down to -8C (18F) in parts of rural Britain. It came as forecasters put out weather warnings for ice and snow across the country, predicting the arrival of snow in London, Surrey and Hampshire by Thursday. Residents affected by last week’s floods were also warned to expect around an inch of rain.Some 40 flood alerts were issued for the South East and South West alone. Scroll down for video . Festive scene: A flurry of snow hits the north-east of Scotland on the A957 in Aberdeenshire, with freezing conditions making driving hazardous across the country . Chill in the air: A high pressure front moving from Siberia into Scandinavia, and then ridging westwards, can give the British Isles a bitter easterly airflow . Sarah Holland, a Met Office . forecaster, said: ‘There are going to be some snow showers around the . east coast tomorrow, possibly up to an inch or two in places. ‘We could also see some snow flurries and wintry showers over northern . parts of England and Wales. 'Temperatures will only get up to about 3C . (37F) and we also have a big ice warning for Wales and the South East. ‘We also have a band of rain moving in from the South West bringing up to 25mm (nearly an inch) in a short, sharp burst. ‘After the recent heavy rain there is a chance we could see some . localised flooding and potentially hazardous driving conditions. ‘There will be widespread frosts and in the Midlands we could see . temperatures dip to possibly -8C (18F) in rural locations overnight.’ Many believe Britain could be heading towards one of the coldest winters . on record. The conditions are being put down to high pressure over Scandinavia, which has seen cold air tearing over Britain from the north-east and raising hopes for a white Christmas. Shovelling snow: Adam Middler clears the street outside his house Huntly, Aberdeenshire . Take care: Snow and rain has turned to slush, adding to the perilous conditions on the roads . The Big . Freeze that heralded the start of December is set to continue, with . sleet, snow and hail covering much of the country all week. The . cold snap will persist, with temperatures dropping to a . lower-than-average -8C in Scotland and four inches of snow expected . tomorrow, and another four inches likely later in the week. High pressure in Scandinavia can . indicate one of the most well-known snow setups, in which the pressure . front moves from Siberia into Scandinavia, and then ridges westwards, . giving the British Isles a chilly easterly airflow. Continental air from Russia is very cold and dry, but as this air passes over the North Sea, it warms up and picks up moisture. This . gives rise to layers of grey cloud and mostly dull dry weather, with a . little drizzle or fine powdery snow for eastern areas. When . the high pressure to our north is not particularly strong, or the . airmass has a long track over the North Sea, or there is a strong . contrast between surface and upper-air temperatures, there may be enough . instability in the atmosphere to produce cumulonimbus clouds. These can give rise to heavy prolonged snow showers for eastern Britain, and snow flurries for western Britain. BBC weather forecaster Chris Fawkes tweeted today: 'I spy with my little eye Scandinavian high. Ecmwf [European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts] forecast middle of December could bring us really bitter snowy weather....fingers crossed!' The wintry conditions are expected to last all month, unleashing sub-zero temperatures, freezing fog and icy 30mph winds. Bookies last night slashed the odds of a white Christmas to 5/1 in the capital and to 6/1 in other cities across the country. Dangerous corner: A van driver luckily escaped uninjured after he was left hanging perilously over the edge of Hebble Brook in Salterhebble . Close shave: A local resident had warned of the risk to drivers because of the collapsed wall . Unseasonal surprise: Summer flower the cistus in full bloom at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall despite the recent rain and frost . The Met Office and police have issued warnings to drivers over ice and snow on the roads. One driver in . Salterhebble, Halifax, last night had a lucky escape when . his van was left hanging 10 feet above a stream after skidding on ice and ploughing through a collapsed wall. The incident happened at around . 7.30am when the van slipped perilously close to the Hebble Brook in the West Yorkshire town. Earlier this year, a resident warned of the danger facing drivers using the road because of the collapsed wall. Chilling intelligence: A young fox forages for food through the ice hardened field in Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire . Atmospheric beauty: Icy fog hangs over a farmhouse in Glen near Cumbernauld . Gorgeous view: Horse looks out over the frosty glen in Lanarkshire with Glasgow far in the background . Bleak midwinter: The wild countryside of central Scotland is bathed in a soft, pale light as the sun shines through the icy fog . Cold and bright: Forecast from the Met Office for conditions at 12pm over the next three days . There she blows: How a high pressure front in Scandinavia can bring freezing winds and snow showers into Britain . There were several accidents throughout the area after rain . turned to ice overnight,  but nobody has been hurt. Met . Office forecaster Dan Sabbagh said: 'We've got a warning for ice and . snow out on the roads, especially in the north-east of Scotland. 'There could be two to four inches . (5-10cm) of snowfall on high ground there until 12pm tomorrow, with up . to two inches (5cm) on lower ground. 'There will be showers this evening in south-west areas, mixed with thunder and hail. 'Rain, sleet and snow could be anywhere overnight, with snow on high ground throughout the Midlands and the North.' 'Tomorrow it will be dry and cold, mainly 3-4C in the North but possibly reaching 6C in the South. 'It will be a cold night, with some cities reaching -4C and the coldest parts of Scotland dipping to -8C. 'We'll wake to widespread frost on Thursday with a rainfront coming in from the North-East, and some snow here and there.' Age Concern warned elderly people in . the North West, North East, Yorkshire & Humber, West Midlands, East . Midlands, and East of England that there was a strong chance of icy . conditions and/or temperatures falling below 2C from Tuesday evening . until Friday 7 December. They advised people with health . concerns to keep bedroom windows closed at night, wrap up well when they . go outside and keep bedrooms at 18C. The organisation's website adds: . 'Exposure to cold weather for prolonged periods of time can be . dangerous. 'It raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and can . cause problems for people with breathing difficulties such as asthma.' It has been a colder than average start to December, with average lows at -2 to -8C, where usually they are 1C. The Met Office said today that it is likely to be a colder than average Christmas, but this does not necessarily guarantee snow. VIDEO: The history of the white Christmas...", "By . Simon Tomlinson . PUBLISHED: . 22:21 EST, 20 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:02 EST, 21 June 2012 . BBC weather forecasters have been accused of driving away tourists from seaside resorts with 'alarmist' reports of floods and storms. One holiday park owner in Devon criticised meteorologists for 'trying to cover all eventualities' to avoid a repeat of the infamous 1987 hurricane blooper by Michael Fish. Another, who runs resorts in Suffolk, said staycationers were 'terrified' to come to his sites because of fears their caravans would be left 'bobbing around' on flood water. 'Alarmist': Seaside resorts have accused BBC forecasters of driving away tourists with overly negative predictions, but in some areas such as Bracklesham Caravan Park (pictured) in West Sussex they have proved accurate . Angry: One resort owner in Suffolk said meteorologists were tarnishing the whole country with a 'single wet weather symbol' by making it seem like floods such as this one in a Welsh caravan park would affect all tourist hotspots . They are now asking for weathermen to not tarnish the whole country with a 'single wet-weather symbol' and be 'more careful with their phrasing'. Claire Jeavons, who runs the Beverley Park holiday site in Paignton, Devon, said 'alarmist' forecasts, which often proved groundless, were having a major impact on bookings across the West Country. She said: 'It is already causing holiday-makers to stay away. Just a few days ago we were hearing that all caravan parks in the West Country were on flood alert and this simply wasn't the case. 'We've been receiving many calls from worried customers, but we assure them that flooding at our altitude would also mean the entire English Riviera was hundreds of feet underwater.' 'Trying to cover all eventualities': Waves crash into Porthcawl lighthouse during a storm. Forecasters have been accused of over-egging reports to ensure they don't end up with another 'Michael Fish' incident . Tony Clish, director of Park Holidays UK, which has more than 700 caravans at Felixstowe Beach Holiday Park and Suffolk Sands Holiday Park, said: 'Just last week we were told that all caravan parks in southern England were on flood alert and this simply wasn't the case. 'Some parks in Wales did flood recently, but that's no reason to suggest that caravans in Suffolk would soon be bobbing around on parks which have never flooded before.' He added: 'Coastal holiday parks in Suffolk often stay dry when it is raining inland, yet forecasters frequently tarnish the whole county with a single wet-weather symbol.' BBC weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker said there was no reason why forecasters would want to 'dampen the sprits or be deliberately pessimistic.' 'Our job to focus of negatives': BBC weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker said forecasters needed to warn people of any dangers . Mr Schafernaker, who predicts the weather on BBC South East Today, said: 'I understand the frustration and there is a tendency for weather forecasters to emphasise on the negative aspects of the weather. 'It's just that our job is to pick out the most important parts of the weather which can affect people's lives. 'If indeed there's going to be a shower somewhere we need to flag up that possibility.' In 1987, Mr Fish drew stinging criticism when he flatly denied a viewer's claim that a hurricane was about to hit Britain just hours before the Great Storm caused devastation across the country.", "By . Beth Stebner . PUBLISHED: . 14:06 EST, 17 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:37 EST, 18 February 2013 . A winter storm system brought even more snow to parts of New England early Sunday, only a week after a Nor’easter all but crippled the region. The storm, christened Plato by the Weather Channel, brought up to eight inches of snow to areas of New Hampshire and Maine. The station forecasts that Boston will end up with six to 12 inches and Providence, Rhode Island, will be slammed with four to eight. Eastern Canada will also see several inches before the storm's end. Forecast: Snow associated with a low pressure storm will slowly dissipate over northern New England today and tomorrow, bringing cold weather . Impending: Moderate to heavy snowfall is expected in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts; other East Coast Cities will likely be spared the weather system . Chill factor: The Eastern Seaboard - and much of the country - is in for a chilly few days . The Weather Channel reports that other metropolitan areas along the Eastern Seaboard, including New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., will likely miss the squall. It is the same storm pattern that brought near-whiteout conditions in the Carolinas on Saturday. According to the NOAA, parts of Maine, including the Northeast, East Central, and Western parts, are all under a blizzard warning until Monday at 4pm. Drivers are urged to stay off the road during blizzard-like conditions as visibility is reduced to nearly nothing. Boston.com reports that Cape Cod could experience four to seven inches of snow. The Cape could also see gale-force winds from the violent storm coming in from the sea. In a haze: Snow flurries create a haze, Saturday, February 16, along Washington Street as winter weather sets in over Kinston, North Carolina . Playtime: A father and his children enjoyed the deep snowdrifts in Boston after last week's blizzard (file photo) The effects of last weekend’s Nor’easter were especially felt in Boston, where many streets remained unplowed days after the storm and more than 200,000 customers were left without power. Nemo dumped some 22 inches of snow in Long Island, and some parts of Connecticut were slammed with more than 34 inches. AccuWeather reports that the Atlantic coast of Canada will be slammed with hurricane-force winds and significant snowfall as well. Its meteorologists predict that New Brunswick, Quebec, and Nova Scotia will all be hit with anywhere between eight and 15 inches of snowfall. The current storm comes just as many New England and Canadian residents finished digging out from the storm only the week before.", "New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned residents to 'reconcile yourselves with your God' because the 'furious hoarfrost bearing down upon us knows neither mercy or reason'. The Mayor was poking fun at his over-reaction to the east coast winter storm Juno warnings by reading a article from the satirical newspaper The Onion. In the story, de Blasio warns New Yorkers about the killer storm, but in reality less than 10 inches of snow fell in the city. Scroll down for video . Reality: Despite poking fun at himself, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had to defend his unprecedented, stringent restrictions in the face of the storm, which brought less than 10 inches of snow . Poking fun: de Blasio (centre) entertained reporters at Tuesday's press conference with his reading of The Onion article . The Mayor entertained reporters in City Hall on Tuesday by giving a dramatic reading of the 150-word story which included instructions to 'clutch your babes close to your breast' before the storm arrives. 'All shall meet their death in the coming tempest,' de Blasio said, reading from the satirical piece. Although the Mayor took the opportunity to make fun of the situation, he and Governor Andrew Cuomo staunchly defended their unprecedented, stringent restrictions on city residents in the lead up to the storm. Both said that they believed in erring on the side of caution and suggested they would take such measures again if presented with a similar situation. 'Would you rather be ahead of the action or behind?' de Blasio asked City Hall. 'Would you rather be prepared or unprepared? Would you rather be safe or unsafe? 'To me it was a no-brainer: we had to take precautions to keep people safe.' Before the heavy snows reached New York, officials closed schools, shut down bridges and tunnels, canceled commuter rail services and, for the first time in a snowstorm, closed the city's sprawling subway system at 11pm on Monday. A travel ban was put in place and drivers caught out on the roads faced arrest. Restrictions: Officials closed schools, shut down bridges and tunnels, canceled commuter rail services and, for the first time in a snowstorm, closed the city's sprawling subway system at 11pm on Monday . 'To me it was a no-brainer: we had to take precautions to keep people safe,' explained the New York City Mayor . However, the meteorologists whose forecasts prompted the action this week were wrong and the storm, while powerful on Long Island and in New England, dropped less than a foot of snow on the city. National Weather Service director Louis Uccellini said his agency should have done a better job of communicating the uncertainty in its forecast. National Weather Service forecaster Gary Szatkowski tweeted an apology: 'You made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn't.' The decision to lock down the city - particularly closing the subways - drew significant criticism from some business owners and transit advocacy groups. For de Blasio and Cuomo, however, mistakes made during previous storms likely guided their decisions. In 2010, New York City was unprepared for a blizzard and then-mayor Michael Bloomberg was out of town. The storm resulted in miles of unplowed roads, stranded ambulances and angry residents stuck in their homes for days. Defence: Governor Andrew Cuomo (pictured) said his decision to act aggressively stems from the historic storm that covered Buffalo with seven feet of snow last year . Weather forecast: The meteorologists whose forecasts prompted the action this week were wrong . After that debacle, Bloomberg held a series of press conferences before, during, and after expected storms. In these events, the mayor, flanked by his commissioners, delivered an avalanche of statistics to reassure residents of the city's readiness for the approaching snowstorm. There were no reported fatalities in New York in the latest storm. The city did, however, lose about $200 million in economic activity due to the decision to shut down the transit system, according to a preliminary estimate from Moody's Analytics. Cuomo acknowledged that his decision to act aggressively stems from the historic storm that blanketed Buffalo with seven feet of snow late last year. 'We make big decisions based on these weather forecasts,' the governor said. 'We decided not to close the roads in Buffalo... and we had people stranded on the roads for 12, 15, 20 hours. You can have a significant loss of life in these situations.' To the north of New York in Boston, residents were savaged by a blizzard packing knee-high snowfall and hurricane-force wind.", "By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 19:41 EST, 12 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 16:06 EST, 13 March 2014 . Rays of hope were emerging today as the forecast suggested that the worst of the winter weather may finally be over. Winter Storm Vulcan hit hard on Wednesday across the Midwest and Northeast but by Thursday afternoon snowfall had tapered off. Snow stopped falling in upstate New York and southern New England this morning while Vermont would see its last flurries late in the afternoon. Scroll down for video . The snow was already melting today in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. A winter storm system delivered frigid temperatures to much of western Pennsylvania, but far less snow than was forecast . That's more like it! The start of spring appeared to be back on track as temperatures climbed across the U.S. on Friday . In Maine, snow would continue into Thursday evening. Snowfall today should be less than an inch in Upstate New York and southern New England, according to the Weather Channel. Vermont received between one and three inches - dramatically lower than the two feet earlier predicted by forecasters. The Northeast would remain blustery and cold but the snow flurries were diminishing by the hour. Temperatures would stay around 10F in upstate New York and New England with temperatures up to 30F predicted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey south to the Virginias. Damon Fleischer struggles uphill in Pittsfield, Massachusetts today as the last of the snow flurries dissipated in the late afternoon . Don Margoni, from St. Joseph, Michigan, hikes along a snow-covered trail at Riverview Park, in St. Joseph today. The temperatures looked set to increase over the weekend . Much of the Midwest was dry on Thursday with isolated rain or snow showers in northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and northwest Michigan. To the relief of those in the region, who have battled one of the hardest winters on record, no significant snow accumulations are expected. Temperatures peaked in the 30s across the Great Lakes and upper half of the Ohio Valley.  Milder 40Fs and 50Fs were expected from Minnesota southeast to Kentucky. The weather forecast was dramatically . different from the heavy snow that pummeled the Midwest and Northeast . just 20 hours earlier. Making the most of it: David Fryling pulls his son Cole, three, back up a hill while sledding today in Bowling Green, Ohio . It was a bright forecast across much of the U.S. on Saturday following a hard-hitting midweek storm . More clouds moved in on Sunday bit the temperatures remained optimistically high heading into next week . On Wednesday, pileups . on the Ohio Turnpike involving at least 50 vehicles killed three people . and seriously injured a state trooper. Emergency . workers on the busy toll road struggled to reach accidents and stuck . vehicles because of snowy conditions and traffic backups. Pileups . stretched across a 2-mile section in the eastbound lanes of the . turnpike between Toledo and Cleveland. Another series of pileups about . 10 miles to the east shut down the turnpike's westbound lanes near . Sandusky. A trooper responding to an accident was pinned between vehicles, said the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which confirmed the deaths. One vehicle lane opened about four hours after the first accident. The initial crash involving 16 . vehicles left two people dead: Grzegorz Piwowarczyk, 42, a truck driver . from Palatine, Illinois; and Hannah Matheny, 20, a passenger in a car . from Parma, Ohio, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said on Thursday. A second crash involving about 20 vehicles killed Janice Robb, 66, of Schererville, Indiana, the patrol said. Trooper . Andrew Clouser, 29, was in serious but stable condition at a Toledo . hospital on Wednesday night, said Ohio patrol Staff Lt. Anne Ralston. One day earlier: A multi vehicle accident in the eastbound lane of the Ohio Turnpike near the County Road 268 overpass ties up traffic on Wednesday near Clyde, Ohio . Wednesday's . storm moved east, hitting the Great Lakes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, . upstate New York and parts of New England before dissipating over Canada. Meteorologists . had warned that as much as 9 inches of snow could fall in parts of . southeastern Michigan by Wednesday evening, with 4 to 8 inches in . Detroit. Hundreds of schools were closed there, and drivers traversing . slippery roads fell victim to rear-end collisions, ended up in ditches . or had other snow-related mishaps. AAA Michigan said it responded to 900 . calls for help, mostly in the southern part of the state. The . picture was similar in upstate New York, where hundreds of schools . called off classes after the weather service warned that a blizzard with . winds of up to 50 mph could paralyze the area from western New York to . the Adirondacks. Ed . Szymanski was just finishing his first pass with the shovel outside a . Buffalo post office when he declared that he'd had enough of winter. 'Too long,' he said of the season as snow hit his eyeglasses and melted into droplets. The late-winter storm was helping to edge snowfall totals toward the top of the record books. Totals . in southeastern Michigan could come close to breaking a 133-year-old . record. The storm was likely to move the Detroit area close to the . seasonal snow total record of 93.6 inches set in 1880-81, the weather . service said. Chicago had . already been buried this winter by 75.5 inches of snow, the fourth most . on record dating back to 1884-85. Wednesday's snow pushed the seasonal . total into third place, ahead of the 77-inch total from 1969-70. After . a few days of tantalizingly warmer temperatures, the return to . snow-covered streets and trees was a jarring sight. Workers in downtown . Chicago grunted as they heaved slush with well-worn shovels. Others . rushed to return sidewalk signs warning pedestrians of ice falling from . skyscrapers. A tour boat . company that ferries sightseers along the Chicago River even announced . it was delaying this weekend's planned rollout of vessels from winter . storage because they were encased in 20-inch-thick ice. Temperatures . on Friday are forecast in the 50s. But there were some gluttons for winter punishment reveling in another blitz of squalling snow. One of them was bookstore owner Ken Peczkowski, of South Bend, Indiana, who was happy to be out shoveling again. 'It . makes me feel alive,' he said. 'Summer just drags me down. Winter, I . feel like I have to fight for every day of life, and that's great. It's . good exercise.' Peczkowski said he remembers worse winters, including the blizzard of '78, when the city received a record 172 inches of snow. 'We made it through that, too,' he said. 'I think we were open every day.' Others . have been searching at least for a feeling of spring, including some . who stopped to check out the house plants and cheery garden items at . Jeff Gatewood's nursery in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers. 'Everybody's . got so much pent-up energy, it's going to make for a crazy spring,' Gatewood said. 'Spring fever is really going to be pretty high this . year.'", "You've seen the headlines this week: \"Huge ice storm hits the South.\" \"Disastrous snow storm heads toward East Coast.\" If you live southeast of the Appalachians, weather bulletins about ice and snow have been almost impossible to avoid the past few days. But as scary as they sound, few realize it could be a whole lot more deadly. Even though the storms of February are not over, it is safe to say that their ultimate cost will be in the tens of billions of dollars and may further dampen what some economists believe is an already weak recovery. Production grinds to a halt in areas where there is no electricity. Goods cannot be transported over blizzard-closed highways. Plus, there is the human toll: People shivering in homes without power for days and lost wages because of factories shutting down when parts can't reach the assembly line. But here's an unexpected thought: Without weather science, all of this would be much worse. Live blog: Deadly weather . We only have to go back two weeks to get a glimpse of what life would be like without weather forecasts and storm warnings. Atlanta and Georgia officials chose to ignore accurate warnings of 1 to 3 inches of snow, resulting in utter gridlock and 22-hour one-way commutes. With that wake-up call, people took the forecasts seriously this time. Schedules were adjusted and people worked from home. For days, meteorologists warned of widespread power failures. As of Wednesday afternoon, the number of people without power in the Southeast -- the number of households without power multiplied by 3.5 people per household -- was more than 1 million and rising rapidly. It appears that most people in affected areas where power has been lost heeded the warnings so as to mitigate the effects. Track Winter weather in the South . And all that is because our nation's complex weather infrastructure -- state-of-the-art technology, satellites in the sky, powerful computers on the ground and talented, committed professionals in the public and private sector -- is making it easier and faster for you to know when the big one is coming, saving money and saving lives. As I explained in my book, \"Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather,\" America's life-saving storm warning system was created by dedicated scientists fighting storms and bureaucracy to provide the accurate warnings we enjoy today. Over the years, a beneficial division of duties has evolved: The taxpayer-funded National Weather Service provides the meteorological infrastructure needed by everyone as well as forecasts and storm warnings for the public-at-large. Snow, ice pummel Southeast, stranding drivers, cutting power . Private-sector weather organizations such as CNN and AccuWeather draw on this infrastructure to provide specifically tailored forecasts and storm warnings needed by television audiences, businesses and other specialized clientele. This system works extraordinarily well. America's Weather Enterprise -- the sum of the National Weather Service, related federal agencies, commercial weather companies and local meteorologists -- are all striving to build a weather-ready nation. And there is plenty of work yet to be done: . -- More and better measurements of the state of the atmosphere. -- Better computer models that can use those measurements to create more accurate forecast guidance. -- Accurate, timely forecasts for the public. -- Specialized services for businesses, government agencies and others to suit their specific requirements. -- Educating the public and specialized users about the ways to use weather information most effectively to protect people and property. Unfortunately, there are those who propose putting the safety of the public in jeopardy by changing the emphasis of the National Weather Service to an organization primarily dedicated to giving \"decision-support services.\" This means that instead of a successful, vital agency providing and maintaining the weather infrastructure to make sure we know when the next storm is coming -- all based on real data -- they would be turned into governmental \"consultants\" with the duty to help bureaucrats and others make decisions. For instance, as the current ice storm was developing, a forecaster at the Atlanta National Weather Service office wrote Monday in an \"area forecast discussion\" that he didn't have sufficient time for forecasting the ice storm because he was spending most of his time on \"decision support.\" Whether it is a hurricane, ice storm, blizzard or tornado looming, what does that taxpayer prefer? An accurate storm warning for everyone, or the National Weather Service forecasters distracted by giving weather briefings to specialized groups, something that may not be part of their core expertise? By keeping the current division of duties, the American Weather Industry can boost the American economy -- and provide much-needed jobs -- while saving the government money. It is a win-win for everyone.", "By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 12:11 EST, 20 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:01 EST, 21 October 2012 . Temperatures are set to nudged a record breaking 21C from the start of next week as Britain enjoys an Indian summer - but forecasters have warned not to get used to it. The brief spell of unseasonable warmth could precede a polar plunge, bringing England’s first snow of winter by Friday, according to Meteorologists. This year is already Britain’s . 'strangest-ever' for weather, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology . said, with the worst drought since 1976 followed by the wettest summer . for a century. Golden sunrise: A jogger enjoys the tranquility of a dawn breaking over a misty Heacham, West Norfolk . But the erratic climate has a few more . surprised in store in the coming days, delivering a taste of three . seasons in a week - as a golden autumnal weekend is being followed by . summer and winter snaps. The . Met Office said most parts were having a weekend of long sunny spells . once morning fog lifts - perfect for autumn walks amid glorious colours. Only the cloudier South will see occasional rain tomorrow. African air will deliver Indian Summer temperatures from Monday. With . Halloween just a week away, The Weather Channel forecast a 50 per cent . chance of topping 20C in the South, nudging the October 23 temperature . record of 21.4C at Anglesey, Wales, in 1996. Crack of dawn: The overnight rain and cloud-streaked skies give way to a fresh morning as the sun tries to break though at Heacham, West Norfolk . Not much of a view: Thick fog stops two women enjoying the view of central London, from a park bench on Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath in London, today . Change in the air: A man sits on a bench by trees in misty conditions on Hampstead Heath in London, Saturday, today, as weather forecasters predict rising temperatures . Three Day Weather Graphic . The Met Office predicted temperatures . in the 'high teens' but the potential for higher if clouds bringing . 'blood rain' showers ease. Tonight: . Britain should expect cloud with outbreaks of rain, particularly in southern counties, which will clear more western and northern areas by the early hours of the morning. The minimum temperature is expected to fall to 8C. Sunday: . Early low cloud will slowly clear leaving the occasional shower in the south. Temperatures will peak at 15C. Monday to Wednesday: . Monday, rather cloudy and misty with occasional rain. Tuesday and Wednesday will be mainly dry with broken cloud, some pleasant bright or sunny spells, although with brisk east winds. Mild. Forecasters said Saharan dust is expected to leave red-tinged sand stains on cars. Holland had blood rain today. But forecasters warned of a 'very . potent' Arctic plunge from Thursday, with snow in the East, North and . Wales by Friday and the South at risk next weekend, the Weather Outlook, . WeatherOnline and British Weather Services said. The . Met Office claimed it was 'too early' to assess the snow risk - but . confirmed colder air would push nights close to freezing in the North. Days are forecast to reach just 8C in the Midlands and 5C in parts of Scotland. A . colder-than-average winter with 'significant' snow, -18C temperatures . and transport disruption is ahead, British Weather Services said this . week. Weather Channel . forecaster Leon Brown said: 'Temperatures above 20C are rare in late . October - but there’s a 50 per cent chance of 20C in the South on . Tuesday, close to record levels.' Forecaster Brian Gaze of The Weather Outlook said: 'Enjoy the warmth but make sure you’ve got your winter woolies close at hand. 'Forecast . models show a very potent cold blast by October standards, with snow as . far south as Wales - and I wouldn’t rule out snow in the South by next . weekend.' Closing in: A bird watcher looks through his binoculars with dwindling hope of spotting anything in the misty conditions on Hampstead Heath in London, today . WeatherOnline forecaster Simon Keeling said: 'The major story of the next week will be the temperature fall, to 8C in the Midlands and 5C in Scotland by Friday. 'Thursday may see low-level sleet in Scotland with snow on higher ground, with Friday seeing wintry showers on hills in England’s East and North.' British Weather Services said: 'Could we go from T-shirts to sledges within days?' Met Office forecaster Dave Britton said: 'Temperatures will be in the high teens at the start of next week and perhaps very warm in the South-East in any sunshine. 'Things cool off later in the week but it’s too early to say if there will be snow.'", "By . Luke Salkeld and Ray Massey . PUBLISHED: . 04:42 EST, 27 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:43 EST, 1 October 2013 . London's flood defence system was activated yesterday for the first time since 2010 as Britain's wet weather threatens to bring flooding to the capital. The Environment Agency raised the Thames Barrier yesterday morning to prevent flooding from the current tides as extra rainfall, which has fallen further up the River Thames, flows downstream. It came as forecasters warned yet more downpours and storms are on the way to bring a soggy end to the wettest year in England since records began in 1910. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . The Thames Barrier has been closed because of the increased risk of flooding from tidal surges . The flood gates have been raised due to a combination of a high tide and extra rainfall further up the River Thames which could cause flooding in London . The record for the whole of the UK . will be broken if, as seems likely, just over 1.8in more rain falls on . Britain by the end of the year on Monday. With 50.8in having fallen on the UK . up to December 26, that is all it will take to beat the 52.6in that fell . in 2000, the UK's wettest year so far. The record for England has already been set with the 43.1in of rain that had fallen by Boxing Day, the Met Office said. Heavy rain is expected to fall in . many parts of the country today followed by storms with sleet and even . snow over the weekend. A storm brewing in the Atlantic could bring up to . two inches of rain and 90mph winds in some areas. That could extend the nightmare of . hundreds of home and business owners who have seen their property . repeatedly damaged by floods, with the South West hit particularly . badly. Yesterday the Thames Barrier was . closed for the first time in two years to prevent flooding to low-lying . areas of London. The Environment Agency raised the defence system to . stop floodwaters from further upstream meeting a high tide last night. This pub further up river from the barrier at Henley on Thames was left submerged . Flooding on the River Thames further upstream in Henley, Oxfordshire . The River Thames in Sonning in Berkshire, as a wet and stormy weekend could mark the end of one of the wettest years in history in Britain . A forecaster for MeteoGroup said: . 'New bands of rain will sweep across Britain from west to east bringing . some heavy showers. There will be some sunshine and clearer skies on . Saturday but it will be a stormy weekend and noticeably wet and windy. 'Winds will reach up to 50mph in the North and West of the UK, and up to 90mph along the west coast of Scotland. 'It's going to be a wet and stormy end to the year.' Upton on Severn has suffered serious flooding after torrential rainfall in the last week . A pub in Upton-upon-Severn sits under water with more heavy rainfall expected across Britain before the New Year . A van travels along a snow covered road in Nenthead, Cumbria where wintry weather covered many parts of northern England . Forecasters are predicting that Britain will be hit by more wild weather over the next few days adding more misery to flood hit areas . Snow covered roads in County Durham where the temperature plunged . Brave: A cyclist travels along a snow covered road in County Durham . Rail and road networks badly hit by appalling weather in the run-up to Christmas face further disruption over the coming days. Yesterday thousands of furious rail . passengers were left stranded and delayed as late-running engineering . work and bad weather combined to cause chaos which train bosses said . will run into the New Year. There were no trains between . Paddington and Heathrow Airport or Reading, and delays to services in . the East Midlands and parts of Scotland and Wales. Fields covered with flood water as the River Severn breaks its banks in Worcester . Worcestershire County Cricket Club lays under flood water as Britain faces one of the wettest years on record . More wet weather is expected voer thew weekend as flood waters gather on land close to Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire . A canoeist paddles past the winning post on flooded Worcester racecourse . A car enters flooding in Berkshire, left, while St Deny's church near Worcester stands under water, right . First Great Western continued to advise passengers not to travel to and from Devon and Cornwall. The weather has been blamed for a fire . at a school yesterday which is believed to have been started by . lightning during a thunderstorm. The blaze erupted in the roof of  the . arts and theatre block at Lytchett Minster School  in Poole, Dorset, . with 20ft flames engulfing the two- storey building. More than 60 firemen tried to put out the blaze which began just after 7am yesterday. A monkey sanctuary in Cornwall which . cares for sick and injured animals caught up in the UK pet trade is . appealing for help after being devastated by flooding. Staff at Looe Monkey Sanctuary are . also coming to terms with the loss of Pepper, a ten-month-old capuchin, . which died after contracting tetanus that may have been linked to the . floods. More than 60 firefighters battled a fire at Lychett Minster school in Dorset which is believed to have started after the building was hit by a huge bolt of lightning . There were darkened skies and stormy seas at Southsea in Hampshire as Britain's unsettled weather continues . Two young girls pose bravely at Southsea in treacherous conditions . The Rose and Crown pub in Worcester is under water after flooding . Another two inches of rain and winds of up to 60mph are expected hit Britain before the weekend . Seagulls rest on a bench after floods left this park in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, waterlogged . A horse drinks flood water in Barrow upon Trent, Derbyshire, . A border collie enjoys the flood water at Branston Golf Club, Burton . A 300-year-old cottage was believed to have been flooded for the first time in its history in Cambridgeshire. The property in Hemingford Abbots was filled with two feet of water after the Great Ouse river burst its banks. Workers from Anglian Water are now working desperately to pump out the dirty water. The Environment Agency has issued 109 . flood warnings and 213 less serious flood alerts for the UK as the risk . of flooding continues. However, the agency has removed 76 flood warnings and alerts in the last 24 hours. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has one flood alert in place around the Scottish Borders. Rail and road networks were badly hit . in the days leading up to Christmas, with a number of key routes struck . by weather-related delays and National Rail warned of further . disruption in the south-west today. First Great Western trains yesterday told people not to attempt travel today. Hundreds of homes have flooded in the past week, with the worst-affected areas in South West. England and along the south coast from Cornwall to Kent, along with Wales and northern Scotland. The sodden Christmas comes towards the end of what is expected to be one of the wettest years in Britain since records began. The UK's average rainfall in 2012, . excluding December, was 1,202mm - placing it 13th in the list of wettest . years since records began in 1910. Neighbours help out after a 300-year-old cottage flooded in the village of Hemingford Abbots, Cambridgeshire, for the first time in its history . Owners of the cottage awoke to find the property under two feet of water after the Great Ouse burst its banks . A tree had to be felled after it threatened the safety of monkeys in a sanctuary in Cornwall . Pepper, the 10-month-old capuchin monkey died after getting tetanus, possibly linked to flooding at the Looe Monkey Sanctuary in Cornwall . A dog walker is battered by strong winds on the Hamble seafront . Back in April that barely seemed imaginable with Britain in the midst of the worst drought since 1976. More than 20million people were subject to a hosepipe ban as the Environment Agency drew up contingency plans believing the drought could last until Christmas. But after the wettest summer in 100 years, Britain's climate swung back the other way. Professor Tim Palmer, from the University of Oxford, told the BBC the topsy-turvy conditions are the result of changes in the movement of the Atlantic jet stream which travels to our shores from America. 'When the jet stream moves up to the north, and then travels back down to the UK, it brings with it cold air, blizzards, very severe and unpleasant weather from that perspective,' he said. Professor Palmer predicted Britain will see more extreme patterns of weather with periods of drought followed by flooding and cold weather as the jet stream continues to be affected by climate change. 'The question of how it will change is still a very active research problem, and we don't have clear-cut answers yet. 'But I think there is quite a big possibility that what we will see is the jet stream undergoing quite dramatic and erratic excursions.' A large depression over the Atlantic is set to hit Britain bringing more rain and winds of up to 60mph . Flooding in Spring Cottage, Leicestershire, which is expected to see more wet weather over the weekend . A dog walker braves the downpours as Britain's relentless wet weather continues . Fossil hunters search the coast on Monmouth Beach in Lyme Regis, despite warnings form coastguards about possible landslides . The Environment Agency has issued an amber warning about possible landslides in coastal areas of the South-East .", "(CNN)On Valentine's Day, Mother Nature promises more heartbreak for New England. Forecasters predict that yet another blizzard will arrive Saturday evening and depart Sunday night. In a record-setting month, it won't be the worst storm that Boston has ever seen, but it will just compound the exasperation caused by three -- now four -- weather systems that have dumped piles of snow on the city. Cape Cod and the islands off the Massachusetts coast could see hurricane-force winds, with snow accumulations of 12 inches for Boston and up to 18 inches in coastal Maine. From New York's Long Island to Maine, millions of people will find themselves under blizzard warnings. How to beat the winter blues . Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has declared the next seven days as ''Valentine's Week'' in an attempt to help restaurants, flower shops and other small businesses hurting from the record setting snowfall. Could a baby boom be in the works? Birth rates have been known to jump nine months after natural and man-made disasters, according to Dr. Robi Ludwig, a psychotherapist. She gave the example of New York following 9/11, when births soared as many people faced calamity by turning to each other for support. The bad weather can mean cozy nights for cooking, sipping wine and watching movies -- activities that can shift to \"romance and sexuality, \" Ludwig said. Track the storm . -- Light snow, relatively speaking: Compared with other storms, this won't be as big a snow event for Boston. About 10 to 14 inches are forecast. Coastal Massachusetts might see 6 to 10 inches, forecasters say. -- Wicked wind: Some gusts could reach hurricane strength, 74 mph or greater. Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph will cause the snow to blow around and hamper visibility. Power outages can be expected in many areas, the National Weather Service said. -- Another blizzard: Eastern Massachusetts and coastal areas of the Bay State are under blizzard warnings. So are parts of eastern Maine, where gusts of 60 mph are possible and up to 26 inches of snow. -- Storm surge: With high winds the surf along the Massachusetts coast will be harsh. The storm surge in northeastern parts of the state and in Maine could be 2 to 2½ feet. This could lead to flooding. -- No mass transit Sunday: MBTA, better known to many as the T, won't run Sunday, when the worst of the weather will be hitting. There will be no subway, bus, commuter rail, trolley or ferry service. It's the third time the subway has shuttered service because of a serious storm. Officials will decide on Sunday whether to cancel service for Monday. Amtrak canceled two trains on Saturday and six on Sunday. -- Whiteout conditions: There is no ban on driving but it seems now like it would be a pretty bad idea. \"Travel will become nearly impossible,\" the National Weather Service is saying. The snow will be a light snow, so it will fly around easily in the strong winds. Visibility will be a quarter-mile or less during the storm. -- Flight trouble: Dozens of flights that had been scheduled to land at Boston's Logan International Airport on Saturday have been called off already. According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, 31 flights have been canceled at Logan. Already, more than 350 flights have been canceled for Sunday. -- Staying home? All this snow has caused small business in Boston to hurt. So much so that Gov. Baker on Friday declared next week as Valentine's week. Can't get to your romantic restaurant on Saturday, or you forgot to make reservations? The governor is giving you an extension. -- Frozen out: The snow emergency has led to the cancellation of Sunday's two performances of \"Disney on Ice presents Frozen\" at TD Garden. -- Widespread wind field: If you live in Asheville, North Carolina, you don't have to worry about a blizzard, but the winds will be fierce beginning Saturday evening. You could travel from there to Maine's border with Canada and face gusts of 40 mph or stronger the entire way. -- Forecast for the south: Birmingham and Atlanta, two cities that had a difficult go of it last year during one memorable snowy/icy storm, might find residents flooding grocery stores on Sunday night. \"Wintry precipitation possible early next week,\" the National Weather Service in Atlanta said. \"Are you ready for a shot at winter?\" the agency's Birmingham office said. -- Record month: With 42.3 inches of snow recorded this month, Boston has already had the snowiest February on record and with the first inch of Saturday's snow, this month will become the snowiest of any month in Boston history, at least since records have been kept since 1872. -- Almost 8 feet: Boston has received more snow this season-to-date than ever: 79.5 inches so far. -- Double trouble: Boston has never had more than one official blizzard in the same year. This should be the second; another hit the city in late January. CNN's Ray Sanchez, Dave Hennen and Brandon Miller contributed to this report.", "By . Mia De Graaf . and Wills Robinson . and Damien Gayle . Flood alerts have been issued across a swathe of Britain after today's summer sun gave way to thunder storms and downpours across the country. Residents of the North East, the Midlands and the South East have all been warned to prepare for possible flooding after the heavens opened this evening. Dramatic pictures showed heavy clouds hanging over the skies of Lincolnshire and Derbyshire, blocking out the late evening sun and turning roads into rivers. Spray: Cars kick up sheets of water as they speed along a Lincolnshire highway in the torrential rain . Ominous: Storm clouds brew over the green and pleasant fields of the Midlands . Dramatic: Flood alerts have been issued across a swathe of Britain after today's summer sun gave way to thunder storms and downpours across the country . A storm is brewing: Forecasters warn thunderstorms and flooding will hit today. Blustering clouds have already swept over Ashbourne, Derbyshire (pictured) Forecasters had warned that today's . weather would be a game of two halves, with most of the country basking . in sweltering temperatures before an onslaught of thunderstorms and . downpours. In the second . severe weather warning by the Met Office in seven days, forecasters . predict a sweep of hail, gusting winds and floods to start tonight. By Thursday, patches of the country will be back to dry, clear and warm conditions. Around 0.8in (20mm) of rain fell in some areas with Nottingham receiving a downpour of large hail stones, damaging some cars. A yellow 'be aware' weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for the east of England. In particular, Yorkshire and Humber, the East and West Midlands, the East of England and London and south east England. The warnings, in force until 8pm tonight, mean there is a moderate risk of some damage to infrastructure and local disruption. A Met Office spokeswoman stressed that the majority of areas would see less than 20mm rainfall. Summer is here? Londoners bask in the 24C heat on the South Bank, but forecasters warn thundery storms will sweep the nation tonight . Toasty: Office workers in London Bridge enjoyed their lunches in the sun today as the clouds continue to hold off despite Met Office warnings . Shining: Sun-worshippers near Tower Bridge will have to wait until the end of the week to enjoy the sun again . This 29-year-old medical student Eve Ainsbury even managed to take a sunbathing break from revision on the South Bank in London as skies remain blue . Sun-soaking: In Portsmouth, A&E nurses Abi Yates, 30 (left), and Emily Ayles, 24, enjoyed a day off in the sunshine . Warning: The Met Office insists gale-force winds are imminent despite last week's forecast for severe rainfall turning out to be misplaced. The gloomy skies over Ashbourne, Derbyshire are an indication of things to come . 'It is not going to be uniform, we are . looking at thundery showers within that area. Some places will get . lighter rain and not see any thunder or hail,' she said. 'What we are getting is fairly typical weather for early summer. From midweek onwards we are looking at sunny spells and fairly dry for most of the country with generally dry, cloudy conditions in the West. 'It is a mixture of sunshine and patchy cloud. There will be a little rainfall here and there but it will be fairly dry for the rest of the week.' Temperatures will be slightly lower than at the weekend with a highest temperatures predicted of 19C for Leeds, 20C for Southampton, 17C for Plymouth and 21C for Bristol. St James’s Park and Kew in London are forecast to register temperatures as high as 24C. This compares to a high yesterday of 25.4C for Gravesend in Kent. Tale of two halves: The warning comes after a weekend of unbroken sunshine and sweltering temperatures across Britain, including Derbyshire (pictured) Gloomy: A cyclist rides under grey clouds in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, ahead of torrential rain and thunderstorms. The east of England will today face heavy downpours, forecasters warn. This (right) is a rainfall map - the white parts (near Sheffield and Leicester) indicate the heaviest rainfall . The fresh storm prediction comes after the Met Office issued a severe weather warning last week for Saturday with forecasts of heavy, thundery rain battering parts of England, Wales and southern Scotland. But fears that some places could see flooding and an entire month’s rainfall in just one hour turned out to be misplaced, with Britain spared the worst as the summer storms swept the country. The heaviest downpour was registered in Santon Downham, Suffolk, which saw 0.7in (18.2mm) fall in one hour, followed by 0.6in (16.4mm) falling in Bickley, Worcestershire. It fell well short of the 1.2in (30mm) - almost half of the UK monthly average for the whole of June of 2.9in (73.4mm) - which had been forecast as a possibility. Last month the Shard in London - western Europe’s tallest building - was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. A landmark study by the Met Office and Newcastle University published earlier this week warned that climate change could result in heavier summer rainfall in Britain, which in turn could increase the risk of flash flooding.", "(CNN) -- As if the heavy snow, ice and high winds from a major winter storm weren't enough, temperatures plummeted in the upper Midwest and elsewhere Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. The storm brought blizzard conditions to some areas as gusty winds and blowing snow created whiteout conditions across much of the upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions. Winds of at least 35 mph and rain to the east caused hundreds of flights to be delayed or canceled, leaving travelers stranded. Parts of the Southeast received more than 6 inches of rain, causing flash flooding. A 28-year-old woman was killed in Omaha, Nebraska, Tuesday night when a truck plowing snow in a parking lot backed into her, police spokesman Jacob Bettin said. She was pronounced dead at the scene. In Nashville, Tennessee, early morning winds -- possibly up to 50 mph -- toppled the Christmas tree at the Tennessee State Capital, said CNN affiliate WKRN-TV. A facilities supervisor said the tree had been secured with hooks in concrete. An Arctic high pressure system or air mass began moving southward from Canada on Wednesday, bringing with it frigid temperatures. The temperature in Portland, Oregon, was 12 degrees, breaking the previous record of 15 degrees, set in 1972, said Jonathan Wolfe, meteorologist with the weather service's Portland bureau. By Wednesday afternoon the temperature in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was 9 degrees. It was minus 2 degrees in Denver, Colorado; and 11 in Kansas City, Missouri. Forecasters warned that places such as North Dakota and Minnesota could get dangerous wind chill readings of 25 to 35 degrees below zero. Madison, Wisconsin, received more than 17 inches of snow, prompting the University of Wisconsin to cancel classes for the first time since 1990. The campus police department estimated 3,000 students descended onto the school's Bascom Hill Wednesday afternoon for a snowball fight, with a few minor injuries reported, according to the university's Web site. Watch snow blow outside a hotel in Wisconsin . Early Wednesday morning, students began forming a giant snowball about six blocks from the campus and rolled it to an intersection near the university, former student Chad Krueger told CNN's iReport. How is the weather where you are? Send an iReport . The storm prodded Nicole Stec of Janesville, Wisconsin, to finally buy those new tires her car had been needing. \"I'm a procrastinator, so I put it off for a while. But now it's time because there's snow on the ground,\" Stec told WISC-TV at a Janesville tire shop. \"It's my Christmas present from Santa, apparently.\" Elsewhere, Des Moines, Iowa, received more than a foot of snow, with more to come, and Freeport, Illinois, had 11 inches. Schools were also closed across Iowa and parts of Minnesota. Passengers heading to cities in snow-bound states were left waiting. High winds in the Northeast were creating flight delays of more than an hour Wednesday night. New England also was expected to get dangerously low temperatures as snowfall was tapering off by Wednesday evening. Areas in Maine were expected to get an additional 4-8 inches of snow overnight after as much as 10 inches fell earlier in the day, the weather service said. Connecticut's Department of Transportation deployed all of its 632 trucks to clear roads of snow that prompted numerous school closings Wednesday morning, CNN affiliate WFSB-TV reported. Watch iReporters' shots of the storm . Flash floods struck north-central Alabama where rescuers ended up in a tree early Wednesday when their boat overturned as they tried to help a motorist whose car was swept into a rain-swollen creek, said the administrative assistant for Morgan County's Emergency Management Agency. \"The people were all right,\" said Rita Weeks. \"They waited in the tree until people could come get them.\" Earlier Wednesday, in the same county, a man hung on to a bridge over a creek after his vehicle was swept away by floodwaters, Weeks said. Forecasters said the area got more than 3 inches of rain before it stopped Wednesday morning, but flood advisories were still in effect Wednesday night for much of the South. The storm left its mark on the West on Monday and Tuesday. Alpine Meadows, California, near Lake Tahoe received 42 inches of snow before the storm moved out of the region Tuesday afternoon. Pagosa Springs, Colorado, received 33 inches, and Flagstaff, Arizona, got 30, with similar amounts throughout the Rockies. CNN's Larry Frum and Jim Kavanagh contributed to this report." ]

[ "bought it as a gift for my mentor in IT who once told me \"he does it for his kids\"" ]

[ "Bought as a gag-gift for my father-in-law, but it's actually really useful!", "Bought this as a teacher's appreciation gift. My child's s teacher loved it!", "bought this for my students as a gift..perfect little gift before the Holiday Break", "I bought this book as a Christmas gift for someone, and he loved it. He said it was among one of the best IT books hes ever read.", "I bought this as a gift, my son in law loved it!", "I've read a lot of books on the subject of mentoring, looking for material that would help me mentor, mentors, but this book did not give me anything new", "I bought this for my girls mentoring group. They read it over the Christmas break and then we went on a field trip to see the movie. Great book! Great movie! Black girls rock!", "I purchased this gift, well made, good learning tool, our grandson loves it, but not sure it was worth was I paid.", "Was given as a gift. It has not been used as of yet. But the person I gave it to seem to like it.", "I bought one for use at work; this one was a gift for a coworker who fell in love mine!", "received it in time to give it as a gift for my daughter who has just now started to run her own campaigns", "This book was recommended to me by a lady at my church. I bought it on my Kindle and also bought a paperback copy for my dear stepmom since she is a mentor for young ladies at her church. She has since read the book and bought copies for others. I am thankful for the sweet lady who recommended it to me so that it could impact my life and also others.", "After using this book privately, I showed it to a professional chef - he was very excited as he \"experiments\" with soups at his restaurant. I subsequently ordered one for him as a gift.", "Mentoring....I used to think that I didn't have it all together enough to be a mentor. But then a young lady came into my life who desperately needed some guidance and I knew I needed to invest in her life. I began to search for information on mentoring. I found lots of information on how to start a mentoring program but they were all very structured. That Makes Two of Us makes mentoring simple...it encourages you to just become friends and live your life with the young women God places in your life. It makes it fun! As you share God moments with the young women, you both grow!! I highly recommend it!!", "This movie I have watched with my children--hoping that they see how important it is to talk to and mentor our children--even preparing them to be strong during conflict.", "This was bought as a gift for my daughter who is going off to college. She loves it. I am proud that she is following her dad into the DM's chair.", "For me Clive James became the Humanist mentor I never had until I began to read Cultural Amnesia. A kind and gentle, superbly qualified teacher with a gift for using the English language to open new windows on my world. I have had five wonderful visits thus far with Clive James of four hours each reading the entire work. I am a far richer man for investing in the book not only my money but my time. His forty years at this labor of love is not lost\n\nas long as honorable men seek truth through the written word.", "Bought this as a gift for my husband after we bought them as gifts for friends. We love it. It mounted to the wall quickly and opens bottles like a dream! Great product!", "I gave this as a gift to my mother-in-law for Christmas. She is just getting back in touch with her spiritual side and it looked like it could be a very helpful tool. Also, she really enjoys Joyce Meyer a lot! She was thrilled to receive it.", "If you are searching for a life changing book-stop looking. This is the one to read! Each chapter will show you how each person has gifts to give to the world. The book is for anyone looking for inspiration,strength and motivation each day, this is the best book to have. I have highlighted and referred back to the book as I am going through my week. The best book I have read in years hands down. This is a must have for every person in a leadership/mentor role in today's world.", "Bought it as a gift, and hopefully they like it ^^", "the youth at my Church love them as well as the ladies I mentor judicated youth and they love them had 36ea less than a week 5ea will order more", "I purchased this book as a gift for my wife. She is starting a business offering Young Living Oils. She has told me that it is an excellent book.", "i would recommend this tablet as a gift or to anyone i bought it as a gift for my son and he loves it.", "It's really small and light. Feels cheap. I bought it as a gift for my mother but it didn't feel worthy of gift-giving.", "I wasn't sure about this book going into it but I read it and I think it is a great resource. It is written for young men and in small enough bites for them to grasp, particularly with a mentor.", "Young clergy are thrust into the ministry from seminary with a solid foundation in Biblical exegesis and systematic theology. This foundation is rudimentary to their work. However, the practical demands of congregational social dynamics, denominational bureaucracy, family/work boundaries, and lofty expectations to grow dormant congregations often overwhelm young clergy within months, if not weeks. In this book, experienced pastor Mark Conforti contends that the crucial supplement to a solid seminary education for young clergy is a healthy relationship with an experienced, respected clergy mentor.\n\nConforti offers here a thorough and comprehensive, albeit brief, read on the necessity of clergy mentoring in today's church. He examines every aspect of what he calls the \"mentor-mentee\" relationship from issues of nomenclature, to its theological and Biblical roots, to case studies, to potential pitfalls, to practical resources for implementing a mentoring program. His presentation is thoughtful and engaging, and it will not take long for a busy pastor to read. I highly recommend this book for both potential mentors and mentees seeking to grow in their ministerial effectiveness.", "Bought as a gift for my father. He was really happy with it!", "I gave it as a gift. My best friend loves it.", "Did I buy this?????? ummmmm I probably bought this as a gift for someone else because I don't know what it is. :)", "It was a gift for a Knitting friend ...She loved the diversity of the book...Found it charming and informative...Plans to use it often", "this was a gift for a young neighbor who wanted her own book to study with as her school was unable to provide each student with a copy to keep with them (had to turn book in every day before class was over). She said it was perfect. Thank you" ]

[ "So, the website powermapper tested the abbr element with a ton of screen readers and found issues with the abbr element. Likely I'll still use it but aria-hidden=true on it, and use a span with bootstrap's sr-only with the full text." ]

[ "It's the abbreviated name of the book \"금강경삼가해\" that the old form \"ᄒᆞᆫ보로\" appeared in. 2:33 means the word appears in Page 33, Volume 2.\n\n금강경삼가해 means it's a side-by-side translation of the three explanations of the Buddhist text \"The Diamond Sutra\"(금강경).\n\nTechnically it isn't itself the etymology of the word, but an indication of single use in a corpus. Determining an etymology needs extensive researches, but majority of 15th-century Korean literature written in 한문 are not telling much about how the Korean words that time are used in practice. Dictionaries \ninstead quote manuscripts side-commented with old Korean translations, (usually with titles suffixed with ~가해, ~언해, etc.,) but there are no more than few dozens of them left.", "I don't know what's the best way to manage over 500 abbreviations. Maybe in the long term, as @statox explained, you could have a look at snippets to reduce this number.\n\nAnd if you want to auto-complete abbreviations, you could try the following code:\n\naugroup GetAbbrev\n autocmd!\n autocmd VimEnter * let s:abbrev_list = [] |\n \\ call substitute(join(readfile($MYVIMRC), \"\\n\"), '\\v%(^|\\n)\\s*i?%(nore)?ab%[brev]\\s+%(%(\\&lt;expr\\&gt;|\\&lt;buffer\\&gt;)\\s+){,2}(\\k+)', '\\=add(s:abbrev_list, submatch(1))', 'gn')\naugroup END\n\nset completefunc=CompleteAbbrev\nfunction! CompleteAbbrev(findstart, base)\n if a:findstart\n return searchpos('\\&lt;\\k', 'bcnW', line('.'))[1] - 1\n else\n return filter(copy(s:abbrev_list), 'v:val =~ \"^\" . a:base')\n endif\nendfunction\n\n\nTo use it, you would have to hit C-x C-u after the beginning of an abbreviation.\n\n\n\nThe autocmd sets up the variable s:abbrev_list which should contain all your abbreviations.\n\nThe function CompleteAbbrev() should return a list of candidates based on the word before the cursor.\n\nThe 'completefunc' option's value tells Vim which function to call when you hit C-x C-u.\nNote that the option is local to the buffer, so you could still use other functions in different kind of buffers, using an autocmd and the FileType event for example.\n\nSee :h complete-functions for more info on how the function works.\n\n\n\nAnother solution would be to use synonyms completion. From :h i_^x^t:\n\n *i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T*\nCTRL-X CTRL-T Works as CTRL-X CTRL-K, but in a special way. It uses\n the 'thesaurus' option instead of 'dictionary'. If a\n match is found in the thesaurus file, all the\n remaining words on the same line are included as\n matches, even though they don't complete the word.\n Thus a word can be completely replaced.\n\n For an example, imagine the 'thesaurus' file has a\n line like this:\n angry furious mad enraged\n Placing the cursor after the letters \"ang\" and typing\n CTRL-X CTRL-T would complete the word \"angry\";\n subsequent presses would change the word to \"furious\",\n \"mad\" etc.\n Other uses include translation between two languages,\n or grouping API functions by keyword.\n\n\nTo use this solution, you would have to do 3 things:\n\n\nWrite the {lhs} of all your abbreviations inside a dedicated file.\nFor example, /home/user/mysynonyms.txt. And group them around similar themes.\nAdd the path to this file to the option 'thesaurus':\n\nset thesaurus+=/home/user/mysynonyms.txt\n\nHit C-x C-t after the beginning of the name of any abbreviation inside a group.\n\n\nFor example, suppose you have the following abbreviations:\n\niab cfa CFuncA\niab cfb CFuncB\niab cfc CFuncC\n\niab jfa JavaFuncA\niab jfb JavaFuncB\niab jfc JavaFuncC\n\niab pfa PhpFuncA\niab pfb PhpFuncB\niab pfc PhpFuncC\n\n\nYou could group them according to the programming language they belong to.\nInside /home/user/mysynonyms.txt, you would write:\n\ncpp cfa cfb cfc\nphp pfa pfb pfc\njava jfa jfb jfc\n\n\nNow, whenever you hit C-x C-t after the name of an abbreviation (or just its beginning), Vim should display, in the popup menu, all the abbreviations which are on the same line.\n\nHere's how it would look:\n\n\n\nNote that the abbreviations don't need to begin with the same characters to be grouped, they could be entirely different. As long as they're on the same line in your synonyms file, Vim will show all of them. \n\nAnd you don't have to use the programming language to decide in which group put an abbreviation. You could group them according to any meaningful similarity/topic/category you have in mind.\n\nSo, when you forget a specific abbreviation, you could type the first letters of a category, hit C-x C-t and choose the relevant one inside the menu.\n\nEdit:\nTo dump all your abbreviations inside /home/user/mysynonyms.txt, you could use these 3 Ex commands:\n\n:let abbrev_list = []\n:call substitute(join(readfile($MYVIMRC), \"\\n\"), '\\v%(^|\\n)\\s*i?%(nore)?ab%[brev]\\s+%(%(\\&lt;expr\\&gt;|\\&lt;buffer\\&gt;)\\s+){,2}(\\k+)', '\\=add(abbrev_list, submatch(1))', 'gn')\n:call writefile(abbrev_list, '/home/user/mysynonyms.txt')\n\n\nEdit2:\nI've added the flag n when the substitute() function is called because you don't need any substitution. Its only purpose is to add an abbreviation inside a list whenever one is found.\nBut because you have many abbreviations, it could make the process uselessly slow, I don't know. Initially, I didn't put it because I don't know which Vim version you're using. If your version is newer than 7.3.627, it should be ok, otherwise you would have to remove the n flag.", "This is not directly possible.\n\nSee :help abbreviations which talks about the three types of abbreviations, but even the (least restrictive) \"non-id\" type mentions \"the other characters may be of any type, excluding space and tab.\"\n\nAnd also:\n\n\n Examples of strings that cannot be abbreviations: a.b, #def, a b, _$r\n\n\nYou can work around this, by using an &lt;expr&gt; abbreviation that triggers a function that checks the words preceding the one currently being abbreviated and decide to expand it or not (not expanding it means expanding it to the same text.)\n\nBut even that doesn't really help much in your particular case, since \"an abbreviation is only recognized when you type a non-keyword character.\" So you would have to expect a symbol or whitespace after the ( to trigger the abbreviation, but you're quite likely to find a variable name or function call there, which would be an alphanumeric character and would not expand and abbreviation.\n\nPerhaps a more convenient way to handle this is to use an inoremap, since that will trigger when the key itself is pressed and not after the whole word is entered as a word. You could use an inoremap &lt;expr&gt; ( ... to trigger the mapping when the ( is typed, then check whether it's preceded by an if word and, in that case, expand the sequence you wanted.\n\nSee this answer for an iabbrev &lt;expr&gt; that inspects the preceding word when deciding whether to expand an abbreviation, and this answer for an advanced use of inoremap &lt;expr&gt; that might be somewhat similar to yours.\n\n\n\nBut if you're really serious about having Vim type your code for you, you should really look into a snippet engine such as UltiSnips.\n\nUltiSnips allows you to define your snippets using a much higher level templating language and it takes care of the low-level details such as the Vim mappings needed to make the snippets work.\n\nIt also allows you to define \"fields\" through markers in your templates, which you'll find you really need for a template to an if or a for, since you typically want to enter one or more expressions before the cursor lands in the inner code block.\n\nI'd seriously recommend that you'd take a look into it.", "This is what really happens during education (not in the mind of a mathematician): The teacher introduces $4^9$ as just a way to abbreviate $4\\times 4\\times 4\\times 4\\times 4\\times 4\\times 4\\times 4\\times 4$. So, the $a^n \\times a^m=a^{m+n}$ and othere rules can be shown to be true, simply via thinking to the meaning of this abbreviation.\n\nThen, someday, $a^0$ should be introduced; a total nonsense regarding to the abbreviation mentioned above! An approach (I thikng the best one) in this point is as follows:\n\n\nGiving motivation: Explaining that accepting $n$ to be $0$ in $a^n$ helps us in our mathematical practice. We can say it's nonsense or give it a meaning. Which one is better?\nRecognizing different ways to define $a^0$ It's not anyone outside the classroom to tell us what to define $a^0$! We can define it anything we want, but we will pay the price for bad choices!\nGood definition for $a^0$ What is the value for $a^0$ which won't make us to add new rules to our rulebox? What is the value which is consistent with what we know about exponents and makes the least trouble? It's $a^0=1$!", "Typically the best place for support with software is the software's website. Did you try visiting CKAN's site?\nAt first glance, there's a link in the top navigation called \"Support\", so that's where you want to start.\nIf you are looking for third party vendors to pay to get you up and running, you should clarify that in your question.", "After a long search and lots of trial and error, I've found the perfect solution!\nThis is how I created a dynamic structure navigation : parent/child (2 levels deep) with class=\"active\" on the parent and the child &lt;li&gt;.\n\n&lt;ul class=\"Navigation\"&gt;\n\n{# Get top-level entries in structure section 'features' #}\n{% set parentFeatures = craft.entries.section('features').level(1) %}\n\n{# Loop through top-level entries #}\n{% for parentFeature in parentFeatures %}\n\n {# Check if entry has descendants/children #}\n {% if not parentFeature.hasDescendants %}\n\n {# List navigation item if entry has NO child entries #}\n &lt;li class=\"Navigation-item {% if craft.app.request.absoluteUrl == parentFeature.url %}active{% endif %}\"&gt;\n &lt;a href=\"{{ parentFeature.getUrl }}\" class=\"Navigation-link\"&gt;{{ parentFeature.title }}&lt;/a&gt;\n &lt;/li&gt;\n\n {% else %}\n\n {# List navigation item if entry does have child entries #}\n {# Show an active class if it is active or if it contains a child that is active #}\n &lt;li class=\"Navigation-item Navigation-item--dropdown {% if parentFeature.slug == craft.request.getSegment(parentFeature.level) %}active{% endif %}\"&gt;\n\n &lt;a href=\"{{ parentFeature.getUrl }}\" class=\"Navigation-link\"&gt;{{ parentFeature.title }}&lt;/a&gt;\n &lt;ul class=\"Navigation Navigation--subMenu\"&gt;\n\n {# Get child entries of current iteration's top-level entry #}\n {% set subPages = parentFeature.getChildren() %}\n\n {# Loop through those 2nd-level entries #}\n {% for subPage in subPages %}\n\n {# This is the place where you'd nest the next menu hierarchy !! #}\n\n {# List sub-menu navigation item #}\n &lt;li class=\"Navigation-item Navigation-item--subMenu {% if craft.app.request.absoluteUrl == subPage.url %}active{% endif %}\"&gt;\n &lt;a href=\"{{ subPage.getUrl }}\" class=\"Navigation-link Navigation-link--subMenu\"&gt;{{ subPage.title }}&lt;/a&gt;\n &lt;/li&gt;\n\n {% endfor %}\n\n &lt;/ul&gt;\n &lt;/li&gt;\n {% endif %}\n{% endfor %}\n\n&lt;/ul&gt;\n\n\n\n\nThanks to Carlcs's old answer about this found here: https://craftcms.stackexchange.com/a/1847/6586", "There are lots of online resources to help you better your Danish pronunciation.\n\nThis is a helpful guide to the pronunciation of the Danish alphabet as well as various words. It's important to make sure you can correctly pronounce each letter in the alphabet to ensure that your pronunciation of Danish words is correct. This link is a total compilation of overall helpful tips for Danish learners, not just for pronunciation. \n\nThis is a website with audio clips played for each letter of the Danish alphabet, which you may find more helpful than just words. \n\nForvo is one of the best online resources for practicing pronunciation, with over 20,000 words with individual audio clips, all pronounced by native speakers. \n\nFinally, this link and this other link both contain helpful guides to deciphering the Danish alphabet in further detail. \n\nAnd if you're looking for a good way to kickstart your Danish learning, you might want to try Duolingo.\n\nIn terms of tips, I'd say make sure you have a solid foundation of the alphabet and how each letter is pronounced. Learn about any language-specific oddities in pronunciation, and if you're still having trouble, try conversing with a native speaker or listen to native speakers online and try to imitate their speech.", "If the {% nav %} tag doesn't give you enough control over the output, you can always replicate the behavior with custom loops and the getChildren() method. Just nest them as far as your navigation hierarchy possibly gets.\n\nEdit:\n\nHere an example code on how you'd dynamically call getChildren() on each top-level entry of your structure. If you need to go deeper another level in the structure's hierarchy, I marked the line where you would do that:\n\n&lt;ul class=\"Navigation\"&gt;\n\n {# Get top-level entries in pages structure (exclude home page) #}\n {% set pages = craft.entries.section('pages').id('not 1').level(1) %}\n\n {# Loop through top-level entries #}\n {% for page in pages %}\n\n {# Check if entry has descendants #}\n {% if not page.hasDescendants %}\n\n {# List navigation item if entry has NO child entries #}\n &lt;li class=\"Navigation-item\"&gt;\n &lt;a href=\"{{ page.getUrl }}\" class=\"Navigation-link\"&gt;{{ page.title }}&lt;/a&gt;\n &lt;/li&gt;\n\n {% else %}\n\n {# List navigation item if entry does have child entries #}\n &lt;li class=\"Navigation-item Navigation-item--dropdown\"&gt;\n\n &lt;a href=\"{{ page.getUrl }}\" class=\"Navigation-link Navigation-link--dropdown\"&gt;{{ page.title }}&lt;/a&gt;\n &lt;ul class=\"Navigation Navigation--subMenu\"&gt;\n\n {# Get child entries of current iteration's top-level entry #}\n {% set subPages = page.getChildren() %}\n\n {# Loop through those 2nd-level entries #}\n {% for subPage in subPages %}\n\n {# This is the place where you'd nest the next menu hierarchy !! #}\n\n {# List sub-menu navigation item #}\n &lt;li class=\"Navigation-item Navigation-item--subMenu\"&gt;\n &lt;a href=\"{{ subPage.getUrl }}\" class=\"Navigation-link Navigation-link--subMenu\"&gt;{{ subPage.title }}&lt;/a&gt;\n &lt;/li&gt;\n\n {% endfor %}\n\n &lt;/ul&gt;\n &lt;/li&gt;\n {% endif %}\n {% endfor %}\n\n&lt;/ul&gt;\n\n\n.\n\nBecause most of your question's topics are already covered by other Q/As, I'd also recommend you to read through these too.\n\nHow to realize a client editable navigation:\n\n\nWould you use a Structure as navigation over multiple sections?\nHow to build a great multi-lingual navigation witch channels, structure, and manageable in the CP\nMulti-lingual site navigation made of singles, channels and structure\nAdd home page to a stucture?\n\n\nMore control over the HTML output of the nav tag:\n\n\nCustom or complex nav tag", "SIGIL is probably not your best tool for creating static HTML files although it's not impossible. \n\nThe main goal of sigil is to produce an epub file, and to read an epub in the browser, you'd need to install a special extension (Readium). \n\nIf you get down to it, epubs solve a navigation problem -- of flipping between chapters and of creating a TOC. \n\nOn the other hand, an epub is just a zip of html files and some extra navigation stuff. I build my epub files in another way (Docbook XML --> static HTML --> EPUB) -- but when testing/editing, I view each chapter and the table of contents web page in a browser. \n\nI don't know if Sigil has a button to turn your files into an epub file, but my guess is that at some point, the chapters and TOC exist as HTML files. Even if they don't, you could simply rename the .epub to .zip and then unzip. \n\nThe file tree for epubs are fairly standard; here's what's generally inside. \n\n\nOEBPS\n\n\n1.html\ntoc.html\n2.html\nmy.css\nimages/\n\nMETA-INF (navigation stuff and metadata inside) \n\n\nYou could just ftp the oepbs directory to your website and you'd have all the static pages there (you might need to rename the toc.html to index.html so that's the default view. An index file in ebook usually doesn't refer to the TOC but the subject index at the end of the book. \n\nSo SIGIL could probably get the job done (and is especially recommended if you are using internal links between web pages), but a simple html editor would work just as well. (Heck, even MS Word to HTML could do the job, although you'd have to live with ugly code).", "In your Settings application, navigate to System Applications Browser.\nYou get a prompt saying: \n\n\n Set as default browser?\n \n MIUI Browser is really great blah blah blah\n blah blah blah blah blah blah.\n \n No Thanks | Set\n\nTap \"No Thanks\".\nMake sure \"Set as default browser\" is in the off position (grayed dot, not blue dot).\nOpen some application with web links.\nClick a web link.\nYou will now get the dialog for choosing the app with which to open the link.\nTap \"Remember my choice\" or some equivalent wording before choosing your new default browser.", "I can't speak intelligently to the question of whether or why the first entry is a reference to Isaac Brizendine's estate, although the quote that WilliamKF added seems to provide an answer to that question.\n\nAs far as the second entry goes, I believe it is for Isaac Brizendine Jr. Specifically, to me, the first letter of the last word appears to be very similar to both the I in Isaac and the J from Joshua. I don't believe it is an H. The last letter clearly seems to be a superscript r and there are two letters in between, which, while not totally clear, seem to be a u and an n. Thus, I read the last word as Junr.\n\nThere are a couple of other reasons I'm pretty sure it doesn't read \"Heir.\" \n\n\nIf his estate is still listed because it hasn't been settled, then it makes little sense that a person would be identified and taxed as an heir of that estate. \nI'm quite sure that the last letter is supposed to be a superscript. If so, I've only ever seen that used when abbreviating or contracting a word. Since heir has four letters and the last word also appears to have four letters, it obviously wouldn't be an abbreviation of heir. This implies that they are abbreviating a longer word.\n\n\nSo in summary, I believe that the second entry on the image reads Isaac Brizendine Junr.", "Several existing answers on this site offer advice related to this question. One of the problems is that dropdown menus and dropdown selectors just get called &quot;dropdowns&quot;, which can make it tricky to find stuff. I've mixed these answers in with a couple of my own suggestions. Links throughout and at the bottom.\nMake Sure This is Really a Problem\nAs with so many issues like this, the primary driver behind the change appears to be your subjective opinion that that this type of selector feels slow.\nResearch does give us reasons to avoid unnecessary depth in navigation systems, but that doesn't mean that dropdowns are a universally bad choice.\nWith a robust implementation and a relatively small number of options, a dropdown might work, and you could save yourself a lot time and effort by first testing your hypothesis. You might find that this isn't really a problem at all.\n1. Just Show All The Options\nDepending on the number of options in your set, it may be viable to just show all the options. Your question included two bullet lists. If you took Group B, moved it up and right, beside Group A, make all the items links, indent sublinks, and have a designer tweak the layout to fit with the style of your page, you've got a usable implementation that's as simple as it gets.\n2. Just Use a Dropdown\nAs mentioned at the top, if your menu is small, a dropdown could work. Just make sure you don't stray too far from conventions and adhere to best practices.\n\nDropdown Menu Best Practices - Smashing Magazine\n\n2.a. Dropdown Variation - Drilldown Menu\nDrilldown menus bridge the gap between standard dropdown functionality and a more wizard-like behavior.\nhttp://www.jque.re/plugins/menu-nav/drill.down/#\n3. Make it a Mega Menu\nMega menus get the NNGroup's blessing and are recommended as a solution to the usability problems of regular dropdowns. They provide a way of reducing the depth in a menu, but can become unwieldy if overloaded.\nApplied to your case and example data, if a user clicked on the Group A link, they'd see a panel that shows all the workflows under Group A, including the third level items A1.1 and A2.2\n4. Filter More, Navigate Less\nThis falls into the category of 'Show everything and let the user filter out'. It may not be a appropriate given the number and type of items you, but I've included it here to provide food for thought and potential inspiration\nThere are lots of options to explore for filtering on menus, one, for reference, is Live Filtering.\n\nUI Pattern for Live Filtering\nExample of Live Filtering (switch to list view for a more relevant view)\n\nUX.SE References\n\nAlternatives to Cascading Dropdown Interfaces\n\nHow to explain to director that a multilevel dropdown menu isn't a good idea", "Your xpath locator is wrong , try the below xpath:\n\n/html/body/div/div/footer/md-toolbar/div/div[2]/img[2]/../../../../../../../../body[@class=\"layout-column md-dialog-is-showing\"]\n\n\nThe errors were ,\n\n\nspace after /html/body/div/div/footer/md- \nmore than one space character after body[@class=\"layout-column \nYou navigated back to parent only seven times, ../../../../../../.. which brings you back to body element. From here you are again trying to get 'body' which will look for body inside body. But there won't be any such element. You have to navigate back one more time and then search for the body element \n\n\nFinal:\n\nI am not sure why you use such a locator when you can easily get the element by just using the locator\n\n//body[@class=\"layout-column md-dialog-is-showing\"]\n\nI hope you are trying to learn xpath and not going to push such a code\n\nAdvice\n\nTry to develop best practices like using CSS, IDs , using relative XPaths, using less complex locators etc from initial learning phase only\n\nElse , you will pickup all the bad practices and will implement in professional life also.", "All you have to do is navigate to http://www.youtube.com/cosmicpanda and click the link called older version\n\nAnother way out is to navigate to http://www.youtube.com/testtube and follow the link to Cosmic Panda from there.", "The page that @Stanislav Kralin's comment links to contains a link to the Orange Book page, which provides downloads for ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application, i.e. Generics) data and the Orange book itself. This should get you at least to 80% of the solution.", "Insert mode completion with Ctrl-n\n\nI don't know if you could do WORD completion outside of writing your own function (like omnifunc). However, if you don't mind expanding what a word is to match your characters, you can add those characters to 'iskeyword'\n\nFor example, my 'iskeyword' defaults to\n\niskeyword=@,48-57,_,192-255\n\n\nI then set it to that plus the additional characters above\n\n:set iskeyword=@,48-57,_,192-255,{,},,,(,),^\n\n\nThis adds {, }, ,, (, ), and ^ to the characters that make up a word (in addition to what already did)\n\nAfter that, typing {Ctrl-n completes to {0,1}^n (in a file containing only those two examples you gave)\n\nNote: It would be better to do a :set iskeyword+= with just the additional stuff, as follows:\n\n:set iskeyword+={,},,,(,),^\n\n\nThis way, you leave whatever other things make up a keyword already by appending the new characters to the existing setting.\n\nExpansion with abbreviations\n\nAlthough not part of the original question, another similar(ish) functionality is to use nvi or Vim's abbreviation functionality. Unlike keyword completion, abbreviations don't have to look like the final text. Also unlike keyword completion, abbreviations expand automatically, instead of only when you ask for them. Depending on your goal and usage, this can save a lot of typing, and let you type lots of text without the interruption of asking for a completion.\n\nAbbreviations are good for a small set of keywords and when you can define them ahead of time (they aren't discovered from your text like word completion is).\n\nThe basic idea behind abbreviations is that you associate a WORD with some other text, and any time the editor detects that you typed that WORD (that is, the text you typed is surrounded by white space, where the completion action is adding the whitespace after the keyword or leaving insert mode), it is replaced with that other text.\n\nLet's say your file contains {0,1}^n a lot, and there aren't other variations of it. Typing that is a bit of a finger stretch, so maybe you want to just type 01n or myvalue and have it expand to {0,1}^n, but only when 01n or myvalue is a word on its own (that is, if it happens to appear within another word, don't change it).\n\nIn nvi, you can do :abbrev 01n {0,1}^n. You can do the same in Vim, but I recommend using :iabbrev 01n {0,1}^n to restrict the expansion to insert mode only.\n\nThen, if you have some text (where | represents the cursor)\n\nWe find that the value 01n|\n\n\nAnd then you hit Esc or Space or Tab or otherwise move the cursors, the text gets replaced, and you have (example for using space)\n\nWe find that the value {0,1}^n |\n\n\nand you can continue typing without interruption.\n\nThis is usually used to auto-correct common typos (e.g. changing 'teh' into 'the') but it can be equally useful for your use case, again assuming that you don't mind setting up the mappings ahead of time.", "This Wikipedia thread is hilarious, but it is not hard to figure out where \"tauon\" came from after muon, pion, kaon, etc. When the same type of abbreviation is used enough times people start treating it as a generating rule, it's the same with other types of linguistic formation. It's a wonder we don't have rhoons, omegaons as well, maybe they just don't sound as good. \n\nTauon is a natural abbreviation of \"tau-lepton\", so it wouldn't surprise me if the original editor of the Wikipedia page and/or the astronomers mentioned in the thread came up with it on their own. It wouldn't surprise me either if eventually it becomes accepted usage. The reason for pushback may be that initially such abbreviations were applied to mesons, starting with \"mu-meson\", originally mistaken for a meson, and shortened to \"muon\", when it became clear. In fact, muon is a mu-lepton, although it is not usually called that, but it is only natural to want uniform naming for both mu and tau leptons. \nPeople who know that muon was originally mu-meson are unlikely to infer from the name that \"tauon\" is a meson, if that's the concern.\n\nThis thread reminded me of Origins of Mathematical Words by Anthony Lo Bello, where he rages against word formation in mathematics. For example, \"repunit\" is \"a ludicrous word, a comical abbreviation of repeated unit... One should not do this sort of thing unless one's purpose is to be ridiculous\". \"Nonhomogeneous\" is terrible because \"non\" is Latin, and \"homogeneous\" is Greek, and \"isometry\" is because although both parts are Greek, they are not spliced together as in Greek. I am not sure if Lo Bello realizes how comical his own objections are. But fortunately in the end common usage always wins over lexicographers.", "Radio navigation was used on a large scale during the \"Battle of Britain\" in WWII, to direct the fighter planes to the enemy bomber formations. Of course, they experimented much earlier than that, even during WWI, but practical use on a large scale started during WWII.\nSee Wikipedia article \"Radio navigation\".", "If you are happy with the code, then it always helps to publish it. I'm a hiring manager for engineers, and even if the project isn't impressive, I'd like to browse it to get a sense of:\n\n\nIf the engineer has enough internal motivation to publish side\nprojects \nIf the code seems to follow most best practices. I won't\nhave to teach the engineer best practices if they join my team\nLooking for good clean well tested code.\n\n\nIf you're proud of it, include the link!", "A STATE word is\n\n\n a word where the first two letters are also a US State Abbreviation\n\n\n\n\n\n AKIMBO, Alaska\n CAN, California\n CONTAINER, Colorado\n FLAGON, Florida\n MEETING, Maine\n OHMAGE, Ohio\n SCHOLARSHIP, South Carolina\n VACATION, Virginia\n WITHDRAW, Wisconsin", "You would write &quot;1 million&quot; or &quot;1M&quot;. When abbreviated, capitalization is necessary, but by itself, &quot;million&quot; is lowercase.\ncapitalizemytitle.com explains this:\n\n...million, billion, hundred, thousand are NOT capitalized, and neither are the words “billionaire” or “millionaire” as they are considered to be professions, and they follow the spelling rules of that class.\nHowever, the first letter of million can be capitalized when abbreviated, as in “his net worth is well over $1,000,000MM” or “The stock market received an injection of $3,697,834Mil to keep it from collapsing”.", "In addition to the bug you observed, the behavior of the list was such that if you clicked anywhere on an entry other than the link to the post it would fill out the form and submit it, allowing you to ask a question... If you clicked on the link, it would simultaneously try to submit the form and navigate to the (broken) link... Likely resulting in a 404 page. \n\nI've tried to address both issues:\n\n\nLinks now point to the right site. \nClicking on the link just fills in the form but neither submits it nor navigates to the question; you can open the question in a new tab/window to view it. \nClicking next to the link fills in the form and submits it.\nThere's a title-tip that reads \"ask about this post\" if you hover over the entry.\n\n\nHopefully this will be somewhat less confusing for people trying to ask about their posts here.", "querySelectorAll\n\nHere's another approach, if you don't mind older browsers. You can use querySelectorAll instead of document.links. That way, you end up with a smaller result set rather than all links, and save you CPU cycles for running the loop.\n\nIn this case, we get only those links that have the same href value as the current document url:\n\nvar links = document.querySelectorAll('a[href=\"'+document.URL+'\"]');\n\n\nHowever, note the browser compatibility and there are quirks across implementations.\n\nNot all links need active\n\nNow if you think about it, not all links with the document.URL need to have active. Say you have active set the font to 2em. If you get all links that point to the same page, they'd be 2em in size, regardless of where they are in the page!\n\nMost likely, you only need it for the primary navigation. Consider adding a class to further refine the result set.\n\n&lt;ul class=\"navigation\"&gt;\n &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.example.com/home\"&gt;Home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;\n &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.example.com/news\"&gt;News&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;\n &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.example.com/contact\"&gt;Contact&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;\n &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.example.com/about\"&gt;About&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;\n&lt;/ul&gt;\n\n// Getting only the links that are in .navigation\nvar links = document.querySelectorAll('.navigation a[href=\"'+document.URL+'\"]');\n\n// More specific CSS\n.navigation a.active {background:red;}\n\n\nclassName\n\nNow you have to note that setting className replaces it with the value, like this example. If the links you have happen to have existing classes (and styles that come with them), your script will unintentionally remove their styles due to the replaced className.\n\nWhat you can do is get the existing className value, split them by spaces (multiple class names are separated by spaces), append your class name, join them back and then change the value, like I did here:\n\nvar element = document.getElementById('change');\nvar classNames = element.className.split(' ');\nclassNames.push('huge');\nelement.className = classNames.join(' ');", "In other words, could this difference noticeably impact safety or reliability? -> not at all in my opinion.\n\nWhat important in autonomous car navigation is localization stability rather than the odometry estimation accuracy. Maps for autonomous driving are usually prebuilt and globally optimized before they are used for a navigation. It is never required to build such an open loop trajectory for a navigation.\n\nEven for a map building, 0.05% is almost meaningless if there is a proper place recognition system.", "Place is probably Gorenje Lakovnice, Novo Mesto, Slovenia, \"and belongs to the Parish of Novo Mesto–Šmihel\".\n\nAs in a previous answer, Fuzzy Gazetteer and GOV led to the above result.\n\nIn the record images, \"Gorn.\" is clearly an abbreviation; the full word seems to have a number of grammatical forms, depending on the following word.", "Because a majority of the people are just too plain stupid.\n\nIn an international study by the OECD on adult competencies (PIAAC) that evaluated literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments, it was found that only every third adult (in Germany: 36%) between 16 and 64 was able \"to master more complex tasks such as navigating the internet\".\n\nRead that again. A more complex task such as navigating the internet. Only one third manages that. In an educated country like Germany where 77% of the population 14 and older use the internet.\n\nThis means that more than half the internet users don't know how to navigate the internet.\n\nThe study also found that\n\n\nevery eighth person does not know how to use a computer mouse\nevery fifth person only knows basic arithmetics or less\nevery sixth adult (!) has the reading ability of a ten year old child\n\n\nI think tabbed browsing is a minor problem. The study makes me doubt the principles of democracy. How can people be allowed to vote, if about 15% of the adult (!) population \"can at best read short texts with simple words and extract from these only very limited information\"?\n\nSource: http://www.oecd.org/site/piaac/", "The current usage of the word meditation is strongly linked to buddhist/zen/hindu practices of sitting in a certain position, breathing in a certain way, focusing on emptying the mind and ultimately altering one's consciousness.\n\nThat kind of meditation and any other spiritual practices from other religions are strictly forbidden by the Orthodox Church for obvious reasons: being a christian and meditating is like being a buddhist and praying to God.\n\nHowever, the word meditation itself is not imported from asian languages, like samsara, nirvana, chakra, karma etc. It comes from the latin meditatio meaning to contemplate, to ponder. So its original meaning was different, not linked to asian spiritual practices.\n\nOne of my friends started his conversion to Orthodox Christianity after reading a book called \"Orthodox meditation\". He picked it up with exactly your question in mind: Do the orthodox christians also meditate? thinking of course, about the current connotations of the word. In this book, he found out that orthodox meditation has nothing to do with the asian spiritual practice.\n\nThe Philokalia, a collection of eastern orthodox writings about the hesychast tradition, abounds in the use of the word meditation, which is used, of course, with its original meaning e.g. in order to attain humbleness, one should meditate on God's infinite powers as often as possible (not a direct quote, just an example I made up).\n\nAs another user advised, it's better if you talk to your confessor priest about this, he will tell you whether doing this is beneficial to you or not and give you the proper instructions on how to do it right.", "I think LiDAR is common for indoor navigation. Definitely, LiDAR is the easiest and accurate solution for indoor navigation or SLAM. Many commercial robot vacuums are already in use of LiDAR for indoor navigation and mapping. Those are even cheaper and simpler than RGBD modules which is why low-cost LiDARs are hired over RGBD in mass production models.\n\nIt is just that indoor navigation is a vast topic. I haven't seen any survey paper that covers all types of sensors. We can't cover few thousands of papers in a single survey paper. The paper you linked has some specific coverage and it is ok not to mention other sensors out of the scope such as LiDAR or camera.", "I'd echo the suggestion of using bookmarks.\nYou can use environment variables (define your own, to correspond to whatever directory prefixes you want).\nYou can define directory abbreviations, using option directory-abbrev-alist. That's what it is for. See the Emacs manual, node File Aliases.\n\nThe doc focuses on the use of directory-abbrev-alist with symbolic links, but you can use it for any directory abbreviations.\n\nVanilla Emacs does not complete your directory abbreviations, but Icicles does. (RMS gave as the reason that vanilla Emacs should not do this: \"I don’t think Emacs should alter the names that the user enters.\"\n\nHere is the doc string for option directory-abbrev-alist:\n\ndirectory-abbrev-alist is a variable defined in `files.el'.\nIts value is nil\n\nDocumentation:\nAlist of abbreviations for file directories.\nA list of elements of the form (FROM . TO), each meaning to replace\nFROM with TO when it appears in a directory name. This replacement is\ndone when setting up the default directory of a newly visited file.\n\nFROM is matched against directory names anchored at the first\ncharacter, so it should start with a \"\\\\`\", or, if directory\nnames cannot have embedded newlines, with a \"^\".\n\nFROM and TO should be equivalent names, which refer to the\nsame directory. Do not use `~' in the TO strings;\nthey should be ordinary absolute directory names.\n\nUse this feature when you have directories which you normally refer to\nvia absolute symbolic links. Make TO the name of the link, and FROM\nthe name it is linked to.\n\nYou can customize this variable.\n\n\nSo as an example, you might have an entry like this in directory-abbrev-alist:\n\n\n (\\`2015 . //SBS/share/path/to/somewhere/2015)\n\n\nThen if you use C-x C-f 2015 TAB (in Icicles) your input of 2015 is completed to //SBS/share/path/to/somewhere/2015, and you can type more to complete to something in that directory.\n\nAnd if you had an entry like this (same thing, but with a trailing /):\n\n (\\`2015 . //SBS/share/path/to/somewhere/2015/)\n\n\nThen C-x C-f 2015 TAB shows you all of the files in that directory as completion candidates.", "1. Looking at your CSS\nTo fully remove the space that is above your menu:\n.body .container has a border of 1px\n.header has a margin-bottom of 10px\n.navigation has a padding of 5px for top/bottom.\n.navbar has a margin-bottom of 18px;\nThese need to be changed/overwritten. So something like this, in your Custom Css file could work:\n.body .container {border: 0;}\n.header {margin-bottom: 0;}\n.navigation {padding-top: 0;}\n.navbar {margin-bottom: 0;}\n\n\nNote:\nIf you want to give more specificity therefore even higher priority for your custom rules, you can add the .site selector before the others. For example the above rules would end up like so:\n.site .body .container {border: 0;}\n.site .header {margin-bottom: 0;}\n/*.... and so on....*/\n\n\nAnswer Updates\nModifying Protostar Template - Best Practices\nI forgot to mention that it looks like you are modifying directly the core Protostar template. Do note that any changes you do on its core files are under the potential risk of getting overwritten (lost) after a future update of Joomla.\nThere are two main options on how to do this, depending on the level of customization needed:\n1. Adding Custom CSS\nThe Protostar template CSS can be modified directly in the Template Manager. But the issue with modifying core files is that they may be overwritten by an update. So to avoid to add to CSS customisations again and again, the solution is to add a custom css file. (This is implemented since Joomla 3.5. All it takes is to create a new file named user.css and placed inside the css folder of the protostar template. There we can add our own custom css rules. Here is a more detailed guide on how to do this through Joomla backend:\n\nCustomizing the Protostar Template - Custom CSS\n\n2: Cloning Protostar\nIf you want to go a step further and customize deeper the Protostar template, changing it's layout and html, you can copy/clone it and build your own template upon it.\nThis can be done easily through Joomla Template Manager interface. Following the links below you can find on how to do this:\n\nBest way to override the index.php file from a joomla template\n\nJoomla.org Docs: Modifying a Joomla Template", "Basically, the law on river swimming in England and Wales is a mess. Below the tidal limit swimming is unambiguously legal, provided you access the water from public land. In fresh water, the true answer is that nobody knows.\nThis is from a submission by the Outdoor Swimming Society to the National Assembly of Wales, and it's about as authoritative as you're going to get:\n\nThe laws governing rights of access to (and restrictions on the use of) inland water are immensely complex and piecemeal, being derived from a combination of very old case law, miscellaneous statutory provisions and local byelaws.\nPerhaps more importantly, there is a great deal of uncertainty about\nwhat the law actually permits, even where legal advice is obtained.\nMuch of the case law is contradictory and unclear as to its scope. There is uncertainty as to whether laws relating to commercial uses apply to recreational uses, and whether laws relating to certain types of access to inland water (for example, rights of navigation) extend to other types of access (for example, swimming).\n\nSee also Douglas Caffyn, The Right of Navigation on Nontidal\nRivers and the Common Law, 2004, which comes to a similar conclusion.\nIn practical terms it seems to boil down to local use and practice. Land owners can allow permissive access at their discretion. On the Dart, where I swim, the situation is good and most of the best spots are accessible.\nAs for conflict with anglers, we should surely apply a bit of courtesy and commonsense. They have often paid for their fishing, and can be an important contributor to the local economy. As wild swimming groups are pressing for improvements to the law, it would seem best not to antagonise this large and well-organised lobby. So whenever possible it makes sense to avoid the times and places where angling is popular.\nThe solution, of course, would be legislation similar to the Land Reform\n(Scotland) Act 2003, which liberalised access to wild land and water in Scotland. In general, all parties agree that it has been a striking success.", "What you're looking for is the images from the \"Navigation Camera\". As explained here, the mast-mounted stereo imagers collectively referred to as the \"Navigation Camera\" were used for navigation.\n\nYou can browse the collection of images from the Navigation Camera here:\n\nhttp://mars.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/all/spirit.html\n\nYou didn't mention Opportunity, but it is available as well:\n\nhttp://mars.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/all/opportunity.html\n\nJust select one of the sols available under the \"Navigation Camera\" heading and click the \"View Selected Sol\" button. The images for that sol will appear in the new page.\n\nThe body-mounted Hazard Avoidance cameras assisted in navigation as well, and you should also see the headings for them listed at the above links as \"Hazcam\"." ]

[ "By . Daniel Martin . PUBLISHED: . 19:37 EST, 19 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:37 EST, 19 October 2012 . Thousands of young jobless Europeans are being offered £1,000 in taxpayers’ cash to come and work in Britain. The European Commission will pay £250 towards the cost of crossing the continent for an interview and £830 in moving expenses if they get a job. Critics will ask why Brussels is offering to subsidise unemployed Europeans to travel to the UK when nearly a million young Britons are without work here. Controversial: Thousands of young jobless Europeans are being offered £1,000 in taxpayers' cash to come and work in Britain . The scheme, which aims to match jobseekers with suitable jobs, is being piloted in Spain, where youth unemployment exceeds 50 per cent. The young jobless from Germany, Denmark . and Italy are also set to benefit – with the plan likely to be rolled . out across the entire EU. In this financial year alone, some 5,000 people are expected to profit from the ‘Your First EURES Job’ scheme, run by EURES – the European Employment Services. Its website says the scheme could soon be open to ‘all young people aged 18 to 30, nationals of any of the EU 27 member states and legally resident in any of the EU 27 member states who wish to find a job in a member state other than their country of residence’. Participation is open to the under-30s ‘irrespective of their level of qualification, work experience or social and economic background’. ‘The purpose of Your First EURES Job is to make it easier for young people to access actual jobs and for employers to find the workforce they are unable to find at local, regional or national level,’ said the website. It adds that jobseekers can claim 1,000 euros from the European Commission – £830 – if they get a job in Britain. Worries: Critics will ask why Brussels is offering to subsidise unemployed Europeans to travel to the UK when nearly a million young Britons are without work here . Critics fear it will see an influx of youngsters from countries with high unemployment, such as  Spain and Greece, flocking to the UK. Earlier this month David Cameron said he wanted a crackdown on the free movement of workers across the EU. He said: ‘I believe in the single market, I believe in free movement.But you know, two weeks ago, I visited two factories in a week, and I asked the question, “How many people do you employ from other EU countries, what’s the balance?”. ‘In one, it was 60 per cent; in the other it was 50 per cent. Now, heaven’s above, we have got so many unemployed people in our country that we want to train and educate and give apprentices to and get back into work.’ Official figures show there are 2.53million unemployed in the UK, including almost one million jobless young adults. Long-term youth unemployment has been steadily rising for the last 18 months. Tim Aker, from the Get Britain Out campaign, said the fact that the scheme was taxpayer-funded was ‘astonishing’. ‘No wonder we’re all fed up with the EU,’ he said. ‘Mass unemployment caused by the eurozone is the eurozone’s problem. The EU shouldn’t undercut British workers by offering British jobs to unemployed Europeans.’ The Department for Work and Pensions said the scheme, also open to young Britons who want to move to other EU countries, tried to avoid sectors with ‘high unemployment’." ]

[ "Employing cheap labour from Asia and having the length of working visas doubled are two ways of combating the childcare shortage in Australia authorities have said. Instead of employing European students on working holidays to act as au pairs industry experts want to attract more workers from Asia where wages are low. Extending au pairs on working holiday visas - who earn $250 a week as live-in nannies - to stay with one family for a year instead of the current six months is another option. The introduction of Asian nannies to Australia would go some way to help address the childcare shortage it's been argued . Compared with childcare rates of $100 a day or more, overseas nannies and au pairs can provide a cheaper and more flexible option for families with more than one child. The Daily Telegraph reports that Ross Taylor of the Indonesia Institute said provided protections were in place, opening up the au pair system to more workers from Indonesia could help deal with the crisis. ‘Indonesia has almost a million people working as au pairs around the world. Many are in countries that are not as safe and secure as Australia,’ he says. Labor Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says foreign nannies are not the solution for increasing problems with the childcare system . ‘Why not provide a ­serious opportunity for women for a safe environment where they can learn English and send money home?’ Around 10,000 au pairs travel to Australia each year. Parents and au pair agencies complain the six-month rule currently be used is unsettling for families and tough on children particularly those with autism and special needs. By working in Australia nannies from Indonesia and the Philippines can learn English and send money home . However, foreign nannies paid as little as $250 a week are not the answer to limited childcare and rising costs, federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says. The Productivity Commission has suggested that extending the length of working visas for live-in nannies from overseas could help tackle the childcare shortage. Mr Shorten says that's not the way to solve the big challenges in childcare. Foreign nannies paid as little as $250 a week are not the answer to limited childcare, says Mr Shorten . 'I think what we need to do is make sure it's properly funded, that people can afford to pay it, that the fees aren't getting out of control and of course its good quality for our kids,' he told the Nine Network on Sunday. Social Services Minister Scott Morrison says the government will examine the Productivity Commission's recommendations.", "(CNN) -- Charges of bribery against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Halliburton by Nigeria's anti-corruption police may be dropped after an agreement to pay a $250 million fine. \"Discussions focus on the possibility of a plea bargain arrangement,\" said Femi Babafemi, a spokesman for Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. \"Allowing the company and former officials to pay heavy fines in lieu of prosecution ... they would pay $120 million as fines and $130 million from bad money stored in Switzerland from the original deal -- so $250 million in total.\" This month, the commission charged Cheney -- who ran Halliburton in the 1990s -- and nine others with \"conspiracy and distribution of gratification to public officials.\" The investigation is part of a long-running case involving Halliburton and a subsidiary firm, Kellogg, Brown and Root, over alleged bribes paid to Nigerian officials to secure $6 billion worth of contracts for a liquefied natural gas project in the Niger Delta. The bribes are said to have amounted to $180 million between 1994 and 2004. The firm pleaded guilty to foreign bribery charges in the United States last year and paid a $402 million criminal fine, the U.S. Justice Department said. KBR and Halliburton also paid $177 million to settle civil complaints related to the bribery, the Justice Department said. Investigations in Nigeria, however, have been ongoing, and there are allegations that the bribes went all the way to the top, to aides, officials and possibly then-President Olusegun Obasanjo. Many observers in Nigeria regard the move as a publicity stunt by the commission ahead of national elections in April and as a symbolic effort to display resolve against government corruption. The agency has had limited success in getting successful prosecutions and hasn't charged any high-profile people since its top commissioner was removed from the body in 2007. Cheney's atttorney has said that there is no reason to suspect that his client is guilty. \"This matter involves the activities of an international four-company joint venture (which included KBR, then a subsidiary of Halliburton) well over a decade ago,\" Terrence O'Connell said. \"The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated that joint venture extensively and found no suggestion of any impropriety by Dick Cheney in his role of CEO of Halliburton.\" The latest discussions on reaching a settlement ended this weekend in London, Babafemi said. The arrangement is now waiting for Nigeria's Minister of of Justice to officially agree to the deal, a decision that is expected by the end of the week.", "Jose Manuel Barroso walks away from his role as President of the European Commission with a pension worth more than £100,000-a-year, it emerged today. The Brussels chief, who has opposed demands from Britain for radical reform of EU migration, will enjoy the annual pay check provided he remains 'loyal' to the European project. Tory MPs condemned the 'greed and arrogance' of EU fat cats, and urged David Cameron to 'put them in their place'. Scroll down for video . Jose Manuel Barroso retires as European Commission President with a pension worth more than £100,000-a-year . After demanding Britain pay an extra £1.7billion to EU coffers, Mr Barroso is also in line for a generous 'transitional allowance', travel and moving costs and a month's salary to help him adjust to life outside Brussels. Mr Barroso has repeatedly clashed with Mr Cameron, frustrating his attempts at EU reform. In a farewell speech in London last week, Mr Barroso warned Britain's hopes of restricting migrant numbers would 'not be in conformity with European laws'. And on Thursday it emerged that deays before he stands down, the Commission had ordered the UK to pay an extra £1.7billion for its EU membership. The Commission issued the demand after using rules dating back to 1995 and finding Britain's economy has grown faster than expected, so must pay a greater share to Brussels. To add insult to injury, France will receive a £790million rebate because its economy is struggling. Furious Mr Cameron hit back insisting it was an 'appaling' way to behave, and warned the move made it harder to justify Britain's membership of the EU. But Mr Barroso brushed aside the 'concerns in London' and insisted 'sometimes these decisions do happen' Details of the remuneration of outgoing commissioners show the generous payments Mr Barroso can look forward to. He is entitled to an annual pension worth 4.275 per cent of the basic salary for every full year in office. His monthly salary of €25,554.58 ( or £20,188.12) means his annual pension pot after 10 years in office will be £103,562. Pension experts said someone paying into a normal pension would have to build up a pension fund worth £3.6million to secure such generous annual payouts. Tory MP Stewart Jackson told MailOnline: 'This doesn't surprise me. The British people are fed up with the greed and arrogance of unelected EU fat cats like Barroso. 'It's time the UK flexed it's muscles and David Cameron took a lead in putting them in their place.' Conservative Peter Bone said: 'It's a joke isn't it. All this does is add to the growing numbers of people who want to take us out of the EU. 'What it looks like, and what it is, is an elite who pay themselves what they like, don't listen to the British people and don;t take decisions in the national interest.' Mr Barroso will also get a 'resettlement allowance' of one month's basic salary and 'travel expenses and moving costs are reimbursed', according to the European Commission website. David Cameron has clashed with Mr Barroso over immigration and a demand for Britain to pay an extra £1.7billion . A transitional allowance is also paid for three years, beginning on the day after leaving office. This allowance is between 40 and 65 per cent of his £242,000 annual basic salary, and is subject to European Union tax. The transitional allowance can be capped but only if he takes up a new job, and his new salary plus his allowance means he is earning more than a member of the Commission. Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Business for Britain, told the Sunday Times: 'It's ridiculous that the European Union hands out lavish perks for ex-officials one day and then demands more money from Britain the next. 'Both voters and the business leaders who create jobs in the UK will find President Barroso's lecturing particularly grating, given that we're paying him to promote the EU for the rest of his life.' A spokesman for Mr Barroso said: 'All information on commissioners' salaries and entitlements, including pensions, is public. We never do bespoke calculations, or check figures prepared by others when it comes to the precise remuneration or pension of named individuals. 'The commission does not set the terms of commissioners' salaries and entitlements; the member states do.'", "By . Steph Cockroft . Companies could be forced to pay out billions in backdated commission, overtime and bonuses, after a European Union court ruled a worker could still be paid his usual commission while on holiday. The landmark ruling comes after British Gas salesman Mr Z Lock took his employer to an employment tribunal, claiming his commission should be paid on top of his basic salary while he was on annual leave. Now the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in Mr Lock's favour, saying the Working Time Directive - under which all EU holiday pay is governed - allows for employees to keep receiving their work-related benefits while on holiday. The Court of Justice of the European Union, pictured, has ruled in favour of Mr Lock, who took his employer British Gas to an employment tribunal over whether he was allowed to be paid commission during his annual leave . Major unions have . welcomed the ruling, saying it will force companies to pay 'proper . salaries' and will mean employees are not short-changed on their pay. But industry experts have warned the ruling could have a huge detrimental effect on businesses - potentially forcing companies across the country to shell out billions in backdated payments. Some warn it could open the floodgates for thousands of claims relating not just to commission but to all employee benefits, such as overtime and bonuses, causing an 'unnecessary increase in uncertainty'. As the directive was introduced in 2008, it is likely claims could potentially date back six years. Tim Thomas, head of employment policy at EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, told MailOnline that a medium-sized company, which on average is made up of about 200 employees, could be forced to pay out £3.3m in backdated payments. Although the full financial impact is not yet known, Mr Thomas said the figure is so high because the Court of Justice could require UK employers to include almost all . elements of pay within the calculation of holiday pay. He said that, on average, businesses . had calculated the ruling, if enforced, would add 4 per cent to their annual payroll. He said: 'For . medium sized and large employers, this will equate to hundreds if not . millions of pounds. 'Employers . who have complied by UK law will be dismayed at the future prospect of . higher wage costs and the potential liability for back-pay, which they . could never have foreseen or prepared for. 'Larger companies . will inevitably look at how they will need to change the organisation of . their businesses, as the court seems minded to include almost all . elements of pay in the holiday pay pot – commission, bonuses and . overtime. 'Smaller companies are likely to have fewer options – for some, there must be a high risk that they will go under.' 'Employers . who have complied by UK law will be dismayed at the future prospect of . higher wage costs and the potential liability for back-pay, which they . could never have foreseen or prepared for' Tim Thomas, head of employment at EEF . Mr Lock first took his employers to a tribunal in Leicester in 2012, which referred the case to the EU court. He asked to be paid his commission between 19 December 2011 and 3 January 2012, when he was on annual leave. According to court papers, Mr Lock said he was losing 60 per cent of his salary because his commission-related earnings were not covered when he went on holiday. He claimed that, because he was unable to generate any new sales or follow up on potential sales while on holiday, this affected the amount he was paid once he returned to work. He argued that, under European law, he was entitled to be compensated for this. The court said Mr Lock had lost out on his usual amount of pay during his holiday at British Gas, which in turn could discourage employees from taking leave . The employment tribunal referred the case to the EU court, asking the Court of Justice of the European Union whether commission-earners could expect payment for potential sales they miss out on while on holiday, in addition to their base salaries. It also asked how this anticipated drop in payment should be calculated. Yesterday, the court passed down a preliminary ruling in Mr Lock’s favour, saying any employee given less pay while on holiday than they would usually earn while working could be deterred from taking annual leave - which itself goes against EU principles. British Gas said it would 'await the outcome' of the employment tribunal to see exactly what impact the ruling would have on its business. The ruling said: 'In today’s judgment, the court points out that, during annual leave, a worker must receive his normal remuneration. 'The purpose of holiday pay is to put the worker, during that period of rest, in a situation which is, as regards his salary, comparable to periods of work.' It continued: 'As British Gas conceded at the hearing, the worker does not generate any commission during the period of his annual leave. 'In the period following that of his annual leave the worker is paid only reduced remuneration comprising his basic salary. That adverse financial impact may deter the worker from actually taking that leave.' 'We will have to look at the full judgment from the CJEU but the ramifications are massive. It is likely millions of workers in the UK have been short changed on their holiday pay' Gary Smith, GMB national officer for energy . Dr Adam Marshall, executive director of policy and external affairs at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the decision was bad news for businesses up and down the country. He said: 'This judgement will cause unnecessary increase in uncertainty for businesses up and down the UK and is likely to give rise to far more disputes between employers and employees, haggling over what the appropriate level of remuneration should be whilst on holiday. 'The existing system was well understood and highly clear for both parties.' Mr Thomas said it would raise the bill for companies across the board. He said: 'In addition to this, there will be further . costs that will arise. 'For example, there will be an increase in the . national insurance contributions payable by the employer and pension . contributions, and some employers will need to change their internal . systems to perform the calculation. 'We are aware of some businesses who . anticipate that they will need to recruit extra staff in order to meet . the administrative requirements.' But UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: 'This is an extremely important decision that will assist workers across the European Union to argue that they should be entitled to their normal pay, including any commission payments they normally receive, for periods of annual leave.' And Gary Smith, GMB national officer for energy, said: 'We will have to look at the full judgment from the CJEU but the ramifications are massive. 'Companies who pay commission payments should be using those payments for the purposes of calculating holiday pay. It is likely millions of workers in the UK have been short changed on their holiday pay. 'As you would expect the CBI are warning that this will lead to the roof falling in but this is nonsense. 'Capital's share of annual national income has increased by nearly 50 per cent in a generation. This will put a small dent in that shift and is well affordable. 'The case will now go back to the Employment Tribunal but it is likely millions will be due back pay and will get a big boost to holiday pay in future. 'It is likely to force employers to start paying proper salaries too. There is little incentive now not to pay proper salaries. They are going to have to pay holiday pay on the workers earnings.' The case will now be referred back to . the employment tribunal to determine what annual leave payments Mr Lock . is entitled to under UK law. It will then be left open to the UK government to see how the ruling is put into domestic law. Ralph . Nathan, director of employment law at British Gas, said: 'Many of our . people receive commission as part of doing their job, so we’re reviewing . in detail the CJEU judgment. 'However, . we’ll need to await the outcome of the UK Employment Tribunal’s . decision to understand the precise impact of this European judgment on . UK legislation. 'We’re . already examining the issue raised by the Lock case as part of a wider . review of employee incentives and working with trade union . representatives to help us design our future employee incentive . schemes.'", "By . Jason Groves . Jean-Claude Juncker laid out his vision for an increasingly federal Europe yesterday – but was heckled by Ukip members during his first speech as President of the European Commission. The former Luxembourg prime minister – whose appointment was bitterly opposed by David Cameron – was yesterday confirmed as president by a comfortable majority in a secret ballot in the European Parliament after receiving the backing of the main parties. Mr Juncker, 59, then wasted no time in demonstrating why Mr Cameron had invested so much political capital in trying to block him. Scroll down for video . Clash: Nigel Farage (left) stood up and said that the new President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker (with headphones) has no mandate . Struggling to be heard: Mr Juncker was heckled on several occasions by MEPs as he spoke on immigration and the euro, forcing Parliament President Martin Schultz to step in to call for order . In a 50-minute address, he hailed former EU president Jacques Delors – the architect of the euro – as his political ‘hero’. Setting out the priorities for his five-year term in office, Mr Juncker set himself on a collision course with Mr Cameron over a string of key issues, including immigration, human rights, employment and trade. Mr Juncker pledged to create a new commissioner with specific responsibility for the controversial Charter of Fundamental Rights. The individual will be ordered to sign the EU up to the European Convention of Human Rights – a move that would make it impossible for the UK to escape the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg court without leaving the EU. He also pledged to ‘defend’ the principle of free movement of workers within the EU, and said Brussels should do more to ‘promote labour mobility’. He said this should be matched by moves to introduce some form of European minimum wage. Mr Juncker suggested he would also like to see the development of an EU Army. And he pledged to water down Mr Cameron’s dream of a £10billion free trade deal with the United States, saying he would ‘not sacrifice Europe’s safety, health, social and data protection standards or our cultural diversity on the altar of free trade’. The new Commission president paid lip service to Britain’s demand for a looser relationship with the EU. In comments directed at the UK, he said: ‘My firm conviction is that we must move forward as a Union but not necessarily all at the same speed. ‘For some, their final destination may already have been reached. I always was and very much remain ready to listen to and help find solutions for the concerns of each and every member state.’ All smiles: UKIP leader Nigel Farage enjoys a joke with Juncker before going on to accuse the new commission president of 'being a key player in a process' that has treated democracy with contempt . Critical: Mr Farage praised Mr Juncker for being a 'political operator', but said he didn't 'believe a word' that the new president was opposed to a united states of Europe . But he was heckled by Ukip MEPs in the European parliament, with Nigel Farage saying he had no mandate. The Ukip leader told Mr Juncker: ‘What is clear is you are going to carry on with the process of the centralisation of powers. ‘We are being asked to vote for the ultimate Brussels insider, somebody who has always operated with dark, backroom deals and stitch-ups.’ Some Tories also voiced concern at Mr Juncker’s appointment. Eurosceptic MEP Daniel Hannan said: ‘The EU has been shaken by the crisis of monetary union. ‘The recent elections have seen unprecedented advances by Eurosceptic parties. ‘But the answer in Brussels is still, as it always is, “more Europe”.’ The EU assembly approved Mr Juncker by a vote of 422 to 250, with 47 abstentions and ten spoiled ballots.", "A new tax by the European Commission could see 80 per cent of small cider producers affected . Four out of five British cider makers would be put out of business after a new ruling by the European Commission. The UK government was formally told last week to change its current excise duty, which means cider makers that produce less than 70 hectolitres (12,000 pints) a year do not have to pay duty. Changes to the 39-year-old exemption is likely to affect 80 per cent of Britain's 480 cider and perry makers, according to the National Association of Cider Makers (NACM). In a statement, the European Commission, said it was 'unanimously agreed' that the UK excise duty scheme contravenes EU legislation. It said: 'EU excise duty rules oblige Member States to levy an excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages. 'There are no provisions which would provide for an exception to the general obligation to levy excise duty in respect of cider and perry made for sale by small domestic producers.' David Kaspar runs a small apple juice, cider and perry business in Brookthorpe, Gloucestershire, and makes under 170 hectolitres of cider from the 16 acre orchard to sell at markets and a pub. He told the Observer the tax introduction would be 'another nail in the coffin'. 'The exemption is fundamental to keeping craft cider-making going. If we had to pay an extra £2,500 it would probably stop us risking making wooden-barrel cider and perry because it's too fragile. 'It would be very sad if the tax came in. Not just for financial reasons. It would hasten the demise of traditional orchards and would be another nail in the coffin of traditional cider-making and would be a loss to the natural habitat.' The volume of cider produced annually in the UK is in excess of 6 million hectolitres or 130 million UK gallons, according NACM. Some have blamed the industrial-scale cider makers who account for the production of 130 million gallons of cider in the UK every year for the intervention by the EC, according to the paper. The European Commission, said it was 'unanimously agreed' that the UK excise duty scheme contravenes EU legislation. Currently those that produce less than 70 hectolitres do not have to pay an excise duty . Simon Russell, spokesperson for NACM, told the Financial Times: 'We will make the positive case for the effect of the exemption to be protected whether by retaining the existing legislation or by other means.' The Treasury has been given two months to respond to the commission without a 'satisfactory response'  the Commission may refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union. A Treasury spokesperson said: 'The government's support for small cider makers has helped create a diverse and vibrant market, improving consumer choice and creating jobs. 'While we will study the commission's arguments carefully, our support for this industry will continue.'", "Probe: Amazon's tax arrangements in Europe are set to be investigated by Brussels . Amazon is to be investigated over claims they were handed a 'sweetheart' deal by Luxembourg to help slash their tax bill for up to a decade. The European Commission in Brussels will begin a formal probe into allegations the Grand Duchy allowed the online giant to transfer profits through the country at a reduced tax rate. Investigators will consider whether this amounted to Amazon receiving state subsidies illegally and if they are found to have avoided tax it could face huge bills covering the past ten years. It is alleged that since 2003 its tax exposure in Luxembourg has been limited to less than one per cent of the company's European income, which amounts to illegal state aid. The new probe marks an escalation of attempts to stamp out tax avoidance by big companies. Apple, Starbucks and Fiat are already being investigated by Brussels over claims they have received similar deals. The European Commission is concerned that authorities in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg respectively gave these companies preferential treatment in breach of EU rules. The Commission's investigations are centred around the practice of spreading or reallocating the parent company's net profit to subsidiaries to help reduce the tax bill. According to the Financial Times if the charges against Amazon are proven the Commission can ask Luxembourg to recoup the substantial state subsidy from the firm. The former Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker will take over the presidency of the European Commission in a few weeks, but he was the country's premier during this period. Allegations: It is alleged that Luxembourg offered the online giant a tax deal capped at one per cent in 2003, which may have amounted to illegal state aid . Apple is among a number of US giants accused of avoiding tax for years through elaborate networks of subsidiaries, in their case in Ireland . A previous investigation by Reuters found that accounts filed by 25 Amazon units in six countries in 2012 showed how tax arrangements in Luxembourg allowed the company to avoid paying more tax in the United States, where the company is based. Experts have said the small country has helped attract more than 40,000 holding companies and thousands of high-paying jobs for its population of nearly half a million. Representatives at the European Commission were not immediately available for comment today. Amazon did not respond to requests for comment. Previously it has said it has paid 'all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction that it operates within'. Luxembourg's Ministry of Finance could not be immediately reached for comment. Luxembourg, pictured, has helped attract more than 40,000 holding companies and thousands of high-paying jobs .", "Lord Hill has been criticised after taking severance pay before landing a highly-paid position . The ex-Tory cabinet minister named as Britain’s new man in Brussels has been accused of ‘pure greed’ – for taking a £25,000 ministerial pay-off ahead of a huge pay rise for his new job. Lord Hill of Oareford was last week formally nominated as European Commissioner for Financial Services on an expected annual salary of almost £200,000 – double the pay of his previous job in David Cameron’s Cabinet. But Government insiders have confirmed that the Tory peer – a friend of the Prime Minister – had also taken £25,260 in ‘severance pay’ when he stood down as Leader of the House of Lords in July. And last night, Labour MP John Mann branded it ‘pure greed’ and challenged Lord Hill, whose job will include ensuring the EU’s financial stability, to repay the money. Mr Mann said: ‘This pay-off is totally unjustifiable, especially given the scale of his new salary in Brussels and all the perks attached to it. 'Lord Hill is certainly looking after his own financial stability – at the expense of the British taxpayer. ‘Whether he is technically entitled to this money or not, I think he should pay it all back.’ Former lobbyist Lord Hill, 54, was a surprise choice to be the UK’s new European Commissioner in July as just three weeks earlier he had insisted he did not want the job and preferred to live in Britain. There were also concerns that he was not a big enough figure to guarantee the UK a major portfolio in Brussels amid reports that Jean-Claude Juncker, the new European Commission president, resorted to Google to find out who he was. Two years ago, there were claims that Lord Hill had actually tried to resign as an education minister, only for Mr Cameron not to realise that he was trying to quit and tell him to carry on with his good work. But last week, Mr Juncker nominated him for the coveted financial services brief on the Commission – potentially a key role in preventing Brussels from imposing damaging new rules on the City of London. The job, to be confirmed later this autumn, comes with a salary of just under £200,000 – almost twice his Lords’ Leader salary of £101,000. Two years ago, there were claims that Lord Hill (right) had actually tried to resign as an education minister, only for Mr Cameron not to realise that he was trying to quit and tell him to carry on . As a new commissioner, he will also be entitled to an ‘installation allowance’ of £33,000, plus reimbursements of his moving expenses and travel costs to Brussels. Last night, a spokesman for Lord Hill defended the pay-off, pointing out that until he was confirmed as European Commissioner, he was not receiving a salary. The spokesman said: ‘Like all Ministers who leave the Government, Lord Hill received three months’ severance pay in mid-July. He has not received any salary since then.He will only receive a European Commission salary once the new Commission is formed. This is not expected to be until November 1, at the earliest.’ Since his nomination, Lord Hill – a former political secretary to Prime Minister John Major – has announced he would sell his shares in public relations firm Huntsworth to avoid a potential conflict of interest. The firm represents some of Europe’s biggest companies and also does media work for the European Commission.", "He is paid three times the average UK salary, has his own chauffeur and pockets tens of thousands in expenses every year. But according to Nigel Farage, he is the 'poorest man in politics'. Despite earning £79,000 a year as an MEP, the Ukip leader, complains of meagre finances on a spin-off show with Steph and Dom Parker, the 'posh couple' from Gogglebox. Nigel Farage appeared on Channel 4's Gogglebox programme where he is seen quaffing champagne, beer and wine with Dom and Steph Parker . Mr Farage, who admitted he hadn't seen the show before his appearance, enjoyed an evening at the Parkers' guest house in Sandwich, Kent, in which they are normally filmed watching the week's television highlights for Gogglebox . The Ukip leader complained of his meagre finances while on the show and told the Channel 4 programme's 'posh couple': ‘I don’t think I know anybody in politics as poor as we are' Mr Farage, pictured in the Channel 4 show, quaffs champagne, beer and wine with the couple, smokes cigarettes and tells them: 'I don't think I know anybody in politics as poor as we are.' Mr Farage and wife Kirsten Mehr live on the Kent border, in a house worth around £540,000. Rather modestly, he told the Parkers it was only a 'small semi-detached house in the country'. He added: 'We don't drive flash cars, we don't have expensive holidays, we haven't done for ten years.' Mr Farage, who lives in a house worth around £540,000 in Kent, told Dom and Steph it was only a 'small semi-detached house in the country' The group down several pints of ale in a nearby pub before retiring to the couple's garden in Kent for champagne . Mr Farage admitted he drank two pints and about five or six glasses of wine and champagne while he was with the couple . According to The Times, Ukip pays him a £60,000-a-year chauffeur allowance. Among other expenses, he earns a 'daily subsistence allowance' of £250 every time he attends the European Parliament, has an monthly EU allowance of £3,580 to cover UK travel, office management and running costs, and has his first-class travel to the continent covered. The UKIP leader has even admitted paying his wife around £20,000 a year from taxpayers' funds to work as his assistant. Channel 4 boss Jay Hunt said Mr Farage's TV appearance is a 'rip-roaring, alcohol-fuelled watch', adding: 'He gets p***** with them, but they also give him a grilling'. At one point in the show, Mr Farage is seen tripping on a step and smashing his glass, and is forced to change into a pair of Mr Parker's ripped jeans . In an interview with Radio Times, Mr Farage blamed the incident on 'physical incapacity' caused by his 2010 plane crash but admitted he was given plenty to drink . Mr Farage said he had not seen Gogglebox before taking part in the Channel 4 show but insisted it would enhance his image with the electorate . He is seen enjoying an evening at the Parkers' guest house in Sandwich, Kent, in which they are normally filmed enjoying the week's television highlights for Gogglebox. Mr Farage and his wife live on the Kent border . The group down several pints of ale in a nearby pub before retiring to the couple's garden for champagne. At one point, Mr Farage is seen tripping on a step and smashing his glass, and is forced to change into a pair of Mr Parker's ripped jeans. In an interview with Radio Times, Mr Farage blamed the incident on 'physical incapacity' caused by his 2010 plane crash. But he admitted he was given plenty to drink. He said: 'I had two, two-and-a-half pints in the pub with Dom. [It was a] steady consumption… [so] two pints, about five or six glasses [of wine and champagne]. I like a drink but, crikey, these guys are professionals.' Mr Farage said he had not seen Gogglebox before taking part in the Channel 4 show but insisted it would enhance his image with the electorate. He added: 'Was I taking a risk going in there? Yes, I was. Politics today is so thoroughly over-scripted. All the rough edges and all the risk is knocked off, and that is why it has become desperately dull. I thought they were genuine and people who like me will like it.' Earlier this year, Mr Farage was accused of claiming £15,500 a year from the EU to pay for his constituency office despite the fact it was given to him rent free. He later said the allegation was a 'smear' as the EU money is his to spend 'as I see fit', but he was fined £200 by the Electoral Commission for failing to declare the office as a gift. Steph and Dom Meet Nigel Farage airs on Channel 4 on Monday, December 15 at 10pm. At Home with Steph and Dom, which features Mr Farage, airs on Channel 4 on Monday, December 15 at 10pm . Channel 4 boss Jay Hunt said Mr Farage's TV appearance is a 'rip-roaring, alcohol-fuelled watch' but added that the couple also give him a 'grilling' MEP's salary - £79,000 . Home – worth around £540,000 . EU office allowance - £3,850 a month . Wife's salary to work as his assistant - £20,000 a year . Daily subsistence allowance - £250 for each day spent at European Parliament .", "By . Tim Shipman, Deputy Political Editor . and James Slack . PUBLISHED: . 19:58 EST, 29 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:01 EST, 30 May 2013 . Fight: Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan will not 'cave in' to Brussels, aides say . Iain Duncan Smith accused the European Commission of a ‘blatant’ power-grab yesterday as unelected Brussels bureaucrats took Britain to court over benefits for immigrants. The Work and Pensions Secretary vowed to fight ‘every step of the way’ to retain rules that force EU migrants to pass a ‘right to residency’ test before they can claim a host of benefits. But, in an embarrassing twist for the Government, the Mail can reveal that the pressure group which made the original legal complaint has actually been funded by the Foreign Office. Around £500,000 of taxpayers’ money was paid over five years to Advice on Individual Rights in Europe, which has brought test cases demanding the right for EU immigrants not to have to undergo a residency test. Ministers were accused of having ‘lost the plot’ for funding the very people who want them prosecuted for discrimination. If Brussels bosses get their way, officials estimate, it will cost taxpayers up to £155million a year in extra benefits for EU immigrants already in the UK and may encourage thousands more to move to the UK, pushing costs up higher still. Ministers have previously claimed that a total of £2billion a year is paid out in benefits to foreign nationals. The Commission referred the UK to the EU’s Court of Justice over the right-to-reside test imposed on nationals from member states since 2004. Ministers have previously claimed that a total of £2billion a year is paid out in benefits to foreign nationals. In a statement it said: ‘The UK discriminates unfairly against nationals from other member states. This contravenes EU rules.’ The Spanish government is being sued by the European Commission over the refusal of some hospitals to recognise the European Health Insurance Card. The card allows EU citizens to access free healthcare in public hospitals across the continent. But patients in some Spanish hospitals have had the card refused and told to reclaim treatment costs from their travel insurance, the Commission claims. The Spanish health ministry said the EHIC 'has worked properly in Spain for years'. A spokesman told the BBC there was '\"no proof' that some British citizens had been pressured, or even tricked, into paying via their private travel insurance. The Commission said some EU migrants . are missing out on payments including child benefit, child tax credit, . and jobseekers allowance. But Mr Duncan Smith accused the . Commission of a ‘blatant land-grab’ against national governments by . using the court case to seize control of welfare payments – a sphere . that is the preserve of national governments. He said: ‘People in this country . expect me to protect the benefits system from abuse and protect the . money of hardworking taxpayers. ‘I will not cave in and I will . continue to work on strengthening our benefit system in the meantime to . ensure it is not open to abuse by anyone.’ He added: ‘What is going on at the . moment is that the Commission is trying to use freedom of movement as a . way in to start controlling what national governments do about those who . are not in work in their countries.’ But ministers faced criticism after . it emerged that they have been funnelling cash to the group that has . persuaded the Commission to take the Government to court. Europe Minister David Lidington has . confirmed that the Foreign Office gave £455,500 to Advice on Individual . Rights in Europe between 2006 and 2011. The decision to take Britain to court . sparked fury yesterday. Tory MP Sarah Wollaston said: ‘Eurocracy has . lost touch with reality. We cannot and must not pay benefits to all EU . citizens who set foot in the UK.’ The Open Europe think tank accused . the Commission of a ‘gigantic own goal’. Research director Stephen Booth . said: ‘The European Commission has thrown a hand grenade into an . already intense debate about the UK’s continued EU membership.’ Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: ‘The . very fact that the Commission has the audacity to haul the UK Government . in front of the European Courts of Justice for a very long and . expensive trial is clear evidence that in a Britain versus European . Union fight, we just don’t win.’ Embarrassing: It has emerged that The Advice on Individual Rights in Europe Centre, which made the original legal complaint about the UK's rules, was given £500,000 funding by the Foreign Office . European Commission says British welfare regulations breaks EU rules .", "Devecser, Hungary (CNN) -- The Hungarian government Thursday made an urgent request to the European Union for help in the cleanup effort after a reservoir holding industrial waste burst earlier in the week. The government wants expert assistance in three villages left covered by the toxic red sludge after the accident Monday, the official news agency MTI reported. Meanwhile, the sludge from an aluminum plant reached the Danube, Europe's second largest river, on Thursday as emergency officials worked to contain as much of the leak as possible. \"It is a huge tragedy for the whole country,\" said Anna Nagy, a Hungarian Disaster Management offical. \"We love the Danube, we're very proud of the Danube and we tried to protect it.\" \"I hope we can save the life in the river,\" she said. Hungary needs time to calculate the cost of the disaster, saying that the government's first response had been to try to save lives and clean homes. Tibor Dobson, a top disaster management official, told CNN that the sludge -- which flowed from an aluminum plant reservoir that burst on Monday -- is less dangerous than it was when it spilled. Officials believe pH levels have dropped to within an acceptable range, making the river safe, Dobson said. They are monitoring the Danube for sign of toxicity, such as dying fish. Nagy said pH levels had fallen to 9.1. That's more alkaline than neutral, which is 7 on the scale, but much less than it was originally, at 13, the Catastrophic Protection Unit said Thursday. Emergency workers were pouring plaster and fertilizers in hopes it would bind with the sludge and counter its alkalinity. The exact chemical composition of the sludge has not been revealed, but aluminum processing normally involves compounds that include cyanide, cadmium and chromium. The environmental disaster -- which occurred nearly 100 miles west of Budapest near the town of Ajka -- has killed two children, ages 1 and 3, an elderly woman and a 35-year-old man whose SUV overturned in the sludge. About 250 people have been evacuated from their homes, said Gyorgi Tottos, a spokeswoman for Hungary's Catastrophe Protection Unit. The reservoir has since been repaired and the flow from the pool halted. But the material that flowed out of the reservoir continues to pose a threat. The plant received an operating permit in 2006, he said. The European Commission is studying a copy of the permit and sees nothing wrong with the paperwork so far, he added. The aluminum factory has said it will pay for the victims' funerals. It has property and liability insurance, insurer Allianz Hungaria Biztosito told CNN, but would not say how much. Residents were advised not to eat produce from gardens that were covered when the dam burst. It was not clear when residents evacuated from affected areas in the villages of Kolontar, Devecser and Somlovasarhely would be able to return home. The long-term consequences of the leak were also unclear. In some villages, police with guns patrolled some of the villages to keep looters at bay. A state of emergency has been declared in three counties, the State Secretariat of Governmental Communications said. CNN's Nic Robertson, Tommy Evans, Jim Boulden and Eileen Hsieh contributed to this report.", "David Cameron must calm down about the European Union's demand for an extra £1.7billion, his new man in Brussels has warned. Lord Hill, Britain's new European Commissioner, urged the Prime Minister to 'look at the facts' to cool the 'political temperature'. Mr Cameron has warned the EU's  'appalling' behaviour has pushed Britain closer to leaving the EU, accusing bureaucrats of 'thumping' Britain with a bill which must be paid by December 1. Brussels is to offer for Britain to pay the bill in instalments, something rejected by Number 10 today. Lord Hill, Britain's new European Commissioner, urged the Prime Minister to 'look at the facts' to cool the 'political temperature' over the row about the shock £1.7billion bill . Britain is locked in intense negotiations with the European Commission about the demand for an extra £1,7billion, which caught Mr Cameron off guard at a summit last month. The European Commission used rules dating back to 1995 and found Britain's economy has grown faster than expected, so must pay a greater share to Brussels. To add insult to injury, France will receive a £790million rebate because its economy is struggling. Bizarrely, Germany is also in line for a rebate while countries like Greece and Italy must pay more. Mr Cameron angrily insisted he will not bow to the demands, declaring: 'I am not paying that bill on December 1. If people think I am, they have got another thing coming. It is not going to happen.' But today Lord Hill, who was appointed by Mr Cameron in the summer, issued a plea for calm and insisted it was time to look for a 'practical' solution. He added that the question over Britain's membership of the EU is at a 'lively stage' and is a 'boil that needs to be lanced. Lord Hill, the EU commissioner for financial services, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It seems to me that this is one of those classic examples you get from time to time where something that a group of people think are technical matters suddenly, and in this case for perfectly understandable reasons, become highly political. 'The sensible thing now is to try to calm the situation down, and to look at the facts, and to look at a practical solution to the challenges that various member states face.' He added: 'These things happen... the political temperature goes up and then it goes down again.' Lord Hill said his job means he is required to act in the interests of all 28 member states, not just Britain. Britain faces by far the biggest surcharge and has been seeking allies among other EU states for a rethink of the contributions. Chancellor George Osborne will use a meeting in Brussels tomorrow to call for a rethink, but is likely to face stiff resistance from states which gain, including France, which is in line for a billion euro (£788.7 million) rebate, and Germany, which stands to receive 779 million euro (£614 million). One idea which has emerged is that officials in Brussels will allow Britain to pay the money in installments, without running up interest. But Mr Cameron's offical spokesman said: 'The right thing is to keep doing what we have been doing, which is to make very clearly our views around the unacceptability of the scale of the bill and to get on with the work we are doing with the European Commission and other EU finance ministers.' Britain has been told to pay £1.7billion by December 1, on top of the £8billion-a-year it already pays. France, Germany and Denmark are among those told they will get money back from Brussels . Lord Hill said Brussels needs to do a 'smaller number of bigger things better' instead of 'intruding' into areas of national life. He told the programme: 'My view is that on the back of a reform process Britain would want to choose to stay in the EU. 'Obviously that's a choice for the people of Britain, there's democratic process to go through if we have that referendum. But I think it is good to address that question, I think there is a boil that needs to be lanced.' He added: 'We have a tendency in Britain to think of all these issues as though they only affect Britain, British exceptionalism, if I can call it that. 'The fact is, when I sit here and look across the EU and what's happening in other countries, many other countries have very similar debates.' Prime Minister David Cameron has refused to pay the £1.7billion bill by December 1, accusing the EU of 'appalling' behaviour . Jean-Claude Juncker, the new Commission President, this week hit out the Prime Minister’s behaviour. Mr Juncker criticised the leaders of Britain and Italy for making critical comments about the EU after both countries were landed with huge cash demands. Matteo Renzi, the Italian premier, was also highly critical of EU civil servants after the meeting. Speaking in the European Parliament yesterday, Mr Juncker said: 'I didn't like the way several prime ministers were behaving after the European Council. 'For a long period of time I've taken notes and I was always comparing what is said in the room and what is said outside the room. And from time to time it happens that the notes are not coinciding.' Mr Cameron tried to block Mr Juncker, a former Luxembourg PM and arch-federalist, from taking the senior EU post. Mr Juncker described the way Mr Cameron was presenting the EU cash demand issue as 'not correct'. 'They are presented in a totally different way in parts of British public opinion,' Mr Juncker said, pointing out that the rules of the EU should be better respected. Mr Renzi had complained that the EU was overtly bureaucratic. At one point he warned that he would make public the cost of EU 'palaces' in a row over Italy's budget projections. Mr Juncker responded: 'I have to tell my good friend Matteo Renzi that I am not the chairman of a gang of bureaucrats... I am the president of the European Commission which is a political body.' David Cameron last night rejected an EU ‘pay-as-you-go’ compromise over Britain’s bill for £1.7billion. At a dinner in Helsinki, he warned his northern European counterparts that the budget demand was pushing Britain towards the exit door. It emerged last night that senior officials in Brussels are suggesting Britain could be allowed to pay its bill – calculated after the UK’s economy was uprated – in chunks over the next year, rather than in full on December 1. Interest payments of more than £40million a month would also be waived. Last night, the Prime Minister argued the row was a ‘prime example of where the EU needs to respond to voters’ concerns’. Mr Cameron said the £1.7billion demand had triggered a 10 per cent poll swing to leaving the EU ahead of his proposed referendum on membership should he win next year’s election.", "The European Union was today accused of misspending up to £7billion, just days after demanding Britain hand over an extra £1.7billion as the price for economic growth. Auditors demanded ‘more careful management and control’ of taxpayers’ money, warning up to 5.9 per cent of the £116billion budget could have been spent in breach of EU rules. Tory MPs condemned the ‘breathtaking hypocrisy’ at a time when David Cameron is refusing to meet the demand for £1.7billion by December 1, on top of the £8billion-a-year it already pays. David Cameron has called for spending restraint from Brussels and refused to pay an extra £1.7billion by December 1, but European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has criticised the Prime Minister's 'behaviour' Of 1,200 sample cases investigated by the auditors, irregularities were found in around 40 per cent. Bungling Brussels officials were found to have paid a Sardinian artichoke grower subsidies not to use damaging pesticides, which he continued to use. Render rules for a German airport contract were broken while Scottish farmers were given EU subsidies while not meeting rules for the notification of movement of livestock. The European Court of Auditors found money was wrongly spent across all of the EU’s 28 member states. In the 1,200 or so sample cases tracked by auditors, they found irregularities of some kind in over 40 percent - including over half of those in the biggest parts of the budget, devoted to the likes of regional infrastructure and farm subsidies. Court of Auditors President Vitor Caldeira said: ‘There has to be more careful management and control of EU funds. ‘If European Union citizens do not have a clear perception of the added value of EU spending, we will not have their trust.’ Tory MP Peter Bone said: “For the EU to demand £1.7 billion from us on December 1 is laughable especially when vast sums – far greater than that – are misspent every year by Brussels. “They need to put their house in order before making these ridiculous demands of the British people. It is breathtaking hypocrisy at a time when they cannot even run their own affairs,’ he told The Telegraph. Britain is locked in intense negotiations with the European Commission about the demand for an extra £1,7billion, which caught Mr Cameron off guard at a summit last month. The European Commission used rules dating back to 1995 and found Britain's economy has grown faster than expected, so must pay a greater share to Brussels. To add insult to injury, France will receive a £790million rebate because its economy is struggling. Bizarrely, Germany is also in line for a rebate while countries like Greece and Italy must pay more. Mr Cameron angrily insisted he will not bow to the demands, declaring: 'I am not paying that bill on December 1. If people think I am, they have got another thing coming. It is not going to happen.' Britain has been told to pay £1.7billion by December 1, on top of the £8billion-a-year it already pays. France, Germany and Denmark are among those told they will get money back from Brussels . Last night Jean-Claude Juncker, the new Commission President, hit out the Prime Minister’s behaviour. Mr Juncker criticised the leaders of Britain and Italy for making critical comments about the EU after both countries were landed with huge cash demands. Matteo Renzi, the Italian premier, was also highly critical of EU civil servants after the meeting. Speaking in the European Parliament yesterday, Mr Juncker said: 'I didn't like the way several prime ministers were behaving after the European Council. 'For a long period of time I've taken notes and I was always comparing what is said in the room and what is said outside the room. And from time to time it happens that the notes are not coinciding.' Mr Cameron tried to block Mr Juncker, a former Luxembourg PM and arch-federalist, from taking the senior EU post. Mr Juncker described the way Mr Cameron was presenting the EU cash demand issue as 'not correct'. 'They are presented in a totally different way in parts of British public opinion,' Mr Juncker said, pointing out that the rules of the EU should be better respected. Mr Renzi had complained that the EU was overtly bureaucratic. At one point he warned that he would make public the cost of EU 'palaces' in a row over Italy's budget projections. Yesterday Mr Juncker responded: 'I have to tell my good friend Matteo Renzi that I am not the chairman of a gang of bureaucrats... I am the president of the European Commission which is a political body.'", "EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker has ridiculed David Cameron’s failures in Brussels – and declared he was ‘not frightened’ of facing him down. The Commission president said he was ‘not the type who trembles in front of prime ministers’ and warned Mr Cameron that he had ‘a problem’ with other EU leaders. Mr Juncker’s remarks come as Mr Cameron battles to reduce the £1.7billion surcharge demanded by the EU to cover years of strong economic growth in the UK while Europe struggled. Jean-Claude Juncker today suggested that David Cameron had an uphill battle to win over the other EU leaders in his battle to cut Britain’s contributions . The Prime Minister was stung last month after the budget demand was leaked during a Brussels summit. Mr Cameron has vowed not to pay ‘anything like’ the £1.7billion being demanded by Brussels by December 1. He was slapped down by Angela Merkel at the summit two weeks ago when she told him that he had no choice but to pay the bill. Mr Juncker today suggested that the Prime Minister had an uphill battle to win over the other EU leaders in the battle to cut Britain’s contributions. Mr Juncker said: ‘I don't have a problem with David Cameron. He has problem with the other prime ministers.’ To cut Britain’s contributions Mr Cameron will have to convince France and Germany to take a hit on the amount of money they are expecting to get back. The French government is in line for a £788.7million rebate, while Germany stands to receive £614million, following the recalculation of how well each economy in the EU has performed. A meeting of EU finance ministers on Friday is expected to tell George Osborne that he must hand over the full surcharge by next month. Mr Cameron was attacked by Ed Miliband in the Commons today over his handling of the the EU budget negotiations . The chart shows the monstrous bill handed to the UK by the EU in comparison with other member states . In return he is expected to be offered the chance to hand over the extra cash in interest-free instalments. Mr Juncker today warned: “I'm not frightened of any prime ministers. \"I am a not a man who trembles before Prime Ministers or other senior figures. I accept people criticising the Commission, because I myself had many criticisms to make when I wasn't yet Commission president. \"But I do not accept unjustified criticisms, everybody needs to know that. There will no longer be attacks on the Commission without a reaction.\" It came after he used his first press conference as Commission president appeared to single out Italian PM Matteo Renzi and Mr Cameron for criticism. He told the European Parliament that he did not like the way that ‘certain prime ministers’ behaved after the demands for additional cash were revealed at last month's European Council summit. Britain's European Commissioner Jonathan Hill held talks with Mr Juncker today . ‘I took notes and when I compared what they had said inside the room with what they said outside, they did not tally up,’ Mr Juncker told the Parliament. Today he told reporters in Brussels: ‘I said yesterday at the Parliament that I am not the leader of a gang of anonymous bureaucrats, I am the leader of 28 political commissioners. ‘We are not bureaucrats, we are not civil servants, we are political people and therefore when anyone tries to take apart the Commission before it has even started its work, I will react. ‘But I have no problem with Mr Renzi, who I appreciate greatly. I don't have a problem with Mr Cameron. Mr Cameron has a problem with the other Prime Ministers.’ Responding to Mr Juncker's comment's, Mr Cameron's official spokesman said: ‘Does the Prime Minister always put the interests of British citizens and British taxpayers first? Of course. He is going to keep doing that. ‘But he works very closely with his EU counterparts.’ Responding to reports that EU officials had suggested the UK could pay its £1.7 billion surcharge in a series of interest-free instalments, Mr Cameron's spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister has made the point about the unacceptability of the scale of the bill that was presented.’ Mr Osborne has said he is ‘confident’ of securing a cut after Mr Cameron declared the UK would not pay ‘anything like’ the sum being demanded by the European Commission - which critics claim amounts to a tax on Britain's economic success. The row came as the European Court of Auditors issued another scathing assessment of the handling of the EU £117 billion budget. In a new report, the ECA said that between 3.5 per cent and 5.9 per cent of the EU budget - somewhere between £4 billion and £7 billion - was wrongly spent. It also complained that the entire 2007/13 budget process was ‘too focused on just getting funds spent and needs to place more emphasis on achieving results’ - because of a ‘use it or lose it’ approach.", "BP and Shell are being investigated over allegations that they have fixed petrol prices for more than a decade. European Commission investigators raided the offices of several major oil companies yesterday as they launched a far-reaching probe into price manipulation. They fear prices have been driven up at the pumps for millions of motorists. The AA responded to news of the swoop by declaring: ‘The lid is about to be blown off.’ The European Commission fears prices at the pumps may have been driven up for millions of motorists . Shell confirmed it was one of several companies in three countries being investigated . The commission said it suspected firms had ‘colluded in reporting distorted prices’ to agencies that publish the data used to set the price of oil and petrol. Tory MP Robert Halfon, a long-time campaigner against high petrol prices, said: ‘These latest allegations underline why action is required urgently in the UK. High oil prices are crushing families across Britain. Motorists are being taken for a very expensive ride.’ Oil companies ‘must come clean and show some responsibility for what is happening to the international oil price’, he added. Motoring organisations, who have complained about a lack of transparency in the way oil prices are set, welcomed the probe. AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said: ‘The AA has been warning since 2005 about the activity of speculation in oil and fuel markets.’ The investigation is reminiscent of the Libor scandal, in which bankers were found to have manipulated interest rates. But while City pundits believe Libor-rigging had little impact on ordinary people, the European Commission said oil price fixing may have hit motorists in the pocket directly. It warned that even small distortions could have ‘a huge impact on the prices of crude oil . . . potentially harming final consumers’. Brian Madderson, of the Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA), criticised the UK’s Office of Fair Trading, saying it had failed to take action after his organisation submitted a complaint in January 2012. He said the PRA raised concerns earlier this year about an 8p increase in wholesale prices between December and February that ‘could not be explained by new geo-political issues or other economic factors’. BP and Shell admitted they were among several companies in three countries being investigated. BP, whose offices in Canary Wharf were raided yesterday morning, said it was ‘co-operating fully with the investigation and unable to comment further at this time’. BP said it is 'co-operating fully' with the European Commission after its Canary Wharf offices were raided . Norwegian state oil firm Statoil is also . under investigation. It said that ‘suspected violations . . . may have . been going on since 2002’. The probe relates to the process used by price reporting agency Platts, which publishes prices for crude oil, petroleum products and financial instruments linked to oil. Platts’ so-called Market On Close (MOC) method works by asking oil traders – some of whom work for major firms such as BP and Shell – to submit the prices they pay to buy and sell oil and other products. The agency assesses traders’ submissions during a ‘window’ of time, relying on the data to publish prices at the end of each day. Those prices are used as a reference point, affecting the wholesale price that petrol retailers pay – about 47p a litre at the moment. That cost is then passed on to motorists, who currently pay an average of £1.33 for a litre of unleaded – nearly double the 71p it cost in 2002. A spokesman said: ‘Platts is co-operating fully with the European Commission’s review.’ The commission said it was looking not only at false reporting of price information, but also at concerns that companies ‘may have prevented others from participating in the price assessment process, with a view to distorting published prices’.", "Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, said EU leaders had agreed to ‘re-evaluate’ its agenda after voters ‘sent a strong message’ at the weekend . The EU sparked fury by demanding an extra £500million from British taxpayers – just hours after claiming it would take heed of damning election results. The European Commission was accused of ‘living on a different planet’ after asking member countries for a £3.8billion cash increase to its budget. Around an eighth of this will come from UK pockets, with the cash going on projects to help drive down Europe's chronic youth unemployment - as well as £200million for crisis-hit Ukraine including £60million from British taxpayers. The astonishing demand came just hours after Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, said EU leaders had agreed to ‘re-evaluate’ its agenda after voters ‘sent a strong message’ at the weekend. He announced a round of consultations with the leaders of the 28 EU members on future policies such as reducing the amount of regulation. The apparent climb down came a day after David Cameron demanded change – saying the EU had become ‘too big, too bossy and too interfering’. He travelled to Brussels on Tuesday to demand the union be dramatically scaled back, and to warn fellow leaders not to ‘shrug off’ the view of the European people that Brussels should hand back power to national governments. At a dinner in the Belgian capital that night, he won the first skirmish in his battle to prevent arch-federalist Jean-Claude Juncker taking the Commission’s top job when it falls vacant in the autumn. Britain's net contribution to the EU more than doubled between 2007 and last year - when taxpayers handed over more than £9billion to Brussels . But, despite the apparent successes, the Commission returned to form just hours later – by demanding its £110billion budget go up by £3.8billion to pay for youth employment projects and regional policy and extra help for Ukraine. Britain is one of the largest contributors to the union, meaning that around £500million would come from the UK. The request comes just days after European election results in which millions voted for parties opposed to ever closer union or the entire concept of the EU. UKIP came top of the poll in Britain, while there were successes for such parties in France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Greece. Nigel Farage was all smiles during a meeting of leaders of European Parliament's political groups in Brussels yesterday . The claim for more cash from Britain comes after David Cameron told officials Brussels had become too big and too bossy . One European diplomat expressed incredulity at the Commission’s cash demands, saying: ‘What a smart way to react to the concerns of Europe’s voters: let’s ask them for more money. ‘The Commission must live on another planet if they think that Europe can reconnect with people by raiding their wallets,' the diplomat told the Telegraph. A spokesman for the British government said: ‘At a time when countries across Europe continue to take difficult decisions to deal with deficits, the European Commission should not be asking Europe's taxpayers for yet more money.’ The amount that Britain pours into the EU has more than tripled over the last decade, up from £2.9billion in 2002 to £9.5billion in 2012. European leaders – urged on by Britain – reacted to this by cutting EU spending between 2014 and 2020. But the small print means national governments can push spending up during the course of the year by claiming there is not enough money in the coffers to pay for previously agreed projects. A spokesman for the European Commission said: ‘Member states agreed to frontload youth employment and science from 2015 to 2014, which means more resources are needed. ‘Member states agreed to help Ukraine, which means more resources are needed. Member states sent far bigger bills for their cohesion (regional) policy projects than they told us they would, which means more resources needed.’", "Brussels’ shock demand for £1.7billion more from Britain has pushed us closer to leaving the EU, a furious David Cameron admitted yesterday. The Prime Minister insisted the payment – which works out at £56 for every taxpayer – was ‘not going to happen’. And asked if the demand makes it more likely that the UK will vote to leave in his promised 2017 referendum, he said it ‘certainly doesn’t help’. Scroll down for video . Defiant: David Cameron has insisted Britain will not be paying the surprise £1.7billion bill demanded by the EU . The European Commission made the surprise demand for the money on Thursday after recalculating the relative wealth of each member state. Britain was told to pay more because its economy has performed better than expected. But countries including France whose economies have under-performed will receive multi-million-pound rebates – something critics said was essentially a reward for their ‘basket case’ economic policies. Mr Cameron made it clear he was ready to take legal action to try to block the EU charge, which he compared with being ‘clubbed with lead piping’. He interrupted a summit of European leaders in Brussels yesterday morning to demand discussion of the huge backdated charge, securing agreement on an urgent meeting of EU finance ministers next month to review the proposed payments. Controversial: The UK was told to pay more as its economy has exceeded expectations but under-performing countries including France will receive multi-million-pound rebates (French President Francois Hollande, right) Adamant: Jose Manuel Barroso, the outgoing president of the European Commission, indicated that the £1.7billion bill was not up for negotiation . But Germany’s powerful leader Angela Merkel – whose country is set to receive a rebate – suggested Britain would eventually end up paying the vast sum, and said she had no problem with the calculations. And Jose Manuel Barroso, the outgoing president of the European Commission, indicated that the £1.7billion bill was not up for negotiation. Farcically, 24 hours after it emerged Britain was facing the budget surcharge, the Commission was still unable to explain how the figure had been calculated. The chart shows the monstrous bill handed to the UK by the EU in comparison with other member states . There was a growing row last night over whether the UK should have been better prepared for the charge. It emerged that Chancellor George Osborne had known about the demand on Tuesday but, embarrassingly, he had not passed on the information to the Prime Minister, who did not find out until Thursday. David Cameron was left red-faced as he was forced to admit he had been kept in the dark for days about the shock £1.7billion demand after George Osborne failed to inform him. The surprise bill was presented to the Treasury by the EU Commission last Friday. But extraordinarily it was almost a week before the Prime Minister learnt about it on Thursday. And according to Labour, the Office for National Statistics might have known about it five months ago. Mr Cameron yesterday refused to apportion blame for the farcical series of events that led to him being told only hours before he arrived at an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on Thursday. A three-page document informing the UK of the £1.7billion surcharge to be paid by December 1 was sent to the Treasury at the end of last week. It is understood senior officials were told of the massive demand on Monday and the Chancellor yesterday admitted he was told ‘earlier this week’. Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: ‘I personally first became aware of it over the last couple of days.’ But Labour suggested that the Government should have known months ago that the budget recalculation was being done. Pat McFadden, the party’s Europe spokesman, said: ‘The UK’s Office for National Statistics published a report over five months ago detailing the changes made to UK growth figures which it clearly stated were for use in the calculation of a Member State’s contribution to the EU budget. ‘Did the Government delay making news public about this expected revision to the UK’s EU contribution because of fears about how it would play out for the Conservative Party?’ The EU’s financial demand is terrible timing for the Tories, coming weeks before the Rochester and Strood by-election in which Ukip is threatening to snatch the seat from them. At a campaign event in Chatham last night, Mr Cameron suggested a lower sum could be acceptable, saying: ‘If it is two billion euros, no we are not going to pay.’ Earlier in Brussels he had spoken of his ‘downright anger’ at the surcharge and said he would not pay on December 1. The £1.7billion bill represents almost a fifth of Britain’s net contribution last year. Mr Cameron said: ‘It is an unacceptable way for this organisation to work – to suddenly present a bill like this for such a vast sum of money with so little time to pay it. ‘And it is an unacceptable way to treat one of the biggest contributors to the European Union. ‘I am not paying that bill on December 1. If people think I am, they have got another think coming.’ Mr Cameron demanded an investigation into how the bill was calculated, adding: ‘We will challenge this in every way possible. There may indeed be legal action.’ The prime ministers of Italy and Holland have also spoken out against the demands made to their own countries. Asked whether the colossal bill made it harder to argue that Britain should stay in the EU, Mr Cameron said: ‘Well it certainly doesn’t help, let’s put it like that. ‘I think there is a strong case for Britain involved in the European Union, if we can reform it in the way I have set out. ‘When you are presented with a bill like this, with a month to go, is that helpful for Britain’s membership of the European Union? No, it certainly is not.’ In Britain, the demand was criticised by even the most strident supporters of the EU, with Europhile Lib Dem MEPs joining Eurosceptic Tory backbenchers in condemning the EU Commission. Catherine Bearder, a Lib Dem MEP, said: ‘Just as pro-EU sentiment in UK reaches a 23-year high, the Commission clumsily gives Eurosceptics an open goal with budget request. Senseless.’ Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: ‘It’s just not acceptable to try to change the fees for the EU over many previous years, and then demand the money back at a moment’s notice, without a proper explanation.’ Labour’s Europe spokesman Pat McFadden said: ‘It’s unacceptable that the outgoing EU Commission should spring a backdated bill on member states in this way.’ Eurosceptic Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘The Prime Minister should tell them to stick their 2billion euro demand where the sun doesn’t shine. We’re already paying £20billion a year in EU membership fees. They’ve got a damn nerve coming back for more.’ The French media today reacted mockingly to Mr Cameron’s refusal to pay Britain’s EU budget contribution – likening him to an angry diner out of Fawlty Towers. All major outlets highlighted the Prime Minister’s fury, with the Dauphine Libere running the headline: ‘Angry Cameron refuses to take out his cheque book for Europe’. Europe 1 radio station was typical of those which took up the Fawlty Towers theme, portraying Mr Cameron as the kind of ranting and very dissatisfied restaurant customer who used to visit Basil Fawlty’s hotel in the 1970s comedy sitcom starring John Cleese. Europe 1 writes on its website: ‘A diner unconvinced by the proposed EU menu, David Cameron refuses to pay the bill. ‘It has to be said this is a bit rich, because Brussels is demanding an additional two billion euros from Britain as part of its share of EU budget. ‘Faced with this request, the British Prime Minister has abandoned the traditional English reserve to rant at a press conference that was held on Friday.’ Le Parisien runs a picture showing Mr Cameron with his mouth wide open, and suggests that he was forced to act in such an angry manner by the success of the UK Independence Party. ‘Under immense pressure from Eurosceptics, notably since the last European elections which saw Ukip win more than 27 per cent of the vote, David Cameron believes that this demand does not support the issue of Britain being in the EU,’ the Paris daily wrote. Like many other papers, L’Express and Le Monde concentrate on the reaction of Francois Hollande to the growing crisis, quoting the clearly irritated Socialist president as saying: ‘Respecting treaties is for everybody.’ Ukip leader Nigel Farage said the only way to avoid the surcharge was by leaving the Union. ‘The EU is like a thirsty vampire feasting on UK taxpayers’ blood. We need to protect the innocent victims, who are us,’ he added.", "British taxpayers will have to pay more than £800million after the European Union spent nearly £6billion in ‘error’ last year. Auditors yesterday refused to sign off the EU accounts for the 19th year in succession as they revealed that the spending errors are 23 per cent up on the year before. While countries across Europe were forced to rein in spending, EU bosses paid out £5.7billion to ineligible projects, of which Britain’s share is £832million. Questionable: The annual report reveals the amount of unexplained spending has risen and the books have not been given a clean bill of health for the 19th year in a row . The rate of errors increased from 3.9 per cent to 4.8 per cent of spending, a rise of nearly a quarter. The European Court of Auditors found . that supervision and control of Brussels spending worth another . £117billion was only ‘partially effective’. The fraud affects all areas of EU spending, the watchdog said. Rural spending was the worst area, with 7.9 per cent of the €15 billion (£12.6billion) rural development expenditure made in error. This means about £1billion was wrongly paid out by beaurocrats. 6.8 percent of the €40.7 billion (£34.3billion) spent on regional policy, energy and transport was also spent in error. That mistake cost more than £2 billion. Vitor Caldeira, the president of the . ECA, warned that a backlog of bills ‘will put added pressure on EU cash . flows and may increase the risk of error over the next few years’. Attack: David Cameron also attacked the refusal of the European Commission to make cuts to its bloated bureaucracy at a time when countries are slashing the cost of governments at home . Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: ‘It is about time the peoples of Europe . were able to get this EU albatross off their backs, or at least out of . their pockets.’ Pawel Swidlicki, from the Open Europe think-tank, said the auditor’s . report is proof that the EU’s budgeting procedures are ‘fundamentally . flawed’. The . European Commission is forecasting the recovery across the 28-countries . will continue into the second half of the year, albeit at a slowpace. The . executive arm of the European Union said it expects the region's . economy to grow by 0.5 per cent over the second half of the year and be . flat for the whole year. In its previous forecast in May, it predicted a 0.1 percent annual decline. It also expects the 17-country Eurozone to continue its recovery from recession in quarterly terms. However, over 2013 as a whole, the Eurozone is still expected to have contracted 0.4 per cent. In 2014 though, it is penciling in 1.1 percent growth. The Eurozone's unemployment is expected to remain at its record-high of 12.2 per cent this year and next. Last year, the European Court of Auditors said the budget was riddled with fraud and error – and that the situation was getting worse. Tory critics said the finding strengthened the case for going beyond a freeze and cutting the EU’s vast budget. David Cameron also attacked the refusal of the European Commission to make cuts to its bloated bureaucracy at a time when countries are slashing the cost of governments at home. Philip Bradbourn MEP, Conservative spokesman on Budgetary control, told The Telegraph: 'Another year, another story of lax monitoring and shambolic control. 'I understand full well that much of the misspending occurs when member states fail to exercise proper supervision of spending within their borders, but the fact is that the EU must accept ultimate responsibility for what happens to the money it dishes out. 'Every year we are told the Commission is serious about tackling the problem. Every year it gets still worse. It is shameful to the EU's integrity and unacceptable to its taxpayers. 'If you found misappropriation and mis-spending on this scale in a commercial business - or in a properly-accountable public administration - there would be sackings all round. In Brussels, it's \"Carry on Squandering\".' A European Commission spokesman has disputed that taxpayers would have to pay £800m, saying it would be clawed back.", "The number of employment tribunal claims lodged by staff against their company has plunged by more than half since fees were introduced in the summer. Leading law firm Hugh James said the total fell from 17,153 in July to fewer than 7,500 in August, a drop of more than 55 per cent. Since the end of July, employees who want to lodge a claim against their firm have to pay fees of up to £1,200 before their case can be heard. Lord Alan Sugar (left) branded ex-employee Stella English (right) a 'money-grabber' after she made a claim . It is the first time there has been a charge on workers since tribunals were introduced in the 1960s. Employees with relatively simple grievances such as a dispute over rates of pay must stump up £160 to launch a claim and a further £230 for a tribunal hearing. In claims for unfair dismissal, racial or sexual discrimination, or where employees say they have been sacked because of whistleblowing, they must hand over £250 to lodge the claim and a further £950 if the case goes ahead. These sums are repaid if the employee wins. The levies were introduced as part of measures announced by David Cameron to curb the estimated £1billion a year in payouts to those who claim to have been wrongly dismissed or to have suffered discrimination. They were brought in because of fears of a growing ‘claims culture’ of people going to tribunals in an attempt to extract large sums from their employers and threatening to smear their reputations. Lord Sugar has warned that employees have been able to exploit the rules in order to blackmail small businesses to settle claims because they are often afraid of losing and being ordered to pay huge damages. In April the peer launched a scathing attack on Apprentice winner Stella English after she lost a constructive dismissal case against him at the East London employment tribunal. John McCririck claimed unfair dismissal against Channel 4 after he was dismissed in favour of a younger presenting team headed by Clare Balding . He branded 34-year-old Miss English a ‘money-grabber’ and a ‘chancer’ and said the case was an ‘abuse of the tribunal system.’ Last month horse-racing pundit John McCririck lost his £3million age discrimination case against Channel 4 after a tribunal ruled that he was ‘unpalatable to a wider potential audience’. McCririck, 73, claimed he was sacked by the TV channel last year when it unveiled a new, younger presenting team headed by Clare Balding, 42. But the Central London employment tribunal panel said that in its judgment McCririck’s ‘arrogant and confrontational’ style put off many viewers. Emma Burns, head of employment law at Hugh James, said businesses spend ‘considerable time and money’ defending themselves in claims launched by employees. ‘Drawn out workplace disputes that reach the tribunal can have a crippling financial effect on both businesses and workers,’ she added. ‘Employees now need to consider more carefully whether the cost of launching a claim against their employer or ex-employer justifies the cost and risk of being unsuccessful. ‘It may no longer be a good idea to make a speculative attempt to get money out of their employer.’ Unison, one of the biggest unions, is challenging the fees with the backing of the Human Rights Commission. It says the charges are contrary to European Union law and will make it impossible for many workers to exercise their rights. Miss Burns warned that if it succeeds in having them overturned, there could be a ‘sharp rise in employees pursuing litigation against their employers’. Employers who lose a straightforward unfair dismissal case may have to pay a maximum of a year’s salary up to £74,000 but there is no limit in cases of racial or sexual discrimination or whistleblowing. The number of claims surged in July ahead of the introduction of charges. Unions said the drop in claims is ‘worrying’ and that workers may have been deterred from bringing valid claims against unscrupulous employers. Sarah Veale, head of employment rights at the TUC, said: ‘It is very worrying that this Christmas a number of employees who may have been appallingly treated at work won’t be able to have this tested in court because they can’t afford to risk paying the fee and not getting the money back if they lose.’", "New president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, pictured, is facing calls to resign . Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday faced calls to resign following damaging claims he helped some of the world’s largest companies avoid paying billions of euros in tax when he was prime minister of Luxembourg. Leaked documents showed how hundreds of sweetheart deals with more than 300 companies including Heinz, Burberry, Dyson and Ikea were signed while the newly appointed European Commission President was in charge. Mr Juncker faces growing anger across Europe because of claims other countries missed out on billions of euros in tax revenues while Luxembourg became one of the world’s richest because of the arrangements. Critics have argued his position is untenable as the Commission, which he now heads, is investigating the tax practices he oversaw during 18 years as the Grand Duchy’s prime minister. It has been claimed that companies used Luxembourg ‘like a magical fairyland’ with webs of internal loans and interest payments to slash tax bills. The firms’ divisions in Luxembourg lent money to their operations in other countries. The interest payments made on these loans reduced the profits in these countries. In some cases it was claimed companies enjoyed tax rates of less than 1 per cent on profits moved into the Grand Duchy. Tory MP Stewart Jackson called for Mr Juncker to resign. He said: ‘His position is untenable. The issue of corporate tax avoidance has been high on the UK agenda because of Amazon, Google and Starbucks. The sweet heart deals of countries such as Luxembourg sit at odds with a Commission President who says that he supports widespread economic and financial reform.’ Scroll down for video . Patrick O’Flynn, Ukip’s economics spokesman, said: ‘The EU actually facilitates tax avoidance by enabling multinational corporations to channel earnings through whichever member state they want. ‘Luxembourg was happy to do dirty dealings with the big corporations to maximise its revenues at the cost of tens of billions of pounds that should have ended up in the UK public realm. ‘Juncker has lots of questions to answer. It’s why multinationals are so keen on EU membership but why it is not in the UK’s interest.’ Some of the world's largest firms including top British companies like Dyson are using a Luxembourg tax avoidance scheme to get out of paying billions of pounds . Margaret Hodge, chair of the Commons public accounts committee, said Mr Juncker had ‘presided over the biggest exploitation of European nations in his own little country for decades’. The Labour MP, who has been one of the fiercest critics of tax avoidance by companies such as Starbucks, Google and Amazon, said: ‘I think he should come clean and talk about it, certainly try to explain it. How can we know he’s working in the interest of Europe when as prime minister in Luxembourg he has exploited populations in every European country and elsewhere for decades?’ The respected Bloomberg news agency accused Mr Juncker of ‘making his country rich by picking the pockets of other countries he is now mandated to serve’ in an editorial column. ‘He could best serve the European project by resigning,’ it said. ‘Juncker’s position as the head of the body investigating the tax practices he oversaw as prime minister is a clear conflict of interest.’ In France, Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front party and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, of the Arise the Republic party, also called for Mr Juncker to resign. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured) presided over Luxembourg while many of the tax avoidance schemes were operating . Left-wing MEPs have asked that Mr Juncker is hauled before the European Parliament to explain his role. Mr Juncker has not appeared in public since the documents were published last week and pulled out of one appearance. A spokesman yesterday said: ‘Mr Juncker will choose the moment himself to say what he has to say.’ The European Commission is already investigating Luxembourg’s tax practices with a review of Amazon, and said it could widen this inquiry in the light of new evidence. Before the leaked papers were revealed Mr Juncker said he felt no conflict of interest and would not interfere with the probe by the Commission’s competition department.", "In the post: The online retailer is among a host of multinationals whose tax bills have fallen under the spotlight after the European Commission widened its inquiry into how firms use countries such as Luxembourg to cut their tax bill . Amazon was today dragged into an EU probe investigating the use of offshore tax havens to slash their bill, it has been revealed. The online retailer is among a host of multinationals whose tax bills have fallen under the spotlight since the European Commission widened its inquiry into how firms use countries such as Luxembourg to cut their tax bill, an official with knowledge of the matter said today. Other companies to be drawn into the examination because of their links to the tax shelter include building equipment maker Caterpillar and UK mobile telecoms group Vodafone, while Apple, Starbucks and Fiat Finance and Trade are already on the list. The Financial Times revealed that . Amazon's main European operating company, Amazon EU Sarl is being . examined over whether its decisions on corporate tax complied with state . aid rules. An EU official told the newspaper: 'We are looking into what kind of arrangement Luxembourg has with Amazon.' The company was criticised last month after it was shown to have funnelled about £11bn through its . Luxembourg-based subsidiary in 2013, but paid only £4 million in UK . corporation tax last year - 0.1 per cent of the £4.3bn in sales that the company . generated in the UK last year. The internet giant even claimed a £4m . tax rebate from the Luxembourg Government. Last . month, the Commission warned Ireland, another EU country that offers . companies offshore tax status, that it could investigate more companies . beyond Apple Inc as part of its probe into European tax practices. 'The . Commission continues to gather information on the tax practices of . member states ... and this might lead to new formal investigations,' said the official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity . of the matter. In the spotlight: The Financial Times revealed that Amazon's main European operating company, Amazon EU Sarl is being examined over whether its decisions on corporate tax complied with state aid rules . Under investigation: Last month, the Commission warned Ireland, another EU country that offers companies offshore tax status, that it could investigate more companies beyond Apple Inc as part of its probe into European tax practices . 'It would be premature to speculate on whether ... formal investigations could be opened about any specific company.' Luxembourg is used by many multinationals including online retailer Amazon, building equipment maker Caterpillar and UK mobile telecoms group Vodafone. Pushed by France and Germany, Brussels is keen to clamp down on what it sees as unfair tax competition across the bloc. If the Commission can prove countries such as Luxembourg and Ireland agree tax treatments that diverge from international rules, it could deem any corporate tax savings to be a form of subsidy that must be halted or even repaid. Failed: In a strongly worded statement in March, the Commission, the EU executive, chastised Luxembourg (pictured: the village of Echtemach), saying it had 'failed to adequately answer previous requests for information' and ordered it to outline many details of its tax system . In a strongly worded statement in March, the Commission, the EU executive, chastised Luxembourg, saying it had 'failed to adequately answer previous requests for information' and ordered it to outline many details of its tax system. The finance ministry in Luxembourg was not immediately available for comment on Friday but in June it said it had 'doubts about the legality of certain aspects of the European Commission's information requests.' Corporate profit-shifting has come under the international spotlight in recent years following reports of how companies such as Apple use complex structures to slash their tax bills. The investigation is centred around the commonly-used practice of transfer pricing - a profit allocation method employed to attribute a multinational corporation's net profit (or loss) before tax to countries where it does business. This is one way multi-national companies are able to spread . or reallocate earning from the parent company's net profit. A Reuters examination in 2012 of accounts filed by 25 Amazon units in six countries showed how tax arrangements in Luxembourg also allowed the company to avoid paying more tax in the United States, where the company is based. Tax advisers say Luxembourg has helped attract more than 40,000 holding companies and thousands of high-paying jobs for its population of nearly half a million.", "(CNN)Money makes the world go round, they say, but what if notes and coins were replaced with online code? Bitcoin -- the world's much talked about cryptocurrency -- is just that. It can't be printed, it can't be directly controlled by governments or central banks, but it can be sent around the world instantly at a low cost. And in sub-Saharan Africa, where 75% of the population don't have a bank account, experts say the currency could help millions of people pay bills and get to grips with their finances. Transferring cash via a bank or a Money Transfer Operator (MTOs) like Western Union or MoneyGram can be costly. According to the Overseas Development Institute, the average charge to transfer $200 to Africa using traditional money transfer services is 12%. If you send $200, you pay $24. The ODI added up all the transfers that happen in a year, and found remittance fees cost the African continent $1.8 billion a year. What if that money could be spent on things, rather than fees? As Bitcoin is a virtual peer-to-peer currency -- designed to operate on the border-less internet -- the costs of transferring money can be radically cheaper than traditional methods, and the process is much quicker. \"Bitcoin can greatly alter the remittances industry and beyond,\" says Michael Kimani, who heads the African Digital Currency Association, a Kenya-based group launched last May to promote digital currency technologies. \"From seven days [for a transaction to clear] using banks & PayPal, down to 20 minutes speaks volumes.\" African examples . Beam is a service in Ghana that converts Bitcoin sent from abroad into the local currency, cedi. Since launching three months ago, it has attracted 30 users who pay a 3% fee on each transaction rather than the average 12% from traditional transfer services. Ghana received $1.7 billion of remittance income in 2012 according to the Bank of Ghana, and Beam's founders are optimistic about the future. \"Bitcoin is going to make a huge difference when it starts to get accepted by merchants in Ghana,\" says CEO Nikunj Handa. \"People won't need to change Bitcoin to any other currency so there will be no broker fees involved and people can get really very low-cost transactions. But Bitcoin is in its early days yet, and we need banks and merchants to catch up.\" And the founders are also planning to launch \"Value Remittances\" -- a service which will allow people in other countries to use Bitcoin to pay the water, electricity and phone bills for their family members in Ghana. Kitiwa, a similar service in Ghana, says it has processed over $90,000 worth of Bitcoins, and BitPesa, in Kenya, is another remittance services doing the same thing but with Kenyan shillings. Another sign that Bitcoin is gaining traction in Africa came in August, when Johannesburg got the first Bitcoin ATM on the continent. The machine, which converts cash into Bitcoin, is located at the Metroman beauty salon where customers can pay in crytocurrency. But it's not the only place South Africans can spend their Bitcoin. According to South Africa-based Bitcoin startup Xoin, 30,000 online stores in South Africa now accept the cryptocurrency. \"We have about five transactions a week, and in total I would estimate we have had about 250 transactions,\" explains Rolf Deppe, who operates the machine. \"The main reason we launched the ATM was to create awareness of Bitcoin in Africa... We do expect to see more [Bitcoin] ATMs popping up.\" Commission charges for Bitcoin ATMs vary, but Lamassu says the average commission is 5%. And Africa's second Bitcoin ATM is set to arrive in Cape Town soon -- a city hosting a Bitcoin conference in April. Crypto-critics . But not everyone is so optimistic about Bitcoin's future in Africa. Critics say the fees associated with buying crypto-currency must be taken into account when considering the cost of remittances. As well as overcoming the technical challenges of obtaining Bitcoins at an \"exchange,\" users have to also pay a commission. According to Lamassu, the fee is usually 0.5%, but that can vary between exchanges. Bypassing most of the online process is possible with voucher services like Azte, which charges a 4% commission for the convenience. And Xoin, based in Stellenbosch, have come up with a similar proposition involving QR codes on vouchers, which you scan with your smartphone. As well as standard charges, not all banks support Bitcoin companies yet. Some customers of British banks, for example, have to first transfer money from their bank account to a Bitcoin company's account in a European bank. To do this, they pay banking transfer charges and have to wait up to five days for the funds to clear before they get their Bitcoins. Not exactly speedy. Breaking traditions . Competition with existing, established services is also a major reason some say widespread adoption of Bitcoin in Africa is still a long way off. MoneyGram has agents in 25,000 locations across Africa, and Western Union has 32,000 registered locations across the continent. While its yellow and black outposts aren't going away anytime soon, the company is adapting to mobile money transfer. \"Africa, in particular, is kind of at the frontiers of mobile,\" says Hikmet Ersek, chief executive of Western Union. \"The people do like mobile, use it like mobile... but also as a wallet. This mobile wallet has been very successful in Kenya. We did not see a big success in other countries...but the future, I think, will be that, once the consumer figures out how to use it.\" It is precisely this complexity, and this issue of trust, which makes the man who founded South Africa's Bitcoin exchange ICE³X.com skeptical about it's widespread adoption on the continent. \"You've got a company like Western Union, which has been around for longer than most people have been alive, and they trust that method,\" says Gareth Grobler. \"That's a huge stumbling block for Bitcoin acceptance.\" For Grobler, the real value of the super-secure \"blockchain\" technology which facilitates Bitcoin could be in commodities trading where large sums need to be transferred across borders in a transparent way. Erratic price value . Another major issue with Bitcoin is its volatility. In January 2013, one Bitcoin was worth around $13, surging in December to a high of $1,147. But since then, its value has dropped again and at the time of writing one Bitcoin was worth $221, according to coindesk. \"If I buy Bitcoin and transfer it to another person, the price is very likely to change overtime,\" says Grobler. \"So I could send $200 worth of Bitcoin to someone, but as the price fluctuates they actually only get say $150. Bitcoin is really only going to be a better deal for someone who really understands financial markets and watches the price constantly. Further solutions need to be developed for mainstream adoption and tangible financial benefits.\" More from Marketplace Africa . READ THIS: Africa's 'most intelligent' city revealed . READ THIS: Gas discovery transforms Mozambique backwater .", "By . Daniel Martin . UPDATED: . 04:43 EST, 1 October 2011 . An alliance of European countries is rebelling against EU plans to make Britain open its doors to thousands of ‘benefit tourists’. Ministers have joined forces with 12 other nations – including France, Germany and Denmark – angry at the European Commission’s threat to take the UK to court over rules which limit foreigners’ ability to claim benefits. If the Commission gets its way, Britain could be hit with an extra £2.5billion in welfare payments, making it even harder to tackle our huge deficit. Present rules: Currently, the UK says EU immigrants must have worked here previously, or have a decent chance of getting a job, before they can claim benefits . Work and Pensions Secretary Iain  Duncan Smith warned that the move  was just the latest example of ‘unelectable and unaccountable’ European  institutions’ desire to grab power from national parliaments. The row comes as Tories gather for  their annual conference in Manchester amid a growing clamour from Eurosceptic backbenchers to use the eurozone  crisis as a lever to get Brussels powers returned to Britain. Last night former Cabinet minister John Redwood said the issue showed why Foreign Secretary William Hague should enter into negotiations with EU leaders to get powers handed back to Britain. He wrote on his blog: ‘What is he doing about it? Why won’t he get on with renegotiating the UK position? ‘Most UK electors want a trade agreement but do not want to be bossed around by a high spending legislature poking its nose into our domestic affairs.’ Diktat: The European Commission in Brussels gave the UK two months to scrap the rules, saying they infringe the 'human rights' of EU citizens . Concerns: It is feared the change could open the door to tens of thousands of Eastern Europeans who are currently deterred from coming here . At present the UK says that EU immigrants must have worked here previously, or have a decent chance of getting a job, before they can claim benefits. But on Thursday Brussels gave the UK two months to scrap the rules, saying they infringe the ‘human rights’ of EU citizens. It is feared the change could open the door to tens of thousands of Eastern Europeans who are currently deterred from coming here. Benefits are much more generous in the West than among the former Soviet-dominated countries of the East. 'Out of order': Iain Duncan Smith said Europe was encroaching on social security . For example, a person who has been . unemployed for more than three months in Poland gets a dole of just £110 . a month. This is less than half the £270 or so he would get if he moved . to the UK. So far only Britain has been threatened with court action, but yesterday an EU official warned that other countries could be next if their residence rules are deemed too strict. Chris Grayling, the Employment Minister, revealed growing anger among European governments and said he would be bringing up the issue at a meeting of ministers in Brussels in three weeks’ time. His alliance is made up of prosperous Western European countries which are also worried about an influx from former Communist states if they are forced to change their rules. They, too, face huge costs if they have to tighten up their rules. France, for example, will currently not pay out benefits unless migrants have worked in the country for at least four months. Mr Grayling told the BBC: ‘There is a very definite difference of opinion between us and the Commission over this. I don’t think somebody coming from another EU state should be able to access benefit simply by turning up here and saying, “I am going to live in the UK from now on”. ‘The truth is European law is all over the place at the moment. We had a case three months ago in which we were instructed by the European Court to make disability payments to a British citizen, a young woman living in Spain. 'This kind of land grab has the potential to cause mayhem... we will fight it' ‘We can’t be responsible both for benefits to be paid to our citizens overseas and to citizens of other countries in the UK. What we have ended up with is a mess and it is not a mess that simply faces the UK – it is one that affects several other states.’ Mr Duncan Smith told the Daily Mail: ‘This is out of order. Social security was always considered to be a national responsibility, but now Europe is encroaching on these areas. ‘This kind of land grab from the EU has the potential to cause mayhem to nation states, and we will fight it.’ It emerged yesterday that Nick Clegg told EC president Jose Manuel Barroso on Thursday that Britain would fight any attempt to force us to pay benefits to workless EU migrants. The Lib Dems’ support for the Government on this issue is in contrast to their refusal to join the Tories in opposing the extension of employment rights to agency workers. A source close to Mr Clegg said: ‘Nick thinks this is a really bad idea. It is one thing to look after European citizens who have worked over here and paid taxes, but it is quite another to start writing cheques to anyone and everyone who turns up.’ A spokesman for the European Commission said the UK was being targeted first because complaints had been received about the rule here. But she warned that other countries would be next.She said: ‘We have issues with other countries but the UK case is much more advanced.’", "The most senior EU official could be declared unfit for his post next week by European MPs over his alleged role in tax avoidance. Jean-Claude Juncker, the arch-federalist president of the European Commission, faces a censure motion because of his alleged role in turning Luxembourg into Europe’s biggest tax haven when he was Prime Minister of the country. Far-right and anti-EU MEPs have managed to collect enough support for a motion of censure, which must be debated and voted on, possibly as soon as next week. Scroll down for video . Italian comedian-turned politician Beppe Grillo, right, is behind the attempt to censure Jean-Claude Junker over his alleged role in turning Luxembourg into one of Europe's biggest tax havens . The Five Star movement of Italian former stand-up comedian Beppe Grillo is behind the attempt to declare Juncker ‘intolerable’, claiming he has lost his credibility as president of the European Commission. The plan also has the support of Nigel Farage’s Ukip. But a lack of support for the censure motion from other parties, less than a month after the European Parliament endorsed the appointment of Juncker’s 28-strong executive team, makes it highly improbable that his critics will win the two-thirds majority required to force the Commission from office. The European Parliament has no power to sanction individual members of the executive. An alliance of Eurosceptics, including Ukip and the French National Front gathered 76 signatures to meet the threshold of 10 percent of the 751-seat chamber to put the motion on the agenda. It stated that Mr Juncker, who was Luxembourg’s Prime Minister for two decades until a year ago, was directly responsible for tax policies which are now under investigation by the Commission for unfairly attracting multinational businesses. Eurozone countries have had to slash spending and hike taxes to counter government debt crises in the past few years, heightening public resentment of schemes that help wealthy individuals and companies to pay less tax. Jean-Claude Junker, left, was Luxembourg's prime minister for two decades and was responsible for the country's controversial tax policies which are currently under investigation by the European Commission . ‘It is intolerable that a person who has been responsible for aggressive tax avoidance policies serves as president of the European Commission,’ the motion read. Mr Juncker has said he wants a level playing field in corporate taxation. The censure motion, brought by parties that oppose EU oversight over states, said ‘tax sovereignty’ was vital for competition but Luxembourg’s policies were not fair competition. Eurosceptics won a bigger voice in parliament at elections in May amid growing disillusionment with economic austerity and perceived failures of European Union administration. They have complained of a ‘grand coalition’ of mainstream parties backing Mr Juncker and trying to suppress minority views in parliament. Ends .", "David Cameron, who was warned he was isolated in his bid to overturn a £1.7billion bill demanded by the EU . David Cameron was warned last night he was ‘isolated’ in his bid to overturn the £1.7billion bill from Brussels – and that the EU was becoming ‘exasperated’ with his demands. The Prime Minister was told that the issue was simply ‘a British problem’ and that the EU would push to levy its own taxes on European citizens if he insists on refusing to pay the £1.7billion demanded. The EU is demanding the payment – which it wants by December – because the UK economy has performed better than expected over the past few years. In contrast, France is receiving a £790million rebate from the EU as its economy struggles in a vicious downturn. Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a senior German MEP and a vice-president of the European Parliament, said that if Mr Cameron refused to pay, the Commission could levy additional charges as well as withholding the UK’s historic £3billion-a-year rebate. And in a further blow to Mr Cameron, even Denmark’s prime minister - seen as a supporter of his EU modernisation programmes - poured cold water on Britain’s hopes of reducing its cash demand. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is married to Lord Kinnock’s son Stephen, said: ‘I respect that the UK wants to discuss this among ministers, but there are rules that must be kept. ‘Countries must follow the rules as they are.’ There were growing questions for George Osborne’s Treasury yesterday after the EU revealed the department knew about the £1.7billion demand almost a week before Mr Cameron was told. Junior Treasury minister David Gauke was told on 14 October that Britain would have to make a significant contribution, although no sum was discussed. Three day later, UK officials were informed by the EU that the figure would be £1.7billion. However, Mr Osborne was not told until last Tuesday - and Mr Cameron did not find out until Thursday, as he was being driven to a Brussels summit. Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who has poured cold water on Britain's chances of having its cash demanded reduced . It has also emerged that ministers had known for months that a significant recalculation of the UK’s contribution to the EU was on the way. As far back as March, former Treasury minister Nicky Morgan said in a letter that the government was giving ‘high priority’ to addressing the impact of the changes. Mr Osborne is due to raise the EU demand at a meeting with the German finance minister in Berlin today. Mr Lambsdorff, who sits in the same European Parliament grouping as the Liberal Democrats’ sole MEP, said there was no excuse for British politicians not to have known about the fee. George Osborne, pictured, was not told until last Tuesday about the EU  and Mr Cameron did not find out until Thursday . ‘This has been mishandled by the British government,’ he told the BBC’s Daily Politics. ‘We are really a little bit exasperated here in Brussels. ‘This is a British problem. The Treasury could have informed the Prime Minister before he came to Brussels about this thing. ‘It is a British problem that has now transferred to a European one. It’s a British affair that should be resolved in Britain and it should be paid up to the EU’s budget.’ He said paying up was ‘non-negotiatable’ - and told Mr Cameron Britain has no allies. ‘It looks very much as if the UK is alone on this,’ he said. Mr Lambsdorff warned: ‘If you think the system is crazy, the system of financing the European Union, you are opening a Pandora’s box in which the British rebate will come on to the table, in which the creation of an EU tax on all member states will be discussed. Junior Treasury minister David Gauke was told on 14 October that Britain would have to make a significant contribution, although no sum was discussed . ‘I don’t think that British citizens will want to pay an EU tax proper.’ Last night the think tank Open Europe said the British people would never accept a system of EU taxes. ‘While the current system of national contributions is messy and frustrating, any form of direct EU taxation would be a leap in the wrong direction,’ she said. ‘In addition to huge practical questions about how such taxes would function – there is a risk certain countries or economic sectors could be hit disproportionately - they would have no democratic legitimacy. ‘The central problem with the EU budget is that it is overly complex and wasteful; the new Commission and MEPs should work on fundamentally reforming this rather than dreaming up new ways to hit taxpayers.’ Tory backbencher John Redwood said the £1.7billion demand was in itself a ‘massive retrospective bill on the British people’. ‘They’re seriously suggesting that the British parliament passes some kind of super European tax and send a bill to everybody,’ he said. ‘I think they’re absolutely crazy. ‘The UK is paying too much; it cannot afford a retrospective tax, which would be a direct tax on the British people. ‘Because the government would be borrowing, it doesn’t have a pot of money saved for this purpose.’ Denmark is one of the winners from the adjustments to national contributions being imposed by the European Commission, and is in line to receive £253 million.", "George Osborne last night claimed a qualified victory over the European Union as he declared Britain will only have to pay half of its controversial £1.7billion budget surcharge. But the Chancellor faced an immediate backlash from critics who said he was taking credit for a discount that would always have been offered. Mr Osborne said the UK would make two payments next year totalling £850million instead of £1.7billion in a lump sum by December this year. Scroll down for video . Chancellor George Osborne yesterday after announcing that Britain will only have to pay half of its controversial £1.7billion EU budget surcharge . The Chancellor said the agreement was ‘far beyond what anyone expected us to achieve’ and a ‘result for Britain’. But the European Commission hit back, claiming it had always intended to apply the complex budget rebate system to the payment, dramatically reducing the bill. Critics accused Mr Osborne of ‘smoke and mirrors’. Treasury officials firmly disputed that account, saying Britain had to ‘work hard’ to ensure the most generous calculation possible using the traditional rebate formula was applied and for the discount to be given in advance, rather than a year in arrears as is usual. The deal struck last night means that Margaret Thatcher’s budget rebate, which she negotiated in 1984, will be applied to the one-off demand for extra payment. The controversial surcharge was landed on Mr Cameron at a Brussels summit last month. EU budget rules allow for member states’ payments to be adjusted based on revisions to assessments of their economic performance. The latest review of the economies of EU member states since 1995 showed Britain had done significantly better than previously thought – triggering the huge bill. David Cameron angrily insisted the UK would pay nothing by the December deadline and called yesterday’s emergency meeting of finance ministers in Brussels for the overall sum to be renegotiated. David Cameron angrily insisted the UK would pay nothing by the December deadline and called the emergency meeting of EU finance ministers . The UK will now pay the smaller sum in two interest-free instalments in July and September 2015. The Chancellor said: ‘We have worked intensively and constructively with the vice president of the Commission and with the other member states and today I can say this: instead of footing the bill, we have halved the bill, we have delayed the bill, we will pay no interest on the bill and if there are mistakes in the bill we will get our money back.’ Kristalina Georgieva, vice president of the European Commission, said: ‘The adjustments for the UK means that UK has to pay more, but also that as a result of this increase, the UK rebate will go up.’ Asked if the rebate had been in doubt, the EC vice-president said: ‘No, absolutely not.’ But Government sources claimed the Commission was seeking to save face and avoid controversy with other member states by suggesting the rebate was always going to be applied. The Prime Minister, attending a meeting of the leaders of Nordic and Baltic states in Helsinki, said: ‘These negotiations have gone well for Britain. The Chancellor has done well.’ Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has called George Osborne's announcement as all 'smoke and mirrors' Challenged that the lower figure was inevitable because of the rebate calculation, Mr Cameron insisted: ‘This was far from inevitable. The bill has been halved, the bill has been delayed, no interest is being paid on the bill and we’ve changed the rules so that this can’t happen again and that is very good news.’ But Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said: ‘David Cameron and George Osborne are trying to take the British people for fools. Ministers have failed to get a better deal for the British taxpayer. Not a single penny has been saved for the taxpayer compared to two weeks ago when David Cameron was blustering in Brussels. ‘By counting the rebate Britain was due anyway they are desperately trying to claim that the backdated bill for £1.7billion has somehow been halved. But nobody will fall for this smoke and mirrors.’", "Germany and Brussels are locked in a legal battle over benefits for migrants. EU mandarins have backed the case of a Romanian who was refused some payments because she had not been in the country long and was not seeking work. But German politicians say this encourages benefit tourism and risks turning their country into a ‘self-service store’ for migrants. Romanian immigrants gather on the streets of Duisburg. Leaked comments made by the EU commission to the European Court suggest Germany will be ordered to make it easier for migrants to claim benefits . When the 24-year-old Romanian – . identified only as Elizabeta D – arrived in 2010 she successfully . applied for child benefit for her son and for a single-parent grant. But . her application for ‘Hartz IV’ payments, which are targeted at the very . poor, was turned down because she was not trying to find a job. The . case went to a domestic court and was referred to the European Court of . Justice in Luxembourg. Leaked submissions from the Commission to the . court show it believes it is too difficult for immigrants to claim the . benefits – making a breach of EU law. Pressure: The revelations have sparked a furious outcry from one of Chancellor Merkel's most important coalition partners . The case, which is pending, has caused major ructions in the ruling coalition headed by Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats. Their . coalition partners, the CSU, have accused the commission of ‘Eurocratic . madness’. It has called for a freeze on all  benefits for newcomers. Andreas . Scheuer, general secretary of the CSU, said: ‘The national social . security systems are not a self-service store for all those Europeans . who come to us. ‘It is shocking for me to see the EU Commission . torpedoing the national protection systems in this manner. If officials . want to intervene from their deluxe offices on our national social . security systems  then there will be bitter resistance from the CSU.’ Markus Ferber, a CSU MEP, said: ‘The national social security systems are and remain the responsibility of the nation states.’ The . case echoes political rows in the UK, which is also facing a series of . legal challenges from the EU over payments to migrants. A spokesman for the EU  Commission said its submissions had been misunderstood. ‘Insinuations . and accusations that the EU Commission urges Germany to pay social . security benefits to all unemployed citizens in the country are . completely wrong,’ she added. ‘There are strict safeguards in EU law to prevent so-called social tourism.’", "By . James Chapman . Iain Duncan Smith demanded new rights for Britain to restrict handouts to EU migrants in Berlin today . Iain Duncan Smith opened up a new front in the Tory battle with Brussels last night, demanding new rights for Britain to restrict welfare handouts for EU migrants. The Work and Pensions Secretary made a provocative speech in Berlin in which he hit out at the European Commission for telling us ‘we will have to pay benefits to anyone who comes here from Europe, regardless of their circumstances’, and that doing otherwise is ‘akin to xenophobia’. He said the Government had already banned new migrants from claiming housing benefit and stopped them from getting unemployment or family support until they have been living in the UK for at least three months. Migrants without work are also now required to prove they can speak English and that they will be able to get a job in order to claim. But Mr Duncan Smith said Britain wanted to go further, and demanded ‘the right to say to migrants that we require a much longer record of commitment before you get benefits and shortening the duration of any benefit claim that is allowed’. He condemned EU interference in the UK welfare system as ‘unwarranted and unwanted’ and said it should abandon its efforts to hold up a series of further welfare reforms he would like to make with a ‘constant stream’ of legal challenges. Meanwhile Brussels officials came under attack from senior Tories – even europhile Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg – for ‘lecturing’ Britain on its economic policy, despite growth here far outpacing that of struggling eurozone countries. London Mayor Boris Johnson said the European Commission could ‘take a running jump’ over one proposal for the UK to impose higher property taxes on owners of expensive homes. Mr Clegg said Brussels should concentrate on cutting red tape and regulation for businesses, rather than delivering ‘lectures’ to the UK. Mr Duncan Smith insisted Britain ‘strongly believes that the European Union must change’. Mr Clegg said Brussels should concentrate on cutting red tape and regulation for businesses, rather than delivering ¿lectures¿ to the UK today . He said the Government wanted to end the . ‘absurdity of paying family benefits to workers who have moved country, . yet whose children remain back at home, at a rate that bears little . relation to the level of benefits in the country where the children . actually live’. And he complained that the  EU ‘wrongly cites the freedom of movement as a justification for interfering with our national welfare system,  telling us we will have to pay benefits to anyone who comes here from Europe, regardless of their circumstances… and that to do otherwise is ... akin to “xenophobia”. He added: ‘If we fail to change ...  then we run the risk of damaging the reputation of free movement altogether.’ German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly asked the French government if it would put forward Christine Lagarde – who is currently head of the IMF – to be the next president of the European Commission. The appointment would be seen as a great victory for No 10 in its efforts to prevent so-called ‘Mr Euro’ Jean-Claude Juncker from getting the job. Britons pay higher property taxes than people living in any other developed country, according to new figures. Property taxes in the UK represent 4.2 per cent of the country’s total economic output, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development revealed. The average in the OECD is 1.8 per cent. The revelation makes a mockery of European Commission calls for new property and land levies to hit more expensive homes in Britain. The TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘The housing market is already over-taxed. The answer is planning reform, not headline-grabbing wealth taxes.’", "Giant US businesses Disney and Microsoft have been dragged into the Luxembourg tax avoidance scandal engulfing Brussels chief Jean-Claude Juncker after a slew of confidential documents were leaked. The Grand Duchy is accused of allowing multinational firms to pay virtually no tax on massive profits – draining resources from countries forced to make drastic cuts to reduce their deficits. The scandal has dragged in Mr Juncker - Luxembourg’s former Prime Minister. The new president of the European Commission, Brussels' most powerful official, is under mounting pressure to explain the complicated tax deals struck while he was leader. Protesters campaign against European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels yesterday . Among the new companies exposed in secret tax documents leaked to the Guardian are Disney, FTSE 100 firm Reckitt Benckiser and Skype – now owned by Microsoft. There is no suggestion that the tax schemes are illegal. The documents were obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Dozens of multinationals implicated in the latest leaks engineered complicated tax schemes which helped cut their tax bills. The new revelations will step up the pressure on Mr Juncker who praised Luxembourg’s tax policies. In 2005, when Mr Juncker was both prime minister and finance minister of Luxembourg, he said: ‘Skype will remain based here … this is partly because of the favourable fiscal environment we’ve created here in Luxembourg.’ Since being appointed to the top job in Brussels Mr Juncker has brushed off allegations that Luxembourg, under his leadership, engaged in ‘industrial scale tax avoidance’. He said: ‘I am not the architect of the Luxembourg model because this model doesn’t exist.’ But according to the Guardian about 340 companies – including Fedex, Pepsi, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Icap and Ikea – secured special tax deals with Luxembourg. Last week, Germany, France and Italy demanded a clampdown on Luxembourg-based tax avoidance. They said: ‘Our citizens and our companies expect us to cope with tax avoidance and aggressive planning.’ Luxembourg is accused of allowing multinational firms like Disney to pay virtually no tax on massive profits – draining resources from countries forced to make drastic cuts to reduce their deficits . Parliament’s spending watchdog chief Margaret Hodge said the revelations raised serious questions over Mr Juncker’s suitability to head up the European Commission. She said: ‘Since I have uncovered all this I have questions about if Mr Juncker is fit to be the president of the European commission. ‘I think if this had been around during the period of his appointment it might well be a different decision.’ The companies named in the leaked documents said they had done nothing wrong. Koch Industries said: ‘Like all Koch companies, Invista conducts its business lawfully, and pays its taxes in accordance with applicable laws. As the Guardian has previously acknowledged, all of our activities in these matters are legal.’ Microsoft, Skype’s parent, said: ‘Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype was finalised in October 2011, so we can only speak to activities after that date.’ Labour MP Margaret Hodge said the revelations raised serious questions over Mr Juncker’s suitability as EU Commission President . The statement added that Microsoft had since changed Skype’s business model: ‘As a global business, Microsoft adheres carefully to the laws and regulations of every country in which we operate.’ It comes after Washington’s ambassador to the UK defended Google, Facebook and Amazon amid claims they were no playing by the rules on tax. Matthew Barzun leapt to the defence of the giant corporations which have come under fire for their tax policies, saying they were simply following international tax rules laid down by governments. David Cameron warned in October that multinationals which exploit loopholes to avoid paying UK taxes would be made to ‘damn well pay’. The Treasury will today publish details of a new ‘Google tax’ designed to ensure that multinationals operating in the UK pay at least some tax here. But Mr Barzun told journalists in Westminster it was wrong to describe the firms as ‘international tax dodgers’ despite the fact they pay little, if any, corporation tax in this country. ‘I’m not the spokesman for any of those great American companies,’ he said. ‘These companies and other companies… are clever about using international rules that exist, as written, by the way, by all of us – that’s US government, British government – we make these rules and they are playing by them. ‘And I hope that if and when rules change they will play by those new rules as well.’ Facebook is reported to have paid no corporation tax in the UK for the last two years. Google, which generated more than £3.5billion from the UK last year, paid just over £20million in corporation tax. And Amazon, which sold goods worth £4.3billion in the UK last year, paid just £4.2million. The firms all insist that they are operating within the international tax rules. But their behaviour has sparked mounting anger in the UK. Chancellor George Osborne announced last week that the UK will impose a new ‘diverted profits tax’ on corporations that seek to artificially shift their profits to low tax regimes abroad. He said it would raise £1billion over five years. But experts warn that the so-called ‘Google tax’, whose details will be unveiled today, could prove fiendishly difficult to enforce.", "Women are still paid less then men across the UK and Europe for doing exactly the same job, damning figures reveal. Hourly pay rates for women across Europe are on average 16 per cent lower than for men doing the same work and 19.5 per cent lower in the UK, latest figures reveal today. The gap was highlighted on the eve of European Equal Pay Day - a moveable annual event marked this year on February 28 - the 59th day of the year reflecting the number of extra days women must work to earn 'equal' pay. Regardless of whether they do the same job, men get paid more on average than their female counterparts . The situation is improving, the European Commission hastened to point out today: the first Equal Pay Day, in 2011, was held on March 5 and last year it was on March 2. That reflects a closing of the pay gap from 17.5 per cent to 16. per cent over three years with today’s latest figures reflecting the position across Europe in 2010. The biggest gender pay gap is nearly 28 per cent in Estonia, with the UK's 19.5 per cent the eighth biggest in the 27 member states. Ireland’s pay gap is at 13.9 per cent and the lowest is Slovenia’s 0.9 per cent. 'European Equal Pay Day reminds us of the unequal pay conditions women still face in the labour market ,'said EU Justice and Fundamental Rights Commissioner Viviane Reding. 'While the pay gap has declined in the recent years, there’s no reason to celebrate. The pay gap is still very large and much of the change actually resulted from a decline in men’s earnings rather than an increase for women.' She added: 'The principle of equal pay for equal work is written in the EU Treaties since 1957. It is high time that it is put in practice everywhere.' Estonia 27.7 . Austria 24 . Germany 22.3 . Greece 22.0 (2008) Czech Rep 21.6 . Finland 20.3 . Slovakia 19.6 . UK 19.5 . Netherlands 17.8 . Hungary 17.6 . Cyprus 16.8 . Spain 16.2 . Denmark 16.0 . France 15.6 . Latvia 15.5 . Sweden 15.4 . Lithuania 14.6 . Ireland 13.9 . Malta 13.4 . Bulgaria 13 . Portugal 12.8 . Belgium 10.2 . Romania 8.8 . Luxembourg 8.7 . Italy 5.3 . Poland 4.5Slovenia 0.9 . The commission says the gradual reduction in the pay gap is not necessarily thanks to improving pay and working conditions for women. It may reflect the economic downturn’s impact primarily on male-dominated sectors such as construction and engineering. The issue will be discussed next month at a gathering of more than 150 companies in Brussels to exchange equal pay 'best practice'. A commission report on tightening EU equal pay rules and on how companies should conduct 'gender-neutral job evaluation and job classification systems' is due to be published in the summer. Brussels also wants EU governments to organise their own 'national equal pay days' to put the spotlight on the need for pay parity between the sexes. But while UK women may be paid almost a fifth less compared to their male colelagues, they have more in the bank, . Despite being paid less than men, women savers have about £500 more in the bank than their male counterparts, according to the Halifax. In terms of share of wages, the gap is still more striking: women have 41 per cent of their annual salary in savings, while men have just 23 per cent. The bank says the average man among its account holders has saved up £7,699 – against £8,211, or £512 more, for women. The finding holds true in all regions across England and Wales. The Trades Union Congress analysis, which is based on figures from the Office for National Statistics, says the pay gap also translates into smaller pensions. It found that women aged from 50 to 59 endure the widest gender pay gap of any age group. In their 20s, women typically earn more than men and in their 30s they fall only slightly behind. But the gap grows rapidly in their 40s and reaches a peak in their 50s.", "George Osborne has defended the deal that will leave Britain paying an extra £850 million towards the European Union budget - insisting it was a 'real win' despite accusations he has resorted to 'smoke and mirrors'. Critics claimed the reduction in the £1.7billion bill had been achieved by bringing forward a rebate to which the UK would have been entitled anyway. But the the Chancellor insisted there had been 'real doubt' over whether that clawback would apply to the surcharge. George Osborne has defended the deal that will leave Britain paying an extra £850 million towards the European Union budget . He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'The truth is, as always, we have achieved a real win for British taxpayers and having achieved it everyone says 'oh, of course you were always going to achieve that'. 'But it took a lot of hard discussion, a lot of hard negotiation and it shows that when this government sets out a goal in Europe it goes and achieves it.' Mr Osborne said it was 'not clear' that the rebate was going to apply to the surcharge until the deal was struck in a summit with fellow EU finance ministers in Brussels. The hefty £1.7billion bill was demanded after a recalculation of Britain's gross national income (GNI) relative to the other 27 member states, . He said: 'It was a real doubt about whether the rebate would apply, apply to the extent it has applied. We have got this bill halved.' Polish Finance Minister Mateusz Szczurek (L), George Osborne and European Commissioner Jonathan Hill (R) at the start of a European finance ministers meeting at EU Commission headquarters, in Brussels yesterday . Attack: Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls responded to the deal by saying: 'David Cameron and George Osborne are trying to take the British people for fools' Asked if Britain's contributions to the EU were value for money, he replied: 'I don't think we get full value for money for all those pounds that get sent to the European Union.' Labour has claimed the deal does not save the UK 'a single penny' and accused Mr Osborne and the Prime Minister of 'trying to take the British people for fools'. Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls and Ukip leader Nigel Farage laid into George Osborne on Twitter yesterday . The Chancellor's European counterparts also appeared to contradict the Chancellor's account of the deal. Irish finance minister Michael Noonan said he believed that the UK 'will pay the whole amount' while Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said 'it's not as if the British have been given a discount'. The European Commission's vice-president with responsibility for the budget, Kristalina Georgieva, said the additional contribution being demanded from the UK meant that its rebate was also increased, leading to a 'downward correction' in the overall sum to be paid. Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said on Twitter: 'David Cameron and George Osborne are trying to take the British people for fools. 'Ministers have failed to get a better deal for the British taxpayer. Not a single penny has been saved for the taxpayer compared to two weeks ago when David Cameron was blustering in Brussels. 'By counting the rebate Britain was due anyway, they are desperately trying to claim that the backdated bill for £1.7 billion has somehow been halved. Criticism: Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: 'Osborne (is) trying to spin his way out of disaster. UK still paying full £1.7 billion, his credibility is about to nose-dive. 'But nobody will fall for this smoke and mirrors. The rebate was never in doubt and, in fact, was confirmed by the EU Budget Commissioner last month.' Ukip leader Nigel Farage also weighed into the debate, posting on Twitter: 'Osborne (is) trying to spin his way out of disaster. UK still paying full £1.7 billion, his credibility is about to nose-dive. 'Borrowing what we are rightfully owed in the future to pay an unfair bill being levied now is not a victory. It's a sham.'", "The President of the European Commission has come under fierce scrutiny today after leaked documents show hundreds of firms used Luxembourg tax avoidance deals while he was in charge of the country. Jean-Claude Juncker's previous pledge to bring some 'ethics' to Europe's tax laws is now in doubt after the documents showed more than 300 companies such as Burberry, Heinz, Dyson, Pepsi, IKEA and Deutsche Bank were among those to channel funds through the tiny European nation using complex financial structures. The European Commission said it was already probing the country’s tax practices with a review of Amazon, and would widen this inquiry in the light of new evidence. The leaked papers relate to 340 companies, including Louis Vuitton, Apple, Vodafone, Procter & Gamble and Deutsche Bank. It comes just days after Mr Juncker declared he was 'not frightened' of facing down British Prime Minister David Cameron in the latest salvo of what is becoming an increasingly public spat over Britain's EU tax bill. The so-called 'Luxleaks' documents show that billions of dollars were funneled through Luxembourg, much of it during Mr Juncker's time in charge, thanks to financial structures that allowed companies to slash their tax liabilities, depriving hard-up governments around the world of revenue. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured) presided over Luxembourg while many of the tax avoidance schemes were operating . Mr Juncker presided over the tax affairs of Luxembourg for over two decades, transforming the country from a sleepy European backwater to a prized destination where hundreds of the world's biggest companies channel their affairs. The leaks threaten to undermine his vow to be a more politically involved head of the European Commission, the EU's financial enforcer, especially as he is already embroiled in bitter rows with Cameron and Italy over their budgets. On Wednesday, asked about the tax policies he once led, Mr Juncker said he 'had his ideas' about the matter but would keep them to himself do nothing to affect the EU's investigation. The arrangements – used by hundreds of top companies - were signed off by the European Union state and are all legal. 'These revelations are a major blow to the credibility of new commission president Juncker and his capacity to act for the public interest,' said Sven Giegold, of the Greens group in the European Parliament. Mr Juncker's spokesman said the veteran politician was 'serene' about the revelations, though he pulled out of a public speaking engagement with former commission chief Jacques Delors scheduled later today. Under an hour-long barrage of questions from reporters, the spokesman stressed that EU regulators were already investigating whether Luxembourg's deals with US Internet giant Amazon and the financial arm of Italian carmaker Fiat amounted to illegal state aid. Spokesman Margaritis Schinas said that if the EU found it was in breach of the rules 'Luxembourg will have to take corrective actions'. He added that the EU could widen the probe to companies mentioned in the ICIJ investigation. Scheme: Some of the world's largest firms including top British companies like Dyson are using a Luxembourg tax avoidance scheme 'like a magical fairyland' to get out of paying billions of pounds . The leaked tax papers, analysed by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in a six month investigation, totall nearly 28,000 pages connected to more than 1,000 firms. Mr Cameron and Mr Juncker have been engaged in a bitter dispute in recent weeks as Mr Cameron battles to reduce the £1.7billion surcharge demanded by the EU to cover years of strong economic growth in the UK while Europe struggled. The Commission president said he was ‘not the type who trembles in front of prime ministers’ and warned Mr Cameron that he had ‘a problem’ with other EU leaders. The Prime Minister was stung last month after the budget demand was leaked during a Brussels summit. He has vowed not to pay ‘anything like’ the £1.7billion being demanded by Brussels by December 1. But the revelations are predicted to trigger more calls for politicians to work harder to stop firms taking advantage of international tax rules avoid their tax bills. The Guardian reported last night that Dyson had set up companies in the Isle of Man and Luxembourg to put £300m of internal loans into its UK operations in 2011. The interest payments made on the loans were taxed at only around one per cent in Luxembourg – saving the firm millions. The newspaper also said drugs firm Shire and city trading company Icap had also cut their tax bills with help from Luxembourg. The Guardian said the leaked papers showed 'Luxembourg was acting as a go-between, both enabling and masking tax avoidance, which always takes place beyond its borders'. President: The new president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured) - a former Luxembourg prime minister - has insisted the country is not a tax haven . In its investigation, the ICIJ said global accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers had helped multinationals in question secure at least 548 tax rulings in Luxembourg between 2002 and 2010. The documents uncovered details of so-called Advance Tax Agreements - pre-negotiated deals which set out how companies will be taxed, the same practice that the EU is investigating in the Amazon and Fiat cases. 'It's like taking your tax plan to the government and getting it blessed ahead of time,' the ICIJ quoted Connecticut School of Law tax expert Richard Pomp as saying. The EU has no power over member states' tax affairs as such, but it can probe whether they amount to illegal state aid, which breaches the 28-nation bloc's single market rules. Similar cases have been opened against Ireland for tax deals with tech giant Apple and the Netherlands with coffee chain Starbucks. The ICIJ said its investigation had involved a team of more than 80 journalists from 26 countries working for outlets including The Guardian, Le Monde and Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung. The Guardian acknowledged in its report of the investigation that the Luxembourg arrangements were 'perfectly legal' but noted that they were enabling tax avoidance on 'an industrial scale'. Other companies that benefited from the schemes included Burberry, Procter & Gamble, Heinz, JP Morgan and FedEx. The ICIJ said some companies had been able to achieve effective tax rates of less than one percent on profits channelled through Luxembourg. Stephen Shay, a Harvard Law School professor who has held senior tax roles in the US Treasury, said: 'Clearly the database is evidencing a pervasive enabling by Luxembourg of multinationals' avoidance of taxes [around the world].' He described Luxembourg as being 'like a magical fairyland.' It comes as only last week Prime Minister David Cameron told business leaders he would not tolerate large multinational firms avoiding tax. Cracking down: Last week Prime Minister David Cameron told business leaders he would not tolerate large multinational firms avoiding tax . Mr Cameron said: 'We've cut the rate of corporation tax down to 20 per cent, we're the most competitive place to come and start a business, but here's the deal – if they have a low tax rate, those companies have damn well got to pay it.' And George Osborne is next month expected to announce new measures to stop such businesses diverting its money offshore. Juncker this summer pledged to 'try to put some morality, some ethics, into the European tax landscape'. He has also insisted the country was not a tax haven, The Guardian reported. The newspaper said the findings were put to Shire, Icap and Dyson but all three declined to answer questions and instead issued statements saying they do not engage in tax avoidance and they pay tax in the countries where profits are made. It was also reported last night that a joint venture between the Guardian Media Group and private equity group Apax Partners in 2008 also used a Luxembourg structure when it invested in magazine and events group Emap, now Top Right. A spokesman for GMG said: 'We partnered with a private equity company which regularly used such structures. A Luxembourg entity was used because Apax already had that structure in place. The fact that the parent company is a Luxembourg company does not give rise to any UK corporation tax savings for GMG.' Executives including Justin King, the former chief executive of Sainsbury's, have appeared to defend the multinationals. Mr King, who left the supermarket giant in July, said the situation was 'not black and white' and that, if people did not like the tax methods used by a particular firm, they should shop elsewhere. He said: 'They are not loopholes. They are legitimate tax systems put in place by legitimate governments legitimately elected. Taxing question: Last month, it emerged that Facebook had not paid any corporation tax in the UK for a second year in a row, despite recording sales of £50million . 'It is wrong to lay that at the door of companies operating their business in a structure… constructed by government. 'The first thing you have got to do is hold governments to account for putting those structures in place; that we have seen in Ireland. 'The Irish have come to the conclusion that the 'double Irish' is not acceptable in their own parliament.' Last month, it emerged that Facebook had not paid any corporation tax in the UK for a second year in a row, despite recording sales of £50million, after pushing much of its revenues through a complex scheme in Ireland." ]

[ "Nightmare. A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror." ]

[ "By all evidence, outrageously bad dreams are a universal human experience. Sometimes the dreams are scary enough to jolt the slumberer awake, in which case they meet the formal definition of nightmares bad dreams that wake you up. At other times, they are even worse. The sleeper thinks the nightmare is over, only to step into Your Nested Nightmare, Chapter II.", "What are nightmares? Nightmares are scary dreams that generally wake your child up from sleep and seem very real to him or her. Depending on your child's age, it is often difficult for children to separate a nightmare from reality, even after your child awakes from the nightmare.", "At this point, it may be referred to as Nightmare Disorder (formerly Dream Anxiety Disorder) or repeated nightmares.. Repeated nightmares is defined more specifically as a series of nightmares with a recurring theme. Nightmares usually begin in childhood before age 10 and are considered normal unless they significantly interfere with sleep, development or psychosocial development.", "At this point, it may be referred to as Nightmare Disorder (formerly Dream Anxiety Disorder) or repeated nightmares.. Repeated nightmares is defined more specifically as a series of nightmares with a recurring theme.", "Nightmares and Sleep Terrors. Many people, especially children, can attest to the terror that nightmares cause. Nightmares can be a one-time experience, or they can be recurring, and they can be characterized by their vivid and disturbing content. Nightmares are more common in children, but they can also affect adults[1].", "1 LeFanu ​ suffered all his ​ life from a ​ recurrent nightmare that he was ​ trapped in a ​ falling ​ house. 2 Strange ​ dreams and nightmares ​ oppressed him. 3 Working there was like being ​ trapped in a nightmare. 4 I had a ​ terrible nightmare last ​ night.", "The nightmare is a large, black, wyvern-like creature with a large column of teeth and large horizontal wings. It drops the Nightmare scale which is one of the ingredients to craft the Big Bertha.It also drops rotten flesh and the zookeeper shard.ombat Edit. The Nightmare is a difficult boss as it can vary in sizes and damage. It is stronger than most bosses but weaker than Mobzilla, and the Nightmare is the only mob to actually hurt mobzilla. The minimum and maximum damage it does is 20 - 160, 9 - 30 for defense, and 75 - 1000 health.", "A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) A Nightmare on Elm S…treet 4: The Dream Master (1988) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) ...", "Nightmares are lengthy, elaborate dreams with imagery that evokes fear, anxiety, or sadness. The dreamer may wake up to avoid the perceived danger. Nightmares can be remembered upon awakening and may lead to difficulties returning to sleep or even cause daytime distress. Isolated nightmares are normal, but when dreams that bring extreme terror or anxiety recur often they can become a debilitating sleep disorder.", "Although nightmares are often considered a problem of childhood, adults may experience nightmares as well. Pregnancy can trigger bizarre dreams and nightmares; workers who change shifts routinely may experience shift-work sleep disturbance as well as nightmares.", "He reprised his role as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) and Freddy vs. Jason (2003).", "The word nightmare is derived from the Old English mare, a mythological demon or goblin who torments others with frightening dreams. Subsequently, the prefix night- was added to stress the dream aspect. The word nightmare is cognate with the older Dutch term nachtmerrie and German Nachtmahr.", "Nightmares vs Night Terrors. Nightmares are different from night terrors (sleep terrors) in that they are similar to a regular dream involving images and sound, but the images often invoke fear or anxiety in the subject.", "5th Avenue Holiday Window Displays. Shopping in NYC during the holidays can be a nightmare due to the tourist-packed streets. But there is definitely a redeeming quality to making the trek into the crowds: holiday window displays!", "Freddy's Nightmares. Freddy's Nightmares (full title: Freddy's Nightmares: A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series) is an American horror anthology series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, each story was introduced by Freddy Krueger (played, as in the movies, by Robert Englund).", "This article lists characters seen in the film The Nightmare Before Christmas and two video games: The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King and The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge.", "If you've ever had a nightmare, you're in good company. Almost everyone gets them once in a while — adults, as well as kids. A nightmare is a bad dream. It can may make you feel scared, anxious, or upset, but nightmares are not real and can't harm you. While you sleep, your brain doesn't just turn off. It goes through several sleep stages, including REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.", "Etymology [edit]. Nightmare evokes the modern word for a female horse but the terms are wholly unrelated. The word derives from the Old English mare , a mythological demon or goblin who torments others with frightening dreams. Subsequently, the prefix night- was added to stress the dream-aspect. The word nightmare is cognate with the older German term Nachtmahr.", "While it's true nightmares are more common among children, one out of every two adults has nightmares on occasion. And between 2% and 8% of the adult population is plagued by nightmares.", "When Nightmares Won't Go Away. Nightmare therapy may put chronic nightmares to rest. Yael Levy recalls having chronic nightmares as far back as elementary school, when she was living in Israel. The grandchild of Holocaust survivors, she says her dreams were filled with images of suffering and death.", "Nightmares are frightening dreams that occur during REM sleep and are associated with an increase in heart rate (tachycardia), an increase in the rate of breathing (tachypnea), profuse sweating, and arousal.", "The definition of horrific is terrifying or causing fear. An example of something horrific is a bloody and gory crime scene. horrifying; horrible.", "There can be a number of psychological triggers that cause nightmares in adults. For example, anxiety and depression can cause adult nightmares. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also commonly causes people to experience chronic, recurrent nightmares. Nightmares in adults can be caused by certain sleep disorders. These include sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome. If no other cause can be determined, chronic nightmares may be a distinct sleep disorder. People who have relatives with nightmare disorder may be more likely to have the condition themselves.", "Nightmare disorder is referred to by doctors as a parasomnia — a type of sleep disorder that involves undesirable experiences that occur while you're falling asleep, during sleep or when you're waking up. Nightmares usually occur during the stage of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM). You normally go through four to six sleep cycles a night, cycling through the sleep stages in about 90 minutes. Your REM stage lengthens with each cycle, from several minutes in the first cycle to up to an hour in the last. You're more likely to have a nightmare in the second half to the last third of your night.", "Nightmares occur from time to time in many children, but they are most common in preschoolers (children aged 3-6 years) because this is the age at which normal fears develop and a child’s imagination is very active.Some studies estimate that as many as 50% of children in this age group have nightmares.bout 7% of children who have nightmares have a family history of nightmares (their brother or sister or parents had nightmares). Nightmares are more common in some children, including those with mental retardation, depression, and certain diseases that affect the brain. Nightmares may also be associated with fevers.", "You wake up with your heart pounding, and maybe even with a shout. Isolated nightmares are normal, but when dreams resulting in extreme terror or anxiety recur often they can become a debilitating sleep disorder.epeated nightmares is defined more specifically as a series of nightmares with a recurring theme. Nightmares usually begin in childhood before age 10 and are considered normal unless they significantly interfere with sleep, development or psychosocial development.", "B1 a very ​upsetting or ​frightening ​dream: a ​terrifying nightmare I shouldn't have ​watched that ​movie-it'll give me nightmares. B1 an ​extremely ​unpleasant ​event or ​experience or ​possible ​event or ​experience: The ​whole ​journey was a nightmare-we ​lost ​our ​luggage and both ​flights were ​delayed.", "The subjects of nightmares vary from person to person. There are, though, some common nightmares that many people experience. For example, a lot of adults have nightmares about not being able to run fast enough to escape danger or about falling from a great height.ome people have nightmares after having a late-night snack, which can increase metabolism and signal the brain to be more active. A number of medications also are known to contribute to nightmare frequency.", "The Nightmare Pickaxe is a tool that can mine most blocks and ores. The Nightmare Pickaxe is also the third-best Pickaxe in Pre-Hardmode before the Deathbringer Pickaxe. It is the Corruption equivalent of the Deathbringer Pickaxe.", "This difference between nightmare framework and nightmare details in connection with what might be called “workplace nightmare management and prevention” is as important as and is analogous to the difference between “top-down” and “bottom-up” systems management and scientific method.", "Nightmares in children are common and mostly normal. When your child wakes from nightmares or bad dreams, she needs comfort and reassurance. Nightmares are bad dreams that can cause children to wake in fear and distress. imaginary fears like monsters. Depending on their language ability, children can sometimes tell you about their bad dreams in detail. Nightmares tend to happen in the second half of the night, during phases of REM or dream sleep.", "The definition of a horror is something scary or the feeling of being scared. An example of a horror is a terrifying haunted house." ]

[ "If you have trust issues you should talk to your psychiatrist about it." ]

[ "Again, wrong number for me.", "I have my midterms/finals too.\\nFor math it's a good idea to go over all your tests and quizzes. Take note of what you got wrong and then go over that topic. Make sure that you'll \"never\" get a problem on that topic wrong again. (For me, I find that I make the same mistakes while stating the domain of a function for boxes. So, I'm keeping a \"Watch out for...\" list.) Do as many problems as you need to. Know all the terms and formulas.", "LOL omg I am gonna keep looking for your questions. The reason we bring home left overs and never eat them is because they become unattractive. They use the lighting in the resturaunt to entice you to take them home. Once you get there its like...\"there's a mix up..they gave me the wrong food or something...this is not an attractive shrimp.\"", "Here are some that the CBN has revoked their licenses:\\n\\nAllStates Trust Bank\\nAssurance Bank of Nigeria\\nCity Express Bank\\nEagle Bank\\nMetropolitan Bank\\nSociete Generale Bank\\nTrade Bank\\nTriumph Bank", "Commercial banks in Jamaica include the Bank of Nova Scotia, Citibank, Union Bank, CIBC, National Commerce Bank, and Trafalgar Commercial Bank.\\n\\nTo find local branches of these banks, I'd recommend searching for the bank's name to locate their website." ]

[ "Anche Pdl in simbolo elezioni, candidati scelti ai gazebo" ]

[ "Secondo il Times, il Bayern Monaco &egrave; pronto ad offrire 5,2 milioni di euro per il difensore o...", "Goran Pandev non intende lasciare la Lazio. \"Rientrando a Roma mi hanno detto che avrei parlato di o...", "AMERICA - Ancora 50 milioni di persone non hanno accesso all’acqua potabile in America latina. Questa grave carenza causa un terzo delle morti dei bambini con meno di cinque anni di età Roma (Agenzia Fides) - In tutto il mondo, muoiono ogni anno 1,8 milioni di bambini a causa di diarree, molto più mortali rispetto a tubercolosi, malaria o Hiv/Aids. In America Latina e nei Caraibi, un terzo delle morti dei bambini sono causate dalle ...", "Uno studio di Eurispes e Federcasalinghe sulle economie degli italianiPiù di cinque milioni di nuclei familiari sono già indigenti o a rischio povertà Metà delle famiglie stringono la cinghia \"L'inflazione ritorna a crescere\"", "OGGI SU INTERNET/EUROPA - Master: Promuovere la comunicazione per alimentare sviluppo e speranza Roma (Agenzia Fides) - Fondare una radio, un giornale, un¹agenzia stampa o un canale televisivo nel cuore dell’Africa o dell’America Latina....", "Lo schiaffo riservato al presidente della Commissione non sarebbe stato sufficiente nemmeno in caso di voto negativo per innescare una vera e propria crisi del governo europeo, perché non esistono regole, norme o precedenti in questa materia.", "La perdita dei dati è un problema che affligge milioni di utenti dei computer. Perderli per motivi futili o assurdi è ancor più frustrante. Kroll Ontrack, compagnia specializzata in soluzioni per il recupero" ]

[ "LeFlore County Sheriff Bruce Curnutt said that a father living on Morris Creek Road in Howe shot his son three times Sunday morning after a domestic dispute." ]

[ "An Oklahoma City father is in custody after shooting and killing his own son.", "Monday, neighbors reacted to a father accused of shooting and killing his own son.", "A father and son from St. Joseph have pleaded guilty in the shooting death of the son's friend during a botched robbery.", "A 29-year-old father charged with pointing a gun at his son's baseball coach over playing time has surrendered to Bartlett police.", "A Green Bay father and son are recovering today after a violent dispute Wednesday in which the son slashed his throat in an apparent suicide attempt.", "Police say son shot uncle then father Updated: 15:42, Tuesday March 19, 2013 A man shot his uncle before leaving and returning to the family farm to shoot his father, a Melbourne court has heard.", "A father and his adult son were shot to death Sunday evening in Golden Hill, police said.", "State police are seeking two men in connection with an assault and two shootings early Thursday outside a Washington County bar that left a father and son wounded.", "AP-NDFather-Son Killings,0128 2 men to be tried in June in father, son killings Eds:", "A 50-year-old man was killed and his son critically injured in a drive-by shooting.", "A father killed his adult son in an apparent hunting accident near Singer on Saturday night, according to news reports.", "A 43-year-old Covington man was arrested over the weekend for shooting his own 19-year-old son in the abdomen.", "Police found a father and son dead in their home on River Road, and a woman sharing their home was promptly arrested and charged for their shooting deaths.", "A father and his teenage son were shot dead in a Brooklyn bodega where they worked Wednesday night after they resisted a pair of armed robbers.", "Oklahoma City police are investigating a fatal shooting involving a man and his son.", "An alcoholic father allegedly killed his son for raising objections to his wayward lifestyle at Devarampadu village of Rajupalem mandal.", "A Elgin man remains in critical condition Friday and his son in custody after he allegedly stabbed his father during an altercation late Wednesday night.", "The father and son recently reunited for the first time in 33 years.", "England batsman Kevin Pietersen has become a father for the first time after his wife Jessica gave birth to a son.", "A father and son were killed in a head-on crash on a bridge in the Sunbury area.", "HOUSTON Charges have been filed against an armed suspect wounded by HPD officers after he allegedly stabbed his father to death and then fired shots at Houston police officers.", "A Clarksburg man has been charged with assault to murder after allegedly shooting at a man he believed was stealing a television from his son's house.", "Crews are searching for a missing father and son who never returned home from a fishing trip.", "Authorities are investigating the deaths of a father and son whose bodies were found a week apart.", "This event is to restore broken relationships between fathers and sons to place the fathers back at the head of the family.", "A 50-year-old man hung his neighbour's three-year-old son and himself in the Makause informal settlement near Primrose on Thursday, Gauteng police said.", "A father and son have been accused of stealing thosands from the Little League in Medford.", "A man opened fire on his daughter, who is in her early 20s, and injured her leg, late on Monday night.", "London, Feb 18 Rocker Rod Stewart has become a father for the eighth time at the age of 66, after wife, former model Penny Lancaster, gave birth to a son they have named Aiden.", "The father of the ``Boston bombing suspects'' has accused the FBI of massacre and setting up his sons.", "An Edmonton man accused of shooting his girlfriend's sons in January is indicted by a grand jury.", "An Albert Lea father is accused of beating his 11-year-old son with wood boards." ]

[ "Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. said on Tuesday second-quarter net earnings surged 31 percent on strong investment banking activity as well as trading credit and interest rate products." ]

[ "Merrill Lynch & Co., the biggest U.S. brokerage, on Tuesday said quarterly profit fell slightly amid sharply higher expenses, but its shares rose as a 21 percent jump in revenue helped the firm beat expectations.", "Merrill Lynch &amp; Co. Inc., the biggest U.S. brokerage, on Tuesday said quarterly earnings rose, helped by rising investment banking revenue.", "Merrill Lynch & Co. , the biggest U.S. brokerage, said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit fell 1.8 percent as increased banking and brokerage revenue was offset by higher compensation and other costs.", "A second look at the bumper earnings from Merrill Lynch.", "Merrill Lynch & Co. MER.N on Tuesday said third-quarter profit fell 8 percent, hurt by reduced trading in debt and equity markets.", "U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. MER.N on Tuesday said third-quarter profit fell 8 percent, hurt by reduced trading in debt and equity markets which pushed revenue below expectations.", "Merrill Lynch & Company said today third-quarter profit fell 8 percent, hurt by reduced investment banking and trading.", "Morgan Stanley on Wednesday said its second-quarter profit rose 40 percent, trouncing expectations as a number of trading and investment banking businesses achieved record results.", "Row, row, row your barge gently up a creek / Merrill Lynch, Merrill Lynch, Merrill Lynch, Merrill Lynch / life is but a dream ... .. especially on Wall Street, where Merrill, the world&#39;s largest securities", "Merrill Lynch announces better than expected results as investment banking offsets sub-prime mortgage problems.", "The publisher said second-quarter profit rose 25.4 percent, to $277 million, driven by good results at its Standard & Poor’s unit.", "The company’s second-quarter profit rose 37 percent after factoring in losses from assets it sold, but on a continuing basis results fell on buyout costs at its newspapers.", "WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Staples Inc. said Tuesday second-quarter earnings rose 33 percent as the office-products retailer adjusted higher its profit growth target for the year.", "The company said second-quarter profit rose 7 percent, to $460 million, helped by higher information technology sales and an insurance gain at its shipbuilding unit.", "Several Merrill Lynch &amp; Co. executives knew Enron Corp. pushed hard for the brokerage to buy interest in three barges by the end of 1999 so the energy company could book the profit, a former credit analyst for Merrill Lynch said Thursday.", "Investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on Tuesday said its second-quarter profit rose 27 percent as surging bond underwriting and stock trading revenue more than made up for bond trading results hurt by U.S. mortgage weakness.", "British Airways shares rise 4% after Merrill Lynch says Heathrow's new Terminal Five will boost the airline.", "Four former Merrill Lynch employees and an ex-Enron executive are found guilty of artificially inflating the energy firm's profits.", "The company posted a second-quarter profit of $182 million, helped by strong international beverage and bakery sales.", "The consumer electronics retailer said 2nd-quarter profit rose to $250 million on strong international results and tighter spending controls.", "The cardiovascular device maker said its second-quarter profit, excluding charges, was $271 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with $412 million, or 31 cents per share, a year ago.", "Wall Street was higher after a better-than-expected profit report at Research in Motion and on word that Merrill Lynch might have lined up a cash infusion from a Singapore fund.", "A Merrill Lynch lawyer said she would not have approved the purchase of power barges from Enron if she knew there was a verbal agreement for the Houston company to buy them back at a fixed profit for Merrill.", "- Citigroup expects a $15 billion fourth-quarter write-down at Merrill Lynch & Co Inc and said CDO/subprime exposures will decline by 50 percent to 70 percent in aggregate.", "National City Corp , a large U.S. Midwest bank, on Wednesday said third-quarter profit fell 80 percent, as mortgage losses mounted even after the sale of a subprime lending unit to Merrill Lynch & Co .", "Mac Gardner, a senior brokerage executive at Merrill Lynch & Co Inc , is leaving the company, Merrill said on Friday.", "TechWeb - Merrill Lynch's On-Demand Index shows a slight increase in subscription and hosted software in the second quarter.", "The household appliance maker said its second-quarter profit rose 77 percent as strong international growth offset weak industry demand and higher material prices.", "The company reported strong second-quarter results and said its profits for all of 2007 would beat analysts’ expectations.", "Blog: Net income for the second quarter was $925 million, or $2.93 a share, up from $721 million, or $2.33 a share, a year earlier.", "Profits at the drugmaker increased 13 percent in the second quarter on higher sales of its arthritis drug and pneumonia vaccine.", "French banking group Societe Generale has reported that second-quarter net profit rose by 37.9 percent, with its finance and investment divisions posting strong growth amid market volatility." ]

[ "Tea Schook" ]

[ "nuclear power plants went into meltdown" ]

[ "Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles is claiming victory in the Charlotte mayoral race. Lyles ran for a second term against Republican David Michael Rice. With 100% of precincts reporting, Lyles had 78% of the votes, Rice had 22%. \"In 2017, we made history with the commitment to bring better-paying jobs, affordable housing and transportation to Charlotte,\" Lyles said to a group at her election watch event Tuesday night. \"Tonight, we've done it again, as...\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJUprN.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Vi Lyles\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q42832532\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [40], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Vi Lyles\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina\", \"Type\": \"U\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q6797687\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [24], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Charlotte Mayor\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Vi Lyles\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q42832532\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [16, 76, 177, 347], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Vi Lyles\", \"Lyles\", \"Lyles\", \"Lyles\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina\", \"Type\": \"U\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q6797687\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Charlotte Mayor\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Charlotte, North Carolina\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q16565\", \"Confidence\": 0.923, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [52, 335], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Charlotte\", \"Charlotte\"]}]\nN59699\ttravel\ttravelarticle\t'Huge Bar' Opens In NoVa, Metro Assault, Best Pizza | News Nearby\tThe top news in Virginia and D.C. over the past week, including an active winter predicted for our area.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIGpXb.html\t[]\t[{\"Label\": \"Washington, D.C.\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q61\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [29], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"D.C.\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Virginia\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1370\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [16], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Virginia\"]}]\nN56837\tnews\tnewsworld\tMurder Suspect in Case Behind Hong Kong Protests to Surrender, Paper Says\tThe suspect in a Taiwan murder case that sparked Hong Kong's biggest political crisis in decades is willing to turn himself in to Taiwanese authorities, a Hong Kong newspaper reported.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIXA7o.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Hong Kong\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q8646\", \"Confidence\": 0.997, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [30], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Hong Kong\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Hong Kong\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q8646\", \"Confidence\": 0.997, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [49, 155], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Hong Kong\", \"Hong Kong\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Taiwan\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q865\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [17], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Taiwan\"]}]\nN14891\tfinance\tfinance-companies\tAmazon expects one-day shipping will cost it $1.5 billion over the holidays\tAmazon is preparing itself for additional one-day shipping expenses during the fourth quarter of 2019.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJkL4u.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Amazon (company)\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q3884\", \"Confidence\": 0.993, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Amazon\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Amazon (company)\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q3884\", \"Confidence\": 0.993, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Amazon\"]}]\nN56443\thealth\thealthnews\t1-in-3 young children undernourished or overweight: UNICEF\tA third of the world's nearly 700 million children under five years old are undernourished or overweight and face lifelong health problems as a consequence, according to a grim UN assessment of childhood nutrition released Tuesday.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIMQLq.html\t[{\"Label\": \"UNICEF\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q740308\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [52], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"UNICEF\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"United Nations\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1065\", \"Confidence\": 0.983, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [177], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"UN\"]}]\nN5884\tsports\tbaseball_mlb\tChicago Cubs Hiring David Ross As New Manager: Reports\tRoss will return to the Cubs three years after his Game 7 home run in the 2016 World Series, the team will announce Thursday, ESPN reported.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJexqP.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Chicago Cubs\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q246782\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Chicago Cubs\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Chicago Cubs\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q246782\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [24], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Cubs\"]}, {\"Label\": \"2016 World Series\", \"Type\": \"U\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q24906838\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [74], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"2016 World Series\"]}, {\"Label\": \"ESPN\", \"Type\": \"M\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q217776\", \"Confidence\": 0.973, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [126], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"ESPN\"]}]\nN61882\tnews\tnewsus\tMichigan 2019 Election: Live Results\tHere's a look at the local elections we are watching around Michigan.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJUprX.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Michigan\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1166\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Michigan\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Michigan\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1166\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [60], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Michigan\"]}]\nN27618\tsports\tbasketball_nba\t3 people injured in a Tampa house party shooting\tThree people were taken to the hospital after a shooting at a house party early Sunday. Tampa police say they responded to a shooting call at a home in the area of 1700 East Mulberry and Marks drives. Three people were found injured and taken to the hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known. Police are currently not looking for suspects, and there is no threat to the public. More information is expected to be released later today....\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJq6EB.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Tampa, Florida\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q49255\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [22], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Tampa\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Tampa Police Department\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q17108212\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [88], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Tampa police\"]}]\nN13501\tnews\tnewsopinion\tFor this president, alliances are strictly business\tIntegrity lowers the price of capital.\" An extremely successful investor once told me that. The context at the time was Donald Trump's impending takeover of the GOP.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIXAdu.html\t[]\t[{\"Label\": \"Donald Trump\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q22686\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [121], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Donald Trump\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Republican Party (United States)\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q29468\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [162], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"GOP\"]}]\nN10966\tnews\tnewsopinion\tNo Quid Pro Quo?\tAs evidence mounts, the GOP defense of Trump's call is falling apart.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJkL86.html\t[]\t[{\"Label\": \"Donald Trump\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q22686\", \"Confidence\": 0.995, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [39], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Trump\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Republican Party (United States)\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q29468\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [24], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"GOP\"]}]\nN36399\tsports\tbasketball_nba\tAlfonzo McKinnie struggles to capitalize on opportunity in Warriors' preseason loss\tLOS ANGELES The Warriors' 104-98 preseason loss to the Lakers on Monday night ran low on significance: All-Stars sat, Los Angeles two days removed from a China trip dealt with jet lag, social media buzzed more about pregame comments than on-court action. But for at least one player, Warriors forward Alfonzo McKinnie, this low-stakes exhibition could help determine his NBA future. With training-camp invitee Marquese Chriss forcing his way...\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIMQX8.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Golden State Warriors\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q157376\", \"Confidence\": 0.972, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [59], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Warriors\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Alfonzo McKinnie\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q32859236\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Alfonzo McKinnie\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Marquese Chriss\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q23771652\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [416], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Marquese Chriss\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Golden State Warriors\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q157376\", \"Confidence\": 0.972, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [18, 290], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Warriors\", \"Warriors\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Alfonzo McKinnie\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q32859236\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [307], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Alfonzo McKinnie\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Los Angeles Lakers\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q121783\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [57], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Lakers\"]}, {\"Label\": \"NBA All-Star Game\", \"Type\": \"E\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q137341\", \"Confidence\": 0.923, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [105], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"All-Stars\"]}, {\"Label\": \"National Basketball Association\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q155223\", \"Confidence\": 0.989, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [377], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"NBA\"]}]\nN3847\tsports\tfootball_nfl\tAlex Smith injury update: Redskins QB reveals he had 17 surgeries on broken leg\tAlex Smith was back on the practice field Tuesday, 11 months after his gruesome leg injury.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIS17Z.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Alex Smith\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q717897\", \"Confidence\": 0.996, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Alex Smith\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Alex Smith\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q717897\", \"Confidence\": 0.996, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Alex Smith\"]}]\nN56927\ttravel\ttravelarticle\tThe Mission to Scan the Whole Planet with Lidar Before It's Too Late\tAmidst the climate crisis, this archaeologist calls his plan \"the ultimate gift to future generations.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJexqh.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Lidar\", \"Type\": \"U\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q504027\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [42], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Lidar\"]}]\t[]\nN5452\tfinance\tmarkets\tWorld finance officials facing host of problems\tWASHINGTON (AP) The leaders of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund and its sister organization, the World Bank, are laying out their visions for the future, hoping to achieve a world with less extreme poverty and more economic growth.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIXAgL.html\t[]\t[{\"Label\": \"International Monetary Fund\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q7804\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [48], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"International Monetary Fund\"]}]\nN19226\tnews\tnewsus\tMiss Minnesota Works To Raise Awareness Of Updated Competition\tMendota Heights native Kathryn Kueppers is making it her mission to inform the public about \"Miss Minnesota 2.0.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJESTj.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Miss Minnesota\", \"Type\": \"E\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q6877066\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Miss Minnesota\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Miss Minnesota\", \"Type\": \"E\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q6877066\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [93], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Miss Minnesota\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Mendota Heights, Minnesota\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1992845\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Mendota Heights\"]}]\nN8582\tnews\tnewspolitics\tBeto O'Rourke Drops Out of the Presidential Race\tFormer Representative Beto O'Rourke of Texas announced on Friday that he was dropping out of the presidential race, ending a campaign in which he struggled for months to recapture the energy of his insurgent 2018 Senate candidacy on a national stage full of other big personalities and liberal champions. Mr. O'Rourke made the decision to quit the race in the middle of this week, on the eve of a gathering of Democratic presidential candidates in...\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJIkfF.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Beto O'Rourke\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q4014532\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Beto O'Rourke\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Beto O'Rourke\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q4014532\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [22, 309], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Beto O'Rourke\", \"O'Rourke\"]}, {\"Label\": \"2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates\", \"Type\": \"N\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q5255733\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [410], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Democratic presidential candidates\"]}, {\"Label\": \"United States Senate\", \"Type\": \"B\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q66096\", \"Confidence\": 0.994, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [213], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Senate\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Texas\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1439\", \"Confidence\": 0.998, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [39], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Texas\"]}, {\"Label\": \"United States House of Representatives\", \"Type\": \"B\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q11701\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [7], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Representative\"]}]\nN14127\tsports\tbaseball_mlb\t'We got our swagger back:' World Series is tied, but it's clear the Astros have taken control | Opinion\tThe Astros may have lost the first two games of the World Series, but they got their swagger back heading into Game 5 with the series tied 2-2.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJq6IN.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Houston Astros\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q848117\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [68], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Astros\"]}, {\"Label\": \"World Series\", \"Type\": \"E\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q265538\", \"Confidence\": 0.974, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [27], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"World Series\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Houston Astros\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q848117\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [4], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Astros\"]}, {\"Label\": \"World Series\", \"Type\": \"E\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q265538\", \"Confidence\": 0.974, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [52], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"World Series\"]}]\nN11729\tnews\tnewspolitics\tTrump's Opposition to 'Endless Wars' Appeals to Those Who Fought Them\tA majority of veterans regret the wars fought after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. President Trump and Congress are listening.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJIkfR.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Perpetual war\", \"Type\": \"C\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1469686\", \"Confidence\": 0.978, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [23], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Endless Wars\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Donald Trump\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q22686\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [83], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"President Trump\"]}, {\"Label\": \"United States Congress\", \"Type\": \"B\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q11268\", \"Confidence\": 0.998, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [103], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Congress\"]}]\nN7255\tmusic\tmusicnews\tPhil Collins takes sold-out crowd at Talking Stick Resort Arena on an emotional journey\tReview: Phil Collins can no longer drum and performs from a chair, but that didn't stop him from selling out Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIS18i.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Phil Collins\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q144622\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Phil Collins\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Talking Stick Resort Arena\", \"Type\": \"S\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1538690\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [37], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Talking Stick Resort Arena\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Phil Collins\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q144622\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [8], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Phil Collins\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Talking Stick Resort Arena\", \"Type\": \"S\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1538690\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [109], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Talking Stick Resort Arena\"]}]\nN2241\tsports\tfootball_nfl\tThe Linc - Robby Anderson and Big V included in latest Eagles trade buzz\tPhiladelphia Eagles news and links for 10/27/19.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJq6PK.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Big V\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q4906632\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [30], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Big V\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Robby Anderson\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q26837901\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [11], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Robby Anderson\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Philadelphia Eagles\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q219714\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [55], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Eagles\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Philadelphia Eagles\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q219714\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Philadelphia Eagles\"]}]\nN38099\tnews\tnewsus\tBaltimore DOT to shut down portion of Pennsylvania Avenue\tThe Baltimore City Department of Transportation is advising motorists that roadway resurfacing work has started along a portion of Pennsylvania Avenue. Starting on Tuesday, Oct. 29, milling and paving work will begin along Pennsylvania Avenue between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Franklin Street. Full street closures in both directions will be implemented daily between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day, weather permitting. In addition, parking...\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJwB9n.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Baltimore\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q5092\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Baltimore DOT\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Interstate 395 (Maryland)\", \"Type\": \"S\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q2213992\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [251], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Baltimore\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q5092\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [4], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Baltimore City Department of Transportation\"]}]\nN53398\tnews\tnewscrime\tForsyth deputies say armed man pointed gun at them before being shot\tAuthorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting in Forsyth County.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJkLF1.html\t[]\t[]\nN33117\tnews\tnewspolitics\tU.S. House impeachment probe on Trump hears from ex-aide to secretary of state\tA former adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who abruptly resigned last week, on Wednesday spoke to an impeachment inquiry into allegations President Donald Trump pursued political interests in his dealings with Ukraine.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIS1B5.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Donald Trump\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q22686\", \"Confidence\": 0.977, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [32], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Trump\"]}, {\"Label\": \"United States House of Representatives\", \"Type\": \"B\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q11701\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"U.S. House\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Donald Trump\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q22686\", \"Confidence\": 0.977, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [151], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"President Donald Trump\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Ukraine\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q212\", \"Confidence\": 0.998, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [223], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Ukraine\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Mike Pompeo\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q473239\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [44], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Mike Pompeo\"]}, {\"Label\": \"United States Secretary of State\", \"Type\": \"U\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q14213\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [20], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"U.S. Secretary of State\"]}]\nN19255\tsports\tfootball_nfl\tHouston Texans News: October 25, 2019\tYour one-stop shop for Houston Texans, local sports, and news from around the league for Friday, October 25, 2019.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJkLGe.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Houston Texans\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q223514\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Houston Texans\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Houston Texans\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q223514\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [23], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Houston Texans\"]}]\nN15503\tsports\tfootball_nfl\tNFL Week 7 Power Rankings: Subtle differences between playoff teams and also-rans\tNFL Week 7 Power Rankings: Subtle differences between playoff teams and also-rans\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIMRjD.html\t[{\"Label\": \"National Football League\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1215884\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"NFL\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Sports rating system\", \"Type\": \"C\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q7579939\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [11], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Power Rankings\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"National Football League\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1215884\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"NFL\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Sports rating system\", \"Type\": \"C\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q7579939\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [11], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Power Rankings\"]}]\nN55472\tautos\tautosnews\tMan says dealership called him wanting car back months after driving off lot\tImagine, months after you buy a brand-new car, the dealer calling and demanding you return it. But not because you missed a payment.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIXD0W.html\t[]\t[]\nN54835\tlifestyle\tlifestyleroyals\tKate Middleton and Prince William Go Back to School During Their First Outing on Pakistan Tour\tWilliam and Kate Visit School for Girls on Pakistan Tour\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIMRtl.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q10479\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Kate Middleton\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Outing (magazine)\", \"Type\": \"M\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q7112083\", \"Confidence\": 0.927, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [71], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Outing\"]}]\t[]\nN3379\tnews\tnewsscienceandtechnology\tWhat is quantum computing and how will it affect you?\tGoogle said on Wednesday it had achieved a breakthrough in computer research, by solving a complex problem in minutes with a so-called quantum computer that would take today's most powerful supercomputer thousands of years to crack.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJexwQ.html\t[]\t[]\nN5132\tnews\tnewsworld\tGunmen kill about 15 people in attack on Burkina Faso mosque\tGunmen killed about 15 people in an attack on a mosque in northern Burkina Faso during prayers on Friday evening, a security source and a local official told Reuters.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIGpgy.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Burkina Faso\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q965\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [41], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Burkina Faso\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Burkina Faso\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q965\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [67], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Burkina Faso\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Reuters\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q130879\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [158], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Reuters\"]}]\nN27980\tsports\tmma\tUFC on ESPN+ 20 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Ben Askren nets just $3,500\tUFC on ESPN+ 20 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC's deal with Reebok.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJq6Sz.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Ben Askren\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q203633\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [55], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Ben Askren\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Ultimate Fighting Championship\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q186471\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [112], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"UFC\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Reebok\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q466183\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [128], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Reebok\"]}]\nN16012\tsports\tfootball_nfl\tDaily Slop: Redskins Media Links Roundup\tA collection of Redskins articles from around the web\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJwBDF.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Washington Redskins\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q212654\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [12], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Redskins\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Washington Redskins\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q212654\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [16], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Redskins\"]}]\nN23806\tsports\tfootball_ncaa\tUW officials request NCAA reconsider decision on Micah Potter and declare him eligible\tForward Micah Potter, who transferred to UW last December from Ohio State believes he shouldn't be forced to sit out the first semester.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIXD0Y.html\t[{\"Label\": \"National Collegiate Athletic Association\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q271805\", \"Confidence\": 0.962, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [21], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"NCAA\"]}]\t[]\nN64112\tnews\tnewsus\tThirty months after fatal Firestone blast, Colorado's widening web of underground pipelines still not fully mapped\tColorado leaders promised back in 2017 that they'd do all they could to make sure a tragedy like the Firestone home explosion never happens again. They promised comprehensive public pipeline maps and better inspections to detect leaks along underground lines. But that still hasn't been done.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJq6UO.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Colorado\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1261\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [43], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Colorado\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Colorado\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1261\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Colorado\"]}]\nN34426\tlifestyle\tlifestylebuzz\t'It was a nightmare!' Fans who received emails for Ryder Cup ticket lottery found event sold out\tKOHLER -- The Ryder Cup 2020 will be held Sept. 25-27, 2020 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, and a lottery system was implemented to ensure the average person would have a fair shot at getting a ticket. Some said it was over-hyped and did not deliver. \"You get this e-mail a week beforehand saying, 'You're in,' so naturally, you're just really excited,\" said Courtney Shattuck. The ...\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIXD1q.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Ryder Cup\", \"Type\": \"U\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q854376\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [51], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Ryder Cup\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Ryder Cup\", \"Type\": \"U\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q854376\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [10], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"The Ryder Cup\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Kohler, Wisconsin\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1675911\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [84], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Kohler\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Whistling Straits\", \"Type\": \"F\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q7994077\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [63], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Whistling Straits\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Wisconsin\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1537\", \"Confidence\": 0.997, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [92], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Wisconsin\"]}]\nN3913\tnews\tnewsus\tHartford's Weaver forging a new identity at campus shared by public, magnet students\tStudents at Hartford's new Weaver campus are working to erase stark lines dividing the building's two school communities, the public school drawing students from the neighborhoods and the magnet arts school that mostly serves the suburbs. Working with staff and administrators, they're trying to counteract some of the unintended consequences of relocating and reorganizing three high schools ...\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJkLdY.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Hartford, Connecticut\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q33486\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Hartford\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Hartford, Connecticut\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q33486\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [12], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Hartford\"]}]\nN374\ttravel\ttravelarticle\tFormer NASA scientist says they found life on Mars in the 1970s\tWe may have already discovered the essence of life on Mars 40 years ago, according to a former NASA scientist.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIMSPx.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Mars\", \"Type\": \"L\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q111\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [46], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Mars\"]}, {\"Label\": \"NASA\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q23548\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [7], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"NASA\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Mars\", \"Type\": \"L\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q111\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [54], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Mars\"]}, {\"Label\": \"NASA\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q23548\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [95], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"NASA\"]}]\nN28692\tfinance\tfinancenews\tJudge tosses Uber lawsuit against NYC's for-hire vehicle cap\tUber filed the lawsuit against the city in February\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJIkn5.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Uber\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q780442\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [13], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Uber\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Uber\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q780442\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Uber\"]}]\nN18043\tsports\tfootball_nfl\tBill Belichick says salary cap 'is a factor' in potential Patriots move before NFL trade deadline\tThe NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. today. The Patriots still have a few areas that could use a boost, but a tight salary cap might limit their movement.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJwBa8.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Bill Belichick\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q720027\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Bill Belichick\"]}, {\"Label\": \"New England Patriots\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q193390\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [58], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Patriots\"]}, {\"Label\": \"National Football League\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1215884\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [79], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"NFL\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"New England Patriots\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q193390\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [44], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Patriots\"]}, {\"Label\": \"National Football League\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1215884\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [4], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"NFL\"]}]\nN9647\tvideo\twonder\tScientists freak out over deep sea feast\tA team of researchers stumbled upon a \"whale fall,\" a carcass of a baleen whale, during a live-streamed deep-sea dive. Incredible video shows a wide variety of sea creatures feasting on it.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIXD2w.html\t[]\t[]\nN63345\tnews\tnewsus\tPolice look for suspect in Auburn crash that killed 1, injured 2\tA driver who police say intended to hit two people remains at large after injuring two and killing a third victim early Wednesday morning, Auburn police said. Police have not released many details, but they said the incident is being investigated as an assault with a deadly weapon. Two people were hit by the car shortly before 2 a.m. in the 100 block of Cleveland Avenue. Witnesses told police the crash was intentional. One of the victims...\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIS1FP.html\t[]\t[]\nN47776\tweather\tweathertopstories\tTrampoline 'Repositioned' as Severe Weather Leaves Thousands Without Power\tA trampoline ended up suspended from a house in Clarksville, Tennessee, footage posted on 26 October showed, as the area was hit by sever weather conditions that left thousands of people without electricity, according to reports. The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warming for Clarksville, where trees were also reportedly knocked over. Credit: Jimmy Woullard via Storyful\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJq6nK.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Severe weather\", \"Type\": \"C\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q741507\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [29], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Severe Weather\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Clarksville, Tennessee\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q328941\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [48, 300], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Clarksville\", \"Clarksville\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Storyful\", \"Type\": \"N\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q19716893\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [387], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Storyful\"]}, {\"Label\": \"National Weather Service\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1066823\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [234], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"National Weather Service\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Tennessee\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1509\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [61], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Tennessee\"]}]\nN37934\tlifestyle\tlifestylefamilyandrelationships\tTwo Brides Did A Deadlift At Their Wedding As A Symbol Of Unity And Strength\tLisa Yang and Wek Hernandez, did three tandem deadlifts in their gowns during their wedding ceremony. Fitness is a big part of their relationship, which includes weightlifting date nights.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJwBac.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle\", \"Type\": \"E\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q43890449\", \"Confidence\": 0.977, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [29], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Their Wedding\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Brides (magazine)\", \"Type\": \"M\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q4966136\", \"Confidence\": 0.997, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [4], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Brides\"]}, {\"Label\": \"GCE Advanced Level\", \"Type\": \"U\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q379609\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [43], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"As A\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle\", \"Type\": \"E\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q43890449\", \"Confidence\": 0.977, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [78], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"their wedding\"]}]\nN40356\tmovies\tmovies-gallery\tAll 112 of Netflix's notable original movies, ranked from worst to best\tTo find out which Netflix original films are worth watching, we turned to Rotten Tomatoes to rank everything from \"Roma\" to \"Bright.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJIknr.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Netflix\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q907311\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [11], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Netflix\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Netflix\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q907311\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [18], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Netflix\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Roma (2018 film)\", \"Type\": \"W\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q27959455\", \"Confidence\": 0.983, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [115], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Roma\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Bright (film)\", \"Type\": \"W\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q27825886\", \"Confidence\": 0.995, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [125], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Bright\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Rotten Tomatoes\", \"Type\": \"M\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q105584\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [74], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Rotten Tomatoes\"]}]\nN44844\tnews\tnewsus\tEpiscopal, Bolles to start random drug and alcohol testing on students\tTwo First Coast Schools announced that they will be launching a program of random drug and alcohol testing for students next year. Bolles and Episcopal, both private schools, made the announcement in a letter sent out to parents on Wednesday. In the letter, both schools say tha testing will begin in September 2020 where a school nurse from each campus will administer a saliva drug test to a randomly selected group of students. If the results are...\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJey4X.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Bolles School\", \"Type\": \"F\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q14685831\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [11], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Bolles\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Bolles School\", \"Type\": \"F\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q14685831\", \"Confidence\": 0.999, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [131], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Bolles\"]}, {\"Label\": \"First Coast\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q21855507\", \"Confidence\": 0.994, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [4], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"First Coast\"]}]\nN33588\tautos\tautossports\tReview: The 775-HP Roush Mustang is More Powerful Than a Shelby GT500, But Is It Better?\t\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJUq3R.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Shelby Mustang\", \"Type\": \"V\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q282617\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [57], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Shelby GT500\"]}]\t[]\nN44404\tsports\ticehockey_nhl\tWill the Kings trade Jonathan Quick after his poor start to the season?\tThrough two starts, Quick is 0-2 and has allowed a shocking 14 goals on just 56 shots.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIGpit.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Jonathan Quick\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q631758\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [21], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Jonathan Quick\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Los Angeles Kings\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q203008\", \"Confidence\": 0.966, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [9], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Kings\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Jonathan Quick\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q631758\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [20], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Quick\"]}]\nN35707\tfinance\tfinancenews\tJOB ALERT: UPS to hold job fairs in metro Atlanta for seasonal hiring\tIn an effort to hire 100,000 workers for the busy holiday shipping season, UPS will hold job fairs in metro Atlanta and across the country this Friday Nov. 1\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJwBcM.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Atlanta\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q23556\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [42], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Atlanta\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Atlanta\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q23556\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [108], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Atlanta\"]}]\nN52235\tsports\tfootball_nfl\tBrowns coach Freddie Kitchens defends end of first-half management: 'I am always going to be aggressive'\tBEREA, Ohio -- Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens was trying to be aggressive on Sunday at the end of the first half and he vowed to remain aggressive. \"Listen, I am always going to be aggressive,\" Kitchens said on Monday, \"always, and I expect our team to go out and stop them after a score. That is what I expect.\" The series in question started at the Browns' 20-yard line with 5:02 left in ...\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAIMa1P.html\t[{\"Label\": \"Freddie Kitchens\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q5496752\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [13], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Freddie Kitchens\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Cleveland Browns\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q223527\", \"Confidence\": 0.997, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Browns\"]}]\t[{\"Label\": \"Freddie Kitchens\", \"Type\": \"P\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q5496752\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [33, 198], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Freddie Kitchens\", \"Kitchens\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Cleveland Browns\", \"Type\": \"O\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q223527\", \"Confidence\": 0.997, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [15, 355], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Browns\", \"Browns\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Berea, Ohio\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q818897\", \"Confidence\": 1.0, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [0], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"BEREA\"]}, {\"Label\": \"Ohio\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1397\", \"Confidence\": 0.993, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [7], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"Ohio\"]}]\nN10476\ttravel\ttravelnews\tNJ Woman Rescued After Falling Into Well On Property\tA New Jersey woman took a hard fall deep into a well she had no idea was in her backyard on Friday; CBS2's Charlie Cooper reports.\thttps://assets.msn.com/labs/mind/AAJIkp5.html\t[]\t[{\"Label\": \"New Jersey\", \"Type\": \"G\", \"WikidataId\": \"Q1408\", \"Confidence\": 0.998, \"OccurrenceOffsets\": [2], \"SurfaceForms\": [\"New Jersey\"]}]\nN63968\ttravel\ttravelarticle\tUnion calls off Milwaukee County bus drivers' strike\tThe leader of the Milwaukee County transit union said Wednesday afternoon there will not be a bus drivers strike at this time. James Macon, president of Milwaukee County's Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998, said earlier in the day that drivers could go on strike as soon as Thursday. County bus drivers were waiting for the Milwaukee County Transit System to respond to a recent letter about their contract proposal. \"We followed through on the..." ]

[ "Denny Hamlin vies for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, while Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. each seek their second on Sunday.", "There are stories Tim Duncan never will hear, even though he starred in them. The truth is he started coaching one of his current pupils 16 years ago, way back before he'd volunteered for the job, and probably before he even had any idea he'd want it. Trey Lyles remembers those early training sessions, though. He was 7 at the time, already taller than every kid at his elementary school in Indianapolis, and his father had plans. Tom Lyles had...", "DALLAS, Ga. (AP) Voters and county election supervisors testing Georgia's new election machines gave favorable reviews Tuesday, despite a few glitches, as the state rushes to meet a court-ordered deadline to retire its outdated, paperless system before any votes are cast in 2020. State election officials piloted the $106 million system that combines touchscreens with paper ballots in six mostly rural counties holding elections for mayors, city...", "The undefeated 49ers had compiled some historic statistics entering Thursday's game at Arizona, but head coach Kyle Shanahan found one set of numbers hilarious. The source of amusement was tight end Ross Dwelley's stat line: three catches, negative-1 yard. \"We were messing with Dwelley all week,\" Shanahan said. \"We said the No. 1 goal in this game was to win, but the No. 2 goal was to improve his yards-per-catch average.\" Done and done. Shanahan...", "We wondered, so we put the Original Venice Crew in our long-term Stinger GT.", "DAYTONA BEACH -- A few years ago, Daytona Beach officials realized the short-term rental market had quietly entrenched itself in their city. Thousands of the rentals, booked through online sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo, have been in areas of the city where they're not allowed. Code enforcement officers have done their best to chase down the property owners and shut down the illegal rentals, ...", "(WWJ) A $1 billion ballot proposal is among the many decisions to be made on Election Day this Tuesday. While it doesn't bring the excitement of a presidential election year, there are still plenty of important decisions to be made. For instance, voters in the Ann Arbor School District will be asked to decide the one billion dollar question. Mayors races and city council seats will also be voted on Tuesday, as will several proposals dealing with...", "We mostly think of German performance cars in terms of sport sedans, but some of the greatest supercars ever made hail from this nation.", "The 49ers got bad news on the injury front. Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and defensive tackle DJ Jones were both ruled out early in the second half Monday night. Sanders left early in the second quarter with a rib injury after two catches for 24 yards. Jones left around the same time with a groin injury. He notched a sack before exiting. They were both ruled questionable at first. Now they're done for the game. Center Weston Richburg was...", "PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Even as the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors continues to look for a way to remove embattled Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen from his elected office amid accusations of international adoption fraud, state officials are wondering if they might need to get involved. Arizona has tossed out a governor. The Legislature has booted state lawmakers. But at the county level, there's not much that can be done to remove...", "INDIANAPOLIS -- The Dolphins won -- again. Miami has a two-game win streak, they've improved to 2-7 and they're facing a stretch of seven games to close the season in which they could realistically win three or four. That would be a stunning reversal after an 0-7 start. Brian Flores and staff are getting it done. Want proof? The Dolphins have covered the Las Vegas point spread in five ...", "Republican political operative Roger Stone undermined the effectiveness of the congressional investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election by repeatedly and deliberately lying under oath to help Donald Trump's presidential campaign avoid embarrassment, prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments at his trial Wednesday. Defense attorneys countered that Stone had done nothing deliberately illegal and claimed the...", "It appears we have another Helmetgate situation on our hands in the NFL. While it's become somewhat of a minor note in terms of his overarching saga Antonio Brown created", "The New Orleans Saints insisted they were ready for the challenge once Drew Brees went down. All they've done since is back up their words with wins. Teddy Bridgewater threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns, and the Saints improved to 5-0 without their injured star quarterback by beating the Chicago Bears 36-25 on Sunday. The Saints (6-1) again showed why they still see themselves as Super Bowl contenders even though their star quarterback is...", "We asked all the busy parents we know to share the one thing they buy over and over again at Costco to make life a little easier.", "Groundbreaking lung biopsy research focused on vaping is being done right here in Cleveland. Dr. Sanjay Mukhopadhyay is excited about his pathology research. \"When we started seeing the same kind of findings in different patients, we got suspicious that we are looking at the same phenomenon\" says Dr. Mukhopadhyay. Dr. Mukhopadhyay tells 3News that his work, along with that of other experts, examined what the lungs of eight male patients who vape...", "After a 1-3 road trip against some of the Western Conference heavyweights, the 76ers are expected to fatten up on a less demanding part of the schedule, with six consecutive games against teams that entered Sunday with a sub-.500 record. The first of those teams was the Charlotte Hornets, coming off a home loss on Saturday to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans. Despite playing the second of ...", "A firefighter continues to undergo treatment after he was wounded when ammunition popped off during a mobile home fire in southeast Oklahoma. According to the Latimer County Emergency Management, Lyle Walker-Pugh, with the Buffalo Valley Fire Department responded to the fire at about 7:15 p.m. Saturday at a mobile home that was full of ammunition. The flames caused ammunition to start firing, and Walker-Pugh was shot in the face and head area,...", "Ben Simmons will miss his second consecutive game with a sprained right shoulder when the 76ers host the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center. He will be re-evaluated on Monday for Tuesday's home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. A team spokesman said the point guard is progressing and feeling better. Simmons told The Inquirer on Friday that he's going to make sure he's ...", "Illinois Rep. John Shimkus, a 12-term Republican who had announced in August he would retire rather than run again in 2020, said Tuesday he is \"reconsidering\" his decision. The change of heart comes a day after Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, announced his retirement. Shimkus is third in Republican seniority on the committee, after a former chairman, Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, who would need a waiver from...", "As transient as Florida's population is, many of you likely moved here from another state. And if you did, you may notice that those safety and emissions inspections you had to get done elsewhere are nonexistent here. But that doesn't mean you're free to drive a buzzsaw-loud car that isn't safe for the roads. As part of our Sound Off South Florida project, in which we answer questions from ...", "Despite Terry Rozier matching a career-high with 33 points, the Charlotte Hornets lost their fourth in a row, falling to the Memphis Grizzlies 119-117 Wednesday at Spectrum Center. Hornets guard Devonte Graham, making his first start for the Hornets this season, hit a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left to tie the score at 117-117 after the Hornets trailed by as much as 10 in the fourth ...", "NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is reportedly preparing to enter the Democratic presidential primary. According to the New York Times, Bloomberg is preparing to file paperwork in Alabama this week to designate himself as a candidate. The 77-year-old billionaire said earlier this year that he would be staying out of the 2020 presidential election all together. But, that tone changed recently when sources close...", "For the second time since Mark Turgeon took over the men's basketball program at Maryland in 2011, the Terps have been ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 preseason media poll. Again, it is based largely on expectations more than previous results. Maryland was ranked seventh in the poll that was released Monday, second only to top-ranked Michigan State among Big Ten teams and ...", "As we head into the second half of the season, it looks as if we know the 10 or so teams that have any real shot at getting one of those coveted four College Football Playoff slots...", "Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories. The Mysterious Affair at Olivetti: IBM, the CIA, and the Cold War Conspiracy to Shut Down Production of the World's First Desktop Computer by...", "Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart says that the organization is getting closer to bringing Daniel Suarez back to its No. 41 Ford next season, though a deal has not been made final. \"You know, it's just a matter of trying to get this deal done and see if we can put it all together,\" Stewart […]", "We consulted cleaning expert Beth McGee on how to clean a microwave correctly and mess-free so that you're never burdened by tough food stains ever again.", "Our Solar System's smallest planet passed between Earth and the sun Monday, something we won't see in California again until 2049.", "Liquor regulations have kind of become my \"thing\" lately, what with all of the coverage I've done since July regarding the licenses in Newport. What I didn't realize until this year was that you generally can't get wine delivered in Rhode Island. I tried to order from a few different wine subscriptions to gift people, but was met with: \"Sorry, we don't deliver to Rhode Island.\" I reached out ...", "UConn women's basketball may have a lot of unknowns going into the 2019-20 season, but its long-term future is certainly beginning to look bright. The Huskies picked up their second verbal commitment of their 2021 class on Friday, when Amari DeBerry, a 6-foot-5 forward from Williamsville, N.Y., and the No. 5 prospect in her class, announced her commitment to UConn on Twitter. DeBerry was on ...", "After the first crash in October 2018, an agency analysis showed a good chance the Lion Air malfunction would happen again. But the FAA followed Boeing's lead on key aspects of the response, setting the stage for the second fatal crash months later." ]

[ "There are several. Link 1 below is for given names. Link 2 is for surnames." ]

[ "Actually, it was the fruit. It originated in China and worked its way around the world until it was introduced in Europe, where its name was derived from the Persian word for the fruit. The town of Orange in France was also named for the fruit and the color was derived from the color of the skin.", "Origin of the Name. The name COFFIN derives from the Greek cophínos, via Latin, Italian and French words - all of which mean a container' of some sort. ... theories are advanced regarding the origin of the family surname Coffin, or Coffyn, as was the ... Allen Coffin, Esq., says, \"Coffin is a word of Hebrew origin signifying a small ...www.drwilliams.org/iDoc/Web-181.htm", "The name Morisseau was originally derived from the early Christian given name Mauritius, which itself comes from the Phoenician word mauharim, meaning eastern.", "If you want to know how Indians assign surnames there is no one answer. \\n\\n1. It is generally a caste name like Iyer - Tamil brahmin, Rao- Kannada / Telugu brahmin; Sharma - Typically norht Indian brahmin, Chettiar - a trader commuity from Tamilnadu, Nair - a warrior / farming caste of Kerala, Yadav - Yadav caste\\n\\n2. Passed down from generations: like Chaturvedi - some anscestor of the person mastered all the four vedas, but the surname is passed down\\n\\n3. Some trace their surnames to their Gothras or ancient sages who were their forefathers. Eg., Bharadwaj - bloodline of Sage Bharadwaj etc.\\n\\n4. Yet some other trace to their place of origin of theri forefathers or thier villages: Mangeshkar - a native of Mangesh village\\n\\n5. A more recent trend in South India is to do away with their traditional surnames and keep their father's / husband's name as surname or just as initials. This is in fact fuelled after the persecution of the forward castes like Iyers by the Dravidian political parties, that they want donot want to reveal their caste through surnames. this was followed by other communities also\\nHence, if the name is Ramakrishnan Lakshmanan. Ramakrsihnan is the given name and LAkshmanan is the person's father's name.\\n\\nThe above is only a summary of the logic behind Indian surnames", "A family name, or surname, is the part of a person's name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. The use of family names is not universal throughout history. In many parts of the world, they did not appear in common use until the 17th to 19th centuries, and in some cultures they are not used today. In many cultures of Asia, the family name is typically spoken or written first when referring to an individual, while in most Western cultures, the family name is last, giving rise to the term last name for family name.\\n\\nThe word surname is \"name\" prefixed by the French word sur (meaning \"on\"), which derives from Latin super (\"over\"). In the past it was sometimes spelled sirname or sirename (suggesting that it meant \"man's name\" or \"father's name\") due to fake etymology.\\n\\nIn English-, Dutch-, German- and French-speaking countries, people often have two or more given names (first and middle), and the family name goes at the end. (Occasionally a surname is called the \"second name\", which can be confused with the middle name.) In Spanish, people have one or more given names and two family names, one from the father and one from the mother. In Italy, people may have one or more given names, no middle name, and a family name.\\n\\nThe use of family names varies among cultures. In particular, Icelanders, Tibetans, Burmese, and Javanese often do not use a family name — well-known people lacking a family name include U Thant (Burmese), Suharto and Sukarno (see Indonesian names). Also, many royal families do not use family names. In many cultures, few non-aristocratic families had surnames prior to the 15th century.\\n\\nA woman's family name traditionally changes upon marriage in some cultures, although few countries mandate such a change. Other modern options include combining both family names, changing neither name, or creating a new name, e.g. combining letters of previous surnames or creating a pseudonym unrelated to the previous surnames.\\n\\nIn the 19th century, Francis Galton published a statistical study of the extinction of family names. (See Galton-Watson process for an account of some of the mathematics.)", "The pet names I give are derived from inside jokes that I will not share. I advise you to come up with pet names the way I do and not use something generic.", "The family name of CORBIN is English, French, and Irish in origin. The name is derived from one who was a dweller at the sign of the raven; descendant of Coirbin(little chariot).", "The name India is derived from the Old Persian version of Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the river Indus; see Origin of India's name", "Behind the Name gives two possible derivations:\\n\\n1) It could be a corruption or diminutive of Santiago - which would then make it a variant of Jacob\\n\\nor\\n\\n2) It could derive from the Greek name Didacus, meaning \"teaching\" or \"teacher\"", "Schumacher originated from germany, wich meens 'shoe maker'. We all know a person with this surname as Michael Schumacher wich is a formula 1 champion! Hope this helps!!", "Im sure the answer is 'tarrthalai' and there's a fada over the second 'a' and the last letter 'i'. It's pronounced something like 'TAR-hawl-ee'\\n\\nHope this helps\\n\\nHave you decided what name to take yet, check out this website, it could give you some idea's www.rootsweb.com/~fianna/surname\\nthe last bit on that web address is surname\\n\\nAh thanks croga xx", "Since people want to create mail addresses that is close to their actual name, they split it as the name and surname. \\n\\nThe best way to express that in an email is with the usage of \".\". But many e-mail sites (like Yahoo! till recently) do not allow the usage of \".\" in the email address. So everybody has to do with using underscore. But now Yahoo! allows usage of \".\" in the yahoo id.", "Kailey - Variatn of KAYLEY:\\nIrish surname - derives from the Gaelic word caol \"slender\".\\n\\nAnn\\nFrench form of HANNAH. This is the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary, though she is not mentioned in the Bible. The name was borne by a 17th-century English queen and also by the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (the mother of Queen Elizabeth I), who was eventually beheaded in the Tower of London.\\n\\nGanevsky\\nMeans you're a Pollock!", "Because the dynasty names are often more like adjectives to describe an era, even though the names were chosen by the ruling family. Ming means \"brilliant\", Qing means \"pure, clear\".\\n\\nAlso, having a given Chines surname doesn't make you very distinctive. There are only about 100 surnames to go around. So whatever your surname is, you can be sure that there are people from all walks of life with the same surname. The surname of the ruling family during the celebrated 300-year Tang dynasty was . . Lee. Know any Chinese people whose last name is Lee?", "From Wiki:\"The use of the Greek letter π for this constant is derived from Greek words like περιφέρεια (for periphery) and περίμετρον (for perimeter) starting with this letter.\\nThe name of the Greek letter π is pi, and this spelling is used in typographical contexts where the Greek letter is not available or where its usage could be problematic. When referring to this constant, the symbol π is always pronounced like \"pie\" in English, the conventional English pronunciation of the letter.\"\\n\\nFrom Online Etymology Dictionary:\\nPi: \"1841, used in L. 1748 by Swiss mathematician Leonhart Euler (1707-83), from Gk. letter pi (from Heb., lit. \"little mouth\") as an abbreviation of Gk. periphereia \"periphery.\" \"\\n\\nMy initial guess was that it was derived from Latin, since many of our words have Latin origins. But, apparently it is Greek in origin and is used because the Greek symbol Pi means perimeter thus corresponding to circles.", "Research! Do a web search. Some programs seem legitimate, but it depends on where they originate from. \\nI ususally go to this site first:\\nhttp://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm\\nGood luck.", "The Sperm Whale was named after the milky-white semiliquid waxy substance \"spermaceti\" found in its head and originally mistaken for sperm. The name derives from the late Latin sperma ceti (sperma is actually a loan word from Greek) meaning 'sperm of the whale' (strictly, 'sperm of the sea monster'). The common name for the species is actually an apocopation of Spermaceti Whale.", "Perhaps it is your name or surname, or a combination of both?", "i believe that web hosting registration is where you pay to have your website hosted (ie. put your HTML pages or other files) \\n\\nDomain Registration is where you register your TDL (top level domain) name like somename.com or mypage.net.\\n\\nif you want to run a website for free, there are some places that do hostin for free, and they will give you a free domain name, but its usually a subdomain name like yourusername.freewebhostname.com\\n\\nor something longer. the reason to go and pay for a domain name is for people to remember easier, and less to type. Remember people are so lazy, that they rather type less and get more. thats why there are more dynamic sites, because people want more and do less. \\n\\nhope that answers your question\\n\\n.Indigo.", "All is public record.\\nAll you do is search for the particular correctional institute on a search engine ie, Yahoo! and type in the Name.\\nMost sites have a search option.\\nMost sites also have pictures and descriptions.", "it is Macapagal\\nArroyo - Surname\\nGloria - Name", "Some of the preceding answers have been incorrect. Elizabeth II's surname is Windsor. She did not take husband Phillip's surname, Mountbatten, when she married. \\n\\nThe queen's grandfather George V changed the family surname to Windsor because their proper surname, Wettin, sounded too German for English public sentiment during World War I. Wettin had become the surname of the monarchs after Queen Victoria married Prince Albert. Albert's surname, which he passed on to his children, was Wettin. Because Albert was from the noble family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the royal household was known as Saxe-Coburg and Gotha until 1917, when, along with the surname Wettin, George V changed the name of the British royal household to Windsor.", "Something similar happened to me at a different website.\\n\\nI re-installed Internet Explorer and it was rectified. \\n\\nSome websites do not \"recognise\" browsers versions that are launched anew. Check the same site from a PC with IE 6.0 This should give u a clue whether its ur PC or the IE version.\\n\\n.:Fishie:.", "This is a long, general answer to the question \"How do I get started in Genealogy?\", with some links. \\n\\nGenealogy is the most popular hobby on the Internet for people over 40. As an example, Cyndi's List (cyndislist.com) is a web site with nothing but links to other genealogy sites. She has over 250,000 links.\\n\\nThe next two links are to the two largest free data bases on the Internet. Family Search (familysearch.com) is run by the LDS Church - the Mormons. RootsWeb World Connect (worldconnect.genealogy) is a collection of genealogical data that other genealogists have uploaded. \\n\\nTry your two surnames in each data base - your father's surname and your mother's maiden surname. That will give you a feel for how much research has been done on those two surnames. Even better, if you can, call your grandparents and ask what THEIR grandparent's names were - maiden name for the ladies. Their birth day and birth state will help too. Those 16 people are your great-great grandparents. \\n\\nMost Yahoo! users are 20, give or take 10 years. Most people have children between the ages of 20 and 40, which averages to 30 years per generation. So, if you were born 20 years ago, your mother and father were born 50 years ago, your four grandparents were born 80 years ago, your eight great-grandparents were born 110 years ago and your sixteen great-great grandparents were born 140 years ago. (Those are averages; your results will vary. If you can get the names of all 16 of your great-great grandparents, you should be able to find at least one or two by name in one of the data bases.\\n\\nThe fourth link (superpages) is a web-based phone book. It will tell you how many people with your surname have listed phone numbers in the US.\\n\\nThe last link (begingen.html) is a page on my web site with some hints for beginners.", "ACTUALLY COTTAGE CHEESE ORIGINATED FROM VILLAGES WHERE PEOPLE USED TO MAKE IT IN THEIR HOUSES SO THE SOFT CHEESE WAS GIVEN THIS NAME", "The girl's name Dixie is pronounced DIK-see. It is of French and English origin, and its meaning is \"tenth.\" The name refers to a region of the United States known as the Old South. It may derive from one of the surveyors of the Mason-Dixon line, or from the \"ten\" (in Cajun French \"dix\") dollar note circulated from Louisiana, which made the South the \"land of dixies.\" Actress Dixie Carter.", "yoga is derived from the sanskrit word 'yuj',which means one with the soul.yoga means uniting your body and mind with the soul.yes,it did originate in the country where all the good things originated,India.\\naccording to ancient indian mythology,the lord Shiva came down to earth from his heavenly abode Kailasha and taught this to a rishi,Patanjali.he then propagated it to the rest of the world.", "You mean:\\n\"nomen (atque) omen\"\\n- there is an omen in the surname, the name of a person shows his/her character (Dictionary of Foreign Words)\\nIt means that a certain name, surname, designation are connected with a certain omen (augury); they contain something that may be interpreted as a sign or an omen.\\n(e.g. my latin name: Beata means \"happy\")", "\"Illogical\" is a form of the word \"logic\" -- which was derived from the Greek word \"logos,\" which originally meant \"the word\" or \"what was spoken.\"\\n\\nIt is not derived from a Latin word.", "where can i watch sex movies free please give me web site name", "Malcolm Little was his real name. the X was put there to replace his \"slave name\": the surname given to his ancestors by their oppressive masters.", "use could do keyword searches\\ngenealogy surname ancestor ancestry census\\n\\n\\nor better yet look at the genealogy beginner site below on how to start. (first one listed)\\n\\ntry one of the sites below" ]

[ "Every year, tens of thousands of teenagers from around the globe come to the United States to live and learn. Most go home with positive memories of America. Then there's the sad story of Jason Ryu of South Korea, who found himself shunted from home to home before getting kicked out of the United States. Or Jessica Cho, also of South Korea, who was left stranded in a hotel room for a month. Such cases prompted the U.S. State Department to strip a private program of its license to bring cultural-exchange students over to America. That program was meant to help improve America's image abroad. But USA United Students Association Inc. plans to use other means to keep bringing foreign students into the country regardless. Dallas-based USA is one of dozens of nonprofit groups working with recruiters overseas to find homes and schools in the United States for foreign students, whose families can pay thousands of dollars for the privilege. The Ryus spent $20,000 for their son's stay in the United States. Yet when Jason, then 16, arrived in the United States last August, he found he didn't have a host family. The agency found him one -- 10 days later. According to Stanley Colvin, a government official who oversees the cultural-exchange programs, that was a direct violation of State Department policy. \"The first rule [is] you must have a host-family placement before the student arrives,\" Colvin says. Marooned Without Hope Jessica Cho says she and dozens of students spent weeks in a Dallas hotel last year before USA found them host families. In her case, it was 31 days. At 16, she says, she was the oldest of the group. One girl was 14. \"We had no hope,\" Cho says. \"Every day, every morning, we expected a call\" about a host family. Cho eventually was placed in a host home. So was Ryu -- not in Maine, as he'd originally been told, but in Allentown, Pa. Ryu says his host family didn't cook or clean; the house was dirty and flea-ridden. He was often left alone. \"I was homesick,\" Ryu says. \"I felt depressed, sad.\" On top of that, Ryu -- who says he was told he would attend public school -- was instead placed in a private, unaccredited Christian school. USA threatened to return Ryu to Korea if his parents didn't pay the tuition. That was another violation of State Department policy, Colvin says. USA told Ryu it was his fault he wasn't fitting in with his host family. But after about a month, the agency did move him; he wound up at the house of Melissa Myers in Quakertown, Pa. There, Ryu says he finally felt welcome. \"The kids were friendly,\" Ryu says. \"It felt like family, a peaceful and happy atmosphere.\" He was happy for four months. Then, USA learned that Myers had filed a complaint with the State Department about how the agency had treated Jason Ryu and other students. Soon after, Jason was forced to leave the country. Colvin says the State Department receives about 100 complaints each year from the nearly 30,000 high-school students who come to the United States as exchange students annually. Most complaints don't require the government to step in. This one did. A Program of 'Notoriety' In mid-April, the State Department asked USA to surrender its license to run a cultural-exchange program. USA complied on April 24. Four days later, USA expelled Jason Ryu from America. \"I felt like a criminal,\" Ryu recalls. \"I felt like I was getting arrested. They kept on telling me to go home.\" A government review, dated April 6 and addressed to the company's executive director, concluded that USA's actions had brought the State Department's exchange program \"into notoriety or disrepute.\" It asked USA to withdraw its license to spare the government \"further embarrassment.\" USA complied. Yet despite that loss of license, USA still calls itself a student-exchange program. But it's now relying on another visa program to bring in foreign students -- one that offers no State Department protections. They're called F1 visas, and they are regulated by the Department of Homeland Security. F1 visas were once the province of wealthy high-school students attending boarding schools or living with relatives. But the documents are now popular with middle-class families from emerging economies who send their children to study in America, seeking a competitive edge. A growing number of schools want to tap that market, which might mean more business for groups such as USA. Calls for Stronger Protections Chris Bentley, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, says students who come to the States on an F1 visa are required to prove they can support themselves. Beyond that, he says, it's up to the parents back home to make sure their child is all right. Bentley says there's no evidence USA has broken any of Homeland Security's rules. But Lori Saldana, a California lawmaker from San Diego, says those rules aren't good enough. She's sponsored a bill that would force all foreign-student programs to run detailed background checks on ho" ]

[ "Here & Now&#8217;s Robin Young talks with Touré, cultural critic and author of &#8220;I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became An Icon,&#8221; about the ways Prince influenced a new generation of performers. \nRead an excerpt of &#8220;I Would Die 4 U&#8221; and hear our 2013 interview with Touré\nHear our interview with KCRW&#8217;s Anthony Valadez, after news broke of Prince&#8217;s death\n [Youtube] Guest\n\nTouré, author of “I Would Die 4 U. Why Prince Became an Icon” He tweets @Toure.", "Aung San Suu Kyi heads to Europe Wednesday, where she'll deliver a speech she was invited to give more than two decades ago: the one for her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, which she was unable to collect while under house arrest. In Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, at the headquarters of Suu Kyi's party, spokesman U Nyan Win says she is busy writing speeches for her extended trip to Europe, including the visit to Oslo for the belated Nobel address this weekend. The journey will also take her back to Oxford, England, where she lived until 1988, before she became an icon of nonviolent political protest, and before Burma's then-military rulers changed the name of the country to Myanmar. She'll be one of the few non-heads of state to address both houses of Parliament in London. In Dublin, she'll share a stage with Bono and U2. \"The [National League for Democracy] has stood firm for more than 20 years thanks in part to international support,\" says U Nyan Win, the spokesman. \"We are stronger and more confident because of it. Lately, we have been trying to reform our party and we hope to hold a party congress later this year. This is a very crucial time for the party, and 'The Lady' needs the moral support of the international community.\" Suu Kyi, or as everyone here calls her, The Lady, recently reminded foreign supporters not to get too euphoric yet about her country's limited democratic reforms. And she added that Myanmarese themselves will have to shoulder most of the burden of building their own democracy. \"I believe that sanctions have had great effect, politically,\" Suu Kyi says. \"If they had not had such effect, the government of Burma would not have been so eager to have them removed. But in the ultimate analysis, we depend neither on sanctions nor on other external factors for real change in our countries. We depend on ourselves.\" Sectarian Violence For now, domestic attention in Myanmar is focused not on Suu Kyi's travels but on ethnic and sectarian violence in Rakhine state, which borders on Bangladesh. Reports last month that Muslims raped and murdered a Buddhist girl set off waves of mob violence and revenge killings. Over the weekend, Buddhists marched around Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda, calling for the government to enforce immigration laws and protect them from what they consider illegal Rohingya and Bengali immigrants. \"The extremist Bengali illegal immigrants have killed residents and burned down many villages,\" activist Kyaw Minn Khing told the crowd. \"We call on the government to send more troops to protect the residents.\" Meanwhile, Suu Kyi is trying to build the NLD from a protest movement into a political party that can win the 2015 general elections. The former ruling junta would not allow her to build party institutions, so the NLD has been completely dependent on her. Restructuring The Movement Ko Ko Gyi, a former student leader during the 1988 pro-democracy movement, explains. \"This is very natural for the transitional period. Because of the longtime oppression, we have [a] lack of experience about democratization. So that's why for the time being, [we] just depend on the person,\" he says. Next week, Suu Kyi turns 67. Most NLD leaders are in their 70s or 80s. The NLD is trying to restructure itself to become younger and more democratic. But they have not invited Ko Ko Gyi and his fellow activists to join them. U Win Tin, 82, who founded the NLD in 1988 with Suu Kyi, says he is optimistic that the reorganization of the party will breathe new life into it. \"I hope, at the end of this party transformation, next year perhaps, we will be [a] well-organized and youthful and very active party,\" he says. For now, U Win Tin soldiers on, still editing the NLD's newsletter and dealing with the growing number of reporters beating a path to The Lady's door. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish. MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: And I'm Melissa Block. The Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi returns to Europe tomorrow after a 24-year absence. The journey will take her to Oxford, England, where she lived until 1988. That was before she became an icon of nonviolent political protest, and before Burma's military rulers renamed the country Myanmar. Suu Kyi's trip comes as she makes the difficult transition from protest leader to politician, and as sectarian violence threatens her country's fledgling democratic reforms. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Yangon. ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: At the headquarters of Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, spokesman U Nyan Win says that Suu Kyi is busy at the moment writing speeches. She'll deliver one in Oslo as a belated acceptance speech for the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize she was unable to collect while under house arrest. She'll give another one as one of the few non-heads of state to address both Houses of Parliament in London. And she'll thank her many international supporters. U NYAN WIN: (Through Translator) The NLD has stoo", "After months of negotiations, the battle over locker room access for a transgender student in Illinois ended late last night when Township High School District 211 — about 30 miles northwest of Chicago — approved a deal with the Department of Education. For nearly three hours, the board met in a closed session — ultimately voting yes on the agreement which allows the transgender student to use private areas within the locker room. While the agreement ends the threat of the district losing millions of dollars in Title IX federal funds, some parents were disappointed. About 400 people — mostly adults and a few students — filled row after row of folding chairs in a high school cafeteria turned into an auditorium for District 211's special school board meeting. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights ruled last month the school district had violated federal law by not allowing a student who was born a male and identifies as female full access to the girls' locker room. Jessica Miller, who has a 16-year-old daughter in the school district, was one of many parents urging the board to keep that policy in place. \"I keep hearing the majority of the students are on board with this. Well, I spoke with my daughter and the majority of their friends, and believe me, that is not true. Our girls are feeling helpless, but they refuse to speak out because they fear retaliation from those that are very vocal,\" Miller says. The ACLU helped the student file a federal complaint against the district two years ago and the Office of Civil Rights told the district it had violated the Title IX law that banned sex discrimination — a charge Miller and others called an overreach by the government. \"We are just parents with a mission to protect our children's rights and privacy and their well-being,\" Miller says. But Hannah Garst, whose two children will attend the same high school as the transgender student, says it was the school district that was overreaching. \"If privacy is the issue, then let's solve that issue by giving privacy to everyone and requiring everyone to use discretion when undressing or changing,\" Garst says. Students in the district, like 17-year-old Jake Lytle, told the board members to think about what sort of history they wanted to make as they faced difficult questions — as other boards have in the past. \"Should they integrate a school or continue with the forced separation of people by race? Should students who are openly gay and lesbian be welcomed and protected from discrimination and harassment?\" Lytle says. Lytle says the board should be as bold and accept the settlement it negotiated with the Department of Education. Those who stayed to wait for the decision said they felt betrayed. District 211's Superintendent Daniel Cates says he understands the disappointment, but that the agreement is not a district-wide policy. \"This agreement pertains to a single student. And in doing so, we believe that we have safeguarded not only our ability to move forward with other students, but also to safeguard other districts that would like to make their decisions locally,\" Cates says. Cates says that in developing the policy, the community and the board struggled with an extremely sensitive situation. Federal officials have to sign off on the deal.", "With Jane Clayson When a college student is in crisis, does the school have a legal and moral obligation to tell the parents? Guests: Anemona Hartocollis, national correspondent on higher education for The New York Times. (@anemonanyc) Peter Lake, professor of higher education law at Stetson University and director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University College of Law. Ben Locke, senior director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Penn State and founder of the Center for Collegiate Mental Health. Veena Velury, junior at San Jose State University and president of her school&#8217;s Active Minds chapter, an organization that promotes student advocacy in mental health. Highlights: On her reporting:  Harticollis: &#8220;The issue that interested me: What is the right of parents to know? Suicides happen on campus every day, it turns out, for a variety of reasons. It&#8217;s a very difficult balancing act for the schools and for the families. My goal was to explore how that works. In this case, the family discovered only after his death &#8212; his mother discovered while reading his journals that he had been flunking his classes. He hadn&#8217;t told his parents&#8230; but in many instances, one doesn&#8217;t know in great detail the kids&#8217; grades. You don&#8217;t see it [the transcript], without explicit consent from your child.&#8221; On the recent rulings: Lake: &#8220;The Massachusetts ruling points out that it&#8217;s important for us to actively intervene, but we won&#8217;t always succeed. And not every time we are not able to stop a suicide is a failure, just a matter of legal liability. I think the Mass. SJC is encouraging us to actively engage with our students, but not engage in such a way that violates their rights to privacy or autonomy, or even interferes with the basic academic mission to build resiliency and independence. What we&#8217;re seeing is that, at some point, in an engagement strategy, the question of when to involve the parents is on the table. And in some cases that&#8217;s to the great benefit of an individual &#8212; other times it actually could be a source of challenge&#8230; we have to be careful not to put a student at risk. Sometimes the family is the problem.&#8221; How mental health treatment has changed in the U.S.: Locke: &#8220;The key thing that has changed over the last 15 years is that we forget that our nation has been in a massive national suicide prevention intervention, with hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, K-12 and in college to essentially identify and refer students at risk, so that students in elementary and middle and high school already know how to identify and refer peers. What we&#8217;re seeing in counseling centers around the country is actually a dramatic success, where the demand of students coming in is going up every year &#8212; those students are more and more representative of students who might be at risk to themselves to suicide. The challenge is: all of these national interventions did not plan ahead for the increased demand in clinical services.&#8221; What about mental health for non-students? Locke: &#8220;The mental health providers have to balance the students&#8217; expressed and actual needs with family&#8217;s interest. Folks are not really talking about the fact that college is actually protective. The rate of suicide among college students is at least half if not even a third that of the general population. And it raises an interesting question of whether we are expected to treat college students differently than the general population of similarly-aged peers. And if so, why?&#8221; Caller comments:  &#8220;My counselor connected me to a lot of support on campus that helped me to heal. That was more effective, in my personal case, than contacting my parents.&#8221; &#8212; student from NC. &#8220;Even with FERPA and HIPPA waivers in place, the school would not share information with us.&#8221; &#8212; parent from MD. From The Reading List: The New York Times: &#8220;His College Knew of His Despair. His Parents Didn’t, Until It Was Too Late.” &#8212; &#8220;Every year, parents send their children to college, trusting that they will be well, or that word will come if they are not. Ms. Burton had lived every parent’s nightmare: a child flunking out, sinking into despair, his parents the last to know. Her discovery set off a wave of pain and soul-searching but also a campaign to strip away some of the veils of confidentiality that colleges say protect the privacy and autonomy of students who are learning to be adults. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death, after accidents, for college-age adults in the United States. The number of college students seeking treatment for anxiety and depression has risen sharply over the past few years, and schools have in turn stepped up their efforts in mental health research and intervention. Even so, families have continu", "With David Folkenflik A black teenager sees a friend killed by a white police officer. That&#8217;s the storyline of the new film &#8220;The Hate U Give.&#8221; The director and young activists tell their stories. Guests George Tillman Jr., Film director, producer and screenwriter known for his films &#8220;Soul Food,&#8221; &#8220;Barbershop,&#8221; &#8220;Men of Honor&#8221; and &#8220;Notorious,&#8221; among others. Director of &#8220;The Hate U Give.&#8221; (@George_Tillman) Kaia Hines, 16-year-old junior at Franklin High School, which is outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She’s a program coordinator at Leaders Igniting Transformation Milwaukee, a nonprofit organization led by youth of color that organizes young people around issues related to political power, and social, racial and economic justice. Alycia Moaton, 17-year-old senior at Kenwood Academy in Chicago. Member and Organizer with Good Kids, Mad City, an advocacy organization that includes young people from Baltimore and Chicago who are working to end violence in their cities Demitrius Doward, 17-year-old junior at Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School in New York City. He’s a member of Million Hoodies Movement for Justice, an organization that trains leaders to fight against, and end, anti-black racism and systemic violence. [Youtube] From The Reading List The Guardian: &#8220;The Hate U Give review – a defiant challenge to divided America&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;If ever a movie resonated with a news image it’s this one, with the extraordinary shot of nurse Ieshia Evans at a protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2016, where she faced down three cops in full riot gear while wearing a flimsy frock. She did this with all the floaty calmness of Botticelli’s Venus. The Hate U Give is a fierce, dynamic movie with a terrific performance from Amandla Stenberg as Starr, a high-school student who becomes witness to a callous cop shooting, and her performance seems to be channelling some of the defiance and miraculous strength despite vulnerability in that famous picture.&#8221; New York Times: &#8220;Microaggressions at School? The ‘Hate U Give’ Team Has Been There&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;When Angie Thomas first began writing &#8216;The Hate U Give,&#8217; her best-selling novel about a black teenager dealing with microaggressions and worse at a predominantly white prep school, she looked to movies for inspiration. &#8216;I wanted &#8220;The Hate U Give&#8221; to be almost a girl version of &#8220;Boyz N the Hood,&#8221;&#8216; she remembered. &#8216;That movie was a huge influence on me. And I was like, are there any movies from that era, or even currently, that deal with black girls in situations like this?&#8217; &#8221; Vulture: &#8220;Amandla Stenberg Knew The Hate U Give Was a Success Based on the Number of White People Crying&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Stopping by &#8216;The Daily Show&#8217; With Trevor Noah Monday night, &#8216;The Hate U Give&#8217; star Amandla Stenberg discussed the one clear-cut sign that, to her, meant the recently released film version of Angie Thomas’s YA novel about police brutality had triumphed. &#8216;It’s meant to be a tool of empathy,&#8217; she said. &#8216;And so far it’s been really successful. We’ve had a lot of white people crying after, which is great.&#8217; Laughed the actress, &#8216;I’ve never seen so many white people crying before. It’s amazing.&#8217; &#8220;Stenberg also touched on the film’s depiction of code-switching, racism, and police brutality. Of course, you’d think everyone would be able to empathize with victims of police brutality, but, unfortunately, that’s not the America we live in, which is why Stenberg and the movie’s makers hoped the movie would help humanize black victims to viewers who might only be exposed to police violence via the evening news. When asked by Noah what her hopes are for the film, \\&#8217;beyond white people crying,&#8217; Stenberg laughed, &#8216;White people crying actually was the goal.&#8217; &#8221; The movie &#8220;The Hate U Give&#8221; tells the story of Starr Carter, an African-American teenager shuttling between dueling realities &#8212; her predominantly black, lower-income neighborhood and her predominantly white and affluent private school. The movie explores police shootings of African-Americans, the ravages of the drug trade and paths for hope. This hour, On Point: We talk to the film’s director, George Tillman Jr., and then to three young African-American activists. — David Folkenflik", "The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors play the first game of the NBA Finals Thursday night. Here & Now&#8216;s Robin Young checks in with sports analyst and author John U. Bacon (@johnubacon) about what to watch for, and other sports news from the week.", "Teachers are a type in Hollywood, as bound by convention as the guys who wear white hats in Westerns. They're mostly young, they're always energetic, and they answer to honorifics: Mr. Chips, Miss Brodie, Miss Moffat, Mister Miyagi, or just plain \"Sir\" (with love, of course). They'll also answer to \"Hey, wassup teach?\" if that's what it takes to get their students to stand and deliver, to be great debaters or to form dead poet societies while heading up the down staircase in a blackboard jungle. You know the type: hard-working, earnest, and most of all, inspirational. And they're all that while confronting — because Hollywood never does anything halfway — the sort of challenge that would give pause to a miracle worker. The Miracle Worker's Annie Sullivan (Anne Bancroft), for instance, had to get through to a kicking, biting, almost feral Helen Keller (Patty Duke), who had been deaf and blind since infancy. With only a few gestures to signal what she wants, 7-year-old Helen has no way to communicate with those around her, and initially, no concept of language itself. Her breakthrough comes in what amounts to a ferocious battle with Annie at a backyard water pump, where she suddenly realizes that the motions her teacher has been making in the palm of her hand connect to the movement of Annie's lips. Annie spells out \"w-a-t-e-r\" and says urgently to this girl who can't hear her, \"It has a name.\" And suddenly, in the midst of the struggle, Helen pauses. And you see her puzzle out that those movements of fingers and lips symbolize an idea: the wetness she's feeling. She mimics Annie's hand movements, spelling it back. And Annie puts Helen's hand on her face and smiles and nods \"yes.\" Immediately Helen wants other words ... pounding on the earth beneath her feet. \"G-r-o-u-n-d\" spells Annie. And Helen spells it back, and as powerfully as it ever has on film, a whole world of knowledge opens up. Changing Themes Most onscreen teachers confront more conventional students and forge bonds with them over more conventional problems: kids who don't think they want to learn ... who mistrust authority ... who are bored ... and who inspire teachers like Robin Williams in 1989's Dead Poets Society to climb on his desk and find other unorthodox ways to enliven classwork. This gets him in trouble with the headmaster, and that's pretty much a standard Hollywood plot development. Teachers who care — and you wouldn't make a film about them if they didn't — must not only relate to students, but must also shield them from their own parents, from school administrators, from the police and from social forces that lead them to not value education in the first place. Stand And Deliver's math teacher, Jaime Escalante (Edward Olmos), for instance, helps Latino students overcome first their own resistance to authority, and then, when they start to succeed, the unfair perceptions of administrators wielding standardized tests. Denzel Washington is up against even stronger forces in The Great Debaters, a 2007 film set in the segregated south of 1935. When his all-black-college debate team is told it cannot compete in a national tournament, he lets them know his stake in their struggle is personal. \"You are my students. I am your teacher. That is a sacred trust,\" he tells them before urging them not to quit, though all the forces of a racist society are arrayed against them. The \"rebel with a class,\" as it were, is a relatively recent development in Hollywood. Onscreen teachers were long pictured in gentler terms, as protective and nurturing, rather than crusading. Movies tended to subscribe to The King and I's true, but sappy thought: That if you become a teacher by your pupils, you'll be taught. No tough assignments in her class. But a year before that movie came out in 1956, the rougher side of that getting-to-know-students equation was already on display in Blackboard Jungle, set in an inner-city school where teacher Glenn Ford sparred with rebellious student Sidney Poitier. A few years later, teacher Poitier got his comeuppance in To Sir With Love, frustrated by kids who were rebellious for many of the same reasons that had driven his character in Blackboard Jungle. It's the realization that they are \"kids\" who need guidance that finally allows him to help them. And that became the new template — teachers wading into issues of race, class, generational conflict — to help kids, armed with good intentions and reliably conventional wisdom. The plots became familiar enough to be turned on their heads occasionally. Say, in the 2003 comedy School of Rock, where teacher Jack Black is almost inadvertently successful at winning over his charges. Or in this year's Whiplash, where jazz instructor J. K. Simmons hurls a chair at the head of an auditioning drummer when he gets the tempo wrong. Inspiration through fear — a definite outlier. Far more frequently, movies reinforce the notion that in secular society, teaching is the closest thing we have to", "We&#8217;ve been hearing about the push by civil rights groups and the Obama Administration to end so-called &#8220;zero tolerance&#8221; discipline policies in schools, which suspend and expel students for often minor infractions. The critics say it cuts kids out of the education process and puts them in a &#8220;school-to-prison pipeline.&#8221; The schools say it raises standards. One group of schools in particular is relying on discipline quite a bit. The Illinois state board of education found that in the publicly-funded Noble Network of Charter Schools, which has 14 campuses in Chicago, 23 percent of students were suspended in 2013. That&#8217;s compared to 9 percent suspended at area public schools. Noble students received infractions for everything from being less than a minute late, to not sitting up straight. Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah has been writing about this in the Chicago Tribune and joins Here & Now&#8217;s Robin Young with details. Related Stories\n\nA ‘Pipeline To Prison’ In Mississippi Schools\nObama Administration Discourages ‘Zero-Tolerance’ School Discipline\nCorrupt Juvenile Justice Leaves Mark On Pa. Kids\nNew Data Shows Black Preschoolers More Likely To Face Suspensions\n\nGuest\n\nNoreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, education reporter for the Chicago Tribune. She tweets @nahmedullah.\n ROBIN YOUNG, HOST: It's HERE AND NOW. We've been hearing about the push by civil rights groups and the Obama administration to end so-called zero tolerance discipline policies in schools. This is where schools suspend and expel students for often minor infractions. The critics say it cuts kids out of the education process and puts them in a school-to-prison pipeline. The schools say it raises standards, and one group of schools in particular is relying quite a bit on tough discipline. The Illinois State Board of Education and Chicago public schools found that at the Noble Network of Publicly Funded Charter Schools with 14 campuses in Chicago, 23 percent of students were suspended in 2013. That's compared to 9 percent suspended at public schools. Noble students receive infractions for everything, from not sitting up straight to having a permanent marker. And students also were fined. Noreen Ahmed-Ullah has written about this for the Chicago Tribune and joins us from WBEZ in Chicago. Noreen, welcome. NOREEN AHMED-ULLAH: Thanks for having me. YOUNG: Well, so one parent told you her daughter got a demerit - and these points add up to these fines - for saying bless you when someone sneezed because it wasn't her turn to talk. Is that an extreme example of this? Or what is this discipline system like? AHMED-ULLAH: So basically there's demerits points. And for every infraction, you get a demerit. And you can get demerits for everything, from being like less than a minute late for school to not having your shirt tucked in, not tying your shoelaces, not having a belt means like four demerits, which means instant detention. It's a lot of penalty for small, minor things. And the network of charter school says the reason that they're going after these minor issues is basically, you know, they're trying to sweat the small stuff. And as they sweat the small stuff, they're not getting serious discipline issues like violence and fighting and more serious infractions. YOUNG: And by the way, these statistics that show that there was an increase in discipline was across the board at charter schools in Chicago. But Noble, the chain, had the highest rate. And the Noble superintendent told you not only do they sweat the small stuff, it's the broken window theory. AHMED-ULLAH: Right. So Noble is one of the charter networks that had a larger number of expulsions. And the superintendent did say - for the Noble Network of Charter schools - he did say that they have this idea of, you know, the broken window theory. You sort of fix the small things, and you don't get to the bigger issue of the house breaking down. YOUNG: But, you know, there's always the whiff of suspicion around high rates of expulsion and suspension, that a school is pushing out academically behaviorally troubled students to keep stats like attendance and college acceptance high and to kick them out before they can drop out, you know, so to keep dropout low. Is that accusation being levied here? AHMED-ULLAH: Right. So before I even get to that point, I think what I should point out is that those demerits, you know, they all start adding up. So, for example, four demerits equals an instant detention after school. If you get six detentions, you'd get an out-of-school suspension. If you get 13 detentions, that leads to like $140 that your parents have to pay for a behavior class. And then 36 detentions and repeated violations of their student code of conduct means that you're facing an expulsion hearing. So eventually, you could be expelled from the school. Or, you know, your parents are paying so much in fines that they just frankly can't afford to keep that school, and so they may end u", "Ewart &#8220;U-Roy&#8221; Beckford was a Jamaican deejay who elevated the art of toasting — talking over a record to the rhythm of the song — to an international phenomenon. He helped start the career of early toasters and artists like Shabba Ranks, and even early hip-hop can be traced to U-Roy&#8217;s vocal style. U-Roy died last week at 78. Host Jane Clayson speaks with Patricia Meschino, writer for Billboard, about U-Roy&#8217;s legacy. This article was originally published on WBUR.org.", "For the full story, click here. On this Veteran&#8217;s Day, we revisit a 2018 conversation with then-93-year-old soldier John Waller, who survived the sinking of the S.S. Léopoldville by a German U-boat on Christmas Eve in 1944. The attack killed 763 soldiers. It&#8217;s a story he didn&#8217;t tell until recently, and one that also involved his theft of a tiny portrait from a French château. More than half a century later, he came to terms with both. Host Robin Young spoke to documentary filmmakers Garland Waller and Barry Nolan — John Waller&#8217;s daughter and son-in-law — as well as John Waller. &#8220;The Silent Soldier and the Portrait&#8221; will air this week on PBS stations. This article was originally published on WBUR.org." ]

[ "The Canterbury Tales" ]

[ "Collect call", "coin collecting", "Collective bargaining", "rock collecting", "Entertainment Weekly", "Amblin Entertainment", "cash (or collect) on delivery", "Entertainment Tonight", "Philately (stamp collecting)", "Government Printing Office", "William Carlos Williams", "Entertainment & Sports Programming Network", "Scripted/Fake Entertainment", "1-800-COLLECT", "The Bureau of Engraving and Printing", "World Wrestling Entertainment", "Collect Call of the Wild", "William Cohen", "Williams", "\"All the news that's fit to print\"", "Black Entertainment Television", "Edward Williams", "William Sherman", "(William) Taft", "A&E (Arts & Entertainment Network)", "Marvel Comics (or Marvel Entertainment)", "William Faulkner", "Prince William", "William Wrigley", "William Safire", "Jason Williams", "the GPO (Government Printing Office)" ]

[ "Seriously, I love my Keurig. I love the convenience and the coffees. But what I don't love is buying $50 dollars worth of coffee every month. I tried the filter that Keurig gave me with my Platinum B70 model and it made my awesome Guatemalan Coffee I used to brew the \"old fashion way\" into a watered down mess no matter how fine I ground the bean or how much I reduced the cup size.<br /><br />I was skeptical about buying another kcup filter when I saw this offered on Amazon, but the video add on the ekobrew website had me sold. I bought the ekobrew Cup before it was available for sale with high hopes, and it has totally lived up to my expectations! My freshly ground coffee tastes better than any Kcup I have ever had! I forgot how good some of the beans I bought were. No Joke. If you are like me and have a few roasts of beans you just love and don't feel like breaking the bank trying every kcup under the sun to find blends that please you then get it. You won't be sorry.<br /><br />The only negative part is you have to rinse it out but that is no big deal. Just pop the top and tap it on the sink and the grinds come out then rinse. No scrubbing or anything. I may buy another to have one handy to fill while the other is brewing since I make about 3 Kcups worth of coffee in the morning to fill for two travel mugs for the wife and I. THANK YOU ekobrew!" ]

[ "The Percolators require thest disc coffee filters and they are not easy to find anymore. They cost in the retail grocery store (if they carry them) about $1.70 a package so buying it in bulk from Amazon saved me on this as I believe that percolated coffee is the best coffee out there if you use a stainless percolator and I would not switch to a drip coffee maker for anything so if you own a Stainless percolator these filters will work and the price and pack size is great!", "Coffeemate's French Vanilla concentrated creamer is the best thing ever to make your cup of coffee outstanding. A couple of pumps and voila you have perfect coffee, no refrigeration necessary so it can sit right with your coffee, filters and mugs. Buy this, it's definitely a 5 star product.", "Working to reduce m my body'd PH, helping to reduce the effects of my psoriasis, using twice a day first in the morning, last at night, mixing with a half a lemon and 10 oz of filtered water, seems to be helping", "Although these filter pods show up in every type of K-cup search they DO NOT work in Keurig machines and are NON-RETURNABLE!!!!!!!<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CCU848\">Wolfgang Puck Coffee, Chef's Reserve, Medium Roast, 18-Count Pods (Pack of 3)</a>", "The pod makes a very weak cup compared to 8oz of water with a Senseo pod in the Hamilton Beach single cup brewer. I tried using 2 pods, like I do with Senseo, and that did not work. The water did not filter through well and I was left with a mess. Stick with Senseo.", "Tinothy's coffee tastes great,,,but beware of the k-cups malfuncting, got cases of 50 and 1 out of 4 does not work....the filter comes loose inside the cup and won't let the coffes drain into the mug...mess.. gotta clean brewer of grounds etc. BEWARE", "I love Douwe Egberts coffee - it has a great flavor. The grind of this Decaff product is too fine for my machine, and it often overflows into the carafe causing me to have to filter the coffee. Again - the flavor is great, but the extra work caused me to cancel my subscription.", "First of all, the coffee is quite rich, and definitely appropriately labeled Fog Chaser! Non bitter, smooth bold medium-dark roast. It is one of my personal favorites. But the purchaser should be aware of how this coffee is packaged. It works great in the Keurig machines but the packaging is not a true K-cup. A K-cup, as designed (and probably patented), is a small plastic cup sealed with a foil lid, under which is a coffee filter pouch of a single serving of coffee. The packaging on this does not have the plastic cup encasing the foil lid and filter paper pouch of coffee. I suspect the manufacturer is saving in paying licensing fees from using the K-Cup design by excluding the cup. But you have to use different storage containers for these packages, as using the usual racks and other means of storing K-Cups will allow air to get to the coffee and cause it to go stale unless stored in an air-tight container or plastic bag. Also, this packaging may not work in Keurig brewers that automatically dispose of the spent K-Cups. Another slight inconvenience is that the brewed package leaves a wet coffee filter sack of coffee grounds, whereas with a genuine K-Cup, the spent package only has one small hole in the bottom of the plastic cup, the rest of the package is dry upon disposal handling.", "This is the best Gunpowder tea you will buy for the $$. It's perfect for everyday green tea drinking. The tins are individually foil sealed so you can take your time getting through the lot, or share with friends and family. I usually take a tin to work and keep one at home. Some specialty grocery stores in Dallas carry the loose teas, but out in the suburbs, Amazon makes it easy and convenient. I priced this out one time and it's $$/oz is incredible bargain, the same tin at specialty grocers (Whole Foods, Central Market, World Market) is like $6-$8. Unless you have an Asian market with a bulk tea section close to you, probably not going to get more affordable.<br /><br />---Preperation<br />Use filtered water if you can, I get it from my Fridge since it has filter on the water in the door.<br /><br />~165-170 degress F (I stick a probe digital thermometer into the whistle hole on my stove-top kettle and set the alarm to go off at 165F, gives me time to get from the living room back to the kitchen without it getting too hot. I have the tea portioned and waiting for the water in my teapot, 6 tsp)<br /><br />~3-3:30 minutes steep time (covered)<br /><br />Do not boil or steep longer than 3:30 or it will become overpowering and bitter. If you like it stronger, add more tea.<br /><br />I alternate with the Twining's Prince of Wales loose (~195-200F, 4min steep time), it has become my favorite black tea.<br /><br />No cream or suger needed if you brew it correctly. The green tea can be reused for another brew, I typically add a tsp or two to the already brewed leaves and good to go.<br /><br />The <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I68NCS\">Finum Brewing Medium Basket, Black</a> is a perfect partner for your mug/pot at work. I just use the hot water tap on our coffee machine over the leaves in the basket, 3 minutes later you have perfect green tea at work with easy clean-up.<br /><br />Enjoy this tea!", "I love raw honey, both for the health benefits and the flavor. But I'm not a big fan of pieces of bees knees and wings, or other bee parts - and I don't like chunks of bees wax in my honey. My husband feels the same. This is perfect for us, as it has been filtered enough to get that stuff out, but has not been heated, processed or otherwise tampered with - and the price is decent. Will buy from them again.", "Read about all of the benefits to drinking this over coffee and you will not be sorry you tried it. I needed an alternative to soda pop and hot chocolate mix, so decided to give it a try. I have never been a coffee drinker, but really like this. I keep a package at work and it has helped me stay hydrated because I drink at least two a day. One Tbsp. in a filter or French Press works great. Makes about 12 oz. serving.", "K-Cups are defective. Filter collapses and you get a cup full of grounds or a partial cup of coffee. Whwen you try to remove the K-Cup it makes a huge mess dripping grounds and coffee all over everything. Called Tomothy's customer service three times and you get an anwering machine and they DO NOT RESPOND to your complaints. My Kuerig works perfectly with four other brands so it is definitely a defective product.", "My husband and I are fans of flavored coffee and have tried many types of hazelnut coffee. This one is plain delicious, especially the first thing in the morning. It starts with the aroma while it's brewing, transfers to the cup, and then does not disappoint when you taste it. The flavor strength of this coffee is just right, and there is no artificial cast or aftertaste. To maximize our coffee experience, we keep the coffee in the freezer once it's been opened and double filter our water. Price wise, when Amazon runs it for just $4.71 a pound (do the math, and this includes super saver shipping), this coffee is perfect. I can finally quit searching for the perfect hazelnut coffee.", "Because of acid reflux I could not drink coffee, even with using Nexium. But this Folgers Simply Smooth was a wonderful find. I can drink this every day and enjoy my coffee drinking again. I brew it in a percolator with a double filter and it tastes just perfect. Others who have trouble with acid reflux should give this a try before giving up on coffee altogether. I hope you find the joy of coffee drinking once again.", "With the italian roast, the flavor is neither too strong or nor too light. Perfect for the mornings. I use cream and with Half-n-Half it tastes best. If you find Starbucks coffee little bit strong, italian roast is worth trying.<br />And if you love the \"filter coffee\" taste (folks from India should know it) then you would love this. Just about every guest who tried italian roast at my house agree!", "If you are watching what you eat and don't want to eat trans fats, then you should avoid this product or any other product that has partially hydrogenated oils in them. It's pretty fricking brilliant that the FDA allows a product to be labelled with 0 trans fat per serving when its actually about a half gram per serving. If the FDA really cared about this they would demand that labelling shows EXACTLY what is in the product. If you drink 2 or more cups of coffee a day with this stuff in it, you are getting a nice big dose of trans fat and doing yourself harm. This is not a liver friendly food. Eat liver friendly and you will live a long life. Your liver is the filter for the body. Just like a pool filter, once it gets clogged, it doesn't work good. Fortunately, the liver is one organ that can repair itself if you let it. Remember, eat liver friendly foods.", "These work perfect for quick lunches or a mid morning or afternoon snack. I usually use two packets at once for a lunch.", "Home and Beyond and True Value offers this 12 pack of coffee filters with 40 in each pack. I ordered two 12 packs of 40 coffee filters each and Home and Beyond only sent two packs of 40. Not the 24 packs I ordered and paid for. My advice is do not do business with Home and Beyond or True Value when buying these coffee filters because they do not ship what the listing says. Until Amazon starts enforcing Home and Beyond and True Value to honor what they list in their offerings, IMHO then the buyers need to go somewhere else. Weight says 4.20 pounds. Are they trying to say one tiny pack of 40 paper coffee filters weighs 4.20 pounds???", "I have purchased these K-Cups for some time now. Initially the coffee was great and the K-Cups worked flawlessly. However I've had issues with the last 2 cases that I've purchased. When they work the coffee is still great. The problem is Timothy's quality control as it pertains to the manufacturing of the K-Cup itself has become extremely poor. The filter inside the K-Cup is not secured properly resulting in a tremendous amount of grounds in your cup. This also serves to clog my Keurig as well. I use to think that this was the best K-Cup bargain around. Not any more. Looks like I will be changing brands. Buyer beware.", "I looove this water. I purchased about 8 boxes of these coconut water. They are convenient to carry around. I reuse the containers at work with filtered water or any other kind of beverage.<br /><br />I love the taste of this and for a whole container which is almost 2 cups of coconut water it's 90 calories. For a can of soda which is 1 1/2 cups of soda its 150 calories. It's well worth it.", "For instant noodles, this is the best you can get.<br />Easy to cook and ready in 2 minutes, perfect for lunch at work.", "This is one of those items you will want to keep in your pantry for a fast and satisfying meal. A thick soup that has a perfect blend of sweet and spicy (for a thinner version add a can of chicken broth). Perfect for autumn...worked great for a tail-gate party!", "Love the energy...perfect for working out. Not a fan of the carbonated flavors but the non-carbonated all rock. This stuff is amazing--my wife and I are hooked on it!", "Ever since reading about Consumer Reports selection of 8 O'Clock Columbian (not their other offerings), me and my extended family have been delighted with this affordable performer. It is utterly mellow and caramelly. I'm a firm believer in grinding my beans right before use, using fresh, filtered not-quite-boiling water, stirring that beautiful mixture up in a stainless steel French press (better than constantly replacing broken glass decanters!), waiting about 3 minutes to steep, and then pressing and pouring that frothy love into a waiting mug. It's surely the only way to make it through this crazy days--starting off with a perfect, fortifying cup of 8 O'Clock Columbian. Sometimes, if I'm feeling the need for a little extra smokiness, I'll add just a tablespoon of French Roast beans to the mix (I prefer Peet's and their glistening, almost fishy-smelling charcoal-colored beans). But make no mistake, it's the 8 O'Clock Columbian that makes it work.", "I have been a tea drinker all my life (loose tea, not teabags), and this to me is the best Earl Grey I have ever tasted. I have bought this Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey for years and despite occasionally trying a different brand, a different supplier, I am always coming back to this one.<br /><br />The best I can describe it is: It is balanced. Not too strong a bergamot taste, but not too much plain tea taste either. I would also describe it as elegant and delicate. I find Earl Greys that do not strike this fine balance to be either bland/flat or overpowering, in any case one-dimensional. To my taste buds, this one is perfect and has just the right amount of both key ingredients.<br /><br />Here are my tips to enjoy this tea to the fullest. I apologize if some of this seems self-evident, but I have encountered so many people who just did not know enough about tea, and then blamed it on the product that I want to make sure I am mentioning the key points:<br /><br />1. Storage<br />I keep my tea in the bag that it originally came in inside the box, and also clip it shut to preserve the aroma. When it comes to tea, it is critical to keep it away from light and to keep the storage container tightly shut. Also try to use up your tea in a reasonable amount of time or it will eventually go flat and old.<br /><br />2. Brewing<br />Use about 1 teaspoon per cup, and if you can, use filtered water (such as Brita-filtered, etc.). Then brew your tea with boiling water! And I mean boiling, not almost boiling.<br /><br />If you want to do it perfectly, give the tea leaves plenty of space - tea eggs are not the best choice to get the most flavorful taste. Ideally you will want to let the leaves float freely in the pot and then, after steeping, pour the tea through a strainer. But large tea filters also work. Examples are: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G72D70\">swissgold® TF 300 Tea Filter</a> or <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KDW9MO\">Finum 100 Tea Filters - Large (Make your own Teabags)</a><br /><br />3. Steeping<br />Rule of thumb: Steeping tea for less than 3 minutes will have a slight wake-up effect, more than 3 minutes (I usually do 3.5 minutes with this tea) will activate the \"calmer\" side of teas.<br /><br />I recommend Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey whole-heartedly - but I guess that is self-evident, too! :-)", "The disposable cups are perfect to have at work. Just fill with milk, eat and throw away. No need to cleanup!", "I drink teas everyday. This product made it easier to take to work for a healthy pick-me-up while working, or while driving. Cans arrived well packed and undamaged. Expiration date was a year out to Aug2010. Taste is clean, fresh, unsweetened -- perfect!", "These apricot bars are tasty and are the perfect snack for a road trip or to give you energy while you are working around the house", "Good honey roasted peanuts in convenient packaging at a good price -- add home delivery and this is great! These are perfect for portioned-out snacks for school or work. Recommended!", "This tea is very delicious. I mean VERY. It's the perfect drink for me after a long work day. It is truely relaxing and will put you right to sleep.", "Mild watermelon flavor, nice energy boost before training or just in the late afternoon at work. A little greasy. Perfect snack for Shark Week : )", "We love these! It is hard not to eat the whole bag in one sitting since they are so delicious. But the bags are reclosable, so perfect for snacking in the car, keeping in your desk at work, or slipping into your kids' backpacks for a healthy munchable. Fresh, spicy, perfect!" ]

[ "Isle of Man Prison Service" ]

[ "the Isle of Man", "Isle of Man Constabulary", "Isle of Man Government", "the Isle of Man Coastguard", "Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man", "The Story of the Isle of Man", "Isle of Man Airport", "University College Isle of Man", "Isle of Man Sea Terminal", "Isle of Man TT meeting", "the Isle of Man Department of Health and Social Security", "The Prisoner", "Isle of Man to England Interconnector", "Sulby, Isle of Man", "Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service", "Prisoners", "the Commissioner of Prisons", "Man on the Run", "prison", "The Man Who", "The Running Man", "Isle of Man Electric Telegraph Company", "The Northern Ireland Prison Service", "The Man Who Was Thursday", "The Administrator of the Pitcairn Islands", "chief prison guard", "prison officer", "Running Man Challenge", "The Man Who Laughs", "prison official", "Run Run Run", "Dean of the Isles" ]

[ "It is spreading, it just takes time to get ballot initiatives ready, campaign dollars lined up and all that. The likely \"next\" candidates are Oregon, Alaska,NY,Minnesota and Florida. California will have it front of voters in 2016 I think. Many organizations in these states have wanted to see what happens in CO and WA because they were fairly sure they'd show no big problems which would further their initiative." ]

[ "States that have legalized marijuana are in kind of a legal grey area. They are technically in violation of federal law, and if the federal government chose to send DEA agents to shut down every dispensary in Colorado, it would be perfectly legal. Essentially, Marijuana is legal because the federal government has chosen not to enforce marijuana prohibition in those states.", "Technically, states like Colorado and Washington haven't made marijuana legal. What they have done is removed laws that made them illegal, and elected not to help enforce federal law. Not having a state law does not conflict with the Constitution, and there are many other examples, like immigration, counterfeiting, and espionage laws. What you can't to is have a law that directly conflicts with the Constitution. The Supreme Court has ruled laws banning gay marriage are contrary to the Constitution, so all those laws are now null and void.", "Colorado, on the state level, has completely legalized the sale and recreational use of Marijuana. The Netherlands has a policy of non-enforcement for \"soft-drugs\" like marijuana. They do not enforce laws normally, but possession & personal use can be met with a fine if one is acting up. Additionally the \"Coffee Shops\" throughout Amsterdam are technically illegal but tolerated by authorities.", "It's still illegal at the federal level. It would be in President Obama's legal power to shut down the \"legal\" marijuana industry, but he's said that he's not interested in interfering with state rights on this matter. President Bush, on the other hand, did raid and shut down many medical marijuana dispensaries in California (this was before legalization occurred in Washington and Colorado).", "By federal law, marijuana is illegal everywhere. Some states have changed their laws so that *state law* says it's not illegal. Federal law trumps state law but state & city law enforcement are not required to enforce federal laws. The federal government's current position is to ignore marijuana crime in states where state law has legalized it. This could change any time and the DEA could round up all the owners of every pot shop in WA and CO tomorrow. It would be an amazingly unpopular decision - the liberals want it to be legalized & the conservatives are big fans of states' rights.", "City and state police in Colorado will not arrest you for posession of marijuana. Federal law enforcement (FBI, DEA, etc.) still could arrest you although they don't usually chase down people who buy weed from licensed dealers in places that have legalized it. If you send some pot from Colorado to your friend in Massachusetts, you committed a crime that crossed state lines which gives the feds reason to get involved and arrest you.", "Because there is no such thing as legal marijuana in the US. It is still illegal to possess and distribute at a federal level. States that have legalized or decriminalized marijuana at a state level have just chosen not to enforce federal laws. Federal agencies can still enforce federal law, and state agencies can change their minds at any time an restart enforcement.", "DUI means driving under the influence of any drug legal or not. It technically can be applied even if you take too many advils and the prosecution proves this impairs your ability to drive. While Alcohol is the most common drug tested for on drivers, Marijuana is a close second. Each state deals with it differently, but Colorado specifically says that its officers will look for signs of marijuana use on drivers. TL;DR: Yes, it's a DUI and yes they look for it, especially where it's legal.", "It's not violating federal law. The fact that Colorado has legalized pot does not mean that DEA agents cannot enforce federal law in Colorado. Rather, it simply means that Colorado police will not arrest them for pot-related crimes; DEA agents, however, are welcome to enter Colorado and arrest people for pot-related crimes against federal law. If Mississippi tried to ban abortion, the superiority clause would take effect, which means that federal law would trump state laws, and Mississippi would not be allowed to ban abortions.", "Well, the point of the War on Drugs is to get rid of them. Legalizing drugs is just admitting defeat. But for real answers, drugs are widely seen as a destructive force in people's lives and while incarceration doesn't seem to help that, legalization is seen as a step in the wrong direction. Prisons are a huge component to a lot of local economies so they do carry quiet the lobbying voice. For better or worse. Legalization doesn't get rid of the black market and quite a lot of the reasons people don't like drug use is because of all the turf wars and other such nastiness that comes from black market deals. Washington's legalization of marijuana has created a very restricted system of dispensaries and taxes that make legal marijuana more expensive than street marijuana and legalizing it makes it less likely someone will be punished for purchasing from unlicensed vendors. If your goal is to get rid of the black market, then legalization needs to be very carefully pursued.", "Marijuana is largely a harmless drug that many people of all ages throughout the US use consistently with no cases of sickness, violence, or negative effects in general. Many people also use marijuana to effectively treat a variety of illnesses. Current laws put thousands of nonviolent people in jail unnecessarily, which is costly to the state. Police also expand lots of resources going after marijuana users unnecessarily. Legalization could generate lots of money in tax revenue as well. Legalization is pretty much a no-brainer.", "Because the relevant lawmakers decided it would be a good idea, drafted laws to that effect, and passed them. That's what it takes to make something \"legal\": a law.", "There were very strong social mores against it, but of course that didn't *entirely* prevent it from happening. I've addressed this in more depth [here](_URL_1_) and [here](_URL_0_) but happy to answer follow-ups best I can.", "\"De jure\" basically means \"in law\", contrasted with \"de facto\" which means \"in practice\". Often laws are not enforced or in conflict and some other practice takes over. For example, smoking marijuana is against federal law in Colorado, but state law allows it and the federal laws are, in practice, not enforced. Smoking marijuana is de jure illegal, but de facto legal.", "The same reason that prohibition failed. The same reason gun control laws fail. These are laws that are an attempt at social construct that a significant portion of the population has not agreed to abide by.", "because many conservatives still believe marijuana is evil and scary", "1. Depends on the store. Google 'colorado recreational marijuana' to find places that sell it. 1. 1/4 oz. 1. AFAIK, yes, you can go to different stores. The maximum legal carry amount is 1 oz. 1. Yes.", "this was discussed a few weeks back with some good answers here: _URL_0_", "Legalizing marijuana is not a politically wise proposal to make. There are lots of reasons why this is so, but the core thing is that a politician would lose more votes from the minority that opposes marijuana than from the majority that supports it. As long as that is true, marijuana will not be legalized, no matter how strong the reasons are.", "Legalizing marijuana isn't an important issue for most people because most people do not use it. Between 5-10% of people regularly use marijuana. That means the other 90-95% of people probably aren't that concerned with whether or not it's legal even if they wouldn't mind if it is legal. For most people, if you ask them \"Do you think marijuana should be legal?\" They may say \"Sure, whatever. Doesn't bother me.\" But it's not an important issue to them. They're not going to vote for a candidate because the candidate supports the legalization of marijuana. They're going to vote for candidates based on issues that are important to them.", "Because the federal government chooses not to go into Colorado and enforce that law. They would be within their right to do so, though.", "It doesn't fail in nearly all states. About 20 states have legalized medical marijuana, and four have legalized it for recreational use. In the case of Ohio, a large number of people who would normally vote for marijuana legalization opposed the ballot measure because it would enshrine an oligopoly in the state constitution (it would be illegal for everyone but a couple groups to grow or sell marijuana).", "You can be legally fired for ANYTHING that is not Race, Gender, Age, Veteran status, or a few other protected categories. You can legally get fired for having a beer, or for having a mustache, or for having a name starting with Q. Even IN Colorado/Washington, you could be arrested because it is still illegal under Federal law. That said, if you went, smoked in a private place, came back, and your job didn't do a random drug tests any time shortly thereafter, you'd probably get away with it.", "As a follow-on, why is Nebraska the only state that doesn't?", "1. It's not legal everywhere and the laws regarding it are constantly changing 2. Marijuana-related business are relatively new as a whole, so there's no leaders as far the best companies go. They're all jockeying for contention as a top company right now. 3. Many people still buy marijuana illegally for a variety of reasons, so a strong black market is fighting against a legitimate market. 4. Product quality can be inconsistent 5. Prices of marijuana as a whole depend on a variety of factors which directly influence the price of companies that deal with marijuana 6. Public perception of marijuana, while generally trending towards positive, still ebbs and flows. Edit: Can't forget that a bunch of people are trying to join the gold rush they believe the marijuana industry might be, so there's a lot of companies popping up that are people looking to get rich quick with not much in the way of any sort of business experience.", "Depends on how they legalize it. If they just 100% legalize it and don't regulate it then nothing will change because it would still be cheaper to buy marijuana from mexico on the street than buy it at a legal pot shop in the US. Also there is still the demand for marijuana in states where it is still illegal and it's way cheaper to buy and smuggle mexican marijuana than smuggling in stuff from legal pot shops. Mexico would have to regulate and tax it to the point that it isn't worth the trouble to try and smuggle it into the US. The other thing that isn't being considered are the other drugs. Things like cocaine from south america end up going through mexico to get to the US. So even if marijuana is legalized and regulated to the point that cartels can't make money on it, the cartels will just shift focus to smuggling more cocaine, meth, haroin, etc.", "Because the people who would make it illegal used it to get elected.", "Why did you [copy this question directly from the Straight Dope column five days ago](_URL_0_)? At the very least, you should have linked to that column, since there's a lot of good information in that article specifically addressing the question.", "It *did* have wide popular support, especially in the South. Many devout Christians considered the consumption of alcohol to be a sin or a pathway to sin. Those attitudes haven't died off either: Mississippi kept state-wide Prohibition until 1966, and today there are still plenty of dry counties in the rural South and Midwest. It was also supported by elements of the Progressive Movement of the day, which was a general movement of social activism and reform. The thinking was that alcohol was partially responsible for keeping low-class workers poor, violent and unhealthy.", "The short answer is it was illegal and would have been terribly unprofitable even if it wasn't. For a longer answer, consult [this](_URL_0_) topic and [this](_URL_1_) topic where similar questions were asked.", "I mean.. What. You don't think it's been making progress slowly this whole time and it's just finally manifesting in legislature?", "It is probably because our laws are often determined by the prevailing culture and social norms, and not based on logical or scientific reasons. For example, in the early 1900s it would have been illegal in some states for inter-racial couples to marry. And slowly through abolition and expanded human rights those laws were overturned. We're starting to see how prevailing society and culture is starting to become more accepting of marijuana and LGBT rights. So now many states have legalized marijuana and gay marriage. Why are cigarettes legal? The same reason why alcohol is legal. They are socially accepted drugs that we don't frown upon in our culture." ]

[ "Social Security benefits are protected when it comes to private debt like medical costs, car loans and credit card bills. Creditors in such cases can get a court order to garnish money from your work paychecks or bank accounts, but federal law prevents them from touching Social Security benefits." ]

[ "Your Social Security check will decrease if you owe certain debts like back taxes or student loans. An increase in your income often decreases your Social Security benefits. ... Triggered by higher income, a higher Medicare premium can diminish your monthly Social Security check.", "If your monthly Social Security checks are lost or stolen, you should report this immediately to the Social Security office. Social Security office will issue a stop payment on that check and will reissue a replacement check to you. You should receive replacement checks within 15 days.", "Taking your Social Security benefits early can reduce your payments by up to 30%. Triggered by higher income, a higher Medicare premium can diminish your monthly Social Security check.", "Receiving Social Security payments Social Security benefits are only paid out electronically; you will not receive a Social Security check in the mail. You can either receive a direct deposit into your bank account or opt for a prepaid debit card.", "Social Security Checks. Social Security checks are issued by the Treasury Department on regular green government checks. Social Security benefits are not assignable and are not subject to attachment or levy by creditors.", "Social Security checks are deposited on the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of each month, depending on your day of birth. The Social Security check schedule works as follows: If you were born on the: 1st–10th of the month: Expect your Social Security check to be deposited on the 2nd Wednesday of each month.", "The Social Security Administration no longer mails paper checks, though many still refer to the payments as Social Security checks. There are two ways you can receive your benefits: Direct deposit: Payments are automatically posted into your bank account on your payment day.", "If you owe federal taxes, 15 percent of your Social Security check can be used to pay your debt, no matter how much money is left. For student loans and other non-tax debts, the government can take 15 percent of your Social Security check as long as the remaining balance doesn't drop below $750.", "The easiest way to apply for a Social Security number for your child is to complete a birth registration form, which has a box you can check to request a number for your child. ... Complete Form SS-5 (Application for Social Security Number) and provide both parents' Social Security numbers on the form.", "If you aren't sure whether you've earned enough credits, you can find out by checking your annual Social Security statement for your eligibility status, which you can access by creating an account on the Social Security Administration's website, SSA.gov.", "Generally, Social Security benefits are exempt from execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or from the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law.", "Cash your Social Security check at a local bank that you have an account with. If you don't have an account with a local bank, visit a local bank to apply for one. This can be a checking account or a savings account. As a courtesy, most banks will not charge current customers a fee to cash Social Security checks.", "Do auto insurance companies check marital status? They do NOT need to check, because you need to list all of your Spouse's information, Name, Social Security #, Date of Birth, & Driver's License #. The will check THOSE things out, so your spouse's Social Security # better come up on a credit check.", "The quickest and easiest is to use AARP's Social Security Benefits Calculator or check your online My Social Security account. The latter draws on your earnings record on file with the Social Security Administration; for the AARP calculator, you'll need to provide your average annual income.", "You need to put your Social Security number on the rental application so the landlord or property manager can check your background and your credit.", "You'll need to pay into Social Security for at least 40 calendar quarters, or 10 years, to be eligible for any retirement income that's based on your earnings record. What is your earnings history? You can check your earnings history online at the Social Security website.", "No, you cannot check the status of your Social Security number. The Social Security office will only give you two weeks from the time you have applied to receive your SSN card in the mail. During those two weeks, you will have a receipt from your local Social Security office that you can show to any employer.", "If you're 18 years old or older, you can create a my Social Security account. At www.socialsecurity.gov/ myaccount, you can get your Social Security Statement to check your earnings record, and see estimates of future retirement, disability, and survivor benefits.", "There are two ways to check the status of your Social Security Disability application: You can check the status of your application online at the SSA website. ... You'll need to create a \"my Social Security\" account online, which should take only a short time. You contact the SSA by phone and speak with a representative.", "Checking account: A checking account can be opened individually or jointly, and you'll need your basic information, Social Security number, driver's license, and a minimum opening deposit amount.", "['Calling the local Social Security Office and speaking with a disability claims representative.', 'Checking the status of your claim on the Social Security website.', 'Speaking directly with the disability examiner assigned to your case.']", "Most people apply for their child's Social Security number at birth, usually at the hospital. When the time comes for your child's first job, the number is already in place. For more information on getting your child a Social Security number and card, check out Social Security Numbers for Children.", "No. The government can't withhold VA disability compensation if your federal student loans are in default. When you're in default the government can garnish your wages and certain Social Security and Rail Road entitlement benefits. The government may also be able to take your tax refund.", "If you're on social security and use direct deposit, you can expect your $1200 stimulus payment in your account sometime Wednesday. Mailed checks will begin Friday.", "['Proof of identity. ( ... ', 'Your Social Security card.', 'Proof of residence. ( ... ', 'Your Social Security card.', \"Your current driver's license.\", \"Check out Florida's GatherGoGet website for a complete listing of documents needed.\"]", "If your check is sent through Social Security, it will go wherever your normal social security payment goes (bank or Direct Express Card). If you filed taxes or signed up for a stimulus check, it will go to whatever bank information you listed.", "At www.socialsecurity.gov/ myaccount, you can get your Social Security Statement to check your earnings record, and see estimates of future retirement, disability, and survivor benefits.", "Social Security cost-of-living allowance increases for 2017 is just 0.3 percent. Your Social Security check will increase by a measly 0.3 percent next year. That's according to the Social Security Administration, which announced its 2017 cost-of-living adjustment on Tuesday.", "You can check on your eligibility, earnings history and estimated future benefits on the Social Security statement at your online My Social Security account. While you can start collecting retirement benefits at age 62, your payments are reduced if you claim them before reaching full retirement age.", "Sign in to your my Social Security account to check your application status. Already have a my Social Security Account? Sign in to your account, scroll down to the “Your Benefit Application” section and select “View Details” to see your application status.", "While you don't have the ability to change the dates when your checks are disbursed by the Social Security Administration, you can change your bills to correspond to those dates.", "A: All Social Security checks are paid one month in arrears. For example, the Social Security payment for May would be sent to you in June." ]

[ "Pretty basic, needed a slim stand to put all my video games on as I got rid of the shelf I had them on before and wanted something that wasn't that bulky and fit in the corner. Super affordable. Took less than ten minutes to put together and put all my games on. Would definitely recommend." ]

[ "Super durable! Not too big, not too small. This is a great bag at the price point! The leather details make it stand out and look more expensive.", "It's a hamper,not much to say. No manufacturing defects noted and easy to carry when full instead of transferring to a basket. Nice natural color exterior that doesn't stand out and price was great. Purchased on daily deals and worth the price.", "My dogs love these hooves! Nice sized hooves really stand up to my dogs which are great chewers. Your dog will love them! I received the item at a discounted price for an honest review and I stand by the integrity of this review.", "Taste great. Very fresh, with a Ziploc bag to keep them that way. Chopped a bit small , better as a topping or in recipes than as a stand alone snack. Good price at Amazon Recommended!", "Great shoe especially for the price - hybrid boot-shoe and a high top for the snow, so looking forward to having stylish and functional boots that wear like shoes for the winter months. Got a great price as well. The tops of them are sort of grey but I liked that aspect. Very comfortable if a bit large for the size, but I can tell these will wear very well and stand up to most elements. Very satisfied.", "I bought these PYLE PPA-12 Professional Premium Pa Woofers as replacements for blown woofers in a pair of high end 3-way floor standing speakers I've had for 20 years. They sound better than the original woofers and hit a lot harder too, easily taking 200 watts of slamming bass and sounding crisp, clear, and deep.\n\n Great speakers, great price, great service!", "Great case for the Fire HD 6. Doesn't shut off the device when closing, so text-to-speech stays on and the screen can be protected at the same time. Grippy rubber-type strips on both sides of the open end so you can stand it up... yeah, that doesn't work so well. Price is right. Great cover/case all around!", "I have LOTS of Kershaws. For the price, this is a great knife as they all are. Spring-assist is smooth as expected. It is not my favorite Kershaw - it feels a little \"off\", but if you aren't super picky like I am with knives, it is a good one. I stand behind this brand completely.", "I just love these boots! I ordered them in size 8 so they would be roomy but not too big,I usually take a 7 1/2. It worked! They fit great and are very comfortable! I work nights as a cashier and am able to wear them for\n5 and 6 hour shifts for which I'm standing on my feet and they don't bother them which is amazing! So glad I made this purchase and a great price for a quality boot!", "Went on easy - looks great in the play room.\nIt could stand to be a little bigger :)", "Great socks. Fits perfectly as size indicated. The compression is great for reducing swelling and makes standing and walking more comfortable.", "This was a great production when it first aired and it stands the test of time. The DVD picture quality is fantastic. Great acting, great sets and costumes. I use it for Theatre History and Period Styles classes.", "Not good for walking. The elastic allows your foot to slide forward. Great for standing.", "The perfect case! It has a unique design that keeps your tablet secure with little room for accidents. It has a great feature that allows you to adjust the tablet to stand at any and all angles. A great quality and excellent design. This is a case that stands out from a standard case.", "Works great for the price. Had an issue with random restarts till I disabled the battery saving app, now it works fine. Does what I need it to when I travel. Battery life is descent. If you're a gamer, get a battery pack. It won't play top end games, but it plays the classic must have android games, like fruit ninja. Get a pair of headphones and a stand, then its great for movie viewing and comic reading.", "This extension cord is great for extra slack when it comes to listening to my headphones while I'm standing at work. Perfectly clear sound and great quality - no complaints!", "This is great for a fan of Sherlock Holmes it is out Standing I really like it", "Pretty awesome! They're made of nice durable plastic and decent enough detailing for the price, in case you want to paint them. They all came in great condition. They stand up nice and straight, and none of the spears or swords are kinked or bent. I'll be using for tabletop games, but I'm sure kids would love them too...\nThey're about 3cm at the head.", "A great read. This book is a stand alone. However, reading the earlier books may be useful.", "Comic backs, without the bags, are great for storing fabric. They add body to the fabric which can stand up like books in a shelf. Just fold the fabric, selvage to selvage, then fold again, begin rolling at the end and voila, all your fabric stash is organized by standing up just like in the quilt shops. Great idea. Thanks Craftsy.", "Very light but warm with the filling that is inside. Great for wearing as a jacket when temps are in the 40's or 50's. My only complaint is the collar, the peaks are a bit large and get quite floppy in the wind. Would be a better design with a roll or stand-up collar and maybe even a light concealed zipper hood. BTW Costco has them now for a better price.", "I think for the money it is a shame that this is not painted better. The rooms are molded plastic with no color to make any shape stand out. Example: The rug on the floor is molded into the floor but it is the same color as the floor. The accessories are absolutely ridiculous in price. $60 for a living room set for a small child to play with?! Way too much! But I bit the bullet for my granddaughter and we are having a great time playing with it together and her on her own. I just wish it was available to more children, but not at these prices!!", "The stand broke almost immediately. If it were a little more sturdy, this would be a great product.", "The HP 27er IPS LED Monitor is a super thin monitor that looks great on any desk from any angle! The HP 27er departs from a black color and uses a matte silver on the back, front bottom bezel and stand. Excluding the bottom bezel the 1 millimeter top and side bezels are nearly invisible.\n\nSetup was intuitive and provided solid stand connection. The stand itself tilts but does not provide any vertical adjustment.\n\nWhile it may not be 4K, it really does not need to be--the screen is bright, uniform from a wide angle, and color appears spot on without any calibration. No light bleeding is observed along the edges during darker projections (or game play). Refresh rates are just fine for fast games, and hookup to my normal Nvidia GTX 970 card via HDMI provided a great display. Same display characteristics were provided by a Lenovo laptop (via serial connection).\n\nFor the price it is hard to fault this great HP 27er IPS LED monitor!\n\nConnections on the back include two HDMI, and serial ports, providing old and new laptops/computers enough options for proper display.", "Wonderfully written with great detail, reading this book is as if you were standing there back in the day watching for yourself.", "Very comfortable. I purchased them in red and black. Great shoe for people who walk and stand with their jobs!", "My mom bought this table and I bought a Fisher Price table. The kids love the Leap Frog Table and hate the Fisher Price one. The Leap Frog one is awesome! It has two options, words or music. So for the little ones to whom words don't mean much, you can use the music reinforcement and my toddler (age 2) likes the word option now. Great for around age 8 months when they start pulling up to stand. Love Love Love this table.", "The camera is great, had an HD and LD option when viewing. Has a great night vision mode and the speaker and microphone work great. Only downside with this is it came with 2 Door/window sensors. If you have a door jam, the sensors won't work. They need to be starting out flush, right next to each other. Also, there is an option in the app to select an area in the camera field for it to start recording the 30 second clip. This is great, but it senses my movement in that area and theres about a 3 minute delay. So by the time someone just simply walks by that area and moves out of it, theres that long pause before he recording and by the time I get that alert and clip to watch, the person is either just standing still there or has walked by already.\n\nOverall, great for the price, though.", "WIsh I wore them as a trail shoe but actually wear them as a nurse in the operating room. Great traction on wet surfaces and great support when standing on concrete floor for 12 hours.", "This paper is really awesome!! The images printed on this paper really stand out and have a great appearance when framed.", "I was ambivalent about trying this or any non brand name coffee on the internet but decided to take a chance.\nI have been buying coffee from web sites for years with great success, but increasing prices and lesser quality started creeping in. I also blend 50/50 decaf and wanted a chemical free decaf to use. This product was just the answer I was looking for. Big bag , yes. But when opened the fresh roasted aroma filled our house. As with anything worth having it is a little on the pricey side, but how many cups of bad coffee can you really stand?\nGreat product, great delivery and a definite buy again." ]

[ "Last November, Kris Kobach, the conservative firebrand who co-chairs the president's voter fraud panel, walked into a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump with a proposal to \"Stop Aliens From Voting.\"\nOn Thursday, a federal judge ordered the release of that proposal and another memo advocating sweeping changes to the nation's voter registration laws after Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, fought vigorously for months to keep the documents from public scrutiny.\nKobach, according to the two unsealed documents, proposed that states require individuals to provide documents proving their U.S. citizenship when registering to vote by amending several sections of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act.\nThe documents give a glimpse into the hardline plan Kobach, a strict voter ID advocate, proposed to the president regarding voting rights, before Kobach joined the president's Election Integrity Commission to examine nationwide voting issues.\nPlay Facebook\nTwitter\nEmbed The voter fraud lies keep coming 6:30 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog\nThe two documents were ordered released by U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson as part of a voting rights lawsuit filed in February 2016 by the American Civil Liberties Union.\nThe first document — titled “Kobach Strategic Plan for First 365 Days\" — was heavily redacted, except for a section titled \"Stop Aliens From Voting,\" with a bullet point promoting the proof-of-citizenship requirements.\nThat document, presented to Trump last November, was photographed by The Associated Press.\nThis cropped and rotated clockwise image shows a document held by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as he poses with Presient-elect Donald Trump at the clubhouse of the Trump International Golf Club, in Bedminster, N.J. Peter Foley / EPA\nAt the time, a zoomed-in image of the document revealed that the first bullet point was to reinstate an immigrant tracking system established in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with other portions covered by Kobach's hand.\nThe second document detailed five amendments to the national voter registration law, which allows voters to register at motor vehicle offices, allowing a state to require \"any information\" from voters when registering.\nKobach proposed adding a new section to the law stating: “Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a state from requiring documentary proof of citizenship from any applicant.”\nKobach and his lawyers tried to prevent the release of the documents, arguing they were protected under attorney-client and executive privileges.\nDale Ho, the director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, praised the unsealing and criticized Kobach's proposals.\n\"Kris Kobach is public enemy No. 1 when it comes to voter suppression in the country, which is why courts have repeatedly ruled against him,\" Ho said in a statement.\n\"The documents unveiled today show that he wants to dismantle the motor-voter law and replicate his voter suppression practices — which have disenfranchised thousands of Kansans — around the country.\"\nKobach has been on a crusade in his home state to root out illegal voting, which experts say is rare; he successfully lobbied the state Legislature in 2015 to become deputized to prosecute voter fraud cases.\nIn two years, he has had nine convictions, most of older individuals who had misunderstood their voting rights, and just one noncitizen.\nKobach, who is running for governor of Kansas, was tapped in May to co-chair the president's voter fraud commission, which has received bipartisan backlash for requesting sensitive voter file data.\nHis office did not respond to a request for comment." ]

[ "One young Arizona woman wasn't ready to let her Republican senator off the hook for his stance on Planned Parenthood .\nDeja Foxx, 16, showed up to Senator Jeff Flake's town hall last Thursday—the same day a measure Flake had voted for became law. The measure, House Joint Resolution 43, allows states to withhold Title X funding from Planned Parenthood and other health care centers that provide abortions. (Title X is a federal funding program for family planning services, and that funding isn't allowed to pay for abortions anyway.) When the bill hit the Senate at the end of March, Flake voted to push it forward. HJR 43 landed on President Donald Trump 's desk shortly thereafter, and he signed it into law on Thursday. ( Learn more about this bill and what it means for you here. )\nBut Foxx, a Planned Parenthood patient who relies on Title X funding, wasn't prepared to let Flake off easy for his vote. The Arizona teen used the senator's town hall as an opportunity to educate him on the importance of Planned Parenthood —and the vital role it plays in helping vulnerable women access vital health care services. \"I just want to state some facts,\" Foxx said , beginning her speech. \"I'm a young woman; you're a middle-aged man. I'm a person of color; you're white. I come from a background of poverty, and I didn't always have parents to guide me through life; you come from privilege.\" The crown began cheering.\n\"So I'm wondering,\" Foxx continued. \"As a Planned Parenthood patient and someone who relies on Title X—who you are clearly not—why is it your right to take away my right to choose Planned Parenthood ?\" Foxx kept speaking, but the impassioned cheers of the crowd drowned out the rest of her words.\n\"I'm glad to hear of my privileged childhood,\" Senator Flake responded, after thanking Fox for her comment. The crowd began jeering as Flake drew attention to the fact that he has 10 siblings and paid for college on his own. \"Privilege comes in many forms,\" Foxx quickly replied.\n\"You bet it does, and I've had a lot of advantages that others haven't,\" Flake said. \"What I want is to make sure that everyone can realize the American dream that all of us have been successful in. So that's what I'm trying to do, and that's why I support the policies that I support.\" But Foxx wasn't convinced: \"If the American dream is helping me to be successful and to reach for higher education, and if Planned Parenthood is doing that as well, why would you deny me the American dream?\"\nWatch Foxx's incredible back-and-forth with her congressperson below.\nFeeling motivated to act? There are plenty of ways to make your voice heard. SELF's resources on finding activist opportunities and getting involved in policy decisions are great places to start. If you're passionate about women's access to reproductive healthcare in particular, you can also consider: donating to the Center for Reproductive Rights , volunteering for NARAL Pro-Choice America , donating to the Reproductive Health Access Project , or volunteering for Planned Parenthood . Other organizations can help families in need access affordable childcare , job training , and much-needed food and household supplies .\nRelated:\nYou might also like: 7 Ways You Didn't Know Obamacare Affected Your Daily Life", "Despite this, environmental activists and news outlets have eagerly linked the wildfires to man-made warming.\nThere are many causes and Trump isn’t to blame. Jerry Brown, on the other hand, could do a much better job but he can’t think beyond his ideology. Global warming is the new political science.\nIn the late 60’s when Jerry ‘Moonbeam’ Brown started his career in politics and until he became governor in 2011, there wasn’t any legislation or political movement from him concerning emissions or global warming.\nWe need to know why U.S. tax dollars should fund other nations’ greenhouse gas reduction programs? Are you going to pay for your neighbor to install a solar system? The one side says it’s because the U.S. is to blame for all the pollution and warming so the U.S. must pay.\nLet’s vote instead for creating jobs and ensuring energy independence, supporting the cancelation of the Paris Climate Agreement.\n“This is the new normal,” Brown said, as quoted by the Orange County Register. “We’re facing a new reality where fires threaten peoples’ lives, their properties, their neighborhoods and cost billions and billions of dollars. We have to have the resources to combat the fires, and also have to invest in managing our vegetation and forests and all the ways we dwell in this very wonderful place — but a place that’s getting hotter.”\nWhat about prevention Jerry?\nWhen the small fires began, why didn’t Brown take preventive measures? Instead of worrying about computer models that predict events 100 years from now, why not look at the here-and-now?\nCalifornia has always had Santa Anna winds in southern California and Diablo winds in the north. What changed is people building houses in steep canyons for the views in areas many insurance companies will not insure.\nThere has been growth of bushes and trees that have not burned in decades.\nMany fires started beside a major road. This is a result of arsonists who like to set fires during these winds. It is no coincidence that multiple fires start close together all over southern California. They have caught some of the arsonists. It’s not the work of God or of Trump, but of evil men and an ineffective bureaucracy in the state.\nThe Paris deal might have reduced the temperature of the earth less than one-half of one percent in 100 years – maybe – according to constantly readjusted and erroneous computer models.\nJim Beers, founder of Wolf Education International and a former Fish & Wildlife biologist/agent, blames bad government practices as adding to the problems of wildfires:\nThe fires in Alaska and the western United States are entirely due to fire fuel accumulation on government land and landscapes inhospitable to access, fuel management or firefighting:\nLands where timber management no longer exists; lands where timber companies and sawmills are extinct; lands where “endangered species” demands make water unavailable to fight fires; lands where grazing is being eliminated; lands where roads are bulldozed closed; lands where firewood collection is restricted; lands where hunting is disappearing thanks to government wolves and grizzly bears; lands where camping and hiking are less available and more dangerous thanks to government predators; lands that no longer generate revenue for federal owners.\nLocal revenue, businesses, states, and the local families and communities are increasingly isolated in penury.", "It’s another idea.\nThat’s all.\nLocal developer Doug Manchester told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell via letter earlier this month that he has “assembled a powerful group of associates” who will develop the land on which Qualcomm Stadium sits and privately finance “a new 70,000-seat stadium and surrounding development.”\nA town that couldn’t keep an NFL franchise is evidently now teeming with possible ways to develop the land the Chargers abandoned.\nThere are no specifics contained in the letter, and Manchester declined comment Tuesday.\nAdd the proposal to the list of projects that could maybe possibly perhaps might someday become an actual something on the city’s most valuable piece of real estate.\nThe most tangible of the proposals, at present, is the one proffered by FS Investors. The local group would bring an MLS expansion franchise to San Diego, build a smaller stadium to house both the professional soccer team and San Diego State football, and develop a total of 75 acres amidst the 166-acre parcel.\nBut we ought not forget JMI Realty’s idea for an SDSU expansion as part of a low-density development of the 166 acres, park land and a stadium for Aztecs football.\nIt’s enough to make us wonder if we should pump the brakes on the rush to find a solution of what to do with the budget-sapping building and gigantic useless parking lot in the middle of Mission Valley.\nBut with a healthy fear of paralysis, which has been San Diego’s default setting, we must shrug off the urge to stall and continue pushing forward with the MLS plan and hope the others make it difficult to choose.\nRight now, there is only one choice.\nThe FS Investors’ plan is the one ready to roll. It might be hurried. It might be a land grab. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. It can be good both for the rich guys and the regular guy.\nThere is still a citizens’ initiative for which 72,000 signatures must be gathered, then City Council approval to be attained. The signatures won’t be a problem, which would place it in front of council members to either forward to a public vote or approve outright. The latter is the goal of FS Investors, since MLS needs assurance by this fall that a stadium deal is in place for targeted completion in 2020.\nIndications are that city officials are on board with the MLS plan.\nAs sports fans and interested citizens, we can stand behind the FS Investors proposal without dismissing the others. Let the others step up and put pressure on the city to make the right decision.\nIf John Moores, Steve Peace and John Kratzer of JMI are ready to roll, we need to know now.\n“For two years we’ve said we’re willing to be at the leadership of a community effort to raise money and lead the efforts and be at the front of the class in making it happen,” Peace said of JMI’s desire to develop the Qualcomm Stadium parcel as part of a San Diego State expansion that would include office space and housing as well as a college football stadium.\nBut it is the FS Investors group that has shown the money and presented a vision that has ingratiated them to city leaders and, apparently, San Diego State. There aren’t too many people around town more civic-minded or with more money than Moores. If JMI wants to make this difficult on the city and SDSU, Moores can do it.\nThe NFL is not presently taking Manchester’s plan seriously.\nThat is not to say the league wouldn’t eventually jump into bed with Manchester, et al.\nBut until there are specifics – and more importantly, an NFL team involved – this letter goes in the “Later” stack on Goodell’s desk.\nManchester, the former owner of the Union-Tribune, informed Goodell the San Diego group could “provide an immediate alternative” for the Oakland Raiders if their stadium proposal in Las Vegas falls through. The Raiders maintain they are still working toward moving to Las Vegas despite two potential financial partners withdrawing in recent weeks. League owners are set to vote on the Raiders’ relocation request at a meeting in late March.\nThe correspondence from Manchester, dated Feb. 8, said the group is “open to working with the Chargers, the Raiders, other NFL owners or a new ownership group.” The letter said an NFL franchise could participate as a partner in the stadium and/or development or tenant.\n“Our group will provide the funds previously allocated to be provided by the City of San Diego and guarantee the stadium’s expeditious construction. Accordingly, this project will not require voter approval.” The letter also said the group would provide “new state of the art scoreboards and upgrade Qualcomm Stadium while the new stadium is being constructed.”\nManchester has amassed a fortune building things. He knows how to get things done in this town. So does Moores, the former owner of the Padres who once employed the right people and right approach to get a downtown ballpark built.\nBut anyone who wants to get the attention of the NFL (or get in the way of MLS) needs to have more than a concept.\nkevin.acee@sduniontribune.com", "ERBIL, Iraq Iraq's Kurds plan to hold a referendum on independence this year to press their case for \"the best deal\" on self-determination once Islamic State is defeated, a senior Kurdish official said.\nThe Kurds already run their own autonomous region in northern Iraq and the official, Hoshiyar Zebari, indicated the expected 'yes' outcome in a vote wouldn't mean automatically declaring independence.\nBut with Kurdish forces also controlling wider territory regained from Islamic State, the referendum plan adds to questions about Iraq's unity after the militants have been ousted from Mosul.\nThe two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), agreed at a meeting on Sunday that a referendum should be held this year, Zebari, a senior member of the KDP leadership, told Reuters.\n\"The idea of a referendum has been re-energised,\" Zebari, a former Iraqi foreign and finance minister, said in an interview in Erbil on Wednesday evening, commenting on the meeting held with the PUK's leadership.\nThe Kurds played a major role in the U.S.-backed campaign to defeat Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim group that overran about a third of Iraq nearly three years ago. The militants are now fighting off Iraqi forces in Mosul, their last major city stronghold in Iraq from where they declared a \"caliphate\" that also includes parts of Syria.\nWhile the fall of Mosul would effectively end the \"caliphate\", it will not solve deep divisions over power, land and resources between Iraq's Shi'ite Arab majority, and the important Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities.\nThe two rival Kurdish groups issued a joint statement on Sunday declaring support for the plan of holding a referendum, leaving its exact timing to an agreement with other, smaller Kurdish groups.\nZebari described the aim as \"self-determination\", leaving open the exact nature of any deal with Baghdad following the referendum when Kurds would be likely to vote strongly for independence.\n\"It will give a strong mandate to the Kurdish leadership to engage in talks with Baghdad and the neighbours in order to get the best deal for Kurdish self-determination,\" he said.\nIraqi Kurdish independence has been historically opposed by Iraq and also its neighbours, Iran, Turkey and Syria, as they fear the contagion for their own Kurdish populations.\nIraq's Kurds are the community to have advanced the most toward their long-held dream of independence. Iraq has been led by the Shi'ites since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, following a U.S.-led invasion.\nThey run their own affairs in the north, through a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), led by KDP leader Massoud Barzani.\nThey have their own armed force, the Peshmerga, which prevented in 2014 Islamic State from capturing the oil region of Kirkuk, after the Iraqi army fled in the face of the militants.\nThe Kurds have historical claims over Kirkuk, which is also inhabited by Turkmen and Arabs. Hardline Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militias have threatened to expel the Kurds by force from this region and other disputed areas.\nKirkuk's Kurdish-led provincial council rejected this week a resolution by the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad to lower Kurdish flags raised since last month next to Iraqi flags over public buildings of the region.\nTurkish President Tayyip Erdogan also warned the Kurds on Tuesday that failure to lower the Kurdish flags would damage their relations with Turkey.\n\"We don't agree with the claim 'Kirkuk is for the Kurds' at all. Kirkuk is for the Turkmen, Arabs and Kurds, if they are there. Do not enter into a claim that it's yours or the price will be heavy. You will harm dialogue with Turkey,\" he said at a rally in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak. [nA4N1G1018]\nThe KRG government rejected the Iraqi and Turkish demands, arguing that the Kurds' role in defending Kirkuk against Islamic State justified the hoisting of their flag.\n\"If it wasn't for the Peshmerga, there would be neither Iraq's flag in the city nor Kurdistan's,\" KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told reporters in Erbil on Wednesday.\nMasrour Barzani, head of the KRG's Security Council and son of President Barzani, said in June that Iraq should be divided into three separate entities to prevent further sectarian bloodshed, with a state each given to the Shi'ites, the Sunnis and the Kurds. [nL8N198374]\nThe Shi'ites live mainly in the south, the Sunnis and the Kurds are on opposite corners of the north while the central region around Baghdad is mixed.\n(editing by David Stamp)", "SHERIDAN — Sheridan County Planning and Zoning commissioners voted to recommend the Sheridan County commissioners approve a request from Ramaco Wyoming Coal Co. to rezone a property near Acme as industrial Thursday night with a vote of 4 to 1.\nCommissioner Ben Weaver cast the sole dissenting vote.\nEvery seat in the county commissioners’ meeting room was filled and people stood along the walls to listen to Sheridan County residents argue both for and against Ramaco’s proposal.\nProponents of the proposal argued that Ramaco’s plan to build manufacturing and research facilities on the land would provide Sheridan County with jobs and economic diversity without drastically altering the land’s use.\n“To my way of thinking, this comes close to being the gold standard of the kinds of economic development we’ve been talking about in the area,” said Sheridan businessman Kim Love. “It seems to me that a piece of property that is bisected by a railroad and an interstate and is contiguous to an interchange is pretty well suited to this type of application and if it isn’t, I don’t know what is.”\nJeremy Smith, the business manager for Sheridan County School District 1 and a former Sheridan County planning commissioner, noted that when this property came before the Sheridan County planning commission in 2008, the commissioners decided that the traffic that goes through the property, as well as the land’s history of being used as a coal mine, justified rezoning it.\n“I think we inherently understood that the interstate itself creates enough road use or land use to make it palatable to be developed,” Smith said. “We understood that that area had historically had heavy industrial use of various types.”\nSeveral advocates of the plan also said they believed the jobs created by Ramaco could help Sheridan County retain young talent. In a letter read by one of his aides, Rep. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, urged commisioners to approve the proposal for that reason.\n“Our local state-of-the-art college trains our youth and equips them with knowledge and talents needed for various [jobs]. Due to low job offerings, and low salaries in Sheridan County, they seek better job opportunities elsewhere,” the letter read. “This is another opportunity coming to our county where we can keep our contributing citizens.”\nOpponents of Ramaco’s proposal highlighted the agricultural and recreational uses that currently characterize the land. Jay Gilbertz, a Sheridan lawyer representing a couple who owns land near the proposed site, said that Ramaco’s proposal constituted “spot zoning” and was therefore illegal.\n“The condition the courts look at for spot zoning is does the zoning result in the newly zoned area differing significantly from the prevailing land uses in the area — this isn’t land uses 100 years ago when there was no zoning, this is land uses now,” Gilbertz said as he held up an aerial picture of a verdant plot of his clients’ land. “This is more akin to something in a Tolkien novel than an industrial park.”\nActivists from the Powder River Basin Resource Council reiterated that the planning commissioners should consider the prevailing land use when making their decision and suggested moving the proposed Ramaco facility to a different location.\n“The lands right now are agricultural; they’re recreational — this is not an industrial zone,” said Shannon Anderson, an organizer with Powder River Basin. “We have a high-tech park just up the hill.”\nAnd Joan Tellez, a longtime resident of the area, warned that communities in the Tongue River Valley were not prosperous when the land was industrialized.\n“They keep talking about the industry that was in these towns. What were these towns? They were coal towns,” Tellez said. “I grew up when Monarch was still a town, and when those towns were there, the houses were there for coal miners to live in. Many people had horses because they couldn’t afford cars. And that did not bring wealth to the miners, it brought wealth to the coal companies. “\nPlanning commissioners expressed mixed feelings before voting.\n“There is not much question that what Ramaco is proposing is good for our community,” commissioner Ben Keller said. “At the same time, I empathize with the people saying this is not the right spot. I would feel more comfortable if this was in a different location.”\nKeller briefly entertained the idea of granting Ramaco a conditional use permit, but ultimately voted to recommend the proposal as is.\nThe Sheridan County Planning and Zoning commission is an advisory board for the county commissioners and their recommendation will be forwarded to the county commissioners for final approval. Sheridan County residents will have a second opportunity to voice their opinions on the proposal when the county commissioners consider it on March 6.", "President Trump has been willing to accept almost anything to close the deal on his giant tax cut bill before Christmas, including staying mum about a measure that would allow illegal immigrants to pocket the more generous child tax credit included in the package.\nIllegal immigrants have been collecting the payoff from the “refundable” tax credit for years because of an IRS interpretation of how the rule was drafted. The Republican-controlled Congress this fall had a chance to correct that in the tax code overhaul that in the Senate version doubled the child tax credit to $2,000 and expanded eligibility.\nThe House bill increased the child tax credit to $1,600 and upped the income cutoff to receive it.\nBoth bills neglect to require that the worker have a Social Security number to claim the credit but require only that the qualifying child have a Social Security number.\nUnder those conditions, illegal immigrant workers with children who benefit from birthright citizenship — a relatively common phenomenon among America’s estimated 12.5 million illegal immigrants — could cash in.\nThe measures fly in the face of Mr. Trump’s get-tough rhetoric on illegal immigration and his “America first” agenda, Temple University law professor Jan C. Ting recently wrote for the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank in Washington.\nPHOTOS: Sticky fingers: Stars caught shoplifting\n“Before the Senate voted on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Donald Trump said, ‘A vote to cut taxes is a vote to put America first. It’s time to take care of our workers,’” he wrote. “Allowing illegal aliens who are not authorized to work to get refundable tax credits does the opposite.\n“While the IRS has the authority, if not the mandate, to deny these credits to illegal aliens, Congress should resolve any ambiguity,” he said.\nWhen asked about it, the White House deferred to Congress.\n“That’s a better question for the House and Senate,” said a White House spokesman.\nMr. Trump also has eased off of other tax reform goals he once backed in the name of deal-making and of getting a badly needed political trophy win on Capitol Hill for his first year in office.\nHis campaign proposals to cut the corporate tax rate from the current 35 percent to 15 percent was bumped up to 20 percent in the House and Senate bills that emerged this fall.\nThe president then made the 20 percent corporate rate the nonnegotiable level until lawmakers started suggesting 21 percent or 22 percent in their search for revenue to fund other priorities.\n“The focus is on getting the lowest corporate rate possible,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “Fifteen [percent] is better than 20, 20 is better than 22 and 22 is better than what we have. We are going to continue to push, but we are not going to negotiate that from the podium.”\nThe goal remained to get “the lowest corporate rate we can,” she said.\nThe White House has signaled a willingness to keep the current structure of seven individual tax brackets instead of simplifying the code to three or four brackets as originally proposed.\nThe goal to fully repeal the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax were replaced with partial repeals as the bills worked their way through the House and Senate.\nMr. Trump has kept his focus on the big picture of delivering tax cuts to businesses and middle-class families — and on doing it by Christmas.\n“I think we’re going to have a fantastic tax bill,” Mr. Trump said last week at a Cabinet meeting. “The middle class gets a tremendous benefit, and business, which is jobs, gets a tremendous benefit.”\nGeorge Mason University law professor David K. Rehr, who teaches legislative advocacy and strategic leadership in Washington, said Mr. Trump is playing the Washington game.\n“It is one of the those positions where, yes, he is the president, he has negotiating room and he can press for what he wants, but at the end of the day — having been at the Congress a long, long time — Congress is going to put a plan together and then the president must decide up or down,” he said. “And if the bill says ‘tax reform’ on it, he’s going to sign it.”\nMr. Rehr said that even the illegal immigrant loophole, which has the potential to outrage Mr. Trump’s base, has to be negotiable to get a bill though the legislative process.\n“Since we don’t have line-item veto, the White House will try to get that out. In the end, maybe that is a trade-off for something else,” he said. “But whatever bill is passed by both bodies and goes to his desk, there are some things he may have to swallow hard on.”\nAlfredo Ortiz, president of the Job Creators Network that is promoting Mr. Trump’s tax cut plan for small businesses, said the president is making necessary compromises.\n“The one thing President Trump fully understands is it is the ‘Art of the Deal,’ he said, referring to the title of Mr. Trump’s how-to business book. “In the end, if there is a bill — and there will be a bill — on the president’s desk for him to sign by Christmas Eve, then it is a win. And that’s what we are really focused on.”\nMr. Ortiz, who has been involved in tax cut talks at the White House and on Capitol Hill, said the only nonnegotiable item left for the president is getting the bill finished on schedule.\n“The red line is it must get done this year,” he said. “I don’t think there will be any conversation or any negotiation if it looks like this things goes into 2018.”", "Germany’s Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, came onto duty at his present post a Russian hardliner. Russia was the evil empire, and everything wrong with Germany, the EU, or anywhere else in the universe somehow went back to Moscow.\nIt was the Crimean annexation, it was the Skripal poisoning, it was some computer hacking, etc. But then Trump pulled America out of the Iran nuclear deal and suddenly Germany’s foreign policy with Russia was headed in a completely different trajectory.\nNow, he found himself on a mission to go to Moscow and hobnob with those very Russians, say some nice things, and try to get them to help convince the Iranians to stick to the deal even though Trump was out. And then the economic factor came to the fore.\nNow, Germany was even more committed to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, and found itself in a position where relying on the Americans wasn’t all that reliable of a plan. So now, the plan is to incrementally build up ties with the East as fast as possible, either in case Trump takes some other radical and damaging action, thereby hurting the Europeans, particularly the Germans, or over economic concerns brought about by Trump’s renewal of sanctions on Iran, which is to be read, Trump’s sanctions to be punitively applied to the Germans for still doing business with the bad guys and defying Washington’s will.\nBut that’s not all. The German Social Democrats party are also pushing a policy of rapproachment with the Russians, and Maas’s heated rhetoric over the course of his tenure, to be considered pre-Trump Iran deal pull-out, isn’t sitting all that well for them. Now he’s taking the heat for those remarks and being urged to take a more reasonable approach towards Moscow.\nDeutsche Welle reports:\nGermany’s Social Democrats (SPD) have pushed for a common policy on relations with Russia. Several center-left lawmakers have voiced their irritation over Foreign Minister Heiko Maas’ harsh criticism of Moscow. Frictions among Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) were brought to the fore on Monday, as the party’s federal executive committee met in Berlin on Monday to discuss the party’s policy line on Russia. Ahead of the meeting, several senior SPD lawmakers voiced their irritation over Germany’s top diplomat and SPD lawmaker Heiko Maas and his chiding rhetoric on Russia. SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil stressed that relations between the two countries were “of the highest importance” for the party. “We want dialogue with Russia, we are seeking dialogue with Russia and we want that dialogue to strengthen,” he said. Several lawmakers in the SPD continue to subscribe to former Chancellor Willy Brandt’s policy of rapprochement with the former Soviet Union, otherwise known as “Ostpolitik.” The center-left party still enjoys relatively strong levels of support in the former East German states, where strong ties to Russia continue to be felt to this day. Maas: a Russia hardliner? Since taking over the reigns of the Foreign Ministry some 10 weeks ago, Maas has accused Moscow of “increasingly hostile behavior,” particularly over its actions in Syria where it continues to prop up the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Maas was also quick to point the finger at Moscow for alleged interference in western elections, last year’s cyber attack on the German government’s computer network, and the poison attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England. Maas’ chiding rhetoric marks a major shift from his predecessor Sigmar Gabriel, who before leaving office had called for sanctions on Russia to be eased, provided Moscow worked towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Maas attended the meeting on Monday but declined to comment afterwards. Klingbeil said that the party had given the foreign minister “clear support to step up efforts to pursue dialogue with Russia.” Saxony’s state chairman Martin Dulig, who was one of the critics of the Maas stance on Russia, said after the meeting: “I am satisfied that Heiko Maas is taking these steps to push forward the dialogue, and I hope that this dialogue really will move forward.” Moscow visit a starting point Russia’s ambassador to Berlin, Sergey Nechayev, told the DPA news agency on Monday that, despite Maas’ earlier remarks on Moscow, Germany’s top diplomat was now paving the way for better relations. Nechayev pointed to Maas’ first official visit to Moscow earlier this month, where he and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov both called for the nuclear deal with Iran to be upheld. Maas and Lavrov made a number of agreements that “followed the best traditions of our bilateral relations,” Russia’s ambassador stressed. “As for the visit, I can say quite clearly that it was constructive and substantial and no terms such as hostility or opposition were used.”\nThe Germans realize that they need to get a move on and get some deals rolling with its Eastern partners, because Trump’s policies are dismantling international trade right and left and siding with the Americans isn’t as reliable of a business plan as it was under previous administrations. Now Maas has to swallow his russophobia and do his job in accordance with the new foreign policy approach as well as what a good number of the Germans want, and that is better relations with the Russians.\nThe Duran EUR Donate Gift €20 or more and we'll send you our super awesome mug absolutely FREE! Your donations allow us to hire more writers and broaden our reach to those seeking the truth. Will you help expose the lies of the mainstream media? As a reader of The Duran, you are well aware of all the propaganda and disinformation reported by the mainstream media. You know how important it is to bring real news to light. Please support The Duran and help us keep reporting on news that is fair, balanced, and real.", "Samantha Holvey told Megyn Kelly that Mr Trump's election win had been a \"very somber day\" for her.\nShe said: \"It was heartbreaking. For us to put ourselves out there and show how this man was, and for them (the voters) to say they don't care, it hurt. I tried not to watch. It was like the entire country said we don't care that he's like this. Now it's let's go for round two, let's try again.\"\nDescribing her experience at the pageant she said: \"He just looked me up and down like was just like a piece of meat, that I wasn't a person with a brain. It left me feeling very gross.\"\nShe also said Mr Trump went backstage into the dressing room where the female contestants were which never happened at other pageants.\nShe added: \"Nobody dreamed of being ogled when your a young girl wanting to wear a crown. It was like he owned the pageant so he owned us.\"\nRachel Crooks said she was a receptionist at Trump Tower when she decided to introduce herself to Mr Trump.\nShe said: \"He held onto my hand, he kept kissing me, he went back and forth multiple times and then he kissed me on the lips. I was shocked, devastated. It happened so fast.\n\"I wish I'd been courageous enough to say 'What's going on?' He got in the elevator and I ran back into my office. I called mys sister and it felt horrible.\"\nA couple of days later Mr Trump came into her officer, stood over her desk and asked for her phone number, she said.\n\"I said what do you need that for? He stammered. I think I caught him off guard. He said he was going to give it to his modelling agency and have them call me.\"\nJessica Leeds said she didn't know who Donald Trump was when she sat next to him on a plane.\nShe said: \"He was all over me kissing and groping, groping and kissing. My memory is nothing was said. I didn't go 'Help'. It was just this silent groping going on.\n\"I was thinking where's the stewardess. Then when his hand started going up my skirt I managed to wriggle out, grab my purse and go to the back of the plane. When we landed I waited until everyone got off the plane.\n\"I didn't tell anyone I just thought that's some creep on the plane.\"\nSeveral years later she was at a large evening event in New York for the Humane Society.\nShe said Mr Trump approached her and said \"I remember you\" before calling her \"the worst name ever, the worst one\".\nShe added: \"I want people to know what kind of person Trump is, what a pervert he is.\"\nIn a statement the White House denied all the claims as \"false\".\nThe statement said: \"These false claims, totally disputed most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year's campaign, and the American people voiced their judgement by delivering a decisive victory.\n\"The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them.\"", "Southland cops who have played a big part in lessening the threat of criminal gangs over the last two decades are shaking their heads — once again — over remarks by President Trump.\nThe detectives and street officers who have made former gang strongholds safe for the citizenry — one cited the MacArthur Park neighborhood by noting, “Look, now we can walk our dogs,” in an interview with the Los Angeles Times — say they’re puzzled about the recent comments the president made just as he plans his first trip to California since taking office.\nPredicting utter chaos if he were to for some reason yank federal law enforcement from the state, Trump said: “I mean, frankly, if I wanted to pull our people from California, you would have a crime mess like you’ve never seen in California. … You’d be inundated. You would see crime like no one’s ever seen crime in this country. And yet we get no help from the state of California. They’re doing a lousy management job, they have the highest taxes in the nation, and they don’t know what’s happening out there.”\nTaken altogether, that’s covering a lot of territory, much of it unrelated, and sounding more like a scattershot lashing out at an electorate 70 percent of which did not vote for him than a coherent take on the Golden State’s issues.\nBut the part about local and state law enforcement not being able to handle the criminal element on their own without the help of Washington, D.C. is going over with California cops about as well as being told to pay for the wall is going over in Mexico City.\nAnd he specifically says he believes our police have done poorly with gangs. Trump said Washington has been getting “no help from the state of California” in its efforts to crack down on the infamous MS-13 gang, with roots in both Central America and Los Angeles.\n“Nobody takes gang enforcement more seriously than I do or the Los Angeles Police Department does,” LAPD Chief Charlie Beck told the Times last week. “I believe that we’re better at it than anybody in the nation.”\nRelated Articles Iran persecutes Christians, so why won’t President Trump welcome them to America?\nHow pensions are clobbering small California cities like Santa Cruz\nTillerson was undercutting Trump’s message of strength on North Korea\nStay away from Lake Mathews, Californians\nPutin wins reelection in Russia: Political Cartoons While street gangs are still a problem here, they are a diminished one — thanks in great part to local police work many neighborhood activists say is too heavy-handed and invasive. In any case, the attitude toward street crime by the LAPD, local police and the county’s sheriff has hardly been laissez-faire. The Crips and the Bloods, famous around the world for their violence, have been calmed. MS-13 membership is down by more than 30 percent. And the city of Los Angeles, which saw 1,094 murders, most gang-related, in 1992, saw 282 people killed last year.\nFederal help in that success story hasn’t been a large factor. And one presidential threat — “If we ever pulled our ICE out, and we ever said, ‘Hey, let California alone, let them figure it out for themselves,’ in two months they’d be begging for us to come back. They would be begging. And you know what, I’m thinking about doing it” — has been met with derisive open arms by the ACLU, for instance, which tweeted: “Don’t threaten us with a good time.”\nAs he prepares for his first presidential visit, Trump ought to get to know the lay of the California land a bit better — our successes as well as our failures, what we would welcome from the federal government as well as what we wouldn’t.", "By Agustinus Beo Da Costa\nJAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police on Monday blocked plans by hardline Islamist groups to guard polling booths during Wednesday's vote for Jakarta governor, citing the potential for clashes in an election that has stoked religious tensions.\nA coalition of hardline Islamic groups said late last week it would deploy at least 100 monitors at each polling station in the Indonesian capital city of 10 million people.\n\"Any mobilization of masses that is aimed at physical or psychological intimidation, especially at polling stations, is prohibited,\" the city police said in a joint statement with the elections commission.\nAround 66,000 police and military personnel will be deployed on voting day, police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said.\n\"We are increasing our presence at polling stations as well, so please trust that the state apparatus will remain neutral and safeguard the election,\" he added.\nSurveys have shown the race tightening to a statistical dead heat, with incumbent Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, closing in on rival Anies Baswedan, a former education minister.\nJakarta has towering influence on national politics as both the capital and financial center, contributing nearly 15 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product. The greater Jakarta population of around 25 million people makes it one of the world's biggest mega-cities.\nBLASPHEMY CHARGE\nPurnama is standing trial on blasphemy charges stemming from the divisive campaign that also featured mass rallies led by Islamist hardliners and alleged plots to overthrow President Joko Widodo, who is popularly known as Jokowi.\nThe charges stem from an edited video circulated last September suggesting Purnama had mocked a verse in the Koran used by his opponents to argue that Muslims should not vote for a person holding different religious beliefs.\nIt brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets in several mass demonstrations before Purnama was put on trial for blasphemy. He faces up to four years in prison and possible disqualification if he does win the election. Prosecutors are expected to recommend a sentence at a hearing the day after the election. A verdict is due next month.\nThe vast majority of Indonesian Muslims practice a moderate form of Islam and religious freedom and diversity is enshrined in the state ideology. But hardline Islamist groups, most of which favor Islamic sharia law, have established a stronger foothold in recent years.\nPurnama, Jakarta's first ethnic Chinese and Christian leader, took over the Jakarta governorship from Widodo after he became president in the 2014 general election.\nHis rival, Baswedan, has appeared publicly - twice - with the leadership of one of the main organizers of the anti-Purnama protests, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).\n\"We believe that because Jakarta and Indonesia is majority-Muslim, it should be led by a Muslim,\" said Novel Bamukmin, head of the Jakarta chapter of the FPI. \"While our ultimate call is for full sharia, our hope is that the winner will at least introduce policies that are aligned with Islam.\"\nBaswedan's running mate, Sandiaga Uno, denies the pair intends to implement sharia law in Jakarta and said their appearances at the FPI rallies were \"a way to start a dialogue\".\nBut they do encourage a more conservative culture for the city with religious entertainment venues that are \"sharia-compliant\" and which \"shy away from alcohol\", Uno said.\n\"That would be the type of policy that I want to attract investors to put money into, to create tourist destinations for sharia-compliant or religious-related tourism,\" he said.\n(Additional reporting by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Bill Tarrant)\nRead the original article on Reuters. Copyright 2017. Follow Reuters on Twitter.", "By Fergus Jensen and Tom Allard\nJAKARTA, April 18 (Reuters) - Luar Batang is one of the Indonesian capital's oldest neighbourhoods, founded in the 17th century to collect tolls from ships sailing in from the Java Sea when the city was the centre of the Dutch East Indies spice trade.\nNow, it is being demolished and many of its residents are being evicted to make way for a giant seawall meant to keep Jakarta from sinking under rising sea levels. That has made it ground zero for the election of the city's governor, dubbed one of the most divisive election campaigns Indonesia has ever seen.\nThe incumbent governor, Basuki \"Ahok\" Purnama, was cruising towards a decisive election victory last September when he allegedly criticised a verse from the Koran that warns Muslims against allying with Christians and Jews.\nHardline Islamist groups responded with mass protests demanding that Purnama, an ethnic Chinese and Christian, be prosecuted. Police eventually did charge him with blasphemy.\nIt was Purnama who ordered the evictions from Luar Batang's slums to make way for one of his many infrastructure projects aimed at modernising this clogged and chaotic city.\nMany of those who filled the streets of Jakarta to protest against him late last year were among the displaced, and violence broke out in Luar Batang after one of those demonstrations.\nLuar Batang residents had just about given up their fight against evictions when the controversy over the Koran comments erupted, said one woman who did not want to be named, sitting outside a small shack amid the rubble.\n\"We see it as a gift from God,\" she said, describing the slur as a means to bring down Purnama.\nNECK AND NECK RACE\nOpinion surveys show Purnama running neck and neck with his challenger Anies Baswedan, who, like some 85 percent of Jakartans, is a Muslim.\nPurnama, 50, inherited the governorship after Joko Widodo was elected president in 2014. His brash talking style, a contrast with the soft-spoken Javanese politicians who dominate the ruling class, has grated on some voters.\nPurnama won the first round of voting in February in a three-way race with 43 percent of the ballots to set up Wednesday's second round with Basedan, who won 40 percent.\nThe campaign has been \"the dirtiest, most polarising and most divisive the nation has ever seen,\" the Jakarta Post said in an editorial on Tuesday.\nCalling the capital \"the barometer of Indonesia's political pulse\", the daily said the election would have a bearing on the next presidential election in 2019.\nPolice on Monday blocked plans by hardline Islamist groups to guard polling booths, citing the risk of clashes after a campaign fraught with religious tensions, and said around 66,000 police and military personnel will be deployed on voting day.\n'VOTER FRAUD'\nPrabowo Subianto, head of the Gerindra Party that Baswedan represents, said in a video message recorded over the weekend that \"religious people need a leader who respects their beliefs\". Prabowo lost the 2014 election to President Widodo.\nPurnama faces up to five years in jail if convicted of blasphemy. His trial will resume on Thursday, when prosecutors will submit their sentence request.\nPrabowo said he was concerned about potential voter fraud.\n\"Cheating is a common enemy to us. We don't want to cheat,\" he said. \"However, we will not hold back if we are cheated.\"\nHardline Islamic cleric Habib Rizieq, who helped organise the anti-Purnama demonstrations during the campaign, last week urged Muslims to travel to Jakarta and be ready to \"finish\" their opponents.\n\"This is not a battle between Anies and Ahok. This is a battle between ... defenders of Islam and those who blaspheme against Islam,\" Rizieq said at an event in the city of Surabaya.\n\"Those who can come to Jakarta better have the guts to do so and prepare a will for your family,\" he added, as the crowd roared in response.\nAt Luar Batang, where Prabowo's party has set up tents for those evicted from their homes, the woman at the street cafe said people are tired of politicians' false promises and warned that frustration could boil over if Purnama wins the vote.\n\"If (Purnama) is elected again something extraordinary will happen,\" she said. (Editing by Bill Tarrant)", "Actor and activist George Takei presented his Care2 petition at City Hall on Monday night. Reaching over 300,000 signatures, the petition serves as support for the Muslim community and opposition towards President Trump’s executive order on a potential “Muslim ban.”\nSpeakers at the podium included several members of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), such as President Salam Al-Marayati, who was given the petitions secured in a USB drive by Takei, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, actor Mike Farrell and Richard L. Zaldivar, founder and executive director of The Wall Las Memorias Project, also presented at the podium.\n“I wouldn’t be here if it were not for my grandfather, an immigrant who became a citizen after enlisting in the military during World War II,” said Garcetti. He shared his family history and related to the significance of community involvement to support immigrants from all walks of life. “Muslims are us, and we are them,” he said.\nAs a Los Angeles native and Japanese American, who at age 5 was detained in an internment camp, Takei sees a parallel between then and now. “Our vow is to say never again must this happen in the United States,” he said. “The Japanese community stood alone. We will not let this outrage happen again.”\n“This is my home. This is my country. This is the land that I know” said actress Hina Khan. Khan also introduced Actor Mike Farrell, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H.\n“I was raised to believe that citizens are activists and activists are citizens” Farrell said.\nFarrell added, “I want it to be land of the free and home of the brave. Not land of the fearful and home of the bullies.”\nZaldivar raised concern on who will be the next target under Trump’s presidency because he identifies himself as a gay Latino and Catholic. He also took the opportunity to thank Takei for standing in solidarity for the Muslim community.\n“In moments of loneliness and fear, it must be difficult, but you turn it into activism. I appreciate that,” Zaldivar stated.\nAkifa Khan, a young leaders delegate and former intern for MPAC, explained during an interview the resources provided by MPAC, such as screenwriting workshops, diversity panels and getting young Muslims who aspire to become directors, screenwriters and actors into the Hollywood industry. She mentioned a summit to Capitol Hill, which serves as a purpose to motivate political involvement and show young Muslims what they can do.\nAfter Takei’s speech, Khan said she felt reassured about the support for the Muslim community.\n“A lot of women wearing hijab are questioning whether they should wear a hijab outside or not because they’re scared of what might happen to them. But people banning together [against the travel ban]… that is so reassuring and heartwarming, it gives us hope that it won’t happen because everybody is with us,” Khan said.\nDuring the interview, Takei stated that rather than being fearful, he wants to be affirmative.\n“We are all American citizens, our democracy is a participatory democracy. The sad thing is that young people think that their vote doesn’t count: every vote counts!” Takei said.\nHe finished with “my message to young people is to become involved in participatory democracy.”\nShare this: Facebook\nTwitter\nGoogle\nMore\nReddit\nPocket\nPinterest\nLinkedIn\nTumblr", "In two days time, there will likely be some clarity over President Donald Trump’s ever-evolving stance on Israeli settlements, and whether or not he will pursue moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.\nAfter exchanges of mutual admiration, over social media, in relation to Israel’s wall as a harbinger of the U.S. policy with Mexico, Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are due to meet in person tomorrow for the first time since inauguration. They are expected to discuss the future of U.S.-Israel relations, and key points that could dash Palestinian aspirations for statehood.\nSpeaking to reporters at the tarmac in Israel yesterday morning, Netanyahu gave his last comments on Trump before the Feb. 15 sit-down in Washington DC, stating, “The alliance between Israel and America has always been extremely strong. It’s about to get even stronger.”\n“President Trump and I see eye to eye on the dangers emanating from the region but also on the opportunities. And we’ll talk about both, as well as upgrading the relations between Israel and the United States in many, many fields,” he said.\nIn advance of the head to head, Netanyahu had a flurry of sessions with advisors in his cabinet, officials in national security, the top-ranks of the foreign ministry, as well as one high-profile Republican funder who is also a staunch supporter of Netanyahu.\nReportedly the big issues right-wing leaders in Israel want Netanyahu to advance in his talk with Trump are increasing settlement construction, announcing an official end to the two-state negotiations process with the Palestinians, and promoting the move of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. While the contents of the discussions Netanyahu held are confidential, he did disclose in a statement yesterday that there was “great excitement” among those he consulted.\nReports out of Israel are sharply contradictory on Netanyahu’s plans.\nNetanyahu will use the sessions in Washington as an opportunity to lobby Trump against Palestinian statehood, according to unnamed sources quoted by the pro-settler outlet Arutz Sheva. The news outlet gets funding from a charity run by David Friedman, who is Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel.\n“Sources privy to the meeting told Arutz Sheva that Jewish Home ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked called upon Netanyahu to make clear to President Trump he intends to renounce the two-state solution, the Prime Minister allegedly warned them Israel must avoid any possible clashes with Trump,” Arutz Sheva reported.\nOn Facebook, Bennett, the right-wing Knesset member and head of the Jewish Home party, elaborated, “the two words ‘Palestinian state’ are a historic disaster.”\nThe Times of Israel reported Bennett also said Netanyahu must avoid stating by name “an obligation to establish Palestine or ‘two states’ in some or other iteration, [or] we will all feel it in our flesh for years to come. It will be an earthquake.”\nHowever, Netanyahu was said to have prepared an offer to re-start negotiations without preconditions that he would then present to Trump. Palestinians in the past have rejected this offer stating they want to return to peace talks when Israel agrees to a settlement freeze.\nArutz Sheva added Netanyahu is not confident that Trump will support an increase in settlement construction in the West Bank.\nSince Trump took office Israel approved a spike in numbers of settlement units, more than 6,000, and passed a controversial law that legalizes Israeli takeovers of Palestinian lands in the occupied territory.\n“Anyone who believes construction will be unrestricted in the new era is mistaken,” Arutz Sheva reported Trump said, relayed by a source who was in one of the pre-Washington meetings.\nMeanwhile, Haaretz reported earlier last week Netanyahu sat with Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul and billionaire funder to the GOP who has backed both Trump and Netanyahu. The two reportedly discussed Adelson’s stance against the creation of a Palestinian state, the possible move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and online gambling.\nAdelson was also reported to have had dinner at the White House with Trump last week.\nAlthough generally considered to be more in line with Israel’s hardliners than his predecessor, Trump’s precise views on Israeli settlements have been muddied by conflicting remarks made between the campaign and his presidency. Initially, Trump came out as ambivalent on Israeli construction in the occupied Palestinian territory, then he became an ardent supporter as the November election neared. But in recent days, Trump has walked back his once full support for Israeli building in the West Bank.\nTrump elaborated in an interview with Israel Hayom last week, a first to Israeli media since his inauguration (the paper is owned by Adelson):\n“They [settlements] don’t help the process. I can say that. There is so much land left. And every time you take land for settlements, there is less land left. But we are looking at that, and we are looking at some other options we’ll see. But no, I am not somebody that believes that going forward with these settlements is a good thing for peace.”\nOn the embassy, he also said the move to Jerusalem was not a done deal:\nI am studying the embassy [issue], and we will see what happens. The embassy is not an easy decision.\nWhat is clear is that Trump and Netanyahu have mutual admiration. Trump described their relationship as more than positive. “I have always liked him,” when asked if the two have “good chemistry.”\nIn fact, Trump and Netanyahu have known each other nearly four decades, becoming aquatinted in New York when Netanyahu was starting his political career as an ambassador to the UN and Trump was a young real estate businessman, reported the Washington Post.\nNetanyahu also knew the president’s father, Fred Trump, according to the Post.", "WASHINGTON (AP) — It was a flip-floppy week at the White House as President Donald Trump walked away from some promises and people, contorting reality in the process.\nHe declared NATO no longer obsolete, even though the alliance hasn’t changed much since he denigrated it in the 2016 campaign. He credited China with ceasing the manipulation of its currency, swerving away from a campaign pledge with a belated acknowledgment that China had changed its ways.\nThe president’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, joined a list of people Trump has claimed to know well until he said he didn’t. Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the list, too, as he has been for some time. “I don’t know Putin,” Trump said in characterizing U.S.-Russia relations as the worst ever. He’d bragged in 2015, “I got to know him very well.”\nAs he performed such acrobatics to explain a series of shifts, Trump also committed several more familiar sleights of rhetoric, taking credit where it isn’t due in job growth and corporate expansion.\nAdvertisement\nA look at some of his statements this past week:\nTRUMP: “The secretary-general and I had a productive discussion about what more NATO can do in the fight against terrorism. I complained about that a long time ago and they made a change, and now they do fight terrorism. I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete.” — news conference Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg\nTHE FACTS: NATO has not substantively changed its mission as a result of Trump’s campaign-season complaints. As evidence that NATO is heeding his call to be more aggressive on terrorism, Trump has cited a NATO decision last year to establish a high-level intelligence coordinator that could make the alliance more nimble in responding to threats. But that position was in the works during the Obama administration and came about because of worries about Russian aggression as well as from a desire to respond more effectively to the Islamic State group. It wasn’t in response to Trump.\n--------------\nTRUMP: “Already we’ve created more than almost 600,000 jobs.” — to CEOs on Tuesday.\nTHE FACTS: More than almost?\nFirst, Trump is taking credit for three months of job creation even though he wasn’t president for two-thirds of January. Second, the economy doesn’t turn on a dime — or an inauguration. Over time, his predecessor’s influence on the economy wanes and Trump’s grows.\nThird, he took actual job growth and rounded it up — way up. The economy added 533,000 jobs in the first three months, not the 600,000 claimed by Trump on several occasions. That’s a monthly average of 178,000 jobs. President Barack Obama’s pace was slightly better last year: 187,000 jobs per month on average.\n--------------\nTRUMP: “We may be at an all-time low in terms of relationship with Russia.” — news conference Wednesday\nTHE FACTS: Arguably true in the post-Soviet era. Not so during the decades of the Cold War, shadowed by the threat of nuclear annihilation.\nThe U.S. and the Soviet Union were on the verge of a nuclear conflict in October 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the Korean War, Soviet pilots covertly backed North Korea against U.S.-led forces. Tensions also were high after a U.S. U-2 spy plane was shot down over Russia and its pilot, Gary Powers, was imprisoned and tried for espionage. And the U.S. helped militants fight the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.\n--------------\nTRUMP: “Toyota just announced that it will invest more than $1.3 billion ... into its Georgetown, Kentucky, plant, an investment that would not have been made if we didn’t win the election.” — to CEOs on Tuesday.\nTHE FACTS: Trump’s election was not the spark for the investment. Toyota said the announcement was the culmination of plans in the works for at least four years.\n--------------\nTRUMP: “The car industry is not going to leave us anymore, believe me. The car industry is staying in our country. They were leaving — if I didn’t win this election, you would have lost your car industry to Mexico and to other countries. They’re not leaving anymore, believe me. There’s retribution if they leave. There was no retribution.” — Fox Business Network interview, broadcast Wednesday\nTHE FACTS: The only “retribution” he has meted out has come on Twitter and in other rhetorical forms. He hasn’t signed any laws or instituted rules to punish fleeing industries. In fact, Ford Motor Co. is still planning to move small car production from Michigan to an existing plant in Mexico next year.\n--------------\nTRUMP, on his chief strategist, Steve Bannon: “I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late. I had already beaten all the senators and all the governors, and I didn’t know Steve. I’m my own strategist, and it wasn’t like I was going to change strategies because I was facing crooked Hillary.” — Interview on Tuesday with the New York Post.\nTHE FACTS: Trump shortchanges his relationship with Bannon in an apparent effort to downgrade his importance.\nDavid Bossie, who was deputy campaign manager, told The Associated Press after Trump took office that Bossie had introduced Trump and Bannon in 2011 at Trump Tower and they had grown close. Bannon interviewed Trump at least nine times in 2015 and 2016.\nIn August 2016, when the Trump campaign announced the hiring of Bannon as campaign CEO and the appointment of Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager, its statement quoted Trump as saying: “‘I have known Steve and Kellyanne both for many years.”\n--------------\nTRUMP: “I don’t know Putin.” — news conference on Wednesday.\nTHE FACTS: Trump’s claimed familiarity with Putin has waxed and waned according to political circumstance.\nIt waxed when it served his interest to demonstrate comfort dealing with world leaders. “I got to know him very well because we were both on ‘60 Minutes,’ we were stablemates, and we did very well that night,” he said in November 2015. Actually, Putin spoke from Moscow and Trump from New York and appeared in separate segments of the show.\nIt waned when Trump’s frequently admiring comments about Putin became a liability and Russia’s alleged interference in the U.S. election came to light. “I never met Putin, I don’t know who Putin is,” he said in July, and essentially ever since.\nThe two spoke by phone Jan. 28, when Putin congratulated the new president.\n--------------\nTRUMP on his decision to attack a Syrian air base: “What I did should have been done by the Obama administration a long time before I did it, and you would have had a much better — I think Syria would be a lot better off right now than it has been.” — Fox Business interview.\nTHE FACTS: Trump may think that now, but he certainly didn’t three years ago when Obama was contemplating retaliation following a deadly chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb.\nAmong several tweets he sent advising against a strike: “President Obama, do not attack Syria. There is no upside and tremendous downside. Save your powder for another (and more important) day!”\n--------------\nTRUMP on China: “They’re not currency manipulators.” — Wall Street Journal interview Wednesday.\nTHE FACTS: Here Trump catches up with reality. During the campaign he pledged to brand China a currency manipulator, a move that would set the stage for trade penalties. China had once devalued its currency to make its exports artificially cheaper, crowding out other countries’ products, but in recent years has let market forces do more to shape currency exchange rates. When Trump railed against Chinese currency manipulation in the campaign, there were signs that China was actually taking steps to keep the value of the yuan from sinking further against the dollar.\nTrump didn’t let go of his accusation easily. As recently as April 2 he told The Financial Times that the Chinese are “world champions” of currency manipulation.\n--------------\nTRUMP: “I think we’re doing very well on health care. It’s been very much misreported that we failed with health care.” — Fox Business interview\nTHE FACTS: By any objective measure, that’s sugar-coating a faltering health care initiative.\nLast month, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., yanked the Republican bill intended to repeal and replace much of Obama’s health care law. The problem: disagreements among GOP hard-liners and moderates, and no Democratic support. Since then, negotiations have led to some tweaks, but no apparent breakthroughs.\nThat’s not to say he can’t succeed on another try. But after the bill flopped, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that among seven major issues tested, the president got his worst rating on health care. About 6 in 10 disapproved of Trump’s handling of the issue.\n--------------\nRead more Fact Check stories.", "Iranian senior cleric Ebrahim Raisis speaks in the holy city of Mashhad, Iran, in this handout photo believed to be taken in February 2016. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via REUTERS\nLONDON Hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, seen as pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani's main challenger in a May 19 election, is a close ally of Iran's supreme leader and despises the West.\nThe hardline faction in Tehran appears to have reached consensus on the candidacy of the 57-year-old cleric, hoping to avoid splitting the vote of those avid for what they see as a revival of the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution.\nRaisi is a mid-ranking figure in the hierarchy of Iran's Shi'ite Muslim clergy but has been a senior official for decades in the judiciary which enforces clerical control of the country.\nThe former prosecutor-general may struggle for recognition among voters, though analysts say Raisi, thanks to the support he enjoys from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, could pose a real challenge to Rouhani's bid for a second term.\n\"His candidacy comes as a surprise and he definitely poses a challenge, a big one, to Rouhani,\" said Hossein Rassam, a former Iran adviser to Britain's Foreign Office.\n\"Chances are even greater now that we will be having a two-round election in Iran, with a very polarised second round.\"\nRouhani was elected four years ago in a landslide, avoiding a run-off by securing more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, on promises to reduce Iran's international isolation and bring more freedoms at home. No other candidate won more than 17 percent of the vote.\nBut this time around Rouhani could face a tougher challenge, if a single hardliner like Raisi unifies conservatives against him and forces a second round.\nRouhani's signature achievement, a deal with world powers to curb Iran's nuclear programme in return for lifting financial sanctions, has yet to bring the broadbased economic benefits that the government says are coming. Some supporters also say they are disheartened by the slow pace of domestic change.\nRaisi has tapped into hardline criticism of Rouhani's record, saying the president bet too strongly on rapprochement with enemies and did too little at home to improve the economy.\n\"Our problems are not something to be resolved by Americans and Westerners,\" Raisi said in September. \"They have not resolved a single problem of any country. They have brought nothing but misery to other nations.\"\nRaisi announced his intention to run on Sunday. In a statement published on Iranian news agencies he said the first step to resolving Iran's economic problems was a change of leadership, asking voters to support a \"competent and knowledgeable\" government under his command.\nRELIGIOUS WEALTH\nKhamenei appointed Raisi in 2016 as the custodian of Astan Qods Razavi, an organisation in charge of a multi-billion-dollar religious foundation that manages donations to the country's holiest shrine in the northern city of Mashhad.\nThe religious conglomerate, whose economic arm lists 36 subsidiary companies and institutes on its website, owns mines, textile factories, a pharmaceutical plant and even a major oil and gas firm.\nEven before the revolution, \"those who led this endowment were very close to the head of state, to the supreme power of the country,\" a former senior Iranian diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. \"Raisi has lots of power.\"\nInsiders said Khamenei, who outranks the elected president in Iran's system, had approved Raisi's candidacy. Raisi resigned last week from the election supervision board, a position which would not have allowed him to run in elections.\n\"Without Khamenei's approval, Raisi could not resign from his current position to run for the presidency,\" said a senior official, who asked not to be named. \"He is a very strong rival for Rouhani.\"\nIN DARK CORRIDORS\nRaisi's bid for the presidency alarms some reformists because of his long service in Iran's hardline judiciary. He was deputy prosecutor of Tehran in 1988 at a time when thousands of political prisoners were executed.\nA 28-year-old audio tape surfaced last summer of a meeting between Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, a founder of the revolution who was then deputy supreme leader, and the judiciary officials in charge of the executions, including Raisi.\nIn the recording, Montazeri, who would later become Iran's most influential internal proponent of reform, said the executions included \"pregnant women and 15-year-old girls\" and were the \"biggest crimes committed by the Islamic Republic\".\nThe son of Montazeri was arrested and sentenced to jail for release of the tape. Raisi prosecuted his case.\nRaisi was deputy head of judiciary for ten years, before being appointed in 2014 as Iran's prosecutor-general.\n\"Raisi knows his way in the dark corridors of Iranian politics very well. But he is more used to grilling politicians in the comfortable shade of the judiciary than standing in the blazing sun of public eye,\" said Rassam, the former Iran adviser to Britain.\nSome Iranian politicians believe Raisi is being groomed to succeed Khamenei, the 77-year-old supreme leader who has been in power since 1989, and the presidency is just a first step.\n\"Raisi is in Khamenei's circle of trust. He has been one of Khamenei's students and his thoughts are very close to the Supreme Leader's,\" reformist former lawmaker Jamileh Kadivar told Reuters.\n(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Ankara, Tom Finn in Doha, Yeganeh Torbati in Washnigton DC; Editing by Peter Graff)", "Democrats are reminding us that they intend to slow the approval process for President Trump's Cabinet nominees:\nDemocratic senators plan to aggressively target eight of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees in the coming weeks and are pushing to stretch their confirmation votes into March.... Such delays would upend Republican hopes of quickly holding hearings and confirming most of Trump’s top picks on Inauguration Day.... Incoming Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that Democrats will home in especially on Rex Tillerson, Trump’s choice for secretary of state; Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), his pick for attorney general; Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget; and Betsy DeVos, selected to serve as education secretary. There’s also Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and oversee changes to Obamacare, who is expected to be attacked by Democrats for his support for privatizing Medicare. Andrew Puzder, a restaurant executive set to serve as labor secretary, will face scrutiny for past comments on the minimum wage, among other policies. Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner set to serve as treasury secretary, and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Trump’s pick to lead the EPA, will also be the focus of Democratic attacks, aides said.\nWhich I suppose will be a huge problem for Republicans -- or would be, except for the fact that their plan is to pass a lot of legislation right away and rush it to the new president's desk, a process that doesn't require a Cabinet at all:\nFor six years, since they took back the House of Representatives, Republicans have added to a pile of legislation that moldered outside the White House. In their thwarted agenda, financial regulations were to be unspooled. Business taxes were to be slashed. Planned Parenthood would be stripped of federal funds. The ­Affordable Care Act was teed up for repeal -- dozens of times.\n↓ Story continues below ↓ When the 115th Congress begins this week, with Republicans firmly in charge of the House and Senate, much of that legislation will form the basis of the most ambitious conservative policy agenda since the 1920s. And rather than a Democratic president standing in the way, a soon-to-be-inaugurated Donald Trump seems ready to sign much of it into law. The dynamic reflects just how ready Congress is to push through a conservative makeover of government, and how little Trump’s unpredictable, attention-grabbing style matters to the Republican game plan.... In 2012, Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist described the ideal president as “a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen” and “sign the legislation that has already been prepared.”\nCongressional Democrats are going to focus on Trump and his team -- and, yes, they're clearly dangerous -- but the immediate danger in the early days of 2017 is going to come from Republicans in the House and Senate. I want to see a Democratic plan for at least slowing the passage of the congressional GOP's wish list, but I don't see one.\nAnd after an election that we've been told was all about the white working class and its discontents, what's the top priority of congressional Republicans?\nPerhaps the first thing that will happen in the new Congress is the push for deregulation.... Republicans have chafed for years at a host of rules, many business-related, that President Obama has issued through the regulatory process, and they have been advising the Trump team on which ones should be undone. “I hear probably more about the strangulation of regulations on business and their growth and their development than probably anything else,” the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, said at a recent forum. “I think if we can provide regulatory relief right away, that can breathe a sigh of relief into the economy.” In late December, the Obama administration rolled out a major new environmental regulation intended to rein in mountaintop-removal mining. That regulation, one of dozens that Mr. Trump is expected to reverse, is meant to go into effect one day before his inauguration. But Congress is likely to block it, using the obscure Congressional Review Act, which permits lawmakers to undo new regulations with only 51 Senate votes within the first 60 legislative days of the rules’ completion. Given time constraints on the Senate floor, members will have to pick some priorities. They are expected to train their sights on a rule that requires oil and gas producers to reduce methane gases, another that requires mining and fossil fuel companies to disclose payments they have made to foreign governments to extract natural resources, and still others that restrict pesticide use.\nYou thought this election was all about you, Joe Sixpack? You've been suckered. It was all about regulatory relief for the bosses -- who still won't hire you even after they get it. They come first, naturally -- Paul Ryan \"hear[s] probably more about\" their concerns than yours. Did you really think that he and other Republicans, including Trump, were listening to you?\nDemocrats might slow up a couple of Cabinet approvals. But even before that process is completed, a huge amount of damage will be done by Republicans. And much of it will barely be discussed in the media. It'll happen before we know it.\nCrossposted at No More Mr. Nice Blog", "President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Don Jr. and Vanessa Trump have made a mysterious real estate purchase that has folks scratching their heads and trying to learn more about the deal online. According to WCYB, Philip Henard was the landowner in the Grandview Estates area of Hawkins County in Tennessee. Henard somehow got in touch with reps for President Trump to see if Trump wanted to add an acre of land to his real estate portfolio. Amazingly, the inkling that Philip had that Trump might be interested in his land proved true.\nBefore long, the Trump Organization’s name – along with the names Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump – would appear on the deed of lot No. 40 in Rogersville. The lot is valued at $7,800 and located on Arrington Road.\nThe Rogersville Review noted that Hawkins County has new famous property owners as of Friday, December 8. However, the deal for Trump to purchase the land has been in process for approximately one year. Henard called it an exciting whirlwind that residents of the area hoped would attract more land buyers to Northeast Tennessee. Although Henard said he doesn’t know what President Trump plans to do with the land, others are speculating that Trump could have eternal plans on his mind when it comes to his new land in Hawkins County.\nAccording to WKRN, Trump has added to his real estate empire by buying land in a rural location, as seen on Google Maps.\nAccording to the Rogersville, TN, website, the small town was settled in 1775, making it the second-oldest town in Tennessee.\nDeed shows Trump Organization acquired land in Hawkins County https://t.co/DAZ6lJVmor — WKRN (@WKRN) December 11, 2017\nDid Trump Just Buy A Cemetery?\nIn the comments section of Henard’s Facebook post shown above, one person theorized that the seller wanted Trump to have water pipes created for the area.\n“Did you hear why it was given to him? The owner wants the taxpayers to put water into the land so he can have water to the property he owns and his pipes he put in will not carry and are wrong size. Now the taxpayers will have to furnish. What a deal! Your ole friend. As they say ‘nothing is free.’ ha!”\nOn Reddit, another person who claims to live in the area noted that there is a cemetery on the lot bought by Trump.\n“I live in the adjoining county. There is a Cemetery on this lot. I don’t know if that has anything to do with him buying it.”\nIf true, it would not be the first time that Trump has shown interest in buying or building a cemetery, as reported by the Washington Post. Trump had expressed interest in 2014 in what the publication called “an unusual real estate project” in rural New Jersey when Trump wanted to build a cemetery right on the site of the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster course. That would have been comprised of 10 plots near the first hole for Trump and his brood. There would have been a larger cemetery that held 284 lots that would have been sold to members of the public.\nIt isn’t clear what will happen with those cemetery plans, especially since Trump announced in 2007 that he desired a mausoleum for himself in New Jersey, which he desired to be 19 feet tall. Therefore, it’s not clear if Trump will follow through on his cemetery plans in New Jersey – and perhaps now create another Trump property in Tennessee.", "Zeb Dalton's desk holds a 12-inch stack of manuals and books brimming with regulations for the Bureau of Land Management pastures his cattle graze. \"And that is just for our local district, it's not the BLM as a whole,\" he said.\nDalton's point is this that even though President Trump reduced the size of the Bears Ears Monument, he did not remove it from federal management.\nPresident Donald Trump, in typical Trump fashion, stunned America by announcing that he was, by Executive Order, re-drawing the borders of the monument to make it smaller. About 85 percent smaller, in fact — reducing it from the 1.35 million acres designated by President Barack Obama in January of 2016 to two monuments totaling just a hair over 200,000 acres. The southern monument, which includes the actual Bears Ears formations is named Shaash Jaa, while the northern monument is the Indian Creek Monument.\nTrump also shrunk next door Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument to about half its original 1.7 million acres. The Escalante Monument was put in place by President Bill Clinton.\n\"Some people think that the natural resources of Utah should be controlled by a small handful of very distant bureaucrats located in Washington,\" Trump said, speaking at Utah's State Capitol beneath a painting of Mormon pioneers. \"And guess what? They're wrong.\"\n\"Together,\" he continued, talking about the shrinking of the monuments \"we will usher in a bright new future of wonder and wealth.\"\nRecommended Stories For You\nSTILL FEDERAL LAND\nDalton's cattle graze both BLM and U.S. Forest Service land in what was the Bears Ears Monument in southeastern Utah, up against New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. While some of the land is no longer under \"monument\" designation, it remains federal land and will continue to be managed by the overseeing agency — BLM, U.S. Forest Service or National Park Service.\nSome media sources have reported that the area will now be \"privatized\" or that oil companies will soon begin digging wells. But the land itself remains under federal management, just as it has been for decades. In fact, the Antiquities Act, which gives presidents the authority to create monuments, specifies that all monument designations be done on federal land.\nDalton appreciates Trump's announcement and hopes the area can continue to be available for multiple use.\n\"San Juan County is at least 92 percent federal land,\" said Dalton of the monument's home county. Of the 700,000 acres his cattle graze, almost half were already being managed as wilderness, one of the most restrictive management strategies for federal lands. The wilderness designation doesn't change with the monument shrinkage. \"Some of this land has as many as 12 layers of protection,\" he said, referring to \"roadless,\" \"wilderness,\" and other federal designations meant to restrict use and preserve the landscape.\n\"A lot of environmental groups put out narrative that it wasn't protected and that we needed to protect it,\" he said. \"That wasn't true.\" For example, in the wilderness and wilderness study areas, no motorized vehicles were allowed, even before Obama's monument designation, he explained. This will not change, even though some of the wilderness now lies outside of the boundaries of the monument.\nDalton's cattle graze BLM permits in the summer and U.S. Forest Service land in the winter months. Although most of his grazing allotments are now outside the monument borders, he trails them between the Bears Ears to get from one allotment to the other. He fears his access, even on the remaining monument, will one day be restricted.\nDepending on which pastures his cattle are grazing at the time, his trail from summer to winter range or back again can be up to 100 miles.\nBecause the federal agencies have had just two years to draft new plans under President Obama's designation, management within the Bears Ears Monument had so far not been much different, Dalton said.\"They never really got any bylaws finalized. The regulations that were coming never got put into place,\" he said, and explained that the biggest change he had seen in the last two years was an increase in visitors by about three-fold.\nVisitors will have the same rights and abilities to enjoy the federal land, even without the monument designation.\nSome conservatives believe the Antiquities Act has been abused by several presidents. The act, which gives presidents the authority to create national monuments, says the limits of the monuments shall \"in all cases be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.\"\nLOCAL SUPPORT\nUtah's Sen. Orrin Hatch and Reps. John Curtis and Chris Stewart, all Republicans, supported Trump's move, as did San Juan County Commissioner Rebecca Benally, a member of the Navajo Nation and a Democrat.\n\"Thank you for not being a typical politician and passing us over. Thank you for caring about San Juan County. We may be only 15,000 strong, but we matter. We appreciate you being willing to take the backlash from the special interest groups as you stand for the people and the economy of San Juan County,\" she said in a public address. \"Brothers and sisters, I stand here before you as a Native American woman, the first elected woman in San Juan County. So here, I'm here today to tell you that my constituents do not want another monument in San Juan County because it is just another federal overreach with empty promises,\" she said.\nBloomberg reported that five lawsuits were quickly filed in response to Trump's actions. One president can't \"trump\" another's actions when it comes to monuments, they said.\nThe Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Zuni Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe consider much of Bears Ears to be religiously and historically valuable, though the land is owned by the federal government, said The Hill.\nLocal rancher Gail Johnson said the sentiment of the local Native Americans is generally supportive of the monument shrinking, as evidenced by county commissioner Benally's comments.\nWhile five tribes are suing over the action, only two tribes reside in the county, the White Mesa Utes and the Navajo, she said. \"But no one will listen to our local Native Americans unless they are in favor of what Obama did.\"\nAccording to the Associated Press, Earthjustice, The Wilderness Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club and several more environmental groups challenged the reduction of the Escalante monument, saying the president's action was \"unlawful\" and it \"exceeds his authority under the U.S. Constitution and the Antiquities Act.\"\nNo stranger to controversy, apparel maker Patagonia also jumped in the fight, filing suit to challenge President Trump's authority.\nElko, Nev., attorney Travis Gerber said he can't guess how the courts will rule on the lawsuits.\n\"One principle I know, under the Antiquities Act, the declaration must be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management,\" he said.\n\"Our position is that if designating 1.3 million acres, which is similar in size to the whole state of Delaware, is considered the 'smallest area compatible,' there could be no limit on the federal government's power to declare all federal land as a monument.\"\nCONFINED TO THE WEST\nSimilar designations would not be welcome or acceptable in the east, Gerber believes, and said that people who reside outside of federal lands states don't understand the unintended consequences of such actions, which negatively affect the economies of local communities. Encouraging prosperity with economic drivers such as ranching and logging actually encourages positive land management, he said, pointing out that America is cleaner and \"better managed\" than developing countries. \"When people grow more wealthy, they reinvest back into the environment.\"\n\"The philosophy behind these designations assumes that it will benefit the land but actually the results are the opposite. We see catastrophic wildfire and forest fire on federal lands in much more frequency than private lands,\" Gerber said.\nLocal ranchers Sandy and Gail Johnson, whose private property as well as their state and federal grazing land had been included within the confines of the Bears Ears Monument, are happy to now find themselves outside of the monument borders.\n\"It helped everyone out,\" Sandy said of the president's announcement.\nJohnson feared that the monument would take the \"natural course\" of other area monuments and eventually be turned into a national park, which would likely completely eliminate livestock grazing.\nJohnson said that some smaller ranchers within the Escalante monument were forced to cut their grazing numbers to the point that their ranches weren't sustainable, and they eventually sold out to bigger outfits. He hopes that with Trump's action, management in that region will return to a multiple-use vision, so that ranchers can graze the appropriate number of cattle on their allotments.\nAlthough well-intentioned, the monument designation did nothing to protect resources including Native American artifacts, Dalton said. And illegal activity is not common.\n\"Unfortunately if someone is going to break the law, they are going to break the law whether it is a monument or not,\" Dalton said. \"Hypothetically, if I went out and dug up an Indian artifact, it wouldn't matter if I was inside the monument or outside, the laws that I would be prosecuted under would be exactly the same. They want the monument to protect land from looting and such but the laws on the land are the same whether it is in the monument or not.\"", "Big banks are poised for a long-sought win.\nScroll for more content...\nRegulators on Wednesday unveiled their first rewrite of a post-financial crisis rule that bars banks from making risky trades with their own money, including customer deposits.\nThe proposed changes would make it easier for banks to gain exemptions and resume some of the profitable trading they did before the crisis. Banks would also get more freedom to determine for themselves which trades are acceptable under the rules.\nThe provision, known as the Volcker rule, was a landmark piece of Dodd-Frank, the financial reform law enacted in 2010. It bans what's known as proprietary trading, and blocks banks from taking big stakes in hedge funds or private-equity firms.\nThe rule was named for Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chair. Banks have said for years that it's too complex and difficult to comply with.\nFed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a statement that the proposal would strike at \"some of the uncertainty and complexity that now make it difficult for firms to know how best to comply, and for supervisors to know that they are in compliance.\"\nSupporters of the regulatory safeguard called the proposed changes a giveaway big banks.\n\"These are not small, technical changes,\" said Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, one of the co-authors of the Volcker rule. \"These are massive rewrites to make it easier for Wall Street banks to engage in the same types of risky bets that brought down our economy in 2008.\"\nRelated: House clears path to roll back post-crisis banking rules\nFive federal agencies - the Fed, the SEC, the FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission - have been working on the rewrite.\nUnder the proposed changes, banks would be freed from having to prove that they are making a trade for reasons other than speculative betting. Instead, that burden will shift to regulators.\nBanks would be asked to set internal limits on various trading positions, working with regulators, according to agency officials who briefed reporters on Wednesday. Banks with smaller trading desks would be subject to even fewer requirements.\nThe proposal would also clarify how banks should distinguish between proprietary trading and what's known as market making.\nTrading desks often hold an inventory of securities that they anticipate will meet demand from customers. If those inventories are too great, it raises the question of whether the banks are holding them to make money on proprietary trading.\nBanks say it's too difficult now to determine what's proper trading, the buying and selling of securities that helps financial markets function smoothly, and what's not.\n\"We want banks to be able to engage in market making and provide liquidity to financial markets with less fasting and prayer about their compliance with the Volcker rule,\" Randal Quarles, the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, said in a speech to bankers in March.\nQuarles said Wednesday's proposal was a \"important milestone\" but should be considered the first step at simplifying the rule. He said it is \"not the completion of our work.\"\nWall Street analysts had been expecting the rewrite to be modest.\n\"This is not a radical change, and the results for the biggest banks may be less than the headlines would suggest,\" Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at Cowen Washington Research Group, wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.\nRelated: Changes at CFPB's student loan division worry advocates\nStill, for regulators, it's yet another tilt toward the industry since President Trump took office.\nThousands of community and regional banks won a reprieve last week from some of the toughest post-crisis rules under Dodd-Frank. Among the changes signed into law by Trump, banks with less than $10 billion in assets will no longer have to comply with the proprietary-trading rule.\n\"The Volcker rule is hated by big banks because it forces them to engage in less risky behavior,\" said Karl Frisch, executive director of the consumer advocacy organization Allied Progress. \"They couldn't care less that their previous actions led to millions of Americans losing their jobs, retirement savings, and homes.\"\nThe initial plan by regulators eliminates certain requirements to make it easier for banks to hedge against losses.\nBankers have long lamented that steep compliance costs made it harder to reap the benefits of exemptions tucked into the rule, which came into effect in 2015. It took years for regulators to finalize a plan that would prevent banks from making speculative market bets with their own money.\nTo simplify the rules, regulators agreed to create three buckets for financial firms based on their trading activity. Roughly 18 firms, which have \"significant trading assets and liabilities\" of at least $10 billion or more, would face the strictest oversight.\nRelated: Italy crisis rocks markets. Here's why investors are worried\nThe Fed, which unanimously approved the proposal on Wednesday, is the first of the agencies to consider it. It will be months before the changes take effect.\n\"A final rule in 2018 is no sure thing,\" Ian Katz, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners wrote in a report this week.\nThe FDIC, which meets on Thursday, is the next agency scheduled to consider the plan. The CFTC has scheduled its meeting for June 4. Each agency must sign off on changes and vote on whether to seek public comment.\nIsaac Boltansky, director of policy research at Compass Point Research & Trading, said in an analyst note that changing the rule will be a \"lengthy process,\" with five agencies in charge.\nHouse lawmakers are hoping to streamline that process by proposing the Fed be in charge of overseeing how banks adhere to the Volcker rule. But the effect could be limited, Boltansky said.", "U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. (Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)\nMark Salter, U.S. Sen. John McCain's former Senate chief of staff and longtime co-author, delivered a blunt dismissal of President Donald Trump's continuing attacks on the ailing senator.\nAfter Trump again went after McCain during his Tuesday rally in Nashville, Tennessee, Salter — sometimes called McCain's alter ego because they have worked so closely together for years — fired off a blistering response on Twitter.\nREAD MORE: Is Trump unwelcome at McCain funeral?\n\"I think we can confidently assume that the Senator doesn't give a rat's ass what this particular president says or thinks about him,\" Salter tweeted to a journalist who had noted Trump's latest remarks.\nI think we can confidently assume that the Senator doesn't give a rat's ass what this particular president says or thinks about him. https://t.co/CkHdmtuJjp — Mark Salter (@MarkSalter55) May 30, 2018\nWithout saying McCain's name, Trump again broadsided McCain for his dramatic opposition last July to oppose a Republican effort to roll back the Affordable Care Act. Trump's attacks on McCain, who has a usually fatal form of brain cancer, have become trademark lines at the president's campaign-style rallies and underscore his sustained anger with the senator for opposing his policies and character.\nREAD MORE: After McCain furor, Trump rips so-called leaks\n\"We had it done, folks, it was done, and then early in the morning somebody turned their hand in the wrong direction,\" Trump said of McCain's no-vote, which he accompanied with a theatrical thumbs-down on the floor of the Senate.\n\"The person that voted that way only talked repeal and replace. He campaigned on it.\"\nCLOSE President Trump, in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, criticized Senator John McCain's 2017 vote against a Republican health care plan. McCain voted no by turning his thumb down. Trump said \"somebody turned their hand in the wrong direction.\" (May 30) AP\nThe president's remarks about the six-term senator are the first public comments since his communications aide, Kelly Sadler, dismissed McCain's opinion on Trump's pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency since he was \"dying anyway.\"\nThe remark, made during a closed-door meeting, drew backlash against Sadler, Trump and other White House aides, who refused to apologize publicly for the comment.\nREAD MORE: Hating McCain: Critics offer no mercy to senator\nMcCain, 81, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in July.\nHe is at his home near Sedona, where he has been visiting with family and friends, some of whom are crisscrossing the country to spend time with him.\nSalter teamed up with McCain for \"The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations,\" the third book in an autobiographical trilogy that includes 1999's \"Faith of My Fathers\" and 2002's \"Worth the Fighting For.\"\nREAD MORE: McCain gets a victory in Trump pardon of boxer\nWant more news like this? Click here to subscribe to azcentral.com.\nRead or Share this story: https://azc.cc/2J1A3eI", "SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — On Wednesday, FS Investors will begin collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to put its SoccerCity Stadium and Development Plan for Mission Valley before the city council in June.\nIncluded in that initiative is Chargers Park, the training facility and practice fields the city owns in Murphy Canyon.\nWhat's going to happen there?\nSoccerCity wants to turn Chargers Park into soccer training facility, but they're not the only ones interested in this 14 acres of prime real estate.\nStadium Manager Mike McSweeney told the Stadium Advisory Board last month several city departments and private developers are interested in the property.\n\"There appears to be a lot of desire to use the land either by city departments or we could get commercial lessees,\" said San Diego Attorney Bob Ottilie.\nBut these other folks may find it difficult to get their hands on the land because it's part of the SoccerCity's initiative, so everybody will have to wait to see if the initiative goes forward.\n\"For two years, we will not be able to realize a return on that asset at a time when we're now starting to develop budget deficits again for the first time in 6-7 years,\" Ottilie said.\nThat asset is 14 acres of prime real estate. Chargers Park was land owned by SDG&E but in a land swap, the city got the property worth $6.3 million and built the training facility and practice fields for the Chargers.\nThe City also maintains the property and with upgrades, the hit to the taxpayers has been more than $10 million.\nOttilie was one of the lawyers opposed to the Qualcomm Renovation years ago and the ticket guarantee that costs taxpayers a bundle. He's also opposed to this initiative.\n\"At least when we gave it to the Chargers we knew that while they used it we got a football team. These people are taking it under the guise of bringing us professional soccer team when, as you know when you read the initiative, there's no guarantee at all we're gonna get a soccer team,\" Ottilie said.\nNor is there a guarantee we'll get a soccer stadium.\nThis is why developers go through the initiative process because it eliminates years of delay and nobody can change what's in the initiative.\nWhat's going to happen to that land depends on the city council vote in June.", "WASHINGTON (AP) — Start the countdown clock on a momentous two weeks for President Donald Trump and the GOP-run Congress.\nRepublicans are determined to deliver the first revamp of the nation’s tax code in three decades and prove they can govern after their failure to dismantle Barack Obama’s health care law this past summer. Voters who will decide which party holds the majority in next year’s midterms elections are watching. (Continued below)\nREAD MORE\nPOWER ON: DTE works on portable power supply.\nSTATE NEWS: Police search for missing youths, 11 and 13.\nAdvertisement\nMISCONDUCT: Two ex-council members in Fraser refused effort at reinstatement.\nFIRE: Four-alarm blaze at apartment complex.\nPAT CAPUTO: Lions and coach still have issues despite win.\nRepublicans are negotiating with Democrats on the contentious issue of how much the government should spend on the military and domestic agencies to avert a holiday shutdown. An extension of the program that provides low-cost health care to more than 8 million children and aid to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida need to be addressed. And further complicating the end-of-year talks is the fate of some 800,000 young immigrants here illegally.\nLawmakers are trying to get it all done by Dec. 22.\nA look at the crowded agenda:\nTAXES\nRepublicans are upbeat about finalizing a tax bill from the House and Senate versions for Trump’s first major legislative accomplishment in nearly 11 months in office.\n“I feel very confident we’re going to get this done ... at the end of the day we’re going to get this to the president’s desk and he’s going to sign it,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Sunday in an interview on Fox News Channel.\nThe House and Senate bills would cut taxes by about $1.5 trillion over the next decade while adding billions to the $20 trillion deficit. They combine steep tax cuts for corporations with more modest reductions for most individuals.\nRepublican leaders have struggled to placate GOP lawmakers from high-tax states like California, New York and New Jersey whose constituents would be hit hard by the elimination of the prized federal deduction for state and local taxes. Repeal of the deduction added up to $1.3 trillion in revenue over a decade that could be used for deep tax cuts.\nLawmakers finally settled on a compromise in both bills — full repeal of the state and local deductions for income and sales taxes, but homeowners would be able to deduct up to $10,000 in local property taxes.\nAnd yet it’s still not a done deal.\n“There’s a lot of conversation around the fact that in some of the blue states where the taxes are high, the property tax alone, they will not be able to use the $10,000 possible deductions,” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” on Sunday. “So allowing for income and property taxes, which would cost another $100 billion by the way, to be options for folks in those states would be a better solution. And we’re looking at ways to make that happen.”\nJust a few weeks ago, lawmakers were unyielding on their insistence that the corporate tax rate be slashed from 35 percent to 20 percent. Now, one way to finance the changes on state and local taxes would be to cut the corporate tax rate to 21 or 22 percent instead.\nGOVERNMENT SPENDING\nRepublicans and Democrats are trying to work out a sweeping budget deal. They got a temporary reprieve from a partial government shutdown when they passed a stopgap, two-week bill last Thursday.\nRepublicans want a major boost in defense spending. Democrats want a similar increase for domestic agencies.\nCongress also has to figure out how much disaster aid should be directed to Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida. The Trump administration requested $44 billion last month, an amount lawmakers from hurricane-slammed regions say is insufficient. The latest request would bring the total appropriated for disaster relief this fall to close to $100 billion — and the government still must calculate how much it will cost to rebuild Puerto Rico’s devastated housing stock and electric grid.\nCHILDREN’S HEALTH\nFresh federal money for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, ran out on Oct. 1, a blow to the widely popular program that provides low-cost medical care to more than 8 million children. Some states have relied on unspent funds, while others that were running out of money got a short-term reprieve in the two-week spending bill.\nLawmakers hope to agree on a long-term budget solution for a program that’s about $14 billion a year.\nIMMIGRATION\nDemocrats want to act now to protect young immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children, with demands that a solution is included in any year-end spending deal.\n“We will not leave here without a DACA fix,” said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.\nThese young immigrants, often referred to as Dreamers, face deportation in a few months after Trump reversed administrative protections established by President Barack Obama.\nRepublicans say it can wait till next year and shouldn’t bog down the broad budget agreement. However, House GOP leaders likely will require Democratic votes for the spending bill and they have to work out a deal with Pelosi.\nAssociated Press writers Marcy Gordon and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.", "Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Donald Trump “wants to use #Dreamers as bargaining chips to advance his anti-immigrant and xenophobic policies that will harm our country for generations to come,” tweeted Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.\nLast week, President Donald Trump proposed a massive amnesty, and Democrats immediately accused him of xenophobia.\nThis is a case study for why there’s so little bipartisanship in Washington, D.C. Democrats would rather demagogue an issue than get something they claim to want.\nDonald Trump “wants to use #Dreamers as bargaining chips to advance his anti-immigrant and xenophobic policies that will harm our country for generations to come,” tweeted Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.\nSome went further. Writing in the Huffington Post, Juan Escalante called it a “racist ransom note.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi even said the goal of Trump’s proposal was to “make America white again.”\nContrast that rhetoric with what’s actually in the plan. For years, Democrats have sought permanent protections for illegal aliens who came to the United States as children. Trump’s plan would give it to them.\nIn all, 690,000 illegal aliens signed up for Obama’s unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Trump’s plan would give them legal status and a path to citizenship.\nThere’s more Democrats should love. Trump offered the same path to citizenship to another 1.1 million illegal aliens who came as children but weren’t part of DACA. That is a massive amnesty — especially for someone who won the GOP presidential nomination largely by pounding his opponents for being weak on immigration.\nIn exchange, he wants $25 billion for a border wall and border enforcement. He wants to limit chain migration to the nuclear family and eliminate the Diversity Visa Lottery program.\nAlthough good proposals, these enforcement measures are much less stringent than they appear. First, there is no requirement for mandatory E-Verify, which would be the most effective tool to limit illegal immigration. Second, it would take years to build a wall, and a future Congress could — and would if controlled by Democrats — stop construction. Third, chain migration would end only after clearing the current “backlog.” That backlog consists of 4 million people.\nIf Democrats were serious about helping DACA recipients, they’d be high-fiving all the way to the negotiating table. Instead, they went straight to name-calling.\n“We should call President Trump’s latest immigration framework what it is: A laughable attempt to disguise hardline, anti-immigrant policies as bipartisan reform,” said Rep. Ruben Kihuen in a statement. “Unfortunately, this is not a serious proposal to reform our immigration system, and we shouldn’t waste time considering it.”\nThis deal is even more generous when you consider that Democrats are in the minority. Their only leverage is stopping a deal in the Senate, because it takes 60 votes to break a filibuster. Our form of government requires compromise, but Democrats have shown no interest in that.\nWhat’s happening makes sense once you realize it’s a cynical political maneuver. Democrats think they can use the lack of a DACA deal to drive turnout and paint Republicans as racists for demanding border security.\nDemocrats weren’t always like this. Imagine how many meltdowns you’d see on MSNBC if Trump sounded anything like Bill Clinton did during his 1995 State of the Union address.\n“All Americans … are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country,” said Clinton. “The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public services they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That’s why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens.”\nTrump presented a plan that only Republicans like Jeb Bush could love. Democrats said it was “anti-immigrant” anyway. That’s because Democrats don’t want a deal on DACA.\nThey want it their way or not at all.\nVictor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.", "5 Shares\nNoted racist and U.S. President Donald Trump had the audacity to attend the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson last Saturday.\n“I knew a little before everybody else, but I’ll simply say this without even referencing Trump himself,” Jackson’s mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told me when the visit was announced. “The opening of the Civil Rights Museum is an important moment of a recognition of struggle and out of that struggle we’ve seen people historically rescue themselves in a state that has been known for some of the most negativity that the world has ever seen.”\nLumumba took Trump’s election last year with a certain level of equanimity, saying that on the day after the election, “I woke up in Mississippi which means whether it is Obama, Clinton or Bush, Mississippi is still at the bottom.”\nBut Trump’s refusal to condemn the white supremacists in Charlottesville caused many civil rights leaders, including U.S. Rep. John Lewis, to threaten to boycott the opening if the president attended. But it wasn’t just Charlottesville. White supremacy may be the only consistent ideology of the Trump administration.\n“We have to observe this corrosion of integrity and this erosion of people’s human and civil rights and identify what role or what steps we’re willing to take,” Lumumba said. “It’s important that we recognize that struggle. But any celebration of struggle, any recognition of struggle must consider what the next step forward is.”\nTrump, being Trump, made the controversy worse by seeming to support a justification of slavery. Days before the presidential visit to the first state-sponsored civil rights museum, Roy Moore, the Alabama senatorial candidate who is supported by the president despite allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior with minors, went viral saying that America “was great at the time when families were united — even though we had slavery, they cared for one another.”\nJust in case there was any question about what Trump thought of this definition of his catch phrase, the very next day he tweeted:\nLAST thing the Make America Great Again Agenda needs is a Liberal Democrat in Senate where we have so little margin for victory already. The Pelosi/Schumer Puppet Jones would vote against us 100% of the time. He’s bad on Crime, Life, Border, Vets, Guns & Military. VOTE ROY MOORE! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2017\nWhen he finally got to Jackson, Trump, who was invited by the state’s white Republican governor, spoke to a small crowd, primarily reading from a script, and not at the main event. “The fight to end slavery, to break down Jim Crow, to end segregation, to gain the right to vote, and to achieve the sacred birthright of equality — that’s big stuff,” Trump said. “Those are very big phrases, very big words.”\nLumumba has some more big words for Trump. He wants Jackson, a city in deeply red Mississippi, with a long history of racism and white supremacy, to be the “most radical city” in the world. Bigly.\n“Ultimately what I mean by being the most radical city on the planet is giving people more access,” he told my colleague Jaisal Noor. “We do this through the … movement of people’s assemblies that allow people to speak to their conditions, and so that is very important to us.”\nPeople’s Assemblies are “vehicles of Black self-determination and autonomous political authority of the oppressed peoples and communities in Jackson,” according to the Jackson-Kush Plan, a document produced by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) and the Jackson People’s Assembly. “The Assemblies are organized as expressions of participatory or direct democracy, wherein there is guided facilitation and agenda setting provided by the committees that compose the People’s Task Force, but no preordained hierarchy.”\nThe movement grew out of a collaboration of Black activist groups forming in the Mississippi River Delta in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction and quickly managed to take over the city of Jackson, when Lumumba’s father won the mayorship in 2012.\n“Free the land” was a common refrain in the elder Lumumba’s first campaign. It came from his trip to Mississippi in 1971 to start an autonomous black nation in that state with the “Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika.” To get to their land, Lumumba and his comrades had to face down the Klan. This weekend, with the president’s visit, his son, who succeeded him as mayor, had to take a similar stand.\nThe younger Lumumba had resisted repeated calls to run for office. But when his father died in 2014, he decided to run. He won a decisive victory this year, giving some hope as to what a city can do, outside of larger national trends. Lumumba and the People’s Assemblies offer a serious alternative to Trumpian authoritarianism.\n“A radical is a person who seeks change,” he said. “A radical is a person who does not accept the conditions as they see them. But we look at the conditions of our community and we see a need for change. Then the reality is we need to be as radical as the circumstances dictate we should be.”\nBaynard Woods is a reporter for the Real News Network and the founder of Democracy in Crisis. Twitter: @baynardwoods", "Sen. Dick Durbin met with President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch in Washington D.C. Tuesday, crediting the judge’s \"impressive resume\" before criticizing the president’s first month in office.\n“We are at the beginning of a long conversation about our Constitution, about the authority of the president and the bulwark for that Constitution to protect the values that are written into that document falls on the judicial branch and primarily on the Supreme Court,” Durbin said.\nDurbin faulted Trump for a variety of decisions, namely his dismissal of former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who refused to defend his ill-fated travel ban.\nThe senator, who has now met with six Supreme Court nominees, also voiced concerns about the ouster of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was dismissed Monday night amid allegations of improper communications with a Russian diplomat involving sanctions handed down by former President Barack Obama. Durbin pushed for an independent commission into the incident Tuesday.\n“That’s why this selection of a nominee to fill the deciding seat on the court is historically so important in the context of what we have seen over the past 25 days of the Trump presidency,” he added. “We cannot dismiss the possibility that we are going to be facing some of the most critical Constitutional decisions of our time.”\nDurbin, who criticized Gorsuch's ruling in the landmark Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Inc. case, insisted that Trump’s nominee be held to the same 60 vote threshold as past nominees, despite the president’s call for a rule change to force a simple majority vote.\n“I think the 60 vote standard is the right standard,” Durbin said. “That is not a filibuster, as I see it. That is a standard that recognizes that if you’re going to serve on the Supreme Court, lifetime appointment to the highest court of the land, you shouldn’t get by the Senate by the skin of your teeth.”\n“You ought to show real bipartisan support,” he added.\nIn addition, Gorsuch told Durbin Tuesday that he called Federal Judge Merrick Garland after being nominated by Trump. Obama nominated Garland to the Supreme Court in March, but Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, blocked his confirmation, holding that Obama’s successor should name the next nominee.\n“I remember what happened to Merrick Garland,” Durbin said. “It was totally unfair and unjust and Senator McConnell should never forget it.”\n“I’m gonna stand by the same Constitutional standard that I was insisting on for Garland when it comes to Judge Gorsuch,” he added.\nOn Tuesday, Durbin also presented Gorsuch with a gift — a biography of former Federal Judge Frank Johnson, who made landmark civil rights rulings that helped end segregation and desegregation in the American South.\n“Years ago, I thought, I want everyone aspiring to be a federal judge at every level to know what it takes to be courageous to make a difference in history,” Durbin said.", "Noted racist and President Donald Trump had the audacity to attend the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson last Saturday.\n“I knew a little before everybody else, but I’ll simply say this without even referencing Trump himself,” Jackson’s mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told me when the visit was announced. “The opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is an important moment of a recognition of struggle, and out of that struggle we’ve seen people historically rescue themselves in a state that has been known for some of the most negativity that the world has ever seen.”\nLumumba took Trump’s election last year with a certain level of equanimity, saying that on the day after the election, \"I woke up in Mississippi — which means whether it is Obama, Clinton, or Bush, Mississippi is still at the bottom.\"\nBut Trump’s refusal to condemn the white supremacists in Charlottesville caused many civil rights leaders, including John Lewis, to threaten to boycott the opening if the president attended. But it wasn’t just Charlottesville. White supremacy may be the only consistent ideology of the Trump administration.\n“We have to observe this corrosion of integrity and this erosion of people's human and civil rights and identify what role or what steps we’re willing to take,” Lumumba said. “It’s important that we recognize that struggle. But any celebration of struggle, any recognition of struggle must consider what the next step forward is.”\nTrump, being Trump, made the controversy worse by seeming to support a justification of slavery. Days before the presidential visit to the first state-sponsored civil rights museum, Roy Moore, the Alabama senatorial candidate who is supported by the president despite allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior with minors, went viral saying that America “was great at the time when families were united — even though we had slavery, they cared for one another.”\nJust in case there was any question about what Trump thought of this, the very next day he tweeted: “LAST thing the Make America Great Again Agenda needs is a Liberal Democrat in Senate where we have so little margin for victory already. The Pelosi/Schumer Puppet Jones would vote against us 100% of the time. He’s bad on Crime, Life, Border, Vets, Guns & Military. VOTE ROY MOORE!”\nWhen he finally got to Jackson, Trump, who was invited by the state’s white Republican governor, spoke to a small crowd, primarily reading from a script, and not at the main event. “The fight to end slavery, to break down Jim Crow, to end segregation, to gain the right to vote, and to achieve the sacred birthright of equality — that’s big stuff,” Trump said. “Those are very big phrases, very big words.”\nLumumba has some more big words for Trump. He wants Jackson, a city in deeply red Mississippi, with a long history of racism and white supremacy, to be the “most radical city” in the world. Bigly.\n“Ultimately, what I mean by being the most radical city on the planet is giving people more access,” he told my colleague Jaisal Noor. “We do this through the … movement of people's assemblies that allow people to speak to their conditions, and so that is very important to us.”\nPeople’s assemblies are “vehicles of Black self-determination and autonomous political authority of the oppressed peoples and communities in Jackson,” according to the Jackson-Kush Plan, a document produced by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the Jackson People’s Assembly. “The Assemblies are organized as expressions of participatory or direct democracy, wherein there is guided facilitation and agenda setting provided by the committees that compose the People’s Task Force, but no preordained hierarchy.”\nThe movement grew out of a collaboration of Black activist groups forming in the Mississippi River Delta in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction and quickly managed to take over the city of Jackson, when Lumumba’s father won the mayorship in 2012.\n“Free the land” was a common refrain in the elder Lumumba’s first campaign. It came from his trip to Mississippi in 1971 to start an autonomous black nation in that state with the “Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika.” To get to their land, Lumumba and his comrades had to face down the Klan. This weekend, with the president’s visit, his son, who succeeded him as mayor, had to take a similar stand.\nThe younger Lumumba had resisted repeated calls to run for office. But when his father died in 2014, he decided to run. He won a decisive victory last year, giving some hope as to what a city can do outside of larger national trends. Lumumba and the people’s assemblies offer a serious alternative to Trumpian authoritarianism.\n“A radical is a person who seeks change,” he said. “A radical is a person who does not accept the conditions as they see them. But we look at the conditions of our community and we see a need for change. Then the reality is we need to be as radical as the circumstances dictate we should be.”\nBaynard Woods is a reporter at the Real News Network and the founder of Democracy in Crisis. Email: baynard@democracyincrisis.com; Twitter: @baynardwoods.", "People living in part of the Northland will soon have emergency help a lot closer. (KCTV5)\nPeople living in part of the Northland will soon have emergency help a lot closer.\nRight now, the closest fire stations are at North Oak Trafficway and 111th Street and Brighton Road and Missouri Highway 152. But today, the city broke ground on a new station up near Interstate 435 and Missouri Highway 291.\n\"It is not for lack of qualified or quality firefighters and EMS workers, it's because of geography, and we need to fix that,\" Councilwoman Heather Hall said.\nAnd that’s precisely what Hall set out to do in 2015. Now, it is all coming together.\n\"What the problem is is that the response times are way too long, and the insurance home rates for these homeowners are way too expensive,\" Hall said.\nEven as the money for the fire station was voted on, it was a matter of fate for where the new station would land. That came thanks to Tim Harris.\n\"They risk their life every day for the rest of us,\" he said.\nHarris said his father’s dedication as a firefighter for 35 years is just a part of the reason he was happy to donate the land his company owns.\n\"Being a lifelong Northlander, I know the need for the fire station and this area was underserved by fire protection, and we wanted to be able to help with that need,\" Harris said.\nIf all goes as planned, the new station will open in next June.\nCopyright 2018 KCTV5 (Meredith) All rights reserved.", "James Williams, president of a coalition that works for normalizing U.S.-Cuba relations, was busy on Capitol Hill this week trying to persuade administration officials not to reverse travel and trade policies with Cuba that were eased by President Obama two years ago.\nWilliams, who heads Engage Cuba, said it seems inevitable that the White House -- which has not made any announcement about changing America's Cuba policy -- will roll back some steps his predecessor took in 2014 toward full-scale relations with Cuba. So Williams is working to contain the expected reversal of Obama’s policies.\n“This is the last thing the Cuban people need, a return to this hostility,” Williams told Fox News. “The people in Cuba are starting to see their lives change, they want it to go faster. At the end of the day, there are hardliners in both governments who are out for blood toward each other, and it’s everyday people whose lives are going to be destroyed.”\nIn Miami, a Bay of Pigs veterans group, Brigade 2506, sent out a statement expressing hope that when Trump appears before them on Friday in a scheduled visit to the city, he will announce major changes to Obama’s U.S.-Cuba policy.\nMany news outlets, quoting unnamed Trump administration officials, are reporting that the president may announce a new U.S.-Cuba policy as early as Friday in Miami. The administration has been drafting a new policy with input from Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and Sen. Marco Rubio, both Cuban-American Republicans from South Florida.\n“It was on October 25, 2016 that for the first time in the history of Brigade 2506 a candidate for the presidency of the United States received their endorsement,” the veterans group said in its statement. “During that important event, then-candidate Donald J. Trump addressed an audience eager for a president that would place human rights and freedom in Cuba as well as the protection of U.S. national security first when dealing with the Castro regime.”\nRelated Image Expand / Collapse\nThe statement repeated the message that Trump delivered to the group during his campaign: “What you are asking for is right, and what you are asking for is just. The United States should not prop up the Castro regime economically and politically, as Obama has done and as Hillary Clinton plans to do. I won’t let you down.”\nDuring his presidential campaign, Trump said that Obama’s decision to ease trade and travel restrictions had amounted to playing right into the hands of a regime that had made no concessions in return. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the Trump administration would conduct a “top-to-bottom” review of U.S.-Cuba policy.\nThose who want Trump to return to a more hardline U.S.-Cuba policy say the infusion of money into Cuba from increased U.S. tourism and business deals mainly is benefitting the regime, which continues to crack down on dissidents and to resist democratic reform, according to Amnesty International.\nMarion Smith, executive director of Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is calling on Trump to return to a stricter policy on Cuba.\n“Despite claims that detente with Cuba will lead to new freedoms for the Cuban people, an influx of capital and tourism has only further fueled the Castro government’s repressive policies,” Smith said in a statement. “President Trump should use this opportunity to push the Cuban government to release its political prisoners, allow for dissent, and adhere to international standards on human rights.”\nRelated Image Expand / Collapse\nProponents of lifting the embargo say that taking a punitive approach toward Cuba has done nothing to bring about improvements in human rights in more than 50 years, and that it is time to try something new. They believe that the more contact Cubans and Americans have and the more opportunities Cubans have to form entrepreneurial ventures -- helped by Americans – the more pressure there will be for the political system to change on the island.\n“Trump is in a very difficult spot with this,” John Gronbeck-Tedesco, a professor at Ramapo College in New Jersey and author of books about Cuba, said. “One the one hand, he’s trying to make good on his campaign pledge, and speak to his base, especially Cuban-Americans in Florida who voted for him. But he also promised Americans more jobs, and reducing trade is not going to help.”\nAmong those supporting an expanded business relationship with Cuba are those in the agricultural industries in some of the most conservative parts of the United States, Gronbeck-Tedesco noted. That has prompted some Republicans lawmakers at the state and national level to back more trade with Cuba, and to push for lifting the embargo.\nA White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss internal deliberations on Cuba policy, said that the U.S. embassy in Havana will remain open, but Americans can expect actions by the departments of State, Treasury and Homeland Security to ban U.S. trade with any Cuban entity linked to the military.\nAlso planned: a reduction in the number of categories for which Americans do not need U.S. government licenses to go to Cuba. The U.S. will demand greater internet access and the release of prisoners and return of American fugitives in Cuba. Obama's repeal of the special Cuban immigration privileges known as wet-foot, dry-foot will not change, the official said.\nA particular focus is saving Obama's easing of U.S. travel to Cuba, which tripled the number of American travelers to the island and pumped tens of millions of dollars into the island's private hospitality sector.\nMore than half of tourists now staying in Havana hotels are from the United States, say those in the U.S. travel industry.\n\"Thousands of Americans are visiting Cuba and fueling the fastest growth in its private sector since 1959,\" CubaOne, a group of young pro-engagement Cuban-Americans, wrote in an open letter to Trump on Monday.\nAfter months of public silence, Airbnb last week released a report on its activities in Cuba, which have put $40 million into the hands of private bed-and-breakfast owners since the online lodging giant became the first major U.S. company to enter Cuba in the wake of Obama's declaration of detente. Google, which installed servers on the island to speed Cuban internet service last year, spoke out for the first time Monday in favor of maintaining relations.\n\"Google has played a formative role in the first chapter of Cuba's connectivity story, but this is just the beginning,\" Brett Perlmutter, head of strategy and operations for Google Cuba, said at a conference in Miami on Monday. \"Connecting Cuba will require an entire ecosystem of players ... It will also require the US maintaining a policy that allows telecommunications firms work in Cuba.\"\nThe Associated Press contributed to this report.\nElizabeth Llorente is Senior Reporter for FoxNews.com, and can be reached at Elizabeth.Llorente@Foxnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @Liz_Llorente.", "WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday his choice to lead Veterans Affairs would soon make a decision on whether to withdraw after the emergence of late-surfacing allegations about inappropriate behavior on the job and overprescribing prescription drugs. “It’s totally his decision,” Trump said.\nTrump said during a joint news conference at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron that he would “stand behind” Dr. Ronny Jackson to become his VA secretary, calling him “one of the finest people that I have met.” But he questioned why Jackson would want to put up with the scrutiny, which he characterized as unfair.\n“I told Adm. Jackson just a little while ago, I said, ‘What do you need this for?’ This is a vicious group of people that malign and they do and I lived through it,” Trump said. “I said, ‘What do you need it for?’ He’s an admiral, he’s a great leader. And they question him about every little thing.”\nTrump said he didn’t want to put Jackson through “a process like this — it’s too ugly and too disgusting. So we’ll see what happens. He’ll make a decision.” Trump added, “I wouldn’t do it. What does he need it for? To be abused by a bunch of politicians that aren’t thinking nicely about our country?”\nAdvertisement\nJackson’s hearing had been set for Wednesday at the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee but was indefinitely postponed amid the allegations.\n“We take very seriously our constitutional duty to thoroughly and carefully vet each nominee sent to the Senate for confirmation,” said the chairman, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and the top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana. “We will continue looking into these serious allegations and have requested additional information from the White House to enable the committee to conduct a full review.”\nThe two lawmakers sent a letter to Trump on Tuesday requesting additional information about Jackson, who has served as a White House physician since 2006. It demands any communication between the Pentagon and the White House for the last 12 years regarding “allegations or incidents” involving him.\nWith Congress set to recess Friday for a week, Tester said the soonest a hearing could be held would be in about 10 days. “We’re vetting hard right now,” he told reporters. “We still have more information to find out.”\nAllegations began surfacing late last week involving Jackson’s workplace practices, including claims of inappropriate behavior and over-prescribing prescription drugs, according to two aides granted anonymity to discuss the situation.\nIsakson told fellow GOP senators over the weekend about the allegations prompting those on the panel to give their support for delaying the hearing, one senator said.\n“Chairman Isakson had a phone conversation with a lot of us around the committee over the weekend, indicated that there had been some unsubstantiated allegations made, and he wants to do it right,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D. on Fox News @ Night With Shannon Bream.\n“We told him that if he wanted to delay the meeting, that was fine with us. We most certainly want to get all the facts out,” he said.\nDemocrats on the committee assembled privately late Monday. Tester reiterated to the other senators that the allegations were out there, one aide said. But no specific evidence of wrongdoing was offered.\nWhite House and VA officials were quietly discussing a delay with key allies outside the administration, even as the White House on Tuesday scrambled to save Jackson’s troubled nomination. (Continued below.)\nTRENDING STORIES:\n• Shocking crime: Tow truck driver accused of stealing from badly injured woman.\n• Food challenges: Big appetites needed in mid-Michigan.\n• Healthy living: Oakland Co. scores high on health rankings.\n• Corruption scandal: Trash king sentenced to prison.\n• Ouster clerk: Karen Spranger’s clerk cited for ethics violation.\n------------\n“Admiral Jackson has been on the front lines of deadly combat and saved the lives of many others in service to this country. He’s served as the physician to three PresidentsRepublican and Democratand been praised by them all,” said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley. “Admiral Jackson’s record of strong, decisive leadership is exactly what’s needed at the VA to ensure our veterans receive the benefits they deserve.”\nTrump selected Jackson to head the VA last month after firing former Obama administration official David Shulkin following an ethics scandal and mounting rebellion within the agency. But Jackson, who has worked as a White House physician since 2006, has faced numerous questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers as well as veterans groups about whether he has the experience to manage the massive department of 360,000 employees serving 9 million veterans.\nA doomed nomination would be a political blow to the White House, which has faced criticism for sloppy vetting of Cabinet nominees and tough confirmation battles in a Senate where Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority. Prior to Jackson’s nomination, Trump had told aides and outside advisers that he was fond of Jackson personally and was said to be particularly impressed with Jackson’s performance at the podium in January when he offered a glowing report on the president’s physical and mental well-being.\n“The White House does not vet their nominees. That leaves us as members having to look at their personal and leadership and other qualities, and they didn’t do a good job and now we’re doing it,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of the Senate committee. She did not comment on the specific allegations against Jackson.\nSen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is not on the veterans panel, also criticized the White House vetting process, saying that the allegations against him arose after Trump nominated him. “I don’t know whether this is an aberration or not, but it certainly is something that bears looking into.” She said recent allegations of ethical violations in Oklahoma by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt also raise questions about White House vetting.\nLate Monday, Jackson was still pursuing support, and held a late-afternoon conference call with veterans groups from West Virginia and the state’s Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a member of the committee, whose vote could be vital for support.\nRounds said Jackson’s small staff at the White House will be an issue as he prepares to lead the VA.\n“We’ve got 360,000 people there,” he said. “Are they going to manage the secretary or is the secretary going to manage the VA? That’s a good question to ask, and he needs to answer it. He needs to be the leader. A lot of folks want to be led and managed.”\nAssociated Press writers Ken Thomas, Alan Fram and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.", "The Columbia Public Schools Board of Education voted on some big changes Monday night, mostly aimed at alleviating overcrowding at the middle school level.\nThe board voted to make new middle school boundaries to help to ease overcrowding at Gentry Middle School by extending the Jefferson Middle School boundaries into areas previously included in Gentry.\nThe board voted to allow current sixth and seventh graders that will be moved to Jefferson to apply to stay at Gentry.\nColumbia Public School Board vice president Jonathan Sessions says allowing sixth and seventh graders to stay at Gentry if they choose is a way to not make children move more than necessary.\n“It allowed not to have to move as many kids it also put us in the position, I felt after really looking at the numbers, where we didn’t have to move any students that were already attending Gentry,” Sessions said. “By saying, if you’re not there yet, you will be attending Jeff.”\nThe boundary changes come after unexpected growth the board did not foresee in the Gentry area when they made new middle school boundaries several years ago.\n“It’s made Gentry a much more crowded school than we anticipated,” Session said.\nJackie Van Delden is a parent of a will-be-sixth grader at Gentry Middle School. Even though she is unaffected by the boundary change, she believes the board is not doing enough to relieve overcrowding.\n“I feel for any kid that’s going to be in third grade up through seventh grade because they are going to be in a very overcrowded school until the new middle school is built,” Van Delden said.\nShe said she worries about the large class sizes and students’ inability to participate in sports and activities.\n“I’m disappointed in CPS for the fact they’ve known for a few years that Gentry is getting overcrowded, and it’s come to this points and they are really doing nothing,” she said.\nSeptember 2016’s enrollment numbers put Gentry at 868 students and Jefferson’s enrollment at 597 students.\nSessions said the Columbia Public School district is comprised of six middle school, five of which are located on Worley Street or north. Gentry is the only middle school in southern Columbia.\nThe board also took further steps to help alleviate overcrowding at the middle school level by moving up plans for a new middle school to be completed in 2020, rather than its original completion in 2022.\nThe land for the new middle school has not been purchased yet, and Sessions said that they will be looking to “geographically balance” the middle schools in Columbia.\nSessions said the board will follow a similar plan using a surveyor to identify a plot of land that will be ideal for a middle school.\nSessions said there will be a presentation of the top five locations at the board’s March work session.\n“Out of a difficult decision, that I know not everyone will be happy with, we were able to focus on students and what is best for students,” he said\nAdditionally, the board voted to name the new elementary school that will open in 2018 after the school it is replacing. Cedar Ridge Elementary will continue to be an elementary school, just in a new building. Once students are moved out of the current Cedar Ridge Elementary, the district hopes to repurpose the building, Sessions said.", "If you recognize the child, or know how to reach his parents or guardians, you are asked to call (812) 683-4111 or (812) 683-3003.\nIf you recognize the child, or know how to reach his parents or guardians, you are asked to call (812) 683-4111 or (812) 683-3003.\nAuthorities say she snatched the girl out of her own back yard -- and the reason she gave for doing so didn't add up.\nAuthorities say she snatched the girl out of her own back yard -- and the reason she gave for doing so didn't add up.\nIt's the only abortion clinic left in the state, and protests there are getting more aggressive.\nIt's the only abortion clinic left in the state, and protests there are getting more aggressive.\nLocal pastor tells Metro Council he will not obey a safety zone outside abortion clinic\nLocal pastor tells Metro Council he will not obey a safety zone outside abortion clinic\nThe last place Darius S. Reeves was seen in Pleasure Ridge Park.\nThe last place Darius S. Reeves was seen in Pleasure Ridge Park.\nLMPD issues alert to find missing teen last seen in PRP\nLMPD issues alert to find missing teen last seen in PRP\nFour Kentucky National Guard soldiers are facing felony charges after authorities say they gave a woman alcohol, then sexually assaulted her.\nFour Kentucky National Guard soldiers are facing felony charges after authorities say they gave a woman alcohol, then sexually assaulted her.\nPolice say an investigation shows that the child ingested the drugs at a home on Seminary Street in Carrollton.\nPolice say an investigation shows that the child ingested the drugs at a home on Seminary Street in Carrollton.\nShively Police say they've arrested two people who were illegally living in a tree house on someone else's property without their permission.\nShively Police say they've arrested two people who were illegally living in a tree house on someone else's property without their permission.\nJust days after his vice president was in town, President Donald Trump is headed to Louisville.\nTrump will host a rally at Freedom Hall next Monday. Political experts say it's another way to get Republicans on board with a new healthcare plan.\nAnd with the healthcare debate in the national spotlight, Kentucky appears to be the new battleground state.\n\"I think we've got some politics going on here,\" said Dr. Dewey Clayton, a U of L professor of political science. \"I think that's why we've seen the vice president here, and we're now seeing the president coming as well.\"\nBut why Kentucky when it's already a red state?\n\"Here in this instance, you have two senators, and one of them is not necessarily on board,\" Clayton said.\nClayton said Trump is trying to make good on a campaign promise -- to repeal and replace Obamacare. But the vote will be close.\n\"One senator seems to be wavering on this particular issue,\" he said.\nThat's Senator Rand Paul, who openly refers to Trump's healthcare plan as \"Obamacare Lite.\"\nAlthough the White House hasn't said what Trump will focus on in Louisville, Clayton said the rally is no coincidence.\n\"That's a power that presidents often have,\" he said. \"When they can't get their way with members of Congress sometimes and can't get them to all act like they'd like, then sometimes they do what's called an end-run, and they go directly to the constituents.\"\nClayton believes Trump will likely call on his supporters to put pressure on Paul to support the new healthcare bill.\n\"Oftentimes, that's just enough leverage to sort of win the day.\"\nTrump's rally will be held next Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Freedom Hall. Tickets are first-come, first-serve and available online.\nFor ticket information, click here.\nRelated Stories:\nPresident Trump to hold rally in Louisville on Monday, March 20\nCopyright 2017 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.", "Photo: Tom Williams\nFor most of 2017, the dynamics of an immigration deal in Congress were abundantly clear: relief for Dreamers would be exchanged for border security resources. Yes, there were major areas of uncertainty on both issues. How many Dreamers would qualify for DACA-style protections? Would a path to citizenship be included? And would border security funding include Trump’s Wall?\nBut then the hardliners in the House GOP and in the White House began to make their own pitch for a broader and more conservative deal. In the House, they shaped the Goodlatte bill, which only gives Dreamers a three-year renewable legal status (not a path to citizenship), and goes beyond border control measures to pursue sharp cutbacks in legal immigration, along with an end to “chain migration” and the current diversity visa lottery–items borrowed from the better-known restrictionist Cotton-Perdue bill in the Senate.\nAnd when the official White House proposal was revealed last week by presidential advisor Stephen Miller, it tracked most of the Goodlatte bill’s provisions, adding to them the concession that Dreamers would get a path to citizenship after 10-12 years.\nBut the Senate Republican leadership hasn’t abandoned the old Dreamers-for-border-resources framework. And this was a major source of friction at the congressional Republican retreat this week, with Senate leaders promoting a “two-pillar” approach and House conservatives insisting, like the White House, on a “four-pillar” template, as Roll Call reports:\n“My own view is if we can solve DACA and border security, that may be the best we can hope for,” Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune told reporters here Thursday….\n“Making a suggestion that a two-pillar answer is going to get support in the House is a nonstarter,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows told reporters at the GOP retreat.\nThe president’s prepared remarks for his own speech at the retreat–which were otherwise mostly a brag-fest about the economy and the success of his State of the Union Address–pointedly backed up the four-pillar demand:\n“Nearly seven in 10 Americans support an immigration reform package that includes a permanent solution on DACA, secures the border, ends chain migration, and cancels the visa lottery. These are the four pillars of the White House framework — a plan that will finally bring our immigration system into the 21st century.\n“I know that the Senate is planning to bring an immigration bill to the floor in the coming weeks, and I am asking today that the framework we submitted be the bill that the Senate votes on.”\nBut when he actually delivered the remarks, with Mitch McConnell standing by, he dropped the demand that the Senate do immigration his way.\nIs Trump waffling? Or did he just not want to show up ol’ Mitch in front of the troops? That’s unclear. It’s also unclear whether strong Democratic opposition to the “four pillars” approach will eventually put a narrower scope for a deal back on the table–or whether, as many observers suspect, the whole idea is to force Democrats once again into a position of shutting down the government over immigration, and in this case by rejecting a deal that’s generous to Dreamers but not anyone else." ]

[ "What is the best demanding automation testing tool in market?" ]

[ "Which is the best open source tool for automating API testing?", "What tools and approaches are best for automating API testing?", "What is a good mobile automation testing tool which is freely available?", "What is automated testing?", "What is the best marketing automation tool for small and mid-sized companies?", "What is the best JavaScript unit testing tool along with any integrated tool that can measure code coverage better than Jasmine?", "What is the best Instagram automation software?", "Which is the best SEO tool?", "Which tool is the best for website analysis?", "Which is the best place to learn industrial automation?", "Which is the best software testing institute in Delhi/NCR?", "Which is the best agile software project management tool?", "What are the best prototyping tools?", "What are the best elearning tools?", "What are the best lead generation tools?", "What are the best free plagarism tools?", "What is the best infrastructure and app monitoring tool or toolset?", "What are some of the best data scraping tools?", "What are the best content management tools?", "What are the best tools for front-end development?", "What are the best ways to do a home automation project?", "What is the best app making tool?", "What are the best smartphones tool?", "Which are some best apps to learn aptitude test questions?", "Which is best online test series for bank exams?", "What are the best tools for blockchain development?", "What is the best wireframing free tool?", "Which is the best Twitter management tool?", "What is the best free SEO tools?", "What are the best ways to test python code?", "What are some of the best car tools?", "What is automation system?" ]

[ "There is nothing natural about nudity. We know when we're naked even if we pretend not to notice. Nudism is an extreme belief system pushed to the point of denial." ]

[ "No, I´ve never believed in the future of European Union.\\nReasons:\\n* there are far too many countries in the E.U.\\n* these countries are very different (history, values, rich/poor) - so it is very difficult to find compromises\\n* every country wants to keep its identity \\n* why no common constitution? people in e.g. Slovakia have different needs, problems, et cetera as people e.g. in England\\n* people in western europe think the criminality would increase by taking countries like Bulgaria (where even the police drives with stolen cars)\\n* people are afraid of taking a country like Turkey into the E.U. (very large country, very many people, very many poor people - richer countries would pay more, borders to countries like Iraq, Iran)\\n* farmers in Middle European countries will \"die out\", because the prizes for agricultural goods decrease (competition with \"cheap\" countries in Eastern Europe)\\n* there are countries which have to \"pay\" and countries which \"get\" money. People in the paying countries don´t understand why the should pay for another country" ]

[ "Does blocking someone on Snapchat delete saved messages? Your chat history with them will disappear on your phone, but it'll still show up on your former-friend's. So they'll still be able to see any saved messages between you. You, however, won't have access to those messages." ]

[ "Originally Answered: If I block someone on snapchat will they still see the last message I sent? If you have sent the message before blocking them, they can see the message. But if the message is sent after you have blocked, the message won't be dilivered.", "You can now delete Snapchat messages you instantly regret Now, following the latest Snapchat update, users can press and hold on a message and select \"delete\" in any chat. When a message is deleted, other users in the same chat will be notified that a message was deleted.", "Unfriend, remove and delete all mean deleting someone from your friend list. However, the Block option removes a person from your suggestions and never lets you see his/her profile again. The person blocked cannot view you on snapchat. You guys can not exchange messages.", "No, when you block someone in iMessage your message thread history is not deleted. Blocking someone will prevent you from receiving calls and messages from that number/person from that point forward. It does not affect any of the previous messages.", "How do I know if someone saved my messages on Snapchat? Snapchat will notify you if someone takes a screenshot of a snap or a chat. You will not get a notification if someone saves something in chat, but the line they saved will have a light grey background instead of white.", "Now, following the latest Snapchat update, users can press and hold on a message and select \"delete\" in any chat. When a message is deleted, other users in the same chat will be notified that a message was deleted. ... As always, Snapchat will notify users when a screenshot has been taken of any message, photo, or video.", "If someone deleted you on Snapchat, you can add them again. The person who blocked you will be notified about this. But when someone blocked you on Snapchat, you can't do anything about it. You can't even add them back as a friend.", "Snapchat servers are designed to automatically delete all unopened Chats after 30 days. ... Saved Chats appear on a gray background, and you can press-and-hold on them to unsave them at any time. Snapchatters can also delete chats by pressing-and-holding on the message, then tapping 'Delete. '", "Why can't I unblock someone on Snapchat? If you want to unblock someone on Snapchat but are unable to do so then it can mean two things: Either the particular person has deleted the account or the person has not removed you from his/her Snapchat block list.", "If I block someone on Snapchat will they be able to see my story? When you block a user, they can no longer view your Snapchat Stories or send you any type of Snap or Chat. If you'd like to block the user from viewing your Stories but still want to receive Snaps from them,you can delete a user.", "If I block and unblock someone on Snapchat, will we still have our streak? ... If you have blocked someone on your Snapchat and if their settings say that only their Friends can contact them, you will not be able to see the streak anymore as you no longer seem to be there on their Friend's list.", "Snapchats Are Saved on Snapchat's Servers Under Snapchat's privacy policy, all video, photo, and message content is deleted from servers after it's been viewed by all recipients or after 30 days.", "Here's how to find out whether you are blocked: One of the ways to be eliminated from Snapchat is simply being blocked. When someone blocks you, they will not get any of your messages, and they will not appear anywhere.", "Unlike other social networks, Snapchat doesn't make it obvious when someone unfriends or blocks you. And to further complicate things, you can still send messages to someone who doesn't follow you in Snapchat. The only time you won't be able to send messages to someone is if they've blocked you.", "The blocked person will not be able to find you in Snapchat's search, either. If you unblock someone you can add each other later. ... When you block someone in Snapchat, you will be removed from each other's friends lists. The blocked person will not be able to find you in Snapchat's search, either.", "Originally Answered: how can you tell if someone deleted their snapchat account? Create another Snapchat account and try searching for their name. If their name appears and you can add them, then they have not deleted their account and they have blocked or deleted you instead.", "New friends can be made in groups. So when you blocked someone on Snapchat, they will see the messages you've sent to groups you're in together. ... Here if any person who is blocked by you, send a message in a Group, you can't read that message and similarly if you send any message, that person can't get this message.", "If someone blocks you on Snapchat, they'll disappear from your contacts list, and even if you try and search for them through the app, you won't be able to locate them. If someone deletes you, they'll still appear in your contacts, and if you send them a snap it will just say 'delivered'.", "If you block someone on Snapchat will they know? The short answer to this is no, for the reasons we talked about above. It's possible that they'll think you deleted your account, but if they see you snapping a friend of theirs, the jig, as the kids say, will be up.", "And to further complicate things, you can still send messages to someone who doesn't follow you in Snapchat. The only time you won't be able to send messages to someone is if they've blocked you. A good indicator that someone unfriended you on Snapchat is if you no longer see photos or videos posted to their Story.", "How To Know If Someone Deleted You On Snapchat. Snapchat does not make it easy to tell if someone has blocked or unfollowed you. When that happens, you won't receive a notification, and you can't ask the Snapchat team whether it has happened. (Well, you can ask, but they won't tell you.)", "When you block someone, they'll no longer be able to contact you (example: send you messages, call you) on Messenger or on Facebook chat. You can also ignore a conversation, turn off notifications for a conversation, or delete a conversation. How do I block messages from someone on Messenger?", "In this case, select “Snapchat messages” Now select all the deleted messages you want to want to recover and click the recover button to retrieve the deleted information. Select the destination folder and wait until the Snapchat messages are recovered.", "Snapchat servers are designed to automatically delete messages sent in one-on-one Chat after both Snapchatters have opened and left the Chat. ... Snapchat servers are designed to automatically delete all unopened Chats after 30 days. Snapchatters can always save a Chat by pressing-and-holding on it!", "Originally Answered: If I delete my snapchat app will it erase unopened snaps? ... You can deactivate your account in the settings (not delete the app). Your message will disappear, any chat history too. Your account simply won't exist.", "Chats 💬 Snapchat servers are designed to automatically delete messages sent in one-on-one Chat after both Snapchatters have opened and left the Chat. ... Snapchatters can always save a Chat by pressing-and-holding on it! Saved Chats appear on a gray background, and you can press-and-hold on them to unsave them at any time.", "How to tell if someone has blocked you on Snapchat. It's not always easy to tell if someone has blocked you on Snapchat, since you won't receive any sort of notification. When someone blocks you on Snapchat, you'll no longer be able to see that person's snaps or talk to them via the app.", "Originally Answered: If someone blocked you on snapchat but show up in your added me section and it still won't allow you to add them, what is happening? Snapchat doesn't send notifications when one of your friends blocks you or deletes you from their contacts.", "Past Record on WhatsApp Blocking someone will not affect their old messages or media files for they will stay on your phone until you delete them manually.", "Yes. They have a full transcript of what was said, pictures and all. You can even see that if you're blocked you won't be able to see their picture anymore, but you'll still have the messages. ... When you block them then you cannot send message to them and they will not see it.", "Because blocking people on Snapchat hides their accounts from you and yours from them, you can't search for their names and then unblock them. ... Snapchat prompts you to confirm. Tap Yes if you would like to unblock this person. After you unblock someone, their username disappears from your Blocked list.", "When someone has blocked you ,the first thing you will notice is that you wont be able to send messages to that particular person. If you use Hangouts as your default text messaging app, text messages will be blocked. ... I unblocked someone from Hangouts, but I cannot see all the messages anymore." ]

[ "I think you mean Epstein-Barr virus, which is a member of the herpes virus \"family\". Here is a great link to the Center for Disease Control website- tells you all you need to know!\\nhttp://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/ebv.htm" ]

[ "What are you doing in a dyke bar?lol", "Sure, if a person has an extra copy of Chromosome 21 (trisomy 21) They are mostly likely someone who has Down Syndrome. There are many other instances of extra chromosomeos (Kleinfelder's syndrome, XXY syndrome, etc).", "Yes a female child with Down Syndrome could be tall. Although children with Down Syndrome tend to be short in stature (as well as many other defining physical characteristics) this is not true with every child with Down Syndrome. Because this is a syndrome there is a varity of characteristics that are associated with the condition, however the DSM-IV TR does not state that in order for an individual to have Down Syndrome they must have all the characteristics (only some). If you have additional concerns/questions let me know and I'll do the best I can to answer them.", "What would Jesus do? \\nFor a Klondike Bar.", "The biking event is where all the eating happens. What we do is break up a protein/energy bar into bite size pieces and stick it to the bar of the bike. This is all pre-race obviously. Make sure to have water to wash down those sticky bars.", "contact your local bar association tell them what you are looking for. they will connect you with what you need", "Not everyone who has Tourette Syndrome swears. According to the Tourette Syndrome Association, only 10% of sufferers utter obscenities. A person with Tourette's might clap, laugh, repeat certain words, etc.\\n\\nTourette Syndrome \"is a neurological or neurochemical disorder characterized by tics: involuntary, rapid, sudden movements or vocalizations that occur repeatedly in the same way.\"", "A priest , a rabi and a minister walk into a bar . The bartender looks at them and said \" WHAT IS THIS A JOKE \" ?", "You would have to attach a picture to the bar in order for it to stay on the bar of soap. Any picture imprinted on a bar of soap would have to be placed on its outer layer. Once the outer layer washes away then you lose the picture. You could create a very small bar of soap and imprint a picture on that and then apply another layer of soap to make it bigger and imprint that and so on. The problem with that is what if the layers don't wash away evenly.", "Depends on what type of music you like. If you're into goth or industrial, try Neo at Clark/Fullerton or Exit on North Ave.\\n\\nAlso, check out this link. You can click on 'Bars/Clubs' and choose what style bar you're looking for, and pick what area of the city/suburbs you want to go.", "Depends on what mail class you use. Go to www.usps.com, and use Calculate Postage on the link bar.", "If you want a specific site, type it in the address bar. Typing a site name in the Yahoo! search bar will give only results found by the Yahoo! search engine.\\n\\nAlso, if you type the name in the address bar and another site with a similar name comes up, this may be due to a setting in Internet Explorer which allows it to find the site you're most likely looking for, rather than exactly what you typed in the address bar.", "Bull fighting and auto racing are the only \"sports\", the rest are \"games.\"\\n\\nI like your idea of having a category titled \"Bar Sports\" but may be \"Bar Games\" would be a slight improvement. What do you think?", "Torsion bars do have a rating. Its based on a couple of variables though. Weight of vehicle, suspension travel distance, length and diameter of torsion bar. Performance parts listed by a manufacture though for a particular make, model are mostly listed from whats tested and what works. Then they only tell you the diameter of what they found to work in any particular application. The formula for figuring all this out will drive yah nuts though. So best to contact a supplier tech support and ask them whats best for your particular idea of usage to get the right torsion bar. They've done the math.", "are you sure it's typed correctly? try entering the website in a yahoo search bar and see what that comes up with", "Do you know what is blocking the pop ups? Usually it's a yahoo or google toolbar. You can go into your add/remove programs wizard and remove the tool bar. If you don't have a tool bar it could be part of the service pack that is on your computer.", "Statistics\\n\\n* Down syndrome occurs in roughly 1 of every 750 births in the United States.\\n* The risk of having a child with Down syndrome is less than 1 in 2,500 among young women.\\n* This risk increases to roughly 1 in 350 when women reach 35 years of age.\\n* After age 45, the risk of having a child with Down Syndrome is about 1 in 25.", "after you have finished your searches or what ever your doing you go to the tools at the top of your tool bar just below your bar at the top of the page and click that then go down to Internet options then go to clear history click and your done!", "Yes they can. But, more often women have constant arousal syndrome - and just think that they are nymphomaniacs. Constant arousal syndrome can be treated.\\n\\nIf you need anymore information, feel free to email me your number.", "Check out this link. You can choose what area of Chicago (or burbs) that you want to go, and choose sports bars.", "I think this is a good paragraph! \\nI'll do my best and see if this would be what your looking for, though not much difference I don't think. This is sort of repeating what you say but different wording\\n\\nNew moms often sleep poorly, wheither their children sleep well or not. Even adults who have no children, they have the threat of being awakened, which causes them to disrupt their own sleep. The threats trigger a syndrome which what experts call an on-call syndrome. It's named after a fitful sleep that afflicts emergency workers, medical students, and doctors. These people who have those certain jobs loose about 1 1/2 hours of sleep when they are on call or not.", "get up shower and shave have a breakfast bar with milk go to work come home relax and do what ever", "Telling and showing everyone I know and care about them exactly what I feel for them, no holds-barred.", "You could possibly have carpal tunnel syndrome. Next time your hand goes numb, see what fingers go numb. Carpal Tunnel will only numb the thumb, index, and middle finger. Rarely your index finger, and never your pinky.", "What, Huh I wouldnt go to a bar with you. I think its time you think about rehab.", "I'm not 100% sure what you want, but try this.\\n\\nMake a bar graph, as you normally would (i.e. select your data, click 'Insert>Chart...')\\n\\nWhen your bar graph is on the screen right click one of the bars. Select 'Format Data Series...'\\n\\nSelect the 'Patterns' tab if it isn't already selected. You should see a button called 'Fill Effects...'. Click that.\\n\\nSelect the Tab called 'Picture', and click the 'Select Picture' Button.\\n\\nChoose a photo that you want to have for your bar, and click OK.\\n\\nThen you choose whether to stretch your picture, or stack them, etc. Play around with this part till you are happy with your result.\\n\\nHope this is what you need!\\n\\nDean", "You can sometimes work for a nonprofit legal services agency under a special rule. You can offer to work as a paralegal until you pass the bar. You don't say what state you're in, so I have no idea how hard your state bar exam is.", "Usually end stage liver disease has a lot of causes to mention: infections (viral, including HAV, HBV, HCV (rarely), HDV, HEV, bacterial, rickettsial, parasitic), drugs and toxins, ischemia (shock), Budd-Chiari syndrome,idiopathic chronic active hepatitis, acute Wilson's disease, microvesicular fat syndromes (Reye's syndrome, acute fatty liver of pregnancy). For all the mentioned diseases, if they are left untreated and not given full attention they will lead to END STAGE LIVER DISEASE. So it purely depends on what age the individual contracted the disease. For instance if that individual took a medication that is toxic to the liver at a very young age,then develop the signs and symptoms of liver pathology and neglect it then there is a likelihood that the individual will further go into complication leading to end stage liver disease. So its important for you to know what is the causes of every disease I mentioned earlier. For that it will give you an idea what are the factors involved leading to it. I hope I have given you enough information and if you have more feel free to ask me. Good Luck...", "chromosomal abnormalities?????hmmm....following types are the culprits:\\nDisomy\\n\\nA disomy is the presence of a pair of chromosomes, or the normal amount for some organisms including humans. It is not a disorder, or aneuploid, but is the absence of aneuploidism.\\n\\n\\nTrisomy\\n\\nA trisomy is the presence of three, instead of the normal two, chromosomes of a particular numbered type in an organism. Thus the presence of an extra chromosome 21 is called trisomy 21. Most trisomies, like most other abnormalities in chromosome number, result in distinctive birth defects. Many trisomies result in miscarriage or death at an early age.\\n\\nA partial trisomy occurs when part of an extra chromosome is attached to one of the other chromosomes. A mosaic trisomy is a condition where extra chromosomal material exists in only some of the organism's cells.\\n\\nWhile a trisomy can occur with any chromosome, few babies survive to birth with most trisomies. The most common types that survive without spontaneous abortion in humans are:\\n\\n * Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)\\n * Trisomy 18 (Edward's syndrome)\\n * Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome)\\n * Trisomy 9\\n * Trisomy 8 (Warkany syndrome 2)\\n\\nTrisomy involving sex chromosomes includes:\\n\\n * XXX (Triple X syndrome)\\n * XXY (Klinefelter's syndrome)\\n * XYY (XYY syndrome)\\n\\nDown syndrome (US, Canada and other countries) or Down's syndrome (UK and other countries) encompasses a number of chromosomal abnormalities, of which trisomy 21 (an aneuploid) is the most common, causing highly variable degrees of learning difficulties as well as physical disabilities. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British doctor who first described it in 1866.Trisomy 18 or Edwards Syndrome (named after John H. Edwards who first described the syndrome in 1960) is a genetic disorder. It is the second most common trisomy after Down's Syndrome. It is caused by the presence of three - instead of two - chromosomes 18 in a fetus or baby's cells.\\n\\neduard's syndrome...... The additional chromosome usually occurs before conception, when egg and sperm cells are made. A healthy egg or sperm cell contains 23 individual chromosomes - one to contribute to each of the 23 pairs of chromosomes needed to form a normal cell with 46 chromosomes. Numerical errors arise at either of the two meiotic divisions and cause the failure of segregation of a chromosome into the daughter cells (non-disjunction). This results in an extra chromosome making the haploid number 24 rather than 23. Fertilization of these eggs or sperm that contain an extra chromosome results in trisomy, or three copies of a chromosome rather than two. It is this extra genetic information that causes all the abnormalities characteristic of individuals with Edwards Syndrome. As each and every cell in their body contains extra information, the ability to grow and develop appropriately is delayed or impaired. This results in characteristic physical abnormalities such as low birth weight; a small, abnormally shaped head; small jaw; small mouth; low-set ears; and clenched fists with overlapping fingers. Babies with Edwards syndrome also have heart defects, and other organ malformations such that most systems of the body are affected.\\n\\nEdwards Syndrome also results in significant developmental delays. For this reason a full-term Edwards syndrome baby may well exhibit the breathing and feeding difficulties of a premature baby. Given the assistance offered to premature babies, some of these infants are able to overcome these initial difficulties, but eventually succumb.\\n\\nPatau syndrome, also known as trisomy 13, is a chromosomal aberration, a disease in which a patient has an additional chromosome 13.\\n\\nPatau syndrome is associated with severe mental retardation, small eyes that may exhibit a split in the iris (coloboma), a cleft lip and/or palate, weak muscle tone (hypotonia), an increased risk of heart defects, skeleta", "Sjögren's syndrome is a chronic disorder that causes insufficient moisture production in certain glands of the body. It occurs when a person's normally protective immune system attacks and destroys moisture-producing glands, including salivary glands and tear glands. The lungs, bowel and other organs are less often affected. * Extremely dry eyes causing a feeling of grit or sand in the eyes or a burning redness.\\n * Extremely dry mouth and throat causing difficulty with chewing and swallowing, decreased sense of taste, difficulty speaking, an increase in dental cavities, and dry cough or hoarseness.\\n * Enlarged parotid glands (located at the angle of jaw) and sometimes infection of the these glands.\\n * Excessive fatigue\\n * Aches and pains in muscles and joints \\n\\nLess common features of Sjögren's syndrome are:\\n\\n * Irritation of the nerves in the arms, hands, legs or feet (neuropathy).\\n * Thyroid gland abnormalities\\n * Skin rashes\\n * Memory loss or confusion.\\n * Numbness or tingling.\\n * Gastrointestinal problems.\\n * Inflammation of the lungs, kidneys, liver or pancreas.\\n * Cancer of the lymphatic tissue (lymphoma)occurs in less than 1% of patients. \\nWhat Causes Sjögren's Syndrome?\\n\\nNormally, the immune system (the body's defense against invaders) protects the body from infection and foreign substances such as bacteria and viruses.\\n\\nIn autoimmune diseases, such as Sjögren's syndrome, the immune system triggers an inflammatory response when there are no foreign substances to fight off. This inflammatory response causes the body's white blood cells to attack and destroy certain moisture-producing glands.\\n\\nThe exact cause for the abnormal immune response in Sjögren's syndrome is unknown. Some theories suggest that a virus or bacteria may alter the immune system, causing it to attack the glands. Some people may have a genetic or inherited factor that makes them more likely to develop Sjogren's syndrome.\\n\\nWhat Are the Forms of the Disease?\\n\\nSjogren's syndrome occurs in two basic forms: primary Sjögren's syndrome - the disease by itself and not associated with any other illness; and secondary Sjögren's syndrome - disease that develops in the presence of another autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis lupus, or vasculitis.\\n\\nAs many as 4 million people in the U.S. have Sjögren's syndrome. More than 90% of these are women. The disease can affect people of any race or age, although the average age of onset is in the late 40s.\\n\\nHow Is Sjögren's Syndrome Diagnosed?\\n\\nThe diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome is based on several factors, including:\\n\\n * Presence of dry eyes and mouth. An ophthalmologist can detect dry eyes by measuring tear production or carefully examining the cornea of the eye.\\n * Certain laboratory tests also suggest that dry eyes and mouth are caused by autoimmune mechanisms. Examples include the presence of auto-antibodies in the blood, known as anti-SSA or anti-SSB (also called anti-Ro or anti-La).\\n * Biopsy of the inner lip (performed in some cases to prove the diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome). The biopsy may show inflammation damaging salivary glands. \\n\\nSecondary Sjögren's syndrome is generally diagnosed when someone with an established autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, develops extreme dryness of the eyes and mouth. This diagnosis only rarely requires a lip biopsy.\\n\\nCan Other Problems Mimic Sjögren's Syndrome?\\n\\nSometimes, the use of certain medications can cause side effects that mimic the symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome. Medications such as tricyclic antidepressants (like Pamelor) and antihistamines like Benadryl, radiation treatments to the head and neck, as well as other autoimmune disorders, can also cause severely dry eyes and mouth.\\n\\nHow is Sjögren's Syndrome Treated?\\n\\nThere is no cure", "On the main yahoo page on the top search bar to the right the first button on top says \"advanced\" click on it and change what ever you want", "Click on View --> Tool Bar --> Address Bar" ]

[ "One of my cats is elderly and grooms himself a lot (lotsa hairballs!) - he is unable to digest most canned cat foods, but this stuff and the other Friskies Classic Pates (senior diet) suit him well." ]

[ "About 6 months ago, I found out that my kitty has kidney disease. He was extremely ill, and I was planning on putting him down if he got any worse. About that time, I got a few different cans of Friskies food. He liked the Senior Meaty Bits best, and would eat almost a can a day. He made an almost full recovery very quickly.<br /><br />Fast forward a few months and my kitty gets very sick again. He's worse this time, has trouble walking, and won't eat anything consistently, which makes the disease even worse. I was actually planning on where he would be buried. I tried to feed him meaty bits, and he absolutely loved it, but he would just lick off the gravy. I decided to try putting it through the food processor, and sure enough he gobbled it all down. I guess the meaty bits were too hard for him to chew in his weakened state.<br /><br />Now it is the only food he will eat consistently, and he begs for it. I know it is meant to help with urinary infections, but I wonder if it helps with kidneys too. I am so relieved to have found my product, and I hope my kitty will be eating it for years to come.", "How sweet it is! Diabetics rejoice! This is a sweetner with us in mind. No more spiking, crashing, burning! Being raw and vegan make this additionally desirable and great for everybody! ENJOY!!!", "If you cried when these babies disappeared from stores, rejoice! Only for non-wussies, ginger Altoids pack serious bite. Bonus: not only do they eradicate all eughiness from your mouth, they pack the gingerrific quality of easing nausea.", "Peanut lovers rejoice! This is one chewy, nutty, delicious treat. It's bigger than those granola/power/protein bars and loaded with peanuts on top of a peanut buttery/yogurty base that's sweet but not too sweet. This yummy snack is a good source of protein - and fat. At 220 calories, it's not for the dieter, but is tasty and satisfying. Highly recommended.", "This is the best thing to put on eggs and sausage for breakfast- EVER!<br /><br />Unfortunately, it also is very difficult to find in stores hence the need to order it online.<br /><br />Nothing makes eggs and breakfast heaven compared to this wonderful sauce. Garlic and hot pepper lovers will rejoice.", "Toffee Lovers of the World should rejoice. Treacle toffee is outrageously delicious and Walker's is the best I've found. So far, I've addicted four other people to the stuff and I expect that number to grow. These individually wrapped ones are softer than the toffee bricks that you break with a little metal hammer, so it is much friendlier to your dental work.", "I like flavored coffees - those where you can really taste the flavor it claims to have. Well, this one does. It is delicious and you feel like you are enjoying all the calories and good taste of a cinnamon roll in liquid form - only you can rejoice because you aren't getting the calories!!! I will be buying this item lots more!", "We received this Almond Roca can for Christmas and I do think it's a rather nice gift. Almond Roca fans rejoice! The can is pretty big -- more impressive than the regular Almond Roca containers. There's enough sweetness there to last a long time.<br /><br />Almond Roca will please anyone who likes almonds, toffee and chocolate. Nutty chocolate on the outside, crunchy toffee on the inside. Yum.", "For those of you who enjoy Coke products but don't want the sugar - rejoice! No longer do you have to drink Diet Coke (which has a milky cola taste), Cherry Coke Zero has the delicious syrupy taste of a coke without the sugar. I only wish fast food places carried it!", "Those of you who love licorice or anise flavor and who happen to be tea-drinkers, rejoice! This tea is so flavorful and aromatic. The anise/licorice flavor is intense. The tea is relatively sweet, so in my opinion, the addition of sweetener is not necessary, but you may want to add a little honey to it. This is not a wimpy tea, but full bodied and the longer you steep it, the stronger it gets.", "Asian spice lovers rejoice. I squirt this tasty red stuff on pretty much everything from hot dogs, Chinese take-out, cheeseburgers, eggs, fries, tacos, etc. You can't go wrong and the bottle is 110% mess-free. Everybody needs a bottle of the Sriracha in their cabinet. I stocked up on several dozen in case of apocalypse.", "I have been on a quest to find the most nutritious dog food for the last year. After trying various brands this one is the definite and obvious winner. My dogs are seniors but they prefer the puppy recipe to the senior recipe. The puppy one is loaded with protein and nutrients which make their coats shine. They love the food, and are in great health, spirits and have boundless energy.", "This product and CAT SIP are both really great for any kitty that is underweight due to kidney failure or anything else that has left your kitty not eating or drinking enough. It's also a nice treat for any kitty but be careful not to give too much at a time or too frequently.", "Hormel has came up with another shelf stable product. Of course to make it last over a year on the shelf it has to have lots of preservitive ingredients. I sampled one and found they are very salty and tastless. I bought these thinking they would sell in my little store (I sell mostly to senior citizens) being convienant for Senior Citizens to prepare a quick dinner. I was wrong. They are still on the shelf, and I will probably wind up trying to get rid of them at a loss or give away.", "well, kitty didn't get any catnip. followed directions and i still have a container of dirt. first amazon ordered product that was not what was advertised. what a shame. poor kitty.", "I LOVE wild Tibetan Goji berries. They are so tasty and make my body rejoice when I eat them. They help me with diabetic symptoms, especially when taken before bed. My 4-year-old daughter loves them too.<br /><br />I used to pay $22/pound for this exact brand, so this price is truly unbeatable. Did I mention that I'm excited about this find??", "You have a million different dessert choices,and they all seem good. Making these indulgent foods isn't always easy, and often time consuming. Jell-O takes minutes in its basic form.<br />Jell-O's great for those with numerous allergies too!It doesn't have the seven most common allergens, WHEAT, SOY, DAIRY, TREE NUTS, SHELL FISH, and EGGS. Jell- O has no hydrogenated ingredients, and its calorie content is less than the majority of desserts, on the market. Sensitive stomachs can rejoice, with this berry delight.", "Renal diet foods tend to be really dry and my cat won't eat them. This food is different. It's got lots of moisture and apparently decent taste, since my kitty eats it up! And getting a renal kitty to eat is SO important!", "While this product is more commonly used to make a traditional fish broth, I have been giving my kitties crushed up Bonito Flakes instead of store-bought treats once or twice a week for some time now and they couldn't be happier with the switch! This is all-natural, with no nasty dies for them to blorph up on your carpet and when given in moderation, a dirt cheap treat. It takes a while for some cats to catch on to the whole idea of a lighter than air flaked treat but once they do, they'll do almost anything to get at the bag so make sure you keep them in a very secure cabinet with a baby-lock! I gave some as a gift to my neighbors cats and they climbed the counter, pried open the cabinet door, tore into the bag and ate the whole thing in one sitting! One thing to keep in mind, however, is that what is marketed as \"Bonito\" is in fact, Skipjack Tuna flakes and not the more expensive Bonito. If these were actual Bonito flakes, the price would be unaffordable. The reason you'll want to know the actual type of fish is to asses the mercury risk to your little friends. Skipjack Tuna is considered a moderate risk to pregnant women and should not be eaten by them an large quantities. Therefore, I limit doling these treats out to about two times a week for kitty and usually just a healthy pinch or two. it's enough to make them the happiest kitties on the planet for the moment they are smelling and eating their flakes! My friends call this stuff \"Kitty Kat Krack\" and it's best used as a special treat and not an every day treat.<br /><br />There are two ways to give this to kitty:<br /><br />1. When you get the bag open it up and set aside the biggest flakes to use as training or reward treats that you hand feed to kitty. ABout 2/3rds to 3/4's of the bag are very large flakes that are good for hand feeding to kitty as a treat.<br /><br />2. Then, fold the open top of the bag over and crush up all the rest into a finer bunch of tiny flakes. This form is easy to put into a special treat dish for kitty when she's been especially good or to maybe comfort an older kitty who's feeling jealous of a new kitten. I use the fine powdery flakes in a bowl to lure my outdoor semi-feral kitty inside for health checks and to put his flea meds on. it works like a charm!<br /><br />I'm very serious about this driving the kitties crazy. Be sure to put a food bag clip on the open bag or store in a ziplock bag after opening. The smell will tempt a kitty to try and get at it wherever you store it! I order the 4-bag shipment about 2 to 3 times a year, but I have 3 cats and I often give little snack bags away to friends. Once or twice a year should suffice for a single cat household. You may see these in small tenth of an ounce packets in pet stores going for $5.99 so you can see this price is much better. You can also find this in your grocery store in the Asian foods Aisle but the price per unit can be almost double depending upon where you shop.<br /><br />Try some for kitty!", "I was really hoping this would help with kitty, but the pieces are too small so she just swallows it. I'm not sure if I should blame Hartz for kitty's little piggy qualities, so to be generous, it must not taste objectionable since she readily eats them. I could mix it with the rest of her food - but I doubt it does anything for breath either. Ummm...the shapes are cute to me, but kitty probably doesn't care about that. Just wish she'd be chewing on a product that garnered a few teeth crunches so some abrasive action might occur!", "This has been the best food for our dogs. They are more active, look healthier, and have firm, small stools. The food has consistent ingredients and our senior dogs are still young. They love it.", "I have been trying to find a dry cat food that consists of good nutrition, organic veggies, organic meat, meat meal, vitamins, and everything that my kitties need to have a healthy diet. I used to buy one of the major vet brands, but found that the carbs were extremely high. I have a cat that is diabetic. After doing research on what is best for indoor and/or diabetic kitties, I have found this food to be exactly what I was looking for. Not to forget the best of all.... all three of my kitties absolutely love this food! There was no problem making the food switch. Thank you for such a wonderful product!", "A great product for senior dogs or to reduce the amount of treats you feed your dog for weight management. The biscuits come in a bar shape that you can break down to four small pieces.", "Great price/value! Some crumbling of pieces, which would not likely affect those mixing this with soup stock or other food prep. I buy for my kitty cats (\"kitty crack\"), and they tend to ignore the bonito \"dust\". (I just mix that in with their dry food, so as not to waste.) I would recommend and buy again.", "I am a senior whom is disabled enough to not be able to cook as I once did. The Hormel Compleats are a godsend for me. This one is especially good, and I shall be ordering it on a regular basis. There is one problem, however, and it is common to all the Compleats: there is entirely too much sodium in them. I am having a time with my feet swelling. It is a real shame when you consider how difficult it is for us seniors to have to re-adjust our ways of doing the simplest of things. We should be able to depend upon time-tested brands like Hormel and Campbell's to supply us with reliable products.", "This is an excellent product for cats, it came highly recommended from a vet about 6 or 7 years ago when I had an immune compromised cat. It was the only food that she could eat and keep down, causing her to finally gain weight after losing enough to be life-threatening. That kitty has since passed on, but I put my kitties back on it about 6 months ago and their coats look great, they are more active, and my kitty with sensitive stomach throws up much less. I even received the product from the seller a few days earlier than expected.", "My cats have the worst kitty breath and when I saw these Pit'r Pats I figured I'd give them a try. I love the little Altoid-type container and the little fishie shapes, but I'd love it more if they actually helped with kitty breath. No such luck, but my cats find them tasty so I can't complain too much.", "My kitty is not a picky cat to eat so generally I can't tell what he really likes.<br />This one, of course my kitty loves it.<br />For me, it doesn't gross me out with the smell. In fact, it smells like human food.<br />Also, my kitty doesn't leave a bit on his dish when I pour this can.<br />I check the ingredients whenever I buy something for my cat, and BFF generally offers pretty good ingredients with decent price. I highly recommend this cat food!", "This cat litter works very well. It stays in the litter box, instead of getting stuck to my cat's feet and ending up around the house like other kitty litters do. Once I switched, I switched for good and this is the only kitty litter I use now. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with a cat!", "To write this review is tricky. Blue Buffalo Cat Food is so superior to any other cat food. Nobody paid me to write this review, but I am aware it must sound like it. Because I am so content with it. My Kitties (3) love this food and I love that there is no crap in it like in all the other commercially available cat foods. My Kitties enjoy great health, they look exceptionally well and they are the liveliest Kitties on the planet. Besides my love for them I believe it to be Blue Buffalo Cat Food, that supports their well being more than any other cat food. (Minus the real expensive ones maybe...)", "Finding anything that is gluten free that the whole family can enjoy is reason enough to rejoice. Soups have been a let down in the past because usually you want something just as quick as it is tasty. This soup fit the bill perfectly for quick and delicious AND gluten free! SO tasty my husband and I both had seconds and quick enough to make a difference to the usual lengthy cooking time for us back to basics gals. I will definitely be reordering and have put out the good word to all my gluten free soul sisters.<br />You won't be disappointed..", "I have ordered several flavors of Fancy Feast Appetizers to use in the rotational feeding of my 4 cats. Flaked Skipjack Tuna is not their favorite. They are a bit spoiled and when the local grocer or drug store has White Albacore Tuna on sale at a dollar a can, or even less, I stock up on the Albacore and give it out on Special occasionas to the kids. Special occasions may be Sundays, holidays, or, any day that I am tired and want to open one big, dense can of food that feeds several mouths!<br />Because they get such nice \"human\" Tuna, I think that kitty Tuna is just a little beneath them on any normal day.<br />Now, I do also feed a Feral Cat and since my indoors guys were reluctant to eat the Skipjack Tuna, I gave it to my Feral kitty. He gets real Albacore only 4 or 5 times a year. He scarfed the Skipjack right up.<br />So, my overall impression of how well a kitty eats this Appetizer Tuna depends upon how much human Tuna is normally put on his plate. If he is not so spoiled as my indoor guys, he will eat it without any reservations.<br />By now, my quest is finding kitty food that is unusual; therefore, new to the kitty palate. In the Fancy Feast Appetizer line, my indoor kittys like the Talapia <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OPQDDY\">Fancy Feast Appetizers for Cats, Steamed Tilapia, 2-Ounce Tubs (Pack of 10)</a> and the white meat chicken <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OPQKN2\">Fancy Feast Appetizers for Cats, White Meat Chicken, 2-Ounce Tubs (Pack of 10)</a>. Both of these are 5 store encores for my cats, while the Skipjack is a 4 Star, BUT, if your kitty is not spoiled by Albacore, he should like the SkipJack just fine. I do recommend it, but at my house the Talapia and the chicken are eaten more quickly." ]

[ "Go to Settings, and then Bluetooth Settings on your iPhone or iPad. Press and hold the PS and Share button until the light bar starts to flash. When the PS4 controller flashes white it's in pairing mode and should appear under Other Devices section in Bluetooth settings. Select the controller in settings to pair it." ]

[ "Stream compatible PS4 games directly to your iPad, iPhone or Mac through the PS4 Remote Play app*. Play hundreds of games with MFi controller support, including titles coming to the new Apple Arcade subscription service***, on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac devices.", "If you want to add a second or more wireless controllers to your PS4 console, but you don't have the USB cable, you still can connect them without the USB cable. Here is how to do it: 1) On your PS4 dashboard, go to Settings > Devices > Bluetooth Devices (via a media remote for your PS4 or a connected PS4 controller).", "How many controllers the PS4 can connect with. The PS4 officially supports up to four controllers wirelessly at the same time, for split screen and simultaneous play.", "Mirroring iPhone to iPad with Airplay is a simple process. Simply connect your iPhone and iPad to the same Wi-Fi network and then swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone's and iPad's screen so as to open the Control panel. Tap on Airplay and then tap on the iOS devices you want to connect to from the Airplay list.", "['Connect your iPad and choose recovery mode. Launch PhoneRescue for iOS and connect your iPad to computer with USB cable, then select Recover from iOS Device and click on the arrow button. ... ', 'Scanning the deleted videos on your iPad.']", "How to Use PS4 Controller on Xbox One. To connect a PS4 controller to the Xbox One, you'll need to use the CronusMAX PLUS adapter, which is one of the more reliable ways to pair the controller and console. Plug the CronusMAX PLUS into your internet-connected PC and it will automatically install the drivers.", "To play COD Mobile with a PS4 or Xbox One controller, simply connect them via bluetooth to your Android or iOS device. The process just takes a few seconds, regardless of whether you're connecting to a phone or tablet. Pull down the notification shade and long press the Bluetooth icon.", "['Connect your USB to the adapter via the USB port and connect the adapter to your iPad in iOS 13 and later.', 'Then you will see a prompt on your iPad saying \"Cannot use accessory\".']", "No, they cannot be connected to PS4 via bluetooth ! However, you can connect the headphone with the 3.5mm jack to the PS4 controller !", "1) Connect your Bluetooth headset and your PS4 controller with the audio cable with built-in mic. Then turn on your headset. 2) Go to PS4 Settings > Devices > Bluetooth Devices. 3) Select the name of your headset to connect.", "You can connect a DualShock PS4 controller to your PC via a USB cable or Bluetooth. If you only want to use the PS4 controller with Steam games, just connect it to your PC using a USB cable, and it'll work automatically.", "You can connect Bluetooth headphones to a PS4, but only if they are compatible with the PS4. ... Some Bluetooth headphones come with a special dongle that you need to plug in to the controller or console to properly connect to your PS4.", "['Connect your dead/broken iPad to computer. Download and launch iOS Data Recovery on your computer first, then run it. ... ', 'Scan your dead/broken iPad. ... ', 'Preview and recover iPad data.']", "Connect an Xbox One Controller to iPad This process only works with the Xbox One controller. The older Xbox 360 controller does not support this method. ... On your iPad, open the Settings app and select the Bluetooth option.", "You can connect the Xbox One S controller to a PlayStation 4 (but that's it) That's an Xbox One S controller connected to a PS4.", "The simplest way to connect a speaker (Bluetooth or otherwise) to your PS4 is by connecting it to your PS4's DualShock controller using a 3.5 mm audio cable. 1. Plug a 3.5 mm audio cable into the port on your PS4 controller and connect the other end to the output of your speaker.", "For iOS users, turn WiFi on and connect your iPad/iPhone to the ID of your device. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to open “Control Center” > “AirPlay” > “Hotspot” > “Activate Mirroring”. If you're done mirroring, simply turn off the wireless display on Android and the AirPlay mirroring on iOS.", "Insert the Microphone adapter into your PS4 controller's 3.5mm port. Your PS4 will then display a message confirming this connection. Your Airpods will now be fully connected allowing you to listen and talk through your Apple AirPods while you game.", "Installation and use of the Switch Pro/Xbox One/PS3/PS4 to PS2/PS Classic Controller Adapter is effortless. IMPORTANT: ... - PS3/PS4 controllers connect to the Controller Adaptor automatically, but must be connected with a USB cable at first time use for the purpose of registering the controller.", "[\"On an iPad with iOS 12 or later, or iPadOS, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center. Then tap the Rotation Lock button to make sure it's off.\", 'On an iPad with iOS 11 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom edge of your screen to open Control Center.']", "If you only want to use the PS4 controller with Steam games, just connect it to your PC using a USB cable, and it'll work automatically. To use the PS4 controller with other games, you can connect it via Bluetooth, or easily configure the controller using a program called DS4Windows.", "8BitDo advertises the SN30 Pro+ as compatible with the Switch, Android, macOS, Steam, and Raspberry Pi. The SN30 Pro+ can't connect over Bluetooth to iOS devices or the Apple TV, but it turns out that it does work as a fully-functional wired controller for the iPad Pro when connected with a USB-C cable.", "Fortnite for iOS adds long-awaited support for MFi Bluetooth controllers. Epic Games today has released a major update for Fortnite on iOS and Android. ... On iOS, this means that MFi controllers can now be used to play Fortnite on iPhone and iPad. Meanwhile, Android users can play with “most” Bluetooth controllers.", "Connect the keyboard and iOS device using a USB device cable and an iOS “camera kit” adapter with the appropriate connector for the iPad: 30-pin dock, Lightning, or USB-C. Connect the keyboard's USB To Host port to the iOS device using an iOS MIDI interface made for this purpose, such as the Yamaha i- UX1.", "How To Connect A Controller In Call of Duty Mobile. Enable Bluetooth pairing on your controller - this is done by holding the Share and PS button at the same time on a PS4 controller, or the Xbox and sync button on an Xbox One controller. Enable Bluetooth on your mobile device (usually done through settings).", "The iPad Mini 2 supported all major versions of iOS from iOS 7 to iOS 12. In June 2019, Apple announced that it will drop support for the iPad Mini 2 with the release of iPadOS, along with the iPad Air and the iPad Mini 3.", "['Begin with your controller turned off. Then to put your controller in pairing mode: ... ', 'On your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, tap Settings.', \"Select Bluetooth and check that it's turned on. To pair, find the name of your controller under Other Devices.\"]", "The PS4 DualShock 4 controller uses Bluetooth, so you'll need to make sure your PC or laptop has a Bluetooth receiver built in. ... To connect the PS4 controller via Bluetooth, press and hold the central PS Button and the Share button for three seconds until the lightbar at the top of the controller begins to flash.", "Press the PlayStation button and the Share button and the same time and hold them down for a few seconds. The light on the back of your DualShock 4 should start flashing intermittently. On your iPhone or iPad, you should see “DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller” pop up under Other Devices in the Bluetooth menu. Press it.", "Plug the Bluetooth Adapter Dongle into your PS4's USB port at the front of your console. ... Your AirPods will now pair with your PS4, indicated by a solid blue light on the dongle. Insert the Microphone adapter into your PS4 controller's 3.5mm port. Your PS4 will then display a message confirming this connection.", "Connect from your iOS device – On your iOS device, start Bluetooth discovery, and tap the KDC200 device name when it appears. If a confirmation to pair with the KDC200 appears, confirm that you want to connect. The KDC200/200i should display “iPhone/iPad Connected.”", "Pair Galaxy Buds With an iOS Device Connecting to an iPhone or iPad works the same way. Open Settings > Bluetooth and select the Galaxy Buds." ]

[ "Pretty much anywhere that's not a major metro area in a first world country or an island under 1000 square miles." ]

[ "In a world where I'm desired.", "Retired", "Jak II where you have to take out the airship and defeat 40 guards.", "Someone retires", "Where in the world is Carmen San Deigo!?", "Marriage shouldn’t be a 50/50 split. It should be a 60/40 split where both are trying to be the 60%.", "I'm old and retired and I can't honestly imagine that the world is going to get back to \"normal\" in my life time. It sucks.", "I retired.", "Save for retirement", "Dead or retired.", "A world where people can be honest with themselves and others.", "40s", "350k in the US is not retirement", "My retirement account", " Pitch to EA: Open world where everything is a micro transaction.", "Not starting to save and invest for retirement!!", "Retirement isn't real.", "History of the world part 1\n\nWhere is part 2 already?", "Do you know what children went through in the 40's? (And many other times in different parts of the world)", "Move to a civilized part of the world where it wasn't a thing.", "Okay guys. We need to start a Fandom for WD-40.\n\nAny ideas where we can start?", "#WD-40", "I could retire early", "Being eligible for retirement in 274 days.", "Yeah imagine living in a world where you could 3d print anything", "Do they have a musical number where they sing about destroying the world?", "Ryan Creamer because he's retiring.", "It's a movie where somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me", "Stocks invest n retire", "I'm 40.", "Choose a side in the civil war and lead my team to greatness, where i will then retire to the New England countryside and spend my days at an apple vineyard", "A world where financial stability was not needed to maintain a stress free life and happiness." ]

[ "Follow Jeff Add to circle\nIt's wonderful news that Jaguar is bringing a wagon over to our shores. We don't have enough longroof options here in the States, so the arrival of the XF Sportbrake is very welcome. It certainly helps that this particular model is also rather sharp looking. Also, as a Jaguar, it's quite capable of high speeds as one gent on a pair of skis recently discovered.\nGraham Bell grabbed the tow strap affixed to the rear of the Jag wagon. His goal was to set a new top speed record for an individual being towed on skis. Guinness World Records was brought in to verify the attempt.\nIt all went down up in the Arctic Circle in an area of Arjeplog, Sweden. There on a snow- and ice-covered test circuit, Bell set out to break the record. He did just that by screaming along with an average top speed of 117.48 mph.\nSeeing as the XF Sportbrake puts out 380 horsepower and can run up to a limited top speed of 155 mph, Bell has room to give this record another go. Well, that's actually what he'd need–more room, so that the Jaguar wagon could deliver him more Guinness glory.\n_______________________________________\nFollow Motor Authority on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube." ]

[ "According to Auto Guide , the first retail units will reach showrooms in November 2017, and pricing will start from $71,445 including the $955 destination. The First Edition trim level, however, will set you back $73,095. The reason the XF Sportbrake is so expensive isn’t the because of the premium-oriented leaping cat sitting at the center of the front grille. It’s thanks to the 3.0-liter V6 that's standard even on the base model.Essentially the same engine found under the hood of the mid-range F-Type variant, the supercharged V6 has 380 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque at its disposal. Connected to the standard ZF 8HP eight-speed automatic, the mid-size wagon can thrust itself to 60 miles per hour in 5.3 seconds. The XF Sportbrake also happens to be adequately spacious.At 31.7 cubic feet with the second row of seats in place, the family-oriented Jag is one notch down on the F-Pace , which has the edge thanks to a 33.5-cu.ft. trunk. With the rear seats folded flat, maximum cargo capacity grows to a cavernous 60 cubic feet. By comparison, the F-Pace boasts 63.5 cubic feet.When you think about it, Jaguar won’t sell too many XF Sportbrake vehicles in the United States because of the F-Pace. Configured comparably to the longroof, the F-Pace S AWD with the 3.0-liter V6 costs approximately $60,000. To the knowledgeable customer, getting the XF Sportbrake over the equivalent F-Pace doesn’t make sense from a financial standpoint.But then again, what does a sucker for wagons like me know?", "Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) wants North Americans to get acquainted with its most recent undertaking, the 2018 Jaguar XE SV Project 8. To do so, the car will head to Pebble Beach this week to rub elbows with thousands of enthusiasts, many of whom are flush with cash.\nThis will be the first time the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 sets a tire in America and we're more than excited to take a closer look at the 592-horsepower monster from Britain. Power comes from Jaguar's familiar 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 engine, but SVO has massaged it to produce that substantial horsepower figure. In fact, its the engine's highest power output rating to date and it also makes the XE SV Project 8 the most powerful Jaguar road car to date.\nPower is sent through an 8-speed automatic, and it is then delivered to all four wheels via all-wheel drive. Jaguar says the 0-60-mph sprint happens in just 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph is possible.\nThe 2018 XE SV Project 8 absolutely has business being at Pebble Beach. It's quite an exclusive project as just 300 cars will be built. It also has a very exclusive price tag of $192,000. We're guessing Jaguar will be happy to take orders on the spot.\nThose attending Pebble Beach will find the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 prowling a few events in particular, namely the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion; The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering; and Exotics on Cannery Row.\nFor more news from Pebble Beach, check out our dedicated hub.", "Photo Gallery\nFCA isn't the only automaker whose vehicles are being investigated for risk of rolling away when parked. As it turns out, certain Jaguar Land Rover vehicles may be prone to similar problems. According to Automotive News , the Office of Defect Investigation at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received seven reports of JLR vehicles rolling away after having been shifted into park – but without the parking brake engaged.Five of those incidents reportedly resulted in injuries, including one individual who was pinned between the vehicle and a garage wall. As a result, the NHTSA opened on December 16 an investigation into the 2013 Jaguar XF and the 2012-14 Range Rover Evoque. If the investigation turns into a recall, JLR could be compelled to recall as many as 39,000 of those vehicles.In a separate issue, JLR is also recalling certain 2016-17 Land Rover Discovery Sport and Evoque models for a suspension problem. According to the NHTSA's recall notice , 220 vehicles will need to have fasteners on their front lower control arms replaced.", "When the new Jaguar roadster, the XK120, was shown at the Earls Court Motor Show in London in 1948, it stopped the hearts of all who saw it. Of course, Jaguar only planned to build a small batch of 242 aluminum roadsters for publicity and development of their new engine. But the overwhelming demand for the car sent Jaguar quickly making plans for a production model. The cars were put into the hands of celebrities, sent out the motoring press and tore up race tracks by amateurs and professionals. Although top speed was not tested prior to the first showing of the car, several high speed test runs were made going faster and faster until Chief Test Engineer Norman Dewis ran a slightly modified car at 172 mph.\nAlternative Power cars will make up one of the class features at the Milwaukee Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, Aug. 6. While electric and steam powered vehicles trace back to the 1800s, by the turn of the century there was a quite a competition between steam, electric and gasoline power.\nEarly electric cars were particularly popular as taxi cabs within urban areas. The driving range on a Detroit Electric was advertised at exceeding 80 miles, but in actual use some early electric cars exceeded 200 miles.\nThe two-day Milwaukee Concours d’Elegance is scheduled for the first weekend in August at Veterans Park. The open Show & Glow by the Lake car show, a motor tour and the annual Style & Speed Social are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 5, followed by the Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, Aug. 6.\nhttps://www.milwaukeeconcours.com/", "The model is priced at £139,950 and will be making its first public appearance in the middle of February, at the Historic Motorsport International. In just a single day, it has become the fastest-selling new model in the history of the Jaguar expert.“I am delighted, overwhelmed and gratified by the huge level of interest and excitement the Thunder has already generated. Following the release of the Thunder prototype, the number of phone calls and email inquiries has been bonkers!” said Lawrence Whittaker, CEO of the Lister Motor.The Thunder, based on the F-Type SVR Jag, is powered by a 5.0-liter, eight cylinders engine, tweaked over and over to produce a whooping 675 hp. Enough to send roaring the Jag from naught to sixty in 3.2 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 331 km/h (208 mph).Upgraded dual supercharger pulleys, custom intercoolers, performance air filtration and Lister Engine Management are also part of the deal in this super Jaguar imagined by Lister.The performances of the Thunder are far better than the production version of the F-Type, which brags with naught to sixty acceleration of 3.7 seconds and a power output of 575 hp.Visually, Lister managed to upgrade the car as well. There are no full details available, but the tuner says it will offer “bespoke body and interior enhancements along with suspension and exhaust upgrades to complete the package.”“Like Brabus and AMG with Mercedes and Alpina with BMW, we are hoping to become synonymous once again with tuning Jaguar vehicles,” said Whittaker when he revealed the car.", "PHOTO GALLERY\nThe Jaguar F-Pace , XF and XE have all been updated ahead of the 2018 model year and welcome three engine Ingenium engines to the family.Starting with the engines, there are two petrol powertrains and one diesel powerplant. The two petrol-powered engines both displace 2.0-liters and are available in 200 PS (197 hp) and 250 PS (246 hp) guises, the first of which will only be offered for the XE and XF.As for the diesel, it is a 240 PS (236 hp) 2.0-liter twin-turbo four-cylinder that also pumps out an impressive 500 Nm of torque. This powertrain is the first Jaguar Land Rover engine to use two turbochargers and has been strengthened with updated pistons, crankshaft and improved fuel injectors. This engine will be offered for the 2018 F-Pace, XF and XE Beyond the new engines, the 2018 XF and XE will also be offered with the new Configurable Dynamics features. This system gives owners the ability to set up the vehicle to suit their personal driving preferences by selecting between Normal or Dynamic settings for the engine, gearbox and steering. Additionally, an 'Adaptive Dynamics' system is offered which allows the suspension to be configured in a number of different ways.Elsewhere, 2018 F-Pace and XF models receive new headrests and Dual View technology which allows the driver and front passenger to view different things on the 10-inch touchscreen display. Forward Traffic Detection and Forward Vehicle Guidance systems also promise to make the three updated models safer than ever while a revised paint palette will improve their aesthetics.All 2018 models are available to order immediately.", "Reuters/Mike Segar A 2016 aluminum Jaguar XF is shown at the 2015 New York International Auto Show in New York City, April 1, 2015.\nWith the Jaguar I-Pace just a few weeks away from its launch, Jaguar has tested the all-electric vehicle to gauge how far it can go. The car company also released earlier this week new details about its price and launch date.\nRecently, the car company brought several prototypes of the upcoming vehicle to a cold weather test facility in Arieplog, Sweden to know how the I-Pace will perform at temperatures as low as -40°F. After testing the I-Pace in extreme terrains and temperatures, the British automaker released this week some of the results of the tests, showing why the vehicle is the next big thing in the car industry.\nBased on the information released by Jaguar, the I-Pace is capable of a \"DC fast charge from zero to 80 percent in approximately 45 minutes with a 100kW,\" despite being subjected to temperatures below zero degrees.\n\"Not only will the I-Pace charge quickly enough for our customers to carry out their everyday lives, it will offer powerful and precise performance in a variety of conditions and climactic extremes. Allied with the versatile credentials of our celebrated Pace family, this will be an electric performance SUV like no other,\" said Jaguar Vehicle Line Director Ian Hoban.\nAside from its ability to perform well at cold temperatures, Jaguar also boasts of the I-Pace's ability to allow users to use battery preconditioning in extremely cold weather conditions through the Jaguar mobile app. In Jaguar's official press release, the company stated that while plugged into power, I-Pace owners will be able to prepare the battery and cabin temperature of the car without the need to tap into the battery's range.\nThe I-Pace will have its world debut on March 6 and will cost around £60,000, making it about 10 to 15 percent more expensive than the F-Pace. Recently, the car was named the most anticipated new car of 2018.", "BorgWarner supplies Jaguar Land Rover with its pre-emptive on-demand transfer case. Already delivering outstanding all-wheel drive (AWD) performance for Jaguar’s XE, XF and F-PACE models, the leading technology will soon be featured in the new Range Rover Velar premium SUV. Engineered to significantly improve vehicle dynamics, BorgWarner’s AWD solution offers scalable, high torque capacity as well as high torque transfer accuracy. Featuring a modular design and lightweight aluminum housing, the pre-emptive on-demand transfer case delivers class-leading performance.\n“With our highly efficient AWD solution, we offer customers a high-performance product that combines several of our leading technologies,” said Dr. Stefan Demmerle, President and General Manager, BorgWarner PowerDrive Systems. “Working with Jaguar Land Rover to deliver a leading AWD experience in the new Range Rover Velar, BorgWarner once again reaffirms its position as a global leader in clean and efficient technology solutions for all types of propulsion systems.”\nBorgWarner’s pre-emptive on-demand transfer case enhances AWD function by connecting to the vehicle’s control systems and monitoring signals including but not limited to steering wheel angle, accelerator pedal position and wheel speed. Based on this data, BorgWarner’s patented lightweight centrifugal electro-hydraulic (CEH) actuator distributes the required torque between the two axles by compressing the clutch pack, allowing the AWD transfer case to deliver pre-emptive and precise linear clutch actuation for immediate response, enhanced vehicle traction and stability control. Incorporating additional leading BorgWarner technologies such as the durable, high-efficiency HY-VO® transfer case chain and an innovative pumpless design and sump management, the pre-emptive transfer case also improves fuel economy compared with traditional transfer case designs. In addition, the flexible and scalable design facilitates optimal packaging for space-constrained applications.\n*Automotive World is not responsible for the content of this news release.", "Jaguar has made it abundantly clear it won’t be giving the XE sports sedan the SVR treatment, but this tuner has taken matters into its own hands by working on an amped-up XE S. The German aftermarket specialists at Arden are coming out with a comprehensive package focusing primarily on the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine.\nWhen it leaves the gates of the two factories in the United Kingdom where it’s produced, the stylish sedan with its six-cylinder mill develops a healthy 380 horsepower and 332 pound-feet (450 Newton-meters) of torque. That wasn’t enough in Arden’s vision, prompting the tuner to kick things up a notch by massaging the V6 to churn an extra 83 hp and 98 lb-ft (133 Nm) for a grand total of 463 hp and 430 lb-ft (583 Nm).\nWhile performance numbers haven’t been disclosed by Arden, it goes without saying the upgraded XE S is both quicker and faster than the standard model. As a refresher, the stock version needs 4.9 seconds to perform the 0-60 mph (0-96 kph) task and it will continue to accelerate until it hits 155 mph (250 kph).\nBesides tinkering with the supercharged V6 powerhouse, Arden also spent some time customizing the exterior to make it worthy of the extra muscle coming from the engine. From the dual-vented hood and large rear wing to the 20-inch wheels and the sporty diffuser, this modified Jaguar seems fast even when standing still. Aside from looking sportier, the performance sedan is also sleeker than before as some of the changes focused on boosting the car’s aerodynamic efficiency by improving the airflow.\nRounding off the list of niceties are the embroidered floor mats and fancy leather upholstery, but images with the interior have not been provided by Arden so we’re going to have to take their word for it.\nSource: Arden", "Jaguar’s dynamic new estate has been revealed by world tennis number one Andy Murray. The two-time Wimbledon champion pulled the covers off the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake before placing his precious Wimbledon trophy inside and sending it on a UK-wide tour to inspire the next generation of players.\nJaguar is the Official Car Partner of The Wimbledon Championships and to celebrate the relationship the premium estate was revealed on a replica Centre Court. The moment was streamed on Facebook Live and can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/Jaguar/\n“Winning my first major title ten years ago was an amazing moment for me; the culmination of everything I’d worked for my whole life. I feel very lucky to have got to where I am today and hope that anyone passionate about tennis gets the opportunity to play and improve.\n“Letting go of the trophy will be difficult, but there’s no better vehicle than the Jaguar XF Sportbrake to take it on this UK tour. I’m pleased that people are going to be able to get up close to the trophy when it visits schools and tennis clubs, and hopefully it might encourage people to pick up a racket this Summer.”\nAndy Murray, world tennis number one\nThe XF Sportbrake joins Jaguar’s award-winning XF saloon in its tenth year of production. The XF was launched in 2007 and has now claimed almost 200 global awards. The saloon’s new Sportbrake sibling delivers equally impressive performance, design and technology, with greater practicality and space.\nWith sports car-derived handling, a practical 565-litre load space and advanced convenience and safety features, the XF Sportbrake has the best of Jaguar design and technology. It also delivers impressive aerodynamic efficiency of Cd 0.29.\n“The iconic Jaguar posters of the 1950s promised customers grace, pace and space. The XF Sportbrake re-imagines this offer for 21st-century active families, with stunning looks, sports car performance and a load space fit for active lifestyles.”\nIan Callum, Jaguar Director of Design\nInnovations include an intuitive gesture-controlled sunblind for the Sportbrake’s super-sized, full-length, panoramic roof, Driver Condition Monitoring to detect signs of tiredness after an active day and a waterproof Activity Key you can wear while playing sport. Customers can also specify Cabin Air Ionisation, which purifies air to provide protection against environmental pollution and promote health and wellbeing.\nSelf-levelling rear suspension ensures an effortless ride, even when towing loads of 2,000kg. The XF Sportbrake is available with Jaguar’s advanced range of clean and efficient four-cylinder Ingenium petrol and diesel engines with CO2 emissions as low as 118g/km.\n“As with the XF saloon, every line on the Sportbrake serves a clear purpose, creating a fast, sweeping silhouette. This gives the car a sense of speed and a very dynamic appearance. As a result, I think it looks just as sporty as the saloon, if not more so.”\nIan Callum, Jaguar Director of Design\nAfter helping to introduce the XF Sportbrake, Andy Murray warmed up for Wimbledon with a light-hearted celebrity doubles match on a pop-up court. Murray and coach Jamie Delgado faced comedians Rob Brydon and Jimmy Carr in a contest streamed live online, with commentary by Tim Henman.\nJaguar is entering its third season as Official Car Partner to The Championships at Wimbledon, which runs from Monday 3 July to Sunday 16 July. Jaguar will supply 170 vehicles from its award-winning range, including the XE, XF, XJ and F-PACE.\nTo help inspire the next generation of tennis talents, Jaguar is doing something that has never been done before in the history of the Wimbledon Championship, and is taking the famous men’s singles trophy on a nationwide tour of clubs and schools. As Andy Murray counts down to the defence of his Wimbledon title later this month, the gilt cup will be chauffeured between venues in an XF Sportbrake.\nThe XF is manufactured at Jaguar Land Rover’s Castle Bromwich Plant alongside the XE, XJ and F-TYPE. Castle Bromwich is now building six model lines, double that of ten years ago when XF was introduced. Employees who build the new model celebrated by watching the live launch coverage.\n*Automotive World is not responsible for the content of this news release.", "Follow Viknesh Add to circle\nJaguar on Wednesday announced 2018 model year updates for its core XE, XF and F-Pace models.\nKey among the updates is a new turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 delivering 247 horsepower. The engine, part of Jaguar’s Ingenium modular engine family, replaces the 240-hp 2.0-liter mill currently offered in the XE 25t and is a new entry-level option for the XF and F-Pace.\nIn addition, the XE range is being expanded with a new XE S model powered by a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 delivering 380 hp. This is the same engine that delivers 340 hp in the XE 35t currently on offer.\nOther updates for 2018 include new convenience features and trim packages across the three models. Among these updates is a hands-free function for the trunk lid on the XE and XF, as well as camera systems to aid with parking and forward visibility.\nFinally, Jaguar is also introducing an in-car payment system. The automaker has teamed up with Shell to create a system that allows the driver to pay for fuel using an app and the car’s touchscreen display. The system is currently available in the United Kingdom and will be rolled out to other markets over the course of the year.\nJaguar’s 2018 model range will be available in dealerships starting May 2017. Pricing details can be found below.\n2018 Jaguar XE 25t: $36,720\n2018 Jaguar XE 20d: $38,220\n2018 Jaguar XE 35t: $43,520\n2018 Jaguar XE S: $53,270\n2018 Jaguar XF 25t: $48,770\n2018 Jaguar XF 20d: $50,270\n2018 Jaguar XF 35t: $54,960\n2018 Jaguar XF S: $64,860\n2018 Jaguar F-Pace 25t: $43,060\n2018 Jaguar F-Pace 20d: $47,270\n2018 Jaguar F-Pace 35t: $49,970\n2018 Jaguar F-Pace S: $60,770\nAll prices include a $995 destination charge.", "A report in British car media outlet Autocar claims that Jaguar is discontinuing the XE S and XF S sport sedans in the U.K.. Not only are those trims gone, but the supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 engine will no longer be available at all in the XE or the XF in their home market, if the report is to be believed.\nSupercharging has long been a part of Jaguar’s heritage. Unfortunately, heritage only takes you so far and doesn’t always translate into sales. An unnamed Jaguar representative allegedly told Autocar that the take rate for supercharged XE and XF models is less than 2 percent which is a pretty good reason to discontinue those options. “Coupled with impending emissions regulation changes, it makes sense to remove these variants from sale in the [U.K.],” Jaguar told Autocar.\nEurope is tightening emissions regulations and it would likely be possible to make the supercharged V-6 compliant with the new laws, but simply wouldn’t be worth the cost involved because of how few are sold. However, the U.S. isn’t subject to those tough emissions regulations which could be good news for supercharged Jaguar sedans in North America.\nNot surprisingly, Jaguar declined to comment when we asked about the rumor. However, Jaguar product communications manager Nathan Hoyt did reiterate for us in an email that “the V-6 is still very much around and in our portfolio.” He also reminded us that it’s currently offered in the 2018 Jaguar XE, XF, XE S, XF S, XJ, F-Type, F-Pace, and several Land Rover offerings including the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar, and Discovery.\nSo for now, it sounds like the supercharged V-6 is safe for Jaguar sedans in the States. However, we can see a future where if you want a supercharged JLR product, you need to either get a Jaguar sports car or upsize to a Land Rover.", "The gear head got in the driver's seat of a Ferrari 488 GT3, throwing the thing at the Mont-Tremblant circuit. Nevertheless, the Canadian track bit back, with the Maranello machine losing the rear end at about 120 mph (make that 190 km/h).The stunt was caught on camera thanks to the dash cam installed on the mid-engined delight and can be found in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page. One can easily notice the vicious countersteer work of the driver, as it almost seems that the video is sped up.Sloss analyzed the moment and came up with a conclusion: \"Mix a cresting right-hander at a hundred and twenty-one miles an hour, with a compression rebound and a lot of aero, and you get a very exciting moment coming over the top of the hill at Mont-Tremblant in a Ferrari 488 GT3. I give a lot of credit to the courses I took at Dirtfish and Bridgestone ice driving for keeping my car out of the wall on this particular day,\"We'll remind you that the aficionado also loves to race in the rain, as demonstrated by this clip showing him hooning a Ferrari 488 Challenge on a soaking wet Road Atlanta.Thankfully, his wife shares the go-fast passion, with her social media nickname (becauseracewife) explaining everything. For instance, she loves to spend time on the track while behind the wheel of a Ferrari FXX K, the circuit incarnation of the LaFerrari.", "Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor , and we may publish it in print.\nLONDON -- Jaguar is rejoining the premium wagon market with the XF Sportbrake that it says will offer practicality without sacrificing the dynamic design and agile handling of the XF sport sedan.\nJaguar released pictures and details of the midsize wagon on Wednesday, touting its sports-car dynamics and sleek looks will build on the success of the XF sedan.\nIt will be the first XF wagon sold in the U.S. and is expected to deliver incremental volume for the brand. Jaguar said the XF Sportbrake will be priced from $71,445, including destination charge, when it hits U.S. dealerships next winter.\nWhile most brands abandoned wagons years ago, some, like Buick, are returning to try to pump new life into a weak car market and tap a small but passionate group of U.S. consumers.\nJaguar first hinted at plans to market a new wagon with the XFR-S Sportbrake unveiled at the 2014 Geneva motor show.\nThe XF Sportbrake will compete against cars such as the BMW 5-series Touring, Audi A6 Avant and Mercedes-Benz E-class wagon.\nThe XF Sportbrake’s technology includes an optional panoramic roof that can be operated by hand gestures. The car is also available with a waterproof wristband that allows owners to open the door without the key, a useful feature at the beach for example.\nIt will be powered by Jaguar's V-6 supercharged engine, rated at 380 hp, and paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Top speed is electronically limited to 121 mph, while a sprint from zero to 60 mph takes 5.3 seconds, Jaguar says.\nIn Europe, available engines include two diesel four-cylinder and two gasoline four-cylinder variants, all part of Jaguar Land Rover’s new Ingenium range of engines. A faster model is equipped with a V-6 diesel making 296 hp.\nJaguar says the low drag on the model helps to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. The most fuel efficient model is the 161-hp diesel with CO2 emissions of 118 grams per kilometer, Jaguar said.\nThe car is built on Jaguar’s rear-wheel-drive, aluminum architecture shared with the smaller XE sport sedan, F-Pace SUV and new Range Rover Velar SUV.\nThe XF Sportbrake’s trunk has a 565-liter capacity with the rear seats up, almost exactly the same figure as the 5-series Touring and the A6 Avant. The class leader is the Mercedes-Benz E-class wagon with 640 liters of cargo space. The floor of the Sportbrake remains flat when the rears are folded, when the load capacity increases to 1,700 liters.\nThe XF Sportbrake will be available with one of two advanced infotainment systems, part of Jaguar InControl technologies, with eight-inch or ten-inch screen.\nIn a news release Jaguar’s head of design, Ian Callum said with its sweeping silhouette the XF Sportbrake looks just as sporty as the XF sedan.\nJaguar says the car has more rear legroom than the previous XF Sportbrake despite being shorter in length at 195 inches. The wheelbase measures 116.5 inches.\nThe roof has a maximum roof payload of 220.5 pounds, and the rear tailgate can be opened with a wave of the foot underneath the rear of the car, opening to 31.7 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats up. Cargo space grows to 69.7 cubic feet when the 40:20:40 split rear seats are folded down. LED puddle lamps illuminate the area behind the trunk when the tailgate is open.\nThe Sportbrake will also be available with Jaguar's Activity Key wristband. The shockproof and waterproof wristband features a transponder that allows owners to lock the key fob in the vehicle and disables them. The band has no battery, but instead uses RF frequencies to lock and unlock the vehicle when it is held close to the Jaguar lettering on the tailgate -- basically it's for those who want to go out for a run or a swim without having to worry about losing or damaging the key fobs.\nWith the rear seats down, the XF Sportsbrake's load capacity is 1,700 lters.\nThe wagon will go on sale in Europe in the summer.\nThe Sportbrake’s starting price of 34,910 pounds ($43,500) in its UK home market undercuts its main rivals by at least 1,000 pounds. The A6 Avant starts at 35,980 pounds, the E-class wagon at 37,160 pounds and the 5-series Touring is almost 3,500 pounds more expensive at 38,385 pounds.\nWagons remain popular in Europe and the new model will boost sluggish XF sales in the region. In the first four months, sales of the XF sedan fell 4.1 percent to 5,433, according to figures from JATO Dynamics market researchers. Jaguar said the wagon version of the previous XF accounted for 38 percent of that car’s sales.\nIn the U.S., XF sales fell 46 percent in the five months to 1,984, according to the Automotive News Data Center. But Jaguar's overall U.S. deliveries have advanced 115 percent this year behind the all-new XE sedan and F-Pace crossover.\nAutoweek, a sister publication of Automotive News and Automotive News Europe, contributed to this report.", "SUV\nFor now, we'll focus on the Model X, as it seems that the near-range-topper 100D has received a go-fast update. This piece of news comes from the owner of a 2017 Model X 100D, which has recently found out that this vehicle is eligible for the update - if you happen to own a Model X, you'll have to check with Tesla and see if your machine qualifies for the gym visit.Note that this wasn't the usual over-the-air update, but the owner didn't have to do much - in the Tesla tradition, a company technician visited the car, plugging in his computer and installing a software update.Since the owner of the car is all too familiar with drag racing matters (we're talking about Brooks of the Drag Times channel), the aficionado decided to measure the sprinting abilities of the car after the update, comparing these to the previously recorded data.As such, the 0 to 60 mph and the quarter-mile times of the electricwere measured using a Vbox and the conclusion was the \"hooray!\" kind.To be more precise, the 0 to 60 mph time dropped from 4.6 to 4.4 seconds, while the 1,320 feet performance went from 13.2 to 13.04 seconds.The piece of footage documenting the adventure even includes a graph that showcases the power increase, so you'll be able to get a complete view on the matter.Oh, and the clip also involves a good old Tesla vs. supercar drag race at the end, one that involves a McLaren 720S", "Sharing an engine with the F-Type, the 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake will do 0-60 in 5.3-seconds backed by 380-hp.\nIn contrast to the popular XF premium sedan, Jaguar adds the XF Sportbrake to the family — a 380-hp luxury wagon that will put smiles on Dads’ faces across the globe when it arrives this Winter 2017.\nUnder the hood: Same engine as F-Type\nPowering this all-new body style wagon is a supercharged V6 making an impressive 380-hp and 332-lb.ft of torque. Shared with the Jaguar F-TYPE rocket, this high-performance engine combines twin-vortex supercharging technology with direct injection and dual independent variable cam timing on both the intake and exhaust valves. So expect stellar throttle response paired to sufficient power from Jaguar’s new wagon.\nAlso check out: 575-hp F-TYPE SVR is Jaguar Cars Fastest Production Vehicle\nWith an 8-speed automatic transmission and an AWD that promises to be light, responsive and powerful weighing 45.2-lbs and reacting in less than 250ms to changes in driving style, the XF Sportbrake will propel 0-60 in 5.3-seconds. Jaguar Drive Control will handle transmission control duties will the Dynamic and Eco modes will allow driver to tweak performance dynamics as needed.\nStyling and Design\nIt’s good to see the long-lost wagon make a comeback as automakers begin introducing of them into their lineups, and the all-new Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo comes to mind.\nThe XF’s front-end is similar to the XF sedan including the full LED headlamps, but of course, things are way off as you move towards the rear — and in all the right ways, including wraparound LED taillights from Jaguar’s new F-PACE sport utility. A long, strong shoulder line runs the length of the wagon on either side while the slim windshield pillars and roofline help portray an elegant coupe-like impression inline to its sedan sibling.\nFor those weekend getaways or long-haul drives, the low profile roof rails are capable of supporting a maximum roof load of more than 220-lbs.\nSportbrake Cabin: Tech, Space, and Fresh Air\nThe main takeaway from a wagon is all that extra cabin space; the Jaguar design team has used the additional volume of the premium wagon’s cabin to accentuate the length, elegance and linearity of the vehicle, resulting in a look that’s longer than the sedan despite sharing its overall length. And standard 40:20:40 split folding rear seats will open up that back cargo space in a configuration that makes sense — a total of 69.7-cu. ft. of space when all seats are down (and 31.7-cu. ft. of standard trunk space).\nAll the other interior features you’d expect are there: heated seats, an optional fixed panoramic sunroof, four-zone climate control, and touchscreens in either full-color 12.3-inch or 10-inch central placement. And if you or family got those nasty allergies, no worries; an all-new optional Cabin Ionization system filters air and reduces pollutants entering the vehicle.\nPrice and Availability\nThe 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake will hit dealers across North America this Winter 2017, priced at $70,450 US MSRP (excluding a $995 destination charge and other fees/charges).\nLearn more – 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake\n2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake Gallery:", "You good people must have figured out by now that Motor1.com has a soft spot for onboard acceleration videos and this week we’ve been blessed with three already – Ferrari 488 Pista, McLaren 720S, and the Ford GT. Now comes the fourth clip, showing the brutal Porsche 911 GT2 RS being pushed hard all the way up to 186 mph (300 kph) with the traction control turned off to the delight of purists with an affinity for RWD machines.\nThe video may be 33 seconds long, but the widowmaker from Stuttgart doesn’t actually need that much time to complete the task at hand. We need to shave off about two seconds from the beginning of the video and roughly nine from the end, which means the 911 GT2 RS completed the sprint in approximately 22 seconds. That seems just about right taking into account the official word from Porsche is that its ultimate 911 completes the journey to 186 mph (300 kph) in 22.1 seconds en route to a maximum velocity of 211 mph (340 kph).\nBut as impressive as the Nine Eleven is under hard acceleration, the aforementioned McLaren 720S did seem to be a tad quicker. Comparing the two videos – which by the way are provided by the same YouTube channel - the supercar from Woking reached 186 mph in about 21 seconds, so one second sooner than the GT2 RS.\nThat being said, we all know speedometers are not entirely accurate and don’t necessarily tell the whole story, which is why we’d rather trust the numbers displayed by a vbox as these are as close to reality as possible.\nCars doing 186 mph have been around for ages, but getting there has never been quicker than it is now. With the electrification era upon us, that instant torque will allow high-end marques to shave off even more seconds, so it’s a great time to be alive if you are a fan of performance cars.\nVideo: Motorsport Magazine / YouTube", "Free Price Quote From a Local Dealer Free Price Quote From a View Special Offers\nNo Obligation, Fast & Simple Free New Car Quote Change Car Select Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Buick Cadillac Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari FIAT Ford Genesis GMC Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lotus Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz MINI Mitsubishi Nissan Porsche Ram Rolls-Royce smart Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Select Model E-PACE F-PACE F-PACE Diesel F-Type S-Type X-Type XE XE Diesel XF XF Diesel XJ XJ-Series XJ12 XJ6 XJ8 XJR XJS XK XK-Series XK8 XKR GO 1. Vehicle Option Trim Exterior Color No Preference Black Blue Brown Gold Green Orange Red Silver White Yellow Interior Color No Preference Beige Black Blue Gray Green Other Red White Buying Time Frame Within 48 hours Within a week Within two weeks Within a month More than a month Payment Method Undecided Loan Lease Cash Trade In? Yes No 3. Dealer Selection Receive your free dealer pricing information by completing your contact information!\nJaguar’s decision to add a crossover to its lineup may have been a little controversial, but it’s hard to argue with the results. The F-Pace S looks fantastic, makes plenty of power, sounds wonderful, and handles more like a car than an SUV. But Jaguar also recently decided to bring the gorgeous XF Sportbrake S to the U.S., setting up an interesting comparison. If you’re looking for a practical Jaguar, should you buy the station wagon or the crossover?\nAcceleration\nOn paper, the Jaguar XF Sportbrake S and the F-Pace S should be pretty evenly matched. Both come with all-wheel drive and get Jaguar’s supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 making 380 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque. But in testing, the XF Sportbrake hit 60 mph in 5.0 seconds, 0.4 second quicker than the F-Pace S. Through the quarter mile, it was the same story. The wagon did it in 13.6 seconds at 101.9 mph, 0.3 second and 2.2 mph quicker than the crossover. We blame the F-Pace’s extra 145 pounds.\nHandling\nTypically, you’d expect the taller, heavier crossover to lose badly here. Our numbers suggest otherwise. On the skidpad, the XF averaged 0.85 g of lateral acceleration, while the F-Pace S averaged 0.86 g. In our figure-eight test, the F-Pace also won, finishing in 25.9 seconds at an average of 0.72 g. The XF, on the other hand, took 26.4 seconds at 0.69 g. Of course, numbers don’t tell the whole story. On the road, the wagon feels flatter and faster through the corners. You just might need stickier tires to make those differences measurable.\nInterior Space\nEven though the F-Pace S looks a lot larger, it isn’t necessarily more spacious in every dimension. Up front, it offers 43.0 inches of legroom, 37.8 inches of headroom, and 57.7 inches of shoulder room. Rear passengers get 37.2 inches of legroom, 37.5 inches of headroom, and 55.8 inches of shoulder room. The XF Sportbrake’s front seats, on the other hand, offer 1.5 fewer inches of legroom, 1.2 inches more headroom, and 0.6 inch less shoulder room. In the second row, legroom is a draw, and you give up nearly an inch of shoulder room, but you get an extra 1.6 inches of headroom.\nCargo Volume\nWith the rear seats up, the F-Pace offers 33.5 cubic feet of storage space. Drop the rear seats, and that increases to 63.5 cubic feet. Interestingly, while the XF Sportbrake only has 22.2 cubic feet of storage with its seats up, with the seats down, cargo volume increases to an F-Pace-beating 66.9 cubic feet. But before you declare it a win for the station wagon, it’s worth pointing out that the XF’s cargo opening is shorter. So while two road bikes will (barely) fit in an F-Pace, that’s not the case with the XF Sportbrake.\nFuel Economy\nSince the F-Pace is larger and heavier, you wouldn’t expect it to match the XF Sportbrake’s fuel economy rating. On the highway, you’d be right. The EPA rates the XF at 25 mpg highway, 2 mpg better than the F-Pace S. Around town, however, Jaguar’s crossover is pretty evenly matched with its station wagon, with both earning a rating of 18 mpg city. That means owners should expect to only see a significant fuel economy difference if they do a lot of highway driving.\nPrice\nUnfortunately for XF Sportbrake owners, it will take more than a few long road trips to earn back the extra money they spent getting the wagon. That’s because it starts at $71,445 including destination, approximately $10,000 more than the $60,770 it takes to buy a base F-Pace S. Sure, an entry-level XF sedan only costs a few thousand dollars more than a base F-Pace, but the extra engineering required to turn a sedan into a wagon adds cost.\nSource: Jaguar", "Pricing for the 2018 XF Sportbrake begins at $71,445 (includes a $995.00 destination charge) and will arrive at dealers this winter.\nJaguar will only offer one engine for North America; a supercharged 3.0L V6 offering up 380 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. This comes paired with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. Jaguar has made some changes to the XF Sportbrake's suspension. The back swaps the coil springs for a self-leveling rear air suspension to cope with heavy weight.\nIntroduced today in the United Kingdom, the XF Sportbrake shares a lot with the sedan in terms of design. Both have the same front end styling with narrow headlights and aggressive bumper. Where it differs is in the back as Jaguar extended the roofline and installed a tailgate that is somewhat similar to the one seen on the F-Pace crossover. The longer roofline also means more cargo space. Open the rear hatch and you're greeted with 31.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats. Fold them to expand the space to 69.7 cubic feet.\nNorth America never got their hands on the first Jaguar XF Sportbrake, but the British automaker is making up for that with the debut of the second-generation XF Sportbrake.\nIntroducing the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake: grace, space and pace for the 21st century\nAll-new body-style joins the Jaguar line-up this Winter as the first XF wagon to be offered in the United States by Jaguar\nSmart design delivers an aerodynamic efficiency of 0.29Cd\n31.7-cu. ft. of loadspace expands to 69.7-cu. ft. with the 40:20:40 split folding second row seats lowered\nSelf-leveling rear Integral-Link air suspension ensures an effortless ride even when carrying a load\nConvenience features such as an all-new available Gesture Controlled Blind for the panoramic sunroof enhance the practicality of the new wagon\nAll-new optional Cabin Ionization system filters air and reduces pollutants entering the vehicle\nPowered by a 380HP supercharged V6 mated to a ZF® eight-speed automatic transmission\nStandard all-wheel drive offers added confidence in adverse conditions (1)\nPriced from $70,450 (2)\n(MAHWAH, N.J.) – June 14, 2017 - The new Jaguar XF Sportbrake returns Jaguar to the premium wagon segment with a compelling combination of design, driving dynamics and advanced technologies that make it a standout performer.\nAvailable user-friendly features and technologies make the Sportbrake the perfect companion for customers with active lifestyles.\nWith a design that retains the distinctive curves of the sedan at the front, the new XF Sportbrake embodies key Jaguar design DNA and incorporates an eye-catching roofline, which sets it apart from competitors. Its sleek silhouette projects a dynamic and purposeful profile that previews the amount of space available inside.\nThe interior provides spacious accommodation flooded with natural light from the full-length panoramic sunroof. Rear occupants benefit from enhanced knee room and improved headroom, while the practical layout creates more than 69 cu-ft of loadspace behind the first row.\n“As with the XF sedan, every line on the Sportbrake serves a clear purpose, creating a fast sweeping silhouette,” said Jaguar Director of Design, Ian Callum. “This gives the car a sense of speed and a very dynamic appearance. As a result, I think it looks just as sporty as the sedan, if not more so.”\nThe new XF Sportbrake builds on the success of the sedan and has all of the advanced all-wheel drive (AWD) technologies1 and aluminum-intensive architectures that have made the Jaguar XF popular.\nThe suspension set-up has been specially calibrated to reflect the demands placed on premium lifestyle wagons. The stiff and lightweight set-up gives the spacious wagon signature Jaguar dynamics – a sports car-inspired character with agile handling and dynamic responses. Self-leveling rear air suspension is fitted as standard to ensure the XF Sportbrake maintains its composure, even when fully loaded.\nThe standard Adaptive Dynamics with Configurable Dynamics system enables drivers to fine-tune settings for the steering, transmission and throttle. Customers can also tune the suspension settings for an even more personalized driving experience1.\nAdvanced software functions developed by Jaguar Land Rover, such as All Surface Progress Control (ASPC), Adaptive Surface Response (AdSR) and Intelligent Driveline Dynamics (IDD)4 put the vehicle’s traction in low-grip situations and cornering ability on the same level as the sedan.\nAll-wheel drive and the Jaguar IDD system come as standard, helping to minimize understeer and electronic interventions that typically characterize dynamic driving in all-wheel drive models. As a result, the AWD XF Sportbrake retains trademark Jaguar rear-wheel drive feel and agile steering responses4.\nThe XF Sportbrake features an aluminum-intensive body construction which delivers a lightweight design that is both stiffer and lighter than the previous generation XF wagon which was offered outside the United States. Featuring an innovative new single-piece polymer tailgate, the Sportbrake delivers a near perfect 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution providing the foundations for its exceptional handling.\nMeasuring 195.0-in in length, with a wheelbase of 116.5-in, rear legroom and load space has been optimized and contributes to the vehicle’s refined ride quality.\nThe XF Sportbrake features the Jaguar 380HP supercharged V6 gasoline engine as standard. Paired with a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and advanced all-wheel drive, this combination provides sports car performance; achieving 0-60mph times of just 5.3 seconds3.\n“The XF Sportbrake is the embodiment of everything our brand stands for, bringing together Jaguar design and dynamics to create vehicles that excite the senses and support active lifestyles,” said Steven de Ploey, Global Marketing Strategy and Planning Director, Jaguar. “It’s dynamic performance, desirable styling and cutting-edge technologies will introduce a new generation of drivers to Jaguar’s drive, passion and comfort.”\nThe XF Sportbrake is the perfect choice for customers with active lifestyles and features a series of new optional convenience features that enhance the practicality of the premium wagon. These include a wearable Activity Key, which lets users secure their vehicle while enjoying outdoor sports or activities without fear of losing their main key fob. Drivers are also able to set the maximum opening height for the gesture tailgate to prevent damage in areas where height is restricted, such as multi-story parking lots and garages.\nOptional Cabin Air Filtration and Ionization prevents air pollutants from entering the vehicle and removes contaminants from the air, promoting health and wellness, while optional gesture controls for both the tailgate and the sunblind for the panoramic sunroof underline the brand’s commitment to customer convenience.\nA full suite of driver assistance features are available, bolstered by Jaguar Driver Condition Monitor which is designed to examine a range of inputs to detect signs of drowsiness and to warn drivers when they need to take a break4.\nThe XF Sportbrake joins the existing XF sedan derivative manufactured at the Jaguar Land Rover Castle Bromwich Plant in the U.K.", "This winter, the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake will arrive at dealerships in North America, and details and photos have just emerged. In Britain, the publicity stunt was to have tennis star Andy Murray unveil the car at Wimbledon, put his trophy in the back, and embark on a tour. Here in America, there’s no grand reveal, but this is big news for those of us still hung up on the XJS-based Lynx Eventer shooting brake of the 1980s. Us folks have been pining for a legit Jaguar wagon for more than three decades; the Ford Mondeo–based X-type compact wagon didn’t quite count, and the previous XF Sportbrake failed to leap across the ocean. While the F-Pace may have mollified some with a jones for a luxurious Brit with a rear hatch, true wagon aficionados won’t be appeased by a crossover.\nAt $71,445, the XF Sportbrake’s pricing starts at around eight large more than its chief competitor for American hearts and minds, the vaunted—and freshly redone—Mercedes-Benz E400 4MATIC wagon. Like the Benz, the Jag features a V-6 with forced induction. In this case, it’s a 380-hp supercharged 3.0-liter, which nets the buyer 51 more ponies than the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 from Mercedes. Like the Daimler product, the Sportbrake arrives here properly equipped to combat winter traction issues with standard all-wheel drive.\nJag claims its new wagon is structurally stiffer than the previous XF wagon and offers nearly 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, in part due to a single-piece polymer liftgate. Up top, the body will support more than 220 pounds mounted on the roof, which should excite both kayakers and fans of outsize Christmas trees. Routing its 332 lb-ft of torque through the ubiquitous ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, the blown six will pull the Sportbrake to 60 mph in a claimed 5.3 seconds, which, coincidentally, is exactly what Mercedes asserts on behalf of its E400. Claimed top speed is an electronically limited 121 mph, which, frankly, seems a bit parsimonious. After all, an XK120 managed 135 mph in 1949. To add insult to injury, an F-Pace S with the same powertrain tops out at a positively Germanic 155 mph and costs a mere $58,695.\nJaguar has retuned the XF’s suspension to cope with the additional load demands of wagon life, subtly re-valving the front dampers and installing self-leveling air springs at the back axle, replacing the coils that serve there in the sedan. Jag’s Configurable Dynamics suite allows the driver to adjust the steering, throttle mapping, and transmission shift program, while the suspension offers both standard and Dynamic settings. The XF’s AWD system operates with a rear-biased torque distribution, but when the system detects or predicts slip, it can direct more torque to the front axle.\nInside, a 40/20/40 split-folding rear seat allows skis or fancy teak planks to share space with two passengers. The cargo hold offers 32 cubic feet of space, growing to 70 cubes with the rear seatbacks folded. Four tie-downs are standard in the cargo area, while flush-mounted rails that accept a variety of cargo-holding accessories are optional. Because people golf, Jaguar made sure that a full golf bag can lie parallel to the rear bumper with the rear seats up. For those who have an armful of store-bought goods, gesture-based tailgate operation is standard. A wave of a foot means that your 50-pound bag of pink Himalayan salt from Dean & DeLuca never has to touch the ground. The tailgate also features a selectable opening height, for use in low-clearance garages.\nFor the aforementioned kayakers, Jag offers an available RFID activity key. Hold the rubberized bracelet up to the Jaguar lettering on the tailgate, and the car locks and unlocks. Any keys left inside the car will be disabled until you return. After a particularly stank-inducing paddle, you might find yourself comforted by the optional air purifier. Stereo heads might opt for the 17-speaker, 825-watt Meridian sound system, revisit Wire’s seminal Pink Flag, and bask in the glory of a long-gone college-radio heyday. An 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen is standard, while a 10.0-incher is optional. The larger unit allows users to pinch and zoom, set wallpaper images, add shortcuts to favorite features, and define extra home screens. Its built-in 4G LTE functionality provides connectivity for up to eight devices.\nIn the realm of driver assistance, the Sportbrake features blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, fatigued-driver detection, automated emergency braking, parking assist, and lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist. Jaguar also offers an intelligent speed limiter that reads traffic signs and adjusts velocity appropriately.\nThe nut of it is this: The Sportbrake basically cribs the XF S AWD sedan’s powertrain and adds $4250 to the Monroney for the privilege and convenience of rolling in a Jagwagon. We like the XF S quite a bit, and we also hope Jaguar sees fit to sell us an SVR version to take on the Mercedes-AMG E63 S wagon. Because in the eyes of today’s wagon nerd, the only thing better than an estate car is an estate car with enough horsepower to take down what’s left of Hadrian’s Wall.\nView Photos View Photos", "Sports car manufacturer Porsche is happy with its new Nurburgring record, which could be attacked by Aston Martin soon, but luxury automaker Bentley also has something to be proud of. The company’s first-ever high-riding vehicle, the Bentayga, is now the fastest SUV in the history of Pikes Peak.\nWhile this may not sound like a great achievement at first glance, it is. Here are the facts – driving a 5,380-pound (2,440-kilogram), super luxury sport utility vehicle with an average speed of 66.5 miles per hour (107 kilometers per hour) through the hill climb’s 156 corners is definitely a thing. Especially when you consider the time of 10:49.9 minutes is almost two whole minutes faster than the previous record, held by Paul Dallenbach who drove a Range Rover Sport in 2014.\nWhat’s even more impressive is the fact that the car you can enjoy going through the 12.42-mile in the onboard video at the top is almost a completely standard road-going example. Only minor modifications, including getting rid of the rear seats and replacing the front ones with lightweight race-spec seats, as well fitting a roll cage and a fire suppression system, have been made. The only performance upgrades come courtesy of a production-spec Akrapovic sports exhaust and a specific type of Pirelli tires.\nRemaining stock in this case means the range-topping Bentayga W12 has a 6.0-liter engine under the hood, generating 600 horsepower (447 kilowatts) and 664 pound-feet (900 Newton-meters) of torque. With this motor, the speedy luxorbage is capable of reaching 62 mph (100 kph) in just 4.1 seconds and hitting a top speed of 187 mph (301 kph).\nIt might not be the fastest SUV on the planet, but it’s currently the fastest SUV to ever race the Pikes Peak hill climb. At least until next year when – who knows – Lamborghini or Lister could attempt to take down the Bentayga’s record.\nSource: Bentley on YouTube", "Jaguar will introduce a new version of the XE four-door premium sedan and used a special stunt to make it more visibile to its fans. The new Jaguar XE 300 Sport made its debut by setting a unique lap record.\nThe special edition sports saloon became the first car to complete a flying lap of the world’s longest artificial outdoor ice circuit, at Flevonice in the Netherlands and had to beat a Winter Olympic gold medallist skater to set the fastest time.\nAfter anchoring Hungary to gold in the 5,000m relay at the 2018 Winter Olympics, speed skater Shaolin Sándor Liu set a tough benchmark, negotiating the track at Flevonice Sports and Funpark in 4 minutes 4 seconds.\nJaguar Stability Development Leader Sean Haughey lapped the track in 3 minutes 3 seconds at an average speed of 36mph.\nThe new 300 SPORT is equipped with the advanced 300PS 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol engine, which powers the XE from 0-60mph in 5.4 seconds.\nThe new 300 SPORT joins the XE line-up and is available on the XF and XF Sportbrake featuring unique exterior and interior design elements. While the XE is fitted exclusively with the 300PS 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol engine, the XF and XF Sportbrake are also available with Jaguar’s 300PS 3.0-litre TDV6 diesel.\nAll 300 SPORT models feature unique Dark Satin Grey details including the door mirror caps, rear spoiler and grille surround, along with 300 SPORT badging on the front grille and bootlid. Distinctive 19-inch or 20-inch Satin Technical Grey finish wheels are exclusive to the special edition along with 300 SPORT-branded brake callipers. Customers can choose from three exterior colours: Yulong White, Indus Silver and Santorini Black, while the XE is also available in Caldera Red.\nSpecial design accents continue inside with yellow contrast stitching on the steering wheel, seats, door casings and armrest. Other modifications include 300 SPORT branded treadplates, sport carpet mats, badged steering wheel and embossed headrests.\nThe XE, XF and XF Sportbrake enable customers to be more connected, with Jaguar’s advanced Touch Pro 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system as standard.\nThe new XE 300 Sport is available to order priced from £45,160 on-the-road.\nTags: jaguar, jaguar xe, jaguar xe 300, jaguar xe 300 sport, jaguar xe special edition\nPosted in Jaguar, New Vehicles", "2019 Jaguar I-Pace first drive Enlarge Photo\nJaguar product planning boss Hanno Kirner believes the instant torque and power found in a hypothetical I-Pace SVR could be too much for untrained drivers. While he stopped short of confirming a high-performance version of the electric crossover, he made it clear such a vehicle is on the table.\nKirner told Autocar in a Tuesday report that an I-Pace SVR would likely be capable of reaching 60 mph in 1.8 seconds, but engineers also want to prioritize handling—not just headline-grabbing specs.\n\"Once you’ve done it once or twice, and lost your eyes in the back of their sockets, you might not want to do it again,\" he said.\nTesla has already made plenty of headlines in recent years for offering hypercar levels of acceleration with the Model S and Model X electric cars. The 2020 Tesla Roadster will also allegedly reach 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.\nThe product planning chief envisioned some sort of power restriction for a potential I-Pace SVR. Kirner said the vehicle could reduce power for a driver until he/she has attended a driving course or some other instruction. Although Jaguar hasn't committed to such a model, the brand's top brass certainly do like to talk about the idea of one.\nLast March, Kirner first expressed interest in building an I-Pace performance variant. At that time, he also said there remains a possibility for other I-Pace models, including an off-road or more luxurious version. Kirner echoed the sentiment in the latest Autocar report.\n\"There is probably more than one route we could take,\" he said. \"But there is definitely space for a performance electric car or cars.\"\nJohn Edwards, head of Jaguar Land Rover's personalization and performance arm, also hinted earlier this year that Jaguar will eventually develop a full range of performance-oriented electric cars.\nThe British luxury brand will also take the I-Pace racing in its own one-make series held before Formula E open-wheel electric-car races.", "Jaguar XKD, or D-type, was one of the most successful sports-racing cars in history, claiming victory at Le Mans three years in a row, in 1955, ’56, and ’57. Along with the C-type that won Le Mans in 1951 and ’53, the D-type forms the bedrock of the Jaguar legend. With aerodynamic bodywork penned by Malcolm Sayer, it is also one of the sexiest sports-racing cars ever.\nRacing rules changed for 1958 and the Jaguar straight six would no longer be competitive. Margins were thin at Jaguar in the 1950s just as they are today, and Jaguar boss William Lyons had to market a batch of 25 unsold D-type race cars. He began converting them for road use. The result is the XKSS, one of the rarest and most exhilarating sports cars of the Golden Era, a car sexier than the race car it was based upon. Only 16 XKSS were completed before Jaguar’s Browns Lane factory burned, consuming nine undelivered XKSS. The fire adds to the XKSS legend and value of the cars. Jaguar rose from the ashes by applying lessons learned with the D-type and XKSS to create the E-type road car.\nThe XKSS Gooding & Company will auction at Amelia Island next month, chassis XKSS 716, was delivered new to Montreal, Canada, where it was raced with success between 1957 and 1961. XKSS 716 passed through the hands of several prominent Jaguar enthusiasts, and eventually retired to the world of vintage rallies. The current owner acquired XKSS 716 nearly two decades ago.\nIn the past decade, XKSS 716 received a complete, show-quality restoration by UK-based marque specialist Pearsons Engineering. XKSS 716 made its concours debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2010, where a special XKSS class reunited 12 of the 16 original cars on the Pebble Beach greens (see photo). Since this outing, XKSS 716 has been shown at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and participated on vintage tours in Europe and North America.", "Andy Murray has accepted he will lose his place at the top of the tennis world but insists he is driven by trophies, not rankings.\n‘It’s most likely that I’ll lose the No 1 spot,’ he said. ‘If you want to stay at No 1 you can’t have periods of three months of the year where you’re not winning matches, not performing well in the big events, which was the case for me until the French Open.\n‘So more than likely that will happen and that’s fine. I’m not trying to win Wimbledon for the ranking points — I want to win Wimbledon, that’s my goal.’\nAndy Murray and Anthony Joshua share an embrace after engaging in a few rallies\nThe 30-year-old Scot had endured a rotten start to the year before his run to the semi-finals at Roland Garros.\nHe has a healthy lead at the top of the rankings but a huge haul of points to defend for the rest of the season, with Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer well placed to leapfrog him.\nMurray was speaking at Jaguar’s launch of their new XF Sportbrake, where he later enjoyed a doubles match with heavyweight champion of the world Anthony Joshua and comedians Rob Brydon and Jimmy Carr.\nThe British sporting duo are known to be friends and posed with each other's silverware\nHe has been putting in some rather more serious time on the court this week at Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, as he steps up his preparation for the grass season.\n‘I’m still quite a long way from where I want to be in terms of my game so that’s why I was back on the practice court quite soon after Paris,’ he said.\nThe two-time Wimbledon champion has backed the appointment of Scott Lloyd, son of ex-Davis Cup captain David and nephew of former British No 1 John, as chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association. He replaces Canadian Michael Downey in January.\nJoshua showed off his touch as the net as he swapped the gloves for a racket for the day\n‘With the amount of changes we’ve had at the top of tennis and bringing in people from different sports, each time you bring in someone new it takes seven, eight months to start to understand the sport, to speak to everyone, it feels a little bit like wasted time,’ he said.\n‘So having someone who’s been around the sport and probably knows a lot of the people he should be talking to is a positive thing.’\nMeanwhile, Federer has suffered his second defeat of the season. The Swiss, in his first match of the grass-court season, lost 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in Stuttgart to world No 302 Tommy Haas, 39.\nAndy Murray serves up new Jaguar XF Sportbrake. Follow @Jaguar #XFSportbrake.\nThe 27-year-old appeared to acquit himself well on the makeshift tennis court\nMurray has previously spoken about the nerves he felt watching Joshua fight\nThe pair were joined by Rob Brydon (centre left) and Jimmy Carr (centre right)\nThe Jaguar XF Sportbrake is designed to combine performance of a sports car with practicality\nThe new Jaguar XF Sportbrake boasts a number of activities features on the car", "Sign up for one of our email newsletters.\nOne person was injured Thursday night when an SUV slid over a hillside in Allegheny Township.\nThe one-vehicle accident happened around 10:40 p.m. on Shearsburg Road near Beck Road.\nAllegheny Township Sgt. Dan Uncapher said the 20-year-old driver of a GMC Envoy lost control of the vehicle on the snow- and ice-covered roadway.\nA 17-year-old male passenger was also in the vehicle.\nUncapher said it's unclear which person was taken to the hospital, but the injuries are not life threatening. The person was transported to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison.\nEmily Balser is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-226-4680, emilybalser@tribweb.com or on Twitter @emilybalser.", "2018 BMW 6-Series Gran Turismo: BMW's not-quite-a-wagon, rebooted\nWith its 2018 6-Series Gran Turismo, BMW has rebooted its not-quite-a-sedan, not-quite-a-wagon five-door hatchback.\nIt's official: Tim Cook confirms that Apple is working on self-driving car software\nAfter years of speculation and rumor, Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has confirmed that the company is developing software to power self-driving cars.\nIIHS: SUV, crossover headlights generally perform poorly\nThe IIHS says you should think again if you assume that a larger crossover or SUV is the safest thing on the road.\n2017 Honda Civic Type R Enlarge Photo\nFrom Motor Authority\n2017 Honda Civic Type R first drive review: track attacker\nIt’s a spectacular summer day in Montreal, and not just because it’s 80 degrees. It’s Formula One week, and the remote buzz is audible even downtown as F1 drivers crackle off practice laps at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. They turn one of the most peaceful places in one of North America’s greatest cities, into one of the noisiest.\nUS-bound Jaguar XF Sportbrake revealed\nJaguar launched a lighter, more dynamic XF for 2016.\nHere’s a glimpse at a near production-ready Aston Martin Valkyrie\nAston Martin treated visitors to its Art of Living lifestyle event coinciding with last month’s Formula One Monaco Grand Prix with a near production-ready example of its upcoming Valkyrie hypercar. One of those visitors was tennis ace Serena Williams who was happy to pose with the car. (She’s an ambassador for the British brand.)\nTeaser photo of Jaguar I-Pace electric car in camouflage undergoing road testing, March 2017 Enlarge Photo\nFrom Green Car Report\nJaguar I-Pace electric SUV being built now; Europe launch this year, U.S. in 2018\nWhile Audi and Mercedes-Benz have trumpeted the electric crossover utility vehicles they will offer in 2018 and 2019, a smaller competitor is keeping pace with the German giants.\nBMW venture arm invests in U.S. electric-bus maker Proterra\nYou can't buy one at your local car dealer, but electric transit buses have a significant role to play in reducing vehicular emissions and expanding the spread of electric-vehicle technology.\nHyundai Kona small SUV revealed, with electric version to come\nHyundai has finally shown the world its subcompact crossover utility vehicle, the 2018 Hyundai Kona.", "From the driver's seat of Automobile's Four Seasons Jaguar F-Pace, it all looks similar to rush hour, but we're certainly not complaining. Instead, we're car spotting.\nStart the conversation, or Read more at Automobile Magazine.", "Hide press release Show press release\nJAGUAR F-PACE, XF AND XE DELIVER MORE EFFICIENCY, MORE PERFORMANCE AND MORE CONVENIENCE FOR 2018 MODEL YEAR\nAT-A-GLANCE\nIngenium family grows with new 200PS and 250PS 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol and 240PS diesel engines delivering improved efficiency, lower running costs and enhanced performance\nEfficient new 163PS E-Performance diesel for F-PACE delivers CO 2 emissions as low as 126g/km\nemissions as low as 126g/km Sporty XE S gets 40PS power hike with the 380PS V6 petrol engine\nJaguar’s Configurable Dynamics technology now available as standalone feature on XE and XF, allows drivers to personalise the gear shift, throttle and steering settings\nIntelligent safety features including Forward Traffic Detection and Forward Vehicle Guidance join extensive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems\nAdded convenience: XF and XE saloons fitted with Gesture Boot Lid for the first time\nVirtual 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster with full-screen 3D navigation new for XE\nDual View screen InControl technology introduced across all three vehicles.\nNew Shell App allows Jaguar drivers to pay for fuel at Shell service stations using car’s touchscreen\nUpdated XE, XF and F-PACE models follow record January for Jaguar in the UK, with a 20% sales increase on January 2016\nNew derivatives available to order now at Jaguar UK retailers\nSUMMARY\nJaguar has announced a range of enhancements to its F-PACE performance SUV and XF and XE sports saloons. The 2018 model year updates see the debut of Jaguar Land Rover’s latest Ingenium engines and new convenience and safety features available across all three vehicles to deliver more choice and personalisation than ever before.\nThe updates come on the back of a strong start to the year for Jaguar in the UK. More than 2,694 vehicles made their way onto UK driveways in January, an increase of 20% on January 2016, giving the brand its best January UK performance ever.\nIn 2016 Jaguar sold more vehicles in the UK than ever before, surpassing a 12 year old record. The popularity of the XE, XF and F-PACE were key in helping the brand to retail 34,728 vehicles in the UK last year, a 17% climb on 2015.\nJeremy Hicks, Jaguar Land Rover UK Managing Director, said: “These three models were important in driving us to a record performance in the UK in 2016. The XF sold almost 10,000 vehicles last year and the XE and F-PACE alone made up 62% of all Jaguar 2016 UK sales. These models are attracting new customers to the Jaguar brand and now with an extended offering this appeal can only grow.”\n“It is all about giving our customers more choice. All three vehicles offer a wider range of engines and a suite of new technology, comfort and convenience enhancements that will make them even more relevant for UK buyers.”\nALL-NEW ENGINES\nThe changes broaden the appeal of all three models, with a pair of all-new four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engines introduced alongside a high-output 240PS diesel powerplant. In addition, F-PACE benefits from an efficient new E-Performance diesel derivative, which promises CO 2 emissions as low as 126g/km†.\nThe new 200PS (available with XE and XF) and 250PS 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engines use Jaguar Land Rover’s low friction all-aluminium-intensive design to provide excellent thermal properties and lightweight construction for improved efficiency and enhanced vehicle dynamics. Models with the 200PS engine wear a 20t badge while 250PS derivatives are identified by 25t badging.\nThe diesel range is bolstered by the introduction of the 240PS 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin turbo Ingenium diesel. This high output 500Nm engine delivers traditional Jaguar performance without compromising running costs.\nThe strengthened engine has uprated pistons, crankshaft and fuel injectors and is the first four-cylinder Jaguar Land Rover engine to deploy twin turbos. Their sequential configuration boosts power at high engine speeds while improving responsiveness at low engine speeds. Jaguar F-PACE, XF and XE models fitted with the new diesel engine wear the 25d badge.\nNick Rogers, Executive Director – Product Engineering, said: “We are committed to expanding the Ingenium powertrain family produced at our award-winning £1billion Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton as we meet current and future consumer needs.”\nCUTTING-EDGE PETROL TECHNOLOGY\nJaguar Land Rover’s family of Ingenium engines have the technologies to deliver exceptional performance, efficiency and refinement while meeting the most stringent global emissions regulations.\nAll Ingenium engines deliver benchmark low levels of friction to optimise efficiency and refinement while the new petrol units deploy twin scroll turbos to reduce lag, optimising power output and efficiency.\nContinuously Variable Valve Lift technology improves air delivery to both engines. The new 200PS and 250PS powerplants feature electrohydraulic valve control for unrivalled flexibility. This patented technology provides fully variable control of the intake valve lift for optimum efficiency, power and torque across the rev range.\nIn addition, cleaner combustion is ensured by a new 200bar direct injection system, which features centrally mounted injectors with optimised spray patterns to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.\nIn a first for Jaguar, the exhaust manifold is also integrated with the cylinder head casting. Passing coolant through the manifold considerably reduces warm-up times, when engines are at their least efficient, to enhance fuel consumption and reduce emissions.\nCUSTOMISED DRIVING DYNAMICS\nThe 2018 model year XF and XE deliver greater scope for customers to personalise the driving experience thanks to Configurable Dynamics being offered as a standalone feature. The system allows drivers to set up the vehicle to suit their personal preference by choosing Normal or Dynamic settings for the engine, gearbox and steering. The chosen combination is activated by engaging ‘Dynamic’ mode using the chequered flag button on the central console.\nAdaptive Dynamics, which allows drivers to tailor the suspension settings in addition to those for the engine, gearbox and steering, when combined with Configurable Dynamics, is available as before and provides the ultimate in dynamic personalisation.\nGREATER COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE\nExtending customer choice is a hallmark of the 2018 model year enhancements for all three vehicles, alongside comfort and convenience enhancements. The adjustable front seats in F-PACE and XF have been boosted with the availability of winged headrests. The new designs feature powered height adjustment with manual side wing supports.\nDual View technology is introduced across all three models, allowing the driver and front passenger to view different infotainment displays using the central 10-inch Touchscreen display. The clever InControl technology is available when Touch Pro is specified and allows the driver to follow satellite navigation instructions while the passenger uses the same display to view USB or TV outputs.\nA revised paint palette for all three vehicles brings the colour names into line with those offered throughout the Jaguar Land Rover family, simplifying the customer ordering experience.\nJaguar takes pride in the safety of its vehicles and F-PACE, XF and XE feature a pair of new technologies.\nForward Traffic Detection, part of the surround camera system, is designed to assist when forward visibility is restricted. Using a discreet forward-facing camera in the grille, the system detects items crossing the path of the vehicle and provides a visual warning on the central screen when a potential hazard is detected.\nForward Vehicle Guidance is fitted as part of the Surround Camera System and helps drivers to place the vehicle when completing low speed manoeuvres. Working in conjunction with the front parking sensors the system provides a visual representation of the vehicle overlaid with wheel projections showing the alignment of the steering. Drivers can see the parking distance reading on the central screen, taking the stress out of tight manoeuvres.\nOn XE and XF models Blind Spot Assist (BSA) enhances Jaguar Land Rover’s existing Blind Spot Monitor system by using the collision warning system in tandem with the Electric Power Steering System. If BSA detects a vehicle in or approaching the blind spot when changing lanes, it will apply a gentle steering force to keep the vehicle in its lane.\nWORLD’S FIRST IN-CAR CASHLESS PAYMENT\nJaguar XE, XF and F-PACE owners can now use the touchscreen of their car to pay for fuel at Shell service stations with a new in-car cashless payment system.\nRather than using a card at the pump, or queuing in the forecourt shop, owners who install the Shell App can simply drive up to any pump at a Shell service station (initially in the UK and then globally) and use the vehicle’s touchscreen to select how much fuel they require and pay using PayPal or Apple Pay. Android Pay will be added later in 2017.\nOnce the driver has filled up, an electronic receipt will be displayed on the touchscreen, so customers can leave the forecourt confident of having paid. A receipt will also be sent directly from the pump to the driver’s email address so it can be added to accounting or expenses software.\nBY MODEL IN DETAIL:\nJaguar F-PACE\nSince its Guinness World Record breaking reveal at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, where F-PACE completed the world’s largest loop the loop, the performance SUV has become Jaguar’s fastest selling vehicle. The 2018 model year enhancements range from the introduction of more powerful, efficient and refined engines to enhanced front seats. Visual changes include a revised colour palette and extended options list giving customers more choice.\nIngenium engines\nThe focus of the 2018 model year enhancements is on broadening Jaguar Land Rover’s range of advanced Ingenium engines, with a trio of new powerplants welcomed into the F-PACE line-up.\nWith CO 2 emissions as low as 126g/km†, the new 163PS four-cylinder 2.0-litre Ingenium diesel provides optimised fuel economy. The arrival of a manual RWD derivative delivers 380Nm of torque and impressive fuel economy of up to 59.2mpg (4.8l/100km)* making it the most efficient engine in the range. These credentials earn it the E-Performance badge, which is reserved for models that combine traditional Jaguar performance with the most affordable ownership costs and optimised efficiency.\nIn addition, the existing 180PS four-cylinder Ingenium diesel is available with an automatic RWD transmission for the first time as part of the 2018 Model Year enhancements, delivering CO 2 emissions of 134g/km and combined fuel economy of 55.4mpg (5.1l/100km).\nCustomers looking for improved diesel performance will be able to choose a new high output 240PS Ingenium engine for the first time. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine’s twin turbo set-up promises more performance at high engine speeds without compromising responses at low revs. The 25d badged AWD variant is available with Jaguar’s acclaimed eight-speed automatic gearbox – a combination that delivers CO 2 emissions of 153g/km, fuel economy of 48.7mpg (5.8l/100km) and 0-62mph (100km/h) in 7.2 seconds.\nThe new 250PS 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine is available with an automatic transmission and AWD drivetrain in the UK. It has single twin-scroll turbo and produces 365Nm of torque from only 1,200rpm. The smooth and responsive petrol engine powers F-PACE from 0-62mph (100km/h) in 6.8 seconds and produces CO 2 emissions of 170g/km, returning fuel economy of 38.2mpg (7.4l/100km).\nChoice, comfort and convenience\nInterior changes put the emphasis on enhanced choice, comfort and convenience. A new Light Oyster / Ebony interior option gives the premium cabin a purposeful appearance and all Prestige and Portfolio models feature the Sport steering wheel as standard. Customers who choose the automatic transmission also benefit from twin covered cup holders on the centre console, giving the interior a cleaner, less cluttered appearance.\nFlagship Portfolio derivatives include the optional feature of enhanced front seats with powered headrest height adjustment and manually adjustable winged headrests providing supreme comfort and simplicity. In addition, Jaguar’s Dual View screen technology provides further convenience to driver and passengers.\nIn common with the XF and XE sports saloons, 2018 model year F-PACE features the very latest safety technologies with the addition of Forward Traffic Detection and Forward Vehicle Guidance.\nThe 18MY F-PACE is available to order now from Jaguar UK retailers, priced from £34,730 on-the-road.\nJAGUAR XF\nThe 2018 Model Year XF sports saloon introduces three new powerplants, including 200PS and 250PS derivatives of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine for the first time.\nThe 200PS derivative is available with an automatic RWD powertrain, blending traditional Jaguar performance with excellent efficiency. The new engine powers XF from 0-62mph (100km/h) in 7.5 seconds and returns fuel economy of 41.5mpg (6.8l/100km), with CO 2 emissions of 154g/km.\nThe potent 250PS unit is available with an automatic transmission and both RWD and AWD drivetrains. The RWD model matches the efficiency of the 200PS engine yet accelerates from 0-62mph (100km/h) in only 6.6 seconds. All-wheel drive variants match this performance with CO 2 emissions of 159g/km.\nAlongside the existing 163PS and 180PS versions of Jaguar Land Rover’s advanced four-cylinder Ingenium diesel engines, customers will also be able to choose the new 240PS powerplant. The powerful new derivative is available with RWD and AWD drivetrains, combining fuel economy of 53.3mpg (5.3l/100km) and 51.4mpg (5.5l/100km) with CO 2 emissions of 139g/km and 144g/km respectively. The twin turbo configuration delivers new levels of diesel performance with the 0-62mph (100km/h) sprint completed in a sporty 6.5 seconds.\nArt of Performance\nAlongside the new engine options, Jaguar XF features Configurable Dynamics as a standalone feature for the first time. The system is fitted to automatic models specified without Adaptive Suspension and provides a Factory setting plus a choice of Normal or Dynamic modes for the steering, engine and gearbox.**\nAdaptive Dynamics with configurable dynamics is available on vehicles fitted with Adaptive Suspension. It also allows drivers to adjust the ride comfort and handling responses to suit the driving conditions or personal preference. In addition, when Touch Pro infotainment is specified customers benefit from Dynamic-i, which adds a stopwatch, g-meter readout and accelerator and braking graphics to the central touchscreen display, allowing the driver and front passenger to monitor every aspect of the vehicle’s performance.\nComfort and convenience\nWith its generous 540-litre luggage area, XF is a practical sports saloon and the addition of the new Gesture Boot Lid function for 2018 model year makes loading and unloading even more convenient.\nThis handy feature is available on vehicles with keyless entry and rear parking aid and allows customers to open and close the boot simply by waving a foot under either side of the rear bumper. Sensors detect the movement and trigger the boot opening, making it possible to load the boot easily when carrying items in both hands. The driver is also able to then close the boot in the same way.\nComfort gets a boost in the shape of enhanced driver and front passenger seats with new 20 way Luxury seating available on Portfolio models. This incorporates power headrests with side wing supports. Meanwhile, Dual View technology brings new functionality to the infotainment system.\nJaguar XF’s five-star Euro NCAP rating has been augmented with a trio of new features in the form of Blind Spot Assist, Forward Traffic Detection and Forward Vehicle Guidance. The additional safety technologies maintain the sport saloon’s position as one of the safest cars on the road.\nThe 18MY XF is available to order now from Jaguar UK retailers, priced from £32,490 on-the-road.\nJAGUAR XE\nThe award-winning Jaguar XE benefits from a host of enhancements. The Ingenium petrol family expands in XE with 200PS RWD automatic and 250PS RWD and AWD automatic derivatives providing customers with more choice than ever before.\nThe 200PS engine produces 320Nm of torque and powers XE from 0-62mph (100km/h) in 7.1 seconds with combined fuel economy of 45.1 (6.3l/100km) and CO 2 emissions of 144g/km. The more powerful 250PS RWD model delivers identical fuel economy and tailpipe emissions but sprints from 0-62mph (100km/h) in only 6.3 seconds. The enhanced traction provided by Jaguar’s AWD drivetrain cuts one-1/10sec off the acceleration benchmark (down to 6.2 seconds) with CO 2 emissions of 154g/km.\nCustomers looking for even more dynamic performance can take advantage of the upgraded XE S model. Its thrilling 3.0-litre V6 engine is shared with the F-TYPE sport car and sees power raised from 340PS to 380PS for improved performance and refinement.\nFor diesel customers the new twin-turbo Ingenium engine provides V6 performance levels from a four-cylinder engine. The 240PS unit produces an impressive 500Nm of torque from 1,500rpm, which is enough to power the AWD sports saloon from 0-62mph (100km/h) in 6.1 seconds, with CO 2 emissions of only 137g/km and combined fuel economy of 54.4mpg (5.2l/100km).\nIn common with the XF sports saloon, XE is now available with Configurable Dynamics as a standalone feature, providing even greater scope for driver customisation.**\nAdaptive Dynamics, which also provides personalisation of the suspension settings, is currently available on automatic 180PS and 240PS models but will be available on vehicles powered by the new 200PS and 250PS 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol engines. When Touch Pro infotainment is fitted in conjunction with Adaptive Dynamics, customers benefit from Dynamic-i, which adds a stopwatch, g-meter readout and accelerator and braking graphics to the central touchscreen display.\nConvenience and safety\nLiving with the XE has never been easier thanks to a host of convenience enhancements. A Gesture Boot Lid makes it possible for customers to open the boot with a simple wave of the foot beneath the rear bumper, taking the stress out of loading and unloading luggage.\nThe availability of a 12.3-inch TFT virtual instrument cluster provides greater clarity for drivers when specifying Touch Pro infotainment. With four distinct visual themes to choose from, the large display makes it possible to view full-screen navigation mapping, reducing the stress of driving in unfamiliar surroundings. Meanwhile, Dual View technology brings additional versatility to the 10-inch Touchscreen display on the central console by allowing the driver and front passenger to view different information using the same display.\nThe XE sports saloon was judged to be the safest large family car by Euro NCAP when it was tested in 2016 thanks to its excellent occupant protection and pedestrian protection technology. Jaguar has enhanced its comprehensive suite of safety kit with the addition of Blind Spot Assist, Forward Vehicle Guidance and Forward Traffic Detection technologies.\nThe pedestrian safety bar is raised further on XE by Jaguar’s advanced Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), which provides superior functionality with the introduction of Pedestrian Detection. The system operates from 3-37mph (5-60km/h) and uses a forward facing camera to detect hazards, automatically applying the brakes when the risk of a collision is detected. The state-of-the-art safety aid is able to identify pedestrians standing over 1m tall in the path of the vehicle.\nThe 18MY XE is available to order now from Jaguar UK retailers, priced from £28,295 on-the-road.", "- Marke wählen - A+M Access Adiva Adler Adly Aeon AJS Aprilia Arctic Cat Ardie ATV Baotian Beeline Benelli Beta Bigdog Bimota BMW Brixton BSA Buell Cagiva Can-Am Cectek CF-Moto Cleveland Daelim Derbi Dinli DKW Ducati EBR Egli Explorer Fantic Favorit Gas Gas Gilera Goes Harley-Davidson Herkules Honda Horex Husaberg Husqvarna Hyosung Imme Indian Junak Karcher Kawasaki Keeway Kreidler KSR Moto KTM Kymco Lambretta Laverda Lem-Motor LML Luxxon Malaguti Mash MBK Microcar Mondial Moto Guzzi Moto Martin Moto Morini Motobi MV Agusta MZ NIU Norton NSU Online Pegasus Peugeot PGO Piaggio Polaris Qingqi Quadix Quadro Regal Raptor Rex Rieju Rivero Royal Enfield Sachs Sanglas Sherco Simson Skyteam Suzuki SWM Sym Testi TGB TM Toth-TWA Triton Triumph Ural Vespa Victory WMI Yamaha Zero Z�ndapp\n- Biketyp wählen - Chopper/Cruiser Enduro Gespann Klassiker MotoCross Naked Bike Pocketbike Quad/ATV Racing Roller Sonstige Sporttourer Super-Moto Supersport Tourer Trial Trike", "Start the conversation - Add your comment\nAlthough the administrators and moderators of this website will attempt to keep all objectionable comments off these pages, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the poster, and neither Crash Media Group nor Crash.Net will be held responsible for the content of any message. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. If you find a message objectionable, please contact us and inform us of the problem or use the [report] function next to the offending post. Any message that does not conform with the policy of this service can be edited or removed with immediate effect.", "AWD\nThe first two are your typical 2.0-liter gasoline burners that are turbocharged to the tune of 200 PS (197 bhp) and 250 PS (246 bhp). The less powerful of the two won't be offered on the F-Pace, though.For the record, the old engine Jaguar had made 200 PS and 240 PS, respectively. Models with the 200PS engine wear a 20t badge while 250PS derivatives are identified by 25t badging.The new 250PS Ingenium engine is available with an automatic transmission and both RWD anddrivetrains. It packs a single twin-scroll turbo and produces 365 Nm of torque at only 1,200 rpm. The unit powers F-PACE from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.8 seconds and produces CO2 emissions of 163g/km in RWD configuration, returning fuel economy numbers of 39.9 mpg UK (7.1 l/100km). The sedans are slightly faster, taking 6.3 and 6.6 seconds, respectively.Perhaps the most interesting Ingenium engine to arrive this year is a 240 PS diesel that promises to combine performance with low running costs. Like Volkswagen's 2.0 BiTDI , it has two turbochargers and delivers a meaty 500 Nm of torque for effortless overtaking.Producing 60 PS more than the existing 20d model, this strengthened engine has uprated pistons, crankshaft and fuel injectors and is the first four-cylinder Jaguar Land Rover engine to deploy twin turbos. They are going to call it the 25d, which might upset BMW fans. It's going to come as standard with AWD and the eight-speed automatic, delivering you from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.2 seconds.However, he smaller, lighter XE is a real brute with this diesel engine, reaching 100 km/h in just 6.1 seconds while still leveraging 54.4 mpg (5.2 l/100km).Speed isn't your thing? Then how about a more economical with the sort of powertrain a BMW 20d Efficient Dynamics would have. With CO2 emissions as low as 126g/km, the new 163 PS four-cylinder 2.0-liter Ingenium diesel provides the best fuel economy in the range. The arrival of a manual RWD derivative delivers 380Nm of torque and up to 59.2mpg (4.8l/100km), compared to 134 grams and 55.4mpg (5.1l/100km) in the regular 20d.Beyond the engines, the 2018 Jaguar XE and XF get a new Configurable Dynamics drive mode selector and Adaptive Dynamics suspension. The F-Pace now has that cool Dual View tech that debuted on the Range Rover and allows the driver and passenger to see different things on the infotainment screen." ]

[ "An abstract class can have instance methods that implement a default behavior. An Interface can only declare constants and instance methods, but cannot implement default behavior and all methods are implicitly abstract. An interface has all public members and no implementation. An abstract class is a class which may have the usual flavors of class members (private, protected, etc.), but has some abstract methods." ]

[ "A collection in any language is a container that will hold other objects. Examples of container classes in Java are List, Map, Set. These are actually implemented as interfaces, they just define the basic methods that are expected for each of the different types of collections. Concrete implementations for each of these interfaces would be HashSet, ArrayList, LinkedList, HashMap, TreeMap, TreeSet (there are others, but these are the most popular).\\n\\nThe simple answer to your question in regards to whether an interface and a class are the same is NO. An interface is a definition of methods. A class is an implemetation of those and probably other methods. The syntax for this in Java would look like:\\n\\nclass X implements Y\\n\\nWhere X is the implemetation of the Y interface. That is exactly how the collection classes are implemented in the JDK, the class declaration for ArrayList follows:\\n\\npublic class ArrayList<E> extends AbstractList<E>\\n implements List<E>, RandomAccess, Cloneable, java.io.Serializable\\n\\nNow, keep in mind that you CAN use an interface to access an instance of a class (an object). For example:\\n\\nList myList = new ArrayList();\\n\\nList is an interface, ArrayList is a class. Actually this is the intention of interfaces, separation of model and implementation. You could use a LinkedList in your code if you wrote your code this way just by changing the line that declares myList and no other code would have to be touched:\\n\\nList myList = new LinkedList();", "Generally speaking, an adapter is the \"glue\" that\\nbridges between incompatible interfaces. In Java,\\nthis would be a class which \"wraps\" another in order\\nto make it compatible for some other use.\\n\\nThe description in reference [1] is:\\n \"Convert the interface of a class into another interface\\n clients expect. Adapter lets classes work together that\\n could not otherwise because of incompatible interfaces.\\n\\nA further explanation, and example, is given in [2].\\n\\nThere's a very handy implementation trick for\\nadaptors where an an entire interface is implemented\\nwith \"dummy\" methods. This \"dummy\" class can then\\neasily be subclassed, but only those methods which are\\nneeded must be implemented. This saves the user\\nfrom having to fill out the entire interface.\\nSee reference [3] for a more complete description\\nand what I expect is one of the most common examples\\nof when adapters are used.", "Firstly there's only one java language, which is written with several interfaces, but the java compiler is the same. \\nThe syntax in Java is pretty much the same as in C++. The only thing is that Java is fully object oriented while C++ is only partially. Which means that if you write Java code, you have to declare classes, while C++ can run C codes which aren't object orinted, so you can write programs without classes. For VB tutorials try: \\nhttp://www.programmingtutorials.com/vbnet.aspx", "C) ABC, somthing1, something2 must be interface for the expression to be legal.\\n\\nThough java doesn't supports multiple inheritence for class, an interface can extend as many interface as needed. You can try compiling. But there is also a reason behind it.\\nJava does not supports multiple inheritence because in diamond inheritence ( B and C extends A and D extends both B and C) it can cause ambiguity( as two copies of members of A would present in D).\\nThis is not so for interface as there can't be ambiguity as all refer to same copy. So Java supports multiple inheritence for Inetrface", "An interface is a collection of method signatures that are defined. Objects can indicate that they implement an interface -- this means they agree to provide the methods that appear in the interface.\\n\\nFor example, perhaps I have an interface called Printable that contains a single method print. Note the interface has no actual code for this method, just the signature (name, return type, argument list, etc.).\\n\\nThen if an object implements Printable, it is promising to provide a print method with the right signature.\\n\\nNow, any piece of code can get a reference to the object and treat it as though it were a \"Printable\" object -- there isn't any such class, but in this context, the interface is like a class.\\n\\nThis allows you to create lots of class hierarchies with different roots, but use any object as \"printable\".\\n\\nNote that some interfaces have no methods at all -- just the fact that they implement an empty interface indicates something about the object.", "There is no such thing as an Abstract Interface.\\n\\nInterfaces are not supported with (ISO) C++. You should use an abstract class with only virtual methods.\\n\\nA .tlb file is (I'm guessing) a Type Library. These are used with COM/ActiveX controls. \\n\\nType of Visual Studio project: .... a C++ project I guess\\n\\nIf you are using managed C++, you can just add a reference to the COM object, which should add a RCW you can use (a wrapper around the object referenced). This will do most housekeeping for COM/ActiveX objects for you.", "It is considered one of the important concepts of the OOP. Data Abstraction is to see what is needed and leave what is not. It enables designers to focus the immediate goals and don't care about the details.\\n\\n When you are unemployed and looking for a job you might not be wondering all the conditions of a particular job ad. But when you went an interview you broaden your view like asking the salary or working conditions, or the projects that are waiting. But nobody places all the details of the job to a newspaper advertisement. The job advertisement can be considered as an abstraction or unemployed person's point of view for finding a job might be...\\n\\nThere can be different implemntations of thiss concept in programming, like the \"abstract\" keyword in Java or C#. When you are declaring a method (a class' member function), if you put aan \"abstract\" keyword in front of it, you mustn't declare its body, the only thing you declare is its signature. When a class derives from the one that is containing the abstract method that deriving class must declare the body of abstract method.\\n\\nBy doing this, you would say ok I must have a nice method like this but I don't know the actual implementation of this method, so I'd rather leave it to you (the deriving class)...\\n\\nIt is also a useful tool for generalization...", "If you've never used an object-oriented language before, you need to understand the underlying concepts before beginning to write code. You need to know what an object is, what a class is, how objects and classes are related, and how objects communicate by using messages. The first few sections of this chapter describe the concepts behind object-oriented programming. The last section shows how these concepts translate into code. \\nWhat Is an Object?\\nAn object is a software bundle of related variables and methods. Software objects are often used to model real-world objects you find in everyday life. \\nWhat Is a Message?\\nSoftware objects interact and communicate with each other using messages. \\nWhat Is a Class?\\nA class is a blueprint or prototype that defines the variables and the methods common to all objects of a certain kind. \\nWhat Is Inheritance?\\nA class inherits state and behavior from its superclass. Inheritance provides a powerful and natural mechanism for organizing and structuring software programs. \\nWhat Is an Interface?\\nAn interface is a contract in the form of a collection of method and constant declarations. When a class implements an interface, it promises to implement all of the methods declared in that interface. \\nHow Do These Concepts Translate into Code?\\nThis section looks at a small applet, and shows you the code that creates objects, implements classes, sends messages, establishes a superclass, and implements an interface.", "I'd equate a Java Class to a noun that is being modeled in a program. The methods in the class would be the verbs. You can group classes together with a Java Package. \\n\\nSo\\ncanine->dog->sit\\n\\nis to \\npackage->class->method", "Networking in Java is fairly simple. It has a lot of features through which one can implement application level networking. Java has specialised classes for Socket Programming, and many standard protocols (esp. TCP/IP suite, UDP etc. are well supported). IO streaming classes are also an integral part of the Java networking domain.", "a Servlet is a pure Java Class, and compiled to ByteCode, Jsp is embeded into Html Code, before execution, a JSP is must compiled to Servlet code.\\nNormally a JSP is used to dynamically create a User Interface while servlet is used to implement Business Logic, and Data Access Logic.", "Basically, JDK allows you to compile .java files to .class files. JDK are meant for developers who want to produce java programs. JRE only allows you to run *.class files.", "KajaK is wrong in conception.\\nConceptually in Java constructor is not a method or function. It is an elemnt of class like feild or method.\\nFunction and constructor both can be oveloded. And effect is somehow simmilar.\\nBut constructor is not a method, it is not inherited, and when working with reflections these are treated differently.", "You can't create real objects for interfaces. You can have a reference for a object.\\nConnection c;\\n\\nc = DriverManager.getConnection (url,\"myLogin\", \"myPassword\");\\n\\nThis is what happens - \\nYour driver class (oracle/db2/sql/ whichever) makes a object which implements the interface Connection. The reference of this real object is returned by the getConnection method.\\n\\nThis is the real object which you access through the referecnce of the Connection interface. \\n\\nSo you cannot create an object of the Connection interface, only reference a real object through it.", "JavaTM Native Interface (JNI) is a standard programming interface for writing Java native methods and embedding the JavaTM virtual machine* into native applications. The primary goal is binary compatibility of native method libraries across all Java virtual machine implementations on a given platform. \\nThe Java 2 SDK supports the old native method interface (NMI) only when using the classic virtual machine. NMI was originally implemented in Java Development Kit (JDKTM) 1.0. The old NMI is not part of the Java platform standard, and programmers are strongly encouraged to migrate their existing NMI code to the JNI.", "The main thing is that how to divide the application design between java and pl/sql. Generally java is used for the display and the front end and pl/sql for backend. So that if the need arises to change the business login then it is a lot more easier in pl/sql than in java. In case of implementing business logic, java have to make seperate calls for all the database access thus resulting in high overhead. Whereas in pl/slq the complete business logic can be written at the backend and only single call from java give desired results. Thus the application user interface design and navigation logic is implemented in java and complete business logic( i mean the data manupulation and calculations) is implemented in pl/sql.", "You can use Perl with Java. The simplest interface is called Inline::Java, and can be found in the CPAN. You can also intermingle Java and Perl applications, using the \"JPL\" library.", "System.out is indeed an instance of java.io.PrintStream. println() is a member function of java.io.PrintStream, but you're calling println() you're actually working with java.lang.System.out (which is a PrintStream, but Java already knows that, so you don't need to import PrintStream to show it). \\n\\nPerhaps it would be helpful to you to understand what Java actually does with import statements. They are *not* used to give the program access to different pieces of code. It is tempting (especially for C/C++ programmers) to think that import statements are a mechanism for including other code files, but they are really more like C++ \"using namespace\" statements. Java import statements have exactly one function: to save you typing. You can take any program and remove all the import statements without breaking it, so long as you're willing to use the full names of all of your classes.\\n\\nJava's technique for deciding which files it needs to use is rather interesting. Since all public classes are in files of the same name, Java can easily find any class by looking for a file named \"name.java\" (or name.class if compiled). The dots between the package names are used to separate directories.\\n\\nOf course, if you wanted to pass something System.out as an argument, you'd need to use java.io.PrintStream as the parameter type (or import java.io.PrintStream).", "1. Java is highly secure:- Java applets cannot access memory space other than the one which is assigned to it on the host system. So, there is a reduced chance of applets running on your system and creating problems.\\n\\n2. Java is distributed:- Features like RMI (remote method invocation) allow a Java program to invoke a method of an object residing on a remote system (or a different JVM). This is needed in a distributed environment. JavaBeans and CORBA are also essential in a networked environment.\\n\\n3. Java is robust:- Java programs are quite sturdy (although compiling takes slightly more time time vis-a-vis C). The compiler converts the .java source codes into .class files which can be run on any OS with the appropriate interpreter. (This means compiling .java files into .class files in Linux and running them on Windows is possible.)", "Java is first and foremost a language, an object-oriented programming language to be specific. Java syntax is heavily based on C and C++ language syntax, but Java eliminates or streamlines many features that are considered unsafe or overly complicated.\\n\\nHowever, the Java specification, owned and managed by Sun Microsystems also defines three types of \"platforms\", program environments under which Java language programs can run:\\n\\n-- J2ME - Java 2 Micro Edition, for handheld devices, cell phones, etc.\\n\\n-- J2SE - Java 2 Standard Edition, for desktop computer applications, web browser applets, and POJO (Plain ol' Java Object) network applications\\n\\n-- J2EE - Java 2 Enterprise Edition, for implementing large-scale distributed apps, business-to-business apps, network/web apps and other heavy-duty stuff\\n\\nThe platform specifications themselves are not programs, but in practice Sun and others write programs to implement the platforms. Each of the platforms includes the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) which acts as an \"OS/Hardware neutral\" layer between the Java program and the actual underlying computer OS and hardware. There are also platform-specific APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that determine much of what is possible (or practical) to do on a given platform. In that sense these platform implementations are as much a part of the Java specification as the language itself.\\n\\nEven so, Java is first and foremost an object-oriented programming language.", "* CORBA isn't tied to one language; Java RMI is \\n tied to Java. The down side to this for CORBA, is \\n that developers also have to learn to write \\n interfaces in yet another language, IDL.\\n\\n* CORBA doesn't allow executable code to be sent \\n to the remote system; RMI does.\\n\\n* CORBA allows remote method invocations as well \\n as the exchange of primitive data types and \\n structures. RMI allows full objects to be \\n passed and returned.\\n\\nSee the references below.", "Information hiding (a.k.a. encapsulation) is a concept in OO (Object Oriented) programming. Java is an OO language, so by extension (another OO concept) this is a true statement. However, it is possible to write (bad) Java classes that do not encapsulate information.", "Java and C++ are remarkably similar in terms of syntax. Java has all of the same constructs that you are familiar with: for loops, while loops, pre- and post-increment, if-then-else, etc. So you should be able to pick up the syntax pretty quickly.\\n\\nThe differences between Java and C++ have more to do with structure than syntax: the way that files are arranged, the way that code is compiled and run, the way that rules are enforced, and the things that come with the package.\\n\\nWith Java, there is just one file to describe a class, with the interface and the implementation together in the same file. In C++ these parts are split into a header (.h) file and an implementation (.cpp) file. This makes things simpler, in that with Java there are half as many files to manage. It also makes it impossible to lose half of your class, as you can in C++ by losing either the .h or the .cpp file. It also makes your code more open: if you want to show someone your interface (API) code, then they can also see your implementation. There is a workaround for this, however, in that you can use the Java-Doc comments to automatically generate HTML-based documentation for your code that only describes your public API. (Another nice difference –- automatic documentation!)\\n\\nJava source code is compiled to .class bytecode files. These files are then run by the Java interpreter/JVM. This adds an extra layer between your code and the OS, but surprisingly causes very little deterioration in performance, mostly due to really smart JVMs. This buys you two things: portability and safety. The portability comes from the fact that code is written to the JVM, which is an idealized stack-based virtual machine, and not to the quirks of the underlying OS. This is what leads to the infamous “write once, run anywhere” claim. The safety comes from the fact that all bytecode is checked at run time for any malicious or mal-formed code, and the JVM can restrict the access of any piece of code so that it can't get to sensitive stuff (like your personal files, or the microphone, for instance).\\n\\nSafety is the common heading for several other differences between Java and C++: there are no pointers in Java (at least not directly), so there are no dangling pointers, uninitialized pointers, or bizarre pointer math errors; arrays are dynamically checked for staying within the boundaries, so there are no out-of-bounds errors; you can't cast an variable to an incompatible type in Java, so data structures can't get corrupted in that way; exceptions must be caught (this check is done at compile time), so there are no uncaught exceptions to bring down your application; and the list goes on!\\n\\nThus far it might seem like Java is missing a lot of things that are found in C++. So what would you probably miss if you made the move to Java? Pointers, templates, operator overloading, multiple inheritance, and a preprocessor. What wouldn't you miss? Pointers, templates, operator overloading, multiple inheritance, and a preprocessor. You might have noticed that these two lists are remarkably similar. How can this be? It is one of those things where you might miss some particular feature at first, and even wonder how in the world you will do without it, but once you are familiar with Java and the way that it works, you wonder why you ever bothered with that complicated stuff in the first place. Java has elegant replacements for many of these missing items, or better yet, makes them completely unnecessary by design. A good example is multiple inheritance – in Java there is only a single parent class for a given user-defined class, but a class can implement any number of interfaces, which are special classes that only specify methods and operations but have no implementation whatsoever. A class that implements a given interface can be passed anywhere that the interface is expected, regardless of its size or the way that it is implemented. It", "Java and javascript both based on objects and their is a tight relation ship between these two.\\n\\nThe major difference between these two are:\\n\\n1.Java is compiled language but javascript is an interpreted language.\\n\\n2.Java is strongly typed language i.e,it is necessary to declare variables before use but it is not the case with javascript.\\n\\n3.Java is used independently while javascript is used with in html tags and require web browser to run.\\n\\n4.java files have the file extension of '.java' while javascript files have extension of '.js'\\n\\n5.Java can be used for designing standalone applications as well as web pages also while javascript can only be used for designing wed pages", "Use TOBA (see link below)\\n\\nToba translates Java class files into C source code. This allows the construction of directly executable programs that avoid the overhead of interpretation.", "I assume that you're talking about object-oriented languages here.\\n\\nYou want to define a base class when there is specific functionality that can be implemented, and should be generally available to all subclasses.\\n\\nAn interface is simply a specification of available functions and data fields, with no actual code attached. You would define one where you need to specify a black box to fit in a system, but aren't implementing any of the actual working pieces for the black box.", "Another tip - class names and file names are CASE SENSITIVE. If you create a class \"Apple\", and refer to it as \"apple\", you won't find it at runtime.\\n\\n(I'm just beyond a novice at Java - hope this helps too - just vote for the other guy).", "RMI is a mechanism for communicating (only) between two machines running Java Virtual Machines.When Java code on machine A needs a service or a method, respectively, of (remote Java object) objB on machine B it starts a remote method invocation. It does this the same way as invoking a local (Java) object's method.The whole communication behind the remote invocation is done by the RMI mechanism\\n\\nThe client and the server communicate through two special classes called the stub and the skeleton. The stub runs on the client and the skeleton runs on the server. These two programs act as \"middle-men\" in the communication between a client and the server. The stub behaves like a class file and fools the client into thinking the method it wants to invoke is local. The stub carries out all communication with the server's skeleton. \\n\\nTwo utility programs are needed to create an RMI application. The two programs are rmic.exe and rmiregistry.exe; rmic.exe creates the stub and the skeleton while rmiregistry.exe creates the registry of objects held on the server. \\n\\nMoreinfo Refer\\nhttp://www-db.stanford.edu/CHAIMS/Doc/Details/Protocols/rmi/rmi_description.html", "Object is an instance of a class.\\n\\nConstructor is a also a method which only gets called when an object is instantiated. (ex. Myclass a = new Myclass)\\n\\nMethod is a new term for function. You may write lines of codes inside of a method, and reuse it everytime(OO design)\\n\\nclass MyClass\\n{\\n MyClass() // constructor\\n int AddNumber(int a, int b); // method AddNumber returns a+b\\n}\\n\\nmain\\n{\\n Myclass myObject = new MyClass(); // myObject is an object\\n int sum = myObject.AddNumber(1,2); // 1 + 2 = 3\\n return 0;\\n}\\n\\n\\nHope that helps!!! Go java", "POJO, or Plain Old Java Object, is a normal Java object class (that is, not a JavaBean, EntityBean etc.) and does not serve any other special role nor does it implement any special interfaces of any of the Java frameworks. This term was coined by Martin Fowler, Rebbecca Parsons and Josh MacKenzie who believed that by creating the acronym POJO, such objects would have a \"fancy name\", thereby convincing people that they were worthy of use.", "Sorry....\\n\\nYou cannot load JAVA classes into a Database..\\n\\nI think you meant how to put stuff within an oracle DB within java?\\n\\nJust use the Oracle connector.. look at the website for oracle 8i and use the java jdbc connector (odbc)_", "In object-oriented programming languages with multiple inheritance, the diamond problem is an ambiguity that arises when two classes B and C inherit from A, and class D inherits from both B and C. If a method in D calls a method defined in A, which class does it inherit from, B or C?\\n\\n\\n\\nIt is called the 'diamond' problem because of the shape of the class inheritance diagram in this situation. Class A is at the top, both B and C separately beneath it, and D joins the two together at the bottom to form a diamond shape.\\n\\nDifferent programming languages have addressed this problem in different ways:\\n\\nC# / Java only allow single inheritance, but as a compromise allow the multiple inheritance of interfaces. Interfaces are essentially abstract base classes with all abstract methods and no data members. C# (and other .NET languages that allow interface definition) also allows property defintions to exist at the interface level. \\nC++ by default follows each inheritance path separately, so a D object would actually contain two separate A objects, and uses of A's members have to be properly qualified. If the inheritance from A to B and the inheritance from A to C are both marked \"virtual\" (\"class B : virtual A\"), C++ takes special care to only create one A object, and uses of A's members work correctly. If virtual inheritance and nonvirtual inheritance are mixed, there is a single virtual A and a nonvirtual A for each nonvirtual inheritance path to A. \\nEiffel handles this situation by a select and rename directives, where the ancestors' methods to use in a descendant are explicitly specified. This allows to share the methods of the base class between its descendants or even to give each of them a separate copy of the base class. \\nPerl and Io handle this by specifying the inheritance classes as an ordered list. In the above ambiguity, class B and its ancestors would be checked before class C and its ancestors, so the method in A would be inherited through B. \\nPython had to deal with this upon the introduction of new-style classes, all of which have a common ancestor, object. Python creates a list of the classes that would be searched in left-first depth-first order (D, B, A, C, A) and then removes all but the last occurrence of any repeated classes. Thus, the method resolution order is: D, B, C, A. \\nThe diamond problem is not limited to inheritance. It also seems to arise when header files A, B, C, and D \"#include\" one another in a diamond as above and separate precompiled headers are created from B and C. If these two precompiled headers are combined, declarations in A are duplicated; the \"#ifndef\" convention (see the header file article) is ineffective" ]

[ "As many as 10,000 patients a year are dying due to poor NHS care, the head of the health service watchdog has warned. David Prior, chairman of the Care Quality Commission, said standards across the country were ‘dangerously variable’. He said there were anywhere between 3,000 and 10,000 avoidable deaths a year in hospitals alone, not counting those which occur due to failings by GPs. David Prior, chair of the Care Quality Commission warned that NHS standards were 'dangerously variable' Mr Prior, who took up his post in January 2013, said the NHS must change its culture to ensure there is ‘no hiding place’ for inadequate doctors. The watchdog is currently carrying out spot checks on every GP surgery, hospital and care home in England – which could lead to the worst being shut down. It has promised the inspections will be more rigorous than before and each organisation will be given an Ofsted-style rating of ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘needs improvement’ or ‘inadequate’. Mr Prior, a former Tory MP and party chairman, said: ‘Standards of care are highly variable, sometimes dangerously so. ‘We have some outstanding hospitals, we have some inadequate hospitals. And the variation in primary care between different GP practices is probably even greater. ‘This variation matters, not just because many patients receive poor care, indeed many thousands die avoidably every year. No one knows how many, but in hospitals it has been estimated to be anywhere between 3,000 and 10,000 – not a statistic that any other area of human activity would be happy with.’ Writing in The Guardian, he added: ‘Variation strikes at the heart of the NHS and its core principle that everyone should receive good quality care free at the point of delivery. In fact they do not.’ The CQC has already published its findings for the first 40 hospital trusts to be inspected and five were rated inadequate – one in eight. A spokesman for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, pictured, said poor care had been 'swept under the carpet' A study in the BMJ in 2012 warned that up to 5 per cent of all hospital deaths were avoidable, the equivalent of 12,000 a year in England. It is not the first time Mr Prior has spoken out about failings in the health service. Last year, he warned the NHS had been allowed to become so powerful under Labour that nobody dared criticise it. He also attacked his own organisation, saying in the past there had been a culture of ‘incompetence’, ‘suppression’ and ‘oppression’. Responding to Mr Prior’s comments on avoidable deaths, a spokesman for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: ‘For too long poor care in the NHS was swept under the carpet which resulted in the tragedy we saw at Mid Staffs under the last Labour government. ‘The role of the CQC and the new chief inspectors is to root out poor care wherever they find it without fear or favour.’ Jane Cummings, chief nursing officer at NHS England, said: ‘The overwhelming majority of our patients receive great care from staff who are pulling out all the stops. ‘We do need to do more, but the quality of care is better now than at any point in the history of the NHS.’" ]

[ "Taxes will be £12billion a year higher under Labour than the Tories, independent experts warned yesterday – equal to £1,052 for every working household. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said Ed Miliband's 'vague' promise to balance the books would allow Labour to borrow £90billion more than the Tories by 2020. This would rise to £280billion in extra debt by the end of the next decade if Labour remained in power. Institute for Fiscal Studies said Ed Miliband's 'vague' promise to balance the books would allow Labour to borrow £90billion more than the Tories by 2020 and this would rise to £280b in extra debt by the next decade . David Cameron said the assessment showed Labour was 'a risk to our recovery, a risk to our economy, a risk to jobs' The think-tank warned that Labour's failure to control borrowing would leave Britain 'less well placed to deal with future adverse events', such as another recession or the costs of an ageing population. But it was also highly critical of the lack of detail in the Conservatives' plans, saying the party had failed to spell out where it would find tens of billions of pounds in cuts. In a withering verdict, it said all the main parties were keeping voters 'in the dark' about what they would do, adding: 'None of the parties has provided anything like full details of their fiscal plans for each year of the coming parliament.' IFS director Paul Johnson said: 'All the parties have told us where they are going to increase spending on things like health, but none have said much about where the pain is going to fall.' He said the gap between the parties' plans was 'bigger than any time since 1992' – giving voters a clear choice between more taxes, spending or borrowing. Conservative plans require Whitehall cuts of £30billion, while Labour could get away with savings of just £1billion. Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the IFS, added: 'The electorate has a real choice, although it can at best see only the broad outlines of that choice.' The IFS said Labour's plans were broadly compatible with those of its potential post-election partners in the SNP. The Scottish nationalists want to spend an extra £4billion on benefits. But in an unflattering assessment, the IFS said there was a 'significant disconnect' between its anti-austerity rhetoric and its plans. Labour said the think-tank had made 'wrong assumptions' about its plans. Ed Balls said: 'The IFS has confirmed that the Tories are committed to the most extreme spending plans of any political party, with bigger cuts than any other advanced economy in the next three years' One in ten cancer sufferers need care at home but do not get any support, figures revealed today. It means there are around 160,000 cancer sufferers in the UK left housebound by a lack of support. The shocking statistics were released by Labour as they attacked the 'crisis' in elderly care. Separate figures show three-quarters of councils are subjecting vulnerable pensioners to care visits lasting only 15 minutes. Labour said it would end 'time-limited' 15-minute visits by changing the system of paying for care by taking into consideration all of a patient's health needs, rather than costing them separately. The party is also committed to allowing the terminally ill with the 'greatest care needs' to have the right to die in their own homes. The cancer figures were taken from a report by Macmillan cancer support which warned of sufferers left housebound, unable to wash or dress themselves – even at risk of soiling themselves – because of a lack of care. The Daily Mail has highlighted the scandal of hundreds of thousands of frail, elderly people facing 'clock-watch' care visits with its Dignity for the Elderly campaign. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said he is developing new commissioning standards which will discourage 15-minute visits. Mr Miliband has promised to balance day-to-day government spending by 2020 – leaving Labour free to continue borrowing around £30billion a year for 'investment'. By contrast, the Conservatives want to clear the deficit in three years and start paying off Britain's £1.5trillion debt mountain. David Cameron said the assessment showed Labour was 'a risk to our recovery, a risk to our economy, a risk to jobs'. But the IFS also raised major questions about the Tories' spending plans. It said they involved 'substantial and almost entirely unspecified spending cuts and tax increases', and warned they could mean 'further real cuts to unprotected departments of around £30billion'. Tory plans for £12billion in welfare cuts have also not been spelled out in any detail. The IFS said the Lib Dems deserved a 'small tick' for being the most transparent – although they were also criticised for failure to spell out £12billion of planned spending cuts. Chancellor George Osborne said: 'Saving money means taking the difficult decisions so we reduce our debt and keep our economy out of crisis and on an even keel.' But Mr Balls said: 'The IFS has confirmed that the Tories are committed to the most extreme spending plans of any political party, with bigger cuts than any other advanced economy in the next three years.' Nick Clegg said it confirmed the Tories plan a 'cuts bombshell', adding: 'We will cut substantially less than the Conservative plan to cut many public services to the bone and borrow less than the reckless plan from Labour.' All three of the main parties' education spokesmen revealed they would have no problem with the next education secretary sending their children to private school. The BBC's Daily Politics presenter Andrew Neil asked the trio if such a choice would be 'acceptable for an education secretary'. Labour's Tristram Hunt, who was privately educated, said: 'Yes. In certain circumstances.' Two of his three children go to a state primary school in North London, with the third expected to go to the same school. But he has not ruled out switching them to independent schools. Privately educated Schools Minister David Laws – who has no children – immediately said 'yes' to the question. And Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who was privately educated but sends her son to a state primary school, replied: 'Yes, you do what's right for the child.' Ukip's Jonathan Arnott and the Green Party's James Humphreys also agreed there was no problem with a future education secretary sending their children private – though Mr Arnott added it would be an 'indictment' of the quality of state schools. Only 7 per cent of children in the UK are privately educated. Ukip has pledged to bring back grammar schools by converting some comprehensives, but Mrs Morgan said it would be a 'step backwards'. The rare frankness about whether they would opt for a private education for their children is in stark contrast to the controversy sparked by Labour Left-winger Diane Abbott sending her son to the exclusive fee-paying City of London School. Miss Abbott had previously criticised Harriet Harman, now Labour's deputy leader, for sending her children to a selective grammar school. Many politicians on the Left have managed to get their children into elite state schools. Both Tony Blair – who converted to Catholicism after standing down – and atheist Nick Clegg, bagged places at leading London Oratory for their children. Both men are married to Catholics.", "Labour risks being out of power until 2030 if Ed Miliband fails to win next year’s election, former Cabinet minister David Blunkett has warned. In a stark message to the party, the ex-Home Secretary claimed Labour would be left in the ‘wilderness for as much as 15 years’ if the Tories remain in power in 2015. The blunt message came as pressure mounts on Mr Miliband, after a string of gaffes and dire opinion polls which suggest voters do not think he is up to the job of being Prime Minister. Former Home Secretary David Blunkett warned defeat in 2015 for Ed Miliband would leave Labour in the 'wilderness' for 15 years . With less than a year to go, senior Labour figures have begun to voice doubts about Mr Miliband’s ability to seal the deal with the electorate. Mr Blunkett insisted he thought Mr Miliband could win the election and was the 'only man' for the job of leading the party. But he issued a warning that if Labour loses next year, the party will be out of office for a generation. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think we would be in the wilderness for as much as 15 years because all the changes that the Conservative majority government would bring in would actually not be about fairness or equity or even sharing power, it would be about excluding the Labour Party. ‘We are talking about the future of the people we care about, we are talking about how we handle continuing levels of austerity and fairness, and whether the rich get richer and those at the very, very sharp end of austerity measures, the loss of public services gets worse. ‘Yes, we are talking about whether the vehicle for achieving everything that I stood for, and I have been in the Labour Party for 51 years, would be made that much more difficult by victory in 2015 by the Conservatives.’ The blind former home secretary told his local party in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough that he would not seek re-election in next year's contest, ending a career as an MP which began in 1987. Labour is ahead in the opinion polls but voters are less impressed with Mr Miliband as a leader . Just 11 per cent of people think Mr Miliband is a strong leader and only 21 per cent say he is up to the job of being Prime Minister . Meanwhile John Denham, a former frontbencher trying to win back support in the south of England, warned the party is losing working class voters. He told a One Nation conference on June 5 that warned that working-class voters 'don't believe they are in any story that Labour is telling about the future of this country', the Sunday Times reported.. ‘They can list lots of other people that they think are in Labour's story, but not them. And it's not a matter of having a policy for this or for that, but actually including them legitimately in the story and saying: 'You are part of the people that we're here for. He added: 'If they're not part of our story I don't know what the Labour party is for.' A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times showed just 11 per cent of people think Mr Miliband has been a strong leader, 21 per cent say he is up to the job of being Prime Minister and only 25 per cent think he is in touch with ordinary people . To add to the sense of crisis, former leader Neil Kinnock rushed to Mr Miliband’s defence. Lord Kinnock, who led Labour to two crushing defeats in the 1980s and 1990s, praised Mr Miliband’s ‘great personal and political courage’. In an interview with The Observer, Lord Kinnock blamed the media for the leader’s woes and hit out at the 'vindictiveness' of the press. But he added: 'It won't stop him; his genuine strengths of thought, action and toughness will get through and help to win victory.' Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock (left) and shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna (right) have leapt to Mr Miliband's defence . Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna took to the airwaves to defend his leader as a 'man of great beliefs'. Mr Miliband has faces claims he has developed big political concepts but fails to connect with voters on a day-to-day basis. Mr Umunna told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'We are not playing some game of Celebrity Big Brother. We are talking about big issues that are affecting all of our different communities - how are we going to pay our way in the world, how are we going to ensure that everybody can achieve their dreams and realise their aspirations? 'If Ed is guilty of focusing on the issues that people really care about and taking a serious, deep, hard long look at what needs to happen in our economy to change it, then fine. 'Because that is what he is seriously focused on.'" ]

[ "The new concert film Horses: Patti Smith And Her Band captures Patti Smith performing the classic album Horses in full in Los Angeles, to celebrate that album’s 40th anniversary. Last night, the movie had its big premiere at New York’s Beacon Theatre, as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. Smith and her band performed at the premiere, playing a short set that included a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” And she also brought out a couple of famous friends to join her.\nFirst up was Bruce Springsteen, who came out onstage to the sort of cheers that must happen everytime Springsteen shows up anywhere, especially in the New York tristate area. Springsteen sang and played guitar on “Because The Night,” the 1978 song, which Smith and Springsteen co-wrote and which remains Smith’s best-known song.\nSpringsteen also stuck around for the show-closing rendition of Smith’s 1988 song “People Have The Power,” which Smith dedicated to the kids from Parkland, Florida who are lobbying to change our nutso gun laws. (Smith also recently sang the song on The Tonight Show.) And Smith’s close friend and booster Michael Stipe, the former R.E.M. frontman, also came out to help sing the song. It’s a measure of Smith’s elemental power, as a performer, that neither Springsteen nor Stipe overshadowed her. Below, watch fan-made videos of those two performances.\nAnd while we’re at it, here’s a trailer for Horses: Patt Smith And Her Band:\nHorses: Patti Smith And Her Band will be streaming on Apple Music 5/22." ]

[ "(Reuters) - Bruce Springsteen is headed to Broadway for an eight-week solo theater run that he says will feature \"just me, the guitar, the piano and the words and music.\"\n\"Springsteen on Broadway\" will start Oct. 3 in a 960-seat theater, in stark contrast to the vast stadiums the singer-songwriter plays on his world tours, promoters said on Wednesday.\nFILE PHOTO - Bruce Springsteen performs during The River Tour at the LA Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on March 17, 2016. Mario Anzuoni/File Photo\nSpringsteen, 67, is expected to perform songs from across his 40-year career, interspersed with readings from his 2016 memoir \"Born to Run.\"\n\"I wanted to do some shows that were as personal and as intimate as possible,\" Springsteen said in a statement. \"Some of the show is spoken, some of it is sung. It loosely follows the arc of my life and my work.\"\nNew Jersey-born Springsteen and his E Street band have become one of the most iconic U.S. rock bands of the past 40 years, releasing music like \"Thunder Road\" and \"Glory Days\" that capture the dreams and disappointments of ordinary working Americans.\nSpringsteen's 2016-17 world tour with the E Street band was one of the top 10 music tours of the last five years, grossing more than $306 million, according to touring publication Pollstar.\nTickets for the Broadway show, which runs until Nov. 26, go on sale to pre-registered fans on Aug. 30.", "On Saturday night (April 21), The Heartbreakers gave their first live performance since Tom Petty’s passing.\nNot only did Mike Campbell (who will join Fleetwood Mac along with Neil Finn, taking Lindsey Buckingham’s spot on their upcoming tour), Steve Ferrone, and Benmont Tench reunite but they brought out several other music giants.\nSpecifically, they performed their 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down” with Stephen Stills. Additionally, Beck took the stage to perform his songs “Guess I’m Doing Fine” and “Where It’s At” alongside The Heartbreakers, while Patti Smith joined the band to play her song “Because The Night.”\nWatch it all go down in the fan-shot footage below!\nThe reunion was held during the Light Up The Blues show to benefit Autism Speaks. According to Stereogum, other performers included Burt Bacharach, Judy Collins, Sheryl Crow, and Neil Young.", "It's commonplace at the outset of a new year to make resolutions. Generally, these fall by the wayside faster than you can say \"Exercise more.\" So, if you're looking for a way to cement your self-actualization in 2017 (for real this time, you swear), may we recommend taking an hour of your day to check out Bruce Springsteen on Marc Maron's WTF? Once solely the providence of comedians talking shop, Maron's podcast has of late found a common language with musicians, too. The effects are often marvelously revealing, and that's certainly true here. Maron traveled to his, and Springsteen's, home state of New Jersey — and more specifically, to the Springsteen compound — for the interview, and recorded in Springsteen's own studio (where Maron says, he was left alone and yet didn't touch any guitars. Restraint!).\nThe result is a deeply personal hour of conversation about family, love, fathers (always rich territory for Maron), and the \"un-American\" tendencies of Donald Trump. But the prevailing theme is, as the ever-poetic Springsteen puts it, what it means to build the project that is your life — because, and in spite of, the forces that may conspire against you. And by the way, Springsteen says, it's those very forces that will make you who you are, if you let them: \"If you're lucky, it's fuel for the fire,\" he tells Maron. \"People generally don't end up in my circumstance who had these placid, loving, very happy fulfilled lives. It's not how you become a rock and roll star.\" He goes on to say that it was the \"chaos, tumult, disastrous relationships, humiliation, disempowerment, [and] weakness\" that forged his own creative fire. So you heard it here: In 2017, resolve to embrace the chaos and tumult — Trump and all — and eventually you, too, will be Bruce Springsteen.", "Bruce Springsteen has released his August 23, 2008 concert, recorded during the E Street Band’s tour in support of Magic. The show took place at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The blurb on the concert’s listing reads, “On the 2007-08 Magic tour, fans began bringing song-request signs. Bruce seemed to revel in the challenge, while the suggestions also appeared to inspire him to resurrect songs he hadn’t played in decades. There’s no finer show to capture this fan-artist dynamic than this outstanding performance in St. Louis on 8/23/2008 including the surprise opener of the Crystals’ “Then She Kissed Me” and Chuck Berry’s “Little Queenie” during the encore.” This marks the first archival concert from Springsteen this year. The new release follows a November 22, 2009 concert from the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York that was released just prior to Christmas. Copyright(c) 2017 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedLess «", "Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway show sees the veteran rocker showcase his greatest hits while taking subtle shots at President Donald Trump.\n“Springsteen on Broadway,” which is in the midst of a seven-month run in New York City, has reportedly featured the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s criticizing President Trump without saying his name.\n“I’ve seen things over the past year on American streets that I thought were resigned to other, uglier times,” Springsteen said at a recent show, Variety reports. “Folks trying to normalize hate, calling upon the most divisive, ugliest ghosts of our past. I hope we’re just going through a terrible chapter in the battle for the soul of our nation.”\nThe Boss bashing President Trump is not knew, as the 23-time Grammy-winner repeatedly tore into Trump through the presidential campaign.\nSpringsteen made headlines in September 2016 when he dedicated a song to a concertgoer who handed the rocker a pocket Constitution with the words “Fuck Trump” written on it.\nWeeks later, the E Street Band leader ripped then-presidential candidate Trump, calling him a “moron” whose candidacy is “tragic” for America.\n“The republic is under siege by a moron, basically. The whole thing is tragic,” Springsteen said at the time. “Without overstating it, it’s a tragedy for our democracy. When you start talking about elections being rigged, you’re pushing people beyond democratic governance. And it’s a very, very dangerous thing to do. Once you let those genies out of the bottle, they don’t go back in so easy, if they go back in at all.\nJust days before the presidential election, Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi joined President Obama and Hillary Clinton at a last minute election-eve rally.\nFollow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson", "Musician Bruce Springsteen walks to his seat before a ceremony awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to various receipients in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria\nRecording artist Bruce Springsteen performs during a campaign event for U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. November 7, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria\nNEW YORK Bruce Springsteen talked on Friday about his struggle to live in the real world rather than inside the lyrical songs he has composed over his 40-year career.\nThe \"Born to Run\" musician, who revealed in a 2016 memoir that he had struggled with depression, called rock songs \"three minutes of bliss and life compressed.\"\nHe told a Tribeca Film Festival audience during a conversation about his career that he had sometimes seen his music \"as a life preserver and as a safe space - you think you can live there.\"\nBut Springsteen, 67, said that no artist could live only within his art.\n\"At the end of the day it's just your job and just your work and life awaits you outside of those things. ... So that took me a long time to learn that lesson - thanks Patti- and it was a tremendous struggle for me,\" he added, referring to his wife of 25 years, Patti Scialfa.\nSpringsteen spoke of his early days in music in New Jersey, buying his first guitar at age 15, and being a \"stone-cold draft dodger\" during the Vietnam War - a period that informed much of his writing, including one of his best known but most misunderstood songs, \"Born in the U.S.A.\"\nSpringsteen said he had come to terms with people misinterpreting the 1984 song as patriotic. It was played, without his permission, during Donald Trump's rallies during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.\nIn rock songs, he said, \"People hear the music, the beat, then they hear the chorus, and if they have the time or the inclination, maybe they get into some of the verses.\n\"That's the way the political rock and roll ball bounces. It's one of those things,\" Springsteen said.\n(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Leslie Adler)", "Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 'Springsteen on Broadway' debuts at the Walter Kerr Theatre Chris Jordan\nBruce Springsteen as photographed by Frank Stefanko during \"The River\" sessions. (Photo: Frank Stefanko)\nFrank Stefanko paid a visit to an old friend in April.\nBruce Springsteen at the Boss’ home in Colts Neck. Stefanko, an acclaimed music photographer, needed some fresh pics for his new book, “Bruce Springsteen: Further up the Road.”\n“It was nice to work together with him again,” Stefanko said. “I wanted to do something recent that wasn’t a concert, like we used to do. Find a couple of places and do some portraits. Nice easy going shots. He agreed and invited me to Colts Neck.”\n“It was just like in the beginning, in 1978.”\nMore: Bruce Springsteen on Broadway: A Spirit in the Night SPOILER ALERT\nThat’s the iconic “Darkness on the Edge of Town” photo shoot Stefanko speaks of. How did he get there? Stefanko grew up in Camden with an interest in photography. He was a classmate of another Jersey music legend, Patti Smith, at Glassboro State College, now called Rowan University. He started taking pictures of Smith in the ‘60s before she became a star.\nFrank Stefanko (Photo: Frank Stefanko)\nWhen Springsteen was ready to reemerge to the world in 1978 after a hiatus due to a managerial lawsuit, he became aware of Stefanko’s work through Smith.\n“Patti was working on ‘Easter’ at the Record Plant in New York and Bruce was working on ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ at the Record Plant,” Stefanko said. “In between takes, Patti lived in the Village and Bruce would go over there a couple of times to hang out. He was looking through Patti’s photographs of all the famous photographers who have photographed her, and he saw my stuff and he felt like that was the feeling he wanted for his characters on ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town.’ He asked Patti if I would photograph him and he called me up and I said, of course, and that’s what started it all.”\nSpringsteen drove to Stefanko’s former home on Colonial Avenue in Haddonfield. The cover of “Darkness,” the famous T-shirt and wallpaper shot, was taken inside Stefanko’s home, and the famous “Corvette Winter,” which depicts Springsteen leaning on his Corvette, was taken outside the house.\nMore: Bruce Springsteen's summer bar tour rocked the Shore in 1982\n“Frank’s photographs were stark,” said Springsteen of Stefanko’s work in “Born to Run.” “His talent was he managed to strip away your celebrity, your artifice, and get to the raw you.”\n“His pictures captured the people I was writing in my songs and showed me the part of me that was still one of them. We had other cover options (for ‘Darkness’) but they didn’t have the hungriness of Frank’s pictures.”\nBruce Springsteen photographed in 2017 by Frank Stefanko. (Photo: Frank Stefanko)\n“Corvette Winter” was later used as the cover for Springsteen’s memoir, “Born to Run.”\n“We both came from working class families, we both had Italian mothers, and non-Italian father, we both loved the Jersey Shore, and the ocean and Pine Barrens but we also like the same music,” said Stefanko of their working relationship, which would also include the cover for 1980’s “The River.” “When I work with him, I see him for who he is. Almost 40 years now, when he had a little bit of money, to now, when he has a lot of money, he is still the same person. He’s a very sensitive, caring artist. Look at him, even though he’s now 68 years old, I look at him like he’s in his 20s. I’m a couple of years older than him.”\nMore: Bruce Springsteen on Asbury Park: I never thought I'd see it come back to life\nThe two have had a steady working relationship since the “Darkness” shoot. A little-seen 2004 session intended for “Devils and Dust” is included in “Further up the Road.”\n“‘Devils and Dust,’ Danny Clinch got that album,” Stefanko said. “Originally, I wasn’t real happy with (the photos Stefanko took) because Bruce had just come off stumping for John Kerry (in the Vote for Change tour) and John Kerry had lost the presidency and Bruce was exhausted from stumping around and also disappointed that George Bush was going to be the president. I kind of caught him in a down period. He didn’t have a lot to be happy about right at that moment when we scheduled the shoot and it kind of comes out a little bit in some of the shots.”\n“I pulled them out years later and looked at them again. One of the things is he had his hair slicked back a little bit and I said, ‘You know what, I wished I messed up your hair so you would look kind of edgy.’ In any event, he laughed at that. In retrospect, when I pulled them out and looked at them for this new book, you know what, these are good. They aren’t bad at all.”\nStefanko has lived a bit of a double life all these years. While he’s taken some of the most famous photographs ever shot of rock stars, he’s also held down a 9-to-5 as a food broker. He lives with his family in Palmyra.\n“Further up the Road” is 400 pages of more than 1,000 photographs, the majority of them unpublished. Italy’s Wall of Sound Editions is issuing 1,978 copes (for the year 1978), 350 as a deluxe edition ($630) and the rest as a collector’s edition ($380), all signed by Stefanko with an introduction by Springsteen. It’s being printed on heavy-weight paper and bound by Grafiche Milani, the master printers of Milano, Italy.\n\"Bruce Springsteen: Further up the Road\" by Frank Stefanko (Photo: Courtesy of Frank Stefanko)\nStefanko will have three simultaneous “Further up the Road” shows at the Morrison Hotel Galleries in New York City and Los Angeles, and the Wall of Sound in Italy.\n“We didn’t plan this, but we’re having a gallery show at Morrison Hotel Gallery in SoHo in New York, opening up Nov. 9 and it runs through November in the prime of Bruce’s Broadway show (‘Springsteen on Broadway’), so there’s going to be a lot pf people, believe it or not, coming in from all over the world for this,” Stefanko said.\nEmail rsvpnyc@thepresshouse.com for an invite to the Nov. 9 opening.\nSpringsteen’s appeal to much of the world is that of the the American archetype — hard-working, humble, powerful. It’s an image captured magnificently by Stefanko over the years.\n“Bruce’s appeal is the everyman, everywhere,” Stefanko said. “I talk to people all over the world and they know his songs. He appeals to everybody because he’s the common man.”\n“He gets to you.”\nChris Jordan: cjordan@app.com\nBRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: FURTHER UP THE ROAD\nRelease on Wednesday, Nov. 1\nWall of Sound Editions\ninfo@wallofsoundgallery.com\nRead or Share this story: http://on.app.com/2kqXDd7", "The documentary follows Smith and her band through two L.A. shows for the 40th anniversary of her debut album.\nThe people have the power to redeem the work of fools, but Patti Smith has the power to breathe new life into her most celebrated work, with surprises to spare.\nAt the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Horses: Patti Smith and Her Band on April 23, Smith, guitarist Lenny Kaye, her son Jackson and the rest of her musical outfit were the guests of honor as well as the headliners. After the credits rolled on the documentary, the screen flew up, revealing Smith and band performing with nothing more than the naked brick wall of the Beacon Theatre behind them.\nTo mark the 40th anniversary of Horses, her 1975 debut album, Smith recorded a new live version of it at New York's Electric Lady Studios before an in-studio audience, then hit the road to perform the album in full for packed theaters around the world.\nDirector Steven Sebring, who worked with Smith and company on his debut documentary, 2008's Patti Smith: Dream of Life, joined their caravan, and Horses: Patti Smith and Her Band hovers over a two-night stand in January 2016 at the Wiltern in Los Angeles.\nHorses: Patti Smith and Her Band is intimate, visceral and raw, and the choice to premiere it at the Beacon was smart: the theater is adored by musicians for its acoustics, and the exceptional sound design and Sebring's intuitive focus succeeded in transforming the documentary into an immersive experience in that space.\nBefore the screening, Sebring encouraged the audience to sing along, which they gladly did, especially for the calls-and-responses of \"Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)\" and \"Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Mer (De).\" The recorded rounds of applause and cheers from the Wiltern crowd echoed and crashed against the walls of the Beacon as if the two audiences had merged into one. Smith commanded the rapt attention of both crowds, and Sebring's lens fixated on details — stray strands of her silver mane; the lines on the palms of her outstretched hands; the angles her face folds into when she sneers — and stolen moments. Not an ounce of Smith's intensity was lost on screen, though Sebring provided ample laughs with a scathing exchange that had the rocker eviscerating a heckler screaming \"Take your top off!\" at the Wiltern: \"For you, right? Honey, I got better in the grave than you.\"\nThe hecklers were out in New York, too. Once the film portion of the program had concluded and the performance was underway, a man shouting in the balcony was addressed in kind. The tension dissolved with wry smiles from Smith, and she moved on to a cover of Buffalo Springfield's \"For What It's Worth,\" dedicating the '60s anthem to Jaclyn Corin, Emma González, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky and Alex Wind, aka the Parkland Five, a group of Marjory Stoneman Douglas students that have passionately campaigned for gun control and organized the March for Our Lives in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting at their school.\n“The Parkland Five are the fucking hope of this planet!\" she declared. \"Their cause is our future!\"\nThe cover wasn't the only curveball. After introducing the members of her band at the end of the night, Smith took a moment to thank other people in the audience and proceeded to send another thank you to someone offstage, waiting behind the curtain. Bruce Springsteen then sauntered out, and the two friends dove into \"Because the Night,\" the single written by Springsteen on Smith's third album, Easter. Springsteen stuck around, and Michael Stipe joined in for the grand finale of \"People Have the Power.\"\nAt one point, the instruments dropped out just before the final chorus, and Smith's was the only voice that rang out as her band and the crowd clapped the rhythm. Springsteen and Stipe were clapping along, too, just as fervently keeping the beat as the players beside them and the dedicated fans dancing in the aisles.\nHorses: Patti Smith and Her Band is the best kind of concert film because it transports you. Smith's bellows rang out in Los Angeles two years ago, but the strength of Sebring's work brings you back to the Wiltern so you can hear the wisdom and strength seared into her live show. Thankfully, the premiere of the documentary did the opposite. It forced us to be present, and that forced us to be grateful, as an album that gathers generations to sing along with idols and strangers is worth celebrating — especially if the woman who forged it is there to lead the chorus, with a few tricks up her sleeve.\nThis story originally appeared on Billboard.com.", "The Boss is Broadway bound.\nBruce Springsteen will make his Broadway debut at the Walter Kerr Theatre for an eight-week run in the fall, The Post has learned exclusively.\nSources say Springsteen will do a pared-down version of the set he usually performs in huge arenas and stadiums all over the world.\n“He wants to play a smaller house,” a theater source says. “He wants to try something more intimate, and he likes the idea of being on Broadway.”\nDates haven’t been finalized, but Springsteen will likely open in November. He’ll perform five times a week. Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns the Kerr, gave him a sweetheart deal he couldn’t refuse: no rent for the eight weeks.\nThe 975-seat Kerr has been empty since the musical “Amélie” closed in May.\n“He’ll keep the lights on in the building, and they’ll sell gazillions of dollars worth of booze,” a source says.\nSpringsteen will sell out the run in a minute, though whatever he makes will pale in comparison to the tens of millions of dollars he makes on tour.\nBut as one music source says: “He’s got all the money in the world. He can do what he likes.”\nSome insiders believe Springsteen’s Broadway gig may be a curtain raiser to another project — turning his best-selling memoir, “Born To Run,” into a musical. Several producers, dollar signs dancing in their eyes, approached Springsteen about adapting the book for the stage after The Post reported he was interested in the idea.\nIt could be a blockbuster along the lines of “Jersey Boys” and “Beautiful: the Carole King Musical.”\nBut that’s a long way off. In the meantime, you’ll be able to see the Boss “live and in person” at the Kerr this fall.", "Bruce Springsteen, who recently released his memoir Born to Run, guests on the latest episode of Marc Maron’s podcast “WTF.” Maron, who, like the Boss, was born in New Jersey, delves deep into Springsteen’s childhood and his relationship with his father. They reflect on how mental illness affected Springsteen and his dad’s bond, and how, unlike his father, Springsteen found a life “project” that steered him ahead. He also discusses the impasse in his life that led to the creation of Nebraska, as well as his fear and anxiety at the election of an “unamerican” president in Donald Trump. Listen or download it here.\nPrevious guests on “WTF” include Kamasi Washington, Joanna Newsom, Yo La Tengo, Steve Albini, David Byrne, the Thermals’ Hutch Harris (who discussed Springsteen), and more.\nRead “The Essential Recordings From Bruce Springsteen’s Live Archive” on the Pitch.", "This Week on The Disclaimer, WMSE's weekly half hour of culture chit-chat, we look ahead at the concert calendar for our annual spring concert preview. Joined by Milwaukee Record's Tyler Maas, who fills in for Ryan Schleicher, Matt Wild and I run through the shows we're most excited about, as well as some shows that raise red flags. Among the events discussed: Patti Smith, Brian Wilson, Gucci Mane, Milwaukee Psych Fest, Jay Som, Tobin Sprout, Billy Bob Thornton, Deafhaven and a performance of a Wings album without Paul McCartney. It's an unusual concert calendar, to say the least.\nYou can stream the episode below, and subscribe to The Disclaimer on iTunes.", "Please enable Javascript to watch this video\nHOUSTON -- Well look who is lighting up H-Town for this \"Week in Music with Scott Sparks.\"\nThe Breeders will be performing at the House of Blues on April 23,\nEric B & Rakim at House of Blues on April 24\nHaim will be playing at the Revention Music Center on April 25\nWhiskey Myers will be playing at House of Blues on April 26\nEric Church at Woodlands Pavilion on April 27\nDavid Byrne at White Oak Music Hall on April 28\nPink will be rocking it out at the Toyota Center on April 29 and 29\nJudas Priest at Smart Financial Centre on April 29\nJack Johnson will be performing at the Woodlands Pavilion on April 26\nThere is also plenty of new music and celebrity birthdays you must check out. Watch the video to learn more!", "Latest News from Vulture\n12 mins ago\nUnREAL’s Showrunner on What’s Next for Rachel and Quinn\n“I firmly believe that this is the love story of the series.”\n23 mins ago\nAlia Shawkat Calls Jeffrey Tambor Misconduct Allegations ‘Sad’ and ‘Strange’\n“It’s being handled the way it’s being handled.”\n11:09 a.m.\nWe Finally Have an Update on the New Tarantino Movie\nTarantino called the Pitt-DiCaprio pairing “the most exciting, dynamic star duo since Paul Newman and Robert Redford.”\n10:42 a.m.\nJanelle Monáe and Lupita Nyong’o Danced to ‘Make Me Feel’ Without You Last Night\nPlease enjoy 26 seconds of uninterrupted bliss.\n10:21 a.m.\nBhagwan’s Doctor Gives His Take on Wild Wild Country\nAnd that time Sheela tried to have him killed.\n9:52 a.m.\nAllison Mack Tried to Recruit Emma Watson for Her Alleged Sex Cult\nShe likened it to an “amazing women’s movement.”\n9:39 a.m.\nMelissa McCarthy Rapped Christina Aguilera’s ‘Dirrty’ on Carpool Karaoke\nWho knew McCarthy was such a big Redman fan?\n9:20 a.m.\nPatti Smith Brought Out Bruce Springsteen and Michael Stipe at Tribeca\nThe icon summoned some rock legends for a political post-documentary-screening performance.\n9:13 a.m.\nKanye West Raves His Way Into Trump Worship\nThe first step to freeing your mind is freeing it from any doubts you might be wrong.\n8:29 a.m.\nAmerican Idol Recap: It’s My Right to Be Hellish!\nIdol is shedding contestants like an Agatha Christie whodunit.\n7:56 a.m.\nUnREAL Season-Finale Recap: I Choose Me\nCan Rachel stay away from Everlasting for good?\n7:40 a.m.\nVanderpump Rules Recap: Knocking Boots\nI can’t talk about Brittany and Jax’s fake breakup anymore.\n12:56 a.m.\nThe Symbiote Is All Smiles in the New Venom Trailer\nThis is at least a little bit on you, Jenny Slate.\nYesterday at 11:57 p.m.\nOh Yeah, You’ll Probably Like That New Janelle Monáe ‘I Like That’ Music Video\nAnd if you don’t, well, that’s really more of a “you” problem.\nYesterday at 11:09 p.m.\nAaron Sorkin Addresses the West Wing Reboot Rumor We Will Never Stop Bringing Up\n“Incredibly, the show has a legacy. The last thing I would want to do is harm that.”\nYesterday at 11:00 p.m.\nGood Girls Recap: You Can’t Go Home Again\nWe better put Beth/Rio Make-Out Watch on indefinite hold.\nYesterday at 10:46 p.m.\nThe Wildest Stories Jamie Foxx Told at the Tribeca Film Festival\nIncluding the time Sidney Poitier and Oprah set him straight.\nYesterday at 10:05 p.m.\nThe Terror Recap: We Didn’t Start the Fire\nThe climax of “A Mercy” feels biblical in proportion.\nYesterday at 10:00 p.m.\nTheater Review: The Spangly Pleasures of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical\nIs it Ibsen? No. Does it work on its own terms? Absolutely.\nYesterday at 9:23 p.m.\nFast and Furious Cartoon Explodes Through Wall, Drifts Into Netflix Queue\nOr as DreamWorks should call it, Teenage Mutant Tony Toretto.", "Life on the road isn't something that most fans get to see.\nFor us, a show begins with the support act and ends with the encore, entirely bypassing the travel, the soundchecks, and the general exploration of touring life.\nTim Muddiman has spent time on the road with Gary Numan, splitting his time between solo work and experience with the synth pop pioneer and industrial godhead.\nRecently stopping past New Jersey with Gary Numan, Tim Muddiman took a few snaps, showing another side to touring life.\nA talented photographer, these snaps offer a different perspective, one fans very rarely get to see.\nCheck out the snaps up top...\n- - -\nJoin us on Vero , as we get under the skin of global cultural happenings. Follow Clash Magazine as we skip merrily between clubs, concerts, interviews and photo shoots. Get backstage sneak peeks and a true view into our world as the fun and games unfold.", "Latest News from Vulture\n5 mins ago\nCosby’s Wife Appeared in Court Today for the First Time\nHere’s what comes next in the sexual-assault retrial.\n2:30 p.m.\nThe Cast of All About Nina Plays ‘Super Common or Not So Common’\nHow likely is it that Common will mention his Oscar on set?\n2:16 p.m.\nJessica Chastain Fights Sexism With a Paintbrush in Woman Walks Ahead Trailer\nLoosely based on the real life of activist Caroline Weldon.\n2:09 p.m.\nHere’s When the Sense8 Finale Will Air\nA day of the week.\n1:53 p.m.\nThe Laura Dern-aissance Continues With This Trailer for The Tale\nThe Tale premieres May 26 on HBO.\n1:43 p.m.\nThis New Dating Series From the Bachelor Creator Sounds Wild\nThe reign of terror continues.\n12:31 p.m.\nFive Great Writers Discussing Five Great Books\nHari Kunzru, Jennifer Egan, Esmeralda Santiago, Imbolo Mbue, and Barry Jenkins discuss the five books vying to be this year’s One Book, One New York.\n12:24 p.m.\nAidy Bryant Is Getting Her Own Series at Hulu\nBut what does this mean for SNL?\n12:12 p.m.\nKevin Hart Roasts Himself, Stars in J. Cole’s Video About His Own Infidelity\nWhat are friends for!\n11:35 a.m.\nUnREAL’s Showrunner on What’s Next for Rachel and Quinn\n“I firmly believe that this is the love story of the series.”\n11:24 a.m.\nAlia Shawkat Calls Jeffrey Tambor Misconduct Allegations ‘Sad’ and ‘Strange’\n“It’s being handled the way it’s being handled.”\n11:09 a.m.\nWe Finally Have an Update on the New Tarantino Movie\nTarantino called the Pitt-DiCaprio pairing “the most exciting, dynamic star duo since Paul Newman and Robert Redford.”\n10:42 a.m.\nJanelle Monáe and Lupita Nyong’o Danced to ‘Make Me Feel’ Without You Last Night\nPlease enjoy 26 seconds of uninterrupted bliss.\n10:21 a.m.\nBhagwan’s Doctor Gives His Take on Wild Wild Country\nAnd that time Sheela tried to have him killed.\n9:52 a.m.\nAllison Mack Tried to Recruit Emma Watson for Her Alleged Sex Cult\nShe likened it to an “amazing women’s movement.”\n9:39 a.m.\nMelissa McCarthy Rapped Christina Aguilera’s ‘Dirrty’ on Carpool Karaoke\nWho knew McCarthy was such a big Redman fan?\n9:20 a.m.\nPatti Smith Brought Out Bruce Springsteen and Michael Stipe at Tribeca\nThe icon summoned some rock legends for a political post-documentary-screening performance.\n9:13 a.m.\nKanye West Raves His Way Into Trump Worship\nThe first step to freeing your mind is freeing it from any doubts you might be wrong.\n8:29 a.m.\nAmerican Idol Recap: It’s My Right to Be Hellish!\nIdol is shedding contestants like an Agatha Christie whodunit.\n7:56 a.m.\nUnREAL Season-Finale Recap: I Choose Me\nCan Rachel stay away from Everlasting for good?", "Over the weekend, rumors swirled after a photo of Jay Z and Damian Marley hanging out in Jamaica surfaced on social media. With the idea of a possible Jay Z album pervading the hip-hop scene, Marley added more fuel to the fire when he confirmed to Billboard that he and the Brooklyn MC recently worked together on some new music.\n“We did some work in the studio recently and he wanted to come to Jamaica to get a tour of the place,” Marley tells Billboard over the phone. “He’s been to Jamaica before, but never Kingston. So he wanted to come down to Kingston and asked us if we could have been there to show him around and give him a tour musically, in terms of our history in Kingston.”\nWhile Marley is currently on a European tour and focusing on his forthcoming album Stony Hill (dropping July 21), he acknowledged that the music will not live on his project, but possibly on Jay Z’s.\n“Well, I did some work with him for some stuff that he’s working on,” Marley says. “I’m not really sure of the details of his project in that sense, but we worked on some music together. I’ve been a fan of his music since he came out. We’ve never done any musical work together. So that was a joy to finally work together musically.”\nLast week, many fans questioned the possibility of a Jay Z album when cryptic 4:44 Tidal ads appeared around New York City and the Web. Once a trailer for 4:44 arrived, it turned out to be a film starring Mahershala Ali and Danny Glover, not a new Hov project.\nThis article originally appeared on Billboard.", "The tour will disembark at four additional stops on the east coast including, May 1 at The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA , May 2 at Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA , May 3 at Orpheum Theater in Boston, MA, and May 4 in New York, NY at The Town Hall. The TRANSATLANTIC SESSIONS will host special guest performers such as Alison Krauss, James Taylor, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rodney Crowell and Rosanne Cash, among others in each city .\nStart the conversation, or Read more at BroadwayWorld.com.", "Tuesday night — the night before the documentary “Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives” opens the Tribeca Film Festival at Radio City Music Hall with performances by Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson and Earth, Wind & Fire — Davis will host an exclusive dinner at Brooklyn’s River Café.\nExpected attendees include LA Reid, Lee Daniels, Rob Thomas, Pat Houston, Gayle King, Tamron Hall, Don Lemon, Regis Philbin, Jane Rosenthal and Kathie Lee Gifford.\nAlso expected are power attorney Allen Grubman, Martina Navratilova, Judy Collins, Isiah Thomas and Peter Fonda. The doc’s based on Davis‘ book, “The Man with the Golden Ears.”", "Pearl Jam rocker Eddie Vedder thanked Universal Music’s Michele Anthony for helping him through a “rough patch” that led to one of his biggest hits, when he presented Anthony with the UJA-Federation of New York’s Music Visionary of the Year honor.\nReferring to Anthony as “the woman in black” for her signature monochromatic look, Vedder quipped, “You’re more likely to find Johnny Cash in floral before Michele.”\nA guest told us: “He also recounted a personal ‘rough patch’ that Michele helped him through on the road at a Holiday Inn in Amherst [,Mass.]” — during which he and guitarist Stone Gossard holed up in the motel’s bathroom to write their hit “Daughter.”\n“Eddie said, ‘One thing about a Holiday Inn — the acoustics in the bathroom are incredible. The thick towels at fancy hotels are not good for sound.’”\nThe charity event at the Pierre brought in a record $1.8 million. Sharon Osbourne hosted for a power crowd including industry honchos Rob Stringer, Jason Flom, Allen Grubman, Irving Azoff, Daniel Glass, Ron Delsener, Jane Rosenthal and Lyor Cohen.\nSaid one music vet: “725 of NYC’s loudest were riveted by the toasts, the speeches and the honoree. It was mind-blowing . . . standing ovations at a luncheon. Two for [presenter] Gloria Steinem, two for Michele, one for Eddie.”", "At the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan on Monday night, Patti Smith opened for Patti Smith. After the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Steven Sebring’s concert film Horses: Patti Smith and Her Band, the screen rose to reveal Smith and said band launching into her incantatory 1979 single “Dancing Barefoot.” Before her next song, a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” that stripped the protest anthem of its hippie hokeyness, she praised the teenage gun-control activists from Parkland and urged the crowd to keep fighting. Then some guy in the balcony started screaming, and she defused the situation by asking if he needed the bathroom, advising that when she had to pee but couldn’t find a toilet, she simply sought out the nearest tin can.\nSurprise appearances from Bruce Springsteen and Michael Stipe came later in the evening, like generous parting gifts, but it was during this early portion of the show that Smith achieved Peak Patti. Spiritual, political, earnest, funny, unapologetically idiosyncratic, surprisingly pithy, and fiercely present, she may be an even more captivating band leader at 71 than she was in her youth. Somehow, though, her talents as a performer barely enter into her late-career mythos. Because she’s now so famous for her 1970s New York memoir, Just Kids, and her status as a patron saint of bohemians, it is possible to adore a version of Smith that has nothing to do with her music.\nAs if to map the distance between Patti the icon and Patti the artist, a fictionalized version of the former made her world premiere at Tribeca the day before the Horses event. Smith is a character in Mapplethorpe, a shallow biopic of provocative photographer Robert Mapplethorpe from filmmaker Ondi Timoner (of the great Brian Jonestown Massacre/Dandy Warhols doc Dig!) that was informed in part by Patricia Morrisroe’s controversial biography. But Smith plays a smaller role in the film than anyone who read about her 22-year relationship with Mapplethorpe in Just Kids might expect.\nAs written by Timoner and portrayed by relative newcomer Marianne Rendón, the gay artist’s girlfriend-turned-best-friend is all choppy hair, New Jersey accent, and charming bluntness, the archetypal carefree proto-punk. The film shows Patti urging Robert (Matt Smith) to break away from his rigid Catholic parents and talking the couple’s way into a room at the Chelsea Hotel, framing her as just another useful admirer he used and discarded. She has no interiority, and her own art is window dressing. After about half an hour, she’s gone, only to reappear for one scene near the end, when Mapplethorpe is dying of AIDS, to nurse him and soothe his tortured soul.\nTimoner’s stylish, earthy yet angelic Patti reflects the way Smith’s image has been flattened in the popular imagination. Like Joan Didion, she has been marketed in the 21st century as an Instagram hashtag, a face to adorn tote bags, and an ethereal downtown spirit guide (even as the old Chelsea is literally being sold for parts), when what really deserves attention is the power of Smith’s music, particularly her live performances. Horses: Patti Smith and Her Band is a necessary corrective to that narrative.\nThere’s nothing extraordinary about the concert film’s structure. Sebring, who took a long view of Smith’s life and career in 2008’s Patti Smith: Dream of Life, simply documents a pair of dates she played at L.A.’s Wiltern Theatre in January 2016. Capping off a tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of her classic debut, Horses, Smith and her bandmates (including longtime collaborators like guitarist Lenny Kaye as well as her son Jackson) perform the entire album in order. Midway through the set, she holds up the LP and ever-so-slowly narrates the process of flipping from side A to side B, interrupting the gag to poke fun at herself when she realizes that she’s forgotten to remove the record from its sleeve.\nInterspersed with the songs are a few behind-the-scenes vignettes from the Horses tour: Outside a café, a young French fan gives Smith some of his poetry to read, and she exhorts him that if he wants to be a great writer, he has to work hard at it. Shooing the camera away as she retreats into a bathroom adorned with Frank Zappa’s famous toilet poster, she quips, “I’m gonna have some frank moments with Frank.” Although the 77-minute film might have benefited from a few more of these scenes, Sebring chooses his offstage footage wisely, capturing the singular combination of seriousness, goofiness, and erudition that gives Smith’s songs and performance style such authenticity.\nOf course, the real magic happens onstage. In high-contrast close-ups that illuminate Smith’s wild white hair, Sebring captures her leading the heretic mass that is “Gloria: In Excelsis Deo” and fighting to ascend, arms and eyes raised to the heavens, at the climax of the epic “Birdland.” She shouts the three-part Burroughsian suite “Land” in a voice like a serrated knife, seemingly near tears by the end. (A rendition of the song after the movie, featuring a jab at GMO giant Monsanto among other topical asides, felt just as raw.) Joined by Flea for an energetic cover of the Who’s “My Generation,” which appears as a bonus track on several reissues of Horses, she tweaks a few lines: “Hope I live until I get old! And I’m fuckin’ old!”\nMost captivating of all is Smith’s face, which registers the bliss and ardor and ferocity—all of the great rock’n’roll moods—in songs that apparently mean as much to her now as they did when she wrote them. By updating her lyrics and introducing a track like “Elegie,” written as a requiem for Jimi Hendrix, with a list of all the visionaries we’ve lost since his death, she keeps her compositions vital. There are artists who halfheartedly tour their early albums for money, and then there’s Patti, who doesn’t seem capable of phoning in a single note.\nThat doesn’t make her a saint or a mascot; it makes her a real, electrifying, flesh-and-blood rock star, who everyone who only knows her from Just Kids should rearrange their lives to see in concert. Go for the sure-to-be-transcendent performance, stay for the moment when some neanderthal yells “Take it off!” and Patti Smith doesn’t miss a beat before shouting back, “Honey, I’ve got better in the grave than you.”\nHorses: Patti Smith and Her Band will stream on Apple Music starting May 22.", "Monday's MEDICINE BALL CARAVAN on KRVS (11am-noon Central Standard on 88.7FM locally or krvs.org) hits the newest from Son Volt, Parquet Courts, The Ed Palermo Big Band and The Microscopic Septet. Also: some Bill Charlap Trio, Patti Smith Group, Bruce Springsteen, Buzzcocks, King Khan & the Shrines, Paul Revere & the Raiders, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Calexico and Eels.", "He recently announced plans to unveil an intimate new stage show on New York City's famed Broadway, which is set to debut in October.\nAnd Bruce Springsteen appeared to be making the most of his time off beforehand on Monday, as he was spotted enjoying a lavish trip to Italy's breathtaking Lake Como with his movie star pal Robert De Niro.\nBruce, 67, and Robert, who is set to turn 74 on Thursday, appeared relaxed and upbeat as they were spotted leaving Cernobbio's popular Harry's Bar with their respective wives Patti Scialfa and Grace Hightower.\nScroll down for video\nThe Boss and The Godfather: Robert De Niro, left, and Bruce Springsteen, right, were spotted exiting Harry's Bar in Lake Como, Italy, on Monday afternoon\nThe smiling foursome were seen making their way into a waiting taxi as they prepared to be whisked off for a fun-filled day in the picturesque locale, where Hollywood actor George Clooney has long owned a home.\nLooking casually cool for the leisurely excursion, Born In The U.S.A. singer Bruce - affectionately dubbed The Boss - donned a light grey polo top with khaki chinos.\nShielding his eyes with a pair of metallic framed sunglasses, he added a flourish of colour to his ensemble with several bold bracelets.\nTaxi: The stars were seen boarding a taxi as they made their exit from the upscale hot-spot\nWives: Bruce's wife Patti Scialfa, left, and Robert's wife Grace Hightower, right, joined them\nCasually cool: Looking casually cool for the leisurely excursion, Born In The U.S.A. singer Bruce - affectionately dubbed The Boss - donned a light grey polo top with khaki chinos\nCarrying a black jacket in one hand, he stepped into the waiting vehicle ahead of The Godfather Part II star Robert, who donned a blue polo shirt and spectacles, while carrying a folded copy of a broadsheet newspaper.\nTheir wives added a touch of glamour to the proceedings, with Patti, Bruce's spouse of 26 years, wearing a flowing black sleeveless top with a stylish cream fedora.\nAlso wearing shades, the 64-year-old singer-songwriter and guitarist - who is a part of Bruce's E Street Band and shares three children with the rocker - accessorised with a collection of bold statement jewellery.\nPhilanthropist, actress and singer Grace - who shares two children with Robert, her husband of 20 years - wowed as she stepped out in a flattering black floral dress.\nStyle and Grace: Philanthropist Grace, 62, wowed in a flattering black floral dress and shades\nGlamour: Musician Patti opted for a flowing black sleeveless top with a stylish cream fedora\nWith her chestnut brown tresses styled in a sleek chin-length bob, she accessorised with angular sunglasses and a white leather handbag for her day out on the town.\nGrace, 62, and her Oscar-winning movie star husband Robert arrived in Lake Como last week with their children, days ahead of Bruce and Patti.\nLast week, Bruce announced plans to launch Springsteen on Broadway, which will open on October 12 and see him perform five shows a week through November 26.\nExplaining his move after decades of selling out stadiums, he said in a statement: 'I wanted to do some shows that were as personal and as intimate as possible.\nTrue blue: Actor Robert Robert donned a blue polo shirt and spectacles, while carrying a folded copy of a broadsheet newspaper\nJewellery: Patti accessorised her chic ensemble with a collection of bold statement jewellery\nSweet music: Singer-songwriter and guitarist Patti is a part of Bruce's E Street Band\n'I chose Broadway for this project because it has the beautiful old theatres which seemed like the right setting for what I have in mind.'\nNoting that the venue for the shows, the 960-seat Walter Kerr Theatre, is 'probably the smallest venue I've played in the last 40 years', he added: 'My show is just me, the guitar, the piano and the words and music.\n'Some of the show is spoken, some of it is sung. It loosely follows the arc of my life and my work. All of it together is in pursuit of my constant goal to provide an entertaining evening and to communicate something of value.'\nDowntime: Rock legend Bruce is enjoying some downtime before commencing his live shows on New York City's Broadway from October", "Kevin Smith stepped out to support his daughter Harley Quinn at the premiere of her new movie All These Small Moments!\nThe 47-year-old actor showed off his 32 pound weight loss while hitting the red carpet during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday (April 24) at SVA Theatre in New York City.\nKevin decided to shed the weight after suffering a massive heart attack back in February.\nHe was accompanied at the event by his wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith as well as the cast of the film including Molly Ringwald and Jemima Kirke.\nAll These Small Moments follows a teenage boy and infatuation with a woman he sees on the bus, which further complicates his already tumultuous adolescence.", "Kevin Spacey joined Billy Joel for a duet on “New York State of Mind”. This is one of my faves and Kevin Spacey is really good!!\nThis was this past Friday at Madison Square Garden. Can’t wait for Billy Joel at Busch Stadium in September! Click here for info.", "September 14th at Maverik Center\nFlorence + The Machine, St. Vincent, and Lizzo are coming to town, but tickets don’t go on sale until Friday. If you want to get in on the action a bit earlier, hop on the pre-sale starting May 31st at 10 am. Just head over to SmithsTix, click on “Local Presale” and use the code HUNGER.\nBAM! You have tickets before your mouth-breathing friends.", "- New Vision has a story here about WWE's three-show tour of South Africa, which concluded this past weekend. Strowman talked about visiting the country, noting that it was always on his bucket list.\n\"Africa is so beautiful, it has always been on my bucket list,\" Strowman said. \"There is so much natural beauty, the cultures are amazing. Everywhere we go we meet very passionate WWE fans, but here it was awesome.\"\n- Linda McMahon is the keynote speaker for the \"Salute to Small Business\" event next Wednesday, May 2nd, at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center at the University of South Carolina. Tickets are available here.\n- For today only, you can take 30% off orders and 20% off championship titles at WWEShop.com. There is no promo code necessary, just use this link.\nSee Also Harley Race On How It Was To Work For Vince McMahon In The 1980s\n- WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race was backstage at last night's RAW in St. Louis. The seven-time former NWA World Heavyweight Champion lives in the area. Natalya posted the photo below on Instagram with Race:", "She’s the Boss of the horse.\nJessica Rae Springsteen, Bruce’s daughter, looked absolutely smashing over the past weekend during a competition in the badlands of South Florida.\nThe 25-year-old Jessica Rae struck impressive poses while on and off of her mounts.\nThe leaderboard, however, wasn’t quite as pretty. Springsteen and Cynar finished 52nd out of 56 competitors Saturday at the Longines Global Champions Tour in Miami Beach.\nThe Class 13 event was taken by USA-born and world No. 2-ranked rider Kent Farrington.\nAlso down the leaderboard, at 40th place, was another familiar name to New Yorkers — Georgina Bloomberg, the 34-year-old daughter of former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, riding her horse Lilli.\nJennifer Gates, the 20-yeaer-old daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, and her ride Bardolino finished in 47th place on Saturday.\nSpringsteen, whose mom is Bruce’s wife, Patti Scialfa, had more glory the day before, when she and horse Davendy S finished in third place in the Class 9 event on Friday.\nGates and Bardolino finished 34th while Bloomberg and Manodie came in at 48th in that event.", "Since leaving the White House in January, the Obamas have taken some time off to enjoy themselves in warmer climates such as Palm Springs; the British Virgin Islands, where Obama was seen kitesurfing; and the private island Tetiaroa, once owned by Marlon Brando, where Mr. Obama has been holed up writing his White House memoir.\nBut most recently, he was spotted snapping a photo of his wife and former First Lady Michelle Obama on the 454-foot Rising Sun Yacht near the island Moorea in French Polynesia. The luxurious ship, owned by billionaire David Geffen, also had Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Rita Wilson and Oprah Winfrey on board.\nThe photo, which Mr. Obama apparently took on a tablet device, prompted an excited response from fans of the couple.\nBarack Obama is an Instagram Husband pic.twitter.com/OouLr7bjT2 — Madeline Hill (@mad_hill) April 16, 2017\n@mad_hill this is president obama right now pic.twitter.com/Bg5XUH3jAd — Gerald Kelley (@ALL_PRO_G) April 17, 2017\n#Outnumbered Obama hanging out on a yacht this weekend with Oprah Springsteen & Tom Hanks. What a crew — Mary Hoyt (@chasin_dwight) April 17, 2017\nGeffen often brings celebrities along for trips on his yacht, which according to Forbes is the world’s 11th largest and has its own basketball court.", "Prince performing at Super Bowl XLI in 2007. AP Not everyone watches the Super Bowl for the football: Last year, Lady Gaga's halftime show on Fox was viewed by 117.5 million people, which is nearly six million more than watched the New England Patriots' thrilling (or crushing) overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons.\nThe Super Bowl halftime show is a condensed stadium show that runs between 11 and 13 minutes and has featured headliners ranging from rock legends like Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty and The Who to pop divas Madonna and Katy Perry to R&B-leaning artists Prince, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Bruno Mars and this year's headliner, Justin Timberlake.\nThe halftime show wasn't always such a superstar-driven extravaganza. Before Michael Jackson upped the show's game in 1993, previous years' entertainment included Up with People, the Los Angeles Super Drill Team, assorted college marching bands, the Rockettes and Chubby Checker, salutes to Hollywood, the Big Band era and Duke Ellington. The 1995 show was dubbed \"Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye\" and featured Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Arturo Sandoval and the Miami Sound Machine. (Hey NFL, maybe they're all available next year…)\nAny \"best\" list is purely subjective and this one is no exception, but this reflects the opinions of many friends and acquaintances we've spoken with over the years, not to mention countless other online article like this one. Without further ado, our Top 10 (and bottom two) …", "CLOSE Opening of the Grammy Museum Experience at the Prudential Center in Newark.\nBob Weir (left) and Phil Lesh pictured during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Sunday, May 5, 2002, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Douglas Mason) (Photo: Associated Press)\nHere's a big reason to be grateful: Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, co-founders of the legendary jam band the Grateful Dead, are touring together in 2018.\nWith Weir on guitar and vocals and Lesh on bass, the six-show tour will mark the musicians' first time touring as a duo in their more than 50 years of shared musical history.\nTAKE IT EASY: The Eagles announce 2018 tour dates\nWeir and Lesh's tour begins March 2 and 3 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, followed by March 7 and 8 at the Wang Theater in Boston and March 10 and 11 at the Chicago Theater in Chicago.\nThe concerts are presented by Peter Shapiro of Brooklyn Bowl fame, and fans can register for the Ticketmaster Verified Fan presale at bobbyandphilduotour.tmverifiedfan.com.\nPresale tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 14. Tickets for all six shows go on sale to the general public 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 15, through Ticketmaster.\nMUSIC MAN: Randy Newman gets to the heart of 'Dark Matter' on tour\nTickets are $69.50 to $159.50 in New York City and $70.50 to $159.50 in Boston and Chicago.\nBob Weir (right) and Phil Lesh at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wis., Sunday, Aug. 4, 2002. (Photo: Associated Press)\nWeir and Lesh also are offering \"enhanced experiences\" that include premium seating, access to soundcheck, drink tickets, commemorative merchandise and more, as well as travel packages.\nFor information on tickets and these amenities, visit bobbyandphil.com.\nBoth Weir and Lesh have remained busy in recent years. Weir has been touring with fellow former Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann as Dead and Company, while Lesh tours with his Terrapin Family Band.\nRead or Share this story: http://on.app.com/2jyafzg", "Touring season brings about a lot of invigorating musical package deals, great artists hitting the road together. Some of the 2017 joint tours already announced that are among the most interesting and exciting are Garbage and Blondie, AFI and Circa Survive, Incubus with Jimmy Eat World, the hard rock dream package of Deftones, Rise Against and Thrice, husband and wife team Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, two of pop/rock’s smartest groups with Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows and many more.\nOne musical double bill that just wrapped is singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones and jazz vocalist Madeline Peyroux. The two hit the road for a month of dates, but Peyroux says the recently wrapped tour might not be the end of their collaborations as they are discussing an album together.\nThey also recorded two tracks together, covers of David Essex’s “Rock On” and “As Time Goes By,” from Casablanca. Monica Molinaro and I spoke with both Peyroux and Jones about the tour, finding a common bond on the road and the relationship between an artist and fans.\nSteve Baltin: After you recorded “As Time Goes By” do you have a different appreciation for the song?\nMadeline Peyroux: I do, I think that the opportunity of singing it usually means you can get inside the harmony more, really learn the chord structure and you can imagine other melodies and come back to the one that they’re working with and say, “Oh, okay, there’s a reason why that’s the way to do it or not or change it.” Of course, it’s a huge playground.\nMonica Molinaro: How did the tour come about?\nPeyroux: I don’t know if she remembers, but I met her at a jazz awards show in London over 10 years ago. But since then I’ve done double bills with her, a handful here and there. And it sort of happened because of our booking agents. We’re kind of getting to know each other on the tour. It’s fun. She and I are talking about making a record, that’s very exciting.", "Getty Image\nYou might have recently noticed a surge in anniversary stories about albums that came out in 1987: U2’s The Joshua Tree, Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction, Prince’s Sign O’ The Times, Michael Jackson’s Bad, George Michael’s Faith, and Def Leppard’s Hysteria are just some of the iconic blockbusters that came out that year.\n1987 was also a memorable year for pivotal albums by many of the most important alt-rock bands of the decade: The Replacements’ Pleased To Meet Me, The Cure’s Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, R.E.M.’s Document, Depeche Mode’s Music For The Masses, Dinosaur Jr.’s You’re Living All Over Me and The Smiths’ Strangeways Here We Come.\nWhat was it about 1987 that allowed for this thriving eco-system, in which superstars and up-and-comers seemed to be peaking at the same time? I called up Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone to talk about our favorite records of 1987, and determine which albums have proved most influential. What we found was surprising — for a long time, Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night and Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel Of Love were derided for their dated “very ’80s” production, but now they sound practically like contemporary indie-pop records. Also, Steve shares his crackpot theory about how years that end with “7” are always historically great.\nIf you like what you hear, please subscribe to Celebration Rock on iTunes, Audioboom, or Stitcher." ]

[ "1.1 million" ]

[ "DID", "the one of many hymns", "One Inspires Many", "One Too Many Mornings", "Mani", "Did Not Finish", "How Did We Get So Dark?", "Many, Many Times ''", "maintaining one or many websites", "one or more hosts", "Did It for the Party", "one or more assistants", "one or more rowers", "one or more layers", "one or more photographers", "one or more airlines", "one or more authorities", "one or more children", "one or more judges", "Sell This House", "one or more birds", "Nico Sell", "one or more experts", "cross-selling", "how", "The Selling of Joseph", "one complete copy of the organism's genome", "Solution selling", "Cut Copy", "difficult to sell", "copying pencil", "how many levels of management are present in the organization" ]

[ "Couples dance at a celebration" ]

[ "Cats dance together at a celebration", "An elderly couple in love is dancing.", "A couple dance surrounded by lights.", "Couples dance in a courtyard with a building in the background.", "A couple of people are dancing.", "A group of people dancing and having fun at a party with others in the background.", "Prisoners dancing in celebration", "A well-dressed couple is dancing together.", "An elderly couple dances alone on the town square.", "people walk in a well lighted market", "There is a group of people standing with others in the background.", "The couple is elderly.", "A couple of people dance", "Two people are dancing with other couples in a red lit room.", "The elderly couple died.", "A couple of people dancing the rumba.", "People danced around others.", "No, it's a couple other people.", "A couple celebrates in company.", "A couple are looking at each other while they dance.", "The elderly couple is in Ireland.", "The elderly gentleman is dancing.", "People are celebrating.", "the couple is dancing.", "An elderly couple is walking.", "An elderly couple is hospitalized.", "A couple dances", "People in Egypt celebrate by dancing, parades and eating.", "An elderly couple at the doctors", "They are dancing to the moon light.", "A couple of elderly people walking down an alley.", "Elderly people are not at all mocked by others." ]

[ "Elizabeth Edwards is ready to divorce John and air all his dirty laundry in court, sources tell the National Enquirer--a tabloid that's been surprisingly accurate when it comes to the Edwards scandal." ]

[ "Elizabeth Edwards, the estranged wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, died in North Carolina Tuesday morning, a family friend said.", "Elizabeth Edwards, the high-profile wife of former Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, died of cancer at 61 in her home in North Carolina yesterday, a family friend said.", "Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, has died after a battle with breast cancer, a family friend has said.", "Elizabeth Edwards, estranged wife to former presidential candidate John Edwards and a driving force behind his political career, has ``taken a turn for the worse'' in her battle against cancer and is not doing well, sources loyal to Mrs. Edwards told Fox News.", "Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former US Vice President candidate John Edwards, has been laid to rest in North Carolina, four days after losing her battle with breast cancer.", "Elizabeth Edwards said a virus had forced her to cancel a speech yesterday at the Pennsylvania Governor's Conference for Women in Pittsburgh.", "Months after announcing their separation, Elizabeth Hurley has finally filed for divorce from estranged husband Arun Nayar.", "In a morning show exclusive, Matt Lauer sits down with Elizabeth Edwards for her first television interview since separating from her husband, former two-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.", "CBS News has confirmed that the Edwards family, including husband John Edwards, former Democratic Presidential candidate, are now gathered with Elizabeth Edwards at the family home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.", "Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards, died on Tuesday at the age of 61 after losing a six-year battle with cancer during which she won widespread admiration for her tenacity and candour about the disease.", "December 7, 2010 Elizabeth Edwards, who won national celebrity for her stoic dignity in the face of terminal cancer and the public unraveling of her storybook marriage to one of America's most prominent politicians, died on Tuesday in Chapel Hill, NC She was 61.", "Elizabeth Edwards died at her North Carolina home surrounded by her three children, siblings, friends and her estranged husband, John, her family said.", "Former presidential candidate John Edwards, who won nationwide praise and sympathy as he campaigned side-by-side with his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, admitted in shame Friday that he had had an extramarital affair with a woman who produced videos for his campaign.", "Elizabeth Edwards was laid to rest Dec. 11 in Edenton, NC after a six year battle with breast cancer.", "Apr 05 According to reports by Radar Online, Sandra Bullock has the divorce papers ready.", "London, April 11 Reports have emerged that Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock has divorce papers ready against her allegedly unfaithful husband Jesse James.", "A Rielle Hunter and John Edwards wedding allegedly planned for 2011 has now been denied by a source close to the Edwards family.", "Elizabeth Edwards will be buried Saturday in a private service at Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, next to her oldest son, who was killed 14 years ago in a traffic accident.", "Three days after losing her battle with breast cancer, Elizabeth Edwards was laid to rest Saturday at a North Carolina church.", "British actress Elizabeth Hurley and Indian tycoon Arun Nayar have been granted a quick divorce in London High Court.", "Hollywood star Tom Cruise is reportedly ready to cut his links with Scientology to win back ex-wife Katie Holmes just months after their divorce was finalised.", "US Senator Edward Kennedy is to be awarded an honorary knighthood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.", "A family friend says Elizabeth Edwards has died of cancer.", "Aging Kentucky conman Edward Edwards is sentenced to two life terms in prison for killing a Wisconsin couple 30 years ago.", "Former presidential candidate John Edwards says separation from his wife is an ``extraordinarily sad moment.``", "US actor Kiefer Sutherland has been granted a divorce from his estranged wife Elizabeth Kelly Winn, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles.", "It's already been 16 months since their split and Demi Moore is finally ready to officially divorce Ashton Kutcher.", "The wife of an ex-aide to John Edwards is expected to retake the witness stand after she broke down when recounting how the former presidential candidate asked her husband to falsely claim paternity of the baby carried by the politician's pregnant mistress.", "John Edwards has asked a judge not to destroy a sex tape he made with his former mistress Rielle Hunter that was slated for destruction under a settlement reached last week, WRAL-TV reported.", "Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards today admitted to an extramarital affair while his wife was battling cancer.", "Charlie Sheen has filed for divorce from his third wife, Brooke Mueller, a week after he was released from a New York hospital following an alleged alcohol-fueled rampage at an upscale hotel.", "Amid allegations of excessive cocaine use, dalliances with porn stars and trashing hotel rooms, Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller have filed for divorce." ]

[ "Litigation The process of resolving disputes by filing or answering a complaint through the public court system. The nature of this complaint (including the probable outcome for each side) becomes the basis for any settlement negotiatons." ]

[ "Definition of Litigants in the Legal Dictionary - by Free online English dictionary and encyclopedia. What is Litigants? Meaning of Litigants as a legal term. What does Litigants mean in law?", "Define Litigants. Litigants synonyms, Litigants pronunciation, Litigants translation, English dictionary definition of Litigants. n. A party engaged in a lawsuit. adj. Engaged in a lawsuit. n a party to a lawsuit adj engaged in litigation n. 1. a person engaged in a lawsuit. adj.", "Topics A-Z. 1 Assessment of the Litigations Hold Notice. 2 Definitions. 3 Exhibits. 4 Institution’s Notification of Federal Litigation. 5 Introduction. 6 Litigation Hold Application. 7 Publication of the Litigation Hold Notice Procedure. 8 Purpose. 9 Purpose of a Litigation Hold Notice.", "• Recognized in the 2016 and 2015 editions of Benchmark Canada - The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys as a Local Litigation Star: British Columbia and a Litigation Star: Class Actions, Commercial, Product Liability.", "Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Pendente lite is a Latin term meaning awaiting the litigation or pending the litigation which applies to court orders which are in effect while a matter is pending.", "Definition of interpleader. : a proceeding to enable a person to compel parties making the same claim against him to litigate the matter between themselves.", "Pre-Lit Paralegal Definition. Pre-lit, short for pre-litigation, is a subspecialty of the litigation practice area. It consists of all action taken on behalf of a potential plaintiff or a potential defendant before a complaint or petition is filed with the trial court.", "Pendente Lite Definition: Latin: during litigation. While litigation is ongoing. For example, if the validity of a will is challenged, a court might appoint an administrator pendente lite with limited powers to do such things as may be necessary to preserve the assets of the deceased until a hearing can be convened on the validity of the will.", "A litigation lawyer may specialize in personal injury lawsuits. A litigation lawyer may handle cases involving contract disputes. A litigation lawyer takes lawsuits to court and tries to win the cases.A senior litigation lawyer usually has four or more years of litigation experience. litigation lawyer may handle cases involving contract disputes. A litigation lawyer takes lawsuits to court and tries to win the cases. A senior litigation lawyer usually has four or more years of litigation experience.", "Legal definition for MATTER: Facts; substance as distinguished from form; the merits of a case. Matter in controversy, or in dispute. The subject of litigation; the matter for which a suit is brought an", "Legal Definition of realign. : to make new divisions or groupings of; especially : to regroup (one or more litigants) to reflect the true arrangement of interests in a suit.", "A litigant is someone involved in a lawsuit. The person who sues and the person who gets sued are both litigants. To litigate is to use the legal system, and to be litigious is to be prone to filing lawsuits. Litigant refers to someone who is part of a lawsuit. If you sue a doctor, you’re a litigant, as is the doctor. If your landlord sues you, you’re both litigants. A company can be a litigant too. Litigants require lawyers. In fact, without litigants, lawyers would have nothing to do. Lucky for them, there are many litigants in the world.", "Taking Your First Deposition | Litigation 101 | Practice Tools | ABA Section of Litigation; Your Client, a Creditor, Has a Claim Against a Debtor in Bankruptcy | Litigation 101 | Practice Tools | ABA Section of Litigation; Preparing a Bill of Costs | Litigation 101 | Practice Tools | ABA Section of Litigation", "Definition of AMICUS CURIAE. : one (as a professional person or organization) that is not a party to a particular litigation but that is permitted by the court to advise it in respect to some matter of law that directly affects the case in question. one (as a professional person or organization) that is not a party to a particular litigation but that is permitted by the court to advise it in respect to some matter of law that directly affects the case in question.", "Mark’s commercial litigation experience includes representing clients in replevin actions, foreclosures, collections, finance and banking contracts, construction lien issues, real estate litigation, real estate title insurance litigation, and probate litigation. Mark has considerable experience in banking litigation.", "Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: A legal hold is a process that an organization uses to preserve all forms of relevant information when litigation is reasonably anticipated.", "Definition of interlocutory: Injunction, judgment, or court order (issued before or during the course of a litigation) that is incidental to the trial and not a final disposition of the case. Latin for, pronounced between.", "Full Definition of LIQUIDATE. transitive verb. 1. a (1) : to determine by agreement or by litigation the precise amount of (indebtedness, damages, or accounts) (2) : to determine the liabilities and apportion assets toward discharging the indebtedness of b: to settle (a debt) by payment or other settlement.2.ull Definition of LIQUIDATE. transitive verb. 1. a (1) : to determine by agreement or by litigation the precise amount of (indebtedness, damages, or accounts) (2) : to determine the liabilities and apportion assets toward discharging the indebtedness of b: to settle (a debt) by payment or other settlement.", "Legal Definition of pendente lite. : during the suit : while litigation continues awarded joint legal custody of the child pendente lite pendente lite child support.", "Litigations Lawyer Responsibilities. Below is an overview of the diverse tasks litigation attorneys undertake during the course of litigation. These tasks vary based on the nature of the dispute, the experience level of the attorney and whether the litigation attorney is representing the plaintiff or defendant.", "Arbitration Clause Law and Legal Definition. Arbitration clause is a contract provision that mandates arbitration of disputes about the rights, duties, and liabilities of the contracting parties. This provision results in the avoidance of litigation.", "Select one. 1 Estate Litigation. 2 Firm News. 3 General. 4 Guardianship Litigation. 5 Personal Injury. 6 Probate Litigation. 7 Trust Litigation. 8 Uncategorized.", "Definition. A rule that an opposing party generally may not discover or compel disclosure of written or oral materials prepared by or for an attorney in the course of legal representation, especially in preparation for litigation.", "Pendente Lite Law and Legal Definition. Pendente lite refers to an order which is in effect awaiting the litigation (lawsuit). It is often used in divorce law to refer to to court orders such as temporary child support or alimony which are in effect until the case is tried, or rights which cannot be enforced until the lawsuit is over. Pendente lite matters are contingent on the outcome of the underlying litigation.", "About JustKapital. JustKapital Litigation Pty Limited was established by Philip Kapp and Tim Storey to offer an alternative litigation funding source for litigants in Australia and New Zealand.bout JustKapital. JustKapital Litigation Pty Limited was established by Philip Kapp and Tim Storey to offer an alternative litigation funding source for litigants in Australia and New Zealand.", "Typical Litigator Salaries. Litigators typically are on the higher end of attorney salaries. According to the BLS, attorneys involved in legal services, which is largely litigation-related work, earned a median wage of $116,550.Law Schools lists the average salary range for lawyers in the litigation and appeals specialty as $60,870 to $110,320.ypical Litigator Salaries. Litigators typically are on the higher end of attorney salaries. According to the BLS, attorneys involved in legal services, which is largely litigation-related work, earned a median wage of $116,550.", "Complex Wage and Hour Litigation. Seyfarth Shaw is recognized as the go-to law firm for helping employers avoid wage and hour litigation, government investigations and enforcement actions, and for defending them whenever litigation arises.omplex Wage and Hour Litigation. Seyfarth Shaw is recognized as the go-to law firm for helping employers avoid wage and hour litigation, government investigations and enforcement actions, and for defending them whenever litigation arises.", "California Statute of Limitations for Civil and Personal Injury Litigation Texas Statute of Limitations for Civil and Personal Injury Litigation New York Statute of Limitations for Civil and Personal Injury Litigation Florida Statute of Limitations for Civil and Personal Injury Litigation", "Injury Litigation - Find Local Personal Injury Lawyers [ Injury Litigation ] !!!", "Definition of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is the procedure for settling disputes without litigation, such as arbitration, mediation, or negotiation. ADR procedures are usually less costly and more expeditious.", "Greenspoon Marder, PA was founded in 1981. Since its founding, Greenspoon Marder, PA has grown to a size of 67 attorneys. Greenspoon Marder, PA is located in Broward County Florida. Practice Areas: General Civil Trial Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Securities Litigation, Title Litigation, Administrative Law, Governmental Law, Probate Litigation, Construction Litigation, Ad Valorem Tax Assessment, Real Estate Development...", "James B. Powers Construction Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation Selected to Super Lawyers 2007 - 2018 Harris, Karstaedt, Jamison & Powers, P.C." ]

[ "That '70s Show The show usually opens with the theme song, \"In the Street\", written by Alex Chilton and Chris Bell of the band Big Star. The original version of the song appeared on Big Star's 1972 debut album #1 Record. In 2000, Chilton confirmed that he was paid $70 in royalties each time the show aired, an amount he thought ironic, given the show's title.[8]" ]

[ "That '70s Show Both versions of the song used on the show end with somebody yelling \"Hello, Wisconsin!\" In Griffin's version, Masterson is the one yelling \"Hello, Wisconsin!\"[9] while it is unknown who yells it in Cheap Trick's version during the opening. On the soundtrack, That '70s Album (Rockin'), Cheap Trick's lead singer Robin Zander yells \"Hello, Wisconsin!\"[10] Alternate holiday versions of the theme song were arranged for Halloween and Christmas specials, using organ music and bells, respectively.", "This Life (song) Musician Dave Kushner, of Velvet Revolver, began collaborating with friend and producer Bob Thiele Jr. on the main theme song and end credit theme for the FX television series Sons of Anarchy.[2][3] Kushner originally wrote the riff with Shooter Jennings in mind before using it for the theme.[7] Thiele then contacted Curtis Stigers to write lyrics and sing the theme,[4] who recorded the song at Cunningham Audio Production in Boise, Idaho.[4] Show creator Kurt Sutter also cowrote the lyrics to the song.[6] When speaking about why he cowrote the theme for the show, Kushner stated that:", "Johnny Western He performed with Gene Autry and was a part of the Johnny Cash road show from 1958 until 1997. He wrote and performed the theme song \"The Ballad of Paladin\" for the CBS television program Have Gun – Will Travel, with Richard Boone. In collaboration with Johnny Cash, he re-wrote the lyrics of NBC's Bonanza and the theme song, \"The Rebel - Johnny Yuma\", from the ABC series The Rebel, starring Nick Adams.[3]", "Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? The show's catchy theme song, \"Whatever Happened to You\", was written by Mike Hugg (of Manfred Mann) and La Frenais and performed by Hugg's session band, featuring session singer Tony Rivers supplying the lead vocals. A group named Highly Likely subsequently appeared on Top of the Pops to promote the song, and participated in a short UK tour as a result, but Rivers was not involved in these appearances. The song made the lower reaches of the UK Top 40 in 1973. Mike Hugg also wrote the theme tune to the spin-off 1976 feature film, entitled \"Remember When\".", "It's Garry Shandling's Show The series' theme song was \"This is the Theme to Garry's Show\", sung by Los Angeles musician Bill Lynch.[2] The song's lyrics are self-referential, explaining how the song came to be (\"Garry called me up and asked if I would write his theme song\") and asking what the listener thinks of it.", "The Munsters The instrumental theme song, titled \"The Munsters's Theme\", was composed by composer/arranger Jack Marshall.[10] The theme song's lyrics, which the sitcom's co-producer Bob Mosher wrote, were never aired on CBS. Described by writer Jon Burlingame as a \"Bernard-Herrmann-meets-Duane-Eddy sound\",[11] the theme was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1965. A sample of the theme was used in the song Uma Thurman by Fall Out Boy.", "Dad's Army The show's theme tune, \"Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler?\" was Jimmy Perry's idea, intended as a gentle pastiche of wartime songs. It was the only pastiche in the series, as the other music used was contemporary to the 1940s. Perry wrote the lyrics himself and composed the music with Derek Taverner. Perry persuaded one of his childhood idols, wartime entertainer Bud Flanagan, to sing the theme for 100 guineas. Flanagan died less than a year after the recording. At the time it was widely believed to be a wartime song.[16]", "Jerry Fielding Fielding combined his film scores with television work, not an unusual combination at the time, particularly since the theme song for a hit television series could go on paying dividends for years, paying royalties every time it was played on the air. He scored two episodes of the first Star Trek television series: cult classic The Trouble With Tribbles and Spectre of the Gun. He also wrote the title themes for what became enduring 1960's shows of the network era: Hogan's Heroes; Run, Buddy, Run; He & She and The Bionic Woman. His last television theme tune was for the 1970 situation comedy The Tim Conway Show.[26] He also did notable work with Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974). His last television soundtrack, for the mini-series High Midnight, won an Emmy.", "Eight Is Enough For the show's first two seasons, an upbeat instrumental piece written by Fred Werner was used as the show's opening theme. Beginning with the show's third season, this was replaced by a slowed-down vocal theme titled \"Eight Is Enough,\" which was sung by series co-star Grant Goodeve. The song had music by Lee Holdridge and lyrics by Molly-Ann Leikin, and was first heard in a longer arrangement on the last episode of the second season titled \"Who's on First?\", which was also performed by Goodeve.", "The Ballad of Jed Clampett \"The Ballad of Jed Clampett\" was the theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies TV show and movie, providing the back story for the series. The song was written and composed by Paul Henning, and sung by Jerry Scoggins, who was accompanied by bluegrass musicians Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. When the theme was released as a single, Flatt sang lead vocals instead.", "Suicide Is Painless \"Song from M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless)\" is a song written by Johnny Mandel (music) and Mike Altman (lyrics), which was the theme song for both the movie and TV series M*A*S*H. Mike Altman is the son of the original film’s director, Robert Altman, and was 14 years old when he wrote the song’s lyrics. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the 1980s, Robert Altman said that while he only made $70,000 for having directed the movie, his son had earned more than $1 million for having co-written the song.", "American Bandstand Bandstand originally used \"High Society\" by Artie Shaw as its theme song, but by the time the show went national, it had been replaced by various arrangements of Charles Albertine's \"Bandstand Boogie,\" including Larry Elgart's big-band recording remembered by viewers of the daily version. From 1969 to 1974, \"Bandstand Theme,\" a synthesized rock instrumental written by Mike Curb, opened each show. From 1974 to 1977, there was a newer, orchestral disco version of \"Bandstand Boogie,\" arranged and performed by Joe Porter, played during the opening and closing credits.", "Silver Spoons The show's theme song titled \"Together\" was written by Rik Howard and Bob Wirth.[4] The original version was accompanied mostly by guitar. Two other versions of the theme were used during the show's run. A synthesized version was used in 1985. The third version of the theme, a rock version, was introduced in 1986 when the show moved to first-run syndication, with vocals by Ron Dante.", "Cyndi Grecco Cyndi Grecco (born May 19, 1952, in New York, New York) is an American singer who performed the theme tune to the popular 1970s American television show Laverne & Shirley. Titled \"Making Our Dreams Come True,\" the song (in which Grecco was accompanied by the Ron Hicklin Singers) was also put out as a single and charted at #25 on July 25, 1976. The song came out on the small Private Stock label (#45086). An album followed, though a second disco-themed single, \"Dancing, Dancing,\" failed to chart. She also provided the theme to another 1970s ABC television sitcom, Blansky's Beauties. Nevertheless, Grecco remains a one-hit wonder.", "One on One (TV series) The show's theme song \"Living One on One\", was written and performed by Shanice (wife of the series star Flex Alexander) and Tonex with music composed by Jonathan Wolff and Becky Kneubuhl (who composed the scene-change music for the first season). The theme song was slightly shortened and remixed by Detail and Ray J for the show's fifth season. A truncated version of the theme stripped of all lyrics except the words \"One on One\", was used as a closing theme, heard only in syndicated airings.", "Who's the Boss? The show's theme song, \"Brand New Life\", was written by series creators and executive producers Cohan and Hunter, with music composed by Larry Carlton and Robert Kraft. Three versions were used throughout the series' run, which were performed by Larry Weiss (1984–86), Steve Wariner (1986–89), and Jonathan Wolff (1989–92).[9][10] The third version was first used for the last eight episodes of season six, and a very minor revision of that particular version of the theme was used during seasons seven and eight.", "The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series) Carl Sigman wrote the words and music for the theme song which was sung by Dick James. The song is still fondly remembered:", "The Ballad of Jed Clampett \"The Ballad of Jed Clampett\" was the theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies TV show and movie, providing the back story for the series. The song was written and composed by Paul Henning, and recorded by bluegrass musicians Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, with Lester Flatt on vocals. The song was sung by Jerry Scoggins for the opening of the series. The single version, released to radio and retail sale, merged both the opening and closing lyrics of the theme song from the television series. The first two verses (starting with \"Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed\" and \"Well the first thing you know, old Jed's a millionaire\") comprised the opening theme, while the closing theme (\"Now it's time to say goodbye to Jed and all his kin...\") served as the third verse. A banjo-led bridge serves as the fill between verses and as the fade-out coda.", "The Suite Life on Deck The show's theme song, \"Livin' the Suite Life,\" was written by John Adair and Steve Hampton (who also wrote the themes for fellow Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Phil of the Future, and Wizards of Waverly Place, as well as the theme for the ABC Kids series Power Rangers: RPM), with music composed by Gary Scott (who also composed the music cues to signal scene changes and promo breaks, some of which are styled similarly to the theme), and is performed by British singer Steve Rushton (who is only credited for performing the theme in the second season).", "The Banana Splits The show’s theme song, titled \"The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)\", was credited as being written by Ritchie Adams and Mark Barkan; Adams and Barkan were music directors for the show. The song was released as a single, attributed to The Banana Splits, and peaked at number 96 on Billboard's Top 100 in February 1969.[9] The version included on the We're The Banana Splits album is the same recording heard at the beginning of the show, while the single version is an entirely different arrangement and recording of the song, featuring an additional verse.", "Barney Miller The show's instrumental jazz fusion theme music, written by Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson, opens with a distinctive bass line performed by studio musician Chuck Berghofer. The bass line was improvised by Berghofer at the request of producer Dominik Hauser: \"Can you do something on the bass? This guy is a cop in New York. Can we just start it out with the bass?\"[4] The theme song was ranked #23 and #27, respectively, by Complex and Paste magazines, in their lists of \"best TV theme songs\".[5][6]", "Ray Charles (musician, born 1918) As a vocalist, Charles, along with Julia Rinker Miller, sang the theme song to the television series Three's Company (\"Come and Knock on Our Door\").[4][5] As a songwriter, Charles was best known for the choral anthem \"Fifty Nifty United States\" in which he set the names of the states to music in alphabetical order. It was originally written for The Perry Como Show.[5] He is also known for \"Letters, We Get Letters\",[6] also originally written for Como's show and later used on the Late Show with David Letterman.[6]", "Mystery Science Theater 3000 The show's theme song, the \"Love Theme from Mystery Science Theater 3000\", was written by Hodgson and Weinstein, which helped to cement some of the broader narrative elements of the show, such as the Mads and Joel being part of an experiment.[7] The song was composed by Charlie Erickson with help from Hodgson in the style of Devo, The Replacements, and The Rivieras (particularly their cover of the song \"California Sun\") and sung by Hodgson.[7][8] Initial shows used foam letters to make the show's title, but they later created the spinning-moon logo out of a 2-foot (0.6m) diameter fiberglass ball, covered with foam insulation and the lettering cut from additional foam pieces. Hodgson felt they needed a filmed logo with the rotating effect as opposed to a flat 2D image, and though they had envisioned a more detailed prop, with the letters being the tops of buildings on this moon, they had no time or budget for a project of that complexity and went with what they had.[11] Musical numbers would also be used as part of the host segments, which Hodgson said came out naturally from the riffing process; they would find themselves at times singing along with the movie instead of just riffing at it, and took that to extend songs into the host segments.[7]", "Empty Nest The show's theme song was \"Life Goes On\", written by John Bettis and George Tipton and performed by Billy Vera. For the first three seasons, the song was presented in a slower, more melancholy yet comical arrangement. The original opening titles sequence showed Harry Weston taking Dreyfuss for a walk around town, with still images of the other regular cast members shown as they were credited.", "The Jeffersons Ja'net Dubois (from Good Times) and Jeff Barry co-wrote The Jeffersons theme song, \"Movin' on Up\", which was sung by Dubois with a gospel choir.[31] The song was covered by Sammy Davis, Jr., in 1978.[32]", "All in the Family The series' opening theme song \"Those Were The Days\",[23] written by Lee Adams (lyrics) and Charles Strouse (music), was presented in a unique way for a 1970s series: Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton seated at a console or spinet piano (played by Stapleton) and singing the tune together on-camera at the start of every episode, concluding with live-audience applause. (The song dates back to the first Justice For All pilot, although on that occasion O'Connor and Stapleton performed the song off-camera and at a faster tempo than the series version.) Six different performances were recorded over the run of the series, including one version that includes additional lyrics. The song is a simple, pentatonic melody (that can be played exclusively with black keys on a piano) in which Archie and Edith wax nostalgic for the simpler days of yesteryear. A longer version of the song was released as a single on Atlantic Records, reaching number 43 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 30 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in early 1972; the additional lyrics in this longer version lend the song a greater sense of sadness, and make poignant reference to social changes taking place in the 1960s and early 1970s.", "Happy Days (TV theme) The song was first recorded in 1974 by Jim Haas with a group of other session singers for the first two seasons.[4] These versions of the song were used only during the closing credits of Seasons 1 and 2, with an updated version of \"Rock Around the Clock\" by Bill Haley and His Comets used as the opening theme. The song was re-recorded in 1975 with different lyrics for both the opening and closing credits for Seasons 3 through 10. Pratt & McClain released the song as a single in 1976 from their album Pratt & McClain Featuring Happy Days. Bobby Arvon recorded an updated version of the song in 1983 for the opening and closing credits of Season 11, with the same lyrics as the version used for seasons 3-10.", "WKRP in Cincinnati The opening theme, a soft rock/pop number called \"WKRP In Cincinnati Main Theme,\" was composed by Tom Wells, with lyrics by series creator Hugh Wilson, and was performed by Steve Carlisle.[16][17][18] An urban legend circulated at the time that Richard Sanders (who had comparable vocal characteristics to Carlisle) had recorded the song. Wilson stated in the commentary for the first season's DVD set that this was simply not true. (Sanders would later \"sing\" the lyrics in a promo spot on VH1 for The New WKRP in Cincinnati, which parodied the U2 song, \"Numb.\")", "Sanford and Son Theme (The Streetbeater) \"Sanford and Son Theme (The Streetbeater)\" is the theme to the 1970s sitcom Sanford and Son. It was composed by Quincy Jones.", "A Different World The theme song was co-written by Stu Gardner, Bill Cosby, and Dawnn Lewis – who was also a cast member. In the online interviews related to the 2006 \"Hillman College Reunion,\" Lewis revealed that her being approached to write the song and to audition were two separate events that occurred within a short time of each other, such that she thought it was a practical joke by her friends. The song was performed by Phoebe Snow in season one, then by Aretha Franklin in seasons two through five, and Boyz II Men in season six.", "Welcome Back (John Sebastian song) \"Welcome Back\" is a popular record that was the theme song of the 1970s American television sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter. Written and recorded by former Lovin' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in May 1976 after only five weeks on the chart, and also topped the adult contemporary chart[1] (the show itself had become an instant ratings success upon its premiere the previous fall). It also reached No. 93 on the country chart.", "Baretta The theme song, \"Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow\", was written by Dave Grusin and Morgan Ames; initially an instrumental, lyrics were added in later seasons that were sung by Sammy Davis, Jr. Every episode of Baretta began with the song, which contained the motto, \"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.\" The song was released as a single in Europe in 1976, reaching number one in the Dutch Top 40 as \"Baretta's Theme\". The music for the theme song was performed by Los Angeles-based Latin influenced Rock band El Chicano from Los Angeles, California. El Chicano also released the song as a 45 and also as a track on one of their albums. The \"Baretta\" theme song by El Chicano was a huge hit in many countries including Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore, France and The Philippines." ]

[ "Allusions for Life by Emily Baalman on Prezi Mar 12, 2013 ... The resulting El Dorado enticed European explorers for two centuries. ... The Road to El Dorado is a 2000 American animated comedy film by...", "Saturday, September 19, 2009 - Disney and More Sep 19, 2009 ... Noting that Cook first enticed him with the Pirates movie idea and there's no firm ... We thank Dick for his tremendous passion for Disney, and his many .... Lord Henry Mystic, a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. ..... Discover Bagan, The Ancient city with 2000 Temples and download my...", "El Dorado - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia - Scribd ceremony which took place at the lagoon, they made a raft of rushes, ... which they burned much moque, which is the incense of these natives, and also resin and many ... were no golden cities, nor even rich mines, since the Muiscas obtained all their ... The resulting El Dorado enticed. European explorers for two centuries.", "\"The Road to El Dorado\" layout drawing by Seth Engstrom | Old ... TeamLava recently released Castle Story and we sat down with lead artist Carolina. ... The Road To Eldorado, Eldorado City, Eldorado Movie, Aztec Architecture, ... Design, Road To El Dorado, Yoriko Ito, Bg Interior, Aerin Ii, Golden City ...... of a legendary city of gold which enticed European explorers for two centuries.", "Jeopary Questions page 2067 - NOODLE DISHES - TriviaBistro.com ANIMATED HISTORY: In 2000 DreamWorks released \"The Road to\" this golden city that enticed many explorers THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR: After mobs..." ]

[ "el Dorado (City of Gold, encounterd by Avengers/Hulk) Apr 18, 2004 ... This flame provided warmth and energy for the city, and power beyond reckoning. .... tribe said to inhabit a region in the northern part of South America. ... His fabled golden city was sometimes referred to in the legend as Manoa or Omoa. ... The German adventurer Philip von Hutten in 1541 led an exploring...", "The 45 Places to Go in 2012 - NYTimes.com - The New York Times Jan 8, 2012 ... With these goals in mind, nestled along the banks of meandering Lake Inle in ... Across town, Warner Brothers Studio Tour will open the Harry Potter studios to .... companies like InterAsia, World Expeditions and the Luxury Travel Group. ... For much of the early 20th century, Moganshan, a bamboo-covered...", "Exploration | Article | World Book Student - World Book Online They traveled across a land bridge that connected North America and Asia. ... But many others think that these early Pacific seafarers planned their voyages of ... During the 300's B.C., he sailed up the coasts of Spain and France and around the ..... Other explorers searched for a fabulous golden kingdom in South America,...", "DreamWorks Animation - Wikipedia DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television programs and online virtual worlds. The studio has released a total of 32 feature films, including the franchises of Shrek, ... Films produced by DreamWorks Animation were formerly distributed...", "Jeopary Questions page 2113 - GREEK MYTHOLOGY - TriviaBistro ... RESORTS: Hope & Crosby traveled the \"road\" to this South American resort city by stowing away on an ocean liner BEST SELLERS: Melvyn Bragg used this...", "Road to ... - Wikipedia Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Each film is not simply a comedic film, but a satire of some of ... In 1977, an eighth Road to ... movie was planned, titled Road to the Fountain of Youth; however, Crosby died that ... In Sweden, the first film was given the title Tv glada...", "In Search of Emerald City | Alternet Mar 31, 2000 ... \"The Wizard of Oz\" turns 100 this year, but the strange urge to create a ... book -- from an opulent Oz at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas to .... visitors downed shots at the Winged Monkey Bar and pumped their ... best friend may live in another country and know you better than the kids who live next door.", "DreamWorks SKG: 'S' Came First, 'K' Got Animation - TheWrap May 28, 2010 ... Excerpted with permission from \"The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks,\"...", "All Roads Lead To Rome - English Club All roads lead to Rome, means that all choices, methods, or actions ... Stone mile markers told travellers how far they were from the next major city, and a Golden...", "of Golden - South Golden Road | My Local McDonald's 17500 S. Golden Rd., Golden, CO - Welcome to McDonald's! Discover all that of Golden - South Golden Road has to offer. You are in search of something tasty...", "Press Release Archives #221-00 - MAYOR GIULIANI HONORS ... Jun 14, 2000 ... ... Golden Globe awards, 4 Emmys, 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards and ... Among his many New York credits are: Fatal Attraction, Hair, Prince of the City, Fame, ... His New York credits include Oliver Stone's Wall Street, Kathryn...", "and he strode down the street with his mouth full of harmony and ... Jan 23, 2015 ... 1900. University of Virginia Library etext. Web. 1 October 2011. .... \"Having this thought in mind, the story of \"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz\" was written solely to please ..... 'The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick,' said the ...... There are five basic elements in a plot line: conflict, rising action,...", "The Pretenders - Wikipedia The Pretenders is an English-American rock band formed in Hereford, England, in March 1978. ... Shortly thereafter Gerry Mcilduff was replaced on drums by Martin Chambers and ... \"Middle of the Road\" was this line-up's first single, released in the US in ... The US B-side, \"2000 Miles\", was released as a single in the UK.", "J! Archive - Show #3779, aired 2001-01-25 In \"Road to\" this South American city, Bob asks Dorothy Lamour, \"How did you get into that ... I.M. Pei's L'Enfant Plaza opened to acclaim in this city in 1968...", "comments from 2000 ap lit exam, question 1 - HomeworkNOW.com --These two passages describe an encounter with the same mythological ... as one of the many trials that befalls the legendary Odysseus in Homer's epic The .... --[Atwood's Siren's] whining and begging are all an enticing ruse to evoke pathos, ..... Homer splits his passage into three sections according to the crew's state: At...", "Jeopary Questions page 1976 - THEIR FIRST FEATURE FILMS ... HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU: The forced march this Eastern tribe made West during the winter ... to end, the Old Spanish Trail ran between Santa Fe & this West Coast city ... POLYNESIA: Ethnological descriptions of Polynesia include this country ... Lassie wants to visit Collie, she takes a boat on the Indian Ocean to Bunbury on...", "Emerald City - Wikipedia The Emerald City is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first ... Located in the center of the Land of Oz, the Emerald City is the end of the famous yellow brick road, which .... Set 40 years after the events of The Wizard of Oz, its described as \"Oz, seen through the eyes of Raymond Chandler\".", "Enticing - definition of enticing by The Free Dictionary tr.v. enticed, enticing, entices. To attract (someone), usually to do something, by arousing hope, interest, or desire: The good review enticed me to see the...", "List of DreamWorks Pictures films - Wikipedia This page is a list of films released by DreamWorks Pictures. Contents. [hide]. 1 Universal .... She's the Man, March 17, 2006, co-production with Lakeshore Entertainment and Donners' Company The Last Kiss, September ... People Like Us, June 29, 2012, co-production with Reliance Entertainment and K/O Paper Products.", "Winners & Nominees 2000 | Golden Globes Winners & Nominees 2000 ... Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy ... Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama ... The Golden Globes.", "Oz- The wizard of Oz: The Perilous Journey - Theosophical Society ... The Wizard of Oz is the archetypical Americanfairy tale, but like all fairy tales, it appeals to a ... Dorothy and Toto set out on a Yellow Brick Road forthe Emerald City. ... After many adventures, Dorothy and her threecompanions reach the ... They must go to the westernmost partof Oz and there kill the wicked Witch of the West.", "DreamWorks Animation - Wikipedia DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc is an American animation studio based in Glendale, ...... FORM 10-K (Annual Report)\" (PDF). DreamWorks Animation SKG.", "Bigger & Blacker - Wikipedia Bigger & Blacker is an album by Chris Rock, originally released on July 13, 1999, on the DreamWorks label. The album features live stand-up comedy tracks...", "DreamWorks Pictures - Revolvy DreamWorks SKG Pictures (also known DreamWorks SKG or DreamWorks Pictures ... record label, the first project of which was George Michael's Older album. The first ..... His nerves aren't helped when he's seated next to Sarah ( Bullock ), a...", "Silk Road - Wikipedia The Silk Road or Silk Route was an ancient network of trade routes that for centuries were .... The Great Oasis cities of central Asia played a crucial role in the effective .... and trailblazed the silk road which is one of the most famous trade routes. ..... and into Afghanistan, rejoining the northern route near Merv, Turkmenistan.", "The Money Masters The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Monetary ... Apr 1, 2016 ... Remember: There's no place like home. .... Yellow Brick Road the gold way, gold standard (yellow bricks) ... Dorothy's followers, a reference to the Populist Party, trying to get Dorothy to the capitol city (Washington). ... along soberly behind her), a movement which followed the bi-metallist Populist Party.", "Full text of \"One way round the world\" - Internet Archive Perhaps the fine air that blows off mountain slopes is responsible for the impression. ... It is known all over the state as 5 One \"Way Round the Wotid \"the city,\" and ..... In Yokohama Not a sail, not a sign of life in all the long voyage from Honolulu to ..... the time you leave your hotel till you get to the place you are going to visit.", "Natural charm | Jacksonville.com Jul 6, 2003 ... There is a timeless nature to Silver Springs. ... when tourists were lured in off the two-lane roads to see big gators and pretty girls, flowers and monkeys. ... Six Tarzan movies with Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O'Sullivan were .... The Lost River Voyage goes down the Silver River, which still looks the way...", "Scenic New England Road Trip - Northern Route | Discover New ... Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. ... Along this scenic New England road trip you will see historic villages, cheerful country inns and enticing shops with antiques and crafts. ... Rural New Hampshire, with its friendly towns, Colonial homes and lovely countryside, is typical of New ...", "DreamWorks SKG - Company Profile, Information, Business ... History of DreamWorks SKG. ... in DreamWorks SKG are the first letters of the last names of the company's chief partners. ... By the time Geffen helped found DreamWorks, he was already head of his own empire in the music business. ... When he founded Geffen Records in 1980, he was able to immediately sign Elton John,...", "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey - Wikipedia Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey is a 1993 American remake of the 1963 film The ... which was based on the novel of the same name by Sheila Burnford. ... and was followed in 1996 by Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco. ... At another river, Sassy refuses to swim across to follow the dogs; therefore, she...", "Beyond Disney - National Geographic Magazine - NGM.com Walt Disney's utopian dream forever changed Orlando, Florida, and laid the blueprint for ... The Orlando region has become Exhibit A for the ascendant power of our cities' ... to 21st-century metropolis, they begin, inevitably, with the man and the mouse. ... There was also a deeply personal reason he located Disney World..." ]

[ "Since releasing her incredible, 2015 debut album <em>Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit</em>, Courtney Barnett has released a collaboration record with Kurt Vile and a one-off single called \"How To Boil An Egg.\" But she's back now with a new full-length solo album. <em>Tell Me How You Really Feel </em>is due out May 18 and we've got the first single from it, \"Nameless, Faceless. \"Also on the show: The long wait for new music from the brooding dreamscape duo Exitmusic is over. After releasing a stunning debut called <em>Passage </em>in 2012, the band largely disappeared. But Exitmusic is finally back with a worthy followup born out of heartache and loss. <em>The Recognitions </em>is due out April 20 and the first single is a densely layered, soaring elegy, \"I'll Never Know.\" Full Playlist: 1. Exitmusic \"I'll Never Know,\" 2. Courtney Barnett \"Nameless, Faceless,\" 3. Okkervil River \"Don't Move Back To LA,\" 4. Half Waif \"Keep It Out,\" 5. Kero Kero Bonito \"You Know How It Is,\" 6. Clint Heidorn \"North Hudson,\" 7. Anna von Hausswolf \"The Truth, The Glow, The Fall\"" ]

[ "Originally designed as half of a two-disc set, Okkervil River's The Stand Ins is an extention of last year's critically acclaimed The Stage Names. The new disc sticks to its predecessor's ambitious path, mixing up hints of country twang and Motown with orchestral interludes. The first incarnation of what would become Okkervil River formed while longtime friends Will Sheff and Seth Warren were still living in their native New Hampshire. Though college took them on separate paths, Warren and Sheff both eventually relocated to Austin, and Okkervil River began in earnest. After a small handful of self-released recordings, the group signed a label deal in time to release 2002's Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See, which drew praise for its delicate songwriting and thoughtful lyrics. But it wasn't until 2003's Down the River of Golden Dreams that Okkervil River fully came into its own. In a session with host David Dye, Sheff reveals the real characters that populate his songs and discusses the new album's satirical look at the entertainment industry. This segment originally ran Oct. 30, 2008.", "With a sound that combines folk, indie-rock, pop and orchestral elements, Okkervil River crafts a groundbreaking, original and intensely emotional sound, making the Austin band a cultishly beloved up-and-comer. The first incarnation of what would become Okkervil River formed while longtime friends Will Sheff and Seth Warren were still living in their native New Hampshire. Though college took them on separate paths, Warren and Sheff both eventually relocated to Austin, and Okkervil River began in earnest. After a small handful of self-released recordings, the band signed a label deal in time to release 2002's Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See, which drew praise for its delicate songwriting and thoughtful lyrics. It wasn't until 2003's Down the River of Golden Dreams, however, that Okkervil River fully came into its own. The songs on the group's new disc, The Stage Names, number among Okkervil River's finest work. On the whole more reflective than previous records, The Stage Names finds the band's devastating wordplay and heartfelt musicianship meshing seamlessly on every song. Consequently, the songs convey a rare depth that contributes to their status as some of the year's best. This segment originally ran Oct. 10, 2007.", "Melbourne guitarist and singer Courtney Barnett has been an NPR Music favorite since I caught three of her performances at New York's CMJ Music Festival in 2013. Her blend of witty lyricism and deadpan delivery made for two excellent EPs, and this year a full-length that will surely end up at the very top of my year-end list, Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. Barnett just wrapped up a sold-out tour in support of the album, and I invited her to stop by between D.C. shows to act as our Guest DJ for this week's episode of All Songs Considered. I saw both of Barnett's shows at the 9:30 Club, and the crowds were full of younger fans, but also many of their parents. It's clear from the music she picked to play on our show that her musical sensibility, like her sound, spans decades. The influential artists Courtney Barnett discovered as a kid — Australian folk and rock bands, Wilco, Talking Heads — came to her through family and friends young and old, in school and at shows. Words are often at heart of those songs. It's no surprise for someone who writes such amazing, conversational lyrics, but Barnett is huge fun to talk to, and she was excited to talk about the music that the loves, not just the music she makes.", "Note: Our week of Guest DJs continues with Courtney Barnett. Later this year the Australian guitarist and singer will release a new album she recorded with Kurt Vile. In October, the two will also embark on limited tour together. Back in 2015, Barnett had just released her debut full-length, Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit, when she joined Bob Boilen to talk about some of the artists who've influenced her own work and life over the years, from Wilco and Talking Heads to the Sydney band You Am I and fellow Australian signer Paul Kelly. Melbourne guitarist and singer Courtney Barnett has been an NPR Music favorite since I caught three of her performances at New York's CMJ Music Festival in 2013. Her blend of witty lyricism and deadpan delivery made for two excellent EPs, and this year a full-length that will surely end up at the very top of my year-end list, Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. Barnett just wrapped up a sold-out tour in support of the album, and I invited her to stop by between D.C. shows to act as our Guest DJ for this week's episode of All Songs Considered. I saw both of Barnett's shows at the 9:30 Club, and the crowds were full of younger fans, but also many of their parents. It's clear from the music she picked to play on our show that her musical sensibility, like her sound, spans decades. The influential artists Courtney Barnett discovered as a kid — Australian folk and rock bands, Wilco, Talking Heads — came to her through family and friends young and old, in school and at shows. Words are often at heart of those songs. It's no surprise for someone who writes such amazing, conversational lyrics, but Barnett is huge fun to talk to, and she was excited to talk about the music that the loves, not just the music she makes. You can hear the whole interview with the listen link above and read excerpts in our playlist below.", "<em>All Songs Considered'</em>s Robin Hilton joins NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael, Lars Gotrich, Marissa Lorusso, Ann Powers and Stephen Thompson for a sprint through the best new albums out on May 18. This includes the raging rock of Courtney Barnett, Atlanta rapper Nick Grant, wildly ambitious psych-folk from Ray La Montagne and a whole lot more. Featured Albums: Courtney Barnett: <em>Tell Me How You Really Feel, </em>BTS: <em>Love Yourself: Tear, </em>Nick Grant: <em>Dreamin' Out Loud, </em>Ray LaMontagne: <em>Part of the Light, </em>Joan Armatrading: <em>Not Too Far Away, </em>Remember Sports: <em>Slow Buzz. </em>Other notable releases for May 18: GAS: <em>Rausch, </em>John Maus: <em>Addendum, </em>Low Cut Connie: <em>Dirty Pictures (Part 2), </em>Nellie McKay: <em>Sister Orchid, </em>Parquet Courts: <em>Wide Awake, </em>Ryley Walker: <em>Deafman Glance, </em>Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks: <em>Sparkle Hard</em>", "The new Okkervil River album Away features a number of songs written very quickly by Will Sheff during sessions in the Catskills last year. He was in a period of transition: Several members of Okkervil River left the band during this time, and he also lost his beloved grandfather. The song \"Okkervil River R.I.P.\" is a stream-of-consciousness outpouring that finds Sheff questioning the very existence of the band that formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998. Away was recorded with some new players from New York City and features the return of former member Jonathan Meiburg, who had left the band to form Shearwater. Sheff and his band play songs from the new album live in the World Cafe studio in this session.", "The visual: A clown past her prime. The words: \"Put me on a pedestal and I'll only disappoint you.\" Welcome to 2015 and the year many will fall in love with the best lyricist in rock music today, Courtney Barnett. Now that I've put her on the pedestal I'll say what she wouldn't: She won't disappoint. In fact, Barnett's new album is something I've been waiting the last two years for. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit is her first real album, following a a pair of EPs that were collected on 2013's The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas. The new album will thrill any fan of smart, biting guitar driven rock, and as a first single, \"Pedestrian At Best\" will give you a good taste of why I love this Melbourne singer and her band so much. It may be your introduction to Courtney Barnett or, if you're already a fan like me, a treat that hints at what's to come on March 24th.", "Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett became a star on the strength of rambling, speak-sung story-songs and thorny anthems about the pressures that come with high expectations. On Things Take Time, Take Time (out Nov. 12), Barnett will tackle bliss and comfort at album length. In its first single, \"Rae Street,\" she crafts a characteristically laconic and easygoing mix of domestic minutiae (\"I might change my sheets today\") and broader insights about the world (\"Time is money, and money is no man's friend\"). The song nods to pandemic life (\"Let's get back to normal\") while speaking to the larger idea that our homes and communities offer us shelter from the punishing din of modern life. Oh, and don't miss the video, which fills a cul de sac with Courtney Barnetts and watches them go about their day.", "Sometimes the best way to save yourself is to let go of the things that once seemed indispensable. That's what Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff had in mind when he wrote the stirring \"Okkervil River R.I.P.,\" an elegy to his beloved band's past life. In a new video for the track, written and beautifully directed by Will Sheff, the singer literally buries himself in a remote country cemetery as a firebrand priest, played by actor Tim Blake Nelson, delivers a passionate eulogy. In a statement to fans, Sheff calls the song an emotional transcript of a difficult time. \"2013-2015 had been a strange time for me. I lost some connections in a music industry that was visibly falling apart. Some members of the Okkervil River backing band left, moving on to family life or to their own projects. I spent a good deal of time sitting in hospice with my grandfather, who was my idol, while he died. I felt like I didn't know where I belonged. When there was trouble at home, a friend offered me her empty house in the Catskills where I could go and clear my head. New songs were coming fast up there, so I set myself the challenge of trying to write as many as possible as quickly as possible. I wasn't thinking about any kind of end product; the idea was just to write through what I was feeling, quickly and directly. Eventually, I realized I was writing a death story for a part of my life that had, buried inside of it, a path I could follow that might let me go somewhere new.\" The video for \"Okkervil River R.I.P.\" was shot in upstate New York, with director of photography Johnny North. The song is from Okkervil River's upcoming album, Away, due out Sept. 9 on ATO Records.", "Indie-rock band Okkervil River is one of the most prominent acts in one of our country's most musical cities: Austin, Texas. Formed in 1998 by high school buddies, Okkervil River went through the typical garage-band phase when it self-released its first material. In 2000, the band, taking its intriguing name from a piece of Russian fiction, paired with producer/engineer Brian Beattie for the LP Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See. The debut was later picked up for release by indie label Jagjaguwar in 2002, and Okkervil River has been one of the label's best-selling artists ever since. The band performed songs from its new album, I Am Very Far, during Friday's noon concert at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. Listen to the entire show right here.", "Okkervil River doesn't hold anything back: Its emotion-drenched performances are intense to the point of seeming overwrought, and its songs unfold like literature. The band's brilliant song \"The President's Dead\" even uses a fictional assassination as a jumping-off point to ruminate on national tragedies and the way everyday people view themselves in the context of world events. Okkervil River's newest album, an \"appendix\" to the excellent Black Sheep Boy, again draws on themes of alienation and mystery. Seattle-based KEXP presents a diverse mix of music, live performances and podcasts from indie rock and punk to jazz and old school soul.", "Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff shares some of his favorite (and fairly obscure) music with All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. The two talk about Okkervil River's latest album, The Stand-Ins and listen to some of the songs Sheff has loved and been inspired by over the years. Hear music from soul singer Lorraine Ellison, the 1960s Jamaican group Carlton and the Shoes, former teen idol-turned introspective singer Dion, and The Penetrators — a 1970s band some would call punk, others would call garage rock. Download this show in the All Songs Considered podcast. Sign up for the All Songs Considered newsletter and we'll tell you when new music features are available on the site. Contact us with your questions and comments.", "Courtney Barnett just turned 30, and she’ll be the first person to tell you she doesn’t have it all figured out yet. The singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia describes herself as shy. But her music is brave. Barnett tackles issues that are tough to talk about — let alone sing about — candidly like mental illness, misogyny and existential ennui. Listeners might recognize her voice from season 2 of Netflix’s &#8220;BoJack Horseman,&#8221; which used her song “Avant Gardener” as its end credits theme: And Grammy buffs might recognize her name. She was nominated for Best New Artist in 2015. Barnett is, at her core, ultra-humble, and very private given the deeply personal nature of her work. She’s in a long-term relationship with Jen Cloher, a fellow musician and frequent artistic collaborator. Barnett is donating a dollar of each ticket she sells on her U.S. tour to the ACLU. She&#8217;s also very proud of her record label, Milk Records, which she started to launch her music and still runs on the side of her performing career. She joins us to talk about her growing success as an artist and entrepreneur — and play a couple of tunes. [Check back soon to see a video of Barnett performing live in our studio.] Produced by Maura Currie. Writeup by Maura Currie. Engineered by Jayk Cherry. GUESTS Courtney Barnett, Singer-songwriter. @courtneymelba For more, visit https://the1a.org. &copy; 2018 WAMU 88.5 &#8211; American University Radio.", "Okkervil River in concert. Propelled by the cryptic songwriting of frontman Will Sheff, the Austin band Okkervil River makes dark, literate rock that's as explosive as it is thoughtful and intimate. Now on tour in support of one of the year's best albums, 'The Stage Names,' Okkervil River visits Washington, D.C. for a full concert. The performance from the Rock and Roll Hotel was originally webcast live on NPR.org Sept. 30. A set list for this show is available at NPR.org.", "All Songs Considered's Robin Hilton chats with NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael, Marissa Lorusso, Ann Powers and Stephen Thompson for a sprint through six noteworthy albums out May 18. This includes the raging rock of Courtney Barnett, Atlanta rapper Nick Grant, wildly ambitious psych-folk from Ray La Montagne and a whole lot more. Other notable releases for May 18: GAS: Rausch, John Maus: Addendum, Low Cut Connie: Dirty Pictures (Part 2), Nellie McKay: Sister Orchid, Parquet Courts: Wide Awake!, Ryley Walker: Deafman Glance, Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks: Sparkle Hard.", "If Jen Cloher's music has the driving, wandering feel of Courtney Barnett, it's because their lives are inextricably intertwined. The two poets and singers are a married couple; they're co-founders of Melbourne's Milk! Records; and, in this new song from Jen Cloher, you can hear Barnett's guitar along with her bassist, Bones Sloane. Jen Cloher has made a lot of inspired music over the years on her own, and back home in Australia she's been nominated for a 2006 ARIA Music Award and shortlisted for the 2013 Australian Music Prize . But we don't seem to know her music here in the U.S., and I think that's all about to change. For one, \"Forgot Myself\" — the opening track to her new self-titled album — will hit a sweet spot for rock fans with its references to Patti Smith and quoted lines from The Rolling Stones' \"Satisfaction.\" That full-length album comes out in August, and a few months later, Cloher will be the opening act for Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile's fall U.S. tour. Directed by Annelise Hickey, the video for \"Forgot Myself\" finds Cloher at a diner, feeling desperate and unable to do something as simple as ordering a meal, her mind on her partner a thousand miles away. \"You want to be with your partner celebrating big moments in their life,\" Cloher writes via email, \"but at the same time, you have your own life to live thousands of miles away. It's easy to stop taking care of yourself. Easy to forget yourself.\" Jen Cloher was recorded in Southeastern Australia and mixed at Jeff Tweedy's Loft Studios in Chicago. It also features drummer Jen Sholakis. The album comes out via Milk! Records and Marathon Artist on August 11. TRACK LISTING 1. Forgot Myself 2. Analysis Paralysis 3. Regional Echo 4. Sensory Memory 5. Shoegazers 6. Strong Woman 7. Great Australian Bite 8. Loose Magic 9. Waiting In The Wings 10. Dark Art", "Audio for this feature is no longer available. Okkervil River's last proper album, 2008's The Stand Ins, was nothing if not approachable. Top to bottom, the record was packed with sunny melodies, strummy riffs and shout-along refrains that anyone could sing. (To drive the point home, the band recruited a few friends to do just that, in a YouTube project that's almost as fun as the album itself.) The group's latest is called I Am Very Far, and if that sounds a little remote, you don't know the half of it. From the title to the Gothic cover art to the slithery organ and gunshot snare of \"The Valley,\" the album — out May 10 — warns listeners upfront that they're stepping into dark, unfamiliar territory. It's a bold departure from how the group has operated so far — and in this case, \"the group\" means frontman Will Sheff, the only consistent member since Okkervil River formed in Austin a decade ago. Sheff's vocals are creaky, but his lyrics are dazzling; his arrangements are sloppy, but his hooks are indelible. The band's trademark has always been the union of those elements into a beautiful mess. I Am Very Far reverses that formula: The storytelling is knotty, cryptic and David Lynch-like in its ominous weirdness, while the music is so severe and precise as to be terrifying at times. And yet it wouldn't be an Okkervil River record if it didn't reward repeat listens. Peer through the darkness and you'll find bright spots galore: the attack-and-release rhythm of \"Rider,\" the watery piano textures of \"The Rise\" and the swirling orchestral swells of \"We Need a Myth,\" all of them just sitting there behind the menace, waiting to be found. Will Sheff has never had trouble cranking out great songs. What's so engaging this time around is his willingness to take a beautiful thing and bury it.", "NPR music critic Will Hermes reviews an album that contains the best storytelling he's heard in a long time. It's the debut album from Courtney Barnett.", "Courtney Barnett, a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Melbourne, Australia, released one of the quirkiest collections of songs this year with The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas. During a recent conversation on Morning Edition, Barnett says she didn't even notice when people started paying attention to her music — including her breakthrough song, \"Avant Gardener,\" which serves as an unexpectedly amusing first-person account of anaphylactic shock. Click the audio link to hear more of the discussion.", "By now you may have heard of the intercontinental, surprise collaboration between Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile, for an album called Lotta Sea Lice. The two singers have been mutual admirers for a while and kept bumping into one another at various festivals. Their guitar-based rock songs are laced with a shared sense of humor, and that was part of what got them creating music together. On this edition of All Songs Considered, Kurt and Courtney join me in our Washington D.C. studios. They'd just finished performing a Tiny Desk Concert and sat down to talk about some of the music they love by other artists. In the conversation, you can hear their mutual love for singers with guitars and a knack for writing songs that touch the heart, including songs by The Sadies, John Prine, Gillian Welch, Tom Petty and Elliott Smith.", "Courtney Barnett is an extraordinary songwriter from Melbourne, Australia, whose two EPs were recently combined for U.S. release as The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas. This self-described \"hard-working slacker\" combines witty wordplay with emotional directness in songs like \"Avant Gardener,\" which chronicles an anaphylactic attack with detail and humor. Barnett performs that song and more in this live session. Also, visit the World Cafe tumblr page to watch her perform a song live in the studio.", "In today&#8217;s installment of DJ Sessions, DJs Anne Litt and Travis Holcombe of KCRW join Here & Now&#8217;s Jeremy Hobson to listen back to some of the best sounds of 2014, including songs from Courtney Barnett, Ty Segall, Caribou, Shamir and Cherub. \nHear more DJ Sessions\n Note: We have a Spotify playlist for our weekly DJ Sessions segment. The playlist is updated each week with new songs. Spotify is free to use, but requires a login. Songs In This Segment Anne&#8217;s picks: Courtney Barnett, “Avant Gardner&#8221; [Youtube] Ty Segall, “The Singer” [Youtube] Travis&#8217;s picks: Caribou,&#8221;Can&#8217;t Do Without You&#8221; Shamir, &#8220;On The Regular&#8221; [Youtube] Jeremy&#8217;s pick: Cherub, &#8220;Doses and Mimosas&#8221; [Youtube] Guests\n\nTravis Holcombe, DJ for KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif. He tweets @MrTravisH.\nAnne Litt, DJ at KCRW in Santa Monica, California. She tweets @anne_litt.", "It takes a long time to fly from Australia to the U.S. Depending on how many stops you have and what your final destination is, you're probably looking at 24 hours plus. And similarly, it can take a long time for Australia's finest musicians to fly across the airwaves in the U.S. Music fans in Melbourne, Australia certainly know of rock and roller, poet and artist advocate Jen Cloher. They've know about her for years, but thanks to her excellent self-titled 2017 record, we're finally getting hip to her on this hemisphere. Jen just wrapped up her first full-band headlining tour of the U.S., and for the most part it was sold out! In Jen's touring band, and on this session, is Jen's wife and partner in co-founding Milk Records, Courtney Barnett. Yes, that Courtney Barnett. Courtney's explosively successful debut, Avant Gardener, is a record we played lots on the Cafe and she recently did a record with Kurt Vile. Together, Jen and Courtney are a rock and roll power couple, which comes with its own unique set of challenges, as you might imagine. They started dating before Courtney was famous. But a few years ago, Courtney's career suddenly blew up and Jen had to cope with her partner being on the road all the time enjoying the kind of international success that Jen had been working towards for longer. We'll talk about how Jen coped and hear her perform one of the songs that experience inspired alongside Courtney who plays guitar on this session. All that and more in the player above.", "The next album from the Austin, Texas, band Okkervil River will tell the childhood tale of its lead singer and songwriter Will Sheff, a self-described awkward, nearsighted, asthmatic kid growing up the small town of Meriden, N.H. The music on The Silver Gymnasium, out on Sept. 3, is some of Okkervil River's best, and you can hear it all beginning Aug. 26 as part of our First Listen program. For now, here's a first taste: the premiere of the song \"Down Down the Deep River.\" Another beautiful treasure this album has to offer is its artwork: Will Sheff collaborated with his dear friend William Schaff (yes, those names are a little confusing, but pretty funny, too) on a giant map of this tiny New Hampshire town. William Schaff has done most of Okkervil River's cover art; for The Silver Gymnasium, he hung around while the band was rehearsing. About 10 days later, he sent Will Sheff a beautiful fold-out map of Meriden. Will Sheff sent us the map of his hometown along with photos from his childhood and a recording of his memories. Now you can explore Meriden and hear Sheff tell stories from his childhood that inspired the album. See the map here &gt;&gt;", "Exitmusic, the husband-wife duo of Devon Church and Aleksa Palladino, makes epic music — and I don't use that word lightly. Though it feels like \"epic\" gets tossed around to describe anything up to the sandwich you just ate, there are certain things that you just have to describe as such. Exitmusic's new single, \"Passage,\" is one. The mix of Palladino's hauntingly beautiful vocals and the massive waves of sound keep on rising to new climaxes. In an email, the band described \"Passage\" as \"losing yourself to the moment even though you know it cannot last.\" While Church and Palladino were referring to the song's lyrics, this concept is true for the listener's connection to the song. By the time the drums kick in and Palladino's voice swells to a near-breaking point, you're fully drawn in, experiencing a burst of emotional energy. The \"Passage\" video finds Exitmusic working with director Will Joines (whom they also worked with on the video for their song \"The Hours\"). It feels like the climax to a longer film. We're dropped into this somber-toned world and shown intriguing snippets of what might be occult rituals, the band playing in a smoke-filled space, and Palladino in a bathtub. There's sort of a horror movie vibe but one that's particularly intense and sinister. When the video ends suddenly you want more of this world, more of the strange story that you don't fully understand. In an email, Joines talked about making sure the video matched the song's power: Early on, [the band and I] talked about the song's feeling of being drawn to something inevitable, like a moth to a flame. I tried to capture that in the video with images as dynamic and cinematic as the song itself. Exitmusic's debut LP, Passage, will be out on May 22nd from Secretly Canadian records.", "Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week: Ronan Farrow: 'I Was Raised With An Extraordinary Sense Of Public Service': The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist talks about growing up the son of famous parents, investigating the allegations against Harvey Weinstein and writing his new book, War on Peace. Courtney Barnett's New Album Blends Forceful Guitar With Lyrical Complexity: Barnett sings about fame, feminism and self-doubt on her new album, Tell Me How You Really Feel. Ken Tucker says the songs are like \"inner monologues, shaped and sharpened for public consumption.\" 'I'm Just So Invested': Krysten Ritter On Becoming 'Jessica Jones': Ritter loves the complex role of the atypical superhero. \"I am doing the most work when I'm not saying lines,\" she says. The second season was released on Netflix in March. You can listen to the original interviews here: Ronan Farrow: 'I Was Raised With An Extraordinary Sense Of Public Service' Courtney Barnett's New Album Blends Forceful Guitar With Lyrical Complexity 'I'm Just So Invested': Krysten Ritter On Becoming 'Jessica Jones'", "MGMT, the psych-pop duo behind one of the decade's best earworms, is back with its first new music in four years. \"Little Dark Age\" is the title track to their 2018 album, a pulsing, synthesized meditation on the age of anxiety over a world coming apart. Also on the show: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile collaborate on a new album called Lotta Sea Lice; the Brooklyn duo Howard has a new cut inspired by a surreal dream; Norwegian singer Susanne Sundfør considers the possibility of reincarnation in the wake of a breakdown; and Dark Rooms, fronted by composer Daniel Hart, has a remarkable and beautifully soaring song, \"I Get Overwhelmed,\" featured in the film A Ghost Story. All that, plus results from the last week's poll on the songs we should retire... and the songs too good to touch.", "Austin's critically acclaimed band Okkervil River seem to outdo itself with each new release. The group's grand, emotionally gripping arrangements and witty, literate lyrics have earned comparisons to rock 'n' roll greats like Elvis Costello, Lou Reed and Bruce Springsteen. The band's previous two albums, The Stage Names and The Stand Ins, were conceptual explorations of fame, art and life in a media-saturated world. Its latest, I Am Very Far, is equally ambitious but thematically harder to sum up. Recently, leader and songwriter Will Sheff and bassist Patrick Pestorius sat down with World Cafe host David Dye to discuss the process of creating I Am Very Far and the stories behind some of its most arresting songs. Hear the interview, along with live cuts recorded at Okkervil River's World Cafe Live concert in June, on today's World Cafe.", "For more conversations with music-makers, check out NPR's Music Interviews. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Courtney Barnett is ready for her close-up. The singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia has just released her debut album. It's called \"Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit.\" (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, \"PEDESTRIAN AT BEST\") COURTNEY BARNETT: (Singing) Put me on a pedestal, and I'll only disappoint you. Tell me I'm exceptional. I promise to exploit you. Give me all your money, and I'll make some origami, honey. MARTIN: Barnett cut her musical teeth playing second guitar for a Melbourne grunge band. But now her wry and funny lyrics are taking center stage with this new CD. Courtney Barnett joins me now from Paris where she's on tour. Thanks so much for being with us. BARNETT: Thanks for having me. MARTIN: So you've been writing songs a long time, I imagine. Do you remember when you really started doing this for real? BARNETT: For real, I think I was about 18. And I just started at university. MARTIN: I remember being 18. I mean, it was a while ago, but I also remember that I was friends with a lot of people who thought that they could write songs. It's a really different thing to actually be good at it. When did you know that maybe you had kind of a talent for this? BARNETT: I don't know. MARTIN: (Laughter). BARNETT: I still don't really know. It's a very strong statement to make about oneself. MARTIN: Yeah. Yeah, I suppose so. BARNETT: But I'm trying. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, \"NOBODY REALLY CARES IF YOU DON'T GO TO THE PARTY\") BARNETT: (Singing) Why are you so eager to please? I wear my heart on my sleeve. MARTIN: You have this kind of spoken-word-style that's something that felt like a better fit for you. BARNETT: Yeah. I just felt a bit more comfortable doing it that way I think because I've always been very shy, especially when it comes to singing. I kind of refused to ever sing in front of anyone. And so that was hard when I started performing. MARTIN: Yeah, that would be difficult. BARNETT: But then I kind of found this comfortable, you know, way of singing that felt a bit more natural, and I felt more comfortable. And, yeah. MARTIN: With that kind of laid-back spoken-word-style, it does put the lyrics front and center in a different kind of way. And they have a very intentional quality to them. This is called \"Dead Fox.\" (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, \"DEAD FOX\") BARNETT: (Singing) Heading down the highway fumes somewhere at the end of June. Taxidermy kangaroos are littered on the shoulders. A possum Jackson Pollock is painted in the tar. MARTIN: Really, like, a possum Jackson Pollock - how does that image come to you? BARNETT: (Laughter) That is my favorite lyric on the album. So thanks for choosing that one. I remember when we were touring a lot around Australia driving from Melbourne to Sydney and seeing all the - so much roadkill - and I don't know. It was the best description MARTIN: ...Of roadkill. BARNETT: Yeah. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, \"AN ILLUSTRATION OF LONELINESS, SLEEPLESS IN NEW YORK\") BARNETT: (Singing) I lay awake at four, staring at the wall, counting all the cracks backwards in my best French. Reminds me of a book I skim-read in a surgery all about palmistry. I wonder what's in store for me. MARTIN: There's also a lot of just really cool wordplay. Is that something that you grew up doing? BARNETT: Mom and dad would give us books of riddles and stuff like that for Christmas. I just always kind of found it interesting and to try and say things in a different way. I'm not very good at finding words in normal conversations as I am at songwriting. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, \"AN ILLUSTRATION OF LONELINESS, SLEEPLESS IN NEW YORK\") BARNETT: (Singing) I'm thinking of you, too. I'm thinking of you. MARTIN: I want to play a track called the DePreston about house hunting. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, \"DEPRESTON\") BARNETT: (Singing) You said we should look out further. I guess it wouldn't hurt us. We don't have to be around all these coffee shops. Now we've got that percolator. Never made a latte greater. I'm saving $23 a week. We drive to a house in Preston. MARTIN: It's a really straightforward quality to a lot of this songwriting. Are you just writing all the time, just jotting down impressions or anecdotes like that? BARNETT: Yeah, basically. I try to kind of write as much as I can, or even just really basic notes to kind of jog my memory. But I could probably be more dedicated than I am. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, \"DEPRESTON\") BARNETT: (Singing) And it's going pretty cheap you say. Well, it's a deceased estate. Aren't the pressed metal ceilings great? MARTIN: You're on tour. We're catching you in Paris. How's the tour going? BARNETT: It's really good. It's kind of just beginning. I mean, we just did South by Southwest which was a very hectic couple of days. It's kind of scary playing all these new album songs. MARTIN: What's scary about it? Are you sensitive to how audiences respond? BARNETT: You know, there's still that vulnera", "When Courtney Barnett combined her previously released Australian EPs into A Sea of Split Peas in 2013 and put them out in the U.S., we fell in love. She's an amazing writer, with wordplay that manages to capture the stream of consciousness of the everyday without becoming overly clever. Her debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit will be released Tuesday. We'll hear Barnett and her band play live in Melbourne, Australia and we'll talk about the new songs.", "Singer and songwriter Will Sheff found his band's name in a story by Russian writer Tatanya Tolstaya. But Okkervil River's most recent influence comes from the 1960s American folk scene. Black Sheep Boy is a dark, loosely knit song cycle spanning two albums. Sheff's inspiration for the albums was a 1967 Tim Hardin song of the same title. In an essay about Hardin, Sheff praises the song's \"mysterious lyrics and darkly confident theme.\" The music of Okkervil River offers similar attractions. \"It's like deciphering a puzzle when you listen to their lyrics,\" says music critic Alison Stewart. Those lyrics are filled with macabre imagery and menacing violence, but Sheff maintains a sense of humor about it. \"The funniest is when people call us Overkill River,\" he says. \"We were thinking we should just change the name of this band to Dirge Overkill.\" LIANE HANSEN, Host: Okkervil River is the name of an indie rock band based in Austin, Texas. They say their name comes from a story by a descendent of Leo Tolstoy, and it's a real river outside St. Petersburg. But rather than drawing on the gloomy traditions of great Russian novels, the band explores the primal violence sometimes heard in folk tunes and blues. NPR's Neda Ulaby has more. NEDA ULABY: Will Sheff grew up on the grounds of a New England private school. He comes from a long line of teachers who imparted a passion for stories and words. Sheff started Okkervil River after dropping out of a creative writing program but not before learning to ask certain questions about the characters inhabiting his songs. WILL SHEFF: I'd start thinking, you know, `Who were their parents? Where are they from? What's at stake? What do they want? What are they afraid of? What's happening in this particular moment of this song? What's going to happen after this song's over?' (SOUNDBITE OF SONG) OKKERVIL RIVER: (Singing) Black, black sheep boy, blue-eyed charmer. Head hanging with horns from your father. Oh... ULABY: The character driving Okkervil River's latest work is the \"Black Sheep Boy,\" an enigmatic figure made popular in a 1967 song by Tim Hardin, an acclaimed singer and a heroin addict who died at age 39. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG) TIM HARDIN: (Singing) I'm the family's unknown boy, golden curls of envy. Pretty girls and faces pass see the shining black sheep boy. ULABY: With this single tune, Okkervil River's Will Sheff extrapolated a dark, loosely-knit song cycle; spanning not one, but two albums. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG) RIVER: (Singing) If you love me, you'll let me live in peace. Please understand that the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand. SHEFF: I kept thinking about this song, and suddenly I just wrote this sequel to it, which is \"So Come Back, I'm Waiting,\" which is, like, a nine-minute-long sequel to a, you know, one-minute-and-45-second-long song. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG) RIVER: (Singing) So come back to your life on the ranch. So come back to your own black sheep man. ULABY: Sheff initially envisioned the adventures of \"Black Sheep Boy\" as those of a misunderstood prodigal son and the tortured souls he meets in his wanderings. SHEFF: They just kept coming. I couldn't stop. And then I started getting really excited about forgetting about the idea of the \"Black Sheep Boy\" as this, like, somebody who does wrong and knows they're doing wrong but doesn't care. And then I was like, `What is the \"Black Sheep Boy\" is just a monster, just like a half-sheep, half-human, like, monster? You know, maybe I can just make a storybook kind of thing out of this like a Grimm Brothers fairy tales, you know, where you can really get dismembered and you can really lose your loved one forever and there's a monster outside the door.' (SOUNDBITE OF SONG) RIVER: (Singing) Some nights I thirst for real blood, for real knives, for real cries, and then the flash of steel from real guns, in real life really fills my mind. I really miss what really did exist and how your throat's so tight. ULABY: While Will Sheff seems to draw from the same sonic palate as Nirvana, he freely credits an endless stream of murder ballads and story songs that fill up book music, songs that plumb the dark side of the American character. Music critic Alison Stewart says Okkervil River's complex storytelling rewards bookish listeners. ALISON STEWART: You can hear a song 20 different times and still find little clues and little things that you missed in it. That's what people like about them. It's like deciphering a puzzle when you listen to their lyrics. ULABY: The puzzle of Okkervil River's music is built partly on a tradition of repurposing, or sampling, that's been part of music probably since the beginning of time. Just think of \"John Henry,\" a song interpreted by innumerable musicians. SHEFF: And it's not like they went to grad school to come up with that idea, you know. It comes very naturally to people. And I think in this age where we think really strongly in terms of ownership of ideas, you kn", "Beginning at 12 noon ET on Wednesday, May 16, watch Titus Andronicus and Courtney Barnett perform during the first Free At Noon Concert of public radio's NON-COMMvention 2018. The show streams live via VuHaus from World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. Find set times below, shown in Eastern Time and are subject to change. WEDESDAY MAY 16 12:00 p.m. - 12:25 p.m. – Titus Andronicus 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m.– Courtney Barnett NON-COMM runs Tuesday, May 15 through Friday, May 18. Check out the full schedule of performances." ]

[ "Tay-Sachs disease is a rare disorder passed from parents to child. In the most common form, a baby about 6 months old will begin to show symptoms. Tay-Sachs disease results when an enzyme that helps break down fatty substances is absent.ay-Sachs disease is a rare disorder passed from parents to child. In the most common form, a baby about 6 months old will begin to show symptoms. Tay-Sachs disease results when an enzyme that helps break down fatty substances is absent." ]

[ "Testing for Tay-Sachs Disease and Sandhoff Disease. The following tests are available for diagnostic and carrier testing for Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases. NAGR / 82943 Hexosaminidase A and Total, Leukocytes/Molecular Reflex: -This is the recommended test for diagnosis and carrier testing for Tay-Sachs disease.", "Inheritance Patterns. Inheritance odds for Tay Sachs: Overall odds of inheritance: Usually both parents who are symptom-free genetic carriers of Tay Sachs; see inheritance of autosomal recessive diseases.Sibling of diseased child odds of inheriting disease: 25% usually for an autosomal recessive disease.ay Sachs: Inheritance and Genetics Details. Inheritance properties of Tay Sachs: Disease inherited from: Usually both parents who are symptom-free genetic carriers of Tay Sachs; see inheritance of autosomal recessive diseases.", "Tay-Sachs disease. The following 8 Practice questions give you the opportunity to apply what you have learned about the 4 classes of. biomolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids), cell organelles, and Gaucher’s disease to another genetic. disease that we have not studied, Tay-Sachs disease.", "A person with only one Tay-Sachs gene is perfectly healthy, but is a Tay-Sachs carrier. When both parents are carriers, there is a 1 in 4 (25%) chance, with every pregnancy, of having a child with Tay-Sachs disease. When both parents are carriers, there is a 2 in 4 (50%) chance, with every pregnancy, of having a child who is a carrier.", "Causes: 1 Brain tumor. 2 Cerebral palsy. 3 Guillain–Barré syndrome. 4 Hypothermia. 5 Lyme disease. 6 Stroke. 7 Intracranial hypertension (formerly known as pseudotumor cerebri) 8 Tay-Sachs, and late onset Tay-Sachs (LOTS), disease.", "Genetic disorders typically involve the inheritance of a particular mutated disease-causing gene, such as sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, and Tay-Sachs disease.", "When both parents are carriers, there is a 2 in 4 (50%) chance, with every pregnancy, of having a child who is a carrier. When only one parent is a carrier, there is no chance the child will have Tay-Sachs disease.There is a 2 in 4 (50%) chance, with every pregnancy, of having a child who is a Tay-Sachs carrier.hen both parents are carriers, there is a 2 in 4 (50%) chance, with every pregnancy, of having a child who is a carrier. When only one parent is a carrier, there is no chance the child will have Tay-Sachs disease.", "Diseases that are more common among Ashkenazi Jews are referred to as Jewish Genetic Diseases. These diseases include Tay-Sachs disease, Canavan disease, cystic fibrosis and many more, most of which are fatal in childhood.", "Testing for Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases occurs by analysis of hexosaminidase A, a heat-labile enzyme, and total hexosaminidase (hexosaminidase A plus hexosaminidase B)." ]

[ "An isolated edge of vast West Texas is home to a highly secretive part of the 21st-century space race, one of two being directed in the Lone Star State by Internet billionaires whose personalities and corporate strategies seem worlds apart. The presence of Blue Origin, LLC, the brainchild of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, barely registers in nearby Van Horn, a way station along Interstate 10, a full decade after he began buying land in one of Texas' largest and most remote counties. Few visitors are allowed beyond the 'No Trespassing' sign and a remote-controlled gate and into the desert and mountain environment reminiscent of the Air Force's renowned Area 51 in Nevada. The privileged who do get inside decline to describe what they've seen, typically citing confidentiality agreements. Billionaires: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (left) and SpaceX Elon Musk (right) have seemingly unlimited resources — Bezos' wealth is estimated at nearly $35 billion, Musk's at $12 billion . Mysterious: The presence of Blue Origin, LLC, the brainchild of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, barely registers in Van Horn, Texas, a way station along Interstate 10 . Facility: A SpaceX rocket is seen in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in this February 2015 file image. SpaceX is frequently in the headlines thanks to its nearly $2 billion federal contract, and its attempts to reuse booster rockets have been rocky . 'No one gets in other than employees,' says Robert Morales, editor of the weekly Van Horn Advocate newspaper. At the opposite end — of Texas and the competition — is the highly visible SpaceX venture, led by PayPal co-founder and electric car maker Elon Musk. His company contracts with NASA to resupply the International Space Station and is building a launch site about 600 miles from Van Horn, on the southernmost Texas Gulf coast, with the much-publicized goal of sending humans to Mars. SpaceX and Blue Origin are among several U.S. companies engaged in the private space business. Both men have seemingly unlimited resources — Bezos' wealth is estimated at nearly $35 billion, Musk's at $12 billion — and lofty aspirations: launching a new era of commercial space operations, in part by cutting costs through reusable rockets. Texas' glory days of space exploration, when 'Right Stuff' Mercury astronauts trained in Houston and the city's name was the first word spoken on the moon by Neil Armstrong, are long gone. The utilitarian Space Shuttle fell to budget cuts, depletion and age, leaving astronauts to hitch rides on Russian rockets. Any success by the newcomers would offer 'significant potential for re-invigorating space research and development in the state,' said John Junkins, director of the Center for Mechanics and Control at Texas A&M's Department of Aerospace Engineering. Earlier this month, Bezos announced his company's new hydrogen rocket engine, designed for suborbital missions, had completed hundreds of tests at the West Texas site, adding, 'soon we'll put it to the ultimate test of flight.' That could come late this year. A more powerful engine for orbital flights, fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid natural gas, is being developed with United Launch Alliance, a venture of aerospace veterans Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. Blue Origin officials declined requests for an interview and site visit. 'I'm so sorry,' spokeswoman Brooke Crawford said. 'It's just the way it is.' Secretive: The privileged who do get inside Blue Origin decline to describe what they've seen, typically citing confidentiality agreements . Quiet: Blue Origin's presence in Van Horn, Texas, is minimal . In a Sept. 22, 2014 file photo, U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, left, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, center, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry turn the first shovel-full of sand at the groundbreaking ceremony for the SpaceX launch pad at Boca Chica Beach, Texas . Company: A SpaceX rocket is seen here at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in April 2015 . Bezos' love of space originated in Texas in the 1960s when his family moved to Houston, which dubbed itself 'Space City USA.' 'For me, space is something that I have been in love with since I was 5 years old,' Bezos, 51, said in a September interview with The Washington Post, which he purchased in 2013. 'I watched Neil Armstrong step onto the surface of the moon, and I guess it imprinted me.' Over the last decade, he has bought at least seven ranches, totaling 1,900 square miles, near the Texas-New Mexico border and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. 'It's very secretive out there,' said Maricel Gonzalez, chief appraiser for the Culberson County Appraisal District. She declined to describe it, citing a nondisclosure agreement. A UPS driver who recently emerged from the compound also declined to talk. Nuny Morriss, a Van Horn city council member and FedEx delivery driver, said the site includes a 'big warehouse-looking building and some offices ... But they don't let us go around in the back.' Blue Origin's presence in Van Horn is minimal. Morriss recalled word getting out a few years ago about a scheduled launch. Traffic at the local airstrip suggested that VIPs were coming in, and local officials were eager to join them. 'No one in town got invited,' Morriss said. By contrast, SpaceX is frequently in the headlines thanks to its nearly $2 billion federal contract. Attempts to reuse booster rockets have been rocky; it's failed three times to land them on a platform off the Florida coast. SpaceX already has a rocket plant near Waco. With more than $15 million in state incentives, it's also building a launch site at Boca Chica Beach, near Brownsville. Musk hopes for at least 12 rocket launches a year, starting late next year. 'The long-term goal is to create technology necessary to take humanity beyond Earth,' said the 43-year-old South Africa native. David Kanipe, a former NASA division chief now teaching at Texas A&M, says Musk and Bezos were cool to his offers of assistance. 'A lot of time these companies, maybe for good reason, they don't really want to use or benefit from the lessons learned from what NASA did for 40 years, 50 years,' Kanipe said. 'I pleaded with them: \"Let us help, use our experience.\" But they have other ideas.' All of the private space businesses have had setbacks, such as Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, which lost a spacecraft and a pilot in October over California's Mojave Desert. 'There's just a million ways it can go wrong,' Kanipe said. 'I think it's doable, but it's just going to take a while.'" ]

[ "Boeing's proposal to develop a so-called space taxi for NASA astronauts includes a seat for paying tourists to fly to the International Space Station, it has been revealed. The $4.2 billion, five-year contract allows Boeing to sell rides to tourists, Boeing Commercial Crew Program Manager John Mulholland told Reuters, although a price has not yet been set, . Although the exact price has not been set, Boeing said that the price would be competitive with what the Russian space agency now charges to fly tourists to the orbital outpost - around $50m. Scroll down for video . Would you pay $50m for a seat? Boeing's proposal to develop a so-called space taxi for NASA astronauts includes a seat for paying tourists to fly to the International Space Station, it has been revealed. Space Adventures is scheduled in January to begin training British singer Sarah Brightman for a 10-day visit to the station, a trip costing $52 million, according to Tom Shelley, president of Space Adventures. Brightman is slated to become the eighth paying passenger to travel to the station, a $100 billion research complex that flies about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth. 'Part of our proposal into NASA would be flying a Space Adventures spaceflight participant up to the ISS,' Mulholland said, referring to a Virginia-based space tourism company that brokers travel aboard Russian Soyuz capsules. Now that Boeing has won a share of NASA's space taxi contract, 'we hope ... to start working with the ISS program to make it happen,' he said. 'We think it would be important to help spur this industry.' Space Adventures is scheduled in January to begin training British singer Sarah Brightman for a 10-day visit to the station, a trip costing $52 million, according to Tom Shelley, president of Space Adventures. Brightman is slated to become the eighth paying passenger to travel to the station, a $100 billion research complex that flies about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth. Boeing's first test launch of the taxi is not expected until 2017. But Boeing faces competition from rival Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, which also won a NASA contract and says it can develop the taxi for nearly 40 percent less than Boeing. SpaceX already plans to offer trips to tourists, but did not immediately respond to questions about whether it would fly tourists on its NASA missions. An artist's rendition of the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 next to the International Space Station(ISS). The NASA contracts awarded on Tuesday to Boeing and SpaceX cover design, building, testing their spaceship and up to six missions to fly astronauts to the station, a pace of roughly two per year. California-based SpaceX, owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, says it can create and fly the taxi for $2.6 billion, compared to Boeing's $4.2 billion bid. 'I think it's a vital next step in SpaceX's progress,' Musk said in an interview on FOX Business Network. The taxi project appears to be well within Boeing's core space capabilities, which suggests it will not have trouble meeting its cost and schedule targets, analysts said. Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, introduces the SpaceX Dragon V2 spaceship at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne. It is also expected to take tourists into orbit. Separately, Boeing and Lockheed announced on Wednesday that United Launch Alliance would invest heavily in a new rocket engine being developed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and his private company space company Blue Origin. The agreement is aimed at freeing the United States from its dependency on Russian-made engines for rockets for launches and is expected to have little effect on the space taxi. Meanwhile, SpaceX has been aggressively exploiting the price advantage of its American-made rocket to try to break ULA's monopoly on launching the U.S. military's satellites. A lawsuit contesting the Air Force's last contract with ULA is pending in a U.S. court. The company also has been successfully wooing commercial satellite launches, a business estimated to be worth $2.4 billion a year, a 2014 Satellite Industry Association study shows. So far, the company's Falcon 9 rockets have flown 12 times, all successfully. ULA's Atlas 5, which is mostly used by the U.S. military, made its 49th successful flight late on Tuesday.", "When Elon Musk split up with wife, Talulah Riley, for the first time, he told the whole world. 'It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever,' the entrepreneur Tweeted to the British actress in January 2012. 'You will make someone very happy one day.' Eighteen months later, that happy person apparently was him, as they tied the knot again in July 2013. Scroll down for video . Split again: California billionaire Elon Musk and actress wife Talulah Riley were together for a year after they remarried, but they have lived apart the past five months . The rekindled romance didn't last. On Wednesday — the day many people make vows for the coming year — the couple officially broke their marital vow. Musk filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court on New Year's Eve. The couple said they were splitting amicably and that Musk agreed to give Riley $16million in cash and other assets as part of a financial settlement, according to a joint statement. A divorce filing said property would be split based on a prenuptial agreement. Musk made a fortune co-founding PayPal and has gone on to start SpaceX and Tesla Motors. Riley, 29, appeared in Pride & Prejudice, Inception and St. Trinians. The couple first wed in 2010. They didn't have any children, but Musk has five sons from a previous marriage. Musk and Riley were together for a year after they remarried, but they have lived apart the past five months while Riley wrote and directed her first feature film, 'Scottish Mussel,' in the United Kingdom. Talented  duo: Musk made a fortune co-founding PayPal and has gone on to start SpaceX and Tesla Motors. Riley appeared in 'Pride & Prejudice,' 'Inception' and 'St. Trinians.' Entrepreneur: Space X mastermind Musk and actress Riley were together for a year after they remarried, but they have lived apart the past five months while Riley wrote and directed her first feature film, 'Scottish Mussel,' in the United Kingdom. Who get's what? In 2013, Elon Musk bought this 20,000-square-foot Bel Air home for a reported $17 million. A divorce filing said the couple's property would be split based on a prenuptial agreement. Elon Musk was married to Canadian novelist Justine Musk for eight years--long enough for her to bear his five sons and to become, in her own words, his 'starter wife.' In a tell-all 2010 interview with Marie Claire, the former Mrs. Musk said: . In the late spring of 2008, my wealthy entrepreneurial husband, Elon Musk, the father of my five young sons, filed for divorce. Six weeks later, he texted me to say he was engaged to a gorgeous British actress in her early 20s who had moved to Los Angeles to be with him. Her name is Talulah Riley, and she played one of the sisters in 2005's Pride and Prejudice. Two of the things that struck me were: a) Pride and Prejudice is a really good movie, and b) My life with this man had devolved to a cliché. 'Starter wife': Elon Musk's first wife and mother of his five sons Justine was very public about their acrimonious divorce . Musk describes in the interview her courtship and ensuing life with the famous mogul and the details range from sweet to downright creepy. As we danced at our wedding reception, Elon told me, 'I am the alpha in this relationship.' When she insisted she wasn't Elon's employee, Justine claimed her husband would say, 'If you were my employee, I would fire you.' As part of her extensive blogging regarding their divorce, Justine would come clean about her demands: . The house; alimony and child support; $6 million cash; 10 per cent of his stock in Tesla; 5 per cent of his stock in (ed: space transport company) SpaceX (and he retains all voting rights) and a Tesla Roadster (I really, really want one ...) Man of many talents: Musk founded Tesla Motors, an electric car company that had a $226 million initial public offering in 2010 . The two said they remain friends. Musk did not immediately Tweet news of the divorce Wednesday. Mr Musk, a South African who attended the University of Pennsylvania, made his fortune by founding a series of highly-successful ventures -- beginning with Zip2, which produced online content publishing software that was purchased in 1999 for nearly $340million. Later, for his next venture, Mr Musk helped create PayPal, the online money transfer and payment service. Ebay bought PayPal for $1.2billion in 2002. He founded Space X later that year -- a outer space exploration company. In 2009, the company launched the first privately-owned liquid-fueled rocket ever to enter space. Space X now has a contract to deliver cargo to the International Space Station that is worth between $1.6billion and $3.1billion. Mr Musk also founded Tesla Motors, an electric car company that had a $226million initial public offering in 2010. After his newest divorce from Talulah Riley, Musk will have shelled out around $20M to the British actress for their combined divorce agreements. But with a net worth around $1 billion, the futurist entrepreneur can stand to lose a few bucks .", "By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . SpaceX has said that it will dominate travel services in the entire solar system within 100 years. The comments came from president, Gwynne Shotwell, during a radio interview in which she said the Californian private firm will make the human race ‘multiplanetary.’ By 2100, Ms Shotwell said the company will be the ‘most widely used space transport company in the... let's call it the solar system.’ Scroll down for video and audio . The comments came from SpaceX president, Gwynne Shotwell (pictured), during a radio interview in which she said SpaceX will make the human race ‘multiplanetary.’ By 2100, Ms Shotwell said the company will be the ‘most widely used space transport company in the... let's call it the solar system' In an interview with Marketplace radio, Ms Shotwell told host Ben Johnson that in as little as ten years, SpaceX could be sending people to Mars. ‘This is going to sound strange, but from my perspective, it’s risk management to ensure that humans can go somewhere else if there is a huge disaster on Earth,’ she said. Ms Shotwell added that she wants to do the same thing for space travel that planes are currently doing for air travel by creating ‘rapid and reusable’ rockets. The comments follow owner Elon Musk’s announcement that SpaceX is making ‘progress’ towards establishing a colony on the red planet by 2020 with tickets to cost $500,000 (£296,900). Musk has previously said he created SpaceX for the sole reason of developing rocket technology to get people to Mars. Billionaire Elon Musk, pictured left with Nasa's Charles Boden, has announced his SpaceX firm is making 'progress' towards establishing a colony on the red planet by 2020 - and expects to sell tickets for $500,000 (£296,900) a trip . Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, wants to help establish a colony of up to 80,000 people on the planet, but admitted he’d like to start small, with a group of 10 people, and build the colony from there. He ultimately plans to use a reusable rocket, fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane, to reach the red planet in six years. It would need to be much heavier than SpaceX’s current rockets, including the Falcon Heavy that is currently in development and is expected to launch by the end of this year. SpaceX has a $1.6bn contract with Nasa for a series of future supply missions and this will be used to test his technology further. Musk ultimately plans to use a reusable rocket fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane to reach the red planet - and he aims to get there three years before the Mars One colony arrive . He wants to help establish a colony of up to 80,000 people on the planet, but admitted he’d like to start small, with a group of 10 people, and build the colony from there. ‘At Mars, you can start a self-sustaining civilisation and grow it into something really big,’ Musk said. ‘I think we're making some progress in that direction - not as fast as I'd like.’ SpaceX also recently released a video of its Falcon 9 rocket making a soft ocean splashdown, describing the reusability test a success. The rocket was the first stage of a Falcon 9 that launched on 14 July, which took six Orbcomm satellites into orbit. An on-board camera captured the descent, and the data gathered during the trip by SpaceX will improve the landing on upcoming flights. This test confirms that the Falcon 9 booster is able consistently to re-enter from space at hypersonic velocity, restart main engines twice, deploy landing legs and touch down at near zero velocity,’ SpaceX said in a news release. Later this year SpaceX plans to attempt to land one of its Falcon 9 rockets on a floating barge. The ultimate goal is to build reusable rockets that can return from space. Pictured is the Grasshopper test rocket, which SpaceX has been using to perform 'hops' up to low altitudes and practice landing on solid ground . Its ultimate goal is to make the rockets reusable and have them touch down on land. The company currently has a $1.6bn contract with Nasa for a series of future supply missions and this will be used to test his technology further. Musk ultimately plans to use a reusable rocket fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane to reach the red planet - and he aims to get there three years before the Mars One colony arrive. Mars One was set up by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp who plans to take 40 people to the planet with training starting in 2018, and the first passengers arriving in 2023. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has grand plans for his space agency. With help from Nasa he has grown the company significantly in a decade. It is now capable of taking cargo to the ISS with its Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket and, beginning possibly in the next few years, the company will take humans into space .", "(CNN) -- It's a loaded question, one with no clear answer. But in the year since Apple's co-founder and visionary CEO died, it's been asked in tech circles over and over: . Who is the next Steve Jobs? There's one easy response. It's safe to say that no figure in the tech industry will perfectly duplicate the unique blend of vision, salesmanship, mystique and eye for detail possessed by Jobs, who died one year ago Friday. And it's complicated further, some say, by the fact that for much of his own life, many wouldn't have predicted Jobs himself would earn tech-icon status. \"Steve Jobs had a strange career. He really wasn't celebrated as a genius until really late,\" said Leander Kahney, editor of the Cult of Mac blog and author of books on Apple, including \"Inside Steve's Brain.\" Not until Jobs returned to Apple and introduced the iPod and iPhone did people begin to praise him as a modern-day Thomas Edison, Kahney said. \"He was dismissed before then as a marketing guy, a fast talker who didn't know much about technology. He only really was lionized in the last four or five years.\" #WhatSteveJobsTaughtMe: Share your thoughts on his life and career . But industry observers abhor a vacuum. Futile though it might be, it's perhaps human nature to speculate about who could emerge to fill the void left by the passing of tech's biggest personality and most recognizable face. One can make cases for or against a handful of nominees. And no list is long enough to include an as-yet unknown creator who may be birthing the industry's next game-changer in a garage or dorm room somewhere. Did Apple's fanboy fever peak with Steve Jobs? But here are some names worth considering, with thoughts both for and against their candidacies: . Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon . Pros: Bezos actually has a host of traits that mirror Jobs. Like Jobs was with Apple, he's the founder of Amazon as well as its CEO. Being a part of a company's life story helps. As much as anyone, Bezos also captures a bit of Jobs' panache at live events. At last year's rollout of the Kindle Fire, he got high marks for introducing a game-changing product in a stylized fashion, then getting off the stage. (Tech giants Google and Microsoft have been accused of being rambling and unfocused at similar unveilings.) Reports say Bezos shares Jobs' penchant for attention to detail (some would say micromanaging) and, like Jobs, he's been willing to take the company into new and unexpected directions. \"I've met Bezos personally, and he is mesmeric. Brilliant smile, quick mind, very engaging and decisive,\" Kahney told CNN. \"He has the same obsession with the ordinary consumer; to make and sell things from the consumer's point of view. ... Bezos has Jobs' focus and drive. He's a little bit maniacal in his drive and ambition.\" Cons: Despite the Kindle line, Amazon is, at its core, a content company. The mobile devices are a means of delivering books, music, movies and other data to customers as directly as possible. Will the public ever be as excited about the CEO of the company that peddles e-books and data-storage space as it was about the one that sold it its personal computers, laptops, phones and music players? Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook . Pros: The Steves -- Jobs and Wozniak -- had their garage. Zuckerberg had his Harvard dorm room. And in those two rooms, perhaps the two best-known origin stories in tech were born. As head of the social network that has changed the way people use the Internet, Zuckerberg is maybe the only tech boss who, like Jobs, has become a household name. (\"The Social Network\" didn't hurt.) He created a product that millions of people now use. And he's even cultivated his own trademark, casual-wear style, as the Zuckerberg hoodie is now almost as iconic as Jobs' mock turtleneck. \"Zuckerberg has some of the characteristics (of Jobs), and perhaps the most important one -- the pursuit of a vision,\" Kahney said. \"That sets him apart.\" Cons: He's gotten better at speaking in public. But as a pitchman, Zuckerberg still falls miles short of the charismatic Jobs. It's seems Zuck would rather be the idea man behind the scenes than front-and-center when it comes time to sell the final product. Also, the fact that Facebook's stock price is not already racing toward Google/Apple heights doesn't help. Tim Cook, CEO, Apple . Pros: Well, there's the obvious one. Job's was Apple's CEO. Now Cook is. At the helm of the company, Cook gets to be the face of every new innovation rolled out by Apple. He's got the biggest stage and brightest spotlight in which to put himself forward. Cons: Cook comes from more of a business background than one of innovation and design. He may masterfully steer Apple's course for years to come, but, rightly or not, few observers at this juncture are inclined to give him credit for vision, or influence over products' design, the way they did Jobs. Plus, being Apple CEO after Jobs is like being the football coach who follows a retiring Bear Bryant or Vince Lombardi. What were those guys' names? Exactly. Jonathan Ive, senior vice president, Apple . Pros: When Jobs stepped down, there were many who expected Ive, not Cook, to step up. Ive is senior vice president of industrial design and is believed to be the creative mind behind products from the Macbook Pro to the iPod to the iPad. The London native already has a knighthood, as well as a healthy dose of Jobs' true-believer passion for the product. Cons: Well, he's not the CEO. (Nor is marketing mastermind Phil Schiller, another name bandied about to replace Jobs). To truly ascend to Jobsian levels, Ive would need to set out on his own -- which, at 45, is doable. It's hard to envision Ive bolting from Apple, where he's worked since 1992. But, boy, it would be fun to watch. Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo . Pros: If you need proof of how well Google alum Mayer is liked in Silicon Valley, just look at the number of folks she's been able to lure to join her at a Yahoo that was floundering when she took the reins in July. At Google, where the former engineer was the 20th employee, she's credited with everything from the clean design of the search page to becoming one of the leading public faces of the tech giant. Cons: It looks like a turnaround has begun at Yahoo. But the job's still a long way from done. If Mayer becomes the face of a dramatic rebirth, she will have accomplished something few predicted. If she doesn't (the four CEOs before her all fell short), it likely won't hurt her reputation all that much -- but neither will it bump her up to the next level. Elon Musk, serial entrepreneur . Pros: How's this for an origin story? Musk grew up in South Africa before leaving home at 17, without his parents' consent, rather than serve a compulsory stint in an army which, at the time, was enforcing the race-based apartheid system. He'd end up in the United States four years later -- although he'd already sold his first software, a video game called Blastar, when he was 12. Since then, all he's done is create publishing software Zip2 (sold to AltaVista for $300 million), co-found PayPal (he owned 11% of its stock when eBay bought it for $1.5 billion) and help create Tesla Motors, makers of the first commercial electric car. Oh, wait ... he also runs SpaceX, a company working on space exploration. Director Jon Favreau says Musk was his inspiration for Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark character in the \"Iron Man\" movies. \"His ambitions are so huge,\" Kahney said. \"He's definitely a ballsy character. And he's a good leader, like Jobs. He's surrounded himself with good people.\" Cons: With the exception of Tesla, none of Musk's projects, so far, have directly involved consumer products. Tens of millions of people had something Jobs made in their pockets, on their desks or piping music into their ears. Among the public, Musk may be less well-known than all of the names above -- at least for now. But, at 41, he's got time to change that and it would be foolish to bet against him. Seth Priebatsch, CEO, SCVNGR, LevelUp . Pros: Who? Priebatsch is the wild card on this list. But consider him the representative of a new generation of young, creative tech \"makers\" who could ascend to loftier heights in the years, or decades, to come. At 22, Priebatsch's SCVNGR raised more than $20 million in funding. He founded his first Web company at 12 and has moved on to start LevelUp, a mobile-payments system that's also raked in millions from investors. He got rock-star treatment for a speech he gave last year at South by Southwest Interactive. Plus, he's already cultivated a Jobs-like signature fashion statement -- his trademark orange sunglasses and shirts. Cons: In the startup world, for every success story, there are countless washouts. Not every young turk even wants to be another Jobs, and not every killer app has the potential to make millions, or billions, of dollars -- even when they're well-liked and widely used. Good or bad, what lessons did you learn from Jobs? Share your responses in the comments below, or join the conversation on Twitter using #stevejobstaughtme. CNN's Brandon Griggs contributed to this story.", "Space travelers, get ready for a new ride. The Dragon V2 got its grand reveal Thursday night by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who showed off his company's new spacecraft in a live webcast. While the California-based company has already made its mark on its industry in its 12 years in business, Dragon V2 marks a major milestone as SpaceX's first spacecraft capable of bringing humans to the International Space Station then taking them back to Earth. \"It's all around I think a big leap forward in technology,\" Musk said. \"It really takes things to the next level.\" The storied entrepreneur -- who also founded the Tesla car company and whose personality is thought by some to be the inspiration for Robert Downey Jr.'s take on Tony Stark, or \"Iron Man,\" in recent movies -- said that \"Dragon Version 2,\" as he called it, can transport as many as seven astronauts for several days. One big upgrade from earlier models is that Dragon V2 will be reusable, which will cut down on costs and open up opportunities for humans to explore. Thanks to propulsion and other technology to slow its re-entry into Earth's orbit and control its descent, Musk said the spacecraft should be able to land most anywhere much like a helicopter. \"As long as we continue to throw away rockets and spacecraft, we will never have true access to space,\" Musk explained. \"It will always be incredibly expensive.\" There are a series of back-up systems as well. That includes the recently unveiled Superdraco engine, two of which will be in each Dragon V2. With 16,000 pounds of thrust, these engines will help allow the capsule to safely land. If one stops working, the other can take over; if both stop, a parachute can be deployed to allow astronauts to float safely back down to Earth. As evidenced by the fact it is \"Version 2,\" the new spacecraft builds off existing technology developed by SpaceX. Already, SpaceX has embarked on three of its 12 scheduled missions to the International Space Station as part of its $1.6 billion contract with NASA. That includes the first ever connection between that orbiter and a private spacecraft in 2012. But all its trips so far -- including back to Earth, when the SpaceX craft parachuted into the Pacific Ocean -- involved only cargo and were unmanned. Dragon V2 aims to change that. Thursday's event included a dramatic unveiling of the new spacecraft, which stood about 15 feet tall, with a rounded, cone-shaped top. At one point, Musk even went inside and sat in one of its four reclined seats. While such an undertaking likely has been in the works for some time, it comes at a pivotal, uncertain time for the International Space Station and space travel, generally. NASA's agreement with SpaceX -- plus its $1.9 billion deal with Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation for eight missions -- takes on increased importance given Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin's announcement earlier this month that his country does not plan to use the manned orbiter beyond 2020. That announcement as well as ratcheted-up tensions between Russia and the West has raised concerns about the space station's future, especially since Russian Soyuz aircraft have become the only way astronauts have been able to get to-and-fro since the end of the U.S. space shuttle program. This comes after President Barack Obama, in 2010, pushed for the expansion of private-sector and commercial space industries as part of his reimagining of the U.S. space program. \"We will actually reach space faster and more often under this plan,\" Obama said, adding this approach would send more astronauts into space over the next decade than previously planned. \"By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send people to orbit Mars and bring them safely back to Earth,\" Group aims to send 2 humans near Mars . Yet SpaceX isn't alone in its ambition to ferry people into space. In addition to various efforts to take people to Mars -- including one from the Paragon Space Development and the Inspiration Mars Foundation, which has vowed to launch a spacecraft in 2018 with two humans heading toward the Red Planet -- SpaceX has competition in its efforts to go to the International Space Station as well. It is one of three private companies -- along with Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems -- who have completed the first step of NASA's certification process to haul astronauts to the space station, the space agency announced Friday. NASA noted that it awarded $30 million contracts to all three companies along these lines in December 2012. \"We're making great strides toward returning human spaceflight launch capability to U.S. soil,\" NASA official Phil McAlister said in a press release Friday. \"This certification is important to ensuring our crew members have reliable transportation to and from the space station where they are conducting research essential to advancing human exploration farther into the solar system.\" Project: More than 100,000 want to go to Mars .", "Electric car company Tesla Motors will produce a driverless car within the next three years, according to its chief executive, Elon Musk. The move will see Tesla overtake Google, who three years ago began the race to bring driverless cars on to the road. Google’s programme, however, has been slow to get off the ground because carmakers are worried about potential liabilities from accidents, according to a source speaking to the Financial Times. Tesla Motors will produce a driverless car within the next three years, according to its chief executive, Elon Musk. Its autonomous car would allow the driver to hand over 90 per cent of the control of the car . California-based Tesla said its autonomous car would allow the driver to hand 90 per cent of the control of the car over to the vehicle's computer system. Fully autonomous cars would take longer to develop, said Musk, in an interview with the Financial Times. The self-driving car would be developed in-house using Tesla's own technology, not that of another company, Musk said in comments confirmed by a Tesla spokesperson. Tesla's online job board currently has a post for an Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Controls Engineer, who will be responsible for helping ‘Tesla's effort to pioneer fully automated driving.’ Tesla founder Elon Musk (left) and Google chief executive Larry Page (left) are now going head to head in the race to get a safe and practical self-driving car on to the road . Prior to this announcement, Tesla had been one of the leading contenders to collaborate with Google on its driverless car programme. Google has already fitted out several cars with radar-like equipment that lets them navigate roads in California and Nevada. California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law last year allowing the Mountain View-based internet giant to test its self-driving cars on the road. Google did not immediately respond to an enquiry about the status of its driverless car programme. Google has already fitted out several cars with radar-like equipment that lets them navigate roads in California and Nevada . This image from Google shows what a driverless car sees when it is roaming the streets . Musk's three-year timeline is more ambitious than those set out by other car makers, as well as analysts that say it will take 10 to 15 years before self-driving cars become a reality. Germany's Daimler AG and Japan's Nissan have both said they hope to begin selling self-driving cars by the end of the decade. Daimler already offers technology that allows for partly automated driving such as traffic jam assistance in its top-line S-Class Mercedes, which can maintain distance to other cars in stop-and-go situations. As well as technical obstacles, legal and safety issues must be overcome before driverless cars are allowed on the road. European Union laws currently call for drivers to control their cars at all times. And it is unclear whether the multi-billion dollar car insurance industry has any appetite to back the cars until the technology is proven. Elon Musk, 42, was born in Pretoria, South Africa before moving to Canada and later the U.S. By the time he reached 12 . year's old he had created and sold his first software program - a space . game called Blastar - for around $500. Musk . started Zip2 - an online content publishing software - in 1998 with his . brother, Kimbal Musk, which was bought in 1999 by Compaq's AltaVista . division for a reported $300million. Musk . then co-found X.com  and . a year later this firm merged with Confinity, which later became known . as PayPal. In October . 2002, PayPal was bought by eBay for $1.5billion in stock and Musk, the . company's largest shareholder, owned 11.7 per cent of these shares. In June 2002 Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). SpaceX develops and manufactures space launch vehicles. SpaceX . was awarded a billion-dollar Nasacontract in December 2008, for 12 . flights of their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the . International Space Station, replacing the Space Shuttle after it . retired in 2011. Musk . is also co-founder and head of product design at Tesla Motors. He was . previously CEO of the company but due to reported layoffs in the . company, he took a different position in 2008. He is reported to have a 32 per cent stake in the car company, which is currently valued above $12 billion, as of 29 May 2013. Additionally, . Musk provided the initial concept for SolarCity, which was co-found . with his cousin Lyndon Rive, and Musk is the company's largest . shareholder and chairman of the board. SolarCity is the largest provider of solar power systems in the U.S His cousin Lyndon Rive is the CEO and co-founder.", "After one false start, the final frontier has finally become open territory for the commercial world, after the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from Cape Canaveral this morning. The private space cargo firm's historic launch to the International Space Station blasted off at 8.44BST, carrying with it a capsule loaded with 1,000lbs of space station provisions. Also on-board are the ashes of Star Trek legend James 'Scotty' Doohan, fulfilling his final wish to spend eternity resting in space. Scroll down for video: . Off we go: The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket is seen during a time exposure as it lifts off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday, flying off to the ISS . Another timelapse photograph show the rocket's trip into space, as another shuttle sits outside the Cape Canaveral site . Space goes commercial: SpaceX successfully launched this morning at 8.44BST, three days after an aborted attempt . Up, up and away! Sparks fly as the rocket leaves the launch pad and heads to the horizons . The rocket is lost against the inky-black sky during the pre-dawn launch at Cape Canaveral, but the flames light up the surroundings . The mission is the first by a private company to the $100billion orbital outpost, a project of 15 countries. NASA is investing in SpaceX, as well as four other companies, to fly cargo and eventually astronauts to the station following the retirement of the space shuttles last summer. The first attempt on Saturday stalled, as the countdown reached all the way to practically zero before there was an automatic shutdown by on-board computers. So instead of blasting off from Cape Canaveral on a delivery mission to the International Space Station, the rocket remained on its launch pad amid a cloud of engine exhaust. The engine ignition sequence had started up, but there was an automatic shutdown by on-board computers. The unfortunate delay caught even NASA's most seasoned launch commentator off guard. '... 3-2-1, zero, and liftoff,' announced commentator George Diller, his voice trailing as the rocket failed to budge. 'We've had a cutoff. Liftoff did not occur.' Billionaire rocket designer Elon Musk attributed the problem to slightly high combustion chamber pressure on engine No. 5. 'Will adjust limits for countdown in a few days,' he wrote via Twitter. Standing tall: Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft, pictured a day before its first launch, are in the final stages of preparation for their historic flight . Along with ISS supplies, SpaceX has one additional payload - sending James 'Scotty from Star Trek' Doohan and 307 other people's ashes into orbit. Having failed to launch the Star Trek acting legend's remains into orbit in August 2008 when Space X's Falcon 1 exploded after take-off, this is the second attempt to put a seven gram capsule of his ashes into space. But friends and relatives of Doohan, who died in 2005 aged 85, who gathered at Cape Canaveral will have to wait until Tuesday for the next attempt after Falcon 9 stalled on lift-off. Paying a minimum of $2,995 to Celestis, Doohan and 307 other people's capsules will be launched from the Falcon 9 rocket nine minutes into the flight. Once there Doohans capsule will begin a decaying orbit of the Earth that will last between 10 to 240 years, 'until it reenters the atmosphere, harmlessly vapourising like a shooting star.' Only governments have completed such a feat to date, with the SpaceX voyage the first time such a voyage has been completed by a private firm. Ferrying the Dragon capsule into space, the mission to the ISS will be to deliver 1,000 pounds of non-essential cargo after passing a series of test maneuvers over the course of three days. If successful in its first-of-a kind mission, the company behind the venture SpaceX would collect the remaining payments on the $396 million contract it has with NASA and then enter into a $1.6 billion agreement for 11 more flights to the ISS. The first step in the commercialisation of space to non-governmental firms, SpaceX is hoping one day to deliver up to seven passengers to the ISS and other destinations in low-Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket suffers from an 'instantaneous launch window' which means that if they don't take off at the exact scheduled moment they will have to wait till 3.44 a.m on Tuesday for the pad and the ISS to line up again. This will be the Falcon's third flight as SpaceX have already sent the projectile into space on two previous occasions. But this will be the first time it will dock with the ISS - signalling the first time a commercial enterprise has ever hooked up with the orbiting space station. However, this mission from a private contractor is not without risk and could very well end in failure, something which SpaceX have been upfront and honest about. 'Demonstration launches are conducted to determine potential issues so that they might be addressed and – by their very nature – carry a significant risk,' said a statement by the private space firm according to the Guardian. 'All spaceflight is incredibly complicated, and this flight introduces a series of new challenges – it is only the third flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, the second of the Dragon capsule, and the first for a number of all-new components necessary to berth with the International Space Station. 'If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and try again.' If all goes well though on the next launch, Falcon 9 will carry the Dragon capsule into space and match orbits with the ISS. Flashback: The launch of Falcon 9 Flight 1 from the SpaceX launch pad at Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral, Florida in 2010 . The full flight-ready Falcon 9  (left and right) with Dragon capsule onboard stands on the launch pad at SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida . There it will go through a series of tests and will pass around one and a half miles below the station to see if its controls are testing properly. If that checks out OK, the ISS will allow the Dragon capsule to within 10 feet and pull it in for docking all the while traveling at 17,500 mph. Staying on board the space station for a week and a half, it will then be re-loaded and sent back to Earth where it will land in the Pacific and be retrieved. The launch and subsequent mission will be nerve-wracking for SpaceX and Elon Musk, the PayPal entrepreneur who founded the space exploration firm. An artists view of the space station's robotic arm reaching out to grab SpaceX's Dragon capsule which will happen if all goes according to plan after this Saturday's launch . 'We have to allow for the fact that this is an extremely complex and tough flight. It's a test flight, not a standard milk run,' said Alan Stern, a U.S aerospace consultant and former associate administrator in charge of science at Nasa according to the New York Times. 'Elon Musk and SpaceX have a tremendous track record, and when Falcon 1 failed, they stuck with it and made it work. 'They will have a failure again, because everyone does, but a test flight is a learning experience. SpaceX tested the Dragon capsules ability to parachute safely (left) and to splash down in the Pacific (right) 'Regardless of how successful the flight is, whether it's complete or partial, it's a big step forward. This is a sea change.' Originally, the plan was for SpaceX and their capsule to have docked with the ISS by 2009. 'Certainly, we would have hoped to have been further ahead,' said Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX  to the New York Times. 'But I wouldn’t have expected that with great confidence.'", "The first commercial mission to the International Space Station ended Thursday with the SpaceX Dragon capsule splashing down after a flight the company's founder declared a \"grand slam.\" The Dragon drifted beneath parachutes to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, about 560 miles off Baja California, on Thursday morning. It hit the water about a mile from its target, SpaceX founder Elon Musk told reporters. \"This has been a fantastic day,\" Musk said, adding, \"I'm just overwhelmed with joy.\" He said recovery crews have reached the capsule and report it \"looks really good.\" Splashdown came at 8:42 a.m. (11:42 a.m. ET), about two minutes earlier than expected, SpaceX and NASA reported. Musk was on hand at the company's mission control center near Los Angeles as operators monitored the descent, and called the mission a \"grand slam\" in a briefing later Thursday. Splashdown came nine days after it took off on its historic mission, during which it delivered food, clothing, computer equipment and supplies for science experiments to the orbital platform and returned with about 1,300 pounds of cargo -- everything from trash to scientific research and experimental samples. The space station's robotic arm released the Dragon at 5:35 a.m. ET. A thruster burn a minute later pushed the spacecraft away from its host, according to SpaceX, the private company that built and operates the vessel. Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA's head of commercial space systems, said the space agency is waiting to recover the spacecraft's cargo and will review post-flight reports. But he told Musk, \"We became a customer today.\"\"We've been waiting for this day, and it certainly is a tremendous day,\" Lindenmoyer said. \"We're looking forward now to routine, regular cargo service.\" Space analyst Miles O'Brien said the flight was a demonstration of the company's capabilities, and the spacecraft wasn't carrying critical equipment or supplies. \"If none of this cargo had gone up or down, the show would have gone on,\" said O'Brien, a former CNN correspondent. Its next mission, expected later this year, \"will be a for-real cargo with mission-critical items.\" \"As time goes on, there will be more important stuff that will go up and down on Dragon,\" he said. The Dragon's re-entry mimicked the way Apollo capsules returned to Earth after putting men on the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, but which fell out of use during the space shuttle era. Recovery divers were waiting on boats just outside the projecting landing area, ready to secure the spacecraft and tow it to a barge with a crane to hoist the space vehicle aboard. SpaceX calls its capsule is \"the only spacecraft capable of returning a significant amount of cargo from the space station,\" saying that other vehicles that deliver cargo to the International Space Station are destroyed after they leave the station. The Dragon is designed to be re-usable and ultimately, to carry as many as seven people into orbit. SpaceX Dragon triumph: Only the beginning . The mission began May 22, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the capsule into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA collaborated with SpaceX on every part of the mission and gave final authorization for the flight. Dragon reached the station Friday and was \"captured\" by the station's robotic arm. The mission, hailed by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. as a step toward a new future of private innovation in the space industry, comes as government funding of the space program decreases. It also marks the culmination of six years of preparation to bring commercial flights to the space station after the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in 2011, which left the United States with no means of independently sending humans into space. Without the shuttle, NASA relies on the Russian space agency to ferry U.S. astronauts to orbit and has limited capabilities to send supplies to the station and bring them back. Dragon fills a need in taking significant payload back and forth, current ISS astronaut Don Pettit said. NASA: The end of the galaxy as we know it? In December 2008, NASA announced it had chosen SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon to resupply ISS crews after the shuttle's retirement. The $1.6 billion contract involves a minimum of 12 flights, with an option to order more missions for additional cost, according to SpaceX. SpaceX is one of a few of private companies receiving NASA funds to develop the capability for commercial transport of astronauts into space. Musk, who founded the internet service PayPal, has said the commercial program's fixed-price, pay-for-performance contracts make fiscal sense for taxpayers and fosters competition among companies on reliability, capability and cost. Astronaut Joe Acaba, also aboard the space station, called the mission a great first step in the commercialization of spaceflight, and Pettit agreed. \"Commercial spaceflight will blossom due to its own merits, and doesn't really hinge on one mission,\" Pettit said. \"It will hinge on the viability of launching many missions over a long period of time and being able to provide useful commercial goods and services in the low-Earth orbit arena.\" SpaceX is now developing a heavy-lift rocket with twice the cargo capability of the space shuttle and hopes to build a spacecraft that could carry a crew to Mars.", "Elon Musk has released dramatic footage of the moment a SpaceX rocket crashed into a barge. The company's founder unveiled the images of the Falcon 9 landing after persuasion on Twitter by the game pioneer behind Doom, John Carmack. The images show the rocket approaching the barge following its launch on Saturday. After it fails to reduce its speed, the rocket is seen crashing at an angle and exploding. Scroll down for video . Elon Musk has released footage of the moment a SpaceX rocket crashed into a barge. The company's founder unveiled the images after persuasion on Twitter by the game pioneer behind Doom, John Carmack . Billionaire Musk described the event simply as a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly'. SpaceX has been developing technology to land the largest stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back on Earth after it takes its supplies to the ISS. Last Saturday's mission was the group's first attempt to put the stage on an autonomous landing platform at sea, which was held in position using deep-sea oil rigs. While the launch went well, a failure in its hydraulic control fins brought the rocket down at the wrong angle. Earlier today Musk tweeted: 'Next rocket landing on drone ship in two to three weeks away more hydraulic fluid. At least it should explode for a different reason.' Saturday's mission was the group's first to put the stage on an autonomous landing platform at sea, which was held in position using deep-sea oil rigs. Pictured is an image of the fuel and oxygen combining in an explosion . Musk described the event simply as a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly'. SpaceX has been developing technology to land the largest stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back on Earth after it takes its supplies to the ISS . Recovering the rocket involved re-lighting its engines on re-entry for a series of three burns. The first were two adjusted the predicted landing point and reduce its speed from 4,265ft per second to 820ft per second. A final 'landing burn' slowed the speed further to around 6.5ft per second as the rocket lowers its landing legs. Four 'hypersonic grid fins' placed around the rocket were meant to deploye on re-entry. Each fin moves independently to help control roll, pitch and yaw. However, these malfunctioned, causing the crash. The modified barge - nearly the size of a football field - was positioned a couple hundred miles off Florida's northeastern coast. The uncrewed platform was spared serious damage from the impact, although some equipment on deck will need to be replaced, according to Musk . Initially, Musk had insisted that the company didn't get good video of the impact, and that the team would have to piece together information from 'telemetry and … actual pieces'. In the weeks preceding the landing test, Musk had estimated there was a 50-50 chance, at best, that the Falcon's first-stage booster would land vertically on the platform. A pair of attempts last year to bring boosters down vertically on the open ocean went well, but company officials conceded before Saturday's try that a platform touchdown was considerably more challenging. Once separated from the upper stage of the rocket Saturday, the main booster re-ignited as planned for the fly back, according to SpaceX. Initially, Musk had insisted that the company didn't get good video of the impact, and that the team would have to piece together information from 'telemetry and … actual pieces' In the weeks preceding the landing test, Musk (left) had estimated there was a 50-50 chance, at best, that the Falcon's first-stage booster would land vertically on the platform. He issued the pictured after prompts from gaming pioneerjohn Carmack (right) SpaceX successfully launched a supply rocket to the International Space Station on Saturday, the sixth mission by the aerospace contractor to the station since 2012. However the landing wasn't as smooth . Automatic engine firings maneuvered the booster down toward the autonomous, modified barge. The Air Force maintained the ability, as always, to destroy the booster if it strayed off course. SpaceX's primary mission was delivering more than 5,000 pounds of station supplies ordered up by Nasa, including hasty replacements for experiments and equipment lost in the destruction of another company's cargo ships. The company, headquartered in Hawthorne, California, also has been contracted by Nasa to develop beefed-up Dragons for astronaut rides to the space station, beginning as early as 2017. Boeing also is hard at work on a manned capsule. In the meantime, Nasa is paying tens of millions of dollars to Russia for each U.S. astronaut launched aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. A barge floating off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, was supposed to recover the leftover booster, but components came down too hard and broke apart, according to SpaceX founder Elon Musk . Onlookers and photographers watched the trajectory of the Falcon 9 rocket, which lit up the sky over Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday .", "SpaceX is set to build the world's first commercial site for orbital rocket launches in the southernmost tip of Texas. The move was helped by $15.3 million (£9 million) in incentives from Texas that will allow SpaceX to have greater control over the timing of its launches. The company has said it plans to launch 12 rockets a year from the Boca Chica Beach in Brownsville, a short walk from the Gulf of Mexico and a couple miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Scroll down for video . SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he plans to build the world's first commercial site for orbital rocket launches in the southernmost tip of Texas. The move was helped by $15.3 million (£9 million) in incentives from Texas . Governor Rick Perry's office said Monday it will provide $2.3 million (£1.36 million) from the Texas Enterprise Fund. The state will offer an additional $13 million (£7.7 million) from the Spaceport Trust Fund to the Cameron County Spaceport Development Corporation to pay for infrastructure development. 'Texas has been on the forefront of our nation's space exploration efforts for decades, so it is fitting that SpaceX has chosen our state as they expand the frontiers of commercial space flight,' Governor Perry said in a prepared statement. SpaceX plans to make an $85 million investment and create 300 jobs. The company already has a rocket testing facility in McGregor that employs 250 people. In April, Nasa agreed to lease launch pad 39A at Cape Canaveral to SpaceX. The company also launches from California. Pictured is today's launch of the AsiaSat 8 satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral . Its chief executive Elon Musk, said, 'In addition to creating hundreds of high-tech jobs for the Texas workforce, this site will inspire students, expand the supplier base and attract tourists to the South Texas area.' A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered off its coastal launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida today to put a commercial communications satellite into orbit. On its second launch attempt of the day, the 224-foot (68-meter) rocket lifted off at 4 a.m. EDT/9am GMT, blazing through partly cloudy, pre-dawn skies as it headed into space. The first try, 2-1/2 hours earlier, ended less than a minute before liftoff when a computer found a potential problem with the rocket's first-stage engine, SpaceX officials said in a live webcast. The issue was resolved, clearing the rocket for flight. Perched on top of the Falcon 9 was a communications satellite owned by Hong Kong-based Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings, or AsiaSat. The spacecraft, known as AsiaSat 8, will become the fifth member of an orbital network that provides telecommunication services to the Asia-Pacific region. AsiaSat hired privately owned SpaceX for two satellite launches, the second of which is due to launch later this month . Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez said he always knew Brownsville had a good shot at landing the facility. Locations in Florida, Puerto Rico and Georgia had apparently been considered as well. 'It's a barrier breaker,' Mayor Martinez said. 'It opens up a lot of doors for a lot of things.' He said SpaceX hopes to have the first launch in 2016. Gilberto Salinas, executive vice president of the Brownsville Economic Development Council, which also contributed funds, said the region's work is just beginning. One of the site's biggest hurdles seemed to be its environmental impact. The site is bordered on three sides by state park land that's managed by the federal government as part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. But in late May, the Federal Aviation Administration released a final environmental review that found the project was unlikely to jeopardise the existence of protected animal species and would create few unavoidable impacts. Rick Tumlinson, co-founder of Space Frontier Foundation and Texas Space Alliance, said in May that SpaceX's establishment of its launch site in Texas would be significant. 'What that means is we could at some point see flights originating in Texas that are carrying astronauts or passengers to the space station, orbital space hotels, to the moon and eventually even we might see human beings boarding spacecraft in Texas and flying to Mars,' Mr Tumlinson said. 'That's huge.' The company has said it plans to launch 12 rockets a year from the Boca Chica Beach, a short walk from the Gulf of Mexico and just a couple miles north of the US-Mexico border . Carissa Bryce Christensen, managing partner at The Tauri Group, a Virginia-based space and technology consulting firm, said in an interview in April that having its own launch site would give SpaceX predictability. 'SpaceX has made an absolute winning career of controlling its own destiny,' Bryce Christensen said. 'SpaceX is arguably the most integrated launch company there is. They do it all themselves.' SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship already ferries supplies and experiments to and from the International Space Station for Nasa. In April, Nasa agreed to lease launch pad 39A at Cape Canaveral to SpaceX. The company also launches from Vandenberg Air Force base in California. SpaceX has proposed launching its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy - under development - rockets from Boca Chica. There has been no indication that SpaceX will do space tourism at the Texas site.", "Elon Musk (right) will install the stations along the M20 from London to Dover, across the entire M25, along the M4 from London to Bristol and the M1 and M6 to Manchester via Birmingham . Motorways are to become ‘electric superhighways’ in an attempt to persuade drivers to switch to battery-powered cars. ‘Supercharging stations’ are to be installed on several major roads by the end of the year, enabling electric cars to travel across the country in one trip for the first time. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is fitting the devices, which can charge the Tesla electric cars his company makes in 20 minutes, giving a range of 130 miles. This is far faster than most current electric cars, which often require overnight charging and have a range of under 100 miles. It means electric car owners will be able to drive large distances across Britain without concerns about running out of power, known as ‘range anxiety’. The first network will stretch from Dover to London along the M20, cover the entire M25 and follow the M4 from London to Bristol and the M1 and M6 to Manchester via Birmingham. Tesla declined to say which service stations would be used, but installation work was reported to be almost complete on the South Mimms services at the junction of the M25 and the A1 in Hertfordshire. The network will also expand across much of Europe to enable owners to take the Channel Tunnel and drive on the Continent. Tesla hopes motorists will be able to take its cars from northern Norway to southern Spain by the end of 2014. Drivers will be able to get a range of 240 miles for 40 minutes charging or 300 miles for 75 minutes charging with a Tesla Model S Performance Plus car, which costs £70,000. Drivers will be able to get a range of 240 miles for 40 minutes charging with a Tesla Model S Performance Plus car, which costs £70,000 (pictured) Electric cars are becoming more popular in Britain, but sales have been held back by a lack of charging points . Motorists do not have to wait with the car while it is charging. Tesla drivers will have unlimited access to the network for either a one-off fee or included in the top price of the cars. Mr Musk was announced as the Government’s ‘electric car tsar’ in November. Despite efforts by the Government’s Office for Low-Emission Vehicles, which has £900million of taxpayers’ cash to play with, electric cars have so far failed to spark much interest in the British motoring market. Only 1,547 pure electric cars were registered in Britain from January to April this year, just 0.18 per cent of total car sales. A major drawback has been problems for motorists who are trying to find a public charging point on the street or at a supermarket and making sure they have the right cable for it. Edmund King, president of the AA, said that Tesla could be a ‘game changer’ for the top end of the market. He said: ‘The car looks good and is desirable. If it can be partially charged in 20 minutes and has a 300-mile range, then it should satisfy 98 per cent of drivers.’ Ecotricity and ChargeMaster are also expected to develop high-speed charging networks, but cars using them are not expected to have such a long range. Elon Musk is known as the real-life Iron Man after he was said to have inspired Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of the genius inventor in the superhero films. Mr Musk made his fortune with the online payment system PayPal, which he sold to eBay in 2002 for £1billion, using the proceeds to launch SpaceX, which has a £2billion contract with Nasa to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. In 2003 he set up luxury electric car company Tesla, and last year unveiled a futuristic plan for a ‘Hyperloop’, a new type of transport that would send passengers in capsules along a tube at the speed of sound. South African-born Mr Musk has five sons by his first wife Justine, whom he divorced in 2010. He later married British actress Talulah Riley, star of the recent St Trinian’s films. The couple divorced in 2012 but have since reunited. Miss Riley, educated at top girls’ school Haberdashers’ Aske’s, once said: ‘I fell in love with Elon because of our mutual love of physics. I’m interested in philosophy, and talking to Elon I realised my questions could be answered with physics.’", "Tesla has updated its electric sports car with a huge boost to its battery, enabling it to drive 400 miles on a single charge. The upgraded battery pack  along with tweaks to its aerodynamics means it will effectively double its range. To prove the capabilities, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the firm plans to drive the car from San Francisco to LA in a single trip. Scroll down for video . The firm also revealed a major update for its car software, allowing it to be turned on remotely via an app . The Roadster was the brainchild of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has since gone on to revolutionise space travel with his SpaceX Firm. A co-founder of PayPal, he is also developing a hi-tech travel system called hyperloop, . The firm first released the roadster in 2008. It will out-drag a Ferrari, hitting 60mph in just 3.7 seconds, and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were among the first customers to get their $109,000 Roadsters. However, in terms of popularity, is has been superseded by the Model S, a more 'grown up' sedan - and second hand model now sell four around $22,000, more than its original list price, since production stopped in 2012. However, the original car was a historic breakthrough for the electric car industry. The original Roadster battery was the very first lithium ion battery put into production in any vehicle. 'It was state of the art in 2008, but cell technology has improved substantially since then,' Tesla said. 'We have identified a new cell that has 31% more energy than the original Roadster cell. 'Using this new cell we have created a battery pack that delivers roughly 70kWh in the same package as the original battery.' The firm has also made a new aero kit for the car to reduce drag by 15%, amd revealed tyres with 20% less drag. 'Combining all of these improvements we can achieve a predicted 40-50% improvement on range between the original Roadster and Roadster 3.0,' it said. The firm has also made a new aero kit for the car to reduce drag by 15%, amd revealed tyres with 20% less drag. 'There is a set of speeds and driving conditions where we can confidently drive the Roadster 3.0 over 400 miles. 'We will be demonstrating this in the real world during a non-stop drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles in the early weeks of 2015.' Appointments for upgrading Roadsters will be taken this spring once the new battery pack finishes safety validation. 'We are confident that this will not be the last update the Roadster will receive in the many years to come,' it said. The firm also revealed a major update for its car software. 'Software v6.0 update introduces traffic-based navigation and commute advice, provides an in-car view of daily schedules, enables location-based air suspension settings, and allows owners to name their Model S and start it remotely using their mobile phone,' it said. However the firm has been hit by falling gas prices. The $109,000 Roadster, launched in 2011, . A top analyst slashed his earnings projections for the California-based auto company earlier this month, estimating that Tesla will sell 40percent fewer cars in the next five years than he had previously forecast. Tesla's stock has fallen 31percent since hitting a high in September. On Monday is closed below $200 a share fro the first time since May - hitting a seven-month low. Oil prices have plunged more than 40 percent during that time period and gas is down to $2 a gallon in many states.", "(CNN) -- Richard Garriott had more reason than most to dream the Apollo moon landings would rapidly expand space travel. His father was a NASA astronaut, as were many of his neighbors near Texas' Johnson Space Center. This is a rendering of XCOR Aerospace's Lynx, which would be used to send people on suborbital spaceflights. With nearly all of humanity still on Earth nearly four decades later, the computer game developer paid $35 million for a ride aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the international space station. \"Flight to space is an entire series of pinnacle life experiences,\" said Garriott, a 48-year-old board member of Space Adventures, the company that arranged his 12-day trip last year. \"The view of the Earth is life changing.\" Garriott believes the United States hasn't fulfilled the promise of the Apollo program yet. \"It was an assumed future that we'd all go to space [by now],\" he said. \"That hasn't come to pass, and it's created this interesting evolution of spaceflight right now.\" That evolution involves the privatization of space, and although the prospect of a spacecraft in every garage isn't near, a few private firms are getting close to manned, commercial spaceflight. Some companies, such as Virgin Galactic, aim to sell suborbital flights -- high enough to reach the edges of space and weightlessness -- within the next few years. The flights have varied purposes, including tourism and science experiments. A Nevada company hopes to sell habitable space stations where paying clients would conduct scientific research. Two relatively new U.S. aerospace companies were hired last year by NASA to send unmanned cargo to the international space station. NASA plans to retire the space shuttle at the end of 2010 and wouldn't be able to send crews to the space station for at least several years after that. \"I really view us and the private sector as the spiritual inheritors of Apollo,\" said Mike Gold, director of the Washington office of Bigelow Aerospace, the company developing the commercial space stations. Suborbital flights: Thrills and experiments now, orbit later . One group preparing to sell suborbital flights is Virgin Galactic, whose parent company is partnering with California-based Scaled Composites to develop SpaceShipTwo, the successor to 2004's Ansari X Prize-winning SpaceShipOne. Space tourists will pay Virgin $200,000 each for training and a 2.5-hour flight to the edge of space and back. About 300 people have paid at least the majority of the fee to reserve the first flights, and about 80,000 others have registered interest, said Stephen Attenborough, Virgin Galactic's commercial director. The spaceship, which will carry six passengers and be based in New Mexico, will be hoisted by a carrier craft to 50,000 feet before blasting on its own to suborbit, where passengers will float weightless about the cabin and see space and the Earth through large windows. The craft will land on a runway and be reused. The carrier craft is being flight tested, and SpaceShipTwo's flight tests are expected to begin at the end of this year, Attenborough said. With 20 to 30 test spaceflights expected, it could be 18 months to two years before it's ready commercially, he said. Tourism isn't the only planned use. The craft could be modified to launch microsatellites, and Virgin hopes to sell flights to agencies for microgravity or atmospheric experiments. \"To be able to have something like SpaceCraftTwo to put scientists in space ... at a relatively low cost, it's transforming for science,\" Attenborough said. California's XCOR Aerospace also is developing a reusable vehicle that will take a pilot and a front-seat customer to the edge of space -- for pleasure or to transport scientific payloads that would benefit from microgravity. XCOR's Lynx, roughly the size of a small airplane, will take off and land on a runway and propel itself with liquid-fuel engines. Sales agent RocketShip Tours is selling one-hour Lynx rides plus training for $95,000 a person. Initially launching from Mojave, California, participants will get a view from the edge of space for several minutes and briefly experience weightlessness. Test flights may begin by the end of 2010, and testing would take at least a year, CEO Jeff Greason said. A second, expendable stage may be added to launch nanosatellites, he said. Like other suborbital providers, XCOR eventually wants to develop an orbital vehicle. The Lynx is a technical pathfinder to that -- something that could make money and prove the reliability and safety of the technology. \"There's a market for people in orbit if the price is low enough,\" Greason said. \"There's more work to do [in orbit], including people flying to be a laborer to work on somebody's widget or experiment.\" iReport.com: Where were you during the moon landing? Commercial, habitable space stations . Getting people to orbit is exactly what Bigelow Aerospace needs to sell its space stations. Bigelow is developing expandable space habitats with a flexible-fabric shell. They would be compressed in a capsule for launch and expand upon deployment. Bigelow primarily sees the habitats as destinations for research scientists and astronauts -- particularly those from countries that haven't used the international space station as much as they'd like or nations making their first steps into space, Gold said. The space station's own future is in doubt, with a NASA space station program manager recently telling a public hearing that NASA currently plans to de-orbit the station in 2016, according to The Washington Post. Affordable microgravity research can help manufacturers make new material for things such as supercomputers and buildings, Gold said. Bigelow -- founded and financed by hotel chain owner Robert Bigelow -- put two subscale, uninhabited models in orbit in 2006 and 2007 through a Russian/Ukrainian launch provider. It eventually aims to develop a full habitat that can support up to eight people. But it won't launch the habitat without a way to transport people there. Gold, Garriott and others in the private sector say they hope NASA can be persuaded to invest in, and eventually hire, aerospace companies to deliver NASA astronauts to low-Earth orbit instead of using its own spacecraft. In such a scenario, the companies would also get to sell their shuttle services to other private-sector customers. That would increase launch rates and lower costs for NASA and the private sector, they said. NASA did not respond to a request for comment. Putting people into orbit . One company that may wish to help is Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), one of two firms NASA hired to send unmanned cargo to the international space station after the shuttle's planned retirement. SpaceX, founded and financed by PayPal founder Elon Musk, received money from NASA to develop its spacecraft. Last year, the California company was awarded a NASA contract for 12 supply flights from roughly 2011 to 2015. SpaceX will use its Falcon 9 rocket topped by its Dragon capsule, which would carry the cargo. The rocket's first test flight should be later this year, said Larry Williams, SpaceX's vice president for strategic relations. Three demonstration flights with the Dragon would follow, starting perhaps in early 2010, with the Dragon docking with the space station on the third trip. NASA does have an option to fund a version of the Dragon that can transport astronauts, and SpaceX is eager to do that. However, NASA hasn't executed the option, Williams said. With the global economic downturn, one might think developing space products and finding customers would be difficult. But people in the industry -- especially those working for companies founded by businessmen with large fortunes -- say they'll be fine in the long term. \"Our industry is still hiring engineers, whereas most industries are laying people off,\" said John Gedmark, executive director of the industry group Commercial Spaceflight Federation. \"The investors putting money behind these ventures are personally committed.\"", "SpaceX may have failed in its Falcon 9 landing at the weekend, but Elon Musk is never one to rest on his laurels. During an online chat, the billionaire entrepreneur said he is forging ahead with plans to colonise Mars by 2020 - and will release more details about how he intends to reach the red planet before the end of the year. He hinted at how his Mars transport system will work, and said he is working on a new range of spacesuits that will look as good as they work. Scroll down for video . During an online chat, the billion entrepreneur (left) said he is forging ahead with his plans to colonise Mars by 2020 - and will release more details about he intends to reach the red planet before the end of the year. He hinted at how the Mars transport system will work, and said he is working on a new range of spacesuits . The comments were made by Mr Musk during an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit. When asked to expand on his Mars lander plans, the 43-year-old said: 'The Mars transport system will be a completely new architecture. 'I'm hoping to present that towards the end of this year. Good thing we didn't do it sooner, as we have learnt a huge amount from Falcon and Dragon.' Mr Musk wants to help establish a colony of up to 80,000 people on the planet, but admitted he’d like to start small, with a group of 10 people, and build the colony from there. Mr Musk wants to help establish a colony of up to 80,000 people on the red planet. However, he admitted he’d like to start small, with a group of 10 people, and build the colony from there. He ultimately plans to use a reusable rocket, fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane, to reach the red planet in six years. It would need to be much heavier than SpaceX’s current rockets, including the Falcon Heavy. During the mission, Mr Musk said the goal is take 100 metric tonnes of 'useful payload' to the surface, and this will require 'a very big spaceship and booster system.' And, on the subject of what the Mars visitors will wear, Mr Musk said his spacesuit design is coming together and will also be unveiled later this year. 'We are putting a lot of effort into design aesthetics, not just utility. 'It needs to both look like a 21st century spacesuit and work well. [It's] really difficult to achieve both.' During the mission, Mr Musk said the goal is take 100 metric tonnes of 'useful payload' to the surface, and this will require 'a very big spaceship and booster system.' And, on the subject of what the Mars visitors will wear, Mr Musk said his spacesuit design is coming together and will also be unveiled later this year. 'We are putting a lot of effort into design aesthetics, not just utility,' explained Mr Musk. 'It needs to both look like a 21st century spacesuit and work well. [It's] really difficult to achieve both.' ‘At Mars, you can start a self-sustaining civilisation and grow it into something really big,’ Mr Musk said. ‘I think we're making some progress in that direction - not as fast as I'd like.’ In April last year, SpaceX carried out a successful rocket test during which the firm launched a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. The rocket is reusable and it crashed into a target in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after the Dragon capsule delivered supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). At the weekend, the space firm attempted to land the reusable rocket on a floating platform off the east coast of America. However, the first stage of the unmanned Falcon rocket made it to the platform, but the booster came down too hard and broke apart. The test was carried out as part of a supply mission to the International Space Station. 'Close, but no cigar this time,' Mr Musk tweeted. Although, he said the test bodes well for the future, though. Mr Musk wants to help establish a colony of up to 80,000 people on the red planet. During the mission, Mr Musk said the goal is take 100 metric tonnes of 'useful payload' to the surface (illustrated), and this will require 'a very big spaceship and booster system' SpaceX successfully launched a supply rocket to the International Space Station on Saturday, the sixth mission by the aerospace contractor to the station since 2012 . Mr Musk maintains that recovering and reusing rockets is essential for bringing down launch costs and speeding up operations. The primary mission for SpaceX was delivering more than 5,000 pounds of supplies ordered by Nasa, including hasty replacements for experiments and equipment lost in the destruction of another company's cargo ship last fall, as well as extra groceries. A ship with SpaceX staff watched from a safe 10 miles (16km) away as the booster approached the platform, marked with a giant X. Musk reported that the platform itself - 300 feet (91 metres) by 100 feet (30 metres), with wings stretching the width to 170 feet (51 metres) - was fine following the attempted touchdown well before dawn. However, during the mission SpaceX attempted to land a reusable rocket on a floating platform off the east coast of America (pictured). The first stage of the unmanned Falcon rocket made it to the platform, but the booster came down too hard and broke apart . But he said some of the equipment on deck will need to be replaced. In the weeks preceding the landing test, Musk had estimated there was a 50/50 chance, at best, that the Falcon's first-stage booster would land vertically on the platform. At the weekend, SpaceX attempted to land a reusable rocket on a floating platform off the east coast of America. However, the first stage of the unmanned Falcon rocket made it to the platform, but the booster came down too hard and broke apart. The test was carried out as part of a supply mission to the International Space Station. 'Close, but no cigar this time,' Mr Musk tweeted. Although, he said the test bodes well for the future, though. A ship with SpaceX staff watched from a safe 10 miles away as the 14-story booster approached the platform, marked with a giant X. Musk reported that the platform itself - 300 feet (91 metres) by 100 feet (30 metres), with wings stretching the width to 170 feet (51 metres) - was fine following the attempted touchdown well before dawn. But he said some of the equipment on deck will need to be replaced. A pair of attempts last year to bring boosters down vertically on the open ocean went well, but company officials conceded before Saturday's try that a platform touchdown was considerably more challenging. Once separated from the upper stage of the rocket Saturday, the main booster re-ignited as planned for the flyback, according to SpaceX. Automatic engine firings maneuvered the booster down toward the autonomous, modified barge. The Air Force maintained the ability, as always, to destroy the booster if it strayed off course. The shipment - the sixth by SpaceX since 2012 - is needed more than usual because of the recent loss of another company's supply ship. Orbital Sciences Corp's Antares rocket exploded seconds after liftoff in October, destroying the entire payload and damaging the Virginia launch complex. That rocket is grounded until next year. This SpaceX delivery was supposed to occur before Christmas, but was delayed by a flawed test-firing of the rocket. Then a problem with the rocket's steering system cropped up at the last minute during Tuesday's initial launch attempt. Nasa is paying SpaceX and Orbital Sciences to keep the space station stocked in the wake of the retired shuttle program. The $1.6billion contract with SpaceX calls for 12 flights; the $1.9billion contract with Orbital calls for eight. SpaceX also returns items to Earth; Orbital can't. Mr Musk was optimistic on Twitter in spite of the crash, especially considering the feat had never before been attempted in the history of space flight .", "Elon Musk has confirmed plans to bring low-cost internet to the masses by releasing hundreds of micro-satellites. The news follows rumours earlier this week that Musk was planning to launch a swarm of tiny satellites to bring remote parts of the world online. The SpaceX co-founder today said on Twitter that he is 'still in the early stages of developing micro-satellites,' and promised an official announcement in the next two to three months. High flyer: The SpaceX co-founder today said on Twitter that he is 'still in the early stages of developing micro-satellites,' and promised an official announcement in the next two to three months . The billionaire entrepreneur is reportedly working with Greg Wyler, a satellite expert and former Google employee. Mr Wyler was involved with developing Google's bid to get less developed parts of the world online, The Wall Street Journal reported. The race is on to connect the two-thirds of the planet without internet access, with Google and Facebook both announcing grand plans to roll out access using satellites, drones and even giant balloons. Mr Wyler founded WorldVu Satellites, based in the Channel Islands, which controls a large block of radio spectrum and is said to talking to industry executives – along with Mr Musk – about plans to launch around 700 satellites, each weighing just 250lbs (113kg). The satellites would be half the weight of the smallest kind used at the moment, and the constellation would be 10 times the size of the largest commercial fleet. Elon Musk (pictured) is setting his sights on satellites and wants to use them to get remote parts of the world online. The billionaire entrepreneur is now exploring ways to create small and cheap satellites in a project that would pit him against Google and Facebook . The duo may build a factory to make the satellites, either in Florida or Colorado. Any satellites produced would likely be launched by Mr Musk's firm Space X, which has 48 launches planned by 2018. Elon musk wants to use satellites to provide internet access to remote parts of the planet. He is said to be involved in developing cheap and small satellites with expert Greg Wyler, of WorldVu Satellites. The duo plan on launching 700 satellites which would be 10 times the size of the largest commercial fleet. They would each weigh just 250lbs (113kg) - half the weight of the current lightest commercial offering. The duo is considering opening a factory in Florida or Colorado to build their creations for a cost of at least $1 billion (£600 million). Any satellites produced would likely be launched by Mr Musk's firm Space X but there are many obstacles in the way. Last month, the company won a $2.6 billion (1.6 billion) contract to develop, test and fly 'space taxis' for Nasa, in order to put US astronauts into orbit. However, there are many obstacles that need to be overcome before the satellites are deemed a success. They are predicted to cost $1 billion (£600 million) to develop and may be able to be launched until the end of the decade, depending on Space X's schedule. Mr Musk's involvement in the long-term is not certain and WorldVu risks losing its spectrum in 2030, too. The company currently controls a block of radio spectrum in the Ku band, communicating in the microwave range of between 12 and 18 GHz. In June, it was announced that Google is planning on launching a fleet of 180 satellites to provide web access for the 4.8 billion people not yet online. According to sources close to the company, it plans on spending more than $1 billion (£600 million) on the technology. Two-thirds of the world still remain without internet access. Google is planning to change this by launching a fleet of 180 satellites to provide web access for the 4.8 billion people not yet online, and now Elon Musk and an ex-Google employee plan to launch around 700 satellites in an even larger project . Mr Wyler was working at Google on the final design of the satellites, which are thought to be small, high-capacity and intended to orbit the Earth at 'lower altitudes than traditional satellites'. Google: The internet giant is said to be planning the launch of a fleet of 180 satellites to provide web access for the 4.8 billion people not yet online. The project was led by Mr Wyler. Google is tipped to spend $1 billion (£600 million) on the technology and is also planning on using balloons and drones. Google's Project Loon aims to launch high-altitude balloons to provide broadband service to remote locations below. The helium-filled balloons are designed to inflate to 49ft (15 metres) in diameter and carry transmitters that could beam 3G-speed internet to remote regions. In April, the company also acquired Titan Aerospace, which is building solar-powered drones to provide similar connectivity. Facebook: Mark Zuckerburg revealed solar-powered drones, satellites and lasers are all being developed in the firm's labs to deliver the internet to underdeveloped countries. Small satellite manufacturers: Sierra Nevada and Britain's Surrey Satellite Technology are both adept at making increasingly cheap small satellites and have a good track record. He only stayed for around one year before leaving to work with Mr Musk. Sources close to him told The WSJ that Mr Wyler's relationship with Google broke down because he doesn't think Google has the manufacturing experience needed for such a commitment. Google did not comment. If the ambitious project goes ahead, Mr Musk and Mr Wyler will be competing with established firms such as Sierra Nevada and Britain's Surrey Satellite Technology. They will also be going head-to-head with Google and Facebook, too. Google's Project Loon aims to launch high-altitude balloons to provide broadband service to remote locations below. The helium-filled balloons are designed to inflate to 49ft (15 metres) in diameter and carry transmitters that could beam 3G-speed internet to remote regions. It's hoped that it could save developing countries the high cost of laying fibre cables to get online and lead to a dramatic increase in internet access for the likes of Africa and south-east Asia. In April, the company also acquired Titan Aerospace, which is building solar-powered drones to provide similar connectivity. Facebook, meanwhile, has its own drone plans. In March, Mark Zuckerberg revealed solar-powered drones, satellites and lasers are all being developed in the firm's labs to deliver the internet to underdeveloped countries. He has pledged to work on technology to deliver the internet to 'the next three billion people' - and revealed the firm has hired experts in solar power that can keep drones flying for months at a time. Before Mr Wyler left Google, there were reportedly plans to make small, high-capacity satellites designed to orbit the Earth at 'lower altitudes than traditional satellites'. There is also a project to launch giant balloons to connect remote regions to the internet . The Institution of Engineering and Technology's president, Professor William Webb, said: 'The idea of using aerial platforms to deliver connectivity is one that is many decades old, from low-orbital satellites to balloons and more recently unmanned aerial vehicles.' Companies such as Facebook and Google have a checkered . history with privacy, and many have voiced concerns about how the site could . use drones to collect data about people. In theory, the drones could be . used to take aerial images, or collect details about wireless networks and . individuals. As Facebook and Google's drones will be . used to provide internet to people home's, there will need to be a limited . amount of data collection to connect the homes to the network. With this in mind, they are . likely to be subject to strict regulation. In the U.S, for example, the . Federal Aviation Authority's (FAA) guidelines state private operators  are . allowed to fly their drones 'recreationally' and commercial drones are . 'prohibited.' However, earlier this year Judge Patrick Geraghty, from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) dismissed a fine, which the FAA had placed on a drone photographer. Geraghty said Raphael Pirker's . camera drone was 'not subject to [federal regulation] and enforcement,' and . therefore the fine wasn't valid. It is unsure exactly what this . ruling will mean for companies such as Amazon, and now Facebook, but it could . see the restrictions relaxed. The FAA is appealing. Facebook and Google are also . planning to use these drones in areas outside the U.S., and it will depend on . the individual country's laws on unmanned aircraft and surveillance. 'The difficulty has always been one of keeping the aerial platform in the right place in the sky for weeks or months at a low enough cost. As technologies mature we get ever closer to achieving this and Facebook's intervention in this space is a welcome boost to the area.' Mr Musk and Mr Wyler both want to cut the cost of the technology, not least because WorldVu needs a lot of satellites. Mr Musk has an enviable track record of reducing the cost of space travel by simplifying the design of rockets and building components in-house and it is hoped he will help to develop satellites that cost under $1 million (£629,008), instead of several million as they do at the moment. In April, Google acquired Titan Aerospace and is building solar-powered drones to provide connectivity. Facebook has its own drone plans. Mark Zuckerberg said solar-powered drones, satellites and lasers are all being developed in the firm's labs to deliver the internet to underdeveloped countries .", "A historic SpaceX launch that was set to take off today has been scrubbed due to bad weather. A historic SpaceX launch that was set to take off today has been scrubbed due to bad weather. Liftoff of the 208ft (63 metre) tall Falcon 9 rocket was scheduled for 4:33pm EDT/2033GMT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. But poor weather conditions meant the countdown was halted at the 2 1/2-minute mark. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, tweeted: 'Launch postponed due to lightning from an approaching anvil cloud.' The company will now attempt to launch the uncrewed Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, in Florida, at 4:10 pm ET tomorrow. But more bad weather is forecast. If the weather holds out, SpaceX is hoping to guide the bottom stage of the rocket upright onto a platform in the Atlantic Ocean. The main aim of the flight is to deliver more than 4,300lb (1,950 kg) of food, clothing, equipment and science experiments to the station, which flies about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth. On board the Dragon capsule is an experimental espresso machine intended for International Space Station astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy. SpaceX is hoping to show that affordable, reusuable rockets are possible for future commercial missions. The plan is for the capsule to be released on a two-day journey to the International Space Station. Once this takes place, the rocket's first stage will flip around and fire engines to steer its descent. It will then deploy landing legs to touch down on a customised barge stationed about 200 miles (322 km) off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. At a pre-launch press conference on Sunday, SpaceX Vice President Hans Koenigsmann put the odds of a successful landing at 75 or 80 per cent. Nasa this morning said: 'The weather remains the primary concern for today with the most recent report calling for a 60 per cent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time.' During a previous landing attempt in January, the rocket ran out of hydraulic fluid for its steering fins, causing it to crash into the platform. A second attempt in February was called off because of high seas, but the rocket successfully ran through its pre-programmed landing sequence and hovered vertically above the waves before splashing down and breaking apart. Scroll down for video . Fast-approaching storm clouds prevented the unmanned rocket from blasting off Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The company will try again Tuesday. But more bad weather is forecast . The launch will be the easy part. After liftoff, SpaceX will attempt to guide the bottom stage of the rocket upright onto a platform in the Atlantic Ocean . Liftoff of the 208ft (63 metre) tall Falcon 9 rocket was scheduled for 4:33pm EDT/2033GMT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The company will make a second attempt on Tuesday . The ISSpresso machine uses a normal Lavazza coffee capsule, which is posted in the top of the machine. Water is aspirated and pressurised in a unique electrical system and is then heated. The granules mix with the hot water and the coffee is piped into a pouch, which is securely fastened to the machine using a 'rapid coupling/uncoupling system.' Astronauts drink the coffee straight from the pouch using a straw. After demonstrating a successful ocean landing, SpaceX intends to bring its rockets back to a landing pad at the launch site so the boosters can be refurbished and reflown, slashing launch costs. 'It's a long-term goal,' Koenigsmann said. As well as the espresso machine, the SpaceX Dragon supply ship also holds experiments for Nasa's one-year space station resident Scott Kelly, who moved in a couple weeks ago. Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko also will remain on board until March 2016. This will be the California-based SpaceX company's seventh station supply run since 2012, all from Cape Canaveral. A version of the coffee maker is scheduled for launch to the International Space Station aboard a supply capsule which will also include 4,000 pounds of food, science research and other equipment . Elon Musk - whose Southern California company delivers supplies to the International Space Station and aims to haul astronauts as well in two years - wants to start retrieving and reusing his rockets to save time and money. First-stage boosters normally just slam into the Atlantic and sink. Musk recently unveiled the images of the Falcon 9 failed landing after persuasion on Twitter by the game pioneer behind Doom, John Carmack. The images show the rocket approaching the barge following last month's attempt. After it fails to reduce its speed, the rocket is seen crashing at an angle and exploding. Billionaire Musk described the event simply as a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly'. SpaceX is one of two companies hired by Nasa to fly cargo to the station following the retirement of the space shuttles. As well as a recently extended 15-flight, $2 billion contract with Nasa, SpaceX is working on a passenger version of the Dragon capsule and has dozens of contracts to deliver commercial communications satellites into orbit. The company also is working on a heavy-lift version of the Falcon rocket, which uses 27 engines, compared to the nine currently flying. The Falcon Heavy is expected to make its first test flight late this year. At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to boost a Dragon capsule on its fifth commercial resupply mission . Saturday's mission was the group's first to put the stage on an autonomous landing platform at sea, which was held in position using deep-sea oil rigs. Pictured is an image of the fuel and oxygen combining in an explosion . Once the coffee is brewed, it's dispensed in a pouch, which astronauts drink straight from using a straw .", "‘X-wing’ spaceships instantly evoke scenes from Star Wars, but Elon Musk has just shown off real, functioning rocket fins in the iconic configuration. The billionaire entrepreneur is testing 'hypersonic grid fins' that are designed to help control SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere. He has also showcased ‘drone ships’ that could one day be used as offshore landing pads for the reusable spacecraft. The CEO of SpaceX revealed the features on Twitter, adding that testing for both futuristic technologies is currently underway. The latest version of SpaceX’s reusable rocket sports a set of four fins that can be independently adjusted. ‘Grid fins are stowed on ascent and then deploy on re-entry for \"X-wing\" style control. Each fin moves independently for pitch/yaw/roll,’ Mr Musk tweeted. The X-shaped spacecraft in the Star Wars films were incredible maneuverable, allowing pilots such as Luke Skywalker to outclass the most skillful Imperial pilot. Mr Musk tweeted: ‘Grid fins are stowed on ascent and then deploy on re-entry for \"x-wing\" style control. Each fin moves independently for pitch/yaw/roll'. The X-shaped spacecraft in the Star Wars films, called x-wings (pictured) were incredible maneuverable and allowed pilots of navigate the tightest of spaces . Elon Musk wants to use satellites to provide internet access to remote parts of the planet. He said to be involved in developing cheap and small satellites with expert Greg Wyler, of WorldVu Satellites. The duo plan on launching 700 satellites which would be 10 times the size of the largest commercial fleet. They would each weigh just 250lbs (113kg) - half the weight of the current lightest commercial offering. The duo is considering opening a factory in Florida or Colorado to build their creations for a cost of at least $1 billion (£600 million). Any satellites produced would likely be launched by Mr Musk’s firm SpaceX but there are many obstacles in the way. The fins on the Falcon rocket deploy after take-off to prevent unnecessary drag and work alongside thrusters to enable the rocket to position itself correctly to land vertically, Space Daily reported. The entrepreneur likely made the X-wing reference because of the shape the fins make when spread out in four separate directions, plus because of their manoeuvrability. They are similar to a set used on a test earlier this year, according to Mr Musk, who shared a video of that flight on the social network. He also revealed details about the platform the rocket could land on. Mr Musk is testing an ‘autonomous drone ship,’ that’s designed to be a safe platform for rockets to land on and refuel, away from densely populated cities. He claims that the ship can maintain its position within 10ft (three metres) in the stormiest of conditions. He tweeted: ‘Autonomous spaceport drone ship. Thrusters repurposed from deep sea oil rigs hold position within 3m even in a storm.’ As well as testing rocket fins and autonomous landing pads, Elon Musk (pictured) is said to be working on using an array of 1700 satellites to provide internet access to remote parts of the planet .", "In the future, your electric car will drop you off at work, drive home and charge itself using an automated charger, before coming to pick you up later in the day. That’s the vision of Tesla boss Elon Musk, who tweeted his firm is working on a ‘solid metal snake’ charger that automatically moves out from the wall. The short reveal on Twitter is just one of several new features Tesla is planning to roll out for its electric cars in the next few years. Scroll down for video . Elon Musk said his California-based Tesla is working on automatic chargers. These would autonomously charge Tesla's electric cars. In a tweet (shown) he said it would move 'out from the wall and connect like a solid metal snake'. Musk had previously alluded to the technology at a talk in October . At the moment, Tesla vehicles are charged either by using one of the company’s supercharger station, or plugging the vehicle in when at home. But, the latest technology would eliminate the need for people to manually connect their car to a charger. And, as cars become more automated, this could open up new possibilities for self-driving vehicles. Currently, Tesla has about 100 'Supercharger' stations scattered across North America and Europe that give Model S drivers a free power source when traveling long distances. The technology is designed to replenish about half of the battery power within 20 minutes. Tesla recently opened three Supercharger stations in China and plans to set up 200 more around the world, including Japan, soon. In his tweet Musk wrote: ‘Btw, we are actually working on a charger that moves out from the wall and connects like a solid metal snake. For realz.’ He previously alluded to the technology at the reveal of the Dual Motor version of the Model S back in October. ‘Something I’d like to do...is to have the charge connector plug itself in,’ he said at the time. ‘Like an articulating sort of snake, or something. Just plug itself in. ‘I think we’ll probably do something like that. So then you can just get out of your car and it’ll go park itself in your garage.’ His latest tweet confirms the company's plans to develop the technology. It’s not clear when it will be rolled out, but in another tweet that has since been deleted, Mr Musk said the technology would be used on current and future versions of the Model S. At the moment, Tesla vehicles are charged either by using one of the company’s supercharger stations, or plugging the vehicle in when at home (shown). But the latest technology would eliminate the need for people to manually connect their car to a charger . Is this what Tesla's charger might look like? A video posted to YouTube by OC Robotics showed off the Series II X125 system, which is a 'snake' that can move and support itself in mid-air autonomously, perhaps showing how Tesla's charger will move from the wall to a car . In other Tesla news, last week the firm updated its electric Roadster sports car with a huge boost to its battery, enabling it to drive 400 miles (645km) on a single charge. The upgraded battery pack along with tweaks to its aerodynamics means it will effectively double its range. To prove the capabilities, Mr Musk revealed the firm plans to drive the car from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a single trip. The firm has also made a new aero kit for the car to reduce drag by 15 per cent, and revealed tyres with 20 per cent less drag. 'We have identified a new cell that has 31 per cent more energy than the original Roadster cell,' the company said. 'Using this new cell we have created a battery pack that delivers roughly 70kWh in the same package as the original battery. 'Combining all of these improvements we can achieve a predicted 40 to 50 per cent improvement on range between the original Roadster and Roadster 3.0.' In other Tesla news, last week Tesla updated its electric Roadster sports car (shown) with a huge boost to its battery, enabling it to drive 400 miles on a single charge. The upgraded battery pack along with tweaks to its aerodynamics means it will effectively double its range .", "It is 20 years since Vanity Fair first published its New Establishment list marking the cultural shift in American life away from an industrial economy to one more centered around technology and entertainment. Eagerly anticipated and now required reading, the list of 93 marks out those firmly in charge of shaping the current zeitgeist, 'The Powers that Be' and those who threaten to break into this exclusive club, 'The Disrupters'. Both lists are dominated by white men, with 30 billionaires and 36 new entries, with news moguls such as Rupert Murdoch and Michael Bloomberg firmly entrenched inside the top ten. Top dogs: Rupert Murdoch topped Vanity Fair's 'The Powers that Be' top 25 while Tesla Motors visionary, Elon Musk (right) was named number one in 'The Disrupters' list in the magazine's annual 'New Establishment' list . Indeed, Murdoch has been the only constant member of the 'Powers that Be' list since its inception, with newcomer and Silicon Valley's resident visionary, Elon Musk topping out the 'Disrupters'. Tech-giants dominate the 'Disrupters', with Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin at number two, and Apple's Tim Cook and British design guru Jonathan Ive at number three. Facebook's 30-year-old Mark Zuckerberg is at five with Pinterest's 32-year-old chief Ben Silbermann topping out a top ten entirely comprised of men. The first of only five women in a list of 50 'Disrupters' is Zuckerberg's Chief Financial Officer at Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg. Number two: Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both 41, stay at number two in Vanity Fair's list of Disrupters . Disrupters: Apple CEO and design guru Jonathan Ive (right) placed at number three on the list of those disrupting the current establishment . Highest women: Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg (left) comes in at 12 on the disrupters list while Yahoo's Marissa Mayer hits the list at 15 . She is joined by Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer in the top twenty at 15 along with Susan Wojcicki, who replaced YouTube chief, Salar Kamangar, in February. Comedian Kevin Hart comes in at number 24 on the disrupters list from Vanity Fair . In a top 50 full of the chiefs of the new establishment such as Spotify, Vice, Snapchat, GoPro and WhatsApp, there is room for only one African American, the comedian, Kevin Hart. While the Vanity Fair 'Disrupters' list reflects poorly on diversity of those hoping to break into the culutral movers and shakers, it is not necessarily reflected in its more robust 'Powers that Be' roll call. While Murdoch and Bloomberg sit at number one and four respectively, music giants Beyoncé and her husband Jay Z both come in at joint number five - boosted by $100 worth of ticket sales for their recent joint tour, but chastened by rumors surrounding the health of their marriage. Last year, the power-couple topped the list, but ugly surveillance footage of Beyoncé's sister Solange attacking Jay Z inside a Manhattan elevator earlier this summer has taken the shine off their glossy united front. Former number 1's: Beyoncé and her husband Jay Z appear at number five on the list of 'The Powers that Be' - but last year they were at the top of that list . Entertainment and media moguls: Michael Bloomberg drops from two to four on the list of powers that be, while embattled NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell makes an appearance at number eight this year . Embattled NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also makes the powerful list, coming in at number eight, although it remains to be seen whether he will be there next year as the league's handling of the Ray Rice affair is rapidly spiraling out of his control. The top ten also includes potential 2016 presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton, who comes in at number nine after not featuring the previous year at all. She will surely only rise up Vanity Fair's list if, as expected, she confirms she will be running for president - a decision she has promised to make before January 1, 2015. Late night hosts: Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert made number 15 on the list of movers and shakers on the 25 'Powers that Be' New entry: Hilary Clinton is ranked number nine on the list of 'The Powers that Be' alongside Robert Downey JR. at six - and will surely rise during the year . The other women in the top 25 'Powers that Be' are Sandra Bullock, at 14 and BIg Bang Theory show runner, Shonda Rhimes at 18. At joint number 15 are the future late night triumvirate of Stephen Colbert. Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel. When Colbert was announced as the replacement for CBS's long-serving David Letterman on the Late Show, many bemoaned the lack of diversity on the nation's television sets at that prestigious time-slot. Fresh from the $3 billion sale of his Beats music subscription and headphone company, Dr. Dre is the first and highest African American on the list at number 12, joined in the top 25 by Pharrel Williams at 22 and Tyler Perry at 20. DISRUPTERS . 1 ELON MUSK TESLA MOTORS, SPACEX . 2 LARRY PAGE AND SERGEY BRIN GOOGLE . 3 TIM COOK AND JONATHAN IVE APPLE . 4 JEFF BEZOS AMAZON . 5 MARK ZUCKERBERG FACEBOOK . 6 REED HASTINGS AND TED SARANDOS NETFLIX . 7 MARC ANDREESSEN AND BEN HOROWITZ ANDREESSEN HOROWITZ . 8 JACK MA ALIBABA . 9 TRAVIS KALANICK UBER . 10 BEN SILBERMANN PINTEREST . 11 SATYA NADELLA MICROSOFT . 12 SHERYL SANDBERG FACEBOOK . 13 KEVIN FEIGE MARVEL STUDIOS . 14 JACK DORSEY SQUARE, TWITTER . 15 MARISSA MAYER YAHOO . 16 DICK COSTOLO TWITTER . 17 DREW HOUSTON DROPBOX . 18 DANIEL EK SPOTIFY . 19 SUSAN WOJCICKI YOUTUBE . 20 EVAN SPIEGEL SNAPCHAT . 21 BRIAN CHESKY AIRBNB . 22 SHANE SMITH VICE . 23 PREET BHARARA FEDERAL PROSECUTOR . 24 KEVIN HART COMEDIAN . 25 YURI MILNER INVESTOR . 26 NICK WOODMAN GOPRO . 27 RAND PAUL POLITICIAN . 28 MASAYOSHI SON SOFTBANK . 29 KEVIN SYSTROM INSTAGRAM . 30 PIERRE OMIDYAR FIRST LOOK MEDIA . 31 JØRGEN VIG KNUDSTORP LEGO . 32 JONAH PERETTI BUZZFEED . 33 THE YOUTUBE STAR . 34 JEREMY STOPPELMAN YELP . 35 ROELOF BOTHA AND JIM GOETZ SEQUOIA CAPITAL . 36 JOHN GREEN AUTHOR . 37 DIETRICH MATESCHITZ RED BULL . 38 MEGAN ELLISON AND DAVID ELLISON FILM PRODUCER . 39 DANA BRUNETTI PRODUCER . 40 WALT MOSSBERG AND KARA SWISHER RE/CODE . 41 TONY FADELL NEST LABS . 42 EDWARD SNOWDEN ACTIVIST . 43 BRIAN ACTON AND JAN KOUM WHATSAPP . 44 BILL MARIS GOOGLE VENTURES . 45 HOSAIN RAHMAN AND YVES BÉHAR JAWBONE . 46 JOHN LEGERE T-MOBILE . 47 YANCEY STRICKLER KICKSTARTER . 48 SOPHIA AMORUSO NASTY GAL . 49 SEAN RAD TINDER . 50 DAVID ROSENBLATT 1STDIBS . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . THE POWERS THAT BE . 1 RUPERT MURDOCH 21ST CENTURY FOX, NEWS CORP. 2 BOB IGER THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY . 3 BRIAN ROBERTS AND STEVE BURKE COMCAST . 4 MICHAEL BLOOMBERG BLOOMBERG LP . 5 BEYONCÉ MUSICIAN . 5 JAY Z MUSICIAN . 6 ROBERT DOWNEY JR. ACTOR . 7 DAVID ZASLAV DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS . 8 ROGER GOODELL NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE . 9 HILLARY CLINTON POLITICIAN . 10 DAVID FINCHER DIRECTOR . 11 LEE KUN-HEE AND LEE JAE-YONG SAMSUNG . 12 JIMMY IOVINE AND DR. DRE BEATS . 13 HERB ALLEN III ALLEN & CO. 14 SANDRA BULLOCK ACTRESS . 15 JIMMY FALLON, JIMMY KIMMEL AND STEPHEN COLBERT LATE-NIGHT HOST . 16 REID HOFFMAN AND JEFF WEINER LINKEDIN, GREYLOCK . 17 RICHARD PLEPLER AND MICHAEL LOMBARDO HBO . 18 SHONDA RHIMES AND CHUCK LORRE SHOW-RUNNER . 19 TOM STEYER PHILANTHROPIST . 20 TYLER PERRY FILMMAKER . 21 MICHAEL RAPINO LIVE NATION . 22 PHARRELL WILLIAMS MUSICIAN . 23 MARC BENIOFF SALESFORCE.COM . 24 J.J. ABRAMS FILMMAKER . 25 DAN GILBERT QUICKEN LOANS .", "A concept for the ‘Concorde of the tunnelling world’ has been revealed. And if it ever becomes a reality, it could make high speed train travel from the UK to the US a reality. The idea for the transport system of the future, was proposed in a competition run by think tank in a bid to boost business between Manchester and New York. The future? A concept for a transatlantic train in a vacuum tunnel (illustrated) dubbed the ‘Concorde of the tunnelling world,’ has been proposed in a competition . The proposal, which was seen by IPPR North, claims that technological advantages could make the dream of a transatlantic train journey a reality and transform the economy in the north of England. The train would be contained within a tube underneath the Atlantic Ocean, with a service running in a perfect vacuum. ‘The train is levitated in mid-air using electric magnets,’ said Simon Horton, a young professional who submitted the idea with several colleagues. The proposal claims that a transatlantic train journey would transform the economy in the north of England, together with the region's own 'Hyperloop' (pictured) which would connect city airports . ‘This reduces nearly all causes of friction and drag, enabling both huge speeds and a completely smooth (and silent) journey.’ Based on calculations by entrepreneur Elon Musk, who came up with the idea of a train that travels inside a vacuum tube, a journey between Manchester and New York City could take just four hours, if a maximum speed of 800mph (1,287kph) was achievable. Paul Batty, another competition entrant under the age of 25, proposed a 'northern hyperloop,' which has much in common with Elon Musk’s designs for a Hyperloop vacuum train, only instead of connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco, the northern English version would link airports to a ‘superhub’. Inside the tubes of Elon Musk's design, Hyperloop, pods are mounted on thin skis made out of inconel,an alloy already used by his SpaceX firm that can withstand high pressure and heat. Air is pumped into the skis via small holes to make an air cushion, and each pod has air inlets at the front. An electric turbo compressor compresses air from the nose and routes it to the skis and to the cabin. Magnets on the skis, plus an electromagnetic pulse give the pod its initial thrust; reboosting motors along the route would keep the pod moving at just below the speed of sound so the system does not produce sonic booms. Under the plans, individual airports would act as terminals within a single rapidly connected local, national and international rail and air network. The English design also builds on Mr Musk’s vacuum tunnel concept by adding a propeller to the front of the train to force any remaining air resistance back. Cities such as Manchester could also see other futuristic changes to their transport systems. Sections of the road could be replaced by solar panels to generate power for the national grid, according to a group of students, or electricity could be generated by energy-capturing technology to convert noise energy to electricity intended to power electric cars, for example. In another futuristic vision, the region’s roads would be equipped with wind-capturing technology, which would convert wind energy to electricity, made available to electric car drivers via vehicles charging points. The transport system would reap benefits including a reduced reliance on fossil fuels and greater availability of renewable energy, the think tank said. Under the plans, individual airports would act as terminals within a single rapidly connected local, national and international rail and air network. A train could run from Manchester (pictured left) to New York (right) The design has much in common with Elon Musk’s plans for a vacuum train called the Hyperloop (illustrated), only instead of connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Northern English version would link airports to a ‘superhub’ A 15-year plan called One North, submitted on behalf of the cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield already features an interconnected transport system across air, roads, ports and rail, including the high-speed east–west rail route dubbed HS3. It also includes a potential new tunnel through the Pennines to increase rail capacity. Environmentally-friendly developments feature heavily in future plans with ideas for ‘green cities’, a carbon free north and even the creation of a Pennines National Park. The park would span the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks to include the Pennines range, attracting tourism and jobs by playing on the heightened ‘status’. It is the brainchild of Professor Ian Wray, who believes parts of the moors should be considered potential World Heritage Sites arguing they are ‘particularly rich in industrial archaeology’. ‘Some of these moors were the birthplace of a system of “proto-industrialism” which lit the fuse for the industrial revolution in Manchester and Yorkshire,’ he said. The proposal, which was seen by IPPR North, claims that technological advantages could make the dream of a transatlantic train journey a reality, between Manchester and New York (both marked on the map) One day, sections of road could be replaced by solar panels (illustrated with a concept image) to generate power for the national grid, or electricity could be generated by energy-capturing technology to convert noise energy to electricity intended to power electric cars, for example . Billionaire inventor Elon Musk has revealed he plans to build a test track for Hyperloop - a futuristic type of transport that would shoot capsules of passengers along a tube at around the speed of sound. Mr Musk claims his solar-powered 'Hyperloop' could herald a revolution in travel - and is building the test facility to prove it. He believes it would take just 30 minutes to travel the 381 miles (613km) from Los Angeles to San Francisco – half the time it takes in a plane – and likened the passenger experience to Disneyland's rocket ride Space Mountain. Elon Musk's Hyperloop (an conceptual image is shown) could take just 30 minutes to travel the 381 miles (613 km) from Los Angeles to San Francisco – half the time it takes in a plane. He has likened the passenger experience to Disneyland's rocket ride Space Mountain . Now, the plans are beginning to take shape. Mr Musk tweeted: 'Will be building a Hyperloop test track for companies and student teams to test out their pods. Most likely in Texas.' A new firm, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, is developing plans to makes the tubes a reality - and it has recruited experts from around the world. The crowdsourced firm has around 100 engineers on the projects, and nearly all of them have day jobs at companies like Boeing, Nasa, Yahoo!, Airbus, SpaceX, and Salesforce. Mr Musk's idea is based on the pneumatic tubes that fire capsules of paperwork between floors in offices. In this case, the capsules would carry people – even cars – in low-pressure tubes to minimise turbulence and maximise speed. On top of pylons is a hovering capsule inside a low-pressurized tube, which can reach speeds of up to 760 mph. 'The only resistance would be the air in front of the capsule, which we moved to the back by using a compressor,' Hyperloop CEO Dirk Ahlborn said. At its launch, Musk described the Hyperloop design as looking like a shotgun, with the tubes running side-by-side for most of the journey, then closing at either end to form a loop. Trains of capsules would shoot through the almost air-free tube at up to 760mph (1,223kph), accelerated by magnets which would also keep each pod on a steady course. Each capsule would float on a cushion of air it creates as it speeds along – similar to an air hockey table. While trains travelling through vacuum tubes could one day connect major US cities (illustrated), for now, a test track will be uilt to test the idea - most likely in Texas, according to a tweet . Capsules carrying six to eight people would depart every 30 seconds, with tickets costing around £13 ($20) each way. In his proposal released online, Musk wrote: 'Short of figuring out real teleportation, which would of course be awesome (someone please do this), the only option for super-fast travel is to build a tube over or under the ground that contains a special environment.' The proposed route of the first Hyperloop follows Interstate 5, which runs through the agriculture-rich Central Valley in California. It would take seven to ten years to build. Musk put the price tag at around £4billion ($2.6billion).", "Nasa has revealed that Boeing and SpaceX will build America's first private spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The long awaited $6.8bn deal to replace the Space Shuttle and end reliance on Russia's Soyuz craft was revealed at the Kennedy Space Center, where launches will take place from 2017. 'I'm giddy today, I'll admit,' Nasa administrator Charles Golden said as he made the historic announcement Nasa hopes will spark an explosion in private space activities. Scroll down for video . Space race: Elon Musk unveils his Dragon V2 shuttle which is capable of launching up to seven astronauts into orbit. Nasa revealed today it is one of two craft selected to begin shuttling astronauts to the International space Station in 2017. The CST-100 spacecraft will at first be used to take astronauts to the ISS, pictured. However, Boeing also envisages a future where it is used to transport astronauts to private spacecraft such as Bigelow Aerospace's inflatable habitats, which will be launched in the future . Boeing's design would be launched into space using the Atlas 5 rocket built by the United Launch Alliance, a venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. It will take crews of seven people to the ISS and other destinations . That rocket uses a Russian-built RD-180 engine, which has also triggered some concerns given tensions with Russia. 'From day one, the Obama Administration made clear that the greatest nation on Earth should not be dependent on other nations to get into space,' Nasa Administrator Charlie Bolden said at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 'Thanks to the leadership of President Obama, the hard work of our NASA and industry teams, and support from Congress, today we are one step closer to launching our astronauts from U.S. soil on American spacecraft and ending the nation’s sole reliance on Russia by 2017. 'Turning over low-Earth orbit transportation to private industry will also allow NASA to focus on an even more ambitious mission – sending humans to Mars.' The two Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts are designed to complete the NASA certification for human space transportation systems capable of carrying people into orbit. Once certification is complete, NASA plans to use these systems to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station and return them safely to Earth. 'Today we don't know who will be the first commander - but we know is will be a major achievement for our nation,' said Golden. Under the deal, Boeing will be given $4.2bn and SpaceX $2.6bn. Nasa hopes it will spur private development in space. 'Ideally several years from now there will be other laboraties where people will be going - that's the vision of a commercial space industry,' said Golden. The contracts include at least one crewed flight test per company with at least one NASA astronaut aboard to verify the fully integrated rocket and spacecraft system can launch, maneuver in orbit, and dock to the space station, as well as validate all its systems perform as expected. Once each company’s test program has been completed successfully and its system achieves NASA certification, each contractor will conduct at least two, and as many as six, crewed missions to the space station. These spacecraft also will serve as a lifeboat for astronauts aboard the station. \"We are excited to see our industry partners close in on operational flights to the International Space Station, an extraordinary feat industry and the NASA family began just four years ago,\" said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. \"This space agency has long been a technology innovator, and now we also can say we are an American business innovator, spurring job creation and opening up new markets to the private sector. 'The agency and our partners have many important steps to finish, but we have shown we can do the tough work required and excel in ways few would dare to hope.' The companies will own and operate the crew transportation systems and be able to sell human space transportation services to other customers in addition to NASA, thereby reducing the costs for all customers. the craft will replace the Space Shuttle following its retirement. The final shuttle mission was completed with the landing of Atlantis on July 21, 2011, bringing about the end of the 30-year Space Shuttle program. Earlier this year Boeing took a major step forward in its bid to replace the space shuttle. The aerospace giant completed a key review of its design for a new commercial venture to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. The multibillion-dollar program has taken on new urgency in recent months, given escalating tensions with Russia over its annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine. John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for Boeing's commercial space exploration programs, said the company faced some difficult challenges as it developed its design, but got 'excellent' feedback from Nasa during the review last month. Boeing's CST will take crews of seven people to the ISS and other destinations from 2017, it was revealed today. 'From a technical standpoint, the review went very well,' he said. 'To the best of my knowledge we’re the only CCiCAP competitor that actually was able to complete all of the milestones in the period of performance,' he said. Mulholland said, measured in mass, the Boeing design for the cargo module was 96-percent complete at the time of the review, while its design for the crew module was 85-percent complete, two metrics that underscored the maturity of the design. He said the critical design review marked a major step for the Boeing program. 'You've got to be able to stand up at that review and show the analysis and tests that demonstrate that you're going to be able to meet those requirements,' he said. Boeing remains confident it could complete work on the new spacecraft in time to begin flight tests in 2017, Mulholland said. Boeing's design would be launched into space using the Atlas 5 rocket built by the United Launch Alliance, a venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. That rocket uses a Russian-built RD-180 engine, which has also triggered some concerns given tensions with Russia. He said the module was designed from the beginning to be compatible with other launch vehicles, if necessary, although that would still entail some modification of the interface between the spacecraft and the launcher. Since the Space Shuttle was retired in July 2011, the US has relied on Russia to get its astronauts into orbit. But through their Commercial Crew Program, Nasa has been busy funding the development of a new breed of spacecraft. Next generation: SpaceX says the shuttle will provide a less expensive way to connect to the Space Station . Boeing has unveiled a mockup of the interior of their new Crew Space Transportation (CST-100) vehicle that will be used to astronauts into space in the coming years. The capsule is funded by Nasa as part of their programme to develop private spacecraft . Boeing’s vision for the future of human spaceflight is the Crew Space Transportation (CST-100). They unveiled the new commercial interior . of its CST-100 next-generation manned space . capsule, showing how people other than Nasa astronauts may one day . travel to space. This is the first time they have made the design of the interior public. Boeing and partner Bigelow Aerospace highlighted the future commercial interior of the capsule it is developing for Nasa, while Bigelow showcased a full-scale model of its BA 330 inflatable space habitat that astronauts could one day live in. 'We are moving into a truly commercial space market and we have to consider our potential  customers - beyond Nasa - and what they need in a future commercial spacecraft interior,' said Chris Ferguson, former Space Shuttle Atlantis commander and current Boeing director of Crew and Mission Operations for the Commercial Crew Program. Engineers from across Boeing leveraged the company's decades of experience in commercial and government aerospace to design the capsule's interior. The capsule, interior view of a prototype pictured, will be able to seat a crew of seven and it will also be able to take cargo into orbit. It is in direct competition with SpaceX's manned Dragon capsule and Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser space plane, all of which are vying to be the first private company to take humans into space . 'Boeing's teams have been designing award-winning and innovative interiors for our airplanes since the dawn of commercial aviation,' said Rachelle Ornan, regional director of Sales and Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. 'Designing the next-generation interior for commercial space is a natural progression. A familiar daytime blue sky scene helps passengers maintain their connection with Earth.' Two companies will now receive contracts from Nasa to develop manned vehicles as part of the Commercial Crew Program. The . first is SpaceX, the company that seemingly came from nowhere a decade . ago and has now flown the unmanned Dragon spacecraft to the ISS three . times on its successful Falcon 9 series of rockets. They . are in the process of developing a manned version of the Dragon . spacecraft (mockup pictured above) that can take a crew of seven into orbit, with rumours . suggesting it may be unveiled this month with a view to launching its . first crew as early as next year. Boeing, meanwhile, with a rich heritage in space exploration is building the seven-seater CST-100 capsule. However, the latest announcement sees Sierra Nevada Corporation, which is constructing what some regard as the true successor to the Space Shuttle, lose out. Known . as the Dream Chaser (test vehicle pictured below), this ‘mini-shuttle’ of sorts will launch upright . on top of a rocket, taking a crew of seven into orbit before gliding . back to Earth at the end of its mission. Dream Chaser . With testing already underway, Dream Chaser is expected to undertake its first mission into space for the first time in 2017 on an Atlas V rocket.", "It is every wannabe astronaut's dream - the chance to pilot a rover across the lunar surface. Now, it could be a reality for thousands thanks to a plan to put a groundbreaing virtual reality rover on the moon. The project would allow anyone to experience the lunar surface by donning an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. Scroll down for video . Daniel Shafrir, engineer and leader of the demo team with Andy, the rover they hope to send to the moon in 2016 . The lunar rover, nicknamed 'Andy,' after Andrew Carnegie, will be sent to the moon in 2016. It is a telepresence robot that can be controlled by an operator's head. Using an Oculus Rift, the researchers put two screens in front of the user's eyes to create a stereo image. They also track the user's head here on earth. By sending those mappings back to Andy's camera head over on the moon, they have it turn to match where the user was looking, giving a real sense the users is 'there'. Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University say their robot already has the backing of Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, and is vying for a $30m prize from Google offered to a team that can send video back from the moon. 'The vision for the demo was simple: let anyone on Earth experience the moon live through the eyes of a robot,' engineering graduate student, Daniel Shafrir, 22, who is part of the three man team, told MailOnline. 'Put the headset on and you look to your left, you see the vast expanse of the moon. 'You look right and you see home. You're looking to to see what it's really like on the moon.' The scientists from Carnegie Mellon have teamed up with space firm Astrobotic to compete for the Google Lunar XPrize, which requires a team to land a robot on the Moon, move it 500m and send back video to Earth. Astrobotic Technology, which is a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon, has signed a deal with SpaceX - the private space company set up by Elon Musk - to use its Falcon 9 rocket to launch the robot in 2016. 'Imagine the feeling of looking out and seeing rocks and craters billions of years old. 'Right now its almost impossible to go to the moo,' said Schafrir. 'We make it so you can drop an Oculus on, take a look around and feel as if you're really there. 'People have to feel like they are there on the moon with us - there's something tangible about moving your head and knowing that 240,000 miles away our rover is moving its head as well.' The robot is named Andy, after Andrew Carnegie, founder of Carnegie Mellon, and the initial demo was put together in just three weeks. The team hopes the project, and the chance to virtually visit the moon, will reinvigorate public interest in space. 'It's time to go back,' said Shafrir . 'We left our last footprint on the moon on December 14, 1972. 'Unfortunately, that passion, that amazing enthusiasm that gripped the world throughout the entire Apollo program just isn't there anymore.", "Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Group may take on Tesla Motors and other companies in developing electric cars. Branson, whose empire ranges from airlines to music stores, mobile phones and spaceships, said electric cars may be next. 'We have teams of people working on electric cars,' Branson told Bloomberg TV in Miami where his Virgin Racing team competed in the all-electric Formula E race that involves battery-powered cars. Scroll down for video . Richard Branson runs a two car team in the Formula E contest - and hinted the firm may use the races to develop an electric car to take on Tesla. 'So you never know, you may find Virgin competing with the Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business. 'We will see what happens.' Branson's Virgin Galactic is a commercial spaceflight company that competes with SpaceX, which was founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. 'We are working with the Virgin Formula E team to develop the plan for next season's cars,' Virgin Group spokesman Nick Fox told Reuters. 'Our aim is to build a leading engine and car for next season. 'Maybe ultimately that could be used in the broader car market in the future.' In addition to Tesla, most of the world's automakers sell or are developing electric cars. The Virgin firm could take on Elon Musk's Tesla electric car firm, according to Branson. There are also signs Apple may be working on an electric car and Google is developing a car that can drive itself. However, broader acceptance of electric cars has been held back by the premium consumers must pay for the technology and fears about the driving range of an all-electric vehicle. Branson told Bloomberg TV, 'Tesla is as sexy as any other car on the road today.' The streets snaking through . downtown Miami's high rises will be buzzing this Saturday as . commuters make way for dart-shaped racing cars zooming by at . breakneck speeds - and little noise. The race drivers will be competing in the first Formula E . race in the United States since the all-electric series was . launched in Beijing in September 2014. Halfway through its inaugural season, Formula E has offered . the same, albeit quieter, thrills as the popular Formula One . events, with low-slung, opened-wheeled cars capable of speeds up . to 136 miles per hour (220 kilometers per hour). The Beijing race ended with a spectacular crash that sent . one of the $500,000 Renault SA cars flying. Danger and adrenaline are not all that you find on the . track, however. 'It's really something to see how racing has evolved to . fully electric motors. It could revolutionize racing and . transportation in general,' said Daniel Fernandez, 17, who . bought tickets with several high school friends to attend the . race, which is expected to attract more than 50,000 spectators. The series was launched by Jean Todt, a French racing icon . and former Ferrari chief executive who heads of the Federation . Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) that oversees Formula One. It is backed by environmentalist and actor Leonardo DiCaprio . and entrepreneur Richard Branson, whose Virgin Group sponsors a . two-car team. Developing a so-called green racing series has meant . overhauling how the races are run. Car batteries cannot be . charged mid-race, forcing drivers at some point to rush into a . second, fully charged car. The cars give off a high-pitched whistling sound, a bit like . a dentist's drill. Drivers also must carefully manage their power, a challenge . for race cars with a limited battery life. 'We have a target (power) consumption per lap and we need to . respect that like the Bible,' said Jaime Alguersuari, a . 24-year-old Spanish driver with Virgin. 'You want to win, but if . you burn up all your energy you won't finish.'", "Tesla has confirmed it will unveil a revolutionary power pack for the home next week. The California firm said it will announce a 'home battery' and a 'very large utility scale battery' in a letter sent to investors. While products such as this already exist, founder Elon Musk thinks they 'suck', according to Tesla's investor relations director, Jeff Evanson. Scroll down for video . The California firm said it will announce a 'home battery' and a 'very large utility scale battery' in a letter sent to investors. The company already offers battery packs (pictured) for its SolarCity project, but it is unclear whether the latest product will build on this design . There are a number of home battery packs on the market. Most work by powering up overnight when electricity rates are cheaper. Users can then switch them on during the day to use the home during the day. They can be used as back up power in the case of an emergency, or be used to hold power from renewable energy sources. Home battery packs could disrupt the utility market. In 2013, the Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for investor-owned electric companies, issued a report warning about disruption. 'One can imagine a day when battery storage technology or micro turbines could allow customers to be electric grid independent,' the report said . Musk announced the event last month in a cryptic tweet that said there will be a launch of a 'major' new line of products that is 'not a car'. The event will be held at Tesla's Hawthorne, California, Design Studio on April 30 at 8pm. PT. '[At the event] we will explain the advantages of our solutions and why past battery options were not compelling,' the company said. Home batteries power up overnight when electricity rates are cheaper. Users can then switch them on during the day to use the home during the day. In February, Musk said their version of a home battery would be ready for a public debut within months and that it should start going into production by the summer. It is likely to build on the power packs used in Tesla's range of electric cars such as the Model S. 'We are going to unveil the Tesla home battery, the consumer battery that would be for use in people's houses or businesses fairly soon,' Mr Musk told analysts earlier this year. 'We have the design done, and it should start going into production in about six months or so.' He didn't reveal what a home battery would be used for, but it could act as a generator during a power cut, for example. While products such as these already exist, founder Elon Musk (left) thinks they 'suck', according to Tesla's investor relations director, Jeff Evanson. On the right is an image of a Tesla residential battery being installed . Tesla's billionaire founder last month fuelled speculation by saying it 'not a car' and added the product will be revealed at the company's California, Design Studio on April 30 at 8 p.m. PT . But at a conference last year, Tesla's Stationary Energy Storage Director Arch Padmanabhan revealed some of Tesla's initial plans. The Mirai features the Toyota Fuel Cell System, which combines fuel cell technology with hybrid technology. The firm said it can serve as a 'high capacity power supply during emergencies'. The Mirai converts the DC power from the CHAdeMO power socket in the boot to AC power, using an attachment. Toyota calls it a vehicle-to-home system. Tesla's home battery could work in a similar way, or be a standalone battery. This included a 400 kWh commercial/utility battery for large buildings and a 10 kilo-Watt hour residential battery. Rival car manufacturer Toyota already uses a hydrogen fuel cell in its Mirai car that can be removed and used to power a home. According to the Japanese car maker, the battery can supply electric power to an average home for a week. Last year, Tesla Motors unveiled plans for a 'Gigafactory' designed to help the firm ramp up production of batteries for its electric cars, and now homes. Tesla said the factory will cut current battery production costs by up to 30 per cent, and will be powered predominantly by renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Elsewhere, Mr Musk is already the chairman of SolarCity - a company that offers solar power systems for homes - and Tesla's home battery could be an extension of this. These batteries 3ft tall (0.9 metres), and can be controlled remotely using a smartphone app. Tesla would not comment on whether the new batteries will work in the same way. Home battery packs could disrupt the utility market. In 2013, the Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for investor-owned electric companies, issued a report warning about disruption. 'One can imagine a day when battery storage technology or micro turbines could allow customers to be electric grid independent,' the report said .", "Humans are now spread across all corners of the globe, but what’s the next step? According to Dr Al Globus, a Nasa contractor and space settlement expert, he says the next logical move is to colonise Earth orbit. And, he says barring any major national disasters, we could soon have huge habitats floating around the planet by the end of the century. Dr Al Globus, a contractor for the Nasa Ames Research Centre in California, says humanity could soon begin to build space settlements. A space settlement (artist's illustration) would be a large structure like a town or city that would house hundreds or thousands of people . Dr Globus is a contract scientist at Nasa Ames research centre and over the years has worked on the Hubble Space Telescope, the ISS, the Space Shuttle and much more. But a few decades ago his interest was piqued by the possibility of space settlements, leading to him setting up Nasa's annual Space Settlement Contest, which challenges students to come up with designs for space colonies. Now he’s a major proponent for living in space, and believes that it won’t be long before people are visiting cities in Earth orbit as readily as they travel from London to New York. A space settlement would be a large structure, comparable in size to a town or small city, built in Earth orbit. It would have similar amenities and services to towns and cities on Earth, and would enable people to live in space. The ISS currently houses six astronauts at a time, but a space settlement would have hundreds or thousands of people on board. Future space settlements may also have artificial gravity by rotating around an axis. ‘Whether [space settlements] will happen or not is really hard to say. Whether it can happen, absolutely,’ Dr Globus tells MailOnline. ‘If we as a people decide to do it, we can do it. We have the scientific capability, financial capability, there is simply no question we can do it. ‘If no major disaster strikes in the next few centuries, I would be astounded if we didn’t do it.’ He explains how our technological know-how it only going to increase barring an enormous catastrophe like a nuclear war. ‘We could have the first space settlement in decades, certainly less than a century.’ Dr Globus (pictured) is a contract scientist at Nasa Ames research centre and over the years has worked on the Hubble Space Telescope, the ISS, the Space Shuttle and much more. He now also runs an annual competition called the Space Settlement Contest . Dr Globus is a proponent of orbiting colonies, while he adds that others like SpaceX CEO Elon Musk are envisaging a future where humans live on Mars. As to the actual purpose of a space settlement Dr Globus says it could be just like a town or city on Earth while also providing a way for humans to expand and survive off Earth. It would be ‘a place to live, raise your kids, where your friends and family have Thanksgiving dinner and celebrate Christmas, and visit Earth on vacation,’ explains Dr Globus. ‘It’s the same purpose as any town or settlement or city has. ‘The way species get endangered and wiped out is by being dependent on a limited environment. ‘Humanity started in East Africa and now live on literally every continent - even Antarctica - albeit for a small time. ‘We live in snow, jungle, deserts, savannahas, forests; we have spread out about as far as we can spread out, and the next step is to move to space.’ SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (left) has been building and launching rockets with the goal of making access to space easier. He hopes that one day humans may be able to colonise Mars (right). Dr Globus says such a goal is achievable, after perhaps building a colony in Earth orbit . But what would that first space settlement look like? Many designs rely upon a central cylinder around which is a rotating habitat. In the rotating section the force of rotation provides artificial gravity for the inhabitants, letting the move around like they would on Earth. ‘That means your children will grow up with strong muscles,’ explains Dr Globus, so even if they spend a prolonged time in space they could still travel to Earth and cope with its gravity. At the centre of the structure though there would be zero-gravity, as there would be no rotation here. This, explains Dr Globus, could be used for recreation or even to film movies. Elsewhere on the station would be agriculture, while the outer hull would need to be partially covered in solar cells. But what would that first space settlement look like? Many designs rely upon a central cylinder around which is a rotating habitat (artist's illustration shown). In the rotating section the force of rotation provides artificial gravity for the inhabitants, letting the move around like they would on Earth . But Dr Globus admits that such an undertaking is something that just isn’t financially feasible - for now. According to Dr Globus there are a number of obstacles that must be overcome before humans can live in space. The first is that the cost of getting to space via rockets must decrease. Next is life support; a future space colony will need to be almost self-sufficient, using indoor farms and solar energy. A colony will also need radiation shielding to protect it from harmful cosmic and solar rays, although recent research says this may not be a big issue. ‘If you have to ask [how much it would cost], you can’t afford it,’ he jokes. He adds: ‘There is one circumstance we could easily afford it, and that’s if the people of Earth decided to stop killing each other and spend all that time and money on space settlements.’ However starting to build a space settlement now is not a good idea, he says, as technology and infrastructure are not yet sufficient. He says we need to progress through several hoops before settling in space can become a viable option. One of these is space tourism. Several private companies such as Boeing and SpaceX are busy building manned spacecraft, while others like Bigelow Aerospace are planning to build ‘space hotels’ in orbit. These orbiting habitats, while much smaller than the large space settlements envisaged by Dr Globus, would allow people to pay for trips to space. Dr Globus even says these could be used to raise money by hosting what he calls a ‘Space Olympics’ in orbit. By sending the world’s top athletes to space and having the compete, people would tune in to watch them compete in a variety of micro-gravity sports. ‘You could get Usain Bolt, a soccer star, a basketball star and so on,’ he says. ‘It would be a level playing field because no one knows how to do sports in microgravity. So that would totally be entertaining.’ Dr Globus says we need to progress through several hoops before settling in space can really be a viable option. One of these is space tourism. Several private companies such as Boeing and SpaceX are busy building manned spacecraft, while others like Bigelow Aerospace are planning to build ‘space hotels’ (concepts shown) The timeline for all this is of course up for debate, but Dr Globus is confident it will happen sooner or later. ‘In two or three decades we might have a couple of small hotels [in orbit], and people moving in on a regular basis,’ he says. ‘Then at some point somebody will notice if you are old and infirm you might like to live on a space hotel, because you wouldn’t be subjected to a 1G hotel and you wouldn’t need a walker or wheelchair. ‘I can foresee someone building a retirement home in low gravity; after a couple of years you won’t be able to come back, but if you’re facing 15 years of sitting in a wheelchair you might not want to do that anyway. ‘And once that step is done, people living in space permanently, then it’s not a big step to build a space settlement in orbit. ‘All that is on a time scale measured in decades, or in the worst case centuries.’ And living in space doesn’t need to stop there. Once a large, floating colony has been built, Dr Globus explains that other locations in the solar system can be explored. Perhaps, using asteroids for additional material, a space settlement could be placed around the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos. Once humans have settled in Earth orbit, Dr Globus says it is not a huge leap to imagine they will want to eventually travel further. This could begin with the solar system in a few millennia and, ultimately, expand further into the Milky Way . ‘I can imagine within a few centuries that the first settlement will be co-orbiting an asteroid,’ says Dr Globus. ‘To really settle the solar system will take millennia, maybe longer.’ And once that goal has achieved, Dr Globus says there is not much to stop us expanding into the rest of galaxy. ‘Imagine you have been living on orbital space settlements for 10,000 years,’ he says. ‘In your settlement there might be 100,000 people or even millions. ‘If people decided to go to Alpha Centauri, even thought it may take a century to get there, it doesn’t matter, because you’ve been living in this settlement for thousands of years anyway. ‘In terms of living situations, does it really matter if you circle Earth or Alpha Centauri? Not really.’", "The warning was made by Amsterdam-based engineer, Nell Watson at a recent conference . Future generations could be exterminated by Terminator-style robots unless machines are taught the value of human life. This is the stark warning made by Amsterdam-based engineer Nell Watson, who believes droids could kill humans out of both malice and kindness. Teaching machines to be kind is not enough, she says, as robots could decide that the greatest compassion to humans as a race is to get rid of everyone to end suffering. 'The most important work of our lifetime is to ensure that machines are capable of understanding human value,' she said at the recent 'Conference by Media Evolution' in Sweden. 'It is those values that will ensure machines don't end up killing us out of kindness.' Ms Watson claims computer chips could soon have the same level of brain power as a bumblebee – allowing them to analyse social situations and their environment. 'Machines are going to be aware of the environments around them and, to a small extent, they're going to be aware of themselves,' said Ms Watson, who is also the chief executive of body scanning firm Poikos. 'We're starting to understand the secrets of the human brain,' she points out, while at the same time we're getting better at programming computers with deep learning. 'It's going to create a huge change in our society all around the world'. For instance, Google is already working on . self-driving cars that can automatically sense traffic and adjust their . speed and direction. Mr Musk has previously claimed that a horrific ‘Terminator-like’ scenario could be created from research into artificial intelligence. He is so worried, he is investing in AI companies, not to make money, but to keep an eye on the technology in case it gets out of hand. A still of the Terminator is pictured . Google has set up an ethics board to oversee its work in artificial intelligence. The search giant has recently bought several robotics companies, along with Deep Mind, a British firm creating software that tries to help computers think like humans. One of its founders warned artificial intelligence is 'number 1 risk for this century,' and believes it could play a part in human extinction . 'Eventually, I think human extinction will probably occur, and technology will likely play a part in this,' DeepMind’s Shane Legg said in a recent interview. Among all forms of technology that could wipe out the human species, he singled out artificial intelligence, or AI, as the 'number 1 risk for this century.' The ethics board, revealed by web site The Information, is to ensure the projects are not abused. Neuroscientist Demis Hassabis, 37, founded DeepMind two years ago with the aim of trying to help computers think like humans. Meanwhile, Japan is leading the way in creating home-help robots for the elderly and injured. While Ms Watson warning seems grim, she believes a robot uprising isn't necessarily a negative event. 'Machines can help us understand ourselves and gather self-knowledge,' she said. 'I can't help but look at these trends and imagine how then we shall live? When we start to see super-intelligent artificial intelligence are they going to be friendly or unfriendly?' The warning echoes similar comments earlier this month by Tesla-founder, Elon Musk who said artificial intelligence could someday be more harmful than nuclear weapons. Musk referred to the book ‘Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies’, a work by Nick Bostrom that asks major questions about how humanity will cope with super-intelligent computers. Mr Bostrom has also argued that the world is fake and we are living in a computer simulation. In a later comment, Musk wrote: ‘Hope we're not just the biological boot loader for digital superintelligence. Unfortunately, that is increasingly probable.’ The 42-year-old is so worried, he is now investing in AI companies, not to make money, but to keep an eye on the technology in case it gets out of hand. In March, Musk made an investment San Francisco-based AI group Vicarious, along with Mark Zuckerberg and actor Ashton Kutcher. Vicarious is currently attempting to build a program that mimics the brain’s neocortex. The neocortex is the top layer of the cerebral hemispheres in the brain of mammals. It is around 3mm thick and has six layers, each involved with various functions. These include sensory perception, spatial reasoning, conscious thought, and language in humans. According to the company’s website: ‘Vicarious is developing machine learning software based on the computational principles of the human brain. The warning echoes similar comments tweeted earlier this month by SpaceX founder, Elon Musk who said artificial intelligence could someday be more harmful than nuclear weapons . High flier:  Elon Musk (pictured) is setting his sights on satellites and wants to use them to get remote parts of the world online. The billionaire entrepreneur is now exploring ways to create small and cheap satellites in a project that would pit him against Google and Facebook . ‘Our first technology is a visual perception system that interprets the contents of photographs and videos in a manner similar to humans. ‘Powering this technology is a new computational paradigm we call the Recursive Cortical Network.’ In October 2013, the company announced it had developed an algorithm that ‘reliably’ solves modern Captchas - the world’s most widely used test of a machine’s ability to act human. Captchas are used when filling in forms, for example, to make sure it’s not being completed by a bot. This prevents people programming computers to buy a bulk load of gig tickets, for example. Professor Stephen Hawking has also warned that humanity faces an uncertain future as technology learns to think for itself and adapt to its environment. Earlier this year, the renowned physicist discussed Jonny Depp's film Transcendence, which delves into a world where computers can surpass the abilities of humans. Professor Hawking said dismissing the film as science fiction could be the ‘worst mistake in history’. Stephen Hawking has warned that artificial intelligence has the potential to be the downfall of mankind. 'Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history,' he said writing in the Independent. 'Unfortunately, it might also be the last'", "By . Sarah Griffiths . Christmas might be over but jet-set celebrities and high-flying executives can order the ultimate new toy - a private supersonic jet. The aircraft claims to be the 'first supersonic business jet' and promises to cut flight times in half so that busy billionaires will be able to travel from New York to London in just three hours. However, such convenience and speed comes at a price, as the jet will cost between $60million and $80million (£36.3million and £48.4million). Scroll down for video . The S-512 aircraft claims to be the 'first supersonic business jet' and promises to cut flight times in half so that busy billionaires will be able to travel from New York to London in just three hours . Created by a team of Boston-based engineers, the Spike Aerospace S-512 aims to be the ultimate business aircraft that can reach Mach 1.6 with a top speed of 1,100mph. The engineers, who have previously worked for aerospace giants such as Airbus, Gulfstream and Bombardier, have spent the past two years designing the luxury aircraft and believe the jet will be capable of flying between New York and London in three hours. LA to Tokyo will take just five hours and London to Mumbai, four hours, according to the firm. ‘It will save passengers time so they can explore more of the world,' the company said. 'Wouldn’t you love to go hiking in New Zealand for the weekend, or fly to Paris for lunch? Created by a team of Boston-based engineers, the Spike Aerospace S-512 aims to be the ultimate business aircraft that can reach speeds of 1,100mph, or Mach 1.6 . ‘The supersonic jet will let you do more, faster,’ it added. The jet, which is designed to carry between 12 and 18 passengers in the lap of luxury, is intended to take off in December 2018. However, despite impressive engineering, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned supersonic flight over the U.S. making popular flights such as LA to New York unlikely in the near future. Companies including Nasa and Boeing are currently trying to develop supersonic aircraft of their own to reduce the noise - or boom - that the jets make when breaking the sound barrier. The jet is scheduled to take off in December 2018, and will cost between $60million and $80million or £36.3million to £48.4million . Vik Kachoria, President and CEO of Spike Aerospace, wrote in a blog that Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, told a New York times Dealbook conference that 'there’s an interesting opportunity to create a supersonic, electric, vertical take-off and landing jet.' ‘It seems unlikely to come from Boeing or Airbus, given that they seem to be focused on very incremental improvements to their planes as opposed to radical improvements. So it could come from a start-up. ‘If I were to have another company in the future, which would not be any time soon, I think that would be the thing do,’ he added. Mr Kachoria said aspirations of vertical take-off and landing might be ‘a stretch’ for the first iteration of a new supersonic aircraft. Despite impressive engineering, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned supersonic flight over the U.S. making popular flights such as LA to New York unlikely in the near future .", "Whether taking a car for a spin on a Sunday or focusing on getting from A to B after a stressful day, driving can be fun and therapeutic. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes humans could be banned from driving in years to come and all cars will, instead, be controlled by robots. The entrepreneur claims that computers will one day do a much better job of driving and that humans are simply ‘too dangerous’ behind the wheel. Tesla CEO Elon Musk (pictured) believes humans will be banned from driving in years to come and cars will, instead, be controlled by robots. The inventor and entrepreneur claims that computers will do a much better job of driving and that human drivers are simply ‘too dangerous . ‘It would be like an elevator. They used to have elevator operators, and then we developed some simple circuitry to have elevators just automatically come to the floor that you're at ... the car is going to be just like that,’ he told NVidia’s CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang at the company’s annual developers conference. Musk said that the obvious answer to keeping humans safe on the road is to ban us from driving, because ‘it’s too dangerous…you can’t have a two-ton death machine,’ The Verge reported. Instead of taking the wheel, drivers and passengers could read a book or watch a film while their cars tackle the roads for them. However, Musk said that such a vision could take over 20 years to become a reality. Tesla is among many firms that have added self-driving features to its cars and joins the likes of BMW, Volvo and Google, which are developing cars that could drive themselves completely. Tesla’s Model S features an ‘autopilot’ mode, which uses sensors to stop drivers drifting accidently between motorway lanes, as well as moderate speed and brake when necessary. Tesla’s Model S (pictured) will feature an ‘autopilot’ mode, which uses sensors to stop drivers drifting accidently between motorway lanes, as well as moderate speed and brake when necessary . A recent study by eBay Motors revealed that 84 per cent of Americans want to continue driving their own cars and not rely on autonomous technology. Almost four in 10 people think self-driving cars might save them money and three quarters of respondents think it is important that the technology could reduce the amount of greenhouse gases belched out by vehicles. Approximately 56 per cent of Americans think self-driving cars will result in fewer accidents, while 15 per cent predict they will cause more crashes. Being able to do other tasks while travelling in a car, not having to park and lower insurance rates are popular reasons to buy one, but the largest worry is liability in the event of a crash. Last October, Musk said the Palo Alto-based firm is working on a model that will be 90 per cent in control. He noted that driving conditions between 15 and 50mph are the most challenging because this is when most unexpected events occur, such as children running out into a road, cyclists swerving or road closures. Visual computing company, NVidia, which is based in Santa Clara, California, has developed a technology called Drive, which could advance autonomous systems, beacuse it can identify objects including people and road signs using sensors and up to a dozen cameras on a car. It's releasing a $10,000 (£6,815) developers kit so people can hone the technology for car manufacturers. As well as developments in on-board sensors and computers, Musk said security concerns must be addressed before fully-functioning autonomous vehicles become a reality on roads. Tesla is working on a way to stop people hacking into its cars and believes that frequent software updates will help. Musk teased that Tesla would ‘end range anxiety’ in a tweet, which could mean that a software update could increase the car’s mileage. Tesla is competing with the likes of Volvo, which recently announced that it will put 100 of its autonomous vehicles on roads as soon as 2017 and members of the public will be able to try its Drive Me system (illustrated), which the company claims can cope with ‘even the most complicated scenarios . Despite a recent survey by eBay Motors revealing that 84 per cent of Americans want to continue driving their cars and not rely on autonomous technology, many companies are pushing ahead with self-driving projects. For example, Uber recently said it would be partnering with roboticists at Carnegie Mellon University and is said to have opened a research facility in Pittsburgh with the intention of creating a self-driving car. Such a move would see it going head-to-head with Google's efforts, among others’. Days ago, a nondescript garage in Sunnyvale, California, was pinpointed as being where Apple is believed to be building its self-driving 'Titan' cars. While it may be early days, an industry expert said that Apple could have an electric car ready to go on sale by 2020, putting it in direct competition with rivals Tesla Motors and General Motors. Despite a recent survey by eBay Motors revealing that 84 per cent of Americans want to continue driving their cars and not rely on autonomous technology, many companies are pushing ahead with self-driving projects. Google's cute self-driving car is pictured . Days ago, a nondescript garage (pictured) in Sunnyvale, California, was pinpointed as being where Apple is believed to be building its self-driving 'Titan' cars . In an interview last year, Apple board member Mickey Drexler said that before his death in 2011 Steve Jobs had considered building a car. He told Paul Goldberger: 'Steve Jobs was gonna design an iCar. I think cars have an extraordinary opportunity for cool design.' Volvo is the latest European manufacturer to announce big developments in self-driving technologies. It said last month that it will put 100 of its autonomous vehicles on roads as soon as 2017 and members of the public will be able to try its Drive Me system, which the company claims can cope with ‘even the most complicated scenarios’. The trial is set to take place on selected roads in Gothenburg, Sweden and is a collaboration between the auto manufacturer, transport authorities and critically, legislators. Volvo's Drive Me cars rely on 28 cameras, sensors and lasers as well as software rules to drive itself on busy roads. Dr Mertens of Volvo said: ‘Autonomous driving will fundamentally change the way we look at driving. In the future, you will be able to choose between autonomous and active driving. ‘This transforms everyday commuting from lost time to quality time, opening up new opportunities for work and pleasure.’ Elon Musk tweeted that he will reveal a way to cure drivers of Tesla's Model S' range anxiety. While no further details are known, it seems the smart money may be on either navigation software that shows the best route to a charging station or an update that boosts the car's battery power. Several outlets have been reporting that the answer may lie in some trickery with the car’s software that can boost the battery power. Elon Musk tweeted that he will reveal a way to cure drivers of Tesla's Model S' range anxiety. A promotional shot of the car is pictured . In a survey for Consumer Reports in 2012, 77 per cent of respondents said limited range was their biggest concern with electric cars. The official range of the Model S at the moment is up to 310 miles (500km), which is apparently not enough to quell range anxiety for some drivers. Musk said that all Model S cars will get the update - if so, that points to battery optimisations, a power-saving mode or smarter navigation,' Engadget reported. Software updates to the Model S aren’t unprecedented, either; in January, an update increased the speed of the top-of-the-line P85D via use of ‘insane mode’ - enabling the car to go 0 to 60mph (97km/h) in 3.2 seconds, compared to the usual 5.9 seconds. Musk has said more updates will be forthcoming to reduce the car's chances of being hacked when more autonomous driving features are added.", "Talulah Riley is getting $4.2million in her divorce from PayPal founder and Silicon Valley golden boy Elon Musk. It's not a bad sum for the 26-year-old British actress, considering the marriage lasted just two years. The divorce deal looks a little less generous in light of Mr Musk's net worth, which is an estimated $2billion -- the result of a fantastically successful career in the tech industry. Payoff: Talulah Riley, 26, was with billionaire playboy Elon Musk, 41, for four years. They were married for two years, but separated after just 10 months of marriage . Mr Musk -- whom the New York Times called 'Tony Stark without the Iron Man suit' -- is paying off his second wife over the course of nine years, TMZ reports . But, in the interim, Ms Riley gets to keep her Cartier and Gucci watches, an assortment of diamond jewelry and her $110,000 Tesla Roadster. Content: Ms Riley's lawyers aren't contesting the meager settlement . She received $1.4million up front as an initial payoff, according to court documents. Mr Musk, a South African who attended the University of Pennsylvania, made his fortune by founding a series of highly-successful ventures -- beginning with Zip2, which produced online content publishing software that was purchased in 1999 for nearly $340million. Later, for his next venture, Mr Musk helped create PayPal, the online money transfer and payment service. Ebay bought PayPal for $1.2billion in 2002. He founded Space X later that year -- a outer space exploration company. In 2009, the company launched the first privately-owned liquid-fueled rocket ever to enter space. Space X now has a contract to deliver cargo to the International Space Station that is worth between $1.6billion and $3.1billion. Mr Musk also founded Tesla Motors, an electric car company that had a $226million initial public offering in 2010. For all his wealth, Ms Riley seems content with the $4.2million figure. Her lawyers haven't contested the offer from Mr Musk, age 41 -- which amounts to little more than pocket change for a man who spends a reported $200,000 a month on personal expenses. In 2010, Mr Musk finalized the divorce with his first wife, Canadian fantasy novelist Justine Musk, who is the mother of his two sons. He had been with Ms Riley for four years before they separated in July 2011.", "By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . and Brenda Carlin . and Peter Henn . In just four years, space tourists could be blasting into orbit from one of eight sites named today as possible locations for the UK’s first spaceport. Six of the sites are in Scotland, including Glasgow Prestwick Airport and RAF Lossiemouth. Newquay has been selected in England and Llanbedr in Wales. All sites have to meet strict criteria, including being a safe distance from densely populated areas and a runway that can be extended to more than 3,000m (9,842ft). Britain's . first commercial spaceport could be based in any one of these eight . locations, and would act as a hub for flights by Sir Richard Branson's . Virgin Galactic and XCOR Space Expeditions . The aim is to use the spaceport to launch tourists into space as well as commercial satellites. The move is designed to take advantage of the anticipated burgeoning space tourism industry. By 2030, the UK government hopes to capture 10 per cent of the world’s space market. If this target is met, opening up the UK tourism industry to specialist operators such as Virgin Galactic and XCor could be worth £40 billion and provide 100,000 jobs. Making the announcement at the Farnborough Air Show, Aviation Minister Robert Goodwill said: 'In order to lead the way on commercial space flight, we will need to establish a spaceport that enables us to operate regular flights. Richard Branson's dream to charter commercial space flights has taken a step closer to reality. His company, Virgin Galactic, yesterday signed a deal with U.S. aviation authorities to let it blast paying customers into space on SpaceShipTwo (pictured) Campbeltown Airport (Scotland) Glasgow Prestwick Airport (Scotland) Llanbedr Airport (Wales) Newquay Cornwall Airport (England) Kinloss Barracks (Scotland) RAF Leuchars (Scotland) RAF Lossiemouth (Scotland) Stornorway Airport (Scotland) 'The work published today has got the ball rolling - now we want to work with others to take forward this exciting project and have Britain’s first spaceport up and running by 2018.' There have been reports that the government is hoping Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson will build the port as part of his Virgin Galactic project. Virgin Galactic’s first flights are scheduled to take off from a purpose-built spaceport in New Mexico, USA, at the start of the year, with passengers paying £120,000 ($206,000) for a 150-minute flight that will climb to heights of around 62 miles (100km) to achieve zero gravity for approximately six minutes. The spaceport will have its own dedicated and separate air space in order to manage flights into orbit safely. After a period of consultation, the UK government said further work will be done to develop those locations remaining on the site shortlist. XCOR Aerospace is based at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Its Lynx spacecraft, illustration pictured, seats two people - the passenger and a pilot - and tickets cost $95,000 (£57,000). This is almost two thirds the price of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo . Business Secretary Vince Cable said: 'Space is big business for the UK. It already contributes £11.3 billion to the economy each year, supporting nearly 35,000 jobs. New figures show that the space industry employs 34,000 people and contributes £11billion to economy . 'That’s why it’s important for us to prepare the UK for new launcher technology and take steps towards meeting our ambition of establishing the first British spaceport by 2018. 'Exploring the opportunities that commercial space flight presents, and potentially making strategic investments in this area, will support the growth of this thriving industry and underpin the economy of tomorrow, making the UK the place for space.' Sources told the Mail on Sunday that the need for the base to be ‘remote’ and secure meant there was more chance it would be on a Scottish site. Over the weekend, Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, MP for Inverness, . talked up the chances of Scotland leading the UK drive to open up ‘the . final frontier of commercial space travel’. He . said: ‘Scotland has a proud association with space exploration. We . celebrated Neil Armstrong’s Scottish ancestry when he became the first . man on the moon and only last week an amazing Scottish company was . responsible for building the UK Space Agency’s first satellite.’ But . sources also privately made clear it was ‘highly unlikely’ the . spaceport would ever be built in Scotland if it voted for independence . in September’s referendum. One . said: ‘An independent Scotland would be free to bid for this sort of . thing but I doubt it would have the resources to do it.’ Virgin Galactic - Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS . The . company's SpaceShipTwo holds two pilots and six passengers who are . seated with two large windows, one to the side and one overhead, so they . can enjoy the view if they do not want to float freely when they . achieve weightlessness. The SS2 is 60ft long with a 90-inch diameter cabin. The . spaceship is connected to Virgin Galactic's carrier aircraft White . Knight Two and when it reaches the right altitude, SS2 is released and . propelled forward and upward, accelerating into space at almost . 2,500mph. Clients have paid $250,000 (£150,000) for a ticket, including celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Tom Hanks. The SS2 (pictured below) completed its third supersonic test flight in January. Space Adventures - Armadillo Aerospace . Space . Adventures has arranged all eight of the flights to orbital space - . when the spacecraft is travelling fast enough to go into orbit - . completed by seven private citizens so far. British . soprano Sarah Brightman is due to be the next passenger and is . scheduled to travel to the International Space Station in October 2015. The company has partnered with Armadillo Aerospace to offer suborbital flights to space. The . Armadillo suborbital rocket seats two passengers and is flown . autonomously from the mission control centre. It lands and takes off . vertically while the large windows offer panoramic views of the Earth . and sky. The rocket reaches . 100km above earth and uses ethanol and liquid oxygen fuelled engines, . which have flown more than 200 test flights in the last decade. Blue Origin - Set up by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos . The vehicle includes a crew capsule carrying three or four astronauts on a separate rocket-powered propulsion module. Following . lift-off, the combined vehicles accelerate for about two-and-a-half . minutes before the propulsion module shuts off its rocket engines and . separates from the crew capsule. The . propulsion module finishes its flight, descends to Earth, and . autonomously performs a rocket-powered vertical landing while the crew . capsule coasts to the edge of space. After descent and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, the crew capsule will land under parachutes near the launch site. SpaceX . SpaceX's . Falcon 9 reusable development vehicle (pictured right) is already in . test mode and it will eventually deliver the smaller Dragon capsule . containing humans into space. The . Dragon made history in 2012 when it became the first commercial . spacecraft to deliver cargo to the International Space Station and . safely return cargo to Earth, a feat previously achieved only by . governments. Astrium . The business jet-sized spaceplane will take off and land conventionally from a standard airport runway using its jet engines. At an altitude of about 12km, the rocket engine will be ignited and in only 80 seconds the craft will climb to 60km altitude. The . rocket propulsion system will then be shut down as the plane’s inertia . carries it on to over 100km, enabling passengers to hover weightlessly. Operators using the spaceplane could offer safe space flight for a price per passenger of around €200,000 (£120,000)." ]

[ "Конечно, 5, потому что буква \"е\" в начале слова обозначает два звука" ]

[ "According to Roman Catholicism, was the 1054 excommunication of the Patriarch of Constantinople valid, in light of Leo IX's death?\n\nThe short answer is no.\n\nEven in the seminary, all my professors said that the excommunication imposed by the Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida’s day was is invalid because at the moment he pronounced the above said excommunication, Pope Leo IX had already died. Tradition holds that Cardinal Humbert never lost his title of legal standing as a papal legate of Pope Leo upon the death of this same pope.\n\n\n Since the jurisdiction of a legate is ordinary, he does not cease to be legate even at the death of the pope who appointed him, and even if he arrived at his post after the death of that pope. - Legate (Catholic Encyclopædia)\n\n\nNow here is major problem with Cardinal Humbert’s actions. Only the Supreme Pontiff may excommunicate bishops and sovereigns. Although legate may excommunicate someone in the name of a Sovereign Pontiff, Legate Humbert could not pronounce such a sentence as Pope Leo IX had been dead for three months.\n\nOnly the Pope can excommunicate bishops because only he has jurisdiction over them. Pope Leo IX died on April 19,1054 and Cardinal Humbert’s excommunication was executed on the 16th of July, 1054. Although he retained the office of legate after the Pontiff’s death, he lost the ability to excommunicate him in the name of the pope because the Holy See was in a state of sede vacante.\n\n\n In a certain sense excommunications may also be reserved in view of the persons who incur them; thus absolution from excommunications in foro externo incurred by bishops is reserved to the pope; again, custom reserves to him the excommunication of sovereigns. - Excommunication (Catholic Encyclopædia)\n\n\nThus it is not the fact that he was or was not the legitimate papal legate at that moment in time. It is a fact that he could not excommunicate a bishop in the pope’s name since Pope Leo was dead.\n\nNow let us look at the evidence, if any, more closely.\n\n\n Mutual excommunication of 1054\n \n In 1053 Leo of Ohrid, at the instigation, according to J. B. Bury, of Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople, wrote to Bishop John of Trani a letter, intended for all the Latin bishops, including the pope, in which he attacked Western practices such as using unleavened bread for the Eucharist, and fasting rules that differed from those in Constantinople, while Cerularius himself closed all Latin churches in Constantinople.\n \n In response, Leo IX wrote the letter In terra pax of 2 September 1053, addressed to Cerularius and Leo of Ohrid, in which he speaks at length of the privileges granted through Saint Peter to the see of Rome. In one of the 41 sections of his letter he also speaks of privileges granted by the emperors, quoting from the Donation of Constantine document, which he believed to be genuine (section 20). Some scholars say that this letter was never actually dispatched, but was set aside, and that the papal reply actually sent was the softer but still harsh letter Scripta tuae of January 1054.\n \n The advance of the Norman conquest of southern Italy constituted a threat to the possessions of both the Byzantine Empire and the papacy, each of which sought the support of the other. Accordingly, conciliatory letters, the texts of which have not been preserved, were written to the pope by the emperor and Cerularius. In his January 1054 reply to the emperor, Quantas gratias, Leo IX asks for his assistance against the Normans and complains of what the pope saw as Caerularius's arrogance. In his reply to Caerularius, he upbraided the patriarch for trying to subject the patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch to himself and for adopting the title of Ecumenical Patriarch, and insisted on the primacy of the see of Rome.\n \n These two letters were entrusted to a delegation of three legates, headed by the undiplomatic cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, and also including Frederick of Lorraine, who was papal secretary and Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica, and Peter, Archbishop of Amalfi. They were given friendship and support by the emperor but were spurned by the patriarch. Finally, on 16 July 1054, three months after Pope Leo's death in April 1054 and nine months before the next pope took office, they laid on the altar of Hagia Sophia, which was prepared for celebration of the Divine Liturgy, a bull of excommunication of Cerularius and his supporters. At a synod held on 20 July 1054, Cerularius in turn excommunicated the legates. In reality, only Michael may have been excommunicated along with his then-living adherents.\n \n At the time of the excommunications, many contemporary historians, including Byzantine chroniclers, did not consider the event significant.\n \n Efforts were made in subsequent centuries by emperors, popes and patriarchs to heal the rift between the churches. However, a number of factors and historical events worked to widen the separation over time.\n \n \"Even after 1054 friendly relations between East and West continued. The two parts of Christendom were not yet conscious of a great gulf of separation between them. … The dispute remained something of which ordinary Christians in East and West were largely unaware\".\n \n There was no single event that marked the breakdown. Rather, the two churches slid into and out of schism over a period of several centuries, punctuated with temporary reconciliations. - East–West Schism\n\n\nCardinal Humbert acted with impunity when in the presence of the Patriarch of Constantinople to say the least. Having known the pope had died, a papal legate’s authority was seriously diminished and he knew that. Cardinal Humbert deserved to be excommunicated himself for the actions he chose to do!\n\n\n Pope Leo IX sent an official delegation on a legatine mission to treat with the Patriarch. Members of the papal delegation were: cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, papal secretary Frederick of Lorraine, who was Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica, and Peter, Archbishop of Amalfi. Soon upon their arrival in Constantinople, news were received that pope Leo IX had died on 19 April. Since official position and authority of papal legates was dependent upon the pope who authorized them to represent him, the news of Leo's death placed his envoys in an awkward position. In spite of that, they decided to proceed with their mission, but even before any religious discussions were held, problems arose regarding some basic formalities and ceremonies. During the initial audience, Patriarch refused to meet with papal envoys in their official capacity and left them waiting with no further audience for months.\n \n During that time, from April to July 1054, cardinal Humbert and his colleagues continued with their activities in Constantinople, taking part in informal religious discussions on various issues. Their behavior was seen as inappropriate by the Patriarch. Despite the fact that their legatine authority officially ceased after popes death, cardinal Humbert and his colleagues decided to engage in open confrontation with the Patriarch. On Saturday, 16 July 1054, they produced a Charter of Excommunication (lat. charta excommunicationis), directed against Patriarch Michael of Constantinople, Archbishop Leo of Ohrid, and all of their followers. On the same day, cardinal Humbert and his colleagues entered the church of the Hagia Sophia during the divine liturgy and placed the Charter on the altar.\n \n Soon after that, Patriarch decided to react. On 20 July 1054, a synod of 21 metropolitans and bishops was held in Constantinople, presided by Cerularius. The council decided to excommunicate cardinal Humbert and his colleagues. Only the three men were anathematized, and a general reference was made to all who support them, but there was no explicit excommunication of the entire Western Christianity, or the Church of Rome. On Sunday 24 July the conciliar anathema was officially proclaimed in the Hagia Sophia Church.\n \n The events of 1054 caused the Great Schism and led to the end of the alliance between the Emperor and the Papacy, and caused later Popes to ally with the Normans against the Empire. Patriarch Michael closed the Latin churches in his area, which exacerbated the schism. In 1965, those excommunications were rescinded by Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, when they met in Jerusalem. Although the excommunication delivered by Cardinal Humbert was invalid, this gesture represented a significant step towards restoring communion between Rome and Constantinople.\n \n The short reign of the Empress Theodora saw Michael intrigue against the throne. Michael Psellus notes that while their initial relations had been cordial, once Theodora took the Imperial throne, they entered into open conflict, as Michael \"was vexed because the Roman Empire was being governed by a woman\", and on this topic \"he spoke his mind freely.\". The historian suggests that Theodora would have deposed Michael for his open effrontery and sedition, had she lived longer.\n \n Cerularius had a hand in negotiating the abdication of Michael VI Stratiotikos, convincing him to step down on 31 August 1057, in favour of the rebellious general Isaac, for whom the army declared on 8 June. The emperor duly followed the patriarch's advice and became a monk. Having had a role in bringing him to the throne, Cerularius next quarrelled with Isaac I Komnenos over confiscation of church property. Michael went so far as to take the highly symbolic step of donning the purple shoes ceremonially reserved for the Emperor. Michael apparently planned a rebellion, to overthrow the Emperor and claim the Imperial Throne for himself or for his relative Constantine Doukas. Isaac exiled Michael to Proconnesus in 1058 and, as Michael refused to step down, had Psellus drew up the Accusation of heresy and treason against him. Cerularius died before coming to trial. - Michael I Cerularius (Wikipedia)\n\n\nDid Rome have the right to excommunicate Cerularius?\n\n\n The question about whether Rome should have excommunicated Cerularius is a good one. Pope Paul VI thought not, given the choice of words for the mutual 1965 statement. We don't think an excummunication should have happened. There probably was a better way to handle the mess. However, the question about whether the Pope had the right to do it is an entirely different matter, because it calls into question the right of Rome to intervene in matters of extreme importance to the entire Church. It also challenges the primacy of the seat of Peter.\n \n The Byzantine fathers affirm that Rome has the right and the duty to excommunicate heretics and schismatics. For example, St. Maximos the Confessor writes:\n \n \n “If the Roman See recognizes Pyrrhus to be not only a reprobate but a heretic, it is certainly plain that everyone who anathematizes those who have rejected Pyrrhus also anathematizes the See of Rome, that is, he anathematizes the Catholic Church. I need hardly add that he excommunicates himself also, if indeed he is in communion with the Roman See and the Catholic Church of God ...Let him hasten before all things to satisfy the Roman See, for if it is satisfied, all will agree in calling him pious and orthodox. For he only speaks in vain who thinks he ought to pursuade or entrap persons like myself, and does not satisfy and implore the blessed Pope of the most holy Catholic Church of the Romans, that is, the Apostolic See, which is from the incarnate of the Son of God Himself, and also all the holy synods, accodring to the holy canons and definitions has received universal and surpreme dominion, authority, and power of binding and loosing over all the holy churches of God throughout the whole world.\" (Maximus, Letter to Peter, in Mansi x, 692). \n \n \n This is a Byzantine forefather –a SAINT of the Orthodox Church. \n \n It was not Rome’s authority to do so, he had not the office to be able to excommunicate. It is as unlawful and silly as if a child were to cast his parents out of their own house.\n \n The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon, where over 500 Eastern bishops address Pope Leo the Great and declare:\n \n \n “Knowing that every success of the children rebounds to the parents, we therefore beg you to honor our decision by your assent, and as we have yielded agreement to the Head in noble things, so may the Head (Pope) also fulfill what is fitting for the children (other bishops).\" --Chalcedon to Pope Leo, Ep. 98.\n \n \"Wherefore the most holy and blessed Leo, archbishop of the great and elder Rome, through us, and through this present most holy synod together with the thrice-blessed and all-glorious Peter the Apostle, who is the Rock and foundation of the Catholic Church, and the foundation of the orthodox faith, hath stripped him (i.e., PATRIARCH Dioscorus of Alexandria) of his episcopate, and hath alienated from him all hieratic worthiness\" --Acts of Chalcedon, Session 3. \n \n \n According to the Ecumenical Council of Chalecedon, a Pope of Rome has the right and the power to excommunicate a patriarch (in this case, the Patriarch of Alexandria). So, the position that there was no right of excumminication is not only at odds with the fathers, but with the formal decree of an ECUMENICAL COUNCIL (Chalcedon), which recognizes the Pope of Rome’s authority to excommunicate a patriarch. This same canon of Chalcedon also says that Peter is the Rock of the Church. The idea of no right to excommunication is at odds with the fathers of this Ecumenical Council that Eastern Orthodoxy claims to accept and to be bound by. \n \n Was the excommunication against the whole Eastern Church?\n \n Rome excommunicated Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople and all of his immediate clergy. It did not excommunicate the emperor, or the patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, or Jerusalem, or the bishops of any of the other Eastern churches (especially not in the Slavonic north or Russia). Nor did the Slavs or any of the other patriarchs ever excommunicate Rome. So, strictly speaking, Romans are still technically in communion with most of the Eastern Orthodox Church. And this is especially true because we formally healed the schism at Lyon II in 1274 and at Ferrara-Florence in 1439. Our present schism dates from 1472, when the Greeks renounced the union of Ferraea-Florence -- something the Slavic Churches never formally did. Also, in 1965, Patriarch Atheneagorus of Constantinople and Pope Paul VI nullified the excommunications from 1472, which means that Romans are now technically in communion with Constantinople itself though most Greeks do not recognize this. But, technically, there is no reason why we should not be in full communion today. \n\n\nMore information may be gleaned from the following article(s):\n\nJoint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of His Holiness Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I (December 7, 1965)", "This answer would be for the Hygiene Hypothesis part of the question\n\nEpidemiology studies in favour of Hypothesis\n\n\n The geographical distribution of allergic and autoimmune diseases is a mirror image of the geographical distribution of various infectious diseases, including HAV, gastrointestinal infections and parasitic infections. 3\n \n migration studies have shown that offspring of immigrants coming from a country with a low incidence acquire the same incidence as the host country, as rapidly as the first generation for T1D and MS.  3\n\n\nEg. :\n\n\nThis is well illustrated by the increasing frequency of diabetes in families of immigrants from Pakistan to the United Kingdom or the increased risk of MS in Asian immigrants moving to the United States \nThe prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is also much higher in African Americans compared to West Africans\n\n\n\n In countries where good health standards do not exist, people are chronically infected by those various pathogens. In those countries, the prevalence of allergic diseases remains low. Interestingly, several countries that have eradicated those common infections see the emergence of allergic and autoimmune diseases.  3\n\n\n\nProof of principle of the casual relationship between the decline of\ninfectious diseases and an increase of immunological disorders.\nThe answer to this question comes from animal models of autoimmune and allergic diseases and, to a lesser degree, from clinical intervention studies.\nThe incidence of spontaneous T1D is directly correlated with the sanitary conditions of the animal facilities, for both the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse and the bio-breeding diabetes-prone (BB-DP) rat : the lower the infectious burden, the higher the disease incidence 3\nOther examples -\ninfection of NOD mice with a wide variety of bacteria, virus and parasites protects completely (‘clean’ NOD mice) from diabetes \nmycobacteria (e.g. complete Freund's adjuvant) prevent induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma.\n\n\n\n The decline is particularly clear for hepatitis A (HAV), childhood diarrhoea and perhaps even more spectacular for parasitic diseases such as filariasis, onchocercosis, schistosomiasis or other soil-transmitted helminthiasis. 3\n \n Epidemiological data of cross-sectional studies revealed that Schistosoma infections have a strong protective effect against atopy, as reviewed recently. Hookworms such as Necator americanus also seem to protect from asthma\n (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3434398/)\n\n\n\nInterestingly, it's been thought that, if parasitic infections if decline, then eosinophils which are involved in allergic reactions and parasitic reactions, may in fact have a role in increased allergy.\n(Ref. Robbins and Cotran- Pathologic basis of diseases)\n\n It has been shown that helminth eradication increases atopic skin\n sensitization in Venezuela.\n  3\n\n\n\nMechanism of Hygiene Hypothesis:\n 3\n\n\nTh1 to Th2 deviation - \n\n\nTh1 T cells produce inflammatory cytokines such as IL-2, interferon\n(IFN)-γ and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α that are operational in\ncell-mediated immunity (including autoimmune diabetes).\nIn contrast, Th2 T cells that produce IL-4, IL-5, IL-6 and IL-13\ncontribute to IgE production and allergic responses.\nIL - 5 most potent eosinophil activating cytokine known. Upon activation, eosinophils liberate proteolytic enzymes as well as two unique proteins called major basic protein and eosinophil cationic protein which damage tissue.It is now believed that the late phase reaction is a major cause of symptoms in some type 1 hypersensitivity reactions such as allergic asthma.\n(Ref. Robbins and Cotran- Pathologic basis of diseases)\n\n IL-4 enhances Th2 differentiation; also promote class switching of B cell to IgE. \n IL-13 enhances IgE production and acts on epithelial cells to stimulate mucus secretion.\n (Ref. Robbins and Cotran- Pathologic basis of diseases)\n\nIgE is involved in Type-1 Hypersensitivity, and hence it increases\nwill increase HST, like allergic asthma. (Ref. Robbins and Cotran- Pathologic basis of diseases)\nGiven the reciprocal down-regulation of Th1 and Th2 cells, some authors suggested initially that in developed countries the lack of microbial burden in early childhood, which normally favours a strong Th1-biased immunity, redirects the immune response towards a Th2 phenotype and therefore predisposes the host to allergic disorders.\n\n\n\n2.Antigen Competition\n\n\n\n The development of strong immune responses against antigens from infectious agents could inhibit responses to ‘weak’ antigens such as autoantigens and allergens. \n\n\n\n(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2841828/)\n\n\nImmunoregulation \n\n\nRegulatory T cells which can suppress immune responses distinct from responses against the antigen in question, here antigens expressed by infectious agents (a phenomenon called bystander suppression)\n\n\n\n4.Non Antigenic Ligand\n\n\nA number of experiments indicate that infectious agents can promote protection from allergic diseases through mechanisms independent of their constitutive antigens, leading to stimulation of non-antigen specific receptors. This concept is well illustrated by the example of Toll-like receptors (TLRs)\nIt has also been observed that TLR stimulation could prevent the onset of spontaneous autoimmune diseases such as T1D in NOD.\nAnother mechanism of TLR4 is studied,\nwhere a virus (RSV) which is linked with childhood asthma flips the 'switch' of TLR4. Now LPS a bacterial endotoxin also flips the switch but in a different way.\n\n\nWhen this education is lacking or weak, the response to RSV by some critical cells in the immune system’s defence against infections—called “T-cells”—might inadvertently trigger asthma instead of protecting the infant and clearing the infection. How this happens is a mystery that we are trying to solve.\n(Ref.- https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/ResourcesforYou/Consumers/ucm167471.htm)\n\nGene-Environment Interaction\nEg. NOD2 - cytoplasmic sensor of bacteria expressed in Paneth and other intestinal epithelial cells; May control resistance to gut commensal bacteria.\n\n\nCorrelation with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. (Ref. Robbins and Cotran- Pathologic basis of diseases).\n\n\n\nHygiene during early childhood/pre-natal\n\n\n Graham Rook and colleagues proposed a new explanation for the rise of immune disorders, which Rook called the “old friends” hypothesis. “We realized human beings coevolved with a whole host of organisms, and it was far more likely what was going on was that we were being deprived of organisms on which we are dependent.\n \n Maternal microbes colonize the human gut while babies are in utero, and again as they pass through the birth canal and start breastfeeding. Young children continue amassing microbiota in every contact with family members, while playing outside in the dirt, getting licked by dogs, and sharing toys with friends. The developing immune system takes cues from all of these encounters.\n\n\nRecent Thoughts\n\n\nTo the public, “hygiene” is interpreted as personal cleanliness: washing hands, keeping food clean and fresh, sanitizing the home.2\nHowever, because the hypothesis has been largely uncoupled from infections, the idea that we need to be less hygienic is wrong.\n2\nRelaxing hygiene standards would not reverse the trend but only serve to increase the risks of infectious disease, says Bloomfield.\n2\nThe second major concern among researchers is a lack of evidence demonstrating how to reduce rates of allergic and autoimmune diseases. 2\nAlthough hygiene hypothesis proposes germ exposure but still diseases like Diabetes and Asthma are multifactorial in origin and hygiene may be playing only a part.1\n\n\nEg. Asthma \n\n\n But preventing asthma isn't as simple as avoiding antibacterial soap, having a big family or spending time on the farm. For one thing, a number of microbes — such as a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — may cause asthma rather than prevent it. In addition, infections that might help prevent asthma can cause a number of other health problems. The type of germ isn't the only factor that plays a role, either. The severity of infection and when the infection occurs during childhood also appear to matter.\n (Ref. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/childhood-asthma/expert-answers/hygiene-hypothesis/faq-20058102)\n\n\n\n\nMore research is needed to understand exactly how childhood germ exposure might help prevent asthma. What we do know is that in children with asthma, exposure to germs is likely to do more harm than good.\n\nAbbreviations\n\n\nHAV - hepatitis A Virus\nT1D - type 1 diabetes\nMS- multiple sclerosis\nNOD - non-obese diabetic\nHST - hypersensitivity\nTLR - toll-like receptors\nLPS - lipopolysaccharide\n\n\nReferences:\n\n\nhttps://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/childhood-asthma/expert-answers/hygiene-hypothesis/faq-20058102\nhttps://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/ResourcesforYou/Consumers/ucm167471.htm\nhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2841828/\nRobbins and Cotran- Pathologic basis of diseases", "How is TACAN different from the VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) system?\n\nA very short question, but the answer calls for describing several techniques which are by themselves difficult to summarize without taking liberties with reality, so the post is rather long and should be read by sections of interest rather than totally at once. And for those not interested in the design techniques, fortunately there is a...\nShort answer\nDesign principle:\n\nA TACAN uses UHF to increase bearing precision. It consists on a single integrated system performing bearing and distance determination at once. In this system, the ground station is a transponder and the interrogator is on-board the aircraft (contrary to the SSR transponder). Frequency is like graduations on a scale, when frequency increases the graduations on the scale are more dense, and readings are more accurate.\n\nA VOR works on VHF for bearing determination. No aircraft action is required to trigger the ground station signal which is permanent. To determine distance, another independent system, the DME, is used. The DME has been borrowed to military and is actually a TACAN without its bearing components (so it is a transponder interrogated by the aircraft).\n\nWhen selecting a VOR frequency in a civilian aircraft, the avionics actually sets the VOR receiver on this frequency, and the standalone DME interrogator at some &quot;paired&quot; UHF frequency obtained from the ICAO standard pairing table (page 6). VOR and DME share nothing on board beyond the frequency pairing table.\n\n\nStation antennas:\n\nThe original TACAN antenna is made of two small rotating drums with parasitic antenna elements (see details below). A TACAN can be installed on ships or mobile stations. The TACAN antenna is externally similar to a conventional VOR. A TACAN in Alaska during an exercise:\n\n\n\n(Source: Wikipedia)\n\nThe cylinder contains the rotating antenna system. In more modern TACAN, the mechanical rotation has been replaced by electronically scanned arrays, reducing the size:\n\n\n\nTransportable TACAN, source\n\nDoppler VOR (DVOR) are more common than conventional VOR (CVOR), because they can be located on airfields (CVOR: See below for details). The DVOR antenna is a large circular array with a central reference antenna and a large counterpoise under the array. VOR are sometimes colocated with a DME station, in that case the DME vertical antenna is above and coaxial to the VOR system.\n\n\n\nLambourne VOR/DME, DME antenna on top of the central VOR reference antenna. (source: Wikipedia)\n\nBecause the DME part is common to VOR/DME and TACAN, it is technically possible to associate a VOR to a TACAN to obtain a VORTAC station. Military use the TACAN, civilian use the VOR and the DME information of the TACAN:\n\n\n\nA full TACAN in place of the previous DME antenna. Source\n\nIn addition VOR (CVOR/DVOR) uses Alford loop antennas which are horizontally polarized and radiate low on the horizon. They are sensitive to reflection on obstacles. An electrical counterpoise is required to hide the ground and raise the radiation angle. This artificial ground plane can be very large:\n\n\n\nPFN Vortac (decommissioned), source\n\n\nSignals:\n\nA VOR transmits bearing information continuously.\n\nA TACAN only sends reply pulse pairs when interrogated (see the explanation below). These pairs encode both the bearing and DME information.\n\nA TACAN is usually more powerful than a VOR and has a larger range of use.\n\n\nI'll focus on explaining bearing determination systems, and explain the DME as an integral component of the TACAN. In addition there are two types of VOR, conventional and Doppler, which work very differently even if they deliver compatible signals to the (unsuspecting) common receiver.\n\nBearing determination principle\nThe common principle of bearing determination is to send two signals from the ground station:\n\nA reference signal telling any receiver around the current orientation of the active signal.\n\nA variable signal allowing a particular receiver to determine when the active signal is &quot;pointing&quot; to the receiver (pointing is not the accurate word as the DVOR signals are omnidirectional, see more in this answer).\n\n\nThe receiver determines its relative bearing by comparing these two signals. Both signals are sine functions, the orientation value is represented by the current phase of this function. Both VOR and TACAN use this basic principle, albeit they realize it differently.\nThe signal phase has the major role in this story, so let's be sure we agree the meaning:\n\nAny periodical (repetitive) signal can be seen as the result of a vector turning at some rate $\\small \\omega$. The sine function for angle $\\small x$ is $\\small y = sin(x)$. Applied to a sinusoidal wave of frequency $\\small f$ and peak amplitude $\\small A$, this becomes $\\small y=A.sin(\\omega t+\\varphi)$ where $\\small \\omega = 2 \\pi f$. The angle $\\small \\omega t+\\varphi$, has been split between the phase $\\small \\omega t$ and the phase at origin $\\small \\varphi$. $\\small \\varphi$ is null if we start a cycle at time 0, this is usually the case. More simply, the quantity $\\small \\omega t$ represents how much the vector has turned at time $t$. It is an angle, reset after a full turn, therefore it indicates in the end which portion of a full cycle has already been spent (which phase we are in the cycle). Visually:\n\n\nPhase angle of a sine wave\nFrom that, it is clear that comparing phases of two signals with the same frequency (simple to do with electronics) is equivalent to comparing how much time one lags behind the other (time is actually difficult to measure).\nVOR types\nConventional VOR (CVOR) and Doppler VOR (DVOR) stations are perceived identically by the receiver, though they transmit very different signals. The DVOR use tricks to mimic a CVOR and deceive the CVOR receiver. CVOR have nearly disappeared from sight because, due to their sensitivity to reflections, they cannot be located on airfields or close to roads. However en-route/high altitude CVOR can be found at isolated places, the reason is they are more compact and have a smaller cone of silence than DVOR and reflections can be minimized, e.g. when the VOR is located at the top of a hill.\nUnderstanding the DVOR tricks without knowing how a CVOR works is difficult, and doesn't give clues on how the bearing is really determined. So I'm afraid we need to understand the CVOR before the DVOR.\nConventional VOR: CVOR\nEarly CVOR antenna used to be an array of four Alford loops at the corners of an imaginary square, known by their conventional names: NW, NE, SW and SE. NW+SE loops form the first pair, NE+SW loops form the second pair.\n\nCVOR with four Alford loops\nAlford loops are horizontally polarized and very sensitive to reflections on surrounding obstacles (multipath).\nRecent generations of CVOR use a slotted antenna, which is a fixed cylinder with vertical slots (generally four slots):\n\nCVOR with slotted antenna and the DME antenna on top. Source: AviaTecho.\nA counterpoise is placed under the array to hide the VOR shelter and the ground and raise the radiation direction, it has the dual effect of minimizing undesirable reflection on the shelter and the ground and reducing the cone of silence above the VOR.\nCVOR creates and uses reference and variable signals this way:\n\nA low frequency generator creates three 30 Hz signals, identical except their phases. Two audio signals are derived from a reference signal: The sin signal has a phase at origin of -90° and the cos signal has a phase at origin of +90° (the point is sin and cos signals are in phase opposition).\n\nThe phase of the reference conceptually represents a direction and is often called the goniometer. As this signal frequency is 30 Hz, the imaginary direction it represents sweeps 360° 30 times per second (1,800 rpm, this is pure abstraction, there is no rotating parts in a CVOR).\n\nA low frequency generator creates a 9960 Hz signal which is FM modulated by the reference. This signal is known as the reference subcarrier.\n\n\n\nConventional VOR block diagram\n\n\nA HF generator creates a carrier of frequency f (f being the VOR frequency), this carrier is split in three parts:\n\n\none part is AM modulated by the reference subcarrier.\nanother is AM modulated by sin.\nthe last part is AM modulated by cos.\n\n\n\nThe HF signal with the reference subcarrier is sent to all antennas. This way the reference can be received identically regardless of the position of the receiver around the CVOR.\n\nThe two other HF signals have first their carrier removed, so that only the sidebands subsist. This is to prevent carriers to interfere in space, interferences must occur only between sidebands.\n\nThen one signal is sent to the NW+SE pair of antennas, the other signal is sent to the other pair (remember the two pairs are perpendicular).\n\nThe space modulation magic does the rest. The sin and cos sidebands are added as field vector values, sometimes the individual amplitudes are added, sometimes they are subtracted, in variable proportion. This results in an unbalanced cardioid pattern (more precisely a Limaçon de Pascal) which rotates around the VOR antennas at 1,800 rpm, the direction being linked to the phase of the reference (or sin or cos, as they are all linked by fixed values).\n\nThe signal resulting from space modulation appears like being a carrier AM modulated according to the direction of the virtual &quot;rotating antenna&quot;. The AM modulation is also a 30 Hz signal, and is known as the variable signal.\n\nThe resulting signal also contains the unmodified (and constant amplitude) carrier with its reference subcarrier.\n\n\n\nCVOR spectrum\n\n\nTo determine the bearing (the radial) of the receiver relative to the CVOR, one only needs to compare the phase of the variable signal with the phase of the reference signal. Both are contained in the resulting signal. The phase of the reference signal and the phase of the variable signal are equal when the reference &quot;points&quot; to north (per principle at this time both phases have a value of 135°, the sum of 45° and 90°, but the actual value has no influence, only the phase difference is meaningful):\n\n\n\nVOR: Determination of the bearing by comparing phases\n\nNow we know the principle of the CVOR, it more easy to understand the principle of the DVOR. The DVOR was created to make up for some weaknesses in the CVOR: The CVOR is not terribly accurate unless the installation site is very carefully selected (no obstacle). That means isolated points, not airfields. That's not the preferred option for maintenance and this often precludes having the CVOR aligned with the runway for a VOR approach.\n\n\nFrom CVOR to Doppler VOR, ensuring retro-compatibility\nThe lack of precision of the VOR is rooted in two design choices:\n\nThe antennas are close to each other, any default in their placement has great consequences in the accuracy.\n\nThe variable signal is AM modulated, AM modulation is deadly subject to errors created by electromagnetic noise and multipath.\n\n\nIn the Doppler VOR (once again... there are two types of DVOR, the single sideband and the double sideband, I'll describe the DSB here):\n\nThe two active antennas are at a large distance from each other (diametrically opposed).\n\nThe variable signal is FM modulated.\n\n\nIn order to be compatible with the CVOR receiver, other changes had to be made:\n\nAs the receiver still compares two signals, one being AM, the other FM, the reference signal must be AM modulated.\n\nBecause the result of the phase comparison is now inverted (variable minus reference becomes reference minus variable), the direction of rotation of the pattern must also be inverted (anti-clockwise instead of clockwise).\n\nBecause the pair of antennas used for the variable signal creates deliberately a Doppler effect, the reference must be sent on a specific central antenna preserved from the Doppler effect.\n\n\nDoppler VOR: DVOR\nThe principle of a Doppler VOR is to create the frequency modulation by Doppler effect rather than by electronic modulation. The Doppler effect occurs with a moving wave source: In spite the source has a constant frequency, when it comes closer to the receiver the apparent frequency is higher than the actual frequency. How much higher depends only on the closure rate.\n\nDoppler effect on train noise: Sound is higher-pitched at the front than at the rear\nIn the DVOR, pairs of opposed antennas (still Alford loops) are constantly switched on/off, scanning the full array anti-clockwise, the full scan being done 30 times per second. Actually there are two groups of antennas rather than two antennas involved to allow for blending (smooth transition from one pair to the next), but let's simplify for a second. From a receiver standpoint, the signal seems to come from a moving source, and therefore a Doppler shift will occur in a proportion which depends on the apparent direction of the move.\n\nDVOR Doppler effect\nTo allow for compatibility with the CVOR receiver, this shift must be at most 480 Hz, 480 Hz being the FM swing of the subcarrier in the CVOR. A simple calculation shows the array diameter must be about 14 m (46 feet).\nTo generate the FM modulated signal, the unmodulated 9960 Hz subcarrier is sent on the &quot;rotating&quot; pair of antennas. The Doppler shift is maximum when the receiver direction is tangential to the pair trajectory and minimal when the pair is perpendicular to the direction of the receiver. This shift is exactly representative of the aircraft bearing and is the variable signal modulation we need.\nFrom a radio signal perspective, only the sideband frequencies are used to transmit the 9960 Hz subcarrier (VOR frequency f +/- 9960 Hz). The carrier is itself sent on the central antenna, AM modulated by the reference signal. This way the carrier is not subject to the Doppler shift.\nBottom line... Like in the CVOR, the receiver sees the composite signal: A carrier AM modulated with a 30 Hz (which is the reference instead of the variable signal), with a subcarrier FM &quot;modulated&quot; as the result of the Doppler effect, at 30 Hz (the frequency of the scan, it now represents the variable signal instead of the reference) and with a swing not far from the expected 480 Hz.\nBlending: If a pair of antennas were used one at a time, the number of measurable bearings would be equal to the number of antennas in the array (about 50). To create a more continuous scan (and therefore a larger number of measurable bearings), the antennas which precede and follow the main antenna are also fed by the subcarrier signal, but with a smaller power. This &quot;blends&quot; the transition from a scan position to the next one.\nSee also What causes the phase to change in a VOR? for a better explanation of the DVOR.\nTACAN bearing\nA TACAN is based on a stationary antenna plus a rotating parasitic system. The base antenna is vertical and common to the distance and bearing measurement instruments.\nParasitic elements in the aerial field refer to passive antenna elements added to the actual active radiator. A reflector decreases the gain on its side, a director increases the gain on its side (more). The well-known Yagi directional antenna (here in an horizontal polarization) has the two types of parasitic elements:\n\n(Source, modified)\nThese elements are used in the TACAN, but they are rotating around the active element:\n\n(Source, modified)\n\nThe central element, which is the one also used for the DME portion, transmits a constant amplitude signal.\n\nA rotating drum with a reflector electrically adjusts the radiation pattern, adding a signal dip (low gain) that rotates at 900 RPM, which is equivalent to a 15 Hz amplitude modulation. The radiation pattern in the horizontal plan takes the shape of a cardioid:\n\n\n(Source: Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics, Volume 68, modified)\n\nAnother drum with a set of 9 directors, mechanically linked to the first one, creates a 135 Hz (9x15) additional amplitude ripple over the 15 Hz modulation:\n\n\n(Source: Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics, Volume 68, modified)\n\n\nNow we need to start again the reasoning taking into account that the TACAN signal isn't transmitted permanently, but only keyed (switched on/off) by bursts of information. Burst are of two kinds:\n\nReference bursts\nDME responses.\n\nReference bursts are generated according to the orientation of the modulation pattern:\n\nWhen the 15 Hz peak faces North a main reference burst is sent. The burst consists of 24 pulses\n\nwith an asymmetric duty cycle.\n\nWhen any of the 135 Hz peaks faces East, an auxiliary reference burst is sent. The burst consists of 24 pulses with a symmetric duty cycle.\n\n\n\n(Source: Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics, Volume 68. Modified)\nThe duration of these bursts is only a portion of the 15 Hz cycle, meaning that if there is few aircraft DME interrogations, most of the time the TACAN signal is not keyed, therefore not transmitted. This lack of transmission would create a difficulty for the aircraft receiver:\n\nTo adjust its receiver gain (AGC) to counter fading.\nTo identify the 15 Hz and 135 Hz modulations.\n\nTo maintain the capability of reception, the TACAN signal is instead keyed at a constant rate of 2,700 pairs of pulses per second, adding squitter pulses if necessary to fill the blanks. The more the DME interrogations are received by the TACAN, the more DME reply bursts are sent, the less squitter pulses are necessary (more in MIL-STD-291).\n\n\nThe 135 Hz signal has been removed for simplification (Source)\nThe 135 Hz modulation is used for the bearing determination. By comparing the time between an auxiliary burst and the subsequent reception of one of the 9 signal peaks, it is possible to determine the aircraft bearing relative to the ground station. The main burst (15 Hz) is used to disambiguate which of the 9 lobes was used, and therefore which of the 40° (360/9) sector is actually relevant for the bearing.\nIn theory the use of the top end of the UHF band and the 135 Hz ripple increase the bearing accuracy by one order of magnitude compared to the VOR. In practical this is less, but still better than the VOR.\nThe DME principle is to measure the time a radio signal takes for a roundtrip to the ground station. As radio waves travel at light speed, knowing the time is knowing the distance. &quot;The aircraft interrogates the ground transponder with a series of pulse-pairs (interrogations) and, after a precise time delay (typically 50 microseconds), the ground station replies with an identical sequence of pulse-pairs.&quot; (Wikipedia).", "&quot;From the helicopter&quot; there is now a more general claim (e.g. in the following McKinsey slide) that Western countries are trying to emulate China and/or South Korea's response:\n\nThe devil might be in the details, of course. Getting to the details might be too involved/broad in a question like this, not specific to a pair of countries. There's for example a China-US comparison in a recent BI article, too long to quote here in its entirety, of course. But some things that were probably not done in the West was a complete shutdown of travel, e.g.\n\n&quot;These draconian measures seem to have worked to bring down the cases in a very short period of time in China,&quot; Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Business Insider. &quot;Although there is a cost to the economy, to society, not to mention also the second-order problems, like access to health care for people without the coronavirus. The question is whether the United States is willing to pay such a high price.&quot; [...] Huang says he cannot imagine an America where many of these measures are implemented. [...]\nDuring the height of the outbreak, trains didn't stop at the disease's epicenter, Wuhan. [...] &quot;Cutting off transportation was considered on the top three measures to contain the spread of the virus,&quot; Huang told Business Insider. &quot;But it would hard to imagine the complete shutdown of an American city due to government order.&quot;\n\nAnd regarding tracking of people's movement\n\n&quot;It would be a big change right for the US people to get accustomed to,&quot; said Huang, &quot;if the government wants to use this high tech means, like using the cell phones to monitor the movement of the people.&quot;\nHuang added that even though there is little technological barrier to doing this, this kind of behavior is considered a form of digital authoritarianism, that involves uses privacy issues. Huang would be hard-pressed to imagine the US government using this approach to containing the spread of the coronavirus.\n\nChina also apparently co-opted every (&quot;private&quot;) security guard in the effort to keep people in their homes:\n\n&quot;In America, you have to stay at home, but there's no police,&quot; said Huang. &quot;There's no one actively enforcing that rule, but in China, you have what are basically security guards on patrol of every residence to make sure they don't violate the government containment measures. That's a kind of approach I think can't be copied here in the United States.&quot;\n\nLikewise for suspending &quot;non-essential&quot; medical access:\n\nIn China, elective surgeries and other non-critical doctors visits were delayed, and many medical services were moved online. [...] But the move hasn't been without negative consequences. One man with kidney disease in China jumped to his death, Human Rights Watch reported. He couldn't get dialysis during the outbreak. Another boy with cerebral palsy died after being left alone for six days while his father was quarantined in China.\n\nA similar opinion was voiced in a Time interview:\n\n“No other nation (western or otherwise) can or should seek to replicate China’s actions,” Thomas Bollyky, the director of the Global Health Program at the Washington D.C.-based Council on Foreign Relations, tells TIME via email. “The disregard for civil liberties and human rights that the government has demonstrated in its quarantine and censorship activities are inseparable from the policies and actions of the government that contributed to the outbreak in the first place.”\n\nOther experts quoted earlier in a Science (news) piece were also skeptical that the full extent of China's measures could be copied in the West:\n\nThe question now is whether the world can take lessons from China’s apparent success—and whether the massive lockdowns and electronic surveillance measures imposed by an authoritarian government would work in other countries. [...]\n“This report poses difficult questions for all countries currently considering their response to COVID-19,” says Steven Riley, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London. “The joint mission was highly productive and gave a unique insight into China’s efforts to stem the virus from spread within mainland China and globally,” adds Lawrence Gostin, a global health law scholar at Georgetown University. But Gostin warns against applying the model elsewhere. “I think there are very good reasons for countries to hesitate using these kinds of extreme measures.”\nThere’s also uncertainty about what the virus, dubbed SARS-CoV-2, will do in China after the country inevitably lifts some of its strictest control measures and restarts its economy. COVID-19 cases may well increase again.\n\nMore recent cases from Hong Kong indicate that that fear of re-emergence may well be have been justified. So Hong Kong is back into lock down after it was largely lifted at the beginning of March.\nSimilar expert opinion on restrictions timing:\n\nEpidemiologists say China’s mammoth response had one glaring flaw: it started too late. In the initial weeks of the outbreak in December and January, Wuhan authorities were slow to report cases of the mysterious infection, which delayed measures to contain it, says Howard Markel, a public-health researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “The delay of China to act is probably responsible for this world event,” says Markel.\nA model simulation by Lai Shengjie and Andrew Tatem, emerging-disease researchers at the University of Southampton, UK, shows that if China had implemented its control measures a week earlier, it could have prevented 67% of all cases there. Implementing the measures 3 weeks earlier, from the beginning of January, would have cut the number of infections to 5% of the total. [...]\nBut between 16 and 30 January, a period that included the first 7 days of the lockdown, the number of people each infected individual gave the virus to dropped to 1.05, estimates Adam Kucharski, who models infectious-disease spread at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “That was amazing,” he says. [...]\n“These extreme limitations on population movement have been quite successful,” says Michael Osterholm, an infectious-disease scientist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. [... However,] China is suppressing the virus, not eradicating it, says Osterholm. The world will need to wait until about eight weeks after China resumes to some form of normality to know what it did or didn’t accomplish with its population-movement limitations, he says.\nThere is probably a fierce debate going on in China about when to relax the lockdown measures, says Roy Anderson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London. He suggests there could be a second wave of new infections when they are lifted.\n\nSo whether it's possible to (fully) emulate China's response (in the West) depends not only on the political framework, but also to which experts the (Western) governments might be paying [most] attention to.\nI realize this is a long answer already, but there was a recent interview with one of China's [own] CDC officials (whom seldom get interviewed in the West). Some interesting points from there:\n\nQ: What mistakes are other countries making?\nA: The big mistake in the U.S. and Europe, in my opinion, is that people aren’t wearing masks. [...]\nQ: People who tested positive in Wuhan but only had mild disease were sent into isolation in large facilities and were not allowed to have visits from family. Is this something other countries should consider?\nA: Infected people must be isolated. [...]\nQ: Spread in China has dwindled to a crawl, and the new confirmed cases are mainly people entering the country, correct?\nA: Yes. At the moment, we don’t have any local transmission, but the problem for China now is the imported cases. So many infected travelers are coming into China.\n\n\nMore recently (April 2) it has been reported by DW that Germany is considering a voluntary phone app similar to the (mandatory?) one[s] used in China:\n\nThe most famous health app was developed by the tech giant Alibaba in conjunction with the Chinese authorities. Other companies have also developed similar software, however. It was possible to work swiftly because the Chinese state already has access regarding citizens' movements and programmers did not have to worry about data protection laws. [...]\nThere are many who hope that Germany will soon be using such an app. The Health Ministry and researchers at the Robert Koch Institute are developing similar software. The idea is to introduce a non-compulsory app that will not be able to detect who met whom and where but will be able to identify if a phone user was in close contact with another infected user.\nThe app will only really be able to function if 60 percent of the population uses it. In Germany, it won't be as easy as in Asia to reach such a percentage.\nWill Germans cooperate?\nHalf of the respondents to a recent poll said they would not oppose an app to help warn users who had come into contact with someone infected with COVID-19.\n\nThey don't link to the poll, but I guess in was a poll in Germany given that this was an article on DW.\nThere's now a BBC video discussing Chinese-inspired surveillance measures to combat the outbreak. This is of course somewhat subjective, but they only short-listed Singapore, Israel, Iran, Taiwan and Russia as being closest to China-style surveillance measures used to combat the epidemic, like using CCTV cameras and phone tracking.", "It's important to begin by discussing the mechanism that drives tooth decay:\n\n\n Chapter 99 – Microbiology of Dental Decay and Periodontal Disease. Loesche. Medical Microbiology. 1996.\n \n Dental decay is due to the irreversible solubilization of tooth mineral by acid produced by certain bacteria that adhere to the tooth surface in bacterial communities known as dental plaque.\n \n The tooth surface normally loses some tooth mineral from the action of the acid formed by plaque bacteria after ingestion of foods containing fermentable carbohydrates. This mineral is normally replenished by the saliva between meals. However, when fermentable foods are eaten frequently, the low pH in the plaque is sustained and a net loss of mineral from the tooth occurs. This low pH selects for aciduric organisms, such as S mutans and lactobacilli, which (especially S mutans) store polysaccharide and continue to secrete acid long after the food has been swallowed.\n\n\nSo, we know that pH plays a major role in tooth decay. Extended exposure to an acid environment has two main effects on the oral cavity. The first is mentioned in the excerpt above: \"low pH selects for aciduric organisms... which store polysaccharide and continue to secrete acid long after the food has been swallowed.\" This holds true for people who have low pH in their mouth from a lack of saliva production (for example, from radiation therapy), who are at a higher risk for dental caries (cavities). The second effect of low pH is alluded to in the article you cited: \"the pH in the honey group rapidly recovered 10–20 min after exposure and did not drop below the critical decalcification pH of 5.5.\" This critical decalcification value, as it turns out, is more variable than those authors might want you to think.\n\n\n What Is the Critical pH and Why Does a Tooth Dissolve in Acid? Dawes. J Can Dent Assoc. 2003.\n \n Therefore, a tooth will dissolve in saliva or plaque fluid only if the pH is reduced to less than the critical pH. In people with low salivary concentrations of calcium and phosphate, the critical pH may be 6.5, whereas in those with high salivary calcium and phosphate\n concentrations, it may be 5.5... Thus, the critical pH is not a constant, because the levels of calcium and phosphate in plaque fluid vary among individuals. The more calcium and phosphate that are present\n in a solution, the lower its critical pH.\n \n Clinically, there are 2 situations in which dentists place\n acid in contact with enamel and in which enamel dissolves... The second situation is the use of acid fluorophosphate gels, which usually contain 0.1 mol/L phosphoric acid in addition to the sodium fluoride and\n which have a pH of 2.3. Again, these gels contain essentially no calcium and the Ip for HA is zero, which\n means that the tooth will begin to dissolve. Hence, to avoid\n excessive enamel loss, it is important not to exceed an exposure time of 4 min with these gels. \n \n Patients, of course, may also introduce acid into their\n mouths, where it can cause erosion of enamel. The most\n devastating acid is gastric juice, which contains hydrochloric acid and low concentrations of calcium and phosphate and which has a pH of about 1. Other sources of acid include fruit juices and soft drinks, which have great\n potential to cause erosion because many of them have a pH of less than 3.\n\n\nFor reference, honey has an average pH of 3.9. Other people have studied honey-based mouth rinses since 2014 (when the paper you cited was published), and they report similar results:\n\n\n Effectiveness of three mouthwashes – Manuka honey, Raw honey, and Chlorhexidine on plaque and gingival scores of 12–15‑year‑old school children: A\n randomized controlled field trial. Singhal et al. J Ind Soc Peridon. 2018.\n \n Among the three types of mouthwash tested, 0.2% CHX was \n most effective in reduction of plaque and gingival scores. About \n 40% MH and 20% RH mouthwash also effectively decreased the \n amount of plaque and gingivitis from 0 day to 22nd day. Within \n the limits and scope of the study, it can be safely concluded \n that both RH and MH may be used as an adjunct to mechanical \n therapy for achieving a significant reduction in inflammatory \n periodontal changes.\n\n\nAn important element of these trials is that they were very short-term and do far more to show inhibited bacterial growth than inhibited tooth decay. Remember – the low pH-environment itself can erode enamel, and we can see that the purported pH of the honey rinses falls below the upper threshold named in the \"Critical pH\" paper, meaning that some individuals will experience dental erosion from >5-10 minutes of exposure to the honey rinse (I'm estimating this duration from the 4-minute acid fluorphosphate gel treatment at pH 2.3).\n\nThis isn't to say that the clinical trials are wrong. Honey definitely protects against bacterial growth (at least, as compared to other sugary mixtures):\n\n\n Evaluation of Antimicrobial Action of Honey on Cariogenic Bacteria - An in vitro Study. Rakshanaa et al. J Pharm Sci &amp; Res. 2017.\n \n The present study concluded that honey has antimicrobial effect on streptococcus mutans after a definite time interval. Results can be due to production of hydrogen peroxide, inhibition of glucosyltransferase activity or presence of polyphenols in honey. All these factors are responsible for antimicrobial effect of honey on streptoccocus mutans.\n\n\nHowever, to immediately assume that only bacterial inhibition equates to improved dental hygeine loses sight of the larger context – that an increasingly acidic oral environment might damage teeth directly or by selecting for more detrimental aciduric bacteria, which are features of sugary foods and drinks in general. It's true that honey is less cariogenic (cavity-causing) than other sugars, which might be attributed to its inhibitory effects on bacterial growth:\n\n\n Effects of honey, glucose, and fructose on the enamel demineralization depth. Ahmadi-Motamayel et al. J Dent Sci. 2012.\n \n In this study, we used fresh natural honey extracted from the honeycomb. However, different honeys from various sources may have different properties.\n \n This study had a few limitations. First, the measurements were done by one observer rather than two observers, and the results might thus have been prone to a measurement bias. Second, the study was conducted in vitro. This may limit the generalizability of the results to clinical applications.\n \n In conclusion, results of this study demonstrated that honey had lower caries activity than fructose and glucose. However, further evidence is required to demonstrate whether this food has any clinical application for preventing and reducing dental caries.\n\n\nAfter this relatively comprehensive review, we know that honey is anti-bacterial and less cariogenic than other sugars (at least in vitro), but how cariogenic is honey itself? This was tested in desalivated rats to determine similar effects in human infants (breast/bottlefeeding recreates this low-saliva environment, but we can extrapolate these findings to an adult human's mouth, since the described enamel effects are consistent regardless of age).\n\n\n Comparison of the Cariogenicity of Cola, Honey, Cow Milk, Human Milk, and Sucrose. Bowen et al. Pediatrics. 2005.\n \n Results. Cola, sucrose, and honey were by far the most cariogenic. In addition, cola and honey induced considerable erosion. Human milk was significantly more cariogenic than cow milk probably because of its lower mineral content and higher level of lactose.\n\n\nThe big takeaway for me is that we love to perceive our behavior as being healthful, even when it's not. We should stick to fluorinated or distilled water or antibiotic rinses to improve our oral hygeine, but it's a lot of fun to imagine that a tasty, sweet honey rinse is just as good. As compared to other sweeteners, honey is less cariogenic, but it's still relatively low pH and full of fructose and glucose, none of which are \"good\" for your teeth. For example, hunter-gatherers who consume lots of honey instead of other sugars availabile in nearby cities present with more cavities:\n\n\n In surprise, tooth decay afflicts hunter-gatherers. Gibbons. Science. 2017.\n \n Hadza men in the bush hunt large and small game and gather honey and bee larvae. The women gather baobab fruit, berries, figs, drupes, and legumes, and they dig up fibrous tubers. In contrast, the Hadza who live in or near villages eat rice, maize, and beans, along with whatever meat and plants they can hunt and gather. They also drink homemade maize alcohol.\n \n By comparing the teeth of 25 Hadza adults who live in the bush, 25 who live in villages, and another 25 who split their time between locations, Crittenden and Ungar found that 52% of the teeth of full-time male hunter-gatherers had cavities, compared with just 35% of the village men's teeth. The reason? “Men in the bush are consuming tremendous amounts of liquid honey,” Crittenden says.", "The question is getting close to two weeks old (after that it will no longer be displayed in community bulletin, which means that it will be noticed by less users than it is now - which also decreases likelihood of getting some feedback) and so far nobody responded - if we do not count a few comments, most of which seem to be related closer to the question linked as an example rather than to the general issue the OP asks about. Let me try to address at least some points raised in the question. Of course, it would be definitely better to get some response from more experienced MathOverflow users. And perhaps also from moderators - since one of your suggestions was to flag for moderator's attention in the situation described in the question. So take this as a response of somebody who has more experience with reopen process and community moderating from other sites. Although MathOverflow is in some aspects unique, at least some things work in the same way as on other sites, so some experience from other sites in the Stack Exchange network is transferable.\nWhat can be done with the already existing tools?\nStack Exchange software already has several features that help with reopening question. Maybe I should start by linking to the Help Center: What if I disagree with the closure of a question? How can I reopen it? and the relevant FAQ item: How do you reopen a closed question?\nReopen review queue. This is probably the most relevant thing for this purpose. There are several review queues, in connection with reopening the reopen votes review queue is relevant. Users with sufficient reputation can evaluate here some questions and choose either to leave them close or vote to reopen (or they can simply skip the review and leave the decision for other users if they are unsure). According to this answer a question gets into this queue if: 1. Somebody votes to reopen. 2. Body of question is edited with 5 days of being put on hold (the exact conditions can be found in this answer). 3. Question is &quot;popular&quot; (which is calculated using votes and views). I'd guess that the first two options are relevant for the situation you described in the question.\nUsers can check their votes and also recent reopen votes. Every user can check their past votes on their votes tab. In particular, they can check their past downvotes and their past close votes - and if they see some improvements, they can reconsider. (Either vote to reopen or remove the downvote.)\nUsers with 10k+ reputation have access to moderator tools where they can see recent reopen votes - they can have a look and if the question is worth reopening, they can also vote to reopen. At the same reputation level, users gain access to full review history. In particular, for reopening questions this means that a user can check which questions have been in the reopen review queue recently and for the ones that were not reopened, they can have a look and decide for themselves whether they want to add a reopen vote.\nIt is quite likely that there are not many users who actually do this. But your question can be considered as an encouragement to do this more often. (And, after all, it is not necessary that the same users who voted to close are the ones who vote to reopen. So if the question gets to attention to some other users, it still has a good chance that it might get reopened if it was improved.)\nReopen request thread. There is a reopen request thread here on meta. If the question is not reopened through the review queue and you think it should be reopened, it is very reasonable to post an answer there. This can attract attention of other users to the question. And the advantage is that some short discussion is possible in the comments - if other users disagree, they can layout their arguments why the post should not be reopened. (In the reopen review queue the users have to rely on what they see in the question and in the comments. In this thread, the case for reopening can be presented more clearly.)\nSeparate chatroom? On some sites there is a separate chatroom with deals with stuff like closing and reopening. For example, SOCVR on Stack Overflow (here is the room's website where you can learn a bit more about it) or CRUDE on Mathematics (here is a short description of the room). They deal predominantly with closures, but you can find also questions that were reopened based on discussion in those rooms.\nHowever, I do not think that creating a chatroom for this purpose would be suitable solution for MathOverflow at this moment. We are talking here about big sites, that have much bigger number of questions than MathOverflow and close votes review is almost constantly clogged up with hundreds of posts waiting for review. It is natural that in such situation users are looking for additional mechanisms to help with moderating the site (which includes closing and reopening) - but this is not the case here. And also, since those sites are bigger, they also have many users willing to devote some time to help with closing/reopening and other janitorial tasks. Moreover, with the exception of Homotopy Theory chatroom there is not much activity in rooms associated with MO so it is not clear whether this one would gain more activity than the existing ones. But if somebody feels that a room like that might be useful here, they can certainly create such room and see how it works out. Mentioning the new room in the designated thread might improve the chances that it gets noticed.\nShould there be some kind of notification for close voters?\nLet me first point out that I have noticed in the linked example there is a comment of the form: &quot;@username I guess, it got reasonably clear now, so I voted to reopen. What do you think?&quot; (It was the username of the first close voter.) This actually does not notify the user (unless they already made a comment or edited the post). The only case when close voters can be notified is if the question was closed by a single user - which means either the first and the only close voter was either a moderator or gold tag badge owner's (the latter only in case of duplicates). There is a feature request related to this: If you put @username in a comment to a question, does it contact editors/voters? In order not to go too much into technicalities I will just add that links to some places containing the details on how to comment replies work can be found in the corresponding tag-info.\nIt seems that your main suggestion was to implement notification to close voters if the question was edited. There is a similar feature request on Meta Stack Exchange: Notify close voters when a closed question gets edited. Currently it is at score 43 (48 upvotes/5 downvotes). So if you feel that this is good idea, than you should upvote that feature request to improve its chances. (My personal objection to this is that it might result into having too many notifications. But I do not feel about this strongly enough to downvote the feature request.)\nIs it useful to flag such posts for moderators' attention?\nWell, probably it would be best to hear from moderators what they think about this.\nThe Help Center explicitly mentions: &quot;If a moderator (user with a ♦ symbol after their name) closed the question, then you may flag it for moderator attention. Again, do this only after editing and include a detailed explanation of why it should be reopened. There is more than one moderator, and moderators do reconsider their decisions.&quot; But this is somewhat different situation from what you have described in the post. It seems that there is no clear consensus about this also among mods throughout the network, judging by the fact that this question has no answers: How should moderators handle a custom flag to re-open a question? There are a few posts which recommend flagging for moderators' attention only as the last resort after other options have been exhausted or directly advise against it: How to seek attention to reopen a closed question? or Should I flag my closed question after editing to receive attention?\nIt is also probably a matter of frequency. Let's assume that flags for this reason would be cast with similar frequency as reopen reviews. I was only able to find only four reopen reviews within a scope of approximately a week. (I found these reviews: 100908, 100784, 100675, 100641. Since I do not have sufficient reputation to see the reopen review history, it's a bit more difficult for me to look for such reviews. But I am still pretty confident that the actual numbers are not much higher.) Moderators would be certainly able to handle four more flags a week. But if we look, for example, on Mathematics, where number for reopen reviews per week are closer to 100, that would be IMO a non-negligible addition to the number of flags that moderator have to deal with.\nMy main problem with the suggestion that in such cases reopening should be requested from moderators is that on a good functioning site, the site moderation should be done by the community as much as possible.1 It is clear there are some situations where moderators have to step in. If a question is closed and reopened for the tenth time, or if some edit is repeatedly done and undone, they step in. They also deal with account suspensions for problematic users. And they do many other things which for us - the regular users - remain under the surface and we do not seen them. I think they should be helped by other users where possible.\nAnother issue is that moderator votes to close/reopen have an immediate effect. While it takes 5 votes from regular users to close/reopen (with some minor exceptions), a single vote by a mod suffices. Of course, a moderator has every right to vote to close/reopen if they think the question should be closed/reopened. By they probably still keep in mind that they can do this singlehandedly and are therefore a bit more careful with such actions. Here is what one of the current moderators said about this during 2013 Moderator Election:\n\nI am of the position that mods should not be editors of the site. We have a considerable number of users with essentially the same powers as moderators with respect to closing/deleting/etc (except, of course, that mods votes to do such things is immediately binding) and it is they who should be doing the closing, deleting and so on.\nAs a mod on M.SE I vote, in fact, much less to close/delete/&amp;c than when I was a `regular' user (It should be observed that a mod cannot turn off his modhood) and I restrict those actions to obvious spam and other matters which require immediate action.\n\n\n1Let me digress a bit to say a few words about reputation. From the viewpoint of a user, perhaps reputation is importation as it brings gamification aspect and also user might enjoy that they can use moderation for bounties in hope to attract attention to some question. But for the site as a whole it is useful as a measure of experience of particular user with the site. Perhaps it is rather inexact measure, but it is definitely at least a reasonable estimate. Therefore it makes sense that various privileges are awarded based on reputation. And with them users gets more and more additional ways how they can help the site, if they are willing to do so. For example, it would not make much sense to put reopen review in front of a user who is here for the first day and thinks that question asking to solve $\\lim_{n\\to\\infty} (\\sqrt{n^2+n}-n)$ is a perfectly reasonable question for this site. Somebody who is at 3000 reputation points has already spent enough time on the site and is able to judge whether a question is suitable for reopening.", "Let us start with a simple, relatively informal statement: “in most cases, those who start learning a language as children become ultimately become more proficient in a language than those who start learning it later”. This is uncontroversial, and something I think the vast majority of second-language acquisition researchers would agree on. However, this is not how the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) is understood within the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). CPH is a large subject, and your question is hard to answer in a few paragraphs. Therefore, I am reusing large fragments of an assignment I wrote on this very topic for an SLA course a few years ago. Let me know if something is unclear or the style is too terse at some points.\n\nSummary (TL;DR)\n\n\nThere is no universally accepted definition of a critical period within linguistics and some of the controversies are caused by the fact that different researchers use different definitions.\nThere are a few key findings that are not controversial:\n\n\nearly learners perform consistently well in all aspects of language use,\nas we move the starting age, they perform statistically worse and worse until puberty,\nhowever, the decrease in performance is not uniform.\n\nAn explanation, provided by Bialystok (1997) as an alternative to CPH, is the different learning style of children, compared to late learners.\nParadoxically, the differences (or lack thereof) between those who learn a foreign language as adults is the key factor in deciding whether CPH is true or not, and a controversial one:\n\n\nSome studies found correlations between the age adult learners started learning a language and their ultimate attainment. In other words, these studies suggest that if we compare people who have been learning a language for a very long time, the ultimate attainment of those who started at the age of 20 is statistically higher than the ultimate attainment of those who started at the age of 40. These studies argue that there is no CPH in the childhood, but rather that our abilities in learning a new language consistently decrease throughout our whole lives.\nOther studies found no clear correlations between the starting age and the ultimate attainment among adult language learners. They point out that the correlation between the starting age and ultimate attainment is clear for those who started before puberty. Based on that, they argue that there is something qualitatively different about starting to learn in an early age, and therefore conclude that it is an argument for CPH.\n\n\n\nDefinitions of the critical period used by those who argue against CPH\n\nControversies with the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) are related to the issue of ultimate attainment of early and late language learners, that is, the highest language proficiency level they can attain. The patterns in ultimate attainment may be explained by CPH, but they may also have different explanations. Some researchers support some form of the Critical Period Hypothesis (Johnson and Newport 1989, DeKeyser and Larson-Hall 2005, Patkowsky 1994, Scovel 1988), while others argue against it (Bialystok 1997).\n\nA major problem with the Critical Period Hypothesis is that there appears to be no universally accepted definition of a critical period within linguistics. Bialystok (1997) bases her discussion of the critical/sensitive period (which she takes to be synonymous1) on a specific technical definition used in ethology, which includes 14 essential structural characteristics that describe such a period (Bornstein 1989). She argues that one of these characteristics is especially problematic – the system: “structure or function altered in the sensitive period” (Bornstein 1989:184). In other words, she argues that there is no period where a structure in the brain is modified in a way that makes subsequent language learning harder or impossible. Bialystok does, however, agree that there is an optimal period for language learning – something that can be characterised by the statement “On average, children are more successful than adults when faced with the task of learning a second language” (Bialystok 1997:117). Despite the controversy around other issues, this fact is uncontested and has been verified by numerous studies.\n\nBialystok (1997) rejects the existence of a critical period, because of lack of postulated structure that is modified when the period is over. She postulates that an important factor that causes differences in ultimate attainment between early and late starters is learning style: children prefer accommodation (creating new concepts) over assimilation (extending existing concepts). The question remains: why do they prefer accommodation? She suggests that “[t]his may be because children are in the process of creating new categories all the time as they are learning new information” (Bialystok 1997:132).\n\nDefinitions of the critical period used by supporters of CPH\n\nThe researchers who support some form of the Critical Period Hypothesis (Johnson and Newport 1989, DeKeyser and Larson-Hall 2005), formulate it in a form that is much weaker than Bialystok's (1997) formulation. What they postulate often resembles what Bialystok calls the optimal age.\n\nJohnson and Newport (1989) reformulated CPH into two alternative hypotheses, in order to fit second language acquisition into the picture:\n\n\nThe exercise hypothesis: “Early in life, humans have a superior capacity for acquiring languages. If the capacity is not exercised during this time, it will disappear or decline with maturation. If the capacity is exercised, however, further language learning abilities will remain intact throughout life.” (Johnson and Newport 1989:64)\nThe maturational state hypothesis: “Early in life, humans have a superior capacity for acquiring languages. This capacity disappears or declines with maturation.” (Johnson and Newport 1989:64)\n\n\nWe can see that if a critical period was found for second language acquisition, we could be almost sure that it exists for L1 acquisition as well (the maturational state hypothesis). However, we cannot deduce in this way in case of the exercise hypothesis – non-existence of a critical period for L2 acquisition does not exclude in any way a possibility of such period for the first language (Bialystok 1997).\n\nDeKeyser and Larson-Hall (2005) formulate the hypothesis as: “language acquisition from mere exposure (i.e. implicit learning) […] is severely limited in older adolescents and adults”. Their formulation is quite vague, as is the constatation that there is a “qualitative change in language learning capacities somewhere between 4 and 18 years”.\n\nThere are also definitions that restrict the Critical Period Hypothesis to specific subareas of the language faculty. The most commonly mentioned area is phonology, see e.g. Patkowsky (1994, cited in Bialystok 1997), Scovel (1988, cited in Bialystok 1997).\n\nAge effects before and after puberty\n\nThe current consensus is that early learners perform consistently well in all aspects of language use. As we move the starting age, they perform statistically worse and worse until puberty. The decrease in performance is not uniform, and in some areas (such as phonology) it is particularly visible. Performance on the same level as early bilinguals is possible, but rare.\n\nProbably the most controversial aspect is the performance of adult learners. After puberty there is much bigger variance in the performance, so data are more prone to different interpretations. The results obtained by Derwing and Munro (2013) suggest that comprehensibility and good accent are negatively correlated with the age of arrival, that is, the age when English language immersion started. Johnson and Newport (1989) found no correlation of starting age after puberty with ultimate language proficiency, while Bialystok (1997) re-analysed these data and found some negative correlation. A meta-analysis by DeKeyser and Larson-Hall (2005) downplays the role of post-adolescent correlations. As we can see, the jury is still out on this debate.\n\n1 In neuroscience critical period and sensitive period are two separate concepts, see Knudsen (2004).\n\nBibliography\n\n\nBialystok, E. 1997. The structure of age: in search of barriers to second language acquisition. Second Language Research 13(2): 116-137.\nBornstein, M.H. 1989. Sensitive periods in development: structural characteristics and causal interpretations. Psychological Bulletin 105,179–97.\nDeKeyser, R. and J. Larson-Hall. 2005. What does the critical period really mean? In J. F. Kroll and A. M. B. de Groot. 2005. Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches. Cary, NC: Oxford University Press. Pp. 109–27.\nDerwing, T. M., &amp; Munro, M. J. 2013. The development of L2 oral language skills in two L1 groups: A 7-year study. Language Learning 63, 163-185.\nJohnson, J.S., &amp; Newport, E.L. 1989. Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive Psychology, 21, 60-99.\nKnudsen, E. I. 2004. Sensitive periods in the development of the brain and behavior. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16, 1412-25\nNewport, E. L., &amp; Supalla, T. 1987. A critical period effect in the acquisition of a primary language.\nPatkowsky, M. 1980. The sensitive period for the acquisition of syntax in a second language. Language Learning 30, 449–72\nScovel, T. 1988. A time to speak: a psycholinguistic inquiry into the critical period for human speech. New York: Newbury House", "Tim, I respectfully urge you to ignore your doubts about changing MTU. Your issue has MTU problem written all over it and I have been a professional network engineer for over 15 years.\n\nTo prove whether MTU helps, conduct tests from your linux machine using ping with the DF bit set in the IP header... \n\nping -M do -s 1232 &lt;some pingable internet ip address&gt;\n\n\nI calculated the -s parameter assuming your PPPoE IP MTU is 1300 bytes. If that ping succeeds, then use -s 1472 and watch what happens... if the ping it now fails, you have conclusive proof that there is an MTU issue (assuming you have not set your Ethernet link MTU lower). FYI, -s 1472 will send a 1500-byte ethernet-payload echo-request; -M do -s 1472 sends that same 1500-byte payload with the DF-bit set in the IP header.\n\nAlso remember that MTU must be set on both sides of the link... so you would need to do this on your modem as well.\n\nEDIT\n\nTim, you still have not run the commands I asked you to. Let me give you an example of what is wrong with what you did (I need to modify the destination host to stackexchange.com, due to firewalling for IP fragmentation in my path to 8.8.8.8)\n\nNegative example (using your ping flags)\n\n[mpenning@Bucksnort ~]$ ping -c 1 -s 65507 64.34.119.12\nPING 64.34.119.12 (64.34.119.12) 65507(65535) bytes of data.\n65515 bytes from 64.34.119.12: icmp_seq=1 ttl=51 time=53.2 ms\n\n--- 64.34.119.12 ping statistics ---\n1 packets transmitted, 1 received, 0% packet loss, time 0ms\nrtt min/avg/max/mdev = 53.246/53.246/53.246/0.000 ms\n[mpenning@Bucksnort ~]$\n\n\nRhetorical question: how did a 64KB ping packet get through a 1500-byte ethernet segment? (see End note A) I can't help unless you post the information I am asking for. This is the same example, with ping -M do\n\nPositive example\n\n[mpenning@Bucksnort ~]$ ping -M do -c 1 -s 65507 64.34.119.12\nPING 64.34.119.12 (64.34.119.12) 65507(65535) bytes of data.\nFrom 24.102.60.3 icmp_seq=1 Frag needed and DF set (mtu = 1500)\n\n--- 64.34.119.12 ping statistics ---\n0 packets transmitted, 0 received, +1 errors\n\n[mpenning@Bucksnort ~]$\n\n\nping -M do provides information about the maximum MTU along the path (in this case, we know the first-hop ethernet segment has an IP MTU of 1500-bytes).\n\nEnd Notes:\n\nA. Your pings can be completed as a series of IP fragments, because by-default ping allows IP fragmentation. If you are trying to find the maximum packet size that will pass through a link, you must modify the IP header (which I illustrated with -M do) to ensure you don't get a bunch of fragmented responses stitched together at the end. Using ping -c 1 -s 65507 64.34.119.12:\n\n[mpenning@Bucksnort ~]$ sudo tshark -n -i eth0 icmp\n 1 0.000000 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=0)\n 2 0.000058 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=1480)\n 3 0.000071 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=2960)\n 4 0.000081 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=4440)\n 5 0.000094 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=5920)\n 6 0.000105 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=7400)\n 7 0.000116 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=8880)\n 8 0.000124 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=10360)\n 9 0.000133 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=11840)\n 10 0.000143 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=13320)\n 11 0.000152 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=14800)\n 12 0.000162 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=16280)\n 13 0.000172 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=17760)\n 14 0.000181 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=19240)\n 15 0.000191 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=20720)\n 16 0.000201 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=22200)\n 17 0.000211 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=23680)\n 18 0.000221 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=25160)\n 19 0.000230 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=26640)\n 20 0.000240 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=28120)\n 21 0.000250 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=29600)\n 22 0.000259 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=31080)\n 23 0.000269 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=32560)\n 24 0.000278 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=34040)\n 25 0.000288 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=35520)\n 26 0.000298 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=37000)\n 27 0.000308 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=38480)\n 28 0.000318 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=39960)\n 29 0.000327 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=41440)\n 30 0.000337 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=42920)\n 31 0.000352 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=44400)\n 32 0.000361 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=45880)\n 33 0.000372 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=47360)\n 34 0.000384 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=48840)\n 35 0.000394 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=50320)\n 36 0.000403 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=51800)\n 37 0.000411 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=53280)\n 38 0.000419 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=54760)\n 39 0.000428 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=56240)\n 40 0.000437 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=57720)\n 41 0.000446 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=59200)\n 42 0.000455 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=60680)\n 43 0.000466 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=62160)\n 44 0.000477 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=63640)\n 45 0.000486 24.102.60.3 -&gt; 64.34.119.12 ICMP Echo (ping) request\n 46 0.044402 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=0)\n 47 0.044439 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=1480)\n 48 0.044899 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=2960)\n 49 0.044910 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=4440)\n 50 0.044916 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=5920)\n 51 0.045149 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=7400)\n 52 0.045399 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=8880)\n 53 0.045409 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=10360)\n 54 0.045415 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=11840)\n 55 0.045649 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=13320)\n 56 0.045899 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=14800)\n 57 0.045908 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=16280)\n 58 0.045915 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=17760)\n 59 0.046148 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=19240)\n 60 0.046163 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=20720)\n 61 0.046402 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=22200)\n 62 0.046421 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=23680)\n 63 0.046650 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=25160)\n 64 0.046668 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=26640)\n 65 0.046901 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=28120)\n 66 0.046918 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=29600)\n 67 0.047151 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=31080)\n 68 0.047171 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=32560)\n 69 0.047399 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=34040)\n 70 0.047418 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=35520)\n 71 0.047424 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=37000)\n 72 0.047650 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=38480)\n 73 0.047900 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=39960)\n 74 0.048149 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=41440)\n 75 0.048165 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=42920)\n 76 0.048172 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=44400)\n 77 0.048178 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=45880)\n 78 0.048398 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=47360)\n 79 0.048650 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=48840)\n 80 0.048667 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=50320)\n 81 0.048674 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=51800)\n 82 0.048900 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=53280)\n 83 0.048922 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=54760)\n 84 0.049150 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=56240)\n 85 0.049174 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=57720)\n 86 0.049398 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=59200)\n 87 0.049649 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=60680)\n 88 0.049671 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=62160)\n 89 0.049677 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 IP Fragmented IP protocol (proto=ICMP 0x01, off=63640)\n 90 0.049683 64.34.119.12 -&gt; 24.102.60.3 ICMP Echo (ping) reply", "This happens twice in the Sherlock Holmes canon, openly inspired by Poe's Dupin.\nThe opening passage of &quot;The Adventure of the Dancing Men&quot;, from the collection The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905), is as follows:\n\nHolmes had been seated for some hours in silence with his long, thin back curved over a chemical vessel in which he was brewing a particularly malodorous product. His head was sunk upon his breast, and he looked from my point of view like a strange, lank bird, with dull grey plumage and a black top-knot.\n“So, Watson,” said he, suddenly, “you do not propose to invest in South African securities?”\nI gave a start of astonishment. Accustomed as I was to Holmes's curious faculties, this sudden intrusion into my most intimate thoughts was utterly inexplicable.\n“How on earth do you know that?” I asked.\nHe wheeled round upon his stool, with a steaming test-tube in his hand and a gleam of amusement in his deep-set eyes.\n“Now, Watson, confess yourself utterly taken aback,” said he.\n“I am.”\n“I ought to make you sign a paper to that effect.”\n“Why?”\n“Because in five minutes you will say that it is all so absurdly simple.”\n“I am sure that I shall say nothing of the kind.”\n“You see, my dear Watson”—he propped his test-tube in the rack and began to lecture with the air of a professor addressing his class—“it is not really difficult to construct a series of inferences, each dependent upon its predecessor and each simple in itself. If, after doing so, one simply knocks out all the central inferences and presents one's audience with the starting-point and the conclusion, one may produce a startling, though possibly a meretricious, effect. Now, it was not really difficult, by an inspection of the groove between your left forefinger and thumb, to feel sure that you did NOT propose to invest your small capital in the goldfields.”\n“I see no connection.”\n“Very likely not; but I can quickly show you a close connection. Here are the missing links of the very simple chain: 1. You had chalk between your left finger and thumb when you returned from the club last night. 2. You put chalk there when you play billiards to steady the cue. 3. You never play billiards except with Thurston. 4. You told me four weeks ago that Thurston had an option on some South African property which would expire in a month, and which he desired you to share with him. 5. Your cheque-book is locked in my drawer, and you have not asked for the key. 6. You do not propose to invest your money in this manner.”\n“How absurdly simple!” I cried.\n\nEarly in the controversial story &quot;The Adventure of the Cardboard Box&quot;, from the collection Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894), a similar conversation takes place:\n\nFinding that Holmes was too absorbed for conversation I had tossed side the barren paper, and leaning back in my chair I fell into a brown study.Suddenly my companion’s voice broke in upon mythoughts: “You are right, Watson,” said he. “It does seem a most preposterous way of settling a dispute.”\n“Most preposterous!” I exclaimed, and then suddenly realizing how he had echoed the inmost thought of my soul, I sat up in my chair and stared at him in blank amazement.\n“What is this, Holmes?” I cried. “This is beyond anything which I could have imagined.”\nHe laughed heartily at my perplexity.\n“You remember,” said he, “that some little time ago when I read you the passage in one of Poe’s sketches in which a close reasoner follows the unspoken thoughts of his companion, you were inclined to treat the matter as a mere tour-de-force of the author. On my remarking that I was constantly in the habit of doing the same thing you expressed incredulity.”\n[...]\n“Then I will tell you. After throwing down your paper, which was the action which drew my attention to you, you sat for half a minute with a vacant expression. Then your eyes fixed themselves upon your newly framed picture of General Gordon, and I saw by the alteration in your face that a train of thought had been started. But it did not lead very far. Your eyes flashed across to the unframed portrait of Henry Ward Beecher which stands upon the top of your books. Then you glanced up at the wall, and of course your meaning was obvious. You were thinking that if the portrait were framed it would just cover that bare space and correspond with Gordon’s picture there.”\n“You have followed me wonderfully!” I exclaimed.\n“So far I could hardly have gone astray. But now your thoughts went back to Beecher, and you looked hard across as if you were studying the character in his features. Then your eyes ceased to pucker, but you continued to look across, and your face was thoughtful. You were recalling the incidents of Beecher’s career. I was well aware that you could not do this without thinking of the mission which he undertook on behalf of the North at the time of the Civil War, for I remember your expressing your passionate indignation at the way in which he was received by the more turbulent of our people. You felt so strongly about it that I knew you could not think of Beecher without thinking of that also. When a moment later I saw your eyes wander away from the picture, I suspected that your mind had now turned to the Civil War, and when I observed that your lips set, your eyes sparkled, and your hands clenched I was positive that you were indeed thinking of the gallantry which was shown by both sides in that desperate struggle. But then, again, your face grew sadder, you shook your head. You were dwelling upon the sadness and horror and useless waste of life. Your hand stole towards your own old wound and a smile quivered on your lips, which showed me that the ridiculous side of this method of settling international questions had forced itself upon your mind. At this point I agreed with you that it was preposterous and was glad to find that all my deductions had been correct.”\n\nIt's worth noting that, way back in the very first Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet, Holmes makes reference to this trick as used by Poe, but with a very different tone:\n\nSherlock Holmes rose and lit his pipe. &quot;No doubt you think that you are complimenting me in comparing me to Dupin,&quot; he observed. &quot;Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. That trick of his of breaking in on his friends' thoughts with an apropos remark after a quarter of an hour's silence is really very showy and superficial. He had some analytical genius, no doubt; but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine.&quot;\n\nFor completeness, I include here the passage from Edgar Allan Poe's first Dupin story The Murders in the Rue Morgue which inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write similar scenes for his own detective character:\n\nWe were strolling one night down a long dirty street in the vicinity of the Palais Royal. Being both, apparently, occupied with thought, neither of us had spoken a syllable for fifteen minutes at least. All at once Dupin broke forth with these words:\n“He is a very little fellow, that’s true, and would do better for the Théâtre des Variétés.”\n“There can be no doubt of that,” I replied unwittingly, and not at first observing (so much had I been absorbed in reflection) the extraordinary manner in which the speaker had chimed in with my meditations. In an instant afterward I recollected myself, and my astonishment was profound.\n“Dupin,” said I, gravely, “this is beyond my comprehension. I do not hesitate to say that I am amazed, and can scarcely credit my senses. How was it possible you should know I was thinking of ——-?” Here I paused, to ascertain beyond a doubt whether he really knew of whom I thought.\n—“of Chantilly,” said he, “why do you pause? You were remarking to yourself that his diminutive figure unfitted him for tragedy.”\nThis was precisely what had formed the subject of my reflections. Chantilly was a quondam cobbler of the Rue St. Denis, who, becoming stage-mad, had attempted the rôle of Xerxes, in Crébillon’s tragedy so called, and been notoriously Pasquinaded for his pains.\n“Tell me, for Heaven’s sake,” I exclaimed, “the method—if method there is—by which you have been enabled to fathom my soul in this matter.” In fact I was even more startled than I would have been willing to express.\n“It was the fruiterer,” replied my friend, “who brought you to the conclusion that the mender of soles was not of sufficient height for Xerxes et id genus omne.”\n“The fruiterer!—you astonish me—I know no fruiterer whomsoever.”\n“The man who ran up against you as we entered the street—it may have been fifteen minutes ago.”\nI now remembered that, in fact, a fruiterer, carrying upon his head a large basket of apples, had nearly thrown me down, by accident, as we passed from the Rue C —— into the thoroughfare where we stood; but what this had to do with Chantilly I could not possibly understand.\nThere was not a particle of charlatanerie about Dupin. “I will explain,” he said, “and that you may comprehend all clearly, we will first retrace the course of your meditations, from the moment in which I spoke to you until that of the rencontre with the fruiterer in question. The larger links of the chain run thus—Chantilly, Orion, Dr. Nichols, Epicurus, Stereotomy, the street stones, the fruiterer.”\nThere are few persons who have not, at some period of their lives, amused themselves in retracing the steps by which particular conclusions of their own minds have been attained. The occupation is often full of interest and he who attempts it for the first time is astonished by the apparently illimitable distance and incoherence between the starting-point and the goal. What, then, must have been my amazement when I heard the Frenchman speak what he had just spoken, and when I could not help acknowledging that he had spoken the truth. He continued:\n“We had been talking of horses, if I remember aright, just before leaving the Rue C ——. This was the last subject we discussed. As we crossed into this street, a fruiterer, with a large basket upon his head, brushing quickly past us, thrust you upon a pile of paving stones collected at a spot where the causeway is undergoing repair. You stepped upon one of the loose fragments, slipped, slightly strained your ankle, appeared vexed or sulky, muttered a few words, turned to look at the pile, and then proceeded in silence. I was not particularly attentive to what you did; but observation has become with me, of late, a species of necessity.\n“You kept your eyes upon the ground—glancing, with a petulant expression, at the holes and ruts in the pavement, (so that I saw you were still thinking of the stones,) until we reached the little alley called Lamartine, which has been paved, by way of experiment, with the overlapping and riveted blocks. Here your countenance brightened up, and, perceiving your lips move, I could not doubt that you murmured the word ‘stereotomy,’ a term very affectedly applied to this species of pavement. I knew that you could not say to yourself ‘stereotomy’ without being brought to think of atomies, and thus of the theories of Epicurus; and since, when we discussed this subject not very long ago, I mentioned to you how singularly, yet with how little notice, the vague guesses of that noble Greek had met with confirmation in the late nebular cosmogony, I felt that you could not avoid casting your eyes upward to the great nebula in Orion, and I certainly expected that you would do so. You did look up; and I was now assured that I had correctly followed your steps. But in that bitter tirade upon Chantilly, which appeared in yesterday’s ‘Musée,’ the satirist, making some disgraceful allusions to the cobbler’s change of name upon assuming the buskin, quoted a Latin line about which we have often conversed. I mean the line\nPerdidit antiquum litera sonum.\n“I had told you that this was in reference to Orion, formerly written Urion; and, from certain pungencies connected with this explanation, I was aware that you could not have forgotten it. It was clear, therefore, that you would not fail to combine the two ideas of Orion and Chantilly. That you did combine them I saw by the character of the smile which passed over your lips. You thought of the poor cobbler’s immolation. So far, you had been stooping in your gait; but now I saw you draw yourself up to your full height. I was then sure that you reflected upon the diminutive figure of Chantilly. At this point I interrupted your meditations to remark that as, in fact, he was a very little fellow—that Chantilly—he would do better at the Théâtre des Variétés.”\n\nThere is no doubt that this is the passage which inspired Doyle and Holmes, because in &quot;The Adventure of the Cardboard Box&quot; Watson mentioned that in the passage which Holmes read to him, &quot;If I remember right, [Poe's character] stumbled over a heap of stones, looked up at the stars, and so on.&quot;", "The answer to this involves what is broadly known as &quot;Covenant Theology&quot;. There has been much too much ink (and modern electrons) wasted on these ideas. Covenant theology is both complex and simple. It is simple because it summarises God’s salvation initiative; it is complex because accumulated theological barnacles obscure the Bible message.\nIn the New Testament, the English word “covenant” is a translation of the Greek, “diatheke”. In Hellenistic (non-biblical) Koine Greek, the exclusive meaning of diatheke is “last will and testament” (see BDAG), that is, a series of instructions about what to do with a person’s property when they die. Thus it is used in Heb 9:16, 17, (and possibly Gal 3:15?).\nHowever, in all other 30 instances, it appears to be heavily influenced by the meaning in the Septuagint where it translates the Hebrew, “berith”, all of which fall into two obvious categories:\n(a) Covenants between various people, Gen 14:13, 21:27, 32, 26:28, 34:44, Ex 23:32, Josh 9:6ff, etc. In this sense, “berith” means an agreement for mutual peace between equal parties, ie, ‘compact’, ‘agreement’ or ‘contract’.\n(b) Covenants initiated by God for His chosen people, eg, Gen 6:8, 9:9ff, 15:18, 17:2ff, Ex 2:24, 6:4, 5, 19:5, 24:7, 8, 31:16, 34:10, 12ff, Lev 2:13, 24:8, 26:9ff, Num 10:33, 14:44, 18:19, 25:12, 13, 4:13ff, 5:2, 3, 7:2ff, 8:18, 9:9, 11, 15, 10:8, 17:2, 29:1ff, 31ff, 33:9, Josh 3:3ff, 23:16, 24:25, etc. In this sense, “berith” means, ‘decree’, ‘declaration of purpose’, ‘set of regulations’ (BDAG), which God alone initiates, and God alone sets the regulations. In all cases, a “berith” from God is part of declaration of intent to save His chosen people and thus not an agreement between two parties.\nWith the exception of Heb 9:16, 17, “diatheke” in the NT appears to be given the second meaning (b) above under the influence of the Septuagint which translates the Hebrew OT. It is this second meaning that is discussed below.\nEach of these covenants has the same structure - (1) a series of promises by God of His benefits to the recipients, (2) some requirements of the recipients (sometimes called the law of the relationship), (3) a symbol of the covenant of some kind, (4) a sacrifice to seal or confirm the covenant.\nBy My count, there are at least six Covenants initiated between God and various parties in the OT concerning salvation. While I list all of them below, I will not discuss them all in equal detail.\n1. Noahide Covenant: Gen 8:20 – 9:17.\n2. Abrahamic Covenant: Gen 15, 17, 18:9-15, 22:15-18\n3. Israelite Covenant: Exodus 19-24 plus parts of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy – often called, “The Old Covenant”, or, “Moral Covenant”, or, sometimes incorrectly called, “The Mosaic Covenant”.\nThis Israelite Covenant consisted of the following:\n\nGod promises to “save” Israel from Egyptian slavery and deliver them to the Promised Land as stated in the preamble to the 10 commandments, Ex 20:1, 2, 23:23, Deut 5:6. This was to fulfil God’s earlier promise to Abraham and others to give the Promised Land to Abraham’s descendants, Ex 2:24, 6:4, 5, forever, 1 Chron 16:15, Ps 105:8, 111:9.\nGod promises to protect His people by sending a protecting angel, Ex 23:19, 20, and establish their borders, Ex 23:31.\nThe purpose the Covenant (Ex 20:1-17) is stated clearly in Ex 19:5, 6 – to make the Israelites God’s peculiar treasure, his special people, distinguished by the way they conducted themselves. Ps 50:16-18, 74:20, 78:36, 37.\nThis purpose of the covenant was stated in other ways as, “I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, … ” Ex 6:7. This is stated repeatedly: Lev 26:9-12, Deut 29:9-13, 2 Sam 7:24, 1 Chron 11:2, Ps 50:7, 95:7, 100:3, Isa 40:1, Jer 7:23, 11:1-4, 24:7, 30:9, 22, 31:1, 33, 32:38-40, Eze 11:20, 34:30, 31, 36:26-28, 37:23, 24, Hos 1:9, 4:6, Joel 2:26, 27, Zech 8:8. It is significant that the first of the 10 Commandments is a decree to have only ONE God, the LORD, Ex 20:3, Deut, 5:7, 6:4-6.\n\n[This same idea is also expressed another way – creating a people who would be “called by the name of the LORD”, or, “called by my name”, 2 Chron 7:14, Isa 43:7, 65:1; that is, to bear the character of a gracious, loving, kind God. The Jerusalem Temple was also a symbol of this covenant because it was “called by my Name”, 1 Kings 8:13, Jer 7:10, 11, 14, 32:34, 34:15. Such people, God declared, “out of all nations you will be my treasured possession … a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Ex 19:5, 6.]\n\nThe requirements of the Israelite covenant are the 10 Commandments as recorded on the tablets of stone and amplified in Ex 20:22-23:33, the book of Deuteronomy and elsewhere such as Lev 17-19, 26. This is shown by the following facts:\n\no Ex 24:7 introduces the “Book of the Covenant” (which see) as already existing, ie, Ex 20:22 – 23:33. It served as an expansion and legal context in which to place the Israelite Covenant of the 10 Commandments.\no These tablets of stone with the 10 Commandments are called “the covenant” (Ex 34:27, 28, Deut 9:9, 11, 15) and placed inside the ark (Ex 25:16, 21, 40:20, Heb 9:4). [The tables of stone were also called “the tables of Testimony” (Ex 31:18, 32:15, 34:29), or just, “The Testimony” (Ex 25:16, 21).]\no The “Ark of the Covenant” (Num 10:33, 14:44, Deut 10:8, 31:9, 25, 26, Josh 3:3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, 4:7, 9, 18, 6:6, 8:33, etc) or, “Ark of the Testimony” (Ex 25:22, 26:33, 34, 30:6, 26, 31:7, 39:35, 40:3, 5, 21, Lev 16:13, Num 4:5, 7:89, Josh 4:16, etc) is described thus precisely because it contained the stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God (Ex 31:18, Deut 9:10) with the Israelite Covenant of the 10 Commandments. 1 Kings 8:9, 2 Chron 5:10.\no The re-statement and expansion of the 10 Commandments as the covenant in Deut 4:13, 23, 31, 5:2, 3 includes a reference back to the Covenant at Horeb, ie, Mt Sinai (See Ex 3:1, 17:6, 33:6, etc, and the statement of the covenant in Ex 19, 20, and restated in Ex 24).\no The 10 Commandments Covenant is distinct from the Levitical law and Davidic Covenant.\n\nThe benefits of the covenant are clearly set out in Lev 26:1-13, Deut 28:1-14 (blessings for obedience), and, Lev 26:14-39, Deut 28:15-68 (curses for disobedience).\n\nThe visible symbols of the Israelite Covenant solemnity and importance included: an altar of 12 stones (Ex 24:4), a sacrifice (Ex 24:5), sprinkled blood of the covenant (Ex 24:8). The blood of the covenant was used dramatically when painted on the door posts in Egypt at the first Passover (Ex 12).\n\nThe tokens/signs of the covenant (Heb: “oth”) appear to have been the law of the 10 Commandments themselves (Deut 6:8, 11:18), and especially the Sabbath (Ex 31:13, 16, 17, Isa 56:4, 6, Exe 20:12, 20, see “Sabbath”); the blood of the covenant from the Passover Lamb is also used as a sign in Ex 12:13; the famous “Ark of the Covenant” containing the 10 Commandments on tablets of stone (Ex 16:34, 24:12, 25:16, 21, 31:18, 32:15, 19, 34:1, 4, 28, 40:20, Deut 4:13, 9-11, etc).\n\nLev 26:44, 45, Jer 31:35-37, 32, 40, 33:25 declare the Israelite covenant immutable and irrevocable. See also Heb 13:20, 1 Chron 16:17, Jer 50:5, Ps 105:8, Eze 37:26.\n\n\n4. Levitical Covenant – Lev 1-9, 16, 21-27 , Num 3, 4, 8, 18, 25:10-13, Deut 33:8-11. This is an eternal covenant (Num 25:12, 13, Ps 106:30) of salt, Num 18:19.\nThe Levitical covenant is stated in Num 3:11-13 where God takes the Levites instead of the all the firstborn of each family, thus changing the (informal) priesthood from the firstborn of each family to the (formal) priesthood of tribe of Levi. Several Bible writers refer to this Levitical Covenant including:\n\nNeh 13:29 – “the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites”\nJer 33:18, 21 – “covenant with the Levitical priests.”\nMal 2:4-8 – “the covenant with Levi”\nNum 25:10-13 – the eternal covenant of priesthood was also a covenant of peace and a covenant of “salt” (Num 18:19), ie, very solemn and eternal.\nIsa 54:10 &amp; Eze 34:25 also describes the covenant of peace with the Levites\nFrom other Bible passages we can see what the Levitical covenant was.\nA promise by God to set them apart, ie, make them “holy” (Num 3:12, 13), to be a substitute for the first born in Israel, and to have the primary responsibility for caring for the sanctuary, its ritual services and sacrifices, maintaining and transporting its equipment. Ex 32:25-29. In this way, they became the priests of Israel. All these regulations were contained in Lev 1-9, 11-12, 16, 20-27.\nThus, the Levites enjoyed a “blessed” (and privileged) status. Ex 32:29, Mal 2:5.\nThe book of Leviticus (and Num 1 &amp; 18) sets out the responsibilities of the Levites in operating the ceremonial rites and sanctuary services and caring for the sanctuary equipment. See also Num 1:53, 18:2, Deut 10:8, 31:9, 25, Josh 3:3, 2 Sam 15:24, 1 Chron 15:26.\nThe purpose of the Levitical covenant was to teach and inculcate the plan of salvation (Deut 33:9, 10, Heb 9:8, 9, 11-14, 10:1-3). That is, it symbolically taught about salvation by grace through the coming Messiah via His substitutionary death in the place of the sinner. Thus, the sacrifices, Levites, priests and High Priest became a type of Jesus in various ways.\nThe token/sign (Heb: “oth”) of the Levitical covenant appears to have been the unleavened bread at the annual festival (Ex 13:6, 9, 16, Lev 24:8).\n\n[The Israelite Covenant never mentions a formal priesthood; thus the Israelite covenant was distinct from the Levitical covenant. In the NT, this Levitical Covenant with all its ceremonies was often abbreviated to “the Law of Moses”, or just, “circumcision” and are clearly understood as distinct from the Old Israelite covenant laws, 1 Cor 7:19, Eph 2:15, Acts 15.]\n5. Davidic (or Regal) Covenant: 2 Sam 7, 23:5, 1 Kings 6:11, 12, 8:25, 1 Chron 17:11-14, 2 Chron 6:14-16, 7:17, 18, 13:5, Ps 132:11, 12, Eze 37:15-28. This is an eternal covenant.\nThe provisions of the Davidic Covenant were as follows.\n\nGod promised to make David, a shepherd, king over Israel. 2 Sam 7:9, 1 Kings 8:25, 2 Chron 21:7.\nGod promised to defeat all David’s enemies and give him peace on all sides, 2 Sam 7:9\nDavid’s name would be great, 2 Sam 7:9-11\nGod promised there would always be a blood descendant of David on his throne, by an eternal “covenant of salt” (ie very solemn), 2 Chron 13:5, forever, 2 Sam 7:13, 15, 16, Eze 37:26, (2 Sam 23:5).\nGod promised that the descendant of David would have God as his Father and he would be His son, 2 Sam 7:14.\nDavid’s son, Solomon, was the person to build the temple, 2 Sam 7:12, 13.\nDavid and his descendants must remain faithful to God and keep all that is written in the Book of the Law (Deuteronomy), Deut 17:18, 31:26.\n\nNote that the Davidic Covenant was distinct from the Israelite and Levitical Covenants – David became a type of the eternal reign of Messiah to come. While David and his successors were earthly kings, they were to recognise that the real king of Israel was God. 1 Sam 8:7, 8, 24:6, 2 Sam 19:21, 1 Chron 28:5, 2 Chron 9:8, 13:8, Ps 5:2, 44:4. See also 1 Sam 12:14.\n6. Christian Covenant – often called, “The New Covenant”, Matt 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Cor 11:25, 2 Cor 3:6, Heb 8:6-13, 9:15, 10:16, 29, 12:24, (Jer 31:31, 33), an eternal covenant (Heb 13:20). The Christian Communion service celebrates the New Covenant.\n[Note that the Old Covenant is called eternal (1 Chron 16:17, Jer 50:5, Ps 105:8), as was the Levitical Covenant eternal (Lev 24:8, Num 25:10-13, Ps 106:30), as was the Davidic Covenant eternal (2 Sam 23:5, 2 Chron 13:5, Eze 37:25, 26), as was the Abrahamic Covenant eternal (Gen 17:13, 19), as was the Noahide covenant eternal (Gen 9:16). Thus, they were not abrogated as confirmed by Matt 5:17.]\nAccording to Heb 8:7, 8, the New Covenant was created, not because the Old was defective but because the people (literal Israelites) did not understand, rejected the old covenant and a New Covenant was made with new people, Christians, who accept the promises by faith. Jesus made the same point in Matt 21:43, “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” See also Gal 3:29, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise”. Paul makes the same point in Rom 9:6-9, 11:11-22 where the old covenant was not revoked (it was immutable, Jer 31:35-37) but Christians, people of faith, were grafted into the original “olive tree”. This is also confirmed by Eph 2:12 where Paul discusses Gentiles being absorbed into spiritual Israel becoming part of the ancient covenant promises, all by faith.\n[That the Jews rejected the Old Covenant is amply seen in their actions at Jesus crucifixion when the Jews shouted, &quot;Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!&quot; &quot;Shall I crucify your king?&quot; Pilate asked. &quot;We have no king but Caesar,&quot; the chief priests answered. John 19:15. Thus, they rejected not only the Old Covenant but the Davidic Covenant, the Levitical Covenant, and Jesus as Messiah.]\nThus, the New Covenant and the Old Covenant are the same thing distinguished only by the people to whom God made the promises, namely, Israelites for the Old Covenant and Christians for the New Covenant (without excluding the Israelites!!). The same Moral Law applied in both cases. Indeed, the Old and New Covenant distinction becomes quite blurred when one recalls that the Israelite covenant was always open to all people. See “Israel”. Anyone was free to become a Jew or Israelite by joining their community of faith.\nFurther, the LXX uses the word “ekklesia” (often thought of as a NT word only) about 77 times, almost all of them refer to Israel, eg, Deut 31:30, Josh 8:35, Judges 21:8, 1 Chron 29:1.\nAs usual, the key to understanding this is the centrality of Jesus.\n\nAll the promises God made under the Old Covenant to Israelites find their fulfilment in Jesus as mediator of the New Covenant to Christians, Matt 5:17, Gal 3:16, 22, 29, 2 Cor 1:20, Rom 9:8. Thus, the New Covenant promises to save all people. Specifically, God said of the Christian community, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9, 10 (Compare Ex 19:5, 6, Hos 1:9, 4:6). The Jerusalem council resolution in Acts 15:28, 29 is a specific set of requirements that were repeated from the Old Covenant for the New Covenant.\nHebrews discusses the same idea that the Moral Law of God is to be written on our hearts, Heb 8:7-13, 10:16, 17, exactly as it should have been under the Old Covenant (compare Deut 6:5, Jer 24:7, 31:1, 33, 34, 32:38-40, 36, 26-28).\nChristians were to be “called by my Name” as confirmed in Acts 11:26, just as under the Old Covenant (2 Chron 7:14, Isa 43:7, 65:1). Matt 10:22, 24:9, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:17, Acts 15:17.\nJesus is the promised King of the new Christian Community, ie, the Kingdom of Heaven, or, Kingdom of God, Luke 1:33, John 1:49, Acts 13:23, Rev 11:15. Compare Jer 33:14-17, Eze 37:22. Thus, Jesus inherits the Davidic Covenant. He is also the “Son of David” (Matt 1:1-16) and “Son of God” as predicted in the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7); and His kingdom will never be defeated and is eternal, Luke 1:33, Heb 1:8, Rev 11:15, compare Ps 61:7, Isa 9:7, Psa 146:10.\nJesus is now seated on the eternal throne in heaven at the right hand of the Father, Mark 14:62, 16:19, Eph 1:20, Col 3:1, Heb 1;13, 10:12, 1 Peter 3:22, Rev 5:1.\nJesus is the high priest of the New Covenant Heb 4:14-16, 7:23-28, 8:1, 2, 9:1-28, 10:1-18. Thus, Jesus inherits and was the fulfilment of the Levitical Covenant (See Mal 3:1). Jesus did this in several ways as well such as:\no Jesus was the fulfilment of what the sanctuary/temple typified, John 2:19-21, Heb 9:1-28, 10:1-18\n\no Jesus represented the foundation of the temple as well, 1 Peter 2:4-8 (Compare Isa 28:16, Ps 118:22)\no Jesus was the bread of life, John 6:35, 41, 48 (compare Ex 25:23-30, Lev 24:8).\no Jesus was the light of life, John 8:12, 9:5 (compare the lampstand Ex 25:31-39, Lev 24:3, 4, Isa 53:11, Ps 56:13, etc)\no Jesus provides the water of life, John 4:13, 14 (Compare the laver Ex 30:17-21. See also 1 Cor 6:11)\no Jesus is the promised seed of the woman Gal 3:16 (compare Gen 3:15, and the Abrahamic Covenant)\no Jesus was the Passover Lamb and thus the promised Messiah, John 1:29, 1 Cor 5:7, 1 Peter 1:19 (compare Ex 12:1-14).\no Jesus is the High Priest of the New Covenant in fulfilment of the Levitical covenant, Heb 4:14-16, 7:23-28, because He was “pure, blameless, set apart” exactly as the Levites were. See also Heb 9:15, 12:24.\no Jesus provided the blood of the new covenant of which the communion ceremony was to be a memorial, Matt 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Cor 11:25, Heb 13:20, 1 Peter 1:19 (compare Ex 24:5, 8).\n\nJesus did not abolish the Israelite Covenant and Moral Law but came to fulfil them, Matt 5:17-20, Gal 3:21. The moral law still applies to Christians BUT Jesus fulfils the Levitical and Davidic covenants by being the eternal High Priest and the eternal king of the kingdom of heaven.\n\nOne of the best summaries of the New Covenant is found in 1 Peter 1, 2.\n\nThe promise: Salvation by grace through the promised Messiah, 1 Peter 1:3-12, 20,\nMoral Requirements: holiness (1 Peter 1:15), Purity (v22), Obey the truth (v22), love (v22), “rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (1 Peter 2:1), abstain from sinful desires (1 Peter 2:11), submit to civil authorities (v13-17), see also Rom 13:1-7), etc.\nSacrifice: Blood of Jesus, 1 Peter 1:18, 19\nPurpose: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may express the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light … Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9, 12\n\nCONCLUSION\nJudicial requirements such as in the OP's question are part of the Davidic/civil law of the land and so no longer required because we do not live in ancient Israel. We should obey the local law of the land, wherever we live (se Rom 13:1-7, etc).", "To be honest, I don't know how to measure atmospheric pressure, so I cannot discriminate on that basis. Initially my answer only included unmanned missions, but based on suggestions I've decided to add the Apollo missions as well.\nMoon\nThe first landers performed intentionally hard landings and did not get pictures from the surface. I want to include them because they were the first man-made objects to land on The Moon:\n\nLuna 2 (Soviet Union - impacted 13 September 1959)\nRanger 4 (USA - impacted 26 April 1962)\nRanger 6 (USA - impacted 2 February 1964)\nRanger 7 (USA - impacted 31 July 1964)\nRanger 8 (USA - impacted 20 February 1965)\nRanger 9 (USA - impacted 24 March 1965)\n\nThe first attempts at soft landings failed, but they still did land (crashed) on the surface:\n\nLuna 5 (Soviet Union - impacted 12 May 1965)\nLuna 7 (Soviet Union - impacted 7 October 1965)\nLuna 8 (Soviet Union - impacted 6 December 1965)\n\n\nUnmanned Missions\nThe first successful soft landing was made by the Soviet Union's Luna 9 mission. It landed on the Lunar surface on 3 February 1966 and lasted for six days:\n\nSource\nUSA had its first successful soft landing shortly after with its Surveyor 1 mission. It landed on 2 June 1966 and survived for 65 hours:\n\nSource\nLuna 13 was the next lander to make it to the Lunar surface. The Soviet lander landed on 24 December 1966 and survived six days.\n\nSource\nSurveyor 3 was sent by USA and landed on 20 April 1967. It was also the only lander (so far, as of May 7, 2018) to be later visited by astronauts. Its mission lasted about 14 days.\n\nSource\nSurveyor 5 landed on the Moon on 11 September 1967. Its mission lasted 65 hours.\n\nSource\nSurveyor 6 landed on the Moon on 10 November 1967. According to NASA's website, Surveyor 6 was put in hibernation mode on 26 November 1967. It was awakened on 14 December 1967, but no useful data was received, and communication was permanently lost that day.\n\nSource\nSurveyor 7 landed on the Moon on 10 January 1968. It performed its mission collecting images and scientific data until the mission was put on hold on 26 January 1968 because the lunar day had ended where the lander was. The mission resumed on the following lunar day on 12 February 1968 until the mission ended on 21 February 1968.\n\nSource\nLuna 16 was the next successful (unmanned) mission to the Moon. It landed on 24 September 1970 and survived for 12 days. This was the first successful robotic mission that returned a sample from the Lunar surface. NASA's website says that according to an observatory in Germany, good quality pictures were sent back from Luna 16, but those images were never made available.\nThe Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 mission was the first rover mission. It landed on 17 November 1970, and the mission continued for 322 days.\n\nSource\nLuna 20 was another sample return mission. It landed on 21 February 1972 and returned to Earth on 25 February 1972.\n\nSource\nThe Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 mission sent another rover to the Moon. It landed on 8 January 1973 and survived 146 days.\n\nSource\nLuna 24 was the final mission sent in the Luna Program. It landed on 18 August 1976 and returned a sample to Earth on 22 August 1976. I haven't yet found an image taken by Luna 24 on the surface, and from what I've been able to gather so far it doesn't seem as though it was equipped to take pictures.\nChang'e 3 is the first Chinese lander to make it to the Moon, and the first soft landing since 1976. It landed on 14 December 2013. The lander survived for about a year, but the rover only survived for about three months. This picture was taken of the lander by the rover:\n\nSource\n\nApollo Missions\nApollo 11 was the famous first manned landing on the lunar surface. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on 20 July 1969, were the first two people to step foot on the Moon. Michael Collins was the other astronaut in this mission.\n\nSource\nApollo 12 landed on the Moon on 19 November 1969. Charles Conrad Jr, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean were the three astronauts on this mission. Conrad and Bean were the two astronauts to walk on the surface during this mission.\n\nSource\nApollo 14 landed on 5 February 1971. Alan B. Shepard Jr, Stuart A. Roosa, and Edgar D. Mitchell were the participants in this mission. Shepard and Mitchell were the two astronauts who walked on the surface.\n\nSource\nApollo 15 landed on 30 July 1971. David R. Scott, Alfred M. Worden, and James B. Irwin participated in this mission. Scott and Irwin walked on the lunar surface, and they were the first to drive a NASA lunar rover.\n\nSource\nApollo 16 landed on 21 April 1972. John W. Young, Thomas K. Mattingly II, and Charles M. Duke Jr. were the three astronauts on this mission. Young and Duke were the two to walk on the surface in this mission, and they drove the second NASA lunar rover.\n\nSource\nApollo 17 landed on 11 December 1972, and was the last manned mission to land on the lunar surface. Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. Schmitt were the astronauts on this mission. Cernan and Schmitt were the two to walk on the surface for this mission, and they drove the third NASA lunar rover.\n\nSource\n\nMercury\nMessenger did technically land on Mercury, although it was a hard landing. I want to include it because it is the only thing we've sent to the surface of Mercury, and although it didn't take pictures from the surface, it did take pictures of the surface.\n\nSource\n\nVenus\nThe Soviets are the only ones who ever successfully performed a soft landing on Venus, and they were successful in several Venera and Vega missions. NASA also sent two orbiters to Venus as part of the Pioneer project. The second orbiter, Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, included four probes (one large, and three small) that were deployed to analyze the atmosphere. The large probe was deployed on 16 November 1978, and the three small probes were deployed on 20 November, 1978. While these probes were not meant to be landers, one of the small probes did survive the impact with the surface and continued to transmit information for more than an hour before it perished. They were not equipped with cameras, so they took no pictures.\nOn 15 December 1970, The Soviet Union had its first successful landing on the surface of Venus with the Venera 7 mission. It was the first successful soft landing on another planet. Venera 8 landed on the surface of Venus on 22 July 1972. Neither of these missions returned any images.\nVenera 9 landed on the surface on 22 October 1975, and returned the first image from Venus. This was the first image ever sent back from the surface of another planet.\n\nSource\nVenera 10 landed on 25 October 1975, and also returned images from the surface of Venus.\n\nSource\nVenera 11 and Venera 12 landed on Venus on 21 December 1978 and 25 December 1978. They were equipped to take images, but their lens covers did not separate, so images were not taken.\nVenera 13 landed on Venus on 1 March 1982. It was the first mission to return color images from the surface of Venus.\n\nSource\nVenera 14 landed on 5 March 1982. It also returned color images.\n\nSource\nVega 1 and Vega 2 missions sent landers to Venus on 11 June 1985 and 15 June 1985, but there were no cameras on board so no images were returned.\n\nMars\nThe Soviet Union sent the first three missions that landed on the surface, but because of complications none of them returned complete images (Mars 3 did attempt to return an image (Wikipedia) that some consider to be of the horizon, but it was unintelligible. On the subject, Wikipedia says &quot;According to the Soviet Academy of Sciences there is nothing, horizon or otherwise, identifiable in the photograph&quot;). These missions were Mars 2 (27 November 1971), Mars 3 (2 December 1971), and Mars 6 (12 March 1974).\nThe Viking 1 lander was the first to send back images from the surface of Mars. It landed on 20 July 1976 and survived for 1824 days.\n\nSource\nViking 2 landed on the surface on 3 September 1976. It operated for 1316 days.\n\nSource\nMars Pathfinder/Sojourner mission landed on 4 July 1997. Mars Pathfinder was the name of the lander, and Sojourner was the rover. This was the first rover on Mars.\n\nSource\nPart of ESA's Mars Express mission was to deploy a British lander named Beagle 2. It was deployed from Mars Express on 19 December 2003 and was scheduled to land on 25 December 2003, but communication with Beagle 2 was never established. The most current explanation is that the solar panels did not deploy properly. Because the communication equipment was housed below the solar panels, Beagle 2 was unable to communicate.\nSpirit landed on Mars on 3 January 2004 and survived 2269 days.\n\nSource\nOpportunity landed on Mars on 25 January 2004, three weeks after its sister, Spirit. Contact was lost after 10 June 2018.\n\nSource\nPhoenix landed near the north pole of Mars on 25 May 2008. Contact was lost on 2 November 2008.\n\nSource\nCuriosity landed on 6 August 2012. It is still operational.\n\nSource\nInSight landed on 26 November 2018. It is still operational.\n\nSource\nPerseverance landed on 18 February 2021. It is still operational.\n\nSource\n\nJupiter\nGalileo was a probe that studied several bodies in the solar system, especially Jupiter and its moons. On 7 December 1995 it sent an atmospheric probe into Jupiter, and on 21 September 2003 it was sent into Jupiter as well. While these technically weren't landings, it's about as close as you can get on Jupiter (Check out TildalWave's answer on a question about standing on the &quot;surface&quot; of Jupiter).\n\nTop image is in visible light, bottom is in near-infrared.\n\nTitan\nHuygens was a probe sent to Saturn's Moon called Titan as part of the Cassini mission. It landed on the surface on 14 January 2005. It survived for 90 minutes following the landing. According to Nature, it is thought that Huygens operated until the batteries were drained.\n\nSource\n\n433 Eros\nA mission called NEAR Shoemaker landed on this asteroid on 12 February 2001. What is interesting about this one is that it wasn't even intended to be a lander, but it was the first soft landing on an asteroid. The decision to attempt the landing was made during its nearly yearlong orbit around the asteroid. It survived the landing and continued to operate for about two more weeks. Communication was lost on 28 February 2001.\n\nSource\n\n25143 Itokawa\nHayabusa was designed to make a very short landing on the surface of the asteroid so that it could return a sample. It made two very short landings on 19 November 2005 and on 25 November 2005. Hayabusa collected dust and returned it to Earth.\n\nSource\n\n162173 Ryugu\nHayabusa2 (the later mission to Hayabusa) touched down on the asteroid 162173 Ryugu on October 25, 2018. The second touchdown happened on May 30, 2019. There are also 4 rovers on-board Hayabusa2 (HIBOU, OWL, MASCOT, Rover-2). The samples from 162713 Ryugu are planned to return to Earth on December 2020.\nHere's Hayabusa2's second touchdown on Ryugu.\n\nSource\nHere's one of the rovers (HIBOU) taking a picture of Ryugu during one of its hops (it didn't use wheels because the surface gravity is too low).\n\nSource\nMore pictures of Ryugu from Hayabusa 2:\n\nSource\n\nTempel 1\nDeep Impact was sent to impact the comet Tempel 1 on 4 July 2005 to study its interior. Because of how it impacted, it wasn't able to take pictures from the surface, but did take pictures of the surface just before the impact.\n\nSource\n\nComet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko\nPhilae is a lander deployed by the Rosetta satellite, and was the first to make a soft landing on a comet. Its landing was on 12 November 2014.\n\nSource", "Alchemy is known as rasAyana shastra in Indian tradition. It involves use of special herbs, metals, and minerals to transmute the properties of these. \nThese are broadly classified into two viz, \n\n\nMedicinal alchemy (used for health benefits, curing diseases)\nMetallic alchemy (transmuting metals)\n\n\nThe processing of these ingredients also involves mantra and related processes. The products are also used for various spells. \n\nThe core of alchemy revolves around heavy metals , poisonous minerals, and rare herbs used individually or in mixture. The key factor for all the above is their processing and purification to the optimum percentage. \n\nOne of the widely used metal in rasAyana is mercury which is also known as Rasa (pArada). It is believed that it originated from Lord Shiva and hence Lord Shiva's name is also Raseshwara. \n\nRasa shastra is a part of ayurveda as well. We have universities providing education in rasa shastra. However, these are only done in a basic level for making of some herbal medicines. Deep secrets of Rasa shastra is almost extinct or hardly known to the public. \n\n\n Rasa Shastra is an important branch of Ayurveda developed for\n achieving alchemical and therapeutic benefits from Mercury and other\n minerals and metals. Texts during and just following the period of\n Acharya Nagarjuna reveals that, the practice of metals and minerals\n for alchemical purpose were more developed than their use in\n therapeutics. But gradually with the passing of time alchemical use of\n materials decreases and their use in therapeutics take over. Rasa\n Hridaya Tantra is a unique text among a huge number of rasa\n literatures, which gives elaborate description of 18 special mercurial\n processing techniques (Astadasha parada Samskara). This manuscript is\n presented with a guideline, how to make Mercury competent for\n transmuting base metals into a noble one and to produce therapeutic\n benefits with them. This book serves as an important reference text\n for the researchers of traditional system of medicines for designing\n and development of new drugs, out of mineral sources, following the\n transmuting property of Mercury.\n \n The methods of rasa shastra are contained in a number of Ayurvedic\n texts, including the Charaka Samhita and Susruta Samhita. An important\n feature is the use of metals, including several that are considered to\n be toxic in evidence-based medicine. In addition to mercury, gold,\n silver, iron, copper, tin, lead, zinc and bell metal are used. In\n addition to these metals, salts and other substances such as coral,\n seashells, and feathers are also used.\n \n The usual means used to administer these substances is by preparations\n called bhasma, Sanskrit for \"ash\". Calcination, which is described in\n the literature of the art as shodhana, \"purification\", is the process\n used to prepare these bhasma for administration. Sublimation and the\n preparation of a mercury sulfide are also in use in the preparation of\n its materia medica. A variety of methods are used to achieve this. One\n involves the heating of thin sheets of metal and then immersing them\n in oil (taila), extract (takra), cow urine (gomutra) and other\n substances. Others are calcined in crucibles heated with fires of cow\n dung (puttam). Ayurvedic practitioners believe that this process of\n purification removes undesirable qualities and enhances their\n therapeutic power.\n\n\nIt is believed that if mercury is properly purified, processed, and energized, it can give miraculous health benefits and also can be used to transmute metals.\nIn order to purify mercury, it has to undergo several complex processes or samskAras out of which about 18 are known today,\n\nThe seed ideas of Indian alchemy, which made their appearance in the fifth-sixth centuries a.d., were at variance with the Hellenistic ones. For, its inspirational source was not in the West, but in the Far East, in the Chinese concepts and practices. Indian alchemy had social compulsions too. The Ayurvedic elixirs and rejuvenating treatment were reserved only for males of the upper castes, (women were excluded), as enjoined by both the Caraka and Susruta Samhitas. But, to live long in perpetual youth and to experience the best in life have been the goals of all human beings. Such dispositions as these react vehemently against rigid caste-structures and privileges of the few. They go out in search of systems which are conducive to the realisation of their goals. In India, the tantras offered such a system and, more importantly, admitted into their fold all — irrespective of caste, creed or sex in an esoteric, but ingenious manner. The tantric concept of siddhi evolved certain pathways for disciplined aspirants. And inherent in that concept was the attainment of bodily immortality with even supernatural powers (animadi astasiddhi). This was reinforced by the mythical male-female symbolism, the union sublime of immortality.\n\nThe Chinese male-female symbolism of Yin and Yang, mercury-sulphur union of cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) to which was attributed extraordinary powers of attaining immortality, found a congenial home in the Indian Tantric milieu. Buddhist pilgrims and the vajrayana seemed to have played a seminal role in this alchemical transmission.\n\nBe that as it may, Indian alchemy of both Sanskritic and Tamilian traditions, developed a wide variety a chemical processes for the ostensible transmutation of metals and preparation of elixir of life, in which mercury occupied a prime position. The literature on Indian alchemy called the Rasasastra is perceptibly voluminous and methodical in the presentation of a variety of processes whose number is legion. Of these processes, eighteen samskaras or complex treatments, which were adopted for the potentiation of mercury, deserve special mention:\n\nBriefly stated, the eighteen processes concerning mercury as the central element, are as follows:\n\nSvedana: Steaming mercury with a number of plant substances, some minerals, alkalis and salts;\n\nMardana: Rubbing steamed mercury in a mortar along with some plant and acidic materials;\n\nMurchana: Triturating mercury in a mortar with some more plant extracts till it loses its own character and form;\n\nUthapana: Steaming mercury again along with alkalis, salts, the three myrobalans, alum etc., and rubbing mercury again in sunlight so that the characteristics of mercury, freed from impurities, are brought into play again;\n\nPatana: Three types, viz. urdhva (upwards); adhah (downwards); and tiryak (sideways); grinding mercury with alkalis, salts and others, and subjecting the product to distillation;\n\nRodhana: Mixing the distilled mercury with saline water in a closed pot to restore the ‘vigour or potency’ of mercury;\n\nNiyamana: Continuation of the process by steaming mercury for three days with a number of plant products, alum, borax, iron sulphate, etc., to restrain the motility of mercury;\n\nSandipana: Steaming this product with alum, black pepper, sour gruel, alkali and some vegetables substances to ‘kindle’ the desire of mercury to attain the power of assimilation;\n\nGrasa or Gaganagrass: Fixation and assimilation of the ‘essence’ of mica (gagana) to the desired extent;\n\nCarana: Boiling this product with sour gruel, leaves of certain plants, alum and others for a week so that mica is fully assimilated;\n\nGarbhadruti: Heating and treating mercury with the desired metallic substances so that the ‘essence’ of the latter becomes ‘liquified’ and the resultant, after cooling, passes through a piece of cloth;\n\nBahyadruti: Obtaining ‘essence’ of minerals or metallic substances also externally;\n\nJarana: Heating the mercurial product with the desired minerals or metals, alkalis and salts so that they are fully digested or assimilated;\n\nRanjana: A complex process involving the treatment of mercury with sulphur, gold, silver and copper as well as salts in such a way that mercury attains colour;\n\nSarana: Digesting mercury with gold or silver in an oil-base to increase its ability towards transformation;\n\nKramana: Smearing mercury with several plant extracts, minerals, milk, etc., and then heating it carefully with a view to enabling it to possess transmuting powers;\n\nVedhana: Rubbing the resultant mercury with a few select substances including oil so that it acquires the transmuting power;\n\nBhaksana: Consuming the prescribed quality of the mercurial product which has undergone the foregoing 17 processes, for the rejuvenation and longevity.\n\n(This sequence was rigorously followed by Indian alchemists; but there were variations in the choice of plants and their extracts, salts, alkaline and acidic substances, minerals and other ingredients).\n\nThe important, through esoteric, concept which lay behind these extremely complex processes was that the mercurial product, after undergoing sequentially the seventeen processes, was believed to have all the powers of transmutation. At this stage, it was to be tested for its efficacy in transmuting base metals into gold and, if the test was positive, it was to be used for the eighteenth process. The final product, if consumed in prescribed quantity would, it was claimed, rejuvenate the body in such a way that it would make the body as resplendent and imperishable as gold. One could see the ideal of Philosopher’s Stone of the medieval European alchemy, in the mercurial product emerging out of the seventeen processes.\n\nAncient Tamil siddhas were known to possess exceptional knowledge of alchemy which helped them to attain \"siddhis\" and hence the name \"siddhas\". Because of this, the south Indian system of traditional medicine is called as \"Siddha medicine\". \n\nThe Nath yogis of the nAth sampradaya also are said to be knowers of rasayana shastra. \n\nThere are many tantras and related scripture which talk of alchemy (herbs, spells, medicinal, metallic etc) and related subjects, many of them are lost, \n\nRasoddhara tantra \n\nRasa-sAra\n\nRasendra-chudamani\n\nSiddha NAgarjuna tantra\n\nRasayana Sara \n\nDattatreya tantra\n\nRasa SAra\n\nRasa Ratnakar \n\nkAkachandishwara tantra \n\nuddamareshwara tantra", "Ни кавычки, ни заглавные буквы здесь не нужны. Золотая лихорадка уже давно стала самостоятельным фразеологизмом, непрямое значение слов которых, выделять вовсе не нужно.", "This is an at one time accurate and still highly misleading number. The total numbers and ratios of Jews in that organisation varied enormously. While true for at 'the highest point', this point is really just a point on the timeline, with vastly lower figures on the rest of it.\n\nThe Snyder quote in context reads:\n\n\n Internationalism was not hypocrisy, and ethnic killing was a shock to the Soviet system. The NKVD was composed of many nationalities, and represented a kind of internationalism. When the show trials began in 1936, the heights of the NKVD were dominated by men whose own origins were within the Soviet national minorities, Jews above all. About forty percent of high-ranking NKVD officers had Jewish nationality recorded in their identity documents, as did more than half of the NKVD generals. In the climate of the day, Jews had perhaps more reason than others to resist policies of ethnic destruction. Perhaps to counter the internationalist (or self-preservation) instinct of his officers, Yezhov sent out a special circular assuring them that their task was to punish espionage rather than ethnicity: “On the Fascist-Insurgent, Sabotage, Defeatist, and Terrorist Activity of the Polish Intelligence Service in the USSR.” Its thirty pages expanded upon the theory that Yezhov had already shared with the central committee and with Stalin: that the Polish Military Organization was connected to other espionage “centers” and had penetrated every key Soviet institution.\n \n –– Timothy Snyder: \"Bloodlands. Europe Between Hitler and Stalin\", Basic Books: New York, 2010. (p93)\n\n\nThe only reference for this whole paragraph is about the \"Polish operation\".\n\n\n Endnote: Petrov, “Polish Operation,” 154; Nikolskyi, Represyvna, 105. Figures on representatives of national minorities are given later in the chapter.\n\n\nSnyder's book received not only praise:\n\n\n \"It seems to me that he is simply equating Nazi genocide with the mass murders carried out in the Soviet Union under Stalin […] There is nothing wrong with comparing. It's the equation that I find highly troubling.\"\n \n Dovid Katz, a historian of Lithuanian Jewry, commented that \"Snyder flirts with the very wrong moral equivalence between Hitler and Stalin […] None of these incidents besides the Holocaust involved the willful massacre of a whole race. There is something very different going on, beyond politics, when people try to murder all the babies of a race.\" Other professional historians to take issue with Snyder's arguments and methods include Thomas Kühne, Omer Bartov, Dan Diner, Christian Ingrao and Dariusz Stola.\n\n\nAs Richard Evans notes quite a few of the details Snyder gets wrong for his quest:\n\n\n A historian of East-Central Europe, Snyder hasn’t really mastered the voluminous literature on Hitler’s Germany. This leads him into error in a number of places. […]\n \n Much more seriously, Snyder’s assertion that the launching of the ‘Final Solution of the Jewish Question in Europe’ was the outcome of Hitler’s rage and frustration at not being able to win the war against the Soviet Union does not stand up to scrutiny.\n \n In fact, we know about the events Snyder describes already, despite his repeated assertions that we don’t. What we need is not to be told yet again the facts about mass murder, but to understand why it took place and how people could carry it out, and in this task Snyder’s book is of no use.\n –– Richard J. Evans: \"Who remembers the Poles?\", London Review of Books, Vol. 32 No. 21, 4 November 2010. (p21–22)\n\n\nBut below that criticism we also read on the same page:\n\n\n The purges of 1937 are linked convincingly to Stalin’s fear of encirclement and the threat he believed he faced from a chimerical alliance of Poland, Germany and Japan. In discussing these and subsequent purges, Snyder deals very effectively with the anti-semitic assumption that the Soviet regime was essentially controlled by Jews and that most Jews were Communists and most Communists Jews. He shows how already, by the outbreak of war in 1939, the number of people of Jewish origin in the NKVD had been greatly reduced, and describes the growing hostility of Stalin towards Jews, culminating in the postwar ‘anti-cosmopolitan’ purge.\n –– Antony Polonsky; Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts\n\n\nThe same author presents the following numbers:\n\n\n Jews also played a significant role in the Cheka, the secret police which maintained the new regime. The overall percentage of Jews in the organization was quite low: 3.7 per cent of the Moscow apparatus, 4.3 per cent of Cheka commissars, 8.6 per cent of senior (‘responsible’) officials in 1918, and 9.1 per cent of all members of provincial Cheka offices in 1920. Most members of the Cheka were Russians, and, as in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, a key role at this stage was played by Latvians, who constituted 35.6 per cent of the Moscow Cheka apparatus, 52.7 per cent of all Cheka senior officials, and 54.3 per cent of all Cheka commissars. But even in the Cheka, Bolsheviks of Jewish origin combined ideological commitment with literacy in ways that set them apart and propelled them upward. In 1918, 65.5 per cent of all Jewish Cheka employees were ‘responsible officials’ and some held more senior positions. In 1918 they made up 19.1 per cent of all investigators in the central office and half (six out of twelve) of those in the department for ‘combating counter-revolution’. In 1923, when the OGPU replaced the Cheka, Jews constituted half (four out of eight) of the members of its collegium and 15.5 per cent of its ‘leading’ officials. Jews were also involved with two of the most symbolic acts of terror during the civil war, the murder of Nicholas II and his family and the massacre at the end of the civil war of thousands of refugees and prisoners of war left behind in the Crimea after the evacuation of the White armies, which was carried out under instructions from the Hungarian communist Béla Kun, at this time the chairman of the Crimean Revolutionary Committee, and R. S. Zemliachka (Rozaliia Zalkind), the head of the Crimean Party Committee.[xxi]\n \n Jews became more important in the security apparatus in the period of collectivization and the first Five Year Plan. In July 1934 Genrikh Yagoda was appointed people’s commissar for internal affairs, with control over the regular as well as secret police, and when later that year the OGPU was transformed into the NKVD, people classed as Jews under paragraph 5 of the internal passport law made up thirty-seven out of the ninety-six ‘leading cadres’ of the organization, as against thirty Russians, seven Latvians, five Ukrainians, four Poles, three Georgians, three Belarusians, two Germans, and five others. They headed a number of key NKVD departments between them that were responsible for the worker–peasant militia (the police), labour camps, counter-intelligence, surveillance, and economic sabotage.[xxii] When Stalin replaced Yagoda in September 1936, he appointed another Jew, the more zealous Nikolai Yezhov. In January 1937 the 111 top NKVD officials included 42 Jews, 35 Russians, 8 Latvians, and 26 others. Of the twenty NKVD directorates, twelve (including state security, police, labour camps, and resettlement) were headed by officers identified as ethnic Jews. Of the ten departments of the Main Directorate for State Security, the most sensitive of all NKVD agencies, seven (protection of government officials, counter-intelligence, secret political, special (surveillance in the army), foreign intelligence, records, and prisons) were headed by Jews. The prominence of Jews in the security apparatus may well have reflected a deliberate decision by Stalin to use them in these unpopular roles in order to deflect hostility from himself and the Soviet state.\n \n However, by now the role of the Jews in the NKVD was coming to an end and Yezhov’s replacement by Beria, a Georgian like Stalin himself, was followed by a diminution in Jews in leadership positions.[xxiii] In the years 1934–1941 the number of cadre leaders grew gradually from 96 in 182. According to the calculations of Petrov and Skorkin, on 10 July 1934, when the OGPU was incorporated into the Main Administration of State Security (Glavnoe Upravlenie Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti) into a unified NKVD, Jews held 38.5 per cent of these posts, Russians 31.2 per cent, and Latvians 7.3 per cent. \n \n On 26 February 1941, when the security section of the NKVD was split off into a separate body, the NKGB, Jews made up only 5.5 per cent and Russians 64.8 per cent of its personnel; Ukrainians (15.4 per cent) and Georgians (6.6 per cent) overtook the Jews. In the organization as a whole this change can be documented to the end of 1938 and the beginning of 1939: on 1 September 1938 Jews still constituted 21.3 per cent of the management cadre, but as of 1 July 1939, they were only 3.9 per cent.[xxiv] This development may reflect Stalin’s increasing interest in making an arrangement with Hitler.\n \n The rapid social advancement of Jews and the role they played in the new regime aroused considerable resentment something which alarmed the party. It monitored the strength of antisemitism and took action against those advocating it. This sometimes took violent form, as in March 1925, when seven Russian nationalists were shot for advocating the toppling of the ‘Communist Jewish’ regime and the deportation of all Soviet Jews to Palestine, among other charges.[xxv]\n \n [xx] B. Pinkus, The Jews of the Soviet Union: The History of a National Minority(Cambridge, 1988), 78–9.\n [xxi] L. Krichevskii, ‘Evrei v apparate VChK-OGPU v 20-e gody,’ in O. Budnitskii (ed.), Evrei i russkaia revoliutsiia: Materialy i issledovaniia, (Moscow, 1999), 320-50; L. Schapiro, ‘The Role of the Jews in the Russian Revolutionary Movement’, 165.\n [xxii] A. Kokurin and N. Petrov (eds.), Lubyanka: VChK—OGPU—NKVD—NKGB—MGB—MVD—KGB, 1917–1960: Spravochnik(Moscow,1997),12, 104; N. Petrov and K. Skorkin (eds.), Kto rukovodil NKVD 1934–1941: Spravochnik (Moscow, 1999)139–40, 459–60, 495.\n [xxiii] Kokurin and Petrov (eds.), Lubyanka, 17–18, 105–6; Petrov and Skorkin (eds.), Kto rukovodil NKVD 1934–1941, 105; P. Sudoplatov, Razvedka i Kreml′: Zapiski nezhelatel′nogo svidetelya (Moscow,1997).\n [xxiv] Petrov and Skorkin (eds.), Kto rukovodil NKVD 1934–1941, p. 495, table 4.\n [xxv] V. Izmozik, ‘“Evreiskii vopros” v chastnoi perepiske sovetskikh grazhdan serediny 1920-kh gg.’,Vestnik Evreiskogo universiteta v Moskve, no. 3/7 (1994), 164–88165–7; Kostyrchenko, Tainaya politika Stalina, 107–8.\n \n –– Antony Polonsky: \"Jews and Communism in the Soviet Union and Poland\", The American Center for Polish-Jewish Studies\n\n\nSo we need to look at the dates and the development of Cheka to NKVD.\n\n\n WHAT WAS THE CHEKA?\n The All Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter- Revolution and Sabotage (Cheka—for the Russian initials for Extraordinary (Ch) Commission (K)) was formed in December 1917 by Vladimir I. Lenin and entrusted to a corps of international revolutionaries. A quick look at the men who formed the initial leadership cadre finds Polish, Jewish, Latvian, German, and Swiss-French, as well as Russian, last names. These men, faced with counterintelligence, police, and security responsibilities, grew the Cheka to a cadre of more than 250,000 men and women by 1921. By the mid-1930s, the security service, which had been successively renamed the GPU, OGPU, and NKVD in little more than a decade, had become the largest secret police service in history. But by 1936 it was about to fall under the wheels of history.\n \n THREE CHIEFS OF STATE SECURITY\n Born in 1891 into a Jewish working class family, Genryk Yagoda transferred in 1919 from the Red Army Inspectorate to the Cheka. According to Kto Rukovoditel, Yagoda rose quickly through senior positions in the service, always serving in headquarters. While initially identified closely with Stalin, he was transferred to the Ministry of Communication in September 1936. He was arrested in 1937, and tried with the Old Bolshevik, Nikolai Bukharin in 1938. He was shot the day following the trial.\n \n Nikolai Yezhov, just four years younger than Yagoda, rose quickly as a member of Stalin’s Secretariat. In the mid-1930s, he oversaw the workings of the NKVD. Appointed to head the service in September 1936, for the next twenty-six months he oversaw a purge of Soviet society which still bares his name, Yezhovshchina (the time of Yezhov). He was transferred to the Ministry of Water Transport in 1938, and arrested in 1939. His last letter to Stalin in February 1940 stated that he would die with his master’s name on his lips.\n \n Lavrenty Beria was, like Stalin, a Georgian. Born in 1899, he rose quickly in the Party and police bureaucracy in his native Georgia. In mid-1938, he was brought to Moscow by Stalin as Yezhov’s deputy, and six months later took over the secret police. For the next fifteen years, he oversaw Soviet intelligence and security services, as well as the country’s nuclear weapons program. Following Stalin’s death, he was arrested in July 1953. Tried as a \"British spy,\" he was shot two days before Christmas 1953.\n \n The First (\"Yagoda\") Generation, 1934–1937\n \n Between 1936 and 1939, two generations of NKVD leaders disappeared into the dustbin of history, while a third emerged, which was to lead the \"competent organs\" in the Great Patriotic War and the post–World War II era. The first generation of Chekists, recruited into the security service in 1918–1921, had joined the Communist Party while in their late teens and early twenties. Almost all had served in the Red Army or the Red Guards in their teenage years. A typical biography suggests that these men joined Red military detachments in 1917–1919 while in their mid- to late- teens, and were recruited or drafted into the Cheka 12–24 and the Communist Party months later.\n \n An examination of the nationality of these men suggests that Jews and Latvians were overrepresented, while Ukrainians and Byelorussians were underrepresented. Almost all this first generation came from a peasant or working-class background, and almost none had finished secondary education. This confirms scholar Richard Pipes’s assertion that the Cheka was the \"most Soviet of all Lenin’s new Soviet institutions.\" Alekandr Yakovlev’s research suggests that early generations of secret policemen were largely \"lumpen\" thugs. According to Yakovlev, even the leaders were sickened by some of these recruits; one senior secret policeman told Maksim Gorky in 1919, \"If you only knew what kind of people work for us.\"\n \n The first generation managed the security services from the mid-1920s through 1936–1937, rising quickly to positions of leadership at the provincial and national level while in their mid- to late-30s. They increased the prison camp and exile communities from a population of approximately 800,000 at the onset of collectivization in 1930, to more than 2,000,000 in 1934. More important, they oversaw the rapid expansion of the NKVD’s bureaucratic role as its offices expanded to every rayon (county) in the country, and the labor camp system expanded to mineral extraction, gold mining, and timbering. Biographic materials suggest that most had a professional relationship with Genryk Yagoda, People’s Commissar for Internal Security until September 1936, and his chief deputies. Most had been rapidly promoted in the early 1930s with the expansion of the secret police.\n \n The first generation was purged at the direction of Stalin and his chief lieutenants, Vyacheslav Molotov and Nikolai Yezhov. These statements, taken from Borys Levytsky’s The Stalinist Terror in the Thirties, suggest that Stalin distrusted the NKVD, and felt it incompetent to pursue the purging of the Communist Party.\n \n THE SECOND (\"YEZHOV\") GENERATION, 1936–1938\n The second generation of NKVD leaders were promoted and rewarded during Nikolai Yezhov’s leadership of the service (September 1936 – November 1938), known to Russians decades later as the Yezhovshchina (the Yezhov period). These men were promoted to fill places in the NKVD as the first generation was purged by Yezhov. \n \n For the most part, they – like the earlier generation—had been recruited into the Cheka in the early 1920s while in their early twenties. Few had more than a grammar school education. Almost all served in the Red Army during the Civil War. \n \n Unlike the early generation, these survivors were more Slavic and more Russian than the first generation, with the sword of the service falling most heavily on Jews and Balts. (Notably, an examination of a purge of the Red Army in 1937 indicates that Jews and Latvians also suffered a higher percentage of executions and imprisonment than did Russians, and at the end of the purges the Red Army was far more \"Slavic\" and Russian.) Many of the second generation of NKVD leaders were rapidly promoted from mid-level to senior positions in the service as a rolling purge claimed its victims. In Moscow, Leningrad, and other major cities, for example, the leadership of the NKVD turned over three to five times during the Yezhov period.\n \n –– Robert W. Pringle: \"Modernization of Terror: The Transformation of Stalin's NKVD, 1934–1941\", International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 17:1, 113-123, 2004. DOI: 10.1080/08850600490252687\n\n\nAccording to exact numbers, from that era, and from that source – it's a secret police, after all it might be prudent to keep in m that \n\n\n these figures, of course are false. But they pop up officially to this day.\n \n –– Alexander Yakovlev: \"A Century of Violence in Soviet Russia\", p. 233.\n\n\nNotice that until now it was \"Jews were over-represented\".\nBut the overall numbers concerning ethnicity and 'Jews in the Cheka and NKVD' looks a bit different:\n\n\n In November 1923, of 96 top leaders of the OGPU, successor to the CHEKA and predecessor of the NKVD, 15 (15.7%) were Jews, second only to Russians (54, or 56.3%). In May 1924, of 2402 employees of the central apparatus of the OGPU, 204 (8.5%) were Jews, third behind Russians (69.5%) and Latvians (8.7%). Gradually, the proportion of non-Russians, especially Latvians, in the secret police apparatus declined. But in 1934, when the ‘great purges’ were launched, there were more Jews (37) than Russians (30) in the top positions in the NKVD, though that changed drastically by 1941.\n \n –– Zvi Gitelman (2010) A jagged circle: from ethnicity to internationalism to cosmopolitanism – and back, European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire, 17:3, 523-539, DOI: 10.1080/13507486.2010.481956\n\n\nThese figures are largely based on \n\nRobert Conquest: \"The Great Terror. Stalin’s Purge of the Thirties\", 1968.", "In this answer I will not be quoting the exact verses initially, however I will be providing the links wherein you can read. \n\nThe Vedic concept of creation includes the \"HOW\" and the \"WHY\" of the entire cosmic manifestation. \n\n\nWhat was there before creation?\n\nSupreme personality of godhead, Lord Krishna who is beyond material creation exists before creation and after annihilation. Period after annihilation and before creation all living entities are dormant in the form of the Lord. [SB 3.5.23] \n\nReason for creation\n\nThe compassion of the Lord towards living entities: Lord is mercifully putting so much endeavour from His side to reclaim conditioned beings, creating universe, residing as supersoul in heart to guide and sanction jiva’s desires, maintaining and winding the universe, sending acharyas to reclaim fallen souls and so on. [SB 3.5.3] \n\nThe Lord felt incomplete without His plenary expansions and unsatisfied, so he desired to create the manifestation. The material potency was dormant. [SB 3.5.24]\n \n\n\nCREATION IN BRIEF (From Srimad Bhagavatam)\n\n\n SB 2.10.3 \n \n bhuta-matrendriya-dhiyam janma sarga udahrtah\n brahmano guna-vaisamyad visargah paurusah smrtah The\n elementary creation of sixteen items of matter—namely the five\n elements [fire, water, land, air and sky], sound, form, taste, smell,\n touch, and the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin and mind—is known as\n sarga, whereas subsequent resultant interaction of the modes of\n material nature is called visarga. \n \n SB 2.10.6\n \n nirodho ’syanusayanam atmanah saha saktibhih muktir\n hitvanyatha rupam sva-rupena vyavasthitih The merging of\n the living entity, along with his conditional living tendency, with\n the mystic lying down of the Maha-Visnu is called the winding up of\n the cosmic manifestation. Liberation is the permanent situation of the\n form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and\n subtle material bodies.\n \n SB 2.10.10\n \n puruso ’ndam vinirbhidya yadasau sa vinirgatah atmano ’yanam\n anvicchann apo ’sraksic chucih sucih\n \n After separating the different universes, the gigantic universal form\n of the Lord [Maha-Visnu], which came out of the causal ocean, the\n place of appearance for the first purusa-avatara, entered into each of\n the separate universes, desiring to lie on the created transcendental\n water [Garbhodaka].\n \n SB 2.10.15\n \n antah sarira akasat purusasya vicestatah ojah saho balam\n jajne tatah prano mahan asuh\n \n From the sky situated within the transcendental body of the\n manifesting Maha-Visnu, sense energy, mental force and bodily strength\n are all generated, as well as the sum total of the fountainhead of the\n total living force.\n \n SB 2.10.17\n \n pranenaksipata ksut trd antara jayate vibhoh pipasato jaksatas\n ca pran mukham nirabhidyata\n \n The living force, being agitated by the virat-purusa, generated hunger\n and thirst, and when He desired to drink and eat, the mouth\n opened.\n \n SB 2.10.18\n \n mukhatas talu nirbhinnam jihva tatropajayate tato nana-raso\n jajne jihvaya yo ’dhigamyate\n \n From the mouth the palate became manifested, and thereupon the tongue\n was also generated. After this all the different tastes came into\n existence so that the tongue can relish them.\n \n SB 2.10.19\n \n vivaksor mukhato bhumno vahnir vag vyahrtam tayoh jale\n caitasya suciram nirodhah samajayata\n \n When the Supreme desired to speak, speeches were vibrated from the\n mouth. Then the controlling deity Fire was generated from the mouth.\n But when He was lying in the water, all these functions remained\n suspended.\n \n SB 2.10.20\n \n nasike nirabhidyetam dodhuyati nabhasvati tatra vayur\n gandha-vaho ghrano nasi jighrksatah\n \n Thereafter, when the supreme purusa desired to smell odors, the\n nostrils and respiration were generated, the nasal instrument and\n odors came into existence, and the controlling deity of air, carrying\n smell, also became manifested.\n \n SB 2.10.21\n \n yadatmani niralokam atmanam ca didrksatah nirbhinne hy aksini\n tasya jyotis caksur guna-grahah\n \n Thus when everything existed in darkness, the Lord desired to see\n Himself and all that was created. Then the eyes, the illuminating god\n Sun, the power of vision and the object of sight all became\n manifested.\n \n SB 2.10.23\n \n vastuno mrdu-kathinya- laghu-gurv-osna-sitatam jighrksatas\n tvan nirbhinna tasyam roma-mahi-ruhah tatra cantar bahir\n vatas tvaca labdha-guno vrtah\n \n When there was a desire to perceive the physical characteristics of\n matter, such as softness, hardness, warmth, cold, lightness and\n heaviness, the background of sensation, the skin, the skin pores, the\n hairs on the body and their controlling deities (the trees) were\n generated. Within and outside the skin is a covering of air through\n which sense perception became prominent.\n \n SB 2.10.25\n \n gatim jigisatah padau ruruhate ’bhikamikam padbhyam yajnah\n svayam havyam karmabhih kriyate nrbhih\n \n Thereupon, because of His desiring to control movement, His legs\n became manifested, and from the legs the controlling deity named Visnu\n was generated. By His personal supervision of this act, all varieties\n of human being are busily engaged in dutiful occupational\n sacrifice.\n \n SB 2.10.26\n \n nirabhidyata sisno vai prajanandamrtarthinah upastha asit\n kamanam priyam tad-ubhayasrayam\n \n Thereupon, for sexual pleasure, begetting offspring and tasting\n heavenly nectar, the Lord developed the genitals, and thus there is\n the genital organ and its controlling deity, the Prajapati. The object\n of sexual pleasure and the controlling deity are under the control of\n the genitals of the Lord.\n \n SB 2.10.27\n \n utsisrksor dhatu-malam nirabhidyata vai gudam tatah payus tato\n mitra utsarga ubhayasrayah\n \n Thereafter, when He desired to evacuate the refuse of eatables, the\n evacuating hole, anus, and the sensory organ thereof developed along\n with the controlling deity Mitra. The sensory organ and the evacuating\n substance are both under the shelter of the controlling deity.\n \n SB 2.10.28\n \n asisrpsoh purah purya nabhi-dvaram apanatah tatrapanas tato\n mrtyuh prthaktvam ubhayasrayam\n \n Thereafter, when He desired to move from one body to another, the\n navel and the air of departure and death were combinedly created. The\n navel is the shelter for both, namely death and the separating\n force.\n \n SB 2.10.29\n \n aditsor anna-pananamasan kuksy-antra-nadayah nadyah samudras\n ca tayos tustih pustis tad-asraye\n \n When there was a desire to have food and drink, the abdomen and the\n intestines and also the arteries became manifested. The rivers and\n seas are the source of their sustenance and metabolism.\n \n SB 2.10.30\n \n nididhyasor atma-mayam hrdayam nirabhidyata tato manas candra\n iti sankalpah kama eva ca\n \n When there was a desire to think about the activities of His own\n energy, then the heart (the seat of the mind), the mind, the moon,\n determination and all desire became manifested.\n \n SB 2.10.31\n \n tvak-carma-mamsa-rudhira- medo-majjasthi-dhatavah\n bhumy-ap-tejomayah sapta prano vyomambu-vayubhih\n \n The seven elements of the body, namely the thin layer on the skin, the\n skin itself, the flesh, blood, fat, marrow and bone, are all made of\n earth, water and fire, whereas the life breath is produced by the sky,\n water and air.\n \n SB 2.10.32\n \n gunatmakanindriyani bhutadi-prabhava gunah manah\n sarva-vikaratma buddhir vijnana-rupini\n \n The sense organs are attached to the modes of material nature, and the\n modes of material nature are products of the false ego. The mind is\n subjected to all kinds of material experiences (happiness and\n distress), and the intelligence is the feature of the mind’s\n deliberation.\n \n SB 2.10.33\n \n etad bhagavato rupam sthulam te vyahrtam maya mahy-adibhis\n cavaranair astabhir bahir avrtam\n \n Thus by all this, the external feature of the Personality of Godhead\n is covered by gross forms such as those of planets, which were\n explained to you by me.\n \n SB 2.10.34\n \n atah param suksmatamam avyaktam nirvisesanam\n anadi-madhya-nidhanam nityam van-manasah param\n \n Therefore beyond this [gross manifestation] is a transcendental\n manifestation finer than the finest form. It has no beginning, no\n intermediate stage and no end; therefore it is beyond the limits of\n expression or mental speculation and is distinct from the material\n conception.\n \n SB 2.10.41\n \n sattvam rajas tama iti tisrah sura-nr-narakah tatrapy ekaikaso\n rajan bhidyante gatayas tridha yadaikaikataro\n ’nyabhyam sva-bhava upahanyate\n \n According to the different modes of material nature—the mode of\n goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of darkness—there are\n different living creatures, who are known as demigods, human beings\n and hellish living entities. O King, even a particular mode of nature,\n being mixed with the other two, is divided into three, and thus each\n kind of living creature is influenced by the other modes and acquires\n its habits also.", "У Лопатина оба варианта возможны: зверушка, -и, р. мн. -шек и зверюшка, -и, р. мн. -шек.", "The following setup may take some effort, but it will give you proper status codes, as well as \"keeping\" the requested URL, avoiding superfluous requests between Sitecore and IIS, and allow other processors and modules in your solution to seamlessly return a 404 page if required. It's been my experience that without the following setup, there is inconsistency in how Sitecore solutions return 404 pages and status codes. I've also found that in a completely ironic fashion, sometimes these pages can cause infinite redirect loops or undue strain on the IIS instance.\n\nThe high-level overview looks something like this:\n\n\nHave a 404 page item under your SiteRoot, with a rendering control that uses code to properly set a 404 status code.\nHave a 404 processor in the httpRequestBegin pipeline to override Sitecore's default 404 functionality, so that clients aren't redirected and the requested URL is preserved.\nHave a 404 processor in the mvc.getPageItem pipeline to force URL's that map to items to return a 404 when appropriate. \n\n\nDo make sure to configure the ItemNotFoundURL setting to the 404 page item URL within your site.\n\n&lt;setting name=\"ItemNotFoundUrl\" value=\"/404\" /&gt;\n\nWeb.config\n\nSet the existingResponse attribute to \"Auto\" to give your website control over how status codes get handled. The \"Auto\" mode allows you to set Response.TrySkipIisCustomErrors to true to bypass the default IIS 404 page, or anything that's been defined in the httpErrors configuration node.\n\n&lt;httpErrors errorMode=\"DetailedLocalOnly\" existingResponse=\"Auto\"&gt;\n &lt;!-- We don't want to interact with Sitecore or any part of the site \n that could be causing the HTTP 500 error in the first place, so \n it's a good idea to make sure that you have a static 500 page outside \n the purview of Sitecore or any other \"dynamic systems\" within the\n application pool/site instance.\n --&gt;\n &lt;error statusCode=\"500\" path=\"/static/errors/500.html\" responseMode=\"File\"/&gt; \n&lt;/httpErrors&gt;\n\n\nSetting the Status Code with a 404 Rendering Control\n\nWe need to either have a Controller Rendering or a View Rendering that has code to set a few different properties to allow us to properly return a 404 status code.\n\nThere are two critical properties that must be set in your rendering: one obviously being the Response.StatusCode to 404, and the other to set Response.TrySkipIisCustomErrors to true. Remember, TrySkipIisCustomErrors will cause IIS to ignore the configuration in the httpErrors configuration node since we've set the existingResponse attribute on that node to \"Auto\".\n\npublic ActionResult Request404Page()\n{\n HttpContext.Current.Response.StatusCode = 404;\n HttpContext.Current.Response.TrySkipIisCustomErrors = true;\n HttpContext.Current.Response.StatusDescription = \"404 File Not Found\";\n\n return View();\n}\n\n\nCreate a 404 Processor\n\nUse a custom HttpRequestProcessor at the end of the pipeline to handle when a context item has not been resolved. This processor exists only to avoid Sitecore's default functionality of redirecting to the 404 page. Instead of redirecting the client or use a server side only redirect, the goal is to leave the URL alone and avoid causing a messy client experience. This is achieved merely by setting the Context.Item and ProcessorItem properties to your desired 404 page.\n\npublic class 404HttpRequestProcessor : HttpRequestProcessor\n{\n public override void Process(HttpRequestArgs args)\n {\n if (Sitecore.Context.Item != null || Sitecore.Context.Site == null)\n {\n return;\n }\n\n if (string.Equals(Sitecore.Context.Site.Properties[\"enableCustomErrors\"], \"true\", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) == false)\n {\n return;\n }\n\n var pageNotFound = this.Get404PageItem();\n args.ProcessorItem = pageNotFound;\n Sitecore.Context.Item = pageNotFound;\n }\n\n protected Item Get404PageItem()\n {\n // This is largely up to how the project in general is setup.\n // My solutions are heavily Fortis dependent, but for Vanilla \n // Sitecore setups you could just use the following setting:\n // Settings.GetSetting(\"ItemNotFoundUrl\", \"/errors/404\");\n // and pull the Item object from that path\n\n var path = Sitecore.Context.Site.RootPath + \"/\" + Settings.GetSetting(\"ItemNotFoundUrl\", \"/errors/404\");\n var item = Sitecore.Context.Database.GetItem(path);\n\n return item;\n } \n}\n\n\nPatch your custom 404 processor, in this example called 404HttpRequestProcessor, at the end of the httpRequestBegin Pipeline.\n\n&lt;processor type=\"MyProject.Pipelines.HttpRequest.404HttpRequestProcessor, MyProject.Core\"\n patch:after=\"processor[@type='Sitecore.Pipelines.HttpRequest.ItemResolver, Sitecore.Kernel']\"&gt;\n&lt;/processor&gt;\n\n\nNow we have the following:\n\n\nA 404 page within sitecore that we can customize in anyway we want.\nWe avoid redirecting the client, so they don't lose their URL or break the back button.\nThere's no spaghetti setup within IIS that bounces requests back and forth between IIS and Sitecore. \n\n\nBut we're not quite done yet! \n\n404'ing URL's That Map to an Item\n\nUnfortunately, the above setup will only work if you type in a URL that does not map to an item in your content tree (e.g. \"www.mywebsite.com/page-item/that/does-not-exist\"). Even if you set Context.Item to null in your httpRequestBegin pipeline, Sitecore will \"re-resolve\" that URL in the mvc.getPageItem pipeline if that URL happens to map to an item in Sitecore. There are certain situations where you want to return 404 for a URL that technically exists, but if this scenario is not applicable to your project you don't need to include the following processor.\n\nTo 404 a URL that technically maps to a content item, we need to add a processor to the mvc.getPageItem pipeline. The code will be excruciatingly similar to the 404RequestProcessor processor we added in the httpRequestBegin pipeline, we'll just be modifying a few different \"sister\" properties to properly exit the mvc.getPageItem pipeline. Of course, since both processors are similar it's possible to abstract the code out and avoid duplication, but I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader.\n\nIt is assumed at this point that a previous processor in the pipeline doesn't like something about the current request, so that processor set args.Result to null.\n\npublic class 404PageItemProcessor : GetPageItemProcessor\n{\n public override void Process(GetPageItemArgs args)\n {\n if (args.Result != null || Sitecore.Context.Site == null)\n {\n return;\n }\n\n if (string.Equals(Sitecore.Context.Site.Properties[\"enableCustomErrors\"], \"true\", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) == false)\n {\n return;\n }\n\n var pageNotFound = Get404PageItem();\n args.ProcessorItem = pageNotFound;\n args.Result = pageNotFound; \n Sitecore.Context.Item = pageNotFound;\n }\n\n protected Item Get404PageItem()\n {\n // This is largely up to how the project in general is setup.\n // My solutions are heavily Fortis dependent, but for Vanilla \n // Sitecore setups you could just use the following setting:\n // Settings.GetSetting(\"ItemNotFoundUrl\", \"/errors/404\");\n // and pull the Item object from that path\n\n var path = Sitecore.Context.Site.RootPath + \"/\" + Settings.GetSetting(\"ItemNotFoundUrl\", \"/errors/404\");\n var item = Sitecore.Context.Database.GetItem(path);\n\n return item;\n }\n\n}\n\n\nPlease pay attention to the fact that the code above sets two properties on the GetPageItemArgs object: ProcessorItem and Result. Both of these properties must be set to the desired 404 page or Sitecore will simply ignore the property value that you set (for reasons I will not get into in this post).\n\nNow, just add the 404PageItemProcessor to the end of the mvc.getPageItem pipeline. \n\n&lt;processor type=\"MyComp.Pipelines.GetPageItem.404PageItemProcessor, MyComp.Core\" \npatch:after=\"processor[@type='Sitecore.Mvc.Pipelines.Response.GetPageItem.GetFromOldContext, Sitecore.Mvc']\"&gt;\n&lt;/processor&gt;\n\n\nHandling fatal errors and HTTP 500 codes\n\nIt's my opinion that 500 errors should simply return a static 500 page and not bother with doing anything needlessly fancy. The httpErrors configuration at the top of this post will give you sufficient handling of HTTP 500 error codes, since HTTP 500 status codes are typically thrown when something terrible has happened. The following will log any uncaught errors but still obey your configuration (while technically allowing you to override those settings as well). I've personally found it extremely helpful when attempting to debug fatal errors.\n\nAdd the following method to your Global class in your website project's Global.asax.cs file:\n\n protected void Application_Error(object sender, EventArgs e)\n {\n var error = Server.GetLastError();\n Server.ClearError(); \n var httpException = error as HttpException;\n Response.StatusCode = httpException != null ? httpException.GetHttpCode() : (int)HttpStatusCode.InternalServerError;\n\n Sitecore.Diagnostics.Log.Fatal(\"Uncaught application error\", error);\n }\n\n\nYou can find more information about the code in the Application_Error method above and the ideas behind it in various posts around StackOverflow, including this one: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1171035/asp-net-mvc-custom-error-handling-application-error-global-asax.", "As requested in the comments, here is a worked example. The main body deals with minimizing $f(x)$ for a specific problem. At the bottom follows a brief discussion of constraints then a brief discussion about the general case.\n\nLet's solve the Weighted Maximum Cut problem since this \n\n\nIs a relatively straight-forward example\nIs hard classically\nIs a relatively common example in the literature (e.g. https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.067903)\nHas a clear connection to a physical Hamiltonian (Ising spin-glasses)\n\n\nTo understand the problem, we start with an undirected graph of $n$ vertices $\\{V\\}$, where each vertex $v_i\\in V$ has weight $w_i\\geq0$ and each edge connecting $v_i$ and $v_j$ has a weight $w_{ij}\\geq0$. We then cut the graph into two pieces. The cut need not be straight but must not self-intersect and cannot cut any edge twice. Then we calculate a \"payout\" $P$ for our cut. The payout is the sum of the weights of the edges we cut through, plus the sum of the weights of the vertices on one side of the cut.$^1$\n\nSource\n\nIn this image, the payout would be, $1+4+3+3+2 = 13$ for the edges plus $5+6+1 = 12$ for the vertices $\\to P=25$ (assuming the number inside each vertex is its weight). The optimization problem is to maximize $P$ for a given graph.$^2$\n\nTo write this mathematically, we can think in terms of bit strings. We define a cut by a string $s\\in\\{0,1\\}^n$ where $s_i=0\\to v_i$ is not counted in the sum and $s_i=1\\to v_i$ is counted in the sum. To make the math a little cleaner, if the graph isn't fully connected, make the graph to be fully connected and set $w_{ij}=0$ for any unconnected pairs $v_i,v_j$.\n\nFor example, looking at the image above again, let's interpret the numbers inside the vertices to be the vertex index instead of the weight like we assumed above. Then the drawn cut corresponds to $s=100011$. $s_1=s_5=s_6=1\\to v_1, v_5, v_6$ are on the \"good\" side of the cut and get counted, while $s_2=s_3=s_4=0$ are on the \"bad\" side of the cut and are not counted.\n\nThis then allows us to write $$P(s) = \\sum_i s_i w_i + \\sum_{i,j} s_i(1-s_j)w_{ij}$$\n\nThe first term just counts the weights of all the vertices on the \"good\" side of the cut. The second term counts the weight of an edge if the vertices it connects are on opposite sides of the cut. Note this doesn't double count since it only counts the edge when $s_i=1, s_j=0$ and not when $s_i=0, s_j=1$.\n\nSo now our optimization problem is find the string $s$ which maximizes $P(s)$. The idea here is to think of $P(s)$ as a measure of energy of a system and $s$ as the state of the system. This means we can relate $P(s)$ to our Hamiltonian. There's a slight subtly here that we're trying to maximize $P(s)$ but we usually talk about finding the ground state of a Hamiltonian. This isn't an issue but I wanted to point it out - we can instead look at the highest energy excited state (anti-ground state if you will) or use $-P(s)$ as our energy function then work with the ground state like normal. Let's work with the highest excited state and maximize $P$.\n\nWe'd like create a Hamiltonian such that its highest energy state is $|s_0\\rangle$ such that $P(s_0)$ is maximal. Essentially we want to turn $P(s)$, an energy function, into $\\hat{H}$, an energy operator. We do this by noting that for $|s\\rangle\\in\\{|0\\rangle,|1\\rangle\\}$ we have $$\\frac{I-Z}{2}|s\\rangle=s|s\\rangle\\to\\text{ define } \\hat{s}_i=\\frac{I-Z_i}{2}$$\n\nWhere $Z_i$ is the Pauli $Z$ acting on qubit $i$. Now we get our Hamiltonian by replacing $s$ with $\\hat{s}$ (and 1 with $I$) in $P$\n\n$$H=\\sum_i \\hat{s}_i w_i + \\sum_{i,j} \\hat{s}_i(I-\\hat{s}_j)w_{i,j}=\\sum_i\\frac{I-Z_i}{2} w_i + \\sum_{i,j} \\frac{I-Z_i}{2}\\left(I-\\frac{I-Z_j}{2}\\right)w_{i,j}$$\n\nThis can be cleaned up by expanding and seeing $\\sum_{i,j}(Z_i-Z_j)=0\\to$\n\n$$H=\\sum_i \\frac{w_i}{2}\\left(I-Z_i\\right) + \\sum_{i,j} \\frac{w_{ij}}{4}\\left(I-Z_iZ_j\\right)=\\sum_i \\frac{w_i}{2}\\left(I-Z_i\\right) + \\sum_{i&lt;j} \\frac{w_{ij}}{2}\\left(I-Z_iZ_j\\right)$$\n\nWe can clean this up even further by multiplying by 2 and removing a constant energy shift (delete the $I$ terms). New Hamiltonian with same eigenstates with eigenvalues scaled and shifted (clearly the maximum energy is unaffected by these transformations)\n\n$$H=-\\sum_i w_iZ_i - \\sum_{i&lt;j} w_{ij}Z_iZ_j$$\n\nIf you're a condensed matter physicist you'll likely recognize this Hamiltonian as an Ising spin glass. Not really relevant to the problem, but I think it's cool.\n\nSo now we have a Hamiltonian whose (anti-)ground state encodes the bit string $s_0$ which maximizes $P(s)$ and solves the problem. \n\nThe last thing we need is an initial Hamiltonian $H_0$, which we slowly (adiabatically) transform into our final Hamiltonian $H$ so we can define the full Hamiltonian $$H_T(t)=(1-f(t))H_0 + f(t)H: f(0)=0, f(t_f)=1$$\n\nAs a starting point $f(t)\\propto t$ is often used for simplicity. The minimum $t_f$ determined by the desired accuracy and the spectral gap$^3$. The spectral gap is the minimum energy difference, over all $t$, between the (anti-)ground state and the next energy state. The analysis of the gap is highly non-trivial (see https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0509162) and determines the complexity/efficiency of the algorithm. An algorithm with 0 gap is not guaranteed to work at all.\n\nSo we want an $H_0$ such that\n\n\nWe can easily find and prepare its (anti-)ground state\nThe spectral gap of $H$ is not exponentially small in the size of the problem\n\n\nFor this problem, a good initial Hamiltonian is $H_0 = \\sum_i X_i$ because it's highest energy state is easy to find, it's $|+\\rangle^{\\otimes n}$. It's easy to prepare, just apply $H^{\\otimes n}$ to $|0\\rangle^{\\otimes n}$. I don't have time to get into the analysis of the spectral gap but this Hamiltonian is unlikely to be ideal in that regard (see https://arxiv.org/abs/1701.05584).\n\nWith this choice of $H_0$ and taking $f(t)=t/t_f$ we are done. Our Hamiltonian is\n\n$$ H(t) = \\left(1-f(t)\\right)\\sum_i X_i-f(t)\\left[\\sum_i w_iZ_i + \\sum_{i&lt;j} w_{ij}Z_iZ_j\\right]$$\n\nStarting in state $|\\psi_0\\rangle = H^{\\otimes n}|0\\rangle^{\\otimes n}$, evolving according to the above Hamiltonian for time $t_f$ (choosing a suitable $t_f$ is, again, generally highly non-trivial) then measuring in the computational basis should return (with high probability) the string $s=s_0$ which maximizes $P(s)$.\n\n$^1$ This is ambiguous since by symmetry either side will do. We can make this rigorous by, for example, making the cut directed then taking the vertices to the left of the cut when walking along the direction of the cut.\n\n$^2$ I had said in the comment we minimize a cost function, if you like this better just take cost $=-$ payout and minimize cost.\n\n$^3$ I'm sweeping some details about what \"slow\" means under the rug but can be related to the energy scale of the problem (i.e. multiplying $H$ by a constant will change the speed).\n\nConstraints\n\nLet's say we want to modify the problem above to require that exactly $5$ vertices are on the \"good\" side of our cut. Mathematically this is $\\sum_i s_i-5=0$. To enforce this, we add a penalty term into our Hamiltonian for solutions that break this constraint. So we add a term like $H_c = -\\alpha\\left(\\sum_i \\hat{s}_i -5I\\right)^2$ choosing $\\alpha$ big enough to ensure a state violating this constraint can't be the highest energy state.\n\nLet's say instead we want to require that there are no more than $5$ vertices on the \"good\" side of our cut. This, it seems, is rather hard to do. In https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.06248 they state that approximating an inequality constraint to order $k$ requires $\\mathcal{O}\\left(N^{2k}\\right)$ $k$-spin couplings which would require even more overhead to break them down into 2-qubit couplings which is often necessary on a given architecture. Essentially the strategy is to approximate a step function using a $k^\\text{th}$ order polynomial. This seems like a terrible way to go about it - but I can't think of better way. This is coming from Troyer in 2017 so it's relatively unlikely, though certainly possible, that a better way is currently known.\n\nThe general case\n\nThe question asks about a general method for encoding an optimization problem into a Hamiltonian. Specifically we want to minimize $f(x)$ subject to a set of constraints. In the section above I discussed adding the constraints to the Hamiltonian. So for a completely general $f(x)$, is there a way to encode it into a Hamiltonian? The general method for this in the literature is to assume we have access to an efficient quantum oracle that implements $f(x)$. We can think of this as having a black box operation (i.e. quantum oracle) $\\hat{f}(x)$ such that $\\hat{f}(x)|x\\rangle=f(x) |x\\rangle$. Then we may construct our Hamiltonian as\n$$\nH = \\sum_x \\hat{f}(x)|x\\rangle\\langle x|\n$$\nOf course this just pushes the difficult part into finding/constructing $\\hat{f}(x)$. In fact, simple counting arguments show that almost all (in the mathematical sense) quantum oracles are exponentially inefficient to implement (see http://www.ar-tiste.com/imp-oracles/imps2.pdf). So while this is a general encoding of an optimization problem into a Hamiltonian - it's not really practical. It would seem to be the case that if you want to encode your optimization problem into a Hamiltonian in a useful way - you'll need to leverage some structure of $f(x)$. My understanding is that the specifics of exactly how to do this and how to do this in the best manner is not fully understood and is the subject of active research.", "Intro\nI'm a 27 year old trans woman, the atheist daughter of a pair of conservative, queerphobic christians. While I didn't figure out my gender until my mid twenties, I came to be an atheist at ~12, strongly suspected I wasn't straight at 16, was cross dressing intermittently back then, etc etc. All of which is to say, I kept a lot of secrets from my parents because I didn't think they would understand. I understand where you're coming from here, what you're facing/fearing, but also why you want to come out, why keeping this secret is also hard and scary.\nI don't think I can really answer this from a parents' perspective - I'm not one, and I don't have those instincts. But I want to offer a perspective that's more respectful of your needs as a trans person than what has been offered so far by other answers. Hopefully that's enough to give this answer merit here.\nI also want to say that I'm really proud of you for thinking through this so young. It's so impressive, and so cool, to see young kids coming to grips with their gender &amp; sexuality, instead of avoiding the question &amp; being miserable. What you're learning about yourself now is really powerful, even if it doesn't end up being exactly right - the fact you're exploring &amp; trying things is good on its own.\nConsiderations\nOkay, so what do you have to take into account when deciding when &amp; how to come out? I'll go in to how to answer these considerations in the next section, since that's the core of your question, but let's start here.\nSome ideas:\n\nWhat are the consequences of waiting? Will it affect your mental health? Your grades/work?\nWill you be safe? Are you in danger of abuse or being disowned?\nWill you be supported &amp; affirmed?\nWhat support system do you have?\nHow independent are you?\n\nExpanding on each of these:\nWhat are the consequences of waiting?\nBeing misgendered hurts. Pretending that you aren't attracted to people you are attracted to hurts. Hiding parts of yourself hurts, and it does permanent damage to your relationships, both with the people you're hiding those things from and the people around you. You miss out on experiences, relationships, your whole sense of time &amp; the progression of your life changes. I think this is the thing other answers so far have missed - they aren't really accounting for what staying in the closet does to you.\nSo, think about what the consequences of waiting are. Whether that's something you're okay with, or something you can endure. Maybe it's something you can endure for now, and you'll reevaluate later. Maybe it's not, that's okay too. That's something you'll have to think for yourself about.\nWill you be safe?\nIf you think you're going to face abuse or neglect for coming out, that's a strong factor to consider. I will say this, as a positive note - the days of getting kicked out for being queer are receding. It happens less often now. And abusers are less likely to get systemic support. Things are getting better, even if this is still something you have to think about.\nWill you be supported &amp; affirmed?\nOn the flip side, if you are going to be supported and affirmed, that's a strong reason to come out ASAP. If you've got family who will not just tolerate you, but actively help you be who you are, that's great, and you should take the opportunity, because it will be better for you all around :)\nWhat support system do you have?\nFor instance, do you have friends who know you're agender and can be a listening ear? A teacher who is sympathetic and will go to bat for you? A community organization that stands up for queer kids? These things all help making coming out safer. And yeah, finding these things, making a support system, that requires coming out to people, but you can choose your battles a lot more strategically here. You can pick out people who you know will support &amp; affirm you before you come out to them, and then it doesn't have to be as scary.\nHow independent are you?\nThis is a hard one. You're 13, you're not going to have a lot of independence. You just aren't mature enough for that, and that's okay - you shouldn't have to be. But, some level of independence can help. If you were a little older, I might ask if you could drive, if you had a job. If you were even older, I might ask if you had savings &amp; could afford to move out if needed. Those aren't options for you, though, and I'm really sorry that this is something being asked of you.\nGathering information\nSo, the question then becomes, how do you find out the answers to these questions you're considering? How do you figure out if you're going to be safe and affirmed?\nYou've obviously done some research, you know the classic answer - talk about LGBT celebrities. That doesn't work for your situation. Here are some other ideas:\n\nTalk about LGBT issues in the news. Maybe pepper it in with other social issues you care about, as a smokescreen, as a way to build skills, as a way to get information about their wider political views which is also informative. This is hard to do when your political views clash - believe me, I get it, I had more than a few angry arguments with my father, back in the day, even when we were both more centrist - but it's the most surefire way of getting their opinions, and possibly changing them.\nTalk about queer/queer adjacent people in your life (even if you have to make them up). Talk casually about your female friend's girlfriend. Mention your male friend wearing nail polish one day. Talk about your new agender teacher.\nDo or make up school assignments that talk about queer things. For instance, say you have to do a book report on a book that has queer people in it, and ask your parents to proofread it. This might sound hard to have it not result in your parents questioning why you are choosing to do those things, but it's totally possible if you're careful - as an example, one of my classmates once picked as a research topic &quot;Don't ask, don't tell&quot; thinking it would be about military secrets (aliens), but it was just about a US military policy towards gay people. You're young enough that those kinds of &quot;mistakes&quot; are totally believable.\n\nThis doesn't just have to be directed at your parents, either. This is equally effective at finding a wider support system - talk politics with your friends &amp; see who's cool, turn in LGBT-related assignments to your teachers &amp; see who's positive, etc.\nHow do I come out as agender?\nBeing out isn't a binary. It's not that you're either in the closet or out of it. Especially as a nonbinary person, what you're going to find is that you're going to have to come out to new people all the time, for the rest of your life. That gets easier with time - you get the hardest ones out of the way earlier, and you get better at it as you do it, but there's never a point where boom you're out to everyone. And even with 1 person, coming out isn't a binary, you can be out to different degrees, depending on what you tell them/what you ask them to do.\nSo I'm going to highlight a few different options, a sliding scale of &quot;out&quot; that you can pick and choose from, depending on what you answer from the considerations. There's no wrong answer here - being out, finding love, being trans, those things are all for your comfort, and no one else's, and as long as you're comfortable with where you're at, that's what is right for you.\nCome out to your parents, fully, as agender &amp; pan/demi\nMost obvious &amp; full answer first. Tell your parents that you are agender, and that you love people of all genders, and you hope that they will continue to love &amp; support you.\nHere's what to make sure to tell them:\n\nWho you are &amp; what that means (a person with no gender, who can see themself loving people of all other genders. Or whatever your labels mean to you personally)\nWhat is going to change with you (New pronouns? New name? New clothes? Whatever it is that you are going to be changing)\nWho should &amp; should not know (which is this whole thing over again. Coming out is never over, but it does get easier with time)\nWhat you need from them (using your new name/pronouns, mental health support, puberty blockers, whatever is your &quot;next step&quot; from them)\n\nOptions for the format for coming out:\n\nA face to face conversation\nRead them a letter you wrote\nGive them the letter, or send an email, or a text even, etc.\nCall them (this is standard advice, but is kind of hard for your situation. Maybe from a supportive friend's house?)\nWhatever else you can think of\n\nBeyond that, there's any number of things you can say, and all sorts of advice for how to help them have a good reaction. I leave searching that as an exercise to the reader, these are just the minimum things you should try to communicate, in my opinion.\nDon't come out, but ask them to start making changes that make you feel affirmed\nYou don't have to be transgender to use a new name. Ask them to start using a new name. Or, ask them to start using a nickname instead of your birth name. I'm thinking about a story of an enby who, long before they came out or even knew they were nonbinary, asked people to call them Truffles, and then refused to answer to any other name besides Truffles, until people just started to use that as the default. Or, when in high school I started readily answering to Shelby so much that it became the name a couple friends used for me all the time for about 6 months, even if it was a joke.\nYou also don't have to be trans to wear clothes you're comfortable in, or to have presentations you like. Want to wear that shirt? Just wear it, regardless of what other people say. Nail polish your thing? Rock that look. Hate dresses? Don't wear dresses, wearing a nice suit instead.\nOr you can just tell people to stop referring to you in ways that make you uncomfortable, or to refer to you in ways that do make you comfortable. You are allowed to say &quot;this makes me unhappy, please don't do that&quot; and have that be respected.\nYou can live pretty comfortably doing this, for a long time. Part of the reason I didn't realize I was trans until my mid twenties was because in my early twenties, I decided to just do the things I wanted to do, damn other people's judgement. And it helps, even if it doesn't make things go away.\nStay in the closet\nUltimately, you don't have to come out, you don't have to assert yourself, you don't have to do anything. It's totally valid and understandable to stay in the closet, if that's the safest thing for you. (To be clear, safest holistically, including whatever it's going to cost you). No one should judge you for that choice.\nI do suggest you do things to make it easier, though. Find places you can express yourself privately. Find people you can commiserate or celebrate with. Plan for &amp; build a future when you don't have to be closeted, and work towards that, in whatever way you can.\nBut also, find other sources of joy. You're a multi-dimensional person, your gender &amp; sexuality alone do not define you. Build on those other pieces - join a club you fit in with, find hobbies you love, learn things you're proud of. Make your life one you're happy with now, not later.\nBoundaries\nYou're 13. You're growing up, you're really starting to become your own person. You're definitely still a child, you still have a lot to learn about the world &amp; yourself, but you're getting to an age where you know more than you don't. You're getting to a point where you can be trusted to set your own boundaries, and where your parents should respect them, at least where they are reasonable. You have the right and the ability to say no, and for the most part, your parents should be respecting that, especially when it comes to things like &quot;I don't want to be called that.&quot;\nBut, your parents have to adjust to that, just like you do. In some ways, you still feel like the baby they had to do everything for. The more you can show them that's not true, by showing your own maturity, the better they will be able to adjust.\nSetting appropriate boundaries is critical to coming out to your parents as a kid, especially as trans. So I want to highlight this particular, and point out a couple of things that I think help present you as mature enough to be setting them. Classically, I use hair cuts as the example, because all kinds of trans people have to fight their parents about hair cuts, but this is not just about hair cuts.\nFirst thing is to just say your boundary. If your mom says you should style your hair a way you don't want, just say &quot;no thank you, I would like my hair to look like this.&quot; If she says it again later, repeat yourself a few times just in case she needs a reminder. If things still aren't clear, then sit her down and firmly establish that boundary. You want to show:\n\nYou understand the consequences of your action (your hair might look bad for a while, you might get teased, you might have to learn how to take care of a new style, etc)\nYou are happy to accept her help dealing with those consequences if she wants to offer it (she can teach you her hair care routine, the two of you and a hair dresser can work together to find a nice style, etc)\nThat this is your decision to make, and you definitely want it. You don't have to explain why, if you don't want to - &quot;I want to have this hair style&quot; is a complete reason to have a particular hair style, most times.\n\nThen, you just keep reasserting that boundary. This does mean you have to follow through on those things - you have to accept the consequences, you have to let her offer help, you have to have some conviction in your decision - but it matters a lot that you have set the boundary.\nIt's hard, but it's really valuable and really important, and such a good tool to have in your pocket.\nConclusion\nWelp, this got longer than expected.\nTl;dr: Consider what's safer, and include in that consideration what effect being closeted will have on you. Try and gather information to help you figure out what effect being closeted/not closeted will have. Then, once you know what feels safest, come out to a degree that you are comfortable with, which can be any number of things over a wide spectrum.\nIt gets better. Every day I live as an adult, every moment I am my true self, is better than any day of high school was, and I really enjoyed &amp; valued high school. So trust me when I say, no matter what happens, if you just keep moving forward, there's a bright future waiting, and I'm really excited for you to get there to see it :)\nSources &amp; further reading\nI just skimmed most of these, looking for particular pieces, plus they're probably all very centered on American (or at least Western) values, so take what you can from them, but don't hold anything as the be all end all. Including what I say, of course. You know your life better than I do.\nhttps://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-to-come-out-to-parents-tips\nhttps://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-come-out\nhttps://www.wikihow.com/Come-Out-As-Transgender", "Звернувшись до Етимологічного словника української мови, бачимо, що це слово запозичене з російської мови. З цього випливає, що \"кружево\" - росіянізм.", "Condition of the Rapa Nui when contacted by Europeans\n\nIt's fairly clear from the early European accounts that the islanders were not starving - in fact all of them speak toward the willingness of the inhabitants to trade food for manufactured goods. The ship's logs from Jacob Roggeveen's landing in 1722 state;\n\n\n ...in particular one who seemed to be in authority over the other\n headmen, for, giving a general direction that everything they had\n should be fetched and laid before us, including fruit, root crops, and\n poultry, the order was promptly obeyed with reverence and bowing by\n those round about, as the event proved; for in a little, while they\n brought a great abundance of sugar-cane, fowls, yams, and bananas; but\n we gave them to understand through signs that we desired nothing,\n excepting only the fowls, which were about sixty in number, and thirty\n bunches of bananas, for which we paid them ample value in striped\n linen, with which they appeared to be well pleased and satisfied.1\n\n\nIn 1774 James Cook gives a slightly different picture, noting that while he didn't see abundant surplus, it was attributable to the extent that crops were planted and the amount of labor involved. He also comments on the apparent lack of fishing as a food source given the low abundance in the coastal waters. What is conspicuously missing is any characterization of the population as undernourished.\n\n\n As every thing must be raised by dint of labour, it cannot be supposed\n that the inhabitants plant much more than is sufficient for\n themselves; and as they are but few in number, they cannot have much\n to spare to supply the wants of visitant strangers. The produce is\n sweet potatoes, yams, tara or eddy root, plantains, and sugar-canes,\n all pretty good, the potatoes especially, which are the best of the\n kind I ever tasted. Gourds they have also, but so very few, that a\n cocoa-nut shell was the most valuable thing we could give them. They\n have a few tame fowls, such as cocks and hens, small but well tasted.\n They have also rats, which it seems they eat; for I saw a man with\n some dead ones in his hand, and he seemed unwilling to part with them,\n giving me to understand they were for food. Of land-birds there were\n hardly any, and sea-birds but few; these were men-of-war, tropic, and\n egg-birds, noddies, tern, &amp;c. The coast seemed not to abound with\n fish, at least we could catch none with hook and line, and it was but\n very little we saw among the natives.2\n\n\nThe Hunt and Lipo Late Arrival Hypothesis\n\nYou can get a little better understanding of the hypothesis put forward in the article linked to in the question in this Terry Hunt's 2006 paper in American Scientist3. Much of the hypothesis put forward in The Statues That Walked stems from the conclusion that Hunt puts forward in that paper - that the settlement of Easter Island occurred much later than previously claimed (this effects population growth estimates and rate of deforestation). This claim is rejected (with the requisite amount of academic politeness) by quite a few others in the field based on what they see as flaws in Hunt's methodology. Bahn and Flenley write in their broadside rebuttal of the book that;\n\n\n In fact, at the base of the Anakena excavation there is a change from\n blown sand (above) to clay (below). Such an abrupt change, known to\n geologists as an ‘unconformity’, indicates clearly that there is a gap\n in deposition and that an unknown number of centuries are missing.\n Therefore, to conclude from their excavation that the basal date in\n the sand is the date of arrival of people is ridiculous.4\n\n\nThis is further echoed by Mieth and Bork, who make a strong case that evidence of agricultural activity on the Island points to a much earlier settlement date.\n\n\n As mentioned earlier, based on radiocarbon data taken from the oldest\n occupation layer found at Anakena, and by the rejection of several\n older radiocarbon dates taken by other authors, Hunt and Lipo (2006)\n assume that Rapa Nui was not occupied before 1200 AD.\n However, our own findings concerning the development of land use\n mentioned below (relics of extensive horticulture in the palm woodland\n before 1200 AD, widespread and extreme labor-intensive woodland\n clearance as early as 1250 AD) are strong arguments in favor of\n colonization considerably before 1100 AD.5\n\n\nRats, deforestation, and food pressure\n\nFirst, \"the idea that the island was covered in giant palms\" is not disputed by any of the research about the Island. In addition the pollen studies that Diamond cited in Collapse, Mieth and Bork undertook an extensive study of palm root casts and came up with the estimate that roughly 16 million palm trees once covered the island6. The theory of population pressure leading to deforestation is not presented in terms of how many people there were to support - it is put forward in the context of evidence of slash and burn agriculture. Mieth and Bork's article explains that the earliest instances of farming are integrated into the forest environment.\n\n\n The oldest cultural layers we found are garden soils that were\n integrated into the palm woodland. These garden soils are preserved\n between the undisturbed casts of the palm roots and underneath later\n cultural horizons (Fig. 5A(3) and Fig. 5B(3); Mieth and Bork, 2004,\n pp. 52–53 and p. 65, Fig. 35A). Thus, early crop cultivation was\n obviously an integrated part of the palm woodland with the advantage\n that the palms protected the gardens from drying, from harsh winds,\n runoff, and soil erosion by water and wind.7\n\n\nThis is in contrast to what is evidenced later, which is reminiscent of agricultural deforestation:\n\n\n Numerous remains of burned palm stumps in the soils at several\n locations on the island (Fig. 6) support the hypothesis that the\n burning was caused by humans, not by natural events. Many palmwere cut\n efficiently a few centimeters above the soil surface. This is evident\n by clean cut, truncated surfaces of burned palm stumps which we found\n in situ at many sites on the island. Other parts of the palms (e.g.\n their leaves), and probably also parts of other trees and shrubs, were\n left on the surface and burned in large fires. We found charred plant\n remains of different macroscopic structures in the extensive burn\n layers around the palm stumps. The extraction of the very strong palm\n stumps was hard work for the people who cleared the land. Instead of\n pulling the stumps, they seem to have piled up dry plant material on\n top of them to increase their flammability. On some stumps we found\n carbonized stalks of grass which were used as fuel (Mieth and Bork,\n 2003, p. 74; KIA 19369,Table 1).8\n\n\nDiamond pointedly notes in his critique of The Statues That Walked that Hunt and Lipo have remained completely silent about this line of research9, which is puzzling in that it was well known before they published. As to the rat theory, he dismisses it similarly to Mieth and Bork.\n\n\n Rats occur not only on Easter but also on every other one of the\n hundreds of other Polynesian islands, most of which nevertheless did\n not end up deforested. Over 90% of preserved palm seeds outside caves\n were not gnawed by rats. Easter’s forest consisted not only of the\n palm but also of at least two dozen other species of trees and other\n plants, all of which also became extinct on Easter although most of\n them are not known to suffer seed predation by rats and continue to\n exist in the presence of rats on other Polynesian islands. The Hawaii\n study does not demonstrate, but merely speculates about, a role of\n rats in deforestation on Hawaii.10\n\n\nNote regarding population\n\nNot directly related to the question, but interesting none the less (given the doubt raised about population estimates in the other answer) - J. C. Sprott wrote a great paper from a more mathematical standpoint and used statistical modelling to estimate a peak population of around 10,000. The more fascinating piece of the paper is his model of a three bio-type system of humans, rats, and palms that creates a strange attractor in multiple formulations of species interaction. It makes a strong case that the overall system was very susceptible to sudden ecological collapse.11\n\nConclusions (tl;dr)\n\nGiven compelling evidence of agriculturally related deforestation and a poorly substantiated case for rats as the primary factor, I personally think that Hunt and Lipo's theory is dubious at best. The shift between low intensity farming and high intensity farming (which seems to disappear by the time the Europeans show up in the 18 century) points strongly to a population collapse. Whether the collapse itself was due specifically to food pressures or other causes is up in the air.\n\n\n\n1 Corney, Bolton Glanvill, editor. The Voyage of Captain Don Felipe González, p.13\n\n2 Cook, James. A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World, Volume 1, eBook\n\n3 Hunt, Terry. \"Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island\", American Scientist Sept.-Oct. 2006, Online\n\n4 Bahn, Paul and Flenley, John. \"Rats, men or dead ducks\", Current World Archaeology, Issue 49, p. 8\n\n5 Mieth, Andreas and Bork, Hans-Rudolf. \"Humans, climate or introduced rats\" in Journal of Archaeological Science (2009) 1-10, p. 2\n\n6 Ibid, p. 1\n\n7 Ibid, p. 6\n\n8 Ibid, p. 6-7\n\n9 Lynas, Mark (Sep. 22, 2011). Re: The myths of Easter Island – Jared Diamond responds (Blog). \n\n10 Ibid\n\n11 Sprott, J. C. \"Chaos in Easter Island Ecology\", Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 4.", "Управление, так как зависимое слово отвечает на вопрос винительного падежа.", "Let me put some color into the idea that OLS with categorical (dummy-coded) regressors is equivalent to the factors in ANOVA. In both cases there are levels (or groups in the case of ANOVA). \n\nIn OLS regression it is most usual to have also continuous variables in the regressors. These logically modify the relationship in the fit model between the categorical variables and the dependent variable (D.C.). But not to the point of making the parallel unrecognizable. \n\nBased on the mtcars data set we can first visualize the model lm(mpg ~ wt + as.factor(cyl), data = mtcars) as the slope determined by the continuous variable wt (weight), and the different intercepts projecting the effect of the categorical variable cylinder (four, six or eight cylinders). It is this last part that forms a parallel with a one-way ANOVA.\n\nLet's see it graphically on the sub-plot to the right (the three sub-plots to the left are included for side-to-side comparison with the ANOVA model discussed immediately afterwards):\n\n\n\nEach cylinder engine is color coded, and the distance between the fitted lines with different intercepts and the data cloud is the equivalent of within-group variation in an ANOVA. Notice that the intercepts in the OLS model with a continuous variable (weight) is not mathematically the same as the value of the different within-group means in ANOVA, due to the effect of weight and the different model matrices (see below): the mean mpg for 4-cylinder cars, for example, is mean(mtcars$mpg[mtcars$cyl==4]) #[1] 26.66364, whereas the OLS \"baseline\" intercept (reflecting by convention cyl==4 (lowest to highest numerals ordering in R)) is markedly different: summary(fit)$coef[1] #[1] 33.99079. The slope of the lines is the coefficient for the continuous variable weight.\n\nIf you try to suppress the effect of weight by mentally straightening these lines and returning them to the horizontal line, you'll end up with the ANOVA plot of the model aov(mtcars$mpg ~ as.factor(mtcars$cyl)) on the three sub-plots to the left. The weight regressor is now out, but the relationship from the points to the different intercepts is roughly preserved - we are simply rotating counter-clockwise and spreading out the previously overlapping plots for each different level (again, only as a visual device to \"see\" the connection; not as a mathematical equality, since we are comparing two different models!). \n\nEach level in the factor cylinder is separate, and the vertical lines represent the residuals or within-group error: the distance from each point in the cloud and the mean for each level (color-coded horizontal line). The color gradient gives us an indication of how significant the levels are in validating the model: the more clustered the data points are around their group means, the more likely the ANOVA model will be statistically significant. The horizontal black line around $\\small 20$ in all the plots is the mean for all the factors. The numbers in the $x$-axis are simply the placeholder number/identifier for each point within each level, and don't have any further purpose than to separate points along the horizontal line to allow a plotting display different to boxplots.\n\nAnd it is through the sum of these vertical segments that we can manually calculate the residuals:\n\nmu_mpg &lt;- mean(mtcars$mpg) # Mean mpg in dataset\nTSS &lt;- sum((mtcars$mpg - mu_mpg)^2) # Total sum of squares\nSumSq=sum((mtcars[mtcars$cyl==4,\"mpg\"]-mean(mtcars[mtcars$cyl==\"4\",\"mpg\"]))^2)+\nsum((mtcars[mtcars$cyl==6,\"mpg\"] - mean(mtcars[mtcars$cyl==\"6\",\"mpg\"]))^2)+\nsum((mtcars[mtcars$cyl==8,\"mpg\"] - mean(mtcars[mtcars$cyl==\"8\",\"mpg\"]))^2)\n\n\nThe result: SumSq = 301.2626 and TSS - SumSq = 824.7846. Compare to:\n\nCall:\n aov(formula = mtcars$mpg ~ as.factor(mtcars$cyl))\n\nTerms:\n as.factor(mtcars$cyl) Residuals\nSum of Squares 824.7846 301.2626\nDeg. of Freedom 2 29\n\n\nExactly the same result as testing with an ANOVA the linear model with only the categorical cylinder as regressor: \n\nfit &lt;- lm(mpg ~ as.factor(cyl), data = mtcars)\nsummary(fit)\nanova(fit)\n\nAnalysis of Variance Table\n\nResponse: mpg\n Df Sum Sq Mean Sq F value Pr(&gt;F) \nas.factor(cyl) 2 824.78 412.39 39.697 4.979e-09 ***\nResiduals 29 301.26 10.39 \n\n\nWhat we see, then, is that the residuals - the part of the total variance not explained by the model - as well as the variance are the same whether you call an OLS of the type lm(DV ~ factors), or an ANOVA (aov(DV ~ factors)): when we strip the model of continuous variables we end up with an identical system. Similarly, when we evaluate the models globally or as an omnibus ANOVA (not level by level), we naturally get the same p-value F-statistic: 39.7 on 2 and 29 DF, p-value: 4.979e-09.\n\nThis is not to imply that the testing of individual levels is going to yield identical p-values. In the case of OLS, we can invoke summary(fit) and get:\n\nlm(formula = mpg ~ as.factor(cyl), data = mtcars)\n\n Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(&gt;|t|) \n(Intercept) 26.6636 0.9718 27.437 &lt; 2e-16 ***\nas.factor(cyl)6 -6.9208 1.5583 -4.441 0.000119 ***\nas.factor(cyl)8 -11.5636 1.2986 -8.905 8.57e-10 ***\n\n\nThis is not possible in ANOVA, which is more of an omnibus test. To get these types of $p$-value assessments we need to run a Tukey Honest Significant Difference test, which will try to reduce the possibility of a type I error as a result of performing multiple pairwise comparisons (hence, \"p adjusted\"), resulting in a completely different output:\n\n Tukey multiple comparisons of means\n 95% family-wise confidence level\n\nFit: aov(formula = mtcars$mpg ~ as.factor(mtcars$cyl))\n\n$`as.factor(mtcars$cyl)`\n diff lwr upr p adj\n6-4 -6.920779 -10.769350 -3.0722086 0.0003424\n8-4 -11.563636 -14.770779 -8.3564942 0.0000000\n8-6 -4.642857 -8.327583 -0.9581313 0.0112287\n\n\nUltimately, nothing is more reassuring than taking a peek at the engine under the hood, which is none other than the model matrices, and the projections in the column space. These are actually quite simple in the case of an ANOVA: \n\n$$\\small\\begin{bmatrix} y_1 \\\\ y_2 \\\\ y_3 \\\\ \\vdots \\\\\\vdots\\\\\\vdots\\\\.\\\\y_n\n\\end{bmatrix} = \n\\begin{bmatrix} \\color{magenta} 1 &amp; 0 &amp; 0 \\\\ \\color{magenta}1 &amp; 0 &amp; 0 \n\\\\ \\vdots &amp; \\vdots &amp; \\vdots \\\\ \\color{magenta}\n0 &amp; 1 &amp; 0 \\\\ \\color{magenta}0 &amp; 1 &amp; 0 \n\\\\ \\vdots &amp; \\vdots &amp; \\vdots \\\\ \n.&amp;.&amp;.\\\\\\color{magenta}\n0 &amp; 0 &amp; 1 \\\\ \\color{magenta}0 &amp; 0 &amp; 1 \\\\\n\\end{bmatrix} \n\\begin{bmatrix} \n\\mu_1\\\\\n\\mu_2\\\\\n\\mu_3\n\\end{bmatrix}\n+\\begin{bmatrix} \n\\varepsilon_1 \\\\\n\\varepsilon_2\\\\\n\\varepsilon_3\\\\\n\\vdots\\\\\n\\vdots\\\\\n\\vdots\\\\\n.\\\\\n\\varepsilon_n\n\\end{bmatrix}\\tag 1$$ \n\nThis would be the one-way ANOVA model matrix with three levels (e.g. cyl 4, cyl 6, cyl 8), summarized as $\\small y_{ij} = \\mu_i + \\epsilon_{ij}$, where $\\mu_i$ is the mean at each level or group: when the error or residual for the observation $j$ of the group or level $i$ is added, we obtain the actual DV $y_{ij}$ observation.\n\nOn the other hand, the model matrix for an OLS regression is:\n\n$$\\small\\begin{bmatrix}y_1 \\\\ y_2 \\\\ y_3 \\\\ y_4 \\\\ \\vdots \\\\ y_n \\end{bmatrix} = \n\\begin{bmatrix} 1 &amp; x_{12} &amp; x_{13}\\\\ 1 &amp; x_{22} &amp; x_{23} \\\\ 1 &amp; x_{32} &amp; x_{33} \\\\ 1 &amp; x_{42} &amp; x_{43} \\\\ \\vdots &amp; \\vdots &amp; \\vdots \\\\1 &amp; x_{n2} &amp; x_{n3} \\end{bmatrix}\n\\begin{bmatrix} \\beta_0 \\\\ \\beta_1 \\\\ \\beta_2 \\end{bmatrix}\n+ \n\\begin{bmatrix} \\varepsilon_1 \\\\ \\varepsilon_2 \\\\ \\varepsilon_3 \\\\ \\varepsilon_4 \\\\ \\vdots \\\\ \\varepsilon_n \\end{bmatrix}$$\n\nThis is of the form $ \\small y_i = \\beta_0 + \\beta_1\\, x_{i1} + \\beta_2\\, x_{i2} + \\epsilon_i $ with a single intercept $\\beta_0$ and two slopes ($\\beta_1$ and $\\beta_2$) each for a different continuous variables, say weight and displacement.\n\nThe trick now is to see how we can create different intercepts, as in the initial example, lm(mpg ~ wt + as.factor(cyl), data = mtcars) - so let's get rid of the second slope and stick to the original single continuous variable weight (in other words, one single column besides the column of ones in the model matrix; the intercept $\\beta_0$ and the slope for weight, $\\beta_1$). The column of $\\color{brown}1$'s will by default correspond to the cyl 4 intercept. Again, its value is not identical to the ANOVA within-group mean for cyl 4, an observation that shouldn't be surprising comparing the column of $\\color{brown}1$'s in the OLS model matrix (below) to the first column of $\\color{magenta}1$'s in the ANOVA model matrix $(1),$ which only selects examples with 4-cylinders. The intercept will be shifted via dummy coding to explain the effect of cyl 6 and cyl 8as follows:\n\n$$\\small\\begin{bmatrix}y_1 \\\\ y_2 \\\\ y_3 \\\\ y_4\\\\ y_5 \\\\ \\vdots \\\\ y_n\\end{bmatrix} = \n\\begin{bmatrix} \\color{brown}1 &amp; x_1 \\\\ \\color{brown}1 &amp; x_2 \\\\\\color{brown} 1 &amp; x_3 \\\\ \\color{brown}1 &amp; x_4 \\\\ \\color{brown}1 &amp; x_5 \\\\ \\vdots &amp; \\vdots \\\\\\color{brown}1 &amp; x_n \\end{bmatrix}\n\\begin{bmatrix} \\beta_0 \\\\ \\beta_1 \\end{bmatrix}+ \n\\begin{bmatrix}\\color{red}1&amp;0\\\\\\color{red}1&amp;0\\\\\\color{red}1&amp;0\\\\0&amp;\\color{blue}1\\\\0&amp;\\color{blue}1\\\\ \\vdots &amp; \\vdots\\\\0&amp;\\color{blue}1\\end{bmatrix}\n\\begin{bmatrix} \\tilde\\mu_2 \\\\ \\tilde\\mu_3 \\end{bmatrix}\n+\n\\begin{bmatrix} \\varepsilon_1 \\\\ \\varepsilon_2 \\\\ \\varepsilon_3 \\\\ \\varepsilon_4 \\\\ \\varepsilon_5\\\\ \\vdots \\\\ \\varepsilon_n \\end{bmatrix}$$\n\nNow when the third column is $\\color{red}1$ we'll be systematically shifting the intercept by $\\tilde\\mu_2.$ The $\\tilde\\cdot$ indicates that, as in the case of the \"baseline\" intercept in the OLS model not being identical to the group mean of 4-cylinder cars, but reflecting it, the differences between levels in the OLS model are not mathematically the between-groups differences in means:\n\nfit &lt;- lm(mpg ~ wt + as.factor(cyl), data = mtcars)\nsummary(fit)$coef[3] #[1] -4.255582 (difference between intercepts cyl==4 and cyl==6 in OLS)\nfit &lt;- lm(mpg ~ as.factor(cyl), data = mtcars)\nsummary(fit)$coef[2] #[1] -6.920779 (difference between group mean cyl==4 and cyl==6)\n\n\nLikewise, when the fourth column is $\\color{blue}1$, a fixed value $\\tilde\\mu_3$ will added to the intercept. The matrix equation, hence, will be $\\small y_i = \\beta_0 + \\beta_1\\, x_i + \\tilde\\mu_i + \\epsilon_i $. Therefore, going with this model to the ANOVA model is just a matter of getting rid of the continuous variables, and understanding that the default intercept in OLS reflects the first level in ANOVA.", "Відповідь на це питання знаходимо у значенні похідного слова в Етимологічному словнику т. 5., ст. 105", "Згідно до Публічного електронного словника української мови, словника порталу української мови, та, звичайно, СУМу, то різниці між цими словами немає і може вживатися як одне так і інше слово. Також варто навести те, що ці слова позначені як синоніми у словнику синонімів.", "On this occasion at least, Shirer’s account is probably not far from the truth although the language is perhaps a little subjective. Unfortunately, detailed records of witnesses seem to be thin on the ground, in part because of the way the trial of the putschists was conducted.\n\nWhat witness accounts there broadly agree: the differences are mostly in what the witnesses felt about Hitler's actions. In short:\n\n\nIt is uncertain who fired first, but it was probably a putschist.\nWhen the shooting began, most of the putschists at the front dropped to the ground. Hitler may instead have been pulled to the ground by his dead neighbour.\nHitler's life may well have been saved by his bodyguard who was hit many times but survived.\nLudendorff marched on towards the police and was arrested.\nHitler, along with many others, scrambled away from the police. He was almost certainly among the first to leave the scene.\nWith his wrenched shoulder, Hitler was helped to his car which had been waiting nearby and was driven off.\n\n\nThere are some variations on the above, unsurprising in the chaotic circumstances, but two witness accounts can be discounted:\n\n\nOne (apparent) witness said Ludendorff and Hitler had been killed by the police volley.\nAnother witness said Hitler stopped to help a boy before being driven off.\n\n\n\n\nEyewitness accounts and interpretations\n\nAn obvious problem with witnesses, not least to politically charged events, is bias (see the painting below). The witness cited by Shirer, though, may as solid as one can hope for in this particular case. Walter Schultze’s career indicates he had solid Nazi ‘credentials’ yet his account does not show Hitler in a positive light. Harold J. Gordon, then Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, in Hitler and the Beer Hall Putsch (1972), also cites Schultze's account but does not use the witnesses own words:\n\n\n According to the chief surgeon of the SA, Dr. Walter Schultze, Hitler\n was the first of the Putschists to get back on his feet. He then,\n apparently wounded in the arm, started to make his way towards the\n rear of the column. Schultze hurried on before him and brought forward\n a yellow auto in which Hitler and Schultze fled the scene.\n\n\nOne interesting point here is that there was apparently a car at the ready (see also Shirer's account). Given that the march had been decided upon at very short notice at the urging of the putsch's figurehead Erich Ludendorff, Hitler may well have anticipated that things would not turn out well and had decided to be prepared for an unfavourable outcome.\n\nThe account of Kurt Ludecke in his I Knew Hitler: The Story Of A Nazi Who Escaped The Blood Purge (1937) adds a few details but to what extent (if at all) it is an eyewitness account is unclear. More likely, Ludecke gathered the information from those who had been there. \n\n\n A volley rent the air, killing fourteen men in the Nazi ranks.\n Ludendorff, erect and unhurt, marched straight ahead and was arrested.\n Hitler, who had been at Ludendorff's side, walking arm-in-arm with\n Scheubner-Richter, was dragged to the ground with a dislocated\n shoulder when the Doctor crumpled under the hail of lead. Hitler's\n body-guard threw himself en his master, covering him with his body and\n instinctively thinking, as he later told me: 'Ulrich Graf, jetzt hat's\n dich doch erwischt!' He received eleven bullets .... At sound of the\n firing, the crowds in the rear wavered and halted. Then panic seized\n the street. In a desperate scramble for safety, every one fled. The\n revolution was finished ... Hitler had been helped to his car and had\n escaped into the mountains.\n\n\nLudecke's reliability is questionable. Nonetheless, although he is sharply critical of Hitler and blames him for the failure of the putsch, he makes no critical comments on Hitler leaving the scene of the march after the shooting.\n\nGordon also cites unnamed Putschists, some of whom compared Hitler’s conduct unfavourably with Ludendorff whose\n\n\n \"courage\" has often been praised as a contrast to the \"cowardice\" of\n Hitler and the others, who hit the ground as soon as the firing\n started\n\n\nbut Gordon observes:\n\n\n In actual fact, Ludendorff showed merely foolhardiness, pride, or\n confidence in his destiny.\n\n\nIn a footnote, Gordon adds:\n\n\n Almost from the beginning the Putschists claimed that Hitler had been\n pulled down by Scheubner-Richter when the latter was slain. This may\n well be true, but I suspect that Hitler would have dropped anyway.\n Such reflexes become automatic in a front soldier. However, some\n Putschists claimed, on other grounds, that Hitler lost his nerve\n during the clash.\n\n\nIan Kershaw, in Hitler 1889-1936:Hubris (2000) cites Lt. Col (later General) Theodor Endres:\n\n\n Endres, critical in every other respect of Hitler’s action in the\n putsch, was certain that he had thrown himself to the ground at the\n outbreak of gunfire, and thought this action ‘absolutely right’\n\n\nDavid King, in The Trial of Adolf Hitler: The Beer Hall Putsch and the Rise of Nazi Germany, also cites Schultze and then adds the comments of another witness who later opposed Hitler.\n\n\n Several of his men had been killed and wounded, and Hitler had run\n away, as one former Freikorps man and later prominent anti-Nazi,\n Friedrich Wilhelm Heinz, put it. “Adolf the Swell-Head took off…and\n left his men in the lurch…Did you expect that he’d do anything else?”\n\n\nSeveral sources state that, although Ludendorff continued his political association with Hitler after the putsch, the old general - who had continued marching towards the police when the shooting started - described Hitler as a coward (see, for example, here and here). Ludendorff, though, kept his thoughts to himself for the most part.\n\nErnst Hanfstaengl, who was a close friend of Hitler but who later fled Germany, wrote about the putsch in his 1957 Hitler: The Missing Years. He was not a witness to the immediate events but arrived in the area shortly after where he spoke someone he knew who was fleeing the scene of the shooting:\n\n\n I was past the Pinakothek museum - nearly there - when a great mass of\n people came flooding up from the Odeonsplatz. I saw one face I knew, a\n sort of first-aid man in one of the S.A. brigades, being helped along\n in a state of collapse....he said...\"The Reichswehr opened fire with\n machine guns at the Feldherrnhalle It was pure suicide. They're all\n killed. Ludendorff's dead, Hitler's dead, Goering's dead...\n\n\nCompletely untrue, but worth citing as an indication of the chaos and panic at the time, and the consequent unreliability of some witnesses. Hanfstaengl goes on to give an account which, like Ludecke, mentions Hitler being dragged to the ground by his mortally-wounded neighbour, but adds a little extra detail:\n\n\n The police had fired mostly into the ground and the ricocheting\n bullets and splinters from the granite setts had caused many nasty\n wounds. The leaders and most of the wounded were dragged away by the\n S.A. men without further interference from the police.\n\n\nAlthough this is not an eyewitness account, it was Hanfstaengl's family who were sheltering Hitler at the time of his arrest so he would have heard detailed accounts from several of those present, including Walther Schulze.\n\nOn the police side, Polizeioberleutnant Michael Freiherr von Godin's account makes no specific mention of Hitler's actions once the shooting started:\n\n\n We were showered by the Hitler troops with heavy fire from the\n Preysing Palace and from the Rottenhöfer Café. The Demelmeyer unit\n from Middle 5 took up the fire fight against these opponents... After a\n timespan of thirty seconds at most, the Hitlerites turned to\n disorderly flight.\n\n\nSource: Martyn Housden, 'Hitler: Study of a Revolutionary?' (Routledge Sources in History, 2000)\n\n\n\nThe Putsch and the Trial in Nazi Propaganda\n\nKing also deals with the Nazi accounts (i.e. falsifications):\n\n\n A story was later circulated to cover for Hitler’s lack of valor. He\n was said to have spotted a young boy bleeding on a street corner and\n left the scene to save him.\n\n\nThis account comes from a putschist, Fritz Gotz, who did not witness the shooting but who says he saw Hitler getting into his car. Gotz wrote this in a letter dated 26th November 1923 (pdf); strangely, this letter somehow ended up in the pages of a radical paper called Vorwärts about six weeks later (it contained much else of then far greater import than the boy story). \n\nThe 'bleeding boy' story was then further embellished:\n\n\n In later Nazi accounts, he was even said to have carried the\n ten-year-old away…\n\n\nBy 1940, the myth-making had reached new heights in a painting by H. Schmitt. This artist was at the Putsch (pdf), lending a false credibility to this extreme example of artistic license. A classic example of a biased eyewitness.\n\n\n\nWhat didn't happen: Hitler standing defiantly alongside Ludendorff amidst their fallen comrades. Image source: Painting Spotlight: the Munich Putsch.\n\nThe trial which followed turned into a significant propaganda coup for Hitler. There do not seem to be any notable eyewitness accounts stemming from the trial. The reasons for this seem to be that witnesses, especially prosecution ones, were either given little opportunity to speak or were not called at all. Also, the focus of trial was far more on the events at the Beer Hall on November 8th than the march on November 9th.\n\n\n The trial itself, which lasted from 26 February to 1 April, soon\n became a National Socialist propaganda display as Hitler took control\n of the proceedings again and again, dominating the judges and the\n courtroom with his oratory…. The presiding judge was absolutely\n determined not to find Ludendorff guilty….\n \n The lay judges on the court… were clearly partisans of the\n Putschists…. The most vigorous and capable of the prosecutors, Dr.\n Hans Ehard, was kept under wraps by his seniors to such an extent that\n he could not seriously influence the conduct of the trial.\n \n The results of this weakness in the prosecution and the bias of the\n judges appeared in other, more serious forms than the loose rein on\n the defendants. The most significant of all the fruits of this\n situation was the selection of witnesses. A number of men who had\n played key roles in the Putsch and could have added greatly to the\n clarification of many issues were simply ignored.\n\n\nSource: Gordon\n\nIan Kershaw, in Hitler 1889-1936:Hubris (2000), notes that Hitler was allowed to wear a suit together with his Iron Cross, First Class. In addition to having virtually a free-run at witnesses, he was allowed to get away with a four-hour speech at one point.\n\n\n One journalist attending the trial described it as a ‘political\n carnival’....He heard one of the judges, after Hitler’s first speech,\n remark: ‘What a tremendous chap, this Hitler!’", "Суффиксальные производные от звуковых аббревиатур пишутся только\n строчными буквами, напр.: ооновский, тассовский, мидовский,\n антиспидовый, омоновец, гаишник.\n\n\nhttp://orthographia.ru/orfografia.php?sid=95\n(Справочник Лопатина, §205)", "Short answer\nCosta was the first, but not the leading, case. Internationale Handelgesellschaft is. See below. I assume you're asking about EU law's supremacy over UK law, as you tagged [united-kingdom].\n\n4.2 The scope and implications of the supremacy principle\n\n\nAlthough Costa clearly established the principle of supremacy of EU law, questions\nremained about its precise scope and implications. Subsequent case law clarified two\nimportant points.\n      First, in Simmenthal, the CJEU addressed the implications of the supremacy principle\nfor national courts.88 The case arose from an Italian law requiring meat importers to pay for veterinarian checks at the national border. Although it was established\nthat this was contrary to directly effective EU law concerning the free movement\nof goods, the Italian government argued that domestic courts could not order it to\nrepay the fees until and unless the Italian Constitutional Court annulled the law in\nquestion. This view did not find favour with the CJEU, which took the opportunity\nto spell out the practical consequences of the supremacy doctrine for domestic courts\nfaced with incompatible national laws. The CJEU said it was the task of national\ncourts to protect the rights conferred upon individuals by EU law.89 Domestic courts\ntherefore had to ‘apply [Union] law in its entirety’, disregarding ‘any provision of\nnational law’—whenever enacted—‘which may conflict with it’, and ignoring any\nnational rules that, if applied, would compromise domestic courts’ capacity to do the\nforegoing things.90\n      Second, in Internationale Handelsgesellschaft, the CJEU held that the principles\nlaid down in Simmenthal applied to all types of national law, including provisions\nof member states’ constitutions, and including provisions in such constitutions concerning\nthe protection of human rights.91 It was therefore the duty of national courts\nto disapply national constitutional human rights guarantees to the extent that EU law\nwas inconsistent with them. Unsurprisingly, this conclusion provoked a good deal of\ndisquiet, but the Court was careful to say that such situations should arise rarely (if at\nall). This was because EU law itself recognised the fundamental rights common to the\nconstitutional traditions of member states. As a result, the Union was bound by those\nrights and powerless to legislate or otherwise act in breach of them.92 It would therefore\nrarely, if ever, be the case that a national court was forced to choose between a\nnational human rights law and a valid EU provision.\n\n\n88 Case 106/77 Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato v Simmenthal SpA [1978] ECR 629.\n89 Simmenthal, [16]. 90 Simmenthal, [17]–[22].\n91 Case 11/70 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr- und Vorratsstelle für Getreide und\nFuttermittel [1970] ECR 1125.\n92 Case 4/73 J Nold Kohlen- und Baustoffgrosshandlung v Commission of the European Communities\n[1975] ECR 985. See further Tridimas, General Principles of EU Law (Oxford 2005), ch 7.\n\nMark Elliott, Robert Thomas. Public Law 2020 4 edn. pp 380-1.\n\nThe validity of Union law could thus not be affected – even by the most fundamental\nnorms within the Member States. The Court’s vision of the supremacy\nof European law over national law was an absolute one: ‘The whole of\n[European] law prevails over the whole of national law.’15\n\n\n15 R. Kovar, ‘The Relationship between Community Law and National Law’, in EC\nCommission (ed.), Thirty Years of Community Law (EC Commission, 1981), 109 at 112–13\n\nRobert Schutze, European Union Law 2018 edn, p 124.\nLong answer\n\n(B) Ambit: Supremacy Applicable Against All National Law\n\n\nWhile the conceptual basis for the supremacy of EU law was set out in Costa [that you mooted in your post], the ambit of the principle\nbecame clearer in later decisions. In the following case, the Court ruled that the legal status of a conflicting national measure was not relevant to whether EU law should take precedence.3 Not even\na fundamental rule of national constitutional law could be invoked to challenge the supremacy of a\ndirectly applicable EU law.\n\n\n      This ruling gave rise to a potentially serious conflict in the relationship between the German\nFederal Constitutional Court and the ECJ. While the latter has sought to avoid a direct constitutional\nconflict with a national court,4 it has never retreated from its claims.\n\n\nCase 11/70 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr- und Vorratsstelle für Getreide und Futtermittel [1970] ECR 1125\n\n\n\nThe applicant argued that a Community regulation under which a deposit would be forfeited if the\ngoods were not exported within the period of time set was contrary to principles of national constitutional\nlaw, including freedom of action and of disposition, economic liberty, and proportionality.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ECJ\n\n\n\n\n\nRecourse to the legal rules or concepts of national law in order to judge the validity of measures\nadopted by the institutions of the Community would have an adverse effect on the uniformity and efficacy\nof Community law. The validity of such measures can only be judged in the light of Community\nlaw. In fact, the law stemming from the Treaty, an independent source of law, cannot because of its\nvery nature be overridden by rules of national law, however framed, without being deprived of its character\nas Community law and without the legal basis of the Community itself being called into question.\nTherefore the validity of a Community measure or its effect within a Member State cannot be affected\nby allegations that it runs counter to either fundamental rights as formulated by the constitution of that\nState or the principles of a national constitutional structure.\n\n\n\n\n      The Court faced the opposite kind of argument in Ciola, where the Austrian Government argued\nthat the principle of primacy should not automatically apply ‘to specific individual administrative\nacts’.5 The Court dismissed this argument, reaffirming that any provision of national law that\nconflicted with directly effective EU law should not be applied. Thus, the principle of primacy is\nrequired whenever directly effective EU law is concerned, and regardless of whether fundamental\nnational constitutional norms, or minor administrative acts, are at issue. The Court, however, qualified\nCiola by admitting that, under specific circumstances, supremacy needs to be accommodated\nwith domestic limitations of the period of time during which administrative acts may be repealed\nor judicially contested.6\n\n\n3 See also Case C–473/93 Commission v Luxembourg [1996] ECR I–3207, [38]; Case C–273/15 ZS ‘Ezernieki’ v Lauku\natbalsta dienests EU:C:2016:364, [53]; Case C–516/17 Spiegel EU:C:2019:625, [19]; Case C–476/17 Pelham EU:C:2019:624, [78].\n4 See, eg, Case C–446/98 Fazenda Pública v Câmara [2000] ECR I–11435, [36]–[38].\n5 Case C–224/97 Ciola v Land Vorarlberg [1999] ECR I–2517, [24].\n6 Case C–453/00 Kühne &amp; Heitz [2004] ECR I–837; Case C–2/06 Willy Kempter AG [2008] ECR I–411. See Ch 14 for\ndiscussion.\n\nOp cit, pp 316-7.\nWhy must I know which Member State you're asking about, to best answer your question? Because\n\nThere is a continuing\ntension between national accounts of EU law and the CJEU’s account. Constitutional conflicts\ncontinue to arise in specific cases, and it remains for national courts to resolve cases arising before them\ninvolving a conflict between EU and national law.46 Reasons of space preclude detailed consideration of\nall Member States. The ensuing analysis therefore focuses on five Member States, Germany, Italy, France,\nPoland, and the Czech Republic, thereby including an admixture of original signatories and states that\njoined post-2004.\n\n\n46 M Claes, The National Courts’ Mandate in the European Constitution (Hart, 2006); A-M Slaughter, A Stone Sweet,\nand J Weiler (eds), The ECJ and National Courts: Doctrine and Jurisprudence (Hart, 1998); K Alter, Establishing the\nSupremacy of European Law: The Making of an International Rule of Law in Europe (Oxford University Press, 2001); N\nWalker (ed), Sovereignty in Transition (Hart, 2003).\n\nHere's how Supremacy of EU Law works for UK Post-Brexit. I quote some salient paras. from pp 363-4.\n\ni. The principle of the supremacy of EU law in relation to the UK is dealt with in sections 5 and\n6 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, EUWA, as amended by the European Union\n(Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020. The position is as follows.\n\n\nii. First, section 5(1) EUWA provides that the principle of the supremacy of EU law does not apply\nto any enactment or rule of law passed or made on or after the end of the implementation period,\nwhich is 31 December 2020, known in the legislative jargon as IP completion day. This is in\naccord with the logic of UK withdrawal from the EU.\n\n\niii. Secondly, section 5(2) EUWA then provides that ‘accordingly, the principle of the supremacy of\nEU law continues to apply on or after IP completion day so far as relevant to the interpretation,\ndisapplication, or quashing of any enactment or rule of law passed or made before IP completion\nday’. It means that if there is a conflict between pre-IP completion day domestic legislation\nand retained EU law, the latter takes precedence. It also means that pre-IP completion day\ndomestic law should be interpreted, as far as possible, in accordance with retained EU law. The\npolicy rationale underlying section 5(2) is legal certainty: prior to IP completion day, EU law had\nsupremacy over domestic law, and it was felt that this should therefore continue.\n\n\nvii. Thirdly, section 5(1) EUWA is further qualified by section 5(3). It provides that section 5(1) ‘does\nnot prevent the principle of the supremacy of EU law from applying to a modification made on\nor after IP completion day of any enactment or rule of law passed or made before IP completion\nday if the application of the principle is consistent with the intention of the modification’. The application of this qualification can clearly be contestable, and the issue may well have to be\ndecided by the UK courts in the light of the evidence that is available from Parliament, which is\nadmissible in court.", "В Етимологічному словнику знаходимо твірне слово до движель-двигати:\n\n\n\n\n\nІ отже, за Іваном Франком -сили, які рухають в твоїй глибині.\n\nЗа народним прислів'ям:\n\n\n Рух-життя\n\n\nтому недивно, що стилізація сучасним правописом замість движель дає нам живе.\n\nОтже, у цьому випадку движель- двигун сил, той що рухає сили.", "Слово пляцок польського походження, що знаходимо в Етимологічному словнику:", "Lightbox (jQuery)\n\nhttp://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/\n\nAcho que o script Lightbox serve exatamente para sua dúvida.\n\nFaça o download aqui e descompacte em seu computador.\n\nComo usar o Lightbox\n\nInclua o CSS no topo de sua página pagina em sua tag &lt;head&gt;:\n\n&lt;head&gt;\n &lt;meta charset=\"utf-8\"&gt;\n &lt;title&gt;Lightbox Example&lt;/title&gt;\n &lt;link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"../dist/css/lightbox.min.css\"&gt;\n&lt;/head&gt;\n...\n\n\nInclua o Javascript no final de sua página antes de fechar a tag &lt;/body&gt;:\n\n...\n &lt;script src=\"../dist/js/lightbox-plus-jquery.min.js\"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;\n\n&lt;/body&gt;\n&lt;/html&gt;\n\n\nInicializar com HTML\n\n\nAdicione um atributo data-lightbox para qualquer link de imagem para habilitar o Lightbox.\n\nPara o valor do atributo, use um nome único para cada imagem. Por exemplo:\n\n&lt;a href=\"images/image-1.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"image-1\" data-title=\"My caption\"&gt;Image #1&lt;/a&gt;\n\n\nOpcional: Adicione um atributo data-title se você quiser mostrar uma legenda.\n\n\nSe você tem um conjunto de imagens relacionadas que você gostaria de combinar em um conjunto, use o mesmo valor do atributo data-lightbox para todas as imagens. Por exemplo:\n\n&lt;a href=\"images/image-2.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"roadtrip\"&gt;Image #2&lt;/a&gt;\n&lt;a href=\"images/image-3.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"roadtrip\"&gt;Image #3&lt;/a&gt;\n&lt;a href=\"images/image-4.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"roadtrip\"&gt;Image #4&lt;/a&gt;\n\n\n\n\nExemplo online\n\n\r\n\r\n/* Preload images */\r\nbody:after {\r\n content: url(https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lokesh/lightbox2/master/dist/images/close.png) url(https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lokesh/lightbox2/master/dist/images/loading.gif) url(https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lokesh/lightbox2/master/dist/images/prev.png) url(https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lokesh/lightbox2/master/dist/images/next.png);\r\n display: none;\r\n}\r\n\r\nbody.lb-disable-scrolling {\r\n overflow: hidden;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lightboxOverlay {\r\n position: absolute;\r\n top: 0;\r\n left: 0;\r\n z-index: 9999;\r\n background-color: black;\r\n filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=80);\r\n opacity: 0.8;\r\n display: none;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lightbox {\r\n position: absolute;\r\n left: 0;\r\n width: 100%;\r\n z-index: 10000;\r\n text-align: center;\r\n line-height: 0;\r\n font-weight: normal;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lightbox .lb-image {\r\n display: block;\r\n height: auto;\r\n max-width: inherit;\r\n border-radius: 3px;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lightbox a img {\r\n border: none;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-outerContainer {\r\n position: relative;\r\n background-color: white;\r\n *zoom: 1;\r\n width: 250px;\r\n height: 250px;\r\n margin: 0 auto;\r\n border-radius: 4px;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-outerContainer:after {\r\n content: \"\";\r\n display: table;\r\n clear: both;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-container {\r\n padding: 4px;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-loader {\r\n position: absolute;\r\n top: 43%;\r\n left: 0;\r\n height: 25%;\r\n width: 100%;\r\n text-align: center;\r\n line-height: 0;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-cancel {\r\n display: block;\r\n width: 32px;\r\n height: 32px;\r\n margin: 0 auto;\r\n background: url(https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lokesh/lightbox2/master/dist/images/loading.gif) no-repeat;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-nav {\r\n position: absolute;\r\n top: 0;\r\n left: 0;\r\n height: 100%;\r\n width: 100%;\r\n z-index: 10;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-container &gt; .nav {\r\n left: 0;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-nav a {\r\n outline: none;\r\n background-image: url('data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==');\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-prev, .lb-next {\r\n height: 100%;\r\n cursor: pointer;\r\n display: block;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-nav a.lb-prev {\r\n width: 34%;\r\n left: 0;\r\n float: left;\r\n background: url(https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lokesh/lightbox2/master/dist/images/prev.png) left 48% no-repeat;\r\n filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=0);\r\n opacity: 0;\r\n -webkit-transition: opacity 0.6s;\r\n -moz-transition: opacity 0.6s;\r\n -o-transition: opacity 0.6s;\r\n transition: opacity 0.6s;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-nav a.lb-prev:hover {\r\n filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=100);\r\n opacity: 1;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-nav a.lb-next {\r\n width: 64%;\r\n right: 0;\r\n float: right;\r\n background: url(https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lokesh/lightbox2/master/dist/images/next.png) right 48% no-repeat;\r\n filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=0);\r\n opacity: 0;\r\n -webkit-transition: opacity 0.6s;\r\n -moz-transition: opacity 0.6s;\r\n -o-transition: opacity 0.6s;\r\n transition: opacity 0.6s;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-nav a.lb-next:hover {\r\n filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=100);\r\n opacity: 1;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-dataContainer {\r\n margin: 0 auto;\r\n padding-top: 5px;\r\n *zoom: 1;\r\n width: 100%;\r\n -moz-border-radius-bottomleft: 4px;\r\n -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 4px;\r\n border-bottom-left-radius: 4px;\r\n -moz-border-radius-bottomright: 4px;\r\n -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 4px;\r\n border-bottom-right-radius: 4px;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-dataContainer:after {\r\n content: \"\";\r\n display: table;\r\n clear: both;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-data {\r\n padding: 0 4px;\r\n color: #ccc;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-data .lb-details {\r\n width: 85%;\r\n float: left;\r\n text-align: left;\r\n line-height: 1.1em;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-data .lb-caption {\r\n font-size: 13px;\r\n font-weight: bold;\r\n line-height: 1em;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-data .lb-number {\r\n display: block;\r\n clear: left;\r\n padding-bottom: 1em;\r\n font-size: 12px;\r\n color: #999999;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-data .lb-close {\r\n display: block;\r\n float: right;\r\n width: 30px;\r\n height: 30px;\r\n background: url(https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lokesh/lightbox2/master/dist/images/close.png) top right no-repeat;\r\n text-align: right;\r\n outline: none;\r\n filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=70);\r\n opacity: 0.7;\r\n -webkit-transition: opacity 0.2s;\r\n -moz-transition: opacity 0.2s;\r\n -o-transition: opacity 0.2s;\r\n transition: opacity 0.2s;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.lb-data .lb-close:hover {\r\n cursor: pointer;\r\n filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=100);\r\n opacity: 1;\r\n}\r\n&lt;!DOCTYPE html&gt;\r\n&lt;html lang=\"en-us\"&gt;\r\n&lt;head&gt;\r\n &lt;meta charset=\"utf-8\"&gt;\r\n &lt;title&gt;Lightbox Example&lt;/title&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;!-- Estou chamando o arquivo lightbox.css direto do trecho de código CSS postado acima --&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;!-- Para chamar seu arquivo lightbox.css direto de seu diretório retire o comentário da tag link abaixo --&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;!-- &lt;link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"../dist/css/lightbox.css\"&gt; --&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/head&gt;\r\n&lt;body&gt;\r\n\r\n &lt;section&gt;\r\n &lt;h3&gt;Duas imagens individuais&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n &lt;div&gt;\r\n &lt;a class=\"example-image-link\" href=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/image-1.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"example-1\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"example-image\" src=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/thumb-1.jpg\" alt=\"image-1\" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;\r\n &lt;a class=\"example-image-link\" href=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/image-2.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"example-2\" data-title=\"Optional caption.\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"example-image\" src=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/thumb-2.jpg\" alt=\"image-1\"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;\r\n &lt;/div&gt;\r\n\r\n &lt;hr /&gt;\r\n\r\n &lt;h3&gt;Um conjunto de 4 imagens&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n &lt;div&gt;\r\n &lt;a class=\"example-image-link\" href=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/image-3.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"example-set\" data-title=\"Click the right half of the image to move forward.\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"example-image\" src=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/thumb-3.jpg\" alt=\"\"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;\r\n &lt;a class=\"example-image-link\" href=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/image-4.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"example-set\" data-title=\"Or press the right arrow on your keyboard.\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"example-image\" src=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/thumb-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;\r\n &lt;a class=\"example-image-link\" href=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/image-5.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"example-set\" data-title=\"The next image in the set is preloaded as you're viewing.\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"example-image\" src=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/thumb-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;\r\n &lt;a class=\"example-image-link\" href=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/image-6.jpg\" data-lightbox=\"example-set\" data-title=\"Click anywhere outside the image or the X to the right to close.\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"example-image\" src=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/images/thumb-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;\r\n &lt;/div&gt;\r\n &lt;/section&gt;\r\n\r\n &lt;section&gt;\r\n &lt;p&gt;\r\n Para mais informações, visite &lt;a href=\"http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/\"&gt;http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox2/&lt;/a&gt;\r\n &lt;/p&gt;\r\n &lt;/section&gt;\r\n\r\n &lt;script src=\"https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/lightbox2/2.8.2/js/lightbox-plus-jquery.min.js\"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;!-- Para chamar seu arquivo lightbox-plus-jquery.min.js direto de seu diretório retire o comentário da tag script abaixo --&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;!-- &lt;script src=\"../dist/js/lightbox-plus-jquery.min.js\"&gt;&lt;/script&gt; --&gt;\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/body&gt;\r\n&lt;/html&gt;\r\n\r\n\r\n\n\n\n\nEspero ter ajudado.", "У Словнику русинської мови знаходжу:\n\n\n ПУТНИЦЯ - еклiптика.\n\n\nВ Словнику іншомовних слів Мельничука знаходжу пояснення:\n\n\n КЛІПТИКА \n еклі́птика \n (від грец. εκλειπτική – затемнення) \n \n \n Велике коло небесної сфери, по якому відбувається видимий річний рух Сонця, або коло, утворюване перерізом цієї сфери площиною земної орбіти. \n Площина, в якій рухається Земля навколо Сонця.\n \n\n\nТакож для детальнішої інформації можна звернутися до Вікіпедії" ]

[ "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" ]

[ "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues ", "if you get on fire", "not even a mouse", "they get wet", "getting married" ]

[ "> As I understand it, above the electroweak unification energy, it becomes clear that electrons and neutrinos become two states of the same spin 1/2 particle with weak hypercharge -1 and weak isospin ±1/2 Sure, but that's only for the left particles. Right electrons don't bundle up in a doublet, and have hypercharge -2. > Quarks on the other hand look different independently, but when you add them up as protons and neutrons, they become spin 1/2 particles whose hypercharges add up to +1 and whose weak isospins add up to ±1/2 No, wait. The left-handed quarks do that, for example left u and left d are together in a weak isospin doublet and have hypercharge 1/3, but right u and right d instead are weak isospin singlets with Y = 4/3 and - 2/3 respectively. When they form baryons, baryons don't have a definite value for weak isospin nor weak hypercharge, as the quarks inside are a mixture of L and R. EDIT: I'm using the convention Q = T_3 + Y/2, as you also seem to be using." ]

[ "For a majority of birds, not very often (I don;t have numbers), primarily because it puts them too far from their food source. Wild animals, as a rule, don;t have the luxury of doing stuff just for fun. They normally spend all of their time and energy either looking for food or looking for sex.", "It is all about being a mutual care system. You don t pay when you need it and you don t benefit when you want. See this like road work. Are you paying when you use a road ? Is it cheaper to construct a road for everyone or that each people construct its own road. Would you consider pay for your army, police when you need it? I don't understand all the rage about tax. The French system cost less to the community, rich or poor. Stop thinking you ll always be healthy you have no idea. If you prefer gamble, don t forget the house always win. ( And consider that in fact you can t stop playing ....)", "As a young child, you don;t have the basic building blocks that are required in order to create memories. As these building blocks lay down the foundation, memories are able to begin to form.", "Not so famous? Very famous. There are many reasons why this happens. Certain painters become very famous and so you can use their painting like investment pieces, like gold but with a better interest. I don´t know how to explain why Gauguin is a great painter, but he is. Trust me.", "Not meant to be solely a joke, but the logical answer to this is that the occasions where it worked, we just don´t know about. Because it was effective.", "You can't just directly plug the solar panels into the grid. You need some extra electronics to convert the solar panel's electricity into a form that is compatible with the grid. These components are relatively expensive, and it's more efficient to have a bigger one than a smaller one. It's also inefficient to purchase small solar panels. So, to put it shortly, smaller solar components are simply not as cost-efficient as larger ones.", "Because operating systems are a product. Generally product placement in movies (or TV shows) is considered advertising, and they don;t give that away for free.", "Like already said, most animals just react with their natural behavior. My cats just check everyday if it´s warm enough to leave. Otherwise they just take 4 steps and come back in. Being confused by the seasonal changes, means having an expectation or assumption that doesn´t match the following observation. There are not many animals that think/plan ahead. Then there is also that thing that some animals just don´t like change. Putting a stone in their usual path might even confuse or upset them. Why wouldn´t some snow. Things like intelligence is hard to describe or \"measure\" in other species. Animals that show adaptation to seasonal changes just react to it in their appropriate way. Animals that come in contact to seasonal changes in a non natural environment (southern species in a nothern zoo) might show a reaction by not liking the snow or playing in it. But I don´t think that a lot of animals will understand the concept of \"seasons\" how humans see it.", "The expiration date doesn´t say that it stops working at that point. It only defines a period of time where the producer of that product kind of garanties a certain effectiveness. I would say that the loss of this effectiveness comes from more reactive and/or volatile components (alcohol for example), that are slowly \"lost\" over time. Don´t take this as an absolute, but the more aggressive a chemical that you use to reduce the numbers of germs is, the more reactiv it tends to be, and so it will desintegrate quicker, because it really \"wants\" react with something at some point making it useless for your application. After that expiration date, the disinfectant it will still do something, but the results will be below the quality threshold the producer defined. Tried to keep it simple, but someone will definitely have a more accurate explanation.", "Chip enabled ones need access to the ship throughout the transaction. Magstripe ones don;t need the card once they have the data off it. Magstripe ones only keep the card so they can choose not to give it back if it's stolen, though that function is rare today.", "As a Brazilian I can tell you why: we do it because we don`t trust the government and because we all feel that if we were in power we would exploit it as well. So basically because most believe that , given the chance, they would say \"screw everyone\" and take as much advantage as possible, they do NOT find themselves outraged for being screwed by others, the government, and the system.", "High center of gravity and very small legs/feet don;t allow them to sit much. Some species crawl on all fours ( they do have vestigal arms as their wings remember ) Hanging upside down is just a very easy, cost efficient way of , well hanging around.", "I'm an ahmadi muslim. The main difference between us would be that we believe in the second coming of Jesus/Krishna/Buddha etc arrived already. We believe Jesus did not die on the cross but survived and traveled to find the lost tribes of Israelite. I think those are the main difference. The smaller difference would be we see all of Gods messengers as his prophets, even krishna or socrates. We don;t believe in punishment for choosing religions at your own will Aka apostasy . Check out /r/ahmadiyyat", "Why does anyone have double-standards or make statements that aren´t 100% based in fact and logic? We are all people, women that do say that probably just think that tampons are more important to their daily lives then other things. Maybe they also think they are too expensive compared to other toiletries or they just don´t see the connection between those items. Edit: Since it seems unclear, I am talking about why women would be against luxury tax on tampons and not against luxury tax on other toiletries and hygiene necessities. I´m not talking about whether a luxury tax on tampons is justified or whether the above is even true i.e. tampons really are taxed the same as toilet paper.", "It is hell. They collaborate by breaking the large project into several smaller ones. The CPU scheduler developers don't have to deal with the network stack developers. The graphics developers don't have to deal with the AI developers. The teams behind large projects are usually composed of smaller groups of maybe 2, 3 or even 10 developers that focus on a particular component or group of components. They have teams of people that guide the overall direction of the project and divvy up the work. They determine what the components do and how they interact, and tell the smaller teams to implement them.", "Computers have a [crystal oscillator](_URL_0_), an electronic component that resonates at a fixed rate. The same type of component is used in ordinary quartz clocks.", "There is a lot of makeup that is made to resist running when wet. In other words, it is not water soluble, so the ladies faces don;t slide off when they sweat So, it requires a dedicated \"solvent\" that is both stronger than soap, and easy on skin", "The crucial point of a supernova is the core collapse- basically, the pressure on the core causes a runaway episode of electron capture. This means the protons in the core are eating the electrons, turning into neutrons, and spitting out neutrinos. This sets off a massive shockwave and produces a massive outward neutrino flux, which in some models is responsible for blowing off the outer layers of the star. These neutrino bursts has been observed to last approximately 10 seconds, so I'll bet the timeline for the actual 'popping' of a supernova is similar.", "This only applies to transistor-based memory - the kind of memory you have in flash drives, phone, and the RAM on a computer; it doesn't apply to hard drives. That billionth of a gram is made from electrons. Flash memory traps electrons in its components, and RAM holds electrons to represent 1s (but they're not trapped, they leak out and have to be refreshed every so often.). So where do they come from? They came from your device's battery. It won't actually get heavier until you recharge it. Also, note that the magnitude of the change in mass you're talking about is WAYYYY smaller than we can actually measure.", "At atmospheric pressure, gases are poor conductors of electricity as they don not have free electrons to carry current. Once the free electrons are produced in gas by ionization (they become plasmas), electric discharge occurs.This could be done in many ways such as by applying a large potential difference across a gas column at very low pressure. All dielectrics have a certain value of breakdown potential. This potential provides sufficient energy to ionize a few atoms. The free electrons formed as a result of this ionization have enough energy to bump the neighboring atoms and produce more electrons. These free electrons are then accelerated by the electric field and they collide and ionize the other atoms to [produce more free electrons](_URL_0_). Now, there are large number of free electrons available for current flow. Thus, an electric arc is produced!", "We can easily observe bacteria with microscopes. Viruses are much smaller, and usually require electron microscopes to see. Before this, we could determine what they were made of by cultivating them (breeding them) and putting them in a centrifuge. This allows us to separate out components of cells for individual observation.", "No, the ability of a camera to resolve images is limited by the wavelength of the light it uses. Once the object is around the same size of/smaller than the wavelength of light being used itself, it becomes inherently unresolvable. The wavelength of light is of an order of magnitude of roughtly 10^-6 m, whereas atoms are on the order of 10^-10 m. As an addendum, this is why electron microscopes are used to image smaller objects, as the wavelength of electrons is far smaller than the wavelengths of light.", "There are several ways to make colors... some life uses quantum mechanics to make the color blue, even though no specific component is actually blue. Still though, at a broad level, it is the electron shells that determines this, or rather how the atoms are bound together and what orbitals their electrons are in. This is why carbon can either be solid black or crystal clear (diamonds) despite being the same atoms... it is how they are bound together and thus how they are sharing electrons.", "> My simple logic would think that making the DSLR lens would be comparatively cheaper because you would not be working with miniature lens and components which will give you more flexibility in design and selecting components. An iPhone has a 4.15 mm lens diameter. A DSLR probably has a 35mm diameter lens. Why would you think making a perfect smaller lens would be harder?", "> Would anything outrageous happen if an electron was forced into the nucleus of an atom? Not really. It's called [electron capture](_URL_0_), and it happens all the time. It causes a proton to change to a neutron, and an electron neutrino is emitted. This is actually the primary method of radioactive decay for many isotopes.", "Broken electronics still have components that can be used, or resold for profit. They're also full of useful and valuable metals, such as gold.", "> In something like a car crash, why does increasing the amount of time it takes a person to come to a stop reduce the force they experience? Because force is defined as mass multiplied by acceleration, and acceleration is defined as distance divided by time squared. Or, to put that in equation form: f = m*a a = d/t^2 So combining the two, you get: f = (m * d) / t^2 Since time is in the denominator, making it larger makes the force smaller.", "An Arduino is a simple cheap computer, that has a lot of space and support to hook up electronic inputs and outputs. This provides a standardized way to use this component as an electronic brain for the rest of your electronics projects. While there are other components that can do this, an Arduino has been designed specifically for this purpose, so it makes it easy to do these things.", "> I was wondering, if an electron tunnels to one side, is it possible for it to tunnel back quickly? Yes > If so, does physics give any hard limits to how quick this back and forth action can be? The final \"effective\" tunnelling rate is the infinite sum of all such higher order processes. > Does it matter if instead of having an electron jumping the same transistor twise, the electron instead jumps two nearby transistors in a row? Yes, in a sense this would be a T^2 process if T is the probability of the first tunnel. When you derive an electron propagator you're including ALL paths that connect two states, even meandering ones.", "I live in the Kreuzberg region of Berlin. There´s a big refugee center a walk away in the old airport Tempelhof. Yes, there are terrible immigrants that do terrible things but for the most part, they´re just people. Most of them are here to have a better life. I´m sick and tired of the posts exclaiming how terrible it is. Too many people over dramatize the situation when they don´t actually live here.", "I don't have time to give you a big write up, but: Core hits chandrasekhar limit. Run away electron capture occurs which squeezes the electrons into the protons, producing a neutron star, and a shit ton of neutrinos. Now, the outer layers of the star are in free fall toward the neutron star, which is oscillating very hard. As the layers of stuff start to hit the neutron star, the neutron star is expanding out from its original collapse, and there is a very energetic head on collision that drives those layers up and off. Then the neutrinos produced from the electrons getting eaten start to leak out in huge numbers, driving the remainder of the explosion. Beyond that there's a lot of doubt (for example, how does assymmetry in the explosion drive it? what role does the magnetic field play? how does it produce jets?), but if you want some vocab words for Google, try core bounce, deleptonization, and neutrino driven wind.", "For one, the devices in question are using a dedicated high strength signal/channel, not a shared network like the internet or your cell phone. But more importantly, they also don;t send just one copy of the data in question. They send multiple copies along with parity data so that anything that might be lost in transit can be rebuilt from another copy or the parity data" ]

[ "Agricultural Marketing Act (1929) The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 was the effort, ultimately unsuccessful, of the HooVER PRESIDENCY to solve the problem of overproduction and declining prices that had afflicted American AGRICULTURE in the 1920s." ]

[ "Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) is a statutory market committee constituted by a State Government in respect of trade in certain notified agricultural or horticultural or livestock products, under the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act issued by that state government.", "Under the administration of Herbert Hoover, the Agriculture Marketing Act of 1929 established the Federal Farm Board with a revolving fund of half a billion dollars.", "AGRICULTURAL MARKETING ACT Amendments Dept. of Agriculture: extend livestock mandatory price reporting requirements , S6853 [21SE], H6287 [28SE] ___repeal country of origin labeling requirements for beef, pork, and chicken , S8441 [7DE] Bills and resolutions", "What was not the purpose of The Agricultural Adjustment Act? The purpose of the Agricultural Adjustment Act was to create a federal farm board with the authority to purchase surplus crops. The legislation was designed to increase the … export of farm products to Europe.", "This is an article about the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. For the act by the same name in 1933, see Agricultural Adjustment Act.he act revived the provisions in the previous Agriculture Adjustment Act, with the exception that the financing of the law's programs would be provided by the Federal Government and not a processor's tax, and was also enforced as a response to the success of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936.", "What was a shortcoming of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)? It curtailed the agricultural output and affected exports. It brought in mechanization, - 384789", "The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981, Public Law 97-370, section 120, 96 Stat. 1810, provided an authorization of appropriations as follows: For payments to departments of agriculture, bureaus and departments of markets, and similar agencies for marketing activities under section 204(b) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1623(b)); $1,571,000 for fiscal year 1982, $1,651,000 for fiscal year 1983, and $1,723,000 for fiscal year 1984.", "This is an article about the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. For the act by the same name in 1933, see Agricultural Adjustment Act.", "Besides FFA, what are the words on the FFA emblem? Agricultural Education President Woodrow Wilson signed what act that provided funds for a nationwide vocational education in agriculture.", "During his first eight months in the White House, Hoover and his advisers continued to voice their concerns about the shape and future of the economy. Hoover supported the Agricultural Marketing Act because he believed it would shore up a weak agricultural sector.", "Agricultural Adjustment Act: Information From Answers.com Wikipedia Agricultural Adjustment Act The Agricultural Adjustment Act (or AAA) (Public law 73-10 of May 12, 1933) restricted production during the New Deal by paying farmers to reduce crop area. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus so as to ...", "U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish national standards for the production and. handling of organic products to assure consumers that agricultural products marketed as organic. meet consistent, uniform standards. The Act also required the establishment of an organic.", "The CCC Charter Act, as amended, aids producers through loans, purchases, payments, and other operations, and makes available materials and facilities required in the production and marketing of agricultural commodities.", "It also monitors the mandatory procedures for the disposition of restricted eggs. AMS administers the program under the authority of the Egg Products Inspection Act. Section 8e & Import Requirements. Section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA) applies to specific fruit and vegetable imports into the United States. The law requires imported products to meet the same or comparable grade, size, quality and maturity standards as domestic products covered by Federal marketing orders.", "Agricultural policy. Agricultural policy describes a set of laws relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultural product markets.", "Agricultural Adjustment Administration. Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), former U.S. government agency established (1933) in the Dept. of Agriculture under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal program.t was renamed (1942) the Agricultural Adjustment Agency, and in 1945 its functions were taken over by the Production and Marketing Administration. See E. G. Nourse et al., Three Years of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (1937, repr. 1971); G. V. L. Perkins, Crisis in Agriculture (1969).", "What is PA Preferred? PA Preferred is a state-supported agricultural marketing program. The State Department of Agriculture launched the PA Preferred program to identify and promote food and agricultural products grown, produced or processed in Pennsylvania. PA Preferred is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.", "Under the Agricultural Adjustment Act, Franklin Roosevelt initiated a program where the government would pay the farmers NOT to raise certain livestock, such as hogs, and NOT … to grow certain crops, such as corn, cotton, wheat, and tobacco.he Agriculture Adjustment Act (AAA) gave farmers government payment, to grow fewer cropss. A smaller supply of crops on the market would increase demand for those crops. This … would drive prices up and help farmers earn money.", "The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 empowered the AAA in years of good crops to make loans to farmers on staple crop yields and to store the surplus produce, which it could then release in years of low yield.t was renamed (1942) the Agricultural Adjustment Agency, and in 1945 its functions were taken over by the Production and Marketing Administration. See E. G. Nourse et al., Three Years of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (1937, repr. 1971); G. V. L. Perkins, Crisis in Agriculture (1969).", "How is Agriculture Price Marketing Committee abbreviated? APMC stands for Agriculture Price Marketing Committee. APMC is defined as Agriculture Price Marketing Committee rarely. APMC stands for Agriculture Price Marketing Committee.", "What was the purpose of the Agricultural Adjustment Act? to help farmers raise more crops to encourage greater livestock pro... Q&A > History > What was the purpose of the Agricultural Adjustment Act? was asked by Shelly Notetaker on May 31 2017. 368 students have viewed the answer on StudySoup. View the answer on StudySoup. Sign Up Login", "The purpose of the Agricultural Adjustment Act was to create a federal farm board with the authority to purchase surplus crops. The legislation was designed to increase the ex … port of farm products to Europe.3 people found this useful.he Agriculture Adjustment Act (AAA) gave farmers government payment, to grow fewer cropss. A smaller supply of crops on the market would increase demand for those crops. This … would drive prices up and help farmers earn money.", "The Competition Act (“Act”) is not intended to prohibit competition in the market. What the Act primarily seeks to regulate, are the practices that have an adverse effect. on competition in the market(s) in India. In addition, the Act intends to promote and.", "Agricultural marketing specialists must be aware of market issues particular to agriculture, such as commodities markets, futures trading, government subsidies, and the impacts of farm debt. Classes in law will prepare you for a field flooded with regulations.", "The generally booming national economy made it easy to ignore the farmers' plight, but when the stock market crash of 1929 sparked the Great Depression, the Democratic administration elected in 1932 turned its attention to agriculture, passing the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) during the frantic 100 Days..", "The new New Deal - managing of markets and countervailing powers: 1 Agricultural Adjustment Act. 2 National Industrial Recovery Act, passed 1933, created a federal board for better managing of industrial policy. By 1934, the NRA was declared unconstitutional.", "March 4, 1929 Herbert Hoover was inaugurated as 31st President of the United States. June 15, 1929 After Hoover called a special session of Congress, the Agricultural Marketing Act was passed, which established a Federal Farm Board that worked to stabilize agricultural prices.", "Agricultural Adjustment Act. ... History Central » History » Documents » Agricultural Adjustment Act Agricultural Adjustment Act Related EntriesGreat DepressionNew DealOhioRoosevelt, Franklin D. In 1933, the United States Congress approved and President Franklin Delano ...", "What was a shortcoming of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)? It curtailed the agricultural output and affected exports. It brought in mechanization, increasing debt of farmers. It did little for farmers with large land holdings. It did little for sharecroppers and tenant farmers", "The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) identifies directories of value-added agriculture resources, and it provides production and marketing information for many commodities and products.http://www.agmrc.org/directories-state-resources/ or", "Superwarfarins are compounds closely related to the blood thinner warfarin, but longer acting and more potent. Warfarin was originally developed for use as a rat poison by Dr. Karl Link at the Wisconsin Agricultural Research Foundation and was marketed as a rodenticide in 1948.", "Agricultural Adjustment Act. World War I severely disrupted agriculture in Europe. That was an advantage to farmers in the United States, who increased production dramatically and were therefore able to export surplus food to European countries.But by the 1920s, European agriculture had recovered and American farmers found it more difficult to find export markets for their products.hat was an advantage to farmers in the United States, who increased production dramatically and were therefore able to export surplus food to European countries. But by the 1920s, European agriculture had recovered and American farmers found it more difficult to find export markets for their products." ]

[ "By . Sara Malm . PUBLISHED: . 03:04 EST, 12 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:34 EST, 12 June 2013 . A 'safe play scheme’ that encourages parents to apply for their street to be closed off to traffic so their children can play safely, has been launched. The Play Streets initiative will allow children to play on their car-free street for a few hours every fortnight without parents having to worry about traffic. The scheme, introduced in Reading, applies to residential streets only and has been introduced as an opportunity for neighbours to get to know each other better and foster community spirit. Safe game: Parents can apply to have their street closed for traffic for a few hours so children living in the neighbourhood can play safely together on the road . The scheme will go through a trial period of one year, Reading Borough Council said, and applicants need supporting signatures from around two-thirds of their neighbours to be considered for approval. This means that a street can be closed for up to three hours every fortnight even if some of the residents object to the vehicle ban. Tony Page, the council’s Lead Member for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, said there are some ‘clear benefits’ to the scheme for Reading. ‘Once established I am sure it will be something that is enjoyed by both young and older members of the community, much like the numerous street parties held across the borough were last year,' he said. All together: It is hoped that by closing the streets from traffic for a few hours will foster community spirit and bring neighbours closer (file photo) He added: ‘Some local authorities run schemes where they only close streets if there are no objections. We are not planning to go that far but it is important that any application has as much support as possible from the residents who live on that street’ Although a Play Street can be created on any day of the week, Reading Borough Council has asked residents to avoid bin collection days. Residents can apply for a Play Street day until July 12 with the first closure to be expected in early September." ]

[ "Rotherham Council spent £2million on a ‘personal vanity project’ to bring Dolly Parton to the town – at the same time as child sex grooming by mainly Pakistani men was being ignored. Roger Stone, its council leader at the time, is a lifelong fan of the country singer and persuaded her to set up a children’s reading project. She visited the town amid great fanfare in 2007 to launch the scheme, which now looks likely to close. The project aimed to attract support from businesses to pay for every child under five to receive a book every month but the council struggled to find sponsors. 'Vanity project': Former Rotherham Council leader Roger Stone is a lifelong fan of the country singer and persuaded her to set up a children’s reading project. Above, Mr Stone with Dolly Parton in Rotherham in 2007 . Mr Stone, who resigned in August after a report heavily criticised the authority for the grooming scandal, had persuaded Miss Parton to be the Imagination Library scheme’s patron. Don Buxton, a campaigner in the town who obtained details of the scheme through the Freedom of Information Act, said: ‘The Imagination Library is another one of those damaging, expensive, failed personal political vanity projects of the Roger Stone era.’ Emma Hoddinott, deputy leader of the Labour-dominated council, which is now to be run by government appointed commissioners after being branded unfit for purpose, said the future of the scheme is under review. Mr Stone is to be questioned next month by a Select Committee over failures by the council after more than 1,400 children were abused by gangs of mainly Pakistani men. Resignation: Mr Stone resigned from Rotherham Borough Council (headquarters pictured) in August after a report heavily criticised the authority for the grooming scandal . He was described as a ‘sexist bully’ in a later report into its handling of the scandal. In 2007, hundreds of businessmen and civic leaders were invited to the launch of the Imagination Library at Rotherham’s Magna science and technology centre. The launch, including a slap-up lunch, was rumoured to have cost more than £10,000, and Miss Parton, 69, played guitar and sang a handful of her hits, including Jolene. She spoke to the visitors about her poor upbringing and her resulting passion for reading. Worth an estimated £110million, Parton chose Rotherham to launch the scheme in Europe after being impressed that it had introduced a similar method locally.", "By . Sam Creighton . One family of troublemakers has cost taxpayers more than £250,000 in efforts to help them change their ways. The unnamed family from Havering, east London, has received advice on a number of areas, including parenting and debt management, over the last two years as part of the government's Troubled Families scheme - all paid for out of the public purse. A street in Havering, the London borough where the family who have received £250,000 are reported to live . A spokeswoman for Havering Council confirmed that the family are still on the scheme, meaning their issues are still not resolved. The family, which is believed to have several children, has sucked in £100,000 more than the average household on the scheme and more than three times the £72,696 a normal law abiding UK family can expect to earn during the same two-year period. The scheme, introduced after the 2011 riots, aims at getting households struggling with drug, crime and behavioural issues back on the straight and narrow but can, so far, only boast a nine per cent success rate. Jonathan Isaby, the chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, told the Daily Mirror: 'Those that cannot change their ways should not be entitled to limitless support at the expense of their law-abiding neighbours.' Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the programme was saving the taxpayer money by reducing the level of crime.", "Arsenal have been given the green light to proceed with a major expansion of their London Colney training ground. Following a recent Hertsmere borough council planning committee, the Premier League club was granted permission to demolish an equipment store and build a two-storey extension at the club's Green Belt grounds in Bell Lane. A club spokesman told the Herts Advertiser: 'The plans have to be presented to the Arsenal board for approval. If the scheme goes ahead it will transform our existing training facilities.' Arsenal's Arsene Wenger oversees a training session at the club's London Colney ground . Arsenal's training ground is located in a Green Belt area in the borough of Hertsmere . Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere (right) take part in some stretching exercises at London Colney . The Gunners train at a 57-hectare site on the edge of the borough of Hertsmere. Their bid, which has been supported by Sport England, has been proposed to accommodate first team facilities 'such as space for pilates, yoga and stretching'. Although relocation of the equipment shed will involve the removal of 140 trees, 280 replacement trees will be planted to cover the loss. The proposed expansion will see 140 trees removed but 280 new trees planted to replace them . Theo Walcott takes part in a sprinting drill, as Arsenal are granted permission to expand the training ground . The committee had been advised to approve the scheme due to 'very special circumstances', which include Arsenal's contribution to the local community and providing sporting activities for young people as well as their needs as a professional football club. The current buildings 'fail to provide sufficient facilities for strength and conditioning and analytical research which are essential for teams competing at the top level of European football,' a council officer's report said.", "Smokers who litter the streets with cigarette butts will be given a £30 shopping voucher if they complete a stop smoking course and quit the habit. The vouchers will be given to anyone who is fined for dropping smoking-related rubbish - such as butts and empty cigarette packets - and then completes a course commissioned by the council. Those who successfully give up smoking will be able to redeem the taxpayer-funded vouchers at a number of popular high street shops including Debenhams and Boots. Penalty: Under the scheme, those caught dropping cigarette butts and packets will receive a fixed-penalty notice of £80 - reduced to £55 if paid in 10 days. They will then be invited to attend a stop-smoking course . A public health charity said that the scheme could 'boost the resolve' of those who are struggling to quit. But opponents to the pilot programme, which launches in the London borough of Wandsworth next month, have branded it as 'bizarre'. They argue that it is unfair to rewards those who litter - adding that the council's money could be better spent elsewhere. Resident Alex Gore, 30, said: 'It's barmy. What about those who don't drop litter or have quit smoking off their own back? 'The council would be better off providing more bins with ashtrays on top then doing a bonkers gimmick like this.' Writing on the council website, another resident Kim Willott said: 'Whilst its easy to blame the people who do it the council should provide more bins.' John O'Connell, Director for the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: 'This is utterly bizarre. Litterbugs are fined for the obvious reason that it costs money to clean up. Expensive problem: Wandsworth council said itaiming to reduce smoking by 3 per cent next year . 'Rewarding those who continue to do it is a strange brand of justice. The scheme is clearly open to abuse, and needs to be rethought \" Under the plans, those caught dropping cigarette butts and packets will receive a fixed-penalty notice of £80 - reduced to £55 if paid in 10 days. Offenders will be given the option of attending a stop-smoking course commissioned by the council and will be given the £30 upon completing the programme. A spokeswoman for charity Action on Smoking Health said: 'Most smokers want to quit so this incentive scheme could boost the resolve of those who are struggling to kick the habit. 'Combining the anti-litter initiative with helping people to stop smoking should be beneficial all round as it will save money and improve the health of those who succeed in quitting smoking.' Health spokesman Cllr Jim Maddan said: 'We know that 65 per cent of smokers want to quit, but often they don't know where to turn for help. This scheme will help them find that help. 'Stopping smoking is the single most beneficial thing anyone can do for their health. 'We won't force people to sign up for a stop smoking course, but we hope that this £30 voucher will encourage them to take the first step.' The vouchers are available at a range of shops Debenhams, HMV, River Island, House of Fraser, H Samuel, Habitat, Toys R Us, Homebase and Clinton Cards among others. The council handed out fines to 614 people for littering in 2013-14, around half for smoking-related rubbish. The borough said it spends £4million picking up 7,000 tonnes of litter from the streets every year. It is aiming to reduce smoking by 3 per cent next year and claims to have helped more than 6,500 smokers to quit since 2010. Reward: The taxpayer-funded vouchers can be redeemed at a number of popular high street shops including Debenhams (pictured), River Island and Boots. The scheme has been branded as 'bonkers' by opponents .", "Furious fish shop owners have slammed a council after it spent £3,000 of taxpayers' cash on a guide on how to make their chips. The six-page document goes into minute detail on how thick each chip should be, as well as recommending exact temperatures for frying and informing workers that fries should be 'golden' in colour. Chippie owners criticised Cheltenham Borough Council bureaucrats for the guide, calling it patronising and unnecessary. A council spent £3,000 on the guides on how to cook chips, which advises chippie owners to cut chips to at least 14mm, slightly more than half an inch, in width . Chip shop owners are advised that chips should be served when they are a 'pale, golden colour' The detailed document, written by the Food Standards Agency, explains to workers how they can 'make the food they serve healthier' while saving money. The initiative, launched by Cheltenham's local authority, then explains that the best chips are made  'using a cutter with at least a 14mm (just more than half an inch) cross section'. Chip shop workers are then told to heat their fryer to 175C before putting potatoes in, cooking them for 5-6 minutes until they are a 'pale, golden colour'. Despite the lengthy description on how long a chip should be cooked for - 5-6 minutes - the guide says it is sometimes better just to follow instructions on the packet. The guidance reads: 'Frozen chips may only take 2-3 minutes – businesses should follow the manufacturer’s instructions.' They should also make sure they wash their fryers and change their oil often. The council document also suggests using rapeseed or sunflower oils, which are 'high oleic' - or high in unsaturated fats. The guide also recommends using salt shakers with fewer holes in and asking customers whether they want salt on their fries. Andreo Michael, who owns Norwood Fish Bar in Cheltenham, said: 'If you've been in the business like me since 1980 you don't need to be told how to do chips. 'Some people might need telling, but I don't need them telling me what to do.' Chips tips: Banging and shaking chips before serving them can reduce oil for customers, the advice says . Chips should be fried on their own to ensure oil quality is not affected, according to the document . The document also advises on the correct oils to be used to fry chips, suggesting 'high oleic' oils . The six-page document, branded as patronising by chip shop workers, suggests using salt shakers with fewer holes and asking customers whether they want salt . James Ritchie, 28, who owns Simpsons Fish and Chips in the Gloucestershire town, said: 'We try really hard to make sure we know these things anyway. 'We have our food nutritionally tested so for us this would not be a good experience for us. 'I would go to the National Federation of Fish Friers for advice and not the council. They couldn't tell us anything. There is nothing they could tell us that we don't already know.' Gloucestershire County Council has allocated £40,000 to Cheltenham Borough Council to fund health improvement schemes in 2013/14 and 2014/15. The guide says: 'By shaking the chips and banging the wire scoop several times, you can reduce fat absorption by 20% and make your chips crisper. 'This is because chips carry on absorbing fat after they come out of the fryer. 'If you bang and shake you’ll use less oil, need to top up less often, and need to empty the drain in the chip box less often.' Just over £20,000 has been awarded to five projects in the town this year - including the so-called 'healthy chip' scheme, which costs £3,000. It is hoped that the scheme will help reduce the amount of oil absorbed into deep fried foods, consequently reducing obesity levels in low-income areas. A spokesman for the TaxPayers' Alliance branded the guide a 'ludicrous' move. He said: 'When we're trying to make savings it beggars belief the council is doing takeaway training. 'The idea that it's appropriate to spend taxpayers' money telling chip shop owners how to cut chips is just ludicrous. 'They must think again - even the beneficiaries of this bizarre scheme don't seem particularly keen on it. 'If the Council wants people in low-income areas to be able to buy healthier, but often more expensive, food it should think about cutting council tax.' Jamie Ritchie, owner of Simpsons Fish and Chips in Cheltenham, said the council could not tell him anything he did not already know . Chips should be served when they are a 'pale, golden colour', the document says (file picture) But Councillor Rowena Hay, cabinet member for healthy lifestyles on Cheltenham Borough Council, defended the policy. She said: 'The project is about encouraging and supporting takeaways in low-income communities to serve healthier food. 'Its aim is to encourage small takeaway businesses to implement simple procedural changes to the way they fry food so as to produce a healthier product. 'We want to actively encourage healthier eating in any community in order to reduce obesity and long term illness and this project will help in doing this.' According to the guidance, shops should use liquid oils, such as sunflower and rapeseed, heated to 175C before each batch, for 'crispier, more appealing chips'. The document's advice on cutting down on salt reads: . 'Lots of people are trying to cut down on the amount of salt they eat. You can help your customers to do this by doing these things. • 'Use a salt shaker with fewer holes – just ask your supplier if they provide five-hole tops. • 'Ask your customers if they want salt before adding it. • 'Don’t add salt to batter mix. If you buy batter mix, check the ingredients and try to choose one that doesn’t contain salt or sodium. • 'Read the label on foods like sauces, sausages and pies and choose the one with less salt (or it might say ‘sodium’). If there’s no information on salt, ask your supplier.' The advice on cooking healthy chips was also condensed into a two-page document, pictured here . Researchers claim the oil is essential when it comes to frying and it should be sieved and reheated at the end of every batch. The guide adds that 'the ratio of food to oil should be 1:6' and 'baskets shouldn't look more than half full'. Research suggests that most retailers complete a full oil change every 2-4 weeks, but this should actually be done after 20 frying hours, it explains. Chips must be cooked in a fryer without any other food contact and the chef should shake them and bang them with a wire scoop several times after cooking. Research suggests this simple movement can reduce fat absorption by 20 per cent, making the chips crisper. They are also advised to offer smaller portion sizes, 'for people with smaller appetites'.", "PUBLISHED: . 05:13 EST, 14 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 08:01 EST, 14 March 2014 . Tourists visiting Britain's capital may soon be able to dawdle for longer without upsetting the city's notoriously short-tempered drivers. London is road testing 'intelligent' pedestrian crossings designed to read the requirements of the crossing throngs and offer a safer way to get from A to B. Busy drivers will welcome the 'call cancel' technology, which cancels the traffic stop action if a pedestrian wanders off after pressing the button, while video cameras and sensors will automatically detect how many people are waiting as well as the speed of the crossing pedestrians. Safety first: TfL is road testing intelligent crossings that read the requirements of the pedestrian traffic . The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and Transport for London (TfL) hope that the new pedestrian SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) system will eventually help make it easier and safer for millions people to cross the road throughout the capital. The first trials of SCOOT will . take place on crossings outside busy Balham and Tooting Bec Underground . stations this summer. They are part of an ongoing road safety system in the city, including the recent Pedestrian Countdown technology which was successfully rolled out in 200 locations. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: . 'I am delighted that London is the first city in the world to be . trialling this cutting-edge equipment, which will benefit pedestrians . across the city. The hi-tech systems will be trialled at two of London's busiest tube stations this summer . 'This . really is a fantastic example of how London is leading the way by using . 21st century technology to help make it easier for people to get around . our great city. 'Innovation like this is key to keeping London moving efficiently and making our roads safer for everyone to use.' TfL's Leon Daniels said of the crossings of the future: 'These new trials of pedestrian detection technology will allow our traffic signals to become even more intelligent, bringing huge benefits to those waiting to cross the road where there is heavy pedestrian demand.' Depending on the outcome of the summer trials TfL hopes to develop the technology to use at other busy pedestrian areas such as sporting venues and busy high streets.", "A new garden city is to be built in Oxfordshire as part of the Coalition's plans to deal with the housing shortage, Nick Clegg has confirmed. Bicester has been chosen as the site for the new town, which will have up to 13,000 new homes. The proposals will be outlined in the National Infrastructure Plan being published tomorrow when ministers are also set to announce a range of other housing measures. The £100m new garden city, with 13,000 new homes  will be developed in Bicester, pictured, . Earlier this year, the Government announced that Ebbsfleet in Kent had been picked to become the first modern garden city. Bicester expressed an interest in following suit and is in line for a new railway station to serve the expanded population as part of rail plans previously announced by the Deputy Prime Minister. Mr Clegg told the Daily Telegraph: 'The Liberal Democrats have long argued that garden cities are an idea whose time has come again. 'I am delighted that Bicester can now be confirmed as a pioneer in what I hope will be another wave of garden cities in this country. 'This is a significant victory for the approach championed by the Coalition Government - where local areas put their hand up and say we want to become a garden city or garden town.' Earlier the Government announced that Ebbsfleet in Kent, pictured, would be the first modern garden city . In the 1920s, the then government created so-called garden cities such as Welwyn Garden City, pictured, to create high quality homes in locations within a relatively short distance from London on major rail links . He added: 'Bicester will get help from the Government with both significant capital investment and in helping developers build the amenities that are required to be a true garden town. 'I hope many other towns will follow Bicester's lead and we will see more garden cities spring up that have the affordable, well-designed homes with proper transport links; services and amenities, which our young families want and need.' Under the garden city initiative, a series of new communities with green spaces, sustainable transport and spacious homes will be built. Mr Clegg has previously claimed the Conservatives 'held back the development of garden cities on the scale necessary' and promised at least ten will be created if the Liberal Democrats are part of the next government. Welwyn Garden City, pictured, was second garden city after Letchworth and one of the first new towns .", "By . Jaymi Mccann . PUBLISHED: . 15:03 EST, 19 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:05 EST, 20 July 2013 . MPs have backed a council’s bid to ban spitting on the streets and make it a criminal offence. Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles agreed with Enfield Council that the practice is 'deeply anti-social'. The London borough applied to Mr Pickles to be given provisional approval to bring in a by-law to bring a stop to spitting in public 'without reasonable excuse' and the council has now been given the go-ahead to proceed. Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles agreed with Enfield Council that the practice is 'deeply anti-social' The council’s cabinet member for environment Councillor Chris Bond said: 'This is a victory for the people of Enfield who were overwhelmingly in favour of a ban on spitting in this borough. 'It is an awful and disgusting habit and I’m delighted we can now get on with banning this filthy practice. I hope other local authorities will now follow suit. The council's cabinet member for environment Councillor Chris Bond said it is a victory for the people of Enfield . 'Our campaign to end this practice has resonated with people all over the United Kingdom and we’ve had a number of other councils contact us and say they are considering a similar ban.' A month-long period of consultation will take place before Mr Pickles is then asked to confirm the by-law. It would come into force one month after confirmation. Mr Pickles said: 'Spitting is a deeply anti-social and unpleasant practice. 'Spitting on Britain’s streets is not socially acceptable. 'In light of the cross-party support and backing of ruling and opposition groups, we are giving the go-ahead to new powers for Enfield Council to tackle these localised problems.' The new by-law would be enforced by magistrates’ courts. Provisional approval had previously been granted to Doncaster Council to also ban spitting on the streets, but Enfield would be the first London borough to bring in the by-law.", "The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham wants dog owners to pick up their pets' droppings and use bins provided (pictured) A London council is to introduce CSI-style DNA testing for dogs so it can track and fine owners who don't clean up after their animals. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham wants dog owners to submit a DNA sample from the inside of the animal's cheek so it is registered on a database. The council would then use stored information to match the animal responsible with any errant mess found on the streets - and issue the owner an £80 fine. The laboratory testing is believed to be 99.9 per cent accurate. The council hopes that the collection of DNA samples would fit well with new national laws requiring all owners in Britain to microchip their dogs by April next year. And while it will mean an expense for the council, they believe it will represent value for money for residents as similar schemes in the US have reduced dog fouling by up to 90 per cent. The move is part of efforts from the council to reduce its £2.3million annual street cleansing bill. Although the methods may seem extreme, Council leader Councillor Darren Rodwell claims they are necessary to clean up the borough. He said: 'We are the first Council in the country to get really tough on dog mess and pet owners who do not act in a socially responsible way. 'The vast majority of dog owners in Barking and Dagenham are socially responsible but unfortunately a selfish few think it's ok to not clean up after their pet. 'Dog mess not only spoils our streets – it's also a health hazard and especially to young children which is why we are using this innovative approach.' The scheme is currently being discussed under the tagline Leading A New Way - but there are no plans as yet to make it mandatory. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Civic Centre pictured, will become the first in the UK to introduce the plans which will allow them to match dog mess to owners and issue fines . They're currently in discussion with stakeholders including the Kennel Club, Keep Britain Tidy and Streetkleen, the company which will run the DNA testing, on how owners can be encouraged to submit the samples. Streetkleen managing director Gary Downie said: 'I believe the combination of DNA testing and enforcement could be the most effective means of ensuring owners are held accountable for their dog's actions. 'In the US, we have experienced reductions in dog fouling by as much as 90 per cent after introducing the programme. 'For the vast majority of responsible dog owners this should pose no problem at all. 'In fact, we believe that the minimal cost involved in the DNA testing will pose value for money when the selfish minority of dog owners are brought to task.'", "By . Ray Massey . PUBLISHED: . 15:07 EST, 30 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:07 EST, 30 November 2012 . Protest groups and 15 councils will seek to stop the Government’s controversial £34billion high speed HS2 rail project dead in its tracks when they challenge the ‘fundamentally flawed’ project in the High Court from Monday. Ahead of the legal battle they warned ministers: ’You may ignore our protests but you can’t ignore the courts.’ Teams of barristers led by QCs will present five separate legal challenges against the Department for Transport on environmental and financial grounds over a nine day period to prevent the ‘damning blight’ of homes and countryside close to the line. Money wasted: Protesters say the new HS2 project has been 'an abysmal business case and represents extremely poor value for hard pressed taxpayers' money' The judicial reviews are being launched by the umbrella group 51M representing 15 councils along the route, two challenges by the HS2 Action Alliance, as well as Heathrow Hub Ltd and Aylesbury Park Golf Club. The first phase of the scheme for the 225mph trains involves a 143 mile route from London to Birmingham by 2026, followed by a ‘Y’ shaped split to Leeds and Manchester in the North by 2033. Objections to be put to the High Court include Government failure to provide accurate information, failure to comply to environmental statute, failure to assess the impact on communities, failure to adequately assess alternatives, failure to consider the impact of HS2 on other parts of the transport infrastructure, and that the decision on compensation failed to meet Government promises and relied on ‘undisclosed information’. Proceedings start on Monday December 3 and is expected to conclude Tuesday December 11 with the councils first to fire their legal broadside . Transport mess: High Speed HS2 protest poster showing former Transport Secretary Justine Greening and current one Patrick McLoughlin portrayed as Laurel and Hardy . Councillor Martin Tett, Chairman of the 51m alliance and leader of Buckinghamshire County Council said: ‘We are doing this with immense reluctance; however we feel that we have been left with no alternative. ‘ . He said the project has ‘an abysmal business case and represents extremely poor value for hard pressed taxpayers' money’. ‘Far better alternatives exist to . build the infrastructure the country desperately needs more quickly and . at far lower cost. We cannot let the Department for Transport with its . atrocious record on managing key investment decisions not answer for why . these have been ignored.’ Councillor Sarah Hayward, Leader of . Camden Council, said: ‘The judicial review enables us to highlight the . impact of this fundamentally flawed scheme, through the legal system. ‘This scheme will bring a damning . blight to Camden that could last for decades, and the council will fight . for every home and business, brick by brick.’ Stop HS2 Campaign Coordinator Joe . Rukin said: ‘We have been waiting for our day in court for a long while . and it is a shame it has had to come to this, but the Government have . failed to listen to any point we have made so far.’ Protested project: Former Transport Secretary Justine Greening speaks to the media on the Southeastern High Speed platform at St Pancras Station in London as the HS2 high-speed rail project was given the green light . Penny Gaines, who chaise the Stop HS2 . campaign said: 'The Department for Transport have failed in their duty . to adequately assess the environmental impact of HS2.‘ . Hilary Wharf , Director, HS2 Action . Alliance said: ‘The Government is trying to force through HS2 without . following proper process.  Our cases concern environmental issues and . the consultation on compensation.’ ‘We are confident in our arguments. While Government has consistently ignored the compelling case against . HS2, they can’t ignore the courts.' She added: ‘We have raised the money . for the legal actions from many hundreds of individual donations from . ordinary people who feel angered and frustrated by the Government's . flawed decision to proceed. The 15 local authorities party to the 51M group’s Judicial Review are: . Buckinghamshire County CouncilLondon Borough of HillingdonLondon Borough of CamdenAylesbury Vale District Council Cherwell District Council, OxfordshireChiltern District CouncilLichfield District Council StaffordshireNorth Warwickshire Borough CouncilSouth Bucks District CouncilSouth Northamptonshire CouncilStratford-on-Avon District Council, WarwickshireThree Rivers District Council, HertfordshireWarwick District CouncilWarwickshire County CouncilWycombe District Council. Affected resident Jaqi Curruthers, from South Heath in Buckinghamshire said: ’We’ve lived here for 11 years and have three children in local schools. 'My partner has built a business in Essex over the last five years and we were hoping to move to be closer to his work. 'But as our house is 400 metres from the proposed line we are not entitled to any compensation and we are left with a big mortgage on a house that is effectively worthless.’ A Department for Transport spokesman  said: ’HS2 will bring cities closer together, drive regeneration, tackle overcrowding and stimulate economic growth. ‘While it would not be appropriate to comment on the specific claims, the Government is confident that the decisions on HS2 have been taken lawfully and fairly and it is vigorously defending these legal challenges.’ The Prime Minister this week gave a ‘personal undertaking’ to review compensation schemes for properties affected by the planned high speed 2 rail link after being challenged by his former Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan. Ms Gillan, whose Chesham and Amersham seat will be home to part of the route, urged a generous package for those who live and work nearby. Mr Cameron said: ‘I absolutely give that undertaking that I will look carefully at the scheme. We are consulting, as you know, at the moment.’", "By . Ruth Whitehead . PUBLISHED: . 06:17 EST, 17 March 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:01 EST, 17 March 2012 . ‘Vet detectives’ could be brought in to trace owners who allow their dogs to foul in public places. Council bosses in Lancashire are in discussions with a forensic vet over plans to DNA-test dog faeces which could then be traced back to the canine culprits and their owners. The scheme has been used effectively in some European countries and the USA and is seen as a possible option to help tackle the growing problem of dog-fouling in the south Lancashire borough of Hyndburn. Man's best friend? Dog fouling has become such a problem in Hyndburn in Lancashire that the council wants to set up a DNA database so that canine culprits can be traced . Last year Hyndburn council voted to call on the Government to increase the maximum fixed penalty notices for dog fouling from £75 to £1,000. Councillor Ken Moss, who proposed the scheme, said he was then contacted by the vet after reading about the story but insisted talks are still at an ‘early stage’. If given the go-ahead, it would be one of the first schemes of its kind in the country. Cllr Moss, who is chairman of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee, said: 'I am led to believe there are only two of these vets in Britain and they work by analysing the samples and identifying the dog by DNA. 'It’s something that has been used in . tourism hot spots on the continent and is something they are looking to . get a foot-hold of here in England. Green and pleasant land: The scheme has already been rolled out on the continent to preserve the beauty of favourite tourist spots . 'I will be talking to the vet to find . out how feasible that will be. I don’t know what it would cost. It . would probably rely on some database and we would need to find out if it . is feasible. 'It might be that it’s unrealistic and cost too much or rely too much on voluntary information from the public. 'We have only had preliminary talks and nothing has been signed and sealed.' Similar schemes in the USA and Germany have relied on a DNA database with either fur or saliva samples being taken from dogs in a local area. Any dog faeces found in public places are then tested and cross-checked against the DNA database to identify the offenders. Harvey Locke, former president of the British Veterinary Association and a practising vet, said current UK legislation would make it difficult to introduce a dog DNA database. Bag it, bin it or take it home: Hyndburn council wants to be able to fine dog-owners who let their dogs foul in public places up to £1,000 . He said: “It is possible to identify dogs from a faeces sample but you need to have a database with all the dogs in the area to identify a particular dog. 'It sounds fine in principle but there are questions about where the database would be held and who would fund it. 'If somebody has seen a dog fouling and wants to report a particular dog you would need to take a sample and that would require the owner’s consent. I am not aware of any legal framework that would allow this to happen.' The proposals are the latest in a series of measures being taken by the council to help tackle the amount of dog mess littering the streets. PCSOs are being urged to issue dog fouling fines and extra dog warden patrols have been arranged. A Cabinet Action Day was also held in December in the nearby picturesque village of Rishton, during which thousands of dog waste bags were handed out around the village.", "Council officials have been left red-faced after a spelling blunder was printed on the side of a mobile library. The bus, which delivers books to children, was meant to bear the slogan 'Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body'. But 'exercise' was misspelt on the yellow van as 'exersice'. Council officials at Somerset County Council were left red-faced after the word 'exercise' was spelled incorrectly on the side of a mobile library (pictured) The error was spotted by Robert Colledge when the vehicle pulled into the village of Isle Brewers, near Taunton. The 65-year-old said: 'I did think it was quite ironic. I asked the driver if the misspelling was a deliberate attempt to attract people to the library. 'He said it wasn't a deliberate typo, and that I was the first person to mention it. He'd spotted it himself, but hadn't been able to correct it.' A Somerset County Council spokesman said: 'We are aware of the mistake on this particular mobile library and as far as we are aware this is the only vehicle with the mistake. 'It will be corrected at a minimal cost.' The error was spotted by Robert Colledge when the van pulled into the village of Isle Brewers, near Taunton .", "With as many as nine different bins and boxes, it is no wonder some of us find recycling fairly confusing. But now councils have found a way of shaming those who sort their waste incorrectly – attaching red tags to the offending containers. In a pilot scheme, those who put, for example, a margarine pot in a bin meant for plastic bottles, will find that instead of emptying it, waste collectors will attach a red label saying ‘wrong stuff, wrong bin’. Confusing: Residents who do not recycle correctly will not have the offending waste collected (file photo) Binmen will also be issued with green ‘right stuff, right bin’ tags for containers that are correctly filled. Yoghurt pots, plastic food trays and carrier bags are among the items most often placed in the wrong bin. One area adopting the scheme is Bolton. Councillor Elaine Sherrington, the Labour authority's cabinet member for waste, recycling and housing, said: 'A large number of people in the borough already work hard at recycling most of their waste. 'However, some people still struggle to identify the correct items for each bin and this could be for a number of reasons. 'It is always good to try new ideas to raise the level of recycling, which in turn saves the town money. I hope people will get involved with this new initiative which should make a difference.' Bin collection: Residents in Halliwell already have to sort their waste into four wheelie bins (file photo) Residents already have to sort their waste into four wheelie bins, and under the pilot scheme - operating in the Halliwell area - if they dispose of an item in the wrong one, it will be left unemptied. The Right Stuff, Right Bin campaign is being introduced into other areas of Greater Manchester, all chosen for their poor recycling record, and is intended as a short-term measure in conjunction with an information campaign. An initial pilot in nearby Rochdale increased recycling by 56 per cent and reduced cross-contamination by 61 per cent. The scheme is funded by Recycle for Greater Manchester which said the region's 42 per cent recycling rate cost residents £25million a year which would be better spent on schools and community projects. Last week it emerged that Gwynedd council in North Wales is proposing to cut its rubbish collection to once every three weeks, to the fury of some residents.", "By . Eleanor Harding . PUBLISHED: . 20:21 EST, 31 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:21 EST, 31 January 2013 . Councils in Kensington and Chelsea claim bins attract more litter . A council has decided to remove all litter bins from residential streets with the extraordinary claim they ‘attract more rubbish’. Officials in Kensington and Chelsea claim bins encourage fly-tipping and increase - rather than decrease - the level of litter on the streets. The West London borough is home to some of the most expensive houses in the UK, with some costing many millions of pounds. From now on, passers-by will only be allowed to dispose of rubbish in busy areas, including shopping and tourist streets. Last night, residents hit out at the plans, which they say would lead to more rubbish building up outside their homes. Amanda Salvesen, 27, a PR manager from Earl’s Court, said: ‘I don’t think they have asked the local residents. They are always full, people use them. They should be adding more, not taking them away.’ But the council defended its position by saying businesses were dumping large quantities of waste in the bins. In a trial in Earl’s Court Road, council officers reported only a very slight increase in littering when bins were removed. Kathy Way, head of waste at the council, said in a report: ‘There are two schools of thought regarding litter bins; one is that litter bins are needed for the public to use, indeed that some members of the public look for litter bins in which to deposit waste, otherwise they may take it home or drop it on the street. ‘The other is that litter bins attract more rubbish, some of which can be unpaid-for commercial waste and domestic waste.’ Cadogan Place in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea where the no-bin strategy is being adopted . Oakley Street (left) and Horton Street (right) are in the affluent borough of Kensington and Chelsea . The scheme follows the council’s ‘naked . streets’ policy of taking away all road markings, signs and pedestrian . barriers from Exhibition Road. It is the first council in London to pursue an anti-bin strategy which, could be repeated elsewhere if successful. The move was prompted by the fact that its bins have been on the streets for more than 15 years and are costly to repair or replace, the Evening Standard reported. Kensington and Chelsea is home to Egerton Crescent, which was last year named the most expensive street in Britain. Egerton Crescent, named the most expensive street in Britain, is in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea where bins will be removed .", "One in five people who bought their council home in one of Britain’s wealthiest areas was receiving housing benefit when they applied, it has emerged. The revelation centres on the London borough of Westminster, and comes after a Government watchdog warned fraudulent purchases under the Right to Buy scheme have increased 400 per cent in two years. One fear is that hard-up tenants are being ‘gifted’ cash by private firms to buy their homes at a cut-price rate. Scroll down for video . The revelation centres on the London borough of Westminster, and comes after a Government watchdog warned fraudulent purchases under the Right to Buy scheme have increased 400 per cent in two years . After buying a property, the company can then sell them on to private landlords for a profit, who will let them at market value. In Westminster, 22 per cent of Right to Buy sales were to people in receipt of housing benefit when they applied, dropping to 11 per cent upon completion. It begs the question of how council tenants who qualify for housing benefit could suddenly afford to buy properties outright in one of the most expensive parts of the country. Anyone who has more than £16,000 in savings is not eligible for housing benefit. A report also found that 31 per cent of former council homes are now owned by private landlords and can be let for more than £800 a week in the capital’s second-most expensive borough. Councillors have warned of a ‘property bonanza’ – and said many tenants claim the money was a gift from overseas, making it near impossible to trace. Last summer, it emerged that a property company had leafleted 60,000 council house tenants offering six-figure rewards for working with them to buy and then sell their homes. Councillor Lindsey Hall, anti-fraud tsar for Tory-run Westminster, believes Right to Buy should stay . Nicholas Carlino, a director of London Investment Property Group, told an undercover Sunday Times reporter that he was making so much money snapping up homes that had been undervalued by the council and selling them on that he would ‘never have to work again’. The scheme was entirely legal. Councillor Lindsey Hall, anti-fraud tsar for Tory-run Westminster, told BBC London’s Inside Out programme: ‘I passionately believe Right to Buy needs to stay, but it needs to be very tightly managed and not fuelling a property bonanza for individuals swanning around estates in grand Mercedes and BMWs.’ Labour-run Islington council said Right to Buy sales had risen from only a handful to more than 300 since tenants’ discounts were increased two years ago. In some cases, discounts now amount to more than £100,000. Councillor James Murray told the programme: ‘It’s hard – we build them and then lose them via Right to Buy which then becomes buy to let.’ Right to Buy was first launched by Margaret Thatcher in 1980 to help council tenants get on the property ladder. In March 2012, the Government announced it would ‘reinvigorate’ the policy, raising the cap on discounts and ensuring that new council homes were built. But an Audit Commission report last year found Right to Buy fraud had increased by more than 400 per cent since the reforms. Westminster said it now refers all Right to Buy applications from tenants on housing benefit to be checked for fraud. Inside Out London will air tonight at 7.30pm on BBC1.", "By . Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 11:06 EST, 14 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:11 EST, 14 October 2013 . Council workers will be paid thousands of pounds to park their cars - even if they do not drive to work, it was revealed today. Staff will receive up to £800 each next year as compensation for moving to new offices with less parking - but the handout will be given even if workers walk, cycle or use public transport. Eastleigh Borough Council in Hampshire will pay the sums to around 400 employees, because there are only six spaces at its new town centre headquarters. Changing locations: The car park at the Eastleigh Borough Council offices in Hampshire. Staff will receive up to £800 each next year as compensation for moving to new offices with less parking . But angry tax campaigners have branded the payouts 'ridiculous'. It comes as the authority relocates from a site with free parking to a new £12million home less than two miles away. The lowest paid staff will get £800 for the next three years, falling gradually to £267 by 2021/22 - a total of £4,801. Top earners will receive £533 for the first year, dropping to nothing by 2017/18. Eleanor McGrath, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: ‘Moving the council offices might be a slight inconvenience for staff. But it is ridiculous that this allowance is going to those that catch the bus or bike to work. ‘Most local residents who commute pay . for their own travel, so they will find it hard to swallow that their . council tax is being used in this way. ‘At a time when budgets are . tight, the council should focus on saving taxpayers' cash and delivering . frontline services, not paying for staff perks.’ Statement: The authority says its current home is in need of repair and moving to the 'more accessible' new site will be cheaper than refurbishing the old offices . Even the council's new chief executive will have to pay for parking at the new site, which only has three spaces for pool cars and three disabled bays. Moving: The new offices for Eastleigh Borough Council in Hampshire are still being built . An annual parking permit in the town costs £1,067. Today, residents reacted in anger to the announcement. Health carer Kate Omondi, 30, from Eastleigh, said other workers would find the payouts unfair. She added: ‘Any other person who works in other town centre offices has to pay to park. People who already work there will feel it's unfair they have to pay but council workers don't. Why should we pay for their parking when we have to pay ourselves?’ The council defended the 'self-funding' scheme, saying its current home is in need of repair and moving to the 'more accessible' new site will be cheaper than refurbishing the old offices. A council spokesman said: ‘This time-limited scheme recognises the transitional costs for staff in this move. The scheme will be self-funding and will not be a cost to borough residents over the life of the scheme.’ Councillors will be able to claim back parking fees on expenses. Council leader Keith House said for some workers it would be more convenient if they lived in Eastleigh or because the building was close to rail and bus links. But union chiefs said the payments showed 'contempt' for staff. Peter Terry, regional organiser for union Unison, argued staff would still face paying out more money, due to the parking permit cost. He said: ‘It is saying to continue working for us you can pay £200 for the privilege - that's disgraceful. ‘These are staff having to do more, work harder because the demand is much greater on services and there's fewer staff doing it. It shows a contempt for the employees.’ The council spokesman said they could not put an overall figure on the payments, following the relocation next spring. He added: 'The scheme would be self-funding and would likely not include staff who join after April. The report has been taken to cabinet but is still out for consultation.'", "By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 00:23 EST, 27 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:14 EST, 27 May 2013 . Attacker: The E-Fit portrait of the man which was put together by his 12-year-old victim . This is the face of a man wanted by police for raping a schoolgirl as she played in a park near her home. The 12-year-old child helped a police specialist put together electronically the distinctive image of the rapist who is believed to be about 45 years old. He struck in a play park where the victim was alone and raped her in adjoining woodland. A senior detective said last night: . 'I urge anyone who recognises the description or the man in this picture . or who has any information on the incident, to get in touch . immediately.' The girl was raped alongside the play park in Harrowden, near Bradville, Milton Keynes, Bucks. A . spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that the incident happened . between 2.50pm and 3.30pm in woodland at the end of a play park in . Harrowden. 'The victim, a . 12-year-old girl, had been on her own in the play park when she was . sexually assaulted in an area close to the park after which the offender . fled.' Detective . Inspector Phil Hayes, in charge of the probe, said: 'The man we want to . speak to is white, tanned, around 6ft 3ins tall and of skinny build. 'He was aged around 45, wearing a . black leather jacket, blue jeans and Dr Martens-style boots. It is . believed he spoke with a Scottish accent, had a cut to his lip and had . black shaved hair with flecks of grey. 'We take all allegations of a sexual nature very seriously and we are continuing to investigate this report fully.' Just . hours after detectives issued the image they were called to a new . incident in which a schoolgirl was attacked on a bridge and sexually . assaulted. The . latest incident happened at 7.30 in the morning as the girl was walking . over the bridge towards Avebury Boulevard, Milton, Keynes, Bucks. Police said that she was pushed over and then molested by a man wearing boots with steel toecaps. It was not yet known whether the same man was responsible for both incidents.", "By . Press Association Reporter . Reading have revealed they are entering into a 'partnership' with a consortium led by 76-year-old Thai businesswoman Khunying Sasima Srivikorn. The club announced on Thursday afternoon that a deal has been agreed with chairman Sir John Madejski to 'take Reading Football Club forward'. But both Madejski and Khunying Sasima stressed that the formalities are still to be completed. Sealed with a kiss: Sir John Madejski has reached an agreement with a Thai consortium . Trophy boy: Madejski (right) will be hoping the investment can boost Reading's promotion chances . 'I am absolutely delighted to be entering into this partnership with Sir John, and working with a club with such a strong reputation,' Khunying Sasima told the club's official website. 'I and my fellow investors look forward to supporting Sir John and working toward a successful future together. 'We still have some formalities to complete and plenty of work ahead of us - but we are excited about what lies ahead.' Boost: Nigel Adkins will be hoping the investment includes funds for his transfer kitty . Madejski added: 'I am delighted with these developments and would like to officially welcome Khunying Sasima to Reading Football Club. 'The club were not intending to make any comment until all the formalities have been completed, but for the sake of clarity we believe it is in everyone's interest to release this statement now. 'Upon the completion of all the necessary procedures we will of course update everyone further, and in the meantime I am sure you share my excitement at the possibilities ahead.'", "By . Amanda Williams . PUBLISHED: . 06:40 EST, 30 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:59 EST, 30 April 2013 . It is surely the bane of drivers' lives - discovering what you think is the perfect parking spot, only for it to be ruined by the appearance of a set of double yellow lines. But at just four foot wide, and far too narrow to fit a car down, it was unlikely any motorists were going to risk a ticket down this lane. This 'ridiculous' set of double yellow lines, painted by bungling council workers on a Wiltshire lane,  have now been covered over after complaints from residents. Swindon Borough Council became was branded a laughing stock when the lines appeared earlier this year. A 'ridiculous' set of double yellow lines were painted by council workers on a Swindon lane which is too narrow to drive down . The council blamed the gaffe on contractors, incredibly saying the workers had forgotten 'just how big cars actually are'. There was just 13 inches of space between the two sets of yellow lines - which is roughly the width of some high-end car tyres, and barely wide enough to fit a toy car between. The council blamed the gaffe on contractors, incredibly saying the workers had forgotten 'just how big cars actually are'. A spokesman for the council has now confirmed the yellow lines have now been covered over in black paint. They said: 'The lines will be burnt off, but in the meantime they have been painted over as a temporary measure.' The yellow lines were in a lane so narrow a man struggles to walk in the space in between them (left)  and (right) resident Liz Adams in the lane, now the council has 'erased them' using black paint . Ray Mudhar, the owner of Ray's Autos near the alleyway double yellow lines in Swindon, previously described the gaffe as 'one of the stupidest things I've ever seen.' He said: 'When me and my mate saw it we were just laughing our heads off. It's a waste of time, waste of money and waste of material. 'The only thing you could get down there would be a bike and no-one is going to leave a bike parked up there. 'They have painted down all the alleys around here. I can see why, because emergency vehicles need to get through and there is no room if there are parked cars. 'This is ridiculous though.'", "By . Anna Edwards . A council is considering urging taxi firms to provide cheaper cab fares for women who wear revealing clothes. Brentwood Borough Council is considering the bizarre move in a bid to stop women wearing short skirts or low-cut tops becoming a target for sex attackers. The council is considering discounted taxi prices so that 'provocatively dressed' women can be driven back home and have less of a problem getting a ride. The council is considering discounted taxi prices so that women in 'provocative' clothes can be driven back home safely . Cllr Chris Hossack is heading a new action group set up by Brentwood Borough Council - the setting for The Only Way Is Essex - to tackle issues facing the town’s night-time economy. He came under fire yesterday when he accused reality TV show TOWIE of encouraging sex assaults on women. Cllr Hossack said female stars of the show - who sometimes wear revealing clothes - were responsible for more young girls dressing provocatively. And he said the ITV1 show encourages men to try to take advantage of such women on nights out. He said: 'Has TOWIE made an impact? I think it has. The councillor pinpointed TOWIE stars as a reason why women are dressing in revealing garments. Pictured are the reality show stars Lucy Mecklenburgh and Sam Faiers (right) Chris Hossack is urging taxis to reduce their fares . 'They come down to buy clothes from their shops and wear them on the night, trying to make themselves look more attractive. 'My wife read Amy Childs' comments about the need to be responsible but she’s part of the problem as far as I’m concerned. 'The businesses she’s chosen to go into have been built on her attractive looks.' The politician denied that the idea of dropping fares would encourage more women to copy the dress code and added: 'To be honest I don’t think it can get any worse. They can’t possibly wear any less. 'Our key priority is to keep young people safe and stop anti-social behaviour on the streets at night.' His comments were slammed by Victim Support who said: 'It must always be remembered that a victim is just that. 'It should never be suggested that a victim makes themselves open to crime because of what they wear or how they act. 'Where a crime is committed, it is always the perpetrator who must be brought to book.'", "(CNN) -- As part of a scheme to encourage reading, 50 benches designed in the style of popular novels or kids' stories have been scattered around London. Visitors to the city can find the book benches, which mainly celebrate London's rich literary heritage, by following a series of trails around areas with strong links to writing and writers. Several prominent artists -- including Ralph Steadman, the surreal cartoonist and one-time sidekick of Hunter S. Thompson -- have been involved in creating benches that feature enduring characters such as Paddington Bear, Mary Poppins, Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. The \"Books about Town\" trails, launched by two UK charities, the National Literacy Trust and Wild in Art, can be found in London's Bloomsbury, Greenwich, Riverside and City areas until mid-September 2014. For those who can't get enough of literature-themed loungers, the benches will be auctioned off in October with proceeds going to help fight illiteracy.", "Boy George wants to build a glazed extension at his Grade-II listed property in Hampstead, London . Boy George's plans to build a lavish glazed extension onto his Grade-II listed London mansion have been turned down. The 53-year-old applied to build the extension at his multi-million pound home in Hampstead in a bid to brighten up the property. According to his planning application, the Culture Club frontman also wanted to chop down three trees to allow more light into the Victorian building. But Camden council rejected the proposals last September, saying the designs were an 'over-dominant and incongruous addition'. It added that they would be 'detrimental to the character, appearance and special architectural and historic interests of the hosted listed building'. The singer, who put the papers in under his real name George O'Dowd, is now appealing against the decision. The building works, filed under the singer's real name George O'Dowd, would see new floor-to-ceiling windows installed to increase light. Among the planned works were external and internal alterations to the ground floor front windows, a new side window, a new rear garden door and re-landscaping of garden. The garden landscaping would include the removal of three mature trees and the demolition of an existing summer house. But the designs were opposed by the Hampstead Conservation Area Advisory Committee (CCAC). A letter sent to the council by the group said the scheme was an over-development and would affect neighbours. They wrote: 'We object to the extension and the hard landscaping because of the garden take-up and potential light pollution.' As part of the plans, Syte Architects, based in Soho, said: 'The house does not benefit from a great deal of natural light into its interior. Its frontage is orientated to the north east. 'The rear has a southwesterly orientation but a combination of factors mean that the interior often suffers from poor levels and quality of natural lighting.' Camden council rejected the proposals for the Victorian mansion (pictured) last September, saying the designs were an 'over-dominant and incongruous addition' It added: 'The proposed extension has been designed to create living spaces with a greater sense of connection to the garden and better levels of natural light. These spaces will have a different atmosphere and character to the internal spaces in the existing house.' A planning inspector will consider written representations from both sides and is expected to make a site visit to his home before reaching a decision.", "Drink-drivers and yobs convicted of alcohol-related violence are being tagged with ‘sobriety bracelets’ in a crackdown on booze-fuelled disorder. For the first time, the US-style electronic tags – which have been worn by the likes of Lindsay Lohan – are to be handed out by UK courts to binge drinkers in lieu of jail. Those guilty of drunken offences such as assault, criminal damage, drink-driving or brawling in the street will be ordered to wear the ankle devices around the clock. Tagged: Actress Lindsay Lohan with an alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet . Every 30 minutes, they test the subject’s sweat to see if it contains alcohol. If a trace is found, an alert is sent to the offender’s probation officer. They can then be recalled to court, where they may be fined or even jailed. It builds on a similar scheme in the US that saw actress Miss Lohan forced to wear a tag after she failed to show up for a probation hearing relating to a 2007 drink-driving case. Yesterday a 24-year-old thug who provoked a fight outside a nightclub while drunk became the first in the UK to be issued with a bracelet. Augustine Apraku, of Sutton, South London, was ordered to wear the tag for 80 days after pleading guilty at Croydon Magistrates’ Court to using abusive language and provoking unlawful violence. He is the first of 150 offenders to be issued with bracelets in four London boroughs – Croydon, Lambeth, Southwark and Sutton – where the pilot scheme is running. Magistrates can order offenders to wear the tags for up to four months. If an offender manages 120 days without drinking, they will receive no further punishment for their original crime beyond a police caution. Boris Johnson launched the scheme yesterday, saying he wanted to target those ‘getting a bit too tanked up on a Friday night’ and causing problems. The London Mayor added: ‘Rather than lock them up we can help them to beat it by putting this ankle sniffing device on … I think it’s a cheaper, more effective way to help people to beat the booze and to beat violence.’ He said the scheme was aimed at those who have committed a crime while drunk, but who are not alcohol dependent. Offenders will be required to be at home at certain times of the day – usually twice – so a base station can get readings from the tag and transmit them to a monitoring centre. If no readings are received for two days, the supervising probation officer will be notified for further investigation. The policy has the backing of David Cameron, who first suggested the bracelets in 2012.", "By . Nazia Parveen . PUBLISHED: . 11:29 EST, 5 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:08 EST, 6 February 2013 . Having your bins emptied outside your home doesn’t seem much to expect when paying more than £1,500 a year in council tax. But for the villagers of Bootle in Cumbria, life isn’t quite that easy. Their local council wanted the villagers to drag their 240-litre wheelie bins more than a mile and a half up a steep hill for them to be emptied. Waste of time: Residents of Annaside and Hyton, such as Steven Fell, would have to walk almost two miles with their wheelie bins to leave them for collection before the council's u-turn . The council stopped picking up the bins as a cost-cutting measure, but residents were furious about it . Nicola Brown, pictured, would have to make the a four mile round trip with her wheelie bin if the council refused to collect rubbish . When the residents protested, the . council’s ‘compromise’ was that they could leave the bin behind and lug . the refuse sacks up the hill instead. However, Copeland Borough Council has now backed down. Farmer . Deryck Fell, of Annaside, said: 'It's great that they're going to do . that. But I don't know why they wanted to make the changes in the first . place. They didn't consult us properly.' The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has decided  to remove the litter bins from residential streets, controversially claiming that they attract more rubbish. Officials at the council said that bins on the street encourage fly-tipping, increasing the amount of litter left behind. Local, Amanda Salvesen, 27, a PR manager from Earl’s Court, said: ‘I don’t think they have asked the local residents. They are always full, people use them. They should be adding more, not taking them away.’ Despite objections, the . council claims that when bins are removed from streets, there is only a . slight increase in littering. Kathy Way, head of waste at the council, said in a report: ‘There are two schools of thought regarding litter bins; one is that litter bins are needed for the public to use, indeed that some members of the public look for litter bins in which to deposit waste, otherwise they may take it home or drop it on the street. ‘The other is that litter bins attract more rubbish, some of which can be unpaid-for commercial waste and domestic waste.’ As well as the logistical problems of transporting the bins to the collection point, residents had raised concerns that the large volume of bins, heavy traffic flow and narrow roads would have led to an increase in accidents. Councillor Allan Holliday, portfolio holder for the environment and sustainability, said the council had now organised a ‘mutually acceptable' alternative with the residents. He said: 'We are facing unprecedented funding cuts, and as a result have reviewed all of the services we provide, including waste collection. As a result, like other rural councils, we are having to look at the feasibility of collections from lanes. 'However in this instance, we've listened and have already arranged a mutually acceptable and practical alternative with residents, as we would look to do wherever concerns are raised. Consultation is ongoing.' Keith Parker, Copeland Borough Council's head of neighbourhoods, previously told the Evening Mail the council was ‘no longer able to afford to travel significant distances down lanes to collect people's waste'. A Copeland Borough Council spokeswoman confirmed that there  was no way to practically implement the policy in the Bootle situation so, at the moment, the council would be continuing to collect the waste as normal. The bags would then be collected from a large bin stationed at the end of the lane. The rules, were due to come into effect on . February 15, were part of a cost-cutting drive by Copeland Borough . Council – which had said it was no longer prepared to collect rubbish . from ‘off-route properties’. Before the council's u-turn Mr Fell, 56, said it was absolute ‘madness’ to expect elderly residents to embark on a three-mile round trip. ‘There are at least five residents who are in their eighties and they simply won’t be able to do it,’ he said. ‘It is an absolutely ludicrous . situation and we’re frankly disgusted that the council would allow this . to happen considering how much we all pay for our council tax.’ Bootle residents Hazel Fell, David Cross and Deryck Fell, above, spoke out against the council's decision to cut the bin service from 14 houses . Mr Fell, who lives with his wife Hazel . in Bootle, added: ‘It doesn’t make environmental sense to have 14 homes . running 14 vehicles up the road to drop their bins off. There is no . room for bins where they are proposing to have it collected. You’ve got . loads of cars and school buses going down that road. ‘There have already been accidents – this will make it worse.’ Until now the residents, whose annual . council tax bill is £1,569, put their rubbish in individual . wheelie bins and a wagon has driven up Church Lane in Bootle once a . fortnight to collect it. The authority hoped the scheme would save £120,000. It will still make assisted . collections for disabled residents but has said this will be carried out . with smaller vehicles. Councillor Allan Holliday, a spokesman for the . environment and sustainability, said: ‘We are facing unprecedented . funding cuts and have reviewed all of the services we provide, including . waste collection. ‘As a result, like other rural . councils we are having to look at the feasibility of collections from . lanes. Consultation is ongoing.’", "Waiting for the light to turn green at a pedestrian crossing can feel like a lifetime. Now two innovative students from Germany hope they've come up with a way to make it a more enjoyable - and even sociable - experience. Amelie Kunzler and Sandro Engel have designed StreetPong, a multi-player game of touch screen ping pong that's played wirelessly with a person on the other side of the crossing. The ActiWait prototype is played on a touch screen and is based on a classic ping pong arcade game . Amelie Künzler from Urban Invention (right) wants to make it possible for everyone in the world to play . After the duo uploaded a video of the the game and concept, five million watched and shared it on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. The overwhelming interest prodded them to bring StreetPong to life. Amelie and Sandro founded a company called Urban Invention to make the product and, since October, have installed a small number of prototypes - renamed ActiWait - around Germany. They have launched a crowdfunding project and, so far, €349 of the €35,000 goal has been raised . Amelie, who is currently studying at the HAWK Hildesheim, said: 'We want to make it possible for everyone to be able to play with other people while waiting for the light to turn green.' ActiWait has a resilient touch screen and is built into pedestrian crossings. The students are asking for crowdfunding via Indiegogo in hopes of securing money to develop the hardware and move it on from a prototype into a large scale production. They also want to push ahead with more applications and have it officially checked for safety. German students Sandro and Amelie founded a company to make the product a reality . The developers also want to use the screens for other applications, including news feeds, navigation and traffic education for children, or even speed dating. So far €349 (£275) of the pair's €35,000 (£27,600) goal has been raised and Urban Invention are attempting to attract backers by pledging to install ActiWaits were they receive the most financial support.", "A council which has been forced to slash millions from its budget spent £17,000 on an extravagant ceremony to switch on its Christmas lights. Crawley Borough Council has been forced to make savings of £7.3million from its budget during the last five years - cutting services for residents. But the council decided to spare no expense when it hired barriers, bouncers and put up a stage, as well as organised a fireworks display and street entertainment for the switch-on event, which cost £16,882. Crawley Council spent £17,000 on an extravagant Christmas lights switch on event, which residents branded a shambles and criticised as the council has slashed millions off its budget in the last five years . It also drafted in Stephen Mulhern, the presenter, for the event - but residents complained it was a waste of money, with bad decorations and a poor fireworks display. Steve Burbidge was at the event with his daughter and said: 'All I can say is it was unbelievable. 'My daughter asked me when they were putting the lights on - but they already had.' Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: 'It was a joke - we couldn't see the fireworks and the decorations themselves are dreadful. 'It was a shambles and an embarrassment. Spending £100 on the event would have been too much, let alone £17,000.' Last year Crawley Borough Council announced it would close 22 playgrounds which were under used and cost too much to maintain. This was reduced to four after a backlash. Stephen Mulhern (holding microphone) was drafted in to turn on Crawley's Christmas lights, while the council also spent thousands on a stage, bouncers, barriers and decorations - which residents said were rubbish . People said they were unable to see the town's expensive fireworks display because of the barriers they used . The council merged community wardens and civil enforcement officers, which it claimed saved £50,000. The TaxPayers' Alliance also criticised the council for trying to create festive cheer by spending money. Andy Silvester said: 'It's easy to sound like the grinch but at a time when we're struggling to pay for social care and children's services, every penny of unnecessary spending has to be questioned. 'It's a small figure in the grand scheme of things, but this money could have been spent better. 'Festive cheer isn't created by Councils, no matter how hard they try.' A council spokesman described the switch-on as 'a great event' which attracted 2,500 people into the town centre, and added: 'The economic benefit to the town was almost certainly higher and feedback from local organisations, was extremely positive.'", "By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 06:48 EST, 5 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:05 EST, 5 April 2013 . Ipswich has seen a sharp drop in the number of people boozing and brawling in the street after they clamped down on off-licences selling super strength alcohol. Ipswich's drastic move has sparked a plunge in crime and anti-social behaviour of nearly 50 per cent related to street drinking since the mission was launched six months ago. Police have said that reported incidents involving street boozers were slashed to 94 between September and March this year, compared to 191 during the same period the year before. After Ipswich banned off-licences selling ultra-strong alcohol, police have reported an almost 50 per cent drop in street crime . By the end of last year, there was a 20 per cent cut in the number of people defined as being part of the street-drinking community. East of England Co-op has also stripped super strength alcohol off the shelves in all 53 of its Suffolk stores. The campaign has been so successful that the huge high-street chain is now in high-level discussions about banishing it from all 135 of its off-licensed premises across East Anglia. Some 80 out of 122 off-licences in Ipswich have now voluntarily stopped selling cheap, highly-potent lagers and ciders. Ipswich generated massive national media coverage when it kickstarted the bold drive last September. Now the rest of the UK looks set to follow the example of the Suffolk town, which has clamped down on those selling strong booze . Apart from Co-ops and independent retailers, Tesco, Martin McColl, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, BHS, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Aldi are all backing the groundbreaking scheme. Among the other partners leading the campaign are Ipswich Borough Council, Suffolk County Council, and NHS Suffolk. 'Start Afresh', the over-arching operation launched in 2011 to tackle issues surrounding street drinking in Ipswich, has seen a number of improvements being made. It is not the first time Ipswich has been seen as a template for helping the vulnerable in society. Following the murders of prostitutes by Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright in 2006, the town~s innovative street prostitution strategy was lauded by many and implemented elsewhere. Ipswich residents say they are thrilled to see the amount of street drinkers fall and have welcomed the booze ban . Reducing the Strength has been hailed for helping to make lives of the people who live and trade in the town more tolerable. Mike Brain, a neighbourhood watch co-ordinator in Ipswich, said: 'I think it's brilliant. 'The residents have noticed a difference. 'In 2008/09 there were real problems in our area. 'Those have gone. We have very, very few instances now. 'It seems to me that over the years we have learned more and more about the harm alcohol can do. 'With street drinkers you hear all sorts of stories. You can imagine people's lives falling apart. 'Reducing the Strength is a really good step forward.' The Suffolk town's trailblazing Reducing the Strength campaign has sparked a plunge in crime and anti-social behaviour . Strong alcohol, such as Tennent's lager, has been banned from being sold . Roger Grosvenor, of East of England Co-operative Society, said the company would continue to help spearhead the brave blueprint. All 53 of its Suffolk stores, including the 26 in Ipswich, have voluntarily stopped selling super-strength alcohol. Mr Grosvenor said they were now poised impose the ban across the region. 'There has been no significant impact on turnover and even if there had been we would have still continued to support this initiative,' he said. Suffolk's assistant chief constable, Tim Newcomb, said:'The support we have received from independent and national retailers has been fantastic. 'A significant number of police forces and public sector agencies across the UK have been in contact with us to talk about our campaign. 'We look forward to assisting others in setting up similar initiatives and looking at the potential for rolling it out across the county.' And now the Suffolk town's pioneering Reducing the Strength campaign - launched to crack down on street crime - is now taking off all over the country. Towns and cities across the UK will follow its example by stopping shopkeepers selling ultra-strong alcohol, which has been linked to street disorder. Insp Andrew Mason, of Ipswich Police, said: 'We have had about 50 enquiries from police forces and councils about the Reducing the Strength campaign. 'We have put together an email pack to send to those who have contacted us.' He added: 'Portsmouth and Lincoln have decided to appoint street drinking liaison officers like we have in PC John Alcock. 'I made a presentation in London to 140 officers and we have boroughs down there such as Hackney and Camden coming to see us to see what we are doing.'", "By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 07:31 EST, 13 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:06 EST, 13 September 2013 . A coastal village can now boast a new attraction - the country's smallest parking space. The tiny gap in between two sets of double yellow lines measures in at just nine inches wide, just big enough to fit the wheels of a bicycle. Residents of Burry Port, Carmarthenshire have now gone to town with the gaffe - mocking officials who left the space by parking toy cars in the spot. Tiny: Locals in Burry Port, Wales have been left baffled by the tiny parking space, which measures in at just nine inches wide . Bus tour manager Emyr Phillips, who first noticed the gap two weeks ago, said: 'I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted it. You could just about fit a bike in there sideways - or maybe a pogo stick.' The 72-year-old added: 'But my favourite thing was to put a toy bus in there just to have a laugh at it.' However, Carmarthshire Council bosses have revealed there is a real reason why workmen didn't fill in the space. Fun: Residents in the village have mocked council bosses over the bureaucratic blunder by parking a toy truck in the miniscule gap . One set of yellow lines are on a public road owned by the local authority, while the others are on a private road which leads to the local GP surgery. A spokesman explained: 'The section of double yellow lines leading to the surgery is on a private access road and the council would not have undertaken this work. 'It is likely the surgery would have arranged for the yellow markings to restrict parking on the access road. 'The break in the lines is required as this shows the termination of the traffic order on the public road.' Carmarthenshire Council bosses have defended the move, insisting the yellow lines belong to both public and private roads . But villager Martin Thomas, who cheekily parked the plastic truck in the spot, has branded the explanation 'nonsense'. He said: 'We all think it makes a lot more sense to have joined-up thinking - and joined up yellow lines. It really is bureaucratic nonsense.'", "By . Martin Beckford . PUBLISHED: . 17:08 EST, 17 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:08 EST, 17 August 2013 . Plans by police in London not to arrest shoplifters who take goods worth less than £50 have been scrapped after being branded a ‘looters’ charter’ by shopkeepers. Police in Hammersmith and Fulham – home to the Westfield shopping centre, Britain’s worst shoplifting hotspot – said that the radical scheme would allow them to focus on more serious offences. Officers told businesses and town hall bosses they should deal with low-level crimes themselves rather than calling 999. Crime hotspot: Westfield Shopping Centre in White City, west London, where police were planning to drop arrests on small-time shoplifters . But representatives of the West London council and retailers reacted with fury. Greg Smith, deputy leader at Hammersmith and Fulham Council, said: ‘Anyone who steals is a criminal – full stop. They will face the full force of the law in our borough.’ Conservative MP Michael Ellis, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee, added: ‘Such a policy would be akin to a looters’ charter.’ Scotland Yard admitted that  a sergeant in the borough had made the suggestion during a meeting with council officials and business leaders. A pilot scheme was due to take place across Hammersmith and Fulham and would have meant shop assistants and security guards apprehending suspected shoplifters with less than £50 worth of goods themselves rather than calling for police assistance. Vulnerable: The plans meant that shops would be left to deal with their own suspected thieves . But the Metropolitan Police insisted this was not official force policy and dismissed the plan as unworkable. Mr Smith added: ‘We are pleased that the local police have rejected this barmy idea.’In last week’s report on crime hotspots, we said that Judkin Court in Cardiff had a high level of drugs offences. In fact, the crimes were recorded at the nearby Cardiff Bay police station, when offenders were arrested and found to have drugs on them. We also said an airport in Belfast had high levels of violence but the offences in fact related to nearby Queens Road.", "A subterranean cycle and walking network using London's abandoned Tube tunnels is being proposed. The London Underline would be lined with kinetic paving, which uses friction from cycle tyres and shoes to generate electricity to power the project. Although the plan may look unlikely it won the Best Conceptual Project at the London Planning Awards last night, presented to designer Gensler by Mayor Boris Johnson. The route could run under central London from Holborn in the east to Green Park in the west with docking stations for the capital's 'Boris Bike' scheme dotted along the tunnels. Scroll down for video . Grand plan: Maverick designers are proposing an underground cycle and walking network using central London's disused tunnels . Connected: The proposal, which won a prestigious design award last night, would be linked to the capital's existing transport network like the cycle superhighways, and it would be lined with kinetic paving to generate electricity from friction . London Underline would also be connected to overground cycle lanes and bridges spanning the Thames. Ian Mulcahey, co-director of Gensler London, says 'Now that London has reached the highest level of population in its history we need to think creatively about how to maximize the potential of our infrastructure. 'The adaptation of surplus and underutilized tube and rail tunnels could provide a quick and simple addition to our infrastructure network.' Gensler designers also believe that there could be room for a network of shops and businesses and even space for an underground park. Tunnels would not be the only spaces used, with former telephone exchanges, stations even and reservoir chambers part of the plans. New use: The empty tunnels and other spaces could be used for businesses, events and even public art to generate money . Connectivity: The focus would be on a main tunnel running from Holborn in the east to Green Park in the West. The route would also be linked to existing and new bridges . Architect Trevor To said: 'Gensler's proposal brings back an ignored part of the city through the collective efforts of its citizens. By harnessing the kinetic energy of every one's footsteps, a whole new urban space is unlocked underneath the city. 'This self-sustaining approach to urban infrastructure is key to a carbon-neutral community, and London could lead the world once again in merging tradition with innovation to create a better future.' London Underground would also offer new sites for pop-up businesses, exhibitions, retail and event space to generate money.", "By . Lizzie Edmonds . PUBLISHED: . 06:32 EST, 8 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:01 EST, 8 October 2013 . A group of pensioners have bought their retirement village after its owners went bust. The previous owners of the Woodchester Valley Village, near Stroud in the Cotswolds, Bluchie Limited went into liquidation three years ago. And since then, the residents of the complex - previously called Crystal Fountain Village - have been fighting to buy the freehold to the retirement complex. Celebration: Residents of the Woodchester Valley Village in Stroud who brought their retirement village after the owners went into administration . After three years of hard work, plus determined fund raising, the pensioners have now bought the freehold from the administrators. Leading the fight was Residents' Association chairman Peter Wilson, who said the purchase had dominated his life for the past three years. He said: 'Buying the freehold has been a long, hard struggle but we won through because we worked together. 'We were backed by villagers' families and, in some cases, even their grandchildren. Proud owners: The complex - previously known as the Crystal Fountain Village - has 73 houses and flats . 'Woodchester Valley Village now welcomes all those who seek something different. It's a new type of village for active over sixties who enjoy life.' Residents at the complex live independently but can be supported if necessary. It is professionally managed, with staff on-site 24 hours a day and domiciliary care available if required. Vice chairman of the residents' association and leading light in the buyout Betty Young said: 'Woodchester Valley offers the over sixties a real village community, with company when it is wanted, but with the independence and privacy of a home with its own front door. 'We believe this is the future and we hope it will be the model for other villages to follow, so that they can also take full control of their homes.' The future? The group's Residents' Association hope that other retirement villages will follow their example . The complex is nestled in 25 acres of Cotswolds countryside adjoining the National Trust's famous Woodchester Park. The village has 73 houses and apartments, plus communal areas including a lounge, a library and a green room and is close to Gloucester, Bath and Bristol. Residents frequently organise activities such as play reading, book groups and bridge as well as visits to theatres, cinemas, and historic gardens.", "By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 00:29 EST, 27 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 00:29 EST, 27 June 2012 . The unemployed will be put at the back of the council house queue under proposed new government guidelines promising to give housing priority to 'hard-working families'. Ministers have acted after stating that on too many occasions social housing is taken by those who know how to play the system, rather than decent families who need it more. Grant Shapps, the housing minister, will publish new rules intended to give councils the power to change their criteria on waiting lists for social housing. Pledge: Housing minister Grant Shapps will urge council bosses to target the most needy first on housing lists . Mr Shapps, 43, said he opted to make the move following 'huge resentment' which had built up from taxpayers who 'work hard and pay into the system'. He said: 'All too often, a tick-box culture has meant that the safety net of social housing doesn't support those in genuine need, but those who merely know how to tick the most boxes. 'Today's new rules are the first phase in giving councils the freedom they need to help hard-working families who all too often are overlooked, and ensure they get the support they nee . Housing clampdown: Mr Shapps said taxpayers have 'huge resentment' over abuse of the council house system . The Department for Communities and Local Government guidelines mean councils will be asked to prioritise hard-working families in the queue for social housing. Prospective tenants who already own another property should be stopped from benefiting from a council house. And couples who adopt or foster children in care should also be given priority on the housing list." ]

[ "A Spanish court has suspended a ban on the former France midfielder and World Cup winner, 42, coaching Real Madrid Castilla.\nThe Spanish football federation punished Zidane and fellow reserve team coach Santiago Sanchez for not having the required qualifications.\nMedia playback is not supported on this device\nReal said they would \"pursue every legal avenue\" to overturn the ban.\nThe European champions said Zidane was awarded the necessary licence by the French football federation.\nHe was appointed Real reserve-team boss this summer after working as assistant to first-team coach Carlo Ancelotti last season.\nZidane won the World Cup with France in 1998 and was named World Footballer of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003.\nHe spent five seasons with Real as a player after joining from Juventus in 2001 for £45.8m - then a world record fee - and scored the winner in the 2002 Champions League final.\nCastilla were relegated from the second division last season, before Zidane joined the coaching staff. They are currently 14th in Group 2 of the regional four-group Segunda B, the third tier." ]

[ "Ex-Real and France midfielder and World Cup winner Zidane, 42, is assistant coach of the Real Madrid Castilla team.\nNamed after Uruguay legend Enzo Francescoli, Zidane Jr, 19, played for Spain's Under-15 side but has since opted to represent France.\nThe midfielder's younger brothers Luca, Theo and Eliaz attend Real's academy.\nZidane Sr was banned for three months from coaching Castilla last month for not having the required qualifications but that is on hold until his appeal is heard.", "He was given a one-match ban for being shown two yellow cards and a further four for pushing the referee in the back after he had been sent off.\nThe bookings at the Nou Camp were for taking off his shirt to celebrate his goal to make it 2-1 and for a dive.\nHe will miss Wednesday's second leg.\nRonaldo, 32, will have 10 days to appeal.\nThe Portugal international will be able to play in the Champions League but will not return to domestic action until 20 September against Real Betis.\nMadrid had already signalled their intent to appeal against Ronaldo's second yellow card shown for diving eight minutes from time when he went down inside the area under pressure from Samuel Umtiti.\n\"Ronaldo's sending-off annoys me because even if it is not a penalty, the card is harsh,\" said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane after the game. \"We will see if we can do something so that he is available on Wednesday.\"\nRonaldo was only on the field for 24 minutes as he was introduced as a second-half substitute and fired into the top corner 10 minutes from time to give Madrid a 2-1 lead.\nIt was Ronaldo's 10th red card of his career and the two yellow cards on Sunday came within two minutes.\n\"Once shown the red card, said player (Ronaldo) pushed me lightly as a sign of his disapproval,\" the referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea wrote in his post-match report.\nFormer Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher\nThe message they've got to send out is it's unacceptable to push a match official.\nIf I'm walking down the high street in my town I can't go pushing a policeman.\nThere is nothing to excuse what Ronaldo did.\nWe cannot accept this at any cost.", "Leboeuf, a fellow 1998 World Cup winner, says he never thought the \"shy\" Zidane would become a coach because he \"wasn't a leader\" in the dressing room.\n\"It seems that when Zinedine Zidane touches something, it becomes golden,\" said ex-Chelsea defender Leboeuf.\nReal are aiming to retain the Champions League against Juventus on 3 June.\nSince being appointed coach of the Spanish club in January 2016, Zidane has also led Real to the Club World Cup and European Super Cup.\nA three-time Fifa World Player of the Year who played for Real from 2001 to 2006, Zidane had no experience of coaching at the top level when he took over from Rafael Benitez at the Bernabeu.\nHe had been coach of the club's B team and was a key member of the backroom staff under Carlo Ancelotti, who led Real to a 10th European title in 2014.\nLeboeuf told BBC World Service: \"When Real Madrid decided to name him as head coach, he came into the dressing room as the guy who won the World Cup and had worked hard for the club and won the Champions League with a fantastic volley in Glasgow [in 2002], so he had the respect of the dressing room.\n\"But I think his work alongside Ancelotti as an assistant, and then his work in charge of the reserve team, gave him enough experience to get into the job.\"\nLeboeuf says he expects Zidane to be the next France coach as \"it's hard to stay for long at Real Madrid\" under the presidency of the Florentino Perez.\n\"I don't know when [current France boss Didier] Deschamps will decide, or when the federation will decide to get rid of him, but we all feel that Zidane will be the next national coach,\" he said.\n\"That is, if he wants to, because if he carries on being successful with Real Madrid then he won't take the job even if the seat is free.\n\"It's very hard to stay as Real Madrid coach for a long time, Mr Perez is very impatient. When it's possible, Zidane will join the national team, that's for sure.\"", "The court told AFP it had rejected the 32-year-old Real Madrid forward's appeal after he was sent off in the 3-1 win against Barcelona in the Super Cup.\nHe got a one-match ban for two yellow cards and a further four for pushing the referee after he had been sent off.\n\"From injustice to injustice, they will never bring me down,\" he posted.\nThe two bookings at the Nou Camp were for taking off his shirt to celebrate his goal to make it 2-1, and for a dive.\nRonaldo has already served two games of his ban - last week's second leg, which Real won 2-0, and Sunday's 3-0 La Liga win against Deportivo La Coruna.\nThe Portugal forward will not return to domestic action until 20 September against Real Betis, but can play in the Champions League.", "The Wales international forward, 27, has not played since tearing a calf muscle against Barcelona on 23 April.\nLa Liga title favourites Real face Juventus in the 3 June European final.\n\"We have to take it day by day but for now he's not with us and I don't know when he will be, but I hope it's soon,\" said Real boss Zinedine Zidane.\nReal have three La Liga games remaining this season, starting with Sunday's home match with Sevilla (19:00 BST).\nThey are second to Barcelona - who visit Las Palmas at the same time - on the head-to-head rule, but have a game in hand.", "Bale injured his calf against Sporting Gijon on 17 January, but the world's most expensive player is now ready to return after 44-days out.\nMadrid coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed the news and underlined Bale's importance.\n\"He [Bale] is a fundamental player for Madrid,\" Zidane told the Real website.\n\"Of course I would prefer to have him with us.\n\"Gareth was with us this morning. It is his first full training session. It went well, he did not feel the problem he had. So I am happy with that, his problem is over.\n\"It is more difficult then to pick the team, but I always want Gareth with us. We will see if he can be back with us this weekend.\"\nMadrid face Celta Vigo in La Liga action on Saturday, 5 March before entertaining AS Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday, 8 March looking to protect a 2-0 advantage.", "Benzema is being investigated for his part in an alleged plot to blackmail France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.\nThe Real Madrid player - who denies wrongdoing - was not allowed to contact Valbuena, meaning they could not be in the same squad, but an appeals court has partially lifted some restrictions.\nHowever Benzema, who is injured, was suspended from France duty in December.\nThat ban was due to stand until the end of court proceedings.\nAn investigating judge last month lifted the order keeping Benzema and Lyon playmaker Valbuena apart, but the prosecutor appealed. That was dismissed on Friday.\nBenzema's lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, described the decision as \"a first step\".\nThe 28-year-old forward faces preliminary charges of conspiracy to blackmail relating to an extortion scam over a sex tape involving Valbuena.\nIf found guilty, he could face a minimum of five years in prison.\nAccording to French media, Benzema mentioned a sex tape to Valbuena, 31, during a national team training session at Clairefontaine on 5 October.\nBenzema told police he was advising a friend about what to do in a difficult situation.\nBut he could face charges for complicity in attempted blackmail and participation in a criminal conspiracy.", "Benitez has been sacked after just seven months in charge, with club legend Zinedine Zidane replacing him.\nBale, 26, is reportedly upset by Benitez's exit but Toshack thinks his compatriot will stay at the Bernabeu.\n\"I don't see it affecting Gareth at all,\" Toshack said. \"I don't see that as a problem.\"\nBale joined Madrid in a world record £85m move from Tottenham in 2013 and has scored seven goals in his past six games for Real - but he has been linked with a return to the Premier League with Manchester United.\nFormer Liverpool and Chelsea boss Benitez's final game was Sunday's 2-2 draw with Valencia, which left them third in La Liga, four points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and two adrift of Barcelona.\nFrenchman Zidane is the 11th coach to be appointed in Florentino Perez's 12 years as club president and his first match in charge will be Saturday's home league game against Deportivo la Coruna.\nEx-Wales manager Toshack, who had two spells in charge at the Bernabeu, is not surprised by Benitez's departure.\n\"Benitez was up against it right from the off,\" Toshack told BBC Radio Wales Sport.\n\"Right from the minute he walked through the door something was not quite right. I don't think his face fitted.\n\"I think he'll be looking to take a bit of a rest season, probably until the end of this season and maybe look at something next pre-season.\"", "Zidane, 43, has guided Real to the Champions League final and to within a point of La Liga leaders Barcelona since taking over in January.\nThe World Cup winner with France from 1998 has a contract until 2017.\n\"We haven't won anything yet and my belief is when you have this job you have to give everything, every day and not think any further,\" said Zidane.\n\"We'll see what happens at the end of the season.\"\nReal will meet neighbours Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final in Milan on 28 May. They are third in La Liga, one point behinds leaders Barcelona with two games remaining.\nZidane took over at the Bernabeu after Real sacked Rafael Benitez, now in charge at Newcastle United.", "Real were again without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, who also missed the goalless first leg of their Champions League semi-final at Manchester City.\nStriker Karim Benzema was also absent but Bale filled the void with his 19th goal of the season.\nReal play the return leg against City on Wednesday night.\nRelive how Real Madrid kept their title hopes alive.\nBale had missed a number of chances as Zinedine Zidane's side chased a 10th successive league win to keep the pressure on title rivals Atletico Madrid, who later beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0, and Barcelona, who went back to the top after beating Real Betis 2-0.\nBut the Wales international, 26, who scored twice as Real beat Rayo Vallecano a week earlier, enhanced Real's chances of a first title success since 2012 when he powerfully headed home a cross from Lucas Vazquez.\nReal Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane: \"I am happy for him (Bale) because he has had problems this season with injury. But when he is fit you notice.\n\"We could have scored earlier in the first half, but we had to work until the end against a difficult side.\n\"I am happy with the performance and to get three points once again.\"", "Boss Zinedine Zidane says he expects Bale to return to match action within a month, meaning Bale should be fit for Wales' World Cup qualifier with the Republic of Ireland on 24 March.\nThe 27-year-old has been out since November after having surgery to repair ankle tendon damage suffered during a Champions League tie against Sporting.\n\"First day back on the training pitch with the boys,\" he posted.\nCan't wait to be back in action now,\" he wrote on Twitter.\n\"He's fine. He's working very well and looks determined,\" Zidane said.\nThe French manager did not give an exact date as to when Bale might return, but hopes the Welshman will be available in time for the second leg of Madrid's Champions League tie with Napoli on 7 March.\n\"I hope that Bale is back with us before the return leg against Napoli,\" he said. \"He still has to return to team training, which is the most important thing,\" he said of the club's record signing.\nWales boss Chris Coleman has already indicated that he expects Bale to be fit for the next international break.", "He has already served a ban for not reporting alleged match-fixing in two games involving ex-club Siena in the 2010-11 season.\nThe former Juventus coach is among 104 people a prosecutor has requested to have charges pressed against them.\nThe 45-year-old, who has been accused of \"sporting fraud\", has always denied any wrongdoing.\nThe next step is for the judiciary to fix the date for a preliminary, closed-door hearing where a judge will decide whether to press charges, as the prosecutors have requested.\nConte has gone on to win three successive Serie A titles with Juventus before being appointed Italy coach last year.\nThe general inquiry followed alleged attempts to manipulate matches in Serie B, the Italian second division, and the third tier Lega Pro during the 2010-11 season, with some Coppa Italia matches also involved.\nThe Italian Football Federation has already conducted its own investigation and banned Conte for 10 months in 2012, later reduced to four months on appeal.\nMore than 50 players were banned for up to five years and a number of clubs, including Atalanta and Siena, have had points deducted by the FIGC over the case.", "The 27-year-old Wales forward has been out since having surgery on ankle tendon damage suffered in November.\nWales' next match is a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 24 March.\n\"He will be in the squad and the plan is for him to have some minutes,\" Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said.\nMadrid are top of the Spanish league by one point from Barcelona, but Zidane's side have two games in hand. Barca play at home to fourth-from-bottom Leganes later on Saturday.\n\"Bale is a very important player for us. We know the quality and speed that he has, and the damage he can cause the opposition,\" Frenchman Zidane added.\n\"He's very happy to return to the team, to be with us, and be able to play again.\"\nEspanyol, managed by former Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores, are ninth in La Liga, 17 points behind Madrid.", "They have been punished by world governing body Fifa for breaching rules over the transfer of minors - both clubs say they will appeal.\nThe ban does not cover the current January transfer window.\nAtletico were fined 900,000 Swiss francs (£622,000), while Real were told to pay 360,000 (£249,000).\nReal said that the claim that they had signed foreign players under the age of 18 without being properly registered was \"absolutely untrue\".\n\"Real Madrid will appeal this decision of Fifa in all the sporting incidents, considering them absolutely inappropriate,\" said the club.\nReal director general Jose Angel Sanchez called the ban \"absolutely unjustified\" and \"totally unexpected\", saying he had \"high hopes\" of overturning it on appeal.\nAtletico said: \"Our club is not in agreement with the sanction from international football's governing body and will study all the documentation we've received to present an appeal.\"\nBarcelona were given the same penalty in April 2014 for breaching rules on the transfer of under-18 players.\nThat ban, which ended this month, did not stop the La Liga side from signing players.\nThey bought Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal in 2015, though both players were prevented from playing until the current window opened.\nThe next two transfer windows are July/August 2016 and January 2017.\nBBC Sport's Simon Stone says the ban could have an impact on the futures of David de Gea, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Sergio Aguero.\n\"All four have been linked with transfers involving Real Madrid,\" he said. \"All four - and anyone else for that matter - could be affected by the announcement.\n\"If Real want to revive their interest in De Gea, whose deadline-day transfer from Manchester United last summer collapsed, or pursue Manchester City striker Aguero, they will do so knowing either man could not play until the 2017-18 season.\n\"Equally, if they decide to sell a Galactico, like Ronaldo or Bale, both of whom have been linked with Manchester United, Real know they cannot then bring in a high-profile replacement and immediately play them.\n\"On the face of it, it leaves the Spanish superpower in a state of flux, with new coach Zinedine Zidane only able to promote from within.\n\"Quite handy, therefore, they have secured 19-year-old Marco Asensio, currently on loan at Espanyol, Jesus Vallejo, 19, who has returned to Real Zaragoza on loan, and 17-year-old Norwegian Martin Odegaard from Stromsgodset.\n\"Odegaard is now in the Real Madrid B team Zidane managed before replacing Rafael Benitez as coach of the main side.\n\"Worth noting as well that Real Madrid do have a couple of options.\n\"They could spend the next 18 days on a recruitment campaign as the ban does not take effect until after the current window is closed.\n\"Or they appeal against the sanction and delay its implementation. Barcelona did this in 2014 and used the time to sign Luis Suarez.\"\nSpanish football writer Andy West says few clubs \"could be better placed to absorb a transfer ban\" than the current La Liga leaders.\nHe says they boast \"a deep squad and arguably the most talented batch of young players in Europe\".\n\"Goalkeeper Jan Oblak (23), centre back Jose Maria Gimenez (20), midfielders Saul Niguez and Oliver Torres (both 21), and forwards Angel Correa (20), Luciano Vietto and Yannick Carrasco (both 22) are already established members of the squad.\n\"And perhaps as an indication that they had seen this news coming, they further strengthened in early January with the arrival of two central midfielders: Augusto Fernandez from Celta Vigo and Matias Kranevitter from River Plate.\n\"The only potential problem position is centre forward, where Jackson Martinez has struggled since signing from Porto in the summer and Fernando Torres has failed to score since September.\n\"Perhaps the answer will come from another of the club's talented young players: 23 year-old Borja Baston, scorer of 10 league goals this season during a loan spell at Eibar.\n\"But Atletico's biggest priority now will be ensuring they keep hold of their star player, French forward Antoine Griezmann, who is in talks to extend his contract with a new 100m euros (£75.4m) buy-out clause.\"\nAccording to West,the bans are \"huge news\" in Spain, prompting \"frenzied speculation\" across the country's media.\n\"The website of influential sports newspaper Marca is dominated by the story, publishing five different stories within a couple of hours of the news breaking,\" he says.\n\"One of those speculates which loaned-out players Atletico and Real may look to bring back, while another article recalls how Barcelona managed to drag out the appeal against their ban to allow them to sign Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic in the summer of 2014.\n\"Another newspaper published in Madrid, AS, looks on the bright side by delivering an article which trumpets the 'incredible technical repertoire' of Real's teenage winger Marco Asensio, currently on loan at Espanyol.\n\"Barcelona's media, predictably, have a different approach, with Sport quickly publishing a story headlined: 'The signings Florentino [Perez, Real president] cannot make,' including Eden Hazard, Paul Pogba and Mario Gotze.\n\"And with the news being anticipated for several months, there has also been a fair degree of 'told-you-so', with El Partido De Las 12, a radio show on Channel Cope, triumphantly tweeting: 'We told you this would happen on 28 April 2015. The following day, Real Madrid denied it.'\"", "Having heard submissions from Glentoran and the match officials and also having viewed footage, the committee was not satisfied that an error had occurred.\nHowever, under article 16.7 of the code, it opted to suspend half of the sanction for six months.\nNovo's three-match ban will start on Monday, 3 April.\nGlenavon have the right to appeal against the disciplinary committee's decision.", "Karim Benzema, who is battling a knee injury, and Gareth Bale were rested as Real prepare for Tuesday's Champions League game against Wolfsburg.\nJames Rodriguez steered in a free-kick, with Lucas Vazquez adding a second.\nIt was 4-0 by half-time, with Ronaldo firing in a square pass from Jese, who tapped in the fourth.\nReal trail 2-0 against Wolfsburg as they head into Tuesday's quarter-final second leg at the Bernabeu, with manager Zinedine Zidane acknowledging that his team's season would be over if they fail to progress.\nZidane's side went into the weekend lying seven points behind leaders Barcelona in the title race and with hopes of winning La Liga all but gone.\nEibar, who have failed to win in eight league matches, were caught on the counter-attack repeatedly as they played a high defensive line.\nTheir performance improved significantly in the second half, though, with midfielder Gonzalo Escalante heading against the bar late on after Borja Baston had glanced on a corner.\nVictory on Saturday moved Real up to second place for a couple of hours, although Atletico Madrid regain that position later on Saturday with a 3-1 win at Espanyol.", "Denis Cheryshev opened the scoring as Real beat the third-tier side 3-1 in the first leg of their last-32 tie.\nThe Russian winger should have been serving a ban - imposed while he was on loan at Villarreal - but he and Real say they were not told before the game.\nThe club said they would take \"the appropriate action\" to ensure a \"favourable\" outcome.\nReal have won the competition 19 times, with their last success in 2014.\nThe Royal Spanish Football Federation's (RFEF) competition committee judge, Francisco Rubio Sanchez, said the club had fielded an \"improper line-up\" and the tie was settled \"in favour of Cadiz\".\nReal were also fined 6,001 euros (£4,300).\nThe Spanish giants said in a statement: \"The competition judge acknowledges that Cheryshev was not personally notified about his ban.\n\"Real Madrid CF can verify the acknowledgement that the Spanish Football Federation did not personally notify Cheryshev about his ban, which is the only way the ban can take effect.\n\"We at Real Madrid CF stand by our argument and will take the appropriate action to ensure that the final outcome is favourable for the club.\"\nSpanish newspaper Marca reported Real will appeal to the RFEF and, if necessary, the country's sport court, TAD.\nCheryshev, 24, was substituted just after half-time, when Real had realised their error. Coach Rafael Benitez said they wanted to \"show good faith\".\nOsasuna were expelled from last year's competition for fielding an ineligible player, and Benitez was in charge of Valencia when they were disqualified from the 2001 competition for selecting too many non-EU players in a tie.", "The 35-year-old Argentina defender was accused of 12 breaches relating to matches between 22 and 28 January 2016.\nDemichelis, who is in France for City's Champions League quarter-final at Paris St-Germain on Wednesday, had until 17:00 BST on Wednesday to respond.\nThe FA will decide Demichelis' punishment, with potential sanctions ranging from a fine to a ban.\nRules introduced in the 2014-15 season prevent players and coaches from betting on any football activity worldwide.\nThere is no suggestion the charge related to any City games in which Demichelis has featured this season, nor any match he could have had any influence over.", "The Real Madrid forward was placed under formal investigation in 2015 over an alleged bid to blackmail fellow footballer Mathieu Valbuena.\nWhen he and another suspect argued the police had acted dishonestly, their case was rejected by the Appeal Court.\nNow another court has backed Karim Benzema's complaint. His lawyer says he expects the case to be thrown out.\n\"It's definitely a big victory,\" said lawyer Patrice Spinosi, who told France Info it was a turning point in the investigation.\nHe said Tuesday's decision by France's highest judicial court - the Court of Cassation - meant that the case would return to the Court of Appeal's examining chamber, which would have no choice but to drop the inquiry.\nAt the heart of the case was the role of an undercover police officer.\nIn 2015, a blackmailer got in touch with Mathieu Valbuena, threatening to make the sex tape public. The footballer was asked to appoint a go-between and at that point a police officer was given the task of negotiating on Mr Valbuena's behalf under the false name Lukas.\nThree suspects were linked to the blackmail attempt before one of them approached a childhood friend of Karim Benzema for help. Karim Benzema is then alleged to have discussed the sex tape with Mathieu Valbuena during a France team training session in October 2015.\nAccording to Mr Spinosi, the undercover officer had played a \"very active role\", pushing the two sides towards a deal. Without his involvement no offence would have taken place, he believes.\nProsecutors argue that Karim Benzema urged his colleague to pay the blackmailers although he denies the allegation.\nEven if it is eventually thrown out, that could take months.\nThe Court of Cassation has only ruled on the conduct of police during the investigation rather than on the allegations themselves, commentators say. That will be the task of the Court of Appeal.\nAnother of Karim Benzema's lawyers, Sylvain Cormier, said \"we aren't forgetting the main battle is to prove his innocence\".\nSince the affair emerged in November 2015, neither footballer has played for their national team.\nKarim Benzema joined Real Madrid in 2009 and is seen as one of the club's leading players, helping them to Champions League victory last month in Cardiff.\nMathieu Valbuena's Lyon team finished fourth in France's Ligue 1 last season and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.", "Ronaldo scored his 20th La Liga goal of the season as he curled home Real's opener after just two minutes.\nAthletic levelled when Javier Eraso side-footed in but James Rodriguez made it 2-1 with a long-range strike.\nToni Kroos added a third just before half-time and after Raphael Varane had been sent off, Ronaldo scored again before Gorka Elustondo's late header.\nRelive Madrid's win as it happened\nThe win lifted Real above Atletico Madrid into second place in the table, although Atletico and Barcelona both play on Sunday.\nReal remain unbeaten under coach Zinedine Zidane after winning their seventh successive home league game.\nBut it wasn't as comfortable as the score suggested in the first half as Athletic created several chances against an uncertain home defence.\nTop scorer Artiz Aduriz, 35, could have had a hat-trick before the break as he headed wide, flicked an effort against the bar and saw Keylor Navas save another heading opportunity.\nReal made their superior finishing count though, with Ronaldo taking his total this season to 31 goals in all competitions with the opening goal.\nRodriguez made it two goals in three games, having not previously scored in La Liga since November, while Kroos scored his first goal of the season as he turned onto a Ronaldo pass to score with a deflected shot.\nReal, who play at Roma in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, then cruised through the second half before the late flurry of activity.\nVarane, who had been at fault for Athletic's first-half equaliser, received a second caution for an innocuous looking aerial challenge on Aduriz with seven minutes to go.\nTen-man Real added a fourth when Ronaldo controlled a cross from Lucas Vazquez to drill the ball home before Elustondo nodded in an Oscar de Marcos cross in the last minute to pull one back for the visitors.\nReal Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane: \"The Press are here to opine on whether Ronaldo plays well or badly, if he is finished, but today he has showed he is brilliant.\n\"You will always have errors but I am not worried about that. I think we were good physically, on the ball and I am happy with what we did.\n\"We are ready for the match against Roma. We are in shape, playing well, and very pleased with how we played today against a very good rival. We are prepared for Wednesday.\"", "Real's seventh successive league win kept alive their hopes of a first title since 2012 and sent neighbours Getafe to the bottom of the table.\nKarim Benzema put Real ahead and after Isco made it 2-0 at half-time, Bale raced clear to add the third.\nGetafe replied before James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo added late goals.\nBarca, who have taken just one point from the last possible nine, play at home to Valencia on Sunday (19:30 BST).\nReal kept the pressure on the defending champions, while Juan Esnaider made a losing start as Getafe's new coach. His side have now lost 11 of their past 13 games.\nReal, who beat Wolfbsurg in the Champions League on Tuesday to set up a semi-final with Manchester City, barely had to extend themselves to get the result they needed to go above Atletico Madrid, who play Granada on Sunday (17:15 BST), and into second place.\nCoach Zinedine Zidane was able to take off both Bale and Benzema in the second half to give them a rest before Real's midweek league game at home to fourth-placed Villarreal.\nWales forward Bale, 26, set his best Liga tally since arriving in a world-record £85m move in September 2013, racing into the Getafe area from the right and curling left-footed into the far corner.\nRonaldo continued his record of having played every minute of Real's La Liga campaign and claimed his 47th goal of the season, scoring for the fourth league game in a row in stoppage time when he tapped in after being set up by Jese.\nSubstitute Jese had also created the fourth goal for Rodriguez, who capped in an impressive performance with a cool finish to enhance his side's goal difference after former Real forward Pablo Sarabia had eaten into the lead with a fine strike in the 84th minute.\nMadrid coach Zinedine Zidane: \"We are doing our job and are getting closer and closer.\n\"We are going to bed one point behind, but we can't look beyond that.\"\nPraising Benzema after the France international was told he would not be picked for Euro 2016, Zidane added: \"It did affect him and yes he is disappointed, but he is a professional and he knows that on the field he is very important for the team.\n\"Today he scored and had two assists, so he is very concentrated on what he is doing.\"", "The 59-year-old could start his new job with an eight-match ban after he was sent off in his final game as Greece boss - a 5-3 penalty shoot-out defeat by Costa Rica at the 2014 World Cup.\nLisbon-born Santos, who has managed Benfica, has appealed against the ban.\nHe succeeds Paulo Bento, who quit after a surprise 1-0 Euro 2016 qualifying loss to Albania earlier this month.\nSantos, who played for Maritimo and Estoril during the 1970s, has also been in charge of Porto and Sporting Lisbon during his 27-year managerial career.\nHe has also spent time managing in Greece, including a stint with PAOK, Panathinaikos and two spells with AEK Athens.\nHe was in charge of Greece for four years but his reign ended on a sour note with his sending off, which followed an altercation with an official at the end of the last-16 match in Recife.", "Real, without the rested Cristiano Ronaldo, fought back from 2-1 down in the final six minutes to restore their six-point advantage over arch-rivals Barcelona, who won 3-0 at Osasuna earlier on Saturday.\nZinedine Zidane's side laboured in an uninspiring first half which saw Depor midfielder Celso Borges head against the post.\nStriker Alvaro Morata's 20-yard drive shortly after the restart appeared to ease the tension among the home fans.\nHowever, Depor substitute Joselu - on loan from English Premier League side Stoke - swung the match dramatically in favour of the visitors.\nHe powered in the equaliser with a rising drive into the top-left corner after on-loan Aston Villa midfielder Carles Gil dispossessed Casemiro on the edge of his penalty area.\nAnd Joselu, who came through the ranks at the Bernabeu, increased the nervousness by pouncing on more defensive uncertainty to slot home.\nBut the drama did not end there.\nReal equalised with six minutes left when substitute Mariano Diaz scored his first La Liga goal with a fortuitous effort that flew in off his shoulder.\nThen, skipper Ramos - whose late equaliser earned Real a vital draw at Barcelona last weekend - headed in Toni Kroos' corner to spark jubilant celebrations at the Bernabeu.\nIt means that Zidane's men have surpassed Real's previous record of 34 games unbeaten, set under Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker in 1988-89.\nMadrid have not won La Liga since 2012 but will end the calendar year in pole position after rediscovering their resilience since club legend Zidane replaced Rafael Benitez in January.\nLos Merengues went into Saturday's game having taken 87 of the 102 points on offer in their previous 34 league matches and, although Zidane's side have not always been fluent, they have developed a useful knack of refusing to acknowledge when they are beaten.\nThe French World Cup winner has instilled a never-say-die attitude in his side that has yielded some important points in the biggest moments.\nAnd, just seven days after Ramos salvaged a draw in El Clasico, that fighting spirit was apparent again against fifth-bottom Deportivo.\nMadrid were missing a number of stellar names as Zidane named a much-changed side with one eye on next week's Club World Cup in Japan.\nWithout Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, plus injured Wales forward Gareth Bale, they lacked fluency and looked defensively vulnerable.\nBut the home side continued to believe they could turn the game back in their favour as Depor dropped deeper.\nThe pressure eventually told. The visiting defence buckled as Ramos rose highest, the away players buckling to the turf in despair.\nReal Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane: \"We know that we can do big things like we did tonight. Thirty-five games without a loss gives you strength. One day we will lose, but the good thing about this team is that it always believes.\"\nMatch-winner Sergio Ramos: \"You fight until the very end, with faith, with enthusiasm, with commitment, and things go your way.\"\nA trip to Japan for Real Madrid. The Champions League winners go to the Club World Cup, where they will play either South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors or Mexican side America in the semi-finals on Thursday (10:30 GMT).\nDeportivo, who have won just once in nine matches, will be eyeing next Sunday's home game against bottom side Osasuna as an opportunity to move away from the bottom three.\nMatch ends, Real Madrid 3, Deportivo de La Coruña 2.\nSecond Half ends, Real Madrid 3, Deportivo de La Coruña 2.\nCorner, Deportivo de La Coruña. Conceded by Pepe.\nAttempt missed. Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Mariano with a cross.\nLucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.\nFoul by Pedro Mosquera (Deportivo de La Coruña).\nFoul by Mariano (Real Madrid).\nFernando Navarro (Deportivo de La Coruña) wins a free kick on the left wing.\nGoal! Real Madrid 3, Deportivo de La Coruña 2. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) header from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Toni Kroos with a cross following a corner.\nDelay over. They are ready to continue.\nDelay in match Przemyslaw Tyton (Deportivo de La Coruña) because of an injury.\nCorner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Przemyslaw Tyton.\nAttempt saved. Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Pepe with a cross.\nKeylor Navas (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card.\nSidnei (Deportivo de La Coruña) is shown the yellow card.\nSergio Ramos (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card.\nCorner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Przemyslaw Tyton.\nFoul by Mariano (Real Madrid).\nJuanfran (Deportivo de La Coruña) wins a free kick in the defensive half.\nCasemiro (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.\nFoul by Joselu (Deportivo de La Coruña).\nGoal! Real Madrid 2, Deportivo de La Coruña 2. Mariano (Real Madrid) with an attempt from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez with a cross.\nNacho (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.\nFoul by Faycal Fajr (Deportivo de La Coruña).\nSubstitution, Deportivo de La Coruña. Faycal Fajr replaces Ryan Babel.\nLucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.\nFoul by Joselu (Deportivo de La Coruña).\nSubstitution, Real Madrid. Marcelo replaces Danilo.\nOffside, Real Madrid. Toni Kroos tries a through ball, but Mariano is caught offside.\nSubstitution, Deportivo de La Coruña. Pedro Mosquera replaces Florin Andone.\nPepe (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.\nDangerous play by Florin Andone (Deportivo de La Coruña).\nSubstitution, Real Madrid. Mariano replaces Isco.\nÁlvaro Morata (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card.\nOffside, Deportivo de La Coruña. Fernando Navarro tries a through ball, but Florin Andone is caught offside.\nFoul by Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid).\nGuilherme (Deportivo de La Coruña) wins a free kick in the defensive half.\nDanilo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick on the right wing.\nFoul by Florin Andone (Deportivo de La Coruña).\nAttempt blocked. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nacho.", "Reports United may sign Welshman Bale, 26, rekindled when Zinedine Zidane replaced Rafa Benitez as Real boss.\nAfter his hat-trick to help Real beat Deportivo La Coruna 5-0, Zidane's first game in charge, Bale said Benitez's exit was a \"huge disappointment\".\n\"But I'm enjoying my football at the moment so I'll keep going,\" added Bale.\nThe Wales international, who received a standing ovation after scoring his 10th goal in seven games, says Real and France legend Zidane inspired him during his formative years.\n\"As a player he was incredible,\" said Bale. You try and emulate people like that. He's a legend not just at the club, but for football.\n\"We had a chat when he first came in, and no matter what I'll always give 100% on a football pitch and that's what I did [against Deportivo].\"\nAmid reports suggesting he might move to Old Trafford, Bale also did not rule out returning to the Premier League, where he starred for Tottenham Hotspur before a world-record £85m move to Real in September, 2013.\n\"Obviously you can never predict what happens in the future,\" he said.\nReal's win over Deportivo moved them to within two points of second-placed Barcelona and four shy of leaders Atletico Madrid.\nBale believes he and his team-mates can continue the team's upward trajectory.\n\"We know what can happen in the league, we know we have to keep fighting all the way and we'll keep doing that until the last whistle,\" Bale added.\nMeanwhile, Zidane has said he hopes Bale will continue to work hard in defence as well as in attack.", "The Italian Olympic Committee's decision means the 43-year-old can return to the bench on 9 December.\nConte was banned in August for failing to report alleged match-fixing in two games when he was coach of Siena during the 2010-11 season.\nHe was later cleared in relation to one of these two matches.\nConte led an unbeaten Juventus side to the Serie A title last season, his first in charge, but had been set to miss the whole of the current campaign.\nHe took his case to the Italian Olympic Committee, the country's final appeal court for sports disputes, after being handed his original ban by the Italian Football Federation.\nUnder the terms of his suspension, he is excluded from the Juventus dugout and dressing rooms on matchdays, but can take training during the week.\nTechnical director Massimo Carrera is leading the team on matchdays during Conte's ban.\nConte was originally accused of wrongdoing over Siena's matches against Albinoleffe and Novara two seasons ago.\nHe was subsequently cleared over the Novara match, but remains guilty of failing to report alleged corruption regarding the Albinoleffe game.\nBy the time he returns, Conte will have missed 15 Serie A matches and all six of Juve's group games in the Champions League, including both Group E meetings with Chelsea.\nConte's assistant at Siena and Juventus, Angelo Alessio, had his original eight-month ban reduced to six months on appeal.\nThe bans handed to Conte and Alessio relate to the wide-ranging investigation into the 'Calcioscommesse' scandal, which has seen more than 20 Italian teams examined as part of a match-fixing inquiry.", "Real manager Zinedine Zidane has said he cannot guarantee Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema will stay at the Bernabeu this summer.\nThat has prompted reports Manchester United could rekindle their long-standing interest in the 28-year-old.\n\"It's a ridiculous, stupid story,\" agent Jonathan Barnett told BBC Sport.\nBale was hampered by injury last season and lost his place to Isco, but previously flourished under Zidane and was rewarded with a place on the 30-man shortlist for the 2016 Ballon d'Or.\nHowever, with Real linked with a 180m euros (£160m) move for 18-year-old Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe, there have been reports that they will look to move on one of Bale, Ronaldo or Benzema.\nAsked about the trio on Thursday, Zidane said: \"I want everyone who is here now to stay but anything can happen right up until 31 August.\"\nUnited first tried to sign Bale before he joined Tottenham from Southampton in 2007 and reignited their interest before his move to Spain four years ago.\nInstead, though, the Welshman joined Real from Tottenham for a then world record fee of £85m.\nHe extended his contract in October 2016, committing him to the Bernabeu club until 2022 and on improved terms reportedly worth £600,000 per week, £350,000 after tax.\nDespite helping Real win three Champions League titles in four years - scoring in the 2014 final win over rivals Atletico Madrid - Bale's time in Spain has been mixed.\nDuring his second season, he struggled with calf injuries, was jeered by some Real supporters and faced criticism from sections of the Spanish media as Carlo Ancelotti's side failed to win a trophy.", "The 28-year-old was dismissed in the second half for a late challenge on former team-mate Ashley Young.\nHe will now be available for the Boxing Day trip to Swansea City.\nBut Aston Villa have been charged with failing to \"ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion\" following the incident.\nThe club have until 18:00 GMT on 30 December to respond.\nHad Agbonlahor's appeal against his red card been unsuccessful, he would have been banned for three matches.", "And for all the plaudits applied to their great La Liga rivals Barcelona, the praise for the continuing excellence and endurance of Bayern Munich and Juventus and the continuing defiance over the odds of Atletico Madrid, they remain the continent's pre-eminent footballing force.\nThe great Cristiano Ronaldo, when analysing his own achievements, underlined it by saying: \"The numbers don't lie.\"\nAnd the same applies to Real Madrid - the 4-1 victory on Saturday sealed their third Champions League win in four years. Those numbers do not lie either.\nSo why are Real Madrid currently in a league of their own?\n\"Those who always criticise Cristiano are going to have to put their guitar back in its case.\"\nThese are the third-person words of Ronaldo after his fourth Champions League triumph, his third with Real after winning with Manchester United in Moscow in 2008.\nAnd even after scoring his 600th career goal, adding polish to a Champions League record that now reads 105 goals in 140 games and scoring in his third final, the dwindling band that continues to criticise Ronaldo is increasingly out of tune.\nThe Portugal captain has now scored at least twice as many Champions League goals as any other other player in the quarter-finals (20), semi-finals (13), and finals (four).\nThe criticism usually revolves around Ronaldo's ego and personality but - to twist an old Sir Winston Churchill quote about his predecessor and successor as prime minister Clement Attlee - he may be immodest but he has got plenty to be immodest about.\nAfter embracing his Old Trafford mentor Sir Alex Ferguson backstage and then receiving the man of the match award from him, this fiercely dedicated and consummate professional reflected on his feats at 32, an age when many players are feeling the tap on the shoulder from Father Time.\nHe said: \"I will now have two or three days off, then it is World Cup qualifiers with Portugal before the Fifa Confederations Cup. It is a long season but I am motivated.\n\"My age is just a number. I feel like a young boy.\"\nMedia playback is not supported on this device\nJoyous news for all at Real Madrid, where occasionally he has not felt unconditional love from the inhabitants of the Bernabeu, and ominous words for those hoping to unseat them as European football's superpower.\nReal Madrid have world class sprinkled throughout their team, from Sergio Ramos in defence, through Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in midfield, to Ronaldo.\nIt is, for all those riches, Ronaldo who currently makes Real a cut above the rest and means they will be strong candidates for a 13th Champions League next season.\nHere he showed that petulant side in the first 20 minutes before emerging, yet again, as the most significant figure in a game of world-class quality.\nThe usual debate has already begun about who is the better between Ronaldo and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. It is simpler to just enjoy two of the all-time greats - but this season has belonged to Ronaldo and his performance in Cardiff confirmed it.\nThe forces of personality inside Real Madrid's dressing room can make it a combustible place - but the bad news for their rivals is that the sheer stature and knowledge of coach Zinedine Zidane provides the glue that has brought unity.\nThis quietly spoken character commands instant respect from his playing days when he was a World Cup winner with France in 1998, won Euro 2000 and acquired legendary status at Real Madrid when he was man of the match in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen at Hampden Park. There he scored the winner with one of greatest goals seen in one of these showpiece games, hooking a left-foot volley over his shoulder from a Roberto Carlos cross.\nZidane's coaching career at the Bernabeu was something of a slow burner, moving from coach of Real Madrid Castilla, the club's \"B\" team to taking over from the sacked Rafael Benitez in January 2016.\nThe results have been extraordinary as Zidane moves seamlessly from greatness as a player to history-making coach.\nSince taking charge he has won the Champions League in successive seasons, making Real the first club to achieve this, brought La Liga back to the Bernabeu for the first time in five years and has also secured the Super Cup and World Club Cup.\nZidane is the first coach to win Europe's elite club competition back-to-back since Italian Arrigo Sacchi with AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, and while he may not exactly be a reluctant hero, he has brought an understated sprinkling of stardust to the \"Galacticos\".\nHe is clearly proud to manage Real, saying: \"I am a man of this house.\"\nAnd what he brings, what he brought to Cardiff, was the authority that comes from being one of the best, a man who can speak on equal terms to modern greats such as Ronaldo. He can look them in the eye and they know he has been to the same places as them.\nIn that respect, the 44-year-old is the perfect man for Real's present and, when it comes to keeping them ahead of those who want to topple them, the future.\nRonaldo was full of praise for Zidane's half-time address after Real had struggled to subdue Juventus in the first 45 minutes.\n\"Zinedine Zidane gave us a really positive half-time team talk,\" he said. \"He really believed in us.\"\nSuccess for a Real Madrid coach usually only stretches as far as the next game, but Zidane is in an impregnable position.\nAnd he is ready for the next challenge.\n\"This is a truly historic day for all Real Madrid fans, the players and myself - but we know how things are,\" he said.\n\"We know it is going to be even more difficult to win but we are now going to work very, very hard to win once again.\"\nWhile the Premier League's own Champions League qualifiers Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United brace themselves to wield the chequebook in readiness for next season, a glance at Real Madrid's squad strength may cause some sleepless nights.\nLet's leave those who actually started in Cardiff to one side - the names on Real Madrid's bench are enough to be going on with.\nZidane was able to set aside concerns about Gareth Bale's ability to last 90 minutes on his return to Wales because he had a player of the quality of Isco, the world-class Wales forward being introduced as a late substitute.\nBale was joined on the bench by 24-year-old Alvaro Morata, coveted by Chelsea and Manchester United and yet unable to make Real's first-choice side for a Champions League final.\nMarco Asensio, at just 21, made his contribution with a goal as a midfield substitute, while 23-year-old Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic did not get any game time.\nAnd, just as significantly, were those who did not make the matchday squad. Pepe and James Rodriguez, the latter touted as potentially a marquee signing for some of the Premier League's elite clubs, did not even get to change out of their club suits.\nPlace this next to the class in Real's side - and here you can simply list Saturday's starting XI - and the scale of the task of overtaking the Bernabeu giants becomes clear.\nReal have superstar players and a superstar coach - and it may all have come together at the perfect time for them to extend their rule of European football.\nBarcelona, stung by watching Real win La Liga and the Champions League, are currently in a period of transition.\nErnesto Valverde, formerly of Athletic Bilbao, has replaced Luis Enrique as manager, and will be under orders to reverse the current trend.\nLionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez represent a world-class attacking trio but this is a side in need of renewal.\nThere is still an over-reliance on the Argentine while the great midfielder and leader Andres Iniesta is now 33 and will soon have to be replaced.\nIn this environment, Real can be guaranteed to be ruthless when it comes to squad strengthening.\nZidane swatted away questions about Bale's future but, as Sir Alex Ferguson once said about Manchester United, this is a bus that waits for no-one.\nThe likes of Morata and, far more likely, Rodriguez will go but Real are already being ominously linked with the sort of talent that will add even further lustre to this great side.\nManchester United goalkeeper David de Gea is consistently linked with a return to Madrid, this time with Real, while they are already in pole position to sign the prodigy with all the gifts to be a \"Galactico\" of the future, Monaco's 18-year-old France forward Kylian Mbappe.\nMbappe may well cost a world-record transfer fee - but Real have never blinked in the face of that before and in the afterglow of yet another Champions League triumph they will want to strike another footballing and psychological blow to those they consider their closest rivals.\nRonaldo's astonishing 12 months in photos", "The suspended Uefa chief is serving a 90-day suspension on corruption charges alongside outgoing Fifa president Sepp Blatter, while Fifa's adjudicatory committee considers its verdict.\nPlatini's lawyer Thibaud d'Ales said the ethics investigators' \"excessive\" recommendations are a \"scandal\".\nThe adjudicatory committee intends to announce its verdict next month.\nThe Frenchman is facing sanctions over a \"disloyal payment\" that saw Platini, 60, receive £1.35m from Blatter, 79, in 2011 for consultation work done nine years earlier.\nThe pair, who are serving 90-day provisional bans, have denied any wrongdoing, but admitted there was no written contract.\nThe adjudicatory committee, led by German judge Hans Joachim Eckert, opened proceedings on Monday, after receiving the ethics committee's recommendations.\nPlatini is currently barred from taking part in the campaign to replace Blatter as Fifa president in February, but is taking his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).\nSwiss Blatter, who has had recent health problems and claimed on Monday that he had been \"close to dying\", is also likely to appeal to Cas.", "Luis Garcia del Moral and Michele Ferrari worked with the American during his seven-year Tour de France reign.\nPermanently banning these individuals from sport is a powerful statement\nTrainer Jose \"Pepe\" Marti worked with the rider's US Postal Service team.\nUSADA announced the punishments on Tuesday, the day after a deadline had passed for the trio to either accept or challenge the sanctions.\nThe two other alleged conspirators, another doctor Pedro Celaya and former team boss Johann Bruyneel, have either requested a five-day extension to respond to the charges or asked for a full arbitration hearing to begin.\nArmstrong has been accused of violating anti-doping rules during his time with USPS and has until Saturday to either accept the charges or agree for the case to go to arbitration.\nIf found guilty, Armstrong faces a lifetime ban and being stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles.\nLawyers for the 40-year-old are attempting to persuade a federal court in Texas to block the doping case from proceeding, but that process hit a setback this week when US District Judge Sam Sparks dismissed the case.\nThe three men named on Tuesday have been sanctioned for possessing, trafficking and administering doping products, and being involved in the cover-up of their use.\nMarti worked as a trainer for the USPS and Discovery Channel Cycling Teams during the period from 1999 through 2007. Before then, Dr del Moral was team physician for the USPS Cycling Team from 1999 through 2003, with Dr Ferrari a consulting doctor for the same team between 1999 and 2006.\nThe USADA said in a statement: \"Permanently banning these individuals from sport is a powerful statement that protects the current and next generation of athletes from their influence, and preserves the integrity of future competition.\"", "The 27-year-old was dismissed for shoving Jonathan Viera early in the second half of Wednesday's draw.\nThe Wales international reacted angrily after he was pushed and received just his second sending off of his career.\nSpeaking to Real Madrid TV, Bale said: \"I don't believe that it was deserving of a red card.\"\nHe continued: \"I was shown the yellow for the foul, I was then pushed and I just pushed him back. I want to apologise to the team and the fans. I hope to learn from my mistake\".\nBale could miss Madrid's three remaining league games prior to the international break later in March but will still be available for Real's Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Napoli on Tuesday.\nIt was his first sending off since he was red carded in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 defeat by Stoke City in October 2008 but he will be available for Wales' World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 24 March.\n\"He wasn't happy. Obviously playing with 11 is better but it's part of the game that we cannot change. We have to move on,\" Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane said.\nReal goalkeeper Keylor Navas added: \"He has spoken to everyone to apologise and he feels bad. We're a united group and we win and lose the games all together. He is part of that and he can't be blamed for anything.\"", "The Wales international 26, helped Real overcome Manchester City on Wednesday to set up a Champions League final against Atletico Madrid on 28 May.\nHe has scored 19 goals in La Liga this season and provided 10 assists.\nZinedine Zidane's Real are one point behind La Liga leaders Barcelona with two games to go.\nA Real statement said Bale has \"a joint strain in his right knee\".\nKeeper Keylor Navas, 29, also misses Sunday's match at the Bernabeu after being \"diagnosed with tendinitis in the Achilles tendon of his left foot\".\nValencia are ninth in La Liga, 40 points behind third-placed Real.\nZidane says he will not look to rest Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 31 La Liga goals this season, before the Champions League final.\n\"I think he is going to play. I think he is in perfect shape,\" said Zidane on Saturday." ]

[ "This dress is really good quality for the price. It rivals dresses that I was just shopping for that were in the $80+ price range. It's thick and heavy but still really stretchy and movable. The fabric isn't see through at all. This would be perfect for a professional setting or a nice night out. It's modest, yet snug to the body and sexy. I received this item at a discount in exchange for my honest feedback. I definitely recommend this dress to anyone looking for a modest yet sexy dress." ]

[ "The dress was really pretty and good quality but it runs small, I usually wear a small but I had to get a medium in this dress and it fits perfect. I am 5'4 and 135lbs and the medium was perfect.", "For being super cheap (price wise), this is actually really fancy looking. It can be dressed up or dressed down! :)", "As others have posted, these were smaller than expected. Should have paid more attention to description. They are very light and quality was good for the price. Will be comfortable wearing them for day-to-day events but not for dressing up.", "Loved the dress and so did everyone else. The fit was perfect. I ordered a medium and I am 5'2 -120 lbs. bra 34-B. I love the dress so much, I have ordered two more. Great price and good quality, much better than expected.", "Bought these as comfortable other-shoes to hide under a wedding dress. Wanted a slight heel (i.e., 2 inches) - something to walk around post-reception & etc. But really ugly. Even when hidden under a dress. Good price, so I didn't bother returning, just gave to donation.", "Great dress for what it is and price. Plain, simple. Looks as it does in the picture. Clear it's not a $200 dress, but it'll get the point across. Paired with a flapper wig, it really dresses this up", "Beautiful dress. I am 59 and it was long enough to still touch the floor. It really really hugs in the back, I wish the back was more flowy like the front. Great dress for the price.", "I bought this dress in white for when I get married this week, and it is sheer. Definitely get a slip and nude undergarments if you want a solid white option. It does not have anything to help the dress poof out much, but the dress is flowy enough to get a petticoat to get it as poofy as you want it to be. The quality is pretty good and the lace is really cute! I would recommend this dress in other colors or if you do not mind buying additional pieces to make it work.", "Beautiful dress, and wonderful quality. The dress just didn't look good on me, so I returned it. I am only 5'4\". I think the dress would be lovely on a taller woman.", "Works perfectly in printer. Good quality print at a really good price. Will buy again.", "Dress it up or dress it down; looks great with a little black dress, white shirt, or jeans and a tee. Beautiful color, good quality and comfortable to wear. Looks and feels more expensive than it is.", "Very good quality cable, and delivered on time. For the price, I expected variation from the picture, but the cable is really good. Picture quality was flawless.", "Tons of fun, but poor quality. I figured with the price, it wasn't going to be a super high quality of material and sewing, but this is pretty poor. For a start up dress up set, it's not bad, but definitely not high quality.", "Does not look anything like in the picture, more a top than a dress, not a quality item, suits the price, you get what you pay for.", "It doesn't matter if you dress for Church or dinner, these Pearls are both beautiful and timeless. Priced reasonably for pearls of this quality. An heirloom for the ages.", "I have previously purchased a dress by this manufacturer, that I love and the quality was great. I didn't feel this jumpsuit was the same quality. The material was thinner and it didn't feel as good as the dress I purchased previously from a retail store.", "This really dresses up my bathroom and it was the best priced cabinet I could find in the espresso finish. This is a nice quality piec-no cheap particle board, no cardboard backing. This was also the easiest cabinet I have ever put together. Everything is clearly labeled and the instructions are super simple to follow.", "I really like this line of dress pants. Always a very reasonable price, with very good quality. The fit is always perfect, if it is modern fit, it means tailored not slim fit. The color is a little darker than I wanted, but the pattern is very sophisticated and muted. There is a slight shine in the daylight, very mild not offensive. And, the best part of all for this line, wash and wear. I have about 10 pair from this line, will buy 10 more.", "Dress is really cute and flattering. The hat is really floppy though and I couldn't ever get it to look great. Overall a decent costume for the price.", "It looks like two versions of this dress are being sold under the same product on Amazon (as different colors). The green dress appears to be a good quality (see customer reviewer photos), but the black version of this dress mailed out by Amazon is an entirely different cut, material, and quality. I looked through the Amazon reviews of this product and found consistently that people receiving the black version of the dress were having the same issues as me -- the fabric is extremely low quality (my dress was ripped in three places before I even got it out of the package), the dress is not cut or sewn to actually be wearable (the material is completely see-through, there are no brands or tags on the dress so it looks like it was handsewn, the cut is totally different than the photo given on Amazon), and it's poorly shipped (reviewer Randall Foster had basically all the same issues I had.) The dress itself feels like a tablecloth or a trash bag. I couldn't even figure out what material it was made from -- there are no tags, and the fabric itself smells horrible; imagine a burnt tire smell. I don't want to put this on my body for fear of contracting some kind of rash. And, after looking through all the Amazon reviews and seeing that the green color of the dress consistently got 4-5 stars whereas ALL of the 1-star reviews were the black version of the dress, I am certain I am not the only person receiving this low-quality product in place of what was advertised.\n\nI did contact Amazon in the hopes they will work with the seller on removing the black color option of this item. It's clear that many other buyers have been duped into buying this product because of false reviews -- any positive reviews attributed to this item rightfully belong to the green dress, and it's a scam that the black dress is being sent out at the $32 price point for what it really is. Unwearable.", "It is very important to me the dress well and look good. The shirt looks good but the thread count needs to be increased. The buttons were attached really well to help with smooth appearance. This so the appearance equals the feel of quality. The shirt had to many hanging threads from the manufacturing process cut them at end of line. The packaging was good.", "for the price, these are really good. just a standard set of headphones...but these are still good quality. im happy", "It is simple but it is good as it can match with most of the daily dress you put on. The price is a good bargain. It is worth to be one of your collection in the drawer.", "Excellent quality, good price, I really can't complain about these product", "The dress fits really well on me sexy and casual it can be dressed up or dressed down good material thick Not See Thru .I wore without a bra and did not offend anybody", "I chose \"fits as expected\" for the question \"How does this product fit?\" but this is not exactly accurate. While this is really a nice dress and I got compliments on it, the fitting is off. The dress is poorly constructed. It's obvious that it is a cheap dress. With that said, it's cute so I would recommend it to women who have realistic expectations of what they will get for a dress in this price range.", "Honestly great dress. Did not expect it to be of such great quality. Wore for a Halloween party at work. The under skirt really does a great job of making the dress have a little poof around the bottom. Saving it for future wear. Love it!! Everyone thought I did a costume rental and complimented the dress.", "This was a really good price for high quality colored pencil. I got these for my daughter. They are comparable in quality to my prismacolors.", "Very bohemian style dress. The color is exactly as the picture. Washes great no shrinkage. The dress runs a little small so I would go up a size if your child is in between sizes. Dress is very flowy and the little vest that comes with it really compliments the dress well. This would be cute with leggings and boots or just sandals. Great versatile dress, for the price you can't go wrong.", "It's a pretty dress, but ultimately I returned it because I felt the quality didn't match the price. If the dress were $50-$70 dollars I would have kept it. The edges look tattered, which I think is the look they're going for, but it comes off kind of cheap. The fabric itself feels very \"costume-y\", especially at the shoulders and around the hips. It isn't a true corset, so don't expect it to really create that characteristic curve. Also, at the bottom of the back, below the \"corset\", it folds in weird. For this reason it doesn't bustle out like in the photos. Overall, a decent dress that probably, in my opinion, should be priced a bit lower. For reference I ordered a small. I am 5'11\", 115 pounds.", "I really like the quality of this jacket and the fit as well. My girlfriend really likes me in it. This coat can be worn with jeans or when you dress up and always looks great.", "Bad sound quality microphone, strange signal sounds while in use. Great design with low quality components really. Not good enough quality at this price point though." ]

[ "La réponse de LPH est très complète. On peut peut-être la parachever par l'analyse fine des rares exceptions où anti- semble avoir été substitué à ante-.\n\n\nAntichambre : cet emprunt à l'italien n'a pas été modifié par l'Académie. Un mot comme anticour, par exemple, est en revanche devenu avant-cour (Féraud, 1788).\nAntidate et antidater : le mot signifiait d'abord \"avec une autre date\", la notion d'antériorité est venue par la suite (voir le TLF).\nAnticiper et anticipation : emprunt direct du latin anticipatio.\nAntique et famille : emprunt direct du latin antiquus.\n\n\nJe n'en ai pas trouvé d'autres. Il est à noter qu'en lisant le dictionnaire latin Gaffiot (y c. les noms propres), on constate que ante et anti sont beaucoup plus mobiles sémantiquement qu'en français. Ce qui nous surprend semblait banal aux Romains.\n\nOn peut aussi noter que certaines formes ont fait disparaitre la lettre finale ; antarctique, antanaclase, antagonisme, antalgie, antan.\nPar ailleurs, d'autres préfixes ont concurrencé ces deux-là : pré- ou avant- d'un côté, contr- de l'autre." ]

[ "I think the answer is: \n\n\n ANTIBODY.\n\n\nWith three I'm a worker \n\n\n ANT(Ants being social workers is a common crossword clue.)\n\n\nWith four I'm against you\n\n\n ANTI(Anti-means opposing someone/something)\n\n\nWith seven I have an anagram that steals \n\n\n As pointed out by others, this is BANDITO which is Spanish/Mexican for bandit.\n\n\nWith all eight I save you \n\n\n ANTIBODY is what saves us from diseases and by extension from death.", "Se neste sítio Pequeno Livro de Dicas de Diagramação de Lucas Luz dermos uma busca por \"Espaço antes da barra\", encontraremos o exemplo \"Exemplo/Livro\" sem espaço. Em rigor, os livros nunca colocam espaço(s) nem antes nem depois duma barra transversal ou oblíqua. \n\n\"f) a barra transversal é usada entre números e datas de fascículos não\nseqüenciais (ex: 7/9, 1979/1981);\"¹\nFonte: http://biblioteca.fecap.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Manual-ABNT_-regras-gerais-de-estilo-e-formata%C3%A7%C3%A3o-de-trabalhos-acad%C3%AAmicos.pdf\n\nVer também o Ciberdúvidas:\nhttps://ciberduvidas.iscte-iul.pt/consultorio/perguntas/espaco-antes-e-depois-da-barra/22261\n\n\n\n¹ Observar que não há espaço(s) entre um número e outro ou entre uma data e outra. Ipso facto, não devemos colocar espaço(s) nem antes nem depois da barra. Portanto, \"Diretor/CEO\".", "Si on remet la phrase dans son contexte, le sens devient clair:\n\n\n La rentrée. L’été tire à sa fin. Les nuits fraîchissent et je recommence à me blottir sous les épaisses couvertures bleues estampillées « Hôpitaux de Paris ». Chaque jour ramène son lot de visages connus mis entre parenthèses le temps des vacances : la lingère, le dentiste, le vaguemestre, une infirmière qui est devenue grand-mère d’un petit Thomas et l’homme qui en juin s’était brisé le doigt avec une barrière de lit. On retrouve ses marques, ses habitudes (...)\n\n\nLe narrateur est depuis lontemps à l'hôpital. Il y a passé tout l'été, et vient maintenant la rentrée: le personnel de l'hôpital qui était en vacances rentre et reprend son poste. Le narrateur retrouve donc les personnes mises entre parenthèses pendant les vacances, c'est-à-dire temporairement absentes de son quotidien parce qu'elles étaient parties en vacances.\n\nChaque jour, le narrateur revoit donc les visages connus (= qu'il connaissait déjà avant, et qu'il reconnait) mis entre parenthèses (= temporairement disparus) le temps des vacances (=pendant les vacances).\n\nDe manière plus générale, ce sens métaphorique de mettre entre parenthèses n'est pas rare et signifie mettre temporairement à l'écart ou de côté.\n\nOn peut dire par exemple:\n\n\n J'ai décidé de mettre ma carrière entre parenthèses pour m'occuper de mes jeunes enfants.\n\n\nOu un exemple tiré du Monde:\n\n\n Il faut mettre le Brexit entre parenthèses.", "On ne fait jamais d'élision entre qui et il.\n\nIl joue avec qui il veut.\n\nEn revanche, on doit élider le e entre que et il :\n\nC'est avec eux qu'il veut jouer.\n\nL'élision peut être absente s'il y a rupture entre que et il, ex :\n\nIl faudrait que :\n– il rentre à cinq heures\n– nous soyons là pour l'accueillir\n\net ne se fait pas non plus quand il n'est pas utilisé en tant que pronom mais comme nom commun :\n\nIl se peut que il soit cité en tant que mot.\n\nEn revanche, l'élision doit continuer à être réalisée avant des guillemets :\n\nC'est avec eux qu'« il veut jouer ».", "Sull'uso di ANTI-\nEsistono in italiano due prefissi anti-.\n\n\n\n\nIl primo – dal latino ante ‘davanti, prima’ – indica anteriorità, precedenza nel tempo o nello spazio e si trova all’inizio di parole derivate dal latino\n\n\nanticipare (dal latino ante ‘prima’ e càpere ‘prendere’)\n\nantimeridiano (dal latino antemeridianum, da ante meridiem ‘prima di mezzogiorno’)\n\no di parole formate modernamente\n\nantibraccio, anticamera, antidiluviano\n\n\n\nIl secondo, dal greco antì ‘contro’, è usato in parole composte in cui il secondo elemento può essere un sostantivo (antincendio, antiruggine), un aggettivo (antigiuridico, anticlericale), un participio presente (antiabbagliante, antiappannante) e assume diversi significati.\n\n\n• Opposizione, avversione, antagonismo verso qualcosa\n\nantipapa, antischiavista, antidemocratico\n\n• Attitudine a combattere o prevenire qualcosa\n\nantiallergico, antisettico, antispasmodico\n\n• Capacità di evitare o impedire qualcosa\n\nanticoagulante, antifurto, antisismico\n\n• Contraddizione, contrasto, o anche indipendenza da qualcosa (con significato simile all’alfa privativo, ➔a-)\n\n\n\n\nantiestetico, antistorico\n\n\n\nPosizione contraria, movimento in senso opposto, posizione speculare\n\n\n\nanticiclone, antipodi.\n\nDUBBI\n\n\nNella scrittura, tra anti- (nel significato di ‘contro’) e il secondo elemento composto si può usare il trattino, specie quando si tratta di neologismi o di composti occasionali o rari. Il trattino viene usato con maggiore frequenza quando la parola successiva comincia per vocale: l’uso resta comunque molto oscillante, e si alterna anche alla grafia separata dei due elementi.\n\nNei giornali degli ultimi anni, tra le centinaia di nuovi prefissati con anti-, si possono trovare\n\n\n\n\nantiburqa, anti-burqa\n\nanti-carovita, anti carovita\n\nantidegrado, anti-degrado, anti degrado\n\n\n\n\nNei casi in cui anti- precede una parola che comincia per i, si tende a evitare la sequenza di due vocali identiche: antincendio è molto più frequente di anti-incendio o di antiincendio.\n\n\nFonte Treccani.it\nNgram anti-islamico vs antislamico", "Sincèrement, j'habite au Québec et entre amis ou même entre professionnelles, nous jasons, prononcé comme jazons. \n\nBavardé va aussi être utilisé et c'est à mon avis dans les mêmes circonstances quoique beaucoup moins usuel. \n\nJe n'ai jamais personnellement employé \"jassé\" ni même entendu ça. Du moins, autant que je saches. Je sais aussi qu'il y a beaucoup de variances selon les régions et ici, en Mauricie au Québec, c'est «jasé» et je dirais même que c'est «jâsé».\n\n\n « J'ai vu Claude hier et il m'a jâsé ça. ».\n\n\nAutre exemple de comment nous l'utilisons\n\n\n « J'ai vu Claude hier et nous nous sommes \"pické\" une petite jâsette. »\n\n\nIl est rare que nous utilisons clavardons tel que suggéré par Jo Bedard outre que dans un contexte virtuel, sur internet.\n\nSource : http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/jaser", "DRN 2.393: aut quia ni mirum maioribus est elementis /\n aut magis hamatis inter se perque plicatis.\n\n\nThis one is somewhat dubious. It could be analysed as an adverb. I think the problem is that prepositions and adverbs are not entirely separate in Latin/Greek, and I think in in your example could be analysed as an adverb as well, if we should ignore traditional terminology for English momentarily and analyse it with the same lack of separation in mind.\n\n\n Aeneid 4.671: Karthago aut antiqua Tyros, flammaeque furentes / culmina perque hominum uoluantur perque deorum.\n\n\nYou might call this simple ellipsis, because only the head of the object of the two prepositions is absent after the second preposition—but, then, isn't what you're after really ellipsis of a prepositional object?\n\n\n Cicero, Rhet. Her. [sp.], 4.68.16: Id fieri poterit, si, quae ante et post et in ipsa re facta erunt, conprehendemus.\n\n\nHere the same applies as in my quotation from Lucretius above.\n\n\n Varro, Res Rusticae, 1.35.2.5: dum in xv diebus ante et post brumam, ut pleraque, ne facias.\n\n\nI think this one is incontrovertible [strange how we spell this word with a -t-, incidentally]. It seems necessary to interpret ante as ante brumam, or it wouldn't make sense to me.", "Le mot-valise construit sur le modèle de l'anglais freeware avec les mots « gratis » et « logiciel (wiki) est-il reconnu ?\n\n\nOui, les mots gratuiciel et graticiel sont connus ou facilement compréhensibles, dans le milieu informatique au moins. Il y a cependant très souvent une confusion/ambiguïté entre les freewares, les sharewares (partagiciels), les logiciels libres (free software), les logiciels open source (code source ouvert) et les logiciels du domain public (public domain software).\n\n\n Son usage est-il répandu ? \n\n\nPas vraiment. Je ne rencontre jamais grat(u)iciel à l'oral où c'est soit freeware, soit logiciel gratuit qui prévaut. Ils sont aussi distancés à l'écrit :\n\n\n\n\n Pourrait-on confondre le mot avec le gratte-ciel (prononciations similaires) ?\n\n\nNon. Les prononciations sont clairement distinctes, deux syllabes pour gratte-ciel contre trois pour gratuiciel/graticiel.", "L'Académie Française recommande d'éviter l'emploi de &quot;malgré que&quot; comme subordonnant de concession. Cet emploi relève généralement d'une confusion entre conjonction de subordination et préposition.\nOn préférera employer la conjonction de subordination &quot;bien que&quot; :\n\nBien qu'il ait beaucoup travaillé, il a raté son examen.\n\nOu encore la conjonction de subordination &quot;quoique&quot; :\n\nQuoiqu'il ait beaucoup travaillé, il a raté son examen.\n\nOu bien encore la préposition &quot;malgré&quot; :\n\nMalgré ses efforts, il a raté son examen.", "Connaître : oui on peut l'employer et l'emploi est correct. Mais dans le contexte d'objets anciens dans un musée, « découvrir » pourrait aussi être employé. \n\nPar contre, en ce qui concerne encore le vocabulaire, il y a une confusion entre « attendre » et « s'attendre à ». \n\n\nAttendre (quelqu'un ou quelque chose) : \n\n\nJ'irai t'attendre à l'arrivée du train.\n\nS'attendre à (quelque chose, peut être suivi d'un nom ou d'un verbe), verbe pronominal : \n\n\nOn s'attend à une remontée des températures en fin de semaine.\nOn peut s'attendre à ce qu'il fasse chaud en fin de semaine.\n\n\n\n(La construction de « s'attendre à » donne lieu à des controverses et pourrait au besoin faire l'objet d'une autre question).\n\nDans ta phrase il faut utiliser « s'attendre à » :\n\n\n Le musée héberge toutes sortes de choses qu'on ne se serait jamais attendu à connaître/découvrir. \n\n\nAvec « dont » la construction n'est pas possible, sauf à utiliser une structure différente, comme par exemple, et pour rester au plus proche de ta proposition :\n\n\n Le musée héberge toutes sortes de choses dont on n'aurait jamais cru pouvoir faire la découverte.\n\n\n\n\nSi tu comprends l'anglais, « attendre » c'est to wait (for). « S'attendre à » c'est to expect.", "L'emploi varie selon certains facteurs et d'autres réponses se sont déjà intéressées aux exemples en question. Plus généralement, contrairement à ce qu'on affirme en question, il n'est pas impossible d'utiliser la forme disjointe du pronom directement après la préposition de (d'eux).\n\n\n\nCe qui se passe c'est qu'il y a concurrence entre de et d'entre dans certains cas : « dans une expression partitive, comme complément d'une expression nominale, d'un numéral cardinal, d'un adjectif au superlatif, de pronoms démonstratif, interrogatif, indéfini » (LBU14). Le bon usage (Grevisse et Goosse, éd. De Boeck/Duculot, 14e) ancre son analyse (§ 662 c 5°) dans une évaluation d'un propos que l'on trouve au TLFi :\n\n\n Quantificateur + d' + entre. Entre exprime l'ensemble, par\n opposition à l'unité ou à la fraction de l'ensemble. Entre est\n facultatif si le quantificateur est au sing. : (l')un d'eux/l'un\n d'entre eux, aucun d'eux/aucun d'entre eux, chacun d'eux/chacun\n d'entre eux ; il est obligatoire lorsque le quantificateur désigne\n une pluralité : certains, plusieurs, un bon nombre, la majorité, la\n plupart, une centaine, etc. d'entre eux [...] (TLFi, entre)\n\n\n\nLe LBU14 préfère qualifier de rare le cas où l'on trouverait de\navec le quantificateur désignant la pluralité, et surtout devant un\npronom de la troisième personne (rare : « Un grand nombre d'eux en\nsont originaire », Barrès).\nIl remet en doute l'aspect facultatif (de dire d'entre) quand le quantificateur est au\nsingulier, dans d'autres cas qu'avec chacun, aucun et l'un, un, pas un (donc avec des cas comme à qui, quelqu'un etc.) ; on\nindique que de nous/vous sont « possibles » mais d'eux/d'elles « rares\n », sauf s'ils sont accompagnés d'un numéral ou de tous (rare : « Quelqu'un d'eux se sera mal conduit » Stendhal).\nIl affirme que d'entre serait « peu adéquat » pour introduire un ensemble où il\nn'y a que deux éléments (typique : « Je saurai qui de vous deux a le\nmagot », Zola).\nIl ajoute qu'après un superlatif, indépendamment du nombre, d'entre est « nettement » prédominant (typique : « Les chevaux en liberté prennent\nle plus beau d'entre eux comme chef », Balzac).\n\n\n[ Si l'on suivait ces prescriptions et l'analyse qui précède, (d')entre serait obligatoire avec le premier exemple (certains...) et facultatif avec le deuxième (aucun...) ; aucun d'eux serait rare, puisque d'eux n'est pas accompagné d'un numéral ou de tous. ]\n\n\n\nIncidemment, on peut noter qu'avec des expressions quantitatives, d'entre marque « une insistance plus grande que de seul » ( « Ceux d'entre ces blessés qui sont en état de quitter leur lit », Duhamel) et permet « de mieux identifier un complément qui ne suit pas son support » ( « D'entre plusieurs souris blanches qu'on croise [...] avec des souris noires, l'une produira des souris noires, tandis qu'une autre produira des souris panachées, et une autre encore des souris grises », J. Rostand) (LBU14, § 1061 c 2°)", "Je dirais plutôt « durant », ou « au cours de » :\n\n\n Durant les années académiques 2010–2015, j'étais …\n Au cours des années académiques 2010–2015, j'étais …\n\n\nou « entre », mais il faut formuler ainsi :\n\n\n Entre les années 2010 et 2015, j'étais …", "É devido à fonética (veja consoantes bilabiais):\n\nPara pronunciar o m, é necessário juntar os dois lábios, diferentemente do n. \nComo a pronúncia do p e do b também requerem a junção labial, é conveniente utilizar o m antes do p e do b, como forma de ligação entre as características fonéticas das letras.", "Nous ne nous parlions plus depuis qu'elle m'avait menti.\n\n\nNous ne nous sommes pas parlé pendant l'intervalle de temps entre le moment où elle m'a menti et le moment considéré dans le passé.\n\n\n Nous ne nous sommes plus parlé depuis qu'elle m'a menti.\n\n\nNous ne nous sommes pas parlé pendant l'intervalle de temps entre le moment où elle m'a menti et maintenant (à noter aussi que le temps de mentir a aussi changé).", "The latter paper (Crouse, et al.) discusses this:\n\nInterestingly, metformin has previously been shown to also have anti-inflammatory (16, 17) and anti-thrombotic effects (18, 19) and excessive inflammatory responses, e.g., cytokine storm as well as disseminated thromboembolic events have been recognized as deadly complications of COVID-19 infection (20–22). It is therefore tempting to speculate that by exerting some of its anti-fibrinolytic activities (18) and inhibiting inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha or interleukin-6 (16, 17), suspected to play a role in the immune response to COVID-19 (12), metformin might improve outcome.\n\nIt wouldn't be surprising given that dexamethasone is basically used for that anti-thrombotic effect in treating Covid-19. I'm not sure how much of an anti-thrombotic effect metformin has in comparison; you may wan to check the refs cited in Crouse, et al.", "The DPD has the answer: antes que o antes de que. Here's the relevant portion:\n\n\n 3 . antes que o antes de que. Con significado temporal, ambas construcciones son válidas. En un principio, precediendo a la oración\n que expresa el acontecimiento que se toma como referencia, se usó solo\n la locución conjuntiva antes que (en latín, ante quam, antequam):\n «Antes que ellas se levanten, pasemos delante dellas» (MtzToledo\n Corbacho [Esp. 1438]). Cuando el término de referencia temporal es un\n sustantivo, un pronombre o un infinitivo, antes debe ir seguido de la\n preposición de: «Antes d’estos quinze días [...] / Aquellos atamores a\n vos los pondrán delant» (Cid [Esp. c1140]); «Antes de llegar se\n detuvieron en una posada a tomar un trago» (UPietri Oficio [Ven.\n 1976]). Del cruce de antes que y antes de, surgió antes de que,\n variante de la locución conjuntiva que algunos gramáticos censuraron\n en un principio por dequeísta (→ dequeísmo), pero que hoy se acepta\n como válida. Así, es igualmente correcto decir Llegará antes que\n anochezca y Llegará antes de que anochezca. Cuando la locución expresa\n preferencia, solo es válida la forma antes que: «Antes que verlo\n detrás de una reja [...], prefiero verlo muerto» (Asenjo Días [Esp.\n 1982]); con este último sentido, es posible la intercalación de\n elementos entre antes y que: Antes muerto que vencido.\n\n\nTo summarize:\n\nBoth expressions are valid when their meaning is that of a temporary locution:\n\n\n Llegará antes que anochezca y Llegará antes de que anochezca.\n\n\nOnly antes que is a valid expression when the intended meaning is that of preference:\n\n\n Antes que verlo detrás de una reja, prefiero verlo muerto. but not Antes de que verlo detrás de una reja, prefiero verlo muerto.", "Le gel (de l’eau) se produit dès que sa température descend sous 0°C. Ainsi, le dégel se produit lorsque la température monte au dessus de 0°C.\n\nLa congélation est une opération qui consiste à baisser la température (de quelque chose) bien en dessous de la température à laquelle gèle l’eau.\nAinsi, la congélation « domestique » se fait entre -15°C et -30°C.\n\nEncore plus froid : bien qu’on ne dise pas « Désurgeler », la surgélation s’effectue à une température encore inférieure : entre -35°C et -195°C.", "J'aurais tendance à conseiller de ne pas les utiliser, sauf à ce que leur emploi soit justifié par une particularité du sujet de l'examen.\n\nEn plus de cela, le langage écrit est généralement neutre, et les expressions régionales font le plus souvent partie du langage oral. Le risque à utiliser des expressions régionales est donc de dégrader le niveau de langage du document que l'on écrit.\nMais je crois ceci inversement proportionnel à la taille de la région: il est probable et il serait même culturellement normal qu'il y ait des différences entre le langage écrit de Québec et celui de la France, à niveau de langage égal. Mais pas entre le langage écrit de Marseille et celui de Lille.", "L’Office québécois de la langue française has a very good description of all quotation marks that can be used in French : \n\n\n Sauf exception, les guillemets s’emploient par paires, les guillemets ouvrants («) accompagnant les guillemets fermants (»). Il existe plusieurs sortes de guillemets, qui peuvent tous être utilisés dans un même texte si ce dernier comporte des citations dans les citations. On utilise ainsi, dans l’ordre, les guillemets français, anglais, puis allemands pour marquer les différents niveaux de citations.\n Exemple :\n - Voici comment le journaliste rapporte ses propos et ceux de la députée : « J’avais fait la déclaration suivante au bulletin de nouvelles : ‘‘Elle a accusé le ministre d’être ‘menteur et hypocrite’ à la Chambre des communes.’’ Ce n’est donc pas moi qui ai traité le ministre de menteur et d’hypocrite, mais bien la députée. »\n Ces différents types de guillemets appellent quelques précisions.\n Les guillemets français (« »), appelés abusivement chevrons à cause de leur forme, sont ceux que l’on utilise normalement dans un texte français. Une espace insécable sépare les guillemets ouvrants et fermants du texte guillemeté.\n Les guillemets anglais (‘‘ ’’) se présentent sous la forme de doubles apostrophes dont la première paire est à l’envers; on fait parfois la distinction entre guillemets anglais (‘‘ ’’) et guillemets américains (\" \"), aussi appelés petits guillemets. On ne met pas d’espace entre le texte ainsi guillemeté et ces guillemets.\n Les guillemets allemands se présentent généralement sous la forme d’apostrophes simples (‘ ’) ou (' '). Il n’y a pas d’espace entre le texte ainsi guillemeté et ces guillemets.", "According to Lewis &amp; Short, on the entry for ante, the phrase ante omnia can mean “before all things,” but I believe the latter is more appropriate to the context of the creed, wherein it means “above all [things],” i.e., above all else; more than anything.\n\n(α). Before all things, first of all: “alvus ante omnia ducitur,” Cels. 7, 30: “oportet autem ante omnia os nudare,” id. 8, 2: “Ante omnia instituit, ut etc.,” Suet. Ner. 32; id. Calig. 21: “Ante omnia autem, fratres, etc.,” Vulg. Jac. 5, 12; ib. 1 Petr. 4, 8.—\n(β). Comparatively, above all, especially, chiefty: “publica maestitia eo ante omnia insignis, quia matronae annum, ut parentem, eum luxerunt,” Liv. 2, 7; 7, 4: “quae natura multis et ante omnia ursis,” Plin. 8, 35, 53, § 125: “dulces ante omnia Musae,” the Muses pleasing above all things, Verg. G. 2, 475; id. E. 2, 72: “deformem et taetrum ante omnia vultum,” Juv. 10, 191.—\n\nIn addition, on the entry for opus, the phrase opus est means “it is necessary.”\n\nOpus est, it is needful, wanting; there is need of, use for: opus est mihi, tibi, etc., I (thou, etc.) have need of, need, want. It is contrasted with necesse est: emas non quod opus est, sed quod necesse est. Quod non opus est, asse carum est, Cato ap. Sen. Ep. 94, 28. Also with indigere: “ait (Chrysippus) sapien. tem nullā re indigere, et tamen multis illi rebus opus esse, contra stulto nullā re opus est, nullā re enim uti scit, sed omnibus eget,” Sen. Ep. 9, 12. The person who needs any thing is put in the dat., and the thing needed in the nom. or abl. (prop. abl. instrum.: opus est mihi, I have work with, i. e. I need), rarely in the gen., acc., inf., acc. and inf., or with ut.\n\nThus, the phrase ante omnia opus est, ut teneat catholicam fidem would mean “above all else, it is necessary to possess the Catholic belief (faith).”\n@WoundedEgo wrote,\n\nThe astute will notice that there is no mention of the resurrection.\n\nOn the contrary, the astute would notice there is mention of the resurrection of the dead:\n\nFurthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation; that he also believe faithfully...rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies...\n\n\nReferences\nLewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles. Harper’s Latin Dictionary: A New Latin Dictionary Founded on the Translation of Freund’s Latin-German Lexicon. New York: American Book, 1879.", "Well, first off, they have eyes, so there's that.\n\nHowever, a lot of what ants wish to achieve can be done through a combination of a random walk and chemical trails.\n\nWhen ants are exploring their surroundings, they are essentially wandering about without much in terms of a sense of purpose; laying down a chemical signature as they go.\n\nWhen they find something interesting, like food, they use their own chemical trail to backtrack, laying down a new chemical trail indicating the nature of what they have discovered, making a kind of smell-road from the hill to the point of interest.\n\nAny ants that subsequently come across this trail follow it, and subsequently join in transporting the food back to the hill.\n\nAn interesting implication of this behaviour is the antmill, wherein an ant will lose their trail, and revert to following a nearby ant. If the ant they follow are following them to begin with, this can lead to a spiral of ants that can reach miles in diameter, consisting of confused ants walking until they die from exhaustion.", "It seems to me that anticipatio comes from anticipare, which in turn comes from antecapere.\nIf this line of thought is correct, it was originally the Latin prefix ante-, but the -e- was weakened into -i-.\nThe prefix ante- appears in several verbs, including antecedere, anteponere, and antevertere.\n\nIt is not unusual that vowels get weaker when words get longer by derivation, but cases where a short -e- becomes an -i- are harder to find.\nFollowing a suggestion by sumelic in the comments, I found examples where mille- has turned into milli-: milliformis, millimodus, millipeda.\nAll other examples I found of anti- are of Greek origin, so anticipatio seems quite unique.", "There is an editorial rule of thumb: 'The more difficult reading is to be preferred,' and in this case the author, Lundström, prefers antilucanam and antilucanis(line 4), when the other versions S A, and (line 4) S A and R are in favour of the dictionary preference antelucanus. \n\n\n XI 2, 12 antilucanam: when preparing this locus for publication I\n (curavi) gave special attention to the writing of S and A.\n\n\nIn this statement of the Difficilius melius principle, he uses a 1st person negative imperative: vix plus the perfect subjunctive.\n\n\n Let me not believe that copyists have changed anti- into ante-, which\n would have been alien to them; By contrast, ante- into\n anti-, common practice easily persuades (imperfect habitual) that they\n might change spontaneously. (compare...source 'S'...which the\n copyist himself has corrected, his own exemplar having been inspected\n (ablative absolute) more closely.)\n\n\nThe last two sentences are almost what you have written: \n\n\n ...if anyone should wish to replace the [difficult] antilucanis, with the\n [easy] antelucanis, as S A R [do], I [supply velim] would not wish to dissuade that\n 'other person (dative),' but I would not, riskily, wish to do so myself.", "Have a look here: https://femmedinfluence.fr/differences-entre-la-fierte-et-lorgueil/\n\nDans la fierté on dénote un sentiment noble, un sentiment élevé et ce sans même l’avoir provoqué puisque derrière se cache une sorte d’humilité.\nContrairement à l’orgueil que l’on peut comparer à la vanité ou à la mise en concurrence avec autrui, d’où la fameuse expression “être piqué dans son orgueil”.\n\nAlso here: https://fr.vikidia.org/wiki/Fiert%C3%A9\n\nLa fierté est une forme de confiance en soi, un état d'esprit dans lequel se trouve une personne qui pense connaître ses capacités et les estime bonnes. Une personne fière pourra paraître prétentieuse car elle déclarera facilement être capable de faire de grandes choses, mais ne se compare pas nécessairement aux autres.\nLa différence entre fierté et orgueil est petite. On pourrait dire que la fierté, c'est la confiance dans le fait qu'on peut faire les choses bien ; tandis que l'orgueil c'est la confiance dans le fait qu'on peut faire les choses mieux que les autres.", "Concordância verbal\n\nÉ a correta flexão do verbo, em número e pessoa, com relação ao sujeito da oração. Concordância, ato ou efeito de harmonizar flexões de palavras em uma frase, neste contexto pode ser entendido como \"se refere de forma correta\".\n\nExemplos:\n\n\nJoão faz o dever de casa.\nOs alunos fazem o dever de casa.\n\n\nConcordância nominal\n\nA concordância nominal se baseia na relação entre um substantivo (ou pronome, ou numeral substantivo) e as palavras que a ele se ligam para caracterizá-lo (artigos, adjetivos, pronomes adjetivos, numerais adjetivos e particípios). Basicamente, ocupa-se da relação entre nomes.\n\n\n Lembre-se: normalmente, o substantivo funciona como núcleo de um termo da oração, e o adjetivo, como adjunto adnominal.\n\n\nPor Exemplo:\n\nO substantivo permanece no singular e coloca-se o artigo antes do último adjetivo:\n\n\nAdmiro a cultura espanhola e a portuguesa.\n\n\nO substantivo vai para o plural e omite-se o artigo antes do adjetivo:\n\n\nAdmiro as culturas espanhola e portuguesa.\n\n\nFontes:\n\n\nhttp://www.soportugues.com.br/secoes/sint/sint59.php\nhttps://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordância_verbal\nhttps://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordância_nominal", "L'expression « comme l'eau et le vin » est ambiguë, ces deux liquides étant parfaitement miscibles tout en ayant des caractéristiques très différentes (couleur, odeur, goût, effets secondaires…)\n\nL'expression « comme l'eau et le feu » n'est pas, à ma connaissance, courante en France.\n\nComme l'a écrit Simon Déchamps dans un commentaire, « comme chien et chat » s'emploie bien plus souvent. Cette expression sous entend l'existence de conflits, disputes et désaccords entre deux personnes.\n\nc.f TLFi:\n\n\n S'entendre, vivre comme chien et chat (cf. chat1 II A 4). L'oncle et la tante vivaient en chien et chat animés l'un contre l'autre d'une antipathie instinctive (Courteline, La Vie de ménage,L'Escalier, 1890, p. 63).\n\n\n...\n\n\n S'entendre, vivre comme chien et chat. Se quereller, vivre en ennemis. Le temps n'est plus où la noblesse et la bourgeoisie vivaient entre elles comme chien et chat (Sandeau, Sacs et parchemins,1851, p. 17).\n\n\nSinon, il existe aussi l'expression « c'est le jour et la nuit ».\n\nTLFi :\n\n\n L'opposition jour/nuit illustre tout naturellement la loi des contraires. Dans ce livre (...) il y a tous les contraires, le doute et le dogme, le jour et la nuit, le coin sombre et le point lumineux, comme dans tout ce que nous voyons, comme dans tout ce que nous pensons en ce siècle (Hugo, Chants crépusc., 1835, préf., p. 5). Hortense ! ... Ah ! mon garçon, ne me parle pas d'elle ! La nuit et le jour avec l'autre (Zola, Bouton de rose, 1878, III, 3, p. 275).\n\n\nElle implique cependant le plus souvent un jugement, une préférence qui ne semble pas présents dans oil and water. \n\nEx. Marianne:\n\n\n Marine Le Pen et Emmanuel Macron, c'est le jour et la nuit.", "L'expression « aller à la mer » aurait pu être ambiguë et comprise dans un autre contexte comme signifiant « aller en mer », mais le bateau étant déjà en mer, il n'y a qu'une seule interprétation possible : il souhaite couler.\nCela est confirmé par l’analyse du poème.\n\nLe bateau c'est l'allégorie du poète. Le thème dominant de ce poème est la rupture.\n\n\nRupture politique : il a été écrit pendant l'été de 1871 au lendemain de la défaite de la Commune, événement qui a profondément marqué Rimbaud. Le dernier vers du poème y fait directement allusion : « les yeux horribles des pontons » ce sont les yeux des communards emprisonnés dans les pontons. \nRupture entre l'enfance et le passage à l'âge adulte : Rimbaud a 17 ans quand il écrit ce poème, il est secoué par les événements de 1871 qui le font passer à l'âge adulte.\n\n\nLe bateau de Rimbaud est ivre, secoué, et ceci se traduit dans les images qui se succèdent et dans l'écriture même du poème, vocabulaire et construction.\nIl est ivre, ballotté entre l'ancrage au port (« que ma quille éclate »)\net la disparation dans les flots (« que j'aille à la mer »).\n C'est le poète partagé entre l'appel de l'aventure et l'envie de suicide après les événements de l'hiver-printemps 1871 et la défaite de la Commune. \n\nIl existe de nombreuses études de ce poème. Un spécialiste de Rimbaud, Alain Rabardel, lui consacre un site et on trouvera beaucoup de détails sur ce poème.\nIl ne dit rien sur Ô que j'aille à la mer mais je viens de consulter les notes de l'édition de La Pleïade qui confirme l'interprétation donnée ci-dessus.\n\nUne partie de l'article de Steve Murphy Logiques du Bateau ivre, largement cité par Alain Rabardel, est accessible ici.", "En plus de la prononciation des th et des r et du mauvais placement de l'accent tonique, l'accent français se caractérise souvent aussi par:\n\n\nla non distinction des voyelles longues: (beach/bitch, sheet/shit).\nl'instabilité de la prononciation de la consonne h (indifférenciation entre heat, hit, it et eat)\nla non diphtongaison de voyelles (plane prononcé /plene/ au lieu de /pleyne/, paste prononcé pest, ...)", "there is a very clear rule regarding pots and side pots:\nyou can earn according to the chips you risk. \n\nLets assume that the chips you put in the middle are no longer yours...\n\nin the scenario above villain1 risk 45$ (40$ as an ante and 5$ as the big blind).\n\nIf villain1 was the winner, he would have won 335$ (8*40 of the ante and 3*5$ from the pot).\n\nagain, to prevent confusion - assume that chips you put in the middle are no longer yours.\n\nAmigal", "D'après Wikipédia à E caduc: \n\n\n Les régions où la langue d'oc est parlée prononcent plus fortement l'e caduc que celles du Nord à cause de la conservation de l'accent tonique dans ces régions. Ainsi, le Nord de la France prononce le mot poêle /pwal/, sans le distinguer phonétiquement du mot poil. Au contraire, les Occitans prononcent /ˈpwa.lə/.\n\n\nIl s'agit exactement du même genre de distinction pour air (ɛʁ) et aire (ɛʁə). Le son noté ə en fin de mot1, qui correspond à la présence d'un e à l'écrit, est un son voyelle neutre qui a généralement pour effet de prolonger la consonne ou la voyelle qu'il suit. Cela explique ton expérience.\n\n—\n1. Note : le Wiktionnaire a choisi de ne pas ajouter ces ə en fin de mot dans les prononciations. Je le cite: « La notation phonologique (entre //) transcrit le discours considéré comme standard (c’est-à-dire de registre de langue courant — ni populaire, ni soigné —, et entendu en milieu urbain d’Île-de-France) : ainsi, les e caducs non prononcés ne sont pas retranscrits. À l’inverse, la notation phonétique (entre []) peut les faire apparaitre ou disparaitre, suivant le registre de langue utilisé et la région du locuteur. », ce qui à vrai dire est faux car le Wiktionnaire reporte d'autres distinctions que les parisiens (de souche) ne font pas, comme celle entre brin et brun.", "Je pense qu'il s'agit d'un jeu de mot entre PTT-èsque, donc qui vient ou qui se rapporte aux PTT, et pépée, une jeune femme en argot.", "Just so we're clear, it is both illegal to import live queen ants into the United States and illegal to transport live queen ants across state borders. And more importantly, it is simply a bad idea to transport queen ants, because ants have a knack for becoming invasive, and harming local ecosystems.\n\n\n\nA queen ant can easily be identified, especially if you have a worker to compare against. Each species is different, but almost all queens have the following characteristics:\n\n\nLonger and bulkier than their worker counterpart (sometimes only 5-10%, sometimes orders of magnitude).\nA large, wide thorax (that's the middle part behind the head).\n\n\nIf you are collecting in the wild, don't confuse the queen with the male and female alates. The male alates have wings, small heads, and different proportions from the female alates. The female alates will look identical to the queen, but they will also have wings. Once a female alate mates with one or more males, the female will form a dig/find a founding chamber, shed her wings, and become the queen of her own colony.\n\nTo someone who has spent any time at all around ants, a queen will be easy to identify. The large thorax, even in isolation, is a dead giveaway that the ant you are looking at is a queen. \n\n\n\nWhen you say \"colony\", I'm assuming that you are either attempting to order a living, functioning ant colony, or you are attempting to order an \"Uncle Milton\"-style ant farm. \n\nIn the first case, the only way the colony is \"functioning\" is if it has one or more queens (depending on the species). Very few species of ants will do much of anything else there is a queen around. It's not that the queen directs them; rather, without the queen, there's no point to what they're doing, so they don't do it.\n\nIn the second case, you'd be getting one of those species that does operate without the queen: harvester ants. Harvester ants also have the benefit that they are much larger than average, so they are easy to see. However, the harvester ants will eventually die out (like all worker ants do), and will have to be replaced.\n\n\n\nIf you want more information on ant rearing, the two best sources on the internet are the forums at http://antfarm.yuku.com/ and http://www.formiculture.com/." ]

[ "You can find the field anywhere in this situation using superposition. You just take the field that *would* be produced by the full sphere, and add to it the the field produced by an off-center pocket with \"negative mass\"." ]

[ "If you had the right equipment, you could tell the difference because of tidal forces. Einstein's equivalence princinple states that a linearly accelerating frame and a *uniform* gravitational field of the right strength are equivalent. The Earth does not have a uniform gravitational field. It has a roughly radial gravitational field which is close to uniform on the human scale. The non-uniformity of Earth's gravitational field causes tidal forces. Standing on Earth's surface, your feet are ever so slightly more strongly pulled down than your ears because your feet are closer to the Earth, causing you to stretch. The effect is so small, that you can't feel it. But, in principle, sensitive force meters can measure the non-uniform nature of the Earth's gravitational field. On your hypothetical spaceship, you would try to detect the radial non-uniform pattern of Earth's gravity, fail to find it, and conclude you were not on Earth.", "It's the same. The effect of time dilation due to the rotational speed is perfectly cancelled by the effect of being higher in a gravitational field. This is not a coincidence, as the [change in Earth's shape and therefore surface gravity](_URL_0_) is caused by the rotation, and the surface of the Earth has the same gravitational potential everywhere (or else it would deform). Reading [this](_URL_1_) really helped me understand this.", "Pressure and gravity are not the same force. While it's true that an object near the center of the Earth would experience nearly no gravitation, the pressure from the matter surrounding it would be immense. Remember, gravity isn't just pulling you towards the center of the Earth, it's also pulling the Earth towards the center of the Earth. This massive pressure is a consequence of that.", "Freefall doesn't get rid of tidal gravitational fields. The difference in Earth's gravitational field between the front and back of the ship could be detected with precise instruments, and would be absent in intergalactic space.", "The \"distorted rubber sheet\" view of gravity is misleading because it's only trying to show you how strong gravity is in a single plane of space cut horizontally though the earth. The dip then represents the strength of the gravitational field (the \"distortion\" of spacetime) but the dip doesn't at all represent its actual physical location. Gravity is indeed \"3D\" - you could consider _any_ cross section through the earth and have the same \"dip\" picture representing the field. \"Space time\" is a 4D construct and as such _any_ diagram of it is going to be lacking to our familiar 3D senses... (You could try an imagine hundreds of such dip images overlaid at all sorts of orientations through earth but this might not help.. however it does somewhat represent that gravity distortion is symmetrical about the earth) for an example of a satellite orbitting pole to pole see the second section here: _URL_0_", "You would feel weightless. The gravitational forces from the rest of the Earth would all cancel out. (Because the Earth is not perfectly spherical there would be some residual gravitational force, but it would be very small.)", "The astronauts on the ISS feel microgravity because they are in freefall. They are actually still under something like 99% of the acceleration from the Earth's gravity as you are (they just happen to never hit the ground). Think about it - at the surface of the Earth you're over 6,000 km away from the center of mass, why would another few hundred km make such a difference? If they went farther out, say into the space between galaxies, they would experience true microgravity, where they are actually experiencing little gravitational force. But to directly answer your question, no, there is nowhere in the universe you could truly experience zero gravitational force because gravity seems to have an infinite range.", "No oscillation is the same as saying the period equals infinity, which is what would happen if you brought a pendulum to the center. If we want to be nitpicky, we can drop the assumption that the Earth's density is spherically symmetric. In this case, the Earth's center of mass is probably separated from the geometric center by a tiny bit. So you'd see the pendulum oscillating slowly, how slow depends on how much gravity you feel at the geometric center, and it would be oscillating about a direction that points towards the Earth's center of mass.", "It's 1am here so this might be a little oversimplified and weird; lagrange points are points in space where gravity of different celestial objects cancel out. You might know that larger masses cause a larger gravitational pull. Also, gravitational pull is quadratically inverse to distance, meaning the further away you are from a body the less attraction you will feel. At certain points in space gravitational pull of objects will cancel out because the masses and distances are just right. E.g. There are lagrange points between the moon and the earth. The most obvious one is l1 (lagrange point 1). If you draw a straight line between the center of mass of the earth and that of the moon you will find l1 lies on this line (a couple thousand kilometers from the moons center of mass). Hope this helps and my spelling is not too shit", "Think about it like this. Gravity doesn't pull from the center of some celestial being (like the Earth). It pulls from every single particle of that celestial being. Literally every single atom in the universe has a gravitational pull -- it's just so utterly microscopic that you don't notice it until a lot of those gravitational pulls add up together. When you're on the surface of the Earth, or far away from the Earth, it's convenient to identify the center as where gravity is attracting you too. But in the messy reality, it's attracting from every single atom that makes up what we call Earth. So as you move towards the center of Earth... the center would still be pulling on you, but so would all the other atoms. Which are now pulling you *away* from the center.", "Even half the Earth would be big enough to achieve what is called [hydrostatic equilibrium](_URL_0_). This means the force of gravity is stronger than the materials the planet is made up of, and it would collapse back into a roughly round shape. I'm guessing this collapse would be very messy, and everyone would die. If you jumped off the instant the half disappeared and before the planet started to reshape itself, it would be like rolling down a hill rather than falling off a cliff, because the center of gravity would be inside the half of the Earth that was still remaining.", "In theory yes, but in practice not much. On the earth's surface the acceleration due to gravity is about [9.8 m/s^(2)](_URL_1_). At the top of Everest, you're a little bit further from the center of the earth, so in theory the gravitational acceleration is less than surface gravity. When I do the math, it basically actually comes out the same (within error): [9.8 m/s^(2).](_URL_2_) This is because the earth is big and Everest, compared to the earth, is not. In truth, the change in surface gravity is a [0.3% decrease](_URL_0_). That equates to being able to jump 0.3% higher. So if you're a pole vaulter jumping 5 meters high, this could be the difference of a centimeter.", "The center of mass is the average center of all the mass of an object. The center of gravity is the center of all the forces of gravity of an object. The center of gravity only exists in the presence of a gravitational field. In outer space, objects will have a center of mass. But, the center of gravity will not mean anything. In a uniform gravitational field, the center of mass is the same as the center of gravity.", "Yes. Gravity is stronger closer to Earth, so an object is accelerated down at a higher rate closer to the Earth, which means that it must travel sideways at a higher speed in order to miss the Earth as it falls and stay in orbit. A gravitational orbit is really a case of an object falling and missing the ground. If the Earth were the size of a car but had the same mass, virtually everything on Earth would be in orbit because it would be so much easier to miss the Earth as you fall. In the non-inertial frame of reference of the orbiting object, centrifugal force is the upwards force that cancels out the downwards pull of gravity. In other words, to stay in orbit, you have to be traveling fast enough sideways so that your centrifugal force is equal and opposite to the force of gravity. Closer to the Earth, gravity is stronger, so you need a larger centrifugal force to cancel out gravity, so you have to be traveling faster.", "You would weigh less at a high altitude, but not because there was less atmosphere above you. You would weigh less because you were further from the center of gravity of the Earth. Weight is a force - which is mass times acceleration. Your weight is the product of your mass and the acceleration due to gravity. Gravity is the attraction between two masses. That's why the atmosphere doesn't matter - the only factors in the equation for gravitational force (which, in turn, determines weight) are the masses of the two objects (the Earth and you) and the distance between them. The further the objects' centers of gravity are from each other, the less gravitational acceleration they experience from each other. How fast you're moving compared to the Earth's axis does not affect your weight. The \"more earth under my feet\" idea could play a role, but it all boils down to how far you are from the Earth's center of gravity.", "Space is not a total vacuum, but it is *extremely* low pressure. For that reason, gas that is not held down by gravity (like the earth's atmosphere) tends to disperse very rapidly– preventing \"pockets\" of gas from forming. However, there are large gaseous clouds in space (namely nebulae) which are held together by gravity. You would not be able to breathe inside a nebula, though. Passing through a nebula would create \"air resistance\" similar to the resistance that aircraft experience in the earth's atmosphere.", "Yes, gravity would decrease because some of the Earth's mass is above you, pulling you up. However, [Newton's Law of Gravitation](_URL_0_) states that the force of gravity is related to the two masses as well as the distance between them. As you got lower, the gravity would increase as well, as the distance between you and the center of the Earth decreased. Exactly how the two changes balance is beyond me. Overall, however, I think it would decrease, as at the center of the Earth, you'd feel no gravity at all (all the mass is pulling you away from the center in every direction, so you'd feel no net force).", "As you travel deeper inside a gravitational body such as the Earth, the gravitational force decreases linearly, meaning it decreases by the same amount for each metre that you descend, reaching zero at the centre. This means if the elevator is traveling at a constant speed downwards, the people in the elevator will experience gravity getting weaker at a constant rate. They will be weightless at the centre of the earth and then slowly feel gravity starting to pull in the opposite direction as they begin traveling \"upwards\" towards the opposite side. You can think of it as every atom in the Earth is pulling stuff towards it due to gravity, so as you travel deeper there is more stuff above you pulling you back and cancelling out the force the matter below you is exerting. At the centre, assuming the Earth is completely spherical and homogenous, all the matter all around you is cancelling each other out and you experience a net force of zero.", "An object's mass actually has no effect on its movement in a gravitational field*. A more massive object is harder to move, but it also experiences more gravitational force, and these exactly cancel out. They don't need to know exactly how big it is to predict its motion, and all they need to predict its motion is its position and speed. *so long as it's much less massive than the object generating the gravitational field. A suitably large asteroid would perturb the Earth's orbit, and the changing Earth's orbit would affect the asteroid's own motion, but we can rule out this asteroid being the size of a planet so practically its size has no effect.", "Expansion is not occurring away from a single point, but uniformly across space; that is, every galaxy cluster is moving away from every other cluster. The acceleration is the same in every direction and linear with regards to distance. If gravitational attractors were responsible we'd expect a quadratic distance/acceleration relationship, and to be pulling objects in every direction evenly they'd have to be distributed evenly across the entire sky just out of view--but in that case the collective gravitational force would cancel out.", "When something is in orbit, that means that it is in freefall, and thus the experience of living inside the space station would be that of weightlessness. It's true that the gravitational force drops as 1/(distance to planetary center)^(2), so at a suitable altitude, yes, the gravitational force would be comparable to the surface gravity of the Earth. However, you'd have to be at that altitude and not be in free fall (say at the top of a really tall mountain or building -- leaving engineering considerations aside). In such a situation, if the planet is rotating, you'd have to pay attention to rotational effects (\"centrifugal force\") as well to figure out the correct altitude.", "No, the gravitational pull of the earth would be, if my back-of-the-envelope math serves right, about 90% what it is on the surface of the earth. Gravity does decrease with the square of distance, but the surface of the earth is about 6400 km from the center of mass. The ISS is about another 400 km, or an increase of about 6.25%.", "There are a couple of diagrams [here](_URL_0_) that illustrate the direction and *relative* magnitude of tidal acceleration over the surface of the earth. Note that I would not describe this exactly as \"the moon's gravity tugging on the Earth's surface water.\" This can at least potentially be misleading; for example, consider the example presented in the link above: what would be the effect on the tides of a *second* moon, on the opposite side of the earth (at the same distance)? Would the gravitational \"tugging\" of the two moons \"cancel\" the tides, or increase them? (Answer: the latter.)", "The supermassive black hole in the middle of the Milky Way has effectively zero direct effect on earth. Our solar system orbits the center of mass of the galaxy and not the black hole at the center. If the black hole at the center were removed, the earth would carry on in its trajectory through the galaxy with no change. In fact, the entire galaxy would be unchanged except for the pocket of stars right near the black hole. Simply put, although the black hole at the center of our galaxy is big, the galaxy itself is much, much bigger; both in terms of volume and mass. The gravitational time dilation of a black hole only becomes significant when you travel right up next to the black hole. On earth, we experience effectively zero gravitational time dilation because of the black hole at the center of the galaxy.", "According to wikipedia, the shuttle is capable of getting 3.8 tons of payload to [GTO](_URL_0_), which requires about 12.5 km/s of [delta v](_URL_1_) (this includes atmospheric drag). Breaking free of the Earth's gravitational field would only require a couple more km/s, and could probably be done with modifications for more fuel. Getting outside the solar system would be pretty much impossible, though, as freeing yourself from the gravitational field of the sun would require an additional 30 km/s!", "Yes, the Sun will become a red giant in about 5 billion years. It's the natural next step for a star of the Sun's mass. With the exception of the planets that the Sun engulfs, of course (and that may include the Earth!), the Sun's expanding will have a negligible effect on the orbits in the solar system. The reason is that a spherically symmetric distribution of matter gravitates exactly the same as if all of its mass were concentrated at a point in the center. So whether our Sun now expanded out or even became a black hole (without losing mass in either case) or something else, its gravitational field *outside its surface* would stay the same.", "> Is this \"equivalence principle\" just an observation that > > 'gravity looks like acceleration from a small enough point of view' You can look at this in several ways. Let's say you were in a closed box on the surface of the Earth or in a closed box not in a gravitational field but was moving at 9.8m/s^2 against your feet. Both would feel exactly the same to you and you could not detect the difference between the two. Likewise, you could not tell the difference between being in free-fall in a gravitational field or simply moving at constant velocity (or not at all) absent a gravitational field.", "Because the center of mass of the Earth-Moon system is inside the Earth, this would just be a distant orbit around the Earth. So in a sense, any orbit around the Earth farther than the moon would satisfy this. The upper limit of this, the region where the Earth's gravity dominates over the sun's, is called the Hill Sphere, and extends about three to four times as far as the moon.", "Because there is no anti gravity. The earth is made of a huge number of particles with different electric charges, but on average they all cancel out so that the earth as a whole has no net charge. Because of this the electrostatic attraction of the earth to other planets/stars is very small. In contrast, all the mass of the particles in the earth add up positively, so that the gravitational attraction of the earth is due to the sum of the effects of all is parts. If the planets were only made of positively charged particles, their electrostatic repulsion would be huge and totally swamp the effect of gravity.", "> If I jumped in the air directly underneath the moon would I jump higher than if I jumped when the moon was above the other side of the earth? Yes, but only a teeny tiny bit. The Moon is so far away that its gravitational effect on you is minuscule compared to Earth's gravity. Specifically, Earth's gravitational acceleration is about 9.8m/s^2 while the Moon's gravitational pull on a person who is on Earth is about 0.000033m/s^(2).", "In the same way that a discrete perturbation in the electromagnetic field is the photon, a discrete perturbation in the gravitational field would be the graviton. There is no complete quantum field theory of gravity, but that doesn't prevent us from talking about gravitons. If you consider the gravitational field around a quantum system that undergoes a quantum quadrupole transition (changes its mass distribution in a non-symmetric way, essentially), there would also have to be a quantized changed in its gravitational field. However, we just recently developed detectors that are sensitive enough to detect gravitational radiation from colliding black holes; I don't think anybody in the field seriously expects discrete gravitons to be detected in the near or moderate future, if ever.", "Gravity waves are affected by gravity, as is everything else. But the force of gravity is not caused by the waves, instead the waves are how changes in gravity propagate through space. The reason you don't need gravitational waves coming out of the black hole is that there aren't any changes in the gravitational field inside the black hole that can affect what's happening outside it." ]