Recag/C4_38 · Datasets at Hugging Face

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We drove past our old high school, remembering times when homecoming pep rallies and Friday night basketball games were the only things we could look forward to. But the two of us had just finished our first quarter of college, which made high school feel like the eraser on a pencil. There wasn’t a label to warn us when it was running out, no way of realizing it was gone until it really was. It was there when you needed it, but eventually you’d abandon the pencil for one that had an eraser.
At the park, we sat on a bench and talked about our newfangled lives, the new eraser we each had found. Adrian was going to school in Michigan and he missed his siblings more than he thought he would. I was only an hour and a half away from home, so if I wanted to return to the familiar, I was only a train ride away. But I didn’t take advantage of that. It was easy to deflect feelings of homesickness by disguising it with busyness; there was always work to be done. Throughout my first quarter, I told myself that winter break was just around the corner. Besides, nothing beats going home for longer than a weekend. Sitting in the comfort of my childhood home with a cup of coffee, not having to worry about final papers and exams, never felt better.
I glanced over at Adrian. He was looking out at the frozen pond several feet away from us. I knew he was letting me ruminate like I usually did, but he was quieter than usual. It didn’t take long for him to notice me watching him.
“Is something wrong, Jess?” he asked.
I had been asked a similar question by a girl named Riley who lived next door in my dorm, except she had asked me, “Will it get better?” I didn’t ask her what “it” was, but I think she was referring to the same sentiment that Adrian had – feeling inadequate and out of place. I told her “yes,” even though I myself didn’t fully believe it. I still didn’t believe it.
“Jess? Are you okay?” he asked, waving his gloved hand in front of my face.
I turned back to face him. His shoulders were slumped, his mouth was curved slightly downward. His brown eyes studied me carefully. I wanted to tell him how I felt too, but I didn’t want to shift the focus away from him. Maybe if we had stayed in touch more frequently throughout the semester we wouldn’t be here. Maybe it was time to be honest, no matter how much it hurt.
I realized then that even with my hometown several miles away, I had erased everything about it. Every memory of this place was linked to my family and friends, so when the tiniest ounce of sadness emerged from its hiding place, it was always easiest to just move on. I couldn’t keep holding on to the past, especially if my friends couldn’t.
But I was wrong. I don’t know if it was because I was back home, confronting what I had tried to forget. Once I knew how Adrian felt, I didn’t feel alone. I had someone to talk to, someone who I wasn’t going to forget. Months from now, we would remember the sparkling snow and the stillness of the pond. To anyone else, it’d sound like just another winter day in Chicago. But for us, the cold air had brought us closer together.
Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state-designate, is the mysterious cabinet nominee of President-elect Donald Trump's, for his long career at ExxonMobil Corporation has revealed next to nothing publicly of his views where the United States stands in the world.
A glimpse of Tillerson's views has now appeared in an obscure source: Herb Jackson of NorthJersey.com reports on the 75-minute meeting of Sen. Bob Menendez (Democrat of New Jersey and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,) with Tillerson on Jan. 5.
Menendez recounted their conversation about U.S. relations with Turkey after Tillerson stated he hopes to "bring them back into the fold."
Menendez: "Does this mean we are willing to accept authoritarian figures and dictators as part of our foreign policy?"
Tillerson: "Well, we've dealt with dictators in the past."
Menendez: "Yeah, and we've faced the consequences of dealing with them," adding to the reporter that he found Tillerson's response to be "concerning."
"He basically said, I don't know a lot [about Cuba], and I need more time on that." ... Menendez said Tillerson said he knew there were strong arguments on both sides of the Cuba issue, but he only discussed the points made by those who support removing restrictions, so Menendez told him about journalists and dissidents who are being oppressed today.
"I'm a little alarmed because obviously as the secretary of state, you're going to have to know your audience when you are engaging them, and to come meet me and not to have an idea, a more thorough idea about what U.S.-Cuba policy should be means you don't know your audience. He's a very nice man and he's smart, but I would say ... there's not a lot of depth here in terms of U.S. foreign policy, there's broad strokes."
In Jackson's paraphrase, Menendez noted that he "did not feel that Tillerson had a clear idea of Trump's policy views other than defeating the Islamic State."
(1) The response on Turkey sounds in line with those of Michael Flynn, who's in line to be the national security advisor.
(2) The ignorance of the Cuba issue points to a larger problem – limited knowledge of the outside world.
(3) The focus on ISIS fits what Trump has been saying.
(4) How an amateur president and an amateur secretary of state together will guide a great power's foreign policy will be, to say the least, interesting to watch.
It came in like a wrecking ball. Jupiter may have ploughed through the early solar system, driving some of the first planets to a fiery death in the sun – and cleared room for planets like Earth.
Most other systems we’ve observed so far contain huge rocky “super Earths” that orbit very closely to their host star – even closer than Mercury is to our sun. By contrast, our system has four small rocky planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, that all orbit much further from the sun.
New simulations suggest a wandering Jupiter could explain this. Konstantin Batygin at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and Greg Laughlin at the University of California, Santa Cruz, showed that Jupiter could have drifted inwards, pulled by gas swirling around the sun, to somewhere around where Mars now sits today.
As it did, it would likely have pulled any nearby objects along for the ride. These would have then smashed into each other and spiralled into the sun.
Later, a push from another massive planet, Saturn, could have taken Jupiter further out again. The debris left over from all this would have formed the small rocky planets we know today.
Should we thank god for civilisation?
It was 103 degrees of power in the room. It was a sweltering evening last month when I stepped into the historical League of Women for Community Service to celebrate women of color moving into positions of public power.
Underneath the chandeliers stood women of color of all ages, swinging fans by their faces as the sweat rolled down. The sweat masked tears as Doris Bunte, the first African American woman ever to serve in the Massachusetts Legislature, indulged us in the truth of what happened to her.
She told us she wasn’t mistreated for being black, but for being female in a male dominated Statehouse. Male elected officials tried to push her around, but she stood her ground and led her constituency with competence and grace.
Fast forward to today, and Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral, the first woman sheriff in Massachusetts, spoke eloquently about women’s progress, but also about the ongoing challenge of women steeped in self-doubt when deciding to run for office.
She told of how the support to win is crucial in determining whether a woman runs or just stands in the shadows. Councilor Ayanna Pressley, the first woman of color Boston city councilor stood in the same room next to Sheriff Cabral. Two firsts, and hopefully not the last.
There are now only two female Boston city councilors on the 13- member body. Only 24 percent of Massachusetts state legislators are women, and the 2011 Legislature has the lowest number of women serving since 1998. Women of color make up only two percent of our state Legislature.
A number of groups supporting women to run for office stood in that room with Bunte. They started an initiative called the Women’s Pipeline for Change to break down barriers that women of color face when seeking office. They awarded five women fellowships to study women of color in politics including the first female Asian mayor in Massachusetts, Lisa Wong, a 32-year-old daughter of Chinese immigrants.
Around her stood a group of young Asian women in their 20s and 30s, observing Wong as a beacon of hope in their political future. Unlike the days of Bunte, next to them, stood three men: state Rep. Jay Kaufman and Boston City Councilors Felix Arroyo and Tito Jackson, looking on, paying tribute, overjoyed to stand in support of the women around them.
It was unbearably hot inside that room, but no one wanted to leave. The promise of women of color taking their rightful place in politics and every hall of power was palpable like every bead of hearty sweat, and everyone wanted to be a part of it.
Kelly Bates is the executive director of Access Strategies Fund and an advisor to the Women’s Pipeline for Change.
Reese Witherspoon loves to pose with her mini-me daughter Ava on Instagram.
And this Christmas was no exception as the 41-year-old Oscar winner sat next to the pretty 18-year-old for a photo.
Reese Witherspoon looked picture perfect in front of her Christmas tree with Ava in a Draper James dress.
This Santa red dress flattered her figure with it's classic fit and flare shape-- cinching her waist and showing off her toned forearms with its sheer flared sleeves.
Draper James is the line designed by Reese and known for Southern elegance with a dash of whimsical flair. It's the essence of what Reese would want to wear, since she always looks gracefully polished.
Lucky for us, click right to buy it right now or stay on the cheery cherry color for the holiday season with one of the festive alternatives in the edit below!
The star also shared a Snapchat video where she added four hearts. And she was also seen kissing her husband Jim Toth of CAA.
The star had on a red lace dress with long gold earring and deep ruby red lipstick.
Ava, whose father is actor Ryan Phillippe, was seen in a red dress with gold flowers.
Last week she brought up Wreath Witherspoon again. It's a Christmas tradition where photos of the star are placed on a Christmas wreath.
The actress took to Instagram to thank her followers with a sweet note.
'Y’all are hysterical keeping #WreathWitherspoon going,' the Oscar winner told her 11.4 million followers on Monday.
Her friend Mindy Kaling started the trend three years ago on an episode of The Mindy Project.
Witherspoon selected some of her favorite wreaths from 2017 and shared them on her official Instagram account on Tuesday.
'Which one is your favorite?!' she asked.
Mindy, who co-stars alongside Reese in 2018's A Wrinkle in Time, encouraged her followers to make their own wreaths on December 1.
Witherspoon's fashion brand Draper James also joined in on the fun.
Brand editor Elizabeth Mayhew created a beautiful wreath with delicate, handmade frames decorating the images of her boss.
Reese made a guest appearance on the final season of The Mindy Project in the episode titled Girl Gone Wild.
The wreath trend was so popular that others tried to create it for their favorite star including Keanu Reeves and Aretha Franklin.
It sadly did not become a social media sensation like it did for Witherspoon.
CHICAGO – Charles Oakley says opponents no longer fear or respect the Knicks.
“The Knicks went through a lot of stuff since they traded me,” said Oakley yesterday before he and the Bulls beat the Knicks 84-79.
“They’re an outside [shooting] team, got two great guys in Allan [Houston] and [Latrell] Sprewell, but teams don’t respect them like they used to.
Oakley, always the Knicks’ harshest critic, applauded Sprewell for his honesty about the team’s big-man woes.
Oakley, who played a role in the Knicks’ demise last spring in the first round as a Raptor, believes more than ever the Knicks blew it when they traded him for Marcus Camby before the 1999 lockout season.
Oakley said he did not demand a trade from the Raptors despite sources saying he had problems with the coddling of Vince Carter.
Appearing in a blue blur on a hedgehog's Facebook page this morning, the first teaser trailer for Sega's next Sonic game features blue blurs both old and new. Is this Sonic Generations?
Signs point to yes. After all, Sega did say they'd be celebrating come April 7, and they have recently registered the website domains SonicGenerations.com and Sonic-Generations.com.
Either way, we've got a Sonic the Hedgehog game coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sometime this year, with at least two generations of Sonic packed inside. What does it all mean? I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.
YORK City Knights are confident they have unearthed another gem out of the amateur game after signing Yorkshire amateur ace Lewis Price from Castleford club Lock Lane.
Price's arrival coincides with his former Lock Lane team-mate, Chris Siddons, agreeing a two-year extension at Bootham Crescent after an impressive first season in the professional arena.
And, while head coach James Ford expect Siddons to kick on in 2018 after already proving his worth at League One level, he believes Price could provide excitement aplenty in the back line should he take to the pro game in similar fashion.
"He's got balance, pace and a good understanding of attack in terms of off-the-ball efforts," said Ford of the 21-year-old new boy.
"I'm confident that if he works hard at his game, he can probably surprise himself as much as anyone else at how good he can be.
"Obviously there are areas he will need to work on, but if his appetite for work is the same in training as I've seen on game days, we've got a very exciting player on our hands."
Price, like Siddons, was part of the Lock Lane team that shocked Oxford on their way to the Challenge Cup fifth round last year, albeit while suffering relegation from the National Conference League premier division.
His club reached the division one play-off semi-finals this year as they sought a quick return to the elite tier, but they lost to Normanton - with Price and former Knights half-back Danny Sowerby both sin-binned.
Price played largely at full-back this year and centre last year, but could well be pinpointed for a wing berth next year.
Said Ford: "He could play across the back line.
"His work ethic is good, he's athletic, he's got good footwork and he's strong.
"He works hard for his team when they're under the pump, getting them rolling with some tough runs, and he reads the game well, creating space off the ball.
"He stands out a mile whenever I've watched him play."
Front-rower Siddons, 25, an unknown quantity to many on his arrival at York last winter, went on to play in 22 of the Knights' 27 matches this year, notching three tries.
Club chiefs now expect the former England Lions tourist to go up another level, especially with a full pre-season behind him.
"He's done really well," said Ford, who also successfully plucked local favourite Joe Porter out of the amateur ranks last winter.
"Chris featured in most of the games in which he was available and in some of those games he spent an enormous amount of time on the field due to others not reaching the levels we want or picking up injuries. That shows we've got a lot of trust in him.
"He impressed everyone, playing big minutes when required and utilising a good passing game for a middle.
"He's a really popular player in the group as well - very down to earth and with a 'will do' attitude. He's willing to work hard for the group and they respect that."
He added: “Although Chris attracted interest from around League One he has always been keen to extend his stay at the Knights and continue his development.
"We'll now be expecting him to improve.
"He missed the majority of last pre-season being on tour in Fiji (with England Lions) so this will be his first year with a proper pre-season in an environment where he's being asked to improve physically.
"If he does improve in one or two areas he will be an even better player and I'm looking forward to seeing that on game day."
Asked if Siddons had surprised people at Bootham Crescent, Ford said: "I'd seen him play a number of times - we'd been keeping tabs on him - so I was not surprised.
"The supporters maybe wouldn't have known much about him so maybe he did surprise a couple. The pleasing thing is there's another level in there, and it's up to us to work hard and get it out of him."
When CNN news chief Eason Jordan made the off-handed remark last year that U.S. soldiers were deliberately targeting journalists in Iraq, killing 12 of them, pro-military bloggers went on the attack, calling the allegations ridiculous and untrue.
Two weeks later, engulfed in controversy over the credibility of his network, Jordan stepped down.
The incident underscores the increasing power of the blogosphere and also highlights the relatively new phenomenon of military blogging.
HENDERSON, Texas – An East Texas man is jailed after sheriff's deputies said he was keeping his mother's body wrapped in a tarpaulin in their front yard.
Rusk County Sheriff Jeff Price tells KYTX-TV of Tyler that Cassin's grandmother called deputies from Houston after Cassin told her that her daughter, 63-year-old Karen Cassin, had died. Deputies said the son told them that he found his mother dead in bed March 18, so he wrapped her in the tarp and placed her under a group of pine trees.
A group of freshman at Miss Porter’s School got a crash course in running a thrift shop, at the Second Chance Shop in Simsbury a few days before hosting their own charitable pop-up store.
Teachers Lisa-Brit Wahlberg and Alysa Auriemma accompanied the students to the store, which benefits the Village for Families and Children, where they learned from the volunteer staff how a thrift store works.

We drove past our old high school, remembering times when homecoming pep rallies and Friday night basketball games were the only things we could look forward to. But the two of us had just finished our first quarter of college, which made high school feel like the eraser on a pencil. There wasn’t a label to warn us when it was running out, no way of realizing it was gone until it really was. It was there when you needed it, but eventually you’d abandon the pencil for one that had an eraser.

At the park, we sat on a bench and talked about our newfangled lives, the new eraser we each had found. Adrian was going to school in Michigan and he missed his siblings more than he thought he would. I was only an hour and a half away from home, so if I wanted to return to the familiar, I was only a train ride away. But I didn’t take advantage of that. It was easy to deflect feelings of homesickness by disguising it with busyness; there was always work to be done. Throughout my first quarter, I told myself that winter break was just around the corner. Besides, nothing beats going home for longer than a weekend. Sitting in the comfort of my childhood home with a cup of coffee, not having to worry about final papers and exams, never felt better.

I glanced over at Adrian. He was looking out at the frozen pond several feet away from us. I knew he was letting me ruminate like I usually did, but he was quieter than usual. It didn’t take long for him to notice me watching him.

“Is something wrong, Jess?” he asked.

I had been asked a similar question by a girl named Riley who lived next door in my dorm, except she had asked me, “Will it get better?” I didn’t ask her what “it” was, but I think she was referring to the same sentiment that Adrian had – feeling inadequate and out of place. I told her “yes,” even though I myself didn’t fully believe it. I still didn’t believe it.

“Jess? Are you okay?” he asked, waving his gloved hand in front of my face.

I turned back to face him. His shoulders were slumped, his mouth was curved slightly downward. His brown eyes studied me carefully. I wanted to tell him how I felt too, but I didn’t want to shift the focus away from him. Maybe if we had stayed in touch more frequently throughout the semester we wouldn’t be here. Maybe it was time to be honest, no matter how much it hurt.

I realized then that even with my hometown several miles away, I had erased everything about it. Every memory of this place was linked to my family and friends, so when the tiniest ounce of sadness emerged from its hiding place, it was always easiest to just move on. I couldn’t keep holding on to the past, especially if my friends couldn’t.

But I was wrong. I don’t know if it was because I was back home, confronting what I had tried to forget. Once I knew how Adrian felt, I didn’t feel alone. I had someone to talk to, someone who I wasn’t going to forget. Months from now, we would remember the sparkling snow and the stillness of the pond. To anyone else, it’d sound like just another winter day in Chicago. But for us, the cold air had brought us closer together.

Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state-designate, is the mysterious cabinet nominee of President-elect Donald Trump's, for his long career at ExxonMobil Corporation has revealed next to nothing publicly of his views where the United States stands in the world.

A glimpse of Tillerson's views has now appeared in an obscure source: Herb Jackson of NorthJersey.com reports on the 75-minute meeting of Sen. Bob Menendez (Democrat of New Jersey and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,) with Tillerson on Jan. 5.

Menendez recounted their conversation about U.S. relations with Turkey after Tillerson stated he hopes to "bring them back into the fold."

Menendez: "Does this mean we are willing to accept authoritarian figures and dictators as part of our foreign policy?"

Tillerson: "Well, we've dealt with dictators in the past."

Menendez: "Yeah, and we've faced the consequences of dealing with them," adding to the reporter that he found Tillerson's response to be "concerning."

"He basically said, I don't know a lot [about Cuba], and I need more time on that." ... Menendez said Tillerson said he knew there were strong arguments on both sides of the Cuba issue, but he only discussed the points made by those who support removing restrictions, so Menendez told him about journalists and dissidents who are being oppressed today.

"I'm a little alarmed because obviously as the secretary of state, you're going to have to know your audience when you are engaging them, and to come meet me and not to have an idea, a more thorough idea about what U.S.-Cuba policy should be means you don't know your audience. He's a very nice man and he's smart, but I would say ... there's not a lot of depth here in terms of U.S. foreign policy, there's broad strokes."

In Jackson's paraphrase, Menendez noted that he "did not feel that Tillerson had a clear idea of Trump's policy views other than defeating the Islamic State."

(1) The response on Turkey sounds in line with those of Michael Flynn, who's in line to be the national security advisor.

(2) The ignorance of the Cuba issue points to a larger problem – limited knowledge of the outside world.

(3) The focus on ISIS fits what Trump has been saying.

(4) How an amateur president and an amateur secretary of state together will guide a great power's foreign policy will be, to say the least, interesting to watch.

It came in like a wrecking ball. Jupiter may have ploughed through the early solar system, driving some of the first planets to a fiery death in the sun – and cleared room for planets like Earth.

Most other systems we’ve observed so far contain huge rocky “super Earths” that orbit very closely to their host star – even closer than Mercury is to our sun. By contrast, our system has four small rocky planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, that all orbit much further from the sun.

New simulations suggest a wandering Jupiter could explain this. Konstantin Batygin at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and Greg Laughlin at the University of California, Santa Cruz, showed that Jupiter could have drifted inwards, pulled by gas swirling around the sun, to somewhere around where Mars now sits today.

As it did, it would likely have pulled any nearby objects along for the ride. These would have then smashed into each other and spiralled into the sun.

Later, a push from another massive planet, Saturn, could have taken Jupiter further out again. The debris left over from all this would have formed the small rocky planets we know today.

Should we thank god for civilisation?

It was 103 degrees of power in the room. It was a sweltering evening last month when I stepped into the historical League of Women for Community Service to celebrate women of color moving into positions of public power.

Underneath the chandeliers stood women of color of all ages, swinging fans by their faces as the sweat rolled down. The sweat masked tears as Doris Bunte, the first African American woman ever to serve in the Massachusetts Legislature, indulged us in the truth of what happened to her.

She told us she wasn’t mistreated for being black, but for being female in a male dominated Statehouse. Male elected officials tried to push her around, but she stood her ground and led her constituency with competence and grace.

Fast forward to today, and Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral, the first woman sheriff in Massachusetts, spoke eloquently about women’s progress, but also about the ongoing challenge of women steeped in self-doubt when deciding to run for office.

She told of how the support to win is crucial in determining whether a woman runs or just stands in the shadows. Councilor Ayanna Pressley, the first woman of color Boston city councilor stood in the same room next to Sheriff Cabral. Two firsts, and hopefully not the last.

There are now only two female Boston city councilors on the 13- member body. Only 24 percent of Massachusetts state legislators are women, and the 2011 Legislature has the lowest number of women serving since 1998. Women of color make up only two percent of our state Legislature.

A number of groups supporting women to run for office stood in that room with Bunte. They started an initiative called the Women’s Pipeline for Change to break down barriers that women of color face when seeking office. They awarded five women fellowships to study women of color in politics including the first female Asian mayor in Massachusetts, Lisa Wong, a 32-year-old daughter of Chinese immigrants.

Around her stood a group of young Asian women in their 20s and 30s, observing Wong as a beacon of hope in their political future. Unlike the days of Bunte, next to them, stood three men: state Rep. Jay Kaufman and Boston City Councilors Felix Arroyo and Tito Jackson, looking on, paying tribute, overjoyed to stand in support of the women around them.

It was unbearably hot inside that room, but no one wanted to leave. The promise of women of color taking their rightful place in politics and every hall of power was palpable like every bead of hearty sweat, and everyone wanted to be a part of it.

Kelly Bates is the executive director of Access Strategies Fund and an advisor to the Women’s Pipeline for Change.

Reese Witherspoon loves to pose with her mini-me daughter Ava on Instagram.

And this Christmas was no exception as the 41-year-old Oscar winner sat next to the pretty 18-year-old for a photo.

Reese Witherspoon looked picture perfect in front of her Christmas tree with Ava in a Draper James dress.

This Santa red dress flattered her figure with it's classic fit and flare shape-- cinching her waist and showing off her toned forearms with its sheer flared sleeves.

Draper James is the line designed by Reese and known for Southern elegance with a dash of whimsical flair. It's the essence of what Reese would want to wear, since she always looks gracefully polished.

Lucky for us, click right to buy it right now or stay on the cheery cherry color for the holiday season with one of the festive alternatives in the edit below!

The star also shared a Snapchat video where she added four hearts. And she was also seen kissing her husband Jim Toth of CAA.

The star had on a red lace dress with long gold earring and deep ruby red lipstick.

Ava, whose father is actor Ryan Phillippe, was seen in a red dress with gold flowers.

Last week she brought up Wreath Witherspoon again. It's a Christmas tradition where photos of the star are placed on a Christmas wreath.

The actress took to Instagram to thank her followers with a sweet note.

'Y’all are hysterical keeping #WreathWitherspoon going,' the Oscar winner told her 11.4 million followers on Monday.

Her friend Mindy Kaling started the trend three years ago on an episode of The Mindy Project.

Witherspoon selected some of her favorite wreaths from 2017 and shared them on her official Instagram account on Tuesday.

'Which one is your favorite?!' she asked.

Mindy, who co-stars alongside Reese in 2018's A Wrinkle in Time, encouraged her followers to make their own wreaths on December 1.

Witherspoon's fashion brand Draper James also joined in on the fun.

Brand editor Elizabeth Mayhew created a beautiful wreath with delicate, handmade frames decorating the images of her boss.

Reese made a guest appearance on the final season of The Mindy Project in the episode titled Girl Gone Wild.

The wreath trend was so popular that others tried to create it for their favorite star including Keanu Reeves and Aretha Franklin.

It sadly did not become a social media sensation like it did for Witherspoon.

CHICAGO – Charles Oakley says opponents no longer fear or respect the Knicks.

“The Knicks went through a lot of stuff since they traded me,” said Oakley yesterday before he and the Bulls beat the Knicks 84-79.

“They’re an outside [shooting] team, got two great guys in Allan [Houston] and [Latrell] Sprewell, but teams don’t respect them like they used to.

Oakley, always the Knicks’ harshest critic, applauded Sprewell for his honesty about the team’s big-man woes.

Oakley, who played a role in the Knicks’ demise last spring in the first round as a Raptor, believes more than ever the Knicks blew it when they traded him for Marcus Camby before the 1999 lockout season.

Oakley said he did not demand a trade from the Raptors despite sources saying he had problems with the coddling of Vince Carter.

Appearing in a blue blur on a hedgehog's Facebook page this morning, the first teaser trailer for Sega's next Sonic game features blue blurs both old and new. Is this Sonic Generations?

Signs point to yes. After all, Sega did say they'd be celebrating come April 7, and they have recently registered the website domains SonicGenerations.com and Sonic-Generations.com.

Either way, we've got a Sonic the Hedgehog game coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sometime this year, with at least two generations of Sonic packed inside. What does it all mean? I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

YORK City Knights are confident they have unearthed another gem out of the amateur game after signing Yorkshire amateur ace Lewis Price from Castleford club Lock Lane.

Price's arrival coincides with his former Lock Lane team-mate, Chris Siddons, agreeing a two-year extension at Bootham Crescent after an impressive first season in the professional arena.

And, while head coach James Ford expect Siddons to kick on in 2018 after already proving his worth at League One level, he believes Price could provide excitement aplenty in the back line should he take to the pro game in similar fashion.

"He's got balance, pace and a good understanding of attack in terms of off-the-ball efforts," said Ford of the 21-year-old new boy.

"I'm confident that if he works hard at his game, he can probably surprise himself as much as anyone else at how good he can be.

"Obviously there are areas he will need to work on, but if his appetite for work is the same in training as I've seen on game days, we've got a very exciting player on our hands."

Price, like Siddons, was part of the Lock Lane team that shocked Oxford on their way to the Challenge Cup fifth round last year, albeit while suffering relegation from the National Conference League premier division.

His club reached the division one play-off semi-finals this year as they sought a quick return to the elite tier, but they lost to Normanton - with Price and former Knights half-back Danny Sowerby both sin-binned.

Price played largely at full-back this year and centre last year, but could well be pinpointed for a wing berth next year.

Said Ford: "He could play across the back line.

"His work ethic is good, he's athletic, he's got good footwork and he's strong.

"He works hard for his team when they're under the pump, getting them rolling with some tough runs, and he reads the game well, creating space off the ball.

"He stands out a mile whenever I've watched him play."

Front-rower Siddons, 25, an unknown quantity to many on his arrival at York last winter, went on to play in 22 of the Knights' 27 matches this year, notching three tries.

Club chiefs now expect the former England Lions tourist to go up another level, especially with a full pre-season behind him.

"He's done really well," said Ford, who also successfully plucked local favourite Joe Porter out of the amateur ranks last winter.

"Chris featured in most of the games in which he was available and in some of those games he spent an enormous amount of time on the field due to others not reaching the levels we want or picking up injuries. That shows we've got a lot of trust in him.

"He impressed everyone, playing big minutes when required and utilising a good passing game for a middle.

"He's a really popular player in the group as well - very down to earth and with a 'will do' attitude. He's willing to work hard for the group and they respect that."

He added: “Although Chris attracted interest from around League One he has always been keen to extend his stay at the Knights and continue his development.

"We'll now be expecting him to improve.

"He missed the majority of last pre-season being on tour in Fiji (with England Lions) so this will be his first year with a proper pre-season in an environment where he's being asked to improve physically.

"If he does improve in one or two areas he will be an even better player and I'm looking forward to seeing that on game day."

Asked if Siddons had surprised people at Bootham Crescent, Ford said: "I'd seen him play a number of times - we'd been keeping tabs on him - so I was not surprised.

"The supporters maybe wouldn't have known much about him so maybe he did surprise a couple. The pleasing thing is there's another level in there, and it's up to us to work hard and get it out of him."

When CNN news chief Eason Jordan made the off-handed remark last year that U.S. soldiers were deliberately targeting journalists in Iraq, killing 12 of them, pro-military bloggers went on the attack, calling the allegations ridiculous and untrue.

Two weeks later, engulfed in controversy over the credibility of his network, Jordan stepped down.

The incident underscores the increasing power of the blogosphere and also highlights the relatively new phenomenon of military blogging.

HENDERSON, Texas – An East Texas man is jailed after sheriff's deputies said he was keeping his mother's body wrapped in a tarpaulin in their front yard.

Rusk County Sheriff Jeff Price tells KYTX-TV of Tyler that Cassin's grandmother called deputies from Houston after Cassin told her that her daughter, 63-year-old Karen Cassin, had died. Deputies said the son told them that he found his mother dead in bed March 18, so he wrapped her in the tarp and placed her under a group of pine trees.

A group of freshman at Miss Porter’s School got a crash course in running a thrift shop, at the Second Chance Shop in Simsbury a few days before hosting their own charitable pop-up store.

Teachers Lisa-Brit Wahlberg and Alysa Auriemma accompanied the students to the store, which benefits the Village for Families and Children, where they learned from the volunteer staff how a thrift store works.