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National Archives Yes, it’s that time again, folks. It’s the first Friday of the month, when for one ever-so-brief moment the interests of Wall Street, Washington and Main Street are all aligned on one thing: Jobs. A fresh update on the U.S. employment situation for January hits the wires at 8:30 a.m. New York time offering one of the most important snapshots on how the economy fared during the previous month. Expectations are for 203,000 new jobs to be created, according to economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires, compared to 227,000 jobs added in February. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 8.3%. Here at MarketBeat HQ, we’ll be offering color commentary before and after the data crosses the wires. Feel free to weigh-in yourself, via the comments section. And while you’re here, why don’t you sign up to follow us on Twitter. Enjoy the show.

– The unemployment rate dropped to 8.2% last month, but the economy only added 120,000 jobs, when 203,000 new jobs had been predicted, according to today's jobs report. Reaction on the Wall Street Journal's MarketBeat Blog was swift: "Woah!!! Bad number." The unemployment rate, however, is better news; it had been expected to hold steady at 8.3%. But the AP notes that the dip is mostly due to more Americans giving up on seeking employment.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In her first interview since the NBA banned her estranged husband, Shelly Sterling says she will fight to keep her share of the Los Angeles Clippers and plans one day to divorce Donald Sterling. (Click Prev or Next to continue viewing images.) ADVERTISEMENT (Click Prev or Next to continue viewing images.) Los Angeles Clippers co-owner Shelly Sterling, below, watches the Clippers play the Oklahoma City Thunder along with her attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, in the first half of Game 3 of the Western Conference... (Associated Press) Shelly Sterling spoke to Barbara Walters, and ABC News posted a short story with excerpts from the conversation Sunday. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has banned Donald Sterling for making racist comments and urged owners to force Sterling to sell the team. Silver added that no decisions had been made about the rest of Sterling's family. According to ABC's story, Shelly Sterling told Walters: "I will fight that decision." Sterling also said that she "eventually" will divorce her husband, and that she hadn't yet done so due to financial considerations.

– Shelly Sterling plans "eventually" to divorce her estranged husband Donald, she tells Barbara Walters at ABC News. As for her stake in the Los Angeles Clippers, she plans to keep it, the AP notes. Sterling says she would "absolutely" fight any NBA decision to force her to sell the team. The team is her "legacy" to her family, she says. "To be honest with you, I'm wondering if a wife of one of the owners … said those racial slurs, would they oust the husband? Or would they leave the husband in?"

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — A small, private jet has crashed into a house in Maryland's Montgomery County on Monday, killing at least three people on board, authorities said. Preliminary information indicates at least three people were on board and didn't survive the Monday crash into home in Gaithersburg, a Washington, D.C. suburb, said Pete Piringer, a Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman. He said a fourth person may have been aboard. Piringer said the jet crashed into one home around 11 a.m., setting it and two others on fire. Crews had the fire under control within an hour and were searching for anyone who may have been in the homes. Television news footage of the scene showed one home nearly destroyed, with a car in the driveway. Witnesses told television news crews that they saw the airplane appear to struggle to maintain altitude before going into a nosedive and crashing. An FAA spokesman said preliminary information shows the Embraer EMB-500/Phenom 100 twin-engine jet was on approach at the nearby Montgomery County Airpark. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending an investigator to the scene.

– A twin-engine Embraer jet that the FAA describes as "on approach to Runway 14" at the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Maryland, crashed into a home this morning, engulfing that home in flames and setting two others on fire. Three people are dead, but the count could grow. A Montgomery County Fire rep says three fliers were killed in the crash, but notes the corporate plane may have had a fourth person on board, reports the AP. A relative of the owner of the home that was hit tells WUSA 9 that a mother with three children pre-school age and under should have been home at the time; there's no word on the family's whereabouts. The crash occurred around 11am on Drop Forge Lane, and the fire was extinguished within an hour. Crews are now searching the wreckage. A witness noted the plane appeared to "wobble" before the crash; the airport is no more than 3/4 mile from the crash scene. NTSB and FAA will investigate.

By the next morning, the tweet was deleted and he had apologized, writing, “Apparently Charlie Sheen got control of my Twitter account last night while I was at dinner. Apologies for his behavior.” But that wasn’t enough to spare him the ire of conservative women on the blogosphere and Twitter. On Tuesday, before Carlson’s first apology, Stacy Drake, writing on Conservatives4Palin, praised Carlson’s works at The Daily Caller, particularly the leaks of the Journolist emails, saying that’s why his tweet stung so badly. If you haven’t heard by now, Monday evening, Tucker Carlson posted a disturbing tweet about Governor Palin which said: Palin’s popularity falling in Iowa, but maintains lead to become supreme commander of Milfistan Aside from Tucker’s sheep-like response to warped poll numbers, he also failed to take ownership of his sexist comment. He deleted the original (which is why I had to link to a retweet) obviously aware that what he had posted was wrong. Unfortunately for him, many people had already seen it and responded. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, Tucker. Is this the sort of treatment that Conservative women, who want to get involved in the process, are expected to put up with? Is it okay for male columnists (Conservative or otherwise) to continue objectifying women in the world of politics? I will always be grateful to Tucker’s team for bringing that story to light. Update II: Almost a day later, he finally apologizes: I’m sorry for last night’s tweet. I meant absolutely no offense. Not the first dumb thing I’ve said. Hopefully the last.” Some bros have come to Carlson's aid.

– Tucker Carlson is in deep doodoo with conservative women after an ill-advised tweet referencing Sarah Palin that he posted, then removed, Monday night. "Palin's popularity falling in Iowa, but maintains lead to become supreme commander of Milfistan," he tweeted—and we probably don't need to tell you where that is. His first attempt at an apology, which he tweeted the next morning: "Apparently Charlie Sheen got control of my Twitter account last night while I was at dinner. Apologies for his behavior.” That wasn't good enough for many conservative women, Politico notes, rounding up reactions from bloggers to Michelle Malkin calling his behavior sexist and misogynistic. By late Tuesday, Carlson had offered up a more sincere-sounding apology: “I’m sorry for last night’s tweet. I meant absolutely no offense. Not the first dumb thing I’ve said. Hopefully the last.” But at least one man—Erick Erickson, editor of RedState.com—was on Carlson's side, tweeting his reaction to the post in question: "I laughed then got out my passport."

Image caption A man has admitted removing another man's testicle during an "unauthorised" surgery An amateur surgeon in Australia has pleaded guilty to removing the left testicle of a man who could not afford professional medical treatment. Matthews faced Port Macquarie Local Court on Wednesday and entered a guilty plea to a charge of removing tissue from the body of another person without proper consent or authority. The two men then met at a motel in Port Macquarie, on the state’s mid-north coast, where the younger man’s left testicle was allegedly surgically removed by Matthews, who police say was not a qualified doctor. It is the crown's case that Matthews is not qualified or authorised to perform such a procedure, and is not a qualified or registered medical practitioner. The 52-year-old alleged victim attended the motel room after posting an advertisement online requesting assistance with a medical issue, police claim. Police became aware of the case in June when the man attended hospital after the wound he suffered during the operation became infected. Officers raided Matthews' home and seized medical equipment, firearms and four bottles of what they suspected to be amyl nitrate. He has also admitted charges of possessing a prescribed restricted substance, unauthorised possession of a firearm and failure to keep a firearm safely, but will fight a charge of reckless grievous bodily harm, according to court records. According to court documents, the 57-year-old did not enter a plea to the charge of causing grievous bodily harm. Matthews will remain on bail until his case returns to court on August 18.

– What are the three most horrifying words in the English language? Wrong. The correct answer is "amateur testicle surgery." The BBC reports 56-year-old Allan Matthews pleaded guilty Wednesday to removing another man's left testicle at an Australian motel despite not being qualified to practice medicine. The unsanctioned surgery took place in May after a 52-year-old man posted an ad online seeking help for a medical issue, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The man was apparently still suffering after being kicked in the groin by a horse years earlier but couldn't afford an actual doctor. A week after Matthews allegedly removed the man's testicle, infection set in. The man went to the hospital, and the police launched an investigation. Authorities say a raid of Matthews' home last month turned up medical equipment, seven guns, and four bottles of what may be amyl nitrate. In addition to performing surgery without being a doctor, Matthews also pleaded guilty to gun and drug charges. He did not plead guilty to inflicting "reckless grievous bodily harm." AAP reports Matthews is out on bail until another hearing next month. (An Oregon man claimed surgery left him with an 80-pound scrotum.)

“When someone we admire dies of suicide, it makes us reflect on our own lives and stresses,” Kennedy said, “and that helps people reach out, which is important.” If you or someone you care for needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 24 hours a day, at 1-800-273-8255. As long as you have a phone, you can call the number and talk to someone. Foster said news of Bourdain’s death Friday led to fears of a “suicide contagion,” a phenomenon defined by the Department of Health and Human Services as an increase in suicides due to “the exposure to suicide or suicidal behaviors within one’s family, one’s peer group, or through media reports of suicide.” “When people who have suicidal thoughts see seemingly happy, famous and wealthy people dying of suicide, it makes them feel more hopeless,” Foster said. After dialing 1-800-273-8255, you will hear the following automated message: "You have reached the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, also servicing the Veterans service line. Some callers may be higher risk if they are having suicidal thoughts or actively considering suicide. Lifeline is actually made up of a network of 161 crisis centers across the country, Sinwelski said.

– Calls to suicide hotlines have spiked dramatically since the deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain—not an unusual phenomenon in the wake of celebrity suicides. The Wall Street Journal reports on a 25% uptick at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) since Spade's death, while USA Today attributed a similar rise to both celebs, and a New Jersey hotline experienced a 70% increase in calls Friday morning. "We're so extremely busy," says Rachel Larkin, who heads a crisis-prevention center in Maryland. "I think we’re all worried. ... Both Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain are people a lot of people related to." Celebrity suicides have been linked to suicide increases before. Marilyn Monroe's 1962 death, for example, preceded a 12% spike in suicides nationwide, the Wrap reports. "When people who have suicidal thoughts see seemingly happy, famous and wealthy people dying of suicide, it makes them feel more hopeless," says Lauren Foster, who heads a hotline in Raleigh, North Carolina. "They think if they died, what’s to stop me?" But suicide-prevention advocates are emphasizing that hotlines do help and people's calls will go through, despite the surge this week. Check out Buzzfeed to learn what happens on hotline calls and see what resources are available.

Follow @marymitchellcst Sen. Mark Kirk, 55, is a good example of why it never pays to try to keep up with the younger generation. Instead of looking cool, you wind up saying stupid stuff that makes you look lame. Kirk was caught on a live microphone Thursday referring to his Republican colleague and presidential hopeful Lindsey Graham as a “bro with no ho.” I didn’t even know what that meant. My adult son had to fill me in. “It just means he’s a single man,” my son explained. OPINION Follow @marymitchellcst In my day, a “bro” was a black man with a ‘fro. As for “ho,” well, the definition of that slur hasn’t changed. Coming from the senator, the “bro with no ho” comment is an embarrassment. But what was especially offensive was Kirk also saying, “That’s what we’d say on the South Side.” Wait a minute. Since when did Kirk become a South Sider? You can’t just proclaim yourself a South Sider. You’ve got to pay your dues by riding those overcrowded buses and trains, living in food deserts, traveling impossible distances to shop and navigating dangerous neighborhoods. Kirk is from Highland Park — the land of plenty. I know some people falsely claim to be from this side or that side of Chicago, when you’re really from the suburbs. That’s OK. But Kirk has repeatedly pretended to have a grasp on what’s going on in these communities. In 2013, he clashed with U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, D-Illinois, when he called for the mass arrests of the Gangster Disciples, a gang he said numbered 18,000. Rush called Kirk’s proposal “a middle-class, elitist white-boy solution to a problem he knows nothing about.” The senator put his foot in his mouth again in an interview about economic development when he declared that black neighborhoods are the ones that people driver through faster. I have no doubt that some white people are afraid to drive through black neighborhoods. But there are a lot of white people who work, live and play in black neighborhoods, and I would argue that they are safer in those neighborhoods than the young black males who live there. A spokesman for Kirk dismissed his boss’ comments Thursday as a joke. Maybe he should have added that was a joke that was in poor taste and which could prove costly. The senator was engaging in the kind of bawdy banter some “bros” engage in when women aren’t a part of the conversation. That shows he really doesn’t get it. Kirk is up for re-election. And two fierce women — U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, and Andrea Zopp, the former head of the Chicago Urban League — are seeking the Democratic nomination to face him. Either one of these accomplished women could benefit from Kirk’s gaffe. I can’t wait to see how the “bro with no ho” soundbite ends up being used in campaign commercials. Meantime, Kirk owes the South Side an apology. While some African-American aldermen are still making an ugly fuss over New York filmmaker Spike Lee calling a movie he’s making in the city “Chiraq,” what Kirk’s doing is worse. He’s stereotyping the black community, casting it in a negative light and then crowing about it. Follow Mary Mitchell on Twitter: @MaryMitchellCST

– Public apologies making headlines this week include a scientist and a senator trying to show how funny they are: Prize winner: "I'm really, really sorry I caused any offense, that's awful. I certainly didn't mean that. I just meant to be honest, actually."—Tim Hunt, Nobel-winning scientist, after he made light of "girls" working in labs. He added that it was a "stupid" thing to say in front of journalists, which is partly why a writer at the Washington Post calls this the "non-apology of the year." New name, please: "We are sorry that wording which could be considered offensive has been used, as this has not been our intention at all."—Lego, after it described a strange-looking new Lego model as a "window-licker," a derogatory term for people with learning disabilities. If it's on Facebook, it must be true: "I want to apologize as well to all our listeners for having made an erroneous statement. I am sorry for the mistake. However, I am glad to play a role in putting this rumor to rest."—Diane Rehm of NPR, after she informed Bernie Sanders that he had Israeli citizenship during an interview. He doesn't. She had seen it on Facebook. Unsportsmanslike: "We apologize to all fans watching the game on television, to both teams and to our guests from Italy for the Nazi symbol."—Tomislav Pacak, a Croatian Football Federation spokesman, referring to the faint but unmistakable imprint of a large swastika on a soccer field. He's a what? "(He) was joking with his colleague and immediately apologized to anyone offended by his remark."—Spokesperson for Sen. Mark Kirk, after he described his bachelor colleague Lindsey Graham as a "bro with no ho." (A Sun-Times columnist thinks he owes a specific apology to residents of Chicago's South Side.) All business: "Please accept the apologies from my previous letter, which should not have been sent."—Homeowners association in Brentwood, Tenn., after threatening to sue a family for putting up a wheelchair ramp. The homeowner, a pastor, just had brain surgery. The HOA had second thoughts when the story went public.

More than 110,000 students, including disproportionate numbers of black and disabled students, were subjected to paddling or a similar punishment in the 2013-14 school year, said King, citing the Education Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection. Recent research suggests that more than 160,000 children in 19 states are potential victims of corporal punishment in schools each year, with African-American children in a few southern school districts about 50% more likely than white students to be smacked or paddled by a school worker. He also notes that boys overall, as well as students with disabilities, were more likely to be punished physically: boys represented about 80% of corporal punishment victims, and in nearly all of the states where the practice is permitted, students with disabilities were subjected to corporal punishment at higher rates than students without them. “Corporal punishment of adults has been banned in prisons and in military training facilities, and it’s time we do the same for our nation’s schoolchildren,” said Fatima Goss Graves of the Women’s Law Center. In addition, policymakers should also give schools and educators new tools to foster a positive school climate by encouraging the use of school-wide positive behavior supports, an evidence-based approach to school discipline proven to reduce school discipline referrals and support improved academic outcomes. Sincerely, National Women’s Law Center, joined by the following organizations: Academy on Violence and Abuse ACLU American Academy of Pediatrics American Association of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry American Association of University Women American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO American Humanist Association American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children American Psychological Association American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Americans Against Corporal Punishment in Public School Association of University Centers on Disabilities Attachment Parenting International, Atlanta Chapter Barton Child Law and Policy Center, Emory Law School Center for Civil Rights Remedies, Civil Rights Project at UCLA Center for Effective Discipline Champion Women Child Safe of Central Missouri, Inc. Children’s Advocacy Institute Children’s Defense Fund Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates Dane County District Attorney’s Deferred Prosecution Program Dignity in Schools Campaign Division 7: Developmental Psychology, American Psychological Association Education Law Center-PA Family Services Network Futures Without Violence Girls Inc. GLSEN Gundersen Health System Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center Gwinnett Parent Coalition to Dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline (Gwinnett SToPP) Integrated Clinical & Correctional Services Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Lives in the Balance Massachusetts Citizens for Children Minnesota Communities Caring for Children, Home of Prevent Child Abuse MN NAACP National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) National Association of School Psychologists National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) National Autism Association National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools National Disability Rights Network National Down Syndrome Congress National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) National Education Association National Organization for Women National PTA NC Child NCLR (National Council of La Raza) Nollie Jenkins Family Center, Inc. Otto Bremer Trust Center for Safe and Healthy Children Parent Trust for Washington Children Partnership for Violence Free Families Prevent Child Abuse Illinois Project KnuckleHead PsycHealth, Ltd. Rights4Girls Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law SelfWorks SisterReach SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) Southern Poverty Law Center StopSpanking.ORG TASH Tennesseans for Non Violent School Discipline The National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan The Parenting Network TNTP (formerly The New Teacher Project) U.S. Alliance to End the Hitting of Children University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law Juvenile and Special Education Law Clinic Upbring Women’s Law Project Youth Service, Inc.

– Education Secretary John King has a message for states where physical discipline is permitted in schools, per USA Today: Quit it. In a letter to governors and state school chiefs, King says 22 states—mostly in the South and West—still allow corporal punishment or don't forbid it. He implores them to stop the "harmful" and "ineffective" practice, saying it teaches kids that getting physical is OK to solve problems. He also points out that some corporal punishment taking place in schools would be considered criminal assault or battery in real-world settings. About 80 groups—including the NAACP—lent their support to a similar letter penned Monday by the National Women's Law Center, reports CBS News. "Corporal punishment of adults has been banned in prisons and in military training facilities, and it's time we do the same for our nation's schoolchildren," an NWLC rep says. King also notes that physical punishment isn't applied equitably to all students. For example, even though black students make up about 16% of attendees in public elementary and secondary schools, they're on the receiving end of one-third of the corporal punishment. Boys are subjected to 80% of such acts, while students with disabilities also tend to be victims more so than other students. "These data and disparities shock the conscience," King writes. (Alabama paddled 19K students in one school year.)

In the incident, 42,800 gallons of fracking fluid — boiling up from thousands of feet underground — spewed into the streets and into Arlington storm sewers and streams. A pipe sprung a softball-size hole at the Vantage Energy well site at 3016 Little Road, allowing nearly 43,000 gallons of fracking water and chemicals to gush into the city storm-water system and sparking fears that natural gas would follow, Assistant Fire Chief Jim Self said. The company said a well head component malfunctioned, causing a back flow of fracking fluid to spill out. "Clearly there was a release of unpermitted materials into the stormwater system," said Arlington Fire Chief Don Crowson as he addressed Arlington City Council members on Tuesday. Through the course of their investigation, fire officials determined more than 42,000 gallons of fracking fluid escaped into the city's storm water system. That doesn't include additional fines Vantage had to pay for three citations the city issued following the incident. Crowson did not mince words, though, when he discussed Vantage's decision to wait nearly two hours before reporting the leak to 911. In the meantime, drilling operations remain shut down and will not resume until the city does a final inspection and the folks across the street and those affected are given official notification.

– A massive leak of fracking fluid poured into the streets of Arlington, Texas, two months ago and forced the evacuation of a hundred homes. Now city officials have taken Vantage Energy to task for its "unacceptable" handling of the 43,000-gallon spill, WFAA reports. During a city council meeting yesterday, it emerged that Vantage had taken nearly two hours to call 911 despite the risk of a gas leak. "This is unacceptable behavior," says an Arlington city council member. According to Fire Chief Don Crowson, the two-hour delay was no joke: "We’re not kidding around about the 911 issue," he tells the Star-Telegram during a break in city council. "It could have ended in a bad outcome. Two hours’ advance notice could have helped a lot." Still, officials say the environmental damage was not extensive and Vantage has been cooperative. So what happened, exactly? According to the city's report, a Vantage well site sprung a leak on April 11, which allowed fracking water and chemicals to boil up into Arlington's streets, storm sewers, and streams. Because the fracking fluid had been fracturing shale and freeing gas under high pressure, natural gas could have leaked at any time. Now WFAA says a 1,500-gallon spill occurred at the same location a month before, and NBC-Dallas/Fort Worth reports that the site is close to reopening. "I just assumed this was a residential area and it would be free from industrial hazardous operations," says a resident after hearing about the earlier spill. "Now we see it's not."

As she scrolled through her text messages with Paul Gonzales, the woman, who asked to be identified as Beth, said she thought she was just going on a typical blind date. Beth, who wanted to protect her identity, said she met Gonzales on the dating app Bumble. The plan was a romantic first date at a restaurant in Long Beach. “[He was] very complimentary, very chatty, seemed to have similar interests,” she said. One of them says he showed up “very complimentary” at a “romantic” restaurant in Long Beach, but things got weird really fast: He ordered more than $100 worth of food, including an extra entrée he claimed was necessary because he’s “a bodybuilder.” On that occasion, he disappeared during an alleged bathroom trip. And I even texted him, ‘Is everything OK?’ And obviously he never responded,” she said. The woman acknowledges she is very embarrassed but said she came forward after seeing another women tell her similar story on Wednesday evening on the KCAL9 News at 10 p.m. “He had an appetizer, he ordered a steak. Not surprisingly at all, Gonzales has a police record with multiple misdemeanors, two warrants out for his arrest, and once even committed something called a “snip and ditch,” which involved him fleeing a hair salon still wearing a smock.

– Paul Gonzales' approach to dating is similar to that of many men. He meets women online and invites them out to dinner. But here's where he allegedly diverges: According to CBS Los Angeles, 44-year-old Gonzales has been dining and dashing at area restaurants, leaving behind unsuspecting women he's asked out on blind dates. CBS reported in August that Gonzales had left two women to pay the bill after walking out on restaurant dates last summer. One of the women described how he'd eaten $100 worth of food at a restaurant in Long Beach—explaining he had to order two entrees because he's a bodybuilder—before saying he was going to the bathroom. She never saw him again. Now, the man Grub Street identifies as perhaps "the world's worst dinner date" appears to have struck again. A woman, identified by WTOL as Beth, says she met "Dave Gonzales" on Bumble before agreeing to dinner at a restaurant in Pasadena. Gonzales ordered "a glass of pinot, a Caesar salad with a side of shrimp, a steak, and a baked potato" and ate most of the meal before excusing himself to take a phone call, Beth says. He never returned, a text went unanswered, and his Bumble profile was later removed, adds Beth, who soon after learned of Gonzales' alleged notoriety. She says she wants his "disgusting" ruse to stop. According to police, Gonzales has also walked out of a salon, still clad in a smock, without paying for a haircut and color. He's wanted on two bench warrants as a result of misdemeanor charges, including petty theft. (This blind date was more shocking.)

WTF?! Howard Stern recently completed the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and shared a video of the do-gooder act on YouTube. While Stern doing the bone-chilling charitable act is nothing out of the ordinary, you may be scratching your head when you hear who he nominates to undertake the challenge next. "Hey everybody, it's Howard Stern ready to take the Ice Bucket Challenge," a shirtless Stern says in the video. "I'm accepting the challenge of...who challenged me? Matt Lauer and Jennifer Aniston."

– Howard Stern has nominated an interesting trio to complete the ice bucket challenge after him. Trouble is, one of them is dead, reports E! Online. In a bizarre video posted to YouTube yesterday, a bare-chested Stern plops an ice cube into a shot glass of water, then pours it over his head, immediately succumbing to mock shivers before hopping off camera. But first he challenges the very much alive Barbara Walters and Mark Consuelos, plus the quite dead Casey Kasem, to douse themselves with ice water next. Stern is aware of Kasem's death at age 82, E! notes, as he's discussed it on his radio show.

Mr Justice Peter Smith was furious at BA after his luggage went missing on a flight from Florence Tim Boyle/Getty Images The judge who stepped down from a £3 billion dispute involving British Airways after complaining about his lost luggage is being investigated by judicial conduct authorities. The case stems from a European Commission ruling that BA and a number of other airlines colluded to fix air cargo charges, with the firms now being sued by hundreds of companies for losses and damages. But Mr Justice Smith went on to raise the matter in court, threatening to order BA’s chief executive to appear in front of him to explain how a whole aeroplane’s luggage could go missing He told BA’s legal team, led by Jon Turner QC: “Right, Mr Turner, here is a question for you: what happened to [the] luggage?” But when the barrister replied that they were not dealing with that issue Mr Justice Smith persisted with his line of questioning, saying: “I am asking you – what has happened to the luggage?” Mr Turner again declined to address his request, at which point Mr Justice Smith warned: “In that case, do you want me to order your chief executive to appear before me today?” Despite being told it would not be appropriate to discuss a personal dispute, the judge persisted: “What is inappropriate is the continued failure of your clients to explain a simple question, namely, what happened to the luggage? He continued: “I do not believe for one minute that the reasonably minded observer…would think that merely because I have raised issues over the non delivery of my luggage of itself should lead to the possibility of bias.” He also warned BA that he would continue his investigation into what happened to the bags “in a private capacity” and “with the vigour for which I am known”.

– Anyone whose luggage has been lost by an airline now has a patron saint in the form of Justice Peter Smith in Britain. When lawyers for British Airways showed up in his court to argue a $4.6 billion price-fixing case, Smith had smaller fish to fry: He wanted to know why the airline lost his luggage on a recent trip to Italy, reports the Legal Cheek blog. The questioning of BA counsel Jon Turner is priceless, as relayed by the Independent: "Mr Turner, here is a question for you. What happened to [the] luggage?” When Turner replies that they're actually in court for a different matter, Smith won't be put off: “In that case, do you want me to order your chief executive to appear before me today?” Turner again tries to deflect the questioning, but Smith responds, “What is inappropriate is the continued failure of your clients to explain a simple question: namely, what happened to the luggage? It has been two weeks since that happened now." This goes on for a while, and the BA lawyers ask Smith to recuse himself from the case they're supposed to be arguing because he's biased. Smith reluctantly agrees to do so. Entertaining yes, but whether it was good judgeship remains to be seen—the Times of London reports that judicial conduct authorities are investigating. The same judge once inserted a secret message ("Smithy Code") into his ruling in a copyright case involving the Da Vinci Code, notes the Telegraph. (If you'd like to be berated by an American judge, try this.)

Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains Sue Ogrocki / AP A monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leaving scores dead as the threat for more storms continues. Launch slideshow About 9.5 million people remained under the threat of more "large and devastating" tornadoes Tuesday as the storm system that devastated the suburbs of Oklahoma City moved east, forecasters warned. Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said early Tuesday that the threat area appeared to be east and south of Oklahoma City. "Tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail are possible throughout the threat area," Roth said. More from weather.com The greatest tornado threat will exist in northeast Texas, far southeast Oklahoma, southwest Arkansas and northwest Louisiana. A few strong tornadoes are possible in those states. On Tuesday afternoon The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Bowie County, Texas, which borders Arkansas in the northeast part of the state. Michael Welch captures dramatic video of twister from a KFC parking lot in Newcastle, Oklahoma. Roth said that cities including Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Shreveport, Texarkana and Little Rock were among the cities "close to the the larger tornado threat." A tornado watch was issued for Dallas-Fort Worth as well as all of north and central Texas until 8 p.m. ET). The Dallas zoo closed Tuesday afternoon due to the forecast. Strong wind gusts have been reported in the area but so far no tornadoes. Areas of Arkansas were under a tornado watch until 11 p.m. "Another day of large and devastating tornadoes is possible this time from central/east Texas into central Arkansas," Roth said. "Severe threat continues farther to the east Wednesday, although the overall severity appears to be lower." Weather Channel forecaster Bill Karins told MSNBC that 9.5 million people lived in the area at most risk of more tornadoes. He said the likely pattern for twisters was the same as in recent days, with the biggest risk being in the late afternoon. The National Weather Service said storms were expected Tuesday "from the Great Lakes across the Mississippi River Valley and into central Texas." The agency issued a tornado watch late Monday for portions of east central Illinois, western and central Indiana, western Kentucky and southeast Missouri. The watch was in effect until 5 a.m. local time (6 a.m. According to Roth, severe storms appeared possible from southeast New York to east Maryland on Thursday. He added: "An early look at Memorial Day Weekend shows that most of the country should be quiet. The stormiest weather appears to be across the Plains and Midwest with scattered showers and thunderstorms." Related: NBC's Andrew Rafferty contributed to this report This story was originally published on

– The tornado threat isn't over: "Large and devastating" storms could continue today, forecasters say. "We could have a Round 3," says a CNN meteorologist. "Hopefully, it won't be as bad." But "tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, and large hail" could hit areas east and south of Oklahoma City, with cities from Dallas to Little Rock also at risk, says a Weather Channel forecaster. Some 9.5 million people could face further major tornadoes, a forecaster tells MSNBC, while CNN says 53 million could see severe weather today. Areas from Dallas to Shreveport face the biggest danger "from mid-afternoon to late evening hours," says another CNN expert. Storms could also strike "from the Great Lakes across the Mississippi River Valley and into central Texas," according to the National Weather Service. The threat moves further eastward tomorrow, "although the overall severity appears to be lower," adds a Weather Channel expert. Click for more.

The tread on four of the eight tires on a tour bus that slammed into a truck and killed 13 people on Interstate... (Associated Press) People gather at makeshift memorial at a tour bus stop in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct 25, 2016. Those identified by the Coroner's Office are: • Tony Mai, 50, of Los Angeles • Zoila Aguilera, 72, of Los Angeles • Conception Corvera, 57, of Palmdale • Dora Galvez de Rodriguez, 69, of Los Angeles • Ana Gomes de Magallon, 71, of Los Angeles • Milagros Gonzales, 72, of Los Angeles • Gustavo Green, 62, of Los Angeles • Isabel Jimenez Hernandez, 66, of Los Angeles • Yolanda Mendoza, 69, of Los Angeles • Rosa Ruiz, 53, of Los Angeles • Elvia Sanchez, 52, of Los Angeles • Aracely Tije, 63, of Los Angeles • Teodulo Vides, 59, of Los Angeles (who owned the bus company) All of the victims died at the scene, on the freeway about two miles east of the Highway 62 exit, according to the coroner.

– If tour bus company owner-driver Teodulo Elias Vides hadn't been one of 13 people killed in a horrific crash on Interstate 10 near Palm Springs, Calif., on Sunday, authorities would probably have some tough questions for him. Authorities say half the tires on the bus he was driving, including both steer axle tires, were worn down to an unsafe level, which would have been enough for inspectors to take the bus out of service, the AP reports. The bus, which was on its way to Los Angeles from the Red Earth Casino in Salton Sea Beach, plowed into the back of a big rig and it's not clear whether Vides attempted to brake first. The full National Transportation Safety Board investigation could take up to a year. Vides, 59, had been sued twice for negligence over incidents involving his USA Holiday company, which is listed as having just one bus, the Los Angeles Times reports. In a 2007 incident, three people died when a USA Holiday bus hit a Honda Civic on a freeway in Riverside, Calif. The company also received at least six "unsatisfactory" ratings from the California Highway Patrol for issues including maintenance, and Vides had several traffic citations on his record. The victims, whose ages range from 50 to 72, were mostly seated near the front of the bus, reports the Press Enterprise. Another 31 people were injured.

[SPOILER ALERT: Do not read until you have watched Sunday night’s episode of The Simpsons, titled “Clown in the Dumps.”] Say a prayer — Jewish, preferably—for Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, who passed away Sunday night on the season premiere of The Simpsons. So now, we gather here to mourn the loss of Krusty’s father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky (voiced by the great Jackie Mason), who’s been a part of the Simpsons universe since reuniting with his estranged, red-nosed son in 1991. RELATED Family Guy Meets The Simpsons: 14 Photos From the Crossover Episode Let’s begin with what I’m sure is the first question on all of your minds: Why Krusty’s dad? AL JEAN: I was just trying to think of a story and I thought, “It would be a good father-son story if the rabbi passed away and the last thing he said to his son was, “I think you’re eh.” That the last word that Krusty heard from his dad was “eh,” and that he had to try to reconcile himself with that, and try to find an answer for this lifetime relationship. But people misinterpreted “Clown in the Dumps,” and then once I was tied into this craziness, I said, “Okay, I guess we should go with it.” But the third thing is I think it just works as a sweet show, which is most important. Julie Kavner [who voices Marge] came up to me because she didn’t know, and she said “Who’s going to die?” And I said, “It’s Krusty’s dad and the last thing he says is, ‘Krusty, you’re eh,’ and she says “That’s a good story!” She might have been afraid that we were killing Selma or something—she didn’t know.” EW: Will we see a kinder, different Krusty in subsequent episodes? “One of the reasons Krusty’s been such a loose cannon is because his father disapproved of him, and he never felt like he got that sort of love that he wanted,” Jean says. … A little more.” RELATED The Simpsons EP on Season Premiere Death: ‘It’s An Emotional Story’ But fear not; despite this highly publicized death, Jean says the show is not going to go on a stunt-killing spree. What’s funny is at the [Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in July], we said, “Okay, we’ll make the title kind of easy and it should be really obvious,” so I said, “Clown in the Dumps.” And then there were people going, “(gasps) You’re killing Krusty?? “This show is always running in syndication, and we don’t want you to feel bad every time you see an old character that you loved.

– Fans of The Simpsons who thought they'd be yelling "Doh!" last night were ranting "Dud!" this morning. Viewers had been warned for months that what was rumored to be a major character would be killed off during the premiere of the show's 26th season last night, the Los Angeles Times reports. There was a character who kicked the cartoon bucket, but it wasn't exactly a major one: It was Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, Krusty the Clown's dad, voiced by comedian Jackie Mason, a character that only appeared in "a handful" of episodes, the Times notes. Reaction to the "Clown in the Dumps" episode ranged from mild, NPR-style disappointment to outright irritation: Tim Donnelly writes in the New York Post that the death (and preceding teasers) were "a lame play for attention by a show desperate to stay relevant." One Twitter user quoted in the Times complained, "Krusty's dad died... Um, Krusty had a Dad? Never heard of him. Wasted anticipation." Producer Al Jean insists he has always said the untimely death was "overhyped" and that he never promised it would be one of the more-popular characters. "I never said it’s an iconic character—I never used those words," he tells Entertainment Weekly. In fact, he assures fans that favorites will never be purposely annihilated before series' end. "We're never going to kill off Homer, or even Krusty," he tells TVLine. "This show is always running in syndication, and we don't want you to feel bad every time you see an old character that you loved."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration formally notified Congress on Wednesday of a $1.83-billion arms sale package for Taiwan, including two frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and other equipment, drawing an angry response from China. The U.S. on Wednesday approved its first major sale of weapons to Taiwan in four years and shrugged off criticism that it had held up the proposed $1.83 billion deal to limit expected criticism from China. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. was in contact with both Taiwan and China about the sale, which he said was consistent with U.S. support for Taiwan's ability to defend itself under the Taiwan Relations Act. View all New York Times newsletters. ... There’s no need for it to have any derogatory effect on our relationship with China.” Kirby said Washington wanted to work to establish a “better, more transparent more effective relationship” with China in the region and had been in contact with both Taiwan and China on this on Wednesday. David McKeeby, another State Department spokesman, said the arms package included two Perry-class guided-missile frigates; $57 million of Javelin anti-tank missiles made by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin; $268 million of TOW 2B anti-tank missiles and $217 million of Stinger surface-to-air missiles made by Raytheon, and $375 million of AAV-7 Amphibious Assault Vehicles.

– The US stands by the "one-China" policy, but that doesn't mean it can't sell weapons directly to Taiwan, citing ithe Taiwan Relations Act to ensure Taiwan can adequately defend itself—and China isn't happy about it. The Obama administration announced a $1.8 billion arms package sale to Congress on Wednesday, Reuters reports, including guided-missile frigates, anti-tank missiles, Amphibious Assault Vehicles, and $416 million worth of guns, ammo, and other supplies. The announcement came amid reports that the US had stalled the sale to avoid hearing about it from China, which still claims Taiwan as a territory, per the Wall Street Journal. Reuters notes the sale comes as US-China relations simmer over the latter's man-made islands in the South China Sea and US patrols in those waters. China notes it's going to sanction the companies involved in the sale (including Lockheed Martin and Raytheon), with a foreign ministry official telling Xinhua that the sale flouts international rules and "severely" damages China's sovereignty. "China's government and companies will not carry out cooperation and commercial dealings with these types of companies," a ministry spokesman says. A Pentagon spokesman gave the equivalent of an eyeroll Wednesday, per the New York Times, noting, "The Chinese can react to this as they see fit. … It's a [clear-eyed], sober view of an assessment of Taiwan's defense needs. … There's no need for it to have any derogatory effect on our relationship with China." Meanwhile, the AP notes that China has issued similar threats before, with "no evidence they've had any meaningful effect." (All this despite a lengthy handshake last month.)

James Holmes, the accused gunman in last Friday's midnight movie massacre in Colorado, mailed a notebook "full of details about how he was going to kill people" to a University of Colorado psychiatrist before the attack, and the parcel may have sat unopened in a mailroom for up to a week before its discovery Monday, a law enforcement source told FoxNews.com. "Inside the package was a notebook full of details about how he was going to kill people," the source told FoxNews.com. "There were drawings of what he was going to do in it -- drawings and illustrations of the massacre." Among the images shown in the spiral-bound notebook’s pages were gun-wielding stick figures blowing away other stick figures. The source said police and FBI agents were called to the University of Colorado Anschutz medical campus in Aurora on Monday morning after the psychiatrist, who is also a professor at the school, reported receiving a package believed to be from the suspect. Although that package turned out to be from someone else and harmless, a search of the Campus Services' mailroom turned up another package sent to the psychiatrist with Holmes’ name in the return address, the source told FoxNews.com. A second law enforcement source said authorities got a warrant from a county judge and took the package away Monday night. When it was opened, its chilling contents were revealed. The first source on Tuesday told FoxNews.com the package had been in the mailroom since July 12, though another source who confirmed the discovery to FoxNews.com could not say if the package arrived prior to Friday's massacre. It was not clear why it had not been delivered to the psychiatrist. The notebook is now in possession of the FBI, sources told FoxNews.com. The University of Colorado Denver issued a statement Wednesday evening confirming that a suspicious package was found, but called the July 12 timeline "inaccurate." The university said it was delivered Monday and found on the same day. When told of the university's statement, a source said the package may have been postmarked on July 12, but arrived before the massacre. On Tuesday afternoon, in response to FoxNews.com’s request for comment prior to publication of this article, the same university spokeswoman, Jacque Montgomery, had said only that she was not aware of the contents of the package or who had sent it. The university also denied Wednesday that the package "sat on a loading dock," though there was no mention of a loading dock in the original FoxNews.com story. The story reported the package was instead found in a mailroom. Both of FoxNews.com's sources said the intended recipient of Holmes’ notebook was a professor who also treated patients at the psychiatry outpatient facility, located in Building 500, where the first suspicious package was delivered. It could not be verified that the psychiatrist had had previous contact with Holmes, who was a dropout from the school’s neuroscience doctoral program and had studied various mental health issues and ailments as part of his curriculum. Holmes is accused of killing 12 and injuring 58 at a midnight showing of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" at the Century 16 Theater in Aurora. Agent Dave Joly, of the FBI’s Denver Division, declined to comment on the matter, citing a gag order issued Monday by Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester. Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers' office and Aurora police also could not comment due to the gag order. Police believe the July 20 attack was meticulously planned. Holmes allegedly tossed tear gas canisters into the crowded theater, and then fired his 12-gauge shotgun at the ceiling before turning it on the crowd. As panicked movie watchers raced for the exits, he switched to a .40 Glock pistol and a .223 Smith & Wesson M&P semi-automatic with a high-capacity drum clip, sources told Fox News. The gun jammed, likely preventing far more deaths. After the gun jammed, Holmes allegedly walked out of the theater through the door he'd entered and was removing his body armor beside his car when he was confronted by the officers who took him down, the source said, adding that the gunman seemed surprised authorities arrived so quickly. Before mounting the horrific attack, Holmes allegedly booby-trapped his apartment and left music blasting, possibly to create a diversion that would occupy police and rescue personnel several miles away from the theater, the source said. Fox News has learned that the door was wired with a booby-trap and a backup system that would have triggered an explosive designed to "cut in half" the first person through the door. After that, explosions and flames would have likely consumed the entire building, presumably with the intention of trapping other residents as they slept and forcing a massive response of police and rescue personnel. Holmes, who made his first court appearance Monday and looked disoriented and disheveled, could face the death penalty. Editor's Note: This story was updated Wednesday evening to include a statement from the University of Colorado Denver, and a response to that statement from a FoxNews.com source. SEND TIPS TO NEWSMANAGER@FOXNEWS.COM

– Prosecutors have all but nixed James Holmes' reported offer of a guilty plea to dodge the death penalty. They're "extremely unlikely" to accept the proposal without "specific access to information" on Holmes that, so far, his team has refused to provide, they say, per the Denver Post. What's more, "there is not—and has never been—an actual or unqualified 'offer' to plead guilty," prosecutors wrote in an angry filing yesterday accusing Holmes' team of a misleading publicity stunt. The prosecutors' filing, signed by district attorney George Brauchler himself rather than a deputy, also took issue with defense suggestions about a lengthy series of pretrial hearings, among other concerns. Brauchler accused the defense of "an attempt to deliberately prejudice the public, witnesses, and victims against the People." Meanwhile, he called on the judge to reject a defense motion calling for action against the prosecution for allegedly leaking information to the press. Brauchler is poised to announce whether he'll seek the death penalty on Monday.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, starting Holy Week services leading to Easter, urged young people on Sunday to keep shouting and not allow the older generations to silence their voices or anesthetize their idealism. Pope Francis blesses faithful gathered to attend the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 25, 2018 REUTERS/Tony Gentile Francis spoke a day after hundreds of thousands of young Americans and their supporters answered a call to action from survivors of last month’s Florida high school massacre and rallied across the United States to demand tighter gun laws. He did not mention the demonstrations. Catholic News Service (CNS) said Gabriella Zuniga, 16, and her sister Valentina, 15, both students from Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, where 17 people were killed in February, attended the service with their parents. CNS posted a photo of the two holding up signs in St. Peter’s Square, with one reading, “Protect Our Children, Not Our Guns.” The 81-year-old Francis led a long and solemn Palm Sunday service before tens of thousands in the square, many of them young people there for the Catholic Church’s World Day of Youth. Pope Francis holds palm as he leads the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 25, 2018 REUTERS/Tony Gentile Carrying a woven palm branch known as a “palmurello,” Francis led a procession in front of the largest church in Christendom to commemorate the day the Bible says Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was hailed as a savior, only to be crucified five days later. “YOU HAVE IT IN YOU TO SHOUT” Drawing on biblical parallels, Francis urged the young people in the crowd not to let themselves be manipulated. “The temptation to silence young people has always existed,” Francis said in the homily of a Mass. “There are many ways to silence young people and make them invisible. Many ways to anesthetize them, to make them keep quiet, ask nothing, question nothing. There are many ways to sedate them, to keep them from getting involved, to make their dreams flat and dreary, petty and plaintive,” he said. “Dear young people, you have it in you to shout,” he told young people, urging them to be like the people who welcomed Jesus with palms rather than those who shouted for his crucifixion only days later. Slideshow (10 Images) “It is up to you not to keep quiet. Even if others keep quiet, if we older people and leaders, some corrupt, keep quiet, if the whole world keeps quiet and loses its joy, I ask you: Will you cry out?” The young people in the crowd shouted, “Yes!” While Francis did not mention Saturday’s marches in the United States, he has often condemned weapons manufacturing and mass shootings. Palm Sunday marked the start of a hectic week of activities for the pope. On Holy Thursday he is due to preside at two services, including one in which he will wash the feet of 12 inmates in a Rome jail to commemorate Jesus’ gesture of humility toward his apostles the night before he died. On Good Friday, he is due to lead a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at Rome’s Colosseum. On Saturday night he leads a Easter vigil service and on Easter Sunday he delivers his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message.

– A day after hundreds of thousands of young people took to the streets to call for gun control, an old man used his bully pulpit to urge them to keep shouting, reports Reuters. Speaking at his Palm Sunday Mass, 81-year-old Pope Francis warned that "the temptation to silence young people has always existed," along with ways "to sedate them, to keep them from getting involved, to make their dreams flat and dreary, petty and plaintive." But, reports the AP, he told young people that "It is up to you not to keep quiet. Even if others keep quiet, if we older people and leaders, some corrupt, keep quiet, if the whole world keeps quiet and loses its joy, I ask you: Will you cry out?" The response from the crowd: "Yes!"

DENVER, March 24, 2015 -- Chocolate has many health benefits -- it can potentially lower blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce stroke risk. But just as connoisseurs thought it couldn't get any better, there's this tasty new tidbit: Researchers have found a way to make the treat even more nutritious -- and sweeter. They will describe their research here today at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. The meeting features nearly 11,000 reports on new advances in science and other topics. It is being held here through Thursday. Cocoa undergoes several steps before it takes shape as a candy bar. Workers cut down pods from cocoa trees, then split open the pods to remove the white or purple cocoa beans. They are fermented in banana-lined baskets for a few days and then set out to dry in the sun. Roasting, the next step, brings out the flavor. But some of the healthful polyphenols (antioxidants) are lost during the roasting process, so the researchers wanted to figure out a way to retain as much of the polyphenols and good flavors as possible. "We decided to add a pod-storage step before the beans were even fermented to see whether that would have an effect on the polyphenol content," says Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa, Ph.D., who is at the University of Ghana. "This is not traditionally done, and this is what makes our research fundamentally different. It's also not known how roasting affects polyphenol content." Afoakwa's team divided 300 pods into four groups that were either not stored at all or stored for three, seven or 10 days before processing. This technique is called "pulp preconditioning." After each storage period passed, fermentation and drying were done as usual. He reports that the seven-day storage resulted in the highest antioxidant activity after roasting. To assess the effects of roasting, the researchers took samples from each of the storage groups and roasted them at the same temperature for different times. The current process is to roast the beans for 10-20 minutes at 248-266 degrees Fahrenheit, he explains. Afoakwa's team adjusted this to 45 minutes at 242 degrees Fahrenheit and discovered that this slower roasting at a lower temperature increased the antioxidant activity compared to beans roasted with the conventional method. In addition, the beans that were stored and then roasted for 45 minutes had more polyphenols and higher antioxidant activity than beans whose pods were not stored prior to fermentation, says Afoakwa. He explains that pulp preconditioning likely allowed the sweet pulp surrounding the beans inside the pod to alter the biochemical and physical constituents of the beans before the fermentation. "This aided the fermentation processes and enhanced antioxidant capacity of the beans, as well as the flavor," he says. He adds that the new technique would be particularly useful for countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America where cocoa beans produce a chocolate with a less intense chocolate flavor and have reduced antioxidant activity. Looking to the future, he says the team will be studying in more detail the effects of roasting on the flavor of freshly picked compared to stored cocoa beans. They will be testing different temperatures and roasting and storing times to determine if even higher amounts of antioxidants can be retained through the process. The researchers acknowledge funding from the Belgium Government under the VLIR TEAM Cocoa Project between Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, and the University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana. A press conference on this topic will be held Tuesday, March 24, at 11 a.m. Mountain time in the Colorado Convention Center. Reporters may check-in at Room 104 in person, or watch live on YouTube http://bit. ly/ ACSLiveDenver . To ask questions, sign in with a Google account. ### The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 158,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org. Note to journalists: Please report that this research is being presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Follow us: Twitter | Facebook Title Roasting effects on phenolic content and free-radical scavenging activities of pulp pre-conditioned and fermented cocoa (Theobroma cacao) beans Abstract Polyphenols are phytochemicals responsible for the astringency, bitterness, green flavours and antioxidant activities in cocoa (Theobroma cacao) beans. These are degraded during fermentation, drying and roasting affecting the antioxidant activity of the beans. However, the extent of degradation of phenolics during roasting remains unknown. This work was aimed at investigating the changes in total polyphenols, anthocyanins, o-diphenols and antioxidant activity (free-radical scavenging activities) during roasting of pulp pre-conditioned and fermented cocoa. A 4×4 full factorial design with the principal experimental factors as pod storage and roasting time were used. Samples were analyzed for total polyphenols, o-diphenols, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity using standard analytical methods. Variable decrease in total polyphenols, o-diphenols and anthocyanins were observed with increase in pod storage and roasting durations. However, variable trends were observed for the % free-radical scavenging activities. The total polyphenols, anthocyanins and o-diphenols in the cocoa beans after 45 minutes roasting decreased from 132.24 to 57.17 mg/g, 6.71 to 1.07 mg/kg and 15.94 to 8.25 mg/g respectively for 0, 3, 7 and 10 days pod storage treatments. The total polyphenols for the fermented, dried and unstored cocoa beans was 132.25 mg/g which reduced to 122.14 mg/g (7.642% degradation), 116.721 mg/g (11.7% degradation) and 92.22 mg/g (30.3% degradation) for pod stored for 3, 7 and 10 days respectively. Increasing roasting time caused continuous decreases in the % free-radical scavenging activity from 89.10% to 74.31% after 45 minutes for the unstored pods. Pulp pre-conditioning by pod storage and roasting duration could be used to reduce the astringency and bitterness caused by polyphenols, o-diphenols and anthocyanins in cocoa beans whilst increasing the antioxidant activity imparted by cocoa.

– One of your vices could one day be a little more virtuous: Scientists are today announcing that they've figured out how to make chocolate healthier. The findings will be detailed by researchers from Belgium's Ghent University and the University of Ghana at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Denver, and center around how antioxidant-rich the sweet is. As a press release explains, it all comes down to tweaking the process. Cocoa beans are removed from pods, fermented in baskets, sun-dried, and then roasted. It's during that last step, the roasting, that polyphenols, which act as antioxidants, are partially lost. In a bid to up the polyphenol content, researchers added a nontraditional step that "makes our research fundamentally different," explains Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa: pulp preconditioning. That simply means they stored the pods—in the case of their experiments, for zero, three, seven, or 10 days—before removing the beans and beginning the fermentation process. A sweet pulp rests between the pod and the beans, and Afoakwa believes the preconditioning gives the pulp time to affect those beans. Indeed, the researchers found that those stored for a week showed the highest antioxidant activity after roasting—which they also adjusted. Rather than heat the beans for the typical 10 to 20 minutes at 248-266 degrees, they lowered the temp to 242 and upped the roasting time to 45 minutes, and discovered that slower and lower was also best in terms of antioxidant activity. The researchers' abstract notes another benefit: "Pulp preconditioning and roasting duration could be used to reduce the astringency and bitterness," improving chocolate's flavor. (Also presented at the ACS meeting: what's really in your pot.)

“Do I like Donald Trump? More: White House departures: Who's been fired and who resigned The White House said he would not resign from the Office of Management and Budget. | Alex Wong/Getty Images White House Mulvaney called Trump a 'terrible human being' ahead of 2016 election Mick Mulvaney called then-candidate Donald Trump “a terrible human being” in a video from November 2016 that re-surfaced Friday, hours after the president named him as acting White House chief of staff. The remarks came one week before the presidential election during a debate between Mulvaney, then a Republican congressman from South Carolina, and his Democratic challenger at a middle school in York, South Carolina, according to The Daily Beast, which first published the footage. That’s it.” Revising America’s health care system, balancing the federal budget and other policy goals popular among his constituents could only be accomplished if former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was defeated on Election Day, Mulvaney argued. But Mulvaney also said that Clinton was not a role model for his daughter, adding: “I don’t like her very much, either.” “We have perhaps two of the most flawed human beings running for president in the history of the country,” Mulvaney said. During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, Trump opponent Rick Perry called the future president’s campaign a “cancer on conservatism.” Perry now serves as President Trump’s Secretary of Energy. “Yes, I am supporting Donald Trump, but I’m doing so despite the fact that I think he’s a terrible human being,” he said, according to a report in The State newspaper. But the choice on the other side is just as bad.” Trump, in a tweet Friday, announced that Mulvaney would take over as his top aide following White House chief of staff John Kelly’s departure in January. https://t.co/C5q5csnhrlpic.twitter.com/IU5isoZRib — The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) December 15, 2018 Mulvaney ended up winning the election to retain his seat in the state's 5th Congressional District but was pulled into the Trump administration as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Mick Mulvaney, the Office of Management and Budget director who President Donald Trump tweeted Friday would serve as acting chief of staff after John Kelly departs in January, has been a loyal Trump supporter—but he didn’t always like him so much. Mulvaney is far from the first person in the administration to openly criticize Trump before signing on for a job in his administration, but he is certainly one of the most high-ranking. In another post, the president continued: “....I look forward to working with him in this new capacity as we continue to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Mulvaney, 51, will take over the role from John Kelly, who is expected to leave by the end of the year.

– If you've ever called your boss a "terrible human being," it turns out you sort of have something in common with the president's next acting chief of staff. Mick Mulvaney, who was named as John Kelly's replacement on Friday, used those choice words in reference to Donald Trump one week before the 2016 election. Politico reports Mulvaney was up for re-election in the House (he won), and referred to Trump and Hillary Clinton during a South Carolina debate as "perhaps two of the most flawed human beings running for president in the history of the country" when asked whether he was throwing his support behind the GOP candidate. He zeroed in on Trump specifically, saying "Do I like Donald Trump? No" and noting he didn't see Trump as a role model for his sons. And there's this: "Yes, I am supporting Donald Trump, but I’m doing so as enthusiastically as I can, given the fact that I think he’s a terrible human being. But the choice on the other side is just as bad." USA Today reports it was only hours after the Mulvaney news broke on Friday that the Daily Beast posted video of those comments. Mulvaney himself had more positive words on Friday, tweeting, "This is a tremendous honor. I look forward to working with the President and the entire team. It’s going to be a great 2019!" (Mulvaney will hold onto his other jobs in the administration.)

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– The US and China have settled on a new round of sanctions against North Korea, and Pyongyang is responding by ratcheting up its usual bluster, threatening to cancel the 1953 ceasefire that ended the Korean War if sanctions go forward and US-South Korean military drills that began March 1 continue. Specifically, the North is warning of "surgical strikes at any time" and a "precision nuclear striking tool" that will seek to "advance our long-cherished wish for national reunification," reports the AP. The US-China deal is aimed at punishing Pyongyang over February's nuclear test, in a joint deal that heads to the UN Security Council today. In addition to new sanctions—whose specifics aren't yet known—the planned resolution enforces current ones, the Wall Street Journal reports. Right now, sanctions include a ban on ballistic missile and nuclear tests and a ban on the import of arms and luxury goods; some in the country face financial and travel restrictions, and the new measures could expand them. China was expected, however, to refuse an oil embargo, believing that such a blow to the North Korean economy could bring refugees to China. The sanctions deal is expected to be adopted this week, says a diplomat.

Samsung Electronics won a significant legal victory against Apple: a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that threatens to halt U.S. sales of some older iPhones and iPads. The WSJ's Min-Jeong Lee has the story. Samsung Electronics Co. won a significant legal victory against Apple Inc. that threatens to halt the sale of some iPhones and iPads in the U.S. George Stahl explains the ramifications of a significant victory Samsung won over Apple in its patent case and how it is likely to result in a series of cross-licensing agreements between the companies. Photo: Getty Images. The U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday ruled that Apple violated a Samsung patent covering technology used to send information over wireless networks. Unless vetoed by President Barack Obama or blocked by an appeals court, the ruling would bar the importation of certain iPhones and iPads made to work on AT&T Inc.'s network. Among them are the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, the iPad 3G, the iPad 2 3G and the iPad 3. The latest Apple products, including the iPhone 5 and the fourth-generation of the iPad, were unaffected. Once close business partners, Samsung and Apple have become increasingly intense rivals, sparring over the market for smartphones around the globe, with much of the momentum accruing to Samsung in recent months. The rivalry has spilled into the courts, where barrages of competing patent claims have been lobbed in both directions. Last year, Apple won a jury trial and $1 billion in damages against Samsung over iPhone patents. Tuesday's ruling, which Apple has vowed to take to a federal appeals court, raises the incentives for the two sides to reach a more comprehensive settlement. But so far, both sides offered no hint at a settlement. The ruling also came on the day Mr. Obama took steps to rein in companies that buy and enforce patents rather than make their own products and services—firms known as patent trolls by their detractors. He is also trying to reduce the growing use of the ITC to settle patent disputes. The ITC, which has jurisdiction over certain trade practices, is an appealing legal option for patent holders, particularly tech companies, because the trade body can issue orders banning the importation of products that infringe upon another company's patents. Legal observers say it is easier to win an import ban at the ITC than it is to win a federal court ruling that would block product sales. The ITC's decision against Apple was largely unexpected, particularly because the initial review by a judge at the agency had found Apple's products weren't infringing Samsung's patents. The patent itself is a highly technical one, described in patent documents as "an apparatus and method for encoding/decoding a transport format combination indicator (TFCI) in a CDMA mobile communication system." "We are disappointed that the Commission has overturned an earlier ruling and we plan to appeal," said Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman. She said the decision "has no impact on the availability of Apple products in the United States." Apple doesn't detail sales for each individual product in its quarterly reports, but it has said that the iPhone makes up more than half of its global revenue. Sales in America, where the ban would take place, represented less than a third of overall sales. And aside from the iPhone 4S, which Apple said is popular with customers, the company hasn't detailed sales of its older models. Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, estimates that world-wide sales of the iPhone 4—which stands to be affected by the ITC order—brought Apple $3.4 billion in revenue in the quarter ended in March. That compares with his estimate of $14.9 billion for the newer iPhone 5, which isn't affected. The iPhone 4 has been marketed as a low-cost option alongside newer models. AT&T offers it for as little as 99 cents with a new contract. An AT&T spokesman didn't return a request for comment. Apple's Ms. Huguet added that "Samsung is using a strategy which has been rejected by courts and regulators around the world." Adam Yates, a spokesman for Samsung, said the decision affirmed the company's patents. "We believe the ITC's Final Determination has confirmed Apple's history of free-riding on Samsung's technological innovations," he said. AP The Apple store in Santa Monica, Calif. The ITC ruled against a key Apple theory across its recent litigation, which seeks to limit plaintiffs from using a broad class of patents to win injunctions against sales of infringing products. Such patents are submitted to industry groups that are setting key technology standards, and are deemed as essential to create products in certain categories—such as creating handsets that can communicate using a particular generation of cellular networks. Apple has argued that in return for becoming part of an industry standard, companies usually promise those groups to license use of their patented technology under fair and reasonable terms. Apple says Samsung isn't doing that. But the ITC said Apple's argument wasn't valid, potentially hurting Apple's continuing efforts to change the way standards-based patents are used in legal cases. Brian Love, an assistant professor of law at Santa Clara University School of Law, said it was unclear whether Apple could find a technical workaround for the ruling. He said that companies are sometimes "overzealous" about labeling patents as essential parts of technology standards. Kevin Taylor, an intellectual property lawyer at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, said this is "a solid win for Samsung." But he said whether it would set any precedent would depend on the outcome of any appeal in federal court. He said it wouldn't be unusual for a court to temporarily delay the ruling from going into effect, allowing Apple to continue selling its devices during the appeal, which could take months or longer. But, Mr. Taylor said, if "upheld on appeal, Apple has a big problem." Lyle Vander Schaaf, an intellectual property lawyer at Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, noted that it is rare for federal appeals courts to delay exclusion orders during appeals. And presidential vetoes are even more rare. There hasn't been a veto "since the Carter administration," he said. "On first blush, this seems like a really impactful decision." —Don Clark and Brent Kendall contributed to this article. Write to Ian Sherr at ian.sherr@dowjones.com and Jessica E. Lessin at jessica.lessin@wsj.com

– A big win for Samsung in its long-running patent feud with Apple: The US International Trade Commission has banned imports of the AT&T models of older Apple products including the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 3G after deciding Apple violated a Samsung patent, the Wall Street Journal reports. Newer Apple products like the iPhone 5 are not affected by the ruling, which Apple says it is "disappointed" by and will appeal. The ruling will take effect in 60 days unless it is vetoed by President Obama, a move analysts say is nearly as unlikely as the two companies deciding to settle their difference amicably. "There’s too much skin in the game now," a spokesman for technology research firm IDC tells Bloomberg. "It’s almost so ugly I don’t think they’ll come to any agreement. Both companies have a lot of cash and are generating a lot of money. It’s not like they have to worry about paying the legal bills."

Hans Riegel, who made the rainbow-colored, fruit-flavored, teddy bear-shaped gelatin sweets known as gummi bears a global favorite, died on Tuesday in Bonn. In his 67 years at the helm, he transformed his father's small candy company into a global sweets giant with an estimated €2 billion ($2.7 billion) in annual sales of gummy bears and other candies in 110 countries around the world. He was divorced and had no children. Riegel’s father -- Hans Riegel Sr. -- founded the confectionery company in Bonn, Germany, in 1920, and soon after created the chewy, fruit-flavored bear candies that eventually became a household name worldwide. The cause was heart failure, Haribo, the company he led for nearly seven decades, said in a statement, adding that he had surgery to remove a benign tumor in his brain several months ago. The heart failure was sudden and unexpected, according to the company. Hans and Paul Riegel each owned 50% of Haribo, though Paul died in 2009 and left his share of the company to his heirs.

– He was the world's first and surely last "gummi bear magnate," as the headline in Der Spiegel puts it. Hans Riegel, who ran Germany's Haribo candy company and made the chewy little bears a worldwide phenomenon, has died at age 90. The bears were a concoction of his father, the founder of Haribo, but it was the younger Riegel whose deft marketing turned them into a global hit. (Gummi trivia: The jellied bears were originally made of licorice, notes the New York Times.) Riegel and his brother first sold them as "gold bears" in 1960s before changing the name. They introduced them throughout Europe in the 1970s and then set up Haribo of America in Baltimore in the early 1980s. It all paid off: Forbes says the company's revenues are north of $3 billion today. "I just wanted to make something of my father's life work," Riegel once said.

The first review, performed by retired AP executive editor Kathleen Carroll and Boston University dean of the College of Communication Thomas Fiedler, is of Mr. Cullen’s column work and broadcast appearances in the aftermath of the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon bombings. The reviewers found Mr. Cullen’s writing to be “among the most appealing that appears in the Globe -- precise, well observed and often standing up for the forgotten man and woman with profound effect.” But they also found that his columns at times employed “journalistic tactics that unnecessarily raise questions about his accuracy” that “may open the door to providing seriously misleading information to the public.” Our review leads us to a conclusion that Mr. Cullen damaged his credibility. “These were serious violations for any journalist and for The Globe, which relies on its journalists to adhere to the same high standards of ethics and accuracy when appearing on other platforms.” Mr. Cullen, part of the Globe team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for reporting about sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, will work as general assignment reporter for two months before returning to his role as a columnist. He will also be barred from giving outside broadcast interviews for six months, after which time his appearances will face “heightened editorial scrutiny,” the statement said.

– The Boston Globe has suspended columnist Kevin Cullen without pay for three months after inconsistencies were found in his remarks following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Per the AP, newspaper publisher John Henry and editor Brian McGrory announced Friday an independent review found Cullen likely fabricated some anecdotes he shared in interviews after the bombing, which killed three people and injured hundreds more. The review also noted an uncorrected error in one of Cullen's marathon bombing columns but didn't find signs of fabrication in other works. Cullen, who was part of the Globe team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2014, didn't immediately comment, but Henry and McGrory say he has apologized. Cullen has been on paid leave since April, when Boston sports radio station WEEI noted inconsistencies in Cullen's work and the paper launched its investigation. Per the New York Times, Cullen described in an interview the tale of a firefighter he claimed to have spoken with. He said the firefighter described rescuing a 7-year-old girl whose lower leg had been blown off. However, the firefighter denied having ever spoken to Cullen. The Times also says Cullen, while speaking on a panel in 2013, claimed he witnessed a firefighter outside a bar on the phone with a fellow firefighter, who was apparently traumatized by the bombing, to come out for the night. The Globe has called the account "problematic" and calls into question whether it occurred at all. "Our review also leads us to believe that Mr. Cullen did not commit irrevocable damage," the Globe said in a statement Saturday. "He has also acknowledged his failures and the issues they have created."

Five guilty of killing Russian journalist Politkovskaya Anna Politkovskaya was best known for her reports in the Novaya Gazeta newspaper Continue reading the main story Related Stories A court in Moscow has found five men guilty of the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006. Politkovskaya's killing drew attention to the risks faced by Russians who challenge the authorities and deepened Western concerns for the rule of law under President Vladimir Putin, who was then serving his second term. Another jury's 2009 acquittal of three of the men who were found guilty of murder on Tuesday embarrassed Russian prosecutors and was later thrown out by the Supreme Court, which ordered a new trial. She welcomed the jury's verdict but said the men found guilty "are only a few of the people who should be brought to justice", RIA reported. A spokesman for the federal Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, said the authorities were doing all they can to identify and track down the person behind the killing, Russian news agencies reported. Politkovskaya, a crusading reporter for the liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta who worked almost full-time on documenting allegations of human rights violations in the breakaway province of Chechnya, was 48 when she was gunned down in the elevator of her apartment building in October 2006. Lawyers for the defendants - Rustam Makhmudov, his brothers Ibragim and Dzhabrail, their uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, and former Moscow police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov - said they would appeal. The five men will be sentenced by a judge at a later date and could face life in prison.

– Five men have been found guilty in the 2006 slaying of 48-year-old Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, whose investigative reporting criticized President Vladimir Putin, the war in Chechnya, and Chechen leadership. Three of the men are brothers from Chechnya, one of whom has been found guilty of the shooting itself, which NBC News reports took place "execution-style" in the elevator of her apartment building. The other two brothers were found guilty of tracking Politkovskaya and acting as getaway drivers, and their uncle and a retired police officer were found to have organized and prepared for the murder, respectively. All face life in prison. Three of the conspirators now convicted were acquitted in 2009, but a retrial was ordered. Another ex-cop was convicted of supplying the murder weapon last year, the BBC reports. The defendants' lawyers plan to appeal the convictions, Reuters reports. Politkovskaya’s family is disappointed that it's still not clear who ordered the killing, saying in a statement that the men convicted "are only a few of the people who should be brought to justice." Though an investigation into the murder continues, critics suggest the mastermind will never be found because, as Reuters puts it, "the trail could lead too close to the government"—Politkovskaya's work angered quite a few important people.

Portugal has joined Greece and Ireland on the casualty list of Europe's sovereign debtors after its prime minister, José Sócrates, requested a European Union bailout. The dramatic decision came in the middle of a political crisis that has left the country in limbo and with spiralling interest rates on its debt. "I want to inform the Portuguese that the government decided today to ask ... for financial help, to ensure financing for our country, for our financial system and for our economy," Sócrates said in a televised address. "This is an especially grave moment for our country," he added. "Things will only get worse if nothing's done." Sócrates said that the bailout, which analysts said could be between €70bn (£61bn) and €80bn was "the last resort". The move was immediately welcomed in Brussels. "This is a responsible move by the Portuguese government for the sake of economic stability in the country and in Europe," the European commission's economic and monetary affairs commissioner, Olli Rehn, told Reuters. Sócrates did not say how much aid Portugal had asked for, but promised to negotiate the best possible conditions. Analysts said Portugal was expected to need up to €80bn, an amount the EU's bailout fund, the European financial stability facility, can easily cover. The European commission's president, José Manuel Barroso, promised a swift response. Portugal's troubles differ from Ireland, which pledged to cover huge losses at its banks, and Greece, which lied about its debt. Instead, it had allowed debt to mushroom during a decade in which its economy grew at just 0.7% a year. The yield or interest on Portugal's 10-year bonds, which stood at 5.8% a year ago, was at 8.54% on Wednesday. Economists had said that anything over 7% was too high for Portugal, which has growing unemployment and is predicted to enter a double-dip recession this year. Ratings agencies had downgraded Portugal's bonds to a notch above junk level and even its own bankers warned they could not keep buying national debt as they tussled with liquidity problems of their own. The caretaker government immediately blamed opposition parties for rejecting an austerity package on 23 March, bringing Sócrates's socialist government down and forcing 5 June elections. It came on top of three earlier packages of cuts and tax hikes. "The country was irresponsibly pushed into a difficult situation in the financial markets," Portugal's finance minister, Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, told the Jornal de Negócios shortly before the announcement. The call for help comes from a weak caretaker government which may hand over the reins of the country to a minority centre-right government led by the Social Democrats after the elections. Teixeira dos Santos said that other political parties would have to fall into line with the bailout request. "Faced with a difficult situation that could have been avoided, I believe it is necessary to use the financial mechanisms that are available in Europe within the terms of the current political situation," he said. "That will need, as well, the involvement and compromise of the main political forces and institutions in the country." Social democrat leader Pedro Passos Coelho said his party supported the aid request. "This needs to be seen as the first step in not hiding the truth," he said. The government had admitted earlier on Wednesday that the political crisis was causing "irreparable damage" as borrowing costs rocketed. Portugal sold a billion euros in short-term debt yesterday but saw the yield on 6-month and 12-month bills hit spikes of over 5%. Portugal admitted last week that the 2010 budget deficit had been 8.6 percent of gross domestic product, far above its 7.3 percent target. The caretaker government still claimed this year's goal of 4.6% would be met. As Portugal became the third eurozone domino to fall, attention was expected to switch to Spain, though it has seen its debt yields improve recently as austerity measures bring down its deficit and growth returns. International Monetary Fund boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn told El País newspaper yesterday that Spain - a far larger and more important economy - was safe from a bail-out.

– Portugal is biting the bullet and admitting that it desperately needs a massive bailout from its European Union partners to stay afloat. Caretaker prime minister Jose Socrates told the nation that the decision to seek a bailout was "a last resort" as interest rates on its short-term debt skyrocket, reports the Guardian. Analysts believe the bailout will cost the EU some $114 billion. Portugal, which will have to commit to an economic adjustment program in exchange for the funds, joins Ireland and Greece on the eurozone's casualty list. The bailout request was widely expected, and analysts see it as a positive move because it will prevent a Portuguese collapse that could have made Spain the next target for markets searching for signs of weakness. "This is good news. We've been saying for a while that Portugal's finances were not sustainable at these rates," a Goldman Sachs economist tells Reuters. "We think the contagion stops here."

In the past year, as the trickle of new refugees entering the country slowed to a crawl, thousands of Syrian refugees have become trapped in an isolated no man's land between Syria and Jordan known as "the berm." The comments by government spokesman Mohammed Momani... (Associated Press) AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan is willing to allow regular aid drops by crane from its territory to tens of thousands of Syrians stranded on its sealed desert border, the government spokesman said on Monday. "The new mechanism will be delivering aid on the berm through cranes, and the aid will be given to community leaders of groups of Syrians so they can distribute it accordingly," he said, adding it would be up to the aid agencies to decide on the pace of shipments. In early August, United Nations aid agencies were forced to use a crane to lower 650 metric tons of food and hygiene kits to the stranded refugees. In the early years of the Syrian war, refugees could easily flee to neighbouring countries, with about 2.5 million escaping to Turkey, 1.2 million to Lebanon and more than 650,000 to Jordan.

– Since mid-2014, about 75,000 Syrian refugees have been in limbo in the "berm"—what the Guardian describes as the "no-man's land" at the border between Jordan and Syria. And since June of this year, those refugees have been living in what Doctors Without Borders has called "some of the most extreme conditions on Earth," enduring temperatures over the summer that surpassed 120 degrees Fahrenheit and watching humanitarian supplies and food come to a halt in June after Jordan cut off deliveries following a car bomb. But government spokesman Mohammad Momani told the Jordan Times on Sunday that while the borders remain sealed, a new method of delivery will be used: cranes that will lower the goods from the northeastern side of the border to the other side (there was a one-off delivery like this in August). And it sounds like the aid is coming just in time. Per the AP, the refugees are living in tents and suffering not only from hunger and exposure to the elements, but also from serious illness, including whooping cough and hepatitis. Last month, Amnesty International released chilling video footage and satellite images that showed graves and burial mounds in the berm, per the Washington Post. "Many people have died," a refugee living in one of the camps told the group, saying conditions were "awful." "The mood among the people … is below zero." Two anonymous aid officials tell the news agency there's been no final confirmation, but Momani says the plans are being put in place to expedite the deliveries. "The aid will be given to community leaders of groups of Syrians so they can distribute it accordingly," he says, noting the aid groups will make the call on the pace of the deliveries. (One star offered comfort to refugees: Lindsay Lohan.)

The report, published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shows that a command and control unit tasked with coordinating "the operational functions of the nation's nuclear forces" still uses 8-inch floppy disks and runs on an IBM / Series 1 computer — a model that was first produced in 1976. According to the GAO, taxpayers spent $61.2 billion last year to maintain outdated systems, while just $19.2 billion went toward updating federal technology. "This system remains in use because, in short, it still works," Pentagon spokeswoman Lt Col Valerie Henderson told the AFP news agency. The Pentagon says the nuclear command and control unit will phase out floppy disks by the end of 2017, and that it will fully modernize the system by 2020.

– To anyone born after 1995, the floppy disk is better known as that thing that resembles the "save" icon. To the Pentagon, it's the gizmo that controls America's nukes. A report from the Government Accountability Office finds US government agencies spend $60 billion a year operating and maintaining outdated systems—three times more than is spent on upgrades, per CNN. One such system: the Pentagon's IBM Series-1 computer which uses 8-inch floppy disks "in a legacy system that coordinates the operational functions of the nation's nuclear forces," including intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear bombers. For youngsters, the big floppy disks were the precursor to the 3.5-inch ones, before the CD came around. "This system remains in use because, in short, it still works," a Pentagon rep tells the AFP, per the BBC, which notes you'd need 130,000 8-inch floppy disks to get the storage capacity of a 32GB memory stick. "However, to address obsolescence concerns, the floppy drives are scheduled to be replaced with secure digital devices by the end of 2017," the rep says. Other system upgrades are expected by 2020. "Maybe we'll have Nintendo Gameboys controlling our nukes by the next presidential election," quips CNN's Jake Tapper. The Treasury, Commerce, and Veteran Affairs departments should also look into upgrading. The report finds all three use computer code introduced in the 1950s, per the Verge. (Floppy disks are partly to blame for lost scientific data.)

Article Excerpt Europeans traded blame Monday over the source of a mysterious bacterial outbreak that has killed 14 people and sickened hundreds across the continent. The outbreak forced Russia to ban imports of some fresh vegetables from Spain and Germany out of fear they could be contaminated, while Austrian authorities sent inspectors to supermarkets to make sure Spanish vegetables suspected of contamination ...

– A deadly E. coli outbreak in Europe linked to tainted cucumbers and other vegetables is getting worse, report the Wall Street Journal and AP: The toll: Sixteen people are dead (15 in Germany and one woman in Sweden who had just traveled to Germany); more than 1,000 people are sick in Germany alone, with 373 having the most serious form of E. coli. Hundreds more cases are reported throughout Europe. The source: Germany blames cucumbers from Spain, specifically the Almeria and Malaga regions. A third batch from the Netherlands or Denmark is under investigation. Spain angrily denies being the source, and EU officials say the vegetables could have become tainted anywhere along the supply chain. The fallout: Russia has banned some imports from Spain and Germany (and may expand it to all EU nations); Italy, Austria, and other nations have stopped short of that but are ramping up inspections at supermarkets.

These are the findings of a preliminary study presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference in Brighton on Wednesday 3 May 2017, by Dr Martin Graff from University of South Wales. Read: Why Your Mid-20s Is the Best Age For Making Random Choices Researchers enlisted 340 participants who completed personality questionnaires, in addition to answering how much they agreed or disagreed with 25 statements about self worth and finding value from social media. The study also found that people who went to extremes to receive more love, going as far as paying or asking others to like their posts, were more likely to suffer from low self-esteem and to be less trusting. The same was true of those who admitted deleting posts or making a picture their profile picture on account of the number of likes it received. The results also showed that receiving likes didn't actually make people feel any better about themselves or make them feel better when they were down. Examples included assertions like, “The attention I get from social media makes me feel good” and “I consider someone popular based on the amount of likes they get.” Pixabay "The proliferation of social media use has led to general concerns about the effects on our mental health,” said lead study author Dr. Martin Graff, Ph.D and psychology researcher at the University of South Wales, in a statement.

– Teens aren't necessarily as in love with social media as they're portrayed to be. The results of an AP poll released last week show that nearly 60% of teens in the US have taken social media breaks—most of the time voluntary ones that last at least a week. Now researchers at the University of South Wales have presented findings to the British Psychological Society that suggest even what are perceived to be straightforward perks of social media—such as getting attention via likes—may not exactly elevate the end user's mood. "Although this is just a relatively small-scale study, the results indicate that the ways we interact with social media can affect how we feel, and not always positively," one researcher says. To test this, the team reports in a Science Daily news release that it recruited 340 participants on Twitter and Facebook to complete personality questionnaires and then agree or disagree with 25 statements. Key findings include that people who go out of their way to rack up more likes tend to have low self-esteem and be less trusting of others, and that those likes don't actually lift their mood or how they see themselves. Previous research has looked not at more likes, but at more time, reports Medical Daily. It cites a study published in 2016 that surveyed 19- to 32-year-olds and found "individuals in the highest quartile of [social media] site visits per week ... had significantly increased odds of depression." (Young people average at least an hour a day on social media.)

A new North Korean propaganda video shows the U.S. Capitol being hit by a missile. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports. An image of the U.S. Capitol being hit by an explosion has been posted on a North Korean propaganda website. The video, published by the semi-official Uriminzokkiri agency and posted on its YouTube account, at first shows still images of North Korean artillery, missiles and soldiers. It then moves on to film of numerous missiles being fired, before showing what appears to be a gun sight zeroing in on the White House and then the U.S. Capitol. "The White House is caught in the panoramic sight of a (North Korean) long-range missile. This hotbed of war is in the scope of a nuclear bomb blow," a caption on the video says, according to a translation by the South Korean news agency Yonhap. An explosion hits the dome of the Capitol building, leaving a gaping hole. The four-minute film then continues with yet more images of rockets being fired. A video showing an American city that looked like New York engulfed in flames after a missile attack was posted on the same website last month. Yonhap via EPA An image taken from a North Korean propaganda website Monday appears to show the U.S. Capitol -- wrongly identified as the White House -- being hit by a missile. It was part of a dream sequence in which a photographer circles the earth in a fictional North Korea space shuttle. It was accompanied by an instrumental version of the song “We are the World.” "Black smoke is seen somewhere in America," text that accompanied the video said. "It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze with the fire it started." 'Petulant child' Tension has been high on the Korean Peninsula since the North carried out a rocket test in December and then a nuclear bomb test in February. It also took the opportunity to threaten South Korea with “final destruction” during a United Nations Conference on Disarmament last month. A propaganda video posted on YouTube by the North Korea government shows a missile launch and a city that appears to be New York, in flames. NBC's Brian Williams reports. And then on March 9, the North threatened to exercise its “right to a pre-emptive nuclear attack" as new sanctions were unanimously agreed by the United Nations Security Council. Heather Williams, a research fellow at the U.K.’s Chatham House website, said North Korea was “almost like a petulant child,” constantly wanting to remind people of its existence by acting out. She said images like the Capitol and New York explosions fitted the theme of previous propaganda from Pyongyang, but added “at the same time, it’s a more serious situation than we have seen in quite a while.” “It is a reminder of the situation and that things could escalate,” she said. Williams said Kim Jong Un was a “young, new leader” who still needed to “prove himself” to the country’s powerful military. “My take is that it is overwhelmingly bluster for domestic reasons, not international ones,” she said. Last week, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Congress he was "very concerned" about North Korea's recent rhetoric as well as the rocket and nuclear bomb tests, The Associated Press reported. "These programs demonstrate North Korea's commitment to develop long-range missile technology that could pose a direct threat to the United States, and its efforts to produce and market ballistic missiles raise broader regional and global security concerns," Clapper told the Senate Intelligence committee. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Related: Kim Jong Un supervises North Korea artillery drills near disputed border with South Video: Kim Jong Un directs army to 'annihilate the enemy' North Korea's poets of propaganda stay true to their muse despite world's laughter

– Apparently New York in flames was not enough. Now a quasi-official North Korean news agency has posted a new video—this one of the US Capitol exploding, NBC News reports. Intercut with images of North Korean artillery and missiles, the video also shows a target homing in on the White House. "The White House is caught in the panoramic sight of a long-range missile," reads a caption. "This hotbed of war is in the scope of a nuclear bomb blow." The video comes after months of alarming moves by Pyongyang. The North has tested a rocket and a nuclear weapon, threatened to nuke the US, and announced the end of the armistice that has kept peace on the Korean peninsula. One analyst blames the escalation on new leader Kim Jong Un's need to "prove himself" to North Korea's military: "My take is that it is overwhelmingly bluster for domestic reasons, not international ones," she says. (Click to see the video of New York being firebombed, accompanied by an instrumental version of "We Are the World.")

He was born Shepsel Ber Nudelman on Dec. 8, 1930, in the Bronx, the son of Orthodox Jews who had emigrated from Russia. (He adopted the first and middle names Sherwin Bernard when he went to kindergarten.) His childhood was spent in a tiny South Bronx apartment with his parents, his older brother, his maternal grandmother and a maiden aunt, in an atmosphere permeated with sickness and death. A brother died before Dr. Nuland was born, and at age 3 he was hospitalized for diphtheria. His mother, the emotional center of his family, died of colon cancer when he was 11. In his memoir, “Lost in America” (2003), he recalled with striking vividness the bad smells and bloody pads that came from his mother’s room. Dr. Nuland’s adolescent years were dominated by his father, Meyer Nudelman, a garment worker who was incapacitated by chronic illness and physical infirmities; he could not walk more than a short distance without his son’s help. Resisting a new way of life, the father never learned to read or write English — Yiddish was the predominant language at home — and he terrified his family with explosive rages. Dr. Nuland regarded him with fear and shame, emotions that would take a deep psychological toll. While still in high school, Dr. Nuland and his older brother changed their names from Nudelman, separating themselves from a weak, angry man who, Dr. Nuland wrote, represented “everything I so desperately wanted to be rid of.” They chose a name first adopted by a cousin, Willie Nuland, a physician who looked after the boys’ parents when they were ill, and whose compassion and competence pointed Dr. Nuland toward his career. Dr. Nuland received his bachelor’s degree from New York University in 1951 and went on to study medicine at Yale, attracted by its distance — geographically and culturally — from the old-world Jewishness in which he grew up. Reading about spinal cord diseases as a medical student, Dr. Nuland discovered that his father’s crippling illness was tertiary, or chronic, syphilis. Dr. Nuland felt anger, and then pity. “I now had some perception of the tragedy of his life,” he wrote in his memoir. Dr. Nuland received his medical degree from Yale in 1955. Electing to specialize in surgery, he set his sights on becoming chief surgical resident at Yale-New Haven Hospital, entering a Darwinian competition for a position seldom occupied by Jews. In 1958, Dr. Nuland won the coveted appointment. Four days later, his father died of complications of syphilis, a condition Mr. Nudelman did not know he had. “I think that one time, before he was married, Meyer Nudelman was very unlucky,” Dr. Nuland said in a 2003 interview with The New York Times.

– Dr. Sherwin Nuland, whose book How We Die sparked national debate over end-of-life decisions, has died from prostate cancer at his Connecticut home. The 83-year-old surgeon's award-winning 1994 book on death argued that death with dignity was rare and doctors too often tried to prolong life when further treatment was futile, the New York Times reports. "I have not seen much dignity in the process by which we die," he wrote. "The quest to achieve true dignity fails when our bodies fail." In a 1996 interview, he said he hoped he would go "without suffering and surrounded by loved ones" when it was his time. His daughter says he often spoke to his family about his illness and impending death and while he was very much at peace most of the time, there were times of sadness and fear toward the end. "He wasn’t scared of death itself, but he loved everything about his world and the people in his world and life,” she tells the AP. "And he didn’t want to leave."

Its debut campaign was the liquor brand’s biggest ever, and it followed with a sequel to the “Gentleman’s Wager” ad starring Jude Law. This isn't the first time Jane's name has been tossed around either -- around the time of the 2016 election, Walker reportedly had an ad campaign titled "Jane Walker" in the works ... but scrapped it after Hillary Clinton lost. This message would have been particularly timely if Hillary Clinton had won the election, but that didn’t happen.

– Tarzan had his Jane, and so, too, will Johnnie. Thanks to the "Me Too" and "Time's Up" movements, gender equality is gaining new awareness in the workplace, and now perhaps in your whisky: TMZ reports that Diageo, parent company of the Johnnie Walker brand, put in the paperwork earlier this month for a Jane Walker trademark that would cover a bevy of unspecified beverages. A post at Drampedia notes that labels bearing the name "Jane Walker Edition" have turned up, but no details are available on any new products. "Whether it’s Johnnie’s sister or not will be revealed in due time," per the post. It appears this isn't the first time the female-monikered concept, which TMZ assumes will focus on "gender equality and female empowerment," has been broached by Diageo. Adweek noted right after the 2016 presidential election that a Jane Walker ad campaign was in the works, but it was apparently nixed after Hillary Clinton lost, sources said at the time.

A pregnant woman was shot and killed in her sleep when someone opened fire on her southern Arizona home early Saturday, but doctors were able to deliver her baby, according to police. The Tucson Police Department said in a news release several people in the home were awoken at 4:30 a.m. to the sounds of 19-year-old Jasmine Vega screaming before becoming "unresponsive." Arriving officers found Vega unconscious and transported her to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Vega was six months pregnant at the time, according to police. "Hospital staff were able to successfully deliver her unborn child, who is currently being treated at the hospital," Tucson police said. The baby's father, Anthony Rivera, told Tucson News Now the baby boy is in critical condition and on life support. TEXAS WOMAN WHO HAD MISCARRIAGE STABBED FRIEND TO DEATH, TOOK INFANT, POLICE SAY Evidence at the scene, including "several projectile holes in the walls of the residence," indicates multiple gunshots were fired into the home, police said. It's not yet known if anyone was specifically targeted in the shooting. No one else was injured in the shooting, police added. Authorities have not identified any suspects, and are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact police.

– Police say a pregnant teenager was shot dead while asleep in a southern Arizona home early Saturday, but that doctors were able to deliver her unborn child. 19-year-old Jasmine Vega was found unconscious by officers responding to a 911 call from inside the residence, Fox News reports. Vega was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, but doctors managed to save her son. "Hospital staff [was] able to successfully deliver her unborn child, who is currently being treated at the hospital," Tucson Police Department wrote on Facebook. Per Tucson News Now, the child’s father, Anthony Rivera, says the baby boy is in critical condition and on life support. Vega was six months pregnant, and loved ones described her to Tucson News Now as “kind, compassionate, and so excited to be a mom.” No other other occupants were injured during the shooting. Authorities say multiple gunshots were fired toward the home from outside, and that there were several bullet holes found in the walls, but it is still unknown whether the gunfire was targeted specifically at anyone in the household. Tucson police are asking for anyone with information to come forward. “You can remain anonymous,” they said on Facebook. (Three St. Louis women were killed as they tried to escape a home invasion.)

Documenting Hate Tracking Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents The California man accused of killing a 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student earlier this month is an avowed neo-Nazi and a member of one of the most notorious extremist groups in the country, according to three people with knowledge of the man’s recent activities. The man, Samuel Woodward, has been charged in Orange County, California, with murdering Blaze Bernstein, who went missing in early January while visiting his family over winter break. The report, it turns out, was also taken up in the secretive online chats conducted by members of Atomwaffen Division, a white supremacist group that celebrates both Hitler and Charles Manson. Two of the three people who described Woodward’s affiliations are friends of his; the other is a former member of Atomwaffen Division. In December much of the same content was uploaded to a Bitchute account — a peer-to-peer video service favored by individuals and organizations banned from conventional video hosting services. In a matter of months, people associated with the group, including Woodward, have been charged in five murders; another group member pleaded guilty to possession of explosives after authorities uncovered a possible plot to blow up a nuclear facility near Miami. Lucas Waldron/ProPublica The group’s propaganda makes clear that Atomwaffen — the word means “nuclear weapons” in German — embraces Third Reich ideology and preaches hatred of minorities, gays and Jews. They’ve also filmed themselves burning the U.S. Constitution and setting fire to the American flag at an Atomwaffen “Doomsday Hatecamp.” Atomwaffen’s biggest inspiration seems to be James Mason, a long-time fascist who belonged to the American Nazi Party and later, during the 1970s, joined a more militant offshoot. Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof and Anders Breivik, the Norwegian extremist who massacred 77 people, also come in for praise. In one thread, he told his fellow Atomwaffen members that he was thinking about the “passing of life” and was “truly grateful for our time together.” An Atomwaffen propaganda flier Woodward, 20, has pleaded not guilty in the Bernstein case. Woodward and Bernstein had known each other in high school in California, and appear to have reconnected somehow shortly before the killing. “Their rhetoric is some of the most extreme we have seen,” said Joanna Mendelson, a senior researcher at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. In an interview, he suggested that Atomwaffen is dangerous, but that talk in their propaganda and private conversations of aims such as toppling the U.S. government amounted to what he called a kind of “magical thinking.” Kaplan said such groups often contain a handful of diehards who are willing to commit crimes and many more wannabes who are unwilling to do much more than read fascist literature. ProPublica has obtained photographs of Woodward at an outdoor Atomwaffen meeting in the scrubby Texas countryside. Other topics that still relate to both psychology and politics will also be welcome. With Russell in prison, AWD’s most influential member goes by the handle “Rape” in online forums, and calls himself “Vincent Snyder on the S-C site, Rape publishes under the pen name “Vincent Snyder.” On its “Staff” page, five of the eight individuals pictured evidence allegiance to, or membership in, AWD. I couldn’t protect him from everything.” Atomwaffen started in 2015 and is estimated to have about 80 members scattered around the country in small cells; the former member said the group’s ranks have grown since the lethal and chaotic “Unite the Right” rally last summer in Charlottesville, Virginia. The forum’s legacy demonstrates that for those who have moved on from the forum and are putting boots on the ground, memes are no longer their preferred ammunition — now, it’s bullets. After Mason started the SIEGE newsletter in 1980, he was increasingly adopting Manson’s ideas and perfecting the ideas Tommasi first catalyzed. As an adolescent he idolized George Lincoln Rockwell, the leader of the American Nazi Party (ANP), which he first tried to join at just 14. And with the inception of SIEGE-Culture and his collaboration with the young cell members that comprise Atomwaffen Division, his hands are on the torch along with theirs. The former Atomwaffen member in contact with ProPublica said that the teen was more than a fan: He was in direct communication with the group. Following after those “Crazy Men of Destiny,” Mason regarded Manson as “the more current and up-to-date” version of Tommasi’s terrorist doctrine. After languishing in obscurity for decades, Mason has been rediscovered. Social media posts and chat logs shared by Woodward’s friends show that he openly described himself as a “National Socialist” or Nazi. In the Pacific Northwest, cell members had converged on an abandoned cement factory, known as “Devil's Tower” near the small town of Concrete, Washington, where they had screamed “gas the kikes, race war now!” while firing off round after round from any array of weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle with a high capacity drum magazine. In the case of AWD, much has been made of the group’s fetishizing of Charles Manson and their cherishing of an obscure neo-Nazi polemic called SIEGE, a work that stridently promotes terrorism. Woodward joined the organization in early 2016 and later traveled to Texas to attend Atomwaffen meetings and a three-day training camp, which involved instruction in firearms, hand-to-hand combat, camping and survival skills, the former member said. In 2015, while Cole was living in Bellingham, police responded to a report that he had “Nazi memorabilia” in his residence, according to Lt. Danette Beckley of the Bellingham Police Department; he was also reported to police in the island town of Anacortes for allegedly harassing a Jewish grocery store owner by a waving a Nazi flag in front of the business, according to two law enforcement sources. The former Atomwaffen member told ProPublica that Cole wields a significant degree of influence over the organization’s propaganda, recruitment and organization. The young man is proficient with both handguns and assault rifles, according to one person who participated in the Texas training and watched him shoot. “Force them to carry around the spawn of their master and enemy,” he wrote. ProPublica sought comment on the chats from Woodward’s lawyer, Edward Munoz, but did not get a response. If there was worry, it was about Woodward possibly having to do time behind bars for the murder. “Not that the faggot kike didn’t deserve to die. “Manson represents the great divide between those persons who imagine there are still are choices to be made casually on the basis of Establishment mores and those who have a profound, individual sense of ‘no going back.’ I believe it is this - and not the abstract idea of ‘realism’ - that is the great sustainer and inner-flame of all true revolutionaries.” Like Mason’s other idols, Manson represents equal parts philosopher and revolutionary, with an irrepressible desire for violent action. Members began speculating about who was talking to outsiders. Orange County prosecutors say they are examining the possibility that the killing was a hate crime — Bernstein was Jewish and openly gay — and some recent news reports have suggested that the alleged killer might hold far-right or even white supremacist political beliefs. “But at some point you have to let go and they leave the nest and fly.

– The body of a 19-year-old U of Penn student was found last month in a California park, and as details of Blaze Bernstein's murder continue to emerge, so, too, does a disturbing picture of suspected killer Sam Woodward, 20, and the white supremacist group he's said to belong to. ProPublica dives deep into Atomwaffen Division ("Atomwaffen" means "nuclear weapons" in German), whose internal message boards lit up after Bernstein's killing. Members both celebrated Woodward as a "one man gay Jew wrecking crew" and raged that one of their own may have leaked Woodward's AWD affiliation. Although the group is open about their hatred of minorities, Jews, and gays—and their love of Hitler and Charles Manson—it's a notoriously secretive bunch that doesn't take kindly to "rats and traitors." ProPublica got its hands on about 250,000 AWD messages from encrypted logs on Discord, a chat platform meant for gamers but popular with white supremacist groups, with startling revelations. The messages offer a frightening glimpse into the group's leaders, where members are located (as many as 20 cells may exist in several US states), and what "potential targets" may be, including water and electric utilities. "We haven't seen anything like Atomwaffen in quite a while," a Southern Poverty Law Center researcher says. "They should be taken seriously because they're so extreme." Others, though, think while some members may be dangerous, most just indulge in "magical thinking" about government overthrows and spend their time reading fascist lit. "It's very hard to go from talking about violence to looking a guy in the eyes and killing him," one expert says. ProPublica's in-depth take also includes details on AWD's supposed leader, who goes by the nickname "Rape," and the ire ProPublica itself received after it tied Woodward to AWD in a Jan. 26 article. "We really owe those jews at ProPublica," one member wrote in a chat message. More on AWD here.

Its offices have been firebombed, its website hacked, its Facebook page suspended for 24 hours and its staff targeted with death threats, so you might have thought the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo would have tried – just for a while – to avoid upsetting anyone. Mais non! After provoking all the above with last week's special edition "guest edited" by the prophet Muhammad, entitled Charia Hebdo, which took pot-shots at radical Islam, the publication is set to raise a few more hackles with this week's edition, published on Wednesday. On the front page of the latest edition is a drawing of a male Charlie Hebdo cartoonist passionately kissing a bearded Muslim man, under the headline: L'Amour plus fort que la haine (love is stronger than hate). In the background of the cartoon, signed Luz, are the ashes of the magazine's offices, completely destroyed in the Molotov cocktail attack last week. Unlike the previous edition, which featured a front page carton of the prophet and a speech bubble reading "100 lashes if you don't die of laughter", there is no suggestion that the character on the magazine cover is Muhammad. After the firebombing, French Muslim groups who had been highly critical of Charlie Hebdo, condemned the destruction of its offices. Dalil Boubakeur head of the Paris Mosque, told journalists: "I am extremely attached to the freedom of the press, even if the press is not always tender with Muslims, Islam or the Paris Mosque". The editor of Charlie Hebdo, Stéphane Charbonnier, said at the time: "We thought the lines had moved and maybe there would be more respect for our satirical work, our right to mock. Freedom to have a good laugh is as important as freedom of speech." Since then, the magazine's staff have been given a temporary home in the offices of France's leading leftwing daily newspaper Libération, which has also been subject to threats from the Turkish hackers who are said to have pirated Charlie Hebdo's site. Luz, the cartoonist, refused to condemn extremists for the attack. "Let's be cautious. There's every reason to believe it's the work of fundamentalists, but it could just as well be the work of two drunks," he wrote afterwards.

– Remember the boundary-busting French satirical newspaper that was firebombed for making the Prophet Mohammed a "guest editor"? Journalists toned down the controversy this time around—not. In fact, right on the cover, a Muslim is planting a big, slobbery kiss on a figure representing the publication, Charlie Hebdo. Above the embrace are the words: "Love is stronger than hate." The Guardian says the paper "isn't holding back," while Gawker—convinced the Muslim is a "gay Mohammad" (though he's not in the garb of the prophet)—calls it the "ballsiest paper in the world." Charlie Hebdo's editor said after the firebombing that "freedom to have a good laugh is as important as freedom of speech." The French, including some Muslim leaders, have strongly supported the publication, which is now operating out of the offices of the left-wing Paris newspaper Liberation. "I am extremely attached to the freedom of the press, even if the press is not always tender with Muslims, Islam, or the Paris Mosque," said the head of the Paris Mosque.

Gaza residents buried their dead Tuesday as the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces at the Gaza boundary fence climbed to at least 60 after several succumbed to injuries overnight, according to local health officials. Monday’s demonstrations, which coincided with the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, were marked by a level of bloodshed not seen in Gaza since the 2014 war with Israel. Israel’s use of live ammunition has drawn widespread condemnation, notably from Turkey, which expelled the Israeli ambassador Tuesday after recalling its envoys to Israel and the United States. Gunfire rang out over Gaza City on Tuesday as rounds were fired during funeral processions. Further protests were planned as residents attended funerals and prepared to mark the anniversary of Israel’s founding, known to Palestinians as the “Nakba,” or “Catastrophe.” More than two-thirds of Gaza’s population is descended from refugees who fled or were expelled at the time of Israel’s creation 70 years ago. However, crowds at the border were thin after the organizing committee for the demonstrations called for a day of mourning to bury the dead. Demonstrators were asked to go home early as the death toll climbed. Monday’s killings more than doubled the number of Palestinians slain in Gaza during six weeks of demonstrations, dubbed the “March of Return.” More than 2,700 people were injured, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said, about half of them from live ammunition. At least six of the dead were under age 18, the ministry said, including a girl whose family said she was 14. [Israeli gunfire taking severe toll on the limbs of Palestinian protesters] The Health Ministry also reported that a baby died after inhaling tear gas at the main protest area in Gaza. An unidentified doctor told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the baby, Layla Ghaben, had a preexisting medical condition and that he did not think her death was caused by tear gas. One more person was killed in demonstrations Tuesday, the Health Ministry said. Speculation was rife that crowds were thinner because Egypt had pressured Hamas to order people home. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was summoned to Cairo on a last-minute trip Sunday night, and senior leaders were noticeably absent from Monday’s demonstrations. Egypt controls Gaza’s southern border, which opens only sporadically, while Israel has blockaded its boundary with the territory for the past 10 years. Ahmed Yousef, a former senior adviser to Haniyeh, said it was likely that Egypt had warned Hamas to prevent an escalation. He said Hamas may have secured some short-term concessions from Egypt in return, such as a sustained opening of the Rafah crossing point with Egypt, which has been open in recent days. “This is the minimum they can ask,” Yousef said of Hamas. Israeli officials justified the military’s tactics as necessary to stop Palestinians from breaking through the border into Israel, which blockaded Gaza after Hamas took control of the enclave in 2007. Rupert Colville, spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Tuesday that while Israel has a right to defend itself, lethal force should be a last resort and was not justified against people who were simply approaching the fence. He condemned Monday’s “appalling deadly violence.” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned a continuing “massacre” of the Palestinian people. South Africa joined Turkey in announcing that it was recalling its ambassador from Israel. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called on Muslim countries to review their ties with Israel in the wake of the violence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later attacked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter, saying that he “is one of the great supporters of Hamas, and there is no doubt that he understands terror and the massacres well, and I suggest that he not preach morality to us.” [Israel welcomes new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on ‘glorious’ day] Israeli newspapers Tuesday contrasted the upbeat inauguration ceremony for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem with pictures of the violence on the border but characterized the Israeli response to the demonstrations in terms of self-defense. “Every country must protect its borders,” Netanyahu wrote in a tweet. “Hamas is a terrorist organization that states its intention to destroy Israel and it sends thousands of people to breach the border fence to realize this goal. We will continue to act firmly to protect our sovereignty and our citizens.” He was backed by the Trump administration, which blamed Hamas for the loss of life. Yaakov Amidror, Israel’s former national security adviser and a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, said people around the world condemning the violence need to understand that the Gaza demonstrations are not like protests in Europe. “They do not take into consideration that this is a cover for a terrorist organization that is attempting to stop Israel from building a system that would stop their underground terror tunnels,” he said. Asked if Israel could have used less-lethal methods to contain the protesters, most of whom were unarmed, Amidror said that such a question was a good example of those who “can sit in an air-conditioned office, drinking coffee, and give advice to the Israeli army that is facing off against many thousands of Palestinians.” Tens of thousands of Palestinians had gathered on the edges of the enclave from mid-morning Monday. Many came to demonstrate peacefully, but some protesters appeared to be more aggressive than in previous weeks. 1 of 30 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Gaza protests turn deadly as U.S. Embassy opens in Jerusalem View Photos Israeli soldiers killed dozens of Palestinians demonstrating along the border fence and wounded more than 1,600 in the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 war with Israel. Caption Israeli soldiers killed dozens of Palestinians demonstrating along the border fence and wounded more than 1,600 in the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 war with Israel. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. Israeli snipers opened fire, ostensibly to prevent any breach of the border fence, and protesters began to fall. No Israeli soldiers were injured. In Gaza, Hamas backed the demonstrations, called to protest the loss of Palestinian homes and villages when Israel was formed in 1948. Commenting in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, however, journalist Ben-Dror Yemini said the situation was “self-inflicted” and called on Palestinians to get over the events of 70 years ago. “There was a Nakba. The Arabs of Palestine underwent expulsion. Tens of millions of people throughout the entire world, including Jews, underwent similar expulsion. But only the Palestinians adopted an ethos of rejectionism, victimhood, suffering and death,” he wrote. “They aren’t looking to improve things for themselves.” Eglash reported from Jerusalem. Read more Trump’s embassy move has triggered deadly protests. These maps explain why. New U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem: A stone plaque and $400,000 in renovations Analysis: Trump’s ‘buy now, pay later’ foreign policy Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

– The death toll from what Israel's critics are calling a massacre of unarmed protesters in Gaza hit 59 overnight with the death of a baby from tear gas inhalation, according to Palestinian authorities. The Palestinian Health Authority in Gaza says seven children under 18 were among the dozens of people killed when Israeli troops opened fire on protesters at the border fence Monday, the Washington Post reports. More than 2,700 others were wounded, the authority says, including 1,359 injured by live ammunition. Israel also dropped tear gas from drones in what was Gaza's deadliest day of violence since the 2014 war. The latest developments: South Africa, Turkey withdraw ambassadors. Israeli authorities say South Africa has recalled its ambassador to protest the shootings, the AP reports. Turkey is withdrawing its ambassadors from both the US and Israel. Kuwait drafted a United Nations Security Council resolution expressing outrage and calling for an independent investigation, but it was blocked by the US.

The decision had to be made, over and over, with little time to deliberate. “As an orthopedic surgeon, we see patients like this, with mangled extremities, but we don’t see 16 of them at the same time, and we don’t see patients from blast injuries,” Dr. Peter Burke, the trauma surgery chief at Boston Medical Center, said. “What we like to do is before we take off someone’s leg — it’s extremely hard to make that decision — is we often get two surgeons to agree,” Dr. Tracey Dechert, a trauma surgeon at Boston Medical, said. Contrary to past fears, the tourniquets themselves didn’t cause any limb loss, even in the rare cases when patients had to keep them on for two to three hours. And at least nine patients — five at Boston Medical Center, three at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and one at Brigham and Women’s Hospital — had legs or feet so mangled they would need to be amputated.

– As of this morning, 100 of the 183 people hospitalized in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing have been released, CNN reports, in a testament to how well area doctors have handled the crisis. Boston boasts nearly 80 hospitals, and they're regarded as some of the world's best, the Week points out, while MSNBC observes that trauma treatment has improved drastically since 9/11—in part because of America's war experience. The Marathon bombs were IEDs, "and that's exactly what a number of our troops in Iraq in Afghanistan have had to deal with," one emergency room specialist tells NPR. Techniques learned in those conflicts have now proliferated into civilian medicine. Tourniquets, for instance, have gone from being considered a dangerous last resort to a routine life-saver. Shrapnel extraction techniques have improved as well. It also helped that there was a medical tent at the finish line already, which quickly became a well-oiled triage center. "I've seen a lot worse," one emergency room physician tells the New York Times. "They were without question ready—not for those types of injuries, but they were prepared."

In fact, Johnson says, he never would have known what happened to his daughter if he hadn’t felt the electric current himself while trying to jump in to save her. The parents of 15-year-old Carmen Johnson, who tragically died from electric shock drowning while swimming near her family’s Alabama lake house last April, are speaking out about the rarely reported phenomenon after it took the lives of two more local women this past weekend. When he put the metal ladder into the water, the electrical current from the light switch traveled through the dock to the ladder and into the surrounding water, where the girls were swimming. The current that shocked Carmen Johnson was caused by water seeping into a light switch box at the family's dock, according to her mother. "I think when Reagan touched the ladder and Carmen grabbed Reagan's legs trying to pull herself up, she got the full force of the current," Casey Johnson said. Since then, Carmen's parents, Casey and Jimmy Johnson, have made it their mission to educate the public about electric shock drowning. “As they were swimming toward the dock, within somewhere between the 5-to-10-foot range, is when they started feeling like they couldn’t swim,” Johnson recalled. “She started going underwater.” That’s when Johnson and his son, Zach, jumped in the water after the girls and immediately felt piercing electric shocks. Because electric shock drowning typically doesn't leave visible proof on victims' bodies, it's unlikely anyone would have known about the electrocution if others hadn't been in the water and felt the shock. Electric Shock Drowning can happen when an electrical current, even a low-level current, passes through the body, according to the Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association.

– Life vest, check. Adult supervision, check. She should have been safe, but a freak accident in a New Jersey lagoon took the life of an 11-year-old girl over the weekend. Police say the girl was electrocuted while swimming and playing on an inflatable raft behind a friend’s home in Toms River, reports the Asbury Park Press. The girl was with two friends when the incident occurred, and they were all wearing life vests as they swam and rafted in the lagoon under adult supervision, reports PIX11. A police statement says that after the girls touched the rail to a metal boat lift, an "electric current appears to have energized the equipment causing the injury." The girl was administered CPR on the scene, but died later at the hospital. It's not the first time such an accident has been in the news this year. Following the April death of Alabama teen Carmen Johnson, who was shocked while swimming near her family's boathouse, CBS News explained that small levels of electric current in water can serve as a “silent killer,” especially in fresh water, where voltage can “take a shortcut” through bodies. And two more Alabama women are also believed to have been shocked to death in lake water, reports AL.com. The Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association advises against swimming in or near docks, marinas, and boatyards, while the parents of Johnson offered more tips on TODAY, like using plastic over metal ladders and making sure there is a ground fault breaker at docks.

Story highlights "We will defend our sovereignty and independence," Foreign Minister Moallem says Four people are killed Tuesday, an opposition network says Aid workers not able to evacuate wounded and killed journalists in Baba Amr U.S. State Department spokeswoman constitutional referendum as "cynical" As the death toll from Syria's almost year-long uprising continues to climb, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem vowed to defend his country's "independence." "We are not happy to see brothers killing each other. But this is our country. But we will defend our sovereignty and independence," he told reporters. The minister said no one is dying in Syria because of hunger or sickness and that despite the "economic international boycott," his government is providing all necessary services. "Do you think there is a government in this world ... (that cares) about Syrian people welfare more than the Syrian government? I don't see this logic," Moallem said. As day broke on Tuesday, four people were killed across Syria, opposition activists said. At least 144 people were reported killed Monday, including 64 who died in a "horrifying massacre" at a checkpoint in Homs province. Those killed at a checkpoint in the Abel area were attempting to flee shelling in the Baba Amr neighborhood in the city of Homs, said the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists. "Reports said security members and thugs kidnapped the women among them," the network said in a statement. Residents found 47 corpses in one area and 17 in a second one, it said. A total of 68 corpses were found in the area, in farmland in western Homs province, said the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, apparently referencing the same incident. The bodies were found after an injured survivor reported the attack, the group said. All the bodies had been either shot or stabbed. JUST WATCHED Marie Colvin's family on her legacy Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Marie Colvin's family on her legacy 02:51 In all, 104 people were killed Monday in Homs, an opposition stronghold, according to the LCC. They included four defected soldiers, three woman and three children. JUST WATCHED Discussing Syria, Iran and Michigan Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Discussing Syria, Iran and Michigan 04:49 The deaths came on a day when Syrian officials announced that the nation's new draft constitution received approval and the European Union imposed new sanctions on the country amid ongoing clashes. JUST WATCHED Red Cross hopes to continue in Syria Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Red Cross hopes to continue in Syria 03:56 JUST WATCHED Families killed attempting to flee Homs Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Families killed attempting to flee Homs 02:08 The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said earlier explosions rocked Homs and shelling was occurring in Baba Amr. Twenty people were wounded when a large shell struck an anti-government gathering in Homs, the group said. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar announced that 89.4% of voters approved the draft constitution, and 57.4% of eligible voters cast ballots. President Bashar al-Assad's regime has touted the constitutional referendum as a move toward reform. Syria announced the referendum amid intense international cries to stop the bloodshed and open its regime to change. But analysts and protesters widely describe the effort as a farce, a superficial attempt to pacify al-Assad's critics. "We dismiss it as absolutely cynical. Essentially, what he's done here is put a piece of paper that he controls to a vote that he controls so that he can try and maintain control," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said of the referendum and al-Assad. Syria map She cited the ongoing violence in such cities as Homs and Hama and asked: "How could you possibly have any kind of a democratic process in conditions like that?" JUST WATCHED The role of Syrian National Council Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH The role of Syrian National Council 05:12 Aid efforts were under way in the midst of the violence. JUST WATCHED Syria votes on new constitution Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Syria votes on new constitution 02:54 The Syrian Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross entered the province of Hama on Monday to provide aid to civilians, said Simon Schorno, spokesman for the Red Cross. A one-month supply of food, along with blankets and hygiene kits, were distributed to 12,000 people, he said. JUST WATCHED Wounded evacuated from Homs, Syria Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Wounded evacuated from Homs, Syria 02:07 Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, the Red Cross' head of operations for the Middle East, said a handful of aid workers were also able to go into Baba Amr. "There were four ambulances that entered Baba Amr, belonging to the Syrian Red Crescent. They were loaded with medical goods. They indeed were not able to evacuate the two foreign journalists. I don't have the reasons why. They could evacuate an elderly woman, a pregnant woman with her husband," she said. The two journalists Megevand-Roggo was referencing were British photographer Paul Conroy and French reporter Edith Bouvier. Both were wounded in shelling. Red Cross spokesman Hicham Hassan said aid workers were also not able Monday to recover and evacuate the bodies of two journalists killed in Baba Amr last week. Marie Colvin, an American journalist who worked for London's Sunday Times, was killed in a shelling attack, along with French journalist Remi Ochlik. Colvin's mother, Rosemarie, said Sunday that aid workers have been trying for days to remove her daughter's body. JUST WATCHED Syrian refugees flee to Jordan Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Syrian refugees flee to Jordan 03:42 CNN and other media outlets cannot independently verify opposition or government reports because Syria has severely limited access to the country by foreign journalists. But the vast majority of reports from the ground indicate that government forces are massacring citizens in an attempt to wipe out civilians seeking al-Assad's ouster. No attempts at getting al-Assad to stop his regime's crackdown on dissidents have stopped the onslaught. The Council of the European Union agreed Monday on new sanctions regarding Syria after foreign ministers met in Brussels, Belgium, said spokeswoman Susanne Kiefer. Seven ministers of the al-Assad regime will have their EU assets frozen and will be denied entry into the EU, Kiefer said. In addition, assets of the Syrian Central Bank in the EU will be frozen. Legitimate trade will be allowed to continue, she said, but must be authorized first. "Today's decisions will put further pressure on those who are responsible for the ruthless campaign of repression in Syria," Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, said in a statement. "The measures target the regime and its ability to conduct the appalling violence against civilians. As long as the repression continues, the EU will keep imposing sanctions." Elsewhere in Syria on Monday, two people were killed and eight wounded by government shelling on the village of Sarmeen in Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The shelling began Sunday night, and Syrian troops have entered Sarmeen, said Abu Mustafa al-Sayed, a Syrian opposition and community leader in the town of Binnish, also in Idlib province. The Syrian army has Sarmeen surrounded, and communications with the residents have been cut off, he said. And in Damascus, security forces fired on mourners at a funeral, according to the Local Coordination Committees. Clashes were also occurring in Deir Ezzor, the group said, and 14 students were arrested during a protest at Aleppo University. The opposition network estimates that 9,000 people have been killed since the government launched its crackdown in March. The Syrian government says that more than 2,000 members of its security forces have been killed by "terrorists" during that same period. Asked Monday whether Syria would be referred to the International Criminal Court, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, "I hope the international community reflects on the conditions of referral. It's a difficult issue. Syria is not a participating state, so it's up to the Security Council to address this question. They must therefore continue to gather the elements that would permit an eventual referral."

– Syria's new constitution was backed by more than 89% of voters, the nation's Interior Ministry announced today, even as violence continues to rage across the country and the West decries the referendum as a sham. The Interior Ministry claims that more than 57% of Syria's 14 million eligible voters turned out, with about 9% voting no and 1.6% of the ballots being rejected as spoiled. The New York Times notes that the Syrian government controlled the voting, but may not have needed to manipulate the results, considering that much of the opposition boycotted the referendum. Across the nation, 33 people were killed today, many of them in continued government shelling in Homs, and 55 people died yesterday. The European Union has imposed new sanctions in the face of the continuing violence, CNN reports. Seven ministers of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, as well as the Syrian Central Bank, will have their EU assets frozen. The ministers will also be denied entry into the EU and Syrian cargo flights will not be allowed to use EU airports. Says the EU foreign policy chief in a statement, "As long as the repression continues, the EU will keep imposing sanctions."

These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites.

– In March, Ki’ari Pope drank boiling water through a straw after she and her cousin watched a video of someone appearing to do it on YouTube and her cousin dared her to try. Early Monday, the Florida 8-year-old was pronounced dead after months of medical issues related to the tragic stunt. Ki'ari underwent emergency surgery to clear scar tissue on her windpipe so she could breathe; after the tracheotomy, she continued to have difficulty breathing (requiring two trips to the ER) and also talking. She had a doctor's appointment set for Friday to be checked. But on Sunday night, she told her mother's boyfriend she was struggling to breathe; she lost consciousness within minutes and was pronounced dead about an hour later, at 12:15am Monday, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. The Medical Examiner's Office is still determining Ki'ari's cause of death, and Florida's Department of Children and Families is investigating the incident. There have been at least 10 other DCF cases related to the family since 2008, the Palm Beach Post reports, five of them involving alleged domestic violence between Ki'ari's mother and her boyfriend; it's not clear whether the boyfriend who called 911 after Ki'ari lost consciousness is the same one from those reports. At least one of the DCF cases resulted in verified proof of abuse or neglect, but details aren't available. DCF isn't saying whether the girl's mother or other family members are under investigation, but a woman identifying herself as the mother's cousin says DCF officials took Ki'ari's three siblings away Thursday. Ki'ari's family is raising money to go toward funeral costs on GoFundMe.

Print Share + Aunt Zeituni: 'The System Took Advantage Of Me' President Obama's Aunt Speaks Exclusively With WBZ-TV BOSTON (WBZ) ― "If I come as an immigrant, you have the obligation to make me a citizen." Those are the words from 58-year-old Zeituni Onyango of Kenya in a recent exclusive interview with WBZ-TV.Onyango is the aunt of President Barack Obama. She lived in the United States illegally for years, receiving public assistance in Boston.Aunt Zeituni, as she has come to be known, first surfaced in the public light in 2008, in the final days of the Presidential election. Then-candidate Obama said that he was not against the possible deportation of his aunt. "If she has violated laws, then those laws have to be obeyed," he told CBS's Katie Couric. "We are a nation of laws. "Onyango had violated the law, and she knew it. "I knew I had overstayed" she told WBZ-TV's Jonathan Elias when the two sat down one-on-one.Zeituni Onyango said she came to the United States in 2000 and had every intention of leaving. Then, however, she says she got deathly ill and was hospitalized. When she recovered, she said she was broke and couldn't afford to leave.For two years Onyango said she lived in a homeless shelter, before she was assigned public housing despite thousands of legal residents also awaiting assistance. "I didn't take any advantage of the system. The system took advantage of me. ""I didn't ask for it; they gave it to me. Ask your system. I didn't create it or vote for it. Go and ask your system," she said unapologetically.And she's right. The system provided her assistance despite her status as an illegal immigrant.In 2004 a judge ordered Zeituni Onyango out of the country, but she never left. She stayed, hiding in plain sight. In 2005 she attended her nephew's swearing in as the junior Senator of Illinois. In 2008 she was invited to, and traveled to D.C. for President Obama's inauguration.However her nephew, she says, never pulled any strings for her."Listen. Obama did not know my whereabouts. "Onyango hired a top immigration lawyer from Cleveland to help fight her case. We asked how she afforded that lawyer, when she claimed poverty. "When you believe in Jesus Christ and almighty God, my help comes from heaven," she responded.When asked about cutting in line ahead of those who have paid into the system she answered plainly, "I don't mind. You can take that house. I will be on the street with the homeless. ""To me America's dream became America's worst nightmare," she said adamantly. "I have been treated like public enemy number one. "She is still living in South Boston public housing, unemployed, and collecting about $700 a month in disability, she says. And now, Zeituni Onlyango is in this country legally.In May 2010, Onyango's case went back before the same judge who ordered her out of the country in 2004. This time she was granted asylum in the United States. The ruling said a return to Kenya might put Onyango in danger.Did her nephew, the President of the United States influence that immigration judge? "No influence at all, from nobody, from nowhere," Onyango said. (© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

– President Obama's aunt Zeituni Onyango, an illegal immigrant living in public housing, is unapologetic about her situation and says her nephew hasn't been helping her fight to stay in the US. An immigration judge granted her asylum this year. "Obama did not know my whereabouts," the Kenyan native tells WBZ, the CBS affiliate in Boston, where she lives. "If I come as an immigrant, you have the obligation to make me a citizen." In a rambling, sometimes combative interview, Onyango says, "I didn't take any advantage of the system. The system took advantage of me." She says she arrived in the US in 2000, fell ill, and couldn't afford to return home when she left the hospital. "I knew I had overstayed. " Asked whether she wants to become a citizen, she responds, " If I didn't why the hell would I have been here all this time? "

Image copyright WA Police Image caption Reg Foggerdy was reportedly severely dehydrated when he was found but is recovering A 62-year-old Australian man lost for six days in the Outback has been found alive after surviving without water and by eating ants, say police. Reginald Foggerdy, 62, was found on Tuesday morning by Tactical Response Group (TRG) trackers who had been looking for him for the past six days. Mr Foggerdy was camping at “Shooter’s Shack”, 170km east of Laverton on Lake Ransom Road, on a hunting trip with a family member, when he went to hunt alone on Wednesday night, but failed to return. Picture: WA Police Searchers and Mr Foggerdy’s family were given fresh hope when a search team found new tracks late on Monday afternoon, after nearly a week of land and air search for the 62-year-old. Image copyright WA POLICE Image caption Police used a remote shack as a command base during their search He was discovered "extremely dehydrated, a bit delusional, but he's received treatment, first aid on the ground, and it's fair to say he's now sitting up and talking," Police Supt Andy Greatwood told ABC radio. “The amazing news is his last couple of days of survival were achieved by lying down under a tree and eating black ants, so that’s the level of survival that Mr Foggerdy has gone to,” Greatwood said. Wearing only a T-shirt, shorts, a cap and flip-flops when he went missing, Mr Foggerdy - a retired miner - apparently became disorientated in the fierce heat of the desert. I didn't know which way it was going to go, but I just had this feeling." People don’t know where they are going but they are running to it.” Cooper said reliance on technology should take second place to basic survival skills, like knowing how to use a compass. The Royal Flying Doctor Service took Mr Foggerdy to a Kalgoorlie hospital this morning where he is being treated for dehydration and is in a stable condition. His wife Erlyn Foggerdy, 41, told PerthNow her husband’s survival was a “big miracle” due in part to a jungle survivor show he watched every day on Foxtel. "How you can survive without water and food is a miracle,'' she said. This shooters shack was used as a command post for the search for Mr Foggerdy #polair #swaggingit pic.twitter.com/NwlFi24WIO — WA Police (@WA_Police) October 13, 2015 In an interview with 6PR News, Mr Foggerdy’s sister Christine Ogden said the family “never lost faith” he would be found despite what had been a “horrible” week. They are just amazing people out there and the friends that I’ve got I love dearly. “They’re very talented people and they’ve managed to continue that search and found him this morning.” There were grave concerns for Mr Foggerdy’s welfare, as police believed he was lost without access to food or water. Media caption Christine Ogden said she was "relieved" her brother had been found after six days missing in the Outback His family described him as an experienced bushman but have now told him to buy a satellite phone.

– Police searching for a 62-year-old man who disappeared in Australia's Outback on Wednesday say the grandfather has miraculously been found alive. Reg Foggerdy had been last seen near a campsite on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert in Western Australia while on a hunting trip with his brother, reports the Guardian. He had left to shoot a feral camel but never returned, adds the BBC. Though an experienced bushman, he was wearing only a T-shirt, shorts, hat, and flip-flops and had no food or water, police say. Police began a land and air search after discovering a camel carcass and finally discovered fresh tracks on Monday, reports the West Australian. Foggerdy was found "extremely dehydrated, a bit delusional," under a tree Tuesday morning about 9 miles from his last known location. "He's received treatment, first aid on the ground, and it's fair to say he's now sitting up and talking," officer Andy Greatwood tells ABC Radio, adding Foggerdy's "fantastic survival skills" kept him alive when "most people would not have survived." After walking for miles, Foggerdy had spent his last two days in the Outback "lying down under a tree and eating black ants," Greatwood says. Foggerdy's wife, Erlyn, says he may have picked up that tip from a jungle survival show he liked to watch every day, reports PerthNow. Foggerdy's 11-year-old son says he initially wasn't too concerned when his father didn't return to camp, but "when he was lost for a few more days I started getting worried. I'm so happy they found him." Family members add they'll now force Foggerdy, who's recovering in a hospital, to carry a satellite phone. (A dad's survival tip kept this lost boy alive.)

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– Researchers think they've found a promising new potential weapon in the fight against malaria in a fairly unlikely place: the blood of toddlers. In a paper published in Science today, researchers detail how they examined the blood of more than 750 children in Tanzania. They found that about 6% of those children had an antibody against one of the disease's key proteins, and that those children didn't suffer from severe malaria. Researchers think they can make a vaccine patterned on their blood, Paul Rodgers at Forbes explains. Until now, most malaria vaccines have focused on keeping the disease out of the red blood cells it reproduces in. But this antibody is unique in that it instead attacks the protein that allows the parasite to escape the cells. "We're sort of trapping the parasite in the burning house," says co-lead author Jonathan Kurtis—who suffered his own bout of malaria while studying in Kenya while in college, NPR reports. The team believes this approach could work in concert with existing vaccines. It's a refreshing, promising idea, one Harvard doctor says, though she cautions that "this is a long way from a vaccine that can be used in humans." It's been trialed in mice and will soon be tested on monkeys.

WASHINGTON—Strong hiring and low unemployment are delivering U.S. workers their best pay raises in nearly a decade. Employers shook off a September slowdown to add 250,000 jobs to their payrolls in October, above monthly averages in recent years, the Labor Department said Friday. With unemployment holding at 3.7%, a 49-year low, and employers competing for scarce workers, wages increased 3.1% from a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year gain for average hourly earnings since 2009.

– The last unemployment report before the midterms is a strong one. Employers added 250,000 jobs in October, above the forecast of 188,000, reports the Wall Street Journal. The unemployment rate itself remained at a five-decade low of 3.7%, per the AP. The influx of new job-seekers in October increased the proportion of Americans with jobs to its highest level since January 2009. What's more, wages rose 3.1% when compared to last October, the best such gain since 2009. It's the first time since the recession ended that wages rose more than 3% over a year. Average hourly earnings in the private sector increased 5 cents to $27.30.

Speculations about the First Lady’s whereabouts have taken over social media as she has not been seen in public since before undergoing a procedure for what the White House has described as a “benign kidney condition.” (Susan Walsh/AP)

– Melania watchers can relax. After endless speculation and wacky rumors about the first lady's whereabouts, she addressed the situation herself, posting to Twitter, "I see the media is working overtime speculating where I am & what I'm doing. Rest assured, I'm here at the @WhiteHouse w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!" The first lady’s spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, also sought to swat down rumors. "She is doing great," Grisham told the New York Daily News. "She has meetings throughout the day so will not be attending fitness day." Melania Trump had not appeared in public for 20 days.

Authorities shifted a focus of their... (Associated Press) Authorities search an area in Constable, N.Y. for convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat, Friday, June 26, 2015. Multiple law enforcement sources tell NBC news that DNA belonging to at least one of the escaped prisoners was found at a cabin in Malone, a town located about 35 miles northwest of Clinton Correctional and around 10 miles south of the Canadian border. Maj. Charles Guess of the New York State Police said he could not go into specifics, but "based on what we know at this point, we have a high degree of confidence in our conclusion." The break-in at the cabin in Malone was reported to police sometime between Wednesday and 3 p.m. Thursday, sources said. "They probably have every reason to keep going," Guess said. "I think these guys are going to find them," said Sonny Morales, as he sat on an easy chair in front of a house near the border in the town of Constable. For days after Richard Matt and David Sweat’s June 6 escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, there seemed to be little concrete evidence of where they were. Two prison workers — Gene Palmer, a guard, and Joyce Mitchell, a seamstress — have been arrested in connection with the breakout.

– If New York investigators are right, Richard Matt and David Sweat are probably sleeping right now—but they'll wake soon and continue picking their way through the woods and back roads toward Canada when darkness falls. At an update today on the hunt for the prison escapees, authorities say they're now pretty sure the men are trying to make the border, reports NBC News. "Based on what we know at this point, we have a high degree of confidence in our conclusion," says Maj. Charles Guess of the state police. Guess didn't provide specifics, but he said investigators found "significant" items from the men in a cabin and in a field in the town of Malone yesterday and this morning, reports AP. They've shifted their search accordingly in a bid to head the men off. Matt and Sweat have eluded capture for three weeks now, which is impressive, but it doesn't protect them from this damning stat cited by the Atlantic: More than 92% of escapees from medium- and high-security prisons are caught within a year. Their odds improve somewhat if they make it past a month, however. The search update comes after a second prison worker was charged in the escape. (He once likened the inmates at his prison in Dannemora to caged "puppies.")

Issa released a draft of his Internet American Moratorium Act on Monday night and said that he would answer questions about the legislation on Reddit, a social news and discussion site, on Wednesday morning. Issa looks to ban Internet regulations By Brendan Sasso - Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is seeking input on a bill that would impose a two-year ban on new laws or regulations that affect the Internet. Sohn said Issa's bill could also block future regulations on Internet privacy. Supporters say the rules are critical for ensuring an open and free Internet. But Gigi Sohn, president of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, explained that Issa's bill would not actually prevent Congress from passing laws like SOPA. A spokesman for Issa said the draft bill is not about trying to block any particular regulation, like net neutrality.

– Rep. Darrell Issa is proposing a bill that would "create a two-year moratorium on any new laws, rules, or regulations governing the Internet," reports CNN. It's been met with some controversy from fellow politicians and the public alike. The bill could block regulations that protect consumer privacy, says one lawmaker, and may stymie President Obama's efforts to bolster cybersecurity, reports The Hill. Issa is hosting a Q&A on Reddit today to discuss his bill, and plans to adjust it after receiving feedback. A separate battle is happening in Washington over the 'Do Not Track' initiative, which aims to give Internet users the ability to stop the collection of personal information for advertising purposes. It's a tough topic, since online ads are what pay for many free services, reports the Washington Post. The initiatives looked set to move forward after a successful White House event in February, but since then talks have grown bitter, in part due to opposition from advertising groups. The co-chair of the committee working on the initiative announced she'd be stepping down today, which could help revive talks.

Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. Nine people were killed in the shooting at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night. On Thursday afternoon, Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten officially identified all of the victims, some of whose names had leaked out over the course of the day. Here are brief sketches of their lives. State Sen. Clementa Pinckney Pinckney, 41, was a pastor at Emanuel AME and a widely respected state senator. “Sen. Pinckney was a legend,” said fellow state Sen. Marlon Kimpton on CNN. “He was the moral compass of the state Senate.” Pinckney’s desk in the statehouse was covered with a black cloth after news broke of his death: In SC, if a State Sen dies a black cloth is draped over their desk…this was Pinckney’s desk. http://t.co/fupAm838fJ pic.twitter.com/2ntw42e5TD — Ellison Barber (@ellisonbarber) June 18, 2015 During his remarks on Thursday afternoon, President Obama said he knew Pinckney personally, along with other members of the church. “To say our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and their community doesn’t say enough to convey the heartache and the sadness and the anger that we feel,” he said. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton Coleman-Singleton, also a pastor at the church, was a coach at Goose Creek High School near Charleston. South Carolina’s high school sports governing body mourned her death on Twitter after it was announced on Thursday morning: She was a celebrated track and field coach for Goose Creek High School and revered as a “positive light” to all who knew her. — SCHSL (@SCHSL) June 18, 2015 “I saw her at work everyday and she always had a smile on her face,” Chris Pond, the baseball coach at Goose Creek, said to the Berkeley Independent. Cynthia Hurd Hurd, the manager of the St. Andrews branch of the Charleston County Public Library, was identified by her employer as one of the victims. County library system identifies St. Andrews branch manager Cynthia Hurd as slaying victim in #CharlestonShooting pic.twitter.com/XQnV8KSUzo — Andrew Knapp (@offlede) June 18, 2015 “Cynthia was a tireless servant of the community who spent her life helping residents, making sure they had every opportunity for an education and personal growth,” the library said in a statement on Facebook. The library announced it would shut all of its branches on Thursday to honor Hurd. TYWANZA SANDERS Lady June Cole, the interim president of Allen University, said on Thursday that Tywanza Sanders, a 2014 graduate of the small historically black university in Columbia, S.C., was killed in the shooting. Cole called Sanders a “quiet, well-known student who was committed to his education” and who “presented a warm and helpful spirit.” MYRA THOMPSON Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church of North America wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday that Myra Thompson, the wife of the Rev. Anthony Thompson of Charleston’s Holy Trinity REC Church, was killed in the attack. Ethel Lee Lance The 70-year-old grandmother had worked at Emanuel AME for more than three decades. Her grandson Jon Quil Lance told the Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston that Lance was a hardworking Christian and “the heart of the family.” SHE HAS A NAME: Ethel Lee Lance, worked at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston for 30 years. She was killed last night. pic.twitter.com/7OHjsnhD8f — Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) June 18, 2015 Susie Jackson The 87-year-old was a longtime church patron and Ethel Lance’s cousin, according to the Post and Courier. Daniel L. Simmons Sr. The 74-year-old was a ministry staff member at Emanuel AME and the former pastor of Greater Zion AME Church in the nearby town of Awendaw. His daughter-in-law, Arcelia Simmons, told ABC News that Simmons attended services at Emanuel on Sundays as well as weekly Bible study. Simmons died in the hospital after the attack. * I can’t believe that Rev. Dan Simmons is gone. This man baptized me, married my parents, and eulogized my granny — Sh’Kur Francis (@_shkurfrancis) June 18, 2015 Depayne Middleton The 49-year-old mother of four sang in the church choir. Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Allen University is located in Charleston. It is actually located in Columbia, S.C. Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the town of Awendaw.

– The nine people shot to death in a South Carolina church last night ranged in age from 26 to 87, reports NBC News. Some details about them: The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41. The married father of two was a pastor at Emanuel AME and a state senator. "He was the moral compass of the state Senate," a colleague said on CNN, per Mother Jones Tywanza Sanders, 26. He had graduated from Allen University with a degree in business administration just last year. The school called him a "quiet, well-known student who was committed to his education." Cynthia Hurd, 54. She was a longtime employee of the Charleston County Public Library. All branches were closed today in her honor. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 49, worked at Goose Creek High School as a speech therapist and girls' track coach. She was also a pastor at the church. The Rev. Depayne Middelton Doctor, 49, a church singer who had worked for Charleston County providing services for the poor. She was a mother of four. Susie Jackson, 87, a longtime member of the historic church. Ethel Lance, 70, a church sexton who had worked at Emanuel AME for three decades. The Rev. Daniel Simmons, 74, was on the church's ministerial staff, attending Sunday services and a weekly Bible study. Myra Thompson, 59, was the wife of the vicar of Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church in Charleston. Suspect Dylann Roof was arrested after a woman spotted him driving.)

FILE- In this Tuesday, April 5, 2016 file photo, an employee sorts Legos in the the new LEGO flagship store unveiled as part of the new Les Halles shopping mall during the press visit in Paris. Danish... (Associated Press) FILE- In this Tuesday, April 5, 2016 file photo, an employee sorts Legos in the the new LEGO flagship store unveiled as part of the new Les Halles shopping mall during the press visit in Paris. Danish toy maker Lego said Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, it will cut 1,400 jobs, or about eight percent of its global... (Associated Press) FILE- In this Tuesday, April 5, 2016 file photo, an employee sorts Legos in the the new LEGO flagship store unveiled as part of the new Les Halles shopping mall during the press visit in Paris. Danish... (Associated Press) COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish toy maker Lego will cut 1,400 jobs, or about eight percent of its global workforce, after reporting a decline in sales and profits in the first half of 2017. The privately held company said Tuesday that its revenue dropped 5 percent to 14.9 billion kroner ($2.4 billion) in the first six months of the year, mainly as a result of weakness in established markets like the U.S. and Europe. Profits slipped 3 percent to 3.4 billion kroner ($544,000). It said it "now prepares to reset the company." "We are disappointed by the decline in revenue in our established markets, and we have taken steps to address this," said Chairman Joergen Vig Knudstorp. He said the long-term aim is to reach "more children in our well-established markets in Europe and the United States," and added there were "strong growth opportunities in growing markets such as China." The company, he said, needs to simplify its business model to reduce its costs. Since 2012, the group has built an increasingly complex organization to support global double-digit growth. However, "in the process, we have added complexity into the organization which now in turn makes it harder for us to grow further," Vig Knudstorp said. He told Denmark's TV2 that staff cuts would mainly affect administration and sales, not production. Last month, the maker of the famous colored building blocks appointed Niels B. Christiansen, who headed thermostat-maker Danfoss for nine years, as its chief executive to replace interim British CEO Bali Padda. Christiansen will start Oct. 1. Based in western Denmark, Lego does not release quarterly figures. The group currently has more than 19,000 employees around the world.

– Danish toy maker Lego will cut 1,400 jobs, or about 8% of its global workforce, after reporting a decline in sales and profits in the first half of 2017. The privately held company said Tuesday that its revenue dropped 5% to $2.4 billion in the first six months of the year, mainly as a result of weakness in established markets like the US and Europe. Profits slipped 3% to $544 million. "We are disappointed by the decline in revenue in our established markets, and we have taken steps to address this," said Chairman Joergen Vig Knudstorp, per the AP. He said the long-term aim is to reach "more children in our well-established markets in Europe and the United States," and added there were "strong growth opportunities in growing markets such as China." The company, he said, needs to simplify its business model to reduce costs, though details weren't immediately available on what that might mean. Since 2012, the group has built an increasingly complex organization to support global double-digit growth. However, "in the process, we have added complexity into the organization which now in turn makes it harder for us to grow further," Vig Knudstorp said. The company has been lauded for embracing the digital era through smartphone apps and tie-ins with movies and video games, notes Reuters. The maker of the famous colored building blocks has more than 19,000 employees around the world.

Trump's new travel ban: One thing to know Trump's new travel ban: One thing to know 01:25 Trump's new travel ban: One thing to know The US travel ban has not taken effect after rulings by two federal judges that temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order. Rachael D'Amore, CTV Toronto The Toronto District School Board will join other schools in southwestern Ontario who have decided to cancel trips to the U.S., citing concerns over muddled U.S. border restrictions. “We do not make this decision lightly,” he said, “but given the uncertainty of these new travel restrictions and when they may come into effect, if at all, we strongly believe that our students should not be placed into these situations of potentially being turned away at the border.” Though an executive order was handed down by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, banning travel from citizens of six Muslim-majority countries, it is currently not in effect. The board’s plan — approved unanimously by trustees at a board meeting late Wednesday night — was to strike a balance between ensuring safety and inclusion for students, without causing financial loss and disappointment by cancelling the spring trips kids had planned and fundraised for over many months. Jama’s parents are from Somalia — one of the six Muslim-majority countries whose citizens could be refused entry to the U.S. if Trump’s proposed travel restrictions are put in place. But still on track are 24 separate trips involving about 800 students, and plans for about 100 youth from different schools to attend an international business competition in California. Earlier this month, Girl Guides of Canada cancelled trips to the U.S., citing safety concerns and uncertainty at the border, and to ensure all guides can participate in group travel. We don’t want them in those situations so that’s why we’re taking these additional steps.” The Greater Essex County District School Board made a similar decision in February, though it was only in effect for that month. "While the United States is a frequent destination for Guiding trips, the ability of all our members to equally enter this country is currently uncertain," its statement read.

– There will be no new trips to the Washington Monument for students within Canada's largest school system. The Toronto District School Board, which includes 245,000 students in 584 schools, will no longer green-light trips south of the border, citing uncertainty over border restrictions. "We strongly believe that our students should not be placed into these situations of potentially being turned away at the border" in light of President Trump's proposed travel restrictions, TDSB Director of Education John Malloy says, per the Toronto Star. Some 25 trips involving 900 students already scheduled for the spring will go on as planned to prevent financial loss, but the board says all students will turn back if any one student is refused entry into the US. Should Trump's executive order banning travelers from six countries "be fully implemented, resulting in any of our students being excluded from trips across the US border," those trips will be cancelled outright, Malloy says, per CTV News. "It's not about politics, it's about our principles as a school board to be inclusive and equitable," adds a TDSB rep. The Greater Essex County School Board in southwestern Ontario cited similar reasons when banning trips to the US for the month of February. Toronto’s Ryerson University has halted trips until further notice, as have the Girl Guides of Canada, the Canadian version of the Girl Scouts, per CNN. Other school boards say they could follow in the TDSB's footsteps "if travel advisories change."

SANAA/ADEN U.S. special forces stormed a walled compound in a remote Yemeni village early on Saturday in an attempt to free Western hostages held by an al Qaeda unit, but an American journalist and a South African teacher were killed by their captors, officials said. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and a Yemeni intelligence official said Luke Somers, 33, and South African Pierre Korkie, 56, were shot by their kidnappers shortly after the raid began in the arid Wadi Abadan district of Shabwa, a province long seen as one of al Qaeda's most formidable strongholds. It was the second U.S. attempt to free Somers in 10 days and Kerry said it had been approved because of information that Somers' life was in imminent danger. "It was our assessment that that clock would run out on Saturday," one U.S. official said. However, the Gift of the Givers relief group, which was trying to secure Korkie's release, said it had negotiated for the teacher to be freed and had expected that to happen on Sunday and for him to be returned to his family. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is seen by Washington as one of al Qaeda's most dangerous branches. The United States has worked with Yemen's government and via drone strikes to attack its leaders in southern and eastern Yemen. "The callous disregard for Luke's life is more proof of the depths of AQAP's depravity, and further reason why the world must never cease in seeking to defeat their evil ideology," President Barack Obama said in a statement. Obama said he had authorized the operation and said the United States would "spare no effort to use all of its military, intelligence and diplomatic capabilities to bring Americans home safely, wherever they are located." SHOOT-OUT A U.S. defense official said about 40 U.S. special forces troops, flown in by tilt-rotor CV-22 Osprey aircraft, had advanced to within 100 meters (yards) of the walled compound where the hostages were held before the defenders were alerted and a firefight started. About 10 people, including al Qaeda guards and some civilians were killed in the fighting, said Ali al-Ahmadi, chief of Yemen's national security bureau. The Pentagon said it was unaware of any civilian casualties. U.S. officials said they knew Somers was at the location, partly because of information gleaned during the earlier rescue attempt, and they were aware that a second hostage was there but did not know in advance who it was. As the fight began, an al Qaeda guard darted inside the compound and then exited through the back. Gunfire was heard. That’s when American officials believe Somers and Korkie were shot. They were each shot several times, said the U.S. officials, who declined to be identified. The men were treated by medics but one died during the flight out and another aboard a U.S. ship. No U.S. troops were hurt, they said. The raid lasted about 30 minutes. Gift of the Givers said on its website: "We received with sadness the news that Pierre was killed in an attempt by American Special Forces, in the early hours of this morning, to free hostages in Yemen." It added: "The psychological and emotional devastation to (Korkie's wife) Yolande and her family will be compounded by the knowledge that Pierre was to be released by al Qaeda tomorrow ... Three days ago we told her 'Pierre will be home for Christmas'." Yolande, who was kidnapped with her husband in mid-2013, was released in January after intervention by Gift of the Givers. A South African government spokesman declined to comment. Militants in the region often demand millions of dollars for the release of hostages, including in the Korkies' case, and Saturday’s incident was likely to again raise discussion about the wisdom of paying ransoms. The United States, which refuses to make payments as they could encourage more kidnappings, is reviewing its approach to such cases but has said the payment ban will remain in place. There was no new information about three other hostages, a Briton, a Turk and a Yemeni, who had previously been held alongside Somers and Korkie, a Yemeni security official said. Lucy Somers, the photojournalist’s sister, told the Associated Press that she and her father learned of her brother's death from FBI agents at 0500 GMT (12 a.m. EST) Saturday. "We ask that all of Luke's family members be allowed to mourn in peace," she said from London. Somers had been in captivity for 15 months. IMMEDIATE DANGER Kerry said the decision to mount the raid was based on fears that AQAP planned to kill Somers. "Earlier this week, AQAP released a video announcing that Luke would be murdered within 72 hours. Along with other information, there was a compelling indication that Luke's life was in immediate danger," Kerry said. U.S. officials on Thursday said American forces had already attempted to rescue Somers, without giving details. Yemeni officials had previously disclosed the release of six Yemenis, a Saudi and an Ethiopian hostage in a raid on Nov. 25. A senior U.S. official said Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi had given his support for Saturday's operation, which a U.S. official said took place at 1 a.m. local time. Yemen's government issued a different account of the incident. It said in a statement carried on state media that its security forces had led the raid. It said the security forces had surrounded the house and called on the kidnappers to surrender, but they instead shot the hostages. That led to an assault on the building in which four Yemeni security officers were also wounded, it said. The statement said the house belonged to suspected militant Saeed al-Daghaari, which another Yemeni security source told Reuters was in the village of Dafaar in the Wadi Abadan district of Shabwa. "It's a very small village with only 20-40 houses. There were very quick clashes with the gunmen and then it was all finished," a tribal source from the area said. AQAP on Thursday released a video showing a man it said was Somers saying: "I'm looking for any help that can get me out of this situation. I'm certain that my life is in danger." Reuters was not able to independently verify the authenticity of that video, which was reported by SITE Monitoring. (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington, Peter Salisbury in Sanaa, Yara Bayoumy in Manama, Phil Stewart in Kabul; Stella Mapenzauswa in Johannesburg; Writing by Angus McDowall and David Storey; Editing by Janet Lawrence, Mark Trevelyan, Grant McCool and Paul Simao)

– The US commandos who tried to rescue American Luke Somers in Yemen came agonizingly close to doing so, according to an account in the Wall Street Journal. It says that about 40 special-ops troops got to within 100 yards of the walled compound in silence about 1am local time. Then, "a noise, maybe a dog bark, alerted the militants to the raiders," writes Adam Entous, who spoke to US officials familiar with the rescue attempt. A 30-minute firefight ensued, during which officials think a militant from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula slipped into the building where Somers was being held and shot him and South African hostage Pierre Korkie. The US troops killed about 10 militants and managed to escape with the two wounded hostages, but one died in the military aircraft carrying him away and the other died on an operating table. "The callous disregard for Luke's life is more proof of the depths of AQAP's depravity, and further reason why the world must never cease in seeking to defeat their evil ideology," said President Obama, as per Reuters. Obama approved the raid, the second in two weeks to try to free Somers, after AQAP promised to kill the photojournalist later today.

EXCLUSIVE is standing by her man ... TMZ has learned the "" actress has decided to keep dating new BFbecause she's convinced he's no gigolo -- he just coaches 'em.Sources close to the couple tell us ... Lea was PISSED after we broke the story about-- a website that offers male "companionship" -- and confronted him about it.We're told Matthew copped to going on a few dates with female clients ... but told Lea he only did it as research -- so he could understand what the gigolos go through and coach them through it.This guy is good ... 'cause we're told Lea actually bought it, and Matt promised he'd never do it again.Our sources tell us Lea's not getting the full story ... because Paetz has had more than just "a few" dates while working as a gigolo for almost a year. For $17,500 you can get a whole week.Matthew's profile is now hidden on the site.We're told Lea and Matthew met on the set of her music video, "On My Way.

– It appears Lea Michele is beginning to move on, almost a year after the death of her boyfriend Cory Monteith. The Glee actress met Matthew Paetz on the set of one of her music videos in April, and she's reportedly been seeing him, quietly, for a couple months. "For a long time, Lea wasn't close to even thinking about getting into a relationship," a source tells People. "Cory's death was and will continue to be a struggle for her." Paetz is an aspiring actor and model, People notes, and on his Twitter account he describes himself as a dating and lifestyle coach—but TMZ says he is, or was, also a gigolo who went by the name "Christian" on Cowboys4Angels, a site offering male "companionship" that's featured on Showtime's Gigolos. TMZ has a screenshot of "Christian's" profile, which described him as a life coach, dating expert, and massage therapist who charged $350 per hour or $6,000 per weekend, but the gossip site says the profile is now hidden or removed. Sources say Paetz last took a client in April, but has taken a break since he and Michele got together. She was apparently unhappy after TMZ's gigolo story, the site notes in a follow-up, but sources say Paetz told her he really just coaches gigolos, and had only gone out with a few clients, for research purposes. But a TMZ source says Paetz had been working as an escort for nearly a year, and had gone on more than a few outings. But Michele "feels he's a great guy," another source tells E!. "He treats her really well, he's smart and fun. She's really happy."

A woman who was offering tickets for strangers to watch the birth of her child has canceled the plan because she has found out she is having a girl. "I want to enjoy my precious first moments alone with my daughter and my mum — not share them with the world," she told the Mirror. But yesterday she said: “I have been such a silly girl and have lots of regrets. I can see that now I know I am going to have a daughter.” The former escort, who first gained notoriety last year for her boob job on the NHS, later threatened to abort her baby for a chance to appear on Big Brother. I have never purposely put my child at any risk, but when I was originally told I was having a boy I just lost all willpower to avoid the cravings. She told Closer: “People followed me in the street shouting 'We want our money back s***, it was so upsetting.” “It’s ridiculous that the taxpayer paid for this surgery in the first place, especially when the NHS denies others cancer drugs and delays hip operations.

– An aspiring model and former escort in Britain says she won't be selling tickets to her baby's birth after all, and has decided to quit smoking and drinking—all because she found out she was having a girl, not a boy. Josie Cunningham, dubbed "Britain's most hated woman," now says she's "ashamed" of her plans to offer tickets to the birth at around $66,000 a pop and charge Skype viewers $330 to watch via livestream, reports the Daily Mirror. At least four people had paid an apparently reduced price of $15,000 each per ticket, according to the Daily News. Why else don't the Brits like her? She had a breast augmentation paid for by the public health system, and told the Mirror earlier this year that she was being considered for Big Brother and would abort her baby if it would help her chances. Then she apparently got upset upon learning that her baby would be another boy (she already has two sons). So she coped by drinking and smoking, until doctors said last week that the baby will actually be a girl. "I have been such a silly girl and have lots of regrets," Cunningham says. "I can see that now I know I am going to have a daughter."

On Saturday, William Shatner took to Twitter to mourn the death of longtime Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy, ruefully confessing he couldn't "make it back in time" to attend the late actor's funeral on Sunday. "I am currently in FL as I agreed to appear at the Red Cross Ball tonight," wrote Shatner. "I feel really awful." "I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love." -William Shatner http://t.co/U8ZN98tVYp — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 27, 2015 I am currently in FL as I agreed to appear at the Red Cross Ball tonight. Leonard's funeral is tomorrow. I can't make it back in time. — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 28, 2015 I feel really awful. Here I am doing charity work and one of my dearest friends is being buried. — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 28, 2015 Instead, Shatner suggested, fans could join him online tomorrow to remember Nimoy. So maybe tomorrow we come together here and celebrate his life. — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 28, 2015 So let's spend some time tomorrow celebrating Leonard's life and remembering the man. — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 28, 2015 Naturally, Shatner missing Nimoy's funeral over a seemingly minor scheduling conflict struck more than a few commenters as rather odd. Isn't there some Trek-loving billionaire out there who can charter Bill a flight? [Image via AP Images]

– One familiar face who apparently won't be appearing at Spock's funeral: Kirk. William Shatner tweeted today that he "can't make it" to Leonard Nimoy's memorial service tomorrow because he's currently in Florida doing charity work, Gawker reports. Noting that he had "agreed to appear at the Red Cross Ball tonight," Shatner added: "I feel really awful. Here I am doing charity work and one of my dearest friends is being buried." He suggested an online event tomorrow instead. "Maybe tomorrow we come together here and celebrate his life," he wrote.

Looking for a quick recovery from a disappointing debate, President Barack Obama questioned the identity of the "real" Mitt Romney on Thursday, suggesting his Republican rival had not been candid about his policy positions while on stage. A day after his subdued debate performance, President Obama delivered a feistier critique of Republican nominee Mitt Romney, telling 12,000 supporters on Thursday that his rival had misrepresented his positions because “he does not want to be held accountable.” Obama said the “very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney” onstage at the University of Denver was an imposter who suddenly was dancing “around his positions” on tax cuts, education and outsourcing. “It couldn’t have been the real Mitt Romney,” Obama told 12,300 supporters at Sloane’s Lake Park, “because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country all year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthy, but the fellow onstage last night did not know anything about that. So you see, the man onstage last night — he doesn’t want to be held accountable for the real Mitt Romney and what he’s been saying for the last year, and that’s because he knows full well we don’t want what the real Mitt Romney has been selling for the last year.” Obama seemed to be knocked off message in the early stages of Wednesday’s debate, as taxes, and an aggressive Romney, dominated the opening segments.Romney defended his tax plan after facing repeated claims from Obama that it would hurt the middle class and explode the deficit. He added that the campaign will “have to make some judgments about where to draw the lines in these debates” and how to allocate its time during the answers. Spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said: “The Obama campaign’s conference call today was just like the president’s performance last night. The campaign, like the president, offered no defense of the president’s first term record or vision for a second term, and instead, offered nothing but false attacks, petulant statements and lies about Governor Romney’s record.” At the outdoor rally, Obama followed up on Axelrod’s line of attack, saying “if you want to be president, you owe the American people the truth.” The crowd appeared to appreciate the president’s directness. In both speeches, Obama seized on the one gaffe committed by Romney during an otherwise commanding performance: Romney’s awkward joke about cutting funding for PBS. “I mean thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird. The fellow on stage last night said he didn’t know anything about that.” Obama seemed relieved to be in the more inviting environs of a pep rally at a lakeside park miles from the debate venue at the University of Denver.

– Obama fans might take heart. The man they wanted to show up at last night's debate finally surfaced at a rally in Denver today. Stories are using words like "feistier" (Washington Post), "aggressive" (the AP), "coming out swinging" (the Hill), and "fired up" (Politico) to describe the president's speech. Some examples: That "very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney" last night must have been an imposter, said Obama, because "the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country all year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthy, but the fellow onstage last night did not know anything about that." "The Mitt Romney we all know invested in companies that were pioneers in outsourcing. But the guy onstage last night said he doesn’t even know about laws that encourage offshoring." “I mean thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird. It’s about time. We didn’t know that Big Bird was driving the federal deficit. But that’s what we heard last night. Elmo, too?" “Gov. Romney may dance around his positions, but if you want to be president, you owe the American people the truth." The Romney camp dismissed it all as "damage control." The president adjusted to the altitude, apparently?

The operation of the HYSY 981 drilling rig On 2 May 2014, a Chinese company's HYSY 981 drilling rig started its drilling operation inside the contiguous zone of China's Xisha Islands (see Annex 1/5 for the locations of operation) for the purpose of oil and gas exploration. With the first phase of the operation completed, the second phase began on 27 May. The two locations of operation are 17 nautical miles from both the Zhongjian Island of China's Xisha Islands and the baseline of the territorial waters of Xisha Islands, yet approximately 133 to 156 nautical miles away from the coast of the Vietnamese mainland. The Chinese company has been conducting explorations in the related waters for the past 10 years, including seismic operations and well site surveys. The drilling operation carried out by HYSY 981 this time is a continuation of the routine process of explorations, and falls well within China's sovereignty and jurisdiction. II. Vietnam's provocation Shortly after the Chinese operation started, Vietnam sent a large number of vessels, including armed vessels, to the site, illegally and forcefully disrupting the Chinese operation and ramming the Chinese government vessels on escort and security missions there. In the meantime, Vietnam also sent frogmen and other underwater agents to the area, and dropped large numbers of obstacles, including fishing nets and floating objects, in the waters. As of 5 pm on 7 June, there were as many as 63 Vietnamese vessels in the area at the peak, attempting to break through China's cordon and ramming the Chinese government ships for a total of 1,416 times. The above-mentioned actions of the Vietnamese side were serious infringements upon China's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, grave threats to the safety of Chinese personnel and the HYSY 981 drilling rig, and gross violations of the relevant international laws, including the Charter of the United Nations, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation and the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf. Such actions also undermined the freedom and safety of navigation in these waters, and damaged peace and stability in the region. While illegally and forcefully disrupting the normal operation of the Chinese company on the sea, Vietnam also condoned anti-China demonstrations at home. In mid-May, thousands of lawless elements in Vietnam conducted beating, smashing, looting and arson against companies of China and several other countries. They brutally killed four Chinese nationals and injured over 300 others, and caused heavy property losses. III. China's response The waters between China's Xisha Islands and the coast of the Vietnamese mainland are yet to be delimited. The two sides have not yet conducted delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf in these waters. Both sides are entitled to claim EEZ and continental shelf in accordance with the UNCLOS. However, these waters will never become Vietnam's EEZ and continental shelf no matter which principle is applied in the delimitation. In the face of Vietnam's provocative actions on the sea, China exercised great restraint and took necessary preventive measures. Chinese government ships were dispatched to the site for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the operation, which effectively safeguarded the order of production and operation on the sea and the safety of navigation. In the meantime, since 2 May, China has conducted over 30 communications with Vietnam at various levels, requesting the Vietnamese side to stop its illegal disruption. Regrettably, however, the illegal disruption of the Vietnamese side is still continuing. IV. Xisha Islands are part of the Chinese territory 1. Xisha Islands are an inherent part of China's territory, over which there is no dispute. China was the first to discover, develop, exploit and exercise jurisdiction over the Xisha Islands. During the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126 AD), the Chinese government already established jurisdiction over the Xisha Islands and sent naval forces to patrol the waters there. In 1909, Commander Li Zhun of the Guangdong naval force of the Qing Dynasty led a military inspection mission to the Xisha Islands and reasserted China's sovereignty by hoisting the flag and firing a salvo on the Yongxing Island. In 1911, the government of the Republic of China announced its decision to put the Xisha Islands and their adjacent waters under the jurisdiction of Ya County of Hainan Island. Japan invaded and occupied the Xisha Islands during the Second World War. After Japan's surrender in 1945, in accordance with a series of international documents, the Chinese government sent senior officials boarding military vessels to the Xisha Islands in November 1946 to hold the ceremony for receiving the islands, and a stone tablet was erected to commemorate the handover and troops were stationed there afterwards. The Xisha Islands, which had once been illegally occupied by a foreign country, were thus returned to the jurisdiction of the Chinese government. In 1959, the Chinese government established the Administration Office for the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands. In January 1974, the Chinese military and people drove the invading army of the Saigon authority of South Vietnam from the Shanhu Island and Ganquan Island of the Xisha Islands and defended China's territory and sovereignty. The Chinese government enacted the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone in 1992 and published the base points and baselines of the territorial waters of the Xisha Islands in 1996, both of which reaffirm China's sovereignty over the Xisha Islands and the extent of territorial waters of the islands. In 2012, the Chinese government established the various departments of Sansha city on the Yongxing Island of Xisha Islands. 2. Prior to 1974, none of the successive Vietnamese governments had ever challenged China's sovereignty over the Xisha Islands. Vietnam had officially recognized the Xisha Islands as part of China's territory since ancient times. This position was reflected in its government statements and notes as well as its newspapers, maps and textbooks. During a meeting with chargé d'affaires ad interim Li Zhimin of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam on 15 June 1956, Vice Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Ung Van Khiem solemnly stated that, "according to Vietnamese data, the Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands are historically part of Chinese territory." Le Loc, Acting Director of the Asian Department of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry, who was present, specifically cited Vietnamese data and pointed out that, "judging from history, these islands were already part of China at the time of the Song Dynasty." On 4 September 1958, the Chinese government issued a declaration (see Annex 2/5), stating that the breadth of the territorial waters of the People's Republic of China shall be 12 nautical miles and making it clear that "this provision applies to all the territories of the People's Republic of China, including ... the Xisha Islands". On 6 September, NHAN DAN, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of Vietnamese Workers' Party, published on its front page the full text of the Chinese government's declaration regarding China's territorial sea. On 14 September, Premier Pham Van Dong of the government of Vietnam sent a diplomatic note (see Annex 3/5) to Premier Zhou Enlai of the State Council of China, solemnly stating that "the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam recognizes and supports the declaration of the government of the People's Republic of China on its decision concerning China's territorial sea made on September 4, 1958" and "the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam respects this decision". On 9 May 1965, the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam issued a statement with reference to the designation by the US government of the "combat zone" of the US armed forces in Vietnam. It says, "US President Lyndon Johnson designated the whole of Vietnam, and the adjacent waters which extend roughly 100 miles from the coast of Vietnam and part of the territorial waters of the People's Republic of China in its Xisha Islands as 'combat zone' of the United States armed forces ... in direct threat to the security of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its neighbors ..." The World Atlas printed in May 1972 by the Bureau of Survey and Cartography under the Office of the Premier of Vietnam designated the Xisha Islands by their Chinese names (see Annex 4/5). The geography textbook for ninth graders published by Vietnam's Educational Press in 1974 carried in it a lesson entitled "The People's Republic of China" (see Annex 5/5). It reads, "The chain of islands from the Nansha and Xisha Islands to Hainan Island, Taiwan Island, the Penghu Islands and the Zhoushan Islands ... are shaped like a bow and constitute a Great Wall defending the China mainland." But now the Vietnamese government goes back on its word by making territorial claims over China's Xisha Islands. That is a gross violation of the principles of international law, including the principle of estoppel, and the basic norms governing international relations. V. Properly addressing the situation China is a staunch force for maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea and promoting cooperation between and development of countries in the region. China firmly upholds the purpose and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the basic norms of international relations and fundamental principles of international law. The least China wants is any turbulence in its neighborhood. China wants good relations with Vietnam, but there are principles that China cannot abandon. The channel of communication between China and Vietnam is open. China urges Vietnam to bear in mind the overall interests of the bilateral relations and peace and stability in the South China Sea, respect China's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, immediately stop all forms of disruptions of the Chinese operation and withdraw all vessels and personnel from the site, so as to ease the tension and restore tranquility at sea as early as possible. China will continue its effort to communicate with Vietnam with a view to properly addressing the current situation. VI. Annexes Annex 1/5: Map of the operation locations of the Chinese company Annex 2/5: Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China on China's Territorial Sea published on 4 September 1958 Annex 3/5: The note sent on 14 September 1958 by Premier of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Pham Van Dong to Premier Zhou Enlai of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Annex 4/5: Cover of the World Atlas printed in May 1972 by the Bureau of Survey and Cartography under the Office of the Premier of Vietnam, and the page on the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Annex 5/5: The lesson entitled "The People's Republic of China" in the geography textbook for ninth-grade students published by Vietnam's Educational Press in 1974

– The dispute between China and Vietnam, fueled by the contentious location of a Chinese oil rig, is heating up: Now China is accusing Vietnamese ships of ramming its vessels well over a thousand times during the last month, the BBC reports. "As of 5pm on 7 June, there were as many as 63 Vietnamese vessels in the area at the peak ... ramming the Chinese government ships for a total of 1,416 times," China says in a statement, which notes the ramming began shortly after it moved the rig on May 2. And the country is defending that movement to a spot that it says "falls well within China's sovereignty and jurisdiction." China's drilling is occurring far closer to its own islands, the Paracels, than to Vietnam's mainland, China claims. Trouble is, Vietnam also claims the Paracel Islands. Among China's justifications for its claim: It raised a flag on the islands in 1911, and a 1974 Vietnamese 9th-grade textbook allegedly says they're Chinese, the BBC notes. For its part, Vietnam last week called on the US to "make further practical acts" to settle the disagreements "in accordance with international law."

Executives from Research in Motion have gathered for a six-city, simultaneous launch of BlackBerry 10, a mobile operating system that will power a new series of phones (and who knows what else). BlackBerry global creative director Alicia Keys--yes, the singer--also shows that the company formerly known as RIM is also targeting not just soccer moms, but also moms in the workplace, according to Heins' introduction. (Credit: BlackBerry) The Z10 will be available from March in the US on AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, but price will vary by carrier. We have over 1,000 top applications from around the world committed to BlackBerry 10. RIM’s global market share is down to roughly 6% from a peak of 20% just three years ago; its shares are down 80% in the same period. The software allows users to separate work and home lives with BlackBerry Balance, by splitting secure enterprise email and work apps with personal email accounts. 10:41 am EST: Bhardwaj shows off the predictive keyboard on the Z10, uses language algorithms to learn what sort of words its users tend to use over time. 10:38 a.m.: When managing messages, the user can hold down on an email or text and see a menu pop to the right side. The launch of the new platform and devices comes at a crucial time for the Ontario, Canada-based smartphone maker. - And now Martyn Mallick, vice president of global alliances and business development, takes to the stage. 10:06 am EST: Our MC has taken to the stage and we’re starting with video link-ups with the five other launch events around the world: London, Dubai, Toronto Paris and Johannesburg.

– The six-city launch of the new BlackBerry 10 phones and operating system is now complete. One of the biggest shockers from the event: Research in Motion is scrapping its name, and will now be known simply as BlackBerry. Other developments: CEO Thorsten Heins underscored the "heartfelt and brutal honesty" BlackBerry had to go through to get to this day, reports Forbes. It's been a long haul for the phone, which is debuting nearly a year late. Heins showcased two phones: the Z10, which has a full 4.2-inch touchscreen, and the Q10, which has a traditional keyboard set below a smaller touchscreen. Heins said the Q10 was created for customers "that said we just have to have a physical keyboarding experience," reports USA Today. The company also added some star power, announcing that Alicia Keys would be its new Global Creative director, a position created for her, the Verge reports. The company also boasted that Neil Gaiman and Robert Rodriguez will be using the phone for a film and art/storytelling project. On to the features. First up was BlackBerry Hub, the central interface for the Z10. It has a tiled layout not unlike Microsoft's latest Windows iteration. BlackBerry software honcho Vivek Bhardwaj also showed off BlackBerry Peek, the phone's notification system, which allows users to check emails and calendars without leaving the app they're using. Bhardwaj also discussed the hotly anticipated BlackBerry Balance feature, which aims to reinstate BlackBerry's dominance among business users. It allows users to maintain a personal profile on the phone, while a company can access the phone's professional profile. As for hardware, BlackBerry's camera now allows for face-to-face messaging. The Z10 will be available in black and white, and ZDNet notes prices will hover around $149 for a three-month contract, depending on the carrier. The phones will be available tomorrow in the UK, but the US will have to cool its heel until March.

Mr. Delahunt, a six-term congressman, is the least prominent of the four but perhaps the funniest. More to the point, he is the only one willing to sleep in the living room with a close-up view of Mr. Schumer slumbering a few feet away in his boxers. Photo Mr. Miller began taking in weary lawmakers in 1982, but this is the first time in 12 years that four members of a Democratic majority have lived here simultaneously. The four men were once host to a fund-raiser for Senator Barbara Boxer of California at their divey dwelling, raising $80,000. Given the prevailing attire in the place on many nights, guests were given pairs of custom-made “Barbara Boxer shorts.” As a general rule, the abode is hardly fit for entertaining, or even for a health inspector. It is used for convenience: sleeping, ditching stuff, and fast-food consumption — the kinds of functions prized by vagabond politicians whose families are back in their home states and who generally spend only their working weekdays here. “Everybody in the world says they’re going to do a television series based on us,” said Mr. Durbin, who was collapsed on the couch on a recent Monday night. Still in a tie, he sipped ice water from a massive Chicago Cubs cup while waiting for the Chinese food to arrive. “But then they realize that the story of four middle-aged men, with no sex and violence, is not going to last two weeks,” he said. The prevailing topics of their discussions are grandchildren and Metamucil, he added. “Hey, speak for yourself, Durbin,” Mr. Delahunt said, protesting the claim of no sex and violence. “There is a lot of violence in here,” Mr. Schumer said. In fact, the roommates have never resorted to violence, at least with one another. (Crickets are another story.) Their weapons are verbal, and often aimed at Mr. Schumer, who admits to a serious dereliction of roommate duties, like grocery shopping. He is also prone to a blatant disregard for conserving a most precious household resource, cereal. Photo “I love cereal,” Mr. Schumer said, digging into his second bowl of granola, going a long way toward depleting a box that Mr. Miller had just purchased. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The night of the national championship football game between the University of Florida and Ohio State, Jan. 8, was a rare instance of the four roommates being home and awake at the same time. It had not happened since the election in November, and the neighborhood has changed considerably since then. Several Republicans on the block lost their race or left Congress (the latter category includes the disgraced Representative Mark Foley, who lived down the street). “This street was just devastated by the election,” Mr. Miller said. “Who says Republicans are good for property values?” He added that no Republican had ever set foot in the place, at least to their knowledge. “We just have to vote with them, not live with them,” he said. Mr. Miller bought the house in 1977 and started taking in renters a few years later. Early tenants included former Representative Marty Russo of Illinois and former Representative Leon E. Panetta of California, who was forced to move out when President Clinton appointed him head of the Office of Management and Budget. (Ethics laws prohibited a White House official from paying rent to a member of Congress.) Mr. Schumer joined them in 1982, and Mr. Durbin moved in a decade later on condition that he get one of the two bedrooms upstairs. Mr. Miller sleeps in the other, bigger bedroom, asserting his ownership privileges, and Mr. Delahunt began occupying the second living room bed four years ago, after a previous tenant, former Representative Sam Gejdenson, was evicted by voters in Connecticut. Photo Mr. Miller charges rent of $750 a month, which Mr. Durbin pays by direct deposit and Mr. Schumer’s wife pays by sending Mr. Miller six checks twice a year. Mr. Schumer says his wardrobe at the apartment consists of boxers and suits, nothing in between. Women rarely set foot in the place, excluding the Haitian cleaning lady who comes every week and who everyone promises is a legal immigrant. The common bathroom upstairs is stocked with supersize bottles of Listerine, CVS cocoa butter, Suave shampoo (with dandruff control) and a hair dryer. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Little thought is given to entertainment besides the big-screen television that Mr. Durbin recently purchased against the wishes of Mr. Schumer and Mr. Delahunt, who liked the old one. The refrigerator is mostly empty save for apples, grapes and about two dozen bottles of beer. “The icemaker is back on,” boasted Mr. Miller, pointing to the inside of what might be the most unseemly freezer in Washington this side of Representative William Jefferson’s. (F.B.I. agents found $90,000 in the freezer of Mr. Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, who is being investigated on bribery charges.) Once, Mr. Miller’s son shot a deer and presented the house with an abundant supply of venison. It remained in the freezer for 12 years, at which point it was deemed to have reached its term limit and was discarded. “Whatever happened to that venison?” Mr. Schumer wondered. “I think it just got up and walked away,” Mr. Delahunt said. The roommates then repaired to couches to watch Florida-Ohio State and to stuff their faces with Sichuan beef and kung pao chicken. Mr. Durbin began talking about meetings he had last month with the presidents of Bolivia and Ecuador on a Congressional delegation to Latin America. Then he and Mr. Schumer started arguing about Mr. Schumer’s refusal to make his bed.

– Amazon is ramping up its competition with Netflix: The latter has House of Cards, and now Amazon has its own original series set in DC ... with "House" in the title. Alpha House was created by Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau, who also writes the series about four Republican senators living together. The pilot (which features cameos by Bill Murray and Stephen Colbert) went online a month ago, along with 13 others, and Amazon looked at customer feedback to determine which to pick up for a full season. Alpha House was one of just two comedy pilots to make the cut. The Washington Post describes Alpha House as "political satire" in which the senators, played by John Goodman, Mark Consuelos, Clark Johnson, and Matt Malloy "live like frat brothers." It was inspired by a real Capitol Hill property in which Democratic senators have lived over the years, and it's been kicking around in Trudeau's brain since 2008. Notes the director of Amazon Studios, "When it comes to Washington and its foibles and what makes it unique, few people have been more insightful and more knowledgeable than Garry Trudeau."

Princess Mako will lose royal status when she marries Kei Komuro, a paralegal, whose mother is reportedly in debt over his education The parents of Japan’s Princess Mako have said that her marriage cannot go ahead until her fiance’s mother has resolved a reported financial scandal. Mako, the eldest grandchild of Emperor Akihito, caused a stir last September when she announced her engagement to Kei Komuro, whom she had met while they were studying at a university in Tokyo. Komuro has done some work as an assistant at a law firm in Tokyo, Okuno & Partners, and is soon to attend Fordham Law School in New York on a scholarship. The princess, who like all female members of the imperial family who marry a “commoner” would lose her royal status, was due to wed the 26-year-old paralegal in November this year, but in February their nuptials were abruptly postponed until 2020. Japan's Princess Mako postpones wedding until 2020 Read more The couple said they needed more time to prepare and to “think about marriage more deeply”. There were also concerns that preparations for the wedding, the first in the imperial family since Akihito’s only daughter married in a low-key ceremony in 2005, could overshadow his abdication on 30 April next year. The 84-year-old will be replaced on the Chrysanthemum throne the following day by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. “We have come to realise the lack of time to make sufficient preparations for various events leading up to our marriage this autumn and our life afterward,” Mako said in a statement at the time. “We believe that we have rushed various things.” Japanese media have reported, however, that Mako’s parents, Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, were increasingly troubled by media reports that Komuro’s mother was experiencing financial problems stemming from a loan she received from her former partner to cover her son’s tuition. Mako’s parents reportedly told the Komuros at several face-to-face meetings that the wedding could be marred by the mother’s reported debts and that the wedding could not go ahead until the matter had been resolved. There are also concerns that the couple could invite public criticism, as they will receive a lump sum of about 100 million yen ($900,000) from the government to help ease Mako’s exit from the imperial family and into her new non-royal life. Komuro left for New York earlier this month to begin three years of study for the state’s bar exam. No date has been set for the wedding or the series of rituals that precede it, but Kyodo News, citing a source close to the couple, said Mako and Komuro were in regular contact and still intended to marry. • This article was amended on 9 August 2018 to correct a description of Kei Komuro as a lawyer, and to change a reference to Kako that should have been Mako. Kako is a sister.

– Japan may be a losing a princess, but the imperial family sure isn't making the process an easy one: A proposed wedding between Princess Mako and her non-royal college sweetheart has hit yet another bump. As Kyodo News reports, the princess' family is worried about a money issue swirling around the family of her potential future husband, Kei Komuro. It seems that Komuro's mother used money from a former romantic partner to pay for her son's educational expenses. Now there's apparently a rift between the two former lovers about repayment, and Mako's parents, Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, want it publicly cleared up before any nuptials take place, according to Japanese media reports. This isn't the first sign of trouble for the impending nuptials. The couple initially announced plans to marry in November 2017, but abruptly postponed the wedding until 2020 and explained that they were rushing things. And when New York's Fordham University announced that the princess' "fiance" would be attending law school there, the Japanese royal family chafed at the term "fiance" as the couple's engagement ceremony has not taken place, prompting the school to issue a new release without it. Assuming Princess Mako goes through with the wedding, she will have to renounce her royal status, though the Guardian notes that the couple would get nearly $1 million from the government to help with that transition. (All this is unfolding as the princess' grandfather, Emperor Akhito, prepares to abdicate next year.)

WTF, TO? Not only am I a bit unclear on why Rob Ford still has the keys to the Mayor's office; I also have no idea why he's not in jail. For you or I, smoking crack would at least warrant a trip downtown. In Ford's case, it only caused Toronto to collectively exclaim, "That explains a lot!" Following the Rob Ford crack scandal (and we're not even talking about the alleged prostitute scandal... yet), Ford's handlers had one job. That job was to keep Ford out of the public eye, so Toronto's city government could let its black eye heal. (Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow has a particular nickname for Rob Ford, one for which I can find no counterargument.) What his staff should have done is insist Ford go only from home to work, chauffeured to and fro with a canvas sack over his head like Tom Cruise in the first "Mission: Impossible" film. Make sure he cannot screw things up more than he already has. Rob Ford proves–– again–– that if you're rich and white and connected, you can do whatever the hell you want. That extends to making a horse's ass of yourself at a restaurant, putting on a Jamaican accent as your cohorts pretend not to know you. Google's autocomplete shows that many of you have been asking... The answer is because Ontario's provincial government would basically have to pass a special law to kick Ford to the curb, and Premier Kathleen Wynne lacks the political clout to make that happen. While Ford been stripped of some of his responsibilities, he still has a job, and it'll stay that way unless he gets charged with a crime and subsequently convicted. Until that happens, expect more of the same, because rewarded behaviour is repeated. At least now we know why Rob Ford hasn't been impeached; if it were too easy to get rid of a Mayor, they'd be getting turfed out every few months. Meanwhile, we're learning that racist, homophobic, drunken crackheads don't go to jail simply for being racist, homophobic, drunken crackheads, at least not in Toronto. However, do not try this at home. In the meantime, let us all join hands and pray that the next headline we read is not "Rob Ford sex tape revealed". Oh, and I don't care how authentic Ford's Jamaican accent is.

– Just another day in the life of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford: He's being sued by his sister's ex-boyfriend for allegedly conspiring to have the man beaten in jail. A lawsuit submitted by Scott MacIntyre alleges the mayor was behind an assault at a Toronto jail in March 2012 that was intended to keep MacIntrye quiet about Ford's abuse of alcohol and drugs. The lawsuit alleges MacIntrye knew about Ford's alcohol and drug use and claims he was threatened with "dire consequences" if he did not remain quiet. "They wanted to know if I was going to do the right thing—was I going to keep my mouth shut," MacIntyre tells the Globe and Mail. He got attacked in a jailhouse shower and ended up with a broken leg and shattered teeth. Ford's lawyer, Dennis Morris, said today that the allegations are "without fact or foundation." Ford offered no comment when reporters asked him about the lawsuit. "Remind me again, how the hell is Rob Ford still in office?" asks Jordan Yerman at the Vancouver Observer.

Article Tools Font size – + Share This Peter Butera Peter Butera -- the valedictorian and class president of Wyoming Area’s Class of 2017 -- did an interview with Jimmy Kimmel about having his microphone silenced mid-speech during Friday’s graduation ceremony. The interview will air tonight at 11:35 p.m. on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Butera said. He did the interview via Skype around 7:30 p.m., and it lasted one or two minutes, he said. "I thought it went pretty well," Butera said. He said he also did interviews with the Washington Post and CNN. National and international media picked up the story after an article about his graduation speech appeared Monday in The Citizens' Voice. Butera had just started to criticize his school's administration when he was approached by Wyoming Area Secondary School Principal Jon Pollard to leave the stage at Sobieski Stadium. "Peter provided me a copy of his speech on Thursday via email, and we reviewed it in my office the morning of graduation after the final practice," Pollard said in a statement he released after Tuesday's school board meeting. "Protecting the students and staff are my number one concern. When he veered off of the speech he had practiced, I was obligated to act to ensure the remainder of Peter's speech was not demeaning or derogatory to his classmates, the underclassmen, faculty, staff or administration." Pollard also said he, his wife and children "have been subjected to abusive social media posts, text messages, emails and phone calls from across the nation both at work and home." He said he "would make the same decision again because it was the right one on Friday" and will be the right decision "the next time a student attempts to hijack the ceremony for their own agenda." Right before the sound was cut during Butera’s speech, he noted that those involved in student government — from class president to student council — really have no influence in how the school operates and that will hold graduates back in the real world. “Despite some of the outstanding people in this school, a lack of real student government — and the authoritative nature that a few administrators and school members have — prevents students from developing as true leaders. Hopefully, this will change ... ” At that point, the audio was turned off.

– When Peter Butera got up to begin his valedictorian speech at his high school graduation ceremony in Exeter, Pa., on Friday, he probably never dreamed he'd be finishing it on Jimmy Kimmel Live! four days later. But on Tuesday night the 18-year-old class president appeared via Skype on the late-night talk show to recite the tail end of a speech that had been cut off by Wyoming Area Secondary Center administrators the week before. CBS Philly reports that administrators shut off Butera's microphone after he veered off his pre-approved script to condemn what he called the "authoritative attitude" of some of the school's faculty and staff, an attitude, he said, that "prevents students from developing as true leaders. Hopefully, this will change." At which point his mic went silent. The Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice quotes a statement from principal Jon Pollard in which he explains he felt obligated to stop Butera's speech in order to "ensure the remainder of [it] was not demeaning or derogatory to his classmates, the underclassmen, faculty, staff or administration." The Washington Post talks to a friend of Butera's who says Butera was frustrated by having numerous ideas turned down by Pollard during his four years as class president. (Other off-script lines from Butera: "At our school, the title of class president can more accurately be class party planner. Student council’s main obligation is to paint signs every week.") The Villanova-bound Butera doesn’t think his speech could have gone any better: "I got my point across and them cutting the microphone proved my point to be true." (Valedictorians have had issues before.)

An unverified report claims Apple has begun placing orders for a 4.6-inch Retina Display bound for the next-generation iPhone that could launch as early as "around the second quarter." Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone has a 4.65-inch screen Reuters issued the report on Wednesday , citing South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper. An unnamed industry source reportedly told the Korean publication that Apple has chosen the larger display and has already begun ordering the part from suppliers.The rumor suggested that domestic Korean suppliers have received the orders, making Samsung and LG likely candidates as suppliers. Both companies have supplied displays for Apple's mobile products in the past.The original report also claimed that the new display would be a Retina Display, which Apple specifies as having a pixel density of 300 pixels per inch when used at a distance of 10-12 inches.If accurate, Wednesday's report signals a break by Apple from its past practice, as the company has elected not to change the 3.5-inch screen size of the iPhone since it launched in 2007. However, the likelihood that the rumor is indeed accurate appears to be relatively low. Rumors of a 4-inch iPhone screen have persisted for some time now, but claims of a 4.6-inch screen size are some of the largest yet.In addition, the rumored second quarter launch is highly questionable, as it would mean a new iPhone arriving between six to nine months after the iPhone 4S. A machine translation of the original report has the article claiming the new handset will come out "this summer" with no mention of the second quarter. The astronomical definition of summer most closely aligns with the third quarter of the calendar year. Multiple reports have pointed to a September or October launch for the next-generation iPhone.A number of Wall Street analysts expect the sixth-generation iPhone to incorporate 4G LTE. Investment firm Barclays said on Wednesday that Apple is reviewing components for the next iPhone and is likely to utilize the Qualcomm "MDM9615" chip that supports voice and data connections over LTE. Speculation has also arisen that Apple will revert to a simpler naming scheme for the iPhone as it has recently done with the iPad.

– Apple has started placing orders for screens for its next iPhone, and this time it's going big, according to a South Korean newspaper report picked up by Reuters. The new displays will be 4.6-inch "retina" displays, and the updated phone will launch sometime around the second quarter this year, the paper said. While Apple started the trend of smartphones with large touchscreens, its 3.5-inch screen has started to look diminutive next to offerings like Samsung's Galaxy Nexus' 4.65 inches. But MacRumors is dubious about the report, noting that numerous previous whispers put the new screen at 4 inches, and that many companies making iPhone cases seem to be betting on that. One source with a good track record said the new iPhone would have a longer, 4-inch display and an aluminum casing, but was "still in the engineering phase, not early production." Apple Insider is also dubious of the second quarter launch date; previous reports have always put it in September or October.

Two dead, seven in custody after drug sting in Greater... Two men are dead and seven others were arrested after undercover Houston police officers conducted a drug sting in the Greater East End on Wednesday night. A Houston police narcotics team, the Drug Enforcement Administration, federal agents and SWAT officers arrived at a warehouse on Harrisburg and 77th streets at 10:30 p.m. By the end of the night, one would be killed in a shootout with police, authorities said, and another would die in police custody. The undercover officers had arranged for the meeting, and nine men showed up in two cars. Eight of the men moved to go inside the warehouse, most of them showing guns, Chief Art Acevedo said. GANG WAR: How to recognize the signs, symbols and tattoos of Houston's gangs But when SWAT officers identified themselves, one of the men pulled out a gun and fired at an officer who was in full uniform, the chief said. One of the officers fired off defensive shots, hitting the gunman, Acevedo said. He died at the scene. Another man took off in a car, which crashed during a short pursuit. He then hid in a rock quarry at the Houston Ship Channel. A K-9 unit found the man, and he was taken into custody before he went into cardiac arrest, Acevedo said. Paramedics immediately started CPR, and he was taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he died. The remaining seven men, who are believed to be documented gang members, surrendered without incident and will face unknown federal charges, Acevedo said. “They’re obviously known to be a pretty violent crew,” he said. The officer who fired the shot will be placed on administrative leave. “I can just say that based on everything we’ve seen so far, the officers acted appropriately and in a reasonable manner,” Acevedo said. NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.

– It was a scene that could have been taken from countless TV dramas: Nine armed gang members arrived for a drug deal at a warehouse Wednesday night, only to discover they had been set up by undercover officers in a sting operation. Police in Houston say two of the suspects managed to flee the warehouse. One of them was shot dead after opening fire on SWAT officers who emerged from a staging area and identified themselves, KTRK reports. The other man fled in a vehicle then hid in a quarry at the Houston Ship Channel when the vehicle crashed after a short chase, Houston Chronicle reports. Police say he died of a heart attack in custody after being found and bitten by a K-9. The other seven suspects, who were targeted by a months-long police and DEA operation, were arrested without incident and will be charged with federal crimes, police say.

Travel News Travel Incidents The Lion Air passenger jet at Gorontalo airport on northern Sulawesi island after it crashed into a cow and skidded off the runway as it came into land. Photo: AFP An Indonesian passenger jet crashed into a cow and skidded off the runway as it came into land at an airport in the centre of the archipelago, officials said Wednesday. No one was killed or seriously injured when the Lion Air plane carrying 110 passengers collided with one of three cows wandering on the runway as it arrived late Tuesday in Gorontalo, on Sulawesi island. The cow, however, was crushed to death under one of the Boeing 737-900's middle wheels, head of Jalaluddin airport Agus Pramuka said. The pilot, Iwan Permadi, told state-run Antara news agency he could smell "burning meat" as the jet ran over the animal. Advertisement He said he thought there were dogs in front of the plane as it came into land, "but it turned out there were three cows wandering in the middle of the runway". Pictures showed the dead cow under the aircraft's wheel in a field. The plane, which suffered minor damage, had skidded into the field next to the runway, with its tail still on the runway. All the passengers managed to disembark safely, transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said. The plane had started its journey in Jakarta and also had a stopover in Makassar, on Sulawesi, according to local media. The airport was closed following the incident, disrupting travel plans for people heading home for the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Muslim-majority Indonesia. One small jet managed to take off Wednesday, but the Lion Air plane was still at the edge of the runway, Pramuka said. Indonesia, which relies heavily on air transport to connect its more than 17,000 islands, has one of Asia's worst aviation safety records. In April, a Lion Air passenger jet carrying 108 people crashed into the sea after missing the runway as it came into land on the resort island of Bali. No one died but dozens were injured. Lion Air, Indonesia's biggest private carrier, has placed orders for more than $US45 billion ($A50 billion) with Airbus and Boeing in the past two years and has the world's biggest order backlog for 559 narrow-body aircraft. It aims to have 1000 planes in 10 years. AFP/Bloomberg

– No black box data needed for this plane accident: Blame the cow. An Indonesian passenger jet with more than 100 people aboard skidded off the runway after hitting a cow upon landing, reports the Guardian. Luckily, all the humans were fine. The cow didn't make it, however, reports the Age, which includes an unfortunate quote from the pilot about smelling "burning meat" as the plane touched down on the island of Sulawesi. Indonesia has a lousy aviation safety record, notes the Aussie paper. The last big mishap came in April when a jet from the same airline skidded into the sea. Dozens were injured.

The 19-year old Canadian pop mega star had his pet monkey quarantined by German customs officials, caused an uproar in Amsterdam when he stopped by Anne Frank’s house, and was tackled by a fan while performing on stage in Dubai.

– The latest crazy headline to come out of Justin Bieber's world tour: Thieves broke into a South African stadium early Monday and stole $330,000 from the safe, which had quite a bit of cash in it thanks to a weekend Bieber concert, Time reports. Police think that's why the thieves went for it, and they also believe it was an inside job. Spin calls the crime "a massive Ocean's 11-type heist," because the suspects used ropes and chisels to get into the safe room and were likely chiseling for several days, South Africa's Eyewitness News reports. (This comes, of course, after headlines involving Bieber's monkey, Anne Frank, and marijuana, among other things.)

POOL/REUTERS June (l.) and Barry Steenkamp seen during the sentencing hearing of Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius in October. POOL/REUTERS Pistorius was given a five-year sentence for Steenkamp’s death, but could serve as little as 10 months. File photo: Thembani Makhubele Johannesburg - Oscar Pistorius and his law-graduate girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp did not have sex, her mother June Steenkamp wrote in her book, the Sunday Times reported. The newspaper said Steenkamp claimed that Pistorius had shot her daughter “in a jealous rage, then finished her off with three more bullets so she ‘couldn’t tell the world what really happened’.” She said her daughter’s death haunts her at night – she regularly wakes up around 3am, the time Reeva died at Pistorius’s home. Image copyright EPA Image caption Reeva Steenkamp's relationship was Pistorius was "coming to an end", her mother says It was bad luck Reeva Steenkamp met Oscar Pistorius, her mother has said, as the "volatile" athlete "would have killed someone sooner or later". In “Reeva: a Mother's Story”, June Steenkamp wrote that her daughter confided in her that although they spent nights together, they did not have sex because she “was scared to take the relationship to that level”. Ms Steenkamp, 68, who was not called to testify at the trial, says this may have played a part in what happened on the night of the shooting, Valentine's Day last year. Previous Next Enlarge She added that if Pistorius — whom she described as “volatile”, “combustible” and “trigger-happy” — hadn’t killed Reeva, the 27-year-old would have killed someone else "sooner or later." She rejects his version of events, that there was no row and that he had thought there was an intruder in the toilet cubicle when he fired four shots through the door "without thinking". “There is no doubt in our minds that something went horribly wrong, something upset her so terribly that she hid behind a locked door with two mobile phones.” In the book, June Steenkamp dissects every text, tweet and email in the three month relationship, looking for hidden meaning, according to the report. June Steenkamp told Hello the court’s decision to send Pistorius to jail “was the best sentence we could have expected”. 'About to leave' June Steenkamp told The Times, which is serialising her book, Reeva: A Mother's Story, which is to be published on 6 November, that Reeva had told her the couple had not yet entered a sexual relationship and had "nagging doubts about their compatibility".

– Reeva Steenkamp's mother says the 29-year-old South African model "was scared to take the relationship to the next level" with Oscar Pistorius, so she never slept with the man who eventually killed her, the Sunday Times reports via the New York Daily News and the BBC. In the memoir Reeva: a Mother's Story, June Steenkamp says Pistorius and Steenkamp were together for several nights but never went all the way. "She had confided to me that she hadn't slept with him," says June, whose book is being serialized by the Times and is out Nov. 6. "There's no doubt in our minds that she decided to leave Oscar that night," says June. She adds that "something went went horribly wrong, something upset her so terribly that she hid behind a locked door with two mobile phones," the Independent reports. According to June, a jealous, "trigger-happy" Pistorius shot her daughter and fired three more bullets so she "couldn’t tell the world what really happened." June goes on to describe the athlete as "pathetic," "moody," "shifty," and "arrogant."

An American citizen on a flight from Paris to Atlanta claimed to have a fake passport and said he had explosives in his luggage, forcing federal air marshals to intervene and the plane to land in Maine, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, believe the man's passport was authentic. There were 235 passengers and 13 crew aboard Delta Air Lines Flight 273, which landed safely just after at 3:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) at Bangor International Airport, Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said. Federal officials met the aircraft at the airport. The Transportation Security Administration said the passenger was being interviewed by law enforcement. After the man was apprehended, flight attendants moved passengers forward to clear out space in the rear of the plane, a passenger told CNN. "We were told there was some danger and some threats made, but beyond that we weren't told anything else," said Adithya Sastry. Elliott said late Tuesday afternoon that the Airbus A330 remained on the ground in Bangor but that the airline planned to continue the flight to Atlanta. All passengers were taken off the plane because it was an international flight and they needed to clear customs, said Rebecca Hupp, a spokeswoman for Bangor International Airport. NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, did not launch any military fighters in response to the flight, spokesman John Cornelio said. "By the time we were brought into the equation," the passenger was already under the control of air marshals, Cornelio said from Colorado. The Bangor airport is accustomed to dealing with diverted flights. It's the first large U.S. airport for incoming European flights, and it's the last U.S. airport for outgoing flights, with uncluttered skies and one of the longest runways on the East Coast. Aircraft use the airport when there are mechanical problems, medical emergencies or unruly passengers. Delta, based in Atlanta, is the world's largest airline and has a joint venture with Air France-KLM on flights across the Atlantic. ___ Associated Press writers Eileen Sullivan and Joan Lowy in Washington, Harry Weber in Atlanta, David Sharp and Clarke Canfield in Portland, Maine, and John Curran in Montpelier, Vermont, contributed to this report.

– Another plane scare incident: A US passenger forced an international flight to be aborted after claiming he had a bomb in his luggage and a fake passport, the AP reports. The passenger allegedly made threats while in the air on a Delta flight from Paris to Atlanta, causing it to be diverted to Bangor, Maine. "We were told there was some danger and some threats made, but beyond that we weren't told anything else," said one passenger upon landing. The man is in custody, and few details were available about him. Two air marshals were aboard the plane and were "sitting on the guy's chest" upon arrival in Maine, a law enforcement official tells ABC.

And the results showed that loneliness and social isolation was associated with a 29 percent increased risk of a heart attack or episode of chest pain and a 32 percent heightened risk of having a stroke. A linked editorial which is also published in Heart argued for the inclusion of social factors in medical education, individual risk assessment, and in guidelines and policies applied to populations and the delivery of health services. “People have tended to focus from a policy point of view at targeting lonely people to make them more connected,” said the lead author, Nicole K. Valtorta, a research fellow at the University of York in England. Researchers say analysis backs up public health concerns about importance of social contacts for health and wellbeing Loneliness and social isolation have been linked to a 30% increase in the risk of having a stroke or coronary artery disease, the two major causes of death and illness in wealthy societies. Reacting to the study, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said that while it suggested a physiological link between loneliness and heart health problems, it was not a clear one and much more research was needed to understand if there truly was a relationship between the two.

– Sgt. Pepper better have good insurance because—if its name is accurate—his Lonely Hearts Club Band has a dramatically increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. According to a study published Monday in Heart, people who feel lonely or are socially isolated have a 29% increase in risk of coronary heart disease and a 32% increase in risk of stroke. While previous studies have shown a person's general health is influenced by their social relationships, this may be the first to show "deficiencies in social relationships" are no good for your heart. Medical Daily reports researchers looked at 23 studies—a total of 181,000 people—about loneliness, social isolation, and health to come to their conclusion. The Guardian notes that coronary heart disease and strokes are the two leading causes of death in first-world countries. And the new study shows loneliness and social isolation are bigger risk factors for those problems than either work stress or general anxiety. “People have tended to focus from a policy point of view at targeting lonely people to make them more connected,” the New York Times quotes study co-author Nicole Valtorta as saying. “Our study shows that if this is a risk factor, then we should be trying to prevent the risk factor in the first place.” The research is especially important as other studies show social isolation growing and young people feeling more lonely than ever before. (Also bad—and potentially lethal—for your heart? Heartbreak.)

The transplant, which happened at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Donald Gordon Medical Centre, was a success. In 2017, doctors from the Transplant Unit at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre performed what is believed to be the world's first intentional liver transplant from a mother living with HIV to her critically ill HIV negative child, who had end-stage liver disease. In South Africa, a country with the largest anti-retroviral therapy (ART) programme in the world, people with HIV live long and healthy lives. Leveraging "living positive" to save more lives In a paper published in prestigious, peer-reviewed journal AIDS on October 4, 2018, scientists in surgery, ethics, and HIV from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) explain how a chronic shortage of organs compromise their efforts to save lives, and how the decision they made to perform a world-first operation could advance transplantation. In this case, some unique and complex issues were carefully considered. Secondly, pre-exposure prophylaxis [medication to protect at-risk individuals from contracting the HI virus] in the child who received the organ may have prevented the transmission of HIV. After much consideration, and with permission from the Medical Ethics Committee at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand, we decided to go ahead with the transplant. The child - on the waiting list for a deceased donor for 180 days (the average is 45 days) - was frequently admitted for life-threatening complications of end-stage liver disease. Without a transplant, the child would certainly have died. However, saving the child's life needed to be balanced against harm to the donor and the risk of almost certainly transmitting HIV if the mother was the donor. "Extensive efforts were made to identify either a deceased liver donor or an HIV negative living donor for the child before considering an HIV positive parent donor. Transplanting HIV positive organs is not illegal in South Africa; however, it is not considered best practice internationally because of the risk of HIV transmission to the recipient. The mother, who was taking antiretroviral drugs to combat HIV, had asked if she could donate part of her liver to save her child's life, and the medical team explained the risks of "living liver donation" to her, according to the university. For this mother, quantifying the risk was simpler for the transplant team. Viral suppression is when a person with HIV takes their antiretroviral medication as prescribed and their viral load – the amount of virus in their blood – is so low that it is undetectable. However, living liver donation is never a risk-free procedure, and the team took care to ensure that the mother understood the full ambit of the risk she was undertaking. "Our Independent Donor Advocate helps the parents understand the risks, makes representations to the transplant team on behalf of the donor if necessary, and provides emotional support throughout the process," says Etheredge. Intentional transmission of HIV to save a life The transplant team faced the dilemma of saving the child's life whilst at the same time knowing that the child might end up HIV positive because of this decision. The team decided to work on the basis that the child would contract HIV, and provide management accordingly. In this case, the parents were committed to go ahead with the operation, and had already come to terms with the risk of HIV transmission to their child. "In the weeks after the transplant we thought that the child was HIV-positive because we detected HIV antibodies," transplant surgeon Jean Botha said in a statement. The doctors had to consider that with today's improved HIV medications, the child could "lead a relatively normal life" with one pill a day even if he or she did become infected, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious diseases chief at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and a leading HIV expert. Seroconversion is the period of time during which a specific antibody develops and becomes detectable in the blood. Expanded organ donor pool to advance transplantation in Africa More than a year since the intentional liver transplantation from a mother living with HIV to her HIV negative child, both donor and recipient have recovered and are well. For now, doctors will not be able to tell parents whether or not their child will get HIV from this type of transplant. "We hope that this ground-breaking operation will be the first of many like it and will contribute towards promoting justice and equity in liver transplantation in South Africa," says Fabian.

– Doctors in South Africa had a wrenching dilemma: A baby in desperate need of a liver had been on the organ-donor waiting list for 181 days and wouldn't live much longer. The child's mother pleaded with doctors to take a portion of her own liver for a transplant, but one big issue stood in the way: The mother has HIV. Finally, surgeons at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre decided they had no choice and performed what is believed to be the world's first transplant from an HIV-positive donor, per a university release. The surgery itself went well, and, more significantly, the child is HIV negative one year later. It's too early to say whether that will hold true permanently, but the news is being hailed as a potentially big development, especially in countries such as South Africa where HIV is prevalent. "This operation could be a game changer for South Africa," write three officials from the University of Witwatersrand (affiliated with the hospital) in the Conversation. "The country has a large pool of virally suppressed HIV-positive people who have previously not been considered for living liver donation." The piece details the ethical quandaries the hospital faced, including whether it would be right to deny the mother a chance to save her baby, even with the risk of HIV infection. The story is drawing international attention, and in the US, Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health says doctors made the right choice—even if the child had emerged with HIV. "If it is a choice between death and living reasonably well with a treatable infection, I think they made a quite reasonable choice," he tells the AP. (A canceled HIV test resulted in a huge payout for one patient.)

Michael Dell is close to finishing a risky $23 billion deal to take private the computer company he founded nearly 30 years ago, in an effort to remake Dell Inc. for a post-PC era. Dell's deal to go private is one of the latest steps Michael Dell has taken in re-vitalizing the p.c. maker, Benjamin Pimentel reports on digits. Photo: Getty Images. Late Monday, Mr. Dell was in talks with Microsoft Corp. and private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners to offer shareholders between $13.50 and $13.75 a share, said people familiar with the matter, about a 25% premium to Dell's stock price in January before the possibility of a deal became public. Enlarge Image Close Lucas Jackson/Reuters Michael Dell's company once had a market cap of more than $100 billion. Dell Inc. on Monday was close to finishing a $23 billion deal to take itself private at between $13.50 and $13.75 a share, said people familiar with the matter. WSJ's Ben Worthen reports on Digits. Photo: Dell. The buyout, if approved by shareholders, would be the largest such deal since the financial crisis. It also would be an admission by Mr. Dell that he wasn't able to pull off the changes needed to improve his company's revenue and profit under Wall Street's glare. The buyout would give Mr. Dell the largest stake in the company, ensuring that the 47-year-old is the one who gets to oversee any changes. The Round Rock, Texas, firm once boasted a market capitalization above $100 billion as the world's largest PC maker. But the company's market share has since dwindled to third behind Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd. as tablets and smartphones became more popular. Mr. Dell has also had to endure critical comparisons of the financial performance of his company and Apple Inc., a matter of particular frustration, according to people familiar with the matter. Timeline: Dell's Ups and Downs View Graphics Interviews with current and former Dell executives, plus other people who know the CEO, paint a picture of a man who appeared increasingly worried about his legacy. These people said it has been years since Mr. Dell showed the enthusiasm he did when he reclaimed the title of CEO in 2007 after a short period where he served only as chairman of the PC maker. Mr. Dell didn't respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the company declined to comment. Dell shares slipped 2.6% Monday to $13.27 on the Nasdaq Stock Market . As part of the deal to go private, Mr. Dell would contribute his nearly 16% stake valued at about $3.7 billion, plus $700 million from an investment firm he controls, the people said. Microsoft would invest about $2 billion in the form of a subordinated debenture, a less-risky investment than common stock. Microsoft isn't expected to get board seats or governance rights in a closely held Dell, one of the people said. Instead, the companies would tighten their relationship regarding use of Microsoft's Windows software, the person said. Silver Lake Partners would invest more than $1 billion. Four banks are expected to arrange about $15 billion in debt to help fund the deal, and each would handle about a quarter of that amount, one of the people said. The move to take the computer maker private is as much about Dell the man as Dell the company. "It's pretty simple: His name is on the door," one former company executive said of Mr. Dell. When Mr. Dell, who started the company in 1984 in his dorm room at the University of Texas, returned in January 2007, he promised to reposition the company for the new age. Mr. Dell brought in several new executives, including ones to run operations, marketing and lead Dell's consumer push. But while sales grew during Mr. Dell's first year back, he couldn't sustain the momentum. The operations and marketing chiefs left after less than two years. The consumer chief left in 2010, after failed attempts at music players, phones and high-end laptops. Mr. Dell began taking a step back from public scrutiny. In 2011, he stopped making prepared remarks on Dell's earnings calls, leaving that to his finance chief and other lieutenants. Mr. Dell still dominated operational reviews, said people who attended the meetings, and he sometimes appeared to focus more on minutiae than big strategic decisions. Several years ago, Mr. Dell wrote a four-page memo after he first played with the XPS One, a high-end desktop that embedded all its parts inside the monitor. Mr. Dell's notes, sent late the night he received the machine, included his thoughts on the Styrofoam used to package the computer. By late 2010, Mr. Dell had largely abandoned his efforts to develop products for consumers and advocated a new path to become a one-stop shop for businesses. He spent billions acquiring makers of security software, storage systems and other products, with an eye toward reinventing itself as a smaller International Business Machines Corp. The products for businesses have a higher margin than PCs, but so far haven't been able to offset declines in the PC business, which still accounts for half of Dell's annual $62 billion in revenue. Overall, PC sales dropped 13% in the first three quarters of the company's fiscal 2013. Total revenue was down 7% over that period. While Mr. Dell hasn't said what he might do with a closely held Dell, analysts said Dell now has most of the pieces it needs to become a one-stop technology shop. But it has to make those pieces work together, both technologically and organizationally. A private Dell could focus on that and possibly exit some lower-margin parts of the PC business, such as retail sales to consumers, they said. Mr. Dell has tried to position Dell as something other than a PC company, pointing out that the machines account for just a third of Dell's profits. The people who have worked with him expect some changes to the PC business, but don't anticipate Mr. Dell will stop making PCs altogether. Indeed, Mr. Dell has appeared wedded to PCs. When Hewlett-Packard briefly considered spinning out its PC business in 2011, Mr. Dell in private conversations derided the idea as a big mistake. Mr. Dell has said that some of the PC industry's changes caught him unaware. When asked in a 2011 interview with The Wall Street Journal what surprised him most since he returned as Dell CEO in 2007, Mr. Dell said the rise of tablets had been unexpected for him. "I didn't completely see that coming," he said, before adding that he didn't anticipate business users would give up PCs soon. —Ian Sherr and Don Clark contributed to this article. Write to Ben Worthen at ben.worthen@wsj.com and Anupreeta Das at anupreeta.das@wsj.com A version of this article appeared February 5, 2013, on page A1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Dell Nears $23 Billion Deal to Go Private.

– Dell has reached a deal to go private, the company has announced. Shareholders will receive some $13.65 per share in a $24 billion deal, the New York Times reports, which marks a 25% premium over Dell's January share price. The privatization deal with Microsoft and private equity company Silver Lake Partners is the biggest since the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal notes. Once the biggest PC maker on the planet, the struggling Dell is now third; the move comes as founder and CEO Michael Dell hopes to retool his company. The deal incorporates Michael Dell's own 16% stake, some $700 million from his investment company, $1 billion from Silver Lake, and a $2 billion Microsoft investment. In return, Dell will likely work more closely with Windows, as was previously rumored. Meanwhile, four banks are backing the deal with $15 billion in evenly-divided debt. For Michael Dell, the company's floundering image is central to the overhaul, the Journal adds: "It's pretty simple: His name is on the door," says a former exec.

— While the angst over whether this country’s political system is broken seems likely to go on for the foreseeable future, it gave way to some degree Wednesday to more immediate concerns about how badly the Washington Monument had been cracked. The monument was damaged Tuesday by a magnitude-5.8 earthquake that rattled nerves across much of the East Coast, particularly the parts that directly experienced the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Although the quake’s epicenter was less than 100 miles away, the Washington metropolitan area suffered mostly minor damage to homes, schools, office buildings and other businesses, and most of the region’s infrastructure was unscathed. The National Cathedral appeared to be the hardest hit, with fallen capstones, broken statues and cracks in several flying buttresses. However, fractures in the walls of the Washington Monument, a towering icon of American strength and influence, had the potential to become the only vestige of the earthquake to capture more than fleeting national attention. Advertisement Continue reading the main story While schools were closed, most of Washington returned to normal on Wednesday. But the monument, which at more than 555 feet is the world’s tallest stone structure, was closed to visitors so that engineers could hover in helicopters and examine its interior walls to determine the extent of the cracks in its peak. Photo “We’re not sure how long it will take,” said Bill Line, a spokesman for the National Parks Service, when asked when the monument might reopen. “The engineers are going up there today. They may need to go tomorrow. And they may need to go again the day after that. But until we figure out how badly the structure has been damaged, no one else will be going up other than them.”

– Further inspection has revealed even more cracks in the top portion of the Washington Monument, which was damaged by this week's 5.9 magnitude earthquake. Engineers discovered the cracks during a day-long inspection of the interior of the monument, AP reports. A 4-inch crack was discovered during an inspection of the exterior by helicopter soon after the quake, which also damaged the National Cathedral. The 555 foot-tall monument—the world's tallest stone structure—will remain closed to visitors indefinitely while engineers figure out how badly it has been damaged. Visitors at the site yesterday said they were relieved the monument survived the quake. "People may say the monument is broken like our political system,” one visitor tells the New York Times. “But the fact is, it’s still standing and so are we."

Passaic bodega owner claims $338 million Powerball prize STAFF WRITERS The Record Photos: Powerball jackpot claimed in Passaic CHRIS PEDOTA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Pedro Quezada at Eagle Liquors Monday. Every evening, Pedro Quezada buys a lottery ticket at Eagle Liquors in Passaic. On Monday, though, he came to cash in. Surrounded by a media gantlet and a pack of joyful neighbors, the 44-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic who runs a nearby bodega signed the Powerball ticket he had bought two days before —the one that hit the $338 million jackpot, the one that everyone had been buzzing about all afternoon, hoping it had gone to someone they knew. Then he called his family to give them the news. “Tell her to come here and help me count it,” he said into the phone. Moments later, his wife was on the line. “I'm a millionaire, Ines,” he said. “Did you hear?” Rarely does good news arrive in such fantastic fashion in this neighborhood, one of North Jersey’s poorest enclaves tucked in the bell curve of the Passaic River and cut off from the rest of the city by the six traffic-clogged lanes of Route 21. It’s a place where the typical household income is $26,000, half the children live in poverty, half the adults lack a high school diploma, only 10 percent own their homes. When the news did arrive — in the form of the numbers 17, 29, 31, 52, 53 and Powerball 31 — it didn’t matter that Quezada’s was a form of luck that would likely never strike here again. “It’s a blessing for the neighborhood,” said Daphne Robinson, 44, “It gives people hope that there is a blessing somewhere, for somebody.” News of the winner’s identity traveled quickly along streets where most of the pedestrians seemed to know each other. Neighbors who had waited under awnings all day for the winner’s identity — ever since the state Lottery Commission announced that morning that the lone winning ticket in the Saturday Powerball drawing was sold in the City of Passaic — now hollered to each other about the sudden good fortune of one of their own. “Hey, Charlie,” one man yelled to another outside a barbershop. “Why wasn't it you that won all that money?” The fervor continued around the Quezadas’ apartment building, one of about a dozen beige-and-brown buildings along School Street. “I'm living next to a millionaire!” a woman announced from her doorway. Quezada, a father of five who has owned the Apple Deli and Grocery on Eighth Street since 2006, seemed to be still processing the news as he fielded questions. He answered in Spanish. How was he feeling? “I’m nervous and tired.” How does it feel to be a millionaire? “I don't know, I don't have it.” What would he do with the money? “I want to help a lot of people, in whatever they need, in rent, in whatever.” Later, outside his apartment building, his wife, Ines Sanchez, said she hadn’t really grasped the idea … yet. “We never expected it, but thank God,” she said. “I couldn't believe it. I still don't.” The Quezada family was hit with their share of bad luck recently. Thieves broke into their small apartment about two years ago, stealing everything from clothes to jewelry, friends and neighbors said. About a year before that, a fire destroyed much of their bodega. “They had nothing for a while,” said longtime friend Alberto Liranzo. “Now they got enough money to buy a million bodegas.” Neighbors described the family as a quiet, tight unit. Ines would walk her children to school every day while Pedro worked days and nights. His first job in the States was at a T-shirt printing factory, said a friend who worked there with him. “Usually it's people that are already millionaires winning these things,” said neighbor Eladia Vazquez, 55. “I'm just glad it went to somebody that could use it.” The lump sum payout is $211 million, amounting to about $152 million after state and federal taxes, Lottery Executive Director Carole Hedinger said. One second-prize ticket worth $1 million was also sold in New Jersey, at a 7-Eleven in Mahwah, she said. Powerball is played in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The chance of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is about 1 in 175 million. Sunil Sethi, 51, the owner of Eagle Liquors, said lottery officials informed him when he opened at 9 a.m. that his store had sold the jackpot winner, sending a shock wave of excitement through the neighborhood. The predominantly Latino, African-American and Polish area has been on a downward trajectory for decades, residents said. The single-family homes were split into apartments long ago, and residents complain about petty crimes and sidewalk drug dealing. Recently, there have been glimmers of a better future, from the bright green artificial turf on the new baseball field behind the Vreeland Village public housing development to the big sign in front of the boarded-up Uniroyal factory building announcing that a 550-unit apartment and retail complex is coming. But such promises don’t measure up to the dreams of a better life elsewhere shared by seemingly everyone on the street. For Michel DeLillo, 51, it’s a house with a back yard where the 3-year-old grandson she is raising can play. For Daphne Robinson, it’s the promise of more available work in Atlanta. For a 27-year-old man who goes by the name Johnboy, it’s someplace not too far away, maybe on the border of a blue-collar stronghold like neighboring Garfield or Saddle Brook. “I’ve got house dreams,” he said. Perhaps it is those dreams that propel so many to Eagle Liquors, a nondescript storefront between a mini-mart and a store that sells live poultry where, once a year or so, someone will buy the $219 bottle of Louis Roederer champagne but the most popular choice is the $1 shooter of Paul Masson brandy. The cardboard “Lucky Location, play here” sign that dangles over the lottery ticket counter was provided by the lottery commission because the store “sold a winning ticket in the past,” said Judith Drucker, a commission spokeswoman. So many people stop in regularly to play the lottery that one employee, Pravin Mankodia, 67, does nothing but sell tickets six days a week, from opening until closing, and neighbors said a line forms around noon every day. “That line is too long,” said Angel Manguel, 30, who lives around the corner. “And everyone is familiar.” Elsa Ramirez, who runs the poultry store two doors down, is a regular. “I spend $50 a day on the lottery,” she said. “Last year I won $20,000, but you can see I’m still here with the chickens.” More than $41 million worth of Powerball tickets were sold in New Jersey ahead of Saturday’s drawing, Hedinger said. Eagle Liquors will receive a $10,000 commission for selling the winning ticket. Neighbors said they wouldn’t blame Quezada if he left with his winnings, but hoped he would be able to invest some of it in the community. “It’s not a neighborhood no more,” said Kasim Washington, a local community activist. “You would be a fool to stay in the ’hood with that type of money.” Douglas Frederick, 50, said he comes to Eagle Liquors twice a day to buy tickets — scratch games in the morning and Pick 3 in the afternoon. He’s won several times, usually around $100 or $300. “I wish I could win the big one,” he said. “I would still stay here. I would represent my community. We need to have it built up a little better. “I would like to open up a gym around here so that the kids could have someplace to go instead of being out here on the street.” Staff Writers Jim Norman, Michael Linhorst and Dave Sheingold contributed to this report. Email: alvarado@northjersey.com and akin@northjersey.com

– Bodega owner Pedro Quezada has seen his share of hard times. The 44-year-old father of five lives with his wife and kids in Passaic, one of the poorest areas of North Jersey; years ago, a fire destroyed much of their store, and just one year later, thieves stole everything they could from the family's apartment. But now, finally, Quezada's luck has changed: On Saturday, as he did every night, he bought a Powerball ticket from Eagle Liquors—but this time, his was the winning ticket. He returned to Eagle Liquors last night to reveal himself to his excited neighbors as the winner of the $338 million jackpot. With the lump sum payment, he'll take home about $152 million after taxes, the Record reports. He also broke the news to his family: He called them only after signing the ticket, telling his wife, "I'm a millionaire, Ines. Did you hear?" Neighbors described the couple as quiet but hard-working, and expressed happiness at their good fortune. "I'm just glad it went to somebody that could use it," says one. Another calls the win "a blessing for the neighborhood," because "it gives people hope that there is a blessing somewhere, for somebody." As for what Quezada will do with the money, he says, "I want to help a lot of people, in whatever they need, in rent, in whatever." First, he'll help his family, the AP reports. In Spanish, he told reporters that he's "very happy."

Over the years, Richmond.com has published several data projects using public information. Here's a sampling of some of those projects. - Our annual database of state employee salaries was recently updated with 2016-17 data. - Our salary database of local government employees was updated recently with the 2016-17 data.

– The investigation into the relationship between Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Jonnie R. Williams Sr., CEO of Star Scientific, continues, with a new $130,000 reveal. Williams gave $70,000 to a McDonnell-owned corporation last year, another $50,000 to McDonnell's wife, Maureen, in 2011, and $10,000 to McDonnell's daughter in December, sources tell the Washington Post. The governor didn't disclose any of those amounts. Previously revealed gifts included another "wedding gift" for McDonnell's daughter and a $6,500 Rolex, among other things. More unpleasantness for the McDonnell family: Sean McDonnell, the governor's 21-year-old son, was busted early Saturday on a public drunkenness charge, the Daily Progress reports. Police found him intoxicated in Charlottesville, where he attends the University of Virginia. And, facing pressure over the misuse of Executive Mansion resources for his family, McDonnell recently paid the state $2,400 to reimburse it for food and household supplies his kids used, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. Specifically, McDonnell has been accused of sending things like paper towels and laundry detergent back to college with his children.

Some plants and animals were able to survive through ice ages because of volcanic steam and and heat emissions, according to scientists. This image shows a man standing in volcanic steam in Antarctica. (Photo : Peter Convey / British Antartic Survey) Some plants and animals were able to survive through ice ages because of volcanic steam and heat emissions, according to scientists. The research focused on Antarctic species which have been collected throughout the decades. Of these tens of thousands of species on record, the researchers found that more species were collected close to volcanoes than there were specimens collected farther away. If the researchers' theory is correct, it could solve a long-standing mystery surrounding why some species survived and continued to evolve through past ice ages in parts of the planet covered by glaciers. Share This Story "Volcanic steam can melt large ice caves under the glaciers, and it can be tens of degrees warmer in there than outside," research leader Ceridwen Frase, a biogeographer from the Australian National University, said in a statement. "Caves and warm steam fields would have been great places for species to hang out during ice ages." "Volcanoes are generally seen as these big, explosive destroyers of life, but they might be important in promoting biodiversity," Fraser said, according to LiveScience. "This explains how life survived in Antarctica, but we think this idea of geothermal refuges could also apply elsewhere." "We can learn a lot from looking at the impacts of past climate change as we try to deal with the accelerated change that humans are now causing," she added. The researchers examined diversity patterns of mosses, lichens and bugs which are still common in Antarctica today. About 60 percent of Antarctic invertebrate species are found no where else on Earth, said British Antarctic Survey's Peter Convey. "They have clearly not arrived on the continent recently, but must have been there for millions of years. How they survived past ice ages - the most recent of which ended less than 20,000 years ago - has long puzzled scientists," Convey said. Antarctica has at least 16 volcanoes that have been active since the last ice age 20,000 years ago. Fraser and her colleagues, including Aleks Terauds from the Australian Antarctic Division, suggest that this revelation may help scientist understand how species survived past ice ages in icy regions other than Antarctica. "The closer you get to volcanoes, the more species you find. This pattern supports our hypothesis that species have been expanding their ranges and gradually moving out from volcanic areas since the last ice age," Terauds said. The researchers said these biodiversity "hot spots" can be identified and protected as Antarctica continues to be affected by anthropogenic climate change. The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

– Volcanoes are usually in the news for their destructive power, but a new study suggests they've got some protective power to boast of as well. Scientists think that bugs and plants have survived Antarctica's ice ages only because they found warmth near live volcanoes, reports AFP. They did so either in underground caves formed in the ice or by camping out on ground warmed by geothermal heat, explains LiveScience. "Volcanic steam can melt large ice caves under the glaciers, and it can be tens of degrees warmer in there than outside," says a lead researcher from the Australian National University. "Caves and warm steam fields would have been great places for species to hang out during ice ages." The finding—based in part on the discovery that more mosses, lichens, and small bugs are found near volcanoes today—helps answer a question that has vexed Antarctic researchers: How did species that have been in the region for millions of years manage to survive those ice ages? Now it seems they waited them out in relative warmth before expanding their range again. The researchers say their discovery likely holds true outside Antarctica as well, notes Nature World News. (If you prefer volcanoes of the destructive variety, click to read about this doozy of 125 million years ago.)

Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:01 AM Subject: USCP Notice: False Reporting via Twitter It has come to our attention that recents twitter feeds are reporting false information concerning current conditions at the U.S. Capitol. Conditions at the U.S. Capitol are currently normal,” read a press release from Sergeant Kimberly Schneider. More than that, the US Capitol Police sent out an email to counter the reports: "There is no credibility to these stories or the twitter feeds," the press release reads. “The U.S. Capitol Police are currently investigating the reporting.” A Twitter search indicates a few tweets from The Onion regarding the Capitol on Thursday morning. Today, The Onion tweeted: "BREAKING: Witnesses reporting screams and gunfire heard inside Capitol building." The Onion followed up a minute or two later with: "BREAKING: Capitol building being evacuated. The Onion botched a joke about congressmen taking children hostage this morning on Twitter. A third tweet included a link to an article titled “Congress Takes Group Of Schoolchildren Hostage.” From the article: “Brandishing shotguns and semiautomatic pistols, members of the 112th U.S. Congress took a class of visiting schoolchildren hostage this morning, barricading themselves inside the Capitol rotunda, where they remain at press time.” More Twitter news Twitter to sell political advertising The NBC News Twitter hack — or how not to yell ‘fire!’ Twitter hits 100 million active users

– The Onion seems to have registered a rare misfire in the joke department. It set off a scare at the US Capitol this morning with a fake tweet reading, “BREAKING: Witnesses reporting screams and gunfire heard inside Capitol building," reports the Washington Post. A few others in a similar vein followed, and it turns out the site was promoting this satirical story, headlined "Congress Takes Group of Schoolchildren Hostage." Capitol Police weren't laughing, issuing a statement that all was well at the building and adding that the fake reports were under investigation. Reaction on the Internet has been mostly negative. ("I mean, I know you guys do satire, but I really don't get this one..." went one typical Twitter post. "The Onion botched a joke," says Gawker in its writeup.) The Onion's New York office wasn't apologetic: "This is satire. That’s how it works.” The tweets came a day after this guy got arrested and charged with plotting to blow up the Capitol.

You may have guessed from Melissa Gilbert’s red wedding dress (and her desire to one day wear it again) that the Little House on the Prairie star doesn’t often follow the crowd. And one more way she’s setting herself apart from Hollywood trends: She’s made the decision to remove her breast implants. Charles Sykes/Getty In a Dec. 31 blog post entitled “A Tale of Two Titties,” the star writes that she scheduled surgery this week to reverse surgery she got in her 20s. “I am concerned for my health and I don’t like the way they look or feel,” she writes. “Frankly, I’d like to be able to take a Zumba class without the fear that I’ll end up with two black eyes.” Gilbert says she got the implants after divorcing her first husband, who made her self-conscious about her post-breastfeeding chest. “Dating posed the terrifying prospect of the guy I chose to make love with next, undoing my bra and running away in abject terror,” she writes. She loved the results until she had a second child, and then went for another lift, which she proudly showed off in a low-cut gown at the 2011 SAG Awards. “The irony of the fact that I was president of SAG when my breasts were doing the opposite of sagging is not lost on me,” she jokes. RELATED PHOTOS: See your fave stars on the red carpet, then vote on their looks! “I had spent most of my life pressured to look a certain way and I believed the hype,” she goes on, adding that her Dancing With the Stars appearance fed her insecurity. But she says that now, she’s feeling good about herself and is looking forward to embracing her new, old chest. “Most of the time, I’m really happy with the way I look. I’m enjoying aging. It’s not going badly either. My sweet husband [Timothy Busfield] … is perfectly supportive of my decision to do this. He only wants me to be healthy.” And the result? Gilbert seems happy with her decision (which was confirmed by her personal rep) — check out her Tweet from Tuesday: In recovery. Surgery went great. No the recovery begins. #boobies! — Melissa Gilbert (@MelissaEGilbert) January 6, 2015 What do you think of her blog? Is she brave for sharing? –Alex Apatoff

– Melissa Gilbert has had her breast implants removed, and in an extremely long blog post written on New Year's Eve but getting picked up now, she explains why. But most of the blog post is taken up with an explanation of why she got them in the first place: She had "perfect A cup" boobs, and she was happy with them. They grew to C cups during her first pregnancy, but after she stopped breastfeeding, when they deflated to their original size, they did not return to "their original place," she writes. "They were lower....much, much lower." Her then-husband once referred to her breasts as looking like "socks full of marbles with knots at the top," and though they ended up getting divorced, she remained insecure about her breasts and decided to get them augmented. She got saline implants, and during her second pregnancy, the cycle repeated itself. This time, while her boobs drooped a little post-breastfeeding, they remained "perky-ish" thanks to the implants. But after 12 years, they needed to be replaced, so she got a breast lift and silicone implants. That was when she realized she would need to keep replacing them: "It was possible that at 80 years old I might have to get new implants!" She was also worried about the silicone and ultimately decided it was time to get the implants removed. "The bottom line...or top line.. is that; A. I am concerned for my health and 2. I don't like the way they look or feel. Frankly, I'd like to be able to take a Zumba class without the fear that I'll end up with two black eyes." Click for her full piece, which also includes a lot of commentary about society's expectations when it comes to a woman's appearance.

The Dutch police plan to eventually replace their drug- and bomb sniffing dogs with drug- and bomb sniffing robots. The E-Nose is a so-called nano-sensor that can detect chemical and explosive substances, AD reports. According to the newspaper, a study by the University of Twente commissioned by the Ministry of Security and Justice shows that the police have major problems with detecting synthetic drugs and drug laboratories. The police make use of sniffer dogs on a daily basis, but training these dogs is an expensive and time consuming operation. The police are in need of a "portable detection device" for these cases. And the E-Nose is the solution, according to the study. The development of the E-Nose is still in its infancy and the device does not actually exist for use yet. So it will be at least 10 more years before the police can retire their sniffer dogs, according to the newspaper.

– After an attempted murder suspect armed with a rifle was chased into the desert on Sept. 8, he barricaded himself using a dirt berm and wire fencing; Los Angeles County sheriffs say they tried for six hours to get him to surrender. Finally, officers skillfully plucked the gun right out of Brock Ray Bunge's hideout—without putting their lives in danger. "The robot was a game changer," Capt. Jack Ewell tells the Los Angeles Times of the department's $300,000 Andros robot that did the deed; it's typically used to defuse bombs but is becoming increasingly useful in other cases. Officers say they were using the device to learn more about Bunge's position when they noticed Bunge was lying on his stomach with his weapon at his feet. While officers distracted Bunge, the robot grabbed the gun "without him noticing," says Ewell. The robot then went back to remove the fencing, and Bunge surrendered as soon as he realized his gun was missing, police add; he has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted murder and robbery. Though the robot that nicked the gun is expensive, "when it saves lives, it is more than worth it," Ewell says. Officers also used a robot during the Dallas shooting. Dutch police believe robots can even replace drug-sniffing dogs, reports the NL Times.

Image caption The Bois de Boulogne, one of Paris's two main woods, has been named as a possible site Next summer, nudists or naturists may be able to bare it all in a designated area of the French capital, Paris. City councillors have approved plans for an experimental nudist area, possibly in one of Paris's parks or in wooded areas on its outskirts. The Green Party, which proposed the plan, said France was a top destination for naturists, and its capital city should have somewhere for them to go. One centrist councillor, however, called the idea "demented". He said the idea of authorising full-scale nudity in the middle of the capital might be seen as a provocation, especially at a time when feelings were still running high over the 'burkini' issue, the BBC's Hugh Schofield reports. But those who support the move say, in a country with numerous clothes-free beaches and holiday camps, Paris should also be a draw for naturists. "We've got two million nudists in France which is doubled during the summer with visitors," said David Belliard, co-chairman of the ecologist group in the city council. "For them Paris is the world's premier tourist destination and there's no public place for them to go. We want to try out a recreational area where nudists can freely strip off." Deputy Mayor of Paris Bruno Julliard said he was in favour of the plan, as was Mayor Anne Hidalgo. He said the likeliest site for the naturist zone is in one of Paris's two main woods - the Bois de Boulogne to the west or Bois de Vincennes to the east - "near a lake, in a regulated setting so that there is no threat to public order". 'Historic' road closure Hours earlier, Paris's city council approved another controversial plan - to transform a highway into a walkway. Some 3.3km (2 miles) of road from the Tuileries Garden toward the Bastille neighbourhood will be closed down and turned into a pedestrian-only zone. Conservatives have argued this will worsen the city's traffic situation and put commuters at a disadvantage. But Mayor Hidalgo has hailed the move as "historic". It is part of her plan to tackle high levels of pollution in the capital, the AP news agency reported. This will not be the first time a highway has been converted into a walkway. A road along the Left Bank has already been converted for pedestrian use.

– Paris, a place for fashionistas and nudists alike? Maybe. Parisian city councilors have given the green light to a plan that would see the creation of a clothing-free zone somewhere within the city limits, the BBC reports. The location of the nudist area has yet to be determined, but Deputy Mayor Bruno Julliard—a supporter—said the intention is to prevent any disruption of "public order" and suggested two wooded areas, the westside Bois de Boulogne or eastside Bois de Vincennes. France is famous for its nude beaches, and proponents—including the mayor—say that nudists should have a place within the capital city. For a country that's said to have 2 million nudists, the capital has been a mostly unwelcoming place. Currently, nudism in Paris is punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $16,800, reports France24. It notes a single swimming pool in the city allows naked swimming, but even then, only after 9pm on certain days of the week. Opponents worry about inflaming tensions between conservative and liberal groups, particularly on the heels of the burkini brouhaha. Despite those objections, the BBC suggests the zone could be in place as early as next summer.

The Help 'The Help' review: Period piece take on Kathryn Stockett's novel oversimplifies, miscasts Emma Stone Emma Stone's 'plain' writer character Skeeter is miscast in the oversimplified period film 'The Help.' With Emma Stone, Viola Davis. Racism divides the women of 1962 Mississippi. Director: Tate Taylor (2:17). PG-13: Mature themes. At area theaters. In her best-selling novel "The Help," Kathryn Stockett didn't simply introduce us to a few memorable individuals. She offered a meticulously etched portrait of a specific way of life. Tate Taylor's eagerly anticipated adaptation is impactful in parts, but noticeably lacking in Stockett's instinctive nuance. Though he grew up there himself, Taylor's Jackson, Miss., could be any suburban Southern neighborhood in the early '60s. Similarly, many of his actresses have little apparent connection to the intricate culture they are meant to portray. Emma Stone, for example, is no one's idea of an ugly duckling. And though she offers a sincere effort, she never quite settles into the role of Skeeter, an aspiring author whose plain looks and spinster status — at age 23 — horrify her beauty-queen mother (Allison Janney, also miscast). While her small-minded friends gossip through Junior League meetings, she envisions her first book idea: to give voice to the African-American housekeepers ritually abused by the employers who need them. In 1962, when blacks and whites are divided by both prejudice and the law, Skeeter's plan is dangerous for everyone involved. But having been pushed to the limit, both Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny (Octavia Spencer) agree to share their experiences. All the while, they have to hide the project from their bosses, viciously racist Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard), ignorant Elizabeth (Ahna O'Reilly) and flighty Celia (Jessica Chastain). While the book's minor — but crucial — details are often overlooked, the major themes are thrust on screen with forceful simplicity, as if Taylor doesn't trust us to understand the stakes. Despite his unsubtle script, Davis and Spencer are experienced and assured enough to give their characters considerable depth, and their stirring portrayals make the film worth watching. Their younger castmates, unfortunately, needed more guidance than they evidently received. How much more powerful Hilly's shameful cruelty, and Skeeter's tentative rebellion, would have been if they felt intimate and complex, rather than grandly symbolic. Stockett's Jackson was a suffocating hothouse where tendrils of ugliness grew amid women raised to be nothing more than beautiful. She illuminated both sin and valor by exposing — for better and worse — the humanity in all her characters. In contrast, Taylor's characters are familiar because we've seen them in movies so many times before: heroes and villains drawn in broad strokes, residents of a world regrettably lacking shades of gray.

– Critics are impressed with certain aspects of The Help, Tate Taylor’s film about a young white woman interviewing black maids in 1960s Mississippi. But while some say the overall package is lacking, others are glowing. Compared to Kathryn Stockett’s novel of the same name, the film is “impactful in parts, but noticeably lacking in Stockett's instinctive nuance,” writes Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News. “Taylor’s characters are familiar because we've seen them in movies so many times before: heroes and villains drawn in broad strokes, residents of a world regrettably lacking shades of gray.” In the New York Times, Manohla Dargis offers a similarly mixed reaction to the “big, ole slab of honey-glazed hokum.” But “Viola Davis invests this cautious, at times bizarrely buoyant, movie with the gravity it frequently seems to want to shrug off.” Buoyancy isn’t a problem for Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times: “Laughter, which is ladled on thick as gravy, proves to be the secret ingredient—turning what should be a feel-bad movie about those troubled times into a heart-warming surprise.” And in Rolling Stone, Peter Travers notes that “a deeply touching human story filled with humor and heartbreak is rare in any movie season, especially summer.”

(CNN) Days after the Istanbul airport massacre , reports emerged about the identities of the suicide bombers as well as the organizer -- a man who a U.S. official says is a top soldier in the ISIS war ministry . Two of the three assailants in the terror attack that killed 44 people at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport have been identified as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov, according to Turkey's state news agency Anadolu, citing an anonymous prosecution source. The Friday report did not identify the third attacker. The report did not reveal their nationalities. But officials have said they believe the three attackers are from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and entered Turkey a month ago from Syria's ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. The report came a day after U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the man who directed the attackers is Akhmed Chatayev, a terrorist from Russia's North Caucasus region Akhmed Chatayev speaks to the media in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 2012. Turkish media reported that a man nicknamed "Akhmed One-Arm" organized the attack. While his whereabouts are unclear, Chatayev's ties to jihadist activities are well-documented, McCaul said. "He's ... probably the No. 1 enemy in the Northern Caucasus region of Russia. He's traveled to Syria on many occasions and became one of the top lieutenants for the minister of war for ISIS operations," he told CNN's Brianna Keilar. Suspect on U.S. list of terrorists Of the hundreds wounded, 80 are still hospitalized, Istanbul officials said. Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Photos: Istanbul airport attacked People flee the scene of a terror attack at Istanbul's Ataturk airport on Tuesday, June 28. Three terrorists armed with bombs and guns attacked the main international terminal, opening fire and eventually detonating their devices. Hide Caption 1 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Investigators remove a body after the attack. Hide Caption 2 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Police investigators work inside the airport. Hide Caption 3 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Turkish special forces secure an area of the airport after the attack. Hide Caption 4 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked A wounded girl is taken to a hospital in Istanbul. Hide Caption 5 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked A Turkish police officer directs a passenger at the airport. Hide Caption 6 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Travelers embrace outside the airport. Hide Caption 7 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked One of the bombs was located just outside the international terminal on the pavement, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told CNN. Another was at the security gate at the entrance to the airport. Hide Caption 8 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Children and their relatives embrace after reuniting outside the airport. Hide Caption 9 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked A police officer sets up a security perimeter. Hide Caption 10 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked People stand outside the airport after the attack. Hide Caption 11 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked A wounded woman talks on the phone following the attack. Hide Caption 12 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Passengers cry as they leave the airport. Hide Caption 13 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked People on their phones wait with their luggage outside the airport. Hide Caption 14 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Workers clear glass debris on the day after the attack. Hide Caption 15 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Bullet holes are seen at the airport on Wednesday, June 29. Hide Caption 16 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Hide Caption 17 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked A worker cleans blood from the upper walls of the international departure terminal. Hide Caption 18 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked A police officer stands guard as a man walks at the airport a day after the attack. Hide Caption 19 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked A woman cries in Istanbul on June 29. Hide Caption 20 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked Security personnel scan passengers and employees at a checkpoint on June 29. Hide Caption 21 of 22 Photos: Istanbul airport attacked A worker repairs the airport's damaged ceiling on June 29. Hide Caption 22 of 22 "We believe he (Chatayev) coordinated with the three suicide bombers in Istanbul to conduct this attack during the season of Ramadan," McCaul said. Officials believe the attackers brought suicide vests, bombs and a deadly plan from ISIS leadership. Anadolu said Osmanov was identified through a passport photocopy that was given to a property agent in Istanbul's Fatih district, where officials said the three attackers rented an apartment. Growing trend McCaul said his information on Chatayev came from Turkish intelligence. Turkish officials have not confirmed Chatayev's involvement to CNN. The allegation reflects a growing trend of battle-hardened fighters from Russia and former Soviet republics joining ISIS in recent years. "Russian citizens -- many of whom are Chechens or Dagestanis from the largely Muslim North Caucasus region of Russia -- are the largest group of foot soldiers in ISIS from a non-Muslim majority country," analysts Peter Bergen and David Sterman wrote in an opinion piece for CNN Chechnya produced many fighters following the 1990s wars that pitted Russian forces against Chechen separatists. Russians deployed brutal tactics in Chechnya, which radicalized the insurgents and moved them in an Islamist and militant direction, Bergen said. In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said between 5,000 to 7,000 fighters from Russia and the former Soviet republics are in Syria. "Ask anybody inside ISIS or who's fought ISIS. People from the former Soviet Union tend to be the most ... willing to die," said CNN contributor Michael Weiss, author of "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror." ISIS leadership involved Chatayev's alleged connection may not be a surprise. Turkish officials have strong evidence that ISIS leadership was involved in the planning of the Istanbul terrorist attack, a senior government source told CNN. Police showed residents of Fatih this image of three suspects. And the attacks appear to have been well-organized. The three terrorists rented an apartment in the Fatih district of Istanbul after they arrived from Syria a month ago, officials said. After the airport attack, authorities discovered one of the terrorists left behind his passport in the apartment, according to a Turkish government source. Turkish police visited the Fatih area and showed neighbors airport surveillance video and photographs of the three men, residents said. One man who owns a real estate agency said one of the men in the picture had lived in his apartment. He said he was shocked the man was a suspect in the attacks. No claim of responsibility JUST WATCHED Istanbul airport attacked despite heavy security Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Istanbul airport attacked despite heavy security 03:01 "One of the toughest battalions in ISIS is called the Uzbek battalion," he said. "These were the guys who were essentially on the front lines guarding Falluja, the city they just lost in Iraq." The tactic used in the airport attack -- shooting, and then detonating explosives -- is called "inghimasi," and it's being used more frequently by terrorists. "The 'inghimasi,' their (modus operandi) on the ground in Syria and Iraq, is to shoot up checkpoints and then they actually -- some of these guys actually run up to the enemy and hug them before detonating the bomb to take them out with themselves. So in a sense, the ultimate Kamikaze warrior," Weiss explained. ISIS also has a history of airport attacks. It claimed responsibility for dual suicide bombings at the main airport in Brussels in March. At least 10 people died in those blasts. The victims Other fatalities included nationals from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Tunisia, China, Iran, Ukraine, Jordan and Uzbekistan. At least two Palestinians were also killed. One U.S. citizen suffered minor injuries, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said. Authorities have detained 24 people in connection with the attack investigation, including 15 foreign nationals, state media reported.

– The attack on Istanbul's airport that left dozens dead and hundreds injured Tuesday was likely organized by a one-armed Chechen terrorist who goes by "Akhmed One-Arm," Fox News reports. A news organization in Turkey identified Ahmed Chatayev as the organizer of the terrorist attack, as did US officials, according to CNN. The news has yet to be confirmed by officials in Turkey. A report released in October said Chatayev was part of a "group of militants that was planning attacks against US and Turkish facilities.” He is or was a top ISIS soldier, and the UN says he has 130 militants directly under his command. "He's ... probably the No. 1 enemy in the Northern Caucasus region of Russia," US Rep. Michael McCaul tells CNN. Heavy has a list of five things to know about Chatayev, including that he claims he lost his arm while being tortured in a Russian prison but may have actually lost it in combat. He spent time as a political prisoner in Georgia and has been arrested in Sweden and the Ukraine in the past decade or so. Amnesty International helped prevent Chatayev from being extradited to Russia, where he was wanted, claiming he would be tortured there. Only two of the three suicide bombers that killed 44 people and wounded more than 200 at Ataturk Airport have been identified, but US officials don't believe Chatayev was the third. The bombers have been linked to Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. And while ISIS hasn't claimed responsibility, officials believe the terrorist organization is behind the attack.

Hedge fund operator Robert Mercer almost never talks about himself, and neither do the people who know him. Yet Mercer's money is sure making a lot of noise on the campaign trail. The third most generous Republican donor this cycle, Mercer has cut checks for a total of $37 million in the past six years, supporting pro-life candidates, those who deny man-made global warming, as well as helping fund the effort to block construction of a mosque near the site of the September 11 attacks in New York. In fact, this year he gave more to the Koch brothers' organization, $2.5 million, than the Kansas founders, David and Charles, who each chipped in just $2 million to Freedom Partners Action Fund. Bloomberg Visual Data Yet the man who first made his mark by upending the field of computer linguistics and is now seeking to bend the national political debate in his conservative direction, is a stranger to the electorate he seeks to sway and the public that would be affected should he succeed. He is the ultimate behind-the-scenes kingmaker in the fight for control of the U.S. Senate who almost never talks—publicly or otherwise. An address to computer scientists at an awards ceremony in Baltimore this summer was a rare exception, and he admitted to finding it daunting. It was only after he agreed to accept a lifetime achievement award that it dawned on him that he'd have to address attendees for about an hour. "Which, by the way, is more than I typically talk in a month," he said. About 10 minutes into the lecture, he paused, and took a sip of water. "I've just reached one week of speaking," he said, "so I have to take a little drink." Asked to share their impressions about Mercer, people who have met him at conservative gatherings said they could recall little about about the man behind the checkbook. "I've only talked to him one time," said James Bopp, a normally outspoken campaign finance attorney who runs the USA Super PAC, a boutique political group backing Republican Pete Ricketts' gubernatorial bid in Nebraska. Bopp's super-PAC has just seven donors, including Mercer. Senator Rob Portman, the National Republican Senatorial Committee's finance chair and a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate simply said, "I don't have any insights" about the man who is one of two people who've donated to the Portman Victory Committee. The other contributor is Mercer's wife of more than 40 years, Diana. "The conversation I had with him was about the direction of the country. His focus with me was on the economic issues and the fiscal issues," Portman said. Mercer declined to comment for this story via his a spokesman, Jonathan Gasthalter. Mercer's daughter Rebekah, who runs the $37.6 million Mercer Family Foundation and sits on the board of at least one conservative non-profit that the family funds, didn't respond to messages seeking comment. Along with her two sisters Jenji and Heather Sue, she operates a pastry store in mid-town Manhattan. (The business, unlike the vast majority of Mercer's projects, has bipartisan support. The shop's website includes rave reviews from former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.) Rebekah Mercer is also a budding political donor, and among the recipients of her largess is Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican. In addition to a broader desire to shape national policy, Mercer has business interests in the midterms. His company, Renaissance Technologies, which runs the Medallion fund and has produced 35 percent returns annualized over two decades, was hauled before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in July and quizzed over how the firm calculates its taxes. According to the committee, RenTech has used sophisticated financial maneuvers to lower the amount it's investors paid to the Internal Revenue Service by $6 billion over 14 years. “It meant enormous profit for both the banks and the hedge funds,” said Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, a Democrat who chairs the panel. “Ordinary Americans had to shoulder a tax burden of billions of dollars, a burden that was shrugged off by those hedge funds.” Gasthalter, also a spokesman for RenTech, said in a statement at the time that the IRS has been reviewing the hedge funds transactions for the past six years. “We believe that the tax treatment for the option transactions being reviewed by the [Senate committee] is appropriate under current law," he said. With RenTech's outsized profits, Mercer is earning more than enough to fund political campaigns, and so far this cycle, he's contributed $8.8 million. The beneficiaries of that money have been, across the board, Republicans—House candidates, Senate candidates, institutional super-PACs that give to lots of candidates and smaller super-PACs focused on individual candidates and conservative non-profits. Mercer has dipped into state races, including Ken Cuccinelli's 2013 gubernatorial contest in Virginia to which he gave a $600,000 contribution to an outside group. Cuccinelli recalled asking Mercer for support just after Mitt Romney had lost his 2012 presidential bid, when Republican money people were in what he referred to as deep donor depression. "He's very solid and understated," said Cuccinelli, who met with him on a fundraising trip to New York. "You wouldn't know you were talking to someone with that kind of force." Pet causes such as gun rights and charter schools don't seem to be the primary motivator for Mercer, unlike some donors, Cuccinelli said. "He just thinks our country is off track and he's in a position to do something to get it back on track," he said. Only once during Mercer's talk in Baltimore did his conservative politics show. He recounted how he worked at a military base during college and he'd re-written an unwieldy computer program to make it faster. The bosses, to his surprise, added more to the program, slowing the computer back down. "The point of government-funded research was not to get answers but to consume the computer budget," he quipped to the crowd. "Which has left me with a jaundiced view of government research." Mercer was born in July 1946 and grew up in New Mexico. He was obsessed with computers—writing code in high school even though he didn't have a machine to run it on. In graduate school he studied computer science. "I loved the solitude of the computer lab late at night," he said, during a 2013 talk to computer scientists. "I loved the air conditioned smell of the place. I loved the sound of the disks whirring and the printers clacking." Later, he joined IBM and worked at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center, focusing on the then-vexing problem of programming computers to recognize speech. He and his IBM colleague Peter Brown both joined RenTech in 1993, where the two men are now co-CEOs. The company's founder, James Simons, is the 54th richest man in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He's also a hefty political donor—to Democrats. In March he wrote a $2 million check to the Senate Majority PAC, dedicated to keeping Democrats in power in the Senate. The company was profiled in one chapter of Sebastian Mallaby's book "More Money Than God," which details the world's most successful hedge funds. In it, Mallaby shared only a few observations about Mercer. "He was an icy cold poker player; he never recalled having a nightmare; his IBM boss jokingly called him an automaton." Mallaby wrote. Last year, Mercer's household staff sued him, claiming their wages were improperly docked for failing to replacing shampoo bottles, closing doors improperly and not straightening pictures. Get the latest on global politics in your inbox, every day. Get our newsletter daily. Despite Mercer's material success, he political record is mixed. In 2010, he poured money into an Oregon House race to support a man—Republican Arthur Robinson, who was challenging incumbent Representative Peter DeFazio—who's skeptical work on climate change Mercer had funded. DeFazio's campaign put Mercer front and center that year, running radio ads saying Robinson was funded by a secretive donor with Wall Street ties. "Oregon isn't a state that likes outside interference," DeFazio said. "Once we focused on who Mercer was we began to move our poll numbers." DeFazio won. This year, Robinson is running again to oust DeFazio, but Mercer hasn't dropped mega-dollars into the race. Robinson declined comment for this story.

– If other GOP contenders shrugged off Ted Cruz's chances of winning the nomination, it's a safe bet they're reassessing things after four new super PACS announced they'd raised a staggering $31 million to support his new candidacy. "Even in the context of a presidential campaign cycle in which the major party nominees are expected to raise more than $1.5 billion, Cruz’s haul is eye-popping, one that instantly raises the stakes in the Republican fundraising contest," writes Mark Halperin at Bloomberg. The super PACs in question are only a week old, and it's unprecedented to have raised so much so quickly. So who's behind the money? The New York Times identifies the main player as a "reclusive Long Islander" named Robert Mercer. Mercer began his career at IBM but now runs a hedge fund called Renaissance Technologies, and like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson, he is taking advantage of the Citizens United case that loosened restrictions on wealthy donors. He's "a very low-profile guy, but he’s becoming a bigger and bigger player,” says one campaign finance expert. And his backing of Cruz “sends the message to other donors that Cruz is a serious guy,” which in turn encourages other donors. The Times notes that Mercer's hedge fund is under investigation by the IRS, an agency that Cruz would love to abolish. A previous profile of Mercer at Bloomberg describes him as "one of the most powerful men in Republican politics that nobody is talking about."

It depicts a picture of a yelling Michelle Obama with the comment, "doesn't seem to be speaking too eloquently here, thank god we can't hear her! Harvard??? Herren responded to a Facebook post praising First Lady Michelle Obama with the statement: “Monkey face and poor ebonic English!!! "Hiding behind the excuse that you're not racist, doesn't negate the fact that you are being racist," Nieto said. Just calling it like it is!” It remains unclear whether Denver Health will take similar action against her. What's worse, Nieto discovered the poster is Dr. Michelle Herren, a pediatric anesthesiologist who works at Denver Health Medical Center, Children's Hospital Colorado and is listed online as an assistant professor at CU's School of Medicine. While the hospital told Denver7 Tuesday that it couldn't control the opinions their staff express as private individuals, on Thursday the company confirmed, "Until further notice, Michelle Herren, MD, will not be seeing patients or providing anesthesia services at Denver Health Medical Center." “We are beginning the process to terminate Dr. Herren’s faculty appointment,” Mark Couch, spokesman for the school, said Thursday. “She has expressed values that are at odds with ours and she has compromised her ability to meet the teaching and patient care mission of the School of Medicine.” Herren, who works at Denver Health Medical Center, holds a non-paid faculty appointment at the CU School of Medicine and a medical staff appointment at Children’s Hospital, where Denver Health physicians supervise residents and other medical practitioners in training. The comment has since been removed and Herren has taken down her Facebook page. Dr. Herren declined an on-camera interview, but told Denver 7's Molly Hendrickson over the phone that her comment was taken "out of context" and insists she didn't realize the term “monkey face” is offensive. Herren said she was responding to another post pointing out people say whatever they want about Melania Trump, but if they do the same about Michelle Obama they're considered racist. Denver Health said Dr. Herren has been employed there since October of 2007 and currently makes $363,600 a year. Denver Health released the following statement Tuesday night: Denver Health's mission is to provide high quality health care to all, regardless of income levels, ethnicity, gender or social background. Denver Health also released a statement saying that officials were offended by the comments, which were made while Herren was “acting independently in her private capacity.” First Amendment protections for those in the public sector make it difficult to terminate or otherwise take action against an employee for offensive statements outside the workplace, according to legal experts. We don't condone nor do we agree with the statements Dr. Herren made, as they are inconsistent with Denver Health's mission and values. Denver Health proudly serves people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and social backgrounds – and our staff and patient population truly reflect our diverse community and nation. --------- Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines. Or, keep up-to-date on the latest news and weather with the Denver7 apps for iPhone/iPads , Android and Kindle .

– A pediatric anesthesiologist at the University of Colorado's medical school is losing her job there after racist Facebook comments directed toward Michelle Obama were flagged, the Denver Post and Denver 7 report. Dr. Michelle Herren reportedly posted a photo that showed the first lady screaming with the comment, "Doesn't seem to be speaking too eloquently here, thank god we can't hear her! Harvard??? That's a place for 'entitled' folks said all the liberals!" She then added: "Monkey face and poor ebonic English!!! There! I feel better and am still not racist!!! Just calling it like it is!" Also calling it like it is: Joann Nieto, who informed the university of the comments after she saw the post stayed up for four days. A school spokesman said Thursday "we are beginning the process to terminate Dr. Herren's faculty appointment" (a nonpaid position), adding she has "compromised her ability" to teach and care for patients. It's not yet clear what the fate of her $363,00-a-year job at Denver Health Medical Center will be, though it confirms to Denver 7 she won't be seeing patients "until further notice." A rep adds, "We are bumping up against a First Amendment right," with the Post noting it's difficult to fire public-sector employees who make offensive remarks when they're not at work. Herren tells Denver 7 her remarks were taken "out of context" and were in response to another comment that argued people can criticize Melania Trump freely but the same isn't true for Obama. She added she had no idea "monkey face" might be considered offensive.

CLOSE Nigel Sykes is suing Seasons Pizza and the Newport police department after a failed robbery attempt in 2010 in which employees tackled and subdued Sykes, who came into the store weilding a handgun. (07/23/14) Buy Photo Misael Madariaga, a deliveryman for Seasons Pizza on Maryland Avenue in Newport, heads out the back door with deliveries Monday afternoon. Madariaga was working at Seasons the night Nigel Sykes robbed the restaurant on Nov. 30, 2010. Sykes is now suing six employees that he claims assaulted him with unnecessary force. (Photo: JENNIFER CORBETT/THE NEWS JOURNAL)Buy Photo The first time Nigel Sykes tried to get money from the Seasons Pizza in Newport, he did it with a gun, forcing his way into the business through the back door. This time, Sykes is trying to get money from the pizzeria by suing the employees who tackled him and wrestled his gun away during the robbery. Sykes alleges assault in a federal civil complaint claiming the rough treatment was "unnecessary" and that as a result of the injuries he suffered during his attempted hold-up, he is due over $260,000. Sykes also claims in his suit, filed without an attorney, that after employees subdued him, two Newport police officers improperly used stun guns on him and denied him access to medical attention. Normally lawsuits like this are tossed out after a brief review by the court. And while U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson tossed out several of Sykes' claims, she allowed the case to move forward against the pizza employees, two arresting officers and Seasons. (Photo: Submitted) Newport Police Chief Michael Capriglione said, "It is a joke lawsuit." "It is sad to see this kind of suit being looked at. The court shouldn't waste the taxpayers' money," he said. Seasons Pizza district manager and Capriglione respond further in a video interview. Sykes, 23, of Wilmington, filed his federal civil action in 2013 from prison, where he is serving a 15-year sentence for robbery and attempted robbery. In his self-written complaint, Sykes admits, "I committed a robbery at Seasons Pizza" on Maryland Ave. on Nov. 30, 2010, just before 8 p.m. He admits he "displayed" a handgun and that an employee – a delivery driver and one of the named defendants – "handed me $140." He says he then started to make his way forward in the store when a different employee grabbed him from behind and other employees wrestled the gun from him, with at least one shot being fired during the struggle. STORY: Beretta says gun law forcing move out of Maryland STORY: Police seek knife-wielding thief in Milltown robbery "That is when the assault began," according to Sykes' suit. "All of the Season's Pizza employees participated in punching, kicking and pouring hot soup over my body. I was unarmed and defenseless and had to suffer a brutal beating by all of the employees of Seasons Pizza," he wrote, adding the beating knocked him unconscious. In Sykes first 2011 complaint, which is significantly different than the most recent one, he claimed an unknown person robbed him at gunpoint "and then forced me, after giving me a gun, to [rob] a nearby Seasons Pizza." "I complied with his commands and proceeded to rob the establishment." he wrote in 2011, adding he informed employees that he was being forced into the hold-up by someone outside. In that account, which was tossed out on procedural grounds, Sykes also claimed employees beat him with pots and pans, rendering him unconscious and described the beating as "unnecessary." Sykes claims in both suits, "I was aroused from my state of unconsciousness, only to realize that I was handcuffed and being tasered," by the police. He concludes by alleging the officers denied him needed immediate medical attention for the burns and stun gun wounds and other injuries for 8 hours. And one officer used a racial slur, he wrote. Sykes demands $20,000 each from six Seasons employees, $20,000 from each of the two arresting officers and $100,000 from Seasons. Employees at Seasons remember the robbery and said one employee was shaken up by it for a long time. In the restaurant's kitchen, they still have a trash can that was hit by a bullet from Sykes gun and someone wrote the name of the employee who was narrowly missed by the shot over the bullet hole. Attorneys for the two Newport police officers recently filed a response to the suit, seeking to have it tossed out on statute of limitations grounds. At the time of his 2010 arrest, police said Sykes was linked to at least eight other robberies including a bank, three other pizzerias, two fast food restaurants and two convenience stores. Sykes pleaded guilty in New Castle County Superior Court in July 2011 to five counts, resolving some 51 charges against him including counts related to the attempted robbery at Seasons and the Sept. 2010 robbery of a WSFS Bank. A Superior Court judge then sentenced him in April 2012 to 15 years for robbery, attempted robbery and three weapons counts. Shortly after entering his plea, Sykes attempted to withdraw it claiming in a motion that he had not taken his medication that day. Both the Superior Court and the Delaware Supreme Court denied the request, citing the fact that Sykes attorney said on the day of the plea that Sykes had no mental issues and was not on medication. In his motion, Sykes also wrote that he should be allowed to take back his plea because, "I'm not good at making good choices." Contact Sean O'Sullivan at (302) 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ SeanGOSullivan. Read or Share this story: http://delonline.us/1rwFI0I

– Nigel Sykes' attempted robbery of a Delaware pizzeria failed miserably—but he'd still like to get some cash out of the whole to-do. Armed with a gun, Sykes, 23, busted into the back door of Newport's Seasons Pizza in 2010 but eventually got tackled by employees. In a federal civil complaint, filed without an attorney, Sykes admits, "I committed a robbery at Seasons Pizza" but now alleges that the workers "unnecessary" roughed him up during that robbery, the News Journal reports. He wants $260,000 from the pizzeria, its employees, and Delaware State Police for his troubles. Though NBC Philadelphia reports similar complaints from Sykes have been thrown out in the past, a judge has so far allowed this latest suit—which Newport's police chief calls "a joke"—to move forward. Sykes' self-written suit alleges the pizzeria's employees forced his gun from his hand, then "participated in punching, kicking and pouring hot soup over my body" while "I was unarmed and defenseless." Sykes, who's serving a 15-year sentence for robbery and attempted robbery, also argues he was knocked unconscious and awoke to two police officers using stun guns on him.

Story highlights Police are looking for one suspect, talking with other people Suitcase was found on sidewalk with other items (CNN) Police answering a suspicious package call in San Francisco made a most unpleasant discovery when they opened a suitcase and found it contained human body parts. The case is being treated as a homicide after police responded to a call of a suspicious package about 4:15 p.m. and found a roller-type suitcase amid garbage and debris on 11th Street between Market and Mission streets. As investigators searched the city's South of Market neighborhood, human remains were found at three locations within a three block radius. Homicide detectives were at the scene and trying to recover surveillance footage from nearby businesses, Gatpandan said, and investigators had a rough suspect description, though she said police were not releasing it as the investigation was ongoing. Investigators have identified and are actively searching for a suspect wanted in connection with the dismembered body, but declined to release further details.

– Police responding to a call about a suspicious package on a downtown San Francisco street yesterday found what a spokeswoman calls "an extremely gruesome crime scene." Next to a pile of garbage and debris, a rolling suitcase held dismembered human body parts, police say, per the San Francisco Chronicle. In case that isn't horrific enough, the police rep tells USA Today the body was so mutilated, a medical examiner was needed to determine if it belonged to a human or animal. A search turned up more body parts at three locations within a three-block radius, the Los Angeles Times reports, though it isn't clear if they belong to the victim in the suitcase, whose race, gender, and identity is unknown. "There was one crime scene—it was just very large," the rep says, adding authorities have a "preliminary, distinct suspect description" and are "actively attempting to locate this particular person of interest." The same rep tells CNN, "We do have people of interest that homicide investigators are speaking to." Police are also attempting to nab surveillance footage from nearby businesses. Officers first arrived to the scene in the South of Market area around 4:15pm yesterday, but it isn't clear when the suitcase was left. USA Today describes the spot as a "long-troubled area" known for its high population of homeless people. Twitter's headquarters sits just about a block away.

In a series of Twitter posts late Tuesday evening and early Wednesday, Roseanne Barr apologized for a racist tweet that led to the cancellation of her hit television show. In one of her few remaining tweets, Barr asked her followers not to defend her, saying, “it’s sweet of you 2 try, but…losing my show is 0 compared 2 being labelled a racist over one tweet-that I regret even more.” hey guys, don't defend me, it's sweet of you 2 try, but...losing my show is 0 compared 2 being labelled a racist over one tweet-that I regret even more. Many of the retweeted posts were also later removed from Barr’s Twitter feed.

– Roseanne Barr's quick return to Twitter was full of apologies for a racist tweet. But Barr, who told Twitter followers not to defend her after ABC canceled her hit show and talent agency ICM Partners severed ties, has now taken to retweeting users coming to her defense, reports CNBC. "You had no idea VJ had any black blood … U made a political joke that fell flat," reads one comment retweeted by Barr on Wednesday, referring to the subject of Barr's racist tweet, Valerie Jarrett. Another retweeted comment reads, "I look like a monkey. Why? My DNA is 96% similar to a monkey's. It makes scientific sense," per the Washington Post. Other Barr tweets are also getting attention, including two targeting billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The 87-year-old, who was 13 when Nazis invaded his native Hungary, "turned in his fellow Jews 2 be murdered in German concentration camps & stole their wealth" and now aims to "overthrow" the US "by buying/backing candidates 4 local district attorney races who will ignore US law & favor 'feelings,'" Barr claimed Tuesday. Donald Trump Jr. retweeted the claims to his 2.8 million followers, despite the New York Times describing them as "baseless." Soros "did not collaborate with the Nazis. He did not help round people up. He did not confiscate anybody’s property," a rep says in a statement, calling the accusations insulting "to all Jewish people, and to anyone who honors the truth."

A 16-year-old boy from California was the surprise winner of the grand final of the Classic Tetris World Championship in Oregon. [...] I don’t think there are a lot of regrets if you just trust that you’re doing the right thing and certain things are out of your hands.” Update: On Sunday night, 16-year-old Joseph Saelee ousted seven-time Tetris world champion Jonas Neubauer, taking first place at the 2018 Classic Tetris World Championship. Image copyright Classic Tetris World Championship Image caption Joseph Saelee and finalist Jonas Neubauer at the contest. Neubauer took a more aggressive stance in the third game, and built a solid lead in the earlier stages. He told the BBC he had started playing as a hobby after watching the championships in 2016, and he plays on an original 1985 Nintendo NES console.

– A California 16-year-old is the new world champion of Tetris. Joseph Saelee beat Jonas Neubauer in the Classic Tetris World Championship grand final Sunday night in Oregon; a definite stunner, per Kotaku, considering Neubauer, a 37-year-old taproom manager, has come out on top seven times in the eight years the tournament has been held. Saelee, on the other hand, just started playing after watching the 2016 championships, he tells the BBC. And yes, he plays the iconic video game on an original 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console. Saelee, it should be noted, is 13 years younger than the NES version of the block stacking game. You can watch nearly seven hours of gaming in our video gallery or just skip to the winning moment; if you're not convinced all those hours are worth it, take note of what Alex Walker writes at Kotaku: "The Classic Tetris World Championships is one of the best gaming events to spectate all year. It's easy to understand, gets real intense, and the commentary adds a ton to the proceedings." (To lose weight, play Tetris?)

WASHINGTON—Insurers and some states are continuing to look for ways to bypass the balky technology underpinning the health-care law despite the Obama administration's claim Sunday that it had made "dramatic progress" in fixing the federal insurance website. Federal officials said they had largely succeeded in repairing parts of the site that had most snarled users in the two months since its troubled launch, but acknowledged they only had begun to make headway on the biggest underlying problems: the...

– Many of HealthCare.gov's well chronicled problems have reportedly been fixed, but that doesn't mean it's ready for prime time, insurers say. The site's ability to send consumer data to insurance companies remains flawed, and "until the enrollment process is working from end to end, many consumers will not be able to enroll in coverage," says insurance trade group head Karen Ignagni. People have been calling insurers thinking they've signed up for a plan, but insurers have been missing some information—or lack any record of the transaction, the New York Times reports. Although insurers "don’t have the responsibility or the capability to fix the system, they’re reliant on it," says one consultant. "Somehow people are getting lost in the process," says one exec. "If they go to a doctor or a hospital and we have no record of them, that will be very upsetting to consumers." Sometimes, it remains unclear how much coverage the government is paying for, and insurers are concerned about late payments from the government. Some insurers and states are pushing for a way to leapfrog the federal site, the Wall Street Journal reports. Connecticut, for instance, wants to rely on its own data for confirming enrollees' citizenship and other information.

Kanye West ended his album release party / fashion show in New York with a surprise announcement: that he's working on a video game called Only One about his mother "traveling through the gates of heaven." The game shares its name with a song West released two years ago, speaking from the point of view of his late mother after the birth of his daughter. West showed a short reel of dreamy footage from the game that, true to his word, depicts his mother flying through clouds and traveling on the back of what appears to be a Pegasus. It's not much to go off of, but he says it's a game and that he was turned down a lot trying to get it made. Kanye previewed a video game he has been working on "Only One: The Game" pic.twitter.com/AbfUVZkN4J — Kardashian Pedia (@Kardashianpedia) February 11, 2016

– It's Thursday, but it might as well be Kanye Day. The rapper unveiled both his new album—The Life of Pablo—and clothing line—Yeezus Season 3—during an event at Madison Square Gardens in New York City. The whole thing was livestreamed around the world. And, as with most things having to do with Kanye West, it was all the Internet was talking about. Here are five things you need to know about Kanye's day: It was huge. The Verge reports more than 20 million tried to watch the stream of the nearly two-hour event at one time. "The early viewership numbers are insane…There aren't many other musicians who could pull this off." Lamar Odom was there. It was the former NBA player's first public appearance since nearly dying following an overdose at a Nevada brothel in October, according to People. Odom continues to recover from his coma and sat with estranged wife Khloé Kardashian after entering with the rest of West's family. Kanye made a video game. The Verge reports it's called Only One and depicts his late mother "traveling through the gates of heaven," apparently alternating between her own set of wings and a pegasus. West says a lot of people turned down his pitch for the game. Martin Shkreli tried to steal his thunder. The legally troubled "pharma bro" offered West $10 million for The Life of Pablo, hoping to delay or prevent its release to the public, according to the New York Times. "Instead of releasing this product for your millions of fans, I ask you to sell this recording solely to me," Shkreli tweeted. "I believe you (and your partners) will find this financial arrangement more attractive than your current course of action." Kanye is still super quotable. Cosmopolitan lists 16 of the lyrical highlights from The Life of Pablo, including "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why, I made that [expletive] famous" and—inevitably—"I love you like Kanye loves Kanye."

By now you've probably heard about a lunatic with a small airplane named Joe Stack who crashed his plane into an IRS building Austin, Texas in an attempt to get back at the man-or "Big Brother" as he so eloquently stated on his website. I'm not about to blame Joe Stack's kamikaze mission on Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, or the Tea Baggers like some on the left. That is irresponsible and reprehensible. Anybody who would blame Stack's suicide mission on Limbaugh, Palin, or the GOP, is purely agenda-driven and not looking at the facts. Joseph Andrew Stack (gotta love how the media always includes the middle name) was a middle-aged man who tired of the political system and felt like yet another little guy that was neglected by Uncle Sam. His rantings are the words of a lunatic. I won't call him "right-wing" or "left-wing" and will just say this guy was nuts. "We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy. Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all. We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers." This type of rant reminds me of something you'd hear from a Lynden LaRouche supporter or someone who speaks of the Illuminati. I certainly wouldn't call this guy a religious extremist. He ranted about the Catholic church in his manifesto as well. "My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy." People who knew the Joe Stack say he showed no signs of snapping-the mark of someone who goes insane. He talked politics, but not like that guy we all have met or know who we suspect will possibly go postal or shoot up a shopping mall. There's an old saying that a sucker is born every minute. These days it seems like a lunatic is born every minute. My, my how things have changed in America. And, that is very frightening. For a link to Joe Stack's manifesto, check out this site.

– Joseph Stack’s anger at big government in general and the Internal Revenue Service in particular sounds very much like another of the day’s big noise-makers to Jonathan Capehart. “After reading his 34-paragraph screed,” Capehart writes in a Washington Post blog of the Austin suicide pilot, “I am struck by how his alienation is similar to that we’re hearing from the extreme elements of the Tea Party movement.” This is just the type of finger-pointing that makes Dennis Bakay’s blood boil. “I’m not about to blame Joe Stack’s kamikaze mission on Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, or the Tea Baggers like some on the left,” he writes for Philly2Philly. “That is irresponsible and reprehensible … purely agenda-driven and not looking at the facts.”

Software Browser Sunspider Results (lower is better) Apple iPad 2 (iOS 4.3) 2173.1ms Apple iPad (iOS 4.2.1) 8207.0ms Apple iPad (iOS 4.3) 3484.7ms Apple iPhone 4 (iOS 4.2.1) 10291.4ms Apple iPhone 4 (iOS 4.3) 4052.2ms Motorola Xoom 2141.8ms Motorola Atrix 4G 4100.6ms FaceTime / Photo Booth GarageBand iMovie AirPlay / HDMI adapter / Smart Cover Wrap-up Even with the lower quality sensors, Apple still gets to span the gap between the original iPad and its new competition -- so that means video calling is now on tap. And since this is Apple, we get treated to a FaceTime app, Photo Booth, and the new iMovie (more on those in a moment). At the end of the day, the company is putting its flag in the ground when it comes to tablets with cameras, but it feels like it's done the bare minimum to make it happen. We won't lie: we're disappointed by how low end these cameras feel. We don't expect to be doing photo shoots with a tablet (in fact, we find using a tablet in this manner to be tremendously awkward), but that doesn't mean we want a camera that produces results reminiscent of our RAZR. In short, it feels like the iPad 2 has a serious photon deficiency.It wouldn't be a new iOS product without an iOS update, and the iPad 2 ushers in iOS 4.3, a minor update which touts a few bells and whistles. Notably, Apple has improved browser performance, added broader AirPlay support, mercifully added an option to toggle your mute switch for rotation lock duties, and (on the iPhone at least) brought Personal Hotspot to GSM devices (but not the iPad 2).Alongside the iPad update, Apple also introduced two fairly major pieces of software -- GarageBand and iMovie for the iPad. Here's our take on those apps, as well some of the other big additions.Apple claims big gains in the speed and performance of the new iOS browser thanks to the introduction of the Nitro JavaScript engine to the underlying Mobile Safari software. In our testing, we scored a fairly healthy Sunspider number of 2173.1ms (while Google's V8 returned a score of 338). Nothing to freak out about in comparison to the laptop numbers below -- but compare those digits to the iPhone 4 and original iPad running 4.2. Of course, the Motorola Xoom is neck and neck with the iPad 2 in terms of browser performance, which shows that speed is most certainly not Apple's domain alone.In general use, we found the browser to be noticeably faster and more responsive than on the previous iPad, which is a good thing considering that the browsing experience still doesn't quite give you a desktop experience. That said, the iPad 2 gets a lot closer to the speed and fluidity you see on your laptop -- and it's obvious Apple is putting time and effort into making this complete.We still have to take issue with the lack of Flash, however. Though many sites have begun to employ HTML5 for video and interactive elements, there's still loads of content we couldn't view because Apple won't allow Flash on its platform. We're not saying that we think the experience will be killer (though we've seen good Flash performance on a jailbroken iPad), but the option to turn it on and off would really be welcome.As you might expect, the FaceTime experience on the iPad isn't wildly different than the experience on an iPhone or OS X computer. Though the layout is different, you're getting basically the same results. As with the phone, you're unable to use the service when not on WiFi, but given that you're dealing with a tablet as opposed to a handset, it seems to make a little more sense.Results were unsurprising but satisfying with the video calls we placed, but again, those cameras don't produce stunning images -- especially when you're piping video in both directions.Photo Booth, on the other hand, has gone from a minor sideshow in OS X to a full blown event app on the iPad 2. The device's A5 CPU seems to have little trouble cranking out nine separate, live video previews of the kinds of effects you can do in the app, and when you're in full screen mode, you can tweak the silly-yet-often-psychedelic graphics to your heart's content. It's not something that is wildly useful, but we imagine a lot of people will be walking out of Apple stores with an iPad 2 in hand after playing around with this for a few minutes. It's just kind of cool.Coming from a background in professional audio production, our initial reaction to GarageBand was one of heavy skepticism -- but that attitude changed pretty quickly. The $4.99 piece of software offers eight tracks of recorded audio or software instruments, along with the ability to mix your levels, add effects, and even apply amps and stompboxes to your tracks. The software also features a library of preset loops, along with options to sample audio and create your own playable instruments.We were immediately impressed with the layout and thoughtfulness that's obviously gone into this app; it doesn't feel like a watered down version of the desktop application -- it feels like a whole new game. Creating tracks and recording pieces for a song couldn't have been easier, and the provided software instruments provide myriad options when it comes to sound creation and manipulation. Besides the standard selection of pianos, keyboards, and drum kits, Apple has also introduced an ingenious (and sure to be maddening to some) set of instruments called Smart Instruments.Smart Instruments work in a kind of uncanny way; if you're using the guitar setting in this mode, you're presented with what looks like the neck of a guitar and a spread of preset chords. You can pick or strum the instrument as you would an actual guitar and the results are surprisingly, disarmingly lifelike. If you're really not musically inclined, you can have the guitar basically play itself for you while you switch between styles and chords. We were amused by the latter option, but completely hooked on the former. We would like to see Apple add options to let users define their own chords, which would open up tons of options and really let musicians get creative, but this is an excellent start to a completely new concept in music-making. There are also Smart Instruments for piano / keyboards (a little more hands-off than the guitar variation), and drums. The drum Smart Instrument allows you to mix and match specific drums on a grid which represents volume and pattern, allowing you to create fascinating combinations of rhythms just by dragging and dropping your kicks, snares, and hi-hats. Again, we'd like to see Apple allow for user-definable patterns here, but there's lots to like and explore for musicians and non-musicians alike.In the pattern mode, you're able to draw out and sequence complete songs with your eight tracks. Apple takes an approach here that's a bit strange, asking you to duplicate or extend each set of patterns as a section, but once you get the hang of it, it starts to make sense. We would like to see some options for being able to edit specific note data as well -- as it stands, Apple only allows you to re-record a part, not fix or alter notes within the part.Overall, this is a groundbreaking piece of software for tablets. It wasn't without issues -- in fact, we had some major, system-stalling crashes which required a reboot of the iPad. It's clear that there are bugs to be worked out, and that despite that A5 CPU and increased memory, a music tracking and arranging app remains a fairly heavy piece of code. Still, we found ourselves completely fascinated by GarageBand and unable to put it down. Whether you're tinkering, writing, or recording, this software's value will be clear right from the start.Here's a couple of quickly thrown together originals -- the first was made almost entirely while on a plane.iMovie for the iPad wasn't quite the revelatory experience that GarageBand was, but the application provides loads of utility for video editing on the go -- and it does it on the cheap, clocking in at just $4.99. In a kind of blown-up version of the iPhone app, iMovie now lets you edit both videos you've shot on the device and imported files in a touchy-feely environment that's actually more intuitive than its desktop counterpart -- at least in a some ways.As with other versions of the software, you get a set of movie templates and associated effects which you can apply to your clips. Editing is a new experience -- all swipes and gestures -- but surprisingly simple. There aren't a slew of options for transitions or effects, but the raw materials provided are more than enough to create competent work, especially if you're editing together family vacations or first birthday parties. We would like to see some better options for dealing with audio (cross fades and proper iMovie style volume curves would be great), but we're sure people will come up with some very interesting work despite the limitations of the app.You can immediately export and upload your content to a variety of sources, including YouTube, Vimeo, CNN's iReport, and Facebook. And yes, you can do it in HD. In our experience, the process worked flawlessly.The version of iMovie we tested -- like GarageBand -- was slightly buggy and prone to full on crashes while we were editing, and we did have to backtrack and recreate some of our edits after one of the crashes. It wasn't tragic (no actual content was lost), but we're hoping Apple takes a long look at the bug reports which are sure to pour in. Despite that issue, however, you simply can't beat the utility of this app at what is an astounding price point.AirPlay has now been expanded to work with more applications, which means developers can plug into the API to get video (and more) out to TV screens anywhere an Apple TV is located. That's nice, but until people start taking advantage of it, there aren't a ton of places you can use it right now. You can, however, stream all H.264 video from websites, and you can now access photos and video you've shot on your device that live in your camera roll.If you're really serious about getting video out to your TV, you'll want to pick up Apple's new HDMI dongle ($39), which allows you to plug directly into your HDTV (and has a spot for your dock connector as well). It's a pretty odd product, considering that you've got to have your HDMI cable stretched across your living room. Unless of course, you're just dropping your iPad off by the TV to watch some content, and never pausing or skipping anything. That said, the adapter worked flawlessly, and when we had HD video running on the iPad 2, it sent that content to the TV with no trouble whatsoever.The other accessories of note are Apple's Smart Covers. These ingenious little flaps are basically screen protectors with a set of smart magnets along the side -- instead of wrapping around your iPad or hanging onto the device with unsightly hooks or straps, Apple has devised a method for attaching the cover with well placed magnets. It's hard to explain how the covers work, but the effect is surprising when you first see it; the magnets just seem to know where to go. It is a neat trick, and the covers (which come in polyurethane for $39 and leather varieties at $69) do an excellent job of keeping your screen protected. The covers also can put your device to sleep and wake it up as you close or open the flaps -- and it can be folded over on itself to be used as a stand in a variety of positions. The accessories also have a microfiber lining, which supposedly helps keep your screen clean. But of course, there's more to the iPad than just a screen, and our test device actually got a nasty scratch on the back because there was nothing there to protect it. We love the convenience of the Smart Cover and the way it looks, but if you're seriously concerned about the entire iPad (and not just the display), you might want to check out other options.It might frustrate the competition to hear this, but it needs to be said: the iPad 2 isn't just the best tablet on the market, it feels like the only tablet on the market. As much as we'd like to say that something like the Xoom has threatened Apple's presence in this space, it's difficult (if not impossible) to do that. Is the iPad 2 a perfect product? Absolutely not. The cameras are severely lacking, the screen -- while extremely high quality -- is touting last year's spec, and its operating system still has significant annoyances, like the aggravating pop-up notifications. At a price point of $499, and lots of options after that (like more storage and models that work on both Verizon's and AT&T's 3G networks), there's little to argue about in the way of price, and in terms of usability, apps like GarageBand prove that we haven't even scratched the surface of what the iPad can do.For owners of the previous generation, we don't think Apple's put a fire under you to upgrade. Unless you absolutely need cameras on your tablet, you've still got a solid piece of gear that reaps plenty of the benefits of the latest OS and apps. For those of you who haven't yet made the leap, feel free to take a deep breath and dive in -- the iPad 2 is as good as it gets right now. And it's really quite good.

– While we all love our smartphones, laptops, and other tech gadgets, it's inaccurate to refer to them as "sexy"—unless of course you plan to make love to them, says Gizmodo writer Mat Honan. The characterization has become so standard among tech reviewers, Honan believes it's time readers call out the cliche: "The next time you see a professional writer refer to an inanimate object full of circuitry and cadmium as 'sexy,' please inquire as to whether said writer does in fact find it to be arousing." It's lazy writing, and "it means you don't give a damn about your audience." Since "sexy" is a descriptor pretty much everyone old enough to buy a gadget can understand, writers don't hesitate to throw it around to easily get their point across. "Maybe you actually do want to get it on with your iPhone. Maybe you really do find vaporware coffeemakers sexually stimulating. That's fine! No judgment from me," Honan writes. "But make it clear. Let your readers know that you plan to make sweet, sweet love to that all-in-one printer." (Click to see a few examples of "sexy"-usage offenders, here, here, and here.)

Despite its title, "Elysium" is no promised land. Expectations were high that the film starring Matt Damon would carry the flag for thoughtful, big-budget films that care about more than profits. But it has ended up as something of a disappointment, an epic that has gone over to the dark side without realizing it. That anticipation came courtesy of "District 9" — the 2009 science fiction film by Neill Blomkamp, "Elysium's" South African writer-director — which came out of nowhere to be nominated for four Oscars, including best picture and adapted screenplay. PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments "District 9" succeeded in part because of the strength of its unexpected core idea: that aliens coming to Earth were not necessarily a dominant species but instead were rounded up and segregated in their own parts of town the way blacks had been in South Africa. "Elysium" makes a similar attempt to graft socio-political concerns onto a sci-fi framework, but the idea is less electric here and the combining of genre and theme not as adroitly done. Initially, however, things do seem promising in "Elysium," in large part because of how its subject matter is compellingly visualized on screen (Philip Ivey is the production designer). PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times The year is 2154, and Earth, thanks to the destructive effects of pollution, overpopulation and related ills, is in horrific shape. Blighted, devastated slums cover the planet, and they are home to the poorest people (a Mexico City garbage dump stands in for Los Angeles). Anyone of wealth and status now lives on Elysium, a circular space station whose shape is reminiscent of the much smaller one in Stanley Kubrick's "2001." The air is pure, robots do the work, and everywhere there are healing machines that cure what ails you. Think of a flesh-and-blood version of the disparities in Disney's "Wall-E" and you'll get the general idea. Making the best of things on the planet is Max, played by a bulked-up, head-shaved, tattooed Damon. Max is a former car thief, once a legend in his Los Angeles neighborhood, who is working on a factory assembly line hoping to better his lot and maybe even get to Elysium someday. PHOTOS: Summer Sneaks 2013 Clearly, social inequality is very much on Blomkamp's mind, and when you add in illegal, clandestine space flights from Earth to Elysium by people desperate for medical attention, it's clear that hot-button issues like illegal immigration and universal access to healthcare are on the table as well. This is all well and good, but, paradoxically, once the actual plot of "Elysium" kicks in, these issues fade from the film's consciousness and the traditional, less involving tropes of good-guy-versus-bad-guy action take center stage. Although the pulp energy that Blomkamp brings to this material makes it consistently watchable, the film doesn't feel as singular as we would have hoped. Max, given a hard time by the humorless droids who police Earth, has to go to the local hospital where he gets reacquainted with nurse Frey (Alice Braga), his childhood soul mate from, no kidding, the orphanage where they both grew up. Back at the plant where Max works, things get worse. Our hero is put in a dangerous situation and ends up with a lethal dose of radiation that will kill him in five days. His only hope is to somehow get to Elysium and make use of one of those miraculous cure-all machines. PHOTOS: Billion-dollar movie club Not averse to helping Max are his neighborhood pal Julio (Mexico's Diego Luna) and Spider (Brazil's Wagner Moura), who runs illegal shuttles to Elysium. But the price is steep: Max, fortified by an exoskeleton that gives him added strength, will have to capture one of Elysium's top dogs, evil plutocrat John Carlyle (William Fichtner) and download information from the man's brain, a situation riskier than anyone imagines. And more pedestrian. For one thing, the villains in "Elysium" are very conventional. Aside from Carlyle, Jodie Foster — displaying excellent French and a stern visage — is one-dimensional as the Armani-clad Dragon Lady villainess determined to protect Elysium no matter the cost. Kruger, her thuggish enforcer ("District 9" star Sharlto Copley) is even more of a cliché. Countering all this is Damon, who is a big plus as always, instinctively humanizing thankless roles like Max and making them look easy. But once Max faces off with Kruger and his gang, as they inevitably must, all thoughts of anything besides hand-to-hand combat fade into insignificance. The plot gets unnecessarily confusing, and violent images, including a particularly grotesque blown-away face, push everything else away. "Elysium" may think it is about issues, but at times like these, that's very hard to see. kenneth.turan@latimes.com 'Elysium' MPAA Rating: R, for strong bloody violence and language throughout Running time: 1 hour, 42 minutes In general release

– Much like in real life, Matt Damon's character in the sci-fi thriller Elysium isn't too fond of government bureaucrats. Set in royally screwed-up Los Angeles (home to the masses) and an idyllic space station in the clouds (home to the rich) circa 2154, this flick from Neill Blomkamp (District 9) has both the compelling themes and action-packed fight scenes to make it a summer blockbuster. So is it one? Critics are split. The action sequences, complete with "futuristic CGI flying machines" are impressive, but it's "Blomkamp's critique of a society riven by class and racial differences" that sets it apart, Soren Anderson writes for the Seattle Times. "Few mainstream moviemakers have painted as sprawling and densely detailed a portrait of humanity in extremis as Blomkamp does here." But at the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan's high hopes were dashed. "Elysium is no promised land." Though Matt Damon is great as always and the visuals are equally as impressive, "the film doesn't feel as singular as we would have hoped." District 9 did a much better job of connecting genre (sci-fi) and theme ("socio-political concerns"). Even with the talented Damon along for the ride, Dana Stephens at Slate writes Elysium "does a little, sometimes shockingly little, with a lot ... Blomkamp proceeds to spend the last two-thirds of his film crashing spaceships into lawns, or staging high-tech fistfights. It’s a waste of a perfectly good dystopia." But over at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Steven Rea sees things differently. "Among the slew of recent futuristic hell-in-a-hand-basket spectacles, Elysium takes the cake." Sure, it can be a little generic at times—"haven't we just seen all this head-bashing, hanging-from-catwalks, mixed-martial-arts mayhem in The Wolverine and Iron Man 3?—but "as summer movie sci-fi extravaganzas go, Elysium is easily the best thing out there right now."

Tai Lopez is the best example of the glowing 67 Steps reviews. This is why the program is so successful. Tai Lopez leads by example. If you have no idea how the program can help you, 67 Steps reviews are the best way to get started. Don’t just dive in to buy the world-famous Tai Lopez lecture series. Like buying clothes or shoes, go window shopping first to find the best option for you to break down Tai Lopez’s success principles. Of course, 67 Steps reviews of the Tai Lopez opus are free. But to get your hands on the real meat of the actual program, you have to pay USD $67 on a monthly basis. According to most 67 Steps reviews, such a financial investment is worth it. However, if you’re a struggling student or unemployed, you might not be willing to commit to the Tai Lopez lecture series just yet–maybe later. For the time being, the good news is, 67 Steps reviews are all available for free online especially on YouTube. And if you start this way, chances are, you will be able to learn a lot more than diving straight into all the paid Tai Lopez videos. To illustrate, the Tai Lopez work can be easily broken down into 67 success principles. Surely, 67 Steps reviews are enough to reveal what all the steps are, the first 10 of which are as follows: 1) Self investment 2) Adapt 3) Be humble 4) You need a trainer 5) Surround yourself with positive people 6) Hard work is the only guarantee of success 7) Mental trap is the worst trap 8) Integrate your life (friends, home, work, exercise) 9) Learn from the experience of others 10) Don’t be onion-skinned As 67 Steps reviews will tell you, there are 57 more steps to follow where each step can be a one-hour video. Tai Lopez patterned the number of lessons to the time it takes the average human being to reinvent himself or herself. If you still don’t get the picture, here it is in a nutshell. It won’t be enough just to pay your monthly dues and watch all 67 videos. You need to apply yourself to all the Tai Lopez principles. Again, 67 Steps reviews can be a tremendous help with putting all the principles to work for you to get you all prepared for the real deal. So for all the lazy people out there, 67 Steps reviews will be the first to tell you that if you don’t learn to apply all the principles laid out by Tai Lopez, completing the training modules would be utterly useless. For the Tai Lopez videos to really make a difference in your life, you need to treat them like you would a new fitness routine. Like Tai Lopez himself, you need to walk the talk. As many 67 Steps reviews attest, Tai Lopez did not become rich overnight if he did not put all 67 principles of success to work for him. His success formula is based on years of poring through all books written by geniuses, visionary entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders, and motivational speakers. An alternative to mimicking the Tai Lopez success principles is to get your hands on all the books that he has read. So in effect, Tai Lopez is saving you time and money by doing all the research himself. He has condensed all the gems of wisdom from the greatest thinkers of the human species. In addition, he gives precious examples of how the success principles he has unearthed work for him in real life. These are the value-added dimensions of Tai Lopez’s lifelong struggle to get ahead of the pack by distilling the laws of success with the stroke of his own genius. Of course, with 67 Steps reviews now all over the Internet, a new avenue of learning has sprung up as well. For even if you spend your time on just the reviews themselves, you can already cover a great deal to put yourself on the path of success. One of these 67 Steps reviews tries to sweeten the deal by offering study notes as well as giving access to avenues for helping sharpen your speed reading in case you’re not up to speed yet. Surely, Tai Lopez would have anticipated the outpouring of support as well as third-party enhancements from his avowed followers. As such, these 67 Steps reviews are not acting as copycats. Rule No. 8, Integrate Your Life is the best demonstration that Tai Lopez’s take on the success principles of gurus, famous psychologists, positive thinkers, and management experts is best taken as a combo. No doubt, many more 67 Steps reviews are coming your way courtesy of the information superhighway. Having fun with them merely demonstrates the principle that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And that goes for Jill as well.

– When Ryan Garcia and his wife welcomed their new baby into the world last year, Ryan got inspired to begin what the Dayton Daily News calls "a kindness revolution." He resolved for the entire year of 2012 to perform a random act of kindness every day. “I decided I wanted to do something that would inspire her in the future," said the new dad. "I wanted to be a better person." And so Ryan launched his year of altruism. Examples: “I tracked down my sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Plecas, and wrote him a letter thanking him for being my favorite teacher ever." He also sent a condolence letter to a family who lost their son in the Afghanistan war. In one day, he complimented 25 strangers, and on another day he stood on the corner doling out free hugs. Yesterday, he took firefighters to lunch. You can keep track of his random feats at his blog, 366randomacts.org. (He's up to day 39).

The sound of an actual ticking clock can speed up women’s attitudes on reproductive timing New York | Heidelberg, 13 August 2014 The metaphor of a ticking clock is often used to refer to a woman’s growing urge – from puberty onwards to menopause – to conceive before her childbearing years are over. New research in Springer’s journal Human Nature shows that there’s more truth to this phrase than you might think. The subtle sound of a ticking clock can quite literally speed up a woman’s reproductive timing. That is, the sound of a ticking clock can lead women to want to start a family at an earlier age, especially if she was raised in a lower socio-economic community. This is according to Justin Moss and Jon Maner of Florida State University in the US. Reproductive timing refers to the time frame and the specific years during which people begin to focus their energy and resources towards bearing and caring for their offspring. Some researchers reason that when and how this happens is greatly influenced by a person’s childhood years, his or her socio-economic background, and other subtle environmental factors. Moss and Maner completed two experiments to test the influence of a subtle environmental factor – the ticking of a small white kitchen clock – on people’s reproductive timing attitudes. In the first, 59 men and women were asked questions about the age at which they’d like to marry and start a family. It assessed how socio-economic background might influence some people to press the snooze button of their biological clocks, or begin to act. In the second experiment, the researchers examined to what extent 74 participants would alter the characteristics they normally sought in potential mates to possibly settle for less just in order to have children sooner. Their findings suggest that priming the idea of the passage of time through the sound of a ticking clock can influence various aspects of women’s reproductive timing. The effect was especially noticeable among women who grew up in lower socio-economic communities. They wanted to get married and have their first child at a younger age than women with more resources. They also lowered the priority that they placed on men’s social status and long-term earning potential. However, the effect of the clock did not do the same for men. The researchers were not surprised by this because men are able to father children well into their old age. Their reproductive lives are therefore not as limited as that of women. “The very subtle sound prime of a ticking clock changed the timing with which women sought to have children and the traits they sought in potential partners—both central aspects of women’s mating-related psychology,” says Moss. “The findings suggest that a woman’s childhood years can interact with subtle environmental stimuli to affect her reproductive timing during adulthood,” adds Maner. Reference: Moss, J.H. & Maner, J.K. (2014). The Clock Is Ticking: The Sound of a Ticking Clock Speeds Up Women’s Attitudes on Reproductive Timing. Human Nature. DOI 10.1007/s12110-014-9210-7. Further information About Human Nature Services for Journalists The full text article and interviews with the authors are available to interested journalists upon request. Contact Alexander K. Brown

– Ladies, you know your biological clock—the one that "ticks" away as you start feeling like it might be time to reproduce? Well, it turns out the sound of an actual ticking clock can speed up your reproductive timing, making you want to have babies earlier, according to a new study published in Springer's journal Human Nature. Researchers asked men and women questions about their reproductive attitudes—things like when they'd like to marry and have kids and how much they'd be willing to alter their "requirements" for a mate in order to start a family earlier—and they found that the sound of a ticking clock influenced women's answers, possibly because it made them think about the passage of time. "The very subtle sound prime of a ticking clock changed the timing with which women sought to have children and the traits they sought in potential partners—both central aspects of women’s mating-related psychology," says one of the lead researchers. Women who grew up in lower socioeconomic areas were particularly affected, wanting to get married and start families even earlier—and placing a lower priority on their mate's status and earning potential—than women who were raised with more resources. Not surprisingly, men, who can typically father children well into their later years, were not affected by the clock sound. As Jesse Singal notes in New York, "all sorts of subtle cues can affect how people answer questions," but this result is still "kinda weird." (Click to read about why some doctors don't think freezing your eggs is a good idea.)

On Media Blog Archives Select Date… December, 2015 November, 2015 October, 2015 September, 2015 August, 2015 July, 2015 June, 2015 May, 2015 April, 2015 March, 2015 February, 2015 January, 2015 Getty 21st Century Fox launching 'internal review' at Fox News following Gretchen Carlson lawsuit Fox News has launched an internal review of the behavior of CEO Roger Ailes and "Fox & Friends" co-host Steve Doocy, after one of Fox News Channel's top anchors filed a lawsuit against Ailes, alleging wrongful termination and sexual harassment. The news of the lawsuit came in a bombshell email sent to reporters on Wednesday morning by the law firm representing Gretchen Carlson, the host of “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson” and former co-host of the morning show "Fox & Friends." According to the lawyers at Smith Mullin P.C., who are representing Carlson, her contract was terminated on June 23. Fox News did not publicly announce the contract termination, and Carlson said on her Twitter account at the time that she was on “on vacation”. "I have strived to empower women and girls throughout my entire career,” Carlson said in a statement. “Although this was a difficult step to take, I had to stand up for myself and speak out for all women and the next generation of women in the workplace. I am extremely proud of my accomplishments at Fox News and for keeping our loyal viewers engaged and informed on events and news topics of the day.” A spokesperson for 21st Century Fox released the following statement Wednesday afternoon: "The Company has seen the allegations against Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy. We take these matters seriously. While we have full confidence in Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy, who have served the company brilliantly for over two decades, we have commenced an internal review of the matter." Ailes released a statement Wednesday calling the lawsuit "defamatory" and "retaliatory." “Gretchen Carlson’s allegations are false. This is a retaliatory suit for the network’s decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup" Ailes's statement said. "When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit. Ironically, Fox News provided her with more on-air opportunities over her 11 year tenure than any other employer in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book. This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously.” The complaint was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey and claims Ailes made “sexually-charged comments” to Carlson, "ranging from lewd innuendo, ogling and remarks about Ms. Carlson’s body to demands for sex as a way for her to improve her job standing." “[D]uring a meeting last September in which Ms. Carlson complained about ongoing discriminatory and retaliatory treatment, Mr. Ailes stated, "I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better," adding that "sometimes problems are easier to solve' that way,” according to Carlson’s lawyers. On other occasions, the complaint alleges Ailes asked Carlson to "turn around so he could view her posterior, commented repeatedly about her legs, and instructed her to wear certain outfits that he claimed enhanced her figure.” Ailes also allegedly “directed sexist comments” about Carlson in public and announced to others at a industry event that “he had slept with three former Miss Americas, but not with her.” The complaint goes on to allege that Carlson was fired from “Fox & Friends” in 2013 because she complained about co-host Steve Doocy’s actions. Ailes, the complaint alleges, mocked Carlson and told her to stop being offended “so God damned easy.” Though she was moved to host her own show in the afternoon hour, the complaint alleges that the move was a demotion and that Ailes “reduced her compensation and withheld network support and promotion for her show.” "We believe that the evidence will confirm that Gretchen was fired from ‘Fox & Friends’ for speaking up about demeaning and discriminatory behavior on and off the set,” Nancy Erika Smith, employment litigator at Smith Mullin P.C., who is representing Carlson, said in a statement. Though the complaint was filed against Ailes, Doocy is also cited for alleged sexual harassment. "Doocy engaged in a pattern and practice of severe and pervasive sexual harassment of Carlson, including, but no limited to, mocking her during commercial breaks, shunning her off air, refusing to engage with her on air, belittling her contributions to the show, and generally attempting to put her in her place by refusing to accept and treat her as an intelligent and insightful journalist rather than a blond (sic) female prop," the complaint alleges. Carlson, a former Miss America (1989), joined Fox in 2005 after five years as a news correspondent and co-host of "The Saturday Early Show" on CBS. In her 2015 book "Getting Real", Carlson detailed several instances of sexual assault, starting from the beginning of her career, without naming any names. “We believe that Mr. Ailes’ behavior toward Gretchen, as described in the complaint, speaks volumes about what she had to endure. The evidence will show that Ailes deliberately sabotaged the career of a talented, hard-working journalist and loyal Fox News employee. Opposing sexism and rejecting unwanted sexual come-ons should never cost a woman her job or subject her to disparagement and emotional anguish,” said Martin Hyman, a partner in the New York firm Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe LLP, who, is co-counsel for Carlson. The complaint seeks compensatory damages, damages for mental anguish, and punitive damages. This story has been updated throughout...

– Gretchen Carlson made waves last month when she voiced approval for an assault weapons ban, but that was nothing compared to the bomb she dropped Wednesday: that she's no longer employed by Fox News and she's filing a sexual harassment and wrongful termination suit against her former boss, Roger Ailes, Politico reports. "As you may have heard, I'm no longer with @FoxNews. I value your support and friendship so please stay in touch," the now-former host of The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson tweeted Wednesday, adding links to her social media pages and website. The news about her suit was emailed to reporters from the law firm representing her, noting her contract had been terminated June 23, even though Fox never announced it; Carlson's own tweets from last month suggested she was simply on vacation. The complaint alleges Ailes made "sexually-charged comments [to Carlson], ranging from lewd innuendo, ogling and remarks about Ms. Carlson's body to demands for sex as a way for her to improve her job standing." Those remarks reportedly included statements about Carlson's legs and behind, requests that she wear form-fitting outfits, and "sexist comments." She also claims she was fired in 2013 from her co-host chair on Fox & Friends and given less money for her own show after she complained about "demeaning and discriminatory behavior on and off the set," specifically from co-host Steve Doocy, per an attorney statement. "Opposing sexism and rejecting unwanted sexual come-ons should never cost a woman her job or subject her to disparagement and emotional anguish," another lawyer tells Politico. As for Carlson herself, she says in her own statement: "I have strived to empower women and girls throughout my entire career. Although this was a difficult step to take, I had to stand up for myself and speak out for all women and the next generation of women in the workplace." Read Ailes' response here.

(Note: Language in paragraph four may offend some readers.) MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday told U.S. President Barack Obama to “go to hell” and said the United States had refused to sell some weapons to his country but he did not care because Russia and China were willing suppliers. In his latest salvo, Duterte said he was realigning his foreign policy because the United States had failed the Philippines and added that at some point, “I will break up with America”. It was not clear what he meant by “break up”. During three tangential and fiercely worded speeches in Manila, Duterte said the United States did not want to sell missiles and other weapons, but Russia and China had told him they could provide them easily. “Although it may sound shit to you, it is my sacred duty to keep the integrity of this republic and the people healthy,” Duterte said. “If you don’t want to sell arms, I’ll go to Russia. I sent the generals to Russia and Russia said ‘do not worry, we have everything you need, we’ll give it to you’. “And as for China, they said ‘just come over and sign and everything will be delivered’.” China “did not understand the situation”, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, however, in a statement sent to Reuters. Duterte’s comments were the latest in a near-daily barrage of hostility toward the United States, during which Duterte has started to contrast the former colonial power with its geopolitical rivals Russia and China. In Washington, U.S. officials downplayed Duterte’s comments, saying they were “at odds” with the two countries’ warm relationship and decades-long alliance. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there has been no communication from the Philippines about making changes in that relationship. Earnest did not, however, back down from criticism of Duterte’s tactics in his deadly war on drugs. “Even as we protect the strong alliance, the administration and the United States of America will not hesitate to raise our concerns about extrajudicial killings,” he said at a briefing. ‘HELL IS FULL’ On Sunday, Duterte said he had received support from Russia and China when he complained to them about the United States. He also said he would review a U.S.-Philippines Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement. The deal, signed in 2014, grants U.S. troops some access to Philippine bases, and allows them to set up storage facilities for maritime security and humanitarian and disaster response operations. Duterte said the United States should have supported the Philippines in tackling its chronic drugs problems but that instead it had criticized him for the high death toll, as did the European Union. “Instead of helping us, the first to hit was the State Department. So you can go to hell, Mr Obama, you can go to hell,” he said. “EU, better choose purgatory. Hell is full already. Why should I be afraid of you?” At a later speech he said he was emotional because the United States had not been a friend of the Philippines since his election in May. “They just ... reprimand another president in front of the international community,” he told the Jewish community at a synagogue. “This is what happens now, I will be reconfiguring my foreign policy. Eventually, I might in my time I will break up with America.” It was not clear if by his “time”, he was referring to his six-year term in office. According to some U.S. officials, Washington has been doing its best to ignore Duterte’s rhetoric and not provide him with a pretext for more outbursts. While an open break with Manila would create problems in a region where China’s influence has grown, there were no serious discussions about taking punitive steps such as cutting aid to the Philippines, two U.S. officials said on Monday. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte (C) clenches fist with members of the Philippine Army during his visit at the army headquarters in Taguig city, metro Manila, Philippines October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco Several of Duterte’s allies on Monday suggested he act more like a statesman because his comments had created a stir. On Tuesday, he said his outbursts were because he was provoked by criticism of his crackdown on drugs. “When you are already at the receiving end of an uncontrollable rush, the only way out is to insult,” he said. “That is my retaliation.”

– Perhaps teeing up his next apology, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continued his string of inflammatory, anti-US statements by telling President Obama to "go to hell" Tuesday, Reuters reports, after the US refused to sell him weapons to continue his violent crackdown on drug dealers. "If you don't want to sell arms, I'll go to Russia," Duterte said. "I sent the generals to Russia and Russia said 'do not worry, we have everything you need, we'll give it to you.' And as for China, they said 'just come over and sign and everything will be delivered.' " Duterte previously called Obama a "son of a bitch," and a State Department rep calls his latest stance "at odds with the warm relationship" the two countries have long enjoyed. Duterte's bloody campaign is averaging 38 deaths a day, Al-Jazeera reported in September, and his methods have drawn harsh criticism from the international community, including the US. Duterte on Tuesday expressed frustration at this slight, saying: "Instead of helping us, the first to hit was the State Department. So you can go to hell, Mr. Obama, you can go to hell." He then threatened to "break up" with the US, then added, for good measure: "EU, better choose purgatory. Hell is full already. Why should I be afraid of you?" (On Sunday, he was busily apologizing to the Jewish community for a jab about Adolf Hitler.)

WASHINGTON – After saying there was no evidence the two had ever met, the White House acknowledged Thursday that President Obama once lived for a few weeks with his uncle, Onyango Obama, a Kenyan who was in the United States illegally and faced possible deportation. The president met his father’s half-brother when he moved to the Boston area to attend Harvard Law School and stayed with him until his apartment was ready, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. After moving out, Obama saw his uncle, known as Omar, once every few months until he graduated. “The president has not seen Omar Obama in 20 years and has not spoken with him in a decade,” Carney said. The update follows Onyango Obama’s statement in court this week that the president had lived with him. The elder Obama was in court for a deportation hearing following a drunken driving arrest. He won status as a legal permanent resident. He came to the United States in 1963 on a student visa that expired in 1970, and he has lived in the country illegally ever since. PHOTOS: 2013's memorable political moments The Boston Globe reported last year that the White House said the president had never met his uncle. White House aides say they actually told the Globe that there was no record of the two having met. On Thursday, Carney said no one at the White House had actually asked the president if he’d come face to face with his uncle before making that statement to the press. “Back when this arose, folks looked at the record, including the president’s book, and there was no evidence that they had met,” Carney said. “Nobody spoke to the president.” When the issue came up again this week, Carney said, he personally took the question to the president. “The president said that he, in fact, had met Omar Obama when he moved to Cambridge for law school, and that he stayed with him for a brief period of time until his apartment was ready,” Carney said. After that, aides say, uncle and nephew saw each other once every few months while the president was in Cambridge, and then gradually fell out of touch after the president graduated from law school. Carney said there was “absolutely zero interference” by the White House in Obama’s legal case. Follow Politics Now on Twitter and Facebook christi.parsons@latimes.com Twitter: @cparsons

– Whoops. The White House had to make a strange about-face today and acknowledge that President Obama has, in fact, met his Uncle Omar. Not only that, but the younger Obama actually lived with his uncle for a few weeks in Cambridge in the 1980s, reports the Boston Globe. The tidbit surfaced this week during Onyango Obama's deportation hearing in Boston. Onyango—Omar is his nickname—testified that his nephew stayed with him for a brief spell when Barack arrived in town to attend Harvard Law School. “It’s a good thing to let your nephew stay with you,” he said afterward, explaining that "your brother’s kids are your kids as well.” This wouldn't have caused headlines if not for the fact that a White House spokesman said in 2011—after Omar's arrest for drunken driving—that the two had never met. Jay Carney explained the mistake today by saying no staffers had actually asked the president in person, reports the LA Times. This time, they did. “The president has not seen Omar Obama in 20 years and has not spoken with him in a decade," he added. But given that Omar was allowed to remain in the country, maybe that will change?

Dressed in green prison fatigues, R. Allen Stanford entered a federal courthouse in Houston today to hear U.S. District Judge David Hitner pronounce his prison sentence. The decision: 110 years. Prosecutors had asked that the one-time billionaire financier get 230 years in prison. (note: Bernard Madoff is serving 150 years). The prosecutor told Judge Hitner, “230 years will not get anyone their money back but on sleepless nights they will know that he got the maximum.” I think 110 years will give them just as much comfort. During the proceeding, Stanford’s attorney, Ali Fazel, objected to the use of the term “Ponzi scheme,” but Hittner said the evidence at trial justified it. It’s not like Stanford could be any more insulted. The prosecutors also compared him to Bernie Madoff. That too caused Fazel to speak up on behalf of Stanford by saying of Madoff, “he didn’t invest time in anything.” Not sure what he was going for with that comment but I took it that Stanford worked harder at his fraud than did Madoff. Speaking on his own behalf, Stanford recounted his last three years, including his beating in September 2009. The best that he could say as a compliment for those who prosecuted him was, “I wouldn’t wish this on them.” While he acknowledged that he felt sorry for depositors, employees and his own family for the failure of Stanford Financial, he managed to slip in, “I’m not a thief,” and, “I never defrauded anyone.” Victims in the courtroom, all dressed in black, begged to differ. One of the victims, Jaime Escalona, who represented Latin American victims, addressed the court. Looking at Stanford he said, “You sir are a dirty, rotten, scoundrel.” The other victim spokesman, Angela Shaw of the Stanford Victims Coalition, said of Stanford, “He took our lives as we knew them.” The prison sentence represents a long fall for the once-knighted Antiguan, who has been in prison since his arrest in June 2009. Declared indigent by the court, all of Stanford’s assets were frozen and he was represented by a public defender. In March, Stanford was found guilty of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. However, his road to the courthouse was not without controversy. First, there was that strange interview on CNBC in which Stanford proclaimed his innocence. Then Stanford sued Lloyd’s of London, the underwriter of Stanford Financial Group’s Directors and Officers insurance, to pay for his legal fees. In the end, Lloyd’s won and Stanford got the legal help of public defenders Ali Fazel and Robert Scardino. Stanford learned that prison can be a difficult place to live. Long before being tried in court, Stanford was severely beaten by another inmate. He was hospitalized and later transferred to a federal prison medical facility in Butner, NC, as result of an addiction to anti-depressants, which he developed after the beating. The trauma, his lawyers claimed, left their client unable to remember anything. After a year’s delay in heading to trial, government psychologists determined he was faking it and set a court date. In January, just 12 days before Stanford’s trial was to begin, Fazel and Scardino wanted out of the case on the grounds that budget restrictions were hurting their ability to defend him. Prior to that, a number of supporting groups and expert witnesses for the defense said that they too wanted to quit because they were not being paid by the government. Eventually, some money was released and Stanford was off to trial. With all of this drama, there still has been no distribution of the funds that have been seized by the government to victims who had invested their savings with Stanford in the hopes of incredible returns on supposedly safe certificates of deposit. The trial and the prison sentence will bring some closure, but the restitution to investors will come up a little short. With regard to the losses for U.S. taxpayers? We will be paying for Stanford’s prison stay and his future legal fees. Stanford is planning to appeal and the court will be giving him a new public defender. Stanford’s most memorable statement was, “If I live the rest of my life in prison …. I will always be at peace with the way I conducted myself in business.” He can think about that one for a while. My thanks to Twitterers Ronnie Crocker and CNBC’s Scott Cohn, who gave us all updates during the sentencing. See Also: Allen Stanford Appeals To A Higher Power–CNBC Feds Say Fugitive Day Trader Ran Ponzi Scheme On Gay Community The Latest In Ponzi Schemes: Pretend You Know George Soros

– R. Allen Stanford's epic fall from billionaire to imprisoned fraudster came to a conclusion today as a judge sentenced him to 110 years in prison, reports the Wall Street Journal. Stanford was convicted in March of bilking investors in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme that spanned 20 years. Prosecutors sought 230 years, calling him a "ruthless predator" who orchestrated one of the biggest frauds in history. Stanford's lawyers hoped to get him out on time already served. Investors weren't having any of that: "You, sir, are a dirty rotten scoundrel," said one of the victims allowed to address the court, notes Forbes.

As military missions go, this one is unique: Relocate desert tortoises inhabiting desert land eyed to train Marine Corps brigades to safer areas away from human activity and military training. (Eric Reed/For The Press Enterprise/SCNG) Dr. Peter Praschag rehydrates a Desert Tortoise with Veterinarian Shannon DiRuzzo as biologist work with the USMC, BLM, the California and US Fish & Wildlife Services to relocate about 1,100 to 1,500 Desert Tortoises from the Bessemer Mine area of Johnson Valley in Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Wednesday, April 12, 2017. For the tortoise, a species listed as threatened with extinction, it means the loss of more than a hundred square miles of quality habitat, as evidenced this year by robust blooms of yellow desert dandelions and other annual plants that are their primary food source. The following day, a helicopter piloted by a biologist carried bins bearing tortoises to their new homes in one of five sites within MCAGCC or nearby federal lands. Scores of specially trained biologists have methodically walked the valley and fitted each tortoise they found with radio transmitters, so the animals could be gathered for this month’s move. Last year’s planned relocation was stymied by California’s extended drought, which shorted the water and growth of plants that provide the tortoise’s nourishment and lifelines. About 235 juveniles too small for relocation are being admitted to the base’s “head start facility,” where they will remain until they grow large enough to better survive on their own. The Marine Corps “learned from past lessons,” Christensen said, adding it “took the time to do it right.” “People feel very strong about the tortoise,” he said. “The tortoise is very charismatic. For the relocation mission, combat center officials followed U.S. The Marine Corps will track these tortoises for 30 years, with consistent tracking for the first five to 10 years, Henen said, adding, “we are committed to doing 30 years.” Tortoises were moved from areas in the Western Expansion Area, west of the main combat center, to five areas 15 to 20 kilometers away but within the training base or on BLM-controlled lands, all identified as supportable tortoise habitat. But are we are using the relocated tortoises to supplement the populations in the critical habitat areas,” said Hoffman, referring to some of the recipient areas. “The tortoises are mobile,” Christensen said, “but yes, they are slow.” That lack of speed makes them vulnerable to coyotes and ravens. Fish and Wildlife Service told the Marine Corps that its review wouldn’t be done before the spring window for the move, Marine Corps officials said.

– The mission: to airlift 1,156 desert tortoises to a place where there's no threat of being flattened by tanks. The Marines are this month moving the reptiles out of a corner of California's Mojave Desert where the Corps will soon begin extensive live-fire training, the Los Angeles Times reports. Packed up two per plastic bin, the hubcap-sized creatures are being loaded into helicopters and flown 25 miles away to federal lands beyond the Marines' Twentynine Palms base northeast of Palm Springs. Their new home is far enough away to keep tortoises from wandering back into the line of fire when the Marines begin "longer and more involved" training exercises this summer that the Press-Enterprise reports will better position them to carry out missions in "global hot spots." Operation Desert Tortoise doesn't come cheap: Its $50 million price tag covers everything from the 125 biologists USNI News describes as setting out to locate, examine, and box up the tortoises to an agreed-upon 30 years of monitoring. The Marines have been pushing for this move since 2008, an effort complicated by the tortoises' "threatened" status. Environmentalists threatened to sue, citing the harm that taking away 100 square miles of habitat might do, but the Times reports the program got final approval after the US Fish and Wildlife Service said it couldn't finish its review before the spring relocation window closed. A biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity expressed concerns there might not be adequate food in the new habitat. (This really old tortoise is the "savior" of the Galapagos.)

A pilot climbs out of a British Typhoon jet fighter of the Royal Air Force's Number 3 Squadron, parked at Gioia del Colle air base near Bari, Southern Italy, as Italian army trucks stand nearby, Monday... (Associated Press) Coalition forces bombarded Libya for a third straight night Monday, targeting the air defenses and forces of Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, stopping his advances and handing some momentum back to the rebels, who were on the verge of defeat just last week. But the rebellion's more organized military units were still not ready, and the opposition disarray underscored U.S. warnings that a long stalemate could emerge. The air campaign by U.S. and European militaries has unquestionably rearranged the map in Libya and rescued rebels from the immediate threat they faced only days ago of being crushed under a powerful advance by Gadhafi's forces. The first round of airstrikes smashed a column of regime tanks that had been moving on the rebel capital of Benghazi in the east. Monday night, Libyan state TV said a new round of strikes had begun in the capital, Tripoli, marking the third night of bombardment. But while the airstrikes can stop Gadhafi's troops from attacking rebel cities _ in line with the U.N. mandate to protect civilians _ the United States, at least, appeared deeply reluctant to go beyond that toward actively helping the rebel cause to oust the Libyan leader. President Barack Obama said Monday that "it is U.S. policy that Gadhafi has to go." But, he said, the international air campaign has a more limited goal, to protect civilians. "Our military action is in support of an international mandate from the Security Council that specifically focuses on the humanitarian threat posed by Col. Gadhafi to his people. Not only was he carrying out murders of civilians but he threatened more," the president said on a visit to Chile. In Washington, the American general running the assault said there is no attempt to provide air cover for rebel operations. Gen. Carter Ham said Gadhafi might cling to power once the bombardment finishes, setting up a stalemate between his side and the rebels, with allied nations enforcing a no-fly zone to ensure he cannot attack civilians. At the United Nations Monday, the Security Council turned down a request by Libya for an emergency session. Libya wanted "an emergency meeting in order to halt this aggression." Henri Guaino, a top adviser to the French president, said the allied effort would last "a while yet." Among the rebels, as well, there was a realization that fighting could be drawn out. Mohammed Abdul-Mullah, a 38-year-old civil engineer from Benghazi who was fighting with the rebel force, said government troops stopped all resistance after the international campaign began. "The balance has changed a lot," he said. "But pro-Gadhafi forces are still strong. They are a professional military and they have good equipment. Ninety percent of us rebels are civilians, while Gadhafi's people are professional fighters." Disorganization among the rebels could also hamper their attempts to exploit the turn of events. Since the uprising began, the opposition has been made up of disparate groups even as it took control of the entire east of the country. Regular citizens _ residents of the "liberated" areas _ took up arms and formed a ragtag, highly enthusiastic but highly undisciplined force that in the past weeks has charged ahead to fight Gadhafi forces, only to be beaten back by superior firepower. Regular army units that joined the rebellion have proven stronger, more organized fighters, but only a few units have joined the battles while many have stayed behind as officers struggle to get together often antiquated, limited equipment and form a coordinated force. Discord also plagued the coalition. The U.S. was eager to pass leadership off, but the allies were deeply divided on the issue. Turkey was adamantly against NATO taking charge, while Italy hinted Monday it would stop allowing use of its airfields if the veteran alliance is not given the leadership. Germany and Russia also criticized the way the mission is being carried out. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin railed against the U.N.-backed airstrikes as outside meddling "reminiscent of a medieval call for a Crusade." In contrast, the British parliament lent clear support, voting 557 to 13 in favor of using armed forces to enforce the Security Council resolution to use "all necessary measures" to protect civilians in Libya. in Libya, a "political leadership" has formed among the rebels, made up of former members of Gadhafi's regime who defected along with prominent local figures in the east, such as lawyers and doctors. The impromptu nature of their leadership has left some in the West _ particularly in the United States _ unclear on who the rebels are that the international campaign is protecting. The disarray among the opposition was on display on Monday. With Benghazi relieved, several hundred of the "citizen fighters" barreled to the west, vowing to break a siege on the city of Ajdabiya by Gadhafi forces, which have been pounding a rebel force holed up inside the city since before the allied air campaign began. The fighters pushed without resistance down the highway from Benghazi _ littered with the burned out husks of Gadhafi's tanks and armored personnel carriers hit in the airstrikes _ until they reached the outskirts of Ajdabiya. Along the way, they swept into the nearby oil port of Zwitina, just northeast of Ajdabiya, which was also the scene of heavy fighting last week _ though now had been abandoned by regime forces. There, a power station hit by shelling on Thursday was still burning, its blackened fuel tank crumpled, with flames and black smoke pouring out. Some of the fighters, armed with assault rifles, grenade launchers and truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns, charged to the city outskirts and battled with Gadhafi forces in the morning. A number of rebels were killed before they were forced to pull back somewhat, said the spokesman for the rebels' organized military forces, Khalid al-Sayah. Al-Sayah said the fighters' advance was spontaneous "as always." But the regular army units that have joined the rebellion are not yet ready to go on the offensive. "We don't want to advance without a plan," he told AP in Benghazi. "If it were up to the army, the advance today would not have happened." He said the regular units intend to advance but not yet, saying it was not yet ready. "It's a new army, we're starting it from scratch." By Monday afternoon, around 150 citizen-fighters were massed in a field of dunes several miles (kilometers) outside Ajdabiya. Some stood on the wind-swept dunes with binoculars to survey the positions of pro-Gadhafi forces sealing off the entrances of the city. Ajdabiya itself was visible, black smoke rising, apparently from fires burning from fighting in recent days. "There are five Gadhafi tanks and eight rocket launchers behind those trees and lots of 4x4s," one rebel fighter, Fathi Obeidi, standing on a dune and pointing at a line of trees between his position and the city, told an Associated Press reporter at the scene. Gadhafi forces have ringed the city's entrance and were battling with opposition fighters inside, rebels said. The plan is for the rebel forces from Benghazi "to pinch" the regime troops while "those inside will push out," Obeidi said. He said a special commando unit that defected to the opposition early on in the uprising was inside the city leading the defense. Regime troops are also besieging a second city _ Misrata, the last significant rebel-held territory in western Libya. According to reports from Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, new fighting erupted Monday at Misrata, Libya's third largest city, which the forces have shelled repeatedly over recent days while cutting off most food and water supplies to residents. So far, allied bombardment has concentrated on knocking out Libyan air defenses, but a significant test of international intentions will be whether eventually the strikes by ship-fired cruise missiles and warplanes will try to break the sieges of Ajdabiya and Misrata by targeting the Gadhafi troops surrounding them. Al-Sayah said there had been allied strikes against Gadhafi positions outside Ajdabiya early Monday, but there was no independent confirmation, and the troops were still in place Monday afternoon. Ali Zeidan, an envoy to Europe from the opposition-created governing council, told The Associated Press that rebels want to drive Gadhafi from power and see him tried _ not have him killed. He said that while airstrikes have helped, the opposition needs more weapons to win the fight. "We are able to deal with Gadhafi's forces by ourselves" as long as it's a fair fight, he said in Paris. "You see, Gadhafi himself, we are able to target him, and we would like to have him alive to face the international or the Libyan court for his crime .... We don't like to kill anybody ... even Gadhafi himself." At the Pentagon, Ham said Monday afternoon that during the previous 24 hours, U.S. and British forces launched 12 Tomahawk land attack missiles, targeting regime command-and-control facilities and a missile facility and attacking one air defense site that already had been attacked. "Through a variety of reports, we know that regime ground forces that were in the vicinity of Benghazi now possess little will or capability to resume offensive operations," he said. A spokesman for the French military, whose warplanes have been conducting strikes in the Benghazi region, said there is a "very clear scale-down in the intensity of combat and, therefore, threats to the population" because of the bombardment. "There still are pro-Gadhafi elements in the zone where we're working. Nevertheless, these elements haven't necessarily been dealt with because they are mixed in, for example with the civilian population," Thierry Burkhard said. ___ Associated Press writers Hadeel al-Shalchi in Tripoli, Libya, Diaa Hadid in Cairo, Jamey Keaten and Cecile Brisson in Paris, and Lolita C. Baldor and Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.

– Coalition forces pounded targets in Libya for a third night yesterday, but the general leading US forces says the pace of air attacks is likely to slow soon. The campaign to destroy Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses and establish a no-fly zone is almost complete, and American officials are seeking to hand over leadership of the operation to European allies, reports the New York Times. "My sense is that unless something unusual or unexpected happens, we may see a decline in the frequency of attacks, " said Gen. Carter Ham. Coalition forces aren't attempting to provide air cover for rebels, he added, warning of a potentially long stalemate between Gadhafi's forces and the rebels, AP reports. President Obama says that he expects control of the operation to be handed over within days. "It is US policy that Gadhafi needs to go,” he told reporters. “And we’ve got a wide range of tools in addition to our military effort to support that policy."