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http://fortune.com/2015/11/17/isis-anonymous-idiots/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160614054709id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/11/17/isis-anonymous-idiots/? | ISIS Calls Anonymous 'Idiots' As Cyber War Heats Up | 20160614054709 | ISIS, the militant group that has taken credit for tragic attacks on Paris over the weekend, has opened a new front in a cyber war with Anonymous.
In a posting to Telegram, an encrypted chatting and social service similar to Facebook FB -owned WhatsApp, an account allegedly linked to ISIS sent out a public service announcement to all ISIS members warning them of a threat from Anonymous. The message, which was posted in English, criticizes Anonymous for even trying to target the militant group.
“The #Anonymous hackers threatened in new video release that they will carry out a major hack operation on the Islamic state (idiots),” the message says, according to Business Insider, which obtained a copy of it. “What they gonna hack?”
The message comes after tragic attacks in Paris beginning late Friday night left 129 dead and hundreds more injured. Soon after the attacks, Anonymous, the hacking collective that has targeted everything from governments to illegal pornography sites over the last decade, posted a video saying that it would launch its biggest cyber attack ever on ISIS in response.
“Expect massive cyber attacks,” a person representing Anonymous said in the video while wearing the organization’s signature Guy Fawkes mask. “War is declared. Get prepared. Anonymous from all over the world will hunt you down. You should know that we will find you and we will not let you go.”
Since then, Anonymous has opened an official #OpParis Twitter account to share updates on its operation. Earlier on Tuesday, the account claimed to have taken down “more than 5,500 Twitter account [sic] of ISIS.” The account also links to a text file on Pastebin seemingly outlining Anonymous’ plans. The document includes what appears to be a target list for Anonymous members, including ISIS member Twitter accounts, Syrian Internet Service Providers, and ISIS-related e-mail and Web servers.
While #OpParis has yet to respond directly to the ISIS message, the latest battle seems to be brewing over which group is smarter. Earlier today, Anonymous posted a message to Twitter saying that is, in fact, the smarter party.
“ISIS tries to stop us, but we’re smarter,” the #OpParis account reads.
In addition to warning ISIS members of a potential Anonymous threat, the Telegram message includes several instructions for members to follow in order to avoid a potential hack. Members of the militant group have been warned to use virtual private networks, or VPNs, to anonymize themselves on the Web. They were also urged to stay away from Twitter and not talk to anyone they may not know.
ISIS has a history fighting Anonymous. After the attack on Charlie Hebdo in January, Anonymous posted a video, saying that it would attack terrorists in connection with the killings. Soon after, Anonymous successfully took down tens of thousands of Twitter accounts suspected of ISIS connections. Anonymous also took down a dating site for ISIS members.
The latest attack, Anonymous has warned, will yield an even greater response.
“We should expect Anonymous to target ISIS members online and make ISIS member information publicly available,” Ben FitzGerald, cybersecurity expert and technology director for the national security program at the Center for a New American Security, told Fortune. “Anonymous will go after online personas and ISIS websites.”
So far, Anonymous has indeed gone after those accounts, as well as websites and e-mail addresses potentially connected to the militant group. The hacking collective seems to have its sights set firmly on disrupting ISIS.
For now, ISIS seems only ready to say Anonymous is dumb for attacking its members. Anonymous, meanwhile, tweeted yesterday an ominous message for ISIS, as it prepares for an all-out war.
“We’ve set up divisions now,” the Twitter account reads. “This should be much more effective. More to come.”
For more Fortune coverage of ISIS and Anonymous, watch this video:
Sign up for Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology. | ISIS has offered instructions on how to safeguard members against attacks. | 65.5 | 0.666667 | 0.833333 | high | low | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2015/08/23/amc-fear-the-walking-dead/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160614073646id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/08/23/amc-fear-the-walking-dead/ | AMC Has High Hopes for Premiere of 'Fear the Walking Dead' | 20160614073646 | Fear the Walking Dead, which premiers on Sunday night, is set to air in over 120 countries, the Hollywood Reporter writes. By releasing the show on a global scale, AMC is testing whether or not it can be a worldwide brand.
The company has high hopes for Fear because it’s a spin-off of the highly successful The Walking Dead, one of the most talked about television shows of 2014 and the number-one show for viewers between 18 and 49 years of age. The original broke records last season bringing in 22.4 million viewers, making it the “most-watched drama in the history of cable television,” according to the New York Post. Variety reports that The Walking Dead led to a 25% increase in AMC’s advertising revenue, a key reason why the company’s earnings surpassed Wall Street expectations.
If the new show performs well, it could help AMC globally become a “flagship brand as it has become in the U.S.,” which COO Ed Carroll tells the Reporter is the company’s goal.
Set in an entirely different location with a whole new cast, AMC is hoping that Fear will be able to stand on its own. Despite (or perhaps because of) the original’s raging success, early reviews of Fear have not been particularly strong.
Fear the Walking Dead won’t win over new viewers—or bring back apostates.
Despite strong performances, particularly from Dickens and Curtis, it’s hard to care what happens to anyone.
The biggest problem this show faces: repetition. How many times will audiences want to watch characters learn that, no, zombies don’t die unless you go for the head, and, yes, one bite and you’re a goner? How many more innocents can we bear to see slaughtered as survivors become sweat-glazed, ruthless warriors willing to kill both the living and the dead?
Click here to read more of Fortune’s entertainment coverage. | AMC hopes that its new show, "Fear the Walking Dead," will help the company become a worldwide brand. | 16.434783 | 0.913043 | 2.304348 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/shia-labeouf-uncle-apologizes-loan-mess-article-1.2589764 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160614225849id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/gossip/shia-labeouf-uncle-apologizes-loan-mess-article-1.2589764 | Shia LaBeouf’s uncle apologizes for loan mess | 20160614225849 | “Transformers” star Shia LaBeouf got an apology from his uncle Tuesday about their humiliating legal battle over the $1 million his uncle owes him.
The actor had sued his uncle to force him to repay an $800,000 loan that the uncle, Barry Saide, took in 2009 to cover business expenses. The debt has grown to $1 million with interest.
On Tuesday, the star announced through publicist Melissa Kates that the family has settled the legal battle, but she refused to take any questions about whether the humble pie was enough to satisfy her client or if he’s getting cash, too.
SHIA LABEOUF ENGAGED TO LONGTIME GIRLFRIEND MIA GOTH: REPORT
In his statement, Saide said, “I want to publicly apologize to my nephew and to my sister for any false accusations and negative publicity that they received as a result of this legal matter.
“I take full responsibility for failing to meet my obligations under our agreement and want to stress that neither Shia nor (his mother) Shayna were ever at fault and I am grateful for the financial assistance they provided to me."
The deal was struck as both sides were due to appear Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court where Saide's wife had moved to quash a subpoena that her nephew's lawyers had issued for her bank records.
Sharon Saide had in sworn court papers that her nephew's lawyers had been pressuring her for years to sell the family's $2.5 million condominium on the Upper East Side to repay her husband's debt.
"They want to intimidate and pressure me into giving the apartment to them to pay Barry's judgment for which I have no liability," she said in court papers.
The actor's lawyers issued the subpoenas to determine if his uncle had stashed any of his nephew's money into the condominium by making mortgage payments. Sharon Saide insisted that she bought the apartment with its river views with money that she inherited from her grandmother.
Barry Saide has said all along that he used his nephew's money to keep his businesses afloat for a while during the recession and he had none of it left.
Rather than face a messy, public court battle with his aunt over her bank accounts, LaBeouf announced a settlement.
In his statement Tuesday, Barry Saide declared that "contrary to press reports, Shia and Shayna never took any action to evict me or my wife from our apartment. I am happy that we were able to resolve this matter."
LaBeouf told People Magazine "I am just happy that this has all been resolved and that it is finally over."
Lawyers for both sides declined to comment. | The humiliating legal battle stems from a 2009 loan to help the uncle keep his business afloat. | 28.388889 | 0.888889 | 1.444444 | medium | medium | abstractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/meet-hisham-tawfig-rising-star-blacklist-article-1.2402741 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160615004910id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/tv/meet-hisham-tawfig-rising-star-blacklist-article-1.2402741 | Meet Hisham Tawfiq, the rising star of 'The Blacklist’ | 20160615004910 | Hisham Tawfiq plays a badass on TV. In real life he’s even tougher.
The bodyguard to James Spader’s Reddington on “The Blacklist” was a Marine, a corrections officer and, most recently, a firefighter. On Oct. 24, he retires from the FDNY to fully pursue his latest incarnation: star.
“The fire department has been a joy,” Tawfiq, 45, says in a coffee shop a few blocks from Engine 69 on W. 143rd St. “I am serving my community. There are less than 5% African-American firefighters. I know how important it is to be seen driving a fire truck.”
Born and raised in Harlem, he attended the Manhattan Center for Math and Science. Tawfiq was a quarterback in high school until an injury sidelined football, but the arts always called to him.
He took African and modern dance classes and wound up traveling in Europe with a dance company. “It’s a young person’s sport,” he says.
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Then he enlisted. While in Desert Storm, Tawfiq made a list of goals: get a driver's license, take the test to become a police officer, corrections officer and firefighter and attend college.
He wanted to act, but Tawfiq needed the security of a job.
“Acting was always the passion,” he says. “But I had bills to pay. Acting was never a hobby. I was always into the arts in some form.”
The corrections department called first and Tawfiq wound up working in Sing Sing. Even after growing up in a tough neighborhood, serving in war and working 9/11 as a firefighter, 18 months as a corrections officer were when he was most scared.
“In Sing Sing, you are walking into cell blocks that are three city blocks long and four stories high,” he says. “When you are in charge and they go to breakfast or lunch or dinner and you pull that lever, all the inmates come out and you realize you were powerless.”
One of his younger brothers, then a college student, had been murdered. As a corrections officer, Tawfiq heard rumors about the killer. Some cons recognized him from Harlem and tried cozying up.
“We weren’t friends then on the block and we’re not friends now,” Tawfiq says he told them.
Hisham Tawfiq was a Marine (left) and an FDNY firefighter before joining NBC’s “The Blacklist.”
He was relieved when the fire department called, and he returned to the city.
On 9/11, Tawfiq was working a side job in security for Fashion Week. He and another firefighter ran over to a Radio Shack and watched the news for a few minutes. He admits the gravity of it all did not sink in right away.
About 30 firefighters from his station sped downtown.
“We were just looking for people,” he says very quietly. “It is hard to believe there was no one to rescue.”
A couple of days later someone mentioned that Shawn Powell, Tawfiq’s best friend and another firefigher, had not been heard from. Tawfiq’s call went to voicemail. That’s when it hit home, hard. He lost count of how many funerals he went to. A proud father to his son, 16, Tawfiq stayed close to Powell's son, happy that he is now at Morehouse.
All the while, Tawfiq kept chipping away at the acting. He studied at the Negro Ensemble Theatre Company.
His first audition was for Spike Lee's “Clockers.” Tawfiq showed up with headshots from the photo booth at Woolworth. Fun fact: The part he tried out for went to Mekhi Phifer, who also showed up with photos taken at the Woolworth in Harlem.
Tawfiq acted in plays around the country and yearns to work on Broadway. As he was learning his craft, he did smaller parts on TV shows, including a firefighter and wore his official gear.
Tawfiq figured out how to balance the schedule of a firefighter with that of a burgeoning actor. Most of the TV roles were for an episode and sometimes, if he were lucky, for a few.
When the audition for “The Blacklist” came along, Tawfiq almost blew it off. It was on a Saturday in July, but he made himself go. All he knew was the character’s name, Dembe, and was told to improvise. He was asked: “Who are your parents? Where are you from? What is your loyalty to Red?”
The sort of loyalty his character must exhibit is already in Tawfiq's DNA, after being a Marine, corrections officer and firefighter.
“I always described it as a father/son relationship,” he said. “I made it up on the spot. This panel of casting directors were acting like FBI intelligence. Could anyone ever get me to betray Red? I would never.”
Dembe was supposed to be a one-episode part. Now in his third season, James Spader says, “I can’t imagine doing this show without Hisham.”
This season Dembe plays a pivotal role, which helped “push me off the ledge about retiring” from the FDNY, Tawfiq says. “I cannot turn my back on this. You ask for this and it comes and I would be turning down a blessing if I didn’t do it.” | Hisham Tawfiq plays a badass on TV. In real life, this FDNY hero is even tougher. | 56.526316 | 0.947368 | 7.052632 | high | high | mixed |
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160311-the-female-superhero-is-finally-here | http://web.archive.org/web/20160615033608id_/http://www.bbc.com:80/culture/story/20160311-the-female-superhero-is-finally-here? | The female superhero is finally here | 20160615033608 | In the first episode of Netflix’s Marvel Comics-based series Jessica Jones, the title character tells her equally superhuman sex partner, Luke Cage: “I don’t flirt. I just say what I want.” A few explicit scenes later, it’s quite clear that Jessica, played by Krysten Ritter, is a very different superheroine than the 1970s’ Wonder Woman or Bionic Woman. Jessica doesn’t get tarted up in lingerie or a suspiciously sexy superhero costume, waste time pining for Luke or shy away from using the word “rape” to describe what a mind-controlling villain did when he used his power to coerce her into sex.
Halle Berry’s Catwoman and Jennifer Garner’s Elektra suffered from muddled scripts that demanded sexed-up portrayals
Jessica Jones is just one example of a new kind of superheroine taking over TV and movies: a kind of believable super-powered woman – at least in terms of character and emotion – who inspires female fans rather than titillates young males. When male superheroes took over the box office in the 2000s, women got only a few weak attempts at their own franchises: Halle Berry as Catwoman and Jennifer Garner as Elektra, capable actresses both, suffered from muddled scripts that demanded sexed-up portrayals. But Hollywood has spent the last few years tiptoeing toward a different type of superheroine. In 2012, The Dark Knight Rises introduced Anne Hathaway as a more capable and clothed Catwoman – not desexed, but she had more to do more than provide eye candy. The same year, The Avengers brought us a more empowered Black Widow played by Scarlett Johansson. And now studios seem to finally be figuring out how to create compelling superheroines.
The newest iteration of Wonder Woman, played by former Israeli soldier Gal Gadot, has stolen the early buzz from the title characters of the upcoming movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – no surprise given the sheer number of Batmen and Supermen we’ve endured over the past two decades. (Wonder Woman will also, at last, get her own film next year.) Beyond Jessica Jones, TV has brought us Marvel’s post-World War Two spy programme Agent Carter, as well as a Supergirl who’s a self-declared feminist. The animated series Burka Avenger is also a hit for Nickelodeon Pakistan, with its own tie-in iPhone game and soundtrack album. It won the prestigious Peabody Award in 2013.
Looking ahead, in 2018, Marvel Studios will release its first movie with a female character in the title, Ant-Man and the Wasp. (The Wasp is played by Lost’s Evangeline Lilly.) Captain Marvel will get her own movie – and, yes, for those who aren’t comic book experts, the actual “captain” of the franchise is a woman. Some say she’s the toughest of all the Marvel women – and possibly the most powerful Marvel superhero character of all – as one might expect from her name. And Ghostbusters is leading a spate of gender-reversed remakes that have women feeling like we’re finally getting the fantastical onscreen role models we deserve.
The recent deluge of female superheroes may have occurred rapidly – in 2013 BBC Culture asked “Why won’t cinema embrace female superheroes?” – but it took decades to get to this point. The 2014 Sony email hack revealed a telling message from Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter to Sony Pictures chairman Michael Lynton listing “female movies” that had bombed as justification for avoiding depictions of superheroines. Elektra, he said, was a “very bad idea and the end result was very, very bad.” He called Catwoman and 1984’s Supergirl “disasters”. Marvel President Kevin Feige, however, insisted to Comic Book Resources in the same year that he wanted to pursue female-lead movies: “I very much believe that it's unfair to say, ‘People don't want to see movies with female heroes,’ then list five movies that were not very good… people didn't go to the movies because they weren't good movies, [not because] they were female leads. And they don't mention Hunger Games, Frozen, Divergent.”
Jessica Jones fights evil fully clothed in practical garments: jeans, leather jackets, T-shirts, boots
The new breed of superheroine, represented by Jessica Jones and Wonder Woman, has stopped pandering to the male gaze.Make no mistake: the women playing these characters are still freakishly beautiful. But Jessica Jones, at least so far, fights evil fully clothed in practical garments: jeans, leather jackets, T-shirts, boots. Gadot’s Wonder Woman still wears a bodysuit, but she looks more like Beyoncé in full power position at the Super Bowl than a Victoria’s Secret model posing in the boudoir. The female Ghostbusters, of course, fully embrace the janitorial jumpsuits of their male predecessors. And Supergirl actually has its heroine fret on screen over the feminist implications of her costume.
More than a pretty face
The new breed of superheroine TV shows and movies has cast actresses with large female followings. Ritter played sardonic characters on Veronica Mars and Breaking Bad. Lilly gave us a criminal mastermind to root for on Lost. The Ghostbusters – Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Kristin Wiig – are four of the biggest standouts in US comedy over the last five years, unleashed on the world via the twin powers of Bridesmaids and Saturday Night Live. Any of these names will illicit gasps of, “Oh my God, I love her!” from many women; they don’t seem like they were cast solely by men, for men.
Women are finally working behind the scenes to create these superheroines
That’s because they weren’t: women are finally working behind the scenes to create these superheroines. Jessica Jones’ creator is former Dexter writer Melissa Rosenberg. Ghostbusters was co-written by The Heat’s Katie Dippold, and resulted from a concentrated effort to hire women for the production team. Supergirl was co-created by Chuck and Family Guy writer Allison Adler. Catwoman and Elektra were written by teams of men.
Having women involved in all the phases of creating heroine makes a big difference, but the writing is particularly important:finally, we’re getting superheroines with the kinds of flaws common in the last decade’s male superheroes – and anti-heroes. Catwoman and Elektra didn’t seem like real women because they didn’t have complicated, human personalities to go with their sexed-up superpowers. (Catwoman is too meek; Elektra is too angry.) Jessica Jones, on the other hand, is an alcoholic commitment-phobe. Early glimpses at Ghostbusters seem to show its stars being just as quirky, funny, and strange as their male forbears.
And while little is known about the new Wonder Woman’s backstory or character, the brightest spot in the trailer features Gadot, who tells Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne, “I don’t think you’ve ever known a woman like me.” Here’s hoping that’s true of her, and many superheroines to come.
If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. | We have come a long way from the skin-baring excess of Halle Berry’s Catwoman. Jessica Jones and Wonder Woman represent a bold new superheroine, writes Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. | 40.970588 | 0.705882 | 1.588235 | high | low | mixed |
http://www.tmz.com/2015/12/11/floyd-mayweather-fur-coat-europe/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160615043455id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2015/12/11/floyd-mayweather-fur-coat-europe/ | Floyd Mayweather Jr. Is Warming Up to Retirement ... with $440k Shopping Spree | 20160615043455 | Floyd Mayweather Jr. is basically wearing your mortgage on his back while he roams around Europe, settling into life as a retiree.
We found out Floyd picked up this little number in Milan on Friday during a 400,000 euros shopping spree, because he obviously thinks it looks good ... but mostly because he can. We're told the coat ran him about 10,000 euro.
Floyd's easing into retirement like a college grad -- tramping around the Continent -- except if he stops at a youth hostel ... he's probably buying it.
Before Italy ... he hit up Russia, Turkey, and France. Thursday he was strolling around Monaco like a sharp-dressed man without a care in the world ... and several hundred million in the bank. | Floyd Mayweather Jr. is basically wearing your mortgage on his back while he roams around Europe, settling into life as a retiree. We found out… | 4.733333 | 0.9 | 15.3 | low | medium | extractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/14/business/tax-cheat-sentenced-to-6-years-for-defying-irs.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160616022815id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2005/04/14/business/tax-cheat-sentenced-to-6-years-for-defying-irs.html? | Tax Cheat Sentenced to 6 Years for Defying I.R.S. | 20160616022815 | He said that he was prosecuted "for a pretend crime" before "a judge with a fraudulent commission" who engaged in "outright lying" to "satisfy a false god, in this case the state" because Mr. Thompson stayed true to his Christian religion.
Similar claims have been made by tax protesters in courtrooms across the country.
Judge Shubb said that he had gone to what he called "extraordinary lengths" to show Mr. Thompson the law, even taking from his wall his commission, signed by President George H.W. Bush, "yet Mr. Thompson still refers to my commission as unverified."
The record shows that "no matter what Mr. Thompson is shown he will claim he has not been shown."
The judge predicted that as soon as Mr. Thompson was released from prison, he would resume breaking the tax laws. If the only issue in sentencing were rehabilitation, the judge said, "then the proper sentence would be zero" because "no amount of evidence could induce him to comply with the law."
In encouraging others to evade taxes, Judge Shubb said, and teaching them how to do so, Mr. Thompson "engaged in conduct which is most egregious."
The judge read from a letter from a follower of Mr. Thompson, Cindy Neun of Las Vegas, who in asking for leniency described how Mr. Thompson had taught tens of thousands of others how to stop paying taxes.
The judge focused on an issue never presented to the jury -- that Mr. Thompson continues to sell material on his Web site, urging people to stop paying taxes.
The video includes remarks by Mr. Thompson's accountant, Joseph Banister, a former Internal Revenue Service agent who advises that most Americans are not required to pay taxes.
The I.R.S. has obtained a court order barring Mr. Banister from representing clients in I.R.S. proceedings, but Mr. Banister continues to advise people on how to stop paying taxes.
Mr. Banister is scheduled to go on trial here in June, charged only for his dealings with Mr. Thompson.
In addition to businesses, Mr. Banister has many followers, including Matthew J. Allen, a sheriff's deputy in Marin County, Calif., who was indicted on state tax fraud charges in January. Mr. Allen said at the time that he decided he did not have to pay taxes based on Mr. Banister's teaching and that he would resist "bullying and intimidation" by the authorities.
J.J. MacNab, a Maryland insurance analyst who is writing a book about tax protesters and who attended the Thompson trial, said the narrow charge against Mr. Banister was not commensurate with the scope of his conduct and his central role in several movements to undermine the tax laws. Ms. MacNab said the indictment reflected a Justice Department policy "to only bring slam dunk cases."
"Banister should be a national case," Ms. MacNab said, "because he successfully peddled detax schemes across the nation through seminars, his Web sites and his involvement with Bob Schulz's We the People," a foundation that also claims that the tax laws are a hoax. The foundation raises money through tax-deductible gifts to a charitable arm to promote claims that most Americans are not required to pay taxes.
She noted that two other former I.R.S. employees who promote not paying taxes, Sherry Jackson and John Turner, had also not been indicted.
In interviews over the last year, more than a dozen I.R.S. agents and others in tax law enforcement have complained that the Justice Department had not indicted several promoters of tax evasion and had only narrowly charged others. The I.R.S. says it is aware of some of the complaints.
Rod J. Rosenstein, deputy chief of the Justice Department tax division, said that "in white-collar prosecutions we do not attempt to introduce every" criminal act, just enough to convict.
"It is unfair to suggest we are not being aggressive in these cases," he added.
Nancy J. Jardini, chief of I.R.S. criminal investigations, said that "investigations could drag on for years and years if we seek to establish every single element of conduct, so generally speaking we try to file the best, most solid case we can to establish proof beyond a reasonable doubt without unnecessarily or unduly wasting taxpayer dollars."
The judge's critique comes as the Justice Department has announced several indictments, guilty pleas and sentencings in tax cases, many of them so narrowly drawn that the accused face only minimal jail time.
The government convicted 955 people of tax crimes in 2003, down from 1,387 in 1999, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Two-thirds of those convicted in 2003 were sentenced to prison, with half serving a year or less. | Al Thompson, owner of Cencal Aviation Products who stopped withholding taxes from paychecks of his workers in 2000 and showed thousands of others how to do same, is snetenced to six years in prison; Federal Judge William B Shubb calls Thompson incorrigible and says six-year sentence assures that Thompson does not profit from his crimes; Thompson is accused of cheating government out of $259,000; photo (M) | 11.960526 | 0.552632 | 0.921053 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.people.com/article/joe-biden-father-year-award | http://web.archive.org/web/20160616145115id_/http://www.people.com/article/joe-biden-father-year-award | Joe Biden Wins Father of the Year Award, Shares 5 Rules of Fatherhood : People.com | 20160616145115 | Joe Biden with grandson Hunter (left) and granddaughter Natalie (right) in 2008.
06/14/2016 AT 04:10 PM EDT
is most proud of is not Vice President – it's Dad.
at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City on Tuesday, Biden advised the gathered audience that he is "a success because my kids all turned out better than me."
The Vice President – who was honored alongside Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath, Hudson's Bay Company CEO Jerry Storch and Christopher Irving at the National Father's Day Council event – shared anecdotes about his children, including late son
, and daughter Ashley, who introduced him.
In addition, Biden imparted his own wisdom, and words of advice from his parents about how to be a dedicated and loving father. Here are the 73-year-old's best tips on parenting – just in time for Father's Day.
Biden said that even in the hardest of times, his father, Joseph R. Biden Sr., put his children first.
"I cannot remember a single time in my entire life – and I mean this without fear of contradiction – I can't think of a single time he put his personal interest or his personal comfort before that of his children," Biden shared of his father. "Never once."
Even when the family fell on hard times, Biden said his dad adhered by the expression: "Never explain and never complain."
"When he needed a new suit but we needed shoes or a blazer for that first Holy Communion, or my sister needed a dress for the prom, it was always her's first. Always us first."
Rationalization is the enemy of happy families, according to Biden.
"We all tend to rationalize," Biden explained. "Never underestimate the ability of the human mind to rationalize. Particularly as a parent or as a husband or wife."
But Biden said people must resist that tendency, because every moment – every baseball game, every birthday party – is important.
"There's no such thing as quality time," Biden charged, explaining, "Every important thing – if you think about it – every important interaction from your child, occurred, because you're there."
Biden said his father followed a simple proposition: "Half of life is just being there."
"Just showing up for your children," Biden said, will eventually become a necessity for more than just the children – but also the parent.
Biden said that he understands the difficulty of obtaining a work-life balance, but believes that the secret to overall happiness and success is doing just that.
"I kind of found that the people I found most successful were also happy," Biden said, adding, "Those that figured out that sweet spot: how to make sure you're able to fit in family."
Go home, he charged, because, "a child can't hold that thought for more than 12 hours. And when you miss it, you miss it – it's gone. And it matters that it's gone."
Biden's mother, Jean Biden, also delivered some words to live by: "Children tend to become that which you expect of them, but you can't expect much if you're not there." It's as simple as that, Biden said. | Joe Biden shared what he learned about parenting from his mother and father – and his own kids – during the Father of the Year Awards in New York City on Tuesday | 20.84375 | 0.84375 | 2.09375 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/dec/17/ato-report-shows-nearly-600-big-companies-paid-no-tax-in-2013-14 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160617025759id_/http://www.theguardian.com:80/australia-news/2015/dec/17/ato-report-shows-nearly-600-big-companies-paid-no-tax-in-2013-14 | ATO report shows nearly 600 big companies paid no tax in 2013-14 | 20160617025759 | More than one-third of the largest public companies and multinational entities paid no tax in Australia in the most recent financial year on record, according to the first transparency report published by the Australian Taxation Office.
Related: Tax transparency: search the full list of 1,539 companies
Qantas Airways was the company with the highest total income that paid no tax, followed by a subsidiary of mining group Glencore (GHP 104 160 689 Pty Ltd), ExxonMobil Australia and Lend Lease. These companies reported a taxable income of zero, despite having incomes in billions of dollars during 2013-14.
The ATO data release covers Australian public companies and foreign entities, public and private, with total annual incomes of $100m or more. This was the category of businesses the Coalition did not seek to shield in the recent political dispute over tax transparency for Australian private companies.
Of the 1,539 individual entities listed in the ATO report, 579 (or 37.6%) paid no tax, and 920 (62.4%) paid some tax in 2013-14.
The ATO then broke down these entities into 1,331 “economic groups” to reflect the fact some were part of one corporate group. Under this analysis, 26% of the economic groups did not pay tax that year.
The energy and resources sector had the highest proportion of public companies that did not pay any tax, with 60% of them in the nil-tax category. Tax officials have previously said big resource projects often incurred large expenditure upfront, and taxes were generally not paid until well into the production phase.
Guardian Australia is not suggesting the companies that paid no tax or low amounts of tax in 2013-14 have done anything illegal, because various types of deductions and carry-forward tax losses are allowed to be claimed.
The report shows 346 (22%) of the companies incurred a loss in 2013-14, and 120 (8%) made use of prior losses.
Qantas said in a statement: “Qantas reported a record loss of $2.8 billion in 2013-14, so, as the report states, we had no taxable income and therefore did not pay company tax.”
Glencore said it had inherited significant tax losses when it acquired Xstrata in 2013, including from Jubilee mining operations in Western Australia that subsequently proved to be uneconomical. It said the combined data for the various Glencore Australian subsidiaries showed total income of $24bn, but a total taxable income of just $315m, which resulted in the payment of about $88m in tax.
Related: Tax office did not go to police over fears wealthy would be kidnapped – inquiry
Lend Lease said its tax deductions exceeded its assessable income for the year, partly because it had carried forward capital losses that could be offset against capital gains. The company added that it had a cooperative relationship with the ATO, which reviewed its tax return and did not make any adjustments.
The Labor party said the data raised “significant concerns” and called on the government to crack down on tax loopholes.
“We can see that of the 1,300 or so economic groups that are covered by these tax transparency data, around one in four paid no tax,” the shadow assistant treasurer, Andrew Leigh, said.
“In certain sectors, it’s bigger than that. If you look at foreign-owned companies, operating in the banking and finance sector, nearly half paid no tax in the year for which they’re reporting.”
The assistant treasurer, Kelly O’Dwyer, said the Coalition had taken action to ensure the ATO had the powers it needed, and it was up to individual companies to explain why they had not paid tax in any particular year.
“There are some reasons why it would be that some companies are not paying tax at all, particularly in circumstances where there might be losses,” she said. “Just because they don’t pay tax doesn’t mean that they are avoiding tax.”
O’Dwyer pointed to the passage of multinational tax avoidance legislation in the final parliamentary sitting fortnight of the year, which gave the ATO greater powers to clamp down on contrived structures.
“All of these companies are paying their fair share of tax and all of these companies are subject to our Australian taxation laws and our strengthened Australian taxation laws,” she said.
“I want to stress that over half of these companies have been audited by the Australian Taxation Office within the last three years.”
The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, said the figures were “remarkable” and urged the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, to focuson large companies instead of cutting health funding.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions said the figures showed the country had “a revenue problem, driven by corporate tax avoidance”.
“The question for Malcolm Turnbull is whether he is too afraid to go after his friends in the big end of town,” the council’s president, Ged Kearney, said.
The Business Council of Australia urged people to interpret the data carefully.
The group’s chief executive, Jennifer Westacott, said companies did not pay income tax on total income or revenue, but on their profits after paying all expenses including wages, capital replacement, supplier costs, fleet costs and other operating expenses.
“Profit margins will also vary by industry reflecting different capital intensities,” she said. “Many small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, do not make a profit in a given year, and even large businesses go through cycles where profits from large investments take time to be realised.”
The report lists the total income, taxable income and tax payable for each entity. It does not contain information about Australian private companies, but some of those details are due to be published next year.
The Coalition initially won Senate support to scrap an element of previous Labor legislation requiring the publication of details of all private companies with annual incomes of $100m or more, but then in a deal with the Greens it reinstated the requirement for private companies turning over $200m or more.
The leader of the Greens, Richard Di Natale, said the release of the data should trigger a long-overdue public discussion. He said big corporations “might be able to afford the best tax lawyers to help them stay ahead of the parliament but they won’t be able to escape the court of public opinion”.
Related: Cutting mining and aviation tax breaks could save $5.2bn a year from budget
The tax transparency measures are separate from the dispute over a list of companies that enjoy a historical exemption from filing reports to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Thursday’s report also details the amounts paid under the petroleum resource rent tax and the minerals resource rent tax. The petroleum tax brought in $1.8bn from 12 companies in 2013-14, with the highest amount coming from a BHP company, BHP Billiton Petroleum (Bass Strait) Pty Ltd.
The minerals tax, known more commonly as the former Labor government’s mining tax, brought in just $287m from seven companies in 2013-14, with BHP Billiton again topping the list by amount paid. The government of the former prime minister Tony Abbott had campaigned against the tax, saying it had fallen well short of initial revenue forecasts, and repealed it in late 2014. | Opposition leader Bill Shorten says figures are remarkable and urges Malcolm Turnbull to focus on large companies instead of cutting health funding | 64.818182 | 0.818182 | 2.909091 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.9news.com.au/world/2016/06/17/00/24/british-mp-critical-after-shooting | http://web.archive.org/web/20160617143954id_/http://www.9news.com.au/world/2016/06/17/00/24/british-mp-critical-after-shooting | Vigils held as UK reels from MP's murder | 20160617143954 | Vigils have been held to remember British Labour MP Jo Cox who died after being shot and stabbed in the street outside her constituency advice surgery.
The 41-year-old mother of two daughters aged three and five was attacked by a man reportedly shouting "Britain first" at lunchtime on Thursday in Birstall, West Yorkshire.
Eyewitnesses say he kicked and stabbed her and then shot her several times, the final shot aimed at her head.
The alleged gunman has been named locally as Tommy Mair, 52, who neighbours in Birstall have described as "a loner". He was arrested near the scene soon after the attack.
The MP's husband Brendan Cox has vowed to work against the hate that killed his wife
He said: "Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love.
"I and Jo's friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo.
"Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people.
"She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now: one, that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her.
"Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous.
"Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the country would be "in shock at the horrific murder" of the MP, who was a "much-loved colleague".
The killing shocked Westminster and led to the suspension of campaigning in the EU referendum.
Corbyn and a number of other MPs attended an impromptu vigil in Parliament Square and flowers were laid nearby in tribute.
In Jo Cox's home town, hundreds of people, including her Labour colleagues, packed into the parish church to hear the Bishop of Huddersfield pay tribute to someone who "gave her life for this community".
Downing Street said flags across Whitehall will fly at half mast while flags at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh will also be lowered in tribute.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the Queen had written privately to Brendan Cox.
Witness Clarke Rothwell, who runs a cafe near the murder scene, described the attack: "He was shouting 'put Britain first'. He shouted it about two or three times. He said it before he shot her and after he shot her."
He said the gunman fired three shots, the final one at her head.
Britain First is the name of a far-right group which said it was "not involved and would never encourage behaviour of this sort".
Another witness, Hichem Ben Abdallah, 56, said the attacker was "kicking her as she was lying on the floor".
He said that after a bystander intervened, the man produced a gun, stepped back and shot Jo Cox.
Abdallah, who was in the cafe next door to the library, said: "There was a guy who was being very brave and another guy with a white baseball cap who he was trying to control and the man in the baseball cap suddenly pulled a gun from his bag.
"He was fighting with her and wrestling with her and then the gun went off twice."
He added: "I came and saw her bleeding on the floor."
Abdallah said the weapon looked handmade and that the man who had been wrestling with the assailant continued to do so even after he saw the gun.
He said: "The man stepped back with the gun and fired it and then he fired a second shot. As he was firing he was looking down at the ground.
"He was kicking her and he was pulling her by her hair."
Mair's house was sealed off by police.
Neighbours said he had lived there for more than 30 years - on his own for the last two decades since the death of his grandmother.
Jo Cox, a Remain supporter, was elected to the seat of Batley and Spen at the general election last year. | British Labour MP Jo Cox is fighting for life after being shot in a street attack near Leeds. | 44.894737 | 0.947368 | 2.526316 | high | high | mixed |
http://time.com/3100613/pot-harms-teenage-brain/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160617195142id_/http://time.com:80/3100613/pot-harms-teenage-brain/ | Pot Harms The Teenage Brain | 20160617195142 | The number of teenagers who smoke marijuana is on the upswing, and those who do smoke pot may face a decline in brain functioning, psychologists told attendees at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention last week.
“It needs to be emphasized that regular cannabis use, which we consider once a week, is not safe and may result in addiction and neurocognitive damage, especially in youth,” said Krista Lisdahl, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, in a press release.
Lisdhal’s presentation acknowledged that experts don’t agree on whether pot harms adults, but, she said, all evidence suggests that frequent marijuana consumption harms young people, whose brain development may be altered by the substance. Addiction, car accidents, chronic bronchitis, and decreased life achievement are the most likely among the potential consequences of teenage marijuana consumption, according to a presentation by Alan Budney, a professor at Dartmouth College.
The conclusions come in light of recent data that suggests more and more teenagers are using the drug. A recent study found that 6.5 percent of high school seniors smoke the drug on a daily basis, compared with 2.4 percent in 1993, according to Lisdhal’s presentation. Lisdhal, who is also the director of a brain imaging and neuropsychology lab, said nearly a third of young people reported smoking at least once over a month-long period.
The conference presentations drew their conclusions from surveys of other findings in the field. And, while Lisdhal said there’s “controversy in the adult literature,” the presentations suggested that there’s pretty clear evidence that marijuana consumption harms young people. | Experts say teenage use is on the rise | 38.75 | 0.75 | 1.5 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/maria-dominguez-topless-mermaids-wild-photo-lawsuit-diddy-vibe-tossed-article-1.321048 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160618050141id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/gossip/maria-dominguez-topless-mermaids-wild-photo-lawsuit-diddy-vibe-tossed-article-1.321048 | Topless photo lawsuit against Diddy gets tossed | 20160618050141 | First, she lost her top. Now, she's lost her court case.
A hedge-fund hottie who sued Vibe and Diddy after the mag published a topless picture of her at the music mogul's Hamptons blowout has had her case tossed out.
Maria Dominguez, a money manager for a hedge fund, filed the $3 million invasion-of-privacy suit when a shot of her with two other bare-breasted sirens ran in the November 2006 issue of Vibe next to the caption, "Mermaids gone wild."
"When that picture came out, she wasn't too happy about it, that's for sure," said her lawyer, Albert Maimon. He would not identify the hedge fund for which Dominguez works.
Justice Doris Ling-Cohan threw out the suit, saying Dominguez couldn't expect privacy once she doffed her top at Sean (Diddy) Combs' star-studded 2003 East Hampton White Party.
"Sean Combs and his renowned annual White Party are subjects of tremendous public interest, attracting the steady attention of the public and many news organizations," Ling-Cohan wrote.
The picture of Dominguez, 28, romping in a pool with the other lovelies in sexy mermaid suits, appeared on a page that featured photographs of Howard Stern, Moby and Heavy D - all mercifully clothed.
The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, said Dominguez was never told she was being photographed and that she never gave permission for the sizzling snapshot to be published.
"The judge's fear of a decision to the contrary would have opened up Pandora's Box, being that Manhattan is the media capital of the world," Maimon said.
Vibe argued it didn't need permission at a "newsworthy" event, and Ling-Cohan agreed.
"If you need to call Mr. Gorbachev to ask permission, you'll never get anything published," said David Korzenik, a lawyer for the magazine.
Dominguez also charged that the picture, which ran with an interview of Combs, was "disguised advertising" for the hip-hop heavyweight and Bad Boy Entertainment.
"When you come to a party and you dress provocatively and you see a swarm of photographers there, you would know what you're getting yourself into," said Jonathan Davis, a lawyer for Combs. | A hedge-fund hottie who sued Vibe and Diddy after the mag published a topless picture of her at the music mogul's Hamptons blowout has had her case tossed out. | 13.69697 | 1 | 33 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.people.com/article/barry-goldwater-donald-trump-fundraiser | http://web.archive.org/web/20160618140123id_/http://www.people.com/article/barry-goldwater-donald-trump-fundraiser | Barry Goldwater's Widow Says He'd Be Appalled by Donald Trump Fundraiser : People.com | 20160618140123 | can't count on the support of even long-deceased Republicans.
The billionaire businessman recently announced plans to fundraise at the former home of Barry Goldwater, the conservative icon who shook up the GOP when he ran for president in 1964.
Trump's contentious presidential campaign has drawn comparisons to that of the late Arizona senator. But Goldwater's widow, Susan Goldwater Levine, told
on Thursday that the comparisons – and Trump's fundraiser – are anything but welcome.
"Ugh or yuck is my response," Levine said. "I think Barry would be appalled that his home was being used for that purpose. Barry would be appalled by Mr. Trump's behavior – the unintelligent and unfiltered and crude communications style. And he's shallow – so, so shallow."
She added that her husband was a "humanist" who had respect for all people and said of Trump's candidacy, "I can't believe we are doing this as a country. Barry was so true to his convictions and would never be issuing these shallow, crude, accusatory criticisms of the other party or the other person."
Levine's comments come as dozens of GOP convention delegates are launching a new effort to stop Trump from officially becoming the Republican nominee.
calls the plan "the most organized" one yet and reports that the delegates are "angered by Trump's recent comments on gun control, his racial attacks on a federal judge and his sinking poll numbers."
The new campaign is being run by the only people who are actually able to change party rules, and they believe they will gain enough support from other Republicans that delegates will be allowed to vote for whomever they want at the convention. Many in the movement supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the primary, but they say they have no specific candidate in mind now.
"This literally is an 'Anybody but Trump' movement," Kendal Unruh, a Republican delegate from Colorado who is leading the campaign told
. "Nobody has any idea who is going to step in and be the nominee, but we're not worried about that. We're just doing that job to make sure that he's not the face of our party."
More and more GOP figures – and even big businesses that are now refusing to sponsor this summer's Republican National Convention – are distancing themselves from Trump, or outright denouncing him.
Former presidential hopeful John Kasich said the idea of endorsing Trump is "painful" to him. "At this point, I just can't do it,"
. "But we'll see where it ends up ⦠I'm not making any final decisions yet."
The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee, Fred Upton, said that Trump has "gone off the track" and that he has no plans to endorse the mogul "or anyone in this race." "I'm going to stay in my lane," the Michigan congressman said during a radio interview, according to
Richard Armitage, George W. Bush's former Deputy Secretary of State, said he plans to vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. "[Trump] does not appear to be a Republican, he doesn't appear to want to learn about issues," Armitage toldÂ
. "So, I'm going to vote for Mrs. Clinton."
, several more companies announced this week that they will not participate in the Republican convention in Cleveland. Wells Fargo, UPS, Motorola, JPMorgan Chase, Ford, and Walgreens Boots Alliance have joined Coca-Cola, Microsoft and other companies in declining to contribute to the convention. | "Ugh or yuck is my response," Barry Goldwater's widow said of Donald Trump | 41.529412 | 0.941176 | 5.529412 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160613-its-still-affecting-us-today | http://web.archive.org/web/20160618142118id_/http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160613-its-still-affecting-us-today | ‘It’s still affecting us today’ | 20160618142118 | Ten years ago, Cathy Tooley and her husband, Chuck, were refinancing their house because interest rates had dropped.
“We have always had great credit, and were not at all concerned about the refinance,” said Cathy, now 53, who lives in Indiana in the US.
But when the bank ran a second credit check just before closing on the new loan, the Tooleys learned their application would be denied because numerous credit issues had appeared since they’d first applied, just six weeks prior.
The couple discovered their credit card details had been stolen at a petrol (gas) station, and someone had assumed Chuck’s identity. “[The person] had filed federal taxes, bought two cars, opened several charge cards and was working for a bank in Georgia under my husband’s name,” Cathy said. “My husband and I spent hours and hours on the phone with creditors to establish what was not ours. It took years to clear all of it.”
It's still affecting us today.
The Tooleys are just one case in an identity theft problem that is growing globally. About one in 14 people in the US were victims of identity theft in 2014, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In the UK, identity fraud cases in the first quarter of 2015 were up 27% from the same quarter in 2014, according to fraud prevention agency Cifas. And once your identity is stolen, it can take months — or even years — to straighten out the mess.
“It’s still affecting us today,” Cathy Tooley said. “We watch our credit with a microscope. We also put a security block on our credit.” It’s an inconvenience, but prevents the anguish the couple went through from happening again, she said.
Here’s what it’s like to fight back as a victim of identity fraud:
What it’s going to take: You’ll need a lot of patience, persistence and a notebook where you record every step in the process. “Any time you speak with someone about this, write down the date, time of call, name of the person or the representative ID number, the number you called and a brief summary so you have it in your records,” said Carrie Kerskie, a privacy and identity theft consultant and professional speaker in the US.
If a company later claims that you never contacted them, you can pinpoint the day and time you called. Often, they've recorded the phone calls. “That’s your proof,,” Kerskie said.
How long to prepare: Since you don’t know if or when your identity will be stolen, consider taking preventative steps to avoid it happening the first place. Use strong passwords for important accounts, and don’t click on email attachments that look even vaguely suspicious. Use a shredder to destroy old financial documents, and put sensitive files contractors and household employees can’t easily access them. Check stopthinkconnect.org for other tips.
Set up two-factor authentication with your financial institutions, which means there’s an extra step required — beyond verifying your personal information — to make changes to your accounts.
“This helps ensure that a criminal needs more than your password to hack into your system,” said Eric Cernak, cyber practice lead for HSB, a US technology and property insurer. “If they attempt to access your account, you will likely be notified.”
Do it now: Find out what information was compromised. Was it just a credit card number? You may be able to call your credit card company, report fraudulent activity, get a new card issued, and go on with your life. Was it your name, phone number and address along with an important government tax identifier like a Social Security Number or National Insurance Number? You have much bigger problems. What was stolen will inform how wide-reaching your clean-up operation will be.
What was stolen will inform how wide-reaching your clean-up operation will be.
Check your credit reports. In the US, you’re entitled to a free copy of your credit report from all three reporting agencies every year — go to annualcreditreport.com to get yours. In the UK, the three credit agencies are required to give you a copy of your credit report annually for £2 ($3), so take advantage.
Check the reports carefully for errors like incorrect names and addresses, accounts and especially new credit inquiries that aren't yours. Dispute incorrect information and request that agencies block anything you suspect to be fraudulent from appearing on your file.
Call the police. In some cases, an organisation may require a police report before you can challenge fraud on your account. In others, the authorities may give you the run-around. It may help to tell them that you want to file a report but you don’t want them to investigate anything.
“People do tend to call the police,” said Bennett Arron, a UK comedian and identity theft victim who made a documentary on the subject and wrote a book called Heard the One About Identity Theft? “In truth, you might as well write to Father Christmas. Identity theft is still seen as a victimless crime, as nothing tangible has been taken.”
Call businesses directly. Get in touch with any businesses with whom the identity thief has opened accounts or otherwise pretended to be you. Find out what you need to do to disassociate yourself from any pending charges or problems and follow up on all calls with written correspondence. Send letters by certified mail with return receipt for your records.
Contact your local agencies. In the US, you can file an Identity Theft Report with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC offers both a booklet and online resources that should help. You may need both the FTC’s Identity Theft Affidavit and a police report to make a case. In the UK, ActionFraud, the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, can point you in the right direction.
It’s the absolute best way to prevent account fraud.
Local agencies, such as the FTC, are a font of information when it comes to disputing different kinds of identity theft, whether it's fraudulent debt, bankruptcy, a utility account in your name, or if someone has used your federal ID number to get a job. You can find sample letters to help in your dispute, so don’t ignore them as a resource.
Do it later: Consider a credit freeze. You can place a fraud alert on your credit report if your identity is stolen, but a thief can still skirt the verification requirements and open new credit anyway. A credit freeze, on the other hand, prevents new creditors from even seeing the credit report, so they can’t issue new accounts. Generally, there’s a small charge to freeze your credit, and you’ll be assigned a pin number that you must use to unfreeze things.
“I only recommend it if you’re not going to be applying for any new loan or line of credit in the next one to two years,” Kerskie said. “Because the credit agencies may charge a fee every time they have to lift the freeze. But it’s the absolute best way to prevent account fraud.”
Credit agencies in the UK don’t offer a freeze in the way that US agencies do, but UK consumers can put a security note on their credit files with each agency, requiring lenders to verify new accounts with you before granting credit.
Stay vigilant. Keep a close eye on your bank accounts and watch for bills in the mail for services you never received. Also watch for any strange interactions with companies, such as an insurer rejecting your claim because you’ve reached a benefits limit for the year, or your governmental tax body telling you that they’ve already received your tax return.
Once your data is breached in one place, there are a variety of ways identity thieves can use that information in the future. “Social Security Numbers are permanent credentials, so even if new accounts are not opened immediately, they could be opened at a much later date,” said Paige Hanson, chief of identity education at identity theft prevention company LifeLock.
Consider hiring a professional. If you are ensnared in serious identity theft and you’re having real problems getting it cleared up, you may want to hire help. Identity theft experts know the local laws, they know what you’re entitled to as a consumer, and they can speed things up dramatically if you’ve gotten stuck.
Do it smarter: Don’t assume you’re immune. “The biggest mistake people make is to assume identity theft will never happen to them,” Hanson said. “Unfortunately, it’s a crime that can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. With technology constantly evolving and services being more convenient than before, people are increasingly more at risk.” | Unravelling the tangled web of identity theft is a nightmare. But you can take control and recover. Here’s how. | 75.565217 | 0.73913 | 1.26087 | high | low | abstractive |
http://nypost.com/2016/04/13/why-you-should-be-drinking-full-fat-milk/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160618151611id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/04/13/why-you-should-be-drinking-full-fat-milk/ | Why you should be drinking full-fat milk | 20160618151611 | Moo-ve over 2 percent. Full fat is where it’s at.
A recent review of the existing research on dairy fat, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, found that full-fat dairy products may actually be better for your waistline than their lower-fat counterparts. Researchers not only found no difference among rates of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes between full-fat and low-fat dairy eaters, they also found that those who consumed full-fat dairy had lower body weights than those who used low-fat products.
Study authors say the reason may be that fat makes you feel fuller and more satisfied — a rationale nutritionists say is nothing new.
“There’s not a huge difference between full-fat and 2 percent,” explains Carol Guizar, registered dietitian and founder of Greenwich Village nutrition consultancy Eathority. “Full-fat milk only has about 3.5 percent milk fat. That said, the taste difference and satiety factor between the two are immense. So I’ve always advised my clients to have one latte with full-fat milk and really savor it.”
This is just the latest research that’s friendly to fats, after previous studies have proved the healthy benefits of olive oil, avocados and nuts. But the good news is not a free pass to overindulge.
“People still need to be mindful of overall calorie budgets,” says Lisa Moskovitz, a registered dietitian based in Midtown East. | Moo-ve over 2 percent. Full fat is where it’s at. A recent review of the existing research on dairy fat, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, found that full-fat dairy products may actua… | 6.386364 | 0.954545 | 21.681818 | low | high | extractive |
http://fortune.com/2015/08/24/alibaba-slides-below-ipo/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160618195909id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/08/24/alibaba-slides-below-ipo/ | Alibaba's shares slide below IPO price | 20160618195909 | Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba saw its shares slide below its IPO price for first time since its public offering in September of 2014.
Global markets took a hit this morning amidst concerns about a softening Chinese economy. Shanghai’s stock market fell by 8.5%, its worst day since 2007. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1,000 points on opening this morning.
Last fall, Alibaba debuted on the New York Stock Exchange as one of the largest technology IPOs in history, raising $25 billion. Alibaba BABA shares popped as much as 34% from its IPO price of $68 per share. In November, shares surged to a record $119 per share, a 75% jump from its IPO price.
This morning, Alibaba shares fell as low as $59 per share, and rose slightly to $64.56 per share.
As China’s economy has weakened, investors have also become concerned about Alibaba’s slowing revenue growth, and increased competition from e-commerce rival JD.com. In last week’s earnings, Alibaba reported that its latest quarter’s revenue rose 28% to $3.26 billion, missing analyst estimates of $3.39 billion.
Alibaba’s future growth plans include bringing on U.S. and other international brands into its online shopping mall Tmall. The company recently brought on Goldman Sachs banker Michael Evans to oversee this international expansion and just inked an exclusive deal with Macy’s.
Unfortunately, Yahoo is also effected by this plunge. Yahoo YHOO is expected to spin off its massive stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant in the fourth quarter of 2015, putting its shares into an independent public company that will be called Aabaco Holdings. Yahoo’s stake, which was worth more than $32 billion in July, was one of the bright spots in its portfolio. As of this morning, the value of Yahoo’s investment in Alibaba dropped to $24.8 billion.
Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology. | Amid a global markets slide and a weakening Chinese economy, the e-commerce giant sees shares plunge. | 18.9 | 0.85 | 1.85 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/03/14/bristol-myers-cancer-drug-rivals/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160618200455id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/03/14/bristol-myers-cancer-drug-rivals/ | Why Bristol-Myers Squibb Cancer Drug Opdivo Is Crushing Its Rivals | 20160618200455 | Bristol-Myers Squibb’s bmy cancer treatment Opdivo has been lapping its rivals in the red-hot immunotherapy space, the Wall Street Journal reports. The reason? A distinct marketing advantage which doesn’t force doctors to order time-consuming diagnostic tests before prescribing the drug.
Bristol-Myers’ main competitor in this field is Merck mrk , whose immuno-oncology drug Keytruda was approved more than three months before the BMS therapy in 2014.
Since then, the companies have been scrambling to rack up indications for the rival drugs, which are both approved for treating melanoma and lung cancer. But Opdivo was the clear winner in 2015 sales, raking in $942 million globally to Keytruda’s $566 million.
One setback for these therapies which use the body’s immune system to fight cancers is that they are, at times, more effective in certain patient pools than others.
Merck took a precision approach and targeted its medication towards patients whose tumors express the PD-L1 protein, enrolling these individuals in clinical trials. The FDA subsequently decided to approve the therapy contingent on physicians administering a diagnostic checking for the protein since Keytruda is more likely to work for them.
Bristol-Myers decided to enroll a wider swath of patients in trials even though Opdivo is also an anti-PD-L1 drug. That seems to have paid off—the FDA approved the medication without requiring a diagnostic and the company claims that 60% of new, treatment-eligible lung cancer patients are prescribed Opdivo.
The tradeoff here is cost versus time. Merck says it’s working with doctors to acclimate them to the diagnostic, which could prevent wasteful spending on a costly drug which may not benefit all patients. | It's been prescribed to 60% of new lung cancer patients, according to the company. | 18.166667 | 0.888889 | 2 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/style/chalk-body-outlines-grisly-yes-but-chic.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160618200639id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1994/11/13/style/chalk-body-outlines-grisly-yes-but-chic.html | Chalk Body Outlines - Grisly, Yes, but Chic - NYTimes.com | 20160618200639 | WHEN Michael Carr felt compelled several years ago to produce art that would commemorate the escalating number of violent deaths in Washington, one image haunted him. So he went into an alley near his home in Washington's Northwest quadrant and began painting outlines of bodies in the style he had seen used at the scenes of homicides depicted in movies and on television.
By the end of 1992 he had painted 452 body outlines in acrylic house paint on Naylor Court, provoking the attention of newspaper and television reporters and the chagrin of some neighbors. "It is a powerful subconscious image," Mr. Carr said.
So powerful that when Steve Lopez, a columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer, was writing a novel, "Third and Indiana," in 1993 (it was recently published by Viking), he had a main character paint similar images on a blocks-long stretch of Broad Street.
Last spring, students at the University of Washington in Seattle covered the campus sidewalks with body outlines to promote awareness of sexual violence.
Now, a Keith Haring-esque body outline dominates a 40-by-60-foot banner on the dome of the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, in full view of thousands of commuters using the Holland Tunnel. The banner is for an exhibition on forensic science, "Whodunit," which runs through Jan. 8.
And lately, the body outline has shown its marketing power, helping to sell locks in New York and $300,000 worth of T-shirts, caps, boxer shorts and beach towels for the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.
The body outline has been a fixture on television crime shows and in movies for years, and its use continues. "Matlock" fans saw one so far this season, as did viewers of a reunion of the television detectives Cagney and Lacey. The body outline has been used for laughs in the "Naked Gun" movies and for tears in the new Richard Dreyfuss film "Silent Fall." David Letterman often used the image in "Late Night" jokes, though the body hasn't followed him to the new network.
Every now and then an easily reproduced symbol makes its mark: the peace sign, for instance, or the ubiquitous nose and eyes of Kilroy during and after World War II. Is the body outline becoming a symbol for this decade, when violent death is a commonplace of urban life? It is either poignant or cartoonish, depending on the context.
THE odd thing about the body outline, though, is that it is used by artists and novelists, gag writers and organizers -- everybody but the police.
Lieut. Donald Stephenson, commanding officer of the New York Police Department's crime scene unit, said he can't remember the last time a chalk outline was drawn at a homicide scene. The police abandoned its use, he said, after many defense attorneys contended the chalk outline tainted evidence from a crime scene. Lieutenant Stephenson often notices that civilians have appropriated the image. "It's graphic, and it has something that captures the imagination of the viewing public," he said. "It sticks in people's minds."
At John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Dr. Peter De Forest, professor of criminalistics and author of "Forensic Science: An Introduction to Criminalistics," has never taught the technique to his students. "But the media has kept the technique going," Dr. De Forest said. "It's a kind of cycle. In fact, one of my competitors' textbooks has that image on the cover."
That book, "Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation," was written by Barry Fisher, director of the crime lab at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "I wish I could take credit for the cover," Mr. Fisher said. "But it was some graphic artist's notion of what a crime scene looks like. It's a figment of the media's imagination, more a caricature than reality."
BUT the selling power of the body outline has made the Los Angeles coroner's office probably the only one in the country with a marketing coordinator. She is Marilyn Lewis, a former secretary who helped start a product line featuring body outlines in 1993.
"We have our little body outline trademarked," Ms. Lewis said. "We started with six items, and now we're going on 23." They include a watch, coffee mugs, beach towels, T-shirts and boxer shorts, and are sold through a catalogue and in a gift shop at the coroner's office. So far, the products have raised $300,000, she said, and all proceeds are used to run an education program for first-time drunken drivers.
Ms. Lewis said she had received a few complaints about the taste of selling a gruesome image. But she has also had calls from coroners in Wisconsin and Arizona who were thinking of starting their own product lines. "But this could only happen in L.A.," she said.
Not quite. At the Liberty Science Center, Elizabeth Graham, a spokeswoman, said that a line of black T-shirts for the "Whodunit" exhibition, featuring a white body outline, are difficult to keep in stock.
And in western Virginia, when the Medeco High Security Locks company was developing an advertising campaign for its best market, New York City, the marketing director, Mark Kennedy, found in his files an old drawing of a chalk body outline. That image, combined with the slogan "Some people wouldn't invest in a lock if their life depended on it," was given an informal test with locksmiths in the city. "That's the ad the locksmiths chose," Mr. Kennedy said, and the ad ran in subways and on bus shelters this summer and fall. "Our sales have definitely blipped."
And so, the chalk body outline will probably remain ubiquitous, even though its original use is obsolete.
"I've always been interested in archeology, and these images are like urban petroglyphs," Michael Carr, the artist, said.
While Mr. Carr uses the body outline as a serious symbol of urban violence, he is not averse to its humorous use.
"My favorite is a Gary Larson cartoon that shows the scene of the death of King Kong," he said -- on the sidewalk outside the Empire State Building is one huge chalk body outline and many smaller ones inside it. It has not become a T-shirt -- yet.
Photos: Los Angeles owns the body-outline design on this watch; Death be not unmarketable: shirt on sale at Liberty Science Center, boxer shorts sold by Los Angeles coroner's office. (Naum Kazhdan/The New York Times) | WHEN Michael Carr felt compelled several years ago to produce art that would commemorate the escalating number of violent deaths in Washington, one image haunted him. So he went into an alley near his home in Washington's Northwest quadrant and began painting outlines of bodies in the style he had seen used at the scenes of homicides depicted in movies and on television. By the end of 1992 he had painted 452 body outlines in acrylic house paint on Naylor Court, provoking the attention of newspaper and television reporters and the chagrin of some neighbors. "It is a powerful subconscious image," Mr. Carr said. | 11.33913 | 0.991304 | 58.243478 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/netflix-victim-success-article-1.2377421 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160619122244id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/tv/netflix-victim-success-article-1.2377421 | Netflix: a victim of its own success? | 20160619122244 | Netflix may soon become a victim of its own wild success.
The company is expected to spend billions on producing original shows and movies next year, but there’s a blowback to that big bucks plan: TV networks and studios are wondering if they should keep selling their shows to the streaming goliath.
On Monday, Netflix officials revealed new deals to carry the CW’s hot drama "Jane the Virgin," CBS’ "Zoo," ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder” and USA’s “Colony” (which doesn’t start on traditional television until January). The deals are part of the digital service’s plan to spend more than $6 billion in 2016 on producing or buying feature films, television series, documentaries, stand-up specials and other content.
NETFLIX'S SWITCH BUTTON CAN ORDER FOOD, DIM LIGHTS
But as Netflix continues to grow as big player in the original programming arena, industry executives are weighing the benefits — and downside — of potentially witholding their programming from Netflix.
Some suggest they might be better off trying to distribute it themselves on their own digital services.
“It’s certainly become a consideration,” a high ranking studio executive at NBCUniversal told the Daily News. “Why should should we be selling our best (shows) to someone who has become our competition?”
And Netflix, which launched in 1997 as a conventional mail-order DVD rental company, is proving to be strong competition to all forms of television, whether broadcast, cable or streaming.
The threat to traditional broadcasters comes from Netflix’s ever-expanding original offerings.
Shows like “Narcos,” “House of Cards,” “Orange is the New Black” have helped establish Netflix as a powerhouse alternative to cable channels and broadcasters while traditional TV networks have seen their ratings suffering steep declines.
The industry executives say they know Netflix is not entirely responsible for the ratings slide — there are a lot of alternatives to broadcast television these days. But they are correct when they point out that Netflix is a big temblor in a seismic shift viewing habits.
The thing is if they decide to cut Netflix out of the equation and stop selling their shows to the streaming giant, the networks and studios will only be hurting themselves in the long run because Netflix and services like it aren’t going away.
They’re only going to get bigger and better and those stubborn enough to try and fight against them will end up on the wrong side of history.
There was a time, not so long ago, when network executives sometimes seemed arrogant. They tried endlessly to change people’s behavior by shifting favorite shows from night to night.
If you wanted to stick with a particular show, you had to reschedule parts of your life.
Now Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and even the traditional networks’ very own on-demand channels have altered almost everyone’s viewing behavior.
Except maybe filmmaker Quentin Tarantino who in an excerpt from Tom Roston’s new book “I Lost It At The Video Store” revealed that he’s not keen on the the high-tech service.
“I am not excited about streaming at all,” Tarantino said. “I like something hard and tangible in my hand. And I can’t watch a movie on a laptop. I don’t use Netflix at all. ... I still tape movies off of television on video so I can keep my collection going,” he added.
For the rest of us, Netflix makes new programming available when it’s most convenient for us and the TV networks. Studios — and Luddites like Tarantino — are going to be wrestling with that for a long time to come. | Studios and networks mull not selling their programming to Netflix because its now their competition. | 44.8125 | 0.9375 | 1.0625 | high | medium | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2015/12/01/manufacturing-recession/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160619132659id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/12/01/manufacturing-recession/ | Manufacturing Recession: Here's How Worried We Should Be | 20160619132659 | The forecast for the U.S. economy calls for mostly clear skies, as analysts see faster economic growth and higher interest rates in 2016. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance of stormy weather, and if it does arrive, its source may very well be the manufacturing sector.
U.S. manufacturers are struggling mightily, according to the latest reading of national manufacturing data by the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM index sees manufacturing activity contracting for the first time since December of 2012, with 13 of the 18 manufacturing industries tracked by the index seen to be contracting.
Michael Montgomery, an economist with IHS Global insight, argues that weakness here in the U.S. is related to economic struggles abroad. “The manufacturing sector is suffering from a bad case of the blahs worldwide,” he writes Tuesday in a note to clients. He attribues this weakness to an “anemic global demand for goods” in combination with the drag of a strong dollar on exporters here at home.
Taking a step back, it shouldn’t surprise us that manufacturing is looking weak right now. China is now reaping the fruits of years of over investment in manufacturing capacity, and the sharp slowdown in growth has severely depressed global commodity prices. At the same time, rising inequality and elevated unemployment in the wealthy world has led to slow wage growth and tepid demand for consumer goods. The global manufacturing sector is where all the flaws of the global economy are most salient.
But Americans—at least those who don’t rely on manufacturing for their income—can take comfort in the fact that the vast majority of U.S. economic activity takes place in the services sector.
As you can see from the above chart, the performances of the services and manufacturing sector have diverged of late. The good news is that the services sector is about five-and-a-half times bigger in the United States that the manufacturing sector. Montgomery expects the weakness in manufacturing to continue well into 2016, but the fact that services are so much more important to the overall health of the U.S. economy means that he and other economists are sticking with an overall sunny economic forecast for the near future. | New data shows the sector contracting for the first time in three years | 32.076923 | 0.769231 | 2.307692 | medium | low | mixed |
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/18/books/a-sharing-of-chaos-2-soldiers-same-iraq.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160619172014id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2005/08/18/books/a-sharing-of-chaos-2-soldiers-same-iraq.html | A Sharing of Chaos: 2 Soldiers, Same Iraq | 20160619172014 | The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq By John Crawford 219 pages. Riverhead Books. $23.95.
Love My Rifle More Than You Young and Female in the U.S. Army By Kayla Williams Illustrated. 290 pages. W.W. Norton. $24.95.
As a deluge of memoirs begin to address the war in Iraq, certain constants emerge. First of all, these could wind up being the most readily chronicled military experiences in history: no other war has made blogging or photography so accessible. Never before has it been so feasible for soldiers to phone home after a tough day in-country. It's also new for them to get stuck leaving voice-mail messages for loved ones who aren't around to take their calls.
It's clear that American soldiers in Iraq share collective memories. The heat. The sandstorms. Erratic and disorienting troop movements. The bewildering perils of Baghdad. The sorry M.R.E.'s (Meals Ready to Eat) for rations. Santa Claus in a Muslim country at Christmastime. Stark evidence that some Iraqi prisoners are being brutalized. The life-or-death uncertainty over whether to befriend or point guns at Iraqi children. The rocky transition to supposedly normal life.
Another element for memoirists is the co-ed combat environment. There are enough overlaps in the new books by John Crawford and Kayla Williams, both attached to the Army's 101st Airborne Division, to suggest more similarities and shared frustrations than might be expected. But the differences are revealing. And for the record, Ms. Williams sounds like the tougher of the two.
In addition to his heavy load of government-issue baggage, Mr. Crawford (who, like Ms. Williams, is now a civilian) brought other burdens. For one thing, he had a self-imposed mission to write war stories different from those of reporters and retired generals. ("They carry pens as they walk, whereas I carried a machine gun.") For another, he apparently arrived with an exaggerated sense of how important his testimony could be. "It will simply make people aware" of what war is like, he writes about "The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell," even if only "for one glimmering moment."
Glimmering or otherwise, Mr. Crawford has sifted through his memories with an eye toward resonant anecdotes and literary flourishes. And his book begins with built-in drama. When this member of the Florida National Guard got the news that he was being sent to Iraq, he was on his honeymoon and two credits short of finishing his college education; by the time his stint in Iraq was over, his home life was in tatters.
(Ms. Williams's version of this may be more typical: already in the Army as a specialist in Military Intelligence, she learned from CNN that her unit was being sent to Iraq -- even after she heard the disingenuous mantra "there is no deployment order for the division" from her superior officers.)
"The air looked like coffee when someone stirs in too much creamer," Mr. Crawford writes of his first brown-out in raging Iraqi weather. After painting this atmosphere with the requisite sense of surprise and anger, Mr. Crawford goes on to tell tales that bring human dimensions to his situation. Certain characters are strongly etched: the squad leader who instigated looting but tried to duck responsibility for it; the shopkeeper who was a friend to American soldiers until the day he wasn't; the eager little boy who embodied a work ethic more clearly than any other Iraqi Mr. Crawford met; a very attractive local woman. ("Her smile was infectious, and her laughter sounded to me like flowers growing.") Many of them simply disappear with no explanation. This is the book's single most potent effect.
"I watched as we de-evolved into animals, and all this time there was a sinking feeling that we were changing from hunter to hunted," he writes, in a voice that can lurch dangerously close to self-pity.
Ms. Williams favors a different kind of exaggeration. Somebody -- perhaps her writing collaborator, Michael E. Staub, who is credited inside the book but not on its eye-catching jacket -- has decided to start this story on a cheap note, with Ms. Williams emphasizing her sexual power over the men with whom she worked. In fact her book is better than that. She is, too.
Ms. Williams learned Arabic in part because she had a boyfriend who spoke the language. She enlisted in the last month of Bill Clinton's presidency. So she had significant military experience by Sept. 11, 2001, when Arabic-speaking soldiers suddenly took on new strategic value. She was sent to Kuwait shortly before the American Army entered Iraq in 2003.
Ms. Williams's brisk, feisty account manages to find room for a 25-item list entitled "How to Prepare for Deployment to Iraq." One suggestion: "Arrange for neighbors to wait until you are sound asleep then come outside and beam a flashlight into your face. Have them tell you that there's an emergency but immediately change their mind and announce it was a false alarm." Another tip: "When it rains, go dig a hole in your backyard. Fill a pail with dirt and stir it with rainwater. Slowly pour this mixture over your entire body." Then try to clean it off with baby wipes, the way soldiers do.
Ms. Williams makes it clear that she can take as much of this as the next guy can -- and that it came to matter very little to her whether the next guy was male or female. She also lambastes any women who fall back on tears and weakness, even if those women ranked as her superiors. As this lively war diary makes clear, Ms. Williams saved her own hurt feelings for better occasions. When she came home to see CNN treat ducklings caught in a sewer drain as a news story "while the story of soldiers getting killed in Iraq got relegated to this little banner across the bottom of the screen," that was what hurt. | Janet Maslin reviews books The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq by John Crawford and Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the US Army by Kayla Williams; photos (M) | 24.183673 | 0.877551 | 6.469388 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/02/16/vanessa-hudgens-under-investigation-for-allegedly-defacing-sedon/21313815/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160620014622id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/02/16/vanessa-hudgens-under-investigation-for-allegedly-defacing-sedon/21313815/ | Vanessa Hudgens under investigation for allegedly defacing Sedona Red Rock | 20160620014622 | Before you go, we thought you'd like these...
Vanessa Hudgens is between a rock and a hard place after an alleged act of love has brought her under fire.
The 27-year-old actress and her 24-year-old boyfriend, Austin Butler, allegedly carved their names in a heart into a rock formation in Sedona, Arizona over Valentine's Day weekend, but the gesture might have broken a federal law.
PICS: Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler Are So Happy Together at Disneyland
A public affairs officer for Coconino National Forest tells ET the incident involving Hudgens and Butler "is under investigation." See what other celebs did on Valentine's Day:
Vanessa Hudgens under investigation for allegedly defacing Sedona Red Rock
Cheers to the #SweetestSunday 💕💕 #HappyValentinesDay #SnuggleMe #Feb14
Breakfast in bed from my Valentine! I love you more than I know how to say. ❤️
Happy Valentine's Day, my babies
Happy valentines day💕by the sweetest @petrafcollins for @voguemagazine out today
Happy Valentine's Day darling ❤️😘😘
Valentine's Kisses! ❤️💋 #happyvalentinesday #sunday #love #hubbylove #kisses #bigsur #lips #ithinkiloveyou
Perfect Valentines treat at hm❤️❤️❤️❤️🌹🌹🌹🌹 @candybarcouture 💃💃💃happy V day!!!
Cause y' know daddy feeds everyone on Valentine's Day. #BrownLegsAndMilk 😂💪🏾
Got my @happyhippiefdn valentines swag! How bout u! Get yours now
😩😂 happy v day babies !!!!! ♡
Happy Valentine's Day to my boo ❤️😊😚 #happyvalentinesday @greggsulkin
My Valentine this year is @mayasideas At 8 years old she started her own business. She's given 3 Ted Talks, started a non-profit organization, and created multiple animated shows with a foundation in education. Now at 16 years old, she continues to change the world and make me feel like a massive slacker. 😝 Thank you @mayasideas for rocking our world. And thank you for coding this heart. I can barely work an iPhone. ☺️😉#codewithlove
Happy Valentine's Day to all the lonely hearts out there today ❤️
Happy Valentine's Day baby ...🌹😉😍😘
Breakfast in bed! #valentinesday #myvalentine
"Officials at the Coconino National Forest became aware of the incident [Monday] when the media alerted them of the situation," the officer tells ET. "There is no deadline for this investigation -- it takes as long as it takes. The maximum punishment for this is $5k and/or 6 months behind bars."
PICS: They Dated?! Surprising Celebrity Hookups See photos of the stylish actress:
Vanessa Hudgens under investigation for allegedly defacing Sedona Red Rock
Vanessa Hudgens participates in a panel for "Grease: Live" at the Fox Winter TCA on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens attends the FOX All-Star Party at the Fox Winter TCA on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the People's Choice Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens is spotted out to lunch in Beverly Hills, 17 July 2015. 17 July 2015. Vantage News/IPx
Photo by: WC/STAR MAX/IPx 10/19/15 Vanessa Hudgens at Guitar Hero Live's Launch Party. (Los Angeles, CA)
Vanessa Hudgens attends the Knott's Scary Farm Black Carpet event on Thursday, October 1, 2015 in Buena Park, Calif. (Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens attends the premiere of "Jeremy Scott: The People's Designer" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015, in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens attends the 2015 CFDA Fashion Awards at Alice Tully Hall on Monday, June 1, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the 69th annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens attends the 2015 Industry Dance Awards at the Avalon on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating "China: Through the Looking Glass" on Monday, May 4, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens poses during the photo call to present the movie "Gimme Shelter" in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014.(AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Actress Vanessa Hudgens attends the Benefit Cosmetics event at Space 15 Twenty on September 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives wearing custom Bongo at the 16th Annual Young Hollywood Awards at The Wiltern on Sunday, July 27, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for Bongo/AP Images)
Vanessa Hudgens attends ale by Alessandra Launch Event on Thursday, March 13, 2014 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Annie I. Bang /Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at 2014 Elton John Oscar Viewing and After Party Mar. 2, 2014 in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens and boyfriend Austin Butler pose together at the Hollywood Domino & Bovet 1822 Gala benefitting Artists for Peace and Justice on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the 15th annual InStyle and Warner Bros. Golden Globes after party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the 15th annual InStyle and Warner Bros. Golden Globes after party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens at the fourth annual amfAR Inspiration Gala at Milk Studios on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens attends the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund Awards on Monday, Nov. 11, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens kicks off the 2nd Annual ULTA Beauty "Donate With A Kiss" campaign supporting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation at the NOMAD Hotel on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens kicks off the 2nd Annual ULTA Beauty "Donate With A Kiss" campaign supporting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation at the NOMAD Hotel on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the Superstars of Hope honors Make A Wish Foundation event at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday, August 15, 2013 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the Superstars of Hope honors Make A Wish Foundation event at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday, August 15, 2013 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives for the UK premiere of The Frozen Ground, at a central London cinema, Wednesday, July 17, 2013. The film is based on a horrific true story from the 1980's, about a serial killer in remote Alaska. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives for the UK premiere of Frozen Ground, at a central London cinema, Wednesday, July 17, 2013. The film is based on a horrific true story from the 1980's, about a serial killer in remote Alaska. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens at the Apple Store in Regents Street, London, on Tuesday, July 16, 2013. (Photo by Richard Chambury/Invision/AP)
Host Vanessa Hudgens poses for photographers before the nighttime 5K run/walk Electric Run LA at the Home Depot Center on Friday, May 24, 2013 in Carson, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Host Vanessa Hudgens poses for photographers before the nighttime 5K run/walk Electric Run LA at the Home Depot Center on Friday, May 24, 2013 in Carson, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens at the LA premiere of "Spring Breakers" at the ArcLight Hollywood on Thursday, March 14, 2013 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the LA premiere of "Spring Breakers" at the ArcLight Hollywood on Thursday, March 14, 2013 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens at the LA premiere of "Spring Breakers" at the ArcLight Hollywood on Thursday, March 14, 2013 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscars Viewing and After Party on Sunday, Feb. 24 2013 at the Sunset Plaza Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscars Viewing and After Party on Sunday, Feb. 24 2013 at the Sunset Plaza Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens arrives for the premiere of "Spring Breakers" directed by Harmony Korine, in Paris, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Actresses Vanessa Hudgens, left, and Shay Mitchell attend the L'Amour Nanette Lepore for jcpenney launch party at the Hudson Hotel on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 in New York. (Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the InStyle and Warner Bros. Golden Globe After Party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday Jan. 13, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives to The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens attends the Samsung Galaxy Note II Launch Party on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 in Beverly Hills. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens attends "The Carrie Diaries" premiere on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Images)
Vanessa Hudgens attends Variety Power of Youth at Paramount Studios on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens attends Variety Power of Youth at Paramount Studios on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
In this image released by Starpix, actress Vanessa Hudgens poses at the premiere of "Spring Breakers" at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Friday, Sept. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Starpix, Marion Curtis)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens participates in a photo call and press conference for the film "Spring Breakers" at TIFF Bell Lightbox during the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday Sept. 7, 2012 in Toronto. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Vanessa Hudgens for the premiere of the film 'Spring Breakers' at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens poses during the photo call of the movie 'Spring Breakers' at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Actress Vanessa Hudgens poses at the photo call for the film 'Spring Breakers' at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing party in West Hollywood, Calif. on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)
Vanessa Hudgens and Josh Hutcherson arrive at the Paris premiere of "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" held at UGC Cine Cite Bercy on Sunday, Feb.12, 2012 in Paris. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
Cast member Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the premiere of "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" in Los Angeles, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2011. "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" will be released Feb. 10, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
Cast member Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the premiere of "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" in Los Angeles, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2011. "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" will be released Feb. 10, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
ET has reached out to Hudgens' rep for comment.
Eyebrows were raised after Hudgens posted a picture of the carving on Instagram, but the post has since been deleted. MORE: Bella Hadid's sweet message for boyfriend | The 27-year-old actress and her 24-year-old boyfriend, Austin Butler, allegedly carved their names in a heart into a rock formation in Sedona, Arizona. | 86.483871 | 1 | 29.064516 | high | high | extractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/arts/design/the-ghost-in-the-baghdad-museum.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160620025343id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2006/04/02/arts/design/the-ghost-in-the-baghdad-museum.html | The Ghost in the Baghdad Museum | 20160620025343 | Even with thousands of pieces still missing, the museum houses an extraordinary collection by any standard. What is lacking is the peace it needs to admit the public.
"When a museum is reopened, it means that peace has come," Mr. George said. For now, it is a hollow place, devoid of life, empty of discourse. This echoing museum at the heart of Baghdad -- that is to say, at the heart of the American project in Iraq -- is an image of hope frustrated.
"Everyone, deep in himself, is grateful to the United States that they helped us get rid of this regime," Mr. George said. "But the uncontrolled situation, that is another thing. Why was it not controlled?"
In Baghdad today, as the concrete blast walls multiply, control seems almost unimaginable. Since 2003, three museum employees -- an archaeologist, an accountant and a driver -- have been killed.
"It's hard to know what you can do with security the way it is," said John Russell, an expert in Iraqi archaeology at the Massachusetts College of Art who spent several months in Baghdad coordinating cultural reconstruction for the State Department. "The museum will open some day, but for now it's right to keep a low profile. Nobody wants to be responsible for a disaster."
Least of all Mr. George, who at 55 sees himself as standing guard over his country's history. A love of the outdoor life marked him from childhood, when he would fish with his father, hunt with his grandfather and lead expeditions of scouts. He was set to study English literature at Baghdad University but was steered to a French literature class that he said held no interest for him. He went to see the assistant dean, who told him that the only other opening was in archaeology. "I asked if that meant living in tents and excavating sites, and when he said yes, I jumped at the opportunity," Mr. George recalled.
What he found was an intellectual passion that has endured to this day -- one that brings perspective. "There are stages such as these, and then there are stages of calm," Mr. George reflected. "Each can last 100 years, but it passes. A famous Sumerian writer described the scene here in 2000 B.C., saying that people are looting and killing and nobody knows who the king is. So you see, nothing is new."
Well, a few things are: Mr. George was sitting in a comfortable office with cellphones, a computer, the Internet. American money and American experts have produced results.
More than $2 million from the State Department, the Packard Humanities Institute of Los Altos, Calif., and the Iraqi Culture Ministry have gotten the roof repaired, the telephone system transformed, the fences upgraded, guard houses built, the plumbing fixed, the windows washed, locks coordinated, the air-conditioning upgraded, surveillance cameras installed and an electronic security system activated.
After years of gradual decay under Mr. Hussein, the museum has had a face-lift.
"The assistance we have asked for from the State Department we have had, and we are grateful," Mr. George said. Asked whether he thought guilt drove this American largess, he joked, "I would love them to feel that."
But restoration is one thing, recovery another. Of the 15,000 pieces estimated to have been looted, many from museum storerooms, about 5,000 have been recovered. The identification has been complicated by the plundering of Iraqi archaeological sites since 2003, which has flooded the international market with items that are easily confused with museum pieces.
Most of the approximately 10,000 artifacts still missing are smaller items: gems, jewelry, terracotta figurines and cylinder seals. More than 40 larger unique pieces were stolen, like a 5,200-year-old mask from the Sumerian city of Warka, but most of those have been returned.
Mr. Russell said that the smaller artifacts "are easy enough to sell if you clean off the acquisition numbers." Still, over time, he said, they may be identified and recovered if customs and law enforcement officials step up their efforts.
Mr. George takes a long view. "I am always hopeful," he said. "This building contains the story of mankind; its lesson cannot be despair."
He is still indignant that American troops did not guard the museum from April 10 through 12, 2003, in the initial days after the fall of Baghdad. "I blame United States forces," he said. "A tank was close to the main gate. One of our people went and begged them to protect the museum but was told there were no orders to do so."
Why the museum was not protected may never be clarified. United States military officers have suggested that Hussein loyalists as well as arms stockpiles were in the museum and that chaos prevented action. The museum is in a highly exposed position. All that is clear is that no order was swiftly issued to stop the looters.
Confusion at the time of the looting was compounded in its aftermath. The woman who first cited the exaggerated figure of 170,000 artifacts was initially identified as the museum's deputy director but later found to be a former employee. The number spread like wildfire.
"A bum rap," was how Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld characterized criticism of the military. Mr. George was accused by some American editorial columnists of exaggerating the losses, though his line from the outset was that quantifying the loss would take time.
The director learned long ago to wait the bad times out. Under Mr. Hussein, he had a sideline as a drummer for a rock band called 99 Percent -- "of perfection," he said -- that specialized in Deep Purple songs and brought in much-needed extra cash. That's an unwritten chapter of life under a dictatorship. Another is how Mr. George used work at Iraq's thousands of archaeological sites to avoid Baath Party meetings.
Through the ghostly museum, Mr. George led the way, commenting on 500,000-year-old axes and clay tablets with cuneiform script and sacred objects from mosques. Some showcases are filled and some empty; packages of new equipment (including special drawers for clay tablets sent by the German Archaeological Institute) are still wrapped; date palms are being planted in the courtyard. Mr. George says that the museum, which was repeatedly closed and neglected while Mr. Hussein fought his successive wars, will one day emerge stronger.
One site already in perfect order is the Assyrian Hall, which survived the looting and is filled with monumental reliefs representing the summit of Mesopotamian art. A prominent presence is the winged bull, a protective spirit guarding Assyrian palaces and cities.
The bull's body conveys strength; the wings, the magnificence of flight; the head of a man, enlightened wisdom. Created eight centuries before the dawn of the Christian era, 14 centuries before the beginnings of Islam, it was a striking representation of a seemingly invincible power.
Its time, of course, would end. The Babylonians would sweep away the Assyrians as comprehensively as the Americans, 26 centuries later or so, have swept away Mr. Hussein. Even a closed museum can teach that everything passes and nothing is quite what it seems.
So, Mr. George was asked, are the Americans the new Babylonians? "No," he shot back. "The Babylonians were Iraqis." | Article on National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad,, which remains closed three years after widely televised looting; director Donny George is indignant that American troops did not guard museum to prevent looting, but is hopeful about future; photos (L) | 31.478261 | 0.782609 | 1.826087 | medium | low | mixed |
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/04/opinion/martyrs-virgins-and-grapes.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160620031940id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2004/08/04/opinion/martyrs-virgins-and-grapes.html | Martyrs, Virgins and Grapes | 20160620031940 | ''The virgins are calling you,'' Mohamed Atta wrote reassuringly to his fellow hijackers just before 9/11.
It has long been a staple of Islam that Muslim martyrs will go to paradise and marry 72 black-eyed virgins. But a growing body of rigorous scholarship on the Koran points to a less sensual paradise -- and, more important, may offer a step away from fundamentalism and toward a reawakening of the Islamic world.
Some Islamic theologians protest that the point was companionship, never heavenly sex. Others have interpreted the pleasures quite explicitly; one, al-Suyuti, wrote that sex in paradise is pretty much continual and so glorious that ''were you to experience it in this world you would faint.''
But now the same tools that historians, linguists and archaeologists have applied to the Bible for about 150 years are beginning to be applied to the Koran. The results are explosive.
The Koran is beautifully written, but often obscure. One reason is that the Arabic language was born as a written language with the Koran, and there's growing evidence that many of the words were Syriac or Aramaic.
For example, the Koran says martyrs going to heaven will get ''hur,'' and the word was taken by early commentators to mean ''virgins,'' hence those 72 consorts. But in Aramaic, hur meant ''white'' and was commonly used to mean ''white grapes.''
Some martyrs arriving in paradise may regard a bunch of grapes as a letdown. But the scholar who pioneered this pathbreaking research, using the pseudonym Christoph Luxenberg for security reasons, noted in an e-mail interview that grapes made more sense in context because the Koran compares them to crystal and pearls, and because contemporary accounts have paradise abounding with fruit, especially white grapes.
Dr. Luxenberg's analysis, which has drawn raves from many scholars, also transforms the meaning of the verse that is sometimes cited to require women to wear veils. Instead of instructing pious women ''to draw their veils over their bosoms,'' he says, it advises them to ''buckle their belts around their hips.''
Likewise, a reference to Muhammad as ''ummi'' has been interpreted to mean he was illiterate, making his Koranic revelations all the more astonishing. But some scholars argue that this simply means he was not ''of the book,'' in the sense that he was neither Christian nor Jewish.
Islam has a tradition of vigorous interpretation and adjustment, called ijtihad, but Koranic interpretation remains frozen in the model of classical commentaries written nearly two centuries after the prophet's death. The history of the rise and fall of great powers over the last 3,000 years underscores that only when people are able to debate issues freely -- when religious taboos fade -- can intellectual inquiry lead to scientific discovery, economic revolution and powerful new civilizations. ''The taboos are still great'' on such Koranic scholarship, notes Gabriel Said Reynolds, an Islam expert at the University of Notre Dame. He called the new scholarship on early Islam ''a first step'' to an intellectual awakening.
But Muslim fundamentalists regard the Koran -- every word of it -- as God's own language, and they have violently attacked freethinking scholars as heretics. So Muslim intellectuals have been intimidated, and Islam has often been transmitted by narrow-minded extremists.
(This problem is not confined to Islam. On my blog, www.nytimes.com/kristofresponds, I've been battling with fans of the Christian fundamentalist ''Left Behind'' series. Some are eager to see me left behind.)
Still, there are encouraging signs. Islamic feminists are emerging to argue for religious interpretations leading to greater gender equality. An Iranian theologian has called for more study of the Koran's Syriac roots. Tunisian and German scholars are collaborating on a new critical edition of the Koran based on the earliest manuscripts. And just last week, Iran freed Hashem Aghajari, who had been sentenced to death for questioning harsh interpretations of Islam.
''The breaking of the sometimes erroneous bonds in the religious tradition will be the condition for a positive evolution in other scientific and intellectual domains,'' Dr. Luxenberg says.
The world has a huge stake in seeing the Islamic world get on its feet again. The obstacle is not the Koran or Islam, but fundamentalism, and I hope that this scholarship is a sign of an incipient Islamic Reformation -- and that future terrorist recruits will be promised not 72 black-eyed virgins, but just a plateful of grapes.
William Safire is on vacation. | Nicholas Kristof Op-Ed column on pathbreaking analysis of Koran, in which researcher using pseudonym Christoph Luxemberg uses scholarship tools long applied to Bible to sort out underlying meanings of Islamic verses; notes new interpretations on women, notably finding that 'virgins' whom 'martyrs' think they will find in paradise may be Aramaic reference to 'white grapes' (M) | 12.797101 | 0.724638 | 1.043478 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.tmz.com/2014/10/17/leon-spinks-chicken-wing-king-blockage-hospitalized | http://web.archive.org/web/20160620082705id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2014/10/17/leon-spinks-chicken-wing-king-blockage-hospitalized | Leon Spinks -- KO'd By a Chicken Wing | 20160620082705 | was taken down after going a few round with some chicken wings ...
We broke the story ... Spinks is
-- and now, we've learned Leon's medical problems can all be traced back to a chicken wing meal gone bad.
Leon's attorney tells us Spinks is known to his friends as the "Chicken Wing King" -- and during a recent meal, accidentally swallowed a bone ... which got stuck in his intestine.
Spinks has undergone two surgical procedures so far -- with a 3rd scheduled for later today. We're told Leon is conscious and on the mend.
We're also told ... Leon's current wife Brenda is adamant she has power of attorney over Leon -- despite a claim to the contrary by Leon's ex-wife Betty.
to call the shots regarding his health after they divorced back in 2004.
But Leon's attorney tells us, "Brenda and Leon have a power of attorney agreement. Betty's power of attorney was expressly revoked by Leon." | Boxing legend Leon Spinks was taken down after going a few round with some chicken wings ... TMZ Sports has learned. We broke the story ... Spinks is… | 6.466667 | 0.833333 | 7.1 | low | medium | mixed |
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/30/international/middleeast/30PLAN.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160620131219id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2003/11/30/international/middleeast/30PLAN.html? | Iraqi Leaders Say U.S. Was Warned of Disorder After Hussein, but Little Was Done | 20160620131219 | BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 29 — In the months before the Iraq invasion, Iraqi exile leaders trooped through the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department carrying a message about the future of their homeland: without a strong plan for managing Iraq after toppling Saddam Hussein, widespread looting and violence would erupt.
"On many occasions, I told the Americans that from the very moment the regime fell, if an alternative government was not ready there would be a power vacuum and there would be chaos and looting," said Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and a longtime ally of the United States. "Given our history, it is very obvious this would occur."
Similar warnings came from international relief experts and from within the United States government. In 1999 the same military command that was preparing to attack Iraq conducted a detailed war game that found that toppling Mr. Hussein risked creating a major security void, said Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who headed the command.
But as Pentagon officials hurriedly prepared for war last winter, they envisioned Iraq after the fall of Mr. Hussein's government as far more manageable.
That miscalculation and the low priority given to planning for the aftermath of Mr. Hussein's fall have taken on new significance with the recent wave of deadly attacks and the Bush administration's abrupt decision this month to accelerate its timetable for transferring control to the kind of Iraqi authority that leading exiles were calling for a year ago.
The exiles were among the most energetic cheerleaders for the war, and critics of the Bush administration have accused some of them of skewing the facts in the process. But more than a dozen of the leaders who have returned to Iraq said in interviews here that they had also warned about the chaos that could follow.
The fact that the administration embraced their encouragement to go to war but apparently discounted their warnings is an insight into the Pentagon's prewar planning.
"I told them, `Let there not be a political vacuum,' " said Kanan Makiya, an Iraqi author and college professor who said he had consulted with several senior administration officials and met twice with President Bush.
In many ways the war plan drove the postwar plan, senior military officials said. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld demanded that the invasion force be kept as small as possible, prompting his commanders to build an attack plan based on speed and surprise. Any recommendations for sending more troops to maintain order afterward would probably have collided with the war plan, the officials said.
Besides, the plan for after the Iraqi government fell assumed that Iraqi troops and police officers would stay on the job — an assumption that proved wrong. "The political leadership bought its own spin," said one senior Defense Department official involved in the planning, in part because it "made selling the war easier."
Senior administration officials acknowledged that they had considered these warnings before the war, but defended their judgments.
"The United States government did extensive, detailed contingency planning for post-Saddam Iraq," said Sean McCormack, a spokesman for the National Security Council.
The Pentagon developed plans to cope with catastrophes that did not occur, like widespread oil field fires and large-scale refugee flows.
The shortcomings in the planning became immediately apparent to some exile leaders after Baghdad fell. Rend Rahim Francke, who on Nov. 23 was appointed Iraq's ambassador to Washington, said: "When people started looting and the Americans just watched, what it did was legitimize lawlessness. `It's O.K. No problem.' And we are still suffering from it now."
Iyad Alawi, leader of the Iraqi National Accord exile group, said, "I am not sure there was any strategy."
In fact, the Army's Third Infantry Division said in an after-action report that when it arrived in Baghdad it had no instructions, no mission statement.
"Despite the virtual certainty that the military would accomplish the regime change, there was no plan for oversight and reconstruction, even after the division arrived in Baghdad," the report said.
For years the passion of Iraqi exile leaders was not just freeing Iraq from Mr. Hussein but also figuring out what would become of Iraq after he was gone.
They wrote papers and held conferences. Most of them had not visited Baghdad for decades, and they carried on their work from the United States, Britain or Kurdish-controlled areas of Iraq.
Starting in the fall of 2002 they received calls to meet with officials in the State Department, the Defense Department, the Central Intelligence Agency and the White House, including Mr. Bush.
They hardly spoke with a unified voice, or presented a single clear strategy for how to avoid the current conditions in Iraq. Some of them were self-interested, promoting a war that could bring them new power. Critics of the Bush administration have pointed to Ahmad Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress, as an exile who fed the officials exaggerated information to encourage the invasion.
But Douglas J. Feith, the under secretary of defense for policy, said in an interview that "while there's been a caricature of D.O.D. talking to Chalabi, the fact is we talked to lots of Iraqis."
The common warnings of unrest from the exile leaders were partly drawn from Iraq's history. | More than a dozen Iraqi exile leaders said that they had warned the Bush administration about the chaos that could follow after Saddam Hussein was toppled. | 38.222222 | 0.962963 | 3.259259 | high | high | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/02/03/yahoo-turnaround-2/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160621022827id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/02/03/yahoo-turnaround-2/ | Yahoo's Worst Problem? It's a Media Company | 20160621022827 | What strikes me as most depressing about Yahoo yhoo is that roughly a billion people use it each month and yet it can’t grow, doesn’t make a ton of money, and is the doormat of Silicon Valley. If a pioneering media company that is beloved by many of its multitude of customers can’t make it, who can?
Two thoughts on that, in no particular order. First, that Yahoo is a media company very likely is its worst problem. Google goog and Facebook fb sell advertising extremely well. But they aren’t media companies. They create advertising products and platforms; they don’t create content. And despite some more or less honest efforts to throw revenues the way of those who do deal in the realm of ideas, information, and entertainment—Google’s YouTube is a genuine example—the two Internet behemoths succeed because they’re great with software and have found extremely profitable and clever ways of skimming the cream off of the creativity of others.
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Yahoo, on the other hand, has stubbornly continued to be a media company with dollops of technology layered on top, though not nearly as well or as consistently as Google and Facebook. (Yahoo reported a dismal quarter Tuesday and said it would sell assets and reduce its workforce.) One of Marissa Mayer’s signature media moves in her three-year-plus year tenure as CEO was to buy the blogging platform Tumblr for $1 billion. Yahoo wrote down the value of Tumblr and other acquisitions for a total of $4.4 billion.
The second thought about Yahoo not having made it concerns the company’s own self-inflicted wounds. Mayer said Tuesday the company needed to simplify itself. But that’s after she took a hopelessly complicated company and made it more complicated with a blitz of acquisitions, product re-shuffling, and confusing acronyms. To her credit, she gave it the college try, and the board of directors wanted an Internet product expert, not a financial engineer, as CEO.
Have Yahoo employees lost faith in their CEO?
Mayer isn’t the first CEO to try and fail with Yahoo. And she’s not the first to fumble with media assets. News flash: This isn’t an easy business. | Marissa Mayer made a hopelessly complicated company even more complex. | 39.909091 | 0.818182 | 2.090909 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2002/jul/01/userstraveladvice1 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160621025118id_/http://www.theguardian.com:80/travel/2002/jul/01/userstraveladvice1 | Car hire in Havana | 20160621025118 | · I hired a car through Havanauto. They are the largest car hire company in Cuba, and provided us with a decent Nissan with air conditioning. They also provide you with a mobile phone for the duration of the hire, so if you have a problem you can call them. Travelling by car in Cuba can be very enjoyable, but you should understand that some roads are very poor and road signs non-existent. You should book the car and buy a decent road map before you go out, and take a compass. Hitch hiking is very common in Cuba as the public transport system is very limited. Hitch hikers can become very good guides provided you speak some Spanish. Keep the back of the car clear of any of your possessions, and have a supply of soap, biros, music cassettes, pencils, sweets and dollar bills to tip people with. For more details try www.cuba.tc/havanatur/havanauto.html. Bernie Doeser
· I would thoroughly recommend the website www.gocubaplus.com. Last year I enjoyed a wonderful holiday and booked and paid for the hotels and the car hire through them on line. I was met at the airport and everything fitted in perfectly in quite a complex itinerary. The car hire was straight forward, and the car, a Hyundai Accent, was fine. Only the Cuban secondary road system with its pot holes the size of lakes and total absence of road signs lent a certain unpredictability to the experience! Ian Macilwain
· If you are short of time and want no hassle you can organise a fly-drive package from the UK with a number of operators. For example Trips Worldwide offer a two week deal at the end of July for £1,400 per person based on two people sharing a room, all transfers, accommodation, Cuban visa and hire car.
If you want to book yourself, to pick the car up on arrival, it may be worth surfing the websites of the state rental companies in Havana. Havanautos offers a small Nissan for $56 dollars a day, unlimited mileage, exclusive of daily insurance charges of between US$10-25. Although web research can give you a good idea about prices, it can be time consuming as sometimes the links don't work, or what is advertised is not available. Also Havana is in the process of changing all its internet addresses.
If you are able to, it may be worth shopping around when you get there as prices vary, even between offices of the same company, who don't appear to be connected supplywise. For example a US$93 a day price quoted for a four-door sedan (the cheapest on the day), at Transautos next to the Hotel Capri was US$10 cheaper per day at the Hotel Nacional. However, on the same day, a very small car was available at the Transautos office in the Hotel Plaza for US$60.
Prices change between high season (Christmas, Easter and European summer holiday period) and low season. Availability may vary but the situation is not necessarily dire. I have twice managed to hire a car on the ground in Havana in the high season and during the height of carnival in Santiago de Cuba.
NB Very few agencies allow one-way drives. Havanautos do but will charge you to return the car from your last destination back to Havana.Claire Boobbyer Editor of, and contributor to, Footprint's Cuba Handbook
· Usually it is possible to organise car hire on arrival in Havana. The car hire companies are located in central Havana or many hotels have representatives who can help you. You should be aware that car hire in Cuba is not cheap. (Jeeps are the best value and a great way to see the island). As a guideline you will normally be asked for a deposit of around $200 and then the daily rate starts somewhere in the region of $60 including insurance. This still does not guarantee what kind of car you will be able to hire and what condition it will be in. During high season availability can become very limited.Ruth Skipsey
· We were in Cuba a few weeks before Christmas and hired a Toyota 4-door for approx $350 per week from Transtur. The email was: rentcar@vipan.transtur.tur.cu. A wonderful way to see Cuba. Have a good trip. Lionel Caplan | What's the best way to hire a car in Havana? | 68.583333 | 0.916667 | 1.916667 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.theguardian.com/how-to-solve-a-murder/2016/mar/09/when-evidence-speaks-how-forensic-scientists-make-cold-case-breakthroughs | http://web.archive.org/web/20160621031251id_/http://www.theguardian.com:80/how-to-solve-a-murder/2016/mar/09/when-evidence-speaks-how-forensic-scientists-make-cold-case-breakthroughs | DNA evidence and cold murder cases: when hidden clues catch killers | 20160621031251 | Forensics can make the difference between a killer going to jail or getting away with murder. And that often means hours in the lab for experts like forensic scientist Elaine M Pagliaro of the Henry C Lee Institute of Forensic Science. “It’s important to remember that scientific evidence [also] helps to exonerate the innocent, both before and after trial,” she says.
Here, Pagliaro and criminalists from the Los Angeles Police Department reveal the secrets and science of forensic investigations – and how they all affect cold case results.
Related: 35-year-old unsolved murder still haunts California cop – chapter 1
“Forensic scientists cannot know every detail of what happened,” Pagliaro says. “We are not Dexter,” the blood spatter expert and serial killer in the fictional TV show of the same name. Contrary to what many believe, she notes, a reconstruction isn’t a reenactment. It’s a detailed setup that helps experts learn more about a sequence of events or answer a specific question, like where a person was standing when an altercation began or whether a particular weapon could have caused a victim’s injuries.
In his cold case investigations, Tim Marcia, an LAPD detective, turns to old murder books to determine if the original detectives relied on crime scene reconstructions. For example, if a victim’s belongings are strewn near a murder site, he checks to see if the placement of items suggests that the killer discarded them or that victim dropped them. The path of evidence can lead to telling clues.
Tangible items that link a suspect to the crime scene are classified as physical evidence. Today’s technology surrounding physical evidence can offer significant help in cold cases, according to Pagliaro. “Even fingerprints that were not visible previously may be developed with some of the new techniques,” she says. In 2011, the FBI introduced its Advanced Fingerprint Identification Technology (Afit), which includes an algorithm that has helped improve the accuracy of fingerprint matches from 92% to more than 99.6%.
In the Kari Lenander murder case from 1980, Marcia plans to use the latest technology to his advantage. “I’ve just made another request to have all the fingerprints redone,” says Marcia, adding that the analysis could take six weeks to several months.
Specific subsets of physical evidence that contain DNA – sources like blood, semen, hair, saliva and various tissue – are biological evidence. For cold cases, these sources can be gamechangers. The first court conviction based on DNA didn’t even come down until 1987.
Cold case DNA evidence is sometimes treated differently than in newer cases, says Pagliaro. “If the sample is degraded – affected by heat, UV light or moisture – the biologist may have to employ techniques that have been developed for DNA in those situations,” she explains.
In Kari’s case, new DNA technology has helped forensic experts do more with less. In some cold cases, there’s a risk that certain evidence will be depleted – like when increasingly more fabric is clipped from semen-stained clothing to test. So experts are careful. “I can test smaller samples, samples that are more degraded, and it gives me more information than your older technology,” says Nick Sanchez, an LAPD Forensic Science Division criminalist who examined evidence associated with Kari’s case.
When firearms are involved in a murder, investigators may look for gunshot residue on a suspect’s hands or clothing, though some weapons don’t discharge it. Spent bullets are also examined for striations, the marks that match the unique patterns inside the barrel of a gun.
With knife injuries, Pagliaro says a forensic pathologist could investigate a victim’s wounds to help determine the type of weapon used. The width, depth and shape of a cut, as well as the wound’s edges, can help suggest if a smooth, serrated or irregular surface caused the injury.
The FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (Codis), a support system for DNA databases that contains nearly 14m offender and arrestee profiles, helps investigators link local crimes to offenders outside their jurisdictions. And the latest type of DNA analysis – short tandem repeat, or STR – means genetic profiles uploaded are more specific than ever. STR analysis, which looks at specific repeating patterns in DNA, can help identify profiles to an incredibly narrow degree. “We typically see profiles where the powers of discrimination are in the quadrillions to the quintillions,” says Jennifer Francis, another LAPD criminalist who examined evidence from Kari’s case.
Related: Britain could be forensic science world leader, says chief scientific adviser
“The technology that was done back in the day was much less discriminating,” Francis adds. “With the STR technology, [an investigator can see DNA samples] are from the same individual versus, you know, 12% of the population.”
Through Codis, DNA profiles are searched to find matches: either linking new crimes to known offenders or matching the same unknown offenders to multiple crimes. Fortunately for Francis and Sanchez, that process is mostly automated: the system runs searches each weekend and by the following Monday returns new matches, which criminalists then check further.
Sanchez believes Codis could ultimately crack Kari’s case. “I know this is one case that Tim always has on his mind,” Sanchez says, “and I hope he solves it.”
Disclosure: Detective Tim Marcia consults for Bosch, the Amazon Original Series. Stream the new season of Bosch on Amazon Prime Video on 11 March.
This content is paid for by Bosch | When it comes to solving a murder, DNA, fingerprints and ballistics are just the starting point for forensic experts and detectives. Here’s what investigations look like to those in the lab | 30.8 | 0.857143 | 1.314286 | medium | medium | abstractive |
http://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler/2016/06/160617_turkiye_turizm_kriz | http://web.archive.org/web/20160621031338id_/http://www.bbc.com:80/turkce/haberler/2016/06/160617_turkiye_turizm_kriz?ocid=socialflow_twitter | Turizmciler zorda: 'Hiç bu kadar dibe vurmamıştık' | 20160621031338 | Havuzda oynayan bir grup İngiliz turist istediği kadar bağırabilir çünkü görünürde rahatsız edebilecekleri başka kimse yok.
Antalya'nın hemen dışında Kemer'de dört yıldızlı Garden Resort Bergamot Oteli normalde yılın bu zamanında yüzde 70 dolu oluyor. Ama 233 odanın sadece 25 tanesi tutulmuş.
Otelin sahibi Süha Şen "Personelimizi 80 kişiden 50'ye indirdik ve fiyatlarımız da üçte bir düştü. Eğer önümüzdeki sene de böyle devam ederse oteli kapatmak zorunda kalabiliriz" diyor.
Havuzun kenarında güneşlenen az sayıda misafir otelde çok uygun fiyata konakladıklarını söylüyor.
İngiltere'nin Kuzey Galler bölgesinden gelen Diane Roberts "Her şey dahil bir hafta için iki kişi 630 euro ödedik. En ucuz fiyatlar şu anda Türkiye'de, bunu tahmin etmiyorduk ama insanlar buraya gelmekten korkuyor" diyor.
Bu hem Antalya hem de Türkiye'nin geneli için geçerli: Türk turizmi kriz yaşıyor.
2014 yılında 37 milyon ziyaretçiyi ağırlayan dünyadaki en popüler altıncı turist destinasyonu olan Türkiye, bu sene turizm sektöründe yüzde 40'lık bir düşüş bekliyor.
Bu azalmanın başında Rus pazarı geliyor. Türkiye'yi ziyaret eden dört buçuk milyon Rus turistin yüzde 95'i artık ülkeye gelmiyor.
Bunun tetikleyen ise Türkiye'nin geçen Kasım ayında hava sahasını ihlal ettiği gerekçesiyle bir Rus jetini düşürmesi ve ardından iki ülke arasında başlayan diplomatik krizdi.
Kremlin, Rus tur şirketlerinin Türkiye'ye paket satışlarını yasakladı ve Rusya Devlet Başkanı Vladimir Putin Ruslara başka yerlerde tatil yapmaları çağrısında bulundu.
Bunun üstüne Türkiye'de son bir yılda yapılan bir dizi bombalı saldırı da diğer turistleri korkuttu. Geçen yaz PKK şiddeti ve bombalı saldırılar yeniden başladı. IŞİD hem ülke çapında hem de İstanbul'da turistik yerleri hedef alan saldırılar düzenledi.
Türkiye'ye giden İngiliz ve Alman turistlerin oranında üçte bir düşüş yaşandı.
Batı'yı yerden yere vuran, muhalifleri dava eden ve doğum kontrolünü 'vatan hainliği' olarak niteleyen bir cumhurbaşkanıyla birlikte siyasi istikrarsızlık da pek fayda sağlamadı.
Yaşanan kriz sadece istihdamın yüzde 8'ini oluşturan turizm personelini değil, yabancı turistlerin alışverişine bağımlı esnafı da etkilemiş durumda.
Antalya'nın merkezinde esnaf dükkanların önünde boş boş oturarak müşteri bekliyor ama gelen giden yok.
Parlak renkte begonviller taş halı ve deri eşya satan mağazaların üstünü örtüyor. Ama sokaklar sessiz.
İstiklâl Sevuk kuyumcu dükkanını 30 yıldır işletiyor ama durum hiç bu kadar kötü olmamış.
Sevuk "Evet büyük şehirlerde terör saldırıları oluyor ama bizim en büyük sorunumuz hükümet ve Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan. Komşularımızla barışı sürdürmüyor ve ülkenin imajına zarar veriyor. Artık bir hükümetimiz yok. Her şeyi yapan tek bir adam var. Bunun sorumlusu Erdoğan'dır" diyor.
Bir zamanlar Rusların sıklıkla gittiği Belek'te iş yerleri iflas ediyor. Pegas isimli bir tur operatörü Ruslarla dolu 19 uçağı her gün Antalya'ya taşırken bugün filoyu bırakmak ve 3 bin personeli işten çıkarmak zorunda kalmış.
Bir dönem Rusların kaldığı Delphin Imperial otelinde ve özel sahilinde tek kelime Rusça duyulmuyor.
New York kentinin Chrysler Kulesi model alınarak yapılmış zenginlere hitap eden bu otelin doluluk oranı yüzde 40'tan az.
Otel müdürü Tolga Cömertoğlu Antalya Oteller Derneği'nin yönetim kurulunda.
Sarıya boyanmış saçları ve dar takım elbisesiyle Delphin otelin ilginç stiliyle uyumlu görünüyor.
Özel helikopteriyle gezerken gördüğü boş sahillerden derin endişe duyduğunu söylüyor.
"Ailem 40 yıldır turizm işinde ve ben hiç böyle bir şey görmedim. Dibe vurduk, daha kötüsünü düşünemiyorum bile" diyor Cömertoğlu.
Peki ne olacak diye soruyorum.
Cömertoğlu "Bu, turizm sektörünün sonu olabilir. Yani 28 milyar dolarlık kayıp demek" diyor.
Blackpool kentinden İngiliz çift Mark ve Claire Smith Antalya'nın merkezinde dolaşıyor. Hediyelik eşya satan esnaf onların üstüne atlıyor ama çiftin bugün alışveriş yapma niyeti yok.
Claire Smith "Bunu görmek çok üzücü. Türkiye harika bir ülke ama insanlar gelmiyor. Buradakiler nasıl yaşayacak?" diye soruyor.
Onlara buraya gelme konusunda endişeleri olup olmadığını soruyorum. Claire "Eşimin golf oynadığı bir arkadaşı 'Türkiye'ye şimdi gitmem' demiş ve Orlando'ya tatile gitmiş. Orada olanlara bakın. Eğer gelmezsek teröristler kazanır" diye yanıtladı.
Antalya'nın sessiz sahillerinde güneş Akdeniz'i ısıtıyor. Kumlar yumuşak, dağlar uzakta silueti resmedilmeye değer bir güzellik sunuyor.
Fakat Türkiye'de turizm akıntısı değişti. Devam eden saldırılar ve giderek daha öngörülemeyen bir cumhurbaşkanıyla ufukta iyileşme işareti görülmüyor. | Rusya ile yaşanan kriz ve artan bombalı saldırılar nedeniyle Türkiye'nin turizm sektöründe önemli bir duraklama hissediliyor. BBC'nin Türkiye muhabiri Mark Lowen sorunun ne boyutta olduğunu görmek için önemli turizm merkezlerinden Antalya'ya gitti. | 21.794118 | 0.558824 | 0.735294 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/02/chefs-favourite-kitchen-gadgets-equipment | http://web.archive.org/web/20160621031346id_/http://www.theguardian.com:80/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/02/chefs-favourite-kitchen-gadgets-equipment | I couldn't live without…: top chefs' favourite kitchen kit | 20160621031346 | Jamie Oliver: "An empty jam jar: super-cheap and super-useful, for anything from salad dressings and salsas to storing pulses and spices."
Yotam Ottolenghi Weekend columnist, Ottolenghi and Nopi, London: "For years I struggled with all sorts of mashers, then I found the Masterclass potato ricer. It fits in a drawer, it's easy to handle and clean, and creates a mega-smooth mash. I now use it for mashing all my root veg."
Thomasina Miers Wahaca chain, London: "Not at all hi-tech but utterly brilliant: my old Braun hand blender is so neat it can be stashed in a drawer, yet it can help you cook a thousand dishes. It's a lifesaver."Braun MultiQuick hand blender, £85.25, amazon.co.uk
Mark Hix Hix Oyster & Chop House and Hix, both London, Hix Oyster & Fish House, Lyme Regis, Dorset: "I wouldn't be without my Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer. I have one in Dorset and one in London, and use them weekly for my sourdough."From £377.10, johnlewis.com
Simon Hopkinson author and TV presenter – his latest book is The Good Cook (BBC Books, £20): "The wooden-handled scraper that's been in my sweaty hands for nearly 27 years. Occasionally I use it to scrape up pastry debris (for which it was designed), but mainly I use it for collecting up all manner of chopped ingredients to add to a cooking pot: herbs; crushed garlic; grated stuff; hand-chopped chicken liver pâtés; even bits of fish for the cats." Ateco make something similar, £22.98, langtoninfo.co.uk
Nigella Lawson: "My kitchen life is littered with highly specialised and seductive gadgets to which I've succumbed over the years, only to abandon, but the one thing I couldn't be without at this time of year is a plastic bin, which I use as a brining bucket for my turkey. Once you've tried it, there is just no turning back."
Clare Smyth head chef, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London SW3: "My Big Green Egg barbecue. You can put whatever you like on it, pull down the lid and leave it for hours without having to do anything at all. Good food made with ease and no stress."From £450, biggreenegg.co.uk
Stuart Gillies The Savoy Grill, London WC2, Bread Street Kitchen, London E4: "Easy: our popcorn maker at home. Salt and vinegar for my wife and me, butterscotch for our boys."American originals popcorn maker, £15.99, amazon.co.uk
Laura Santtini author, Flash Cooking (Quadrille, £20): "My Wet-N-Dry spice grinder. It is a great little gadget for making 'flavour bombs' because it blends anything from tough spices to smooth pastes and delicate finishing salts. Unlike a traditional coffee grinder, the bowl is dishwasher-safe, so there are no lingering flavours." £36.99, lakeland.co.uk
Michel Roux Jr Le Gavroche, Roux at Parliament Square, Roux at The Landau, all London: "A mahogany truffle box made by one of my old maitre'd's. It's the most beautiful way to present fresh truffles to customers during the season."
Tom Kerridge The Hand & Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire: "My Homer Simpson bottle-opener, a present from my PA, Zabrina. Each time I open a bottle, it goes, 'Mmmmmm, beer.'"£5.95, gadgets.co.uk
Bruno Loubet Bistrot Bruno Loubet, London EC1: "I love my electric mincer – it's great for making terrines, sausages, stuffings, even burgers. I never buy mince, because I'm often unsure what's actually in it. We have a professional one at the restaurant, but Moulinex and Kitchen Aid make good ones for the home – you can get them on Amazon for about £80."
Fergus Henderson St John, St John Bread & Wine and St John Hotel, all London: "A wooden spoon: you can stir food, spank those who need spanking, conduct… A wonderful tool, ergonomical, and a beautiful object when lying dormant."
Angela Hartnett Murano, London W1: "My ridged Le Creuset griddle pan – it's great for giving meat, especially steak, that special smoky flavour."Around £65, lecreuset.co.uk
Felicity Cloake G2 columnist, author, Perfect (Penguin, £18.99): "My silicone tongs (9) – they're incredibly handy for turning bacon, tossing pasta and generally fiddling with hot food in a professional sort of way. I even take them on holiday with me."£10.95, divertimenti.co.uk
Ashley Palmer-Watts head chef, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London SW1: "I haven't got one yet, but I've got my eye on a Hotmix Pro, a mixer that heats to 190C and down to -24C." £1,570, metcalfecatering.com
Syke Gyngell Petersham Nurseries, Richmond: "My most invaluable utensil is my ice-cream maker – I make ice-cream or sorbet every day. Mine's a professional brand, a Robocoupe, which is very pricey, so go for one you can afford. It's a lovely way to showcase fruit in season, and you can play around with combinations and tastes."Kenwood IM200 ice-cream maker, £35.99, amazon.co.uk
Pierre Gagnaire Sketch, London W1; Pierre Gagnaire, Paris: "A cast-iron casserole, such as a Le Creuset. Great for low-heat cooking, and the thickness is good for slow cooking."
Rick Stein The Seafood Restaurant, Padstow, Cornwall: "I hate to be a bore, but it's the cook's knife I've used for most of my professional life. It has a nick about halfway up the blade where I stupidly once cracked a lobster. Every time I sharpen it, the blemish gets minutely shallower. One day, it'll be perfect again."
Nathan Outlaw Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Rock, Cornwall: "My antique butter churner. It makes me think about the days when things were done properly but not necessarily quickly. The rest of the team thought I'd gone mad when I turned up with what they saw as a piece of junk, but they've changed their tune now."
José Pizarro Pizarro and José, both London SE1: "A wooden pestle and mortar – my mum and grandma always used one, so it reminds me of them."Olive wood pestle and mortar, from £14.99, naturallymed.com
Mitch Tonks The Seahorse and Rockfish, both Dartmouth; Rockfish Grill, Bristol: "A wooden flour sifter I bought in Spain. It's just two trays, with a smaller one with a mesh bottom that slides over the top of a larger one. You pop in your squid, prawns, small fish or veg, heap on some flour, jiggle the top box back and forth, and you end up with the lightest of coatings, all ready for the deep-fryer. Simple and bloody ace."
Sam and Sam Clark Moro and Morito, both London EC1: "An electric bean and pea sheller. We first found one in a hardware store in Spain (where they're a lot cheaper), and it's ideal for peas, broad beans, borlotti, anything like that. Saves time like you wouldn't believe."Electric pea sheller, £147.46, from UK Equipment Direct, 08000 821123
Stephen Harris The Sportsman, Seasalter, Kent: "I'm a bit cynical about chefs who love the latest kit – all the gear, no idea – so I'm going for a ceramic Kyocera knife." From £28.65, cooks-knives.co.uk
Sat Bains Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham: "A Thermomix. As well as being a solid, all-round blender, it's so versatile – it can puree and heat at the same time, which is great for soups and sauces, even stews."
Claude Bosi Hibiscus, London W1: "My favourite bit of kitchen kit is my kitchen porter, because I hate washing up and a good KP can turn their hand to anything."
Henry Dimbleby Leon chain, London and the south-east: "It has to be my mouli, for making mashed potato. Nothing else comes close."£59, richmondcookshop.co.uk
Russell Norman co-owner, Polpo, Polpetto, Spuntino, Da Polpo, Mishkin's, all London: "Without a doubt it's my Presso manual espresso maker. As well as being elegantly designed, it simply requires freshly boiled water, coffee and elbow grease to make pretty passable espresso without the need for an expensive, George Clooney-endorsed machine."£69.96, coffeecavern.co.uk
Maria Elia Joe's, London SW3: "My favourite kitchen tool is one I haven't even got. When I lived in Italy, we had these little wood-chip smoking boxes that were just perfect for smoking small portions of fish and meat. Maybe Father Christmas will bring me one this year…"£11.99, forfoodsmokers.co.uk
Mary Berry food writer – her latest book is The Great British Bake-Off (BBC Books, £20): "I adore my Magimix processor – it is wonderful for pâté, soups, pastry and so much more. I also use it for slicing potatoes for dauphinoise; and if I've made a lumpy sauce, I just pop it in the Magimix to get rid of the lumps."From £199, johnlewis.com
Tom Aikens: "The Microplane grater is, for me, the best and simplest piece of kitchen gadgetry. You can now get them with all sorts of blades and graters, and they're great for everything from cheese and veg to truffles and frozen flavoured ice."From £13.45, hartsofstur.com
Tom Kitchin The Kitchin, Leith, Edinburgh: "A good set of knives. There are a huge number of gadgets out there, but ask any chef and nothing is as important."
David Thompson Nahm, London and Bangkok: "A granite pestle and mortar – Thai, primitive, almost unbreakable and versatile. Great for pastes, spices, sauces and a workout."From £15.99, thai-food-online.co.uk
Raymond Blanc Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons, Great Milton, Oxford: "My Gaggenau baking stone: it heats up to 300C and is especially good for bread. Perfect for one of my favourites, Maman Blanc's tarte tartin."From £448.99, gaggenau-eshop.com
Richard Bertinet Bertinet Kitchen & Bakery, Bath: "I can't live without my scraper – for working the dough, taking it out of bowls after it's proved, dividing for loaves and rolls… and for cleaning the car windscreen in winter."From £2.39, bakerybits.co.uk
Giorgio Locatelli Locanda Locatelli, London W1: "Our Crustastun – it ensures we kill our lobsters humanely." From £2,500, crustastun.com
Alexis Gauthier Gauthier Soho, London W1: "I have quite a few gadgets that I use both at work and at home, and none costs more than £5 from any half-decent Chinese supermarket: my favourites include a negi cutter (leek shredder) – no risk of cutting fingers when slicing into perfect thin widths – and a ravioli maker that makes the most beautiful ravioli with just one touch."
Anna Hansen The Modern Pantry, London EC1: "I was in Sri Lanka recently and bought a coconut grater. It's genius: a rotating dome of formidable blades that grate fresh coconut into fluffy, supplicant perfection." £14.99, coconutty.co.uk
Gizzi Erskine: "My mum gave me her old enamel pans when I left home at 19. They're bright yellow, 60s, with a thick enamel, so they regulate heat as well as any pan. They've cooked many a mean stew and spag bol, and while I may not use them as much as my other pans now, I know they'll be with me for life."
Jane Baxter Riverford Field Kitchen, Buckfastleigh, Devon: "No contest – my red Victorinox tomato knife. It's great for general veg prep, especially for dealing with tough squash skins and other root veg. In fact, it's good for most jobs. It has to be the one with the red handle, because there's less chance of it being chucked in the bin along with all the peelings." £2.69, Nisbets
Bill Granger Granger & Co, London W11: "My favourite gadget would have to be the humble mandoline. It's a very simple tool, but a versatile one, and I don't know where I'd be without it. It not only saves time, but requires much less effort than agonisingly trying to create uniform slices with a knife. It also gives your dishes that polished, cheffy appearance. Just mind your fingers."Oxo Good Grips hand-held mandoline, £12.69
Shaun Hill The Walnut Tree, Llanddewi Skirrid, Abergavenny: "My favourite and most used gadget is a liquidiser. Unlike a food processor, which merely chops stuff up, this centrifuges liquids along with oil or butter into silky sauces and soups – it's almost miraculous. I always buy the cheapest and crappiest, usually a Kenwood or Moulinex, and rarely pay more than £20 or £30, because there is no discernible difference in the results between these and glossier, more elegant and expensive models."Kenwood liquidiser, £29.99, amazon.co.uk
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Weekend columnist: "My potato ricer. It's a like a giant garlic crush – you put in cooked spuds, bring the handles together and squiggly worms of mash wriggle out of the holes. Aside from the childish glee I get from it, it makes the best mash ever."
Jason Atherton Pollen Street Social, London W1: "All my appliances at home are Kitchen Aid, because they're the best, most durable and deliver professional results. I use my large mixer to make instant ice-cream with dry ice – that sends my daughter crazy with delight– and the blender to mix spices or to make brilliant alcohol smoothies."kitchenaid.co.uk
Theo Randall Theo Randall at the Intercontinental, London W1: "My Imperia pasta machine: it's the most useful – and probably most used – piece of equipment I have." £43.19, amazon.co.uk
Anissa Helou food writer: "I have collected a few ceramic knives over the years, but my favourite is a precious one I got from Lorenzi in Milan. It has an incredibly sharp, grey blade. which makes it look like a regular knife, and a beautiful, Italian-crafted rosewood handle. It's too fine to use every day, but I use it to slice bottarga or foie gras, or simply to show off."
Trish Deseine: "My favourite kitchen utensil – and this is great for chocolate – is a silicone spatula. I adore its smooth, velvety, supple feel around a baking bowl and how cleverly it picks up every trace of chocolate or cake batter, or whipped cream. There are so many brands to choose from – just pick one to suit your taste and wallet."Silicone spatula, £7.50, debenhams.co.uk
Eddie Hart co-owner Fino, Barrafina and Quo Vadis, all London: "My garlic peeler: it's genius as some garlic cloves are very fiddly to peel."From £1.50, pedlars.co.uk
Dan Lepard Weekend columnist: "Electronic 1g kitchen scales – they're as essential for me as your iPhone is for you." Salter digital kitchen scales, £14.99, argos.co.uk | From Jamie's jam jar and Hugh's potato ricer to Rick's much-loved old cook's knife and Nigella's bin (yes, really), Britain's top chefs, food writers and restaurateurs pick their kitchen gadget essentials | 67.318182 | 0.840909 | 1.113636 | high | medium | abstractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/04/nyregion/adella-wotherspoon-last-survivor-of-general-slocum-disaster-is-dead-at-100.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160621040601id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2004/02/04/nyregion/adella-wotherspoon-last-survivor-of-general-slocum-disaster-is-dead-at-100.html?_r=0 | Adella Wotherspoon, Last Survivor of General Slocum Disaster, Is Dead at 100 | 20160621040601 | Adella Wotherspoon, the last survivor of the deadliest disaster in New York City history until Sept. 11, 2001 -- the burning and sinking of the steamboat General Slocum in June 1904 -- died on Jan. 26. She was 100, the youngest Slocum survivor having at last become the oldest.
She died at a convalescent home in Berkeley Heights, N.J., said a close friend, Julia A. Clevett.
The burning of the General Slocum, named for Maj. Gen. Henry Warner Slocum, a Civil War hero and New York congressman, was the most lethal peacetime maritime disaster in the nation's history. It is generally accepted that 1,021 people died, almost seven times as many as in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911, which killed 146 and is often thought of as New York's worst inferno.
Historians have suggested that the Triangle fire is better remembered because the poor immigrant women who died were the clear victims of exploitative owners at a time of intense labor struggle.
The General Slocum, which killed members of a German Lutheran church excursion, also quickly receded in memory because of the start of World War I and the resultant anti-German feeling, wrote Edward T. O'Donnell in his book, ''Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum'' (Broadway Books, 2003).
Mrs. Wotherspoon herself used the example of the Titanic's sinking in 1912, with about 1,500 deaths, to make another point.
''The Titanic had a great many famous people on it,'' she said. ''This was just a family picnic.''
On June 15, 1904, a sunny Wednesday morning, Mrs. Wotherspoon, then the 6-month-old called Adele Liebenow, was part of the 17th annual Sunday school picnic of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, on the heavily German Lower East Side. The church had chartered a paddle-wheel, 264-foot-long steamboat, for $350 from the Knickerbocker Steamboat Company to go to Locust Grove Picnic Ground at Eaton's Neck on Long Island.
The Liebenow party included Adele's parents, her two sisters, three aunts, an uncle and two cousins. When the boat left the East River pier at Third Street at 9:40 a.m., a church band on board played, ''A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.''
Forty minutes later, the joy turned to abject terror. Smoke started billowing from a forward storage room. A spark, most likely from a carelessly tossed match, had ignited some straw. Soon, the boat was an inferno. The captain ignored cries to steam for shore and proceeded at top speed through the perilous waters known as Hell Gate to North Brother Island, a mile ahead.
The inexperienced crew, which had not had a single fire drill, provided scant help. Lifeboats were wired or glued to the deck with layers of paint, cork in the life jackets had turned to dust with age and fire hoses broke under water pressure.
By the time the General Slocum reached the island, it was too late. The death toll among the estimated 1,331 passengers was 1,021, according to most sources. The dead included Adele's sisters, Anna, 3, and Helen, 6. Munsey's Magazine, a periodical of the time, wrote, ''Children whom the flames had caught on the forward decks rushed, blazing like torches to their mothers.''
Adele was nearby in the arms of her mother, also named Anna, when the fire started. Her father, Paul, was elsewhere on the boat. Her mother covered her face, and, with her clothing on fire, jumped into the river.
''My mother was very, very badly burned, all up her left side,'' Mrs. Wotherspoon said in an interview with The Journal News of Westchester County in 1999, ''so I assumed that she hung on as long as she could and then dropped into the water when she couldn't hang on anymore.''
After helping the two to shore, Mr. Liebenow left to search for his missing daughters. The body of Helen was never found, but he identified little Anna's. By then, he had lost track of his wife and baby.
Mr. Liebenow was himself badly burned on the head but relentlessly prowled the city's hospital corridors in search of his missing family members. Each hospital tried to detain him, but he refused. The New York Times reported that he was so ''crazed with grief and pain'' that he almost became violent with the coroner who was trying to help him in his quest. Finally, he found the lost ones.
The Slocum is memorialized in one of the English language's most celebrated novels, ''Ulysses'' by James Joyce. A character refers to the General Slocum disaster as being the day before Joyce's strange and legendary Bloomsday, thereby setting the novel in actual time.
''Terrible affair that General Slocum explosion,'' the character says. ''Terrible, terrible! A thousand casualties. And heart-rending scenes. Men trampling down women and children. Most brutal thing.''
The disaster surely framed the life of Adele Martha Liebenow, who was born in Manhattan on Nov. 28, 1903. A year afterward, the youngest survivor unveiled the monument to the 61 unidentified dead at Lutheran Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens. The toddler dropped her doll as her mother held her up to pull the cord to reveal the sculptures of four figures symbolizing despair, grief, courage and belief in the hereafter.
''The mother's face, still cruelly scarred by the burns she had suffered in protecting her little one, flushed with pride that the baby made no mistake and pulled the cord as directed with strength enough to make the unveiling a success,'' The Times reported. | Adella Wotherspoon, last survivor of burning and sinking of steamboat General Slocum at Hell Gate in June 1904, dies at age 100; photo (M) | 38.586207 | 0.862069 | 2.172414 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.tmz.com/2013/11/20/sylvia-browne-world-famous-psychic-dead | http://web.archive.org/web/20160621085053id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2013/11/20/sylvia-browne-world-famous-psychic-dead | Sylvia Browne Dead -- World Famous Psychic Dies at 77 | 20160621085053 | -- who appeared on all sorts of TV shows including "Montel" "Larry King Live" and "Unsolved Mysteries" -- has passed away .. TMZ has learned.
Browne specialized in psychic detective work, and attempted to help on several missing person cases ... with varying results.
Browne's son, Chris, tells TMZ ... Sylvia passed away this morning in San Jose, surrounded by family and friends. She was 77.
Browne most recently took heat after famously announcing that Amanda Berry had died after she went missing in 2003 ... because, as we all know now, she wasn't dead. Sylvia chalked up the misinformation as a simple mistake.
The following message was just posted on Sylvia's Facebook page, "Sylvia graduated today. She was surrounded by family and friends. What a legacy. She shared so much. We will carry on her knowledge with hypnosis and Journey of the Soul and her many books. What a great party they must be having on the Other Side. Bless everyone." | World famous psychic Sylvia Browne -- who appeared on all sorts of TV shows including "Montel" "Larry King Live" and "Unsolved Mysteries" -- has passed… | 6.15625 | 0.90625 | 21.21875 | low | medium | extractive |
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/06/18/exxon-carries-out-major-evacuation-from-iraq-oil-official.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160621120501id_/http://www.cnbc.com/2014/06/18/exxon-carries-out-major-evacuation-from-iraq-oil-official.html | Exxon carries out major evacuation from Iraq: Oil official | 20160621120501 | ExxonMobil has carried out a "major evacuation,'' and BP had evacuated 20 percent of its staff, the head of Iraq's state-run South Oil Company said Wednesday.
Dhiya Jaffar also said ENI, Schlumberger, Weatherford and Baker Hughes had no plans to evacuate staff from Iraq following the lightning advance of Sunni militants through the country. The companies, which are based in southern Iraq where the government is still in firm control, were not immediately available for comment.
"This message is not satisfactory for us. We are not convinced the work should not be done remotely. They should be here on the ground,'' Jaffar told Reuters.
"I assure the companies that the current developments in the country have not affected and will not affect in anyway the operations in the south,'' he said, adding that the export level for June will be 2.7 million barrels per day.
CNBC could not immediately confirm the evacuations.
Read MoreThis may be murderous militants' secret weapon | The head of Iraq's South Oil Company also insists that current developments have not affected and will not affect oil operations in the south. | 7.384615 | 0.961538 | 4.115385 | low | high | mixed |
http://www.tmz.com/2016/06/20/izabel-goulart-bikini-kevin-trapp-beach-photos/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160621190229id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2016/06/20/izabel-goulart-bikini-kevin-trapp-beach-photos/ | VS Model Izabel Goulart:You Can Look ... Butt Probably Not Touch | 20160621190229 | Victoria's Secret model Izabel Goulart rinsing off on a beach in Ibiza is a sight to behold ... until her boyfriend swoops in and ruins it.
Izabel -- who's got a role in "Baywatch" -- is dating German soccer player Kevin Trapp.
If it makes you feel better ... he can't be that good if he's not playing in the Euro Cup. | Victoria's Secret model Izabel Goulart rinsing off on a beach in Ibiza is a sight to behold ... until her boyfriend swoops in and ruins it. Izabel --… | 2.28125 | 0.9375 | 16.375 | low | medium | extractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/24/business/24TRAV.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160622091359id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2001/10/24/business/24TRAV.html? | Many Airlines to Stop Serving Meals | 20160622091359 | Would you care for dinner?" the flight attendant asks.
"What are the choices?" the passenger says.
"Yes and no," the flight attendant replies.
With the mounting miseries of air travel, that little joke, which was timely as recently as a month ago when airlines were merely cutting back on the quality and variety of the food they served, is already out of date. Very soon, at mealtime on most domestic flights, most airlines will no longer offer even a Hobson's choice — which is defined as no choice at all.
That is because many airlines are eliminating most meal service, except on international flights. If you want lunch on that business trip from, say, Boston to Chicago, you'll probably have to brown-bag it yourself.
Yesterday, United Airlines, joined most of its major competitors and said it was eliminating a big portion of its meal service. Economy-class passengers "on flights that are 1,635 miles or less, which equates to about 3 hours and 45 minutes, will not have meals," said Chris Nardella, a United spokeswoman.
In first class, meals are being eliminated on flights under two hours, or about 700 miles, she said. Meal service on international flights is largely unchanged.
United thus joined American Airlines Delta Air Lines ( news/quote ), Northwest Airlines ( news/quote ) US Airways, Midwest Express Airlines, T.W.A. and others in announcing sharp reductions in in- flight meal service in recent weeks. The only major holdout was Continental Airlines ( news/quote ), which said yesterday that it would continue to serve meals as usual on its planes.
Still, some airline analysts, echoing the refrain that everything has changed since Sept. 11, say that we may be witnessing at least the partial demise of a basic component of air-travel culture: the ubiquitous, long-defamed airline meal.
"I think it's permanent," Michael Boyd, the president of the Boyd Group, an airline consultant firm based in Evergreen, Colo., said of the trend toward ending meals.
"Of course, some of the elimination had already begun," before Sept. 11, he said. "If you were flying in coach on shorter flights, hot meals were going the way of the dodo in any case."
The domestic airline industry, already seeing its worst year in a decade after its lucrative business travel market fell sharply last winter when the economy soured, has been desperately cutting costs since Sept. 11, even after it was granted a $15 billion federal bailout.
Airlines have slashed schedules, benched aircraft and announced layoffs of about 100,000 employees. Eliminating meals on many flights — the food cost for an economy class meal averages about $4 for an airline —is another step in that process.
American Airlines and its T.W.A. subsidiary announced on Sept. 20 that, effective Nov. 1, they would no longer serve meals in economy class on domestic flights (excluding nonstop transcontinental flights) and in first class on domestic flights of less than two hours.
Next came Northwest. Northwest is cutting meal service in domestic economy-class flights except for those between its three hubs (at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Memphis) and the West Coast, and in domestic first-class flights under two hours, according to Kurt Ebenhoch, a spokesman.
Delta then announced last Friday that, starting Nov. 1, it will eliminate meals on domestic flights of less than 1,750 miles in economy and less than 700 miles in first class. US Airways also said it would drop meal service on most domestic flights, except transcontinental nonstops.
Mr. Boyd has projected that domestic air traffic will be off 9 percent this year and that the domestic airline industry will experience a revenue shortfall of $28 billion over previously anticipated revenue in the next 15 months. He said that he even expected some airlines to remove kitchen facilities from some planes.
"You're probably looking at hot galleys being taken off a lot of airplanes to save weight," he said. "Why have them if you're not going to serve any food?"
Continental insisted that its policy to continue serving meals would remain in effect. "We absolutely will not change it," said Rahsaan Johnson, a spokesman.
He added: "It comes down to this: If you're a business traveler who just got out of a 5 o'clock meeting and you want to catch that 7 o'clock flight to get back home and you don't have time to stop to get something to eat, you want the airline to give you a snack or a meal; you want it to be appetizing, and you remember if you didn't get it."
The airline food-catering industry is reeling from the cuts.
Two companies, LSG Sky Chefs, owned by Lufthansa, and Gate Gourmet, owned by SAir Group, the parent of the financially troubled airline Swissair, dominate the in-flight meal business, operating kitchens around the world that turn out about 60 percent of all airline meals.
LSG, whose main customer in the United States is American Airlines, said in late September that it would lay off about 30 percent of its domestic work force of 16,300 at kitchens at 58 domestic airports. Gate Gourmet said it had eliminated 1,800 jobs in the United States. | On Tuesday, United Airlines joined most of its major competitors and said it was eliminating a big portion of its meal service. | 43.375 | 0.958333 | 15.458333 | high | high | extractive |
http://nypost.com/2015/05/17/billboard-music-awards-red-carpet-arrivals/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160622100116id_/http://nypost.com:80/2015/05/17/billboard-music-awards-red-carpet-arrivals/ | Billboard Music Awards red carpet arrivals | 20160622100116 | Chrissy Teigen and John Legend
Nick Young and Iggy Azalea
Olivia Culpo and Nick Jonas
Katie Peterson and Jesse McCartney
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{* #tradAuthenticateMergeForm *} {* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} {* mergePassword *} | Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez and more rock the red carpet at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. | 10 | 0.157895 | 0.157895 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/kanye-west-kim-kardashians-baby-due-christmas-day-article-1.2378462 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160622140810id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/kanye-west-kim-kardashians-baby-due-christmas-day-article-1.2378462 | Kimye's baby due Christmas day: report | 20160622140810 | Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's baby boy is reportedly due on Christmas Day, according to TMZ.
The arrival of the Hollywood couple's second born can't be known for sure — after all, daughter North West was born one month ahead of schedule — but sources tell the gossip site a Christmas baby is "likely."
Or not. Kardashian recently revealed that she suffered from a rare pregnancy complication when she gave birth to North — and the same condition may recur, her doctors have told her. The condition, placenta accreta, means that the blood vessels and other parts of the placenta that nourish the fetus are sometimes too deeply embedded in the uterine wall. Many doctors recommend a planned C-section to avoid complications, but Kardashian is still holding out for a natural childbirth, TMZ added.
After that, she'll likely have a hysterectomy, which "is a little scary for me," she recently told C magazine.
Sources added that the 38-year-old rapper and his reality star wife have already locked down a deluxe maternity suite at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, the same facility where 2-year-old Nori was born.
The posh suite, which costs around $4,000 a day, comes with flat-screen televisions, full-sized tubs and showers, living room area, hair stylist, manicurist, and a personal doula to assist with the birthing process.
ON A MOBILE DEVICE? WATCH THE VIDEO HERE. | Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's baby boyis reportedly due on Christmas Day, according to TMZ. | 15.666667 | 0.944444 | 8.277778 | medium | high | extractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/castle-died-series-finale-article-1.2639813 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160622145438id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/castle-died-series-finale-article-1.2639813 | 'Castle': Who Died in the Series Finale? | 20160622145438 | [Warning: This story contains spoilers from the series finale of ABC's Castle, "Crossfire."]
That's a wrap for ABC's Castle. The long-running procedural wrapped its eight-season run Monday by solving the show’s biggest mystery: revealing the identity of Loksat, while giving Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) their happily ever after.
With speculation that Castle could become the latest broadcast drama to kill off its female lead this season, sources say producers filmed two different endings — one that set up a potential ninth season should the drama be renewed and one that completely closed the door, with the latter put in play Monday following the show's cancellation.
'Castle' Canceled After Eight Seasons'
"While we're still trying to process all the emotions stirred up by recent events, the feeling that stands head and shoulders above all else is gratitude," showrunners Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter said in a statement. "Eight seasons. A hundred and seventy three episodes. None of it would have been possible without you — our loyal and passionate fans. You are the reason this show survived and thrived. Without you carving out 'Castle Mondays' every week, we would never have been able to make the show we love for as long as we did. So thank you. And thanks to Andrew Marlowe for creating such a delightful world, centered around a love story for the ages. It was an honor and privilege to shepherd the story of Castle and Beckett this season. And finally, thank you to our cast and crew, who have been our family for these last eight years. Who elevated every script by investing the best of themselves into each episode. We will miss you profoundly."
Inside Stana Katic's Shocking 'Castle' Exit
As for how the on-screen story ended, promos for what wound up serving as the series finale had fans worried that Beckett would ultimately join the long list of women who have been whacked on TV this season. That didn't happen.
When "Crossfire" opens, Beckett, Vikram (Sunkrish Bala) and Castle are hot on the Loksat trail and desperately trying to catch him with the help of Caleb Brown (Kris Polaha), the public defender who once worked on Team Loksat but who has now agreed to assist in leading the team to his former colleague. Just as Castle and Beckett are hoping to intercept a drop Caleb is doing for Loksat, things go awry: The man who pulls up to the scene isn’t Caleb but a decoy. Before the team can react, shots are fired from all angles. Beckett and Castle are quickly rescued by Mason Wood (Gerald McRaney), with whom Rick had previously interacted in Los Angeles. Beckett is instantly suspicious.
Canceled TV Shows from the 2016-17 Season
As it turns out, Caleb met a fiery end in a car, but not before leaving a clue about the identity of his killer: Loksat's unknown right-hand man. Knowing this means yet another person is gunning for them, Castle and Beckett split up to protect Castle's family as well as colleague Hayley (Toks Olagundoye) and the rest of the crew. Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Ryan (Seamus Dever) quickly get suspicious, with Beckett filling them in as extra backup. And they need it, as Rick winds up captured by Loksat's right-hand man and taken to a hidden location. There, he meets Loksat’s counterpart Mr. Flynn, who wants the names of every person who knows about Loksat’s existence. Castle isn't willing to give that up without a fight, so Flynn naturally drugs him with a truth serum. Just before Rick starts to spill, Loksat reveals his true identity: Mason — or so viewers are left to believe.
Mason then threatens the lives of Rick's loved ones and tells him everything ends in tragedy — even an epic love story like Castle and Beckett's. Castle ultimately escapes Loksat's clutches in time to save Beckett from being thrown into Mason’s incinerator. As if there were any doubt about the couple's devotion, Beckett solidifies their love story by saving Castle and taking Mason out once and for all. The Loksat saga has one final twist when the couple returns home and Castle wonders why Loksat would have Caleb killed in a burning car when he had an incinerator handy. Before he finishes his thought, Caleb comes in guns blazing and is revealed to be the true Loksat. Bullets fly, and everyone is shot. Caleb is dead, ending the Loksat mystery for good. Beckett and Castle are left cuddled up next to each other clutching their wounds as the drama fades to black. (Sources tell THR this is how Castle would have ended were the series to have ultimately been renewed for season nine.)
The episode then jumps ahead seven years and reveal that both Castle and Beckett survived and had three children together. (Rewatch the final moments of the series finale, below.) | The veteran ABC drama was unexpectedly canceled after ABC Studios negotiated new contracts for most of its stars. | 51.210526 | 0.578947 | 0.684211 | high | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/4154134/arab-spring-tunisia-anniversary/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160623054748id_/http://time.com:80/4154134/arab-spring-tunisia-anniversary/ | Tunisia Celebrates Fifth Anniversary of the Arab Spring | 20160623054748 | Five years ago, on December 17, 2010, a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest after a police officer seized his cart and produce. It was an act that encapsulated the resentment of Tunisians suffocating after years of official corruption, economic stagnation, and police abuse. Bouazizi’s self-immolation in the city of Sidi Bouzid sparked protests that spread across the country, gathering in size and momentum. The autocratic Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who had been president of Tunsisia, was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2011. The Arab Spring had begun.
The series of revolutions that marked the Arab world toppled dictators and transformed the map of the region, inspiring hope for permanent change in the Middle East. Yet five years on Tunisia is regarded as the lone success story of the Arab revolts. Since Ben Ali’s departure, Tunisians have maintained a relatively wide margin of freedom of expression and pursued a messy and ongoing transition to democracy, even as its neighbors descended into violence (as in Syria and Libya) or reeled under the resurgence of the authoritarian order (as in Egypt and Bahrain).
Read Also: Parents of Tunisia Gunman Say Their Son Was Brainwashed and Framed
How did Tunisia avoid the cycle of violence and repression that marred the Arab Spring? Compromise. After the revolt, Tunisia held its first free election since it became an independent nation in 1956, bringing to power the Islamist Ennahda party. But the assembly elected that year reached a deadlock in 2013 as the Islamists faced growing opposition over concerns about what critics saw as a conservative agenda. Tensions soared after the assassination of the left-wing politician Mohamed Brahmi in July 2013. With more protests in the streets, the country appeared to be teetering on the brink of a much deeper crisis—the same kind of crises that crippled its neighbors.
In December 2013 the country’s rival factions negotiated a pact that allowed an elected Islamist government to step aside peacefully, therefore keeping a political process inching forward, including new elections and the drafting of a new constitution. The “Quartet” of institutions that brokered the compromise received the Nobel Peace Prize this year.
But with a struggling economy, stalled political reforms and a spate of deadly attacks by jihadists—most recently a shooting attack at beachside hotel in June that killed 38—many Tunisians who supported the 2010 uprising are not ready to declare victory. Activists and analysts say the “Arab Spring success story” label belies a more complex reality. The 2013 compromise helped Tunisia stay on the path of procedural democracy without resolving some of the deeper causes of the revolt, including inequality, government corruption, and the abuses of the security forces.
“This is the kind of paradox of Tunisia,” said Amna Guellali, Human Rights Watch’s Tunisia director. “We have a double-faced situation where you have some progress on the one hand, on the political level, on the political transition. On the other hand it’s exactly the same system that still applies.”
Read Also: A Depressed Egypt Heads to the Polls
Some Tunisians despair at the at the positive comparison between Tunisia and other countries where revolt ended in mayhem or repression. In Syria, Libya, and Yemen, revolution spawned civil war. In Bahrain an unpopular monarchy still clings to power. In Egypt, the uprising yielded a season of violence followed by the long winter of a government crackdown. To call Tunisia a success by contrast, the argument goes, is to set the bar in the Middle East very low.
“We are always comparing ourselves to the worst case scenarios,”Haytham Mekki, a Tunisian commentator. “When you want to succeed you don’t look to the last student in the classroom, you look to the first one.”
And yet, with a military-backed regime in Egypt and four other Middle Eastern countries engulfed in civil war, it can be easy to view Tunisia as an island of peaceful transition. Tunisia maintains a broader margin for political speech than many countries in the region. Tunisians can now criticize their government, if not entirely free of the risk of reprisal, far more freely than they could under Ben Ali. From the outside, the country appears to be engaged in debate and struggle that is both painful and imperfect—what elsewhere in the world would be called politics.
That same summer of 2013, when Tunisia was teetering in crisis, Egypt provided a cautionary tale for the failure of politics. Facing massive protests, the elected Muslim Brotherhood-backed government of President Mohamed Morsi clung to its absolute majoritarian notion of democracy. The military intervened, removing Morsi from power and catalyzing a wave of political violence. The new military-backed government initiated a crackdown that left more than 1,000 dead and tens of thousands in prison, including numerous Brotherhood supporters. The political experiment of the revolution was over.
Witnessing the persecution of follow Islamists in Egypt following the military takeover, Tunisia’s own Islamist government opted for compromise, stepping down in a deal brokered by the political dialogue Quartet (a formation that included the labor federation, Tunisia’s Human Rights League, and the Council of the Order of Lawyers). Unlike in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood was banned and forced underground, Tunisia’s Islamists remained a part of the political sphere.
Another round of elections were held in 2014. This time, the secular-nationalist Nidaa Tounes party won the largest share of votes, with Ennahda in second. Tunisia’s new president WHO had been an official under the Ben Ali regime, and the new government has been criticized for failing to pursue needed reforms. For example, the government backs a proposed law that would offer amnesty to former regime officials accused of corruption. The proposal has drawn denunciation from Tunisians who view it as a potential reversal of the gains of the uprising.
Another critical task facing Tunisia is accountability and reform for the country’s security forces after years of torture, rape, and other abuses under the Ben Ali regime. The country has a Truth and Dignity Commission which is sorting through thousands of claims rights violations, but rights groups say it is a long and uncertain road ahead toward real reform. “The problem is its five years now after the beginning of the transition,” says Human Rights Watch’s Guellali. “There was quite an opposition to its [the commission’s] work and political forces in the country trying to curtail it.”
Seif Soudani, a spokesperson for the commission, defended its work. “Given that the commission has been working within hostility and hardship, we basically think that minimum requirements, if you will of transitional justice will be met.”
Speaking in a personal capacity, Soudani also offered his views on the fraught legacy of the revolution. “A lot of people say the only tangible gain is freedom of speech. That alone enables us so far to fight back and not enable the police state to come back completely, so there’s still room for some progress,” he said. “They didn’t win yet.” | Tunisians are relieved their country has not gone down the route of Libya and Syria but believe there is much reform still to take place | 54.56 | 0.76 | 0.84 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Drivers-for-Uber-Lyft-stuck-in-insurance-limbo-5183379.php | http://web.archive.org/web/20160623062448id_/http://www.sfgate.com:80/bayarea/article/Drivers-for-Uber-Lyft-stuck-in-insurance-limbo-5183379.php | Drivers for Uber, Lyft stuck in insurance limbo | 20160623062448 | Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle
Andrew Holmgren uses his car, bought specifically for a gig with Lyft, to work 15 to 20 hours a week for the ride-sharing service.
Andrew Holmgren uses his car, bought specifically for a gig with Lyft, to work 15 to 20 hours a week for the ride-sharing service.
Nick Riggal climbs into a car adorned with Lyft's distinctive pink mustache after requesting a ride through the service's smartphone app in 2012.
Nick Riggal climbs into a car adorned with Lyft's distinctive pink mustache after requesting a ride through the service's smartphone app in 2012.
Sidecar became the first on-demand ride service okayed to work at SFO. Rider JoAnna Karem prepares to take a short trip in San Francisco with Sidecar driver Eric Janson.
Sidecar became the first on-demand ride service okayed to work at SFO. Rider JoAnna Karem prepares to take a short trip in San Francisco with Sidecar driver Eric Janson.
Lyft driver Yev Kaplinesky picks up clients.
Lyft driver Yev Kaplinesky picks up clients.
Andrew Holmgren uses his car, bought specifically for a gig with Lyft, to work 15 to 20 hours a week for the ridesharing service.
Andrew Holmgren uses his car, bought specifically for a gig with Lyft, to work 15 to 20 hours a week for the ridesharing service.
Drivers working for Lyft display distinctive pink mustaches on their cars to serve as easy identification for clients.
Drivers working for Lyft display distinctive pink mustaches on their cars to serve as easy identification for clients.
The SideCar iPhone app, on Saturday Nov. 17, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif., shows the riders a driver profile in San Francisco, Ca. Web-based ride sharing programs are coming under fire with regulators over licensing.
The SideCar iPhone app, on Saturday Nov. 17, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif., shows the riders a driver profile in San Francisco, Ca. Web-based ride sharing programs are coming under fire with regulators over
Drivers for Uber, Lyft stuck in insurance limbo
It wasn't a car accident that caused Adrian Anzaldua to quit driving for Lyft - it was the fear of one.
The 27-year-old started driving full time for the app-based car service in October but quit in December after hearing anecdotes that raised questions about his insurance policy.
"I looked into this whole situation more closely because it seemed too good to be true," said Anzaldua, who lives in San Francisco's Mission District. "I read a couple accounts online of people who had gotten into accidents while driving for Lyft. They had their coverage denied, so they were stuck with a totaled car. I said, 'I'm not driving until I figure out the insurance situation.' "
Anzaldua discovered what more and more drivers and insurance providers are finding: Those who work for companies like Uber, Sidecar and Lyft, which link drivers with customers through apps, are stuck in an insurance limbo that could leave them saddled with major costs after an accident.
Monday's lawsuit against Uber and an UberX driver who struck and killed a 6-year-old girl on New Year's Eve in San Francisco has made clear the insurance gaps that drivers for those companies face.
As startups disrupt old industries, from Uber taking on taxis to Airbnb going against hotels, regulation has lagged behind. But all too often, it's individuals who bear the risk.
Drivers must have personal insurance, and the companies must carry $1 million excess liability policies that cover damages in the case of an accident that is their driver's fault.
But huge gaps remain. Uber said it is not liable for the New Year's Eve accident because its driver did not have a passenger with him at the time, though the suit claims he was distracted by the app he used to look for new fares.
And many drivers' personal insurance policies, which would cover damages to themselves or their car, are increasingly less likely to cover claims for accidents that happen while transporting paying passengers.
Most standard personal policies do not cover accidents "arising out of the ownership or operation of a vehicle while it is being used as a public or livery conveyance." They do cover shared-expense car pools, according to the state Department of Insurance, which issued a warning to motorists about the insurance gaps this month.
"It's very clear in California: If you drive your car and make money on it, you need a commercial license," said Pete Moraga, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California. "But because it's so new, insurers don't ask the question, which does open the process up to fraud."
That leaves many drivers tempted to hide such work from insurers. The other option, commercial insurance, can be difficult to find and very expensive.
Anzaldua said he was shocked to discover how many Lyft drivers were unaware of the danger or concealing that they were using their cars as taxis when he asked about the issue on a drivers' forum.
"I basically got responses that said 'out of sight, out of mind,' " he said. "They knew it was a problem, but they were ignoring it because the money was good. Some people were really dismissive of it. They would try to make the same argument as Lyft was making, that you're not a commercial driver so you don't need this insurance."
Anzaldua was also stunned to hear of a woman who claimed to have lost her insurance after asking about driving for hire.
"She had asked about ride-sharing and they had taken that (to mean) that she was doing it, so they dropped her," Anzaldua said.
Taxi advocates say it's unfair that drivers for Uber, Lyft and Sidecar are doing the same job as taxis but aren't required to pay for pricier commercial insurance. A September ruling by the state's Public Utilities Commission doesn't require app-based drivers to have commercial insurance, but personal insurance might not be an option for anyone who is candid about their car use.
"They're allowing them to get away with an insurance that doesn't exist," said Barry Korengold, president of the San Francisco Cab Drivers Association. "There is no personal insurance policy that's going to cover you while you're using your car for passengers. A cabdriver I know (who) was looking to drive for UberX couldn't even find commercial insurance to cover him."
Anzaldua found an insurance broker in Southern California who was willing to give him a custom personal policy, but it was much more expensive - about $200 per month instead of his regular $90 per month. One stipulation was that he was driving for donations, not payments.
But in November, both Lyft and Sidecar stopped categorizing fares as donations and began calling them payments. (Uber has always dubbed them payments). Now it was clear: These were rides for hire.
"I called my broker, and asked, 'What is it going to do to my policy?' " Anzaldua said. "My broker said: It's going to make your policy worthless.' "
So he began his search again.
"Insurance companies are now wise to what ride-sharing means," Anzaldua said.
The only option was commercial insurance, which he says was quoted by Geico at $8,000 per year - almost eight times his personal insurance rate.
Anzaldua called it quits, but he says Geico made him send a notarized letter promising he would no longer drive for hire before it would reissue his personal insurance policy.
Other drivers are not as cautious and figure things will work themselves out. Andrew Holmgren, a 24-year-old comedian, bought a car last month mainly to drive for Lyft. When he bought his Progressive insurance online, he checked a box that said he was going to use it for business - but left it at that.
"I am aware that they may come to me someday and say, 'That's not OK with us,' " Holmgren said. "As of now I haven't had any issues, and I'm not too worried. I wouldn't be surprised if a company comes about that has insurance that's personal but for people doing ride share."
Sidecar said it hasn't heard of any of its drivers getting a claim denied. Uber said some of its drivers have commercial licenses. Lyft did not immediately respond.
The oft-cited $1 million liability insurance also has its surprises. Many drivers don't realize that it never covers damage to their car. It only covers damage and injuries to passengers and other parties and their property, and only if the driver-for-hire is at fault. If another motorist with cheap insurance or no insurance is at fault in a crash, a driver working for Uber, Lyft or Sidecar could be left in the lurch.
And as the recent Uber lawsuit shows, companies and drivers may disagree about when the liability coverage is in play. The state's ruling is vague - coverage kicks in while they are providing services for what the PUC has defined as transportation network companies. Uber, Sidecar and Lyft have all said this means from when a driver accepts a ride request to when the passenger is dropped off.
The gray area is dangerous to people who depend on the driving to support themselves, Anzaldua said. Many drivers have families and need the income but could be devastated by an accident where personal or company insurance unexpectedly pulls out.
"Lyft and UberX, it's too enticing. It's amazingly enticing," he said. "But the downfalls and the dangers of it are never laid out. I just felt there was a certain amount of neglect. They just keep dodging you on these things."
Ellen Huet is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ehuet@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ellenhuet | Insurance gapsMonday's lawsuit against Uber and an UberX driver who struck and killed a 6-year-old girl on New Year's Eve in San Francisco has made clear the insurance gaps that drivers for those companies face. Drivers must have personal insurance, and the companies must carry $1 million excess liability policies that cover damages in the case of an accident that is their driver's fault. Uber said it is not liable for the New Year's Eve accident because its driver did not have a passenger with him at the time, though the suit claims he was distracted by the app he used to look for new fares. [...] many drivers' personal insurance policies, which would cover damages to themselves or their car, are increasingly less likely to cover claims for accidents that happen while transporting paying passengers. Most standard personal policies do not cover accidents "arising out of the ownership or operation of a vehicle while it is being used as a public or livery conveyance." If you drive your car and make money on it, you need a commercial license, said Pete Moraga, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California. Taxi advocates say it's unfair that drivers for Uber, Lyft and Sidecar are doing the same job as taxis but aren't required to pay for pricier commercial insurance. A September ruling by the state's Public Utilities Commission doesn't require app-based drivers to have commercial insurance, but personal insurance might not be an option for anyone who is candid about their car use. Anzaldua called it quits, but he says Geico made him send a notarized letter promising he would no longer drive for hire before it would reissue his personal insurance policy. Liability coverageAnd as the recent Uber lawsuit shows, companies and drivers may disagree about when the liability coverage is in play. The state's ruling is vague - coverage kicks in while they are providing services for what the PUC has defined as transportation network companies. Many drivers have families and need the income but could be devastated by an accident where personal or company insurance unexpectedly pulls out. | 4.802469 | 0.960494 | 30.861728 | low | high | extractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/06/20/5-things-mcdonalds-fortune-500/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160623132947id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/20/5-things-mcdonalds-fortune-500/? | McDonald's: 5 Things You Don't Know About the Golden Arches | 20160623132947 | In 2014, McDonald’s was a mess. The company reported negative same-store sales growth that year for the first time since 2002 as it faced an existential threat from consumers who were looking for more than convenience. Now all the signs suggest that McDonald’s mcd is beginning to move beyond one of the most challenging periods in its history. While the first half of 2015 was still rough, the company posted positive same-store sales growth–an important industry metric–in the last two quarters and for the year overall.
Guest counts were still down in 2015, but CEO Steve Easterbrook–in the job since early 2015–has taken big steps to turn the company around. On his watch the company has introduced all-day breakfast and announced that it will serve only cage-free eggs within the next decade. Globally the company is testing everything from table service to self-order kiosks to delivery. Expect 1,000 new Golden Arches to open this year around the world as about 500 U.S. restaurants get a refresh.
Visit this year’s Fortune 500 list for up-to-the-minute news and information about America’s largest companies. | The restaurant giant just opened in its 120th country. | 22.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.thepostgame.com/iceland-announcer-loses-mind-euro-2016-voice | http://web.archive.org/web/20160623160936id_/http://www.thepostgame.com/iceland-announcer-loses-mind-euro-2016-voice | Iceland Announcer Loses Mind At Euro 2016 | 20160623160936 | Forgive this Icelandic soccer announcer if he's a bit overexcited. It's just that, for tiny Iceland, its accomplishments in the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament are downright impressive.
And in that run of success, nothing was more gripping or exciting than Iceland's late goal by Arnor Ingvi Traustason against Austria, which sealed a win in the team's second group match and clinched a spot in the knockout round of the tournament.
As you can tell from the audio, the announcer recognized the opportunity as it developed in a three-on-one break against Austria's goal:
Sono seriamente preoccupato per il telecronista islandese pic.twitter.com/H5UFxstjdh
— Daniele Mari (@danmari83) June 22, 2016
Only two questions remain: Can Iceland extend its run of unthinkable success by beating England in its next match and win the entire group? More importantly, will his voice be recovered from its ascension to the heavens in time to call it?
For the sake of entertainment, we hope the answer to both of those question is a loud "Yes."
More Soccer: -- Cristiano Ronaldo Throws Reporter's Microphone Into Lake -- Watch Lionel Messi's Picturesque Free Kick Vs. USA -- Lionel Messi Is Used To Hugging Pitch Invaders
Austria, Euro 2016, Iceland, Soccer | Announcer can't hide his excitement as Iceland's late goal sends them to the next round of play. | 12.2 | 0.65 | 1.45 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.tmz.com/2015/08/18/kylie-jenner-selling-custom-range-rover/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160624085408id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2015/08/18/kylie-jenner-selling-custom-range-rover/ | Kylie Jenner - I'm Putting My Range Rover Out To Pasture | 20160624085408 | Kylie Jenner has car problems ... she's got so many they don't fit in her garage, so she's getting rid of the Range Rover to make way for her new Ferrari and G-Wagon.
Kylie has a 2014 Range Rover Autobiography, which she's now selling through a private broker for $173k. Financing is NOT available. It's a cash only deal.
Kylie bought the Rover for $195k new and spent $25k tricking it out. It has 6,000 miles.
The freshly-minted 18-year-old has cars coming out of her ears. Tyga gave her the $260,000 Ferrari for her birthday, and she bought herself a new G-Wagon which is in the shop getting upgrades. And there's that red G-Wagon that was owned by Blac Chyna that Kylie drove to her birthday dinner, although she says she just borrowed it from Tyga.
So wanna buy a used car? | Kylie Jenner has car problems ... she's got so many they don't fit in her garage, so she's getting rid of the Range Rover to make way for her new… | 5 | 0.944444 | 28.555556 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/01/nyregion/rethinking-ways-to-combat-campus-rape.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160624160925id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1996/09/01/nyregion/rethinking-ways-to-combat-campus-rape.html | Rethinking Ways to Combat Campus Rape | 20160624160925 | THERE is general agreement among rape crisis workers that about 60 percent of the young women who are raped or otherwise sexually assaulted at college experience those attacks in the first semester of their freshman year, when they are most vulnerable.
So as campuses come back to life, it is instructive to stop by a karate school in downtown Red Bank and listen to Michael McBride expound on his theories -- iconoclastic, for a karate expert -- about self-defense for women. Mr. McBride, who has a fifth-degree black belt in tae kwon do, insists that the last thing a woman ought to do when confronted by a potential rapist is to get him mad.
''It's amazing how many women will tell you, 'Well, I took karate for three months, so I can protect myself,' '' he said, describing reactions he sometimes hears at his seminars promoting ''campus confidence,'' a course in passive self-defense that he is trying to establish in high school and college curriculums. ''They say, 'You just kick the guy in the family jewels!' And everybody laughs. After a couple of months of karate lessons, some women believe that they can take down the average-sized male.''
That's a myth put out by karate schools interested in signing up female customers, said Mr. McBride, who is 39 years old, 5 feet 10 inches and a solidly built 170 pounds. ''Say I'm up against a 280-pound linebacker who's really mad at me, just gritting his teeth. Now, I've got 25 years of martial arts -- kicking and punching, breaking bricks. I know how effective it it can be, and how ineffective it can be, depending on the circumstances. And here's this big guy determined to beat me up. My first thought is to talk my way out of it. Fight this guy? Assume I can disable him immediately? No, let me get to the other side of the street!''
In most campus sexual assaults, the circumstances are identifiable and can be altered favorably, he said. Many young women still come to college thinking of rapists only as creeps in wool caps lurking in dark alleys. ''They say: 'Well, I don't see that here. I don't even know anybody who's ever beem beaten or raped,' '' Mr. McBride said. ''But the reality is that in most cases, a rape does not begin as a physical square-off requiring an immediate physical defense.''
After learning that two friends had been sexually assaulted, Mr. McBride spent years rethinking his approach to self-defense for women confronting potential date-rape situations. The result, recently completed, is his ''campus confidence'' course, a videotaped seminar with class manual for college-bound high school seniors. The course has been used by several New Jersey high schools and rape crisis centers. Mr. McBride is looking for corporate sponsorship to distribute it free nationally.
It is based on the idea that a campus rapist is a wily predator skilled at spotting easy prey, capable of violence but cautious about his own well-being.
''He identifies your weaknesses, he seeks you, he lures you, and he cons you,'' Mr. McBride said. Isolation and uninterrupted time with the potential victim are usually necessary for the attack, which typically evolves in stages that should set off warning bells.
Avoiding potential isolation is the first defense. Next comes recognizing a smoothly disguised attack for what it is, and trying to de-escalate it with logical arguments or even verbal karate. ''I will press criminal charges'' packs a wallop, Mr. McBride suggests. As a last resort, there are easily learned passive-defense techniques to break away from a hold, or block a physical approach. These send an unmistakable message of resistance without causing enough physical pain to enrage the assailant into intensifying the attack.
Among the New Jersey police departments that now use Mr. McBride's course for training is Marlboro Township's, where Detective Doug Van Note, of the juvenile division, is an ardent supporter.
Detective Van Note scoffs at the Hollywood and television exaggerations of the importance of physical fighting. ''In 18 years on the force, I've been in only two fights; I talked my way out of everything else,'' he said with a laugh.
''I've had numerous martial arts studios come to me and say, 'Can we do a program in your schools?' and I've said, 'No, we can't condone the physical end' -- the idea of coming in and kicking and the bad guy falls down,'' Detective Van Note said. ''Usually, that's not what's going to happen. When we demonstrated this course at Marlboro High School, the kids were impressed at the idea of prevention and pro-active responses, rather than the idea of thinking you're going to beat the hell out of the guy. It made sense to them.'' | THERE is general agreement among rape crisis workers that about 60 percent of the young women who are raped or otherwise sexually assaulted at college experience those attacks in the first semester of their freshman year, when they are most vulnerable. So as campuses come back to life, it is instructive to stop by a karate school in downtown Red Bank and listen to Michael McBride expound on his theories -- iconoclastic, for a karate expert -- about self-defense for women. Mr. McBride, who has a fifth-degree black belt in tae kwon do, insists that the last thing a woman ought to do when confronted by a potential rapist is to get him mad. | 7.740157 | 0.992126 | 68.80315 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/15/national/15BAPT.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160624161227id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2002/06/15/national/15BAPT.html | Baptist Pastor Attacks Islam, Inciting Cries of Intolerance | 20160624161227 | Aprominent Southern Baptist pastor caused protests this week with a speech condemning American religious pluralism and calling the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, a pedophile.
Critics said the remarks by the Rev. Jerry Vines, pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., and a past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, illustrated how hate speech against Muslims had become a staple of conservative Christian political discourse. The speech also briefly united Muslim and Jewish groups in outrage over what they called the Baptists' intolerance of other religions.
Mr. Vines called Muhammad a "demon-possessed pedophile," asserting that his 12th and final wife was a 9-year-old girl, and declared that Muslims worshiped a different God than Christians.
Speaking to fellow pastors on Monday at the Baptists' annual convention in St. Louis, Mr. Vines said pluralism wrongly equated all religions.
"Allah is not Jehovah," The Associated Press quoted him as saying. "Jehovah's not going to turn you into a terrorist that will try to bomb people and take the lives of thousands and thousands of people."
Open scorn for Islam has become a staple ingredient in the speeches of conservative Christian leaders since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Web sites of the Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Christian Broadcasting Network, run by Pat Robertson, have articles that purport to explain Islam. Mr. Robertson, in his television speeches, has called Islam a religion that seeks to control, dominate or "if need be, destroy" others.
The Southern Baptist Convention, with an estimated 16 million members and an active political lobby, has long provoked public protests with its views condemning homosexuality and its open proselytizing of Jews and members of other religions.
But the attack on Islam by one of its best-known pastors could have wider political repercussions.
"It matters a great deal, because it's the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, and one that is particularly politicized these days," said John C. Green, the director of the Ray Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron.
Many in the evangelical Christian community truly believe that Islam is wrong, Mr. Green said. They have been uncomfortable with the Bush administration's efforts since Sept. 11 to emphasize that the United States does not consider Islam an enemy.
"Evangelicals, including the Southern Baptists, have been very strong supporters of President Bush and he has tried hard to appeal to them," Mr. Green said. "But at the same time, Bush has tried hard in his foreign policy to maintain good relationships with moderate Muslim countries."
Southern Baptist leaders defended Mr. Vines, saying his statements were based on his research into Islam, although many Muslims have said that his views are inaccurate.
Barrett Duke, vice president for research for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said the comments reflected Mr. Vines's personal convictions.
President Bush spoke by satellite to this week's Southern Baptist meeting, praising the group as the "earliest champions of religious tolerance and freedom." There was no indication in his remarks that he was aware of what Mr. Vines had said about Islam the evening before.
Still, civil rights groups have called on Mr. Bush to distance himself publicly from Mr. Vines's comments.
"He should not embrace leaders whose message is based on sowing intolerance," said Ralph G. Neas, president of People for the American Way, a liberal lobby in Washington.
Criticism of Mr. Vines's statements also came from the Anti-Defamation League, which has urged religious tolerance but has also refused to work on civil rights issues with national Arab- and Muslim-American organizations because of disagreements over the conflict between Israel and Palestinians.
"The reason we don't stand with the organizations is that they are hypocrites on terrorism," said Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of the league.
Salam al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Political Affairs Council in Los Angeles, said he was gratified in any case for some Jewish support in protesting Mr. Vines's statement on pluralism.
"There has been a pattern of escalating hate speech toward Muslims, with people saying that Islam is an evil religion," Mr. Marayati said. "We have demanded that the administration repudiate those comments."
Muslim groups have also argued that actions by the Bush administration, especially those singling out Muslim immigrants for investigation and detention, have encouraged public hostility toward Islam.
Forum: Join a Discussion on Religion in America | A prominent Southern Baptist pastor caused protests this week with a speech condemning American religious pluralism and insulting the prophet of Islam, Muhammad. | 34.72 | 0.92 | 10.52 | medium | medium | extractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/06/21/donald-trump-receives-standing-ovation-at-evangelical-meeting/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160624162427id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/21/donald-trump-receives-standing-ovation-at-evangelical-meeting/? | Donald Trump Receives Standing Ovation at Evangelical Meeting | 20160624162427 | Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump met with nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians Tuesday morning in attempt to win over the GOP’s most reliable voting bloc at a pivotal moment in his campaign.
Taking the stage to a standing ovation, the presumptive Republican nominee participated in a carefully orchestrated question-and-answer session in a hotel ballroom. The event was billed as a conversation where pre-selected conservative Christian leaders would ask Trump questions culled from a survey of all participants, on such topics as religious liberty, the military, abortion and attacks against religious minorities in the Middle East.
Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee moderated the conversation, subtly nodding to Trump’s lifestyle by joking that “this is not a pastoral search committee.”
It was intimate as a gathering of 1,000 people can be, and as private. A sign at the event told the audience that photos were not allowed. “I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, but use your brain, which God gave you,” retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson told the room as they prepared to welcome Trump, according to a tweet from a participant.
Women were noticeably absent from the event. Programing for the day’s conference, which included the main question and answer session, listed 13 men and no women as the speakers. Trump was asked only about half a dozen questions, all by men, including Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, president of the First Liberty Institute law firm Kelly Shackelford, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ronnie Floyd, and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Coalition Samuel Rodriguez, Jr.
President of the Susan B. Anthony List Marjorie Dannenfelser and Concerned Women of America president Penny Nance were slated to ask a question, but they did not.
Organizer Bill Dallas had insisted that the event would be back and forth. “If it is a question, and one long answer, that is not a conversation,” Dallas told TIME on Monday—but those asking the questions for the large part did not press Trump on his answers.
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn—who has suggested she’d be open to being Trump’s running mate and was not listed on the program—addressed the group before Trump’s arrival and discussed her work on the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, which is investigating sales of fetal tissue. “What we are seeing is an assault on American values that affects the church and the pro-life movement,” Blackburn tells TIME.
Rodriguez, whose network of Hispanic evangelical churches is 40,000-strong, asked Trump what his strategy is to protect borders and build a bridge with the Hispanic community, a “wonderful community.” More than eight in ten Hispanics have an unfavorable view of Trump, according to recent polls. E.W. Jackson, a conservative lawyer and pastor, told a conference call of his supporters after the event that Trump had told them, “‘I know the polls says that I’m losing Hispanics big time, but anecdotally, every time I hear a Hispanic, they are supporting me. Hispanic citizens understand their jobs and livelihoods are at stake too.’”
Immediate reactions suggest that the event was a win for Trump, who has repeatedly got himself in trouble with evangelical voters for fluctuating on their key policy issues and repeating that he does not ask for forgiveness. “The tenor in the room was really positive,” Charmaine Yoest, past president of the Americans United For Life who was in attendance, says. “I think he really helped himself, he was so conversational and so low key, it was so different than the rally, very substantive.”
Brian Burch, president of Catholic Vote and one of the few Catholics in the room, agrees. “I thought it was probably a win for both sides,” he says. “He came across as reasonable, not reckless. Probably the biggest takeaway was not what Trump will do for them as president, but what Christians can do if they throw off the perception that they are a significant minority that are not relevant.”
Before the event, Trump met privately early Tuesday morning with his own surrogate group of evangelicals at Trump Tower in preparation to launch a new official evangelical advisory committee. Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr., and president of the Faith & Freedom Coalition Ralph Reed—who have both endorsed Trump—participated, as did pastor Franklin Graham, who leads Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Graham maintains that he will not endorse, though he speaks frequently about his support for Trump’s willingness to shake things up.
Shortly after Trump left the event, his campaign plans announced an official Evangelical Executive Advisory Board. A campaign spokesperson said the group is “an advisory council for him to talk with and have an open line of communication on issues important to the Christian community.” There is currently not a separate faith advisory board that includes Catholics, non-evangelical Protestants or members of other faiths.
Before Trump took the main stage for the discussion, he met privately with the group’s steering committee. “I am so on your side, I am a tremendous believer,” he told them, as seen in video of the meeting that Jackson tweeted. “Christianity, I owe so much to it. … The evangelical vote was mostly gotten by me.”
Trump continued: “You can pray for your leaders, and I agree with that, pray for everyone, but what you have to really do is you have to pray to get everybody out to vote for one specific person, and we can’t be again politically correct and say we pray for all of our leaders, because all of your leaders are selling Christianity down the tubes, selling the evangelicals down the tubes, and it is a very, very, it is a very, very bad thing that is happening.”
This article was originally published on Time.com. | Donald Trump met with nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians Tuesday morning. | 104.181818 | 1 | 9.181818 | high | high | extractive |
http://nypost.com/2015/07/13/the-2020-census-is-going-to-be-a-mess/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160624234521id_/http://nypost.com:80/2015/07/13/the-2020-census-is-going-to-be-a-mess/ | The 2020 census is going to be a mess | 20160624234521 | There’s something scary in Census Director John Thompson trying to secretly find someone to run the $13 billion 2020 decennial census — by using his personal e-mail because he wanted to hide the process.
There is something even more frightening in the blatant politics that were going on behind the scenes.
As I told you last week, the now-deposed Inspector General of the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, issued an 82-page report in June that criticized Thompson for conducting the secret search.
To carry out his task, Thompson hand-picked an executive search firm — run by a person he knew — that had no employees and was run out of the boss’s house. Government rules say that the process should have been put up for competitive bidding.
The headhunter even purposely mislabeled the job he was trying to fill to hide what was going on. But the headhunter did manage to identify a dozen potential candidates whom he believed could lead the 2020 census. And he sent all those names over to Thompson.
But it was the person identified only as “Candidate Eleven” who was getting special attention.
Candidate Eleven was described as a woman “who recently left [private-sector company] to do something meaningful.” An e-mail written by Thompson said “she would be taking a major cut from what she was making … but salary is not her driving factor in this.”
Candidate Eleven had the job all but sewed up. She was flown to Washington and her expenses were paid by Census, a courtesy that wasn’t accorded any of the other candidates. She even dined with senior Census officials.
Next to her name in an internal document the headhunter wrote, “hired. Start 1/1/2014.”
Then politics entered the picture.
Candidate Eleven still had to get through someone described as “a senior political appointee at the Department of Commerce.” There was no further identification except that the senior appointee was male, which leaves out Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.
But suddenly Candidate Eleven’s prospects weren’t looking very good and, ultimately, she wasn’t hired. The job would eventually stay with someone who already worked at Census.
The senior appointee told the Office of Inspector General that he “meet(s) with lots of people that I’m constantly scoping out for possible positions.”
The head of the 2020 census, however, isn’t just any old position. The census that is conducted every 10 years is mandated by the US Constitution and is used to determine how our population has shifted.
And that determines where federal tax money will be allocated for roads and schools and such. And, most importantly, the 2020 census will determine how many representatives to the House each state will have.
It is so important, in fact, that the Democrats and Republicans fought for control over the 2010 census when President Obama first came to office.
So someone ought to find out what the hell “a senior political appointee at the Commerce Department” was doing getting involved in picking the person who will have so much control over something so politically important.
Well, not really. What really happened over the weekend was the European Union told Greece — again — what it wanted in the way of budget cuts, austerity measures and government assets turned over to creditors.
Once those reforms are implemented (and passed by both the Greek and German parliaments) the EU would talk about a bailout.
But let’s pretend that there was a deal reached and that it will help Greece get through its hard times. In other words, let’s be naive.
What would a real deal do for us here in the US? It may let some banks and Wall Street firms off the hook for investments over there — at least until the next crisis. That’s a plus.
But there’s a minus side: A Greek solution takes away one big impediment to the Federal Reserve’s bid to raise interest rates. You’ll start hearing more Fed governors talking about a rate hike by the end of this year.
But don’t worry, that talk will fade soon because the US economy is slowing again. And even the most myopic Fed governor can see that.
The Fed wants to raise interest rates and it must raise interest rates but it won’t be able to raise them. That’s the definition of broken economic policy.
They laughed at Donald Trump when he announced he was running for president. And it was understandable — he had pretended to be a candidate before and he said some pretty stupid things.
But as I said in a recent column, if Trump sticks to an economic message, he could have an impact. Now two weeks into his campaign, Trump is doing a lot better than anyone expected.
In fact, some polls have him right behind the leader, Jeb Bush. A new poll released Monday by Monmouth University had Bush leading Trump 15 percent to 13 percent.
This is what I think happens next: All the candidates — Democrats and Republicans — will start talking incessantly about the economy and jobs. Trump will fade but he will have provided a vital service to this presidential | There’s something scary in Census Director John Thompson trying to secretly find someone to run the $13 billion 2020 decennial census — by using his personal e-mail because he wanted to hide the pr… | 25.820513 | 0.974359 | 35.128205 | medium | high | extractive |
http://time.com/4145903/islamic-state-oil-syria/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160625030737id_/http://time.com:80/4145903/islamic-state-oil-syria/ | U.S. Bombing of ISIS Oil Facilities Shows Success | 20160625030737 | Fighting terrorists can render many of the military’s most powerful weapons all but impotent. Without columns of troops and tanks, flotillas of warships, and aircraft sitting duck-like on enemy airfields to attack, sometimes it seems as if conventional armies are befuddled over how best to fight terrorists. That certainly has been the case with the U.S.-led war against ISIS. For more than a year, Washington and its allies conducted a modest air campaign against mostly motley targets, ranging from “fighting positions” (basically, fancy desert foxholes) to “berms” (ridges of desert dirt). They were, in fact, largely pounding sand.
The bombs barely struck ISIS’s economic aorta: the oil ISIS pumped and sold from the lands it has seized in Iraq and Syria. Oil sales are the ISIS’s “single most important source of income,” the Rand Corp. says. ISIS has been selling up to 40,000 barrels a day, generating $1 million or more every 24 hours. While individual terror attacks may be cheap, the self-declared ISIS caliphate that orders or inspires them costs an estimated $500 million annually to operate. Beyond paying for salaries, schools and other local services, the cash funds jihad at home and abroad: from Beirut, to Egypt, to Paris to San Bernardino.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told Congress earlier this month that the U.S.-led alliance had spent 15 months attacking “largely small-scale” oil facilities before stepping up attacks in late October. Hitting those modular refineries didn’t do much. “By their nature, these refineries can be replaced and rebuilt by importing replacement parts and machinery,” the international Financial Action Task Force has reported. And that’s just what ISIS engineers did: they patched them back together to keep most of the oil, nearly all of which is consumed in Syria and Iraq, flowing.
U.S. military officers say two things pinched their oil-bombing campaign: wiping out ISIS’s oil-production facilities would cripple whatever governments succeed ISIS, they feared. And tight rules designed to reduce civilian casualties kept them from bombing hundreds of oil tankers ISIS used to ship oil.
But eventually, the military worked its way around both obstacles. In mid-May, Iraq-based U.S. Army Delta Force soldiers killed Abu Sayyaf, known as ISIS’s “oil emir,” during a nighttime raid into eastern Syria. The commandos also vacuumed up extensive records, giving U.S. intelligence officials their best insight into ISIS’s oil network. By the fall, Pentagon officials say they had figured out how to shut off the oil’s flow while preserving key pieces of oil-production infrastructure. They also say they had learned how to distinguish between ISIS oil tankers and non-ISIS oil tankers.
So for the first time on Oct. 21, the U.S.-led coalition dropped leaflets warning ISIS drivers to flee before bombs began destroying hundreds of their trucks. That was three weeks after Russia began bombing rebel groups, occasionally including ISIS, inside Syria. The U.S., which is carrying out about 80% of the attacks during Operation Inherent Resolve, even gave the stepped-up campaign a new name: Operation Tidal Wave II, echoing World War II’s allied strikes on Nazi oil sites.
The military’s explanation for its initial dawdling campaign seems dubious. General Joseph Dunford, the nation’s top military officer, told Congress Dec. 1 that the U.S. government pinpointed the key nodes in ISIS’s oil operation “back in the spring,” and that the government then spent “a couple of months” planning before ordering the increased strikes.
“There wasn’t a clear understanding of how [ISIS] was generating revenue” until September, the Marine four-star general said. “In the weeks subsequent to August, we started to have a much better appreciation for the source of [ISIS] revenue.” Armed with that information, he said, the U.S. began hammering ISIS oil assets “because we then appreciated how much of an impact that would have.” Yet Army General Lloyd Austin, overseeing the anti-ISIS campaign, said in October 2014 that ISIS “derives significant revenue from oil production.” (Tellingly, in a Nov. 9 letter to Senator Angus King, I-Maine, Austin listed attacking oil targets as the last in a list of 37 accomplishments in the fight against ISIS.)
The strategy has finally shifted from repairable pinpricks to bigger and more precise attacks designed to take ISIS oil offline for months, if not years. “Why did we wait a year?” John McCain, R-Ariz., asked earlier this month, shortly after returning from a trip to the region and speaking with what he called “very frustrated” young U.S. officers unhappy with the campaign’s pace and ferocity. David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general who ran the air campaign over Afghanistan after 9/11, blames the small-bore bombing on a risk-averse White House, too much concern over civilian casualties, and an emphasis on counter-insurgency warfare “verses what is necessary to shut down a functioning state.”
U.S. officials now say ISIS oil production is shrinking, although they can’t yet estimate by how much. Strikes that damaged refineries have made each subsequent barrel of oil refined in cruder ways less valuable, they say, due to its poorer quality. Bombing oil-collection points has meant longer waits for empty tankers, cutting into ISIS revenue. And attacking tankers has forced them to disperse while awaiting loading, further cutting ISIS’s petroleum profits. Much refining, the Financial Action Task Force said, has shifted to “burning the crude in open pits that produce limited yields of poor-quality product.”
That rudimentary refining has given parts of the ISIS homeland the look of an alien planet. “You can see across territories that a year ago was just flat desert, or flat open area, and now is hundreds if not thousands of small pits,” a senior State Department official said Dec. 4. The air campaign “is moving the [ISIS oil-production] operation from a 20th-to-21st century operation, to a 17th century operation.”
One attack at a time, it appears, the U.S. and its allies are bombing ISIS back to the Stone Age. The only outstanding question is whether the accelerated attacks have begun in time to thwart a major ISIS attack on U.S. soil. | After slow start, small signs of success surfacing | 137.555556 | 0.444444 | 0.444444 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.wsj.com/articles/notable-quotable-oh-the-humanities-1454459705 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160625112631id_/http://www.wsj.com:80/articles/notable-quotable-oh-the-humanities-1454459705 | Notable & Quotable: Oh, the Humanities | 20160625112631 | From former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (2001-09) Bruce Cole’s “What’s Wrong With the Humanities?” in the online publication Public Discourse, Feb. 1:
Let’s face it: Too many humanities scholars are alienating students and the public with their opacity, triviality, and irrelevance. A good case in point is this... | Bruce Cole, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, on the problem with academic writing. | 3.5 | 0.8 | 4.5 | low | medium | mixed |
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/23/snack-maker-kestrel-becomes-export-champion-despite-everyone-thi/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160625121418id_/http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/business/2016/04/23/snack-maker-kestrel-becomes-export-champion-despite-everyone-thi/ | Snack maker Kestrel becomes export champion despite 'everyone thinking we made bird nuts' | 20160625121418 | The company was ahead of the market when it started selling bags of fruit and nuts as healthier snack options in the early nineties. People were wary of the products, which were previously only found on the home baking aisle.
“We took a different approach and had our products stocked in the fresh produce aisle where there was higher footfall,” claimed Mrs Hall. “The emergence of the healthy snacking sector was just beginning. It was a completely fledgling idea.”
People were only really won over when the brand introduced its dried mango, however, in 1998. It was launched into Waitrose and became an instant “game changer”, Mr Hall says.
Thirty years on, there are hundreds of healthy snacking brands and supermarkets are increasingly replacing the confectionary on their “guilt lanes” by tills with healthier options, in response to pressure from the Department for Health.
The ongoing furore over sugar is unlikely to affect the company adversely, the founders claim, as added sugar has been stripped out of many products.
“Any dried fruit will have a high sugar content but we try and give consumers as much information as possible,” said Mr Hall. Kestrel has invested in roasting equipment to focus on baked, not fried, snacks.
It’s a competitive market with rivals such as Graze, which previously posted snacks to subscribers, launching a supermarket range. | A small snack business based in the “apple orchard county” of County Armagh, Northern Ireland, sends its bags of fruit and nuts to 36 countries, generating an ever-expanding slice of its £14m turnover from the Middle East, Russia and the Scandinavian countries. | 5.037736 | 0.490566 | 0.943396 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/savage-land-billy-blankenship-may-june-1955-chapter-263-article-1.936752 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160625135706id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/archives/news/savage-land-billy-blankenship-may-june-1955-chapter-263-article-1.936752 | SAVAGE LAND BILLY BLANKENSHIP, MAY-JUNE 1955 CHAPTER 263 | 20160625135706 | BROOKLYN'S NOTORIOUS teenage thrill-killers beat the death penalty and disappeared behind prison walls, and that was the end of them, but by now roving teen wolf packs were regular fixtures in the city's ken and the headlines grew dark with daily tales of bloody gang rumbles as concerned citizens frowned and clucked and formed committees to discuss what they could do in the public war against the mounting menace of juvenile thuggery. Among these good people was William Blankenship Sr., of Fenton Ave. in the Bronx, a research chemist who was president of the Bronxwood Advisory Council and devoted much of his time to working with the Police Department and the Board of Education. He formed Little League teams. He organized dances at community youth centers. He got street lights installed in his neighborhood. There were many more just like him all over the city, men and women who felt that maybe, maybe, their efforts might make some modest difference. Over Sunday breakfast on the 1st of May 1955, New Yorkers learned from their morning papers that a fine young man had been murdered the night before, gunned down in cold blood by bicycle-riding assailants as he walked to a movie. He was William Blankenship's son, William Jr. FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD Billy Blankenship, the papers agreed, was a model lad, a studious sophomore at Mount St. Michael Academy, a clean-living athlete, active in his church, a leader of tomorrow, the kind of son any man would be proud to rear. Blankenship sobbed uncontrollably as police informed him that his boy had likely been slain in reprisal for his vigorous anti-delinquency work. That theory didn't long stand. Actually, police decided, Billy had been killed over nothing: Two Bronx gangs, the Navajos and the Golden Guineas, were at war over leather-jacket similarities, and a mob of Navajos had surrounded Billy on Wilson Ave. and mistaken him for a Guinea and shot him. Dozens of Navajo punks were rounded up. One of them, 17-year-old Frank Santana of Eagle Ave., was quickly charged with first-degree murder after, police said, he confessed to having been the triggerman. Billy Blankenship's killing rocked the town. The savage murder, said the Daily News, "has threatened the city administration's hold on the people of New York like nothing else since Mayor Bob Wagner took over.
" Wagner, convinced by his advisers that he faced the greatest personal challenge of his mayoralty, instantly put up several million municipal dollars to address juvenile delinquency, even as Police Commissioner Francis Adams reported that 1954 crime committed by the 16-to-21 age group was up 16% over 1953 and ordered patrols stepped up in the city's housing projects. And William Blankenship Sr. at once moved his family out of New York and prepared to bury his boy in the Pennsylvania Poconos, where he'd been born. "We're going to put him into clean dirt," he wept. "We have allowed a terrible situation to develop," Blankenship told New Yorkers in a tearful public farewell. "Teenaged hoodlumism that can strike a blow like this right into my home in spite of everything I did to protect mine from harm, that kind of hoodlumism isn't the disease itself. It is a symptom. It's the outward sign that everything here is rotten. ... It has finally got me licked. I'm getting out. "We're whipped. We've been caught and crushed. "I'll tell you something," he said grimly. "I deal with the development of new pharmaceuticals. When we get a dangerous virus, know what we do with it? We stamp it out.
" "ALL OF NEW York is to blame," solemnly said one magistrate. Piously agreed Correction Commissioner Anna Kross: "We must, without rancor, put the pieces together and realize that it is maimed human beings who are menacing the public.
" Phooey, said The News: "Most of us are familiar with the lamentations uttered by bleeding hearts and sob sisters whenever an unusually stinking juvenile crime is committed. Always we're told that family life has hit the skids since the war; that society fails to provide healthy substitutes for the big-shot and I-belong feeling some youngsters get out of running with weirdly named street gangs; that poor, pathetic little fellows like Santana never had a chance. ... "We could do with more reform schools.
" THINGS BEGAN TO seem to be not what they had previously seemed to be on Wednesday the 8th of June, when William Blankenship Sr. appeared in court and, in the spirit of Christian forgiveness, urged leniency for young Santana. "The defendant is the product of our social environment," he said. "All society should be made to share its proper part for guilt in this crime. This is what my loving son Billy would have wanted me to do.
" Whereupon, as Santana was permitted to plead guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder, Bronx Assistant District Attorney Andrew McCarthy stunned all New York City by launching into a scathing attack on the late Billy Blankenship. The dead boy, he said, was "not quite the innocent" he'd been made out to be; far from being a model youth, McCarthy said, Billy was a bully and a troublemaker who ran with a gang called the Redwings; he'd been out "spoiling for a fight" on the night of his death; he'd picked the quarrel with Santana himself; he had "contributed to his own tragedy.
" Blankenship blew up. McCarthy, he cried, had tricked him into consenting to the lesser charge. He wired Gov. Averell Harriman and Attorney General Jacob Javits, complaining that the Bronx district attorney's office was being used as "a political platform to voice untruths about my dead son.
" "He is a distraught and emotional father," McCarthy replied. Blankenship wasn't finished. McCarthy, he charged, had confided to him that the case was a "political football"; had confessed to him that he'd made a major mistake in having no Puerto Ricans on the grand jury that indicted Santana; had admitted that he didn't think he could convict the defendant of first-degree murder. "He's a liar," McCarthy fired back. "Who was on trial?
" Blankenship demanded. "My son or his killer?
" NEW YORKERS were left to puzzle over this remarkable denouement and make of it what they chose. Meanwhile, the Billy Blankenship case now dropped out of the headlines. Santana was sentenced to a long prison term. And police attention turned to other gangs and other gang wars, erupting daily on what seemed like every block of a city populated by nothing but sneering young toughs. | Savage Land BILLY BLANKENSHIP,
MAY-JUNE 1955 CHAPTER 263
By JAY MAEDER
BROOKLYN'S NOTORIOUS teenage thrill-killers beat the death penalty and disappeared behind prison walls, and that was the end of them, but by now roving teen wolf packs were regular fixtures in the city's ken and the headlines grew dark with daily tales of bloody gang rumbles as concerned citizens frowned and clucked and formed committees to discuss what they could do in the public | 14.6 | 0.877778 | 54.611111 | low | medium | extractive |
http://mashable.com/2009/10/07/facebook-groups/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160625141150id_/http://mashable.com:80/2009/10/07/facebook-groups/ | HOW TO: Manage a Facebook Group | 20160625141150 | Alison Driscoll is an interactive copywriter and social media consultant who specializes in Facebook. She authors a blog at alisondriscoll.com.
Facebook Pages may be taking the social network by storm, but they can take time and technical skill to set up. When you need to promote something quickly, or are looking to foster a stronger sense of community, the more traditional Facebook Group is often the way to go. While not as fancy as Pages, Groups offer many of the same features, with a slightly more streamlined look. This makes it easy for virtually anyone to create a Group, for any number of purposes, and get them live quickly—an important benefit in the time-sensitive social media sphere. However, the ease and speed with which a Group can be set up has created a lot of spammy or messy Groups that are slapped together in minutes and abandoned soon after. In order to break through the clutter and gain members, you need to take the time to set up a Group correctly. Here are a few tips:
In order to get the maximum reach and value out of your Group, you need to ensure that anyone who wants to can join, without you having to approve them. You also want them to be able to invite their friends, as this cuts down on the work for you and allows you to focus on building a Group people want to join and share with other people. So, when setting up your Group, make sure you create it as a “Global” Group so it is visible to all of Facebook, and that the access is set to “Open,” allowing members to invite friends. Members should also be able to post and share links and media on the Group page.
First and foremost, you absolutely must include as much information as possible—not JUST the required fields. This is what truly separates a successful, professional Group from a spammy, “I-lost-my-phone, give-me-your-numbers” Group. Don’t go overboard with lengthy text—stick to basic web-reading principles—but don’t leave anything blank. This includes the image field: think of it like a profile picture; would you really friend someone with a question mark for a head? Didn’t think so.
Another huge tip-off that a Group was slapped together in a few minutes and won’t provide much value to members? Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Print out your Group and proofread it to make sure it says what you want and reads the way you want it to sound.
Groups are indexed by the ever-evolving Facebook search, as well as traditional search engines. So having a completely and accurately filled-out Group description not only looks good and provides valuable information to those clicking on an invite, it also increases the chance that a potential member will find your Group while searching for similar topics, organizations or events. Put on your SEO hat when coming up with a Group name and crafting a description; think of keywords people would associate with your content or purpose of the Group and popular searches around your topic of interest.
When Facebook first introduced Pages, they offered Group admins the option of automatically transitioning members into fans. As a result, many brands now have a single presence on Facebook, in the form of a Page. But in order to launch a Group, you need a “parent” Page or Profile. This will give you a base from which to invite people and provide you with a more human connection.
Since a Group cannot exist on its own (see above), your Profile, as admin, will more than likely be tied to the initial members, as they will have to be your friends in order to invite them. Send a friend request that explains how or why you found people and want to be friends. Selling socks? Search for “funky socks” and friend people in relevant groups, with a personal message attached to the friend request that says something along the lines of “I share your love for unique footwear.”
While building your friend list (and by extension, potential member base for your Group), segment your friends into lists relevant to the Group for future marketing purposes. If you start friending random people based on a search for similar Groups, name lists after the keywords you searched for to find these people. The “funky socks” friends could go in a list called “funky” or “crazy patterns,” so you know that these people will appreciate updates on your more outlandish designs.
Events and groups have a greater reach than other elements on Facebook, as they have built in “pass it on” functionality. Always include a brief intro when sending event invites and keep them as open as possible: allow guests to invite other people and post their own videos, links and photos. Try out “virtual events” as well, asking people to invite their friends to join the Group.
Keeping the Group wall, photo and video restrictions open encourages content sharing and discussion, but that only goes so far; you need to post and update yourself as well. In order to create a Group that people remain members of, particularly engaged members, you need to keep the Group’s page fresh. Pages can be automatically updated, and to compete, you need to provide interesting, valuable perspectives or information to members.
Besides providing fresh content, frequent posting keeps members engaged and allows for greater interaction. Post a link to any site, or off Facebook, to ask members to join, sign up or take action in some way. You can also post photos or videos from events and tag members in them to increase their connection to the Group.
Groups have mass messaging capabilities, allowing you to quickly keep all members up to date on Group news, events and information. Select “message all members” and draft your message like any other private correspondence on Facebook; it will be delivered to members’ Facebook inboxes just like a message from anyone else. This is one advantage Groups have over Pages; Page updates are dumped into a hidden folder, whereas Group messages carry more weight. That said, they lack the formatting functionality of Page updates and can clog up inboxes quickly, so use sparingly. You may also want to utilize your segmented friend lists to deliver more targeted messaging. As you can see, a lot of elements go into even the simplest of Facebook Groups. But the tools are all there for you; you just need to use them correctly. And as Facebook pushes users from Groups to Pages, it will be easier and easier to stand out from the crowd of “lost cell-phones” and differentiate your Group as one of the ones to stick with.
- HOW TO: Integrate Facebook With Your Blog- HOW TO: Set Up a Winning Facebook Fan Page- 3 New Facebook Strategies for Building Your Personal Brand- The Journalist's Guide to Facebook- HOW TO: Do Good on Facebook | Alison Driscoll is an interactive copywriter and social media consultant who specializes in Facebook. She authors a blog at alisondriscoll.com. Facebook Pages may be taking the ... | 46.793103 | 0.965517 | 17.931034 | high | high | extractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/13/science/education-cultural-isolation.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160625150225id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1987/01/13/science/education-cultural-isolation.html | EDUCATION - CULTURAL ISOLATION - NYTimes.com | 20160625150225 | Momentum appears to be gathering for an attack on what many educators regard as Americans' ignorance about the world beyond their shores. Foreign failures and difficulties that have developed in recent years, from Vietnam to Iran, have led to calls for a general bolstering Americans' knowledge of unfamiliar languages and cultures.
''Some day, we may have a President who has been a Fulbright,'' said former Senator William J. Fulbright, drawing laughter from the audience at a recent dinner held in his honor by the Institute of International Education.
Senator Fulbright, who 40 years ago initiated the Fulbright Scholarships to allow Americans students to study abroad, may not have been entirely serious in his prediction about future Presidents; but he was serious about the urgent need for more Americans - politicians, policy-makers and voters - to know more about the world over which their country exercises great power.
He said the scholarships, which have long since become the model for student exchanges, were ''primarily designed to aid Americans - to educate us about the rest of the world. We need to understand what other people think.'' While we don't have to agree with them, he went on, we need to understand their right to be different. He called it ''the alternative to nuclear war.''
In recent weeks, there have been signs that the Federal Government is waking up to the need to understand what other people say and think. A recent State Department study warned of a shortage of foreign service officers who speak languages of countries and regions vital to foreign policy. These languages include Japanese, Russian, Arabic and Chinese, but a great many others could be added.
Recognition that foreign languages are essential to successful diplomacy comes late to the State Department. The fall of the Shah of Iran and the country's takeover by a fundamentalist Islamic Government is a case in point.
These events occured when I was serving on President Carter's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies., The commission viewed them as an opportunity to convince American policy-makers of the importance of a greater knowledge of the language and background of crucial areas. In a meeting with a high-ranking State Department official, arranged by James A. Perkins, the commission's chairman, the official conceded that Iran was ''an intelligence failure.''
But in the commission's view, the events in Iran were not caused by a lack of able intelligence agents but rather by the inability of the large American community, and especially its diplomatic and military representatives, to understand what was in the minds of a population whose language and politics they had made no effort to understand.
Edwin O. Reischauer, a leading expert on Japan, who was also a commission member, confirmed the lack of interest in high places in the language and the ways of the countries to which Americans are posted. As ambassador to Japan from 1961 to 1968, he surprised his superiors by searching the records of foreign service officers around the world to locate Japanese-speakers for service in Tokyo.
The response by some representatives of multinational corporations was not much more encouraging. Their tendency, too, was to rely on native employees to bridge the language gap between the firm and its customers.
When the number of college graduates with language skills decreased in recent decades, the State Department also dropped its language requirements for Foreign Service candidates. Once accepted, the new recuits do get some language instruction, generally at a simple conversational level. Language skills, moreover, are not usually rewarded in terms of promotions and assignments. Against that background, the new State Department study could be an encouraging beginning.
An additional sign of change is the plan to establish a National Foreign Language Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The center is to be privately financed with grants from such foundations as the Pew Memorial Trust, the Ford Foundtion, and the Exxon Education Foundation, which is trying to make its mark despite some initial opposition. The center's aim is to develop a ''coherent national strategy for improving the quality of foreign language teaching both in an out of the formal education system.'' It is the forerunner of a privately-funded national foundation for foreign language and international studies.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the idea of the center has been criticized by some foreign language teachers who charge that they have not been sufficiently involved in its planning. They also objected that the center would stress the teaching of adults over the need to deal with with students in schools and colleges. They also expressed concern that the center would be limited to serving corporate and military needs.
Others, including key members of the Modern Language Association, which has developed language curriculums for high schools and colleges, pointed to recent progress in giving foreign languages a more prominent role in schools and colleges. In the past few years, they said, at least 90 major colleges and universities have instituted or reinstituted language requirements.
Still, a spokesman for the Modern Language Association, softening the criticism, called the new Johns Hopkins center ''very promising.''
Observers of the past ups and downs of foreign language and international studies at all levels of education will ignore such conflicts over who should do the teaching. The job is urgent and big, and there is work for all qualified hands. American diplomats who are illiterate in the language of the country in which they serve are at a grievous disadvantage in negotiations, as are business representatives who are the linguistic and cultural prisoners of lower-level native employees. The limitations imposed on the United States by what Senator Paul Simon, the , called ''The Tongue-Tied Americans,'' in his book by the same name, are a serious flaw in the American arsenal.
This is what Senator Fulbright was talking about. ''It's important to the way we look to other countries,'' he said-- ''that we are not completely devoted to military power,'' that we understand how other people talk and think. | LEAD: Momentum appears to be gathering for an attack on what many educators regard as Americans' ignorance about the world beyond their shores. Foreign failures and difficulties that have developed in recent years, from Vietnam to Iran, have led to calls for a general bolstering Americans' knowledge of unfamiliar languages and cultures. | 19.745763 | 0.966102 | 55.067797 | medium | high | extractive |
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/10/18/mara-rooney-piercing-nipples-new-role.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160625151654id_/http://www.foxnews.com:80/entertainment/2010/10/18/mara-rooney-piercing-nipples-new-role.html | Mara Rooney Piercing Nipples for New Role? | 20160625151654 | Rooney Mara, star of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," has changed her appearance dramatically for her highly anticipated role of computer hacker Lisbeth Salander.
Sources tell the New York Post that director David Fincher made wholesome-looking Mara bleach her eyebrows and dye her hair jet black, and even pierce her nipples for a topless scene.
Our sources also say Mara -- who was picked for the role ahead of Scarlett Johansson at Fincher's insistence -- is spending most of her time in a hotel room in Sweden.
Our source explained, "She is in lockdown. David Fincher is determined to keep her out of sight as much as possible to keep her look under wraps," although one picture of Mara with a pierced lip leaked out on fan sites for the Stieg Larsson books.
"She's going to look like the character as described in the novels," said a rep for the movie. | Couldn't they just have used glue or something? | 17.8 | 0 | 0 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/shirtless-kiefer-sutherland-thrown-london-strip-club-boozy-night-article-1.167988 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160625154039id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/gossip/shirtless-kiefer-sutherland-thrown-london-strip-club-boozy-night-article-1.167988 | Shirtless Kiefer Sutherland gets thrown out of London strip club | 20160625154039 | Kiefer Sutherland has never been one to turn down a good time – or evade trouble.During a recent visit to London, the "24" star was spotted shirtless and stumbling down a street during the early hours of Thursday morning, the U.K.'s Daily Mail reports. Kicking off his night of debauchery, Sutherland reportedly drank more than five glasses of wine within two hours at the Covent Garden Hotel bar. At 2 a.m., the actor was driven to a nearby strip club, Stringfellow's Gentlemen's Club, where a source said “he went bananas, shouting nonsense and dancing."After photos showed the actor being escorted out by bouncers, the club's owner, Peter Stringfellow, took to the company's blog to further explain what happened."Around about 3:15 a.m. [Sutherland] decided it would be very funny to take his shirt off. When it was explained to him very gently that that was the job of the girls and not the customers he burst out laughing," he wrote. "His friend thought that this would be a good time for them to go home."Stringfellow says the shirtless actor was taken out of the club's back door to avoid paparazzi who had been waiting outside the club."One of the photos in the [newspaper] looks like my security guys got Kiefer in a headlock. That is NOT the case," he claims. "They were just helping him into his car. Kiefer had slipped and the doorman tried to catch him and at the same time keep the photographers from taking photos." After Sutherland was finally put into a car and chauffeured away, the actor was reportedly spotted falling to his knees and giggling in the gutter outside his hotel.The actor's crazy night is the latest in a string of debaucherous events that have sometimes landed him behind bars. In 2009, Sutherland was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly headbutting fashion designer, Jack McCollough, at a New York party. The actor claimed he was defending actress Brooke Shields after McCollough bumped into her without apologizing. Police eventually dropped all the charges.
The actor was arrested in 2007 on a misdemeanor drunk-driving charge. He pleaded no contest and served 48 days in jail during the Hollywood writers' strike.
In 2006, he famously attacked a Christmas tree during a boozy night at the Strand Palace Hotel in London's West End. And in 2004, Sutherland was also arrested for a DUI. | Kiefer Sutherland has never been one to turn down a good time – or evade trouble. During a recent visit to London, the "24" star was spotted shirtless and stumbling down a street during the early hours of Thursday morning. | 10.155556 | 1 | 43.044444 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/40-million-credit-debit-card-accounts-may-be-hit-data-2d11775203 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160627074117id_/http://www.nbcnews.com:80/business/40-million-credit-debit-card-accounts-may-be-hit-data-2d11775203 | Millions of Target customers' credit, debit card accounts may be hit by data breach | 20160627074117 | Target said Thursday that the credit and debit card information of as many as 40 million customers was compromised over three weeks of the holiday shopping season — one of the largest breaches ever of American consumer data.
Within hours, worried customers overwhelmed the site for Target’s own credit card and jammed a phone line that the company set up for people to call with concerns. Target said that it was working on the problem but had no estimate for when the site and phone number would work again.
The breach, which extended to almost all Target stores in the United States, captured data stored on the magnetic stripes of the cards that customers swipe at the cash register, according to Krebs on Security, a respected data security blog.
Krebs, which broke the story Wednesday, cited sources from two top card companies.
Target said that the information compromised included customer names, card numbers, expiration dates and the short verification codes known as CVVs — everything an attacker would need to create a counterfeit card.
The breach happened from Nov. 27, one day before Thanksgiving, through Dec. 15, a period that includes Black Friday and some of the busiest shopping of the calendar, Target said in a press release.
Investigators believe credit and debit card data was obtained via software installed on machines that customers use to swipe magnetic strips on their cards when paying for merchandise at Target stores, a source told Reuters. Eric Thayer
Target said that it had alerted authorities and banks, and that the issue was “identified and resolved.” Still, it encouraged customers to look over their account statements and obtain credit reports. Target did not say how it might have happened.
“It is very clear it is a sophisticated crime,” Molly Snyder, a spokeswoman for the company, told Reuters.
At up to 40 million customers, the breach ranks among the biggest in U.S. corporate history. In 2007, the data of more than 45 million customers was stolen from stores including T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.
Last year, the Barnes & Noble bookstore chain said that someone had planted software in PIN pad devices at 63 of its stores in nine states to steal the data from magnetic card stripes. The company responded by taking PIN pad devices out of all its stores.
And in 2011, a hack exposed the credit card information of 100 million user accounts on the Sony PlayStation video game network.
Target, with almost $72 billion in U.S. sales last year, is the third-largest store in America, trailing only Walmart and the Kroger grocery store chain. Target has about 1,800 stores in the United States.
Krebs on Security reported that the breach hit only customers who shopped at physical Target stores, not online. The blog cited reliable sources familiar with the matter.
The information from magnetic stripes, known as “track data,” is valuable on the black market. It would allow criminals to create counterfeit cards by encoding the information onto any card with a magnetic stripe. If PIN codes were also intercepted, that would allow criminals to withdraw the cash of unsuspecting customers from ATMs.
Krebs quoted an anti-fraud analyst at one of the 10 biggest bank-card issuers as saying that “we do see customers all over the U.S. that were victimized.”
Target said that its investigation includes working with a third-party forensics firm.
The company said that customers who made purchases at its U.S. stores during the three weeks in question should call them at 866-852-8680, or seek copies of their credit reports from the agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
“Target’s first priority is preserving the trust of our guests and we have moved swiftly to address this issue, so guests can shop with confidence,” said Gregg Steinhafel, Target’s president and CEO.
“We regret any inconvenience this may cause,” he said. “We take this matter very seriously and are working with law enforcement to bring those responsible to justice.”
Data breaches are expensive for retailers. TJX Cos., which operates T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, paid $9.75 million in a settlement with states in June 2009, although the company said at the time that it believed it did not violate any consumer protection or data security laws.
The breach comes as retailers struggle to lure customers, cautious because of flat wages and an uncertain economic recovery, to stores during the holiday shopping season.
Recent surveys have already shown that online shopping could become the top choice for consumers this holiday season. Customers prefer the lower prices and the convenience of shopping at any time from home.
Mary Thompson of CNBC contributed to this report. Reuters also contributed. | Target said Thursday that the credit and debit card information of as many as 40 million customers was compromised over three weeks of the holiday shopping season — one of the largest breaches ever of American consumer data.Within hours, worried customers overwhelmed the site for Target’s own credit card and jammed a phone line that the company set up for people to call with concerns. | 12.928571 | 1 | 35.457143 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/06/25/ken-mcculloch-the-boutique-hotelier-looks-to-expansion/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160627084940id_/http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/business/2016/06/25/ken-mcculloch-the-boutique-hotelier-looks-to-expansion/ | Ken McCulloch the boutique hotelier looks to expansion | 20160627084940 | “Monaco was la-la-land,” he says. “You miss the humour in this country. … No one there has enough to do.” Coulthard also backed him in the first Dakota hotel in Nottingham, but it has closed after a fall-out. All McCulloch will say about the wrangling with his former investors is that it was “a dark, dark time” and that he and Coulthard are still on good terms.
He has no interest in opening another venture in France. “There are terrible union problems over there. People here, you see that they want to work. It’s in their eyes. Some of the people in France have dead eyes. They’re held back by the system, by the job for life, it’s not healthy.”
Dakota is his chance to build a legacy, he says. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but we’re doing what the other guys aren’t doing,” he says in his Glaswegian brogue, which 10 years in Monaco have done nothing to suppress.
He is about to open a Dakota in Leeds, and plans to target Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol. “When we start being in major cities, that’s when we’ll have a real brand. That’s what happened with Malmaison. We’d love to do London but property prices are so high – we’d need to be able to justify it.”
Could Dakota become a brand to rival Malmaison? “Look, it’s still a baby. It’s still in nappies,” McCulloch says. “It’s learning to talk and walk. We can’t smother it. It’s not recognisable as a brand but it will be.”
His aim is to grow the business slowly, with his backer, the family firm Evans Property Group, which owns 50pc of the hotels it helps to fund. “I don’t miss coming down to London every five minutes to meet corporate finance guys and hedge funds asking me the square root of a carnation. [The partnership with Evans] works. We’ve built up trust over 10 years.”
He is scathing of rivals in the hotel business who flip properties for a quick buck. “I feel for the troops when hotels are changing leadership all the time. The pension funds just flip them constantly.”
The secret to being a successful hotelier is to be a masochist, laughs McCulloch, explaining that he never stops trying to improve, and spotting problems. “I’ve been in this business all my life, so I know what I’m doing.” | The man behind the UK’s original boutique hotel chain, Malmaison, is quietly building up a new hotel business in Scotland, which is now extending its feelers into England. | 15.363636 | 0.515152 | 0.636364 | low | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/3857045/prince-harry-haka-dance-new-zealand/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160627141922id_/http://time.com:80/3857045/prince-harry-haka-dance-new-zealand/ | Prince Harry Does Maori Haka Dance in New Zealand | 20160627141922 | Prince Harry performed a haka, a traditional dance and war chant native to New Zealand’s Maori people, with soldiers at the Linton Military Camp, a major military base near Palmerston North on Wednesday.
AFP reports that the royal, decked out in military fatigues, only had about 20 minutes to learn the moves—which involve a lot of foot stamping and chest grabbing. The All Blacks rugby team can usually be seen doing the ancestral tribute before a match.
On past trips, Prince Harry has performed a traditional Lesotho dance with deaf children in South Africa, boogied down to Bob Marley’s “One Love” in Jamaica in support of the Rise Life charity, and grooved to Katy Perry’s “Firework” with children in Chile who have mental and physical disabilities. | He learned the moves in 20 minutes | 21.285714 | 0.714286 | 1.285714 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/04/26/uncharted-territory-predators-force-game-7-vs-ducks/21351193/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160628012351id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/04/26/uncharted-territory-predators-force-game-7-vs-ducks/21351193/ | Uncharted territory: Predators force Game 7 vs. Ducks | 20160628012351 | (The Sports Xchange) - Call it a new frontier for the Nashville Predators, one the Anaheim Ducks know all too well.
Snapping a scoreless tie with second-period goals by Mattias Ekholm and James Neal, Nashville nursed its lead to the final horn in a 3-1 win over Anaheim on Monday at Bridgestone Arena.
By tying the first-round Western Conference series at three games apiece, the Predators forced the first Game 7 in franchise history on Wednesday in Anaheim.
"Every kid playing hockey plays in a Game 7," Neal said. "They're exciting. It's where heroes are made. You step up in those big moments. There will be some nerves, but I believe in this team. Just enjoy it."
The Predators stayed alive thanks to 26 saves from goalie Pekka Rinne in his best effort of the playoffs.
While Nashville has never been in this spot, the Ducks ended their season with Game 7 defeats the last three seasons after holding 3-2 series leads, as they did in this series.
In last year's Western Conference finals, Anaheim lost 5-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said previous failures should not have any effect on his team's performance in the do-or-die game.
"It's a new team, it's a new time," he said. "Every day is different, every game is different. We're looking forward to the game."
THE BEST HOCKEY PHOTOS OF THE YEAR:
Uncharted territory: Predators force Game 7 vs. Ducks
Chicago Blackhawks' Niklas Hjalmarsson skates out to center ice with the Stanley Cup during the championship banner raising ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Blackhawks and the New York Rangers, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Los Angeles Kings goalie Jhonas Enroth, of Sweden, defects a shot during the third period of a preseason NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Chicago Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov, left, and Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Kesler, right, battle for a loose puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Oct. 26, 2015, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) hits Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid (54) into the boards in the third period of an NHL preseason hockey game, Friday, Oct. 2, 2015, in Washington. The Capitals won 2-1 in a shootout. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Los Angeles Kings left wing Tanner Pearson, right, tries to score on Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, in Los Angeles. The Kings won 3-1. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Tarek Sawan, right, and Alexandra Desbiens celebrate a goal by Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty during the third period of the NHL Winter Classic hockey game against the Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. The Canadiens won 5-1. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Chicago Blackhawks' Andrew Shaw (65) collides with Pittsburgh Penguins' Trevor Daley (6) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
New York Rangers' Jayson Megna (23) struggles to get back on the ice after being checked by New York Islanders' Calvin de Haan (not shown) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, in New York. The Islanders won 3-1. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Rangers center Oscar Lindberg (24), from Sweden, tries to hit the puck as Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92), from Russia, defends in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand is dropped to the ice in front of Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer on a rough check during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, of Russia, is hit in the mask while trying to make a stop against the Winnipeg Jets in the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck (15) goes flying after tripping over Edmonton Oilers defenseman Brandon Davidson (88) in the third period of an NHL hockey game in New York, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. The Islanders defeated the Oilers 8-1. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson (9) celebrates his goal with goalie Ben Bishop (30) during overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)
Carolina Hurricanes goalie Eddie Lack (31) makes a save during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016, in Raleigh, N.C. Lack had 9 saves in the 6-3 win after relieving an injured Cam Ward in the second period. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
Boston Bruins' Landon Ferraro (29) and Dallas Stars' Jason Demers (4) fall to the ice while competing for the puck in the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner, left, gets hit by a high stick from Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane during the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday,Feb. 28, 2016, in Chicago. The Blackhawks won 3-2. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) pushes over the goal cage to force a stoppage of play after being shaken up in a collision with teammate Ryan McDonagh during the second period an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Penguins won 4-1. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton (27) slides across the goal crease to knock away the puck as goaltender Jonas Hiller, right, defends during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Thursday, March 3, 2016, in Buffalo, N.Y. Buffalo won 6-3. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert)
Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek (34) stops a Montreal Canadiens shot in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 24, 2016 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, from Russia, keeps his eyes on the puck with St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91), also from Russia, nearby in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 26, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Washington Capitals' Jay Beagle (83) cannot get a shot past Philadelphia Flyers' Steve Mason (35) as Shayne Gostisbehere (53) trails during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, March 30, 2016, in Philadelphia. Philadelphia won 2-1 in a shootout. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand, top, goes airborne after slamming Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce (54) to the ice during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Tuesday, April 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Anaheim Ducks center Nate Thompson passes the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Thursday, April 7, 2016, in Los Angeles. The Kings won 2-1. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
St. Louis Blues' Alexander Steen, right, and Washington Capitals' Nicklas Backstrom, of Sweden, become entangled along the boards during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 9, 2016, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 22: Jonathan Toews #19 of the Chicago Blackhawks and Steven Kampfer #3 of the Florida Panthers watch for the puck next to goalie Roberto Luongo #1 in the first period of the NHL game at the United Center on October 22, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 23: Marek Zidlicky #28 of the New York Islanders and Zac Rinaldo #36 of the Boston Bruins collide along the boards during the third period at the Barclays Center on October 23, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Bruins defeated the Islanders 5-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 27: (L-R) Jamie Oleksiak #5 of the Dallas Stars and Chris Stewart #29 of the Anaheim Ducks fight in the first period at American Airlines Center on October 27, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - OCTOBER 28: Mike Brown #18 of the San Jose Sharks flips over Mattias Ekholm #14 of the Nashville Predators as he goes for the puck at SAP Center on October 28, 2015 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 06: Dominic Moore #28, Jarret Stoll #26, Keith Yandle #93 and Jesper Fast #19 of the New York Rangers pursue the puck against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on November 6, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 02: Michael Del Zotto #15 of the Philadelphia Flyers misses a check and crashes into the boards against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Wells Fargo Center on February 2, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 21: Matt Dumba #24 of the Minnesota Wild scores against goaltender Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period of the 2016 Coors Light Stadium Series game at TCF Bank Stadium on February 21, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Wild defeated the Blackhawks 6-1. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 16: Corey Perry #10 of the Anaheim Ducks falls back onto the net as Antti Raanta #32 of the New York Rangers looks on from inside the net during the game on March 16, 2016 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 27: Matt Bartkowski #44 of the Vancouver Canucks gets his helmet adjusted during their NHL game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena March 27, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 02: Keith Yandle #93 of the New York Rangers fals ove Johan Larsson #22 of the Buffalo Sabres during their game at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Jan 21, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Vancouver Canucks left wing Daniel Sedin (22) dumps Boston Bruins right wing Brett Connolly (14) during the third period of the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 29: Keith Kinkaid #1 of the New Jersey Devils makes the second period save against the Boston Bruins at the Prudential Center on March 29, 2016 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
After erasing a 2-0 series deficit with three impressive wins that saw them outscore the Predators 12-3, the Ducks did not play that badly in Game 6.
They owned a 27-26 edge in shots on goal, tried 13 more shots overall than Nashville (counting those that were blocked or missed the net) and carried play for a majority of the final 30 minutes.
However, the Predators buried two good chances in the second period, and Rinne, who entered the game with a pedestrian save percentage of .889 in the series, looked more like the five-time All-Star he has been during his career.
Rinne delivered his best save with 6:40 remaining in the game. Corey Perry was all alone in the slot with plenty of time to get off a wrister, but Rinne's right pad kicked out the puck.
"Corey's shooting the puck, generally something's going in," Boudreau said. "I thought we kept pushing and had some good chances, but they defended well."
Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen, who allowed just three goals on 88 shots as the Ducks gained the series lead, played well enough to win, making 23 saves on Monday.
However, he could not do much about Nashville's pair of markers in the middle period.
Ekholm skated around the net from left to right on the first one, finally facing the net from the faceoff circle and wristing a 27-footer through traffic. His second goal of the series came at 8:10 as the sellout crowd of 17,113 roared.
"You obviously want to start with the first goal and get your crowd into it," Ekholm said. "When that first puck went in, it felt like we took a weight off our shoulders."
Neal made it 2-0 at 17:45. Ryan Johansen carried the puck down the right side on an odd-man rush, feeding Neal at the left goalpost for his second goal of the series and his first since the first minute of Game 1.
Anaheim drew within 2-1 on a rebound marker by Ryan Kesler at 19:46 of the second period. It came 29 seconds after a questionable holding call on Ekholm drew the ire of the crowd, inspiring fans to toss some giveaway towels on the ice.
However, the Predators steadied themselves in the third period, Rinne making nine saves to protect the lead. Shea Weber tacked on insurance with an empty-net goal at 19:50.
While Nashville has no Game 7 history as a franchise, coach Peter Laviolette does, having won a Game 7 in the 2006 Stanley Cup finals with the Carolina Hurricanes. Now he gets to steer another team into an adventure few of them know about.
"Game 7s are awesome," Laviolette said. "I think our players will be ready. I don't think there's anything better in the Stanley Cup than a Game 7 when everything means something."
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More from AOL.com: Rangers will give away flashing bracelets for Game 3 'Puck Talk' podcast: Breaking down the Stanley Cup playoffs Beyonce teams with Charities United Way, Chime For Change and Global Citizen on Formation Tour | By tying the first-round Western Conference series at three games apiece, the Predators forced the first Game 7 in franchise history on Wednesday. | 111.962963 | 1 | 25.074074 | high | high | extractive |
http://nypost.com/2016/02/12/the-day-in-photos-feb-12-2016/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160628050546id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/02/12/the-day-in-photos-feb-12-2016/ | The day in photos: Feb. 12, 2016 | 20160628050546 | A monkey gets a Valentine's Day rose in a London zoo.
Photo: Andrew Milligan / PA Images / Startraksphoto.com
Red pandas play in a Duisburg, Germany, zoo.
Birds fly above the Wash coastline near Snettisham, Britain.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, left, speaks at an air force base in Kabul.
Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) and UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Staffan de Mistura (right) speak in Munich.
A visitor passes "Cristo ha Muerto" in a Rome exhibit.
A Valentine's Day popup shop is held in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The sun rises above the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
A Caouanne turtle goes for a swim in a La Rochelle, France, aquarium care center.
A protester stokes a fire in Athens.
A white tiger explores its Krasnoyarsk, Russia, zoo enclosure.
A cat sits near a Puss in Boots sculpture in Kiev, Ukraine.
Heart-shaped lollipops cool at a Jacksonville, Fla., candy shop.
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http://www.9news.com.au/World/2016/06/28/06/53/Iceland-knocks-out-England-with-2-1-victory-in-Euro-2016-Round-of-16 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160628142501id_/http://www.9news.com.au/World/2016/06/28/06/53/Iceland-knocks-out-England-with-2-1-victory-in-Euro-2016-Round-of-16 | Euro 2016: Iceland knock out England with incredible 2-1 victory | 20160628142501 | Iceland's football Vikings fought back from a goal down to eliminate England from the Euro 2016 football tournament with a 2-1 victory, in one of the biggest shocks in the sport's history that forced the immediate resignation of England manager Roy Hodgson.
Wayne Rooney put England ahead from the penalty spot inside five minutes in Nice. Within another 75 seconds, Ragnar Sigurdsson had equalised and in the 18th minute Kolbeinn Sigthorsson set England on the way to humiliation.
England never looked like getting back into the game and many of the players slumped to the ground when the final whistle went, as Iceland's players and fans erupted with joy at the country's greatest sporting moment.
Hodgson, 68, announce his resignation in a statement shortly after the game.
"I'm extremely disappointed of course about tonight's result and ultimately our exit from the competition. We haven't progressed as far as I thought we were capable of, and that's obviously not acceptable," he said.
"We are in the results business," he added. "Now is the time for someone else to oversee the progress of this young, hungry and extremely talented group of players."
Amid wild celebrations, Iceland took the last quarter-final place and will now face host nation France in Paris on Sunday.
Earlier, Italy dumped defending champions Spain out of the contest, winning 2-0 to end a 22-year run without a win over their rivals. Italy must next face world champions Germany.
England's performance ranks alongside some of the most dismal at major tournaments. They already feature on the list of shame with their 1-0 defeat to an amateur US side at the 1950 World Cup.
Iceland's man of the match Ragnar Sigurdsson, who scored Iceland's opener, said England's over-confidence was behind their humiliating defeat.
"They thought this would be a walk in the park," said Sigurdsson.
"But we had faith in our ability."
Iceland beat England 2-1. (Twitter / @UEFAEURO
England, ranked 11th in the world, were left cursing a blunder by goalkeeper Joe Hart that led to the second goal by the world 34th-ranked Icelanders, the smallest nation to appear at a major tournament.
Sigthorsson's tame shot squirmed past Hart for the winner.
Raheem Sterling was fouled by Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson to lay on Rooney's penalty into the left corner to crown his 115th England appearance, which tied David Beckham's record for an outfield player.
But barely 75 seconds later, Iceland were level. A trademark Aron Gunnarsson long throw-in reached Kari Arnason who headed on and Sigurdsson volleyed the ball in from close range.
Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson worked the ball to Sigthorsson and with England's defenders standing off, the Nantes striker rolled a shot goalwards that Hart did not get close to.
Former England captain Gary Linker called the result "the worst defeat in our history".
"England beaten by a country with more volcanoes than professional footballers. Well played Iceland," Linker wrote on Twitter.
Another ex-captain Alan Shearer said the England performance was "pathetic."
Fans and players celebrate. (Twitter / @UEFAEURO)
English fans also took to Twitter throughout the game to express their disbelief at Iceland's strength.
Last week, Icelandic fans and even a commentator were overwhelmed by the team's victory over Austria.
Spain's coach Vicente del Bosque was also forced to fend off questions about his future after his defending champions lost 2-0 to Italy in Paris.
Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle scored as Italy exacted revenge for their 4-0 hammering by Spain in the Euro 2012 final.
The landmark victory set up an epic Italy-Germany quarter-final.
Chiellini forced home the first goal from close range after goalkeeper David de Gea could only parry Eder's fiercely struck free-kick. Pelle volleyed in a deflected cross in injury time to complete Spain's heartbreak.
"It has been and is a great era for Spanish football," said del Bosque.
"We have Italy ahead of us for the World Cup qualifiers in Russia and we have to prepare for that," he added.
"I don't think an era has ended. Spanish football is very well structured -- there are good academies, very good players and very good clubs."
Italy manager Antonio Conte said team work and a united spirit that England could not muster had inspired their win.
"Right from the outset since I took over I have said that the only route forward to achieve a semblance of success is to try and be a like a club team," said Conte, who will take over Chelsea at the end of the tournament. "We have to be a collective." | Iceland has knocked England out of the Euro 2016 football tournament, with a 2-1 victory in the Round of 16. | 39.166667 | 0.833333 | 2.916667 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.people.com/article/johnny-depp-surprise-appearance-comedy-club-los-angeles | http://web.archive.org/web/20160628153327id_/http://www.people.com/article/johnny-depp-surprise-appearance-comedy-club-los-angeles | Johnny Depp Makes Surprise Appearance at Los Angeles Comedy Club : People.com | 20160628153327 | 06/27/2016 AT 01:30 PM EDT
took the stage on Sunday night – but this time not with his band.
Depp, 53, made a surprise appearance at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles over the weekend.
To the audience's delight, the actor jumped on stage and interrupted comedian Mat Edgar's set. He appeared to be in good spirits as the two exchanged jokes while the crowd cheered them on.
When Depp took the stage, he joked that Edgar's time was up,
The actor looked casual for the night out, flashing his signature edgy style as he wore black jeans with a matching T-shirt, as well as a handful of long necklaces and scarves. He also sported a new, shorter haircut.
Depp reportedly arrived at the club with his friend Doug Stanhope, who had performed at the Comedy Store in the past, and the two stuck together throughout the night as they watched the other acts.
The Comedy Store posted a shot of Depp and Stanhope hanging out backstage with fellow comedians Ryan Adams, Kerry Mitchell and Brett Erickson.
This is the first time Depp has been spotted since returning stateside from his
Prior to his Bahamas getaway, the actor toured with his band the Hollywood Vampires in Europe.
Depp has only been seen publicly a handful of times since his estranged wife
Following the allegations, Stanhope came to Depp's defense, claiming Heard was
the actor and lying about the alleged domestic abuse.
In response, Heard filed a | Johnny Depp jumped on stage and interrupted comedian Mat Edgar's set | 24.166667 | 0.916667 | 8.416667 | medium | medium | extractive |
http://fortune.com/2015/12/30/internet-speed-faster/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160629033532id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/12/30/internet-speed-faster/?iid=recirc_f500profile-zone1 | Yes, Your Internet Speed Has Gotten a Lot Faster | 20160629033532 | U.S. Internet connection speeds have tripled over 3-1/2 years to keep up with consumer demands for streaming video and downloading content but the U.S. still lags many other countries.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said in a report on Wednesday average download connection speeds had increased to nearly 31 megabits per second (Mbps) in September 2014 from about 10 Mbps in March 2011.
Rising Internet speeds have been driven by consumer demands for growing amounts of bandwidth to watch movies, play video games, and download data.
The industry is ramping up efforts to boost speeds. Google goog is offering up to 1,000 Mbps in nine cities, while AT&T t is offering the same speed in 20 cities and plans to add 36 metro areas next year.
Comcast cmcsa said last week it is testing its own 1,000 Mbps service in Philadelphia and by the end of 2016 will offer the service in some other areas.
The FCC says video accounts for more than 60% of U.S. Internet traffic, a figure that may rise to 80% by 2019.
Still, the U.S. only ranks 25 out of 39 nations in 2013, according to the FCC. It said the U.S. was behind many countries including France, Canada, Germany and Japan—but ahead of Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Israel. The fastest was Luxembourg with average download speeds of 47.32 Mbps.
The report said that among major providers, Cablevision Systems cvc led with average download speeds of 60 Mbps, followed by Verizon Communications vz and Charter Communications chtr each with around 50 Mbps. Cox Communications followed at 40 Mbps, while Comcast was about 35 Mbps.
In January, the FCC redefined benchmark broadband speeds to 25 Mbps for downloads, up from the 4 Mbps set in 2010.
“Advances in network technology are yielding significant improvements in broadband speeds and quality,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement. “Faster, better broadband will unleash new innovations and new services to improve the lives of the American people.”
The report, Wheeler said, holds Internet providers “accountable.”
Among U.S. states, New Jersey had the fastest average Internet download speeds at 57 Mbps, while Idaho had the lowest at about 14 Mbps, just above Ohio and Arkansas.
The FCC measures Internet performance with monitoring boxes in more than 5,000 volunteer homes. The FCC says download speeds are now much closer to advertised than in 2011. | But not compared to other countries. | 66.285714 | 0.714286 | 1.571429 | high | low | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2015/10/01/softtechvcs-charles-hudson-is-launching-a-pre-seed-firm/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160629103753id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/10/01/softtechvcs-charles-hudson-is-launching-a-pre-seed-firm/ | SoftTechVC's Charles Hudson is launching a 'pre-seed' firm | 20160629103753 | Venture capitalist Charles Hudson is stepping away from his full-time responsibilities as a partner with SoftTechVC, in order to launch a new “pre-seed” investment firm called Precursor Ventures, Fortune has learned.
Hudson is seeking to raise upwards of $25 million for Precursor’s debut fund, with sources saying that he’s already rounded up a significant number of commitments. He is expected to remain a venture partner with SoftTech VC, where his deals have included Vungle, Kahuna, Tulip and Soldsie.
Prior to joining SoftTech VC, Hudson co-founded Bionic Panda Games and, before that, worked at Zynga ZNGA .
“Pre-seed” is used to describe the small rounds — usually <$500,000 — that come before seed rounds that have grown to often total millions of dollars. Another terms if “friends and family” rounds.
Hudson did not return a request for comment.
Get Term Sheet, our daily newsletter on deals & deal-makers. | Precursor Ventures is seeking to raise up to $25 million for its debut fund,. | 11.176471 | 0.941176 | 2.823529 | low | medium | mixed |
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/17/mh370-what-happened-in-the-hours-after-take-off.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160629160029id_/http://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/17/mh370-what-happened-in-the-hours-after-take-off.html | MH370: What happened in the hours after takeoff? | 20160629160029 | 1:19 a.m. The last words from Flight 370 to the ground: "All right, good night." Those words were apparently spoken by the co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, according to Malaysia Airlines CEO. Flight 370 was signing off from Malaysian air traffic control.
1:21 a.m. The transponder, which identifies the plane to civilian radar, stopped working. This was also the moment when the plane was meant to check in with air traffic control in Vietnam, according to Vietnamese authorities. It never did.
2:15 a.m. Malaysian military radar last detected Flight 370 in the northern mouth of the Strait of Malacca, south of Phuket Island, Thailand, and west of the Malaysian peninsula — hundreds of miles off course.
6:30 a.m. Flight 370 was due to land in Beijing.
8:11 a.m. A commercial satellite, operated by the British company Inmarsat and orbiting more than 22,000 miles above earth, makes its last connection with the plane — an hourly digital "handshake," as industry officials have described it.
Using the angle of the satellite, investigators drew two vast arcs. The plane is believed to have been along one of those arcs at 8:11 a.m.
Upgrades to the Inmarsat system allow it to receive position, altitude and speed data from aircraft, but Flight 370 was not equipped to broadcast that data, people briefed on the investigation told The Wall Street Journal.
One of the arcs stretches from mountainous Central Asia to northern Thailand. The other reaches from Indonesia to the vast southern reaches of the Indian Ocean. | Malaysian authorities over the weekend revealed several details of what happened in the hours after the missing Malaysia Airlines flight took off. | 12.73913 | 0.521739 | 0.695652 | low | low | abstractive |
http://nypost.com/2015/12/04/these-are-the-greatest-hail-mary-passes-ever/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160630030835id_/http://nypost.com:80/2015/12/04/these-are-the-greatest-hail-mary-passes-ever/ | These are the greatest Hail Mary passes ever | 20160630030835 | The Packers stunned the Lions on Thursday night by completing a 61-yard touchdown on a final play that marked the longest Hail Mary in NFL history.
The last-ditch heave from Aaron Rodgers to Richard Rodgers traveled more like 70 yards in the air (and went nearly as high) as the Lions defense blundered around other parts of the field.
The miracle connection goes down as one of the finest and most memorable Hail Mary passes — defined here as the final pass of a game, not at the end of a half — in the annals, including the college and pro ranks.
Join us on a trip back through the years, ending with the play that made “Hail Mary” part of the lexicon and beginning with a play the Packers remember all too well …
The most controversial of the bunch, because this Russell Wilson-to-Golden Tate game-winner looked just as much like a game-ending interception, but was ruled a TD by the league’s replacement referees.
As Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, then the Spartans’ chucker, might say: “You like that!”
With Gus Johnson on the call, we should have known this David Garrard career highlight was coming.
This one didn’t travel the whole way in the air, but still gets the nod. Can you say “tip drill”?
Just so we remember it’s not all suffering all the time for Browns fans. This prayer by then-rookie No. 1 pick Tim Couch came in the franchise’s first season back in Cleveland.
Before Kordell Stewart was “Slash” for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was the author of this all-timer at the college level.
Doug Flutie went on to fame in just about every pro league you can think of, but this iconic moment from the diminutive Eagles QB’s Heisman-winning season belongs in the football time capsule.
Billy “White Shoes” Johnson needed a few extra jukes to convert this one from Steve Bartkowski.
Ahmad Rashad isn’t just a hokey NBA host and Michael Jordan confidant. He came away with this jump ball from Minnesota’s Tommy Kramer to claim a division title.
Dallas star Roger Staubach said of this stunner, “It was just a Hail Mary pass; a very, very lucky play.” | The Packers stunned the Lions on Thursday night by completing a 61-yard touchdown on a final play that marked the longest Hail Mary in NFL history. The last-ditch heave from Aaron Rodgers to Richar… | 11.461538 | 0.948718 | 12.076923 | low | high | extractive |
http://time.com/3841359/solar-implulse-pacific-airplane-andre-borschberg-bertrand-piccard-aviation-china-hawaii/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160630094136id_/http://time.com:80/3841359/solar-implulse-pacific-airplane-andre-borschberg-bertrand-piccard-aviation-china-hawaii/ | 'Solar Impulse' to Attempt First Solar-Powered Pacific Crossing by Air | 20160630094136 | On Tuesday morning local time, a Swiss man named André Borschberg will take off from an airport in Nanjing, China, and fly for roughly 120 hours straight. He will travel east and south across the vast Pacific, spending days and nights over deep, dark sea as he hurtles toward Hawaii in an airplane powered by the sun.
An airplane powered by the sun? It’s the type of thing we dreamed about as children — running with our arms outstretched, circling like birds on the breeze. Kids love airplanes and astronauts — even airports, the bane of adults. Grown-ups tend to prefer our feet firmly planted. We’ve lost sight of the magic: a plane is a plane.
Borschberg and fellow pilot Bertrand Piccard want to restore our sense of wonder, which is why they’ve spent more than a decade preparing to fly their fuelless aircraft, Solar Impulse 2, around the globe. There will be 12 flights total, with the pilots taking turns at the helm of the single-seater. The goal of the trip, which started March 9 in the United Arab Emirates, is to inspire interest in clean tech.
“Adventure is where when you learn to be more open to the unknown,” says Piccard. “There is normal life, where we live automatically, we reproduce what we have learned, and [there are] moments of rupture and crisis. It is in these moments that you have to get rid of your certainties and habits.”
Once Solar Impulse leaves Nanjing, there will be few certainties. A flight like this has never been done.
The 5,000-mile leg will be a technical and physical test. Priority No. 1 is marshaling the sun, Borschberg says. During the day, Solar Impulse will fly high while capturing energy. When darkness falls, the engines will be cut and the plane will soar for several hours, losing altitude. At some point, the engine will start drawing on battery power. Then, at daybreak, the cycle begins again.
The flight will not be easy on the pilot. Seated in tiny cockpit, the 62-year-old will be awake for most of the flight, resting only for 20 minutes at a time. The conditions in the plane will be far from first-class comfort: the space is small, and the temperature and air pressure will vary dramatically through the trip. At some points, he will be able to communicate with mission control in Monaco. If things go wrong, he could be on his own.
For Borschberg, this is the flight of a lifetime. He started flying at 15, studied engineering, and spent decades as a pilot in the Swiss Air Force reserves. He is detail-driven and aviation-obsessed, brought to life by talk of aerodynamics. “I feel at home up there, at ease,” he says. “You get access to something that human beings on earth can’t access.”
Flying a plane like Solar Impulse, which is incredibly light, means working with the elements, not racing through them — a change of mind-set for a fighter pilot. “The more extreme the airplane, the more you have to have nature on your side and not the other way around,” Borschberg says. “You can look at the wind as a problem — turbulence, downdraft — or you can ask, how can I make it my ally? How can I integrate with nature instead of fearing it or trying to change it?”
His partner, Piccard, is the dreamer. Also born in Switzerland, the 57-year-old spent part of his childhood living in Florida during the U.S.-Soviet race to the moon. “The entire country was living for the conquest of the moon, and I had the chance to witness the most extraordinary human adventure,” he says. “When this was finished I had the impression that there was nothing else.”
Perhaps to prove himself wrong, he took up hang gliding and ballooning. He also studied psychiatry and hypnosis, fascinated, he said, by how being pushed to the limit could affect the mind. He went on to become, with Brian Jones, the first to complete a nonstop balloon flight around the world. He met Borschberg about 12 years ago and they have been planning, and fundraising, ever since.
Now they face the most difficult and dangerous part of the journey. Both pilots have trained hard for this — even dropping into water, blindfolded and strapped into parachutes, to simulate one possible worst case. They admit to nerves but prefer to talk about planning, preparation and the professionalism of the team that will guide them from Monaco.
Besides, they say, flight is about facing fear — taking a leap. When Borschberg sets out over the ocean, he will be sitting in a cockpit adorned with photographs of his family — a midair reminder of all that awaits him when he, and Solar Impulse, return to ground. | Five days, 5,000 miles, fueled only by the sun. | 80.416667 | 0.666667 | 1.666667 | high | low | mixed |
http://nypost.com/2010/07/24/kid-stuff-30/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160630100854id_/http://nypost.com:80/2010/07/24/kid-stuff-30/ | Kid stuff | New York Post | 20160630100854 | WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE: Be among the first to hear tunes from “Jungle Gym,” the latest CD by Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, when the former preschool teacher and his band play a show at Highline Ballroom. That midday siesta can wait! Noon, $12. 431 W. 16th St., between Ninth and 10th avenues; 212-414-5994.
CULTURE CLUB: No passport is required for Bridge Culture 2010, DUMBO’s global culture fest. Travel to Russia with a live performance by the Brighton Ballet Company, tales from storyteller Mikhail Smirnov and more. 4 to 6 p.m., free. Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park; bridgeculture.org.
VARIETY SHOW: Vital Theatre Company offers a greatest-hits revue combining scenes from “Pinkalicious,” “Isabelle and the Pretty Ugly Spell” and other favorites from their kid-friendly repertoire. Noon to 1 p.m., free. Bryant Park Reading Room, 42nd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues; bryantpark.org.
ENTER THE DRAGON: Expect to bring home lots of souvenirs from the Museum of Chinese in America’s Dragon Boat Festival, where kids can make dragon boat stick puppets (and race them), lucky sachets called “xiang bao,” silkscreen prints, kites and more. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $10 per person. 215 Centre St. at Grand Street; 212-619-4785.
GATHERING OF THE TRIBES: More than 40 Native American nations will be represented at the 32nd Annual Thunderbird American Indian Pow Wow, a dance competition held in the apple orchard of the Queens County Farm Museum. Bring a camera to capture the colorful costumes, and a few extra bucks for traditional crafts, jewelry and food. Noon to 5 p.m., $9 for adults, $4 for kids. 75-50 Little Neck Parkway; 718-347-3276.
To submit a listing for consideration, send information to burt.jacqueline@gmail.com. | TODAY WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE: Be among the first to hear tunes from “Jungle Gym,” the latest CD by Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, when the former preschool teacher and his ban… | 8.833333 | 0.928571 | 36.214286 | low | medium | extractive |
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0%2C%2C20097834%2C00.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160630122531id_/http://www.people.com:80/people/archive/article/0,,20097834,00.html | The Wounds of War | 20160630122531 | The bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan, on Dec. 7, 1941, not only swept the U.S. Into World War II, it blew a chilling wave of fear and anger across the home front as well. Fearing the possibility of espionage and sabotage, even invasion, the government within months ordered U.S. Army troops to round up 120,000 West Coast residents of Japanese ancestry and ship them to detention camps throughout the western U.S. Most were American citizens; all were denied their basic rights. Now, 45 years later, Congress is preparing to issue a formal apology and $1.2 billion in reparation payments to the 60,000 surviving Japanese American evacuees. Among the sponsors of the legislation is Norman Mineta, a Democratic Congressman from California, who was 10 years old when he and five family members were uprooted from their home in San Jose and brought first to a temporary camp at a California racetrack and then to more permanent quarters in remote Heart Mountain, Wyo. In an interview at his Capitol Hill office, Mineta, 56, spoke of those painful childhood days.
I had just returned home with my family from a service at our neighborhood Japanese Methodist Church when we heard on the radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. All the adults were very quiet, and my father went into his office off the porch and closed the door. That was the first time I ever saw him cry.
My father had crossed the Pacific in 1902, at age 14, on a steamship. His original plan was to return to live with his family in Kumaiden, Japan, after learning new farming techniques. Instead he decided to stay in America and within 10 years had saved enough money by working as a farm laborer to book passage for a wife from Japan. My mother, Kane, was the younger sister of one of his friends. She was from the same village as my father, but they hadn't seen each other since childhood.
By the time World War II began he was making a good living running the Mineta Insurance Agency in San Jose, and my mother was busy raising three daughters and two sons. Our home was sort of Spanish-style stucco with a red-tile roof. There were three bedrooms and one bathâa comfortable home. By law, the Oriental Exclusion Act of 1924, my father couldn't become a citizen, and California didn't allow noncitizens to own land. A local attorney, J.B. Peckham, would hold title to the land for Japanese families until their oldest American-born child turned 21. The children were automatically citizens by birth, and he would then transfer the title to them. He did this for hundreds, if not thousands of families in Santa Clara County.
I had my 10th birthday in 1941, and then came Dec. 7. Our next-door neighbor was director of a Japanese American social group, and that day he was arrested by the FBI. I remember his daughter crawling under the hedge and running over to our house, screaming that the police were taking her father away. She wouldn't hear from him again for several months. In the weeks that followed there was a lot of fear and uncertainty in the community. Then, on Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which proclaimed that all people of Japanese ancestry, citizens or resident aliens, could be moved from the West Coast because of "military necessity." Notices were posted on telephone poles and sides of buildings.
Under the new curfew law we had to be inside from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. We couldn't travel in groups of more than five, and we couldn't travel more than 25 miles from home without a special permit. When my sister in San Francisco was married, we had to get a permit because it was 47 miles away.
Before long, the insurance agency that my father owned for more than 20 years was shut down, and his broker's license was stamped "suspended for the duration of the War." Our savings accounts in the Yokohoma Species Bank were confiscated forever, and we even had to give away our dog, Skippy, a wirehaired terrier, to a stranger. We were told that we could take to the camp only what we could carry. People would just come and knock on your door and say, "I'll give you five bucks for your refrigerator." They would just walk the streets, going in and out of Japanese homes, offering to buy stuff. Very quickly our house was leased to a professor at San Jose State College.
When it came time to evacuate, some families had to move within hours. In coastal areas in particular, families had 72 hours at most. On May 29, we gathered at the train station carrying just a few belongingsâclothing, bedding and kitchen utensils. I wore my Cub Scout uniform and took along my baseball bat and catcher's mitt, but I had to leave my bat behind. I guess they thought it was a dangerous weapon. We did not know until that day that we were headed 400 miles south to the Santa Anita racetrack, where the Army had turned the horse stables into temporary living quarters. On the train the shades were drawn, and armed guards stationed at each end of the car made sure no one tried to peek outside. "My heart just broke," my father later wrote to a friend, "and suddenly hot tears just came pouring out."
When we arrived at Santa Anita the next morning, we were each given a mattress bag and told to stuff it with hay. Because we were late arrivals in the camp, we were lucky and were assigned to barracks that had been built. I remember going to visit friends who were in the horse stables during the heat of that summer. The stench was still there, and frankly, how they lived in that place I'll never understand.
Our living space was maybe 15 feet by 20 feet and wall-to-wall beds. To shower we had to walk 10 or 12 blocks to the paddocks. The barracks were near a guard tower, and the searchlight would sweep across my face all night. It was so bright that no matter how I tried to cover my eyes, I always knew it was there. The Arcadia Theater was directly across the street outside the camp, and we would look through the fence to see what was on the marquee. It was just 100 feet away, but it may as well have been 100 miles, because it was on the other side of the barbed wire.
In July the local police tried to arrest a woman in the camp for possession of an iron. Irons were banned because they were heavy and could be used as weapons and because the Army didn't want to overload the electrical circuits at the camp. Then the Army came in to make a complete inspection of the camp, which led to a major riot. My friend Eddie Kimura and I saw the jeeps come in with their machine-gun mounts, and we went to the grandstand area to see what was going on. We were sitting on the fence around the track, and all of a sudden we heard what sounded like gunfire, so we hit the deck and got out of there.
We left Santa Anita three months later bound for a more permanent internment camp at Heart Mountain, Wyo. We were greeted by a blinding sandstorm when we arrived. I remember the sand whipping up into the barracks through the cracks in the floorboards. It was cold, bitterly cold, and since we were all from California, most people had to make do with light jackets and blankets. Of course we couldn't go shopping. There were 12,000 people in the camp living in crowded barracks. We had an 18-foot by 25-foot space with a potbellied stove, and we ate in a large mess hall. Everyone knew that Wyoming would be it for the duration of our internment, so we had no choice but to try to feel at home.
I attended sixth grade at a camp school. After school sometimes Eddie and I would play in some big cardboard boxes. We'd roll around in them in the wind, kind of like human tumbleweeds. One day in February 1943, we were sledding down a hill and accidentally slipped under a barbed wire fence around the camp border. Then suddenly we saw an Army MP patrol approaching. They had guns, and we were terrified. Later, when they took me back to my father, he really chewed me out.
We were treated as prisoners of war, reallyânot Americans. You have to imagine how we felt looking up at the guard towers, knowing that their guns were pointed not outward but in, at us. And I think that the stigma of being accused of disloyalty was even worse than being sent to camp. But the human spirit seems to cause people to try to make the best of whatever circumstances they are in. In fact many Japanese Americans thought that by going along with what the government was doing, they could prove their patriotism.
During 1943 members of my family were given permission to leave the camp, one by one. My father was permitted to go to Chicago and take a job teaching Japanese to U.S. Army soldiers under the Army specialized training program. Then in November they let my mother and me out. There was no big opening of the gates, no mass exodus. We just got on a bus outside Heart Mountain, then stayed overnight in Butte, Mont., before catching a train to meet my father.
We had dinner that night in a restaurant across the street from the hotel. After my mother and I ate, I stood up and began stacking the dishes the way I always did. In the camp mess hall we always had to bus our own tables. My mother watched me for a moment and then said very softly, "Norman, you don't have to do that anymore."
At that moment, for the first time, it hit me that I was free. | A California Congressman Recalls the Trauma of World War Ii Internment | 176 | 0.818182 | 1.545455 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/foreign-policy/nuclear-proliferation.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160701020631id_/http://www.foxnews.com:80/category/politics/foreign-policy/nuclear-proliferation.html | Nuclear Proliferation | 20160701020631 | President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to visit Hiroshima, Japan Friday, where he was to deliver remarks focusing on world peace and nuclear disarmament in ...
The Senate rejected the deeply defective Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1999, and the case against ratification today is stronger than it was then.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would be willing to negotiate with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in an effort to curtail the Commu... | Nuclear Proliferation stories and articles from Fox News Politics | 9.888889 | 0.222222 | 0.222222 | low | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/3750389/china-feminists-international-womens-day-wu-rongrong-wei-tingting-wang-man-zheng-churan-li-tingting/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160701031649id_/http://time.com:80/3750389/china-feminists-international-womens-day-wu-rongrong-wei-tingting-wang-man-zheng-churan-li-tingting/ | China Jails Five Feminists for Activities the Communist Party Supports | 20160701031649 | It was supposed to be a celebration. This year marks two decades since the world came together in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women. Participants in that event — including keynote speaker Hillary Clinton — set an ambitious global blueprint for gender equality and women’s rights. It was a landmark moment for the women’s movement, and a point of pride for China as it stepped, gingerly, toward post-Mao reforms.
But as meetings to mark the “Beijing+20” anniversary close Friday in New York, things are looking bleak. In the run up to International Women’s Day and the Beijing+20-themed conclave, China detained 10 women for planning activities to celebrate the occasion. Five of those women — Wu Rongrong, Wei Tingting, Wang Man, Zheng Churan and Li Tingting — are still in detention. Their lawyers worry they will be charged with “picking quarrels and creating a disturbance,” an Orwellian turn of phrase used to jail government critics.
The ruling Communist Party has long taken aggressive measures to silence opposition voices, censoring the Internet, banning books, and jailing dissidents. For much of the past decade, though, the line between “dissident” and “critical voice” — that is between prison and the freedom to live your life — was, with exceptions, relatively clear: Do not openly oppose one-party rule. Avoid the “three T’s” (Tibet, Taiwan and Tiananmen). Don’t take to the street.
However, since coming to power in 2012, Xi Jinping’s regime has taken an even harder line, jailing those who speak out on matters not related to party control or the three T’s. (See, for example, the case of Professor Ilham Tohti, or jailed lawyer Xu Zhiyong.) There are new no-go areas, including the politics of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, and calls for government transparency that do not originate from the government itself. Until this month, if you kept a low profile and did not plan protests, you could speak publicly on issues like gender equality and LGBT rights.
Now, advocates fear that too has changed. The women arrested in Beijing this month were not advocating for the overthrow of the Communist Party. In fact, they were, separately, and in their respective cities, simply planning to distribute pamphlets and raise awareness about issues the Chinese government supports: gender equality and combatting sexual harassment. These activists did not organize political rallies, but rather used performance art to challenge societal views.
Their arrest in coordinated raids ahead of International Women’s Day “suggests an escalation of Chinese government paranoia,” says Leta Hong Fincher, author of Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China. “I don’t see how they would have posed any threat to the government in any way — and they did not even carry out the activities. Even under Chinese law, I do not see what they are guilty of.”
That has other feminists worried. The five women are active on a variety of issues, including stopping sexual violence, ending street harassment and promoting gender equality and LGBT rights. Their detentions sent a broad cross section of people, including friends, acquaintances and allies, into hiding, terrified that the merest trifle might now see them caged.
That is not to say people are silent. Their ongoing detention has generated an unusual amount of public support from social groups, students and academics in China, as well as expressions of solidarity from nearly every corner of the earth, and spawned a social-media campaign to #FreeTheFive. Some feminists have floated the idea of a boycott of Beijing+20 events, though there are no firm plans as yet. From the sidelines of the meeting in New York City, Charlotte Bunch, a professor of women’s and gender studies at Rutgers University, filmed herself reading a statement in support of the jailed women. “We expect more from China,” she says. “The world is watching and waiting for an end to this injustice.”
Waiting, indeed. Though U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power tweeted her support for the activists, foreign governments and U.N. agencies are, for the most part, staying quiet. Perhaps they don’t want to politicize the matter in the off chance they could still be released. Or perhaps, 20 years after the historic Beijing conference on women, the world no longer expects more. | Why haven't the world's governments spoken out? | 84.8 | 0.5 | 0.7 | high | low | abstractive |
http://mashable.com/2010/09/23/congress-battle-social-media/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160701184426id_/http://mashable.com:80/2010/09/23/congress-battle-social-media/ | Social Media: The New Battleground for Politics | 20160701184426 | Geoff Livingston co-founded Zoetica to focus on cause-related work, and released an award-winning book on new media Now is Gone in 2007.
Control of the House of Representatives hangs in the balance of the 2010 Congressional election. A recent forecast published on The New York Times website anticipates a two-out-of-three chance for a change in power. The election has become a war, with battles being fought locally and nationally, in person, on the news, and online with social media.
With new media at hand, elections become a time for innovation, and online engagement can lead to enormous influence. We've seen this with Barack Obama's presidential bid in 2008, and more recently with the British general election. During the last debate between the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and the Labour party, 154,342 tweets appeared containing various terms from the debate, and coming in at 26.77 tweets per second from 33,095 different people.
I sat down with both the GOP and the Democratic social media team leads to learn more about their efforts for the upcoming election. While both parties are playing it close to the vest as they move toward the final weeks, we managed to get a look inside their social media strategy, discuss the tools they are using, and review their tactical execution.
For the 2010 general election, early indicators show the "Grand Old Party" (GOP, short for the Republicans) leading the Democrats with the highest follower counts when it comes to official social channels. On Facebook, the Republicans have 180,000 fans while the Democrats have 120,000. On Twitter, the Republicans have 18,000 to the Democrats 13,000. On YouTube, the differential is even more drastic, with the GOP commanding a 17,000 to 2,000 lead.
In addition to these statistics, it should be noted that the Democrats are also operating the Barack Obama Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages, with 13 million, 5 million and 200,000 followers each. However, it's unclear whether the Barack Obama properties for 2008 are successfully impacting the larger Democratic party's efforts, given his decline in popularity and the larger issues shaping the 2010 election.
After the effort demonstrated by the Obama campaign in 2008, it only makes sense to see community listening and crowdsourcing become the primary strategy of the 2010 GOP effort. In addition to these core social media tenets, the GOP is focusing on influencers and bloggers that are self-identifying as advocates. These influencers range from relatively anonymous stay-at-home moms to Tea Party Co-Founder Brooks Bayne.
"This RNC listens to folks," said Todd Herman, chief digital strategist, Republican National Committee. "We insisted on a listening platform. It’s not at all unusual for [Chairman] Michael Steele to ask me to put him in touch with a participant on our gop.com site or on Twitter."
The efforts show real promise. A recent awareness campaign hit the web with $16,000 behind it, and GOP influencers propelled the message to the fore of Twitter with a related hashtag. Links circled the blogosphere through the deployment of more than 22,000 widgets. The effort leaked onto Facebook and turned into a fundraiser, eventually netting about $1.6 million, including eight online donations of $16,200 a piece.
The Democrats, in turn, have focused on a localized strategy of canvassing and using social tools to make peer-to-peer connections. The hyperlocal approach, with a stress on individual action, is bolstered by the existing Obama accounts which support the party's platform. The combined effort is being called Organizing for America (OFA), and uses visual branding elements from the 2008 presidential campaign.
"Our end goal is to make a turn-out happen," said Natalie Foster, director of new media for the DNC. "Our online innovations are driven towards that: Boots on the ground and face-to-face interactions. We use those for organizing and messaging via dialogue."
Both strategies have strengths to consider. The GOP's listening and focus on crowdsourcing are more in line with the core principles of successful social media campaigns. Herman cited several instances where individual GOP representatives went so far as to introduce legislation on the House floor that was suggested by their constituents online. While none of these bills have passed, Herman thinks it's only a matter of time before one becomes a law.
"The Democrats seem to be sticking with the tactics that brought them into power, whereas the GOP, as the challenger, is exploring more innovative ways to tap the power of new media," said Shana Glickfield, co-founder of the BeeKeeper Group, a Washington, DC public affairs firm. "Both are effective and embrace the strengths of technology and community, but I see the Republicans getting the added bonus of attracting blogger and mainstream media attention for innovating in the campaign space."
Perhaps the most exciting development for the Democrats is the party's use of mobile. The OFA iPhone app lets party supporters find people living in their immediate vicinity to canvas. In addition, it provides canvassing tips. Not enough? The Democrats are also using text messaging to activate mobile phone users and have them place calls to potential voters.
To execute mobile canvassing and activism, the Democrats are using an open API in their VoteBuilder database via middleware such as MongoDB. The Democratic Party has made its widget available on Open Dems. The party expects to unveil a couple more surprise applications using the API this fall, says Josh Hendler, the DNC's director of technology.
The GOP is using its Points API to create a social CRM solution and database called Blender. This effort mixes its Voter Vault database with traditional records in order to match them against peoples' social media accounts and facilitate conversation. The API is available on developers.gop.com.
Using the system, interested party advocates can volunteer for canvassing phone calls or social contacts from their home using volunteer.gop.com. The site features immediate opportunities that any would-be canvasser can take on. In addition to its own use, the GOP is licensing the system out to candidates at rates much lower than traditional political CRM solutions.
Both parties have their own developers at their disposal and they have both deployed a wide variety of additional tools. These efforts include widgets, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube videos, search engine optimization tactics, automatic tweets and social messaging.
Both parties are doing some great work and are deploying tools and leveraging their databases via APIs and developer teams. The one major differentiator remains the Democratic Party's use of mobile tools, which have drastically helped canvassing both via app and mobile web use. These tools match the party's strategy. It remains to be seen how they will impact voting.
"The Democratic Party leads the technology charge, going all the way back to Bill Clinton with his fax strategy and Howard Dean harnessing the power of the Internet to build the Deaniac movement," said Julie Pippert, one of the Momocrats, a group of Democratic bloggers. "In 2008, Obama's Internet and social media strategy were unarguably key factors in his successful election. ... [they are] moving forward to the next best step in mass collaboration on social networks and through using new technology such as iPhone apps."
Strategies may be great, tools can bring an advantage, but in the end, results are created by the how well the individual technologies are used. The best use of social media for a party is to engage its online stakeholders to create their own movements through empowerment, and have them go out and rally their own social networks.
One example is the RNC Women site, with its slogan, "You Asked, We Listened." Featuring all of the female candidates, this effort seeks to provide women in the party with a unique voice. The community manager is RNC Co-Chairman Jan Larimer, who has used the Ning-powered network to activate 3,000 social media-enabled women across the country. The apex of Larimer's community development was a 15-city tour.
"There wasn't a person in that room who wasn't tweeting and Facebooking," said Todd Herman. "It's incredible to see this from the GOP perspective, a party that wasn't supposed to get social media. People are using it to activate their own networks."
The RNC Women site is just one example of how the GOP has used community to rally influencer groups. In addition, the main GOP site is a hotbed of activism.
The Democratic social media properties showcase popular Facebook posts from Barack Obama, some of which have received thousands of comments. In this way, they're using social media to empower one-on-one local engagement.
With the Democrats' online effort, there is less focus on empowering others to become brand advocates. This is a likely indicator of why the GOP has a larger follower base across the board on social media sites. The difference is best seen on my.barackobama.com, home of the OFA effort.
While there's great encouragement on the Democratic OFA site to get the vote out and canvas via mobile, calls to action for local group activity are nowhere near as prevalent as on the GOP sites. Navigating through the site to attend local events and volunteer activities takes more steps than on the GOP site. That being said, according to the Democratic Party's Natalie Foster, over five million people have taken action with OFA since the 2008 election, and much of that action has been generated via my.barackobama.com.
It's arguable that both parties are executing well on their strategies. Of the two, the Republican party's efforts — focusing on the core through crowdsourcing and listening efforts, and then empowering the core to push out on a national and local level — are most likely to create groundswells of activity across the web. It's a populist approach that can make local bloggers into national party voices, and creates encouragement across the entire country for local races.
Generally, the Democrats are fascinated with the local, but are not encouraging a national community, leaving that to the primary Obama social media accounts. Perhaps that is fitting for an election that is all about local congressional representatives and not the president. However, the larger Barack Obama accounts are being used in a messaging-focused approach that is less likely to make local Democrats feel empowered to talk about their issues and be featured by the party as individual leaders on social media sites.
"Both parties are canvassing, and getting the right people to the polls, and reaching people," said Albert Maruggi, founder of Provident Partners and the former RNC Press Secretary for 1988 presidential election. "This, however, is a very different election. 2008 was a simple choice to change direction or not. In the fall of 2008, President Bush's approval ratings were in the mid 20s and today President Obama is in the mid 40s. This election cycle is about issues, regardless of sentiment about the president.
"So in this election, hitting on economic and health care issues are working, which seems to fit with the Republican social media strategy," Maruggi continued. "Why bring personality into the mix when only 15% of homeowners expect the value of their home will increase?"
The GOP might have have larger swings of grassroots activism on social media sites during the 2010 election season, but the Democrats could upend the stakes if the party returns to its 2008 strategy and reinvigorates its core. The Barack Obama sites have impressive follower counts and could turn such a strategy into a winning advantage.
- How Political Campaigns Are Using Social Media for Real Results- How Social Media is Changing the Way Government Does Business- 5 Things the Library of Congress is Archiving Online- How Open Data Applications are Improving Government- How Social Media is Changing Government Agencies
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, iodrakon Image courtesy of Gallup. | Geoff Livingston co-founded Zoetica to focus on cause-related work, and released an award-winning book on new media Now is Gone in 2007. Control of the House of Representatives ... | 61.918919 | 1 | 25.324324 | high | high | extractive |
http://fortune.com/2013/03/01/buffett-underperformed-the-sp-last-year/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160701205657id_/http://fortune.com:80/2013/03/01/buffett-underperformed-the-sp-last-year/?iid=recirc_f500profile-zone1 | Buffett underperformed the S&P last year | 20160701205657 | FORTUNE — Berkshire Hathaway reported after the stock market’s close that its book value per share rose in 2012 by 14.4%, helped especially by excellent results in insurance; strong business for BNSF and Marmon in transporting oil; higher prices for the company’s huge stock portfolio; and reduced liabilities for its derivatives portfolio.
In his annual letter to shareholders, CEO Warren Buffett put one new company, DIRECTV, on his yearly list of Berkshire’s largest investments. (But was Buffett the buyer of that stock? No.)
Buffett also supplied fresh details about Berkshire’s brk.a upcoming investment in H.J. Heinz and described the purchase as a piece of luck after his failing to make an “elephant” acquisition in 2012. But Buffett said he and Berkshire vice-chairman Charles Munger still have plenty of cash and want to spend it: “Charlie and I have again donned our safari outfits and resumed our search for elephants.”
Overall, Buffett emerged from 2012 disappointed because the competition did better than Berkshire’s 14.4% rise in per-share book value. The competition in this case is the total return of the S&P 500 SPX , which for 2012 was 16%. That indicator is what Buffett always hopes to beat.
The point is, said Buffett in his letter, that investors in Berkshire should expect their stock to rise over time along with book value (which he says significantly understates intrinsic value). If book value fails to beat the percentage increase of the S&P — again, over time — then a Berkshire shareholder, Buffett says, would be better off owning an S&P index fund.
RELATED: Warren Buffett may be souring on stocks
Buffett uses book value as a marker because it includes all of Berkshire’s capital gains, whether realized or unrealized. The more commonly used indicator, earnings per share, does not include unrealized gains (of which Berkshire had a huge $46 billion at yearend 2012). Berkshire’s earnings per Class A share actually leaped in 2012, to $8,997, up 44% from the year before. A main reason for that big swing was derivatives results moving from a pretax loss of $2.1 billion in 2011 to a nearly $2 billion pretax profit in 2012.
Over the long term, the performance of Berkshire’s book value has beaten the S&P in 39 out of the 48 years in which Buffett has run Berkshire — and he indeed says in the letter that he still expects the company’s stock to best the S&P over time. But the S&P has had a good run of it lately: four plus years in a row, three of them (all but 2011) surpassing Berkshire’s book-value performance.
In this competition, the S&P is helped in certain years by the fact that it’s pure stock market, while Berkshire is heavily into owning and operating whole companies (which is indeed where Buffett wants it to be). The S&P results are also pre-tax, whereas Berkshire’s gains are after-tax (including both paid and deferred taxes).
So a good year for the stock market is bad for Buffett the Competitor — which is powerfully strange, considering that we are talking about the man generally called the world’s greatest investor.
Even so, increases in the prices of Berkshire’s own huge investments did their considerable bit to raise the company’s book value. What Buffett calls Berkshire’s “Big Four” — in descending order by market value, Coca-Cola KO , IBM IBM , Wells Fargo WFC , and American Express AXP — all rose in price during the year. Wells and American Express were the leaders by far, with the stock price of each jumping by more than 20%.
RELATED: Warren Buffett defends his investments in newspapers
One might think that the next big consumer name to go on Buffett’s annual investment list would be H.J. Heinz, which Berkshire is scheduled to buy — by way of a holding company for Heinz — in a 50-50 partnership with investment company 3G Capital. But Heinz HNZ will be a Berkshire “investee,” a category of company that does not make the list. Berkshire’s share of the holding company’s earnings will simply flow into Berkshire’s earnings.
In the meantime, Buffett’s letter presents some previously undisclosed details about the $8 billion in 9% redeemable preferred stock Berkshire will get as a part of the Heinz deal. The preferred, says Buffett, has two features that “materially increase its value.” First, the stock will ultimately be redeemed at a premium price. Second, there are warrants attached to the preferred that allow Berkshire to buy 5% of the holding company at what Buffett calls a “nominal” price.
As for DIRECTV DTV making the investment list: That tabulation got a makeover this year, in that from now on it will include certain investments made by Todd Combs and Ted Weschler — the two men recently hired by Berkshire to be investment sidekicks to Buffett. If either, or the two together, have positions that reach the dollar threshold for the list — that’s $1 billion this year — their holdings will be noted.
And the first company making the list is indeed DIRECTV, which both Combs and Weschler own in their portfolios. The combined market value of their stakes in the company at the end of 2012 is listed as $1.2 billion.
RELATED: Buffett stays mum on successor
But that is money Buffett considers to have been held at the corporate level. Combs and Weschler also invest money for some pension funds of Berkshire’s subsidiaries, and Buffett does not include those holdings in the annual report list. They turn up, however, in Berkshire’s quarterly 13-F filings to the SEC. The data reported there show that at the end of 2012, Berkshire’s total stake in DIRECTV was about $1.7 billion.
Similarly, the 13-F filings indicate that Berkshire then held a position in Davita (which runs kidney dialysis centers) that was $1.5 billion in size but then was not mentioned in the annual report. The implication is that either Combs or Weschler, or both, have that stock in their portfolios and that some of the money committed to the stock came from the pension funds of Berkshire subsidiaries.
Weschler seems a sure bet to be a holder of Davita in his portfolio. Before coming to Berkshire, he ran hedge fund Peninsula Capital Advisors, whose largest holding was Davita DVA . Then, after Weschler came to Berkshire, Davita promptly appeared in Berkshire’s 13-F filings.
None of that rules out Combs also holding Davita. As the DIRECTV facts show, the two men sometimes both like the same stock. And part of their Berkshire pay arrangement — the aim here is collegiality — is that each shares to an extent in the portfolio performance of the other.
In his shareholder letter, Buffett is lavish in his praise of Combs and Weschler, saying, “They have proved to be smart, models of integrity, helpful to Berkshire in many ways beyond portfolio management, and a perfect cultural fit.”
In investments, they’re also getting the ultimate reward: more money to manage. As 2012 began, Combs and Weschler were each running a portfolio about $3 billion in size. But Buffett says he is raising the amount to almost $5 billion because the two have proved to be such excellent additions to the Berkshire team.
Both men, Buffett reports, outperformed the S&P by double-digit margins. And then he adds in tiny type, “They left me in the dust as well.” Previously that size of type has been used for other sheepish admissions, the best known being Buffett’s acknowledgment that in 1986 he had bought a plane for Berkshire.
Fortune senior editor-at-large Carol Loomis, the writer of this article, is a longtime friend of Warren Buffett’s, the pro bono editor of his annual shareholders’ letter, and a shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway. | Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway raised its per-share book value 14.4% in 2012, less than the S&P 500's 16% total return. But the marker Buffett dismisses -- earnings per share -- rose 44%. | 36.547619 | 0.833333 | 2.166667 | high | medium | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/06/29/facebook-political-influence/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160702005414id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/29/facebook-political-influence/ | Facebook Aims to Demonstrate Neutrality Amid the Presidential Election | 20160702005414 | As the U.S. presidential campaign heats up, Facebook is going out of its way to show its neutrality—an increasingly urgent matter for the social network as evidence of its power continues to emerge.
Recent studies have shown the site has extraordinary influence. According to research scheduled to be published in August in the Journal of Communication, when people tagged their friends on Facebook in voting reminders, turnout increased by 15 to 24%.
During U.S. presidential primary elections this year, a Facebook reminder that informed people when their state’s voter registration deadline was approaching and provided a link helped produce a surge of nearly 650,000 new voter registrations in California alone, according to Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
In the United Kingdom, a Facebook reminder days before the deadline to register to vote on whether the country should exit the European Union led to 186,000 people registering online to vote, according to the government.
“Generally, getting people out to vote could swing a national election,” said Katherine Haenschen, a PhD student at the University of Texas, Austin and author of the upcoming Journal of Communications study.
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Facebook is eager to show that its political involvement is limited to seemingly neutral activities such as encouraging voting. The company this week released some of the guidelines that govern its all-important News Feed—the place most people see postings on Facebook—and has pushed back hard against recent allegations of political bias in its “Trending Topics” module.
At the same time Facebook has embraced its role as a “new town hall” for politics, hosting events, and helping candidates more effectively leverage their platforms, said Katie Harbath, Facebook’s global politics and government outreach director
Her team helps candidates by answering their questions and providing advice, such as how to use Facebook Live and how to increase engagement on their pages.
Still, concerns about Facebook’s role in shaping political attitudes are unlikely to abate anytime soon.
Some people object even to voter-registration drives. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, for example, alleged this week that Google googl and Facebook fb were trying to encourage a “remain” vote in Britain’s referendum on European Union membership by encouraging voting, asserting that media users are disproportionately youthful and pro-Europe.
A more common complaint is that Facebook and other social networks serve as an echo chamber of ideas and beliefs, as users decide which people and pages they will follow and customize their News Feed.
For more, read: Facebook Offers a Rare Peek at How It Ranks Content on Its News Feed
A 2015 study in Science showed that Facebook users tended to interact and click on content that was more in line with their ideological views.
Facebook customer Tom Steinberg wrote in a post this week—one that quickly spread over Twitter twtr —that he had actively looked on Facebook for people celebrating Britain’s vote to exit the European Union last week but could not find any.
Steinberg, who said he was in favor of remaining in the European Union, urged tech leaders to do more to address the echo chamber on social media.
“To not act on this problem now is tantamount to actively supporting and funding the tearing apart of the fabric of our societies,” Steinberg wrote. “We’re getting countries where one half just doesn’t know anything at all about the other.”
Adam Mosseri, vice president of product management for News Feed, said the team tries to help users find new pages to follow, though he did not cite any specific efforts aimed at encouraging people to diversify their feeds. | The social network is still rebounding from the Trending Topics debate. | 57.916667 | 0.75 | 1.416667 | high | low | abstractive |
http://nypost.com/2016/04/26/the-day-in-photos-april-26-2016/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160702022334id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/04/26/the-day-in-photos-april-26-2016/ | The day in photos: April 26, 2016 | 20160702022334 | Shinda, a western lowland gorilla, holds her newborn as they rest at the Prague Zoo.
Photo: Michal Cizek / AFP / Getty Images
Donald Trump supporters line up at a Waterbury, Connecticut, polling station.
Belarusian liquidators, veterans of the Chernobyl, bring flowers to commemorate victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster at the memorial in Minsk, Belarus.
An elderly Tibetan woman fangirls over the Dalai Lama in Dharmsala, India.
Russian President Vladimir Putin goes for a walk at the Kremlin in Moscow.
A pregnant Asian elephant, Num-Oi, raises her trunk at the Melbourne Zoo in Melbourne, Australia.
Fishermen collect fish at a dried up pond in drought-stricken Kandal, Cambodia.
Mourners lay flowers at a Chernobyl memorial in Slavutych, Ukraine.
Dewdrops are seen on a leaf in Mihalygerge, Hungary.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks in Franklin, Indiana.
Flamingoes feed in the shallows of Kommetjie in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ukrainians light candles near the memorial for 'liquidators' who died cleaning up the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, during a ceremony in Slavutich, Ukraine.
Followers of Iraq's Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gather in Thair Square in Baghdad.
People look at the Mandela statue during the inauguration of Nelson Mandela Square in Ramallah, West Bank.
Election posters for May 2016 national elections hang above a busy road in Tondo, Manila, Philippines.
South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar talks on the phone in his field office in a rebel-controlled territory in Jonglei State, South Sudan.
A Buddhist monk walks a tiger at a tiger temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) greets a George Washington impersonator in Philadelphia.
Newly born Indian white tiger cubs rest in their Liberec, Czech Republic, zoo enclosure.
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{* #tradAuthenticateMergeForm *} {* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} {* mergePassword *} | A gorilla cuddles her newborn, Bernie Sanders hugs a Founding Father and more. | 35.266667 | 0.666667 | 0.933333 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/feds-change-tactics-terrorist-infamy-orlando-massacre/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160702031447id_/http://www.cbsnews.com:80/amp/news/feds-change-tactics-terrorist-infamy-orlando-massacre/ | Feds change tactics to avoid giving terrorists infamy | 20160702031447 | Jun 27, 2016 12:58 PM EDT U.S.
WASHINGTON - When FBI Director James Comey discussed on national television the massacre at an Orlando nightclub, he made an off-the-cuff policy decision not to speak the gunman's name.
"You will notice that I am not using the killer's name, and I will try not to do that," Comey said during the live news conference.
By then, the name Comey was refusing to say had already been known for nearly 24 hours: Omar Mateen. Forty-nine people were killed in the attack, the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Comey's pronouncement reflects a change in how federal officials discuss terrorism cases, and it opened the door to questions about whether the intense focus on terrorists since 9/11 has unintentionally glorified them.
It was also the latest turn in a renewed debate about the way politicians talk about terrorism. The same day, Republican Donald Trump urged President Barack Obama to resign for refusing to use the words "radical Islam" in his response to the attack. Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton inched closer, using the term "radical Islamism," but stressed action over words. Obama dismissed such criticism as "yapping" and said focusing on the gunman's Muslim faith, not his self-described allegiance to a terror group, "suggests entire religious communities are complicit in violence."
The FBI director said his intention was to avoid contributing to the gunman's infamy.
"Part of what motivates sick people to do this kind of thing is some twisted notion of fame or glory, and I don't want to be part of that for the sake of the victims and their families," Comey said, "and so that other twisted minds don't think that this is a path to fame and recognition."
Some local police officials have already started refusing to publicly mention the names of mass shooters, but none with Comey's reach or influence. Other officials quickly followed Comey's lead, with Trump vowing never to use Mateen's name, and Obama never mentioning it. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was an intentional effort to avoid elevating the gunman and focus instead on victims, who have long pushed reporters and officials to stop referring to mass killers by name.
The FBI said there has been no formal policy change, but Comey's move was a calculated decision that reflects a growing concern among law enforcement that too much publicity for lone-wolf attackers will inspire more violence.
There's little research to suggest that withholding names thwarts copycats. Marc Sageman, a psychologist and a longtime government consultant, said Comey's move seemed more political than a strategy aimed at preventing violence.
The FBI later went as far as to redact Mateen's name and that of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader to whom he pledged allegiance, from transcripts of 911 calls, drawing fire from Republicans who accused the Obama administration of trying to downplay the shooting's connection to radical extremism. The Justice Department eventually reversed course, but officials said the omissions had been intended to avoid giving extremists a "publicity platform for hateful propaganda."
"I think there's a view that we don't want to glorify people who are so clearly seeking attention because we don't want to let others who may be thinking about this think, 'Oh, gee, even if I'm killed in a hail of bullets, my name will live forever on the lips of the FBI director or attorney general,'" Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in an interview with The Associated Press. Lynch acknowledged she still sometimes uses Mateen's name.
By contrast, officials made no such distinction as recently as last year, after Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, shot at a Chattanooga military recruiting office before driving to a Navy reserve center and opening fire, killing four Marines and a sailor. The Boston Marathon bombers' names were also widely publicized.
Jim Davis, a former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Denver office, said there was no discussion of names years ago, including after the arrest of Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan-American cab driver convicted in a thwarted plot to blow up New York City's subway system in 2009.
"We have no idea if it's going to prevent these kinds of acts by others," said David Schanzer, a Duke University public policy professor who runs a center that studies terrorism. "But denying them that level of notoriety in an age in which individuals want to bring attention to themselves, I just think it makes sense." | After the Orlando massacre, FBI Director James Comey made an effort to not utter the gunman's name, a marked reversal from earlier | 35.8 | 0.84 | 2.12 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/flood-ravaged-west-virginia-may-get-new-blows-from-mother-nature/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160702062907id_/http://www.cbsnews.com:80/amp/news/flood-ravaged-west-virginia-may-get-new-blows-from-mother-nature/ | Flood-ravaged West Virginia may get new blows from Mother Nature | 20160702062907 | ANSTED, W.Va. -- More heavy rains are expected in West Virginia, where floodwaters have killed at least 25 people in the past week.
More than 20 counties were under a flash flood watch Monday. The National Weather Service said downpours were possible in many areas already ravaged by flooding, including Kanawha and Nicholas counties. The forecast also included hardest-hit Greenbrier County, where 17 people have died and floodwaters have yet to recede.
Many residents were still trying to come to grips with ruined property and lives lost in the last round of storms.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's administration still believes there are people missing in Greenbrier County, chief of staff Chris Stadelman said.
At least five people died and many more are missing in flooded-out Rainelle, a small town in Greenbrier County, according to Mayor Andy Pendleton.
She told CBS Huntington, West Virginia affiliate WOWK-TV, "The businesses look awful. The water has swept in the windows, the water flushed in, rushed into the buildings and everything inside is destroyed in every building."
WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports
Rainelle residents Mayor Andy Pendleton says the flooding has killed at least 5 residents and left many more still missing.
For some, Sunday was the first day they were able to get to their houses to start the cleaning.
"It's been devastating," Mariesa Jones told the station.
"I was just heartbroken when I come down yesterday and seen it," Melvin Jones said.
"It tore us apart. We have no home. We've lost everything," she said.
"We knew it was coming, but we never dreamed it would be this bad. I mean, this is the worst I've ever seen it," Melvin Jones added.
On Sunday, dozens of residents from Rainelle remained at a shelter more than 25 miles away at the Ansted Baptist Church, where singing from inside mixed with the bustle of activity outside.
The church's gymnasium has been converted to a shelter. The church also is a drop-off point for donated goods as well as a makeshift kennel for dog owners.
For now, it's home for Jerry Reynolds, his wife, Janice, and his brother, Marcus Reynolds.
Janice Reynolds said she drove back to Rainelle on Saturday to survey the damage. She said her home was destroyed, a vehicle was lost in the floodwaters and the community "smelled like death."
Jerry Reynolds says the flood was "the worst thing I've ever seen." But as he sat in his car at the shelter, he declared that "we're survivors. We'll make it."
Marcus Reynolds even found a bit of humor amid the sorrow.
"While we're at it, would you be interested in any oceanfront property?" he said. "I understand there's some available."
Bill Kious, of Rainelle, was asked how those at the shelter, many of them on modest incomes, were able to laugh.
"Frankly, because we've lived a rough lifestyle," Kious said. "It's a nature to us that we can't get rid of."
Rick Lewis of the Nuttall Fire Department said 129 people were staying Sunday at the church gymnasium. Many more Rainelle residents were sent to other shelters, he said.
Among those taking advantage of the shelter's kennel was T.J. Parker of Rainelle and his pet, Titan.
Parker said he and Titan had to swim four blocks to safety. Along the way, he stopped to rescue an elderly man calling for help and brought him through floodwaters to a fire department. Parker said he had to go underwater and hold his breath to support the man, then come up for air.
"I realize that sounds crazy, but you have to do what you have to do at that time," Parker said.
Volunteer Randy Halsey said the donated items at the church were heading specifically to Rainelle. He said it was difficult to estimate how many items had been donated because "as soon as it comes in, it's going right back out."
Authorities have yet to start sizing up the flood damage in West Virginia. But it is drawing comparisons to November 1985 floods that remain the state's most expensive natural disaster with more than $570 million in damage.
The 1985 floods left 47 dead in West Virginia, more than half of them in Pendleton and Grant counties. The Potomac River at Paw Paw crested 29 feet above flood stage. More than 3,500 homes, 180 businesses and 43 bridges statewide were destroyed. Twenty-nine counties were declared federal disaster areas.
"This is the worst I've ever seen," said Fayette County Sheriff's Sgt. Bill Mooney, who served in the National Guard during massive floods in 2000-01. "Nobody expected 7 inches of (rain) in three hours."
About 18,000 homes and businesses remained without power Sunday. It marked the first day people can apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid in Greenbrier, Kanawha and Nicholas counties.
President Obama's signature Saturday on the federal disaster declaration lets residents in the three counties get aid for temporary housing and home repairs, receive low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and qualify for other assistance for individuals and business owners. Federal money to help the state and local governments is also available on a cost-sharing basis. FEMA officials were in the state to begin assessing the damage to infrastructure, homes and other property.
The floods prohibited Georgia resident David Stephens from doing contract work spraying weed killer to eliminate vegetation around poles. He saw someone buying water at a store and asked where the water was heading. So he went to the church in Ansted to help move donated supplies along.
"I just want to do whatever I can to help," Stephens said. | Death toll from recent flooding rises as residents try to fathom what's already happened | 77 | 0.6 | 0.6 | high | low | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2015/06/17/wet-n-wild-orlando-shutting-down/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160702151148id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/06/17/wet-n-wild-orlando-shutting-down/ | Universal Shutting Down Wet n Wild Orlando Waterpark | 20160702151148 | There is no shortage of theme parks in the Orlando area, but soon there will be one less — Wet N’ Wild Orlando is shutting down.
The water park is closing after nearly 40 years at the end of 2016, Universal announced today.
Wet N’ Wild was a water park with a variety of slides and rides. It’s closing because Universal is focusing its development on its new Volcano Bay park, a “next-generation water theme park that reimagines what it means to be a water park,” the company says.
Still, for those who wish to mourn, Universal is asking visitors to submit their memories of the park. | But a new one is rising in its place | 14 | 0.777778 | 0.777778 | low | low | abstractive |
http://nypost.com/2016/04/26/former-browns-gm-knew-hed-be-the-fall-guy-for-drafting-manziel/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160702170503id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/04/26/former-browns-gm-knew-hed-be-the-fall-guy-for-drafting-manziel/ | Former Browns GM knew he’d be the fall guy for drafting Manziel | 20160702170503 | From the moment the Browns selected Johnny Manziel 22nd overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, Ray Farmer knew his name would forever be synonymous with that choice.
“It’s the reality of the National Football League that whoever gets selected, that name is going to get attributed to the general manager. Whether he selects that guy or not,” the former Browns general manager told CBS Sports on Monday.
“So for good, worse, better, doesn’t really matter, Johnny Manziel is mine and I have to own it.”
The Browns were said to be smitten with Teddy Bridgewater, but a homeless man supposedly prompted owner Jimmy Haslam to go all in on Manziel. As Farmer explained, there wasn’t a single impetus to pull the trigger.
“There are very few decisions made in anybody’s draft in a vacuum. The GM very, very, very rarely says, ‘Hey, I’m taking this guy, and there’s nothing anybody else can say about it,'” Farmer said. “The head coach doesn’t do it, the owner doesn’t do it. In that case, I would tell you that were were a lot of conversations that happened and the selection was made.”
Two tumultuous seasons later, both Manziel and Farmer are out of Cleveland, and the Robert Griffin III era has begun. Farmer’s downfall was about more than Manziel, though. He was suspended four games for texting the coaching staff mid-game during the 2014 season. Farmer only lasted two seasons as Browns GM after working himself up from Falcons scout.
On Tuesday, Manziel was indicted by a Dallas grand jury for allegedly hitting ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley in January. He faces a year in jail if convicted. | From the moment the Browns selected Johnny Manziel 22nd overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, Ray Farmer knew his name would forever be synonymous with that choice. “It’s the reality of the Na… | 8.692308 | 0.923077 | 15.74359 | low | medium | extractive |
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Major-BART-delays-4-East-Bay-stations-closed-6375003.php | http://web.archive.org/web/20160702233903id_/http://www.sfgate.com:80/bayarea/article/Major-BART-delays-4-East-Bay-stations-closed-6375003.php | BART back on schedule after morning nightmare | 20160702233903 | Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle
BART employees (left) stand outside a damaged 3-car train at the Fruitvale station as stranded commuters seek alternate transportation in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below the train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
BART employees (left) stand outside a damaged 3-car train at the Fruitvale station as stranded commuters seek alternate transportation in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire
BART employees stand outside a damaged 3-car train at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below the train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
BART employees stand outside a damaged 3-car train at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below the train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations
A BART maintenance team inspects the track and third rail south of the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
A BART maintenance team inspects the track and third rail south of the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale
A BART maintenance team inspects the track and third rail south of the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
A BART maintenance team inspects the track and third rail south of the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale
A stranded commuter walks to the bus bridge at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
A stranded commuter walks to the bus bridge at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations
BART security personnel direct stranded passengers to a bus bridge at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
BART security personnel direct stranded passengers to a bus bridge at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and
Stranded BART commuters wait to board buses at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
Stranded BART commuters wait to board buses at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted
A BART maintenance team inspects the track and third rail south of the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
A BART maintenance team inspects the track and third rail south of the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale
A damaged 3-car BART train is towed away from the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. Some passengers on board reportedly broke out windows (left) of the train. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
A damaged 3-car BART train is towed away from the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted
Stranded BART commuters appear confused at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
Stranded BART commuters appear confused at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the
Stranded BART commuters board buses at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals.
Stranded BART commuters board buses at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below a train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the
Firefighters assisting at least 3 people for injuries at the BART Fruitvale station this morning.
Firefighters assisting at least 3 people for injuries at the BART Fruitvale station this morning.
A fire on the rear car of a three-car train heading northbound between Coliseum and Fruitvale stations this morning has shut down 5 East Bay BART stations.
A fire on the rear car of a three-car train heading northbound between Coliseum and Fruitvale stations this morning has shut down 5 East Bay BART stations.
BART back on schedule after morning nightmare
BART officials said the system was running smoothly heading into the Thursday evening commute, a far cry from earlier in the day when a fire outside a train damaged the tracks and shut down five stations in the East Bay for several hours.
The delays stemmed from an electrical arc at 4:30 a.m. and reports of a fire outside the rear car of a three-car train heading north between Coliseum and Fruitvale stations, said Jim Allison, a BART spokesman.
Power normally flows from the third rail to paddles on the underside of the train. Early Thursday, however, an arc caused electricity to bypass the paddle and jump from the rail straight to the body of the train, which caused a bright flash of light, a loud bang and the train car to fill with smoke, said BART spokesman Taylor Huckaby.
One passenger injured his hand trying to break out a window, another suffered an injured back jumping from the train and a third had an asthma attack, Huckaby said. All the injuries were minor, he said.
The cause of the arc was under investigation. Much of the track in the area was recently replaced, Huckaby said.
Crews had to move the disabled train and replace the rail that was damaged. The Bay Fair, Lake Merritt, Fruitvale, Coliseum and San Leandro stations were shut down during the incident and did not reopen until 9 a.m. Service to Oakland International Airport was also shut down, because it originates at the Coliseum station.
Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz | BART officials said the system was running smoothly heading into the Thursday evening commute, a far cry from earlier in the day when a fire outside a train damaged the tracks and shut down five stations in the East Bay for several hours. The delays stemmed from an electrical arc at 4:30 a.m. and reports of a fire outside the rear car of a three-car train heading north between Coliseum and Fruitvale stations, said Jim Allison, a BART spokesman. Early Thursday, however, an arc caused electricity to bypass the paddle and jump from the rail straight to the body of the train, which caused a bright flash of light, a loud bang and the train car to fill with smoke, said BART spokesman Taylor Huckaby. The Bay Fair, Lake Merritt, Fruitvale, Coliseum and San Leandro stations were shut down during the incident and did not reopen until 9 a.m. Service to Oakland International Airport was also shut down, because it originates at the Coliseum station. | 7.913978 | 0.983871 | 45.349462 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/50-years-after-civil-rights-act-americans-see-progress-on-race/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160703020808id_/http://www.cbsnews.com:80/news/50-years-after-civil-rights-act-americans-see-progress-on-race/ | 50 years after Civil Rights Act, Americans see progress on race | 20160703020808 | By Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Anthony Salvanto and Fred Backus
Fifty years after the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, majorities of blacks and whites think real progress has been made in getting rid of racial discrimination, but most say at least some discrimination still exists today. African-Americans are more likely than whites to see discrimination as widespread.
More than three in four Americans, including most whites and blacks, think the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act was a very important event in U.S. history; another 19 percent call it somewhat important. Just 5 percent do not consider it an important event.
Nearly eight in 10 Americans think there's been real progress since the 1960s in getting rid of racial discrimination; just 19 percent say there hasn't been much progress. The percentage that says progress has been made has remained fairly consistent in recent years, but it has increased nearly 30 points since 1992.
Views on progress differ by race, however. Whites (82 percent) are more likely than African-Americans (59 percent) to think real progress has been made. More than a third of African-Americans say there hasn't been real progress.
But few - just 5 percent - think all of the goals of Martin Luther King and the 1960s civil rights movement have been achieved. Thirty-eight percent think most of these goals have been met, but 52 percent (including 63 percent of blacks) think only some of the goals of the civil rights movement have been achieved.
Moreover, most Americans say discrimination against blacks exists today, and blacks are far more likely than whites to think it is pervasive. Forty-one percent of blacks say there is a lot of discrimination against African-Americans today, compared to just 14 percent of whites who say that.
Fifty years after the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, most whites (63 percent) think both blacks and whites have an equal chance to get ahead in today's society, but fewer African-Americans - 46 percent - share that view. Blacks are more likely than whites to say white Americans have a better chance to get ahead in today's society than black Americans.
This poll was conducted by telephone June 18-22, 2014 among 1,009 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, Pa. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. | Despite the positive sentiment, most say at least some racial discrimination still exists, a new CBS News poll shows | 25.095238 | 0.761905 | 1.714286 | medium | low | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/01/14/brown-forman-southern-comfort/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160703040531id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/01/14/brown-forman-southern-comfort/ | Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel's Maker, Sells Southern Comfort | 20160703040531 | Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel’s and Woodford reserve whiskeys, has agreed to sell the struggling liqueur brand Southern Comfort in a deal that amounts to $543.5 million.
The Kentucky-based company is selling Southern Comfort and the Italian liqueur Tuaca to Sazerac so that Brown-Forman can better focus on higher performing brands, like Jack Daniel’s. Brown-Forman BFB had owned the Southern Comfort brand since 1979. With the deal, which is expected to close by March 1, Brown-Forman will record a one-time gain of about $475 million in fiscal 2016.
The move to sell off Southern Comfort isn’t a big surprise, as industry observers had long speculated that Brown-Forman would unload the underperforming spirit. While Brown-Forman has angled to keep Southern Comfort relevant by launching lime and caramel variations in recent years, those spirits have not resonated as strongly as Fireball and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. Flavored whiskeys are driving growth in the category in the U.S., but it is a highly competitive market.
Southern Comfort’s net sales slipped 7% for the first six months of the most recent year, badly lagging Brown-Forman’s Jack Daniel’s 7% jump over the same period (with Tennessee Honey’s sales climbing an impressive 14%). | Part of a $543 million mega-deal. | 25.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.nbc.com/telenovela/credits/character/mimi-moncada | http://web.archive.org/web/20160703094051id_/http://www.nbc.com:80/telenovela/credits/character/mimi-moncada | Mimi Moncada - NBC.com | 20160703094051 | Diana Maria Riva plays Mimi Moncada on the new NBC comedy "Telenovela."
For the past 18 years, Riva has established herself as a dominant force in television, film and theater. On the big screen, she most recently starred in "McFarland, USA," with Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, and "Love and Mercy," with Elizabeth Banks and John Cusack. Riva also had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed film "Short Term 12." In 2010, she starred opposite America Ferrera in "Our Family Wedding" and has also appeared in "17 Again," "What Women Want," "Employee of the Month," "Chasing Papi" and "The Third Wheel," among others. On the television side, Riva was most recently seen on FX's "Saint George," with comedian George Lopez, and simultaneously recurred on FX's "The Bridge," starring Diane Kruger. Other prominent series in which Riva has appeared include "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," "City of Angels," "NYPD Blue," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The West Wing," "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "Less Than Perfect," "The Hughleys," "The Drew Carey Show," "Strong Medicine," "The X-Files," "The Pretender," "Party of Five," "Ghost Whisperer" and "In Plain Sight." Riva was born and raised in Cincinnati with her native roots going back to the Dominican Republic. She earned an MFA in Theater Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and soon after that appeared in the Michael Weller play "Help!" Based on that performance, she received a development deal from ABC and landed her first television lead on "Common Law." On stage, Riva performed her one-woman show "Besame Mucho, O.K. That's Enough," a semi-autobiographical work about the perspectives of five women on the journey of love, marriage and divorce in the Latino culture. Riva resides in Los Angeles. | Meet Mimi Moncada from Telenovela on NBC.com. | 50.75 | 0.75 | 1 | high | low | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/06/30/honda-recall-repair/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160703185639id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/30/honda-recall-repair/ | U.S. Government Calling for Urgent Repairs on Recalled Honda Cars | 20160703185639 | U.S. auto safety regulators warned on Thursday that Takata air bag inflators on more than 300,000 unrepaired recalled Honda vehicles show a substantial risk of rupturing, and urged owners to stop driving the “unsafe” cars until they have been fixed.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cited new test data that shows some 313,000 2001-2003 model Honda and Acura vehicles have as high as a 50% chance of a dangerous air bag inflator rupture in a crash.
Takata air bag inflators have been linked to as many as 14 deaths worldwide, including 13 in Honda Motor hmc vehicles, because they can deploy with too much force sending deadly metal fragments flying, the company and U.S. investigators say.
“With as high as a 50% chance of a dangerous air bag inflator rupture in a crash, these vehicles are unsafe and need to be repaired immediately,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Folks should not drive these vehicles unless they are going straight to a dealer to have them repaired immediately, free of charge.”
Honda said in a statement that it agreed with the analysis of testing and the 313,000 vehicles “should only be driven to a dealer in order to have their Takata air bag inflators replaced as rapidly as possible.”
Takata said in a statement it supports efforts to boost recall completion rates and is continuing “to dedicate significant resources to maximize recall completion rates.”
Honda said it was recently informed by NHTSA of the analysis of the front driver air bag inflators on 2001-2003 vehicles tested in Florida over the last few months. The analysis revealed a very high rupture rate in laboratory testing, it said.
Honda has already repaired more than 70% of the original group of 1.08 million vehicles recalled with this specific version of inflator.
The vehicles in this group include the 2001-2002 Honda Accord, Honda Civic, 2002 Honda CR-V, Honda Odyssey, 2003 Honda Pilot, 2002-2003 Acura 3.2 TL, and 2003 Acura 3.2CL.
NHTSA said on Thursday that 8 of 10 U.S. confirmed fatalities due to Takata ruptures, including the death of a 17-year-old in Texas in April, were in this group of Honda vehicles.
One obstacle to ensuring that repairs are undertaken to the recalled vehicles is tracking owners: the vehicles can be as much as 16 years old and may have changed ownership several times since they were new.
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U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, said urgent action is needed.
“These vehicles are deathtraps, and Takata and Honda have understated the risks for far too long,” he said in a statement. “Merely telling people to come to dealers is not enough—they need to go out and find these vehicles and get them off the road.”
Nearly 100 million Takata inflators have been declared unsafe worldwide. In May automakers agreed to recall another 35 million to 40 million U.S. air bag inflators by 2019. Previously, 14 automakers had recalled 24 million U.S. vehicles with 28.8 million inflators. | The federal government warned the cars shouldn't be driven again until fixed. | 42.214286 | 0.714286 | 1 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/katie-holmes-towers-daniel-radcliffe-tony-awards-not-shorter-husband-tom-cruise-article-1.181440 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160705050141id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/katie-holmes-towers-daniel-radcliffe-tony-awards-not-shorter-husband-tom-cruise-article-1.181440 | Katie adjusts height for Tom, but no one else | 20160705050141 | Can you get a Tony for on-stage magic? If so, Katie Holmes is a shoo-in.
Holmes' knack for growing and shrinking at will was on clear display at the Tony Awards Sunday night when she towered over "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe while the duo presented the Best Actress award to Scarlett Johansson.
At times, the Holmes had to stoop to reach the microphone - which was set for Radcliffe - making their height difference even more pronounced.
What didn't compute was that the 31-year-old actress often stands at level height with husband Tom Cruise, even though he is an inch shorter than Radcliffe. Sometimes Cruise even towers over his bride.
When you calculate the three stars' heights, the photo evidence just doesn't add up.
At 5-foot-9, Holmes wore heels to the Tonys that raised her to nearly 6 feet. At just 5-foot-8, Radcliffe looked like a primary school student next to her. Yet Cruise, who is one inch shorter than Radcliffe, is rarely dwarfed by his wife.
So, how is it that Holmes doesn't make her shorter 47-year-old husband look like a shrimp on the red carpet?One possibility is shoe lifts. People have speculated for years that Cruise wears heel inserts to appear taller next to his leading ladies, most notably his previous wife Nicole Kidman (who stands even taller than Holmes, at 5-foot-11).Cruise has also been photographed standing several stairs above Holmes to correct their height difference.Of course, Holmes also dresses down for her man - literally. She doesn't often wear Tony-type high heels in appearances with her hubby.Whatever Holmes and Cruise do to reconcile their height difference, however, they clearly didn't share the game plan with Radcliffe. | How is it that Katie Holmes towered over actor Daniel Radcliffe at the Tony Awards while she is always at level height with husband Tom Cruise, who is shorter than the "Harry Potter" star? | 8.868421 | 0.947368 | 3.842105 | low | high | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/07/04/donald-trump-swing-states-blue/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160705221412id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/07/04/donald-trump-swing-states-blue/ | Donald Trump May Have Turned These Swing States Blue | 20160705221412 | Once a swing state in presidential elections, Colorado has teetered on the brink of becoming solidly Democratic. Donald Trump may have pushed it over the edge.
Trump’s disparaging words about Mexicans, negative comments about women and weak campaign organization have punctuated the state’s shift from a nip-and-tuck battleground to one that’s Democrat-friendly. For the first time in more than 20 years, there are now more registered Democrats in the state than Republicans.
“Trump is turning off as many key voter groups as we have in this state,” said former state Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams. “I would have to believe Trump’s having trouble.”
And it’s not just Colorado. Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and weak campaign structure could ensure that perennially competitive Nevada and New Mexico are out of reach as well.
That matters for Trump. He can’t win the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the presidency without capturing some states that favored Barack Obama in the last two elections.
The three Southwestern states — which have a combined 21 electoral votes — might have offered some hope. All backed Republican George W. Bush 12 years ago.
But Trump isn’t making as much of a push for those states as is his likely Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. He made his first campaign appearance in Colorado just Friday, speaking at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver.
Clinton made her fifth trip on Wednesday, proposing college-loan deferment for graduates who start businesses. It was a tactical move aimed at swaying young voters, many of whom flocked to Sen. Bernie Sanders, who beat Clinton soundly in March’s Colorado caucuses.
“Hillary has some ground to make up,” said Craig Hughes, who ran Democratic President Barack Obama’s winning 2012 Colorado campaign. “But compared to Trump, Hillary is in a far, far better place.”
In Colorado, Clinton’s campaign is spending $2.4 million on television advertising this month through Election Day, while a group that supports Clinton, Priorities USA, is spending $13.6 million, according to Kantar Media’s campaign advertising tracker. In Nevada, Clinton is spending $2 million and Priorities USA is spending $10.4 million.
Neither Trump nor any super PACs supporting him have reserved advertising time in the two states. Super PACs are organizations that can spend unlimited funds on a candidate, but can’t coordinate with the campaign.
The National Rifle Association’s political arm is making small ad buys — $155,000 in Colorado and $98,000 in Nevada — to attack Clinton’s handling of the attacks on diplomatic compounds in Libya while she was secretary of state.
Clinton has had staff in Nevada for more than a year, ahead of the state’s early caucuses, and in Colorado for almost a year. Trump has a Colorado state campaign director and a Southwest regional director in Nevada.
If Colorado is a stretch for Trump, Nevada and New Mexico may be out of reach with their larger Hispanic populations and wider Democratic edge. The number of Hispanic voters has boomed in Nevada, more than doubling as a percentage of the state’s voters since 1980, to an estimated 22% this year. In New Mexico, nearly half the population is Hispanic.
Trump has alienated Hispanics with his call to build a wall on the Mexican border, his plans to deport the roughly 11 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally and by characterizing some Mexican immigrants as drug smugglers and rapists.
Still, Nevada Republican strategist Ryan Erwin says Trump could salve the wounds were he to make the effort himself.
“As that population changes, it’s harder for a Republican presidential candidate that isn’t here all the time,” said Erwin, 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s Nevada director.
But Trump is relying on the Republican National Committee for staffing, as he is in all competitive states, said Trump’s Colorado director, Patrick Davis.
“There’s only so much one presidential candidate can do,” Davis said. “You’ve got to use all of the means of communication to get it done.”
Trump’s statements, late organizational start and Clinton’s statewide organization have her Colorado director Emmy Ruiz cautiously optimistic.
“I think the odds are in our favor. But I don’t think that they are strong odds. I also don’t think they are high enough for us to sit back,” Ruiz said.
Part of Clinton’s tail wind: Democrats in April nosed ahead of Republicans in voter registration for the first time since 1994. Since 2012, Democratic voter registration in Colorado has grown 7.5%, compared to 5% for Republicans.
In Nevada, registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 70,000, a gap that Democrats and Republicans say could top 120,000 by Election Day. It’s a small but significant chunk of the state’s 1.5 million voters.
“Unless and until Republicans can match the kind of funding Democrats have put into their voter registration here, Republicans are going to fall behind,” said Erwin, the Republican strategist.
Last week, 18-year-old Kevin Garcia knocked on doors in 100-plus degree heat, registering Las Vegas residents to vote. He then attended a Clinton campaign calling session at a pizza restaurant.
Garcia, whose family emigrated from Mexico, was among about a dozen callers sipping cold Pepsis and using cellphones to call Nevadans. His goal was to make 100 calls that night — some in Spanish.
He said he supports Clinton because of her support for allowing people in the United States illegally to stay under certain circumstances. And because of Trump’s rhetoric.
“And my whole family is naturalized,” he said. “We’re all citizens.” | His disparaging words about Mexicans and women and weak campaign organization are the culprits. | 73.666667 | 0.933333 | 3.066667 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.tmz.com/2015/10/24/sarah-hyland-boyfriend-puppy/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160707184314id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2015/10/24/sarah-hyland-boyfriend-puppy/ | Sarah Hyland and BF Welcome New Addition to Family | 20160707184314 | Sarah Hyland and her BF are taking it to the next level -- 'cause nothing says you're serious like committing to grabbing piles of dog crap together.
Sarah and Dominic Sherwood -- who've been together less than a year -- adopted a lab/shepherd mix puppy from Wylder's Holistic Pet Center in Studio City, CA last weekend ... according to the shop's owner.
The couple was looking for a tiny companion for the "Modern Family" star’s 5-year-old dog ... which she had before Dominic came on the scene. So, this is their first "child" together.
We're told they named her Boo, and immediately took her on a bitchin’ shopping spree, dropping more than a grand on fancy bowls, decorated collars, and yes ... Halloween costumes.
Welcome to the good life, Boo. | Sarah Hyland and her BF are taking it to the next level -- 'cause nothing says you're serious like committing to grabbing piles of dog crap… | 5.551724 | 0.931034 | 21.689655 | low | medium | extractive |
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate-Park-baby-bison-found-dead-2443708.php | http://web.archive.org/web/20160708014715id_/http://www.sfgate.com:80/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate-Park-baby-bison-found-dead-2443708.php | Golden Gate Park baby bison found dead | 20160708014715 | Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle
Four of the six remaining young bison feed inside the paddock area of Golden Gate Park on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012, in San Francisco. Their number has been reduced to 6 after one animal was found dead inside the paddock area. The investigation into the death continues.
Four of the six remaining young bison feed inside the paddock area of Golden Gate Park on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012, in San Francisco. Their number has been reduced to 6 after one animal was found dead inside the
The six remaining young Bison feed inside the paddock area of Golden Gate Park. They came to the park in November.
The six remaining young Bison feed inside the paddock area of Golden Gate Park. They came to the park in November.
While keepers sweep, young Bison chow down in Golden Gate Park.
While keepers sweep, young Bison chow down in Golden Gate Park.
Golden Gate Park baby bison found dead
A baby bison in Golden Gate Park died after being found with three broken ribs following an incident in which a small dog got into the bison paddock, an intrusion that may have spooked the animal and prompted it to slam into a fence or tree, officials said Thursday.
Park patrol officers found the dog, identified as a toy breed, running inside the back of the paddock at about 9 a.m. Wednesday, said officials with the Recreation and Park Department. The dog's handler was trying to coax out the dog, which appeared to have burrowed under the paddock fence, officials said.
Zookeepers from the San Francisco Zoo examined the herd for injuries and found a laceration on the left side of a 6-month-old female bison. The bison had three broken ribs, and after it was treated, it rejoined the herd.
The baby bison was found dead a few hours later, at about 5:20 p.m.
It was not immediately clear whether the dog was responsible for the bison's injuries. Zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca said that although a small dog couldn't do much damage to a bison, it could spook the herd and cause the animals to panic and hurt themselves.
A necropsy found that in addition to the lacerations that zookeepers mended after the incident, the baby bison suffered extensive bruising on its left chest wall and sternum and had blood in the left chest cavity, the zoo said.
Zoo veterinarians said the injuries were the result of blunt force trauma, "possibly due to running into a fence post or tree," the zoo said.
LaMarca said zoo officials are not blaming "anything or anyone" for the bison's death.
Park patrol officers said the dog handler had five dogs off their leashes, including the one that got into the bison paddock. The handler was cited for animal disturbance and failure to use a leash in a designated on-leash area.
The baby bison was one of seven brought in from a Redding ranch in November in an effort to rejuvenate the dwindling Golden Gate Park herd, said Connie Chan, Recreation and Park Department spokeswoman. Six of the bison were bought for $1,200 each with the fundraising help of Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, and the seventh was donated.
Ma said in a statement that she was "disheartened by the unfortunate accident. ... This is a sad reminder that we must be responsible pet owners at all times - especially when going out to parks where there are children, pets and other animals."
The young bison are kept in a separate area from the adults in the paddock. A fenced-in, off-leash dog play area is about 50 feet north of the young bison paddock.
A proposal requiring licensing and training for commercial dog handlers - and capping the number of dogs at a time at eight - is up for approval before the Board of Supervisors this month.
Chronicle staff writer Ellen Huet contributed to this reportE-mail Vivian Ho at vho@sfchronicle.com. | A baby bison in Golden Gate Park died after being found with three broken ribs following an incident in which a small dog got into the bison paddock, an intrusion that may have spooked the animal and prompted it to slam into a fence or tree, officials said Thursday. Park patrol officers found the dog, identified as a toy breed, running inside the back of the paddock at about 9 a.m. Wednesday, said officials with the Recreation and Park Department. A necropsy found that in addition to the lacerations that zookeepers mended after the incident, the baby bison suffered extensive bruising on its left chest wall and sternum and had blood in the left chest cavity, the zoo said. Zoo veterinarians said the injuries were the result of blunt force trauma, "possibly due to running into a fence post or tree," the zoo said. | 4.722222 | 0.981481 | 40.697531 | low | high | extractive |
http://time.com/3708093/marijuana-pot-legal-colleges-oregon/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160708153646id_/http://time.com:80/3708093/marijuana-pot-legal-colleges-oregon/ | Oregon Campuses Brace for Legal Pot | 20160708153646 | College administrators who have worked for years to snuff out marijuana on campus have a new problem: It’s going legal.
Or at least that’s the reality confronting schools in Colorado, Washington state, and soon Oregon. The legal sale of recreational marijuana to those over 21 will start in July in Oregon, thanks to a statewide ballot initiative last year. College deans won’t be among those celebrating.
Marijuana is still illegal under federal law, and like most public and private colleges across the U.S., the schools in Oregon have no choice but to comply. Colleges must implement drug-prevention programs to be eligible for federal funding—and as long as its federally illegal, that includes marijuana. So, with the legal retail sale of marijuana in Oregon approaching, college administrators across the state are tinkering with policy language and testing out marketing campaigns to make sure that, come July, their students know that no matter what the state law says, pot is still not allowed on campus.
“Everyone is thinking about what this looks like July 1,” Dr. Erin Foley, dean of students at the Oregon Institute of Technology. “The bottom line is for the federal government marijuana is still illegal, so that trumps state law because we get federal funding. It’s straightforward. The bigger piece for us is to make sure students are aware of that.”
A public school with just over 4,000 students, Foley said the college known as Oregon Tech is tinkering with a light-hearted marketing campaign, using plays on the word “pot” to teasingly remind students that the drug still isn’t allowed on campus. Administrators will also amend the language of their policy, which already prohibits illicit drug possession, to explicitly state that pot is included in the rules. Portland State University, another public university with almost 30,000 students, will be incorporating messaging about pot in its anti-smoking campaign.
Though the campus bans are straightforward, some Oregon administrators are still weighing how the rules apply to housing off campus. Steve Clark, a spokesman at Oregon State University, a public university with almost 30,000 students, said off-campus fraternities and sororities will be subject to the campus rules, but the university’s general counsel and the provost are reviewing the policy to see how it should be applied to non-school sanctioned off-campus housing.
Oregon might look for guidance from Colorado, where legal recreational pot went on sale last January. Some school administrators there say that legalization hasn’t presented much of a practical problem on campuses where most of the students are under 21. Ryan Huff, a spokesman at University of Colorado, Boulder, says the only change has been that campus police now can’t give a citation to anyone over 21 in possession of less than an ounce on campus. Huff did acknowledge that administrators have had to re-jigger their housing policies a bit to give freshmen who need medical marijuana an exemption from the requirement to live on campus.
MORE: The Rise of Fake Pot
The biggest problem seems to be for the administrators who focus on prevention. It is hard to communicate realistically about prevention and use of a drug that is still classified as among the most dangerous and deserving of the stiffest legal penalties by the federal government—and it’s hard to talk to students about how to safely use pot when federal law says they shouldn’t be doing it at all.
“Our campus professionals do sometimes feel like they’re between a rock and a hard place,” says David Arnold, who lives in Denver and is the Director of Alcohol Abuse Prevention Initiatives at the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals
Another problem is that funds to support prevention efforts in Colorado are focused on K-12. “The tax revenue everyone is really excited about? None of it is in higher education prevention,” Arnold said. “We have a lot of students come from out of state who believe that one of the perks of coming to this campus is that they will be able to use marijuana.” | The thorny issue of legal weed on campus | 97 | 0.625 | 0.875 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/14/jobs-women-earn-more-money-than-men-forbes-woman-net-worth-salary_slide_3.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160709031928id_/http://www.forbes.com:80/2011/03/14/jobs-women-earn-more-money-than-men-forbes-woman-net-worth-salary_slide_3.html | In Pictures: 15 Jobs Where Women Earn More Than Men | 20160709031928 | Although women’s wages in this occupation are not broken out individually, men earn below the median for both sexes, making $963 per week. Studies show that women can fare better in terms of salary and promotions in male-dominated fields. Men comprise 97% of workers in this occupation.
Comments are turned off for this post. | Surprise, surprise: From bakers to construction supervisors, here are the jobs where women come out on top. | 3.142857 | 0.333333 | 0.333333 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.people.com/article/seth-macfarlane-jimmy-fallon-sing-yahoo-questions | http://web.archive.org/web/20160709175431id_/http://www.people.com:80/article/seth-macfarlane-jimmy-fallon-sing-yahoo-questions?xid=rss-topheadlines&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+people%252Fheadlines+%2528PEOPLE.com%253A+Top+Headlines%2529 | Seth MacFarlane and Jimmy Fallon Sing the Answers to Hilarious Yahoo! Questions : People.com | 20160709175431 | 12/02/2015 AT 01:35 PM EST
Have you ever wished you could have all your burning questions answered to the strains of smooth jazz?
are here to grant your wish.
creator, 42, joined Fallon on
Tuesday to perform a fresh round of tunes for their duo, the Yahoo! Answers Lounge Singers.
While sitting at dueling pianos, MacFarlane and Fallon answered some of the top curiosities posted to the Yahoo! Answers online forum. From what TGIF stands for to the proper way to spell Hanukkah, the duo serenaded the audience with knowledge.
"So what does the common acronym TGIF really mean?" Fallon asked in song.
"The goat is fed," MacFarlane crooned.
"And how does one properly spell the Jewish holiday Chanukah?" Fallon sang inquiringly.
"Chaka Khan," replied MacFarlane, who released a more straightforward collection of jazz stands,
With Christmas right around the corner, some Yahoo! users had a few holiday-themed inquiries – and a few answers might have landed users on the naughty list.
"How does Santa really know when I'm sleeping?"
"The same way peeping Toms know," MacFarlane crooned. "He looks in your window. But when Santa does it, it's not weird." | Seth MacFarlane and Jimmy Fallon belted out answers to questions including what TGIF stands for to the proper way to spell Hanukkah | 11.409091 | 0.772727 | 5.863636 | low | low | mixed |
http://www.people.com/article/teresa-giudice-melissa-gorga-rhonj-sex-lives-pet-peeves-regrets | http://web.archive.org/web/20160709190120id_/http://www.people.com:80/article/teresa-giudice-melissa-gorga-rhonj-sex-lives-pet-peeves-regrets | Real Housewives Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga Compare Bedroom Notes : People.com | 20160709190120 | 07/06/2016 AT 06:30 PM EDT
, but there's still one thing they're fighting about.
"You're definitely hornier," Gorga says of her
costar (and sister-in-law!) in PEOPLE Now's "Confess Sesh." "It's always the girls who act like, 'I'm innocent ...' "
has made her more "'more flexible now." (Something husband
will surely appreciate when he returns home from the
he began serving in March.)
Melissa Gorga and Teresa Giudice
Speaking on more serious matters, the
stars reflected on what they'd change from their tumultuous past.
"I just don't like to fight with family," says Giudice, 44. "Especially because we have kids, and parents were involved ... I just don't like fighting with family."
"I wish we both would have let less people get involved in our relationship and just took the bull by the horns and said 'We'll deal with this – we'll handle this,' " adds Gorga, 37.
The two had previously had their fair share of name-calling and screaming matches, but have now moved on to lovingly teasing one another. Gorga even spilled about her biggest pet peeve about Giudice: "Sometimes when you call her on the phone, she talks to everybody else but you," jokes Gorga, explaining that her sister-in-law is often distracted by her four girls to actually chat with her.
"That happens," Giudice said in her own defense, "especially when I'm on the phone."
returns Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo. | The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars stop by PEOPLE Now for a quick "Confess Sesh" | 18.166667 | 0.555556 | 1 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Museum-s-teacher-wins-WildCare-environmental-award-2811769.php | http://web.archive.org/web/20160709192716id_/http://www.sfgate.com:80/bayarea/article/Museum-s-teacher-wins-WildCare-environmental-award-2811769.php | Museum's teacher wins WildCare environmental award | 20160709192716 | Photo: Courtesy Of Michael Strickland
/ for: Friday slug: WBSCHOOL16; Margaret Goodale, the Randall Museum's science educator shown here with a couple of children, is receiving the the 2004 Terwilliger Environmental Award. Courtesy of Michael Strickland / HO
/ for: Friday slug: WBSCHOOL16; Margaret Goodale, the Randall Museum's science educator shown here with a couple of children, is receiving the the 2004 Terwilliger Environmental Award. Courtesy of Michael
Museum's teacher wins WildCare environmental award
She already has one of the city's coolest classrooms: the Randall Museum, a newly revamped facility with sweeping views from atop a hill in Corona Heights.
Now Margaret Goodale, a science educator at the museum, has a cherry for that sundae in the form of the 2004 Terwilliger Environmental Award.
WildCare, a local nonprofit that inspires to connect people, wildlife and nature, created the award four years ago in honor of Elizabeth Terwilliger, a renowned environmental educator.
Goodale, who joined the museum in 1990, has taught more than 50,000 children, organized the museum's monthly natural history lecture series, created a native plant garden and held work parties for volunteers to restore native plant species to the museum's 15 acres.
Every year, she visits schools to teach kids about native plants and have them create posters about what they've learned. Artists pick the best posters, which are mounted for an exhibit.
"As long as there are children and adults who I can stimulate to delight in the diversity and the processes of the earth, I will be busy," Goodale said.
Amy Jean Boebel, president of the Randall Museum Friends' board of directors, said Goodale "changes our world for the better every day."
WildCare will officially present the award - along with $2,000 - to Goodale at its annual Nature Lovers Ball on Jan. 24 at the San Rafael Community Center. For details, call (415) 453-1000.
Kid environmentalists: In more nature
news, San Francisco's Action for Nature has honored 12 kids for their efforts to improve the environment. The 10-year-old nonprofit -- which aims to get youth interested in nature -- received more than 100 applications worldwide from budding environmentalists aged 8 to 16.
In the end, it granted prizes $250 to $500 and Eco-Hero Award certificates to six American youths, plus one each from Canada and Pakistan. Four others received honorable mention and were given $50 and a certificate.
There were no Bay Area winners, but Northern Californians Lindsay Carlson, 12, and Brandee Van Donsel, 11, who live in the Sierra foothills, were awarded for lobbying a utility company not to cut down their favorite trees.
Action for Nature is accepting applications for this year's round of awards, with submissions due Feb. 29. For information, see www.actionfornature.org or e-mail awards@actionfornature.org.
has its first ever president:
, a graduate of the school himself.
The Ellis Street school, founded in 1852, previously operated under one principal, but has switched to an organization headed by both a principal and president, a common structure in Catholic schools.
Scudder, a 1973 alum, has worked at the school as a teacher, coach, dean of students, associate principal and principal.
The school is now conducting a search for a principal. For more information, visit www.shcp.edu or call (415) 775-6626. | Goodale, who joined the museum in 1990, has taught more than 50,000 children, organized the museum's monthly natural history lecture series, created a native plant garden and held work parties for volunteers to restore native plant species to the museum's 15 acres. Every year, she visits schools to teach kids about native plants and have them create posters about what they've learned. In more nature education news, San Francisco's Action for Nature has honored 12 kids for their efforts to improve the environment. [...] it granted prizes $250 to $500 and Eco-Hero Award certificates to six American youths, plus one each from Canada and Pakistan. | 5.155039 | 0.945736 | 31.534884 | low | high | extractive |
http://yahoo.thepostgame.com/cal-freshman-executes-63-inch-box-jump | http://web.archive.org/web/20160709212813id_/http://yahoo.thepostgame.com:80/cal-freshman-executes-63-inch-box-jump | Cal Freshman Executes 63-Inch Box Jump | 20160709212813 | Demetris Robertson, a 19-year-old incoming Cal freshman wide receiver, is going viral thanks to this video of his 63-inch box jump.
To give an idea of just how high that is, the average American woman is about 64 inches tall. J.J. Watt made headlines last year for a 61-inch box jump.
According to 247Sports, Robertson is the No. 1 wide receiver in the class of 2016. As Robertson gets ready to strap on the pads and play his first game at the collegiate level, defenders should take note of this video. With this much athleticism, more ridiculous highlight videos seem inevitable. And next time, a defensive back or linebacker may end up in the clip unwillingly.
More Box Jump: -- Watch NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler Uncork Insane Box Jump -- J.J. Watt Can't Complete 61-Inch Jump Box, Takes Out Spotter On His Way Down -- Baylor DE Shawn Oakman Does 40-Inch Box Jump With 70-Pound Dumbbells
Athleticism, Box Jump, California Golden Bears, College Football, demetris robertson, Football, NCAAF, Pac 12, Training | Cal's Demetris Robertson is the No. 1 freshman in the country and his box jump shows he jump over certain people. | 8.541667 | 0.708333 | 1.791667 | low | low | mixed |
http://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/20/archives/after-56-years-roy-larsen-80-retires-as-executive-of-time-inc-work.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160710014900id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1979/04/20/archives/after-56-years-roy-larsen-80-retires-as-executive-of-time-inc-work.html? | After 56 Years, Roy Larsen, 80, Retires as Executive of Time Inc. | 20160710014900 | Roy E. Larsen's first job was in a bank, and he hated it. He was 23 years old and had been out of Harvard for a year. Then he heard about two young Yale graduates who were looking for an aggressive salesman for their new magazine.
He was Onered a job and was put on tne payroll as circulation manager. His salary was $40 a week. $10 more than the two Yale men decided to pay themselves.
He was the first employee of Time magazine, and yesterday, 56 years after joining Henry R. Luce and Briton Hadden, Mr. Larson retired as vice chairman of the board of what is now a communications conglomerate that had revenues of $1.69 billion in 1978.
Mr. Larsen, who is 80 years old today, was the only Time employee exempted from the company's policy of mandatory retirement at 65. On his retirement he was given a scrapbook of memorabilia by Hedley Donovan, the editor in chief; Andrew Heiskell, chairman, and James R. Shepley?? president.
Sitting in his office on the 34th floor of the Time‐Life Building, Mr. Larsen said the other day that he planned to continue his work for environmental groups, especially on Nantucket Island. He is a director of the Nature Conservancy and organized a foundation to solicit land donations and preserve Nantucket from development.
Mr. Larsen, who lives with his wife, Margaret, in Fairfield, Conn., said he had already “learned what it takes” to be retired because his workload and responsibilities had gradually decreased over the last several years.
“What I had to learn,” he said, “was to keep off the backs and necks of the operators, and that took quite a bit of restraint. That experience taught me to slow down.”
Mr. Larsen, wearing a gray pin‐stripe suit, chuckled frequently and appeared relaxed as he chatted with a visitor and pointed out Mr. Luce and Mr. Hadden in the photographs that line the walls on either side of his desk.
Over the years, senior officials say, only Mr. Luce had more influence on Time Inc. Mr. Luce, as editor in chief, maintained absolute editorial control over the magazine. But the underpinnings of what came to be called “the Luce empire” were laid by Mr. Larsen, who held a number of titles, including publisher of Life and president of Time Inc.
Yet after a working lifetime at Time and Life — and Fortune, Sports Illustrated. Money and People, as well as the newspapers, television stations and other ventures acquired by Time Inc. — Mr. Larsen still marvels that Time magazine grew so large so fast.
“We were lucky,” he said in an interview. “It caught on with a lot of people. We were too young, all three of us, to realize how actually daring it was.” They ran the magazine with what he called an “amateur spirit, a sense of wonder, ad. venture and fun.”
Like Mr. Luce, he wielded a well‐sharpened pencil, but Mr. Larsen's prose was aimed at cajoling readers into renewing their subscriptions. In the early 1930's, one of his promotional ideas took most of his time and threatened to overtake the popularity of Time itself — network radio dramatizations of current events.
Later, working with Louis de Rochemont, a motion picture producer, Mr. Larsen transformed the broadcasts into the “March of Time” newsreels, for which he won a special Academy Award in 1937. He conceived the phrase “Time marches on” to connect sketches.
Another promotion nearly landed him in jail after he was arrested for selling a copy of Life to a policeman outside Yankee Stadium in 1938. The issue contained a picture sequence showing the birth of a baby. A film showing the same sequence had been banned by the New York City Board of Censors.
Life printed the pictures in its centerfold, and Mr. Larsen wrote a letter explaining that subscribers could pull it out if they did not want their children to see the photographs. The note was mailed before the presses were started that week, but many subscribers got the magazine first.
“Well, it was an honest attempt,” Mr. Larsen recalled. “We were going out to assure one and all that we were not pornographers. Have you seen the article? You'll laugh.”
He was acquitted on the charge of selling obscene materials, and Life went back on sale.
After Mr. Hadden's death in 1929, Mr. Larsen became a “full partner” to Mr. Luce with the title of vice president.
“When it came to the ‘March of Time’ and movies and radio, he was my partner,” Mr. Larsen said, “but on everything else, I was his.”
We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.
A version of this archives appears in print on April 20, 1979, on page B4 of the New York edition with the headline: After 56 Years, Roy Larsen, 80, Retires as Executive of Time Inc. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe | Comment on Roy Larsen, who at 80 is retiring as bd chmn of Time Inc; illus | 55.111111 | 0.666667 | 1.111111 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/noel-neill-first-actress-to-play-lois-lane-dies-at-95/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160710122958id_/http://www.cbsnews.com:80/amp/news/noel-neill-first-actress-to-play-lois-lane-dies-at-95/ | Noel Neill, first actress to play Lois Lane, dies at 95 | 20160710122958 | Jul 5, 2016 9:55 AM EDT Entertainment
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The actress who was the first to play Superman's love interest, Lois Lane, on screen has died. Noel Neill was 95.
Neill's biographer Larry Ward tells The Associated Press that she died Sunday at her home in Tucson, Arizona, following a long illness.
Neill first took on the role as the Daily Planet reporter in the 1948 Columbia movie serial, "Superman." She would reprise the part alongside George Reeves as the Man of Steel in the 1950's TV series, "The Adventures of Superman."
Neill's involvement with the series continued through the years. She played Lois Lane's mother in 1978's "Superman" and had a bit part in "Superman Returns" in 2006.
In 2010, the city of Metropolis, Illinois, unveiled a statue of Lois Lane modeled after Neill. | Noel Neill, who was the first to play Superman's love interest, Lois Lane, on screen has died | 8.285714 | 1 | 15.666667 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/beyond-brie-a-french-cheesemongers-american-adventures-1467735711 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160710211458id_/http://www.wsj.com:80/amp/articles/beyond-brie-a-french-cheesemongers-american-adventures-1467735711 | Beyond Brie: A French Cheesemonger’s American Adventures | 20160710211458 | Laure Dubouloz misses some of the cheeses from her childhood home in Annecy, in the French Alps. But the third-generation cheesemonger says it took moving to New York five years ago to discover cheeses from the rest of Europe.
“Most French people know every cheese from their region, but not necessarily from other regions,” she says. “We have Roquefort, so why would we get Stilton from the English? Of course we knew Gruyère, but that’s a Swiss cheese and there’s a big rivalry there,” she says.
Ms. Dubouloz, 32 years old, is U.S. general manager for Mons Fromager Affineur, a cheese seller based in Roanne, France. She travels about 10 days a month from her Brooklyn, N.Y., home to cities around the U.S. holding tastings and educating vendors about her company’s cheeses.
One of her biggest clients is Whole Foods Market, and on a recent trip to the Rocky Mountain region she hit stores in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Denver, Boulder and Boise. She leads training sessions for the employees who work the cheese counter at the upscale supermarket chain, showing the proper way to cut and serve various cheeses, explaining the different flavors and providing pairing recommendations. For example, “If you serve a heavy, strong wine with a soft goat cheese, you’re just going to kill your cheese,” she says.
Ms. Dubouloz carries up to 10 cheeses in an insulated bag. Ice packs in the side pockets keep things cool. Lately, she has been serving a new trio of company favorites: a traditional Camembert from Normandy stuffed with either porcini mushrooms, truffles or walnuts. For training sessions, she wears her company apron and a crisp white shirt.
All of her tools fit in a canvas and leather pouch. Cheese paper (for wrapping) and two small cutting boards are essentials, she says: a wooden board for soft creamy cheeses, a plastic board for harder cheeses.
She carries a fil-à-beurre—a butter wire—for cutting hard cheese, and a cheese lyre for soft cheese. “A big part of our training is how to handle the cheeses, why they smell like this or why they taste like that, and passing that knowledge onto the customer so they can fully enjoy it,” Ms. Dubouloz said.
One lesson: Digging into a Brie in a haphazard way has consequences, if you don’t respect the “rind-to-paste ratio,” she says. “At the end, there will be a person who only gets the rind and doesn’t get to experience the entire cheese.”
Her kit holds several knives. One of the most useful, she says, is an Opinel No. 6, a light carbon steel blade perfect for cutting small slices for tastings. She also carries a Corsican switchblade. Her most-prized possession is a folding knife from Thiers, a town in central France known for its handmade cutlery. Hers is by Coutellerie Chambriard and has a birch wood handle with a natural leopard pattern. She bought it about six years ago, along with identical knives for her younger brother and sister. Each has their name engraved in the handle.
Ms. Dubouloz comes from a cheese family. In 1960, her grandparents built a cheese cave on their property and would buy cheese from farmers in the region to sell at local farmers markets. She recalls waking up at 5 a.m. on the weekends to join her father, Jacques, in the family truck heading off to that day’s market town.
“Starting at 8 years old, you stay in the back and wash the knives and keep things tidy. Sometimes, you can help with the wrapping,” she says. As a teenager, she was up front working with customers all day. “It’s nonstop, but it’s awesome,” she says, recalling regular customers in different towns and their weekly orders. Whenever she goes back to visit—usually twice a year—she spends an hour or so at the market stall with her father and brother.
Ms. Dubouloz still eats cheese everyday, only now she includes Robiolas from Italy, Manchegos from Spain, and fine cheddars from the U.S., among others.
“Sometimes if I’m at the airport and I haven’t packed snacks, before the flight I’ll grab one of the prepackaged cheddars or Babybels for my cheese fix. I’m not ashamed.”
Corrections & Amplifications: A photograph showing a selection of cheeses includes a Mons Camembert. In an earlier version of this article the cheese was incorrectly identified as Gatekeeper. | Laure Dubouloz, U.S. general manager for French cheese seller Mons Fromager Affineur, trains vendors around the U.S. in how to cut and serve a variety of cheeses. | 29.7 | 0.933333 | 2.4 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://www.people.com/people/mobile/article/0%2C%2C21016569%2C00.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160710223117id_/http://www.people.com:80/people/mobile/article/0,,21016569,00.html | Kourtney Kardashian Parties with Justin Bieber During Miami Vacation with Her Kids | 20160710223117 | Kourtney Kardashian is celebrating the 4th of July holiday with her three children in Miami, but she made some room in her schedule to spend time with former fling Justin Bieber.
"Kourtney is having a fun holiday weekend with her kids. She keeps enjoying the beach and the pool. She has been hanging out with friends, including Justin Bieber and Larsa Pippen," a source tells PEOPLE.
The source adds that Kardashian is staying at The Setai hotel in Miami with her three children with ex Scott Disick: daughter Penelope, 3, and sons Mason, 6, and Reign, 1. Bieber, meanwhile, is in town for the Miami leg of his
The 37-year-old reality star and the 22-year-old singer have reportedly crossed paths multiple times over the weekend, but they appeared to be keeping their distance during a night out at LIV night club on Saturday.
"They weren't together. At LIV he sat in a skybox. She sat in DJ booth," another source tells PEOPLE. "He didn't stay long on both nights and kept to himself – no mic or performance."
But on Sunday night, Bieber and Kardashian were spotted together at STORY Nightclub for his
after party. Bieber arrived at 12:30 a.m. and immediately jumped on the mic and got the whole crowd to sing "Happy Birthday" to STORY owner David Grutman. The pop star then danced along to several of his songs.
At around 1 a.m. Bieber disappeared for a few minutes and then returned to the DJ booth with Kardashian in tow, a source tells PEOPLE.
Kourtney "was there for David's birthday," another source says. "At first Justin didn't pay any attention to her, but after wishing David a happy birthday he went right down to her table and brought her up to a private table behind the DJ booth."
Kardashian, who was wearing a tight leather mini dress and thigh-high lace-up Tom Ford boots, was joined by close pals Larsa Pippen, the wife of retired NBA star Scottie Pippen, and Jonathan Cheban. Kardashian's friends danced at a table while she was seen singing along to Bieber's songs, the source says.
Earlier on Sunday Bieber met
for a meal at Miami's Wynwood Diner.
"He jumped out of a black SUV and quickly entered Wynwood Diner in a long checkered T-shirt," a source tells PEOPLE. "After a busy weekend, he wanted nothing more than some scrambled eggs and toast, in true Miami style."
Another source told PEOPLE in April that Bieber and Kardashian had reportedly been "hooking up on and off for a few months now." Before their Miami reunion, the pair hadn't been spotted together since late March, following the Los Angeles leg of Bieber's
"They have hooked up a few times, including recently. It happens in L.A. He has met her kids, but they don't hook up around the kids," the source said in April. "It's on nights when she has help and is able to go out."
"Kourtney is great. Justin thinks it's cool that she is older and hot. She isn't clingy and has her own life," the source continued. "There are no bad consequences for Justin to hook up with her. She is very easy going and just makes it fun for him to be around her." | Kourtney Kardashian and Justin Bieber spent time together at his Purpose World Tour after party in Miami | 39.176471 | 0.764706 | 1.352941 | high | low | abstractive |
http://nypost.com/2016/05/01/designer-domenico-vaccas-lavish-lifestyle-is-a-con-lawsuit-claims/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160711035851id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/05/01/designer-domenico-vaccas-lavish-lifestyle-is-a-con-lawsuit-claims/ | Designer Domenico Vacca’s lavish lifestyle is a con, lawsuit claims | 20160711035851 | Celebrity fashion designer Domenico Vacca — who has outfitted Denzel Washington, Daniel Day-Lewis and Jeremy Piven — is really a “devious con man” who “resorted to outright fraud” to maintain his lavish lifestyle, a new lawsuit charges.
The Italian-born Vacca — who just opened a flagship store off Fifth Avenue where men’s suits go for $2,900 — and his companies have racked up debts to the IRS, clothing suppliers and lenders, legal papers charge. He paid one debt only after being held in contempt of court and threatened with arrest, the suit says.
Yet Vacca, 53, plunked down $6.1 million in 2008 for a condo at the Museum Tower in Midtown and another $1.5 million for a penthouse condo in Bal Harbor, Fla. Both properties later faced foreclosure actions.
He palled around with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and was so tight with Piven that he had a cameo in the actor’s “Entourage” movie.
The lawsuit filed last week in state Supreme Court alleges his life was a “house of cards.”
“We learned that Mr. Vacca is literally living a life of luxury that is funded by other people,” said Larry Hutcher, whose client Alex Blavatnik is suing Vacca.
In 2011, Blavatnik loaned $1 million to DV Retail Holding, one of Vacca’s companies. Blavatnik alleges that the tailor misrepresented the financial viability of the operation to entice him into making the loan.
Vacca stopped payments in 2015, leaving a balance of $804,421.
Blavatnik sued the company last year. In February 2016, Vacca’s lawyer requested an adjournment of an upcoming hearing because his client was having surgery overseas and wasn’t reachable, court papers charge.
But that same day, Vacca posted an Instagram picture saying he was doing a magazine interview about the new store.
The latest suit charges that Vacca “looted” the company of its assets to avoid repaying the loan. Blavatnik is seeking repayment and up to $5 million in damages.
Vacca is slated to hold a red-carpet event Tuesday to celebrate his new store which includes a cafe, hair salon, barbershop and a members-only social club that costs $20,000 a year.
His lawyer denied the designer owed any money.
Vacca told The Post that DV Retail Holding, of which he was a shareholder, couldn’t pay back the loan because it had shuttered. | The Italian-born designer and his companies have racked up debts to the IRS, clothing suppliers and lenders, legal papers charge. | 18.72 | 1 | 16.68 | medium | high | extractive |
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