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'Say Yes to the Dress' Bride Judge Says 'No' to Blocking Episode 'Say Yes to the Dress' Bride: Judge Says 'No' To Lawsuit An attorney for the show’s production company admitted in court Thursday, “This is not he first time this issue has come up.” But Jon Hollis, Half Yard Production’s lawyer, said Godino was told “point blank it’s going to air in the spring and we … don’t control the broadcast company.” TLC attorney Theodore Tsekerides said it couldn’t be pulled because, “we have no full episode in the can.” Godino’s lawyer Frank Taddeo, said his client spent $20,000 for her dream dress — and wasn’t compensated by the show.

– If you were invited to Alexandra Godino's May wedding, tune into TLC at 9pm Friday night and you can get a sneak peek of the bridal gown she'll be wearing. That's the issue at the heart of a lawsuit Godino filed against the network, in which she attempted to force TLC to delay airing the episode of Say Yes to the Dress in which she appears. ("Not showing the world my gown before the wedding is very important," her suit says, per Page Six.) But a Manhattan judge refused Thursday, meaning Godino's dress will be unveiled publicly before she walks down the aisle. It all started back in September, when Godino, who is from Las Vegas and getting married in California, was approached at New York's Kleinfeld Bridal by producers who told her the bride they were supposed to be filming never showed up, and asked her if she was interested in filling in, the New York Daily News reports. Godino, 26, says she first made the producers promise they wouldn't air the episode until after her wedding, a promise that her lawyer says was witnessed by her mom and her fiance, professional hockey player Jeff May. But Godino signed a waiver that included no restrictions about when the show could air, so the judge ruled against her despite acknowledging that airing the episode Friday "could take away from the pageantry of the wedding." Pageantry indeed: The dress to which Godino said yes reportedly cost $40,000 and is "one of the most important aspects of [her] entire wedding," per the suit. As for her not wanting her fiance to see dress in advance, TMZ reports that the judge asked her lawyer if Godino could just ask him not to watch the episode. The bride-to-be plans to sue the show for damages.

GOP lawmakers fear presidential firings of Mueller, Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsWe can end the shutdown with billion — Trump and Democrats already agree on border security Nadler sends Whitaker questions on possible contacts with Trump over Mueller probe Graham angers Dems by digging into Clinton, Obama controversies MORE or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Rod Jay RosensteinBarr’s first task as AG: Look at former FBI leaders’ conduct 5 myths about William Barr William Barr's only 'flaw' is that he was nominated by Trump MORE would cause chaos in Washington and dim Republican hopes of holding their congressional majorities. The articles that provoked Mr. Trump’s anger in December — which were published by Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters — said one of Mr. Mueller’s subpoenas had targeted Mr. Trump’s and his family’s banking records at Deutsche Bank. The comments suggest the White House may be looking for legal arguments to back a decision to fire Mueller.

– President Trump tried to fire Robert Mueller in December, which is the second known time the president has attempted to get rid of the special counsel, according to the New York Times. which cites interviews with eight White House officials and other people close to Trump. The sources say Trump demanded the firing because he was enraged by media reports that Mueller had crossed his "red line" and subpoenaed Deutsche Bank seeking records on the financial dealings of the Trump family. The insiders say that Trump backed down after lawyers contacted Mueller's team and determined that the reports were what the president would describe as "FAKE NEWS." The Times reported earlier this year that the chief White House lawyer refused Trump's order to fire Mueller last June. The Times report heightened worries that Trump will fire Mueller out of anger at Monday's raid on the offices of Michael Cohen, his personal lawyer. After the raid—the result of an investigation Mueller passed to the Manhattan US attorney—Trump said it was a "disgrace" and told reporters he hadn't made up his mind yet about firing Mueller, CNN reports. Republicans, who fear firing Mueller could cause chaos, have been trying to talk him down, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say he doesn't see a need to pass legislation to protect him from being removed, the Hill reports. "I don't think that’s going to happen, and that remains my view," McConnell said Tuesday. "It's still my view that Mueller should be allowed to finish his job. I think that's the view of most people in Congress."

New edition of Eric Wolanski’s “Coastal Wetlands” book JCU’s Professor Eric Wolanski has just published the second edition of “Coastal Wetlands- An Integrated Ecosystem Approach”. The book, co-edited by world experts in coastal ecosystems Gerardo Perillo (Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía), Dona... READ NOW Three new PhD projects focused on redclaw crayfish 2019 JCU Redclaw crayfish PhD project 1 - sperm technologies2019 JCU Redclaw crayfish PhD project 2 - egg & embryo technologies2019 JCU Redclaw crayfish PhD project 3 - husbandry technologies... READ NOW Clever little fish Sometimes animals surprise us. We are familiar with dogs catching frisbee, parrots talking and the cat that ninja-grabs at twine, but fish performing party tricks. Mmmmm what’s going on here?A quirky behaviour exhibited by a freshwater fish has... READ NOW Competitive Summer Internship and Industry Placement with $2,000 bursary – Cairns/Townsville/Mackay James Cook University’s TropWATER and North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP) are offering a unique opportunity for two JCU undergraduate and honours students who are interested in pursuing a post graduate career in marine science or pos... READ NOW

– The days of the white-throated snapping turtle (Elseya albagula) appear to be numbered, according to the Australian government, which has recently declared them critically endangered. If that isn't attention-grabbing enough, consider that the animal prompted a biologist to talk like this: "These turtles breathe out of their ass, which is super awesome." That's James Cook University researcher Jason Schaffer, who's spent eight years studying the turtles in a habitat where dams, agriculture, and predation are making it increasingly difficult for them to survive, reports Scientific American. One of Australia's largest freshwater turtle species—which can live to be 100—white-throated snapping turtles do indeed possess an unusual skill: cloacal respiration, by which they extract oxygen from water via their backsides, reports James Cook University. Thanks to dams, though, water is becoming too sluggish for this kind of breathing, bringing the reptiles to the surface, where they're vulnerable to predators, and restricting them from traveling to find mates. And their eggs take seven months to hatch, which is plenty of time to be eaten or trampled. "Almost nothing is surviving," Schaffer says. "There is nothing coming up to replace them. Pretty soon we'll blink and there will be no more left." (It turns out turtle shells predate dinosaurs.)

The bullet traveled 3,450 meters—over two miles—and took less than 10 seconds to reach its target: a fighter for the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in Iraq. Those are the details of the world record-breaking shot fired by a Canadian sniper, who has eclipsed the previous longest-confirmed kill by almost 1,000 meters. A member of Canada’s Joint Task Force 2—part of the U.S.-led coalition that is taking the fight to ISIS in Iraq—made the kill during an operation that took place within the last month in Iraq, sources told The Globe and Mail. The identity of the sniper and his observer was kept anonymous for operational security reasons. The sniper used a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle—the standard long-range sniper of the Canadian military—and fired the shot from a high-rise building in an undisclosed location. Firing from such a distance, the shooter would have had to account for wind; the round dropping as it was fired from a higher location; and even the curvature of the earth. JOHN D MCHUGH/AFP/Getty “The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [ISIS] attack on Iraqi sources,” a military source told The Globe and Mail . “Instead of dropping a bomb that could potentially kill civilians in the area, it is a very precise application of force and because it was so far away, the bad guys didn’t have a clue what was happening.” Read more: 'Brutal' ISIS has destroyed the historic Grand al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, which stood for eight centuries Canada has been involved in the war against ISIS since 2014. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government ordered the withdrawal of six Canadian fighter jets, which had been attacking ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria, in late 2015. But the Trudeau government has expanded the number of Canadian special forces involved in training missions with Kurdish Peshmerga forces, which will grow from 69 to 207. In response, ISIS has called for attacks in Canada, and several fighters claiming allegiance to the group have gone on shooting sprees in the country. In October 2014, Martin Couture-Rouleau—who was known as Ahmad the Converted—drove a car into two Canadian soldiers near a Quebec mall, killing one. The attacker had had his passport revoked months earlier after showing sympathies for ISIS and expressing a desire to travel to Iraq. Two days after the attack, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a Canadian-Libyan, shot and killed a Canadian soldier at the National War Memorial before breaking into the parliament buildings, where he was shot dead. Canada's then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that the attacker had been motivated by Canada’s participation in the war against ISIS. The world record sniper shot means that three of the top five longest confirmed kills were carried out by Canadian snipers.

– A Canadian sniper in Iraq appears to have taken a shot for the ages. The Globe and Mail reports that a still-unidentified member of the nation's elite forces killed an Islamic State militant from a distance of 3,540 meters, which translates to a little more than 2 miles. If the account is verified—and it was apparently documented on video—it would best the previous longest kill made by a British sniper in 2009 of 2,475 meters. The gunman used a McMillan TAC-50, which Newsweek notes is the standard rifle among Canada's well-regarded snipers, and took the shot from a high-rise building in an unspecified locale in Iraq. The Globe and Mail spoke to multiple military sources who knew about the shot. “It is at the distance where you have to account not just for the ballistics of the round, which change over time and distance, you have to adjust for wind, and the wind would be swirling,” one expert tells the Globe and Mail. In fact, at that distance, the shooter would also have to account for the curvature of the earth, he adds. One military source says the sniper "disrupted a Daesh (ISIS) attack on Iraqi security forces." Canadian forces in Iraq have been assisting Kurdish fighters battling ISIS, enough so that ISIS has called for retaliatory attacks in Canada.

Fleetwood Mac, which has sold more than 100 million records, is announcing a new tour today that kicks off in October. But lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham won't be on it. In its more than 50 years as a band, Fleetwood Mac has become famous for its dysfunction and turmoil. But the announcement this month that Buckingham was ousted from the band still came as a shock. For the first time, band members tell CBS News what happened. This week the new lineup was still getting to know each other, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason. The first photo session for the new Fleetwood Mac included Mike Campbell, former lead guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn, frontman for Crowded House. New members, but hardly novices. "Both these gentlemen have a legacy of their own. They don't need to have a calling card. They are who they are in their own right," drummer Mick Fleetwood said. With them, Fleetwood said, Fleetwood Mac has been reborn. "So it's effectively a new band?" Mason said. "This is absolutely a new band," Fleetwood responded. "This is the new lineup of Fleetwood Mac." The new lineup of Fleetwood Mac CBS News Neither Campbell or Finn are thinking of this as a temporary gig. "I'm making this my priority until whenever, you know. We'll see what happens," Campbell said. They will replace Buckingham, who joined the group back in 1974, helped re-shape their sound and wrote some of the group's biggest hits. "Mick, when did you decide that you had to make this change?" Mason asked. "It happened after we played in New York at the MusiCares event, which you were there," Fleetwood said. It was the band's last performance in late January when they were honored at the MusiCares benefit on Grammy weekend. All five members of the classic lineup appeared together. But tensions were building, Fleetwood said, because Buckingham would not sign off on a new tour they'd been planning for a year and a half. Honorees Stevie Nicks, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood perform onstage during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Fleetwood Mac at Radio City Music Hall on January 26, 2018 in New York City. Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images "It became just a huge impasse and hit a brick wall, where we decided that we had to part company," Fleetwood said. "Was Lindsey effectively fired?" "Well, we don't use that word because I think it's ugly. And it's not a question that Lindsey has huge amounts of respect and kudos to what he's done within the ranks of Fleetwood Mac and always will," Fleetwood said. "But it's like a marriage that came to an end and there are reasons why. … But as a band we needed to move on and we have and that's --" "Because people who saw you in New York would've thought everything was OK. But it wasn't?" "No, it was not," Fleetwood said. Stevie Nicks supported the decision to part ways. "This team wanted to get out on the road. And one of the members did not want to get out on the road for a year," Nicks said. "We just couldn't agree. And you know, when you're in a band, it's a team. I mean I have a solo career, and I love my solo career, and I'm the boss. Absolutely. But I'm not the boss in this band." So just six days after the MusiCares performance, Campbell got a phone call from Fleetwood. "It was my birthday. And I was sitting in my backyard," Campbell recounted. He said he was wondering what he was going to do. He had a few things in the works, "but nothing quite as big as this," he said with a laugh. Campbell was in as lead guitarist. But the band still needed another singer. "We sat around a table and we just started listening to everybody we could think of," Nicks said. "Anywhere between, you know, 27 and 65. It was like -- it was crazy!" "I just made it," Finn joked. Finn, who turns 60 next month, was in his hometown, Auckland, New Zealand, when he got the call. "I just had this kind of big grin on my face 'cause it's a call you never expect to get," Finn said. They all met up at a theater in Maui on March 21. Nicks said they played together for two days. "And it did sound really good and I have film to prove it," Nicks said. We saw the cellphone footage of that first session. They ran through 10 songs in those two days. Christine McVie also liked what she heard. "The essence of the band was great, and fun, and the three voices sound really good together," McVie said. "I'm really happy." "It already feels like a band when we've only played once or twice. But with a little rehearsal, I think it's just gonna be incredible," Campbell said. For him, it's a new beginning after losing Tom Petty last fall. "It changed me and Mike for sure, in that you know, we need to take everyday that we have until we're gone and make it the best day we can because if that could happen to Tom, then it could happen to anybody," Nicks said. "And I'm gonna have the most fun I can and I'm gonna stop complaining. And I'm gonna throw myself into all these projects because you just never know." Nicks, Campbell and Petty go way back. They co-wrote her first solo hit, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." If all goes well, the band says they hope to record. They also said they did audition one other singer in Maui, but they won't reveal who that was.

– Two weeks after his exit from Fleetwood Mac was revealed, Lindsey Buckingham remains mum about the cause. Not his former band members. Stevie Nicks tells Rolling Stone the split came after Buckingham proposed pushing back the band's upcoming North American tour, which kicks off Oct. 3. "We were supposed to go into rehearsal in June and he wanted to put it off until November [2019]," six months after the tour is to wrap up, Nicks says. Drummer Mick Fleetwood tells CBS News he doesn't use the word "fired" because it's "ugly," but "as a band we needed to move on." In a first since 1975, the tour will feature songs from the band's full catalog, per Rolling Stone, which has the full list of dates.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH)-- A Richland County administrator is now without a job just days after being accused of telling EMS workers they could kill themselves if they did not like their working conditions. The accusations surfaced last week as former County Assistant Administrator Kevin Bronson was handed numerous employee concerns at an internal meeting. In response to his employees, Bronson reportedly responded by saying “if it’s really that bad you can just kill yourself or leave.” Bronson sent out an apology letter to his worker saying that his comment was insensitive and inappropriate. However former paramedic Baron O’Neal says that an apology just isn’t enough. "Number 1 they're overworked. Number 2, they're underpaid. Then they get slapped with 'if you don't like it, leave or kill yourself," said O'Neal. In his resignation letter, Bronson wrote “My disrespectful words hurt and offended many people, especially the EMS wokers. I am sorry” Meanwhile O’Neal says he is conversing with County Council to improve work conditions. County leaders say they want to hear about workers concerns so they can determine if anything can be done to address the situation.

– A recent meeting of county emergency medical services workers in South Carolina ended in tears—and, on Monday, with the resignation of an official who spoke at that meeting and mentioned suicide as an option if they didn't like the way things were on the job. Per WSOC-TV and WIS, about 100 Richland County EMS workers had assembled to register complaints about work conditions, and Assistant County Administrator Kevin Bronson apparently wasn't having any of their grievances. "So I'm looking through this list with 50 different problems, and if it's really that bad you can just kill yourself or leave," Bronson reportedly said, according to one of the people who was in the room. One employee tells WSOC that the room "erupted in emotion," with people "crying" and "yelling," partly because a deputy on staff had recently been lost to suicide. After the meeting, the EMS workers banded together with other EMS workers across the state, as well as local firefighters and retired law enforcement members, to protest Bronson's words. Per WIS, the head of an EMS crisis management group called Bronson's remarks "absolutely appalling," "insensitive," "unprofessional," and "childish," especially to a group of workers "who deal with death and crisis situations every day." Per Quorum Columbia, Bronson tried to apologize Friday in an email, noting he'd lost someone close to him to suicide, but he submitted his resignation Monday, acknowledging the "horrible and terrible thing" he'd said. Meanwhile, an ex-paramedic tells WACH he's talking with County Council members to try and improve conditions for the "overworked" and "underpaid" EMS employees. (A woman who texted her boyfriend to kill himself just got 15 months in jail.)

No doubt you’ve seen the news. For obvious reasons I won’t be blogging here anymore, though I will leave the archives up. I hope you’ll pray to whatever God you believe in, and heap endless scorn and abuse on the first goddamn hack that dares to try snooping around to find out what’s wrong. I mean it. No staking out the hospital, no asking around among my friends. No calling doctors and asking them to speculate on what might be going on. Anyone who does that is lower than dog shit stuck to a shoe, and I hope that when you see stories like that — because you will — you use their comment strings to express your outrage for being the kind of scumbags who would put their own hunger for unique visitors and pageviews ahead of a man’s right to privacy. Katie says she will be keeping a list. So, consider yourselves warned. For now, peace out. Much love. Namaste.

– Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave of absence, and we should all just ... let him be absent, writes the guy who's spent the better part of the last few years tweaking the Apple guru. None other than Fake Steve Jobs, aka Dan Lyons, has put his blog on hiatus effective immediately, and takes to the Daily Beast to call for those "filthy hacks" out there to "leave Steve alone." Lyons knows it's unlikely to happen: "They will rationalize the prying story by saying that Apple is a public company and investors need—nay, deserve—this information. Well, bullshit." "Don't go around claiming that your handful of shares gives you the right to pry into the private life of a sick man." If you want to know more about cancer, visit your local library, writes Lyons. And if investors really can't live with the uncertainty, "sell your shares and thank Steve Jobs for the ridiculous profits you've made." But Lyons won't be snooping around: Like Apple employees who "don’t know what’s wrong with their boss" and are "just feeling awful"—but are bound to be hounded by the media about their boss' condition all the same—"Today, I'm feeling awful, too."

It was not immediately clear the exact number of inmates who would be eligible for a resentencing hearing under the rulings Thursday, but the Florida Supreme Court estimated in one of its rulings that a little more than half of the state’s death row had sentences finalized after the Ring decision in 2002. (Florida Department of Corrections) (Florida Department of Corrections) That ruling made it clear that Florida needed to rework its death penalty statute to bring it in line with other states that handled those cases, specifically by requiring that juries — not judges —make the key findings required to impose a death sentence. As such, today's Florida Supreme Court ruling is one of the most concretely consequential death penalty opinions in 40 years. Inmates eligible to try to seek new sentences will not all obtain them, nor are all guaranteed to have new penalty phases, the same ruling notes. The decisions Thursday, along with doubt that has suffused Florida’s death penalty for most of this year, stemmed from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in January striking down the state’s death sentencing scheme as unconstitutional. That case involved Timothy Lee Hurst, a Pensacola man convicted of murdering his boss at a Popeyes Fried Chicken restaurant in 1998 with a box cutter, then putting her body in a freezer. This stance was offered earlier this year in an amicus brief filed by a high-profile group that included three former chief justices of the state’s Supreme Court, who had pointed to a state statute requiring that death sentences must be replaced by life sentences if “the death penalty in a capital felony is held to be unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court.” Bondi, the attorney general, argued in court filings that the Supreme Court had only “struck a portion” of the statute, rather than the death penalty itself. Canady wrote that the ruling “unjustifiably plunges the administration of the death penalty in Florida into turmoil that will undoubtedly extend for years.” Canady, who has been mentioned by President-elect Trump as a possible U.S. Supreme Court nominee, was also joined by Polston when he dissented from the Florida Supreme Court ruling striking down the state’s rewritten death penalty law in October. Perry, who retires from the court later this month, also concurred in part and dissented in part, arguing that Mosley’s death sentence should be vacated and automatically changed to a life sentence. That could lead to resentencing for potentially more than 200 inmates, according to the Florida Supreme Court’s estimate, a number that would exceed the entire death row populations in most states. That's because, in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling — Ring v. Arizona — that generally said the same thing to the state of Arizona that the high court said to Florida in the Hurst decision 14 years later: Juries — not judges — must decide whether the death penalty is appropriate. "Florida's capital sentencing statute has essentially been unconstitutional since Ring in 2002," the court wrote in one of Thursday's rulings, that of John F. Mosley, a Jacksonville-area man given the death penalty for placing his infant son in a plastic bag in 2004 and allowing him to suffocate. The Florida Legislature rewrote the death penalty statute last winter, giving juries more authority, and Gov. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Florida lawmakers quickly revamped the state’s law in March to better adhere to the Supreme Court’s ruling and try to resume executions, but the Florida Supreme Court struck down the new law in October, saying that it was unconstitutional because juries were not required to be unanimous about sentences. (Mosley was also sentenced to life in prison for killing his girlfriend in the same episode.) The most likely exceptions, he said, were those who chose to have a judge — not a jury — handle the penalty phase of their trials and those whose juries voted 12-0 in favor of the death penalty. — David Menschel (@davidminpdx) December 22, 2016 The justices ruled in the case of Mark James Asay, 52 — who was sentenced to death for two killings in 1987 — that he was not eligible for resentencing under Hurst because his sentence was final before the Ring decision was issued in 2002. On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Asay was not entitled to a new sentencing hearing because his trial and initial round of appeals played out before 2002.

– Eleven months after the US Supreme Court declared Florida's death penalty to be unconstitutional, the state supreme court ruled that more than 200 inmates on Florida's death row may have the right to new sentencing, the Orlando Sentinel reports. According to the Washington Post, that means more than half of Florida's massive death row population could potentially avoid execution. Last January, the US Supreme Court found Florida's death penalty violated the Sixth Amendment because it gave judges too much power, and juries too little, in deciding whether the guilty party lives or dies. It had told Arizona essentially the same thing way back in 2002. So on Thursday, the Florida supreme court ruled that the 55% of death row inmates who received their sentences after 2002 have the right to seek new sentencing trials. According to the ruling, no guilty verdicts will be changed and no one will be let out of prison prior to their new sentencing. The ruling also does the opposite for the half of death row inmates sentenced before 2002, the Miami Herald reports. They will not be allowed to seek new sentencing, meaning executions can start again in Florida for the first time since the US Supreme Court's ruling. A number of Florida supreme court justices had argued that the US Supreme Court's ruling should apply to all death row inmates, but they were outnumbered.

UPDATE: William Daniels spoke to ABC after word got that the Boy Meets World actor foiled a burglary attempt on his Los Angeles home. A 91-year-old actor known for his role on the popular TV series "Boy Meets World" foiled an attempted burglary at his home in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said.William Daniels, who portrayed the teacher George Feeny on the 1990s show, was at his house with his 89-year-old wife, Bonnie Bartlett, Saturday evening when the incident began.Shortly before 9:30 p.m., the would-be intruder forced open a back door, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Tuesday. Daniels acted quickly, turning on the lights in the house, which reportedly scared off the intruder. "Luckily, Mr. Daniels was able to frighten away the person and the LAPD quickly responded," Daniels' representative confirmed in a statement. Mr Daniels thanks all his fans for their concern.” Friedle, who played “Fee-hee-hee-hee-nay’s” pesky next-door neighbor Eric Matthews, reacted on social media shortly after the news came to light. “I struggled with an intruder, took him to the ground, I beat him up and he ran away with bruises all over him,” Daniels quipped. “Would you like to print that? A rep for Daniels, 91, confirmed to EW in a statement that he was at home with wife Bonnie Bartlett in California’s San Fernando Valley on Saturday night when a potential intruder tried to break in. Boy Meets World actor Will Friedle knows all too well, you “don’t ever mess with Mr. Feeny.” The actor, writing that on Twitter Tuesday, was responding to a report from ABC7 Eyewitness News about his sitcom costar, William Daniels, the actor behind Mr. George Feeny, thwarting a home robbery attempt. "Don't ever mess with Mr. Feeny!

– An elderly alum of Boy Meets World foiled an intruder Saturday night, illuminating the suspect both literally and (hopefully) metaphorically. Entertainment Weekly reports that William Daniels, 91, who played Mr. Feeny on the hit sitcom, was at the San Fernando Valley, Calif., home he shares with his wife, 89-year-old actress Bonnie Bartlett, when someone tried to break in through the back door. KABC notes Daniels had a quick reaction that scared the suspect away: He turned on the lights. "Luckily, Mr. Daniels was able to frighten away the person and the LAPD quickly responded," the actor's rep said in a statement, per USA Today, adding that both Daniels and his wife are OK. Police don't think they were specifically targeted. Daniels' BMW co-star Will Friedle had just one thing to say on Twitter about his former colleague's crime-busting skills: "Don't ever mess with Mr. Feeny!" ("Topanga" took issue with comments on her weight after her wedding.)

Story highlights Authorities also seize weapons and narcotics The raid comes a few weeks after the cartel leader's recapture (CNN) A cross-border raid by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials resulted in the arrest of 24 Sinaloa cartel members, authorities said. The sting occurred Friday around the Arizona border with Mexico, local media reported. It also netted "assault-type weapons" and hundreds of pounds of narcotics, said spokeswoman Gillian M. Christensen of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The raid, dubbed Mexican Operation Diablo Express, targeted "high-level" Sinaloa cartel members who operate in the United States and the Mexican state of Sonora. "The operation targets criminal elements and organizations operating in and around Sonoyta, Mexico," a statement from Christensen said. Read More

– American and Mexican authorities cooperated in a daylong cross-border raid that resulted in the arrest of 24 alleged high-level members of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa drug cartel, reports the AP. The sting known as Mexican Operation Diablo Express took place all of Friday as numerous law enforcement agencies converged onto Lukeville, Ariz., which sits on the Mexican border. Homeland Security Investigations, a unit of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, helped Mexican authorities nab the cartel members, who were operating around Sonoyta, Mexico, and the US border, ICE rep Gillian Christensen said. The DEA, FBI, Customs and Border Protection, and Arizona state and local agencies were on hand. "This operation was conducted with utmost secrecy to maintain the element of surprise and to ensure the safety of the Mexican law enforcement officers executing it," Christensen said, per CNN. ICE helped Mexican federal police into the US to keep them safe during the operation, Christensen said. The sting also netted the seizure of several assault-type weapons and hundreds of pounds of drugs. "ICE applauds the government of Mexico for their bold action in taking down this criminal organization and for their continued pressure on the Sinaloa Cartel throughout Mexico," Christensen said. The arrests are the latest blow to the Sinaloa Cartel after the arrest of El Chapo on Jan. 8. The 24 people arrested Friday have not been identified. They are in the custody of Mexican authorities, and the US will seek extradition.

A man sustained back injuries when he fell into Descent into Limbo by Sir Anish Kapoor, left, at Serralves museum in Porto HORACIO VILLALOBOS/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES All artists want their work to leave a mark on the viewer, but an installation by the British sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor has left one man needing hospital treatment. Advertisement Though the Descent Into Limbo installation was reportedly surrounded with warning signs and staffers warning visitors not to get too close, there was no barrier around it. A representative of the museum told the Art Newspaper on Friday that there are plans to reopen the installation “in a few days.” On the artist’s website, the work, which was first created for documenta IX in 1992, is described as a “cubed building with a dark hole in the floor.

– The "dizzying experience" of peering down into an "endless chasm in space" made a visitor to Portugal's Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art especially woozy, reports Artnet, and now the 60-year-old man is recuperating from his injuries. Last week, the Italian in Porto was checking out Chicago "Bean" creator Anish Kapoor's "Descent Into Limbo"—an installation that features a concrete room with what appears to be a deep black hole in the middle—when an incident happened involving the "bottomless pit." The Art Newspaper says it's not clear whether the visitor plummeted into the hole or fell next to it, and the museum press officer's curt message didn't clarify things: "An accident happened. Now this installation is temporarily closed." Luckily for the hapless visitor, the hole isn't actually unfathomable: It's just 8 feet deep, with the sides painted black to make it appear deeper than it really is. The fall into or near the "void" happened despite security and signs cautioning visitors about the exhibit. In the injured party's defense, Gizmodo points out the hole "appears to have no depth at all … like a real-life version of a 'Looney Tunes' cartoon." On Friday, a museum rep said the apparently disoriented tourist has already left the hospital; the London Times reports he suffered back injuries. Meanwhile the exhibit will be open again for viewing (but hopefully not stumbling over) "in a few days," the rep noted. (This 90-year-old ruined a work of art, had an unusual reaction.)

The Association of American Publishers reports that in the first quarter of 2013, overall e-book sales in the U.S. trade market grew by just 5 percent over where they were in the same period in 2012. Nielsen attributes this slowdown to the lack of a star performing title in children’s and young adult publishing in 2013 to replicate the success that Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy enjoyed last year. It predicts that ebooks will overtake sales of print books in 2014, with total sales expected to rise to 47 million units. Pin Share 3 31 Shares The AAP has put out a new press release today with some tidbits on the the state of the US book market. This reported that the days of double or even triple digit growth for the market might now be gone, with ebook sales growing by only 5% to $393.6 million in the first quarter of 2013. Nielsen’s data for the UK market mirrors recent statistics published by the Association of American Publishers in early July. As ebook sales look set to take just under half of the total fiction market in the UK and more than a fifth (22%) of the overall UK book market, according to recent Bowker Market Research, it is only natural that the rate of growth would slow.

– The e-book boom looks to be finished, writes Nicholas Carr at the Rough Type blog. He picks up on stats from the Association of American Publishers that show just a 5% increase in sales in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the previous year. That's "anemic," he writes, and continues the trend of rapidly declining sales growth from 2012. E-books are still hurting print books, whose sales fell about 5% in the first quarter, but the digital versions seem to be settling in at about the 25% mark of total book sales. "In spite of the spectacular growth of e-books in 2008 to 2011, we all know that eventually the ride would come to a stop as the growth of e-book market share slowed," writes Nate Hoffelder at the Digital Reader. "I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly." Lots of reasons might be at play, but Carr wonders whether the drop is being helped along by the switch to multitasking tablets instead of devices (like the original Kindle) dedicated solely to reading. "Are tablets less conducive to book buying and reading than e-readers were?" Meanwhile, the numbers are worse worldwide: Nielsen Research says e-book sales actually declined in the first quarter—the first time that's happened, reports Publishing Technology.

NEWS: Stonehenge Intricate Treasures Made by Children Evidence of “anti-demonic” funerary practices, with sickles placed around the throats of the deceased possibly to ward off demons, has been found in a 400-year-old cemetery in Poland. A stone was placed directly on top of the throat, while a coin was found in her toothless mouth. Researchers examined more than 250 human skeletons which were excavated since 2008 from a post Medieval cemetery in Drawsko, a rural settlement site in northwestern Poland. DCI “In four of these burials the sickles were placed on the bodies of the dead with the cutting edge tightly against the throat, while the fifth was located on the pelvis,” Marek Polcyn, a visiting scholar at Lakehead University in Canada, and Elzbieta Gajda, of the Muzeum Ziemi Czarnkowskiej, wrote in the current issue of the journal Antiquity. Ice Age Infant Skeletons Hint at Burial Rites Previously, it was suggested these people were buried as “vampires.” In this view, the sickle placed across the throat was intended to remove the head, should the vampire attempt to rise from the grave. But Polcyn and Gajda argue these burials should be rather interpreted as “anti-demonic.” They noted the sickle burials have none of the characteristics of so-called anti-vampiric practices. But also, the sickle graves were afforded funerary privileges that weren't usually extended to "vampires" buried elsewhere: They were given Christian burials in sacred ground alongside other members of the community, and their corpses do not appear to have been desecrated or mutilated. The skeletons with the sickles around the throat were those of an adult male who died between 35–44 years of age, two adult females who died around 30–39 years of age, and an adolescent female who at around 14–19 years old. Today only fragments of the original handle survive.

– Want to keep a demon-skeleton from haunting your rural settlement? Just bury it with a sickle at its throat. That's what researchers are saying about four skeletons from the 17th and 18th centuries found buried with iron sickles around their necks in a Polish cemetery, Discovery reports. Writing in Antiquity, Marek Polcyn and Elzbieta Gajda say the skeletons—two adult females, an adult male, and an adolescent female excavated with over 250 human remains starting in 2008—may have been feared as possible demons in Drawsko, northwestern Poland. The sickles "may have been a measure to prevent the demonized soul threatening the living, or could have been a reference to biblical symbolism in an attempt to prevent the soul from becoming demonized," the authors write. They dismiss the theory that the villagers feared vampirism, saying the burials were conventionally Christian, with heads pointing west, and the graves don't seem desecrated. Perhaps the burials followed the folk belief that a person with a "bad death" (like drowning, suicide, or death during childbirth) was prone to being inhabited by one of fourteen demons. Such beliefs persisted alongside Slavic pagan faith and Christianity in Poland at the time, Live Science reports. Interestingly, a fifth skeleton had the sickle around her hips, a stone at her neck, and a coin in her mouth. "Coins were placed in the mouth to favor the deceased's passage into the afterlife," one expert says. "The sickle and the stone would have prevent[ed] the dead from returning." (Read about self-identified vampires who have "a real fear.")

But we had no idea what was going to happen just hours later: The Washington Post reported that a woman said Republican nominee Roy Moore initiated a sexual encounter with her when she was 14 and he was 32. Savidge spoke to Jerry Moore on Friday morning, one day after an explosive Washinton Post report detailed allegations that the Republican Senate candidate from Alabama pursued sexual relationships with several teens when they were between the ages of 14 and 18 and he was in his thirties, including an alleged sexual encounter with the 14-year-old, who would not have been at the age of legal consent under Alabama law.

– If the allegations against Roy Moore lead to a Democrat winning Alabama's US Senate race next month, it could "reshape Washington's political landscape," NBC News reports. The Republican majority in the Senate would go down to 51-49, which leaves Democrats a much more likely path to flipping things in 2018. To get control of the Senate, they'd need to keep all their vulnerable seats and add Arizona and Nevada, where NBC estimates they have at least a 50% chance of victory. And even before the 2018 elections, the GOP tax plan could be in trouble—the slimmer Republicans' margin of control in the Senate, the harder they have to work to get senators like Rand Paul, Bob Corker, and Susan Collins on board since they can only afford to lose one GOP vote. For now, it doesn't seem Moore—accused of molesting a 14-year-old when he was 32, among other things—is planning to withdraw so another Republican can run in his place; it's unclear whether he'd even be able to withdraw at this late date. Alabama's state auditor defended Moore Thursday by comparing his situation to that of Mary and Joseph, a Biblical couple with a big age difference who "became parents of Jesus." In the Washington Post, Aaron Blake calls Jim Zeigler's words "the worst defense" of Moore so far. If Moore did what he's accused of, it was illegal, hands down—not just "unusual" as Zeigler calls it. Blake notes that evangelical leaders are also slamming Zeigler's remarks. Another Jesus comparison: Roy Moore's brother says the politician is being persecuted like Christ was, CNN reports. Jerry Moore also said he's very concerned about the effect all this will have on their 91-year-old mother.

Image caption Baby Nargis was born on Monday (Photo: Plan International) A baby born in India has been declared the world's seven billionth person by child rights group Plan International. Baby Nargis was born at 07:25 local time (01:55GMT) in Mall village in India's Uttar Pradesh state. Plan International says Nargis has been chosen symbolically as it is not possible to know where exactly the seven billionth baby is born. The United Nations estimated that on Monday 31 October, the world's population would reach seven billion. However, the UN itself has decided not to identify a specific child as the seven billionth person. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, told a news conference marking the occasion that the milestone was not about one newborn baby but about the entire "human family". He warned of rising public anger in the world's population and a loss of faith in governments and public institutions to do the right thing. "Our world is one of terrible contradictions," he said. "Plenty of food but one billion people go hungry. Lavish lifestyles for a few but poverty for too many others." He said he would take a message to the leaders of the G20 leading economies who are due to meet in Cannes later this week. "Think about our children, think about the future with vision and foresight." He said he would call for the world's poor not to be forgotten in a time of economic austerity and for women and young people to be given a proper voice in their future. In addition to baby Nargis in India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Cambodia have all identified seven billionth babies. 'Good luck' Every minute, 51 babies are born in India, 11 of them in the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. Nargis was born to Vinita and Ajay Kumar on Monday morning in a small government-run hospital in Mall village, nearly 50km (31 miles) from the state capital, Lucknow, a Plan International official told the BBC. The daughter of a poor farmer, Nargis was chosen as the seventh billionth baby to focus attention on the ills of female foeticide and India's skewed sex ratio, the organisation said. Hundreds of thousands of female foetuses are aborted in India every year, even though sex-selective terminations and the use of ultrasound technology for foetal sex-determination are illegal there. Photos of baby Nargis were shown at a function attended by nearly 250 villagers at the hospital, the BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi reports from Mall. Health officials presented the birth certificate to her father at the event. "We were praying all along for a daughter," Ajay Kumar said. "She is Lakshmi [Hindu goddess of wealth], she will bring us good luck," he said. A street play staged at the event on the importance of the girl child saw many moist eyes among the audiences, our correspondent says. The person chosen by the UN as the world's symbolic six billionth person, Adnan Mevic, is now 12 years old. He was photographed in hospital in 1999 with the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. His family are living in relatively poor conditions in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, and have expressed disappointment that since they were visited by Mr Annan, they have heard nothing more from the UN. It is thought that this could be one reason why the UN has decided not to name a seven billionth child.

– The world’s 7 billionth baby has been born, and a number of infants are vying for the title. The UN has chosen Danica May Camacho—born in Manila, Philippines, just before midnight—as its symbolic No. 7 billion, the Guardian reports. UN officials offered Danica’s family a cake to celebrate, while other supporters gave the family a scholarship for her schooling. In India, kids' rights activists Plan International have chosen a girl named Nargis, born today in the country’s most populous state, to represent No. 7 billion. She was chosen to call attention to widespread, illegal sex-selective abortions of female fetuses, Plan International said. Some 250 villagers attended a hospital event celebrating her birth, which included a street play celebrating girls, the BBC reports. But the Guardian spoke to former milestone babies who say that once the hoopla passed, they felt discarded by the UN. "We saw Kofi Annan as almost like a godfather to him," says the father of 12-year-old Adnan Nevic of Bosnia Herzogovina, the sixth billionth baby. Says Adnan, "He held me up when I was two days old but since then we have heard nothing from them."

LONDON - MPs on Monday debated a petition to ban U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from Britain over remarks on Muslims, but while describing his comments as “crazy” and “offensive”, most said the ban would go against free speech. The government signalled last month that it would not refuse Trump entry after he was widely criticised for saying that Muslims should be banned from entering the US. What Cameron thinks Image copyright AP In a rare intervention in US politics, Prime Minister David Cameron labelled Trump's comments "stupid and wrong" but said he did not support a ban, saying the tycoon would "unite us all against him" if he visited the UK.

– British lawmakers on Monday will stage an interesting debate: whether to bar Donald Trump from entering the country as a matter of principle. The move comes after more than 500,000 people in the UK signed a petition calling for the ban because of Trump's idea to temporarily ban Muslims from coming to the US. No vote will follow the debate, reports Reuters, making this more an airing of views. Interior minister Theresa May is the only one who can issue such a ban, and the Guardian reports that it doesn't look likely. Still, it should be lively. "What I will be doing today is asking that Theresa May exercise constancy in her approach to people who preach hatred," says Scottish National Party lawmaker Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh. But Labour lawmaker Paul Flynn think it's misguided—not that he sounds like a Trump fan. "Sadly a ban would perversely help him in America, and that is where opinion matters," he says. "It would probably give him a halo of victimhood as a martyr and perversely that will attract more support for him." No tweets so far from Trump about Monday's debate, though he has previously threatened to yank $1 billion in investments in golf courses in Scotland if he is banned. The BBC has a Q&A on the controversy, and it's aimed squarely at UK readers, given the very first question: "Who is Donald Trump?"

The Pentagon's top lawyer said that policy makers must look to a time when the U.S. is no longer at war with al Qaeda and that taking on the remnants of the terrorist group would be a matter for law enforcement and intelligence agencies, not the military. The comments by Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's general counsel, come as the Obama administration has begun an effort to clarify the rules and constraints on its counterterrorism operations, including such things as drone attacks. His views, while not constituting a declaration...

– Al-Qaeda may still view itself as America's No. 1 enemy, but the Pentagon has a different, ego-deflating assessment. The way things are going, the terror group soon won't qualify as an official adversary of the military, the Pentagon's top lawyer said in a speech at London's Oxford University last night, reports the Guardian. Two key points by Jeh Johnson, who, incidentally, is thought to be a top contender for attorney general when Eric Holder steps down in about a year: "I do believe that on the present course there will come a tipping point, a tipping point at which so many of the leaders and operatives of al-Qaeda and its affiliates have been killed or captured, and the group is no longer able to attempt or launch a strategic attack against the United States, such that al-Qaeda as we know it, the organization that our Congress authorized the military to pursue in 2001, has been effectively destroyed." "At that point we must be able to say to ourselves that our efforts should no longer be considered an armed conflict against al-Qaeda and its associated forces, rather a counter-terrorism effort against individuals who are the scattered remains of al-Qaeda … for which the law enforcement and intelligence resources of our government are principally responsible." The military would play a more limited role, stepping in when necessary. The speech is part of the administration's long-range efforts to clarify its counterterror rules, explains the Wall Street Journal, which susses out a tangible possibility: Remaining detainees at Gitmo are held under the 2001 Authority for the Use of Military Force against al-Qaeda. If that decree is no longer in effect a few years down the road, it presents an avenue for the release of prisoners and closure of the detention facility.

DENVER—Now that measures legalizing some recreational marijuana for adults use have won approval in Colorado and Washington, state regulators and lawmakers must decide how to navigate federal opposition as they implement voters' desires. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said, despite his opposition to legalization, he would work with the state legislature to implement the new law — which he doubted the federal government would allow to stand. Proponents of Amendment 64, the measure voters approved with nearly 55 percent support on Tuesday, said they were optimistic the federal government would “respect the will of Colorado voters.” And the Colorado U.S. attorney — the top federal prosecutor in the state — remained largely mum on how the conflict would play out. No state since the beginning of marijuana prohibition has rolled back restrictions on cannabis to the extent Colorado now has. As soon as the laws are certified, it will be legal under Colorado and Washington law for adults 21 years and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. “They can’t arrest you for it, and they can’t seize it,” Mr. Stamper said. Until then, all non-medical marijuana possession and cultivation in Colorado remain a crime. The first recreational marijuana stores would likely not open until 2014, said Brian Vicente, one of Amendment 64’s proponents.

– Colorado and Washington state are now chill with citizens having a little pot—but the drug is still very much illegal in Uncle Sam's eyes, leaving states to chart a difficult path. When it comes to medical marijuana, the feds have tended to crack down on large operations and leave small, personal growers alone; that track record may offer a model for enforcement under the new laws. For its part, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency says its stance "remains unchanged," the New York Times notes. But “I don’t see DEA agents sweeping in ... and enforcing drug laws that were previously enforced by local agencies,” says a former Seattle police chief. "It would be extremely poor politics. The will of the people has been expressed.” The new law could bring in $180 million in taxes and savings over three years, says a Colorado group: "We want to be a model for the rest of the country on how to do this right." Washington advocates similarly say pot shops could bring in $500 million to $600 million in taxes annually. But thorny issues remain, including how to establish bank accounts for a business that's federally banned, the Wall Street Journal notes. "This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through," says Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who the Denver Post reports has been in touch with US Attorney General Eric Holder regarding federal policy. "That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don't break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly."

The special counsel is also looking into whether an obstruction of justice occurred as part of the investigations into Russian meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. In just over a year, the special counsel has issued more than a dozen indictments, against Russians accused of working to affect the 2016 election as well as former Trump campaign officials, such as former campaign chief Paul Manafort. “So it’s unlikely you’re going to persuade me that the special prosecutor has unlimited powers.” Judge Ellis is right to be skeptical. The president maintained in both tweets that he has done "nothing wrong."

– President Trump kicked off his Monday morning with a series of tweets about tariffs, the economy, and the "witch hunt" against him. The two receiving this most attention: This: "The appointment of the Special Councel [sic] is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL! Despite that, we play the game because I, unlike the Democrats, have done nothing wrong!" And this: "As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!" Regarding the constitutionality of the Mueller probe, the American Prospect tackled that very subject in a May 30 piece, detailing at length why "the special counsel’s work is firmly grounded in precedent." It's in part a counter-opinion to a May 13 Wall Street Journal op-ed written by Federalist Society chair Steven Calabresi that asserted the probe "crosses the legal line." As for the issue of whether Trump could pardon himself, it was a hot topic this weekend following a NYT report on a 20-page letter written by Trump's lawyers that touched on the subject; Rudy Giuliani addressed it too. CNBC chimes in, citing a Justice Department memo written in advance of President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation, the first line of which reads, "Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the President cannot pardon himself."

Story highlights A suicide bomber targeted a NATO base, an official says At least 9 people are killed and 12 wounded in the explosion, the official says Another attack of "some significance" reported near Pakistani border Food at a NATO base appears to have been contaminated, ISAF says Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned a suicide bombing Monday at a military airfield, the latest incident in a spike in violence after the burning of Qurans by NATO troops last week. At least nine people were killed and 12 wounded in the early-morning explosion near the front gate of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force base at Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan, according to Gen. Abdulla Hazim Stanikzai, the provincial police chief. There were no NATO casualties. The Taliban insurgency said the attack was in retaliation for the Quran burning and said it hoped the attacks will continue "with the anger of the public." Another attack of "some significance" was reported later Monday in Naranghar province, near the Pakistani border, said Lt. Cmdr. James Williams, an ISAF spokesman. A statement from the Taliban said its fighters also attacked U.S. troops and border police in southern Naranghar on Monday evening, claiming to have inflicted a dozen deaths on the U.S. and Afghan force while losing five of their own. But Williams said that while some insurgent casualties had been reported, there were no deaths among allied troops. The Qurans that were burned were among religious materials seized from a detainee facility at Bagram Airfield last week. U.S. President Barack Obama apologized to Karzai last week, calling the burning an inadvertent error. In a statement issued on the bombing Monday, Karzai condemned the "inhuman and un-Islamic" act and urged that "the ruthless enemy would earn nothing but growing public hatred and punishment before Allah, the Almighty." JUST WATCHED 9 killed by suicide bomb in Afghanistan Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 9 killed by suicide bomb in Afghanistan 02:13 JUST WATCHED Quran burning protests escalate Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Quran burning protests escalate 02:51 JUST WATCHED Clinton backs Obama's Quran apology Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Clinton backs Obama's Quran apology 02:34 JUST WATCHED Sensitivity training after Quran burning Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Sensitivity training after Quran burning 03:29 Gen. John Allen, commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said insurgents tried to attack the ISAF installation and failed, instead taking more innocent lives. The Taliban also claimed Monday to be behind the poisoning of food at a dining facility at Forward Operating Base Torkham, near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. It too was a retaliatory attack, the group said. ISAF confirmed that food at the base appeared to have been contaminated over the weekend, though it was unclear whether it was deliberate. "Nobody got sick. A dining facility worker came to his leaders at the FOB and said that something had been poisoned," said Maj. David Eastburn, an ISAF spokesman. "The dining facility was shut down, and we brought in environmental health, who found traces of chlorine bleach in the coffee and fruit. Soldiers are now eating pre-prepared rations, and no one was affected. There is a full investigation that is narrowing down who was responsible." Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman in Kabul, said it's not clear whether the incident was a deliberate attempt to poison troops or "was just inadvertent, perhaps using more Clorox in the cleaning process than they should have." The Taliban has frequently exaggerated its claims or claimed responsibility for attacks that later turned out to be the work of another group. Even so, Monday's bombing and news of the contaminated food come on the heels of a week of violent protests over the Quran burning. The violence has left at least 39 people dead, including four American soldiers, and hundreds more wounded. In northern Kunduz province over the weekend, protesters attacked a police chief's office and a U.S. military base, authorities said. Some threw hand grenades at the base, known as Combat Outpost Fortitude, with resulting blasts wounding seven U.S. personnel believed to be Special Forces members, they said. Demonstrations outside the United Nations office in Kunduz on Saturday left four civilians dead and prompted the U.N. mission there to say Monday that it is temporarily relocating its international staff. Two U.S. soldiers were gunned down last week at a base in eastern Afghanistan by a man wearing an Afghan National Army uniform. Allen pulled military advisers from Afghan ministries after Saturday's shooting deaths of two other U.S. officers inside the heavily secure Ministry of Interior. Authorities are searching for the suspect, identified by Afghan police as a junior officer in the ministry's intelligence department. The suspect had been fired by the Interior Ministry but rejoined the intelligence services as a driver a couple of months ago, a senior Afghan counterterrorism official said Monday. "We do not know how he was allowed into the office, as the command and control center requires a password for access," said the official, who is not authorized to speak to the media about the topic. "There is something fishy there." The official said he believed that the gunman used a silencer on his weapon, as no one heard the gunshots. He said he doubts that an angry exchange led to the shooting, because the "way he entered was not accidental." Kirby said it's not clear whether the shooting was linked the the Quran burning. "We don't know what the motivation was behind the murders, and we don't know all the facts surrounding how this individual got into this space and frankly was able to get out as quickly and apparently as easily as he did," Kirby said Monday. Allen has told his commanders he will not authorize the return of personnel to Afghan ministries until new security measures are in place and working, according to an official who has access to the latest intelligence and is involved in administration discussions but declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the situation. The religious materials, including Qurans, were removed from a detainee center library at Bagram Airfield because they had "extremist inscriptions" on them and there was "an appearance that these documents were being used to facilitate extremist communications," a military official said. The ensuing attacks have put pressure on already strained U.S.-Afghan relations at a time when the United States is working to reduce troop levels and transition security as part of its plan to withdraw by 2014. Pentagon officials on Monday acknowledged the significance of the attacks but denied they are affecting the U.S. or NATO mission there. "These events, they're troubling. They're worrisome. They've gotten everybody's attention," Kirby said. "Yes, tension is high here in Kabul right now, but across the country at large, the mission continues, and we're seeing the protest activity decline." The number of protests in Afghanistan has gone from 24 on Saturday to three on Monday, only two of which were because of the Quran burning, Kirby said.

– At least nine people were killed and 12 injured when a suicide car bomber struck an airport in eastern Afghanistan this morning. The blast killed six civilians, two airport guards, and an Afghan soldier at Jalalabad airport, which is used for both civilian and military flights, the AP reports. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it revenge for the burning of Korans at a US base last week. At least 39 people, including four US troops, have been killed in protests over the Korans. The Taliban also claimed responsibility for another, less deadly, attack, CNN reports. The group claimed it was responsible for the poisoning of food at a military base near the Pakistan border. A NATO spokesman says contaminated food was found at Forward Operating Base Torkham after a tip-off, but nobody got sick. "The dining facility was shut down and we brought in environmental health, who found traces of chlorine bleach in the coffee and fruit," he says. "Soldiers are now eating pre-prepared rations and no one was affected. There is a full investigation that is narrowing down who was responsible."

Mama mia! An Italian tourist got to add a night in jail to his Big Apple itinerary after he racked up a $208 bill at Smith and Wollensky without having a wallet to pay the bill. Graziano Graziussi, 43, said he begged workers to let him leave an iPhone as collateral while he got money from the apartment where he was staying — but they instead called cops, who were equally unsympathetic. “I found it completely unreasonable to call the police when I was coming up with possible solutions,” he told The Post. “I wasn’t going to run away. I was there, I had just forgotten my wallet. “ Cops asked Graziussi if he could have someone deliver wallet or recite his credit-card number for the restaurant to run — but he could not and was taken into custody, law enforcement sources said. A judge released Graziussi the next morning, on the promise he’d pay up. “I don’t think they should have arrested me in the first place,” the busted steak lover said. “I wanted to pay the check.” A rep for Smith & Wollensky’s management company declined comment. A manager and bartender at the restaurant last night said it’s standard practice to call cops when a customer can’t pay. “If someone doesn’t want to pay the bill then yes, I will call the police,” the manager said. “That’s the best way to handle that type of situation.”

– An Italian lawyer spent Monday night in a New York City jail because he didn't have his wallet when his $208 bill arrived at a swanky steak restaurant. Both the New York Post ("Mama Mia!") and the Daily News ("Crime Rib") love the tale. Graziano Graziussi says he offered to leave his iPhone as collateral and suggested the restaurant send a bus boy with him to retrieve his money, but the staff at Smith & Wollensky—and soon the NYPD—weren't having it. “I found it completely unreasonable to call the police when I was coming up with possible solutions,” he tells the Post. “I wasn’t going to run away. I was there, I had just forgotten my wallet." A judge released him the next morning and dismissed the dine-and-dash charges after he promised to pay up next week, reports the Honest Cooking blog.

The proposed new design of the fence incorporates "anti-climb features" and "intrusion detection technology," a Secret Service spokeswoman said in a statement. The Secret Service is awaiting the approval of the National Planning Commission for moving ahead with the proposal, and said their goal is for the project to be green-lit by 2018.

– If you build it, they won't come. That's what the Secret Service is hoping its new plan to raise the White House fence by 5 feet will mean, the latest effort, after a lot of red tape, to stop people from trying to jump it, NBC Washington reports. Per an agency report and a Secret Service statement cited by CNN, anticipated construction on the "taller, stronger" fence would begin in 2018, lengthening the fence from 6 feet to 11 feet 7 inches and adding a new concrete "footing" and "foundation," as well as other "anti-climb features" and "intrusion detection technology." "The current fence simply is not adequate for a modern era," a Secret Service official said in the recorded brief. "[We] have now a society that tends to want to jump over the fence and onto the 18 acres." Donald Trump was one of the first to react to the news, the Hill reports. The "presumptive" GOP nominee put up a Facebook post that read: "President Obama understands that you build strong, tall, beautiful walls to keep people out who don't belong. People who get permission can enter the White House LEGALLY!" (There've been quite a few fence-jumpers over the past few years.)

Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. Jan. 1, 2015, 11:43 PM GMT / Updated Jan. 2, 2015, 4:40 PM GMT Two men were arrested after one of them allegedly shot two West Virginia police officers during a traffic stop in Lewisburg Thursday — and then were found to be transporting two dead bodies in their vehicle, authorities said. The suspects are reportedly a father and son from Texas, with the father being the shooter, according to NBC affiliate WVVA. They were identified as Edward Campbell, 54, and Eric Campbell, 21, according to WSAZ. The Lewisburg police officers were wounded and expected to survive, West Virginia State Police said. The officers were shot after they pulled over a sport-utility vehicle with stolen license plates at 4 p.m. on Interstate 64, and a red Chevrolet pickup truck that was following that car pulled over as well, police said. Edward Campbell, the driver of the pickup, pulled out a handgun and shot both officers, police said. Donna Hinkle, director of administration at the Greenbrier County 911 Center, told NBC News that one was shot in the ribs but was wearing a bulletproof vest, and the other was grazed. One of the officers returned fire and wounded the driver of the SUV, Eric Campbell, in the leg. He drove off and tried to hide in a wooded area behind a guardrail, but surrendered about 90 minutes later, state police said. His father ran into the woods but was soon apprehended, police said. After the exchange of gunfire, police found two "recently deceased" bodies in the bed of the pickup truck, hidden under a mattress. The sheriff in Granville County, North Carolina told NBC affiliate WNCN that the bodies were those of Jerome Faulkner, 73, and his wife Dora, 62. The Faulkners were at their Oak Hill home when two men entered around 7 a.m. Thursday, according to Sheriff Brindell B. Wilkins Jr. The men reportedly set the couples house on fire and then stole their red Chevy pickup truck. It was unclear at what point the Faulkners were killed or how, and authorities did not have a potential motive yet for the killings. Both were arrested for malicious assault and attempted murder of a police officer. The shot officers were identified as Lt. Jeromy Dove and Patrolman Nicholas Sams with the Lewisburg Police. According to a news release, "they were taken to Greenbrier Valley Medical Center and are in good condition."

– After an SUV and a pickup truck were pulled over at a traffic stop outside of Lewisburg, West Virginia, yesterday, the driver of the truck opened fire on police before fleeing the scene and investigators soon discovered why: The bodies of a North Carolina couple whose house burned down yesterday morning were under a mattress in the back of the truck, reports WDBJ7. Two officers—one of whom graduated from the police academy just two weeks ago—were injured in the shootout but they are both expected to survive. One officer was hit in the ribs but was wearing a protective vest, while the other was grazed by a bullet, reports NBC. The SUV driver fled and hid during the shootout but soon turned himself in; the pickup driver, who was wounded in the leg, was captured about 90 minutes later in woods off Interstate 64, the AP reports. The suspects are from Texas and claim to be father and son, say police, who stopped the SUV after spotting stolen North Carolina plates. The victims found in the back of the truck have been identified as Jerome Faulkner, 73 and his wife, Dora Faulkner, 62. Police, who haven't found any connection between the couple and the suspects, believe the men set their home on fire before stealing their pickup truck, reports WNCN. It's not clear if the couple were killed during the initial attack or some time later.

The bronze hand and its thin gold cuff, along with a bronze dagger and a human rib bone, were discovered by the metal detectorists near Lake Biel in the Bernese Jura, about 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Bern, Switzerland, according to a Canton de Bern press release. The items were handed over to specialists at the Ancient History and Roman Archeology Department in the Bern Archaeological Service one day after the discovery. Advertisement The hand of Prêles, as it’s now called, is slightly smaller than an adult hand and was cast from about a pound of bronze, according to National Geographic. “We weren’t sure if it was authentic or not – or even what it was.” By radiocarbon dating a tiny bit of the organic glue used to attach a layer of gold foil onto the sculpture’s “wrist,” they determined the object was very old – dating back to the middle Bronze Age, or between 1,400 and 1,500 B.C. The archaeologists studying the hand, a team led by Andrea Schae, say it’s doubtful the hand was worn; a socket inside the hand suggests it was mounted on a staff of some kind. A spokesperson for the Canton Archaeological Service of Bern confirmed to Gizmodo that “a criminal investigation is currently underway in this matter,” and that because of this, they “cannot give more detailed information.” Image: Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern/Guy Jaquenod Despite this, the researchers managed to uncover more items at the site, including the bones of a middle-aged male, a long bronze pin, a bronze spiral likely worn as a hair ornament, more bits of gold foil (likely from the hand), and one of the sculpture’s missing fingers. They also recovered one of the sculpture’s broken fingers in the man’s grave, a good indication that the hand was originally buried with the man. “He must have been a high-ranking character.” This is an exceptional Swiss Bronze Age burial, one with no precedent. As far as Swiss archaeologists familiar with the find can tell, a sculpture like this is unique in Europe, and perhaps beyond. Swiss archaeologists recently announced the discovery of what they say is the earliest metal representation of a human body part ever found in Europe. There’s a lesson here: If you’re a so-called treasure hunter, or a person who’s accidentally stumbled upon something of archaeological significance, stop what you’re doing and call in the experts.

– The hand is a bit smaller than that of an adult and made from roughly a pound of bronze. What it was used for has perplexed archaeologists since it was found in Switzerland last October. At an estimated 3,500 years old, National Geographic calls it "Europe's earliest metal body part"—though it subsequently narrows that to "the earliest metal representation" of one. As Gizmodo explains, archaeologists don't believe someone wore the hand but, rather, that an internal socket allowed it to be affixed atop a stick or pole. It was unearthed by metal detector-armed treasure hunters searching around Lake Biel in what archaeologists later discovered was a grave in extreme disrepair. It held the bones of a middle-aged man, along with items that included a bronze pin and one of the bronze hand's fingers. Because the hand was taken from the scene in a less-than-scientific way, any knowledge that could be gleaned about its use based on how it might have been arranged with the buried man's body has been lost to history. That's left Andrea Schaer of the Bern Archaeological Service with only speculations: "It must have been placed on something, but we don’t know what"—National Geographic suggests "it could have adorned a statue, been mounted on a stick and wielded like a scepter, or even worn as a prosthetic as part of a ritual." A press release notes "its gold ornament suggests that it is an emblem of power, a distinctive sign of the social elite, even of a deity." Gizmodo reports on a weird twist: a criminal investigation is underway based on authorities' belief that some items may have been stolen from the grave. (A metal detector unearthed treasure tied to King Bluetooth.)

WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy posted its best six-month stretch of growth in three years despite two hurricanes, a sign that it might be breaking out of its long-running slow-growth trend, with the help of soaring stock prices and rising business and consumer confidence. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced in the U.S., expanded at a 3% annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. That followed 3.1% annual growth in the spring.

– The US economy, helped by strong business investment, grew at a solid annual rate of 3% in the third quarter. It marks the first time in three years that growth has hit that mark for two consecutive quarters, per the AP. The Commerce Department says the July-September advance in the gross domestic product—the country's total output of goods and services—followed a 3.1% rise in the second quarter. It was the strongest two-quarter showing since back-to-back gains of 4.6% and 5.2% in the second and third quarters of 2014. The economy accelerated this summer despite the impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which many private economists believe shaved at least one-half percentage point off growth. The Wall Street Journal sees the growth as "particularly impressive" because of those storms, having forecast something closer to 2.7%. The Washington Post, meanwhile, calls the report a victory for President Trump, as the figure met his goal. "The challenge for Trump will be to get faster growth for an entire year," writes Heather Long.

Twitter.com/bellvisuals The word of the week in Washington got a full-blown public display on Saturday night as an artist projected it on the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Video footage shows that an artist projected the word “SHITHOLE” surrounded by a stream of animated poop emojis onto the wall of the hotel. The president, in a discussion last week on immigration policy, used "shithole" to refer to certain countries from which large-scale immigration was undesirable, according to people present at the meeting. The pictures appear on the Twitter feed of Robin Bell, who has previously projected wording critical of the president onto the hotel. This is not the first time Bell has made politically charged projections onto Trump’s hotel in Washington. ADVERTISEMENT “Pay Trump bribes here,” “emoluments welcome” and “we are all responsible to stand up and end white supremacy” were also projected onto the building. In a long profile of Bell last year, the Washington Post’s David Montgomery described him as a “hit-and-run editorial writer.” At the time, Montgomery noted that “Bell’s projections now come regularly enough that during especially volatile news cycles, it’s like sensing mayhem in Gotham and looking out for a bat signal.”

– President Trump's controversial pet phrase came home to roost in a way on Saturday night, when someone projected "SHITHOLE" onto the front of Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. Per Slate, the display went thusly: "Not a D.C. resident?/Need a place to stay?/Try our shithole/This place is a shithole." That was followed by "SHITHOLE" over the entrance, combined with poop emojis. The projection appears to be the work of Robin Bell, reports the Washington Post, who has pulled similar anti-Trump stunts in the past. Footage of the projection appeared on Bell's Twitter feed; he told the Post that it was up for about 40 minutes Saturday night. (You can see it here.) In further fallout on Saturday, the Hill notes that the entire 55-nation African Union demanded Trump apologize.

FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2015 file photo, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington. Ginsburg’s public criticism of Donald Trump is dividing legal... (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Campaign 2016 ahead of the Republican and Democratic National conventions (all times EDT): 12:05 a.m. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is responding to Thursday night's truck attack in France by arguing for the expulsion from the U.S. of any Muslim who believes in Sharia law. Gingrich is being considered as a possible running mate by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The former Georgia congressman said on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" that the U.S. "should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported. Sharia is incompatible with Western civilization." Gingrich is calling the attack in Nice, France, which killed at least 80 people, "the fault of Western elites who lack the guts to do what is right, to do what is necessary, and to tell us the truth, and that starts with Barack Obama." __ 11:45 p.m. Hillary Clinton says Americans stand "in strong solidarity with the people of France," after a truck attack in Nice, France, adding, "We will not be intimidated." A truck carrying weapons and hand grenades plowed through a group of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice late Thursday, killing at least 80 people. The Democratic presidential candidate says the U.S. and France will never let terrorists undermine democratic values. She says the "cowardly attack only strengthens our commitment to our alliance and to defeating terrorism around the world." __ 10 p.m. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says in the aftermath of a deadly truck attack in France that if he's elected president he would ask Congress for a declaration of war on the Islamic State. In an interview with Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor," Trump says, "This is war." He spoke after a truck carrying weapons and hand grenades drove onto a sidewalk in Nice, France, and plowed through people celebrating Bastille Day, killing at least 77 people. Trump says to fight the Islamic State, which he calls a "cancer," NATO should be used "for a purpose." It was not immediately clear Thursday night who was behind the attack. In a separate interview on Fox, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton says the U.S. needs to "stand strongly" with France and strengthen our alliances, including with NATO, to ferret out terrorism and prevent future attacks. Clinton says she would intensify efforts to put together a more effective coalition against terrorism. __ 9:50 p.m. A committee at the Republican National Convention has defeated an effort by conservatives who want to let delegates vote for any presidential candidate they'd like. Thursday's vote by the convention's rules committee was a major blow to forces trying to derail Donald Trump's nomination at the GOP gathering next week. The 112-member panel is dominated by top party officials and delegates loyal to Trump. The proposal's author is Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh. She has said she'll try to force a vote on her proposal in the full convention next week — a vote she'll also be likely to lose. __ 9:05 p.m. Tim Tebow won't be at the Republican National Convention after all. The former football star was to be among the biggest names at next week's GOP convention in Cleveland. But he says in a Thursday night Facebook post that his attendance was simply a rumor. He commented roughly 12 hours after Donald Trump's campaign announced his status as a convention speaker. Tebow says: "I just got back from the Philippines, and I wake up this morning to find out that I'm speaking at the Republican National Convention. It's amazing how fast rumors fly. And that's exactly what it is, a rumor." Tebow says he'd do "anything for America." But that won't include appearing in Cleveland next week on Trump's behalf. Tebow says he'll focus his time instead on helping children through his foundation. 8:55 p.m. A committee holding early meetings at the Republican National Convention has decided to vote sooner than expected on an uphill drive by opponents of Donald Trump to "unbind" delegates so they can vote for any presidential candidate they'd like. The convention rules committee had planned to hold a vote on that proposal Friday. But working late into the evening, the panel voted to hold that roll call Thursday evening. The proposal by Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh would let delegates vote their conscience and back any contender, not the one they were committed to by state primaries and caucuses. When the full convention holds its meetings next week, Unruh and other conservatives hope that change would let the gathering block Trump's nomination to be GOP presidential candidate. But they are unlikely to prevail. __ 7:35 p.m. Donald Trump is insisting that he has yet to settle on a running mate. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee says in an interview on Fox News Channel, "I haven't made a final, final decision." Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has emerged as a late favorite for the job, but Trump advisers caution that the businessman had not made a final decision and could still change his mind. Trump tells Fox that Pence has done a wonderful job in Indiana, but adds that fellow finalists Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich as "fantastic" people. Trump has canceled a Friday news conference where he planned to make public his VP choice, citing the truck attack in France that has killed dozens. Trump says that it's "crazy what's going on" and says, "We have to get awfully tough and we have to get very, very smart." ___ 7:13 p.m. Donald Trump says on Twitter that he is delaying the announcement of his running mate following the deadly truck attack in France. After a day of speculation about who might join Trump atop the Republican Party's presidential ticket, Trump tweets on Thursday night: "In light of the horrible attack in Nice, France, I have postponed tomorrow's news conference concerning my Vice Presidential announcement." Trump had been scheduled to unveil his pick at an 11 a.m. news conference at a hotel in midtown Manhattan. Late Thursday, a truck drive onto the sidewalk and plowed through a crowd of revelers who'd been gathered to watch Bastille Day fireworks in Nice, France. Authorities say dozens of people are dead. ___ 6:20 p.m. Talks aimed at averting some battles at the Republican National Convention between GOP leaders and conservatives have broken down. That increases the chances of a confrontation between the two sides next week when the full convention meets in Cleveland. The longshot effort by conservatives to "unbind" delegates and let them back any candidate they want was not addressed by the talks. That issue is seemingly headed toward a fight next week. Leaders of the Republican National Committee spent hours Thursday meeting with conservatives who are pushing populist changes in party rules that would weaken leadership powers. The two sides could not reach agreement. Conservatives hope to force votes on their proposals by the full convention. Party leaders say they'll be able to defeat them, but they'd hoped to avoid battles on national television. __ 4:40 p.m. Sen. Ted Cruz is refusing to condemn a rebellion against Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention as the fiery Texas conservative weighs his political future against the prospect of a national Republican embarrassment. Cruz's continued public silence, as his loyalists actively plotted to undermine Trump on Thursday, irked Trump allies and Republican leaders alike, all eager to avoid a public spectacle when the four-day gathering formally begins on Monday. Yet having accepted a speaking slot on the main stage, there are signs the 45-year-old senator is willing to cooperate with Trump's campaign — privately, at least — even as he works to sustain his popularity among anti-Trump conservatives. ___ 2:52 p.m. Hillary Clinton is assuring Senate Democrats that she will pick a "very qualified" vice presidential candidate during their weekly luncheon on Capitol Hill. The former secretary of state was asked during the private luncheon who she would choose as her running mate, prompting a roar from the audience and promises that they wouldn't tell anyone. Clinton says after the luncheon that she had a "great conversation" with them and talked about ways to bring economic opportunity to the nation and "build a strong Democratic party." Lawmakers say Clinton's former Democratic opponent, Bernie Sanders, received applause at the lunch. The meeting also included potential Clinton running mates like Tim Kaine of Virginia, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio. ___ 2:37 p.m. Newt Gingrich says he still has not heard from Donald Trump about his running mate selection. In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Gingrich said he was still expecting to hear from the Republican nominee Thursday. Gingrich told the AP earlier in the day that he had expected to receive word from Trump sometime after 1 p.m. ____ 2:29 p.m. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says that Donald Trump's impending vice presidential decision ultimately comes down to whether he wants a fellow "pirate" or a "relatively stable, more normal person." Gingrich is one of the three finalists the presumptive GOP nominee is considering for his running mate. He's speaking on Facebook live about the intricacies of the vetting process and sharing his thoughts on the two other finalists: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Gingrich suggests that he has yet to hear from Trump about his decision. He says, "We'll find out what Donald Trump decides to do." ___ 1:25 p.m. Hillary Clinton has arrived at a weekly luncheon with Senate Democrats where she is expected to brief them on her presidential campaign. The presumptive Democratic nominee said Thursday, "it's great to be back here in the Senate." She received loud applause from the Democratic members. Clinton was joined at the lunch by some of her former colleagues as well as potential vice presidential choices, including Tim Kaine of Virginia, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Her onetime Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders was also at the lunch. He endorsed Clinton in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Clinton was scheduled to campaign in Virginia with Kaine later in the day. ___ 12:00 p.m. House Speaker Paul Ryan says Indiana Gov. Mike Pence would be a good pick for Donald Trump's vice president. Ryan says it's no secret he's a big fan of Pence's and holds him in very high regard. Ryan tells reporters Thursday: "I hope that he picks a good movement conservative. Clearly Mike is one of those." The Wisconsin Republican says he doesn't know what Trump will do, and "I hope he makes a good pick and clearly that would be a good one." Trump's vice presidential announcement is expected soon with the Republican National Convention getting under way in Cleveland next week. ___ 11:55 a.m Hillary Clinton is vowing to expand upon President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration despite the Supreme Court's recent deadlocked ruling. Clinton says in a speech at the League of United Latin American Citizens' national convention that she will put a comprehensive immigration bill before Congress in her first 100 days of office. She says the high court did not "actually rule on the substance of the case" and it's within the authority of the president to temporarily stop the deportation for millions of people living in the U.S. illegally. Clinton says she will create a "simple, straight forward system" in which people with sympathetic cases or a history of serving their communities can make their case and become eligible for deferred action. The Democratic presidential candidate was also meeting Thursday with Senate Democrats and campaigning with Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a possible vice presidential pick. ___ 11:52 a.m. Newt Gingrich says he is hosting a "Facebook Live" event Thursday afternoon to discuss the Republican "vice presidential picks and the VP selection process." Gingrich is one of the finalists to join Donald Trump on the November ticket. Earlier Thursday, the former House speaker told The Associated Press that he expects to hear from Trump shortly after 1 p.m. about whether he's been chosen. Gingrich's Facebook event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Gingrich, who has been active on the social media venue, hosted a Facebook Live event with Trump earlier this month. ___ 11:18 a.m. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence quickly exited a planned speaking event in Indianapolis shortly after releasing details about a new economic development initiative. The Republican governor is considered a top contender to become Donald Trump's vice president pick. Pence and his entourage swiftly exited the building and climbed into a waiting motorcade. His office and his re-election campaign have not released details of any other planned events after several days of repeated public appearances. ___ 11:12 a.m. Senior U.S. national security officials say they are worried about the potential for violence at the Republican National Convention to be held in Cleveland next week. During congressional testimony Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh (jay) Johnson says he's concerned that demonstrations outside the convention hall may get out of hand. Johnson says he will be inspecting the security around the convention hall during a visit Friday. He says he says similar concerns about the Democratic convention to be held in Philadelphia. He'll be visiting that site next week. Johnson tells the House Homeland Security Committee there will be 4,000 U.S. government security personnel in Cleveland. FBI Director James Comey says anytime there is a large, national event there is concern that radical people and groups may be drawn to it. ___ 10:56 a.m. A pivotal committee of delegates at the Republican National Convention has abruptly taken a recess of several hours, just as it was beginning to consider rules changes proposed by conservatives and foes of presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Some delegates said the Trump campaign and top GOP officials were trying to see if they could strike a compromise with conservatives trying to let delegates back any candidate they want and offering other rules changes. A leader of those conservatives is Ken Cuccinelli, who was a campaign adviser to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's now abandoned presidential campaign. GOP Chairman Reince Priebus and top Trump campaign officials were also in the convention center. ___ 10:24 a.m. Newt Gingrich says he expects to hear from Donald Trump about his vice presidential decision as early as Thursday afternoon. In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Gingrich says he expects the decision sometime after 1pm. He says he had not heard from the Trump campaign Thursday morning. Gingrich, the former House speaker, is among Trump's top choices, along with Indiana Gov. Gingrich praised Trump for running a "very fair, open process" and said he looked forward to the businessman's decision. Trump and his running mate will make their first joint appearance Friday in New York. ___ 10:16 a.m. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she regrets her "ill-advised" public criticism of Donald Trump. Ginsburg says in a statement issued by the court on Thursday that judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office. She promises to be more circumspect in the future. Ginsburg told The Associated Press last week that she did not want to think about the prospect of Trump winning the presidency. She escalated her criticism in subsequent media interviews. She came under attack for her comments in recent days, leading to Thursday's statement. ___ 8:40 a.m. Donald Trump's campaign and party leaders seem poised to defeat GOP renegades trying to derail the billionaire's presidential nomination. But it's unclear they'll prevail before the dispute flares into a potentially angry and embarrassing floor fight next week. The two sides on Thursday were beginning what could be a two-day faceoff at early meetings of the convention's rules committee. That panel's initial votes are expected to demonstrate how firmly Trump and GOP Chairman Reince Priebus control the convention, which meets in full next week.

– Newt Gingrich managed to out-Trump Donald Trump in the wake of Thursday night's horrific attack in Nice, calling for nothing less than the ideological testing of all Muslims in the US and the expulsion of those who don't pass muster. "Let me be as blunt and direct as I can be. Western civilization is in a war. We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported," Gingrich told Fox News' Sean Hannity, per CNN. "Sharia is incompatible with Western civilization. Modern Muslims who have given up Sharia, glad to have them as citizens." Gingrich added that Muslims should also have their mosques and online activities monitored. Gingrich went on to blame the attack on President Obama, saying it was "the fault of Western elites who lack the guts to do what is right, to do what is necessary, and to tell us the truth, and that starts with Barack Obama," the AP reports. He predicted that Obama will give a press conference "in which he'll explain that the problem is too many trucks." Gingrich, who had been in the running to become Trump's VP choice, told Hannity that it now appears that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has gotten the nod, "but I've not been officially told yet." Trump, who spoke to Fox's Bill O'Reilly, didn't go as far as Gingrich, but he said as president, he would ask Congress to declare war on global terrorism, reports the New York Times. "If you look at it, this is war. Coming from all different parts," he said. "And frankly it's war, and we're dealing with people without uniforms." (Trump has delayed his VP announcement, which had been scheduled for Friday morning.)

Levi Johnston: I Don't Need to Be Qualified to Be Mayor Email This While on 'The View,' Levi Johnston tried and failed miserably to explain his candidacy for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. He added that there are really no qualifications to hold Sarah Palin's old gig. When asked by Barbara Walters what his qualifications for mayor were, Johnston pointed out that the job doesn't call for any and that his lack of experience shouldn't be an impediment. "Qualifications for mayor, there really are none," he said, to several loud guffaws from the audience. "You've got to live in city limits for one year. You don't need a high school diploma, which I'm working on anyway." While on 'The View,' Levi Johnston tried and failed miserably to explain his candidacy for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. He added that there are really no qualifications to hold Sarah Palin's old gig.When asked by Barbara Walters what his qualifications for mayor were, Johnston pointed out that the job doesn't call for any and that his lack of experience shouldn't be an impediment. "Qualifications for mayor, there really are none," he said, to several loud guffaws from the audience."You've got to live in city limits for one year. You don't need a high school diploma, which I'm working on anyway." Later, Whoopi Goldberg asked Johnston to give details on his platform, but he came up short again."At this point in time, I couldn't tell you," he said, adding that he only announced his run for mayor a month ago and hasn't yet planned a strategy."But usually when people say they're running for mayor, they've thought about it before they actually run," Sherri Shepherd countered.In August, Johnston's manager confirmed Johnston's plans to run for the office as part of a reality TV show and insisted he was serious about it.Johnston said the only real qualification is to live in the city limits for a year before the election. He believes he's as qualified as any other candidate, saying he thinks it's important to listen to the people and their concerns.

– Levi Johnston is running for mayor of Wasilla, so it seems logical to ask him about his political platform. Just one problem … he doesn’t have one. “What can you do that no one else can do? Why should they vote for you?” Whoopi Goldberg asked him yesterday on The View. “At this point in time, I couldn’t tell you,” came the response, garnering a chorus of sad “Oh, Levi” moans from the co-hosts. “I said I was running for mayor, what, a month ago?” Johnston defended himself. He went on to explain, at least, his motivation for running, Zap2It reports: “Wasilla's a great place, I just want to keep it that way for my son.” But perhaps this whole thing will work in his favor, writes Peter Gilstrap on E!: “Think about it … hunky Levi actually got all five of the View queens to feel sorry for him because he's too dumb to lie. Good God, this whole thing just might work.” To watch more of the interview ("Qualifications for mayor? There really are none."), click here.

FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2015 file photo, professor Stephen Hawking listens to a news conference in London. The family of the late British physicist Stephen Hawking has opened a lottery for 1,000 tickets... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2015 file photo, professor Stephen Hawking listens to a news conference in London. The family of the late British physicist Stephen Hawking has opened a lottery for 1,000 tickets... (Associated Press) LONDON (AP) — The family of the late British physicist Stephen Hawking has opened a lottery for 1,000 tickets for a service of thanksgiving in his honor at Westminster Abbey. Hawking's ashes are to be interred June 15 at the London church between the graves of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. The cosmologist's account of the mysteries of space, time and black holes in "A Brief History of Time" won him international acclaim. His work went on despite being diagnosed at age 21 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. In a nod to the public, Hawking's foundation will select 1,000 applicants at random to attend. The abbey will be open for free afterward for the public to pay their respects at his grave. Ticket applications can be made until May 15 by visiting www.stephenhawkinginterment.com .

– The family of the late British physicist Stephen Hawking has opened a lottery for 1,000 tickets for a service of thanksgiving in his honor at Westminster Abbey. Hawking's ashes are to be interred June 15 at the London church between the graves of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. The cosmologist's account of the mysteries of space, time, and black holes in A Brief History of Time won him international acclaim. In a nod to the public, Hawking's foundation will select 1,000 applicants at random to attend, the AP reports. The abbey will be open for free afterward for the public to pay their respects at his grave. Ticket applications can be made until May 15 by visiting www.stephenhawkinginterment.com. (Hawking, who died March 14, was explicit about what he wanted on his tombstone.)

Does a musical score hold the secret of hidden Nazi gold? In scenes reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie, a Dutch film-maker has started digging in a Bavarian town, believing annotations made by Hitler's aide Martin Bormann on a piece of sheet music will guide him to the gold. The theory was first developed by the Dutch writer Karl Hammer Kaatee last year, when he published scans of decades-old sheet music that was allegedly marked-up by Bormann. There's nothing exceptional about the music – Gottfried Federlein's Marsch-Impromptu – but Kaatee was drawn to the pages' hand-drawn scribbles and mysterious annotations. In the waning days of the second world war, he argued, Bormann used Marsch-Impromptu to secretly convey the location of a buried fortune: at least 100 gold bars, plus Hitler's personal collection of diamonds, known as the "tears of the wolf". The Führer supposedly intended for the document to reach Nazi party accountant Franz Xaver Schwarz in Munich; instead, Schwarz was arrested. Now, 51-year-old film-maker Leon Giesen believes he has cracked the code and has already staged three excavations in the town of Mittenwald, in Bavaria, guided by Bormann's markings. According to Spiegel Online, Giesen's theory is centred on the hand-written phrase, "Wo Matthias die Saiten Streichelt" ("where Matthew plucks strings"). This, he claims, is a reference to Mittenwald luthier Matthias Klotz, one of the town's most famous residents. Another phrase, "Enden der Tanz" ("end the dance") is purportedly an allusion to one of the local railway's buffer stops. The sheet music may even contain a concealed diagram of the city's train tracks. Working separately from Kaatee, Giesen is using crowdfunding to finance further Mittenwald digs. The initial drillings were reportedly fruitful: diggers found "anomalous" metals, Giesen told Der Spiegel. "[It] cold be a treasure chest," admitted Jürgen Proske, a local historian and amateur archaeologist, "but it could just be a manhole cover." It is possible sceptics might look at Karl Hammer Kaatee's other work and doubt the likelihood of the music containing a code. For example, his 2006 book Satan's Song purported to be a fictionalised version of the true story of the CIA's hunt for Jesus.

– It's quite the fanciful story: Nazis buried diamonds and 100 gold bars in a Bavarian town during World War II, in a spot whose location was encoded into an annotated piece of sheet music by Adolf Hitler's private secretary. That score, to Gottfried Federlein's "March Impromptu," was posted online in December by stumped Dutch journalist Karl Hammer, reports der Spiegel. Now, a 51-year-old fellow Dutchman who spent nine months poring over what NBC News describes as "letters, figures, and lyrics" added to the score thinks he has an answer—or, at least, a "very good theory." Leon Giesen spotted a distinct capital "M," which seemed familiar to him: An image of a Berlin train station had contained the same letter. He now believes the "M" stands for Mittenwald, where Nazi barracks once stood, and that the phrase Enden der Tanz, or "end the dance," refers to one of the rail line's buffer stops, reports the Guardian. If you're doubtful, there's also this: Giesen thinks an added lyric (wo Matthias die Saiten streichelt, "where Matthew plucks strings") refers to 17th-century violin builder Matthias Klotz, who hailed from that same town. Giesen got the go-ahead to drill three holes in Mittenwald, and says his "geophysical survey" revealed an "anomaly" in the earth. Next up: Raise more money for a full excavation, which is no small task. "If there are boxes with valuable items below the surface they could be booby-trapped, so we need to bring in specialists and meet all safety requirements first." (More treasure-related news: Jewels have been found atop the French Alps.)

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. - A 16-year-old girl has been gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park while posing for a picture near the animal. The National Park Service says the unidentified girl's injuries were serious but not life-threatening. The agency described her as an exchange student from Taiwan who was visiting the park with her host family. The incident occurred shortly after noon Friday in the Old Faithful area. The Park Service says she and others were between 3 and 6 feet from the bison when she turned her back to the bison to have her picture taken. The bison took a couple steps and gored her. The girl was airlifted to an area hospital. The Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from bison in the park. In a statement, the Parks Service said: "Visitors are advised to give the animals enough space and be willing to alter their plans to avoid interacting with an animal in close proximity."

– A 16-year-old Taiwanese exchange student got a little too close to a bison while sightseeing with her host family at Yellowstone National Park, reports CBS News, and was gored by the animal. The National Park Service says the girl was between three and six feet from the bison on Friday near Old Faithful when she turned her back to pose for a picture; the animal turned and gored her, causing serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Bison are "unpredictable and dangerous," says the Park Service, per ABC News; "Visitors are reminded that Yellowstone wildlife is wild. Wildlife should not be approached, no matter how tame or calm they appear."

Production firm admits health and safety breaches over incident that saw actor pinned by door while filming The Force Awakens Harrison Ford could have been killed when he was crushed by a hydraulic door on the set of the Millennium Falcon spaceship while filming the most recent Star Wars film, a court has heard. Ford was reprising his role as Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in June 2014 when he was knocked to the ground and crushed beneath the heavy door of the Millennium Falcon while filming at Pinewood Studios in London. The company responsible, Foodles Production, pleaded guilty to two breaches under health and safety legislation. The 71-year-old actor sustained severe injuries from the accident, including a broken left leg, after he walked on to the set not believing it to be live. However, Milton Keynes magistrates court heard how the hydraulic spaceship door was operated by another person and that as the actor passed beneath it, he was hit hard in the pelvis and pinned to the floor. Ford was then airlifted to hospital in Oxford. Andrew Marshall, prosecuting, said the breaches had caused a “risk of death” and that if the emergency stop had not been pressed in time, it could have been a very different outcome for Ford. “It could have killed somebody. The fact that it didn’t was because an emergency stop was activated,” he said. A health and safety executive described the weight of the Millennium Falcon door as comparable to that of a small car. Speaking about the injury to talk-show host Jonathan Ross in December, Ford said the hydraulics involved in the Millennium Falcon had considerably developed since 1977 when the doors were controlled with a pulley operated by hand. Ford said: “Now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a fucking great hydraulic door which closed at light speed and somebody said, ‘Ooh I wonder what this is?’ “And the door came down and hit me on my left hip because I was turned to my right. And then it flung my left leg up and it dislocated my ankle and as it drove me down to the floor, my legs slapped on the ramp up to the Millennium Falcon and broke both bones in my left leg.” Foodles pleaded guilty to one count under section two of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which related to a breach of duty in relation to employees, and a second under section three, a breach over people not employed by the company. Angus Withington, defending, said that while Foodles pleaded guilty, it would contest the level of risk involved. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) welcomed the guilty plea but said it had been a foreseeable incident. A spokesman said: “The British film industry has a world-renowned reputation for making exceptional films. Managing on-set risks in a sensible and proportionate way for all actors and staff – regardless of their celebrity status – is vital to protecting both on-screen and off-screen talent, as well as protecting the reputation of the industry.” Foodles, which is owned by Disney, is due to be sentenced on 22 August at Aylesbury crown court. A spokeswoman said the company had cooperated fully with the HSE investigation. “The safety of our cast and crew was always a top priority throughout the production,” it said. Ford recovered from the injuries in time to complete his portrayal of Han Solo in the film, which was set 30 years after the events in 1983’s Return of the Jedi and directed to much critical acclaim by JJ Abrams. It was the most successful film ever at the UK box office and has taken more than $2bn (£1.5bn) worldwide. Abrams later spoke about how much Ford’s injury had “bonded” the crew on set and said when the actor had returned he was “better and stronger than ever, I can’t overstate that. There was a fire in his eyes that you see in the movie.” Production of Star Wars: Episode VIII has got under way at Pinewood and the film is due for release in December 2017.

– Harrison Ford got crushed by a hydraulic door and pinned to the ground while filming Star Wars: The Force Awakens in London, and though he recovered in time to finish the movie, a court heard this week that he could have been killed in the incident, the Guardian reports. Ford walked onto the Millennium Falcon set in June 2014 not knowing it was live, and as he passed underneath the door—which weighs as much as a small car—it "came down and hit me on my left hip because I was turned to my right," Ford explained to talk show host Jonathan Ross in December. "And then it flung my left leg up and it dislocated my ankle and as it drove me down to the floor, my legs slapped on the ramp up to the Millennium Falcon and broke both bones in my left leg." It's not clear exactly how the incident happened, but someone was operating the door at the time. Variety says that "someone pressed a button that caused the door to close on him." Per Ford in December, "They built a f---ing great hydraulic door which closed at light speed and somebody said, ‘Ooh I wonder what this is?’" Foodles Production, the company responsible, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations, and during court proceedings, a prosecutor said the breaches caused a "risk of death" and that Ford could have died had the emergency stop not been pressed in time. The defense acknowledged that the production company was pleading guilty, but denied the level of risk that was said to be involved.

Russian scientists have drilled into an Antarctic lake that has been sealed off from the rest of the world for about 15 million years. Sampling the waters of Lake Vostok could reveal clues about the evolution of life on Earth and may yield entirely unknown forms of life. According to the Russian newswire RIA Novosti, scientists from Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St Petersburg drilled through the 3,768 metres of ice above Lake Vostok to reach the surface of the lake on Sunday. Lake Vostok is the largest of hundreds of lakes that sit under the thick layer of ice on the Antarctic continent. Russian scientists had been planning to drill through the ice to the lake for several decades, but the scheme was only recently approved by the relevant international bodies. Their drilling started in the first few days of this year. In recent decades, scientists have found bacteria and other single-celled organisms that have evolved to live in conditions in which other life forms would struggle to survive, such as darkness or extreme temperatures or salinity. The scientists believe that Lake Vostok might be a haven for so-called "extremophiles". They want to take samples of the water to examine any such creatures, which will have lived in frigid waters for millions of years and followed a distinct evolutionary path to that of the rest of life on Earth. Even though the Russian team has made it through the ice of the oncoming Antarctic autumn this week, it will not be able to take samples of the Vostock water until much later in the year, once winter is over. British scientists are also engaged in a project to drill to a sub-glacial lake on Antarctica. Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey will use a hot-water drill to cut through the ice cap to Lake Ellsworth, on the western Antarctic ice sheet, later this year. The team installed its equipment in November last year and will begin drilling in the weeks before Christmas 2012. • This article was amended on 7 February 2012 to clarify the date of the Antarctic winter.

– Russian scientists have successfully drilled through more than two miles of ice to reach a "lost world" under Antarctica, according to a Russian newswire. Lake Vostok has been sealed off for some 15 million years. While some fear it has been contaminated by kerosene and other materials used by the Russian team, scientists hope it will yield exceptionally hardy life forms that have evolved in isolation from everything else on Earth, the Guardian reports. The expedition could "transform the way we do science in Antarctica and provide us with an entirely new view of what exists under the vast Antarctic ice sheet," a veteran Antarctic researcher tells LiveScience. The Russian team only has a few days before brutal cold will force them to leave the research station, and any analysis of lake samples will have to wait until later this year. American and British teams are also working to obtain samples from the lakes under Antarctica, of which Vostok—the size of Lake Ontario but only discovered in the '90s—is the biggest.

Indeed, aggregated breast/ovary cancer studies [27] tend to show the autosomal dominant model while studies that carefully isolate ovary cancers uncover the X-linked, sister/mother effect [1]: given a family history of breast cancer, a mother with breast cancer increases the ovarian cancer risk to her daughter (OR = 2.3) while an affected sister yields a negligible odds ratio (OR = 1.1). It is reasonable to conjecture that maternal-lineage bias may have affected how patients, physicians, and researchers view family history and so the X-linked pattern may imply a familial origin for ovarian cancers previously thought to be sporadic cases. Image copyright AFP/getty Image caption Angelina Jolie had her first preventative surgery in 2013 Men pass on one X chromosome to their daughters. Women with a mutation on a particular gene found on the X chromosome, called MAGEC3, appeared to get ovarian cancer 6.7 years earlier than they would have without the mutation. Abstract Given prior evidence that an affected woman conveys a higher risk of ovarian cancer to her sister than to her mother, we hypothesized that there exists an X-linked variant evidenced by transmission to a woman from her paternal grandmother via her father. "A family with three daughters who all have ovarian cancer is more likely to be driven by inherited X mutations than by BRCA mutations," said Kevin Eng, a professor of oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. Author summary Our article uses the largest familial study of ovarian cancer to argue that there exists an ovarian cancer susceptibility gene on the X-chromosome acting independently of BRCA1 and BRCA2.

– Sons inherit a baldness gene from their moms, and now scientists are pointing to another parent-child link on the opposite side. Per the BBC, fathers can pass down a gene mutation to their daughters that can raise the risk of ovarian cancer, per a study published Thursday in Plos Genetics. The 30-year study of nearly 3,500 grandmother/granddaughter pairs culled from the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry found that women had a spiked risk of ovarian cancer if their grandmothers on their fathers' side had had the disease. The mutation, which was found to be distinct from the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations that are inherited from both parents, was also tied to a higher rate of prostate cancer in both the fathers and their sons, per News.com.au. To work out their experiment, researchers pulled 186 women with ovarian cancer and sequenced their X chromosomes. What they found was women whose paternal grandmothers suffered from the disease had double the risk of developing the cancer than those whose maternal grandmothers had had it. Daughters get a total of one X chromosome from their dads, and on that chromosome is where the possibly mutated MAGEC3 gene lies. Women can receive the gene from their moms as well—but since their fathers are only giving them one X chromosome, if the gene is mutated, the daughters are sure to receive it, per Newsweek. Women with this mutated gene also seemed to get ovarian cancer nearly seven years earlier than they would have without the mutated gene. That means if sisters within one family get ovarian cancer, all paths may lead back to Dad. "A family with three daughters who all have ovarian cancer is more likely to be driven by inherited X mutations than by BRCA mutations," study co-author Kevin Eng says. (Scientists hope a blood test may one day catch ovarian cancer early.)

President condemns ‘gutless’ source of piece revealing opposition within administration and claims paper must hand writer over Donald Trump has called for the New York Times to reveal the identity of a senior administration official who the paper says is the author of a column revealing they are part of a “resistance” against the president’s “worst inclinations”. Trump called for the source to be revealed in tweets on Wednesday evening, with one asking starkly: “TREASON?” Trump aide's anonymous op-ed reveals 'resistance' inside administration Read more Then in a follow up tweet, he insisted: “If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once.” Later he tweeted: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) I’m draining the Swamp, and the Swamp is trying to fight back. Arguably one of the most stunning such firsts, at least in the media landscape, arrived on Wednesday afternoon, when The New York Times published an op-ed submitted by an anonymous “senior official” titled “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” This official not only confirmed the West Wing chaos so often described in White House reporting, but also informed readers that concerned White House staffers are working on a stealth plan to protect the republic from Trump’s erratic behavior as commander in chief, in what read like a mixture of a cry for help, a patriotic warning, a professional exculpation, and a sign that the inmates know they are banging around in a tortured asylum. The article was strewn with eye-popping, stomach-churning confessions such as: “The dilemma . Jim Dao, the editor who oversees op-eds for the Times, told CNN that “several days ago” the official “contacted me through an intermediary.” Bennet told me there was a rigorous vetting process, and that his team took seriously the precautions to protect the identity of the official about whom America’s political and media establishment is now engaged in a feverish guessing game. Stelter said Dao had told him that there were only a "very small number of people within the Times who know this person's identity” and that a number of special precautions had been made to keep it protected. is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations,” and: “from the White House to executive branch departments and agencies, senior officials will privately admit their daily disbelief at the commander in chief’s comments and actions.” Finally, the author invoked a fear of the 25th Amendment, which my colleague Gabriel Sherman reported on last year. The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, accused the author of choosing to “deceive” the president by remaining in the administration. “He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people,” she said. “The coward should do the right thing and resign.” Sanders also called on the New York Times to "issue an apology" for publishing the piece, calling it a "pathetic, reckless and selfish op-ed". He offered that it had already been in the works before similar claims about a White House in crisis began leaking out of Bob Woodward’s forthcoming Trump tell-all, Fear.

– "TREASON?" tweeted President Trump after the New York Times published an op-ed from an anonymous administration official who described his leadership style as "impetuous" and "adversarial" and spoke of a "resistance" inside a deeply unstable administration. In a follow-up tweet, the president told the newspaper to reveal the author's identity, if it wasn't a "phony source," the Guardian reports. "If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once," Trump said, adding: "I'm draining the Swamp, and the Swamp is trying to fight back. Don’t worry, we will win!" More: "I don't like them." Speaking at a meeting of sheriffs from around the country Wednesday afternoon, Trump described both the source and the Times as "failing," CBS reports. "When you tell me about some anonymous source within the administration, probably who is failing and probably here for all the wrong reasons—and the New York Times is failing—if I weren't here, I believe the New York Times probably wouldn't even exist," he said. They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them," he said of the Times. People "stunned" within the Times. The Times' newsroom is separate from its opinion department, and sources tell Vanity Fair that people within the paper were "totally stunned" to read the "cry for help" from inside the administration. "It’s a parlor game. Everybody's trying to figure out who it is, including the Washington bureau," one senior journalist says. "It feels like a crazy moment."

As college students across the country stream onto campuses this week, Duke University’s The Chronicle reports that “some” members of the Class of 2019 were refusing to read a book assigned to them this summer as part of the elite school’s Common Experience Summer Reading program. Many colleges have similar programs. In preparation for my first year of college in 1989, I myself read Jonathan Kozol’s Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America and Nadine Gordimer’s Something Out There. I can still remember my new classmates’ passionate arguments about South Africa’s apartheid regime and chronic homelessness in New York. This summer the first-years at the college where I now teach are reading Piper Kerman’s Orange is the New Black. At least they better be. We can disagree with the authors of the books we read, but we have to read them first. It’s unclear how many of Duke’s 1,750 incoming students skipped Alison Bechdel’s highly-acclaimed 2006 graphic-novel style memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. That anyone admitted to a top university would purposely ignore their first assignment is, first and foremost, sad. These students have denied themselves a great read. The book, beautifully written and illustrated, won numerous literary awards and inspired a Broadway musical that swept the Tonys this spring. It’s a bittersweet story detailing Bechdel’s life growing up with a closeted gay father “who killed himself a few months after I came out to my parents as a lesbian.” Heavy stuff, for sure, but higher education is about examining the heavy stuff. Through her unique lens, Bechdel explores the themes of family, growing up and self-acceptance; themes we all can relate to. What’s really disappointing, however, are the reasons students have given for refusing to read the book. According to The Chronicle, they think it’s pornographic. When I heard that, I grabbed my copy off the shelf to find the porn I apparently missed the first time around. I’m not sure how one labels a book pornographic without actually reading it, of course. Maybe it’s a new twist on the Stewart test: I know it when I don’t see it? Either way, it represents the antithesis of education, which requires both the opening of books and the opening of minds. It’s true that a few panels of grey-scale drawings in the 232-page book do depict partial adult nudity and consensual sexuality. Certainly no one is exploited or objectified, making these examples far less offensive than your average love scene—both in popular culture and in classic literature. Which leads me to the conclusion that it’s not really the illustrations that have caused this most recent controversy, but rather the queer-identitifed people depicted in them. Do these students think that four panels depicting partial nudity or sex between women will make them gay or skew their sense of self? Do these students think that four panels depicting partial nudity or sex between women will make them gay? Do they think that exposure to such drawings will skew their sense of self? Or deep down do they fear that their homophobia will become hard to justify once they’ve been confronted with it in such an honest and empathetic setting. College students are adults and should be able read about sex and sexuality. They should be able to read about the lives of all kinds of people, because the reality is people identify across a wide spectrum of sexual identities. All of our stories matter. Education—especially higher education—obliges us to read, hear, and see things that we might not otherwise encounter. Anyone committed to learning must therefore engage with people, perspectives, ideas, and experiences that may at first seem strange, confusing, or problematic. Learning means we attempt to understand—it doesn’t mean we have to like everything we’re exposed to. Worthwhile ideas and values can withstand exposure to other ideas and values. But those seeking a university education should be prepared to have the worldview and perspectives they developed at 18 challenged and expanded. If not, why go to college? Or read? Or think? If we aren’t being challenged, we aren’t learning. If we don’t do the work, we fail. The Duke students who refused to read Fun Home have already failed. Willfully. Perhaps Duke should dismiss them, as they’re unwilling to take on college-level study. Let them reapply when they are ready to face the danger presented by a comic book. We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

– Some Duke freshmen made headlines this week for refusing to read a graphic novel assigned to them. In the Washington Post yesterday, one of them provided a fuller explanation of the stance against Alison Bechdel's Fun Home. "The book includes cartoon drawings of a woman masturbating and multiple women engaging in oral sex," writes Brian Grasso, a Christian who considers the images pornographic. Grasso says he's not opposed to reading about ideas and beliefs opposed to his own—and fully expects to do so at Duke—but having to look at pictures is a whole different matter. "I think there is an important distinction between images and written words," he writes. "If the book explored the same themes without sexual images or erotic language, I would have read it." In his view, the images violate the "sacredness of sex." Grasso writes that he knows his is a minority view, but "cultural pluralism will lose its value if students aren't allowed to follow their beliefs, even if they are conservative." At Quartz, however, SUNY Brockport instructor Amber Humphrey writes that education "obliges us to read, hear, and see things that we might not otherwise encounter." If these students aren't prepared to do that, maybe Duke should show them the door. "Let them reapply when they are ready to face the danger presented by a comic book." (Click to read her full column, or Grasso's full column.)

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– The list may not have the same cachet as the Forbes list of richest Americans, but it's an interesting look at an often overlooked aspect of US wealth. The Land Report is out with its annual list of the 100 largest private landholders in America, and sitting on top is a man who made his fortune in the telecom business. Liberty Media Chairman John Malone has 2.2 million acres across the US, spread across several states from coast to coast. The Washington Post highlights a rich-are-getting-richer component of the list: In 2007, the 100 biggest landowners collectively had 27 million acres. In 2017, that total is 40.2 million acres, roughly the equivalent of New England, without Vermont. The Post sees the growing interest in land acquisition as a more stable investment for investors who don't want to be at the mercy of the stock market. The top 10 follow.

Crops are wilting, schools have shut their bathrooms and government officials are bathing in lagoons because of a severe shortage of fresh water in a swath of the South Pacific. The island groups of Tuvalu and Tokelau have declared emergencies, relying on bottled water and seeking more desalination machines. Parts of Samoa are starting to ration water. Supplies are precariously low after a severe lack of rain in a region where underground reserves have been fouled by saltwater from rising seas that scientists have linked to climate change. While nobody has gone thirsty yet, officials worry about the logistics of supplying everyone with enough water to survive and the potential health problems that might arise. And exactly how the islands will cope in the long term remains a question mark. "We are praying that things will change," Samoan-based official Jovilisi Suveinakama said. Six months of low rainfall have dried out the islands. Climate scientists say it's part of a cyclical Pacific weather pattern known as La Nina _ and they predict the coming months will bring no relief, with the pattern expected to continue. Rising sea levels are exacerbating the problem, as salt water seeps into underground supplies of fresh water that are drawn to the surface through wells. On the three main atolls that make up isolated Tokelau, the 1,400 residents ran out of fresh water altogether last week and are relying on a seven-day supply of bottled water that was sent Saturday from Samoa, Suveinakama said. Suveinakama said that some schools no longer have drinking water available, and that the students often need to return home if they want to use a bathroom. "In terms of domestic chores, like washing clothes, everything's been put on hold," he said. "We are cautious of the situation given the possible health issues." Suveinakama said that Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand, has tapped emergency funds to buy desalination machines, which turn salt water into fresh water. He hopes those will be shipped to the islands soon. In Tuvalu, a nation of low lying atolls that is home to less than 11,000 people, Red Cross team leader Dean Manderson described the situation as "quite dire." He said that on the island of Nukulaelae, there were only 16 gallons of fresh water remaining Tuesday for the 350 residents and that the Red Cross was sending over two small desalination machines. He said much of the well water on Tuvalu is unusable because it has become contaminated with salt water. The New Zealand government this week flew a defense force C-130 plane to Tuvalu stocked with Red Cross supplies of bottled water and desalination machines. Officials including High Commissioner Gareth Smith also flew over to assess the situation. Smith said the coconut trees on Tuvalu are looking sickly and that the edible breadfruit, which grow in trees, are much smaller than usual. He said other local fruits and vegetables, including a type of giant taro, are not growing well or are in short supply. He said people in the capital of Funafuti are permitted a ration of two buckets of water per day and that government ministers have been bathing in the lagoon to preserve water. Funafuti residents have been relying on a large desalination machine for much of their daily water supply, said Manderson. The Red Cross has been helping improve the function of that machine and has been fixing other such machines that have broken down, he added. New Zealand climate scientist James Renwick said the rainfall problems can be traced back 12 months, when the region began experiencing one of the strongest La Nina systems on record. La Nina is sparked when larger-than-normal differences in water temperature across the Pacific Ocean cause the east-blowing trade winds to increase in strength, Renwick said. That, in turn, pushes rainfall to the west, leaving places like Tuvalu and Tokelau dry. Last year's La Nina system dwindled by June but has begun picking up again just ahead of the November rainy season, Renwick said, meaning that there is no relief in sight for island groups like Tuvalu, Tokelau and Samoa. "Low rainfall continues to be on the cards, at least through the end of the year," Renwick said. Officials say they are concentrating on the short-term supply problems and have not yet had time to think about longer term solutions for the islands. But they say that the combination of rising water levels and low rainfall mean makes life on the islands look increasingly precarious.

– Some island groups in the South Pacific, already in danger of being swamped by rising seas, have run out of fresh water. Tuvalu and Tokelau have declared states of emergency because of the water crisis, caused by six months of low or no rainfall and by groundwater becoming contaminated with seawater, the BBC reports. New Zealand's air force has rushed bottled water and desalination machines to the areas most in need. In Tuvalu, a nation of atolls that is home to around 11,000 people, the situation is "quite dire," a Red Cross team leader says. The crisis is spreading, with Samoa now rationing water, and experts believe that because of La Niña, the region won't see any rainfall until at least until the end of the year. The water crisis is expected to trickle down into food shortages, and sanitation and public health problems, the AP reports, and officials say the future of the island nations is looking increasingly uncertain.

A large national Norwegian study shows that workaholism frequently co-occurs with ADHD, OCD, anxiety, and depression. As the line between excessive enthusiasm and a genuine addiction is difficult to define, scholars have typically used specific criteria to define the border between addictive and non-addictive behavior [10]. Because previous workaholism scales did not cover these addiction components, the seven-item Bergen Work Addiction Scale (BWAS) was specifically developed in order to assess this behavior using the same criteria as other addictions [13]. In line with previous research, 7.8 per cent of the current sample classified as workaholics, which is close to an estimate (8.3 per cent) found in a (and, to date, only) nationally representative study conducted by Dr. Andreassen and colleagues in 2014. Given these findings, it is expected that younger, well-educated workers, in self-employed and private sector, with managerial responsibilities and higher income will report higher scores on the Bergen Work Addiction Scale in the present study (Hypothesis 1). Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway have examined the associations between workaholism and psychiatric disorders among 16,426 working adults. Firstly, the present authors argue that the inattentive nature of individuals with ADHD causes them to spend time beyond the typical working day (i.e., evenings and weekends) to accomplish what is done by their fellow employees within normal working hours (i.e., the compensation hypothesis). Furthermore, it is known that workaholism (in some instances) develops as an attempt to reduce uncomfortable feelings of anxiety and depression.

– Spending late nights at the office and missing a kid's piano recital or three might be a sign of a deeper psychiatric problem, according to a study published last week in PLOS One. Researches found workaholism was statistically linked with anxiety, depression, OCD, and ADHD. “Workaholics scored higher on all the psychiatric symptoms than non-workaholics," researcher Cecilie Schou Andreassen says in a press release. Researchers found 32.7% of workaholics had ADHD versus 12.7% of non-workaholics; 25.6% had OCD versus 8.7% of non-workaholics; 33.8% had anxiety versus 11.9% of non-workaholics; and 8.9% had depression versus 2.6% of non-workaholics. Without further research, the nature of the relationship between workaholism and common psychiatric conditions is unclear. But Schou Andreassen notes, “Taking work to the extreme may be a sign of deeper psychological or emotional issues." Researchers found 7.8% of the nearly 16,500 adults studied were workaholics, which they determined with a series of seven statements participants could rank, including, “You think of how you can free up more time to work” and “You become stressed if you are prohibited from working.” But not everyone is convinced. “Any human behavior can be turned into a disease,” a professor at Liverpool University tells the Financial Times. “It’s this tendency to pathologize the usual messy realities of life, of which work is one.” (Here's why we shouldn't have to find meaning in work.)

The humble grilled cheese sandwich is the latest dish to get the novelty sandwich makeover thanks to Deca Restaurant + Bar located inside the Ritz-Carlton Chicago. For the month of April, the restaurant is serving up a "Zillion Dollar Grilled Cheese," which contrary to the name, has a price tag of $100. Unlike other stunt foods that have turned to combining seemingly disparate foods like deep fried twinkies with a pork belly burger, the sandwich features layers of pricey ingredients. According to the press release below, the Zillion Dollar Grilled Cheese "is not your childhood classic" and features black Iberico ham "sourced from pigs" that "roam free in the pasture eating acorns" in the "south of Spain," "artisan" country sourdough bread, 40-year aged Wisconsin cheddar "infused with 24k gold flakes," white truffle aioli, 100-year-old aged balsamic vinegar, heirloom tomatoes, foie gras, and comes topped with a sunny side up duck egg. Just incase that wasn't indulgent enough, the sandwich is also served with "a skillet of lobster mac." Eric Ciechna, a host at the restaurant tells DNAinfo, "Looking at how ridiculously extravagant some of these items are, $100 might actually be a steal on this thing." See the press release: Celebrate National Grilled Cheese Month in 2014 all April long with the ultimate sandwich - the Zillion Dollar Grilled Cheese for USD 100.00 at deca Restaurant + Bar, located at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago, A Four Seasons Hotel. The Zillion Dollar Grilled Cheese is not your childhood classic. deca Restaurant + Bar has created a one-of-a-kind experience. The sandwich is enveloped in artisan country sourdough bread, and cooked until golden brown in Laudemio Marchesi de' Frescobaldi EVOO. Layered between the bread is thinly sliced black Iberico ham, sourced from pigs living primarily in the south of Spain, allowed to roam free in the pasture eating acorns until they are of proper size. They are then salted and air-dried for six weeks followed by a minimum curing process of 12 months. The ham slices are smothered in melting 40-year aged Wisconsin cheddar infused with 24K gold flakes, taking the grilled cheese to the next level of decadence. Following are the Ellis Family Farms heirloom tomatoes, lightly drizzled with 100-year-old aged balsamic vinegar, and Oregon perigord white truffle aioli. The sandwich is finished with Hudson Valley foie sras and a sunny side up duck egg, accompanied by a skillet of lobster mac. It's time to treat yourself with this Zillion Dollar Grilled Cheese - the ultimate culinary indulgence. deca RESTAURANT + BAR is located on the 12th floor of The Ritz-Carlton Chicago, A Four Seasons Hotel. For reservations, book online or call 312 573 5160. To stay connected, follow Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @decaChicago. · $100 Gold-Plated Grilled Cheese Offered at Ritz-Carlton's Deca Restaurant [DNAinfo] · All Novelty Sandwiches Coverage on Eater [-E-]

– Like grilled cheese? Got $100 to burn? Chicago's Deca Restaurant + Bar has got just the sandwich for you, notes Eater. It's the "Zillion Dollar Grilled Cheese" with ingredients that include 40-year aged Wisconsin cheddar infused with 24-carat gold flakes and black Iberico ham from pigs that feasted on acorns in the pastures of southern Spain, explains DNA Info. And then, of course, there's the foie gras, white truffle aioli, and the side of lobster mac and cheese. It's only available this month, which happens to be National Grilled Cheese Month.

Pope Francis joined the—now truly #blessed—Instagram community on Saturday, posting his first photo on the popular app. “Pray for me,” the caption says, repeated in eight other languages. The photo, posted with the handle @franciscus, shows Francis kneeling with his head bowed in prayer. “I am beginning a new journey, on Instagram, to walk with you along the path of mercy and the tenderness of God,” Francis posted on Saturday on Twitter, where he has more than 8.89 million followers. “Watching Pope Francis post his first photo to Instagram today was an incredible moment. @franciscus, welcome to the Instagram community! Your messages of humility, compassion and mercy will leave a lasting mark,” Instagram CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom posted on Instagram on Saturday. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now Systrom met with Pope Francis at the Vatican last month to discuss the unifying power of images, giving him a curated book of Instagram photos during the visit. Write to Katie Reilly at Katie.Reilly@time.com.

– Pope Francis officially joined the Instagram generation on Saturday, and he's already bringing a unique voice to the social media platform—in that his first post wasn't a cat video, photo of food, or selfie. Instead, His Holiness—or @franciscus, as he's now known on Instagram—posted a picture of himself praying along with the phrase "pray for me" in nine languages. CNN reports the Pope had 100,000 Instagram followers within an hour of launching his account. His first post had more than 65,000 likes and nearly 12,000 comments in the first three hours. Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom, who met with the Pope last month, called the Pope's first Instagram post "an incredible moment" and said his "messages of humility, compassion and mercy will leave a lasting mark," according to Time. A Vatican spokesperson says the Pope joining Instagram is a "particularly smart move" because it's quickly becoming more popular in Catholic-heavy countries like Italy, Mexico, and Brazil. Pope Francis has embraced social media during his three years in the position. He actually announced his first Instagram post on Twitter, were he has nearly 9 million followers. "I am beginning a new journey, on Instagram, to walk with you along the path of mercy and the tenderness of God," the Pope tweeted. But for anyone worried the Pope will soon be too distracted by filter options to get any work done, CNN points out someone else does his social media for him.

EMBED >More News Videos Shane McMahon and his pilot share their tale after landing in the water. I'd like to thank the man upstairs for looking out this morning & thanks to pilot Mario, Suffolk County Marine Bureau & Babylon Coast Guard. — Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) July 19, 2017 A small helicopter carrying the son of WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon made an emergency landing in the waters off of Gilgo Beach Wednesday morning.The FAA says the Robinson R-44 helicopter with two aboard landed on its pontoon skids about a half mile off the coast just before 10:30 a.m. Neither Shane McMahon nor pilot Mario Regtien was injured. "We heard some noise, and it became very clear to me that I could no longer continue flying the helicopter," Regtien said. "So I decided to do an auto-rotation landing in the water. "The FAA said Regtien sent out a mayday call just before landing in the water. A commercial flight headed into JFK Airport heard the call and radioed to the FAA.Emergency responders, including two lifeguards, picked up the two and ferried them safety to shore. Both were wearing life jackets. NYPD Aviation and SCUBA units also responded and assisted in the rescue. "It's very unsettling when all the sudden you have something happen," McMahon said. "You hear a bang, and then you start saying, 'We're going to do an emergency landing in the water.' So yes, it was very unnerving. But again, Mario was super calm, which made me super calm. And we landed perfectly. "McMahon had chartered the flight from New York City to Westhampton to visit his family, and they had taken off from the West Side Heliport. The trouble began just south of Republic Airport, while they were cruising at 1,400 feet. "It went as good as it could go," Regtien said. "Landed softly, and I checked to see if he was OK. Everyone was fine, and we waited for the Coast Guard at that point. I left my shoes in the helicopter in case we had to swim. "McMahon thanked all those involved. "First of all, I'd like to thank the pilot, Mario," he said. "He did an amazing job. He was cool under pressure. I couldn't have been in better hands. He explained everything as it was happening. I'd also like to thank the Coast Guard, who was there instantaneously, Suffolk County Marine, a bureau that was there, the lifeguards that came to the beach. Just thankful that everything worked out well and that we're here. "He also posted this message on social media:The helicopter is registered to "Awesome Flight LLC" of White Plains.

– Shane McMahon was rescued from the waters off a New York beach Wednesday morning after the helicopter he was riding in performed a diving elbow drop into the ocean. WABC reports the son of WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon was taking the helicopter to visit his family when something went wrong. Pilot Mario Regtien guided the Robinson R-44 helicopter into a controlled crash off Gilgo Beach. Neither man was injured. McMahon calls the crash "very unnerving" but credited Regtien for how he handled the situation. "Mario was super calm, which made me super calm. And we landed perfectly," he says. According to CBS New York, nearby lifeguards saw the helicopter crash and paddled kayaks out to help McMahon and Regtien ahead of the Coast Guard's arrival.

President Donald Trump... (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump has panned Saturday Night Live's season premiere but tweeted praise for Kanye West, who closed the show with a pro-Trump message. “There’s so many times I talked to a white person about this and they’re like, ‘How can you like Trump, he’s racist?’ Well, if I was concerned about racism I would have moved out of America a long time ago,” West said to the crowd at Studio 8H in New York, eliciting several claps and a number of boos. Trump tweeted Sunday that he didn't watch the show — it's "no longer funny" and "is just a political ad for the Dems." He added: "Word is that Kanye West, who put on a MAGA hat after the show (despite being told 'no'), was great. He’s leading the charge!"

– Kanye West's Saturday Night Live performance drew both praise and criticism after the vocally pro-Trump rapper appeared onstage in a "Make America Great Again" hat over the weekend. However, he reportedly made another statement regarding the president during his appearance, one that was cut from the show's final broadcast. Per the New York Post, West was booed by the audience as he ranted during closing credits that Democrats want to keep black Americans on welfare. He then addressed his well-known support of President Trump. "I talk to like a white person about this and they say, ‘How could you like Trump? He’s racist.’" West said. "Well, if I was concerned about racism I would’ve moved out of America a long time ago.” Per the Hollywood Reporter, West also briefly suggested a 2020 run could be in his future. In the audience was former SNL cast member Chris Rock, who recorded West's statement on video and cringed audibly from behind the camera as West spoke. Among West's supporters was none other than the president himself, who tweeted Sunday that he doesn't watch the show ("a political ad for the Dems") but that he heard about West's hat. "Word is that Kanye West, who put on a MAGA hat after the show (despite being told 'no'), was great," Trump wrote, per the AP. "He's leading the charge!" Among the topics tackled earlier in the Adam Driver-hosted premiere were the Kavanaugh testimony and show writer Pete Davidson's engagement to singer Ariana Grande.

Trending Look but don’t touch! American tourist snaps Italian statue’s finger off Aug. 6, 2013 at 6:31 PM ET Violating the first rule of visiting a museum — look but don’t touch the art — an American tourist in Italy has generated shock and outrage by snapping the finger off a 600-year-old statue at a museum in Florence. According to the Italian newspaper, Corriere Fiorentino, the snap heard around the art world took place when an unnamed 55-year-old Missouri man visiting the city’s Museo dell'Opera del Duomo held his hand up against the outstretched palm of a statue of the Virgin Mary by the 15th-century sculptor Giovanni d'Ambrogio. Whether he was comparing hand spans or giving the statue a high five is unclear but the end result was that the pinky finger of the statue’s right hand was broken off. Despite apologizing for his action, the tourist could be liable for a large fine, according to The (UK) Independent. MAURIZIO DEGL' INNOCENTI / EPA Even a financial penalty, however, is unlikely to assuage local Florentines, experienced art lovers and other travelers who would argue that anyone with the means to travel should also possess the understanding that art in museums is meant to be seen and not touched. “In a globalized world like ours, the fundamental rules for visiting a museum have been forgotten, that is, ‘Do not touch the works’,” museum director Timothy Verdun told reporters. That basic premise notwithstanding, that globalization only reinforces the need for continuing education, says Sevil Sonmez, a tourism professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “If this was a first-time traveler, he’s probably not very experienced, maybe a little naïve,” said Sonmez. “If there’s no one around to give pointers on what to do and what to avoid, these things are likely to happen.” In fact, in the case of the Virgin’s dismembered digit, it’s happened before. As reported by Firenze Today, the pinky was actually a plaster replacement for the long-missing marble original. Nor is this first priceless piece of art damaged by accident. In 2006, a visitor to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, tripped and sent three Quing Dynasty vases crashing to the ground. Four years later, a woman visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York fell into a Picasso painting called “The Actor” and left it with a six-inch gash. The artworks above, it’s worth noting, were eventually repaired and put back on display, which suggests there may be hope that future visitors to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo will be able to view the Virgin with all 10 of her fingers. In the meantime, the incident in Florence should serve as a timely reminder of the “look but don’t touch” rule. That also means no high fives, no “pull my finger” photo ops and definitely no fist bumps. As for the still-anonymous yet now-infamous finger-snapper, Sonmez, for one, takes the long view. “It’s part of the process of traveling and gaining experience,” she said. “The best way to learn is to make mistakes — and he certainly won’t do that again.” Rob Lovitt is a longtime travel writer who still believes the journey is as important as the destination. Follow him on Twitter.

– A clumsy tourist from Missouri is in for plenty of finger-wagging from the art world after accidentally snapping a digit off a 600-year-old statue in a museum in Florence, Italy. The 55-year-old was holding his hand against the statue's palm when a finger snapped off, NBC reports. The man apologized but may still be hit with a heavy fine for damaging the work by medieval sculptor Giovanni d'Ambrogio. The museum's director—an American himself—blasted the tourist's behavior, saying "in a globalized world like ours, the fundamental rules for visiting a museum have been forgotten, that is, 'Do not touch the works,'" the Independent reports. But this is nothing new for the statue: The little finger snapped off by the tourist was itself a plaster replacement for the original marble finger, which was broken off many years ago.

http://timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_prison-5.jpg Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes. WILKES-BARRE — Two people died Monday evening inside the Luzerne County Correctional Facility — an inmate and a prison guard — according to Luzerne County Manager David Pedri. The two died after a brief altercation that took place at about 6:25 p.m., Pedri said at a news conference late Monday night. Pedri identified the inmate as Timothy Gilliam, 27. Pedri said he believed Gilliam had been incarcerated for failing to register under Megan’s Law, for sex offenders. Pedri said the name of the prison guard was not being released at the request of his family. “This guard went to work today believing that he would be coming home,” Pedri said. “And, sadly that didn’t happen.” He called the incident a “sad and tragic.” “We will do everything in our power to ensure an incident like this never happens again,” he said. According to Pedri, who declined to comment on the specifics of the incident, the matter was under investigation by the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office and Pennsylvania State Police. When asked about Mark Rockovich, the new correctional division head, Pedri said Monday was his first day on the job. Luzerne County Councilman Tim McGinley, who was on site shortly after the incident occurred, said any suspect death would be of concern to the county, noting that the county spends $30 million on the facility annually. Michele Rohrbaugh, whose son Michael is an inmate on the fifth floor of the facility, came for a visit at about 7 p.m. and was told by prison staff that there would be no visit because the prison was on lockdown. Rohrbaugh stood outside of the prison for over three hours, hoping to hear her son was safe. After the press conference, she made her way from council chambers visibly relieved. “It wasn’t him,” she said. “It wasn’t my son.” Rohrbaugh said she recently had heard that gang activity at the prison was on the rise. She also said she was concerned with her son’s safety. Some prison guards have been complaining for months about security and safety concerns at the main prison, located on Water Street. Prison officials have been wrestling with an increase in inmate assaults and fighting — problems that have been blamed on a rise in inmates who are addicted to drugs, battling mental health issues and involved in gangs. The main prison has been at or over its 505-inmate capacity in recent years. In April, county officials investigated the hospitalization of a prison inmate for a serious cut above his right ear down into his neck. Prison officials said they suspected the man was assaulted by another inmate, but the inmate continues to maintain he cut himself when he fell off the top metal bunk bed in his cell, officials said as recently as last week. One guard, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Monday night that he and many of his colleagues blame Pedri and prison deputy Warden James Larson for not taking their safety concerns seriously. Larson has been acting as correctional services division head since April 1, following the March resignation of prior prison overseer J. Allen Nesbitt in March. The county council unanimously voted last week to confirm Pedri’s nomination of Rockovich as the new correctional division head. Rockovich, who has worked at the prison since 1991, assured the council he will address problems at the facility, including work release. Federal authorities recently charged former prison employee Louis Elmy with extortion and possession of a firearm in furtherance of selling crack cocaine. Prosecutors said Elmy, while acting in his official role as a prison work-release counselor, extorted money and other items of value from work release inmates in exchange for giving them special privileges and unauthorized furloughs. The resolution appointing Rockovich was to take effect six days after adoption, which means Monday was his first day in the new position. County Councilman Eugene Kelleher in March questioned delays in repairing malfunctioning security cameras at the prison and other safety concerns raised by at least 10 past and present staffers who had contacted him. The aging facility has more nooks and crannies than a modern prison because it is five stories. “I’m really concerned about security at the prison for employees,” Kelleher said at the time. The administration said it was addressing the cameras. Editors Note: This article has been edited to reflect the correct identity of the deceased inmate.

– A correctional officer and an inmate are dead following an altercation at a Pennsylvania prison. It happened Monday night at Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre, which is currently on lockdown, the AP reports. Luzerne County Manager David Pedri tells the Times Leader that the dead inmate is 27-year-old Tracy Gilliam, who he believes was in prison for failing to register as a sex offender. Pedri says the guard's family has asked for his name not to be released. "This guard went to work today believing that he would be coming home," he says. "And sadly, that didn't happen." Pedri says authorities will do all they can to make sure a "sad and tragic" incident like this doesn't happen again. State police and the county DA are investigating.

4 years ago (CNN) - Anthony Weiner, the embattled New York City mayoral candidate who admitted this week to sending raunchy chats to a young woman last summer, estimated Thursday he had online relationships with three different women after his 2011 resignation from Congress. But speaking at a news conference, the Democrat said he couldn't say for sure how many more women might come forward. I don't have a specific number for you," Weiner said. "There are people I've had exchanges with that are completely appropriate, and that there are no pictures or illicit texts or anything. Now if those people want to say they don't like the exchanges we had either, I don't know where to put them." READ MORE: Weiner's poll numbers tumble Weiner stepped down from his House seat in 2011 after admitting to sending lewd photos and messages to multiple women online. He pointed out Thursday that when he left the House of Representatives, he admitted to exchanging messages with six women. He then provided a rough total of how many women he's engaged with sexually online. "It's not dozens and dozens," he said. "It's six to ten, I suppose, but I can't tell you absolutely what people are going to consider inappropriate or not." READ MORE: Pelosi blasts Weiner: Do your therapy in private Pressed to provide a guess as to how many of those relationships occurred after his resignation, Weiner said, "I don't believe I had any more than three." Weiner has resisted calls from his rivals to withdraw from the race for New York City mayor, saying the decision of whether he's trustworthy enough for the job should be up to voters. Sources: Huma Abedin considered leaving Weiner last fall Weiner resists calls to withdraw as woman who received messages is identified Why Anthony Weiner's problem is ours, too

– Have New Yorkers had enough? In a Marist poll last month, Anthony Weiner claimed frontrunner status in the race for New York City mayor by 5 points over Christine Quinn. This week's revelations have caused a 14-point swing: She's now in front with 25% to his 16%, reports Marist. Two others are tied for third, just 2 points back of Weiner. And another comeback looks daunting: Most respondents (55%) now have an unfavorable opinion of Weiner. On top of that, Weiner admits that the woman who came forward this week isn't the only recipient of his lewd texts since he resigned from Congress in 2011, reports CNN. He seems to have lost track, however: "I don't believe I had any more than three," he said, when pressed for an answer during a news conference. And the overall number, pre- and post-resignation? "It's not dozens and dozens. It's six to 10, I suppose, but I can't tell you absolutely what people are going to consider inappropriate or not."

When Google Inc. launched its Google+ social-networking site three weeks ago, executives handed out sailor hats to the hundreds of employees working on the project, symbolizing their year-long journey to that point. So far, the sailing has been mostly smooth. On Wednesday, Web-traffic watcher comScore Inc. estimated Google+ has had 20 million unique visitors since its launch, including five million visitors from the U.S. A Google spokeswoman declined comment. Google's rapid growth spurt on Google+ suggests that people are hungry for more social network options, WSJ's Jen Valentino-DeVries reports. ComScore, whose estimates are based on a "global measurement panel" of two million Internet users, similar to the approach Nielsen uses to measure television ratings,doesn't have data on the number of minutes people spent on Google+. Still, the growth of Google+ has impressed observers because access to it is by invitation only, meaning people can join only if a current member invites them. And the company hasn't yet marketed the service to the more than one billion monthly visitors who use its search engine, Gmail and other services. Journal Community Google+ lets people share comments, articles, photos and videos with various "circles" of friends or contacts, or they can share content publicly with any userwho wants to view their posts. Eventually, Google plans to incorporate features of Google+ in its other services, such as its YouTube video site. "I've never seen anything grow this quickly," said Andrew Lipsman, vice president of industry analysis at comScore. The only other site that has accumulated as many new visitors in a short period of time is Twitter in 2009, he said, "but that happened over several months." The new data follow comments by Google CEO Larry Page last week that Google+ had more than 10 million users.Mr. Page said Google+'s traction was evidence that there are "more opportunities for Google today than ever before." Of course, Google has a long way to go to reach the scale of Facebook Inc., which has more than 750 million users, and Twitter Inc., which has more than 200 million registered accounts. With Google+, Google is aiming to match rivals like Facebook, which used personal information posted by its members to create a multibillion-dollar advertising business that lets marketers target specific demographic groups or people with certain interests. Google also hopes the service can become a home for brands and celebrities. The data Google obtains about people's interests could also help it change the way its Web-search engine works. Sites in its search results could potentially be ranked based on what users and their friends like or find useful, Google engineers have said. View Full Image Reuters A screen shot of the Google Plus social network is shown in this publicity photo. In addition to adding numerous features over time, Google will eventually allow software developers to create "social" games and other applications that would run on top of Google+, similar to Facebook's successful "platform" for applications, people familiar with the matter have said. Google+ also has unique technology, such as a "hangouts" feature, that lets people do "video chats" using their computer webcams, speaking to numerous friends simultaneously. The company plans to include Google+ in its suite of online software for businesses. In an email to investors Tuesday, Barclays Capital equity researchers said that "given positive initial traction from users we believe Google is now better positioned to compete and integrate social cues across its products than before, which could drive increased relevancy in search going forward." Even some privacy advocates who lambasted Buzz, Google's prior social-networking effort, have lauded Google+. "The product has been designed to make it easier to share with one group of your friends while retaining some measure of privacy with respect to your family, coworkers or other groups of friends," said Peter Eckersley, a senior technologist at privacy-advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, in an email. But Mr. Eckersley added: "Google+ won't be as good for protecting your privacy against Google or against governments or lawyers with the power to compel Google to turn over your information." Ben Hopper, a 29-year-old photographer in London who joined Google+ just after it launched, said "it feels a little empty right now" compared with Facebook, where he has more than 4,000 "friends." But he said that he "needs to be everywhere to show my photography," and if Google+ becomes integrated with Gmail, Google's email service, "for me it will have the upper hand." Write to Amir Efrati at amir.efrati@wsj.com

– Google’s new social networking site, Google+, has gotten an impressive 20 million unique visitors in its first 3 weeks online; of those, 5 million are from the US. And that’s with access still limited only to those who have been invited by other members—and without any advertising yet through Google’s search engine or Gmail, the Wall Street Journal notes. “I've never seen anything grow this quickly,” says an analyst at comScore. The company hasn't confirmed the visitor numbers but said last week it had more than 10 million users. Meanwhile, privacy advocates who slammed Google’s earlier social system, Buzz, are more comfortable with the new service. Google+ makes it “easier to share with one group of your friends while retaining some measure of privacy with respect to your family, coworkers, or other groups of friends," notes one watchdog. Still, he warns, “Google+ won't be as good for protecting your privacy against Google.” So now that Google+ is off to a promising start, what next? PC World looks at the possibilities, which include reaching out to businesses and gamers.

– We now know what would happen if a drone traveled back in time to the Middle Ages. A talented knight—more precisely, a talented medieval reenactor—at Russia's Rusborg festival managed to down a drone with a throw of his spear. The drone was recording the event from about 20 feet in the air when the man emerged from a crowd, took aim, and let fly, sending the drone careening to the ground, per Inverse. Its operators, photographers from Lipetsk, say the drone had to be sent to Moscow for repairs, reports the Guardian. Luckily its footage of sword fights and half-naked rugby games was unharmed.

The remainder of the calendar’s models include Lucasfilm producer Kathleen Kennedy, Yoko Ono, writer Fran Lebowitz, executive Mellody Hobson, former supermodel Natalia Vodianova, philanthropist Agnes Gund, blogger Tavi Gevinson, and Iranian artist Shirin Neshat. Williams’s photo was “not a nude but a body study”, she said, while Schumer’s was a comic conceit: “The idea was that she was the only one who had not got the memo about wearing clothes.” To the uninitiated, the Pirelli calendar might sound like a tatty document destined for mechanics to stare at in a garage. Sometimes I would just want to throw in the towel and say, ‘I’m not going to do stand-up tonight.’” We don’t often let our strong role models to have chink in their armor, especially ones that betray any sort of emotion or vulnerability.

– Amy Schumer, posing in her undies with tummy folds? Serena Williams, similarly dressed while showing off her buff physique? The Pirelli Calendar—which usually shows skinny models and actresses in soft-core poses—is breaking from tradition this year by using photos of successful women across various fields, the Daily Beast reports. "The goal was to be very straightforward," says photographer Annie Leibovitz, who snapped the shots for the 43rd edition. "I wanted the pictures to show the women exactly as they are, with no pretense." Only Schumer and Williams (who were each criticized by body-shamers in recent months) are posing in the near-buff, notes Slate. Schumer tweeted about it this way: Beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless, woman. Thank you @annieleibovitz — Amy Schumer, November 30, 2015 Among others posing for Leibovitz are Ava DuVernay, director of Selma; Yao Chen, a Chinese goodwill ambassador to the UN; Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm producer; Natalia Vodianova, ex-supermodel; Shirin Neshat, Iranian artist; and Yoko Ono. Seems Leibovitz chose her models: "Pirelli has always given free rein to the photographer," she tells the Guardian. "I think the company has wanted to shift for a few years and my mandate was that they wanted to see some change." So will the calendar revert to sexy poses next year? It's unclear, but Neshat tells the New York Times that "it would be a huge disappointment" if Pirelli chose to "abandon the idea of the women who define modern life, and go back to sexy girls who are too young to have accomplished anything." (Miley Cyrus recently did a nude photo shoot, too.)

Perhaps the leading GOP senator on foreign policy matters, John McCain (R-Ariz.), says he won’t walk out and that doing so would be disrespectful.

– President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address tonight, and every pundit out there has an opinion on how he should approach it. A sampling of the day's top unsolicited advice: "It may be tempting to list a series of measures Obama wants Congress to pass," but Obama should avoid a laundry list, warns historian Julian Zelizer at CNN. "The president should think big," perhaps using the speech, as FDR did in 1941, to "offer a vision" for America, or to take a bold gamble, as Abraham Lincoln did by supporting emancipation in 1862. Or he can simply be honest about today's challenges, as Gerald Ford was when he said the state of the union "is not good." Obama should invoke Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan by emphasizing "America's embrace of human and democratic rights, values that transcend parties and administrations," suggests Albert Hunt at Bloomberg. "Even Senator John McCain, in a grouchy mood, would applaud." "President Obama is apparently planning to give us yet another salvo in that left-right war," laments David Brooks in the New York Times. "But it would be great if Obama gave an imaginative speech that reframed things as present versus future." Somewhere along the line, America went from a forward-looking nation to a consumption-minded one. Smart investments in tomorrow could change that. Meanwhile, Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post has a more scientific look at what Obama should and shouldn't say, noting that in polls some policy ideas, like a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, became less popular when Obama's name was attached to them. Others, like banning assault weapons or ending the war in Afghanistan, got a boost from the association.

This article is over 1 month old Venezuelan president also claimed ‘ultra-right locos’ within Brazil’s incoming government were plotting to invade his country Venezuela’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro, has accused the White House of playing a direct role in an attempt to assassinate him and claimed “ultra-right locos” within Brazil’s incoming government were plotting to invade his country. Venezuela: is a US-backed 'military option' to oust Maduro gaining favour? Read more At a press conference in the presidential Miraflores palace in Caracas, Maduro said he had “no doubt” that the US government had ordered and authorized the botched strike against him last August with explosive-laden drones and continued to plot against him. He offered no evidence to support the allegations. Maduro claimed the US hoped to install a rightwing dictatorship in Venezuela and accused the US media of waging an “incessant” media campaign against his government in order to justify a foreign military intervention in Venezuela. The US national security adviser, John Bolton, had personally hatched a plan “to fill Venezuela with violence”, Maduro alleged, urging Donald Trump to abandon the supposed conspiracy and turn away from “conflict and confrontation”. In November Bolton described Venezuela as part of a Latin American “troika of tyranny” that had “finally met its match”. Last year Trump told reporters there were “many options” to resolve the Venezuelan crisis including a military one. In December the US defense secretary, James Mattis, called Maduro “an irresponsible despot” who would ultimately “have to go”. Maduro vowed to resist what he called the “neo-fascist madness” of his foreign foes and called on the international community to denounce the alleged plot against him. “Our message to the world is: it’s time to defend Venezuela!” he said. “Venezuela will not be a victim of a neo-fascist aggression.” “We will not retreat, we will not be brought to our knees, we will not give up. We will fight and we will guarantee Venezuela peace … whatever the price,” Maduro added. “We don’t want violence, or international conflicts, or war, or coups. The people want progress, prosperity and coexistence.” Bolton praises Bolsonaro while declaring ‘troika of tyranny’ in Latin America Read more Venezuela’s president also lashed out at Brazil’s incoming president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his vice-president, Hamilton Mourão, who he claimed was obsessed with the idea of invading Venezuela. “[This guy] has the face of a madman,” Maduro said of Mourão. “Saying a Brazilian military force is going to enter Venezuela is crazy talk.” “Nobody in Brazil wants the incoming government of Jair Bolsonaro to get involved in a military adventure against the Venezuelan people,” he said. Bolsonaro, who takes power on 1 January, has made no secret of his loathing of Maduro and last year vowed to “do whatever is possible to see that government be deposed”. But in a recent interview with the Brazilian magazine Piauí, Mourão struck a more moderate tone: “It’s the Venezuelans who have to solve the Venezuelans’ problems,” he said.

– The Trump administration was directly involved in an attempt to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—at least, that’s what Maduro claims (and not for the first time), the Guardian reports. "I have no doubt that the White House authorized the drone against Nicolás Maduro," he said, speaking in the third person during a Wednesday press conference, according to the Miami Herald, which notes that officials in the US often speak of the need for peaceful regime change in the South American country, "even as the threat of military intervention hangs in the air." The embattled Maduro says US National Security Adviser John Bolton is behind a range of plots to destabilize Venezuela. These include the aforementioned botched drone attack against Maduro in August and conspiring with "ultra-right locos" in Brazil to invade Venezuela.

The wonder, or perhaps the horror, of social media is that it allows people to remotely participate in a catastrophe in a personal but safe way. Photos are one thing, but hearing the real terror and fear from those who are there fully experiencing it in real time is another thing entirely. In another earthquake video shared on Twitter, a man holds a phone to record his reaction along with that of a woman in the room. He says no way, no way, no way and the woman babbles, I think she's praying, as the furniture topples and the room rocks. It's a terribly intimate moment I'm almost embarrassed to watch. But it strikes a chord. I've been there. And I will be there again, most likely.

– Residents of Los Angeles should be feeling more than empathy in the wake of Mexico City's 7.1 magnitude earthquake that left more than 200 dead Tuesday. They should also be experiencing fear, writes Mariel Garza at the Los Angeles Times. "Though of course my heart goes out to the people whose lives and homes were just ripped apart, and of course they will be in our collective prayers, what keeps me riveted to my Twitter feed and the videos therein is the sense that I’m glimpsing my own future," writes the LA resident. Experts say the city of 4 million is overdue for a big earthquake. But "it's easy to forget when the ground is still," Garza writes. "This was a sobering and graphic reminder." Garza was especially moved by videos showing whole buildings crumbling to dust or families huddled together as their house shakes. He says he'll be glued to coverage of the ongoing rescues and cleanup, searching for "clues and lessons" in the hope that "when it's LA's turn, I will be ready." But despite experts' predictions, not many Angelenos appear to be living in fear, even after LA was shaken by a 3.6 magnitude tremor and 2.0 magnitude aftershock on Monday, per the Times. The New York Times rounds up reactions of the relatively small tremor from celebrities, including musician Cray, who tweeted a photo that appeared to show a water bottle had fallen off a counter during the quake. "WE WILL REBUILD," she joked. (Click to read Garza's full column.)

The full moon known as this year's Harvest Moon will rise tonight (Sept.16) and will be shaded by a subtle type of lunar eclipse for some skywatchers in Africa, Asia and Australia. The Harvest Moon (as with all full moons) officially turns full when it reaches the spot in the sky opposite to (180 degrees from) the sun. In 2016, the Harvest Moon's moment will occur tonight at 3:05 p.m. EDT (12:05 p.m. PDT). A minor penumbral lunar eclipse will accompany the full moon tonight, and will be visible from Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Western Pacific. The Slooh Community Observatory will offer a live webcast of the eclipse at Slooh.com beginning at 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT). You can also watch the lunar eclipse webcast on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh. [Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse Guide: When & How to See It] The Harvest Moon is the one that comes the closest to the autumnal equinox, so this year it falls in September, although occasionally this title can be bestowed upon the October full moon. That will happen 12 times from 1970 to 2020, occurring next in 2017. The 2016 version of the Harvest Moon comes six days prior to the autumnal equinox, although it can occur as early as Sept. 8 (as it did in 2014) or as late as Oct. 7 (as happened in 1987). Many think that the Harvest Moon remains in the night sky longer than any of the other full moons seen during the year, but that is not so. What sets the Harvest Moon apart from other full moons is that it occurs at the climax of the harvest season, so farmers can work late into the night by the moon's light. This moon rises at about the time the sun sets, and — more importantly — at this time of year, instead of rising its normal average of 50 minutes later each day, the moon seems to rise at somewhat the same time each night. This NASA chart prepared by eclipse expert Fred Espenak shows the regions on Earth where the penumbral lunar eclipse of Sept. 16, 2016 will be visible. The primary visibility areas include Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Western Pacific. Credit: NASA/Fred Espenak In actuality, from midnorthern latitudes (+40 degrees), the rising of the moon over a three-night span centered on full phase (Sept. 15, 16 and 17) comes, on average, 38 minutes later each night. The night-to-night difference is greatest for the more southerly locations (Miami, located at latitude +25.8 degrees, sees moonrise come an average of 45 minutes later). Meanwhile, the difference is less at more northerly locations (at Edmonton, Canada, located at latitude 53.5 degrees N, the average difference is only 28 minutes). [Harvest Moon 2016: When and How to See September's Full Moon] The reason for this seasonal circumstance is that the moon appears to move along the ecliptic, and at this time of year, when rising, the ecliptic makes its smallest angle with respect to the horizon for those living in the Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, for those living in the Southern Hemisphere, the ecliptic at this time of year appears to stand almost perpendicular (at nearly a right angle) to the eastern horizon. As such, the difference for the time of moonrise exceeds the average of 50 minutes per night. At Sydney, Australia (latitude -33.9), for instance, the night-to-night difference amounts to 67 minutes. Interestingly, for those who live near 70 degrees north latitude, the moon does indeed appear to rise at about the same time each night around the period of the Harvest Moon. And for those who live even farther to the north, a paradox occurs: The moon appears to rise earlier each night! At Barrow, Alaska (latitude +71.3 degrees), for instance, the times of moonrise on Sept. 15, 16 and 17 will be, respectively, 9:05 p.m., 9:02 p.m. and 8:59 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time. So from Barrow, Alaska, the moon will seem to rise an average of 3 minutes earlier each night! The Harvest Moon will also undergo an eclipse of sorts, although this event will not afford viewers much of a spectacle. It's a "penumbral" eclipse, which occurs when the moon passes through the outer fringe of the Earth's shadow. Unlike when the moon interacts with the dark umbral shadow of Earth, resulting in a noticeable "bite" out of the lunar disk, a penumbral eclipse at best causes a tarnishing or "smudginess" on the moon at maximum effect. This full chart of the Sept. 16, 2016 lunar eclipse, prepared by NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak, shows both the visibility regions for the eclipses, as well as how the moon will dip through the outer shadow of Earth. Credit: NASA/Fred Espenak Unfortunately, North America is not in the viewing zone. Eastern Africa, western and central Asia, and western and central Australia are in the best positions to see this eclipse. At maximum (2:54 p.m. EDT, or 1854 GMT), 93 percent of the moon's diameter will be immersed in the Earth's penumbral shadow; the upper part of the moon will appear noticeably shaded. So for all of you (including me) who live in North America, don't be dejected that you're missing out on this shady little drama. It's really an underwhelming event. Editor's note: If you see an amazing Harvest Moon or live in one of the visilibility regions for the penumbral lunar eclipse and capture a striking photo that you'd like to share with Space.com and our news partners for a story or gallery, let us know! You can send images and comments in to: spacephotos@space.com. Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer's Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

– Skywatchers can witness a rare sight Friday night, though people in North America will have to settle for doing so via the Internet. The part everyone can see: It will be a full moon, and because this one falls closed to the fall equinox, it's called a harvest moon (the better for farmers of yore to harvest their crops, as legend has it). What's more, it coincides with a small lunar eclipse, though that part will be visible only in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, reports Space.com. Still, it will be the last harvest moon eclipse until 2024, reports National Geographic. During the show, only the upper part of the moon will be slightly shaded in what's known as a penumbral eclipse. Not in the viewing area? Watch it here.

Francis Lawrence, the director of the last three "Hunger Games" films, reunites with Lawrence for more adult fare but one likely to be remembered more for the outdoor junket photos of Lawrence in a thigh-slit dress in chilly London while her male co-creators wore coats. Craft and charm are part of what she brings to this role, as well as a serviceable accent, but it’s her absolute ease and certainty that carry you through “Red Sparrow.” She was born to screen stardom, and it’s a blast to see where it’s taking her. To make ends meet and take care of her ailing mother (Joely Richardson), Dominika is recruited by her Uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenaerts), a major figure in the Russian intelligence service. Unlike in Bond movies, though, there are few self-aware winks in “Red Sparrow.” Working from Justin Haythe’s script, Mr. Lawrence folds in moments of levity (a delectably acid and funny Mary-Louise Parker stirs things up), but “Red Sparrow” mostly hews closer in grim vibe and viciousness to Bourne than to Bond.

– After a career-ending injury, Russian ballerina Dominika becomes a seductive spy in Red Sparrow, a Francis Lawrence-directed film based on Jason Matthews' novel. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, it's a bloody affair that might not be worth its 2.5-hour run time, based on what critics are saying. It had a 52% positive rating among critics, and a slightly higher one from audiences: Peter Howell doesn't recommend it. At the Toronto Star, he calls Red Sparrow "the anti-007" in which "the sex is rape by any name, the tech is ancient floppy disks and the fighting is artless and bloody." Additional drawbacks are an "overly plotted screenplay," and Lawrence's "dodgy" Russian accent, "which approaches parody," Howell writes. Overall, it's "a brutal, muddled and dispiriting watch." Manohla Dargis disagrees, applauding Lawrence's ability to "slip into a role as if sliding into another skin." She delivers "a serviceable accent," but it's "her absolute ease and certainty that carry you through Red Sparrow," a "preposterously entertaining" film, Dargis writes at the New York Times, pointing out how rare it is to see a female character be the victim and perpetrator of "startling" violence. "With Cold War tensions rising again in real life, Red Sparrow feels of this time in a cool way, but only Lawrence's spy is memorable in this so-so operation," writes Brian Truitt at USA Today. "There's so much good stuff"—Dominika is "a fascinating study" and Lawrence "fits the role like a new pair of pointe shoes"—"but it never jells in a satisfying way." The film is also too long and a "hard watch due to its brutality," Truitt writes. Lawrence "gives her all," but it's not enough for Mark Kennedy, either. "What really drives Dominika is never very clear" and she ends up "like a reflection of the film itself, getting flatter and more boring by the minute," he writes at the AP. He also criticizes the "muddled" story and "cartoon violence," perhaps best exhibited in a scene involving the peeling of skin. "That might be more fun than sitting though Red Sparrow," he writes.

However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is using incomplete and even false science in order to prohibit the manufacturing and sale of natural kratom.

– There's a little green leaf that relieves pain and helps people kick heroin, but is also addictive—so should it be legal? That's what lawmakers are trying to decide about kratom, a tree-like plant from Southeast Asia, the New York Times reports. The FDA has banned kratom imports while four states (Wyoming, Vermont, Tennessee, and Indiana) have made it illegal, but more kratom bars are emerging that serve the leaf in drink form, and powdered versions are available online and everywhere from convenience stores to gas stations. "It's a mind-altering substance, so people like me who are addicts and alcoholics, they think just because it's legal, it's fine," says Florida resident Dariya Pankova, who took kratom for heroin withdrawal. "It's a huge epidemic down here, and it’s causing a lot of relapses.” Long taken as a stimulant in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, kratom contains something called mitragynine that seems to cause "opiod-like effects," per Medscape. But kratom also has been linked to respiratory depression, seizures, and possibly suicide; makers of the herbal-liquid "feel good" supplement Vivazen recently removed kratom from its ingredients, Bevnet reports. Yet advocates like the American Kratom Association say the leaf helps wean people off dangerous drugs, and Reason argues that states' arguments against kratom (that it's an opioid or synthetic drug) are incorrect. "It all boils down to the interpretation of the law," says a drug official in Alabama, where one county banned all kratom products last month, ABC 3340 reports. "My district attorney interprets it [as] illegal because it hits the opiate receptor of the brain." (One country may give heroin addicts what they want: heroin.)

Story highlights Boko Haram overruns a Nigerian village in pickup trucks, shooting at men The insurgents douse houses with gasoline and set them on fire They round up women, girls and boys and kidnap them News takes days to get out, since telecommunications towers had been destroyed Boko Haram insurgents kidnapped at least 185 women and children, and killed 32 people in a raid in northeastern Nigeria this week, local officials and residents said. Gunmen in pickup trucks attacked the village of Gumsuri, just north of Chibok, on Sunday, shooting down men before herding women and children together. "They gathered the women and children and took them away in trucks after burning most of the village with petrol bombs," a local government official said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. News of the attack took four days to emerge because of a lack of communication. Telecommunications towers in the region had been disabled in previous attacks. Local officials learned of the attack from residents who fled to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, where the officials had moved a year ago to escape Boko Haram attacks. The militants stormed the village from two directions, overwhelming local vigilantes who had repelled Boko Haram attacks over the course of the year, said Gumsuri resident Umar Ari, who trekked for four days to Maiduguri. ‎"They destroyed almost half the village and took away 185 women, girls and boys," Ari said.‎ Resident Modu Kalli said the militants fired heavy machine guns on the village and poured canisters of gasoline on houses before setting them on fire. "We lost everything in the attack. I escaped with nothing, save the clothes I have on me," Kalli said. Hundreds of residents of Gumsuri continue to arrive in Maiduguri, which has been struggling to accommodate thousands of residents fleeing towns and villages overrun by Boko Haram. Cameroon: At least 116 Boko Haram fighters killed Meanwhile, the Cameroon military says that it killed at least 116 Boko Haram fighters during a fight in northern Cameroon on Wednesday, near the border with northeastern Nigeria. The incident began when the militant group tried to attack the Cameroonian town of Amchide, military spokesman Lt. Col. Didier Badjeck said. One Cameroonian soldier was killed, and another was missing after the attack, according to a statement released by Badjeck. Boko Haram destroyed two trucks and stole a third, Badjeck said. Badjeck said the military believes its artillery also inflicted unspecified damage to Boko Haram on the Nigerian side of the border during the fight. "Our defense forces rigorously fought back this barbaric attack, and forced the enemy to retreat," Cameroonian government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said. "This terrorist group has only one objective: to spread fear and uncertainty amongst our population. But I can assure you that they will be defeated," Bakary said. Two months ago, the nearby area of Limani, Cameroon, was the site of a deadly clash between Boko Haram and Cameroonian forces. Eight Cameroonian soldiers and 107 Boko Haram fighters were killed during an attack by the militants that month, Cameroon state-run broadcaster CRTV reported, citing the Cameroonian defense ministry. Campaign of violence Boko Haram has terrorized northern Nigeria regularly since 2009, attacking police, schools, churches and civilians, and bombing government buildings. This month, at least one female Boko Haram suicide bomber killed five people in Maiduguri. Last month, suicide bombings killed nearly 180 people. More than half of the victims died in an attack on a mosque that many suspect Boko Haram was behind. The group has targeted mainstream Islam, saying that it does not represent the interests of Nigeria's 80 million Muslims and that it perverts Islam. In April, Boko Haram militants drew international condemnation when they kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls, many of whom they later said they sold into slavery. At least 5,000 people have died at Boko Haram's hands, according to a U.S. Congressional Research Service report, making it one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations.

– Boko Haram's latest raid in Nigeria has killed 32 people, and the militants have reportedly taken as many as 185 women and children hostage, CNN reports. News of the Sunday attack in Gumsuri, in the country's northeast, is coming out days later because of communication issues—the mobile network has "largely collapsed," Al Jazeera reports, and many roads are impassable. Telecommunications towers were taken out in past attacks. This time around, residents who fled to Borno State's capital, Maiduguri, told local officials what had happened. "They gathered the women and children and took them away in trucks after burning most of the village with petrol bombs," says one official. "They destroyed almost half the village," adds a resident. Another, describing the machine guns they fired and the gasoline they used to set houses on fire, says, "We lost everything in the attack. I escaped with nothing, save the clothes I have on me." Hundreds of residents are fleeing to Maiduguri, which has been nearly overrun with thousands of others who have fled other villages after attacks. Nigeria has also sentenced 54 soldiers to death for refusing to fight Boko Haram. Meanwhile, neighboring Cameroon says its troops repelled Boko Haram fighters who attacked an army base, killing 116 of the insurgents in its far north.

[Justice officials warned FBI that Comey’s decision to update Congress was not consistent with department policy] According to federal law enforcement officials, investigators found thousands of messages on Weiner’s computer that they believe to be potentially relevant to the separate Clinton email investigation. Investigators found 650,000 emails on a laptop that they believe was used by former Rep. Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife Huma Abedin, a close Clinton aide, and underlying metadata suggests thousands of those messages could have been sent... And his announcement means that Clinton could have to contend with the news that the FBI has resumed its investigation of her use of a private email server — without any clarity on whether its investigators will find anything significant — up to and beyond Election Day. Top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin has told people she is unsure how her emails could have ended up on a device she viewed as her husband’s computer, the seizure of which has reignited the Clinton email investigation, according to a person familiar with the investigation and civil litigation over the matter. FBI Director James Comey announced Friday that the bureau had uncovered emails that may be related to the FBI probe of Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. Summarizing Abedin’s interview, FBI agents wrote that she told them that the attorneys “erred on the side of caution and opted to include anything that they were unsure about.” In a sworn deposition in June, Abedin said she “looked for all the devices that may have any of my State Department work on it and returned — returned — gave them to my attorneys for them to review for all relevant documents.” Meanwhile, on Friday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took aim at Abedin in particular as he brought up Clinton’s emails.

– The issue of newly discovered emails related to Hillary Clinton's use of a private server dominated headlines Sunday, though it remains unclear whether the emails themselves contain anything new or damaging because the FBI has yet to begin searching them. (They were found on the computer of Anthony Weiner, husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, during a separate investigation of him.) Some of the latest developments: The Justice Department and the FBI is seeking a warrant to conduct a full search of the Abedin emails, but the issue is tricky because the computer belongs to Weiner, not Abedin, explains CNN. The subpoena under which it was seized relates only to the allegations that he was sexting with an underage girl. When the search begins, it will take weeks because the laptop has a total of about 650,000 emails. It's not clear how many of those were sent to or from Clinton's private server, but that figure is probably in the "thousands," reports the Wall Street Journal. Some may be duplicates that already have been seen by the FBI. Meanwhile, talks also are under way with Abedin's lawyers to gain access to the emails, reports USA Today. Abedin has told people she has no idea how her emails ended up on her husband's computer, reports the Washington Post. Her lawyers didn't search it when they were turning over her emails to the State Department, because she was reportedly unaware they were on it. A separate Post story says FBI agents had known for weeks about the emails on Weiner's computer but delayed telling FBI chief James Comey for reasons that are unclear. The chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration thinks the FBI's Comey has run afoul of the Hatch Act, which bars the use of an official position to sway an election. Richard Painter filed a formal complaint with the Office of Special Counsel, and he explains his case in the New York Times. If Clinton wins the election, she'll be grateful to Comey for this move, argues Ryan Lizza in the New Yorker. Need to catch up? The Times has a Q&A here.

Raymond Hamilton, former pal of Clyde Barrow and sweetheart of Bonnie Parker, was one of the convicts. This act of clemency brought vigorous protests from several sheriffs who wanted Barrow on numerous charges of robbery and theft. At about this time Barrow and Hamilton split after dispute over the affections of their redheaded feminine companion. And Hamilton wrote a letter in April 1934 to his lawyer, claiming that he was actually a gentleman bandit and had nothing to do with all the death and destruction wrought by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Barrow, who couldn't write well, had Parker pen a letter to Hamilton in which he called Hamilton's girlfriend a "prostitute sweetheart." Barrow also said he "should have killed" the "yellow" Hamilton when he had the chance. The letter, written in Bonnie Parker's neat cursive and signed by Clyde Barrow,... (Associated Press) BOSTON (AP) — Bonnie and Clyde made it quite clear how they felt about a former member of their gang in a letter they sent to him as he sat in the Dallas County Jail. "I know that some day they will get me but it won't be without resistance," Barrow told Hamilton in the letter. A law enforcement ambush killed Bonnie and Clyde about a month after the letter was written, and Hamilton couldn't talk his way out of the electric chair. Dallas County Sheriff Richard "Smoot" Schmid intercepted the letter on its way to the jail and later made it public. But Schmid's family kept the original letter in a family scrapbook for years before they decided to auction it. Bobby Livingston, executive vice president of RR Auction in Boston, said the letter evokes imagery of Bonnie and Clyde consumed with revenge on Hamilton while evading law enforcement. There is still intense interest in Bonnie and Clyde, who were almost glorified in their day before the public turned against them after they were linked to the murder of two police officers, Livingston said. "Every single line in that letter is just brimming with content that any collector of any genre of letters, this would be the letter to have," Livingston said. "If you're enamored by the story of Bonnie and Clyde, here it is." Two pistols recovered from the bodies of the infamous outlaw couple were sold by RR in 2012 for more than $500,000. The couple was livid with Hamilton, in part because of a disagreement over how to split $4,000 stolen from a Texas bank just two months earlier. The lawmen who finally got Bonnie and Clyde resorted to an ambush, riddling their car with bullets on May 23, 1934, near Gibsland, La. The museum is at the site of Bonnie and Clyde's last known meal. Sheriff Corry related that Clyde Barrow had asked them: “Did you know who I was?” When the officer admitted he did not, Barrow replied: “It’s a good thing. "I hope this will serve the purpose of letting you know that you can never expect the least of sympathy or assistance from me," Barrow wrote in Parker's writing. The other man turned a machine gun on the officers and kept them at bay long enough to permit a getaway in their auto.

– The cursive is Bonnie's; the signature, Clyde's. A four-page letter written by the duo in April 1934 is hitting the auction block in September, and it's a fiery one. It's addressed to one Raymond Hamilton, a one-time member of their gang who, at the time the letter was written, was behind bars in the Dallas County Jail. That he was there was a reflection of just how "yellow" he was, per the letter, as he didn't try to flee as he was captured. The Dallas Morning News reports the trio had a falling out over Hamilton's girlfriend (the "prostitute sweetheart" the letter refers to); the AP cites a disagreement over how to divvy up $4,000 they had taken from a Texas bank earlier that year. This after Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker famously rescued Hamilton and four others from a Texas prison farm in January 1934, per a New York Daily News article written that year. Hamilton was serving sentences totaling 262 years at the time. The lines are biting. "I should have killed you then I would have saved myself much bother and money looking for you," reads the letter, which Boston-based RR Auction says was likely dictated by Barrow to Parker, who had superior writing skills. It closes by telling Hamilton, "I hope this will serve the purpose of letting you know that you can never expect the least of sympathy or assistance from me. So long." But he may not have ever seen it. Sheriff Richard "Smoot" Schmid intercepted it and later publicized it; his family is now auctioning it off. The Morning News notes Barrow and Parker were killed the month after they wrote the letter. Hamilton's fate was no better: Death by electric chair in 1935. Read more from the letter, including a prescient line, here.

Former White House press secretary James Brady, who was left paralyzed in the Reagan assassination attempt, looks at his wife, Sarah Brady, during a 2011 news conference on Capitol Hill. (Evan Vucci/AP) Federal prosecutors said they will not charge John W. Hinckley Jr. with murder in the shooting of President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary in a 1981 assassination attempt, even though a medical examiner concluded that James S. Brady’s death in August was caused by the old wounds. The decision, announced Friday by the U.S. attorney for the District, comes four months after a medical examiner decided that Brady’s death at the age of 73 was a direct result of a bullet fired 34 years ago outside the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest. In a statement, prosecutors said their decision was based on “a review of applicable law, the history of the case, and the circumstances of Mr. Brady’s death.” Hinckley, now 59, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting of Reagan, Brady and two others and has spent the past three decades at St. Elizabeths psychiatric hospital in Southeast Washington. Hinckley’s attorney, Barry Wm. Levine, said “any idea that this was a prosecutable case was ridiculous. There were so many legal obstacles to prosecuting this case, just countless.” He said that had authorities filed new charges, he believes the case “would be barred as a matter of law.” The March 30, 1981, assassination attempt came just 69 days into Reagan’s presidency. Reagan was severely wounded. Brady was struck first, above the left eye, and the bullet shattered in his head. He remained incapacitated for the remainder of his life, paralyzed in the left arm and leg. At the time of his death, he was suffering from aspiration pneumonia, and prosecutors said the cause of death was listed by a medical examiner in Virginia, where Brady died Aug. 4, as a “gunshot wound [to the] head and consequences thereof.” John Hinckley Jr. arrives at U.S. District Court on Nov. 18, 2003, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP) A representative of Brady’s family said in a statement that they respect the decision by the U.S. attorney. “We deeply appreciate the extraordinary outpouring of love and support” since Brady’s death, the statement said. “We miss him greatly.” Brady and his wife, Sarah, became leading advocates of gun control after the shooting, fighting for years for passage of legislation requiring background checks on handgun purchases. The medical examiner’s ruling presented law enforcement authorities with a difficult decision on whether to file new charges against Hinckley, who previously had gone to trial on 13 criminal charges, two of them related to Brady: assault with intent to kill while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon. Hinckley told authorities that he hoped that killing Reagan would impress the actress Jodie Foster. While some prosecutors said in August that the medical examiner offered authorities a new chance to revisit the criminal case, others questioned whether it would be legal or even a matter of good public policy. U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., the District’s top prosector, provided two legal reasons for not pursuing additional charges against Hinckley. In his statement, he said a judge would likely prevent prosecutors from arguing, or a jury from finding, that Hinckley was sane when he fired the shots. A jury already concluded that he was insane at the time. Machen said in the statement that any attempt to try Hinckley again would result in a directed verdict from the judge reaffirming the jury’s decision in 1982. Machen also said the District’s now-overturned year-and-a-day law, which prevented filing murder charges 367 or more days after an attack, still affects the case because it was the law when the assassination attempt was made in 1981. Levine also said he would have argued that the constitutional idea of double jeopardy, which protects against charging a person twice with the same crime, would have protected his client. An element of a murder charge is intent, and he said Hinckley was already adjudicated when the jury declared him insane on the “assault with intent to kill” charge. In addition, Levine said he would have argued that other medical issues caused Brady’s death. “I think the public will understand it was a decision made professionally and with due consideration for the law and the facts,” said Joseph E. diGenova, a supervisor in the U.S. attorney’s office when Hinckley was tried. The former prosecutor said that “the criminal justice system is not perfect.” He added: “I’m sure there is nothing prosecutors would have liked better than to charge John Hinckley with murder. But they have higher duties than worrying about public sentiment.” Although Brady’s death and the decision on how he died brought new attention to the case, Hinckley continues to battle prosecutors on another front: how much freedom he should enjoy now that it appears his illness is waning, or under control. Over the years, Hinckley’s attorney and health-care workers have petitioned to allow him stays with his mother in Williamsburg. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled in December 2013 that Hinckley could visit his mother every month for 17 days. He wrote that he was convinced that Hinckley “will not be a danger to himself and to others,” but he rejected a bid for even longer outings, saying Hinckley still had not gained friends or ties to people in Williamsburg. While in Virginia, Hinckley is under strict rules. He may drive but only to “destinations where people will be expecting him.” He is allowed six unsupervised outings away from his mother’s house, each lasting up to four hours. He is barred from visiting any areas where the president or members of Congress might be. Even the times of his daytime strolls in Williamsburg are tightly regulated. And attorneys are still debating how much Internet time Hinckley should be allowed while in Virginia. “This is a gentleman who was ravaged by mental disease some 30 years ago and who has recovered entirely,” Levine said. “He is stricken by the grief that he has caused others. This whole event is catastrophic for him. He is keenly aware of what it did to James Brady and to others, and he regrets it profoundly.”

– Would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr. will not be charged with murder in last year's death of James Brady, the Washington Post reports. The notion had become a real possibility when a coroner ruled that Brady's death at age 73 was a homicide—the result of the bullets that struck him in the head back in 1981. Federal prosecutors decided they would have little chance of conviction considering that Hinckley was found to be not guilty by reason of insanity of all charges at the time, reports NBC News. "The decision was made following a review of applicable law, the history of the case, and the circumstances of Mr. Brady's death, including recently finalized autopsy findings," says a statement from the US Attorney's Office in Washington. The Brady family issued a statement saying it respected the decision. Hinckley remains institutionalized at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, though he gets to spend a lot of time on the outside.

The Virginia State Board of Elections has postponed plans for a name-drawing on Wednesday to decide the winner of a deadlocked House of Delegates race — and possibly which party controls the chamber — after one of the candidates announced plans for a court challenge over whether the election was really a tie. Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds said Tuesday that she would file a motion in Newport News Circuit Court on Wednesday, asking judges to reconsider their decision to count a disputed ballot as a vote for Republican incumbent David Yancey and declare the race a tie. Shelly Simonds' lawyers said Tuesday that they'll ask the court to reconsider its ruling after last week's recount. The Democrat in a tied race for a Virginia House seat that could affect which party controls the chamber says she'll ask a court to declare the tie invalid. If Simonds were declared the winner in the 94th District in Newport News, it would split control of the legislature 50-50. (AP/AP) The next day, a three-judge panel decided that a ballot that was declared ineligible during the recount should count for Yancey, tying the race at 11,608 votes apiece. If Simonds wins the seat, the House chamber will be split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, forcing the parties into a rare power-sharing arrangement. Attorney Ezra Reese said the court violated election law by counting a ballot for Republican Del.

– Shelly Simonds wants to stop her name from being written on a slip of paper and put inside an old film canister on Wednesday morning, and she's partially succeeded. The Democrat plans to ask a Virginia court to name her the winner of the 94th District Race on Wednesday; she had been declared the winner following a recount last Tuesday, with the 11,608-to-11,607 vote ending 17 years of Republican control in the Virginia House. But judges last Wednesday evened the count to 11,608 for both, and the race is now set to be determined by lot, with the aforementioned film canister and one containing the name of Republican rival/incumbent David Yancey put in a 180-year-old turquoise pitcher, reports the Washington Post. The Newport News Circuit Court is closed Tuesday for the holiday, so she'll file documents Wednesday arguing that election officials sidestepped proper procedure when they handed Yancey an additional vote. The AP reports election officials on Tuesday night decided to postpone the drawing as a result of her planned filing; they didn't specify a new date or time. When more than one candidate's bubble is filled in on a ballot, that ballot is supposed to be declared an "over vote" and discarded. But the 11,608th vote handed to Yancey came from a ballot in which both candidates' bubbles were filled in; Simonds' bubble had a slash mark through it. Her filing also calls out Yancey's decision to take issue with the ballot the day after the recount, which facilitated his "opportunistic end run" around recount law, she alleges, per the Virginia Pilot.

The organic produce market in the United States has grown quickly, up 12 percent last year, to $12.4 billion, compared with 2010, according to the Organic Trade Association. Organic meat has a smaller share of the American market, at $538 million last year, the trade group said. The findings seem unlikely to sway many fans of organic food. Advocates for organic farming said the Stanford researchers failed to appreciate the differences they did find between the two types of food — differences that validated the reasons people usually cite for buying organic. Organic produce, as expected, was much less likely to retain traces of pesticides. Organic chicken and pork were less likely to be contaminated by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. “Those are the big motivators for the organic consumer,” said Christine Bushway, the executive director of the trade association. The study also found that organic milk contained more omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered beneficial for the heart. “We feel organic food is living up to its promise,” said Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group, which publishes lists highlighting the fruits and vegetables with the lowest and highest amounts of pesticide residues. The Stanford researchers said that by providing an objective review of the current science of organic foods, their goal was to allow people to make informed choices. In the study — known as a meta-analysis, in which previous findings are aggregated but no new laboratory work is conducted — researchers combined data from 237 studies, examining a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and meats. For four years, they performed statistical analyses looking for signs of health benefits from adding organic foods to the diet. Photo The researchers did not use any outside financing for their research. “I really wanted us to have no perception of bias,” Dr. Bravata said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story One finding of the study was that organic produce, over all, contained higher levels of phosphorus than conventional produce. But because almost everyone gets adequate phosphorus from a wide variety of foods, they said, the higher levels in the organic produce are unlikely to confer any health benefit. The organic produce also contained more compounds known as phenols, believed to help prevent cancer, than conventional produce. While the difference was statistically significant, the size of the difference varied widely from study to study, and the data was based on the testing of small numbers of samples. “I interpret that result with caution,” Dr. Bravata said. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Other variables, like ripeness, had a greater influence on nutrient content. Thus, a lush peach grown with the use of pesticides could easily contain more vitamins than an unripe organic one. The study’s conclusions about pesticides did seem likely to please organic food customers. Over all, the Stanford researchers concluded that 38 percent of conventional produce tested in the studies contained detectable residues, compared with 7 percent for the organic produce. (Even produce grown organically can be tainted by pesticides wafting over from a neighboring field or during processing and transport.) They also noted a couple of studies that showed that children who ate organic produce had fewer pesticide traces in their urine. The scientists sidestepped the debate over whether the current limits are too high. “Some of my patients take solace in knowing that the pesticide levels are below safety thresholds,” Dr. Bravata said. “Others have questioned whether these standards are sufficiently rigorous.” Similarly, organic meat contained considerably lower levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria than conventionally raised animals did, but bacteria, antibiotic-resistant or otherwise, would be killed during cooking. Dr. Bravata agreed that people bought organic food for a variety of reasons — concerns about the effects of pesticides on young children, the environmental impact of large-scale conventional farming and the potential public health threat if antibiotic-resistant bacterial genes jumped to human pathogens. “Those are perfectly valid,” she said. The analysis also did not take factors like taste into account. But if the choice were based mainly on the hope that organic foods would provide more nutrients, “I would say there is not robust evidence to choose one or the other,” Dr. Bravata said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The argument that organic produce is more nutritious “has never been major driver” in why people choose to pay more, said Ms. Lunder, the Environmental Working Group analyst. Rather, the motivation is to reduce exposure to pesticides, especially for pregnant women and their young children. Organic food advocates point to, for example, three studies published last year, by scientists at Columbia University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. The studies identified pregnant women exposed to higher amounts of pesticides known as organophosphates and then followed their children for years. In elementary school, those children had, on average, I.Q.’s several points lower than those of their peers. Critics of the Stanford study also argue that lumping all organic foods into one analysis misses the greater benefits of certain foods. For example, a 2010 study by scientists at Washington State University did find that organic strawberries contained more vitamin C than conventional ones. Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler, another member of the Stanford team, said that the strawberry study was erroneously left out but that she doubted it would have changed the conclusions when combined with 31 other studies that also measured vitamin C.

– There's no question that organic food is better for the planet, but there's no evidence that it's better for the person eating it, according to a new study. Scientists analyzed four decades of research, and found that organic meat and produce have no more nutritional value or other health benefits than conventional—and cheaper—foods, reports the New York Times. Much more pesticide residue was found in conventional fruits and vegetables, but only three of the 237 studies analyzed found residue above allowed limits. "When we began this project, we thought that there would likely be some findings that would support the superiority of organics over conventional food,” says the lead researcher. “I think we were definitely surprised." But organic food advocates say that some of the study's findings, including the higher levels of pesticide residue, validate consumers' decisions to buy organic, and note that the organic food movement started out as a way to help the environment, reports USA Today. "The health benefits really ended up being almost inadvertent, a nice fringe benefit" of sustainable farming, says a scientist at Consumers Union.

Robots are taking human jobs. But Bill Gates believes that governments should tax companies’ use of them, as a way to at least temporarily slow the spread of automation and to fund other types of employment. The Microsoft founder and world’s richest man said the revenue from a robot tax could help fund more health workers and people in elderly and child care, areas that are still expected to rely on humans. In a recent interview with Quartz, Gates said that a robot tax could finance jobs taking care of elderly people or working with kids in schools, for which needs are unmet and to which humans are particularly well suited. He argues that governments must oversee such programs rather than relying on businesses, in order to redirect the jobs to help people with lower incomes. The idea is not totally theoretical: EU lawmakers considered a proposal to tax robot owners to pay for training for workers who lose their jobs, though on Feb. 16 the legislators ultimately rejected it. “You ought to be willing to raise the tax level and even slow down the speed” of automation, Gates argues. That’s because the technology and business cases for replacing humans in a wide range of jobs are arriving simultaneously, and it’s important to be able to manage that displacement. “You cross the threshold of job replacement of certain activities all sort of at once,” Gates says, citing warehouse work and driving as some of the job categories that in the next 20 years will have robots doing them. You can watch Gates’ remarks in the video above. Below is a transcript, lightly edited for style and clarity. Quartz: What do you think of a robot tax? This is the idea that in order to generate funds for training of workers, in areas such as manufacturing, who are displaced by automation, one concrete thing that governments could do is tax the installation of a robot in a factory, for example. Bill Gates has called for a tax on robots to make up for lost taxes from workers whose jobs are destroyed by automation. Right now, the human worker who does, say, $50,000 worth of work in a factory, that income is taxed and you get income tax, social security tax, all those things. If a robot comes in to do the same thing, you’d think that we’d tax the robot at a similar level. And what the world wants is to take this opportunity to make all the goods and services we have today, and free up labor, let us do a better job of reaching out to the elderly, having smaller class sizes, helping kids with special needs. You know, all of those are things where human empathy and understanding are still very, very unique. And we still deal with an immense shortage of people to help out there. So if you can take the labor that used to do the thing automation replaces, and financially and training-wise and fulfillment-wise have that person go off and do these other things, then you’re net ahead. But you can’t just give up that income tax, because that’s part of how you’ve been funding that level of human workers. And so you could introduce a tax on robots… There are many ways to take that extra productivity and generate more taxes. Exactly how you’d do it, measure it, you know, it’s interesting for people to start talking about now. Some of it can come on the profits that are generated by the labor-saving efficiency there. Some of it can come directly in some type of robot tax. I don’t think the robot companies are going to be outraged that there might be a tax. It’s OK. Could you figure out a way to do it that didn’t dis-incentivize innovation? Well, at a time when people are saying that the arrival of that robot is a net loss because of displacement, you ought to be willing to raise the tax level and even slow down the speed of that adoption somewhat to figure out, “OK, what about the communities where this has a particularly big impact? Which transition programs have worked and what type of funding do those require?” You cross the threshold of job-replacement of certain activities all sort of at once. So, you know, warehouse work, driving, room cleanup, there’s quite a few things that are meaningful job categories that, certainly in the next 20 years, being thoughtful about that extra supply is a net benefit. It’s important to have the policies to go with that. People should be figuring it out. It is really bad if people overall have more fear about what innovation is going to do than they have enthusiasm. That means they won’t shape it for the positive things it can do. And, you know, taxation is certainly a better way to handle it than just banning some elements of it. But [innovation] appears in many forms, like self-order at a restaurant—what do you call that? There’s a Silicon Valley machine that can make hamburgers without human hands—seriously! No human hands touch the thing. [Laughs] And you’re more on the side that government should play an active role rather than rely on businesses to figure this out? Well, business can’t. If you want to do [something about] inequity, a lot of the excess labor is going to need to go help the people who have lower incomes. And so it means that you can amp up social services for old people and handicapped people and you can take the education sector and put more labor in there. Yes, some of it will go to, “Hey, we’ll be richer and people will buy more things.” But the inequity-solving part, absolutely government’s got a big role to play there. The nice thing about taxation though, is that it really separates the issue: “OK, so that gives you the resources, now how do you want to deploy it?”

– Job-stealing robots should be taxed the same as humans, Bill Gates says. "If a robot comes in to do the same thing, you’d think that we’d tax the robot at a similar level," the Microsoft founder tells Quartz. He says governments should tax companies that replace workers with machines and use that money to fund jobs that can only be performed by humans, such as caring for children and the elderly. In what is perhaps a surprising declaration for a man who built his fortune through innovation, the billionaire philanthropist contends the pace of automation in job-killing industries ought to be slowed, and taxes can help do that. "It is really bad if people overall have more fear about what innovation is going to do than they have enthusiasm," he says. While the European Parliament last week nixed a robot tax for now, notes the Telegraph, such a levy is being pushed by the French socialist candidate for president. But the idea of taxing machines is picking up steam even in the unlikely climes of Silicon Valley, which seems to favor the customers, not the industry, footing the bill, per the Financial Times. But the world's richest man doesn't think manufacturers would mind paying up. "I don’t think the robot companies are going to be outraged that there might be a tax," he says. "It’s OK." Skeptics took to Twitter, blaming Microsoft's own technology for lost human jobs. (Read the full interview here.)

STANDISH, Maine (AP) — Three men are charged with digging up the cremated remains of two relatives and moving them to another cemetery in Maine. Authorities say 71-year-old Calvin Lewis of Limington, 37-year-old Hiram resident Travis Lewis and 42-year-old Kevin Lewis of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are charged with abuse of a corpse. Police say the men dug up the remains of Richard Lewis and the son who shared his name from a cemetery in Standish last fall, then reburied them in the family plot in Limington. The elder Richard Lewis was Calvin Lewis' brother and the father of the other two men. The remains were returned to their original resting place on Aug. 2. Kevin Lewis tells the Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1rd16sK) the men "just thought we had a right" to move family members.

– Kevin Lewis thought it was no big deal when he and a couple of relatives unearthed the ashes of his father and brother in Standish, Maine, and reburied them about 10 miles down the road in Limington. "We just thought we had a right," Lewis tells the Portland Press Herald. Apparently, they didn't. Lewis, his brother Travis, and their uncle Calvin are now accused of abuse of a corpse after the deceased brother's former girlfriend clued police into the move, which happened last fall. The woman says she buried her ex-boyfriend's ashes when he died in 2007, as well as the ashes of his father, which had been sitting at a family member's house since his death in 2003. "We appreciated what this woman did," Lewis said, "but she didn't pay for my father’s funeral." He explains the family moved the ashes to a family plot because "it's where everybody else will be buried." The AP reports, however, the remains were returned to their original resting place earlier this month. The Lewises are due in court Nov. 18.

The body of Timothy Coggins, 23, was found on Oct. 9, 1983, in a grassy area near power lines in the community of Sunnyside, about 30 miles south of downtown Atlanta. He had been “brutally murdered” and his body had signs of trauma, the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Timothy Coggins Spalding County Sheriff's Office Investigators spoke to people who knew Coggins, but the investigation went cold, Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said at a news conference. “Thanks to the assistance of both local and statewide new media coverage, previously unknown witnesses stepped forward and when interviewed, many of the witnesses stated that they had been living with this information since Coggins' death but had been afraid to come forward until now or had not spoken of it until now,” Dix said. Five people, including two law enforcement officials, were arrested Friday by the Spalding County Sheriff’s Department in connection with a 1983 cold case. Frankie Gebhardt, 59, and Bill Moore Sr., 58, were charged with murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and concealing a body. Gregory Huffman, a detention officer with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, was charged with obstruction and violation of oath of office. Dix said Milner Police Officer Lamar Bunn was charged with obstruction, and Spalding County Detention Officer Gregory Huffman was charged with violation of oath office. 0 Several arrests made in 1983 'racially-motivated' murder SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. - Investigators said two men got away with murder for more than three decades thanks, in part, to help from two law enforcement officers. “There is no doubt in the minds of all investigators involved that the crime was racially motivated and that if the crime happened today it would be prosecuted as a hate crime,” the Sheriff’s Office said. "We know that there's been tireless nights and we know that you guys have put in so many hours making sure that these people were brought to justice, so on behalf of them, we would definitely like to say 'thank you,'” said Coggins’ niece, Heather Coggins. “Even on my grandmother's deathbed she knew that justice would one day be served,” said Heather Coggins.

– Five white people—including two law enforcement officers—were arrested Friday in Georgia in connection with the murder of a black man 34 years ago, NBC News reports. Timothy Coggins was 23 when his body was found in a grassy area 30 miles south of downtown Atlanta in 1983. Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix says Coggins was "brutally murdered." According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dix says suspects at the time threatened and intimidated possible witnesses, and the case was never solved. "It worried everybody to death, but we never could find out what was going on, so life just continued," a friend of Coggins tells WSB. The case was reopened in March after new evidence turned up, and the original witnesses—afraid to come forward at the time—were re-interviewed. It's unclear what the new evidence was. Bill Moore, 58, and Frankie Gebhardt, 59, were charged with murder, aggravated assault, and more. Gregory Huffman, 47, was charged with obstruction and violation of oath of office. He was fired as a detention officer with the sheriff's office following his arrest. Lamar Bunn, a police officer in a nearby town, was charged with obstruction. His mother, Sandra Bunn, was also charged with obstruction. Dix says investigators believe the murder was "racially motivated" and would be considered a hate crime today. "It was meant to send a message and it was brutal," he says. Officials say more arrests are possible. "We have always wanted justice, held out for justice, and knew that we would have justice," the victim's niece, Heather Coggins, says.

The Iraqi-born British architect died in a Miami hospital after suffering a heart attack, a representative for Zaha Hadid Architects confirmed with Business Insider. Zaha Hadid has died aged 65. Hadid, the only female member of the elite tribe of so-called “starchitects,” celebrities of the profession, was the winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize and was the first woman to receive the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio The Broad Art Museum in Michigan “She had contracted bronchitis earlier this week and suffered a sudden heart attack while being treated in hospital,” her firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, said in a statement. Click through to see how her style has evolved over time, and remember the artist through the body of work she has left behind all over the world. Nevertheless, in a field that has often disregarded women and championed men, Hadid’s career was a beacon to many female architects. Hadid designed everything from a metro station in Saudi Arabia to the aquatics center for the 2012 London Olympics to a city center in downtown Belgrade— all in her signature flowing style.

– Zaha Hadid, the literally and metaphorically groundbreaking architect who reshaped the design landscape with what the New York Times describes as "buildings of extravagant sculptural invention, spectacles of curving, swooping, unprecedented forms," died at the age of 65 in Miami on Thursday. Hadid had been taken to a local hospital for bronchitis earlier this week and suffered a sudden heart attack while she was being treated there, per a statement from her London office. Known as the "Queen of Curves" for her "signature flowing style," Business Insider notes, she was the only female architect to ascend to the ranks of what Quartz labels as her profession's elite "starchitects" group. The Iraqi-born Brit was known for her designs for, among others, the London Aquatic Center (a 2012 Olympics venue), China's Guangzhou Opera House, and Cincinnati's Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art. Hadid was the first woman to ever take home the Pritzker Prize, the architecture world's highest honor, and was also the first woman to receive Britain's esteemed RIBA Gold Medal. The Times points out that Hadid's designs were often not the most practical (nor the cheapest): Her plans for the 2020 Olympics' main venue in Tokyo had to be ditched after anticipated costs blew up to around $2.5 billion, more than double the original estimate. But she came up during a time when architects morphed into celebrities, and she was one of the hottest and most imaginative of them all, cranking out such complicated theoretical designs in the beginning of her career that they were never able to be brought to fruition. "Each new project is more audacious than the last and the sources of her originality seem endless," the Pritzker jury wrote upon awarding her its prize in 2004. (Check out pics of her most well-known works at Business Insider and Quartz.)

Story highlights Conservative activists at the Values Voters Summit in Washington booed Donald Trump Friday after he called Marco Rubio a "clown" Rubio and Trump have been fighting all week, trading insults on-air and on Twitter Washington (CNN) Donald Trump drew boos from religious conservatives Friday after he called Marco Rubio a "clown" and attacked him on immigration. Trump also seemed to let on that Rubio is getting under his skin in an interview today in which he called the Florida Senator a “baby.” This came after Rubio tagged Trump as a “touchy and insecure guy” who has been “exposed a little bit over the last seven days.” Rubio was responding to an earlier Trump broadside in which the Donald described him as a “kid” and a “lightweight.” And Trump has also attacked Rubio by pointing out that he “sweats more than any young person I’ve ever seen in my life,” whatever that is supposed to tell us. For good measure, Jeb even threw in a Reagan reference. Trump and Rubio have been anything but "nice" to each other this week, engaging in a continued back-and-forth that started Tuesday. “He doesn’t show up to vote for one thing,” said Mr. Trump, uncorking his now-familiar attack on Mr. Rubio’s record of absenteeism from Senate votes. Rubio, by contrast, tagged Trump as “touchy and insecure” and over “exposed,” a much more TV-and-internet-friendly hit that hints at questions about Trump’s masculinity. But Mr. Rubio is proving capable of giving it back.

– At a summit yesterday, Donald Trump discovered a big difference between Marco Rubio and some of the other people he has bad-mouthed: A lot of conservatives like him. The crowd at the Family Research Council's Values Voters Summit booed after Trump called the senator as a "clown," although Trump, who went on to describe Rubio as "weak on immigration," later claimed the boos were actually cheers, NBC reports. Trump's comments followed a week of back-and-forth between the pair, with Rubio calling Trump "very touchy and insecure guy" and Trump describing his 44-year-old rival as an "overly ambitious," excessively sweaty, "kid" who "shouldn't be running in this race," reports CNN. After the summit comment, Rubio retorted that Trump "had a tough week" and a "really bad debate," reports the New York Times, which notes that Trump has attacked Rubio's bank balance and even his hair. But Rubio is rising in the polls and unlike Jeb Bush, the target of many Trump attacks over the summer, it looks like the senator has a good instinct for Internet-driven political culture, and "knows how to get under the reality TV master's skin," writes Greg Sargent at the Washington Post. The Times notes that when a reporter asked Trump about John Boehner's resignation yesterday, he didn't have much to say, but when asked about Rubio, he criticized his absenteeism record in the Senate and called him a "baby." (Trump was also booed by a crowd waiting for Pope Francis.)

Co-founders of Tinder and eight other former and current executives of the popular dating app are suing the service's current owners, alleging that they manipulated the valuation of the company to deny them of billions of dollars they were owed. The suit, filed Tuesday in state court in New York, seeks at least $2 billion in damages from Match Group (MTCH) and its parent company, IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC). The plaintiffs are represented by Orin Snyder of Gibson Dunn, who has represented some of the biggest companies in tech, including Facebook, Apple and Uber. Four of the plaintiffs, who still work at Tinder, were put on paid administrative leave by the company on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the matter. The dispute centers on an analysis of Tinder done in 2017 by Wall Street banks to set a value for stock options received by Sean Rad, a Tinder co-founder, and other early employees. It also includes an allegation of sexual harassment against Tinder's former CEO, Greg Blatt. IAC issued a statement calling the suit "meritless" and saying it would "vigorously defend" itself against it. The statement said that Rad and other former executives who left the company a year or more ago "may not like the fact that Tinder has experienced enormous success following their respective departures, but sour grapes alone do not a lawsuit make." Tinder's 2017 valuation was set at $3 billion, unchanged from a valuation that had been done two years earlier, despite rapid growth in revenue and subscribers. The suit charges that executives with Match and IAC deliberately manipulated the data given to the banks, overestimating expenses and underestimating potential revenue growth, in order to keep the 2017 valuation artificially low. That manipulation allegedly deprived some early Tinder employees of millions, or billions, of dollars. "They lied about the financial performance. They manipulated financial data, and essentially stole billions of dollars by not paying us what they contractually owe us," Rad said in an interview with CNN. "We're here to preserve our rights and to fight for what's right, for what was promised us." The suit does not offer an alternative valuation, and when asked by CNN, Rad refused to give an estimate other than to say it was "multiples" of the $3 billion figure. The suit seeks at least $2 billion in damages, and according to the suit the plaintiffs' options accounted for more than 20% of the company. That would suggest the plaintiffs are alleging that Tinder was undervalued by at least $9 billion, putting its total value at about $12 billion. But Match Group, which is publicly traded and includes Tinder along with other dating apps, has a market cap of only about $13.5 billion. IAC overall, which is controlled by media magnate Barry Diller and which also includes brands such as Angie's List and The Daily Beast in addition to the services that make up Match, has a market cap of about $16 billion. The price of both stocks slumped immediately after the suit was filed. Tinder's success is driving much of that value. Last week, shares of Match shot up 17% in a single day and shares of IAC jumped nearly 8% after Match reported huge gains from Tinder. Revenue from Tinder alone was up 136% over the last year, coupled with an 81% increase in the number of subscribers. On an investor call about the earnings report, Match's CFO told investors it now expects Tinder to generate $800 million in revenue this year, which he called a "phenomenal achievement." The suit says that is 75% higher than the 2018 estimate used in the 2017 valuation. How Tinder was created The suit provides a fascinating look behind the scenes not only at the operations of Tinder, but also of the kinds of battles that can happen between technology innovators who create new companies and the investors who help to finance their early operations. Tinder has helped change the way that people meet by gamifying dating. Users can swipe left on a potential date's profile if they aren't interested, and swipe right if they are. If both parties swipe right, it's a match. When it was introduced, the app transformed the online dating experience and paved the way for a number of competitors that iterated on the format. Today, the company says it sees 1.6 billion swipes a day and touts a total of over 20 billion matches. The suit claims that Rad and others created Tinder largely on their own time, and with their own money, while working on other projects at Hatch Labs, a business incubator IAC runs in New York. The suit says they were told that if Tinder was successful they would receive a "founder friendly ownership" deal and would be given a majority the company. But once Tinder proved successful, they were given options worth only about 20% of the company, according to the suit. "By the time we had anything in contract, Tinder was already big," Rad said. "The early team gave it their all, and they sacrificed like any founder of any company does, or early employees of any company does. They took risk. We all took risk," Rad said. How much is Tinder worth? The share of the company to which the early employees are entitled is not at issue in the suit; they ultimately agreed to the roughly 20% they were given. The question in the lawsuit is the value of that stake. According to the suit, IAC and Match installed Blatt as Tinder's CEO ahead of the valuation process in order to paint to the banks conducting the valuation a more pessimistic view of Tinder's growth. The suit alleges that Match and IAC downplayed the impact of significant product features that Tinder was set to introduce, like a change that allowed a wider user base, as well as Tinder Gold, a premium version of the app that significantly increased revenue. "There was hard data that showed that these features are going to have a significant impact on the company," Rad said. "They downplayed the importance of either one of these features even though internally everyone knew how important they were. And then weeks later to the public they are saying how these features are the cornerstone of our growth." According to the suit, within one week of Tinder Gold's launch, Match's market value increased by $1 billion. IAC defended the valuation process in its statement. "The facts are simple: Match Group and the plaintiffs went through a rigorous, contractually-defined valuation process involving two independent global investment banks, and Mr. Rad and his merry band of plaintiffs did not like the outcome," it said. "Mr. Rad has a rich history of outlandish public statements, and this lawsuit contains just another series of them. We look forward to defending our position in court." IAC said that since Tinder's start it has paid more than $1 billion in equity compensation to Tinder employees including its founders. During the valuation process, Blatt threatened other executives of Tinder who tried to share accurate information with the banks performing the valuation, according to the suit. Rad told CNN that employees were told they'd be fired if they provided the correct information. Rad was on the board at the time, but he told CNN that he'd been pushed out of the conversations and was put in a position where he couldn't ensure that the valuation and the information given to the banks were correct. According to the suit, Rad was banned from Tinder's headquarters by Blatt. "The employees were literally told, and these are my colleagues who built this company with me, were told that if they speak to me, if they provide me with the right information, they can be fired." Allegations of sexual harassment The suit also alleges that, soon after he was named CEO of Tinder in late 2016, Blatt groped and sexually harassed Tinder Vice President of Marketing and Communications Rosette Pambakian at a company holiday party. The suit alleges that when Rad notified IAC officials of Blatt's conduct, they covered it up and kept Blatt as CEO specifically because he was central to their plan to downplay the valuation. Pambakian is a plaintiff in the suit. Rad said Pambakian told him about the incident shortly after it happened, and that when he confronted Blatt about it, the CEO threatened him. "I was told ... 'If you take me down, I'm going to take you down with me,'" he told CNN. IAC's statement did not respond to the lawsuit's allegations of sexual harassment against Blatt. CNN also reached out to Blatt for comment and did not receive a response. This is not the first time there have been allegations of sexual harassment at the executive level at Tinder. In fact one of the plaintiffs in the suit, and a co-founder of Tinder, Justin Mateen, was accused of sexual harassment in 2014. But unlike Blatt, who stayed in his job, Mateen, an ally of Rad, was forced to quit the company and lost half of his options. A lawsuit by the alleged victim in that case — Whitney Wolfe Herd, who went on to found Bumble — against Tinder, Match and IAC alleged that Mateen harassed her and that Rad allowed the harassment to take place. It settled without an admission of wrongdoing by any of the parties. Asked by CNN about it, Rad said that Mateen paid the financial consequences for his actions. "That's not relevant to the fact that this company made promises to all the Tinder employees, including Justin, and reneged on those promises and overlooked the contracts they had with us," Rad said. Taking on Barry Diller By filing this suit, the plaintiffs are taking on one of the most powerful people in the world of technology and new media. Barry Diller, 76, is chairman not only of IAC but also of Expedia, the largest online travel company in the world. Forbes estimates his net worth at $3.1 billion. CNN has also reached out to Diller for comment about the allegations in the suit in addition to seeking comment from IAC. It has yet to hear back. Rad said it wasn't easy to decide to go up against Diller this way. "No one wants to have to sue anyone," Rad said. "Especially a large, powerful corporation. It's terrifying." Asked whether he thought Diller played a role in the alleged scheme, Rad said he looked forward to the facts coming out. "I think when you're operating in a company for many, many years and you know, the mandate is that nothing important happens without one person knowing about it, you assume they know about everything that's happening. Especially something as significant as this."

– The co-founders of the dating app Tinder, along with eight other current and former executives, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against IAC/InterActiveCorp and its Match Group subsidiary for allegedly bilking them by manipulating financial information to create a lowball estimate of Tinder's value, the AP reports. They are seeking at least $2 billion in the lawsuit against Match and IAC, which is controlled by media mogul Barry Diller. IAC and Match Group, of which Tinder is now part, called the allegations in the lawsuit "meritless." The lawsuit claims that there were written contracts between IAC and Match and Tinder employees, including founders Sean Rad, Justin Mateen, and Jonathan Badeen. The contracts required Tinder be valued on specific dates in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021 and that the workers be allowed to exercise their stock options and sell them to IAC and Match. The lawsuit alleges New York-based IAC and Match instead created false financial information, delayed new products, and used other tactics to try to keep Tinder's valuation low. Per CNN, the dispute centers around a 2017 analysis that valued Tinder at $3 billion, the same valuation that had been set two years prior, despite the fact that both revenue and subscribers had increased in that time; the suit says the 2017 valuation, which was done to set a value for stock options received by Rad and other early employees, should have been higher. Tinder was then merged into Match Group, which the lawsuit says was a pretext to extinguish Tinder employees' stock options. "They lied about the financial performance. They manipulated financial data, and essentially stole billions of dollars by not paying us what they contractually owe us," Rad tells CNN. In a statement, IAC and Match Group said Rad, Mateen, and other former execs "may not like the fact that Tinder has experienced enormous success following their respective departures, but sour grapes alone do not a lawsuit make." See CNN for much more on the ins and outs of the suit, which also includes allegations of sexual harassment and groping against Tinder's former CEO.

A rare blue lobster caught by local lobsterman, Greg Ward, is on display at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, N.H., on Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Ward initially thought he had snagged an albino lobster... (Associated Press) A rare blue lobster caught by local lobsterman, Greg Ward, is on display at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, N.H., on Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Ward initially thought he had snagged an albino lobster... (Associated Press) PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire lobsterman has joined an elite club after catching a rare blue lobster. The Portsmouth Herald reports (http://bit.ly/2uBKn8X ) Greg Ward initially thought he had snagged an albino lobster when he examined his catch off the coast Monday where New Hampshire borders Maine. The Rye lobsterman quickly realized his hard-shell lobster was a unique blue and cream color. The oft-cited odds of catching a blue lobster are 1 in 2 million. But no one knows for sure. Ward says the lobster is unlike anything he's ever seen. He gave the rare crustacean to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye to study and put on display. Center aquarist Rob Royer says Ward's blue lobster will go on display in the "exotic" lobster tank once it acclimates to the water. ___ Information from: Portsmouth Herald, http://www.seacoastonline.com

– A New Hampshire lobsterman has joined an elite club after catching a rare blue lobster, the AP reports. The Portsmouth Herald reports Greg Ward initially thought he had snagged an albino lobster when he examined his catch off the coast Monday where New Hampshire borders Maine. The Rye lobsterman quickly realized his hard-shell lobster was a unique blue and cream color. The oft-cited odds of catching a blue lobster are 1 in 2 million. But no one knows for sure. Ward says the lobster is unlike anything he's ever seen. He gave the rare crustacean to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye to study and put on display. Center aquarist Rob Royer says Ward's blue lobster will go on display in the "exotic" lobster tank once it acclimates to the water.

For a dead man, Lenin Carballido apparently ran a pretty good campaign. Last Sunday, nearly three years after he was officially declared dead, Carballido was narrowly elected mayor of San Agustin Amatengo, a small town in Mexico’s Oaxaca state. Carballido faked his own demise in 2010, according to Mexico’s Reforma newspaper, in order to evade charges stemming from a 2004 sexual assault. With police on his trail, Carballido “died” and obtained a coroner’s certificate in September 2010, affirming he had succumbed to “natural causes” after slipping into a diabetic coma. The charges were dropped. Carballido’s resurrection occurred this year when he ran as a local candidate for Mexico’s leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), beating his opponent Sunday by a margin of 11 votes, 515 to 504. Lenin Carballido poses for a portrait during his campaign in Oaxaca, Mexico, June 4, 2013. Mexican prosecutors are investigating how Carballido was elected mayor of a village in southern Mexico after being certified as dead. (Luis Alberto Hernandez/AP) Isidoro Yescas, a state election official in Oaxaca, said investigators were seeking to obtain an official copy of Carballido’s death certificate, which would leave him unfit for office. “Even if he’s been elected, such proof that he committed a crime would make him ineligible and strip him of his right to serve,” Yescas told Reforma, adding “this is not a typical electoral crime.” PRD officials said they were not aware that their candidate was legally dead. Gabriela Martinez contributed to this report.

– A zombie mayor would make for one hell of a headline (not to mention a movie), but the newly elected leader of a small town in Mexico isn't dead in real life—just on paper. According to Mexican newspaper Reforma, Lenin Carballido faked his own death in 2010 due to police charges for allegedly participating in a gang rape, the AP and Washington Post report. He successfully obtained an official coroner’s certificate, and the charges were dropped. Carballido then resurrected himself this year to run for local government in San Agustin Amatengo, Oaxaca. The Oaxaca state prosecutors' office says the statute of limitations has not run out on the crime he was originally charged with, and it plans to revive the case and arrest him. "The state attorney general's office will investigate and bring charges, even if the suspect is recognized by electoral authorities as a municipal authority," it says, per the AP. Carballido's party, the Democratic Revolutionary Party, says it wasn't aware their candidate was legally dead. "He fooled the prosecutors' office, he fooled the office of records, he fooled electoral officials," says the PRD's state leader. "If all this is true, he cannot take office as mayor."

In this image provided by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment orca Takara helps guide her newborn to the water's surface at SeaWorld San Antonio, Wednesday, April 19, 2017, in San Antonio. The company based... (Associated Press) In this image provided by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment orca Takara helps guide her newborn to the water's surface at SeaWorld San Antonio, Wednesday, April 19, 2017, in San Antonio. The company based in Orlando, Fla., announced the birth Wednesday. (Chris Gotshall/SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment via... (Associated Press) MIAMI (AP) — Officials at SeaWorld say the last killer whale has been born in captivity at one of its parks — in San Antonio. The orca's birth Wednesday afternoon comes in the wake of a decision by the Florida-based company in 2016 to stop breeding killer whales. SeaWorld didn't immediately name the calf because the park's veterinarians had not yet determined whether it was male or female. The mother, 25-year-old Takara, was already pregnant last year when SeaWorld said it stopped the breeding program. The gestation period for orcas is about 18 months. SeaWorld says the mother had a smooth delivery and both appeared healthy. SeaWorld's chief zoological officer, Chris Dold, told The Associated Press by phone that the birth was one of those "extraordinary moments."

– Officials at SeaWorld say the last killer whale has been born in captivity at one of its parks—in San Antonio. The orca's birth Wednesday afternoon comes in the wake of a 2016 decision by the Florida-based company to stop breeding killer whales. SeaWorld didn't immediately name the calf because the park's veterinarians have not yet determined whether it is male or female. The mother, 25-year-old Takara, was already pregnant last year when SeaWorld stopped the breeding program. The gestation period for orcas is about 18 months. SeaWorld says the mother had a smooth delivery and both appear healthy. SeaWorld's chief zoological officer, Chris Dold, tells the AP that the birth was one of those "extraordinary moments." SeaWorld says the calf—one of a couple of dozen orcas that will remain in the company's parks for decades to come—represents the last chance for visitors and researchers to witness the growth and maturation of a young orca outside its natural setting, the San Antonio Express-Tribune reports. There are two male orcas at the San Antonio park and SeaWorld thinks Kyuquot is the father, but it will carry out tests to make sure. (Blackfish orca Tilikum sired 14 calves before his death this year.)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Boston Celtics got a scare when they were told of a bomb threat on their private flight to Oklahoma City. The Boston Globe (http://bit.ly/2hbx9Jc ) reports the plane landed safely around 5:00 p.m. at Will Rogers World Airport, where players were told to leave their bags and proceed to their hotel. The FBI's Oklahoma City field office said late Saturday that a thorough search of the aircraft "did not locate an explosive device" and that the agency is investigating the incident. The Boston Globe says only a few team executives were aware of the threat during the flight and that others in the party were informed upon landing in Oklahoma City, where the Celtics face the Thunder on Sunday. The team departed for Oklahoma City from Bedford, Massachusetts.

– The Boston Celtics got a scare when they were told of a bomb threat on their private flight to Oklahoma City. The Boston Globe reports the plane landed safely around 5:00pm at Will Rogers World Airport, where players were told to leave their bags and proceed to their hotel. The FBI's Oklahoma City field office said late Saturday that a thorough search of the aircraft "did not locate an explosive device" and that the agency is investigating the incident, reports the AP. The Boston Globe says only a few team executives were aware of the threat during the flight and that others in the party were informed upon landing in Oklahoma City, where the Celtics face the Thunder on Sunday. The team departed for Oklahoma City from Bedford, Mass.

Fantasia -- Police Report Cites 'Suicide' Attempt The police who responded to Fantasia Barrino 's home last night were told the " American Idol " champ had attempted to commitby ingesting pills ... this according the police report obtained by TMZ.According to the report, cops received a 911 call at 10:13 PM last night ... and responded to Fantasia's home in North Carolina.Once they arrived on the scene, they listed her injury as "serious" and then transported her to a local hospital.

– Former American Idol champ Fantasia Barrino is hospitalized after overdosing on a combination of aspirin and a sleep aid, but her manager says her life isn't in danger. Fantasia had been distraught and "overwhelmed by the lawsuit and the media attention" related to her affair with the married Antwaun Cook. The North Carolina police report called it a suicide attempt, reports TMZ. "Fantasia believed Mr. Cook when he told her he was not happy in his marriage and his heart was not in it," read the manager's statement. But now she is "heartbroken and is sorry for any pain she may have caused." Fantasia won Idol in 2004 and has had mixed success since. Her third album is due out later this month, notes AP.

- Former tennis player John McEnroe tried to explain his statement that fellow tennis player Serena Williams would be ranked "like 700 in the world" if she had to play on the men's circuit, on June 27. But McEnroe often seemed unsure of exactly what to say, leading to a number of rambling sentences and a suggestion that he didn’t want to “upset her” because he didn’t want “anything to go wrong with Serena[’s pregnancy].” WATCH: John McEnroe apparently thinks Serena Williams is a hysterical woman who may fall apart because of his comments and go into labor pic.twitter.com/qaDq2Wcejt — Yashar Ali (@yashar) June 27, 2017 Williams herself eventually criticized McEnroe over Twitter, asking him to “please keep [her] out of [his] statements.” When asked on “CBS This Morning” if he would like to apologize, however, McEnroe replied, “Uh, no.” He then said that “tennis [is] unlike other sports ― they’re always asking about how women” would fare against him. McEnroe’s initial comments came as he was responding to a question from NPR about why he doesn’t call Williams the greatest tennis player, period. McEnroe had said, during an interview on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” over the weekend, that “if [Williams] played the men’s circuit, she’d be, like, 700 in the world.” The retired player’s comment led to intense anger. Garcia-Navarro: Some wouldn’t qualify it, some would say she’s the best player in the world. I do, but the reality of what would happen would be I think something that perhaps it’d be a little higher, perhaps it’d be a little lower.” McEnroe’s assessment of Williams’s rank among her male counterparts differs from one he gave in the past.

– John McEnroe refused to apologize Tuesday after claiming that Serena Williams would only be ranked 700th or so if she played against men rather than women, Time reports. McEnroe induced a wave of ire, including some from Williams herself, after making the comment Sunday on NPR. On Tuesday he told CBS This Morning he "didn't know it would create a controversy" but wouldn't be apologizing. According to HuffPost, McEnroe said he didn't want to "upset" Williams and cause "anything to go wrong" with her pregnancy. While McEnroe apparently isn't sorry for his comments about Williams, he said he is sorry tennis players are constantly asked to rank each other. He said people are "always asking about how women" would do playing against him. In a joking re-ranking of history's greatest tennis players, McEnroe put Williams fifth overall, asking, "You happy now?" He said he would rank about 1,200th out of women's tennis players at his current age of 58, USA Today reports. The Washington Post has the video of McEnroe's appearance on CBS This Morning.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller answered tough questions from U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle today about the growing scandal of explicit photos being shared on the Marines United Facebook page and other websites. He called the actions of Marines engaged in cyberbullying female members of the corps "truly disturbing and unacceptable." Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee with acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Ronald Green, Neller said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the allegations and will hold accountable any service members involved. But some senators were not satisfied with the military leadership's response. "When you say to us, 'It's got to be different,' that rings hollow," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. "I don't know what you mean when you say that. Why does it have to be different because you all of a sudden feel that is has to be different? Who has been held accountable?" @SenGillibrand: It's "a serious problem when we have members of our military denigrating female Marines...with no response from leadership" pic.twitter.com/6kuEF3M5Pp — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 14, 2017 She pressed Neller on how commanders would be held responsible as well. "It is a serious problem when we have members of our military denigrating female Marines who will give their life to this country in the way they have, with no response from leadership," Gillibrand said. "So if you're dedicated to fixing the culture of the Marines and all the services, what do you plan to do to hold commanders responsible who fail to get this done?" she added. Neller has acknowledged that the sharing of explicit photos online is linked to a broader cultural problem that must be addressed. "I'm responsible," he said in reply to Gillibrand. "I'm the commandant. I own this, and we are going to have to, you know, you've heard it before, but we're going to have to change how we see ourselves and how we do — how we treat each other. That's a lame answer, but ma'am, that's the best I can tell you right now. We've got to change, and that's on me." On Friday, Neller made an impassioned request to women who may have been victims of the military's nude photo sharing scandal to step forward so that those responsible could be held accountable. On Friday he said "less than 10" female victims have been identified. Today he told the committee that a "small number" of victims have come forward, and he repeated that others need to speak out about online harassment they received. Stackley said a tip line set up for service members to share information with leadership received 53 calls as of Monday. It's estimated that 30,000 people had access to the Marines United Facebook page, a private Facebook group established several years ago as a support network to help fellow Marine veterans dealing with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, Neller said. A link posted on the site led to another internet storage site, where some members of the group posted explicit photos of female Marines; the link and separate site have since been removed by the internet service provider, he said. Neller and Stackley said that about 500 Marines United members accessed the link to the explicit photos. The two men added that did not have a breakdown of active duty military personnel, veterans and civilians who were involved in that site. Stackley said anonymity can make it difficult to identify individuals online. The other military services are also looking into reports that photos of female members from all the branches were posted on additional websites. The Marine Corps has the lowest percentage of female members among the five military services, with women making up about 7 to 8 percent of Marines, and it has focused recruiting efforts on increasing the number of women in uniform. Neller addressed the relationship between some male and female Marines in today's hearing. "The female Marines are a small group in our Corps," he said. "And for whatever reason, there are still some number — and I don't think it's separate from the sexual assault issue, but this issue of denigration of women, objectification of women, misogyny, however you want articulate it, or just bad behavior is tied to the way that some ... male Marines look at women in the Marine Corps." J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo In his opening statement, Neller asked female Marines past and present to trust that the issue will be addressed. "I know I'm asking a lot of you right now, but I ask you trust the leadership of the Marine Corps to take action and correct this problem. I ask you to trust me personally as your commandant and when I say I'm outraged that many of you haven't been given the same respect when you earn the title Marine," he said. Neller listed several examples of female Marines who were recently killed in the line of duty, asking male Marines, "How much more do the females of our Corps have to do to be accepted?" "We have to commit to get rid of this perversion to our culture. Enough is enough," he said, adding that he believes this scandal is "not indicative of the great majority of Marines." Gen. Neller: "I don't believe—I may be wrong, pray to God I'm not—but I don't believe this is indicative of the great majority of Marines" pic.twitter.com/GbDIGnfiS4 — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 14, 2017 Active-duty service members who take and share explicit photos of others without their consent can be punished under varying articles in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., suggested active-duty Marines should be dishonorably discharged to send a "signal" to deter others from similar behavior. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., suggested that veterans convicted of these actions could lose their military benefits. "We need to make it a very frightening proposition for people, going forward, to be captured in this sort of activity," he said. ABC News' Luis Martinez and Sekar Krisnauli contributed to this report.

– A familiar scene played out on Capitol Hill Tuesday in the form of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand expressing anger at the harassment of women in the military. This time, she was grilling Marines chief Gen. Robert Neller in the wake of the revelation that photos and videos of female Marines, sometimes nude, had been widely shared in online groups. One exchange, via ABC News, sums it up: Gillibrand: "It is a serious problem when we have members of our military denigrating female Marines who will give their life to this country in the way they have, with no response from leadership. So if you're dedicated to fixing the culture of the Marines and all the services, what do you plan to do to hold commanders responsible who fail to get this done?" Neller: "I'm responsible. I'm the commandant. I own this, and we are going to have to, you know, you've heard it before, but we're going to have to change how we see ourselves and how we do—how we treat each other. That's a lame answer, but ma'am, that's the best I can tell you right now. We've got to change, and that's on me." The New York Times, meanwhile, has the story of one of the women victimized. Savannah Cunningham, a 19-year-old in Phoenix, made a nude video for a Marine she was dating in a long-distance relationship, and it surfaced in the online forums. Cunningham wasn't in the military at the time, but, despite the harassment she endured over the video, ships out for basic training next month. “Someone needs to stand up and say this does not represent the values of the Marine Corps,” she tells the newspaper. “If not me, then who?” A story in the Navy Times shows the challenge: It confirms that the scandal is not confined to the Marines, with women from at least a dozen Navy commands also specifically targeted in the online forums, likely by other sailors.

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — U.S. helicopters airlifted soldiers to a central Yemeni province where they targeted an al-Qaida compound, clashing with suspected militants and killing at least seven of them early on Tuesday, according to the American military, Yemeni security officials, and tribal leaders. The Central Command said the U.S. forces killed the militants using "a combination of small arms fire and precision airstrikes" to attack the compound. The Defense Department said the operation was conducted with the support of Yemen's government. According to Yemeni officials, the raid took place in the al-Sirim area in the province of Marib in the early morning hours. Tribal members said explosions were heard in al-Sirim, followed by helicopters and gunfire. The helicopters landed in the outskirts of the town of Jouba near al-Sirim, which is known as one of al-Qaida's hideouts and which has been targeted by a series of airstrikes in the past month that reportedly killed six al-Qaida militants. According to the officials, there was also bombing in nearby Bayda province. The officials and the tribesmen spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to talk to reporters. They also did not have any specifics on casualties. The Marib raid is the second publicly-known U.S. ground deployment in Yemen this year against al-Qaida militants. The United States has stepped up airstrikes as part of a sustained assault on al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in areas of Yemen where it is most active, after a late January special operations raid that resulted in the death of a Navy SEAL. Washington considers AQAP as one of the most dangerous branches of the terror network. The January raid also killed 25 civilians, including women and children, and sparked outrage in Yemen. The US military said 14 militants from al-Qaida were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members captured "information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots." Over 75 U.S. airstrikes carried out since the beginning of the year have reflected an almost double increase in the yearly totals since the drone program against al-Qaida in Yemen began in 2009, according to analysts. But al-Qaida has used the chaos of Yemen's civil war following the 2015 launch of the Saudi-led campaign targeting the Shiite Houthi rebels who seized the capital, Sanaa, and other areas in the country, to expand its footprint and recruitment efforts. The militant group has also effectively emerged as a de facto ally of the U.S.-backed Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his backers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the battle against the Shiite rebels. The United States also supports the oil-rich Saudi Arabia with military advisers, logistics and intelligence, in addition to billions of dollars in arms.

– US helicopters airlifted soldiers to a central Yemeni province where they targeted an al-Qaeda compound and killed at least seven militants Tuesday, reports the AP. Central Command said US forces killed the militants using "a combination of small-arms fire and precision airstrikes," with the primary goal being the collection of intelligence, reports the BBC. It was unclear what was retrieved on that front. The Defense Department, which did not mention any US casualties, said the operation was conducted with the support of Yemen's government. The raid in Marib province is the second publicly known US ground deployment in Yemen this year against al-Qaeda. The first, in January, resulted in the death of a Navy SEAL. The United States also has stepped up airstrikes as part of a sustained assault on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in areas of Yemen where it is most active. Washington considers AQAP one of the most dangerous branches of the terror network. The January raid killed 25 civilians, including women and children, and sparked outrage in Yemen. For its part, al-Qaeda has used the chaos of Yemen's civil war to expand its footprint and recruitment efforts in the region.

“These trends suggest that Americans are becoming less socially connected and experiencing more loneliness,” said Holt-Lunstad. To illustrate the influence of social isolation and loneliness on the risk for premature mortality, Holt-Lunstad presented data from two meta-analyses. The second study, involving 70 studies representing more than 3.4 million individuals primarily from North America but also from Europe, Asia and Australia, examined the role that social isolation, loneliness or living alone might have on mortality. These findings indicate that the influence of social relationships on the risk of death are comparable with well-established risk factors for mortality such as smoking and alcohol consumption and exceed the influence of other risk factors such as physical inactivity and obesity.

– Being lonely won't just make you feel sad—it may also endanger your life. In fact, researchers now say that people steeped in social isolation (including those who live by themselves) and a lack of connection with others can suffer just as much of a mortality risk as someone inhaling nearly a pack of cigarettes a day, and even more so than someone who's obese, Seeker reports. All of which leads Julianne Holt-Lunstad—a Brigham Young University psychology professor who presented these findings, also published in the PLOS ONE journal, at the American Psychological Association's convention on Saturday in DC—to stress that loneliness and isolation should be treated as public health issues. She says they could perhaps be partly remedied via initiatives such as teaching kids more social skills in school, or prepping seniors on how to keep their social lives active after they retire. Holt-Lunstad's research was based on two meta-analyses. The first, comprised of 148 studies and nearly 300,000 subjects, found those who claimed better social connections also boasted a 50% lower risk of early demise—and poor social connectivity offered the same mortality risk as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The second grouping was made up of more than 3.4 million participants over 70 studies and found that social isolation (lack of actual contact with others), loneliness (the perception of feeling lonely, whether others are around or not), or simply living alone all carried more risk of premature death than obesity. "With an increasing aging population, the effect on public health is only anticipated to increase," Holt-Lunstad notes. "Indeed, many nations around the world now suggest we are facing a 'loneliness epidemic.' The challenge ... now is what can be done about it." (How loneliness and Alzheimer's may be linked.)

Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero told reporters that explosives were found in the Alcanar property and that police "are working on the hypothesis that these attacks were being prepared in that house." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage captures people using a shop as an escape route on Las Ramblas Citizens of some 24 countries were killed or injured in the Las Ramblas attack, the Catalan government has said. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility, saying in a statement on its Aamaq news agency that the attack was carried out by "soldiers of the Islamic State" in response to the extremist group's calls for followers to target countries participating in the coalition trying to drive it from Syria and Iraq. Police said the two suspects arrested Thursday were a Spanish national from Melilla, a Spanish-run Mediterranean seafront enclave in North Africa, and the other a Moroccan. Injured people are treated in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists... (Associated Press) BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Police on Friday shot and killed five people wearing fake bomb belts who staged a car attack in a seaside resort in Spain's Catalonia region hours after a van plowed into pedestrians on a busy Barcelona promenade, killing at least 13 people and injuring over 100 others. The driver abandoned the van and fled on Thursday after speeding along a section of Las Ramblas, the most famous boulevard in Barcelona, leaving a trail of dead and injured among the crowds of tourists and local residents thronging the street. Catalan police later said they found an ax and knives in the car, and the attackers had fake explosive belts attached to them. BARCELONA (Reuters) - The driver of the van that ploughed into crowds in Barcelona, killing 13 people, may still be alive and at large, Spanish police said on Friday, denying earlier media reports that he had been shot dead in a Catalan seaside resort.

– A huge manhunt is underway in Spain for the driver of a van that plowed into pedestrians in Barcelona, killing 14 people in a terrorist attack claimed by ISIS. Spanish police have named the suspect as 18-year-old Moussa Oukabir, the Guardian reports. The suspect's brother, 28-year-old Moroccan national Driss Oukabir, was arrested after the attack and reportedly told authorities that his identity documents, which were used to rent the van, were stolen. In other developments: Police say five suspects shot dead after injuring people in a second attack Thursday night were wearing fake explosive belts, CNN reports. The suspects engaged in a shootout with police after driving their Audi A3 into pedestrians in the town of Cambrils, authorities say. Their vehicle overturned during the attack. The suicide belts were so realistic that security forces didn't know they were fake until controlled explosions had been carried out, authorities say. Investigators believe a 12-person terror cell was behind both attacks and an explosion that killed a person at a house in the town of Alcanar, the Telegraph reports. They suspect the terrorists were planning to use gas canisters in another attack. A counterterrorism expert tell the New York Times that authorities believe the attackers initially planned to use a large truck loaded with explosives, but they rented multiple smaller vehicles after they couldn't get a permit for a larger one. Police say the three people arrested so far include a man from Melilla, Spain's North African enclave, reports Reuters. A 7-year-old Australian boy is missing after the Barcelona attack, the Guardian reports. Family members are pleading for help in the search for Julian Cadman, whose mother was hospitalized in serious condition after the attack. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Spaniards "are not just united in mourning, but especially in the firm determination to beat those who want to rob us of our values and our way of life," the AP reports. He has declared three days of national mourning. This is the latest atrocity in what the BBC calls a "worrying trend" of attackers using vehicles to attack "soft" targets. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, though it's not clear whether the attackers are directly linked to the group or only inspired by them. (The victims, including more than 100 injured, came from at least 24 countries.)

Amazon launches Prime instant videos, unlimited streaming for Prime subscribers [Engadget] Related: Despite Soaring Stocks, Netflix Might Be in for a Bumpy Ride In a press release, the company said the feature will be offered at no additional cost above the $79 that Prime members already pay annually. Internet service providers are trying to charge higher fees to tax Netflix for sucking up their bandwidth.

– Amazon threw down the gauntlet against Netflix today, offering its own streaming movie service. From now on, subscribers to Amazon Prime—which offers customers free two-day shipping for $79 a year—will also get access to more than 5,000 movies and TV shows, CNET reports. You can see the launch titles here. Amazon’s catalog isn’t yet on par with Netflix’s, which contains around 20,000 streaming titles, Daily Intel observes, but that’s just an opening salvo, and Amazon is already beating Netflix on price—a full year of Netflix’s digital-only package clocks in at more than $95, and won’t earn you free shipping on a single coffee table book.

– The comic know around the world as nerdy Mr. Bean is recovering in a British hospital after crashing his McLaren F1 supercar and striking a tree and lamppost before the vehicle burst into flames. Rowan Atkinson is "lucky to be alive considering the state of the car," said a witness. The actor suffered only a minor shoulder injury in the wreck some 85 miles north of London, reports AP. Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash, but some media reported that Atkinson spun out on a portion of rain-slicked highway. Atkinson also crashed the car in 1999, rear-ending a Land Rover. He bought the sports car, which can reach speeds of 230 mph, to celebrate the success of Mr. Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie. It's only one of 65 street versions ever made and is valued at more than $2 million, reports the Mirror. While his character Mr. Bean putts along in a Mini-Cooper, Atkinson is a fan of luxury sports cars, and has also owned Aston Martins, Mercedes, and Rolls Royces.

On Monday night, I walked into FirstEnergy Stadium having absolutely no clue what was going to happen during the national anthem. When it began, I saw a group of Browns players kneeling and was proud. A few moments later, I noticed that No. 87—my husband, Seth—was among them, and I was even prouder. That moment reconfirmed a few things that I knew: that the many in-depth conversations about race that Seth and I had—that every interracial couple must have had—resonated and took root with him; that he knew this was bigger than just one-on-one chatting with me over dinner or coffee; and that he gets it, beyond a simple desire to be protective of me as his wife. While I understand (and am deeply proud) that Seth is the first white NFL player to kneel during a demonstration like this (on Sept. 4, 2016, Megan Rapinoe, a U.S. women’s soccer player, was the first white professional athlete to do so), I would like to push back against some of the attention he’s been getting that portrays him as some sort of white savior to a movement that was started and has been carried on by black football players for about a year now. I am grateful for the widespread support and praise that Seth is getting for his actions, but I would like to offer a humble reminder that a man—a black man—literally lost his job for taking a knee, week after week, on his own. Colin Kaepernick bravely took a step and began a movement throughout the NFL, and he suffered a ridiculous amount of hate and threats and ultimately lost his life’s work in the sport he loves. We should not see Seth’s participation as legitimizing this movement. Rather, he chose to be an ally of his black teammates. To center the focus of Monday’s demonstration solely on Seth is to distract from what our real focus should be: listening to the experiences and the voices of the black people who are using their platforms to continue to bring the issue of racism in the U.S. to the forefront. Seth, as a white individual, never has and never will truly have to feel the weight and burden of racial discrimination and racial oppression. No white person does or will. But all white people should care and take a stand against its prevalence in this country. Advertisement What I hope to see from this is a shift in the conversation to Seth’s black teammates, who realistically have to carry that burden all the time. I am discouraged by this idea that acknowledging and fighting against racism is a distraction that must be stored away in order to be a good football player. I wholeheartedly reject that narrative. Black players in the NFL cannot just turn their concern on and off in order to be able to focus more on football. White players shouldn’t, either. Racism is a day-to-day reality, and I hope that, instead of holding Seth up on a pedestal, the response will be to do what he did: listen to the voices of the black people in your life, and choose to support them as they seek to make their voices heard. To the people who are looking at pictures of us and saying, “Oh, well, that makes sense,” I offer a dramatic eye roll. People on Twitter have insinuated that it’s simply my appearance that inspired Seth to kneel with his teammates, or that I must’ve threatened Seth with leaving him or refusing to have sex with him if he didn’t join the demonstration. To even joke in this way is gross. Seth didn’t do what he did simply to obtain a gold star from his wife. His actions on Monday night were not the equivalent of him bringing home a bouquet of flowers after I’ve had a rough day. Advertisement In his interview after Monday night’s game, Seth said, “I myself will be raising children that don’t look like me, and I want to do my part as well to do everything I can to raise them in a better environment than we have right now.” I don’t think either of us foresaw that this choice to share about his personal life would become the go-to narrative to explain Seth’s actions in their entirety. Seth understands how racism systematically oppresses people across this entire nation. He understands that to be complacent about it is not just unacceptable as a “black wife’s” husband; Seth supported his teammates because it was the right thing to do, it was the godly thing to do and it was the responsible thing to do. If I were white, he should have done the same, and I am confident that he would have. In the last few days, we have seen a lot of the same comments that have been expressed since Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem: people imploring players to stand up because it is disrespectful to the flag, to the country, and to active military and veterans. But what Kaepernick did (and what various NFL players are continuing this season) is something we should see as real patriotism. They are engaging critically with the national anthem and this country’s articulated ideals; they are consciously observing the reality of our country’s current state; and they are using their platforms to publicly hold the country in which they live accountable to the ideals it is supposed to be upholding. Advertisement To be complacent that the U.S. strives to be “the land of the free” while so many of its citizens of color are being oppressed for their race is unpatriotic and irresponsible. I applaud those who realize that and do something about it rather than ignore it. Erica Harris DeValve recently graduated from Princeton University and will begin pursuing her master’s in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary this fall with a focus on the intersection of race and Christianity in the U.S.

– On Monday night, a dozen or so Cleveland Browns players kneeled during the national anthem and formed a prayer circle, among them 24-year-old tight end Seth DeValve, ID'd as the first white NFLer to take a knee during such a demonstration for social injustice. DeValve's wife, Erica Harris DeValve, says in an op-ed for The Root's Very Smart Brothas that she's "deeply proud" of her husband—and she says that that moment "reconfirmed" for her that her husband had thoughtfully absorbed all of the conversations about race they'd had as an interracial couple. But she wants to "push back" on putting Seth "on a pedestal" and making him into some kind of "white savior," when Colin Kaepernick and other black players have been carrying the movement against racial discrimination and oppression along for the better part of the last year. "I would like to offer a humble reminder that a man—a black man—literally lost his job for taking a knee, week after week, on his own," she writes. "Colin Kaepernick bravely took a step and began a movement ... and he suffered a ridiculous amount of hate and threats and ultimately lost his life's work in the sport he loves." She says that Seth's actions weren't just because he's married to a black woman—"If I were white, he should have done the same, and I am confident that he would have"—and that white people should "listen to the voices of the black people in your life, and choose to support them as they seek to make their voices heard." But she wants to turn the attention back to black players, who "have to carry that burden all the time." "We should not see Seth's participation as legitimizing this movement," she notes. "Rather, he chose to be an ally of his black teammates." More here.

CLOSE The trial case against Paul Manafort over money laundering and tax evasion has entered jury deliberations. Kevin Johnson reports from Alexandria, Va. USA TODAY epa06951198 Kevin Downing (L), Jay Nanavati (2-L), Richard Westing (C), Thomas Zehnle (2-R) and Brian Ketcham (L), attorneys representing former US Predisent Donald J. Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort, arrive to US District Court for the ongoing Manafort trial in Alexandria, Virginia, USA, 15 August 2018. Manafort is facing over a dozen charges including tax evasion and bank fraud. EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW ORG XMIT: STX01 (Photo: SHAWN THEW, EPA-EFE) ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The jury in the tax and bank fraud trial of Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, headed home for the weekend without reaching a verdict. The panel will reconvene Monday. A juror sent a note to U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III requesting a 5 p.m. recess because of a previously scheduled "event." The nature of the event was not disclosed. Ellis approved the request. Earlier on Friday, the judge said he was "optimistic that the case might end soon." On Thursday, jurors deliberated for more than six hours and recessed after submitting four questions to Ellis, including a request for a redefinition of "reasonable doubt." The panel must determine guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict Manafort on the 18 counts of tax and bank fraud lodged against him. Separately, Ellis raised eyebrows Friday when he revealed that he had received unspecified threats during the trial and is under the protection of U.S. marshals. The judge made the disclosure during a separate hearing in which a coalition of news organizations sought the identities of jurors serving in the Manafort case. Because of the intense public interest in the case and the emotion it has generated--including the threats against the 78-year-old jurist – Ellis said he would refuse to release the jurors' identities, at least for now. The news organizations also appealed for the release of transcripts of secret bench conferences during the case involving prosecutors and Manafort's attorneys. Ellis said many of those transcripts, with the exception of a discussion about the ongoing investigation by Russia special counsel Robert Mueller, would be made public at the end of the trial. Some of the matters, Ellis acknowledged Friday, involved unspecified issues related to the jury. More: Manafort trial: Jury asks judge to redefine 'reasonable doubt' during first day of deliberations More: Manafort trial: Why 'reasonable doubt' is hard to define in courtrooms Prosecutors and defense attorneys have huddled privately numerous times throughout the trial, and only rarely have the contents of those meetings been disclosed. He acknowledged the challenge from news organizations Friday, and heard an argument from attorney Matthew Kelley, representing the news organizations. "A thirsty press is essential to a free country," Ellis said in open court, after the jury had retired to resume deliberations. But much of Friday involved a game of waiting. As courthouse employees passed in and out of the courtroom Friday afternoon, reporters played cards and read books and newspapers. A line of photographers and television crews remained stationed out front of the Albert V. Bryan Courthouse. More: Five key points that could sway the jury in Paul Manafort's trial — and determine his fate More: Paul Manafort trial: Judge T.S. Ellis III known as taskmaster, unafraid to speak his mind Manafort is facing life in prison if he's found guilty on all of the 18 counts laid against him. The harshest sentence is likely if he's found guilty in the alleged bank fraud scheme prosecutors outlined during the trial. Prosecutors offered documents and witnesses who testified that Manafort lied about his income and debt while seeking bank loans and directed his associates to doctor documents. In all, prosecutors have alleged that Manafort fraudulently secured more than $20 million in bank loans. As President Trump was leaving the White House Friday and while jurors were still deliberating, the president attacked the Manafort trial and called it "very sad." He wouldn't discuss whether he'd consider pardoning Manafort if he was found guilty on any counts. "When you look at what’s going on there, I think it’s a very sad day for our country," the president said. "He worked for me for a very short period of time. But you know what? He happens to be a very good person. Trump added: "And I think it’s very sad what they’ve done to Paul Manafort." CLOSE President Donald Trump refused to say whether he would pardon Paul Manafort, calling him a "very good person" as he left the White House for New York. Trump also again called out Turkey, saying the country has been a "problem for a long time." (Aug. 17) AP Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2Mi49jX

– Paul Manafort won't learn his fate this week. The jury weighing charges against him has gone home for the day and won't return until Monday. US District Judge TS Ellis III allowed the panel to leave at 5pm because one of the jurors had a scheduled "event" to attend, reports USA Today. Earlier, the judge refused journalists' request to release the names of jurors, with Ellis saying he had received threats and feared they would, too. Also on Friday, President Trump weighed in on his former campaign manager. "I think the whole Manafort trial is very sad," Trump told reporters at the White House, per the AP. "When you look at what's going on, I think it's a very sad day for our country," he said. "He worked for me for a very short period of time. But you know what, he happens to be a very good person and I think it's very sad what they've done to Paul Manafort." The case calls on jurors to follow the complexities of foreign bank accounts and shell companies, loan regulations, and tax rules. It exposed details about the lavish lifestyle of the onetime political insider, including a $15,000 jacket made of ostrich leather and $900,000 spent at a boutique retailer in New York via international wire transfer. The jury ended its first day of deliberations Thursday with a series of questions to the judge, including a request to "redefine" reasonable doubt.

Mitch McConnell Got Everything He Wanted. But at What Cost? Mr. Trump has turned out to be the one thing the Senate Republican leader can’t control.

– The New York Times website went dark today for about two hours, but all seems back to normal now. The site went down about 11:10am Eastern, and the newspaper issued a tweet blaming an "internal issue, which we expect to be resolved soon." The site came back online about 1:15 pm. Fox Business News quoted an anonymous source who blamed a cyber attack—the site has been hit previously—but the Times later reiterated that it was a routine maintenance issue gone awry. At least staffers kept a sense of humor about the whole thing.

Marjorie Clark, widow of the Army Band bugler known for the so called “Broken Taps” at JFK's funeral, holds a photo of her husband at her home in Lovell, Maine. (Carl D. Walsh/Novus Select) From the hillside grave site in Arlington National Cemetery, Army Sgt. Keith Clark could see John F. Kennedy’s vast funeral cortege crossing Memorial Bridge toward him. He could see the flag-wrapped coffin, the six white horses pulling the caisson, the endless line of black automobiles bearing the world’s dignitaries. He could hear the cadence of the muffled drums. It was Nov. 25, 1963. Clark, 36, the Army bugler assigned to sound taps at the funeral, had been waiting in the cold for hours. A perfectionist and superb musician, he had just played taps for the president on Veterans Day two weeks earlier. Now he had the most important and solitary task of his life: Sound the 24 notes of the venerable melody that would close the nation’s wrenching, four-day farewell to its assassinated president. But the pressure, the cold and the wait told on Sgt. Clark that day 50 years ago this month. A lone, flubbed note played by Keith Clark, the bugler at President John F. Kennedy's funeral, continues to reverberate. The Fold introduces you to the meticulous man behind the brass instrument. (The Washington Post) And with the whole nation and much of the world listening, Clark fumbled the sixth note of taps, which falls on the word “sun” in the lyrics, “Day is done. Gone the sun . . .” Some said it sounded almost like a sob, befitting the moment. Back home, in Arlington, though, his wife and four daughters, watching TV in the basement, let out a groan. Clark went on to finish flawlessly. His flub has gone down in bugling history as the poignant “broken note” of the Kennedy funeral. It was a testament to the anguish of the day, and to the human truth that under duress, even the best can make a mistake. After the funeral, Clark got letters from all over the country, sympathizing. One was from a 9-year-old Ohio boy named Eddie Hunter, who played in a school band. “Anybody is bound to make a tiny mistake in front of millions upon millions of people,” he wrote. Clark, who kept that letter, died in 2002 at the age of 74. On Saturday, family and friends — including Hunter, now 60 — plan to join the U.S. Army Band and 100 buglers to pay tribute to Clark at Arlington Cemetery, where he is buried on a commanding hilltop. It seems a fitting salute, one of his daughters said, to a dedicated musician who, had he nailed taps that day, might be utterly forgotten. “The JFK funeral, the actual funeral ceremony . . . involved some of the most iconic moments of the entire four-day tragedy,” said James Swanson, whose new book, “End of Days,” chronicles the assassination. “One of the most memorable sights and sounds at President Kennedy’s funeral was the broken note of the bugle,” said Swanson, who is scheduled to speak at the Clark commemoration. “That was really the climax of that weekend,” he said. “Nonstop television for four days . . . And after all the words — millions of words by commentators, published in newspapers, published in magazines, the tragedy ends with a single bugle call.” “That broken note sort of symbolized what that weekend meant to the American people,” he said. “It’s like a human cry. It’s like the bugle was weeping. . . . It was really the perfect ending to those four days.” But to Clark and his family, it was a mistake. “My dad had played taps thousands of times, and I mean thousands of times . . . and never missed a note,” said his eldest daughter, Nancy McColley, 64, of Port Charlotte, Fla. He “always strove for perfection.” She said she has a memory of him coming home and flinging his hat in frustration. His wife, Marjorie Clark, 90, remembers the children confronting him, and one saying, “Why did you make a mistake?” Clark, himself, later said: “I missed a note under pressure,” according to a 1988 Associated Press story. “It’s something you don’t like, but it’s something that can happen to a trumpet player.” “You never really get over it,” he said. After the funeral, Clark recalled, Arlington buglers missed the jinxed note regularly. In 1963, Clark was the principal bugler in the Army Band. He was “THE guy, who is to do all the big ceremonies, ” said Jari Villanueva, a retired Air Force bugler and bugle historian. “They always pick the best player, the person who can stand up to the pressure of high-profile events,” he said. Clark played Memorial Day ceremonies, Veterans Day ceremonies. He played at Arlington funerals and at the Tomb of the Unknowns. There, on Nov. 11, 1963, he sounded taps a few feet from President Kennedy — 11 days before the Nov. 22 assassination in Dallas. Clark, a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., “was a prodigy,” Villanueva said. His father was a professional flute player. And Clark attended the University of Michigan and the Interlochen Arts Academy, near Traverse City. He joined the elite, Fort Myer-based Army Band, “Pershing’s Own,” in 1946. He met his wife, and they raised four daughters in Arlington County. Villanueva, who said he interviewed Clark by mail and telephone before he died, said Clark was a devoutly religious man and Sunday school teacher who had a collection of 9,000 hymnals. Indeed, Clark was in his attic library with his collection when his daughter, Sandra Masse, then 10, came home from school and called up the stairs that the president had been shot. Learning of Kennedy’s death, and figuring he might be summoned to duty, Clark immediately went out and got a haircut. But when the tragic weekend passed with no call, he thought funeral organizers might have gotten a Navy bugler because the president had served in the Navy, Villanueva said. Then, at 2:30 a.m. Monday, the day of the funeral, the phone rang at Clark’s home with the orders: He would sound taps at the funeral. Amid the frenzy of making arrangements, organizers didn’t realize until the last minute that they had no bugler. But Clark, a balding man who wore dark horn-rimmed glasses, was ready. When he reported to the cemetery in his dress blue uniform and white gloves, and with his elegant brass bugle, Villanueva said, he was shown an X on the grass where he was to stand. He was alarmed because it was within a few feet of the rifle party, which would be firing practically right in his ears just before he played. Then, he was told he was to play into a microphone. He refused. Villanueva said Clark always played for the widow at a funeral and didn’t like to use a microphone. He began his wait. “His spot is located on the slope below the Custis-Lee Mansion,” Villanueva said. “He’s got the perfect view of what’s happening. He can actually see the Memorial Bridge from there. So you can hear the procession coming. You see the procession coming.” Clark watched the cortege enter the cemetery, Villanueva said. He watched the body bearers lug the mahogany coffin to the grave and heard the gravelly voiced Roman Catholic Cardinal Richard Cushing pray over “our beloved Jack Kennedy.” The deafening rifle volleys were fired, and then it was time for taps. “For any bugler, when the time comes . . . everything stops,” Villanueva said. “Everything becomes very quiet. It is just you.” Clark raised the sparkling bugle with gloved hands and began. Villanueva said Clark often thought at such moments of the Bible verse from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye . . . the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” When Clark finished playing, he whipped the bugle under his left arm and saluted.

– Army Sgt. Keith Clark was by all accounts a brilliant bugler, but a big reason his name endures today (in bugle circles, anyway) is because of a famous mistake. The Washington Post explains that Clark very publicly botched the sixth note of the 24-note "Taps" at JFK's Nov. 25, 1963, funeral. It wasn't just any broken note, though: "Some said it sounded almost like a sob, befitting the moment," writes Michael E. Ruane. In his defense, Clark had been waiting to play in the cold for hours—and much of the world was watching. "I missed a note under pressure," he said years later. "You never really get over it." Clark, who died in 2002, got letters of support from all over the country after his flub, and the empathy continues this weekend: On Saturday, the US Army Band and 100 buglers will play at his grave in Arlington. Read Ruane's full story on the note and the bugler here.

(Lamar County Sheriff's Department) Image 2 of 32 Glenn Edwin Rundles Check out these other awkward police sketches... (Lamar County Sheriff's Department) Glenn Edwin Rundles Check out these other awkward police sketches... (Lamar County Sheriff's Department) Image 3 of 32 Click through the gallery to see some of the funniest police sketches we've ever seen. The department has however had the last laugh after an officer thought the suspect's description, sketch and crime matched the profile of a local man known to police, eParisExtra.com reports. Photo: Crime Stoppers Image 31 of 32 less The Lamar County Sheriff's Department says that this man –or cartoon, or Muppet, actually, we're not sure from the drawing – robbed two women at knife point earlier this month in Paris, Texas ( full story here ). Rundles is being held on charges of aggravated robbery, indecent exposure, burglary of a habitation, criminal mischief and evading arrest when he attempted to escape from the police serving him a second warrant, eParis Extra.com reported.

– The world laughed a few weeks back when the Lamar County Sheriff's Office in Texas issued a sketch of a suspect sought in an armed robbery—because it looked more like a Muppet than a human, explains the Houston Chronicle. (It's either among the "greatest" or the "worst" police sketches of all time, says BuzzFeed and the Independent, respectively.) Well, the world isn't laughing anymore. Or at least, it's not laughing at the sketch artist, just the newly arrested suspect. Police in Paris, Texas, arrested Glenn Edwin Rundles, 32, when an officer familiar with him thought he fit the bill. Rundles is accused of robbing two women at knifepoint, and it was their descriptions that informed the composite sketch. Rundles apparently saw a similarity, too. "He started to try and hide his identity after he saw the sketch in the papers, and even had the tattoo on his neck covered up with another design," says a local deputy.

(CNN) An Illinois park is investigating after a woman accused one of its police officers of standing by as a man harassed her for wearing a shirt with the Puerto Rican flag, saying it was un-American. Mia Irizarry says she was trying to celebrate her 24th birthday in the Forest Preserves of Cook County last month when the man approached her asking her why she was wearing the sleeveless Puerto Rico flag shirt, which also had "Puerto Rico" written below the neckline. Irizarry recorded the encounter on her phone, saying she felt threatened, and posted the video to Facebook. On Monday, Forest Preserves of Cook County tweeted that it was aware of the June 14 incident and video. ‏"After the incident, we immediately launched an investigation pursuant to our personnel policies into the response of our officer," it said, in a series of posts on Twitter. The officer resigned Wednesday, the forest agency said. The investigation into the incident continues, the agency said. Timothy G. Trybus, the reportedly intoxicated individual involved in the incident, was arrested and charged with assault and disorderly conduct, according to a police report. He is scheduled for his first court appearance August 1, the Cook County Circuit Court said. He will be represented by a public defender, but one has not been assigned to him yet, the public defender's office said. CNN has attempted to reach Trybus for comment. "All people are welcome in the Forest Preserves of Cook County and no one should feel unsafe while visiting our preserves," the agency said. All people are welcome in the Forest Preserves of Cook County and no one should feel unsafe while visiting our preserves. — Forest Preserves (@FPDCC) July 9, 2018 On Tuesday, park spokeswoman Stacina Stagner said investigators will interview the officer this week about the incident. She said the investigation would wrap up soon, but did not elaborate on a timeline. On Wednesday, Cook County Commissioner Jesús "Chuy" García called for elevated hate crime charges against Trybus. "A charge for simple assault or disorderly conduct is not sufficient," García said. "We cannot allow that ugly rhetoric to be the norm in Cook County." CNN has called the state attorney's office for comment on possible consideration of hate crime charges. García said Forest Preserves should speed up its investigation and discipline the officer involved, "up to and including termination." 'Officer, I feel uncomfortable' In the footage, a man can be seen approaching Irizarry saying: "You should not be wearing that in the United States of America." He gets closer to her and asks "Are you a citizen? Are you a United States citizen?" Irizarry can be heard saying that Puerto Rico is part of the United States and the man approaches her multiple times. Irizarry asks a park police officer to help, saying, "I am renting this area and he's harassing me about the shirt that I'm wearing." Later she says: "Officer, I feel entirely uncomfortable, can you remove ... please officer" as the officer is seen walking away from her. Then she says: "Officer, I'm renting, I paid for a permit for this area. I do not feel comfortable with him here, is there anything you can do?" The officer can then be seen talking to the man who gesticulates back and tells him to "shut the f*** up." Female officer steps in More police arrive and Irizarry says she still doesn't feel safe. The man resumes his abuse, saying: "You're not American, if you were American you wouldn't wear that. You know that right?" A female officer asks to see his ID and can be heard telling him that he's intoxicated, to which he replies, "Well that's your judgment." She explains that Irizarry has a permit and she warns him that he could be arrested "for not being compliant." "You don't come here harassing people," the officer continues. "People have just as much right to be here as you and when you're drunk, you don't belong here." The female officer then speaks with Irizarry, who gives her version of the incident and the officer explains that they were called to the area after a report that a man was choking a woman. Eventually the first officer on the scene takes notes of Irizarry's account of the incident and says that he was at the scene due to the separate incident, noting that she was not being attacked though acknowledging she felt threatened. Irizarry can be heard explaining to the officer that the incident began when they had asked the group the man was in if they could move as they had a permit for the area. She said the group politely complied but her Puerto Rico shirt appeared to act as a trigger to the man. JUST WATCHED Gov. Rossello: Harassment due to poor education Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Gov. Rossello: Harassment due to poor education 01:08 Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello was on CNN's Erin Burnett "OutFront" on Tuesday night discussing the incident. He said he was "shocked, appalled and disgusted" when he watched the video. "This was an attack of an American citizen on another American citizen," he said. "Puerto Ricans have been part of the United States and we've been fighting wars with other fellow Americans. We are proud US citizens. People need to understand that." US commonwealth Puerto Rico is a US commonwealth with its own constitution, rather than a state. Puerto Rican residents have been American citizens since 1917 and have the right to vote in US presidential primaries, but not in presidential elections. The Trump administration has received criticism for its treatment of Puerto Rico, particularly for its response after Hurricane Maria struck last September.

– A park police officer in Chicago has been assigned to desk duty while officials investigate his response to a woman who said she was being harassed for wearing a shirt with the Puerto Rican flag, the AP reports. Mia Irizarry complained that a man at Caldwell Woods, where she was celebrating her 24th birthday, was questioning her citizenship and telling her she shouldn't be wearing the shirt. Puerto Rico is a US commonwealth. Video of the June 14 incident shows the officer didn't respond. More officers arrived and arrested the man, who was described as drunk. He's been charged with assault and disorderly conduct, CNN reports. Caldwell Woods is part of the Forest Preserves of Cook County. The agency tweeted Monday that an investigation of the officer is ongoing. It says all visitors should feel safe. Ricardo Rossello, the governor of Puerto Rico, wants the officer fired.

- See more at: http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/local-news/two-charged-in-moose-rider-incident-1.2291798#sthash.ZICiPIFf.dpuf A conservation group, Wolftracker TV, posted the video on YouTube last year, generating a flurry of media attention. CHARGED In June 2015 the COS received a public complaint relating to a video posted on social media of a male jumping from a boat onto the back of a moose. In a Facebook post Thursday, the Conservation Officer Service says that a yearlong investigation has led to two suspects being charged with three counts, including harassing wildlife, attempting to capture wildlife and hunting big game while the animal is swimming. The men were tracked down after the body of water in the video was identified as Tuchodi Lakes near Fort Nelson. The men — who were not named — are due to appear in court in Fort Nelson on Aug. 8.

– Perhaps you imagined a man riding a moose was a common sight in Canada. Quite the contrary, it's actually a criminal offense—as two British Columbia men have learned. A year after a video was posted to YouTube showing a man jumping from a boat onto the back of a swimming moose and "riding" it for a few seconds, authorities say they've charged Bradley Crook and Jaysun Pinkerton with harassing wildlife, attempting to capture wildlife, and hunting big game while the animal is swimming, per the Dawson Creek Mirror. The video—in which boaters are heard laughing, and one remarks, "I've never seen something so awesome"—was posted by a conservation group and sparked an uproar on social media, reports the CBC. It has since been viewed 2 million times. During its year-long investigation, BC's Conservation Officer Service says it identified the body of water in the video as Tuchodi Lakes north of Fort St. John, where the accused live. It isn't clear what led police to Crook and Pinkerton, who are due in court on Aug. 8.

HEROINE It took Hannah 13 years to come to terms with what Erlis Chaisson had done to her. That’s when she devised a way to make him pay for his crime. Hannah sat down on a park bench and shared a cigarette with the man who had molested her as a little girl. “Can I have one?” she asked Erlis Chaisson. It was 5 p.m. on a warm September 2014 day in Granbury, Texas, and the 25-year-old woman had asked Chaisson to meet to talk about the years of sexual abuse he inflicted upon her beginning at age 8. “Are you sorry that you did it?” she asked him. “I mean, I understand you’re—you’re putting, trying to put all the blame on me,” Chaisson said, over the sound of water splashing from a nearby fountain. “Lines got crossed. Our emotions got mixed and misread. Didn’t mean for none of it to—to go as far as it did. “The dick has no conscience, and there’s no explanation for it,” he said, as the two sat under an oak tree. “If you had a penis, you would know.” What Hannah did know is that a taped confession could put Chaisson behind bars. The little girl he abused grew up to be a cop, armed with an audio-recorder shoved inside her bra. For protection, she brought a gun and another cop who was parked nearby in a pickup truck. “I’ve always, always wanted to be a detective,” Hannah told The Daily Beast, on the condition she be identified using a pseudonym. “I was fresh out of the academy. It was kind of, ‘If he’s going to talk, he’s going to talk’—how do I prove it? “I thought to myself: I’m the difference between him and prison.” A week earlier, Hannah had gone to McLennan County Sheriff’s Detective Brad Bond to pursue her case against Chaisson. She spoke in painstaking detail of how, over four years, Chaisson, a family member, rubbed his penis in between her legs, performed oral sex on her, and guided her hand up and down his penis. Those descriptions would make it into a police report, then an arrest warrant, and finally a courtroom. After talking to Bond, she hatched the plan to meet with Chaisson. Hannah said she was nervous about whether the sting would go according to plan. What if the wind obscured the confession? What if the recorder came loose or made a noise? “My heart was racing,” Hannah said, but she was also prepared. “We had hand signals and everything,” she said of the other officer, whose truck was within eyesight. It worked. “He was talking like he was talking to his best friend,” she said. “Six times, he confessed—in the first hour and a half of that recording.” Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily Digest Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't). By clicking "Subscribe," you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason Chaisson repeatedly implicated himself, telling Hannah, “I always stopped myself before I went too far,” and “It takes two.” He also repeatedly blamed Hannah for what he did. “You need to control your curiosity. I wasn’t supposed to be the friend you played nasty with,” Chaisson said. “I’d be laying on the couch and then you got that look in your eyes,” Chaisson said. “I’d pull the covers up and you’d come run in and jump under there and back up all the way to me. “In the mornings, cuddle up to you, scratch your back… I shouldn’t have put myself in those positions.” Chaisson, who was in his thirties and working as a contractor at the time of the abuse, added, “I mean, anybody would have got confused.” Hannah rarely interjected during the conversation, adding at one point: “I was so little.” “I don’t think it’s fair to blame an 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-, 12-year-old for that because it wasn’t my fault,” she said. “You’d come in my bedroom, though, when I was asleep. That didn’t have to happen.” “I kept you a virgin, didn’t I?” Chaisson said. “Sweetheart, you was young and curious, and I was old enough to know better but too young to care. That’s the only way I can say it.” According to prosecutor Gabrielle Massey, when Chaisson entered Hannah’s life in the mid-1990s, he was already a registered sex offender who’d served time in Louisiana on two counts of molestation of a juvenile. That victim was also 8 years old. “Most people understood what he’d done,” Massey told The Daily Beast, about Chaisson’s life after his first jail term. “Nobody protected children from him.” Chaisson left jail in 1994 and began molesting Hannah about a year later, Massey said. When Hannah was 12, the abuse stopped. By that time, she was living in a community near Waco. “By all accounts, once a girl reaches puberty, he had no desire to molest them again,” Massey said. At Chaisson’s trial last month, Hannah told the jury that her abuse had become a “deep, dark secret” she held in a “closet” for 17 years and had affected her relationships as an adult. Once she sought therapy and became a law-enforcement officer, Hannah said she realized she had to catch him. “My job is in law enforcement. I’m held to a higher standard. I just want to protect people, and how can I do that if I can’t even protect myself?” she said on the stand in 19th State District Court in Waco. “I felt like a weight lifted over my shoulders after I testified the first time,” Hannah told The Daily Beast. “I no longer have to hide the secret or bear the responsibility of it.” Powerful as her testimony was, the recordings were decisive. “I don’t think you can hear that recording—no matter who you are—and have it not have an impact on you,” Massey said. It is unusual, she noted—even for a sex offender—to show no remorse and to speak as blatantly as he did in the recorded conversation. “It’s just a callous acceptance of ‘This is who I am’ and no apology for it.” “We don’t ever get stuff like that,” Det. Bond told The Daily Beast in an interview. “It’s better than a confession. Even when they confess, they don’t give us all of the details. It was even better.” Still, Bond said he wouldn’t encourage ordinary citizens to take the same approach. “With her training and status, and with a fellow officer with her, I felt like we were doing everything we could to ensure her safety,” he added. “Obviously, this is not a situation we would put most victims in,” Massey noted. “But she felt very compelled to go have that conversation with him—this is very extraordinary.” According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, after listening to the recording, jurors last month convicted Chaisson of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency by contact. He was sentenced to life in prison, in addition to two seven-year sentences that Judge Ralph Strother ordered to be served consecutively. (He won’t be eligible for parole for at least 42 years, the Tribune-Herald reports.) One other victim testified during Hannah’s trial, but others came forward to Hannah and to the prosecutors during the McLennan County investigation. “I could spend the rest of my career trying these cases, if I had the jurisdiction,” Massey said. Though Hannah was empowered by her police training to take an active role in catching Chaisson, it was also an emotional decision. “She did struggle with it a whole lot,” Massey said. “This is someone that she loved and cared for and has been part of her family for many, many years. Although she feels relieved, she’s still very sad that it ever had to come to this.” “In our conversation that day in the park, you were right,” Hannah wrote in her victim-impact statement to Chaisson. “You did come into our lives for a reason, and that reason was to fulfill your need for a family and love… But love should not hurt.”

– A Texas woman molested for four years as a child brought her abuser to justice as a cop more than a decade later, the Daily Beast reports. The unnamed victim says Erlis Chaisson, a family member, started sexually abusing her in the mid-'90s when she was 8 years old. According to KXXV, Chaisson had already been convicted of molesting another 8-year-old girl a few years earlier. In 2014, the victim contacted Chaisson and told him she was going to counseling and wanted to talk about the abuse, the Waco Tribune reports. Chaisson agreed to meet. He didn't know she was a Texas police officer, and he also didn't know she was wearing a wire. Chaisson would confess six times over the first 90 minutes of their conversation. Prosecutors say Chaisson was shockingly forthcoming in his conversation with the victim, which was played in its entirety for jurors. He accused the victim of "trying to put all the blame on me" while simultaneously blaming her for wanting the abuse. He also blamed his own genitals. "The d--- has no conscience," the Daily Beast quotes Chaisson as saying on the recording. "If you had a penis, you would know." The victim says her "heart was racing" during Chaisson's confession. "He was talking like he was talking to his best friend," she says. Because it wasn't his first such offense, a jury sentenced the 47-year-old Chaisson to life in prison last month. (Hundreds of doctors keep practicing after sexually abusing patients.)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — In one of the stranger chapters of Mexico's drug war, angry people in a southern town kidnapped the mother of a gang leader to demand the release of their loved ones. The government of Guerrero state said Tuesday that it was sending about 220 soldiers and police to try to defuse the situation in Totolapan. The town has been controlled for years by a drug gang boss whose proper name is Raybel Jacobo de Almonte, but who is better known as "El Tequilero." De Alamonte has lived up to his nickname, which translates roughly as "The Tequila Drinker." In his only known public appearance, he was captured on video drinking with the town's mayor-elect. De Alamonte mumbles inaudibly and has to be held up in a sitting position by one of his henchmen. In recent months, his gang - also known as the Tequileros -has been fighting turf battles with other gangs in the area. Last week, the Tequileros allegedly kidnapped several inhabitants of Totolapan who they wanted to extort or whom they suspected of supporting a rival. In response, a few dozen men appeared this week in the streets of Totolapan waving shotguns and hunting rifles. In a video, the men carry banners calling for action against El Tequilero and identify themselves as a "self-defense" force, as vigilantes are known in the region. "We urgently demand the release of the kidnap victims," a masked man says in a statement read on the video. "We are a legitimate self-defense force of the people." Among the Tequileros' kidnap victims was a local construction engineer, Isauro de la Paz Duque, who was snatched on Sunday by men who had threatened to kill him. On Monday, a woman who identified herself as De la Paz Duque's wife said on a video that townspeople had El Tequilero's mother and would exchange the woman for her husband. "We have your mother here, Mr. Tequilero," she said. "I propose an exchange: I'll give you your mother if you give me my husband, but I want him safe and sound." The state government said in a statement that a negotiating team had been sent to establish contact with the family of the missing engineer and the vigilantes and to set up a search team. "The goal of the team is to ensure that no injury is done to the missing person, nor to the mother of the head of the Tequileros gang, who has apparently been taken by the self-defense forces," the statement said. The government later confirmed that about five of the two dozen people being held by the vigilantes had been freed, but those freed did not include the gang boss' mother. After hours of negotiations with a committee of townspeople, the government agreed to have state police oversee the exchange of the mother, identified as "Mrs. Felix del Monte," for the kidnapped engineer. The townspeople also agreed to turn over their remaining captives — all suspected members of the gang — to police, with the understanding they would be investigated or charged. In late November, the Guerrero government said El Tequilero was believed to have been wounded and was hiding out with his kidnap victims in the mountains. The state attorney general headed an extensive manhunt using helicopters and troops on the ground in an unsuccessful effort to locate the gang leader. The area is a hotbed of drug trafficking, killings and extortion. It is the foot of the mountains that produce much of Mexico's opium poppy crop. Totolapan is considered so dangerous that many outlying hamlets in the township have been abandoned by fearful residents. In 2014, the battered body of the parish priest, the Rev. Ascension Acuna Osorio, was found floating in the Balsas river near the town. The emergence of vigilante groups, also known as self-styled "community police," has become a headache for Guerrero's government. Authorities say they understand residents' frustration but note the groups often wind up kidnapping suspects, fighting among themselves or preventing police from doing their work. "The truth is, they are not really community forces, nor are they police," Gov. Hector Astudillo said earlier. "They are armed groups that unfortunately carry out acts ... that generate more violence and confrontation, rather than help." On Tuesday, Astudillo said, "This is something that has to end — that every time somebody gets the idea into their head of kidnapping somebody, they kidnap them."

– The way to a Mexican gang leader's heart isn't his stomach—it's his mom. At least, that's what vigilantes in a Mexican town in southern Guerrero state are banking on, holding hostage the mother of drug kingpin Raybel Jacobo de Almonte, aka "El Tequilero," as well as about two dozen other people thought to be in his gang, the AP reports. The ongoing incident in the municipality of San Miguel Totolapan has included mass kidnappings of Totolapan residents by de Almonte's gang, including Sunday's abduction of engineer Isauro de la Paz Duque. "We have your mother here, Mr. Tequilero," de la Paz Duque's wife said on a video Monday. "I propose an exchange: I'll give you your mother if you give me my husband, but I want him safe and sound." Five of the townspeople's abductees have reportedly been freed already, though de Almonte's mother doesn't appear to be one. The vigilantes took to the street Sunday waving guns and anti-de Almonte banners, per a video. "We urgently demand the release of the kidnap victims," a masked man says. "We are a legitimate self-defense force of the people." By Monday, de Almonte's mother had been abducted, Mexico News Daily reports. But though officials understand that residents are fed up with crime, they're discouraging the rogue assistance. "[These] are armed groups that unfortunately carry out acts … that generate more violence and confrontation," Guerrero Gov. Hector Astudillo tells the AP. "This is something that has to end—that every time somebody gets the idea into their head of kidnapping somebody, they kidnap them." A government team has convinced the vigilantes to let them manage the swap of de Almonte's mom for de la Paz Duque, as well as to release remaining hostages to the cops. (A massive abduction took place at an upscale Mexican restaurant.)

TORONTO (AP) — Mike Tyson directed an expletive-filled rant at a Canadian television anchor in a live interview Wednesday after the host brought up the former heavyweight champion's conviction for sexual assault. CP24 news anchor Nathan Downer asked Tyson about his meeting with Toronto's scandal-plagued Mayor Rob Ford, who recently returned to work after a rehab stint. Ford is seeking re-election. Downer asked: "Some of your critics would say, 'There's a race for mayor. We know you're a convicted rapist. This could hurt his campaign.' How would respond to that?" Tyson calls Downer negative before saying, "It's so interesting, you come off like a nice guy," then insulting the anchor with a string of profanity. Downer then puts up his hands and says "Hey, come on. We're doing live TV now." Tyson responds: "I don't care. What are you going to do about it?" Downer then asks Tyson about his one-man show "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth." Tyson appeared on CP24 with the Canadian promoter of the show. Tyson tells Downer the show it "speaks for itself" before the promoter talks about it. Downer then asks Tyson if it is more nerve-wracking appearing on stage than boxing. Tyson responds that it's more nerve-wracking appearing on the news show before insulting him again. "Come on, Mike," Downer responds. Tyson insults him again before Downer wraps up the interview and thanks Tyson for coming as Tyson swears at him. Tyson served three years of a six-year sentence in the 1990s for raping a teenage beauty-pageant contestant. In a tweet after the incident, Downer said it was unfortunate his question hurt Tyson's feelings and that it wasn't his intention. "I'm okay everybody," Downer tweeted. Downer apologized for the language and followed that up with another tweet. "No ill will toward Mike Tyson. He lashed out at me and that's okay. Not taking it personally."

– Just one day after a meeting in which Mike Tyson gushed that Rob Ford was "the best mayor in Toronto’s history," according to the Toronto Star, the former boxing champ took a different attitude with a Canadian TV anchor who asked a touchy question, the AP reports. CP24's Nathan Downer asked Tyson about his meeting with Ford before dropping his Q-bomb: "Some of your critics would say, 'There's a race for mayor. We know you're a convicted rapist. This could hurt his campaign.' How would [you] respond to that?'" Tyson's retort, notes the Star: "It's so interesting that you come across as a nice guy, but you're really a piece of s---." Downer later tweeted, "I'm OK everybody. [Unfortunately] my question hurt Mike Tyson's feelings. That was not my [intention]."

A woman who was bullied for the way she looks is the focus of a new film that premieres at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas on Saturday. What started as a search for music online - purely homework procrastination - would change Lizzie Velasquez's life. She was 17 when she stumbled across a YouTube video entitled "The World's Ugliest Woman". What she didn't expect was that the woman featured in the video would be her. It was an eight-second clip and had been watched over four million times. She didn't realise it was her until it started playing. "I was shocked," Velasquez recalls, "but it wasn't until I started to read the comments that my stomach really sank." "Why would her parents keep her?!" read one of the comments, "kill it with fire" said another. And they continued on and on. Some commentators said she should kill herself, and one said people would go blind if they saw her on the street. Velasquez couldn't help but read every comment, and she says there were thousands. "I cried for many nights - as a teenager I thought my life was over," she says. "I couldn't bring myself to talk to anybody about it, I didn't tell any of my friends, I was just so shocked that it had happened." Velasquez was already used to being bullied daily for the way she looks. Born with two rare conditions - Marfan and lipodystrophy - she is unable to gain weight, no matter how much she eats. When she started kindergarten she remembers how classmates recoiled from her, afraid. Now 26 she is 5ft 2in and weighs about 60lbs (27kg). She is totally blind in her right eye and visually impaired in the other, and was in and out of hospital growing up with a number of health problems - eye surgery, ear surgery, complete foot reconstruction, bone density tests, and a number of blood tests as doctors tried to decipher what her condition was. It wasn't until last year that they managed to put a name to it. She lacks energy at times because of her conditions, and takes a long time to fight off infections such as bronchitis. She is currently undergoing heart scans to determine whether or not Marfan syndrome has caused any defects, and she was admitted to hospital in November unable to keep down food due to a problem with her oesophagus. She also has a recurring problem with her right foot which easily fractures due to a lack of fat on the sole, but is adamant she doesn't let it get her down. "When I was a teenager I would look in the mirror and wish I could wash away my syndrome," she says. "I hated it because it caused so much pain in my life. Being a 13-year-old girl who is constantly picked on is unbearable." When she was born, Velasquez, from Texas, weighed just 2lb 10oz (1.2kg) and doctors told her parents that, in all probability, they would have to take care of her for the rest of her life and didn't know what her life expectancy was. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A woman who was bullied for the way she looks becomes an online celebrity Full of instant love for their daughter, Velasquez's parents, Rita and Lupe, say they never thought "why is this happening to us", and just wanted to get her home, to start her life. It's because of this attitude that Velasquez credits her parents entirely for her ability to think positively when she was being bullied at school or stared at and mocked in the streets. As a child they told her to go to school with her head held high, smile, and be nice to everyone, no matter how they treated her. It's a message that has stuck and she says now that she happily forgives the person who posted that YouTube video nine years ago. "I don't know what they're going through," she says. "While my life may be hard at times, they could be going through something much worse." Velasquez decided she could try to make a change. She started her own YouTube channel to let people know who the person behind the "World's Ugliest Woman" video really was, and to teach others they, too, could be confident in their own skin. Image copyright James Ambler/Barcroft USA Image caption Doctors didn't know what Lizzie Velasquez's condition was when she was born She currently has about 240,000 subscribers to her channel and a TED talk she was subsequently asked to give in Austin in 2013 entitled "How do you define yourself?" has over seven million views on YouTube. She says that the community that has built up around her online presence has been amazing, and she sees people posting comments who have been bullied saying she makes them feel able to seek help, speak to somebody, or stand up to the bullies. Going further, she has teamed up with Tina Meier whose daughter Megan took her own life after being bullied online, and together they are campaigning US Representatives of Congress to vote for the first federal anti-bullying bill. It would mean that all schools would have to start recording every instance of bullying and would be provided with funds to put towards anti-bullying efforts. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Lizzie received positive praise for her TED talk And now Velasquez's life and anti-bullying work is the focus of a new documentary due to premiere at SXSW. Sara Hirsh Bordo, the director of the film, says that it is not just about Velasquez's story but is a universal story, for everybody who has been bullied. "Her experience of triumphing adversity and making it to the other side of a painful experience is universal," she says. "As soon as Lizzie became more open and honest - whether it was her TED talk or her YouTube videos - it was clear that people were thirsty for a story where somebody stands up and says I'm not going to be a victim, I'm going to make a change." A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story premieres at SXSW on 14 March. Follow @BBCOuch on Twitter and on Facebook, and listen to our monthly talk show

– "I thought everyone looked like me." That's how Lizzie Velasquez viewed herself growing up—until she was 17 and accidentally found a terrible video on YouTube. It was an eight-second clip of her entitled "The World's Ugliest Woman," and to her horror it had more than 4 million views and what she says were thousands of nasty comments, the BBC notes. "Why would her parents keep her?!" one reportedly read. "Kill it with fire," another commenter posted. It was in that moment that Velasquez, who has two rare conditions known as Marfan syndrome and lipodystrophy, realized how different she was perceived to be. "I cried for many nights," she says, per the BBC. "As a teenager, I thought my life was over." Far from it: Today, at the age of 26, Velasquez is an anti-bullying advocate and the subject of A Brave Heart, a documentary that debuted over the weekend at the SXSW festival. Velasquez's conditions have caused physical problems throughout her life, including an inability to gain weight (she's now 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 60 pounds or so), blindness in one eye and limited vision in the other, fatigue, and difficulty getting over sickness, the BBC reports. And the discovery of the YouTube video was painful—but the positive attitude her parents instilled in her helped her move past the hurt and even forgive the person who put the video up. Now Velasquez has her own YouTube channel with close to a quarter-million subscribers, has given a TED talk on defining your own beauty, and has joined with the mom of Megan Meier—a teen who killed herself after being bullied online—to lobby Congress for a federal anti-bullying bill. "Her experience of triumphing adversity and making it to the other side of a painful experience is universal," the director of A Brave Heart tells the broadcaster.

As Democrats neared completion on a health care reform bill, Senate Republicans launched an offensive Wednesday to stall the debate, signaling their intent to use every procedural tool necessary to prevent passage before Christmas. Senate Republicans forced the Senate clerk to read a 767-page amendment establishing a government-financed health care system, sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) – but Sanders cut off the reading in the third hour by withdrawing his bill. “We want to do what can to defeat the bill,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D. ), a member of the Senate Republican leadership. "We are going to do everything we can in terms of the rights we have to stop the bill from passing." Sanders criticized Republicans for “trying to bring the United States government to a halt." The GOP move appeared to be the opening shot in a Republican attempt to delay the bill past Christmas. And while Democrats were able to halt the reading by pulling Sanders’ amendment, they won’t be to do the same when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) presents an amendment containing a compromise he hopes will win 60 votes. Sanders offered the amendment and asked to dispense with the reading of it, which is almost always agreed to by unanimous consent. But Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) objected - it takes only one senator - forcing the reading. Sanders called it a "bit absurd" that Coburn was objecting. And Coburn insisted he wasn't intentionally stalling the bill. "We're going to understand what single payer is all about and read the bill," he said. Coburn’s move would have prevented senators from offering, debating or voting on any other amendments. While it might seem like the reading would set back efforts to finish the bill by Christmas, the timetable doesn't really depend on what happens on the floor. It depends entirely on Reid's ability to reach a compromise on the bill that can pick up 60 votes to thwart any filibuster. Before forcing the reading, Coburn asked to certify that every senator has read and understands the bill. But Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said it would be impossible for the Senate to certify that all its members understand the bill. Sanders called it a "a stalling tactic on the part of Republicans." "Sen. Coburn is so impressed by the Medicare-for-all, single-payer program that he apparently feels all the people of our country have to hear every single word for the next many, many hours about how the single payer program would be the only way to bring universal, comprehensive, cost-effective health care to all Americans," he said. " I really do appreciate his desire to make Americans know this. I think he may have overdone it a bit." Reid has a tight timeline if he hopes to pass the bill by Christmas. Under the rosiest scenario, he needs to begin taking the procedural steps by Friday to end the debate – and it would still take until Dec. 23 or 24 until the bill reaches final passage. This scenario depends on whether Reid receives a cost analysis from the Congressional Budget Office within the next day, which is not guaranteed. Undecided senators have said they need to review the analysis before committing their vote. But as Wednesday’s event signified, Republicans do not intend to cooperate. They can also force a reading of the “manager’s amendment,” which will include the compromise that Reid struck in order to win 60 votes. It is likely to be a lengthy document, as well. Thune would not say whether Republicans planned to force more readings. “I do think we are aware of what those opportunities and options are for us,” he said. “And the goal here is to defeat this thing.” Reid told reporters that the forced reading of the bill is having a side effect: it is slowing down the Senate’s efforts to get to a Pentagon spending bill. He said that Sanders was prepared to take a voice vote on the amendment, and also insisted that the bill would get out of the Senate this year. “We’re going to finish this bill before we leave here, and everybody knows that, Democrats know it. I think the Republicans are beginning to realize I,” Reid said. “It’s just too bad that they are using these types of things, but I accept it, I’m not complaining, I just think it shows the American people how they’ve been stalling for all these months – now they’re holding up the defense bill as we’re waiting to get that from the House.” -- Carrie Budoff Brown, Chris Frates and Manu Raju comments closed permalink

– Pity the poor Senate clerk's office, which finds itself at the center of parliamentary games. Staffers spent nearly three hours today reading aloud an amendment—a move forced by Republican Tom Coburn to gum up the works—before independent Bernie Sanders angrily yanked it back. They had gotten only to page 139 of the 767-page measure, which included phrases such as "maxillofacial region" and "dental prophylaxis." The move may just be the beginning of the delaying tactics by the GOP, reports Politico. The Sanders amendment, which would have inserted a single-payer system into the bill, had no chance of passing, notes Time. But Democrats won't have the luxury of pulling back Harry Reid's eventual offering if Republicans force that to be read aloud.

Claims that US diplomats suffered mysterious brain injuries after being targeted with a secret weapon in Cuba have been challenged by neurologists and other brain specialists. A medical report commissioned by the US government, published in March, found that staff at the US embassy in Havana suffered concussion-like brain damage after hearing strange noises in homes and hotels, but doctors from the US, the UK and Germany have contested the conclusions. In four separate letters to the Journal of the American Medical Association, which published the original medical study, groups of doctors specialising in neurology, neuropsychiatry and neuropsychology described what they believed were major flaws in the study. Cuba says 'undefined sounds' at home left US embassy official feeling ill Read more Among the criticisms, published on Tuesday, are that the University of Pennsylvania team which assessed the diplomats misinterpreted test results, overlooked common disorders that might have made the workers feel sick, or dismissed psychological explanations for their symptoms. Doctors at the University of Pennsylvania defended their report in a formal response in the journal, but the specialists told the Guardian they stood by their criticisms. The US withdrew more than half of its Havana diplomats last year and expelled 15 Cubans after 24 embassy staff and family reported a bizarre list of symptoms, ranging from headaches, dizziness and difficulties in sleeping, to problems with concentration, balance, vision and hearing. Many said their symptoms developed after they heard strange noises, described as cicada-like chirps, grinding, or the buffeting caused by an open window in the car. The accounts led Washington to claim the diplomats had been victims of “acoustic attacks”, though an FBI investigation found no evidence that sonic weapons were involved. Physicists have voiced doubts that such weapons were even feasible. At the request of the US government, doctors at the University of Pennsylvania ran checks on 21 diplomats and investigated six with a further 37 tests. Led by Doug Smith, the director of the university’s centre for brain injury, the team concluded that the patients had concussion-like injuries caused by damage to “widespread brain networks”. The state department now cites the medical report on its travel advice pages and urges people to reconsider visiting Cuba. The doctors who contacted the journal disagreed with the diagnosis. Robert Shura, a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist at Salisbury veterans affairs medical centre in North Carolina, and two colleagues, said Smith’s team had misinterpreted cognitive tests performed on the diplomats. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Doctors said Smith’s team too easily dismissed functional neurological disorders such as “acoustic shock”, which affects telephone operators who hear sudden loud noises in their headsets. Photograph: Lauren Hurley/PA It is standard practice to compare people’s scores on such tests with others in the population. A score in the bottom 5% would typically mean there is a problem. But Shura pointed out that the diplomats were found to be “impaired” if they scored in the bottom 40% in any one of the tests. In their letter, the doctors said it was “inappropriate” to conclude that any of the patients were impaired. “It is more likely than not that all six of the patients whose data are reported had normal neuropsychological profiles,” Shura told the Guardian. Other specialists have published the same criticism. In another letter, doctors including Gerard Gianoli from the Ear and Balance Institute in Louisiana argued that the test results pointed to inner ear damage rather than concussion and called for more thorough testing. “Given that almost all of the patients complained of hearing loss and balance problems, I am extremely suspicious of an inner ear insult in this group of patients,” Gianoli said. “I do wish they would be more thoroughly evaluated.” Cuba ‘sonic attack’ conspiracy theories and flawed science | Letter Read more In a third letter to the journal, Jon Stone, a consultant neurologist, and Alan Carson, a consultant neuropsychiatrist, both at the University of Edinburgh, argue with Stoyan Popkirov, a neurologist in Bochum, that Smith’s team too easily dismissed so-called functional neurological disorders. These can be triggered by sudden noises which, combined with anxiety and heightened attention, lead to real and persistent neurological problems. One such disorder is the “acoustic shock” that affects telephone operators who hear sudden loud noises in their headsets. “Functional neurological disorders are common genuine disorders that can affect anyone, including hardworking diplomatic staff,” the doctors wrote. In a further letter, Robert Bartholomew, an Auckland-based expert on mass psychogenic illness, argued that Smith’s team failed to rule out a psychological explanation for the sickness affecting the diplomats. Mass psychogenic illness arises in stressful situations, but can start slowly and last for months and years, he wrote, and often features neurological symptoms. “There are several cases in the annals of mass psychogenic illness that parallel the audio perceptions and symptoms reported in the Cuban embassy subjects,” he said. In response, the University of Pennsylvania team stood by their report, adding that they did not have room to give full details of every test they performed. More brain scans are underway in the hope that the images will “identify structural brain changes that may underlie the neurological manifestations”, they wrote. Smith did not respond to a request for comment.

– Something made a slew of American diplomats in Cuba sick last year, and scientists still aren't sure what it was. A major study commissioned by the US government found that diplomats suffered concussion-like symptoms, and many of them reported hearing strange noises before falling ill. Now, however, four separate letters by scientists in the US and several other nations are challenging that initial study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, reports the Guardian. The critics, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, say the Penn researchers misinterpreted results and too easily dismissed causes such as a "mass psychogenic illness." The Penn researchers, meanwhile, are standing by their work and say additional research continues. Highlights: Psychological? Robert Bartholomew, a US scientist who works in New Zealand, makes the case for a "mass psychogenic illness," also known as mass hysteria, reports BuzzFeed. The Cuban illnesses have all the hallmarks, he says, and he faults the Penn researchers for not investigating how closely the victims knew each other, and perhaps fed off each other in terms of symptoms. Inner ear: Another critic faults the first study for not focusing more on potential inner ear trouble. "Almost all of the patients complained of hearing loss and balance problems," writes Gerard Gianoli of Louisana's Ear and Balance Institute. “I do wish they would be more thoroughly evaluated.” Cognitive results: The Penn researchers found that some victims suffered cognitive damage, but another researcher thinks they're wrong. The Penn scientists considered subjects "impaired" if they scored in the bottom 40% of tests; the more accepted benchmark would be closer to 5%.

Indianapolis Police Department image Ann Marie Newark Authorities in New Braunfels, Texas, are trying to locate 53-year-old Ann Newark. Family members reported Anderson missing at about 3:45 p.m. that day, when she failed to show up at her son's school for a meeting. Her keys, purse and cell phone were reportedly found inside the car.Investigators have since named Houck a suspect in his girlfriend's disappearance.Crystal Rogers is described as a white female, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 150 pounds, with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray polo-type work shirt with a J.C. Electrical logo, light blue jeans and black work boots. Anyone with information regarding Ellis' disappearance is asked to call the Indianapolis Police Department at (317) 413-7440.

– A southern Illinois teenager has been missing since Monday and authorities are extremely worried by the last text message she sent to her family: "Help." The Monday evening message was the last time anybody heard from Delia Ann Stacey, 18, who left her home on foot that morning around 11, saying she was going to meet a friend, CBS News reports. Police say further efforts to contact the teen or locate the phone have been unsuccessful, and she has been added to the National Crime Information Center Database as a missing person, the Southern reports. In a Facebook post, the Herrin Police Department describes Stacey as a 5-foot-6 white female, about 130 pounds with auburn hair and brown eyes, who was last seen wearing a gray shirt and blue jeans. Authorities have not said whether they suspect foul play in the teen's disappearance, notes the Huffington Post. The Tico Times, meanwhile, mentions the disappearance in the context of the record-breaking rain and subsequent flooding that recently deluged the region.

August 20, 2011 Toronto, Ontario Dear Friends, Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination. Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue. I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected. I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election. A few additional thoughts: To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer. To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government. To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election. To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all. To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future. And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done. My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. All my very best, Jack Layton

– Jack Layton has died of cancer barely three months after leading the New Democratic Party to its strongest-ever result in Canada. The 61-year-old, who shocked the country only a few weeks ago when he announced he was stepping aside as the official opposition leader because of health issues, died yesterday of an undisclosed form of cancer and will receive a state funeral, the CBC reports. Tributes to Layton, who led the social democratic party for nine years, have poured in from across the political spectrum. After his death, Layton's family released a final letter to Canadians in which he addressed his battle with cancer and his vision for a better Canada. "To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope," he wrote. "Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer."

Credit: Oliver Plümper, Utrecht University (Phys.org)—An international team of researchers has found possible evidence of life ten kilometers below the sea floor in the Mariana Trench. [Photo Timeline: How the Earth Formed] In the new study, which was published yesterday (April 10) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers ventured to the remote reaches of the South Chamorro Seamount, an underwater volcano close to the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. The seamount is part of a vast string of ocean-buried volcanoes that span the 1,740-mile-long (2,800 kilometers) subduction zone from Tokyo to Guam, where the Pacific plate is diving beneath the Philippine Sea plate. Photograph by Schmidt Ocean Institute In the new study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers sampled mineral-rich mud from the South Chamorro seamount, a mud volcano near the Mariana Trench fueled by the subduction zone below it. “If we’re looking for the depth limits of the biosphere, this could extend it by a lot.” MINERAL POWER Plümper’s team examined organic material found in serpentine, a class of minerals formed when olivine in the upper mantle reacts with water pushed up from within the subduction zone. Upon examination of their serpentine samples, the researchers found trace amounts of organic material that was very similar to that produced by microbes living in more accessible places. Thus far, evidence for microbial communities within the Mariana mud volcanoes has only been indirectly detected in fluid samples no deeper than 20 mbsf (5, 24). The team found chemical traces that could have been associated with amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, although other organic processes can also produce these signatures, the researchers wrote in the paper. In near-surface serpentinizing systems, hydrothermal fluids can mix with, for example, seawater, resulting in disequilibria that may provide the energy and substrates needed to support chemolithoautotrophic life (7). Here, we examine serpentinite clasts expelled from mud volcanoes above the Izu–Bonin–Mariana subduction zone forearc (Pacific Ocean) that contain complex organic matter and nanosized Ni–Fe alloys. Using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy, we determined that the organic matter consists of a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic compounds and functional groups such as amides. Although an abiotic or subduction slab-derived fluid origin cannot be excluded, the similarities between the molecular signatures identified in the clasts and those of bacteria-derived biopolymers from other serpentinizing systems hint at the possibility of deep microbial life within the forearc. C and D show results of the one-dimensional heat conduction model (SI Estimation of the Maximum Depth for the Current Temperature Limit for Life), where C shows the maximum depth as a function of surface heat flow at constant thermal conductivity (partially serpentinized peridotite) below which microbial life is theoretically possible. The downhole temperature within the International Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole U1309D at Atlantis Massif oceanic core complex (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) places the 122 °C upper temperature limit for microbial life at ∼1,000 mbsf (44). "Although we cannot pinpoint the exact origin of the organic matter, chemical analysis of the constituents resembles molecular signatures that could be produced by microbial life deep within or below the mud volcano," the researchers wrote in the study. However, the architecture of potentially habitable domains within Earth’s hydrated mantle rocks remains largely unknown. Thus, even if modern-type subduction was not fully established in the Hadean and Archean, Mariana forearc-like deep subsurface environments may have allowed early forms of life to thrive, despite violent phases such as the so-called Late Heavy Bombardment, a period of intensive meteorite bombardment around 3.9 Ga (60).

– A team of researchers may have discovered evidence of the deepest life on Earth (and we're not talking college freshmen taking their first philosophy class). According to a study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, there may be microbes living up to six miles under the seafloor. Researchers used a remotely operated vehicle to retrieve 46 samples of a rock called serpentine from a mud volcano near the Mariana Trench—the deepest place on Earth—southwest of Japan, Phys.org reports. According to Live Science, the serpentine may have originated more than 12 miles under the seafloor before being spewed out by the mud volcano. While the serpentine didn't contain any actual microbes, researchers did find what National Geographic calls "tantalizing traces of organic material." Due to the particulars of the subduction zone at the Mariana Trench, the researchers believe the microbes could have survived up to six miles below the seafloor before the pressure and heat became too much. They believe the organisms could survive on the methane and hydrogen produced when serpentine forms. "This is another hint at a great, deep biosphere on our planet," study lead Oliver Plümper says. (Near the ocean's deepest spot, scientists heard a 3.5-second symphony.)

Futures for bitcoin will start trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange on Sunday evening and on crosstown rival CME Group's platforms later in the month. The price of bitcoin futures will be based on the price the digital currency is going for on four major bitcoin exchanges — Bitstamp, GDAX, itBit and Kraken. See here for more coverage of bitcoin’s volatile ride: Bitcoin Mining Service NiceHash Says Hackers Emptied Its Wallet Bitcoin Frenzy Like No Other Has Koreans Paying 23% Premium What the Central Banks Are Saying About Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin Volatility Intensifies as Exchanges Struggle With Demand All About Bitcoin, Blockchain and Their Crypto World: QuickTake — With assistance by Matthew Leising

– To say it's a meteoric rise isn't too hyperbolic. Bitcoin hit $15,000 early Thursday, just 12 hours after it passed the $14,000 mark, reports Business Insider, which puts the digital currency's 36-hour increase at more than $3,000. To illustrate the massive growth another way: 10 days ago, the cryptocurrency market as a whole was worth $300 billion; now it's above $400 billion, per CoinMarketCap.com. The quote of the day on the subject comes from Royal Bank of Scotland chair Sir Howard Davies, who called the whole situation "irrational exuberance" in comments to Bloomberg and warned, "All the authorities can do is put up the sign from Dante's Inferno: 'Abandon hope all ye who enter here.'" Per the Guardian, Davies couldn't identify a "rational reason" for the rise, but CoinDesk shares the "primary theory," which boils down to the fact that bitcoin futures will begin trading for the first time this month and "big institutional money" is getting in on the game. As the AP earlier reported, the CME Group, which owns the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, got the OK on Friday to begin trading bitcoin futures on Dec. 18; CBOE Global Markets will do so as well. But is it a bubble, and if so, when will it burst? The Verge reports some traders suspect the answer is soon, and are planning to short Bitcoin, "that is, make bets that its value will decrease in the future." Meanwhile, one unfortunate bitcoin headline today: The AP reports Slovenian bitcoin mining company NiceHash was hacked, and $70 million in bitcoin may have been stolen.

The agency says it is investigating how pentobarbital wound up in certain shipments of Gravy Train, Kibbles 'N Bits, Ol’ Roy, and Skippy canned wet dog food. Shortly after ABC7 shared its findings, Smucker’s announced Wednesday that it is voluntarily recalling shipments of Gravy Train, Kibbles ‘N Bits, Ol’ Roy, and Skippy dog food over concerns about the presence of pentobarbital, according to WebMD. Only one brand of food, Gravy Train, repeatedly tested positive for trace amounts of the euthanasia drug. The lab uncovered that the dog food contained pentobarbital, “a lethal drug, most commonly used to euthanize dogs, cats and some horses.” The use of pentobarbital is not permitted in animal meat used for food supply, so it should not show up in any pet or human food. “Veterinarians and animal nutrition specialists, as well as the FDA, have confirmed that extremely low levels of pentobarbital, like the levels reported to be in select shipments, do not pose a threat to pet safety,” J.M. "However, the presence of this substance at any level is not acceptable to us and not up to our quality standards," said the company, which is based in Orrville, Ohio. We sincerely apologize for the concern this has caused.” Hancart says customers with questions or concerns can call 800-828-9980 or email the company through its website.

– Four brands of dog food under the JM Smucker Co. umbrella have been recalled after a DC TV station tested one of the brands and found traces of a euthanizing drug used on dogs, cats, and horses in 60% of the samples. The AP reports that shipments of cans of Gravy Train, Kibble 'N Bits, Skippy, and Ol' Roy wet food have been pulled back after pentobarbital was found in nine of the 15 cans of Gravy Train that WJLA tested. The station, which commissioned a lab specializing in food testing for contaminants, also tested around two dozen other brands over several months, but there were no significant findings. People notes that Gravy Train is produced by the Smucker Co.'s Big Heart Pet Brands, which also makes Meow Mix, 9Lives, and Pounce pet edibles. The investigation was spurred after the death of a Washington state woman's dog a year ago. All four of Nikki Mael's dogs got sick on New Year's Eve 2016 after eating canned Evanger's dog food, and one, Talula, didn't make it. Mael sent the food out for testing, and the lab found it contained pentobarbital, which is banned from use in pet or human food. Efforts are now focused on how the pentobarbital got into the Gravy Train samples, with the FDA jumping into the investigation; the AP notes a supplier that provides one of the brand's lesser ingredients is being looked at. One somewhat stomach-churning possibility being bandied about: animals that were put down somehow ended up in the pet food. A rep from JM Smucker tells WebMD "extremely low levels" of pentobarbital aren't risky for animals, but that "the presence of this substance at any level is not acceptable to us and not up to our quality standards." (The FDA also warned about bones for dogs.)

"The thought process that went into building these applications, Facebook being the first of them, ... was all about: 'How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?'" Facebook was a very different company back then and as we have grown we have realised how our responsibilities have grown too." CLOSE It's hard to imagine any more user growth for Facebook now that over 2 billion users are on the platform. “God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains," he told Mike Allen from US news site Axios. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sean Parker shares his concerns about social media "We take our role very seriously and we are working hard to improve," Facebook's statement continued. I predict we'll see a worldwide marketing campaign highlighting the good Facebook does in bringing communities together.

– Headlines focused this week on an ex-Facebook exec who warned last month about the platform he helped grow, and now the social network is clapping back. Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook's former VP of user growth, said at a Stanford Graduate School of Business appearance he feels "tremendous guilt" over what Facebook is doing to society, he doesn't let his kids "use this s---," and everyone else should probably take a "hard break" from social media. In what the BBC deems an "unusual step," Facebook has some pushback on his words. "When Chamath was at Facebook we were focused on building new social media experiences and growing Facebook around the world," a rep noted, adding Palihapitiya hasn't worked there for years. "Facebook was a very different company back then, and as we have grown we have realized how our responsibilities have grown, too." Palihapitiya hasn't been alone in his advocate-turned-critic role. In an August op-ed in USA Today, Roger McNamee, an early investor in Google and Facebook, wrote the "unintended consequences" of technologies such as social media "have become a menace to public health and to democracy." And last month, Sean Parker, Facebook's first president, told Mike Allen at Axios a network like Facebook "literally changes your relationship with society, with each other. … God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains" (which means reaction to Facebook's new app for kids should be interesting). But an Independent op-ed by Emlyn Pearce says blaming society's ills on Facebook "is like claiming that bricks are the cause of Trump's border wall." "Social media is a way of managing our relationships, but it is not responsible for the quality of those relationships," he writes. "We are."

National Enquirer publishes photo it alleges shows Whitney Houston in casket: Has a line been crossed? Whitney Houston (AP) The National Enquirer sparked outrage Wednesday when it released a cover featuring a photo purportedly showing the late Whitney Houston in a gold casket. The existence of the Enquirer's photo, which the tabloid claims was taken at Whigham Funeral Home in New Jersey, was reported by several outlets. Some, including Jezebel and the Fox 411 blog, republished the photo at the top of their posts without any warning. The Daily Mail published the photo with the body blurred out. (If you’d like to see the photo to gain context, it can be viewed here.The photo will not be published on Celebritology.) It’s not known how the Enquirer obtained the photo. Requests for comment from Houston’s publicist and Whigham Funeral Home have not been returned. (Update: Funeral home owner Carolyn Whigham told the Chicago Tribune, “I am very angry, very upset, just like the family, just like the fans. ... We don't like it because it implicates us. Whitney was a personal friend to me and my family. We would not do that.”) Even without verification, the photo is shocking and disturbing. But it’s not surprising that it has been published. The Enquirer published a photo of Elvis Presley in his casket on its cover in 1977. The issue sold 6.5 million copies, according to the Sun-Sentinel. More recently, a photo of Michael Jackson’s lifeless body was shown during the trial of doctor Conrad Murray. It was then republished in the media. In the opinion of this writer, a line has been crossed. It seems highly unethical to me to publish a photo of this nature in the first place, but especially without permission from the person’s family. That seems to be the consensus on Twitter, as well. But where should the line be drawn to begin with? Houston’s funeral, held Saturday at a Newark Church, was live streamed by the Associated Press with permission from the family. Celebritology embedded the live stream and then wrote posts about the service. CNN, one of the cable networks to broadcast the funeral, averaged five million viewers during the three and a half hour period when it took place, according to the New York Times. The AP’s stream had nearly 2 million unique visitors. Clearly, there was a demand to watch it. The BBC was forced to defend its decision to cover the funeral service after it received 34 complaints, saying “it reflected the significant interest in her sudden death as well as acknowledging the impact she had as a global recording artist.” Other outlets, including Entertainment Weekly and ABC News, took it a step further and chose to live blog the service. EW was slammed for the decision in the comments section of a post announcing the live blog (Example: “A live-blog of someone's funeral is not only tacky, it's grotesquely inappropriate.”) The comments on that post have since been disabled. The commenters on ABC News did not seem to object to the live blog. Wire services, like Getty and the AP, have made available photos of guests outside the funeral service, Houston’s casket and the hearse it was carried in. This is clearly not the same as what the Enquirer has done. But are these photos necessary? This isn’t to say that there’s never a reason to publish photos of the dead. The Washington Post and several other outlets ran photos of a bloodied Moammar Gaddafi before he died online and in print. The Guardian’s Roy Greensdale defended his paper’s decision to do the same: “With the pictures all over the net, it would have seemed strange for newspapers to ignore them. Editors would appear to be failing in their duty to report on the reality of Gaddafi's death (more properly, execution). It was news - gruesome, grisly, ghastly (choose your own shock adjective) news - and the images told a story of brutality and mob chaos that could not be explained in words alone.” Do you think the National Enquirer crossed a line? How do you feel about the coverage of Houston’s death? Tell us in the comments.

– Has the National Enquirer crossed a line? Many were horrified when the tabloid published a photo it claims is the body of Whitney Houston shown in an open gold coffin. The pic was taken at the Whigham Funeral Home in New Jersey, according to Enquirer editors, who have not revealed how it was obtained. "Inside her private viewing," boasts a headline for the story, which says the singer was buried in $500,000 worth of jewelry, her "favorite purple dress," and gold slippers. Houston's nickname, "Nippy," and two treble clefs are written in blue script on the white lining of the casket. The Washington Post's Celebritolgy blog calls the Houston photo "shocking and disturbing," while the Gossip Cop website says it "represents the very worst of predatory paparazzi culture." The shot is not all that unique for the Enquirer. It infamously published a photo of Elvis Presley in his casket on its cover in 1977—and sold 6.5 million copies. Other media outlets weren't particularly delicate about funeral coverage. AP streamed the entire funeral live—with permission from the family—while ABC News and Entertainment Weekly offered live blogs of the services (one commenter called EW's live blog "tacky" and "grotesquely inappropriate"). CNN's more-than-three-hour coverage of the services drew 5 million viewers. But the BBC had to defend its extensive coverage to complainers, saying “it reflected the significant interest in her sudden death as well as acknowledging the impact she had as a global recording artist.”

Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, Rep. Paul Ryan and Louisiana Gov. Back to the Top 2:39 p.m. Pro-Hillary Clinton Group Calls Mitch McConnell Remarks 'Sexist' And 'Despicable' ABC News' Michael Falcone reports: A pro-Hillary Clinton group, Ready for Hillary, formed to encourage the former Secretary of State and first lady to run for president in 2016, lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for his comments at CPAC earlier today. Watch highlights from Mr. Trump’s speech at CPAC: More Thursday’s Roundup: GOP Rallies for a Rebound Fed’s Fisher Takes on ‘Too Big to Fail’ at CPAC Guide: Who’s Speaking at CPAC 2013 Related: Highlights From Rand Paul’s Speech at CPAC 2013 Related: Highlights From Marco Rubio’s Speech at CPAC 2013

– Mitt Romney didn't exactly get an all-star slot at the CPAC convention, but he used his 15 minutes this afternoon to thank the group for its support ("You touched my heart again") and to express confidence that Republicans, and the country, will bounce back, reports USA Today. "It's fashionable in some circles to be pessimistic about America, about conservative solutions, about the Republican Party," he said. "I utterly reject pessimism. We may have lost Nov. 7, but we have not lost the country we love and we have not lost our way." Romney said the party should look to its strong stable of GOP governors for its new path, adding that while he's sorry he lost, "I will be your co-worker and stand shoulder to shoulder with you." Earlier, Donald Trump opened day two with what the Wall Street Journal calls a "rambling" speech in which he warned that the GOP is in "serious trouble," criticized Karl Rove's failed Super PAC efforts, and said that Romney the candidate should have bragged more about his accomplishments. The Daily Intel's take: "The speech itself was mildly received. There were a few moments of scattered clapping, some chuckling. The biggest applause came when Trump suggested, once again, that we 'take' Iraq's oil and use the proceeds to pay a million dollars each to the families of the American soldiers who died in the war. Trump meandered from topic to topic, but the one unifying theme of the speech was the greatness of Trump." The AtlanticWire has extensive coverage of the convention here and ABC News here.