question
stringlengths 0
973k
| answer
stringlengths 310
3.59k
|
|---|---|
Large crack reportedly forms in window of San Francisco's sinking Millennium Tower
Officials with the City and County of San Francisco Department of Building Inspection are requiring Millennium Tower building engineers to evaluate the extent of repairs needed to fix the crack and investigate the condition of the glass panel and adjacent curtain wall system by Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. less Officials with the City and County of San Francisco Department of Building Inspection are requiring Millennium Tower building engineers to evaluate the extent of repairs needed to fix the crack and investigate ... more Photo: Courtesy Of City And County Of San Francisco Department Of Building Inspection Photo: Courtesy Of City And County Of San Francisco Department Of Building Inspection Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Large crack reportedly forms in window of San Francisco's sinking Millennium Tower 1 / 13 Back to Gallery
A new defect in San Francisco's sinking and tilting Millennium Tower has appeared.
A large crack reportedly formed in a window on the 36th Floor of the building on Sunday, according to a resident.
Department of Building Inspection spokesperson Bill Strawn says a correction notice was issued and building engineers have 72 hours to report back on what happened.
"Our building inspector to the site...was not able to gain access to the unit and thus unable to see the alleged crack," Strawn said in an email. "The visit by the inspector was in response to a complaint."
ALSO: New '60 Minutes' shows shocking footage of the cracks in the Millennium Tower basement
Now Playing:
NBC Bay Area reports Millennium Tower residents heard a "creaking sound and then a large pop" before the crack appeared at 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin confirms there's a crack in a window and says, "Building management sent an email to all the owners saying they thought this crack [was related to] the ongoing problems with the building—i.e., the settling, sinking of the building."
Peskin says the window system that's part of something called the "curtain wall" is designed to sustain hurricane force winds.
"If a window failed entirely it would rain shards of glass hundreds of feet below down onto one of the busiest, most congested parts of the city. The city better take this seriously," Peskin continued
Peskin says he asked the Building Inspection Department to consider closing the sidewalks below the cracked window.
MORE, Millennium Tower keeps on sinking, but there may be a fix
Rising 645 feet, the Millennium Tower at 301 Mission St. in the South of Market district became the tallest residential building in the city when it opened in 2009.
Residents learned in 2016 that the 58-story building was sinking, and a flurry of lawsuits from owners of condos followed, including one from the homeowners association seeking $200 million.
Residents paid anywhere from $1.6 million to $10 million for their units.
The building has sunk some 17 inches since construction began in 2005 and its tilting about 14 inches.
SFGATE reached out to Millennium Tower management and didn't hear back before publishing the story.
This story was updated on Sept. 6, 2018, at 8:40 a.m. ||||| A large crack formed in a window at the sinking and tilting Millennium Tower over the Labor Day weekend, prompting officials there to block off part of the sidewalk on Mission Street as a precaution, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has learned. Investigative Reporter Jaxon Van Derbeken reports.
A large crack formed in a window at the sinking and tilting Millennium Tower over the Labor Day weekend, prompting officials there to block off part of the sidewalk on Mission Street as a precaution, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has learned.
More Concerns for Millennium Tower Due to Cracked Window
We're getting our first look at the cracked window in San Francisco's sinking and tilting Millennium Tower that has a lot of residents worried. They are worried because it raises more concerns about stability of the high-rise that's now leaning 18 inches. When Investigative Reporter Jaxon Van Derbeken first broke this story on Tuesday, residents inside the tower did not want to talk. On Wednesday, several residents talked with him to discuss their concerns. (Published Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018)
City inspectors issued a notice of violation on Tuesday, giving the Millennium management 72 hours to report back on the extent of the problem and the soundness of the building’s façade in light of the failure.
Residents started hearing creaking sounds followed by a loud popping noise at 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Soon afterward, one owner found the crack in his window in a 36th floor unit in the north western corner of the 58-story high-rise. The tower is currently tilting some 18 inches when measured at the top.
A look at the crack on a window in a 36th floor unit of San Francisco's Millennium Tower.
San Francisco City Supervisor Aaron Peskin notes the failed window was supposed to withstand hurricane force winds.
“When you have a window at the 36th floor that cracks in the middle of the night that is a big wake up call,” says Peskin, who has held a series of hearings into why the tower has been sinking so dramatically.
Video Millennium Tower Cited for Fire Safety Danger
In a bulletin about the latest problem sent to owners on Labor Day and obtained by NBC Bay Area, building manager Michael Scofield assured them a team of experts would soon assess what he described as “a large piece of glass that cracked.”
Scofield acknowledged it’s “possible that this incident is related to other issues in the building.”
A string of problems may have been triggered by differential settlement of the structure -- everything from cracks in the basement walls to strange odors permeating some units.
The issue of who is to blame has become mired in a legal morass. As the building continues to sink and tilt, NBC Bay Area has detailed concerns by experts about the possibility the façade of the building, known as the curtain wall, may be separating from the interior structure.
That could pose a risk, they say, that a fire could spread through gaps between floors. The failure of the 36th floor window could be evidence of strain on the steel lattice that forms the façade.
For now, Millennium manager Scofield told residents the barrier will remain out front along Mission Street until repairs are made.
“This is a public safety hazard,” Peskin says of the window failure, adding that the city Department of Building Inspection must act immediately to assure the safety of thousands of people who walk by the building every day.
“The real question is do we need to limit pedestrian access on the sidewalks beneath the Millennium?” he says. “I want our Department of Building Inspection to make that decision and pronto.”
Investigative Test Drilling Launched at the Sinking Millennium Tower
Department of Building Inspection spokesman William Strawn said in a statement late Tuesday that per the building engineer’s comments to the city inspector, “It does not appear to present any sidewalk safety issue at this time. We will be following up.”
|
– More bad news for San Francisco's Millennium Tower. This time, it's a crack in a window on the 36th floor of the 58-story building, SFGate reports. It happened Saturday around 2:30am when residents heard "creaking noises" and a "loud pop," per NBC Bay Area. Later, a resident found a crack in his window. San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin tells SFGate that if the window, which is designed to withstand hurricane-force winds, were to fail completely "it would rain shards of glass hundreds of feet below onto one of the busiest, most congested parts of the city." Opened in 2009, the 645-foot-tall Millennium Tower has reportedly sunk some 17 inches and is tilting (by 14 inches per SFGate, by 18 inches per NBC). In an email to residents, per Peskin, building management confirmed the window crack and said it was related to "ongoing problems with the building—i.e., the settling, sinking of the building." Other issues, according to NBC, include cracks in the basement wall and "strange odors" in some units. Units in the building sold for between $1.6 million and $10 million, per SFGate.
|
HALIFAX—Before her planned death earlier this week, a Halifax woman asked Canadian politicians to change the medically assisted dying law so that others like her might live out more days, and responses from Ottawa have been varied. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said the government had no plans to amend the two-year-old assisted dying law, but another Liberal parliamentarian said that wasn’t the end of the story.
Since Audrey Parker’s assisted death on Nov. 1, Canadian politicians have given varied responses to her plea for legislative change. ( Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press )
“Although the minister may say we’re not imagining any changes right now, I think we have to see what Canadians are thinking of,” said Darren Fisher, MP for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. “If Canadians are staunchly in favour of something, then that’s our job to go out and try to advocate for those things on behalf of Canadians,” he added. Read more:
Article Continued Below
Thousands sharing, commenting on Audrey Parker’s final public words Advocate dies ‘peacefully’ after plea for changes to Canada’s assisted-death law Fisher’s riding is one of four in the Halifax area where Audrey Parker lived until her death on Nov. 1. Parker, 57, was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in 2016. When she decided to end her life she was in excruciating pain from tumours in her bones, and had recently learned that the cancer had spread to her brain lining. Since Canada’s medically assisted dying law requires last-minute consent from the patient, Parker chose to go before her condition worsened further.
If she could have made an advance request, she said she would have stayed until after Christmas. Parker made a public call for the government to amend the law to eliminate late-stage consent in situations like hers.
Article Continued Below
“We’re not considering changing something in the legislation,” Wilson-Raybould told reporters on Nov. 2. In an interview on the same day, Fisher said he felt differently. “(My constituents) are basically saying that they support (Parker) and my personal view is I’m supportive of it as well,” he said. In Parker’s final Facebook post she said the assisted dying law was “poorly thought out,” and asked the public to contact their MPs about changing it. Thousands have responded to Parker’s post, many of them expressing support for her request. In addition to Fisher, the other three Halifax-area MPs were asked for interviews Friday. Geoff Regan and Darrell Samson did not respond to the request. Andy Fillmore responded with an emailed statement, saying in part: “Many constituents have sent me emails containing (Parker’s) final Facebook post, adding their own reflections. It’s clear that she has left an impact on our community, and on the ongoing conversation related to medical assistance in dying.” “We know that medical assistance in dying is a deeply personal choice, and I believe it is important that Canadians have access to it if they choose.” Fillmore’s email went to on to say that he “looked forward” to reading an upcoming report on the issue. When Ottawa first drafted the medically assisted dying law, it asked the Council of Canadian Academies — a non-profit organization that operates on federal funding — to review three unresolved issues, including advance requests. A report on that review is due to be tabled at the House of Commons by the end of this year. Fisher said the report would not offer recommendations, but rather a summary “of the evidence of all the different perspectives.” “I do feel that we could have gone a little bit further on this and I’m looking forward to seeing that report come in December,” he said. Stephen McNeil, Nova Scotia’s Liberal premier, offered his respect to Parker in a statement after her death, calling her “courageous.” He otherwise left her request to the federal government. “This debate will continue at the national level, and she will be a major voice in the conversation that I’m sure Canadians are going to have.” Halifax Mayor Mike Savage echoed McNeil’s response, saying in an interview Friday that he was “impressed at her courage and tenacity,” but that there was nothing he could do at a municipal level to address her plea. With files from Mitchell Kedrosky and The Canadian Press Taryn Grant is a Halifax-based reporter focusing on education. Follow her on Twitter: @tarynalgrant
Read more about: ||||| Audrey Parker was assessed and approved for medically assisted death, but because federal law requires that she be lucid at the time of death her plans were derailed
For weeks, Audrey Parker had been organizing what she called her “beautiful death”, carefully planning every detail of her final days, and even writing her own obituary.
Parker, a television makeup artist, was in excruciating pain as cancer crept from her breast into her bones and brain, and intended to end her life before the suffering became too overwhelming.
But because Canadian federal law required that she was lucid at the time of death – and fearing that the combined effects of cancer and medication could rob her of that clarity – Parker was forced to end her life months before she had intended to die.
With the help of a nurse, Audrey Parker passed away on 1 November, surrounded by friends and family in her Halifax home. She was 57.
Parker’s lost battle for greater autonomy in medically assisted death has reignited a debate over Canada’s legislation on medically assisted death, which critics say forces terminally ill people to choose two equally unpalatable choices: a death that is premature, or one that is painful.
Sign up for the new US morning briefing
Parker was not the first to use Canada’s medically assisted death laws – more than 3,700 already have done so since the country’s supreme court paved the way for physician-assisted death in 2015 – but she quickly became one of the country’s most prominent advocates for changes in the law.
“The world lost a person that had such spirit, who kind of always knew she was going to do something really, really important,” said Kim King, a close friend who was with Parker during her last moments. “And in the end, she did.”
Legislation passed in 2016 allowed anyone above the age of 18 with a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” to apply for physician-assisted death. Individuals must undergo consultations and be examined by two clinicians in order to gain approval for the process.
Parker was assessed and approved, but a key provision in the law – that she be of full mental capacity when the decision to terminate life is made – derailed her plans.
“When we realized the implications of the late-stage consent, it was very disturbing,” said King. “She was so courageous to face her death head on.”
If she wanted to die on her own terms, it would have to be when she was still mentally sound. While she wanted to live to see another Christmas, she told friends she couldn’t run the risk of waiting too long.
“She was worried about how this cancer had ravaged her body so aggressively that if she waited too long, she would lose capacity and then she would be completely denied the right to have an assisted death,” said Shanaaz Gokool, head of Dying with Dignity Canada. “And then she would die in a manner she knew will be horrible.”
For clinicians and bioethicists, Parker’s fight encapsulates an ongoing debate within the medical community surrounding how to best help patients in their final days.
“A lot of us knew when the legislation came down, that this would be one of the next battle grounds,” said Chris Kaposy, a bioethicist at Memorial University. While the law has produced troubling situations like Parker’s, it also aims to protect vulnerable people, said Kaposy.
Clinical ethicists often grapple with instances of patients with late-stage dementia, some of whom have requested physician-assisted death – but later forget these wishes and go on to live contented lives, he said.
“You have to walk that line between honouring legitimate directives, where people are suffering … But also you want to be able to avoid situations where you’re obligated to essentially kill people who are happy.”
Only three countries permit people to plan their death beforehand, and do not require competency at the moment of death: the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium.
But according to King, “[Parker] didn’t suffer from dementia, she wasn’t vulnerable. And she was very clear about what she wanted.”
Parker’s death has prompted a fresh debate on end-of-life planning in Canada, said Dr Jeff Blackmer, vice-president of the Canadian Medical Association. “If you agree with assisted dying or not, one of the silver linings to this has been a more open discussion about death and dying in Canada – and about the choices that we make at the end of our lives,” he said.
A government panel which is studying the existing legislation will release its full report in December, but will not make any recommendations, and the government will not be required to act.
The day after Parker’s death, the federal justice minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould, expressed no intention of amending the current law. “We’re not considering changing something in the legislation,” she told reporters, adding that she and the government were “confident in the legislation”.
While the minister’s position disappointed King and other friends, they see it as a reason to keep pushing hard for changes in the law, continuing the battle Parker fought to the end.
“Until she took her last breath yesterday, she never wavered,” said King. “It was just so beautiful.” ||||| Open this photo in gallery Friends massage Audrey Parker's hands and feet at the end of her last party. (Photojournalist Chris Donovan has a family relationship with Audrey Parker) Chris Donovan/The Globe and Mail
After a decadent breakfast of lobster eggs Benedict prepared by a friend in her modern high-rise kitchen Thursday morning, Audrey Parker plans to tidy up, climb back into her king-sized bed and receive a lethal injection.
Ms. Parker, who lives in Halifax, is three years into a battle with Stage 4 breast cancer she chose to “lean into” rather than resist because of its ravenous spread to her bones and brain. A former ballroom dancer and makeup artist with an affinity for the brand Chanel, Ms. Parker decided immediately after her diagnosis that she wanted to end her life on her own terms. She qualified to do so under Canada’s assisted-dying legislation. That law requires patients to be lucid enough to consent to their own deaths – and Ms. Parker feared she wouldn’t be if she waited too long.
The 57-year-old effervescent divorcee has taken pleasure in scripting what she calls her “dream death,” with the exception of one key element: choosing the actual day she will die. On this, Ms. Parker says her pen was unfairly forced by federal legislation requiring patients to be able to confirm their wish to die moments before a fatal injection is administered.
Story continues below advertisement
“All I wanted to do was have a fabulous end-of-life experience on my own terms,” said Ms. Parker, who plans to die Thursday, holding her elderly mother’s hand and surrounded by her best friends, even though she is still full of life. “I would have liked to have really lived until Christmas. But I can’t take the chance of losing my window.”
Ms. Parker’s predicament highlights what some physicians and supporters of assisted dying see as a defect in Canada’s law and it is one Ms. Parker is bent on altering, if only posthumously.
Patients ending their lives are required to give what is known as “late stage consent,” meaning they must be lucid enough to agree to their own death immediately before a doctor or nurse practitioner administers the cocktail of life-ending drugs. If patients cannot give late-stage consent, they cannot, under the law, receive an assisted death.
Open this photo in gallery Audrey Parker is comforted by her friend Denise Doucet as they say goodbye at the end of night. Chris Donovan/The Globe and Mail
Intended as a safeguard, the rule has had unintended consequences. Ms. Parker said it seemed to force early death on her before it really feels like her time is up.
“They’ve literally taken my ability to die on my own terms away from me,” Ms. Parker said of lawmakers. “I have cancer in the lining of my brain. I could wake up tomorrow and I might not be myself. I just don’t know,” she said, adding: “It defies the whole point of the law. People are dying sooner than they need to.”
To avoid that fate, some patients choose to dial back their painkillers before receiving an assisted death to ensure they are fit to consent, a decision that leads to increased suffering, said Jeff Blackmer, the vice-president of medical professionalism for the Canadian Medical Association, which represents doctors across the country.
“That’s obviously a challenge that clinicians are concerned about,” he said. “They don’t want patients to undergo any sort of pain or suffering that could otherwise be avoided.”
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Cutting back her cocktail of pain medication – heavy doses of Dilaudid and cannabis – was something Ms. Parker said she could not endure.
“I’m picking to die over going through that pain again,” she said in an interview with The Globe and Mail one afternoon last week between sips of Red Bull, her walls filled with framed art she chose for her funeral, including a depiction of a nearly empty hourglass. "But if they would just let me die on my own terms … I’d figure out the right day.”
Ms. Parker reluctantly but firmly chose Nov. 1. She is haunted by cases of terminally ill patients who were approved for an assisted death but didn’t get one after losing their capacity to consent.
According to Health Canada’s most recent interim report on medically assisted dying, 3,714 legal assisted deaths have been carried out in Canada as of the end of last year. An analysis of why requests for the procedure are turned down in six provinces found that loss of capacity was the reason cited most frequently, followed by the patient’s death not being deemed “reasonably foreseeable,” as the law requires.
Some of the experts who helped to inform Canada’s assisted dying law predicted that prohibiting advance requests would lead to situations such as Ms. Parker’s.
Open this photo in gallery An ex-husband of Audrey Parker comes to say goodbye during her last party at her apartment in Halifax. Chris Donovan/The Globe and Mail
After the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the Criminal Code prohibition against helping others take their own lives in 2015, a special joint committee of the House and Senate and a provincial-territorial expert advisory group were set up to make recommendations about how the new assisted-dying law should work.
Story continues below advertisement
Both groups recommended that the federal legislation allow for advance requests for assisted death in limited circumstances. The panels felt that patients such as Ms. Parker – those whose cases have already been rigorously assessed by two doctors and approved for an assisted death – should be allowed to make advance requests that set out the future terms for their death that wouldn’t be jeopardized as their mental capacity deteriorated.
The panels also recommended that the same permission be extended to people diagnosed with diseases such as dementia, a category of patients that raises difficult ethical concerns.
However, no advance requests of any kind were allowed under the legislation passed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in June of 2016. The legislation included a provision that independent reviewers would be asked to study whether the law should be expanded to cover three types of patients currently excluded: mature patients under the age of 18; patients whose sole reason for seeking an assisted death is mental illness and patients who want to make advance requests to have doctors hasten their deaths.
The Council of Canadian Academies, a federally funded not-for-profit organization, is expected to publish a review of the evidence for all three situations in December. However, the reports won’t make any formal recommendations. They will only summarize the evidence.
Those advocating for changes that would allow advance directives say it is important to distinguish between cases such as Ms. Parker’s and those that involve patients who have been diagnosed with dementia. The latter involve more complex practical and philosophical challenges, including which version of a patient should have the final say, said Hilary Young, a University of New Brunswick law professor with an expertise in health law and informed consent.
“Is it the [predementia] person who didn’t want to be a burden and who valued her cognitive faculties very highly, or the present person who’s quite happy to read the same page of a book every day or watch television?”
Story continues below advertisement
Open this photo in gallery Chris Donovan/The Globe and Mail
Canada is not the only country grappling with these questions. The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Colombia all allow advance requests for assisted death but some have specific rules that limit their use.
However, the complexities wrought by dementia are not a concern in cases such as Ms. Parker’s, which some argue ought to be given more expansive consideration.
“She’s presently suffering and has a good sense of what she’s facing," Prof. Young said. "In that context, it seems almost arbitrary to deny her the ability to make that decision.”
The advocacy group Dying with Dignity Canada agrees. Although the organization also supports advance requests for assisted death for people with dementia, its leaders, along with Ms. Parker’s friends and family, are launching a campaign to change the federal law so that patients who have been approved for an assisted death can get one, even if they aren’t able to consent at the moment of death.
Chief executive Shanaaz Gokool, said they want any amendment to be named Audrey’s Law, in Ms. Parker’s honour.
Ms. Parker would like that too.
“I’m not doing this for me. I’m already out of here. I’m doing this for you guys,” she said. “Let’s all be proactive now. If people just demand this ... we don’t need a debate. Just an amendment to the legislation.”
Ms. Parker said she gave that message to Justice Department officials in a telephone conversation facilitated by Dying with Dignity Canada last week.
“I really pleaded with them. I begged them to lift that late stage consent,” Ms. Parker said. “Life just worked out for me. Everything went my way. It really did. So I want my death to go my way too. I’m not going to rest easy until it’s done." ||||| HALIFAX—On her final day alive, Audrey Parker shared a stirring message online about the right to a medically assisted death, and her post is receiving support from thousands. The 57-year-old Halifax woman died at her home on Nov. 1 after a lethal injection — a choice that was made possible by a two-year-old Canadian law that allows adults to request medical assistance to die.
Audrey Parker, who died on Thursday, said before passing away that she was forced to die early due to the current assisted dying laws in Canada. ( Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press )
Hours before her death, Parker said in a Facebook post that she loved her life and had no regrets, but still wished she could have lived until Christmas. She said she was forced to die sooner than she wanted because of “a poorly thought out federal law.” As of Friday morning, the post had been shared more than 4,000 times, was approaching 5,000 reactions, and had almost 2,000 comments. “Peace be with you and thank you for the courage to post your thoughts,” wrote Facebook user Glynis Humber.
Article Continued Below
Read more: Halifax woman plans to die on Thursday, saying Ottawa is forcing early death on her Advocate dies 'peacefully' after plea for changes to Canada's assisted-death law “I will share this and I fully believe you should be able to go when you want…the late stage clause has to be removed,” Frances Power-Stone commented. Parker was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in 2016, which eventually spread to her bones, causing her excruciating pain, and to her brain lining, which made her worry that she would eventually lose her lucidity.
Her final request was for the public to maintain pressure on legislators to amend the medical assistance in dying (MAID) law. “In the spirit of teaching and sharing, I’d like to leave you with some words that explain my position with MAID. You can copy and paste them into an email or text them to your MP asking for Ottawa to amend and remove late stage consent on MAID candidates in Audrey Parker’s category of Assessed and Approved MAID users,” she wrote.
Article Continued Below
The law stipulates that people who want to die must be able to give late-stage consent. In other words, they must reassure the doctor of their choice immediately before going through with it.
Parker said that stipulation cut her life short. “As I near my death today, it is even more evident than ever before, that late stage consent has got to be amended and removed from MAID in Canada for my category of end users,” she said in the post. “Dying is a messy business. I can’t predict when cancer will move into my brain matter or when something else big happens to make me more unwell. I and only I can make that decision for myself.” Parker’s friends and family will host a public celebration of life at Pier 21 in Halifax on Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. Taryn Grant is a Halifax-based reporter focusing on education. Follow her on Twitter: @tarynalgrant
Read more about:
|
– Audrey Parker used Canada's medically assisted death law to legally end her life—but a provision in that law forced her to do so months earlier than she wanted to. The Guardian looks at the 57-year-old's case and the debate it has generated: Parker's stage 4 breast cancer was painful and advanced enough that she qualified as having a "grievous and irremediable medical condition," as determined by two doctors. But the law requires that one be of sound mind at the time of his or her death—and with the Toronto Star reporting the cancer had moved into Parker's brain lining, she feared that if she held off, her lucidity might erode. "I would have liked to have really lived until Christmas. But I can't take the chance of losing my window," she told the Globe and Mail. So she opted for a premature death on Nov. 1. The Globe and Mail reports the provision was put in as a "safeguard," with the Guardian noting cases of dementia patients who request death but then forget they have done so and happily live out their last days. On the flip side, the provision has also forced others to reel in their painkiller dosage at the end, resulting in increased pain. Before Parker's death, she publicly advocated to have the law changed, and the Guardian reports federal justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould responded in the negative: "We're not considering changing something in the legislation." Parker discusses her experience in a lengthy obituary she wrote herself, which is filled with gratitude, features 10 pieces of advice, and ends with this: "Until we meet again, I leave you with a simple message: Be kind ... because you can." (This man had issues with the way he had to end his life.)
|
The OFFICIAL twitter of Actor, Author & the man behind the mask of CHEWBACCA! This is where The Wookiee Roars... and Tweets!!!! https://www.facebook.com/thewookieeroars
Kashyyyk ||||| Star Wars creator George Lucas is mourning the death of his longtime friend and leading lady Carrie Fisher.
“Carrie and I have been friends most of our adult lives,” he said in a statement to PEOPLE. “She was extremely smart; a talented actress, writer and comedienne with a very colorful personality that everyone loved. In Star Wars she was our great and powerful princess – feisty, wise and full of hope in a role that was more difficult than most people might think.”
Get push notifications with news, features and more.
“My heart and prayers are with Billie, Debbie and all Carrie’s family, friends and fans. She will be missed by all,” the statement concludes.
Fisher, 60, was aboard an 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday when she went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics removed her from the flight and rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was treated for a heart attack. She later died in the hospital.
Since her death, other members of the famous franchise have paid tribute to Fisher’s life and legacy.
“Carrie was one-of-a-kind…brilliant, original,” Harrison Ford said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Funny and emotionally fearless. She lived her life, bravely…My thoughts are with her daughter Billie, her mother Debbie, her brother Todd, and her many friends. We will all miss her.”
Her onscreen brother Mark Hamill, on the other hand, was speechless about the heartbreaking news of Fisher’s death: “No words #Devastated,” the actor tweeted alongside a photo of the two during their Star Wars years.
After him, several other Star Wars alums shared messages of love for Fisher on Twitter — including the actor who played Chewbacca.
There are no words for this loss. Carrie was the brightest light in every room she entered. I will miss her dearly. pic.twitter.com/GgIeYGeMt9 — Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) December 27, 2016
“There are no words for this loss,” said Peter Mayhew. “Carrie was the brightest light in every room she entered. I will miss her dearly.” ||||| Carrie Fisher Wrapped ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Before Her Death Actress died Dec. 27 after suffering from a heart attack before the holidays
Carrie Fisher had wrapped filming “Star Wars: Episode VIII” before her death, TheWrap has learned.
The actress reprised her role as Princess Leia in director Rian Johnson’s “Episode VIII,” which the official “Star Wars” Twitter account tweeted had wrapped production back in July. The film is due in theaters on December 15, 2017.
The “Star Wars” films sometimes involve reshoots and re-looping — sometimes extensive ones, as was the case with the new “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” — an individual with knowledge of the production said that Fisher had completely finished her scenes on the new film.
Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Image 1 of 33 Actress Carrie Fisher died at 60 after suffering a heart attack while on a flight from London to Los Angeles.
Look through the following gallery for celebrity and fan reactions to her death. Actress Carrie Fisher died at 60 after suffering a heart attack while on a flight from London to Los Angeles.
Look through the following gallery for celebrity and fan reactions to her death. Image 2 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 3 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 4 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 5 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 6 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 7 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 8 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 9 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 10 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 11 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 12 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 13 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 14 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 15 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 16 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 17 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 18 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 19 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 20 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 21 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 22 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 23 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 24 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 25 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 26 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 27 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 28 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 29 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 30 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 31 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 32 of 33 Twitter Twitter Image 33 of 33 Carrie Fisher Wrapped ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Before Her Death 1 / 33 Back to Gallery
Also Read: Carrie Fisher Over the Years: Through Good and Bad, the Wit Endured (Appreciation)
However, it’s unknown how Fisher’s death might impact future installments in the blockbuster franchise and whether Leia, a character Fisher originated in 1977’s “Star Wars,” was expected to play a significant role in “Episode IX” that may now need to be reassessed.
Representatives for the studio and for Lucasfilm have not responded to requests for comment.
Fisher died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack on a plane from London to Los Angeles on Dec. 23. After she was taken to UCLA Medical Center for emergency treatment, she was reported to be in stable condition over the weekend.
Also Read: Carrie Fisher, 'Star Wars' Icon, Dies at 60
Final slate of the final shot. VIII is officially wrapped. Cannot wait to share it with you all! -@rianjohnson pic.twitter.com/l4Apk0Ro4i
— Star Wars (@starwars) July 22, 2016
Fisher made her big screen debut in “Shampoo” (1970) with Warren Beatty, Goldie Hawn and Julie Christie. In 1977, she won the role that would make her internationally famous in “Star Wars,” as the revolutionary princess of the planet Alderaan.
Following starring roles in “Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” Fisher had a string of small or guest parts such as “Scream 3,” “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” “These Old Broads,” “Sex and the City” and “Entourage.” She most recently starred in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Read original story Carrie Fisher Wrapped ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Before Her Death At TheWrap
|
– Carrie Fisher is gone but she will live on through her books and movies—including Star Wars: Episode VIII, which won't be in theaters for almost a year. Sources tell the Wrap that the 60-year-old Fisher had completely finished filming her role and all necessary reshoots for the movie, in which she reprises her role as Princess Leia. It's not clear how her death will affect the future of the Star Wars series. George Lucas was among the many people paying tribute to Fisher on Tuesday. "She was extremely smart; a talented actress, writer and comedienne with a very colorful personality that everyone loved," he told People. "In Star Wars she was our great and powerful princess—feisty, wise and full of hope in a role that was more difficult than most people might think.” Harrison Ford was among the Star Wars co-stars with warm words for Fisher. "Carrie was one-of-a-kind…brilliant, original," he said. "Funny and emotionally fearless. She lived her life, bravely." Mark Hamill, at first, could only tweet that he was "devastated." In a follow-up tweet, he praised his "beloved space-twin." "She was OUR Princess, damn it, and the actress who played her blurred into one gorgeous, fiercely independent and ferociously funny, take-charge woman who took our collective breath away." Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca, tweeted photos of himself with Fisher over the years. "There are no words for this loss," he wrote. "Carrie was the brightest light in every room she entered. I will miss her dearly."
|
NB: This story is developing. To follow Tuesday’s updates click here.
MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – Six people were shot dead in the city of Belgorod in southwest Russia on Monday afternoon, police said.
Police said the assailant opened “random fire” at about 2 p.m. (10:00 GMT), before fleeing in the vehicle in which he had arrived at the scene.
The state-run Rossiya 24 TV channel said the assailant was armed with a rifle and had begun shooting on the street before moving into a nearby store.
The car was later found by police, who identified the suspect as a man of around 30 years of age with a criminal record. Special forces officers have been deployed to the address the suspect is believed to be holed up at, a law enforcement source told RIA Novosti.
Police and the city administration said a 14-year-old girl was among the dead, five of whom died at the scene of the attack. The sixth victim died shortly after in hospital.
©Youtube, Sergey Ryabenko Six Dead in Belgorod Shooting Spree Zoom InAdd to blog Add video to blog You may place this material on your blog by copying the code. <object width="480" height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://static-c.rian.ru/i/swf/riavideocv2.swf"><param name="movie" value="http://static-c.rian.ru/i/swf/riavideocv2.swf" /><param name="scale" value="noorder" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="devicefont" value="true" /><param name="flashvars" value="file=http%3A%2F%2Fnfw.aurora-video.ru%2Fflv%2Fplaylist.aspx%3Fid%3D220133%2526fmt=xml%2526adv=0%2526img=http%3A%2F%2Fen.rian.ru%2Fimages%2F18078/06/180780669.jpg%26amp%3B©right=%C2%A0Youtube%2C%20Sergey%20Ryabenko&info_url=http://en.rian.ru/services/media/180780666-info.html&videofilesize=3.22Mb&videolen=28 s.&blog_url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.rian.ru%23blogcode&video_url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.rian.ru%2Fvideo%2F&skin_locale=eng"/></object> Six Dead in Belgorod Shooting Spree Zoom Out
Media reports suggested a second suspect was involved in the attack, but this has not been confirmed by police.
The attack comes some six months after a Moscow lawyer shot dead six people in the Russian capital in what was believed to have been his violent response to the end of a romance.
Updates death toll, changes headline, additional information throughout. ||||| Police are searching for a suspect in the Monday shooting in the Russian city of Belgorod. A gunman opened fire near an arms shop, leaving six people dead and one injured. A 14-year-old girl is among those killed.
Police have asked Belgorod residents not to leave their homes because of the special operation. The photo of the suspect – Sergey Pomazun, 32 – and his description have been posted on the internet. Law enforcers also warn that the man at large may be armed with a gas pistol and a semi-automatic rifle.
Local authorities say that some 1200 police personnel are engaged in the search for the fugitive.
Authorities have also sent a description of the suspect to the Interior Ministry of Ukraine in Kharkiv, Luhansk and Sumy regions. Border and customs controls have also been placed on high alert.
Russia’s Interior Ministry has set a big reward for information about the suspect.
Belgorod authorities earlier stated that the suspect had been detained by police. However, they then said that the report was published on the local administration’s website by mistake.
“Information on the detention of the suspect has not been confirmed, the Interior Ministry told us two minutes ago,” the city administration’s press service told Interfax.
The man is still at large. Currently, law enforcers are checking vehicles and housing estates in Belgorod and its outskirts, the regional Interior Ministry Department said.
His residence was earlier cordoned off by police. While searching the suspect’s apartment, investigators discovered an open safe used for storing weapons, but found it empty. No weapon was located in the gunman’s abandoned car either.
About 2pm local time (10:00 GMT) the gunman drove up to a shop in a dark BMW X5. Getting out of the car, he opened fire in the street and then inside the shop. He then managed to flee the scene in his vehicle.
As a result of the shooting rampage, four men aged between 28 and 45, and two schoolgirls were killed, police said. One of the girls, a 16-year-old, was taken to a local hospital, but died later in the ICU. She would turn 17 in just over two weeks - on May 9.
The Belgorod shooter allegedly used a Kalashnikov-based semi-automatic 7.62 caliber Saiga carbine, popular with hunters, reports Lifenews tabloid.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is being kept informed on the development of the situation, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
The city administration has declared April 23 and 24 days of mourning in Belgorod. The authorities will also cover all the funeral expenses and provide financial aid to the families of the victims.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry sent a team of psychologists to the city to help the grieving relatives to cope with the tragedy.
All churches in Belgorod region will hold memorial services for those killed in the shooting.
Meanwhile, the residents of the city – known to be very calm and quiet – remain shocked by Monday’s tragedy. Police presence was beefed up in Belgorod with sounds of sirens breaking the silence in now almost empty streets.
The suspect has a criminal record and has earlier been convicted four times, “mainly for thefts,” a source at regional Interior Ministry Told Interfax. It is alleged that he attempted to rob the arms shop.
Conflicting reports suggest there were two suspects in the shooting, with witnesses having seen them according to some media reports. The two may have reportedly been father and son.
According to law enforcers though, the suspect’s father, Aleksandr Pomazun, is actively cooperating with investigators.
“Initially, [the father] was put on a wanted list, as the BMW that Sergey Pomazun drove in to the shop was registered on Aleksandr’s name,” the regional Interior Ministry told Interfax. “But soon Aleksandr’s whereabouts were identified and he gave detailed evidence during questioning.”
Some media also stated that earlier the shooting suspect had undergone treatment at a psychiatric clinic. It was reported he had been sentenced to compulsory treatment by a court. However, the regional Investigative Committee did not confirm that information.
On the eve of the bloodshed, Pomazun managed to escape road police after he violated driving regulations by driving on the opposite side of the lane and ignoring a red traffic light at a junction, reported Life News tabloid.
Belgorod is a city with a population of over 420,000 people. It is located in the south of Russia’s European part, just 40km from the border with Ukraine.
An amateur video from the scene shows a killed person lying on the ground.
Locals say the shooting sparked panic among residents.
Elena Petrenko - a witness to the drama, who works in a close-by supermarket - says they heard the shooting, which they at first confused for fireworks before looking out of the window.
“There’s a school near [the shooting scene]. Children were running asunder and screaming,” she told RIA Novosti, adding that the area is generally very crowded with people as there are shops and a central market there.
“A woman with a baby carriage and a child in her arms tried to run into a shop, but the salesmen closed the door right in front of her,” the witness added.
“Employees of [a nearby] Sberbank office want to close the bank because of the incident. Connection is down. They are panicking,” @anastasiaskull posted on twitter.
Police have “cordoned off the area,” says user @Angelina1Lina11. “Damn! I’m only 2-3 minutes far from home. It freaks me out.”
“Everyone who lives in Belgorod, be careful,” warns @Lizaveta_31. “I was called up and told not to leave house. We’ve got shooting here.”
“The reports are conflicting! So don’t believe anything, just keep safe! Don’t risk your lives!” adds another local resident, @TranceR1.
Dozens of Belgorod residents came to the scene of the tragedy events bringing flowers and candles to commemorate the six victims. (Watch the video below posted on YouTube by Mir Belogorya)
Legally acquired hunting weapons are used only in a tiny fraction of crimes registered in Russia, according to the police. Mass public shootings are also relatively rare, however, there have been several such cases in the last three years.
According to Russia’s gun laws, Russian citizens can only buy smoothbore shotguns, gas pistols, or traumatic rubber-bullet revolvers. After five years of safe use of any of the above weapons one is allowed to purchase a rifle or carbine. However, merely having a gun license does not allow a citizen to carry a rifle – it is also obligatory to become a member of a hunting-and-fishing club.
In November 2012, a Moscow lawyer shot six of his coworkers to death in an office over a broken relationship with a female colleague. Before the rampage, he also posted an online ‘hate manifesto’ on his Facebook page. The killer obtained a firearms certificate illegally, and it allowed him to carry two sporting guns to the scene of the crime – one of which turned out to be a rifle with 200 rounds of ammunition.
Another case that sparked public outrage and enjoyed unprecedented media attention in Russia was a shooting spree and hostage drama in a Moscow supermarket staged by a district police department chief.
The ‘killer cop’ gunned down two people and endangered lives of 22 others, injuring seven in the massacre. He also used an illegally-kept pistol to shoot at the approaching police and told them “it would be more fun if I had a machine gun” after he was detained.
It remained unclear, whether the policeman got drunk while celebrating his birthday, or if he had some mental disorder, which the court eventually ruled out before sentencing the man to life in prison.
|
– Six people have been killed and one injured in a shooting at a weapons store in southwest Russia. A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were among those killed after a gunman arrived at the store in Belgorod by car, RT News reports. He reportedly attacked people outside with a semi-automatic weapon before entering the shop. He then fled in his car, RIA Novosti reports. The car has been found and officials reportedly know where the man is. Special forces are on their way, says an insider. The suspect is 31-year-old Sergey Pomazun, who reportedly has four previous convictions, mostly theft-related. Some reports pointed to a second suspect; the two may have been father and son. The suspect may have been trying to rob the shop.
|
Jon Bon Jovi performing in front of an image of the Dalai Lama in 2011 (YouTube Screenshot)
This post has been updated.
Later this month, the American rock band Bon Jovi was due to play its first shows in mainland China, with concerts planned in Beijing, Shanghai, and Macau. The band's namesake singer, Jon Bon Jovi, celebrated the news by recording a famous Chinese love song in Mandarin, a move that endeared him greatly to fans.
However, just a week before the first concert, promoter AEG Live Asia has announced that the dates in Beijing and Shanghai have been cancelled. The problem? According to a number of sources, the band's performance permits have been pulled. Bon Jovi appears to be the latest American act to run afoul with China's notoriously opaque Ministry of Culture, the body that approves or denies performances and releases by musicians and others.
One source who works in the Chinese music industry says that the permit problem appears to have stemmed from a 2009 music video that featured imagery from the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
The same source suggested that a video of a 2011 video that showed Bon Jovi performing in front of images of the Dalai Lama, along with other important figures, may also have caught the Ministry of Culture's attention.
Bon Jovi's management was unable to provide comment at the time of writing. In a statement, promoter AEG Live Asia, announced that the shows had been cancelled "due to unforeseen reasons" and that there would be a full refund to anyone who bought tickets. "We would like to apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment that this will cause," the statement says.
The news follows a summer of trouble for Western acts in China. In July, the Los Angeles-based band Maroon 5 canceled shows planned in Beijing and Shanghai in September. There was no official reason given for the change in Maroon 5's plans, but many speculated that permits had been pulled after Jesse Carmichael, the band's keyboard player, attended the Dalai Lama's birthday party in California and tweeted about it. China regards the Tibetan spiritual leader as a separatist due to his calls for autonomy for the Himalayan region.
Less than a month later, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift faced scrutiny after planning to sell merchandise featuring her initials and the name of her album,"1989," direct to fans in China. There was no political message intended by Swift's merchandize, but in China the events might be seen as reference to the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests of 1989, where hundreds if not thousands of civilians were killed when the Chinese army moved in to clear the square.
Western performers in China have sparked political controversies before: In 2008, Icelandic singer Bjork was criticized by the Ministry of Culture after she chanted pro-Tibet slogans at a concert in Shanghai. A number of musical acts, including American singer Bob Dylan and British band Oasis, subsequently had to cancel tours due to their perceived political leanings.
However, those involved in organizing the events say there seems to have been an unusually high number of events canceled at the last minute this year. “This put the fear into all of us,” Archie Hamilton, a festival promoter in Beijing, told the Associated Press in May. “Everyone’s afraid of getting it wrong and losing a lot of money."
For some Chinese music fans, the news that yet another act had cancelled their shows hit hard. "I booked flight tickets from Shenzhen to Shanghai in June [when tickets went on sale]," a fan complained on Weibo. "No words I've learned could express how crushed I am." Others complained, perhaps sarcastically, that it was the Dalai Lama's fault.
"Better go abroad if you want to go to concerts," one exasperated fan wrote. "Too risky in China."
Xu Yangjingjing contributed to this report.
More on WorldViews
Taylor Swift’s next feud might be with the Chinese government
How Justin Bieber inadvertently stepped into one of the world’s greatest geopolitical controversies ||||| Ageing rock band Bon Jovi has had the plug pulled on its first concerts in China after officials learnt that a picture of the Dalai Lama had featured in a video backdrop in a concert five years ago.
The abrupt cancellation of two concerts next week in Shanghai and Beijing — with tickets ranging from Rmb480 to Rmb3,880 ($75 to $600) — makes the enduring American rockers the latest musicians to fall foul of Chinese sensitivities.
The illustrious list includes Icelandic singer Björk and Maroon 5, which had its Shanghai concert cancelled earlier this year. That followed a band member’s tweet about meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader. Twitter is also banned in China.
The Communist party’s Culture Ministry acted after discovering that Bon Jovi once included a picture of the Dalai Lama in a video backdrop during a concert in Taiwan in 2010, according to people familiar with the matter.
China’s leaders revile the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as a “splittist” and a “wolf in monk’s robes”, and accuse him of advocating Tibetan independence from his base in neighbouring India.
The Chinese government regularly bans artists, academics and political leaders from going to China if they are seen as supportive of the Dalai Lama or the Tibetan independence movement.
Sino-British relations were put into the diplomatic deep freeze for more than a year after British Prime Minister David Cameron met the Dalai Lama in 2012.
On Tuesday concert organisers were desperately trying to convince officials to relent on the Bon Jovi concerts but the chances of Beijing overturning the cancellation order are slim, according to people familiar with the matter.
A representative from AEG, the promoter of the Bon Jovi concerts in China, said it was unable to comment on the cancellation order as it was waiting for more information.
In an interview with Chinese state media before the Culture Ministry cancellation order, frontman Jon Bon Jovi described the band’s music as being about “individual freedom and expression”. The band’s upcoming album is called Burning Bridges.
Tibet’s Panchen Lama ‘living normal life’, says China Beijing insists revered Buddhist figure detained aged 6 in 1995 ‘does not wish to disturbed’ Read more
The issue of Tibet is especially sensitive now as the ruling Communist party holds celebrations, amid extremely tight security, to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region, which came under direct Chinese control in the early 1950s.
As part of the celebrations, a top Chinese official vowed on Monday to “crack down on separatist forces” in Tibet and “fight a protracted battle” against the “Dalai clique”.
Björk has been banned from China for life after she chanted “Tibet, Tibet” during her song “Declare Independence” in a concert in Shanghai in 2008.
Other celebrities who are not welcome in China because of their real or perceived sympathy towards Tibet and the Dalai Lama include Richard Gere, Sharon Stone and Brad Pitt.
It was unclear whether concertgoers would receive refunds if the concerts do not go ahead.
|
– It seems the Dalai Lama has indirectly led to the disappointment of Chinese concertgoers once again. One week before Bon Jovi was to play a three-city tour of China—the band's first-ever shows in the country—two of the shows were mysteriously canceled, the Washington Post reports. This despite Jon Bon Jovi having already recorded a love song in Mandarin for the occasion. Concert promoter AEG Live Asia cited "unforeseen circumstances," but reports are putting the blame on China's Ministry of Culture, which pulled Bon Jovi's permits after seeing a video of the band performing in front of images of the Dalai Lama in 2010 or 2011, reports the Financial Times. However, a 2009 Bon Jovi music video featuring images from the Tiananmen Square protest could also have been problematic, per the Post. Concert organizers are trying to get the decision reversed, but that's unlikely, notes the Times. "No words I've learned could express how crushed I am," one disappointed Chinese Bon Jovi fan posted on social media, per the Post. Chinese Maroon 5 fans know the feeling: Adam Levine and Co. also lost their permits this summer, with a band member's tweet about attending the Dalai Lama's birthday party in California the likely culprit. Taylor Swift likewise ran into trouble for planning to sell merch featuring her initials and 1989 album title; Tiananmen Square took place in 1989, notes the Post.
|
Close Get email notifications on Kurt Erickson daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
Whenever Kurt Erickson posts new content, you'll get an email delivered to your inbox with a link.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. ||||| Emergency responders work at Table Rock Lake after a deadly boat accident in Branson, Mo., Thursday, July 19, 2018. A sheriff in Missouri said a tourist boat has apparently capsized on the lake, leaving... (Associated Press)
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — At least 13 people, including children, died after a boat carrying tourists capsized and sank on a lake during a thunderstorm in a country music mecca in southwest Missouri, authorities said Friday.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Pace said four people remain missing Friday after the Ride the Ducks boat sank on Table Rock Lake in Branson Thursday evening. He said 14 people survived, and that seven of them were injured.
Patrol divers found two more bodies early Friday, raising the death toll from 11 to 13, Pace said.
A spokeswoman for the Cox Medical Center Branson said four adults and three children arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident. Two adults are in critical condition and the others were treated for minor injuries, Brandei Clifton said.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said Thursday that stormy weather likely made the boat capsize. Another duck boat on the lake made it safely back to shore.
Steve Lindenberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Springfield, Missouri, said the agency issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Branson area Thursday evening. Lindenberg said winds reached speeds of more than 60 mph (100 kph).
"It's a warning telling people to take shelter," he said.
Rader said an off-duty sheriff's deputy working security for the boat company helped rescue people after the boat capsized. Dive teams from several law enforcement agencies assisted in the effort.
The National Transportation Safety Board said investigators will arrive on the scene Friday morning.
Suzanne Smagala with Ripley Entertainment, which owns Ride the Ducks in Branson, said the company was assisting authorities with the rescue effort. Smagala added this was the Branson tour's only accident in more than 40 years of operation.
Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists looking for entertainment ranging from theme parks to live music. An EF2 tornado that bounced through downtown Branson in 2012 destroyed dozens of buildings and injured about three dozen people, but killed no one.
Duck boats, which can travel on land and in water, have been involved in other deadly incidents in the past. Five college students were killed in 2015 in Seattle when a duck boat collided with a bus, and 13 people died in 1999 when a duck boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Safety advocates have sought improvements since the Arkansas deaths. Critics argued that part of the problem is that too many agencies regulate the boats with varying safety requirements.
Duck boats were originally used by the U.S. military in World War II to transport troops and supplies, and later were modified for use as sightseeing vehicles. ||||| Emergency responders work at Table Rock Lake after a deadly boat accident in Branson, Mo., Thursday, July 19, 2018. A sheriff in Missouri said a tourist boat has apparently capsized on the lake, leaving... (Associated Press)
Emergency responders work at Table Rock Lake after a deadly boat accident in Branson, Mo., Thursday, July 19, 2018. A sheriff in Missouri said a tourist boat has apparently capsized on the lake, leaving several people dead and several others hospitalized. (Nathan Papes/The Springfield News-Leader via... (Associated Press)
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — At least 11 people, including children, died after a boat carrying tourists on a Missouri lake capsized and sank Thursday night, the local sheriff said.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said five people remain missing and seven others were hospitalized after a Ride the Ducks boat sank on Table Rock Lake in Branson.
A spokeswoman for the Cox Medical Center Branson said four adults and three children arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident. Two adults were in critical condition and the others were treated for minor injuries, Brandei Clifton said.
Rader said the stormy weather was believed to be the cause of the capsizing. Another duck boat on the lake was able to safely make it back to shore.
Steve Lindenberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Springfield, Missouri, said the agency issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Branson area Thursday evening. Lindenberg said winds reached speeds of more than 60 mph.
"It's a warning telling people to take shelter," he said.
Rader said an off-duty sheriff's deputy working security for the boat company helped rescue people after the accident.
Dive teams from a number of law enforcement agencies were assisting in the effort, but the sheriff said the divers ended their search for the night.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter that investigators will arrive on the scene Friday morning.
Suzanne Smagala with Ripley Entertainment, which owns Ride the Ducks in Branson, said the company was assisting authorities with the rescue effort. Smagala added this was the Branson tour's first accident in more than 40 years of operation.
Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists looking for entertainment ranging from theme parks to live music.
Duck boats, known for their ability to travel on land and in water, have been involved in other deadly incidents in the past. They include one in 2015 in Seattle in which five college students were killed when a boat collided with a bus, and one in 1999 that left 13 people dead after the boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Safety advocates have sought improvements to the boats since the Arkansas incident. Critics argued that part of the problem is numerous agencies regulate the boats with varying safety requirements.
Duck boats were originally used by the U.S. military in World War II to transport troops and supplies, and later were modified for use as sightseeing vehicles. ||||| BRANSON, M0. — It had been a nice summer day here in the Ozarks, and the duck boat filled with sightseers was coasting through a calm Table Rock Lake. Then the wind began to pick up and the water started to churn as a powerful thunderstorm crashed through.
Rain pummeled the amphibious boat, waves tossed it like a toy, 65 mph gusts of wind hit it with spray, and water crashed over its bow. As the boat struggled toward the dock and safety for its 29 passengers and two-member crew, it was overwhelmed. Gripping video footage from the lake showed the boat seesawing and lurching in unrelenting waves. Before long, the small, flat-bottomed, half-boat half-bus capsized and sank, plunging to the bottom of the lake and killing more than half of the people aboard.
By the end of the day Friday, authorities had recovered the bodies of 17, a list of victims that crossed generations, ranging from 1 to 76 years old, many of them out-of-state visitors — including nine members of one family. Authorities said the captain survived, while the boat’s driver was killed. Branson Mayor Karen Best identified the driver as local resident Robert “Bob” Williams, 73.
Late Friday night, authorities released the names of the passengers who died. Four, including Williams, were from Missouri: William Asher, 69; Rosemarie Hamann, 68; Janice Bright, 63; and William Bright, 65. Two — Steve Smith, 53; and Lance Smith, 15 — were from Arkansas. One, Leslie Dennison, 64, was from Illinois.
The remaining nine were from Indiana, all from the Coleman family: Angela, 45; Belinda, 69; Ervin 76; Glenn, 40; Horace, 70; Reece, 9; Evan, 7; Maxwell, 2; and Arya, 1. Only two members of the family survived.
Duck boats are a popular tourist attraction in cities across the country, allowing passengers to sightsee by land and water in the same vehicle. The boat here, near this resort town in southwest Missouri, had been on a regular tour around Table Rock. Though Table Rock Lake is normally placid, some authorities and experts said Friday that it is unclear why operators did not heed forecasts and warnings that the potentially violent storm was approaching.
[The violent storm behind the duck boat tragedy was well-predicted, not ‘out of nowhere’]
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader told reporters that he believed the boat — which he said was one of two duck boats still on the lake during the storm — sank because of the weather. When asked Friday whether he thought operator or design error played a role in the tragedy, Rader declined to answer. The second boat made it back to the dock safely.
Jim Pattison Jr., president of Ripley Entertainment, which bought the duck boat operation in 2017, said in an interview Friday that it appeared the storm came on suddenly on a lake that normally is “very, very flat,” taking the crew by surprise. He said the boat captain has 16 years’ experience.
“We’re absolutely devastated,” Pattison said. “Our hearts just really go out to everybody, and it’s just something that is very sad.”
Suzanne Smagala, a spokeswoman for Ripley Entertainment, said that the company later became aware of the severe weather alert that had been issued before the storm and that boat captains receive weather alerts by email or text message. “However, we don’t know if the captain received it” on Thursday night, she said.
“When the weather picked up, the captain turned it around,” she added. The boat was heading toward the shore when it capsized.
Though tourists might have known generally that thunderstorms were expected sometime Thursday, meteorologists had been tracking the storm for hours, and their forecasts offered considerable lead time. The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch at 11:20 a.m., nearly eight hours before the storm struck, and at that time, it predicted “widespread damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts to 75 mph possible.”
The Weather Service then issued a severe thunderstorm warning — indicating a violent storm was imminent — at 6:32 p.m., about 30 minutes before police were called about the boat capsizing.
Marshall Shepherd, a past president of the American Meteorological Society and a professor at the University of Georgia, tweeted that the “tragedy was completely preventable.”
“This is not 1901,” he wrote. “We have satellites, advanced radars, good weather models, all short-term weather information showed that storms approaching well before the boat was on the water.”
Authorities said they expected to recover the sunken boat late Friday from its resting place in 80 feet of water. Rader said the boat went down in about 40 feet of water but rolled to a deeper point and ended up on its wheels.
“It’s going to take time to know the details of everything that occurred,” Gov. Mike Parson (R) said at a news briefing Friday, noting that the sprawling investigation had just begun. “Until that investigation is completed, I don’t think it’s my place or anyone’s place to speculate all the things that could have happened or why they happened.”
The duck boat that sank Thursday was owned by Ride the Ducks Branson, a tourism company that takes people on tours of the Ozarks by land and water using the amphibious vehicles. Ride the Ducks is a national duck tour operator with locations across the United States, and Ripley’s purchase of the Branson company last year added to its collection of more than 100 entertainment venues. Those include the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! franchise and the Guinness World Records Attractions, as well as mazes, haunted houses, traveling shows and other attractions across the United States and 10 other countries worldwide.
Pattison told The Post on Friday that the company bought Ride the Ducks Branson — to date, Ripley’s only duck boat outfit — in part because Ripley already had a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium in Branson.
A press release announcing the purchase described the tour as a 70-minute, guided amphibious tour that takes passengers through the Ozarks. At the time of the announcement, the company operated 22 duck vehicles from March to November. The announcement has since been removed from Ripley’s website.
Duck boats were originally developed as amphibious military vehicles used in beach landings. The duck boat tours in Branson include a trip up a nearby mountain to look at decades-old military equipment.
While some tourism duck boats were converted from the Army’s World War II-era “DUKW” boats, those used by Ride the Ducks Branson were replicas, the company said, updated with modern safety equipment.
Smagala said the boat tragedy was the first accident involving the duck boats in Branson. The company has been operating in the city for 40 years and is “a staple of Branson,” Smagala said.
Federal investigators also headed to the scene to join state and local officials, with the National Transportation Safety Board dispatching a “Go Team” to the lake to help probe the latest disaster involving duck boats, which have been involved in several fatal accidents in water and on land. Thirteen people died in 1999 when a duck boat took on water and sank while touring Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark. The NTSB found that when the boat was converted for tourism, it was not given enough built-in buoyancy to stay afloat if flooded. Just seven minutes after that boat entered the lake, it sank in 60 feet of water.
In 2015, a Ride the Ducks boat crashed into a charter bus on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle; five college students were killed and dozens of other people injured. Ride the Ducks International agreed the following year to pay $1 million for violating federal safety regulations, according to the Seattle Times.
Flowers and a note rest on a car believed to belong to a victim of the duck boat accident in Branson, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Two passengers on a duck boat were killed in 2010 near Philadelphia when a barge collided with the smaller vessel. The NTSB determined that the accident — which caused the duck boat to sink — occurred because the person guiding the barge was focused on his cellphone, although federal investigators also criticized the duck boat’s operator, Ride the Ducks, for actions they said contributed to the accident.
Some of the deadly accidents show dangers that come with some versions of the hybrid vessels. Often the boats are covered by thick canopies that shield riders from the sun and rain, but can create an obstacle to safety in emergencies, trapping passengers inside as the vessels sink.
Four of the passengers who died on the Miss Majestic in 1999 in Arkansas were pinned against the underside of the canopy.
“Contributing to the high loss of life was a continuous canopy roof that entrapped passengers within the sinking vehicle,” an NTSB report on the incident said.
The Coast Guard issued nationwide standards for inspections of the vehicles in December 2000, which still cover the industry. The NTSB recommended in 2002 that built-in flotation devices or other means be added to the retrofitted military boats to make sure the vessels “remain afloat and upright.”
The duck boats in Branson are popular with tourists and locals alike, said Best, the mayor. She said she could not recall previous problems with the two companies that have operated the boats in the 16 years she has lived in Branson.
“The duck boats are such a great asset to our community,” she said. “As a local, I’ve ridden in them I can’t tell you how many times.”
1 of 26 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × The scene after a duck boat sinks, killing 17 during a storm near Branson, Mo. View Photos The boat was touring Table Rock Lake when a thunderstorm swept in. Authorities said 31 people were on board. Caption The boat was touring Table Rock Lake when a thunderstorm swept in. Authorities said 31 people were on board. Trent Behr Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
Many tourists riding similar boats in the District on Friday were undeterred by news of the fatal event in Missouri, viewing it as an isolated occurrence.
As a fleet of boats operated by DC Ducks filed into Union Station on Friday afternoon, the Valdonedo family disembarked with wide smiles. The vacationers from Panama planned to stay in the nation’s capital for a week, and they said they had no intention of changing their plans to ride the duck boat.
“One random accident doesn’t mean they’re a bad company,” said Gabby Valdonedo, 25. “It’s a good way to see the city.”
Her sister, Monique Valdonedo, 19, added that duck boats are “way more fun than going down the Metro.”
But other tourists expressed some concern about the amphibious tours. Tiffany Li, 19, was visiting Washington with a friend on Friday and considered taking a DC Duck tour to pass time before their train back to New York.
“Clearly it’s a safety issue,” said Kume. “The boats don’t seem that stable, but tourists don’t know any better. They just pay to have fun.”
Li compared the danger to riding a roller coaster at an amusement park. “You don’t want to question things when you’re having a good time, so you just don’t think about it,” she said.
Ultimately, they decided against taking the tour, though Li said the decision was based more on money than safety.
Branson, near the Arkansas border, is a destination for country and live-music fans, with many acts covering Elvis, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton standards. Its main boulevard includes Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Dinner Attraction, and Silver Dollar City, an 1800s-themed amusement park. Best, who is in her second term in office, said the city has about 10,000 residents and welcomes more than 8 million visitors yearly; July is one of its busiest months.
Best and her staff prepared Branson City Hall as a refuge for those waiting for news of their loved ones, and the city brought in certified grief counselors. Best said she saw one of the grief counselors take wet socks from a young man and dry them with the bathroom hand drier. “That was such a small thing, but for that young man, having dry socks was such an improvement from being cold and wet,” she said. “Little things like that meant a lot to the families.”
Seven passengers were injured, and two of those were in serious condition.
Williams, the driver of the boat, lived in Branson with his wife of 30 years. He was described as having loved his role promoting Branson.
“Every time you saw him he was smiling,” Best said. “He was a great guy. He loved Branson.”
Victor Richardson, a grandson of Williams’s, said in a telephone interview that “he was the calmest spirit you could ever meet.”
Police were called about the duck boat sinking shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, officials said. While dive teams headed to the scene, people already there began to help, Rader said. Among those helping were one of his deputies, who was off-duty and providing security on the Branson Belle, a showboat used for lake tours.
The weather had been nice until shortly before the disaster, Allison Lester, who saw what happened from a nearby boat, said in a television interview.
“The wind really picked up bad, and debris was flying everywhere, and just the waves were really rough,” Lester told “Good Morning America” on Friday. “It was just suddenly and out of nowhere.”
In video captured by onlookers from the lake, two duck boats can be seen plunging up and down in choppy waves and high spray. One boat lags behind the other, nose-diving into the water.
“Oh my gosh, oh no,” a woman is heard saying in the background of the video. “Somebody needs to help them.”
Crazy storm... 17 fatalities on Table Rock Lake. Lakesideresort.com #tablerock #lovetablerock #tablerocklake #branson Posted by Lakeside Resort & Restaurant on Table Rock Lake on Thursday, July 19, 2018
Berman, Chiu and Wax reported from Washington. Abigail Hauslohner, Michael Laris, Luz Lazo, Deanna Paul, Julie Tate, Jason Samenow, Samantha Schmidt and Rachel Siegel in Washington contributed to this report. Ristau is a freelance journalist based in Tulsa.
|
– Severe weather is being blamed for what could be America's deadliest "duck boat" disaster. Authorities in Branson, Missouri, have confirmed that at least 13 people, including children, died Thursday night when an amphibious boat carrying tourists capsized and sank in Table Rock Lake. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Pace said Friday that four people remain missing, reports the AP. He added that 14 people survived, and that seven of them were injured. Stone County Sheriff Douglas Rader said the boat apparently sank due to intense winds and thunderstorms in the area, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Rader said some of the 31 people on the boat were rescued by an off-duty deputy who was in the area. National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Lindenberg says a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the area Thursday evening, the AP reports. Eyewitness video shows the boat being struck by huge waves. "Duck boats," originally used by the military in World War II, have been involved in several other deadly accidents nationwide, including a sinking in Arkansas that killed 13 people in 1999, though a Ride the Ducks spokeswoman says this is the first accident in more than 40 years of operation in Branson. "I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the captain did his best," Roger Braillier, captain of another duck boat, tells the Washington Post. "All of our hearts are completely broken right now."
|
We already know Walmart is no friend to the gays, but do they have to actively peddle ex-gay therapy to shoppers?
Though I’ve yet to spot anyone on People Of Walmart snapping it up, the book Chased by an Elephant, the Gospel Truth about Today’s Stampeding Sexuality is available for purchase at over 100 Walmart stores. Authored by Janice Barrett Graham (better known as the wife of Stephen Graham, president of the “LDS-oriented” group Standard of Liberty, which “exists to raise awareness of radical sexual movements overrunning America’s Christian-moral-cultural life”), the book aims to “shed the clear light of truth on today’s dark and tangled ideas about male and female, proper gender roles, the law of chastity, and the God-given sexual appetite.”
It also touches upon Stephen and Janice’s son Andrew — a proud ex-gay who’s written his own tome — described in the book as securing “his subsequent deliverance and healing through family support, expert professional counseling, truth, and repentance through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”
It’s described as a “MUST READ” by the S.A. Lifeline Foundation (Mission: “Delivering a message of hope that recovery from pornography addiction is possible”), which is where I go for all my children’s book recommendations. ||||| Walmart Carrying Anti-Gay Book for Children
A children’s book written by the wife of anti-gay Standard of Liberty president Stephen Graham is being carried by over 100 Walmart stores. Chased by an Elephant, the Gospel Truth about Today’s Stampeding Sexuality by Janice Barrett Graham was written to “help shed the clear light of truth on today’s dark and tangled ideas about male and female, proper gender roles, the law of chastity, and the God-given sexual appetite,” according to Janice Graham in the book’s introduction.
“The number of our young people involved in sexual sins has greatly increased in recent years. Some of the most stalwart-seeming youth find themselves involved in pornography, fornication, promiscuity, homosexuality, and the like,” Janice continued.
According to the Standards of Liberty Web site, the book is available at 104 Walmart stores in the Intermountain West, the Brigham Young University bookstore, and through its sister sites.
“This charming, unique, and important book is a must-read for leaders and parents to use as they see fit that stunningly and resoundingly echos the truths and warnings presented in President Boyd K. Packer’s conference talk this past Sunday,” the announcement said. “For the sake of our children and youth, we can no longer afford to be silent on this topic. Given the licentious world around them, they need to be purposely taught the correct information and attitudes concerning human sexuality and God’s law of chastity.”
The Grahams claim that their son, Andrew, successfully changed his sexual orientation and is now a happily married man.
Andrew Graham wrote the book, Captain of My Soul, saying that he was “lured into same gender internet pornography during his high school years, and recruited into cursory homosexual experimentation with older men while at Brigham Young University.”
Andrew says he is shedding light on the “deceitful and predatory nature of the ‘gay’ lifestyle.”
The book’s introduction says Andrew’s “story ends happily with his subsequent deliverance and healing through family support, expert professional counseling, truth, and repentance through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Included is a lengthy introduction by expert on overcoming homosexuality.”
|
– Wal-Mart is selling a book for kids and parents that makes the case that homosexuals can overcome their "sin" and revert to heterosexuality, Q Salt Lake reports. Chased by an Elephant, the Gospel Truth about Today’s Stampeding Sexuality is by Janice Barrett Graham—the wife of Stephen Graham, who leads the Standard of Liberty group and its philosophy of "pray the gay away." Graham says Chasing an Elephant's goal is to "shed the clear light of truth on today’s dark and tangled ideas about male and female, proper gender roles, the law of chastity, and the God-given sexual appetite." It includes the story of her own son, who claims to have turned from gay to straight after seeing the error of his ways. The book is hardly a bestseller, and for the folks over at Queerty, the fact that Wal-Mart is lending its titanic reach to an anti-gay book is just another example of the big-box store's bias.
|
President Barack Obama condemned the violence in Bahrain and urged the country's king in a phone call Friday night to show restraint after a series of bloody protests.
Bahraini volunteers donate blood at a hospital in Manama, Bahrain, Friday, Feb. 18, 2011. Soldiers fired tear gas and shot heavy weapons into the air as thousands of protest marchers defied a government... (Associated Press)
An unidentified Bahraini with blood from the injured stands in front of army tanks near the Pearl roundabout Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Manama, Bahrain. Soldiers fired tear gas and shot heavy weapons into... (Associated Press)
Bahraini Shiite anti-government protesters chant anti-government slogans as they gather inside a building in Manama, Bahrain, Friday, Feb. 18, 2011. Soldiers confronted some thousands of protest marchers... (Associated Press)
Paramedics treat injured Bahraini protesters near the Pearl roundabout Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Manama, Bahrain. Soldiers fired tear gas and shot heavy weapons into the air as thousands of protest marchers... (Associated Press)
Obama discussed the situation with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, asking the king to hold those responsible for the violence accountable.
Obama says Bahrain must respect the "universal rights" of its people and embrace "meaningful reform."
Security forces opened fire on Bahraini protesters for a second straight day, wounding at least 50 people as thousands defied the government and marched in an uprising that sought to break the political grip of the Gulf nation's leaders.
Earlier in the day, Obama cited reports of violence in response to protests in Bahrain, Libya and Yemen and called on the governments of those countries to show restraint.
Obama said the governments of the three countries should respect the rights of citizens demonstrating peacefully in the wake of Egypt's uprising. He expressed condolences to the families of those killed.
The president's statement was read aloud by White House press secretary Jay Carney to reporters traveling with the president on Air Force One from California to Oregon. ||||| MANAMA, BAHRAIN - Anti-government protesters streamed back into Bahrain's Pearl Square roundabout Saturday to continue their push for political reforms after tanks and armored personnel carriers rumbled out of the capital following an order by the crown prince for the military to withdraw.
Police at first fired tear gas at the protesters as they approached the site they were forcibly expelled from just three days ago, witnesses said, but then security forces pulled back to allow the demonstrators to reach the roundabout, located in the financial district of the capital, Manama.
Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, who has been assigned to try to broker a dialogue with the country's mostly Shiite-led opposition, appears to hope that by halting the heavy-handed tactics employed by security services over the past few days, he can create an opening for discussion of the protesters' grievances.
In a statement released Saturday, the crown prince appealed to all political factions to join hands and "begin a new phase" in which "we will discuss all our issues sincerely and honestly."
The statement represented a "180-degree change of policy," said Jassim Hussain, a member of the leading Shiite political party, al-Wefaq, which withdrew its 18 members from the 40-seat parliament after a deadly crackdown on demonstrators Thursday.
The party has still not decided whether to sit down with the crown prince. "Al-Wefaq made a decree that they need the right environment before any serious dialogue can start. I'm sure this kind of environment will help," Hussain said. But he added, referring to the broader opposition movement: "We still have people who are not in the mood to talk."
The disunity within the opposition over its ultimate goals and the protesters' passionate determination to continue demonstrating have left the outcome of this uprising uncertain and even the short-term outlook hard to predict.
The Bahraini military's retreat came after a violent turn of events in the Middle East on Friday, as U.S.-allied governments in Yemen and Bahrain opened fire on their citizens, prompting Britain and France to announce a halt in arms sales.
The use of live ammunition against pro-democracy demonstrators also triggered sharp criticism from President Obama, who called on authorities in Yemen, Bahrain and Libya to show restraint and "respect the rights of their people." Obama later spoke to the Bahraini king Friday night and urged that "those responsible for the violence" be held accountable.
Clashes erupted across the region Friday, from Jordan to Djibouti. An eighth straight day of violence in Yemen claimed at least one life in the southern city of Aden, where police fired gunshots to break up a crowd. In Libya, the death toll was reported to be in the dozens after four days of clashes in the coastal city of Benghazi, where security forces have also fired on protesters.
But the response from security forces was most heavy-handed in tiny Bahrain, home to the U.S. 5th Fleet, where soldiers used armored personnel carriers and machine guns to fire on protesters, wounding dozens, at least four of them critically.
Bahrain's king tried to restore calm by appointing his son, the crown prince, to lead a dialogue with anti-government demonstrators, most of them Shiite Muslims, who are demanding greater representation and other democratic reforms in a country where most power is wielded by the Sunni minority.
|
– Bahrain protesters reclaimed their symbolic Pearl Square today, after the nation's leaders ordered the military to withdraw in a key concession that came just a day after a brutal crackdown that injured at least 50 and drew a sharp condemnation from President Obama. Members of the opposition chanted, "We are victorious," as they poured into the square carrying flags and flowers. Bahrain's king is signaling that he's open to talks with the opposition, reports the Washington Post, appointing his son, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa, as point man. The crown prince appeared briefly on state TV, reports the AP, to urge talks and calm.
|
- A local college graduate is gaining popularity all over social media.
Daivon Reeder's photo has gone viral, but, it's his caption - that's catching everyone's attention.
"I was just sitting around and thinking about the things I went through to get here and to graduate," said Reeder. "That one thing stood out to me."
Daivon Reeder is getting ready to graduate from Eastern Michigan University with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Military Science, but if he listened to his stepfather he may not be here today.
"I kind of heard that and I was like ok, I'll show you," Reeder said.
As graduation day neared, Reeder tweeted - "My stepdad told me it was pointless to go to orientation I wasn't going to graduate anyway. 4 years later he is in jail and I am well..."
"I looked at the picture and the emoji of me laughing I thought that was an ironic situation - we are in two different situations in our lives," Reeder said. "Look what you said and look where you are at."
IN PHOTOS: Click here for a photo gallery. of Daivon Reeder.
His tweet has now gone viral - retweeted and shared thousands of times - with people congratulating Reeder for proving his stepdad wrong.
"I literally tweeted, I went to sleep, my phone was dead," he said. "I charged it and my phone went boom boom boom. I was like, Oh my gosh, what's going on. It's exciting, it really is."
But the 22-year-old from Detroit who is the first in his family to go to college, faced plenty of obstacles along the way.
"I came here on a scholarship," he said. "I ended up losing it, and then I had to go to basic training for the Army and I came back to work hard to get my scholarship back.
"I had family problems, I'm the oldest of all my brothers and sisters so I had to take care of my brothers and sisters back home. And I am a black male student in a predominately white university so that's a struggle in itself."
Reeder, who works two jobs to support his family, says he didn't have a father figure growing up. Instead of being angry, he and nine students formed an organization to mentor young boys, teach them what he had to learn the hard way.
"Living our values - live, learn, teach, knowing I was living life making mistakes," he said. "But I was learning from them able to teach someone else."
Reeder says he beat the statistics.
On Saturday, donning his cap and gown Reeder will walk with his entire EMU class and officially accept his diploma.
Reeder may be making headlines now - but it's clear his story is far from over.
"Just because somebody says you can't do something seems hard or it's not the norm, or it’s something your family is not used to doing, you can be the change," he said. "You can be the difference." ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| This collaborative project is an extension of the 2016 End of Term project, intended to document the federal government's web presence by archiving government websites and data. As part of this preservation effort, URLs supplied from partner institutions, as well as nominated by the public, will be crawled regularly to provide an on-going view of federal agencies' web and social media presence. Key partners on this effort are the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative and the Data Refuge project. This collection is a continuation of the 2016 End of Term web archiving and, as such, is deduplicated against that collection. It allows for the ongoing archiving of publicly nominated websites beyond the "official" end of the End of Term project.
Interested members of the public, particularly government information specialists, are invited to submit selected web sites to be included in the collection using the public nomination tool.
For more information on partner institutions, web crawling and past End of Term projects, please visit the End of Term Archive.
|
– In a moment of reflection on the eve of graduating from Eastern Michigan University, student Daivon Reeder struck a chord on social media with a tweet that has since gone viral. Alongside a photo in his cap and gown, Reeder wrote Thursday: "My step dad told me it was pointless to go to orientation, I wasn't going to graduate.....4 years later he in jail & I'm well....," followed by a line of laughing emojis. Hours later, the tweet began trending in Detroit, catching the attention of Twitter as well as the media. Local Detroit station WDIV 4 featured a segment on Reeder, who graduated Saturday with a degree in criminal justice and a minor in military science. He told the station that after losing his academic scholarship, those words pushed him even harder to succeed. "[I have] the average, typical, inner-city Detroit boy story," Reeder, 22, says. "I grew up constantly moving houses." The eldest of four, Reeder said his mother struggled to make ends meet for his family, and his stepfather was not always in the picture. After his stepdad made the comment about graduating, "I kind of heard that and I was like OK, I'll show you," Reeder tells Fox 8. "I'm just a first generation college kid from Detroit trying to beat the odds," he tells BuzzFeed News. "I guess people can relate to a humble beginning." The tweet had more than 600,000 likes and 148,000 retweets as of Monday afternoon. (This tweet made waves for a different reason.)
|
So my brother comes home the other day," Taylor Swift says, "and he goes, 'Oh, my God – I just saw a guy walking down the street with a cat on his head.'"
As an ardent fan of ready-made metaphors, as well as of cats, Swift was excited by this. "My first reaction was, 'Did you take a picture?'" she says. "And then I thought about it. Half of my brain was going, 'We should be able to take a picture if we want to. That guy is asking for it – he's got a cat on his head!' But the other half was going, 'What if he just wants to walk around with a cat on his head, and not have his picture taken all day?'"
Related PHOTOS: The Taylor Swift Guide to 1989: Breakers Gonna Break, Fakers Gonna Fake From the Bangles to Billy Joel, the boldest, weirdest genre-crossing jams from Taylor's inspirational year
For Swift – four-time multiplatinum-album-maker, seven-time Grammy winner and billion-time gossip-blog subject – being famous is a lot like walking around with a cat on your head. "I can have issues with it," she says. "But at the end of the day, I can't be ungrateful, because I chose this. But sometimes – sometimes – you don't want to have a camera pointed at you. Sometimes it would be nice if someone just said, 'Hey, I think it's really cool that you have that cat on your head. I think that's interesting.'"
It's 1300 hours in the San Fernando Valley, and Project Sparrow is in full effect. In a nondescript parking lot at a soundstage in Van Nuys, California, a Blackwater-esque platoon of personal-security professionals stands at the ready. Every doorway and stairwell is guarded, and every window is blacked out. The occasion: a Taylor Swift video shoot.
Theo Wenner
In 2014, a Swift shoot requires the kind of operational secrecy and logistical complexity rarely seen outside of a SEAL raid. Before Project Sparrow – the code name chosen by the video's director, Mark Romanek – there was Project Cardinal, a multiweek mission where Swift's social-media team scoured the Web for a representative group of fans to appear in the video. When one girl posted a photo of her invitation, she was quickly uninvited, then presumably renditioned to whatever CIA black site holds Swift's enemies. (Jack Antonoff, of Bleachers and fun., who has recently co-written several songs with Swift, says that "just having her songs on my hard drive makes me feel like I have Russian secrets or something. It's terrifying.")
At the moment, Swift is in a makeup chair in her dressing room, getting false eyelashes applied. She's wearing a black miniskirt, black tights and a fuzzy pink top with a cartoon drawing of a cat, and her wavy blond hair is pinned back tight. She's five feet 10, but she looks much taller, even with her lanky legs wrapped underneath her like a pretzel twist. "I need lunch like, whoa," Swift says, and an assistant tells her there's a sushi order happening. "Oooh," she purrs. "Get a boatload."
See Taylor Swift like you never have before in behind-the-scenes footage from Theo Wenner's cover shoot here:
Please enable Javascript to watch this video
The video is for Swift's soon-to-be-Number One single, "Shake It Off," which she'll perform for the first time at the VMAs later this summer, but which at this point only a handful of people outside the room even know exists. There are worries about spies and recording devices. "Don't even get me started on wiretaps," Swift says seriously. "It's not a good thing for me to talk about socially. I freak out." As for who might bug a Van Nuys production office on the off chance that Swift is inside: "The janitor," she says, as if naming one candidate among hundreds. "The janitor who's being paid by TMZ. This is gonna sound like I'm a crazy person – but we don't even know. I have to stop myself from thinking about how many aspects of technology I don't understand."
Swift pauses, as if weighing just how paranoid she's comfortable with sounding. Then she plows ahead. "Like speakers," she says. "Speakers put sound out . . . so can't they take sound in? Or" – she holds up her cellphone – "they can turn this on, right? I'm just saying. We don't even know."
Swift says she never feels completely safe, especially when it comes to her privacy. "There's someone whose entire job it is to figure out things that I don't want the world to see," she says. "They look at your career, they look at what you prioritize, and they try to figure out what would be the most revealing or hurtful. Like, I don't take my clothes off in pictures or anything – I'm very private about that. So it scares me how valuable it would be to get a video of me changing. It's sad to have to look for cameras in dressing rooms and bathrooms. I don't walk around naked with my windows open, because there's a value on that."
And yet, despite the DEFCON-3 level of security, in a lot of ways Swift has never felt more free. She has a new album out in October, 1989, that she's insanely excited about, because it signals her transition from a country star who likes pop to a straight-up pop star. She recently bought a luxe apartment in New York. And despite what you may have read in the gossip press, Swift hasn't been involved with a man in quite some time. She's not dating. She's not canoodling. She's not even sexting. Taylor Swift is single and loving it.
"I really like my life right now," she says. "I have friends around me all the time. I've started painting more. I've been working out a lot. I've started to really take pride in being strong. I love the album I made. I love that I moved to New York. So in terms of being happy, I've never been closer to that." Which is not necessarily the same as being happy.
There's one way into Swift's new apartment building, and much of the time it's guarded by a former NYPD officer named Jimmy, who unlocks the door for residents and visitors alike. This may be a drag for neighbors like Steven Soderbergh and Orlando Bloom, who have dropped seven figures to live at one of Tribeca's toniest addresses, but it's an unavoidable fact of life when the 24-year-old on the top floor is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. "Most of the neighbors know what's what by now," Jimmy says, locking the door behind him. Today is a good day for Jimmy, because the elevator is working again after a brief period of being broken. "It's six floors up," he says, frowning. "And we don't travel light, if you know what I mean." I tell him I think I do know what he means, and Jimmy laughs. "The shoes alone!"
Related PHOTOS: Teardrops on Her Guitar: Taylor Swift's 10 Countriest Songs Though she may "Shake It Off" these days, Taylor Swift's first seven years always kept a foot in Nashville
Up in the penthouse, a barefoot Swift answers the door in a periwinkle-blue sundress: "Welcome to my apartment!" In the kitchen there's an assortment of pastries from a hip downtown spot called the Smile ("They have these banana-quinoa muffins that I'm obsessed with"), and in the refrigerator are a surprising number of varieties of sparkling water. ("I have black cherry, pomegranate, blueberry, strawberry, key lime, tangerine lime . . .")
Swift shuts the fridge. "Do you want a tour?" She breezes into the living room, pointing out the fish tank filled with vintage baseballs ("I was like, 'That's so cool, they're so old!'") and some enormous scented candles ("I was like, 'That's so cool, they're so big!'"). "There's my piano," she says. "Here's my pool table that always has cat hair on it. That's my skylight." She bumps into a doorway. "That's a door that I walk into."
Theo Wenner
Swift bought this apartment about six months ago, for a reported $15 million. (Swift also bought the unit across the hall, for about $5 million; she uses it to house her security team.) It took a lot of work just to see it: It belonged to the director Peter Jackson, who had an actor friend crashing here, so the brokers didn't want to bother him much. "Sir Ian McKellen," Swift says seriously. "I think once you're Gandalf, you can always just stay in Peter Jackson's house."
Swift leads the way into one of her four guest bedrooms. "This is where Karlie usually stays," she says – meaning supermodel Karlie Kloss, one of her new BFFs, whom she met nine months ago at the Victoria's Secret fashion show. There's a basket of Kloss's favorite Whole Foods treats next to the bed, and multiple photos of her on the walls. Against another wall, there's a rack full of white nightgowns. "This is a thing me and Lena have," says Swift – meaning Lena Dunham, another recent friend. "We wear them during the day and look like pioneer women, fresh off the Oregon Trail."
Swift met Dunham in 2012, after she watched Girls and became obsessed. She went on Twitter to follow Dunham, and coincidentally saw that Dunham had just tweeted admiringly about Swift. "I was really scared she was being ironic, but I decided to follow her anyway, just in case. Within five minutes I had a direct message from her. Let me see if I still have it." She spends a minute scrolling through her phone. "I still have it! She said, 'I am so excited about the prospect of being friends with you that I added the adjective best in front of it.' 'The idea that you like my show is so thrilling, and I can't wait to lavish you with praise in person.'"
As a recent New York transplant in her mid-twenties, Swift says Girls is like her Sex and the City. "I could label all my girlfriends as Shoshannas, Jessas, Marnies or Hannahs," she says. And which would she be? "I've thought about this a lot," she says. A pause. "I'm Shoshanna."
She seems resigned to this. "Shoshanna gets excited about things, she's really girly. And when she was in a relationship that was very comfortable, she made the decision to get out and go experience new things on her own. And now she's becoming more sure of herself and taking life head-on, in a way that I can relate to. Even though I've never accidentally smoked crack at a warehouse party and run pantsless through Brooklyn." (Dunham, meanwhile, thinks Swift is more like "Hannah, minus the horrid sexual behavior. Or Marnie, if she wasn't an asshole.")
Swift leads the way upstairs to her bedroom. Asleep on her massive four-poster bed is a tiny white ball of fur. "Olivia!" Swift says, scooping her up. It's her two-month old kitten, named after Olivia Benson, from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. "Hear how loud she's purring? She's a stage-five clinger, for sure." Downstairs somewhere is her other cat, Meredith, named after Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy. "Strong, complex, independent women," Swift says. "That's the theme."
Behind the cover story: Josh Eells on what it's really like spending time with Taylor:
She steps onto her patio and climbs the staircase up to the roof deck. "Careful," she says. "It's construction central." A forest of skyscrapers surrounds her; the Freedom Tower looks close enough to touch. Swift gestures to a set of planters: "Those are hydrangeas, and over there are the roses and basil and rosemary." Heading back downstairs, she passes an antique lamp with the inscription CALADIUM SEGUINUM on it. Swift took Latin in high school, but says she isn't sure what it means. (Later, I look it up. It turns out it's a homeopathic remedy for male impotence.)
For years, Swift was terrified to move to New York. "I was intimidated by it for so long," she says. But now that she's here, she loves it. She can walk down the street to get dinner, or go furniture shopping with friends in Brooklyn. Even the paparazzi are better, she says. "They don't provoke me, or ask weird questions. And a lot of them are long-lensing it – which, if you have to have paparazzi in your life, is such a better way." She likes it so much she's trying to recruit friends to move here – like her buddy Selena Gomez. "Project Selena," Swift says. "I think I can do it."
Back in the living room, Swift settles into the couch with a muffin and starts talking about her Fourth of July. She invited a bunch of friends up to Rhode Island, where she has a house in a fancy community called Watch Hill. It was raining, and the day looked like a bust, until her friend Jaime King's husband came up with the idea to buy eight Slip 'N Slides and lay them end to end like some unholy Slip 'N Slide centipede. Even with the rain, the slides still weren't slippery enough, so they got a bunch of olive oil and poured it all over themselves. ("There was a dangerous level of slipperiness," Swift says.) Later they all went to the beach, which is normally full of Swift-gawkers ("Hotel fees have doubled in the year we've been there," Swift says), but was empty that day because of the rain. That night they cooked a huge feast, with Swift assigning everyone jobs ("You make salad dressing! You chop apples for apple pie!"), and afterward they played Celebrity, the game where everyone puts a bunch of famous names in a hat and takes turns drawing one and trying to make their team guess. The game got a little heated, because one team had a lot more famous people on it, which gave them what some guests thought was an unfair advantage. (Swift: "It was like, 'You dated him! 2010!'") But in the end, everyone was appeased, and the game went on as planned. And did Swift's team win? She smiles. "Of course we won."
Swift bought the Rhode Island house in April 2013, for a reported $17 million. The old summer estate of a Standard Oil heiress, it boasts water views in every room and a seagull Swift named George Washington that swims in her pool. Swift calls it her "dream house," but it's also been the source of some of her first truly negative press. The trouble started when she redid her sea wall, which she says hadn't been updated since the house was built in 1929. She hired a team of engineers, who spent all winter rebuilding it; she thought she was doing something nice, until some locals got angry and accused her of ruining the beach. (TMZ: "Taylor Swift Neighbors Pissed: You're Screwing With Our Coastline!!")
It wasn't long before the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council stepped in to say that Swift hadn't done anything wrong. Still, for Swift, the wall became sort of a metaphor for haters in general. "There will always be people who grumble about things," she says. "But when they saw what it looked like when it was finished – it looked so much nicer! The other wall had all this graffiti on it – it looked old, and not in a good way. But it was a problem, so I fixed it. Nothing has changed about anyone's beach experience, except that now my house won't fall on them. So, you know. Sorry not sorry."
The only way to hear 1989 in full is to borrow Swift's iPhone, which is white and silver and covered in kitten stickers. There are 13 songs in all, plus a handful of bonus tracks, filed under the unbreakable code name "Sailor Twips." (She will only play them over headphones, because of wiretaps.) There are also hundreds of voice memos containing sketches of chords and melodies, which is how most of her songs start out. Antonoff (who also happens to be Dunham's boyfriend) says that for one song they wrote together, he sent Swift a track "and literally 30 minutes later she sent me back a voice note that sounded exactly like the record."
As the title suggests, 1989 was influenced by some of Swift's favorite Eighties pop acts, including Phil Collins, Annie Lennox and "Like a Prayer"-era Madonna. (Given that 1989 is also the year Swift was born, she necessarily got into them later, usually via VH1's Pop-Up Video.) The album was executive-produced by Swift and Max Martin, with whom she first collaborated on her 2012 single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Officially, it's not even finished yet: Somewhere in Sweden, Martin is tinkering until the very last minute to ensure the drum sounds are as up-to-date as possible.
Theo Wenner
Swift's last album, 2012's Red, straddled the line between country and pop. "But at a certain point," she says, "if you chase two rabbits, you lose them both." So this time, she set out to do full-on "blatant pop music." A casual fan won't notice much difference, but to Swift and her brand, it's a big step. She says she won't be going to country-awards shows or promoting the album on country radio. When she first turned in the record, she says the head of her label, Scott Borchetta, told her, "This is extraordinary – it's the best album you've ever done. Can you just give me three country songs?"
"Love you, mean it," is how Swift characterizes her response. "But this is how it's going to be."
The other big change on 1989 is that for the first time in years, there are no diss tracks dishing about Swift's exes. A few of the songs are about her relationships and love life, but they're mostly wistful and nostalgic, not finger-pointy or score-settling. "Different phases of your life have different levels of deep, traumatizing heartbreak," Swift says. "And in this period of my life, my heart was not irreparably broken. So it's not as boy-centric of an album, because my life hasn't been boycentric." In fact, she suggests, she hasn't dated at all since breaking up with One Direction singer Harry Styles more than a year and a half ago. "Like, have not gone on a date," she says. "People are going to feel sorry for me when you write that. But it's true."
Swift says dating is hard for her. For one thing, there's the logistics. "Seventy percent of the time, when a guy asks me out, it'll just be a random e-mail," she says. Some movie star will get her address from his publicist and e-mail her cold. Usually she politely rebuffs them – but even if someone did penetrate that line of defense, building a relationship is hard.
"I feel like watching my dating life has become a bit of a national pastime," Swift says. "And I'm just not comfortable providing that kind of entertainment anymore. I don't like seeing slide shows of guys I've apparently dated. I don't like giving comedians the opportunity to make jokes about me at awards shows. I don't like it when headlines read 'Careful, Bro, She'll Write a Song About You,' because it trivializes my work. And most of all, I don't like how all these factors add up to build the pressure so high in a new relationship that it gets snuffed out before it even has a chance to start. And so," she says, "I just don't date."
(That goes for hooking up as well. "I just think it's pointless if you're not in love," Swift says. "And I don't have the energy to be in love right now. So, no.")
Truth be told, Swift sounds a tiny bit jaded – which, for a "self-professed hopeless romantic," maybe isn't the worst thing to be. "It's not like I've sworn off love," she says. "My life is just not conducive to bringing other people into it right now. I'm very childlike and romantic about lots of things, but I'm realistic about this."
Swift pauses, searching for a metaphor that will help her explain herself. "Have you heard of the Loneliest Whale? There's this whale – I think Adrian Grenier is making a documentary about it. It swims through the ocean, and it has a call unlike any other whale's. So it doesn't have anyone to swim with. And everybody feels so sorry for this whale – but what if this whale is having a great time? Because it's not bad that I'm not hopelessly in love with someone. It's not a tragedy, and it's not me giving up and being a spinster. Although I did get another cat." She laughs. "I asked around: I was like, 'Does two cats count as cats?' But then I thought, what imaginary guy's perspective am I thinking about this from? Someone is going to think I'm undateable for a lot of reasons before they think I'm undateable because I have two cats."
Since she's been single, Swift has been acquiring girlfriends with the fervor she once devoted to landing guys. (For instance: Two years ago she told Vogue she wanted to be friends with Kloss; now they're going to the gym together and taking road trips to Big Sur.) Swift says this is another byproduct of being single. "When your number-one priority is getting a boyfriend, you're more inclined to see a beautiful girl and think, 'Oh, she's gonna get that hot guy I wish I was dating,'" she says. "But when you're not boyfriend-shopping, you're able to step back and see other girls who are killing it and think, 'God, I want to be around her.'" As an example, she cites her pal Lorde, whom she calls Ella. "It's like this blazing bonfire," Swift says. "You can either be afraid of it because it's so powerful and strong, or you can go stand near it, because it's fun and it makes you brighter."
Earlier in her career, Swift deflected questions about feminism because she didn't want to alienate male fans. But these days, she's proud to identify herself as a feminist. To her, all feminism means is wanting women to have the same opportunities as men. "I don't see how you could oppose that." Dunham says Swift has always been a feminist whether she called herself one or not: "She runs her own company, she's creating music that connects to other women instead of creating a sexual persona for the male gaze, and no one is in control of her. If that's not feminism, what is?"
Swift's focus on sisterhood cuts both ways, because when another woman crosses her, she's equally fierce about hitting back. The angriest song on 1989 is called "Bad Blood," and it's about another female artist Swift declines to name. "For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not," she says. "She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?'" Then last year, the other star crossed a line. "She did something so horrible," Swift says. "I was like, 'Oh, we're just straight-up enemies.' And it wasn't even about a guy! It had to do with business. She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me. And I'm surprisingly non-confrontational – you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So now I have to avoid her. It's awkward, and I don't like it."
(Pressed, Swift admits there might have been a personal element to the conflict. "But I don't think there would be any personal problem if she weren't competitive," she says.)
Theo Wenner
As is often the case, Swift dealt with her emotions by writing about them. "Sometimes the lines in a song are lines you wish you could text-message somebody in real life," she says. "I would just be constantly writing all these zingers – like, 'Burn. That would really get her.' And I know people are going to obsess over who it's about, because they think they have all my relationships mapped out. But there's a reason there are not any overt call-outs in that song. My intent was not to create some gossip-fest. I wanted people to apply it to a situation where they felt betrayed in their own lives."
Swift prides herself on never explicitly saying whom her songs are about, and she's not going to start with this one. Yes, she sprinkles clues in her liner notes and makes winking references onstage, but she tries to keep them obscure enough to maintain some modicum of mystery (or at least plausible deniability). She's so disciplined on this front that she won't even say any of her ex-boyfriends' names out loud – so when she does slip up, even in the most innocent way possible, it's highly entertaining.
Swift is still talking about "Bad Blood" when she starts to explain why she wants everyone to know it's about a female. "I know people will make it this big girl-fight thing," she says. "But I just want people to know it's not about a guy. You don't want to shade someone you used to date and make it seem like you hate him, when that's not the case. And I knew people would immediately be going in one direction—" As she suddenly realizes that she just accidentally referenced her ex-boyfriend's band, Swift goes white. She buries her face in her hands. "Why?!" she howls, cracking up. It's a classic Taylor Swift Surprised Face, only for real this time.
Swift won't say much about her relationship with Styles, other than that they're now friends. But talking to her, it seems clear that many of the songs on 1989 that are about a guy are about him. There's "I Wish You Would," about an ex who bought a house two blocks from hers (whom she implies was Styles). And "All You Had to Do Was Stay," about a guy who was never willing to commit (ditto). Then there's the song that sets a new high-water mark for Swiftian faux secrecy – a sexy Miami Vice-sounding throwback about a guy with slicked-back hair and a white T-shirt and a girl in a tight little skirt that is called – no joke – "Style." (She allows herself a satisfied grin. "We should have just called it 'I'm Not Even Sorry.'")
Of all the songs on the album that seem to be about Styles, the most intriguing one is "Out of the Woods." Co-written by Antonoff, it's a frantic tale of a relationship where, Swift says, "every day was a struggle. Forget making plans for life – we were just trying to make it to next week." The most interesting part comes when Swift sings, "Remember when you hit the brakes too soon/Twenty stitches in a hospital room." She says it was inspired by a snowmobile ride with an ex who lost control and wrecked it so badly that she saw her life flash before her eyes. Both of them had to go to the ER, although Swift wasn't hurt. She corrects herself: "Not as hurt."
For a couple whose every move was so thoroughly documented, it's kind of shocking to think that something as newsworthy as a trip to the emergency room wouldn't have wound up on the Internet. "You know what I've found works even better than an NDA?" says Swift. "Looking someone in the eye and saying, 'Please don't tell anyone about this.'" Even so, it's impressive: The most top-secret hospital visit would necessarily involve three or four witnesses – and none of them talked?
Swift says that's sort of her point. "People think they know the whole narrative of my life," she says. "I think maybe that line is there to remind people that there are really big things they don't know about."
I didn't know what kind of coffee you wanted, so I brought options."
Two weeks later, Swift is in the back seat of an SUV idling next to Central Park, with a tray of four iced coffees balanced on her lap. Outside wait a dozen paparazzi and several dozen fans. The plan is to take a nice walk in the park – and maybe, though this is unspoken, to get a glimpse of the attention she faces daily.
Swift takes her bodyguard's hand and steps out of the car. She's dressed in the decidedly un-park-friendly outfit of a tweed skirt and crop top, pink suede Louboutin pumps, and a yellow Dolce & Gabbana bag. She navigates the muddy trail impressively in her heels, the crowd behind her swelling every few feet. In front of her, two bodyguards clear a path. Behind her, another bodyguard carries a bag of scones.
Swift turns down a dead-end path where the paparazzi can't follow and takes a seat in a gazebo on the shores of the lake. On the wooden posts are carved hundreds of initials, the stories of couples who came before – the kind of thing that might appear in a Taylor Swift song. Excitedly, Swift points at the lake: "Turtles! And ducks!" She looks at the ground. "Oh. And a used condom."
Swift says that the only time she could come to the park and have it be normal would be in the middle of the night ("which is dangerous") or at four in the morning ("which is early"). She hasn't driven alone in five years, and she can't leave her home without being swarmed by fans. ("When a sweet little 12-year-old says to their mom, 'Taylor lives an hour from here . . .' – more times than not, they'll make the trip.") Although she doesn't like to draw attention to it, she says there is a contingent of fans that think her songs contain hidden messages to them. "Think about it," she says. "Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone? Take that, add 'crazytown' to it, and it sounds like an invitation for kidnapping."
Theo Wenner
We've been talking for a while when a boat rows up carrying three teenagers – two girls and a guy. "Oh, my God!" says one of the girls. "Today is my birthday! Can I please take a picture with you?" Swift laughs. "You can, but I don't know how you're going to. You're on a boat, buddy!"
"I'll get off!" the girl says. "I'll find a way." Swift and her bodyguard reach out and help her into the pavilion. "You're going to make me cry!" she says.
"Is it really your birthday?" Swift asks.
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen," the girl says.
"Oh, that's a good year."
"I know. I'm excited."
The girl says she lives on Long Island. She and her friends took the train in for the day. "That's cute," Swift says. "Are you going to dinner somewhere?"
The girl scrunches up her face. "We were going to . . . Chipotle?"
Swift smiles. She goes to her purse and pulls out a wad of cash – $90, to be exact. "Here," she says. "Go somewhere nice."
"Oh, my God," the girl says. "Thank you!" She climbs back in the boat, and she and her friends paddle off.
Pretty soon it's time to go. One of Swift's bodyguards, Jeff, a former Marine Corps anti-terrorism specialist, comes over to brief her. "OK, we've got a six-minute walk to the exit. Twitter is going like wildfire, so some of the more obsessive fans . . ." He trails off. "We're just gonna close the gap on you and keep them back."
Swift gives her bangs one last check in her phone's camera, then she looks out at the lake. "I wish we had a boat."
She stands up to go. Immediately we're surrounded by a crush of paparazzi and fans. Even the hot-dog vendors are snapping pictures. As Swift winds her way through the park, the crowd grows larger and more aggressive; it's a little scary. "OK, everybody, we need some room, please!" Jeff says. "Step back. Give her space!"
But Swift is unfazed. "You want to know a trick to immediately go from feeling victimized to feeling awesome?" she says. She pulls out her phone and hands me the earbuds: "This is my go-to." She presses play, and Kendrick Lamar's "Backseat Freestyle" fills the speakers. As Swift bobs her head, Lamar raps:
All my life I want money and power
Respect my mind or die from lead shower
I pray my dick get big as the Eiffel Tower
So I can fuck the world for 72 hours
Goddamn, I feel amazing
Damn, I'm in the Matrix . . .
Swift smiles wide. "I know every word." ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| Is Katy Perry the mystery woman Taylor Swift shades in Rolling Stone?
The "Shake It Off" singer griped about a pop peer in the magazine's Sept. 25 issue, but in typical Swift style, she refused to name names. Perry implied she's the one Swift declined to identify by referencing 2004's Mean Girls. "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing..." the singer tweeted Tuesday.
Does that make Swift Cady Heron in this scenario? And is mutual ex John Mayer the Aaron Samuels? Regardless, the 24-year-old "Mean" singer has yet to reply to the 29-year-old "Firework" singer's tweet.
The ex-country star implied Perry was the inspiration for the song "Bad Blood," which appears on her new album, 1989. "For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not. She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?' Then last year, the other star crossed a line," Swift recalled. "She did something so horrible, I was like, 'Oh, we're just straight-up enemies.' And it wasn't even about a guy!"
Swift, who counts Lena Dunham and Karlie Kloss as BFFs, continued, "It had to do with business. She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me."
For 15 months, Swift toured the globe to promote Red. Perry kicked off her Prismatic World Tour in May 2014, with concerts scheduled in Australia, France and the United States, among other countries.
|
– Both Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have had difficult breakups with John Mayer, but Swift insists the story behind a vitriolic song on her upcoming 1989 album "wasn't even about a guy! It had to do with business," she says in an interview with Rolling Stone. Technically, "Bad Blood" might not even be about Katy Perry—Swift demurred from naming names when talking about the song—but by piecing together lyrical and situational clues, BuzzFeed claims "it's not hard to figure out who she's talking about." The song, which Swift tells Rolling Stone wasn't meant "to create some gossip-fest," talks about a fellow female performing artist who for years insulted and sabotaged Swift, including by "[trying] to hire a bunch of people out from under me" and "sabotage an entire arena tour," Swift says. BuzzFeed speculates she could be talking about three backup dancers who reportedly ditched Swift for Perry last year—and E! notes that Perry tweeted today, "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing...," a Mean Girls reference that could be a hint that Perry is indeed the song's subject. "For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not," Swift says in Rolling Stone of her unnamed colleague. "[Then] she did something so horrible. I was like, 'Oh, we're just straight-up enemies.'" As for why she wrote the song, Swift says, "I'm surprisingly non-confrontational—you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So now I have to avoid her. It's awkward." But, she adds, "Sometimes the lines in a song are lines you wish you could text-message somebody in real life. I would just be constantly writing all these zingers—like, 'Burn. That would really get her.'" The album is due out in October.
|
Chinese technology tycoon Jack Ma is recanting his promise to create one million jobs in the U.S., citing the trade spat between the world’s two biggest economies.
The executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. made the pledge when he met with then-President-elect Trump in January 2017, saying the jobs would be created by supporting more sales by U.S. small businesses on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms.
In... ||||| Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma's promise to create 1 million new US jobs is the latest casualty of the trade war.
The Alibaba (BABA) chief grabbed attention at the start of last year when he made the highly ambitious pledge following a meeting with Donald Trump, who was president elect at the time.
But in an interview published late Wednesday by China's official news agency, Xinhua, Ma said the waves of new tariffs imposed by Washington and Beijing in recent months have undermined the plan.
"This promise was on the basis of friendly China-US cooperation and reasonable bilateral trade relations, but the current situation has already destroyed that basis," Ma said. "This promise can't be completed."
A spokeswoman for Alibaba, China's biggest e-commerce company, confirmed Ma's comments to CNN.
Analysts had already expressed serious doubts about the pledge, which Alibaba announced after Trump and Ma met at Trump Tower in New York in January 2017.
"Jack and I are going to do some great things," Trump said at the time.
Ma's vague promise wasn't based on Alibaba investing in the United States to build factories or fulfillment centers. Instead, he talked about stimulating trade by helping American small businesses sell their products to consumers in China and elsewhere in Asia.
Alibaba held a big conference in Detroit last year to encourage American small businesses and farmers to sell their products to Chinese consumers through its platforms. The company didn't immediately respond to a request Thursday for information on how many US jobs those efforts have created so far.
In the Xinhua interview, Ma said Alibaba "will not stop promoting the healthy development of China-US trade."
A strong advocate of globalization, he has expressed growing fears about the trade war, telling investors earlier this week that it could drag on for as long as 20 years.
"It's going to last long, it's going to be a mess," Ma said Tuesday in Hangzhou, the city where Alibaba is based.
The 54-year-old tycoon, who set up Alibaba in his apartment nearly two decades ago, announced this month that he will step down as executive chairman of the company next year. Daniel Zhang, the current CEO, will succeed him.
Ma, a former English teacher, said he wants to return to education.
-- Yong Xiong and Sherisse Pham contributed to this report.
|
– Take your pick as to which of these statements from Alibaba founder Jack Ma is gloomier: He's going back on his pledge to create 1 million US jobs, and the US-China trade war that he blames for that plan's undoing is one that he believes could last two decades. "It's going to last long, it's going to be a mess," the Chinese tech billionaire said Tuesday. He addressed the jobs plan, made after he met with then president-elect Donald Trump in January 2017, on Wednesday: "This promise was on the basis of friendly China-US cooperation and reasonable bilateral trade relations, but the current situation has already destroyed that basis. This promise can't be completed." CNN provides background, explaining Ma's "vague promise" didn't involve building Alibaba facilities in the US, but rather by helping fire up small US businesses by enabling them to better tap into the Chinese market. The Wall Street Journal also uses the word "vague" to describe how critics viewed Ma's pledge, observing that, nearly two years later, Alibaba hasn't released any figures related to the number of jobs created thus far. Count the Washington Post among those critics. It points out that based on Commerce Department figures, 1 million new American jobs would require that US exports to China rise by an additional $206 billion a year. That's a more than 100% jump over 2017's $188 billion in exports, a figure that encompasses things that wouldn't benefit from Alibaba's platform, like airplanes.
|
Weight Watchers International Inc. reported a loss in the holiday quarter and said members continue to leave as the weight-loss company sheds more ground to apps and other gadgets that track calories.
Chief Executive James Chambers said on Thursday that the company now expects its strategy to turn around the business—which it started last year—to take longer than expected because of a challenging start to 2015. As a result, the company disclosed plans to cut $100 million more in costs this year and forecast profit falling... ||||| Almost 60 million fitness trackers will be in use by 2018, tripling the number of the devices used this year, says a new research report from Juniper Research.
The firm says fitness trackers like the Fitbit Charge and the Jawbone UP24 will triple to about 57 million in use in the wild worldwide by 2018, up from just 19 million this year.
Juniper analysts expect fitness to remain the dominant segment in wearable devices until that time, pushed ahead by new fitness use cases, new biometrics measurements, and lower prices.
But from now until 2018, the smartwatch category will be gaining steam and by 2018 will take over as the most-worn wearable device. This movement will begin in earnest with the launch of Apple’s long awaited Watch, which is expected to show up on the market in the first half of 2015. Apple reportedly expects to sell 15 million of the devices in the first year. If this happens, smartwatch sales would overwhelm fitness tracker sales far sooner that 2018, as Juniper predicts.
Juniper believes that there are basically two types of fitness trackers — less expensive ones like the $13 Xiaomi MiBand, which will compete mainly on price, and more complex devices, such as the Fitbit Surge, Microsoft Band, and Samsung Gear Fit, which will offer additional features beyond fitness, such as notifications and music control.
Fitbit will remain the leading player for fitness tracking, Juniper says, although its decision not to integrate with Apple Health may harm its market share in the short term.
More capable devices will compete with smart watches, especially those that offer similar notification functions, like the MetaWatch M1 and Martian Notifier, Juniper believes. “However, more aesthetically minded consumers will still choose watches, as fitness-focused devices will prioritize function over form,” Juniper notes in a report. ||||| Weight Watchers shares dropped the most since their market debut more than 13 years ago, after the dieting company’s earnings forecast fell well short of analysts’ expectations.
The company has faced declining subscriptions and revenue as consumers migrate to digital methods for counting calories and keeping in shape. Weight Watchers International Inc. on Thursday reported that quarterly revenue had declined for the eighth straight period.
The stock fell 35 percent to $11.33 on Friday in New York, the biggest drop since the company’s initial public offering in November 2001. The shares had posted a 78 percent decline over the past three years through Thursday.
Weight Watchers said Thursday that it would seek to cut $100 million in costs and that Lesya Lysyj, its president of North America operations, would leave the company.
The company forecast earnings of 40 cents to 70 cents a share for this year, missing the $1.43 average of seven analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The costs associated with a plan to “resize” aren’t reflected in the guidance, the company said.
Weight Watchers has attempted to remake its image this year with a new ad campaign and redesigned magazine introduced in January.
“They’re struggling to keep pace,” said RJ Hottovy, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. “Its changes in marketing, product and technology haven’t connected with consumers.”
‘Disappointed’
Chief Executive Officer Jim Chambers said the company’s turnaround would take longer than expected.
“I am disappointed that we are not yet where we hoped to be and our turnaround will take longer than anticipated,” Chambers said Thursday on a conference call.
Founded in 1961, Weight Watchers has built a system of dieting programs, food products and support centers for people seeking to slim down.
Meanwhile, with consumers paying more attention to how many calories they are burning from exercise or everyday activities, fitness gadgets have surged in popularity, with 51.2 million American adults using applications to track their health, according to Nielsen. That is making it harder for Weight Watchers to justify subscriptions starting at $20 a month, since activity trackers can be paired with free mobile apps that make it easy to analyze caloric input and output.
‘Get Modern’
“Weight Watchers really has to change what they’re offering -- they have to get modern,” said Meredith Adler, an analyst at Barclays. “People are just more digital now than they ever were.”
New York-based Weight Watchers has embraced activity trackers. Subscribers can use FitBit, Jawbone and the company’s own ActiveLink gadget to track diets and exercise. On the call, Chambers acknowledged that the company still had work to do to remake its image and offerings.
“I think you will see the Weight Watchers brand showing up differently going forward,” he said.
Weight Watchers’ membership declined 15 percent in the past quarter, to 2.51 million active subscribers. While profit, excluding some charges, matched analysts’ average estimate for 7 cents a share, revenue fell short of projections. Revenue declined 10 percent to $327.8 million in the fourth quarter, compared to an average analyst estimate of $334.3 million, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Last month, Weight Watchers was among the most-shorted stocks on the New York Stock Exchange.
Threat Downplayed
As CEO two years ago, David Kirchhoff said he didn’t see wearable devices -- along with social media and other technologies -- as a threat. Instead, they presented a chance for the company to enhance its methods, counseling and business model, he said on an earnings conference call in February 2013.
Three months later, on another call, Kirchhoff’s tone began to change: “In this cash-strapped environment, the sudden proliferation in popularity of free alternative offerings has created a surge of trial in these apps. The resulting impact is contributing to a challenging recruitment environment, similar to what we saw back in 2000 with the low-carb diet fad.”
In November, the battle appeared all but lost.
“Frankly, we were slow to innovate and add value to our products,” Weight Watchers Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Hotchkin said at an investor conference on Nov. 11. “We were particularly susceptible to the proliferation of free apps and activity monitors.”
Corporate Deals
The company’s best bet is to focus on providing weight-loss programs for corporations and health plans, which have been seeking ways to keep employees healthy and insurance costs low, according to Hottovy. This week, Weight Watchers announced a new partnership with health-care company Humana Inc. to offer diet programs at discounted rates on certain health insurance plans.
“The largest growth opportunity for this company is partnering with corporations and health plans,” Hottovy said. “That’s where they’ll really have a more comprehensive offering. That’s something Weight Watchers can provide that calorie counting apps maybe can’t.”
|
– The booming fitness-tracker trend is making it easier for people to track their activity and therefore lose weight, which is essentially what Weight Watchers has been trying to do since 1961. The company has encouraged subscribers to use devices like Fitbit and Jawbone—and even has its own ActiveLink device. But while use of such devices soar (VentureBeat in November pointed to research that estimated 19 million trackers were in use in 2014, with that number slated to triple by 2018), Weight Watchers' membership keeps falling. It sank 15% in Q4 to a hair over 2.5 million subscribers, who pay a minimum of $20 for the service; Bloomberg points out that once a user invests in a tracker, the associated tracking apps are free. In early 2013, Weight Watchers didn't seem concerned by wearable devices. It acknowledged a challenge "similar to what we saw back in 2000 with the low-carb diet fad" a few months later. Now it's taking a hit: Revenue slid 10% to $327.8 million in the fourth quarter, and as of yesterday its share price had declined 78% over three years. It expects profit of 40 cents to 70 cents per share in 2015, while analysts had estimated profit of $1.43 per share, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company has announced a deal with Humana to bring discounted diet programs to certain health insurance plans, which an analyst suggests is the company's best option, but it will also undergo cost-cutting measures, including layoffs, to save $100 million. North American President Lesya Lysyj has already been let go.
|
WASHINGTON — President Trump added his former White House aide, Omarosa Manigault Newman, on Tuesday to the growing list of African-Americans he has publicly denigrated on Twitter, calling her “that dog” and a “crazed, crying lowlife” after her allegations against him of mental deterioration and racism.
Even for a president who consistently uses Twitter to assail his adversaries, the morning tweet about Ms. Manigault Newman was a remarkably crude use of the presidential bully pulpit to disparage a woman who once served at the highest levels in his White House.
In an interview on MSNBC, Ms. Manigault Newman responded that Mr. Trump treats women differently from men because he “believes they are beneath him” and that he talked in derogatory ways about minorities.
“He has absolutely no respect for women, for African-Americans,” she said.
In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has called Don Lemon, a CNN anchor, “the dumbest man on television.” He has questioned the intelligence of LeBron James, a star basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers. And he has repeatedly said that Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, has a “low I.Q.” ||||| White House: we cannot guarantee there's no tape of Trump using N-word
As the remarkable public spat between Donald Trump and former adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman continued on Tuesday, the White House was unable to guarantee that no recordings exist of the president using the “N-word”.
Omarosa says Trump is a racist who uses N-word – and claims there is tape to prove it Read more
At a White House briefing, press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked if she could say no such recordings would emerge.
“I can’t guarantee anything,” she said.
Sanders cited the president’s tweets on the matter and said: “I can tell you that the president addressed this question directly.” On Monday, Trump wrote: “I don’t have that word in my vocabulary and never have.”
On Tuesday morning, he added to earlier tweets when he wrote: “When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn’t work out. Good work by General [John] Kelly for quickly firing that dog!”
Manigault Newman, a former contestant on the reality TV show The Apprentice, is promoting a memoir, Unhinged. She has released two secret recordings related to her firing from the White House late last year and another related to the claims that Trump used the “N-word” during his career in reality TV.
Sanders said she had never heard Trump use the racial epithet in question.
In an interview on MSNBC on Tuesday afternoon, Manigault Newman introduced another angle to the row when she confirmed earlier hints that she has been interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller. The former FBI director is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and links between Trump aides and Moscow.
“I have” been interviewed, Manigault Newman said, though she said her “hands are tied” over any discussion of what she was asked.
Earlier in the day, the Trump campaign accused her of breaching a 2016 non-disclosure agreement.
In a statement to CNN, the campaign said it had “filed an arbitration against Omarosa Manigault Newman, with the American Arbitration Association in New York City, for breach of her 2016 confidentiality agreement with the Trump campaign”. It is the first legal action the campaign has launched since Manigault Newman revealed details in her tell-all book about her time as a Trump campaign adviser and senior White House aide.
On MSNBC, Manigault Newman said: “I don’t believe that I have violated [an NDA], but I’m going to leave that to the lawyers to sort that out. It’s interesting that he’s trying to silence me. So what is he trying to hide? What is he afraid of? If he hadn’t said anything that was derogatory or demeaning to African Americans and women, why would he go to this extent to try to shut me down?”
I think he should be afraid of being exposed as the misogynist, the bigot and the racist that he is Omarosa Manigault Newman
Asked if there were any more tapes the president should be “afraid of”, she said: “I think he should be afraid of being exposed as the misogynist, the bigot and the racist that he is.”
Of Trump calling her a “dog”, she said: “I think that it just shows you that if he would say that publicly, what else would he say about me privately? He has absolutely no respect for women, for African Americans – as evidenced by him instructing the chief of staff to lock me for two hours in the Situation Room to harass me, to threaten me.
“He’s unfit to be in this office and to serve as the president of the United States.”
At the White House briefing, Sanders said Manigault Newman was a “self-serving someone who blatantly cares about herself more than our country”.
Sanders also insisted that Trump’s decision to call Manigault Newman a dog and his other criticisms of prominent African Americans were not racially motivated.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with race,” she said, “and everything to do with the president calling out someone’s lack of integrity.”
She also complained about reporters only asking about “a few of the things that the president has said negative about people who are minorities” and said Trump was “an equal opportunity person who calls it like he sees it and always fights fire with fire”.
Play Video 0:40 Former Trump aide claims to have heard recording of him using N-word – video
Manigault Newman’s recent TV appearances, and her claim to have heard a tape of Trump using the N-word and other racial slurs during filming for The Apprentice, have clearly infuriated the president.
Did Omarosa break the law by secretly recording Trump and Kelly? Read more
On CBS, Manigault Newman revealed a third tape she said recorded a 2016 conference call among Trump aides discussing how to address potential fallout from any release of tapes that allegedly contain Trump using the N-word. The campaign aides had previously denied any such conversations took place.
In the recording, then campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson can be heard saying: “I am trying to find at least what context it was used in to help us maybe try to figure out a way to spin it.” Later in the conversation, she says: “He said it. He is embarrassed.”
On Monday night, Pierson said on Fox News the call “did not happen”. But in a statement on Tuesday, she said she had been seeking “to placate Omarosa to move the discussion along”.
Manigault Newman’s decision to record conversations has attracted controversy. When Kelly fired her in December in the White House Situation Room, she secretly taped the conversation: an apparent breach of security protocol. ||||| President Trump says former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newman lied when she called him a racist who has said the N-word on tape. The president tweeted Monday night, "I don't have that word in my vocabulary and never have. She made it up." But a new recording, obtained by CBS News overnight, seems to back up Omarosa's story that several Trump advisers discussed an alleged tape during the 2016 campaign.
Trump campaign advisers denied on Monday that any conversations took place. CBS News has not been able to verify the authenticity of the recording - though it appears to confirm Omarosa's claims that Trump campaign officials were aware of a tape in which then-candidate Trump uses a racial slur, and they talked about how to handle it.
During her whirlwind book tour, former White House aide Omarosa claimed to have heard tape of President Trump using the N-word during his time on "The Apprentice."
In her new book, "Unhinged," Omarosa claims the Trump campaign was aware of the existence of the tape. She describes an October 2016 phone conversation with Lynne Patton, then-assistant to Eric Trump, spokesperson Katrina Pierson and campaign communications director Jason Miller in which they discuss how to deal with the potential fallout from its release.
Omarosa on Trump tapes: "If you see it in quotes it can be verified"
"I am trying to find at least what context it was used in to help us maybe try to figure out a way to spin it," Pierson is heard saying.
Patton then described a conversation she had with then-candidate Trump about making the slur.
Patton: "I said, 'Well, sir, can you think of anytime where this happened?' And he said, 'no.'"
Omarosa: "Well, that is not true."
Patton: "He goes, how do you think I should handle it and I told him exactly what you just said, Omarosa, which is well, it depends on what scenario you are talking about. And he said, well, why don't you just go ahead and put it to bed."
Pierson: "He said. No, he said it. He is embarrassed by it."
Appearing on Fox News Monday night before the release of the audio, Pierson denied the call ever took place saying, "No, Ed (Henry). That did not happen. Sounds like she is writing a script for a movie."
The White House and Trump campaign have not provided responses to this new development but Patton and Pierson issued a joint statement Tuesday morning saying, "No one ever denied the existence of conversations about a reported 'Apprentice' tape. Of course there were multiple discussions about it."
|
– President Trump insists that the "terrible and disgusting" n-word is simply not in his vocabulary—but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says she "can't guarantee" that recordings of him saying it will not emerge. "I can tell you that the president addressed this question directly," she told reporters Tuesday, per the Guardian. She denied that Trump's attacks on former Apprentice contestant and White House adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman, who says she has heard recordings of Trump using the slur, were motivated by racism, reports the New York Times. "The fact is the president's an equal opportunity person that calls things like he sees it," Sanders said. In an interview with MSNBC Tuesday, Manigault Newman confirmed that she'd been interviewed by Robert Mueller's investigators, though she declined to discuss details. Asked about Trump calling her a "dog," she said: "I think that it just shows you that if he would say that publicly, what else would he say about me privately?" Asked if there were more tapes Trump should be afraid of, she said the president should worry about being exposed as the "misogynist, the bigot, and the racist that he is." Manigault Newman, who's being sued by Trump's campaign organization for allegedly violating an NDA, provided a recording to CBS News in which Trump staffers appear to confirm the existence of an n-word tape and discuss the potential fallout.
|
Tweet with a location
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| What were the 11 words? It was an irresistible mystery.
When the federal government said it would finally release a declassified copy of the Pentagon Papers on Monday, 40 years after they were published by The New York Times, it initially said it would keep 11 words secret. Then it reversed itself, saying it would publish the 7,000-page report in its entirety. The intrigue sparked a guessing game among historians, security analysts and even the authors of the report: which 11 words in the once-secret government study of the Vietnam War were still deemed sensitive in the age of WikiLeaks?
Daniel Ellsberg, the former RAND Corporation analyst who worked on the report and later provided it to The Times as part of an effort to stop the war, said in an interview that he was stumped. “Of course, I don’t know what they are,’’ he said.
So was Leslie H. Gelb, the director of the task force that wrote the report. “I couldn’t begin to guess where those words came from,’’ he said, before hazarding a guess that they might come from the sections on peace negotiations, which were left out of the first versions of the report that were leaked.
It sounded like a job for Twitter, if not for its large community of indiscreet intelligence analysts, then because 140 characters seemed just about right for 11 words. So The New York Times asked readers to post their guesses with the hashtag #pentagon11. Today, we are declassifying some of the highlights, compiled by my colleague here. Please keep ’em coming! Send a Twitter message using #pentagon11 or submit your guesses in the comments box below.
|
– Decades after they were leaked, the Pentagon Papers are finally being released on Monday by the federal government—which originally said 11 words would remain censored. Officials have since changed their minds, and we may never know what 11 words they intended to keep quiet. Not even leaker Daniel Ellsburg or Leslie Gelb, whose task force wrote the report, have a clue. (Though Gelb guesses they might deal with peace negotiations.) The New York Times asked Twitter users to take a shot. A sampling, along with their Twitter handles: “Newspapers will be dead by the time we declassify this stuff.” (@Katz) “The President requires dry-cleaning for his silken undergarments once a week.” (@jendeaderick) “Justin Bieber was 'born' in Area 51; let mass testing begin.” (@Alphey) “The giant radioactive lizard is available for counterinsurgency purposes, McNamara said.” (@thesobsister) “Rosebud is the sled. Soylent Green is People. Kristin Shot JR.” (@FasterthanShaun) Visit the Twitter feed for more.
|
Occupy Wall Street showdown looms between protesters and NYPD cops over cleaning of Zuccotti Park
Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty A member of the NYPD looks over demonstrators with 'Occupy Wall Street' protest at Zuccotti Park before they start cleaning up their belongings Thursday.
A showdown loomed Friday morning between Occupy Wall Street and the NYPD after protesters vowed to defy orders to leave Zuccotti Park so it can be cleaned.
The city said protesters could return to the park after the cleanup - but without the sleeping bags, tents and tarps that have made their 28-day sit-in possible.
"We see this as a pretext to shut the occupation down," protester Amin Husain said.
Occupy Wall Street said it would resist any attempt by the city or the owners of the park to shift protesters from the public plaza where they have camped since Sept. 17.
"They will not foreclose our home!" Husain shouted. "This is an occupation, not a permitted picnic. We won't allow them to come in."
They geared up for a confrontation, calling on supporters to mobilize at 6 a.m. "to defend the occupation from eviction."
They planned to link arms and fortify the park perimeter with a human chain, forcing mass arrests if the cleanup goes forward.
Brookfield Properties, which owns the park but must legally allow 24-hour public access, said conditions "have deteriorated to unsanitary and unsafe levels" and said it must power wash the plaza today.
The NYPD said if Brookfield complains that people are interfering with the company's efforts to clean the park, cops will start making arrests.
City Hall assured the protesters they could return to the park after the cleanup and stay as long as they liked - as long as they didn't break the law.
But Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the NYPD would start enforcing Brookfield's rules against camping gear.
"The equipment, sleeping bags - that sort of thing will not be able to be brought back into the park," Kelly said.
A group of city pols rallied last night, calling on Mayor Bloomberg to reconsider what they called his "eviction notice" and warning him that the world was watching Zuccotti Park.
"This is how revolutions start," said Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron. "Mr. Mayor? You want to clean up something? Clean up these crooks on Wall Street!"
On Twitter, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons offered to "pay for the cleanup of Zuccotti Park to avoid confrontation."
Mass arrests are liable to simply fuel Occupy Wall Street: the rag-tag movement's biggest boosts in the past month have come from the sympathy and publicity generated by what protesters described as heavy-handed police tactics.
To counter claims that the park is unsanitary, Occupy Wall Street used brooms and bleach to clean it up themselves beginning yesterday.
The crowd voted to spend $3,000 from their $150,000 donation fund on power washers, gardening supplies and professional sanitation workers.
The rented power washers proved to be no use since the park has no water supply.
With Rocco Parascandola, John Doyle and Erin Einhorn
hkennedy@nydailynews.com ||||| On Thursday evening, a couple dozen Occupy Wall Street protesters in Zuccotti Park grabbed brooms and buckets and set about sweeping up the site. For the last two days, they had begun to work harder than usual to keep the park clean and attractive, putting their brooms to work, filling up buckets of water at nearby restaurants and even, according to one protester, planting flowers.
Protesters say they are cleaning the park so that the city doesn't have to do so. On Wednesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that Zuccotti Park would be closed temporarily at the end of the week so that sanitation workers could clean it, which they had not done since the protests began. Many of the protesters said they saw this as a ploy to get them out of the park permanently, and their suspicions were further intensified when Ray Kelly, the commissioner of the NYPD, said Thursday that they would not be able to bring back their sleeping bags and other items after leaving. The city's clean-up is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. Friday, and many of the protesters have vowed to resist any attempt at evacuation.
In a letter sent to Kelly on Tuesday, Richard B. Clark, the chief executive of Brookfield Properties, the company that owns the park, wrote, "After weeks of occupation, conditions at the park have deteriorated to unsanitary and unsafe levels."
On behalf of the protestors, a group of New York civil liberties lawyers issued a letter to Clark today in which they wrote that a sanitation group at the site has been addressing the concerns raised in Clark's letter "all along" and has "committed itself to carrying out a thorough and complete cleaning" as an extra measure.
"Trash has consistently been bagged and hauled to established collection points and recycling rules have been strictly adhered to," they wrote, adding that the sanitation group "typically has had between one and fifteen people sweeping the Park with brooms at any time."
The lawyers concluded their letter with an offer to meet to resolve the controversy.
Brendan Burke, a protester who lives in Brooklyn, said that he runs "patrols" several times each day, pressing people to keep their spaces clean. Not everyone complies, he said, but overall, the group has been more orderly and respectful than not. Because this is New York, he found it fitting to add that he had yet to see a rat.
At 6:00 p.m. Thursday, while protesters began the cleaning effort, a group of about 20 New York council members and state senators expressed their support of the protesters at a press conference in the plaza across the street from the park. They included Margaret Chin, the city council member whose district includes Wall Street. "I call on the mayor to do everything you can to make sure the peaceful demonstrations continue," she said.
Jumaane Williams, a council member from Brooklyn, addressed the mayor directly. "Hopefully you'll be remembered for something other than dismantling democracy in this city." He finished his speech with a flourish, leading the crowd in a chorus of a chant that has reverberated through the area for weeks: "All day, all week, Occupy Wall Street."
About an hour after the press conference ended, there was a tense stand-off between police and protesters on Wall Street outside of the restaurant Cipriani. A scrum of protesters had marched down to the restaurant because they'd heard that the mayor would be making an appearance at a gala there. They gathered across the street from the restaurant, shouting slogans, while a line of police stood in front of them, blocking the restaurant's entrance. They left after the police threatened to arrest them.
Angela Doyle, the executive vice president of 1199SEIU, a local health care workers' union, said that she had been inside the restaurant when the mayor presented an award. When the room rose to give him a standing ovation, she said, two tables of union representatives "sat on their hands."
When she heard that there were protesters outside, she said, she decided to come take a look. The union's goals are "completely congruous" with those of the protesters, she said.
Standing outside the restaurant, smoking a cigarette, she said she was thinking about reaching out to her friends in the sanitation union to see if she could interest any of them in volunteering to help the protesters with the clean-up. Like the protesters, she was suspicious of the mayor's intentions. "If sanitation is his concern, " she said, "I could show him some neighborhoods in the Bronx."
|
– Protesters in the park at the heart of the Occupy Wall Street demonstration were bracing for a showdown with police this morning, but they appear to have been granted a reprieve. The protesters had vowed to defy orders to leave Zuccotti Park by 6am so it could be cleaned. The city had said protesters could return after that cleaning—but without the sleeping bags and other gear that has made a 27-day sit-in possible, the New York Daily News reports. Dozens of protesters with brooms and buckets began a major park clean-up last night, with some even planting flowers, reports the Huffington Post. Did their efforts work? Maybe: NYC's deputy mayor announced this morning that the cleaning has been postponed. According to a statement from him, the park's owner "believes they can work out an arrangement with the protesters that will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use and that the situation is respectful of residents and businesses downtown, and we will continue to monitor the situation." Activists viewed the order to leave the park as an attempt to shut down the protests; Capital Tonight calls the postponement a victory for the protesters.
|
Just One More Thing...
We have sent you a verification email. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your AJC.com profile.
If you do not receive the verification message within a few minutes of signing up, please check your Spam or Junk folder.
Close ||||| And then there were none.
Toughie, the world's last Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog and a symbol of the extinction crisis, has died at his home in the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
The famed frog's age is unknown, but he's at least 12 years old, and likely older, because he was an adult when collected in 2005.
Mark Mandica, who worked with Toughie for seven years, says the frog's story isn't entirely unique. “A lot of attention had been paid to him in captivity, so he even has his own Wikipedia page,” Mandica, head of the Amphibian Foundation, notes. “But there are plenty of other species out there that are disappearing, sometimes before we even knew that they were there.”
In fact, Toughie's own species (Ecnomiohyla rabborum) wasn't described until 2008, a few years after Toughie was found during a 2005 frog rescue mission by the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Zoo Atlanta. He was one of many frogs scientists raced to collect as the deadly chytrid fungus closed in on central Panama.
“It was likened to just rescuing things from a burning house,” Mandica says.
The species occurred in a very small range, at an elevation where the fungus proved especially deadly. Field studies suggest up to 85 percent of all the amphibians on Toughie's home turf were wiped out. It's unlikely that any of his kind survived in the wild, where they were incredible climbers and also graceful gliders—toe webbing allowed them to soar from one tree to the next. (Learn about the increasing pace of extinctions.)
Watch: This tree frog's death marks the end for a species.
Naming a Survivor
Mandica's son, then a two-year-old, dubbed the last survivor Toughie. Naming animals isn't the norm among scientists, but the frog's popularity as the last of his kind meant that people (and the press) kept demanding a name—and Toughie stuck.
Although he gave voice to the plight of endangered species, Toughie was silent for all the years he lived at the botanical garden, until one fateful morning in 2014 when Mandica captured the only existing example of the Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog's call.
“I heard this weird call coming out of the frog [area], and I knew it had to be him, because I knew what all the other species sounded like. I was able to sneak in and record him on my phone.” (Hear Toughie's call.)
View Images Toughie was photographed in his captive home at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Goegraphic Photo Ark
Atlanta Botanical Garden
Photographing the Last of a Kind
Photographer Joel Sartore recalls a curious, baseball-size creature with amazing eyes that actually hopped up onto his camera while being photographed for the Photo Ark project. Photo Ark aims to showcase our planet's incredible biodiversity and inspire people to help fight the extinction crisis while there is still time. So far, Sartore has photographed more than 6,000 species. Unfortunately, many others also represent the end of the line for their kind.
“About once a year I photograph something that's the last of its kind or close to it,” he says. “I get sad and angry because I can't imagine that this won't wake the world up and get people to care about extinction. I keep thinking, OK, this is the one. This animal's story is going to do it and get people to care more about extinction than about what's on TV.
“They can't care if they don't know these animals,” he adds. “They have to meet them and fall in love with them the way that I have and so many others have.”
Watch: Scientists rush to save other tree frogs in Central America.
Toughie, indeed, had lots of admirers. Last year his image was even projected onto St. Peter's Basilica, and his call played, so that the world could see and hear him.
The frog met race car drivers and movie directors, Sartore recalls. “A lot of people were moved to tears when they saw him. When you have the very last of something it's a special deal.”
Now he's gone, and with him an entire species. And as large numbers of animals and plants continue to vanish, their loss increasingly compromises the healthy ecosystems necessary for everyone's survival—including our own. (Can extinct species ever be brought back?)
|
– A frog named Toughie, likely the last of his species, died quietly in his enclosure at the Atlanta Botanical Garden this week, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He will be missed by Garden staff and visitors alike," the Garden posted on Facebook. The Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog wasn't even discovered until 2005 when scientists were attempting to rescue specimens of any amphibian they could before a deadly chytrid fungal infection hit Panama. According to National Geographic, Toughie made it out of Panama, but it's estimated that the chytrid fungus killed up to 85% of all amphibians left behind in his natural habitat. He had lived in isolation at the Garden since 2008. A cause of death is unknown, but Toughie was believed to be at least 12 years old. In his final years, Toughie became a "symbol of the extinction crisis." His photo was projected onto St. Peter's Basilica, and he was visited by film directors and race car drivers. "A lot of people were moved to tears when they saw him," a photographer who worked with Toughie says. "When you have the very last of something it's a special deal.” While some scientists are holding out hope for the Rabbs' tree frog, it's likely Toughie was the last, Scientific American reports. His species hasn't been seen in the wild since 2007. It's rare for humans to actually witness an extinction when it happens and not just learn about it years later. (For the first time, bees have been put on the endangered species list.)
|
Woman sues for wrongful conception after doctor said she couldn't get pregnant Local News Woman sues for wrongful conception after doctor said she couldn't get pregnant
- It is an unusual civil case out of Oakland County. A woman is suing her doctor for the stress caused by an unplanned pregnancy.
He told her there was no chance she could get pregnant but she did, with a child who has Down syndrome.
The woman is not suing for wrongful birth - she is suing for wrongful conception. She blames her doctor and according to our legal expert - it sounds like she has a case.
Pictures show Lori Cichewicz as a doting loving mother. Reportedly she always planned to give birth but the problem, she never wanted to be pregnant.
"This is really very close to a medical malpractice case," said FOX 2 legal analyst Charlie Langton. "That's really essentially what it is."
In 2008 she went to get a permanent birth control procedure, to get her tubes tied. But her doctor told her that her fallopian tubes were blocked. She had no chance of getting pregnant and she didn't even need birth control.
Three years later Lori got pregnant with a baby who had Down syndrome.
Lori is now suing her doctor for "wrongful conception" - basically his negligence. She is seeking damages for the emotional distress caused by the unplanned pregnancy.
Cichewicz is now 50 years old and raising a special needs child.
According to Langton, the courts have already decided damages are limited to the stress of the conception.
"The stress associated with thinking about of having to be pregnant or being pregnant when she didn't want to be pregnant are the only damages," he said. "It's not the fact she is going to get money for having to raise a Down syndrome child, the court already said no."
The case is expected to go to a jury trial within the next few months - unless the doctor settles it before then. ||||| DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) - In a case of so-called "wrongful conception," an Oakland County woman is suing her doctor for the stress caused by an unplanned pregnancy.
Lori Cichewicz said her doctor was unable to perform a permanent birth control procedure on her in 2008 because he found her fallopian tubes were already blocked. She said he assured her she could not get pregnant, and told her she didn't need to take contraceptives.
Cichewicz gave birth to a child with Down Syndrome in April 2011.
"She’s full of life, loving, kind, sweet, everything you could ever imagine," Cichewicz described her daughter, Reagan, now five-years-old.
Cichewicz said Reagan is adored by her big brother and her father, Cichewicz's boyfriend.
But she said she is seeking damages for the emotional distress caused by the unplanned pregnancy. The 50-year-old mother said the thought of raising a child with special needs at her age, the added financial burden, and her doctor's broken promise all took an emotional toll.
“I’m older, I don’t know, will I see her graduate college? Will I see her go to college? Will I see her get married? Will I see her graduate high school? All this is going through my mind," Cichewicz said.
Tim Takala, Cichewicz's attorney, said the lawsuit seeks to keep Cichewicz's doctor accountable for his alleged misguidance that Cichewicz could not get pregnant and did not need to take contraceptives.
“That’s advice that misled Lori and caused her to go down and make a decision that she never should have had to make," Takala said.
Cichewicz said there was never any question whether she would have Reagan.
"I mean, I can’t imagine life without her now. When they say having a child with special needs is a gift, it’s a gift," she said.
When the case goes to trial sometime within the next few months, the jury will be able to consider the fact Cichewicz knew she would have a child with Down Syndrome.
Calls to Cichewicz' doctor and his attorney weren't returned Thursday. ||||| Pontiac — The Michigan appeals court says an Oakland County woman can seek financial damages for the emotional distress of knowing she would deliver a child with Down syndrome.
Lori Cichewicz says she was assured by her doctor her fallopian tubes were blocked and she didn’t need to use birth control. But she became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter in 2011. It’s a case of so-called wrongful conception.
In a 3-0 decision released Wednesday, the appeals court says Cichewicz can’t seek a financial award for the costs of raising a child with Down syndrome. But the court says she can seek compensation for the stress associated with the unplanned pregnancy like any medical malpractice claim.
The lawsuit now returns to Oakland County Circuit Court.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/28Ra2lh
|
– "She's full of life, loving, kind, sweet, everything you could ever imagine," Lori Cichewicz describes her 5-year-old daughter, Reagan, to WXYZ. But the 50-year-old from Oakland County, Mich., worries about the financial strain and other issues involved in raising a child with special needs (Reagan was born with Down syndrome), as well as whether she'll be around to celebrate all of Reagan's milestones as she gets older—and she's now suing her doctor for damages for what she says was a pregnancy that shouldn't have happened in the first place. Per Fox 2, Cichewicz went to get her fallopian tubes tied in 2008 as a permanent birth-control measure, but her doctor informed her that her tubes were blocked and that surgery was unnecessary—in fact, he said, she could go without any contraception from that point forward and not worry about getting pregnant. Fast-forward about three years, when a shocked Cichewicz found out she was pregnant with Reagan. A Michigan appeals court ruled last week that while Cichewicz can't sue for funds to cover raising a child with Down syndrome, she can file a complaint to be compensated for the emotional stress of the unplanned pregnancy, per the AP. "[The doctor's advice] misled Lori and caused her to ... make a decision that she never should have had to make," her lawyer tells WXYZ, while a Fox 2 legal analyst says she likely has a solid case, calling it "very close to ... medical malpractice." The case is expected to go to trial later this year. Not that the outcome of the suit will affect how Cichewicz feels about her daughter. "I can't imagine life without her now," she tells WXYZ. "When they say having a child with special needs is a gift, it's a gift." (Read about why a woman in her 20s chose to have her tubes tied.)
|
Jesse James' Alleged Mistresses -- #3 Surfaces
Jesse James' Alleged Mistresses -- #3 Surfaces
She claims to be' third mistress -- but says her relationship with Jesse was much more of a flash in the pan than the other two.-- a Los Angeles photographer -- claims Jesse hired her in 2008 to do styling work for aphoto shoot. She says the two emailed and texted each other for a year, but claims they only had sex four times before she cut it off.Daguerre has 195 text messages between her and Jesse (the cell phone numbers sync up) ... many of them extremely graphic. Among the milder, Jesse says, "I'll be your monkey."Throughout the exchanges, Jesse repeatedly asks Daguerre to send pictures and set up rendezvous. In one exchange, Daguerre complained that Jesse wasn't letting loose. He explains, "I'm texting you in secret."We could not reach James' rep for comment. ||||| Melissa Smith -- a stripper who claims she had a wild two-year fling with Jesse James during his marriage to Sandra Bullock -- had two serious brushes with the law in the past year ... and even served jail time.
Sources tell TMZ Smith was busted last May for beating up a cop and resisting arrest.
Smith pled guilty and served 20 days in a California jail.
And just two days ago -- the same day she sold her Jesse James story to a tabloid -- Smith plead "not guilty" to a DUI charge.
Smith was arrested for that DUI last month and blew a .18 -- in technical terms, she was sloshed.
||||| Jesse James' Other Other Woman: One More Busty, Tattooed Gal
Email This If there's anything Jesse James likes as much as motorcycles, it's shapely, tattooed women. In the new issue of Star magazine, heavily-inked stripper Melissa Smith reveals she carried on a two-year affair with James -- beginning a year after he wed Sandra Bullock. See Photos.
James contacted Smith via Myspace in 2006 after seeing photos of her at a West Coast Choppers event. He then invited her to his California office. The meet-and-greet turned into a romp, according to Smith. "We ended up having sex on his couch, and he didn't use a condom."
Star says the rendezvous was "just the first of many," reporting that James and Smith met every two months. The magazine calls James a "serial cheater," a title his porn star ex-wife Janine Lindemulder recently If there's anything Jesse James likes as much as motorcycles, it's shapely, tattooed women. In the new issue of, heavily-inked stripper Melissa Smith reveals she carried on a two-year affair with James -- beginning a year after he wed Sandra Bullock.James contacted Smith via Myspace in 2006 after seeing photos of her at a West Coast Choppers event. He then invited her to his California office. The meet-and-greet turned into a romp, according to Smith. "We ended up having sex on his couch, and he didn't use a condom."Star says the rendezvous was "just the first of many," reporting that James and Smith met every two months. The magazine calls James a "serial cheater," a title his porn star ex-wife Janine Lindemulder recently corroborated in In Touch magazine.
One encounter occurred after Smith had breast enhancement surgery. "[Jesse] said, 'We'll have to take those girls for a test drive.' He was in awe of my boob job," Smith says, adding James did not wear a wedding ring during these hook-ups and Sandra's name "never came up -- and there wasn't even one photograph of her in his office."Star's piece includes photos of Smith wearing a jean jacket reading "Jesse's Girl" -- a gift from James, she says.Smith believes James lost interest in her when Bombshell McGee entered the scene. "His attention was on the next woman," Smith says, adding that Bullock should divorce James. "Once a cheater, always a cheater."
|
– Move over, Tiger Woods, a new mistress count has been established: It’s for Jesse James, and he’s already up to No. 3. First to follow Michelle “Bombshell” McGee was Melissa Smith, another heavily tattooed stripper who claims a two-year affair. Classy: They met on MySpace. Classier: “We ended up having sex on his couch, and he didn't use a condom,” she tells Star. Classiest: She’s been arrested twice, reports TMZ. For more on her, click here. Alleged mistress No. 3 is Brigitte Daguerre, a California photographer who says she only slept with James four times. She saved 195 text messages the two sent each other, including one from James that says, “I’ll be your monkey,” TMZ reports. Apparently James’ cheating—with as many as 11 women during his marriage to Sandra Bullock—was an open secret that everyone (except a blinded-by-love Bullock, apparently) from his ex-wife to his employees knew about, according to the New York Post, which rounds up several recent tabloid articles.
|
Since the late 1970s, China has moved from a closed, centrally planned system to a more market-oriented one that plays a major global role. China has implemented reforms in a gradualist fashion, resulting in efficiency gains that have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. Reforms began with the phaseout of collectivized agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization, increased autonomy for state enterprises, growth of the private sector, development of stock markets and a modern banking system, and opening to foreign trade and investment. China continues to pursue an industrial policy, state support of key sectors, and a restrictive investment regime. From 2013 to 2017, China had one of the fastest growing economies in the world, averaging slightly more than 7% real growth per year. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences, China in 2017 stood as the largest economy in the world, surpassing the US in 2014 for the first time in modern history. China became the world's largest exporter in 2010, and the largest trading nation in 2013. Still, China's per capita income is below the world average.
In July 2005 moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies. From mid-2005 to late 2008, the renminbi (RMB) appreciated more than 20% against the US dollar, but the exchange rate remained virtually pegged to the dollar from the onset of the global financial crisis until June 2010, when Beijing announced it would resume a gradual appreciation. From 2013 until early 2015, the renminbi held steady against the dollar, but it depreciated 13% from mid-2015 until end-2016 amid strong capital outflows; in 2017 the RMB resumed appreciating against the dollar – roughly 7% from end-of-2016 to end-of-2017. In 2015, the People’s Bank of China announced it would continue to carefully push for full convertibility of the renminbi, after the currency was accepted as part of the IMF’s special drawing rights basket. However, since late 2015 the Chinese Government has strengthened capital controls and oversight of overseas investments to better manage the exchange rate and maintain financial stability.
The Chinese Government faces numerous economic challenges including: (a) reducing its high domestic savings rate and correspondingly low domestic household consumption; (b) managing its high corporate debt burden to maintain financial stability; (c) controlling off-balance sheet local government debt used to finance infrastructure stimulus; (d) facilitating higher-wage job opportunities for the aspiring middle class, including rural migrants and college graduates, while maintaining competitiveness; (e) dampening speculative investment in the real estate sector without sharply slowing the economy; (f) reducing industrial overcapacity; and (g) raising productivity growth rates through the more efficient allocation of capital and state-support for innovation. Economic development has progressed further in coastal provinces than in the interior, and by 2016 more than 169.3 million migrant workers and their dependents had relocated to urban areas to find work. One consequence of China’s population control policy known as the "one-child policy" - which was relaxed in 2016 to permit all families to have two children - is that China is now one of the most rapidly aging countries in the world. Deterioration in the environment - notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table, especially in the North - is another long-term problem. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and urbanization. The Chinese Government is seeking to add energy production capacity from sources other than coal and oil, focusing on natural gas, nuclear, and clean energy development. In 2016, China ratified the Paris Agreement, a multilateral agreement to combat climate change, and committed to peak its carbon dioxide emissions between 2025 and 2030.
The government's 13th Five-Year Plan, unveiled in March 2016, emphasizes the need to increase innovation and boost domestic consumption to make the economy less dependent on government investment, exports, and heavy industry. However, China has made more progress on subsidizing innovation than rebalancing the economy. Beijing has committed to giving the market a more decisive role in allocating resources, but the Chinese Government’s policies continue to favor state-owned enterprises and emphasize stability. Chinese leaders in 2010 pledged to double China’s GDP by 2020, and the 13th Five Year Plan includes annual economic growth targets of at least 6.5% through 2020 to achieve that goal. In recent years, China has renewed its support for state-owned enterprises in sectors considered important to "economic security," explicitly looking to foster globally competitive industries. Chinese leaders also have undermined some market-oriented reforms by reaffirming the "dominant" role of the state in the economy, a stance that threatens to discourage private initiative and make the economy less efficient over time. The slight acceleration in economic growth in 2017—the first such uptick since 2010—gives Beijing more latitude to pursue its economic reforms, focusing on financial sector deleveraging and its Supply-Side Structural Reform agenda, first announced in late 2015. ||||| China plans to increase defense spending 11.2 percent this year as the country’s expanding global commitments and lingering territorial disputes drive demand for more warships, missiles and fighter planes.
Military spending is set to rise this year to about 670 billion yuan ($106.4 billion), Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for China’s National People’s Congress, said yesterday ahead of a speech today by Premier Wen Jiabao to open the annual 10-day session of the country’s legislature.
China’s defense spending, the second highest in the world after the U.S., has risen in tandem with the expansion of its economy and a new focus by the Obama administration on the Asia- Pacific region. China is also involved in spats with Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan over control of oil- and gas-rich waters and has a lingering territorial dispute with India that erupted into a war in 1962.
“China’s got a lot of things that require a state to have military hardware for,” Geoff Raby, who was Australia’s ambassador to China until last year, said in a telephone interview. “China lives in a neighborhood where it doesn’t have any natural allies or friends.”
Satellite Maker Rises
China North Optical-Electrical Technology Co. (600435), the maker of military control systems and sensors, rose as much as 9.7 percent in Shanghai trading, the biggest intraday gain in more than a month. The Beijing-based company was up 6.3 percent at 10.31 yuan as of 10:14 a.m. China Dongfanghong Spacesat Co. (600118), which builds satellites, advanced as much as 3.9 percent.
Defense spending has more than doubled since 2006, tracking a rise in nominal gross domestic product from 20.9 trillion yuan to 47.2 trillion yuan in that time. China’s spending on domestic security will be higher than military spending this year for the third straight year, according to Finance Ministry figures released today, underscoring the government’s concerns about growing social unrest and threats to stability in Tibet and Xinjiang province.
The growing defense budget has stoked concerns among China’s neighbors and the U.S., which announced last year a strategic shift toward Asia including deploying forces to a base in Australia. Chinese defense spending as a percentage of GDP was about 1.3 percent in 2011, falling from about 1.4 percent in 2006.
‘Reasonable and Appropriate’
“The Chinese government has maintained reasonable and appropriate growth of defense spending on the strength of rapid economic and social development and the steady increase of fiscal revenues,” Li said.
He spoke a day before the start of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, the 3,000-member parliament that is legally the highest governmental body in China. Sessions run from today to March 14.
U.S. analysts say actual Chinese defense spending is much higher than the amount announced by Li yesterday. Phillip Saunders, director of the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at National Defense University in Washington, estimates China’s true defense spending is 50 percent higher than the official budget because items such as research and development as well as foreign weapons procurement are not included. Li said research and procurement are included.
Off-Budget Items
Taylor Fravel, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies China’s relations with its neighbors, said the number of off-budget items such has foreign arms procurement have decreased in recent years. China includes support for veterans in its budget while the U.S. does not, Fravel said.
While Chinese military spending is still officially less than a fifth of U.S. defense spending, its neighbors are concerned about the country’s expansive territorial claims. China claims indisputable sovereignty over the islands, reefs and shoals of the South China Sea and their surrounding waters, demarcating a tongue-shaped claim on Chinese maps extending hundreds of miles from mainland China.
China is “always ready” to use force if necessary to ensure its territorial integrity in the South China Sea, Maj. Gen. Luo Yan, deputy secretary general of the Chinese Academy of Military Science, said today. China’s military should be “strong and big,” and the country should do more to mark its rightful claim to the area, he told reporters in Beijing.
‘Scared Its Neighbors’
It also contests control over the Senkaku, or Diaoyu islands with Japan, which sparked a diplomatic standoff in 2010 after Japan detained a Chinese fishing boat captain when his vessel collided with a Japanese patrol boat. Japan is “closely watching” China’s military spending and is seeking greater transparency in its outlays, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters today in Tokyo.
Vietnam recently filed a protest saying China assaulted its fishermen and prevented them from entering the Paracel Islands. China responded by claiming sovereignty over the islands and said it didn’t board the vessels.
“China scared its neighbors,” Saunders said in an e-mail. “Now it is back on the path of greater restraint, but its neighbors are still alarmed.”
U.S. concerns stem from Chinese progress in developing modern fighters and precision ballistic missiles that can target U.S. aircraft carriers, Saunders said.
In the past year, China began sea trials of its first aircraft carrier, a refurbished Soviet-era vessel acquired from Ukraine more than a decade ago.
Military Buildup
Beijing is also continuing a military buildup across the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. is obligated by a 1979 law to provide defensive weapons to Taiwan, which China claims as a province. A Pentagon report published last August said that as of December, 2010, China’s People’s Liberation Army had deployed between 1,000 and 1,200 short-range ballistic missiles to units opposite Taiwan even as cross-Strait ties have improved.
Last year the U.S. announced it would sell Taiwan $5.3 billion in upgrades for its 145 Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) F-16 fighters.
China will boost spending on domestic security by 11.5 percent this year to 701.8 billion yuan, outstripping spending on defense by 31.5 billion yuan, according to a table in the work report issued by the Finance Ministry.
Economic Interests
Economic interests around the world, including 812,000 workers abroad at the end of 2011, mean China’s military may increasingly deploy across the globe. China set a frigate to Libya last year to help evacuate thousands of Chinese nationals during the revolt that saw the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi. Li said Chinese warships have made eight deployments to help international efforts to protect sea lanes from Somali pirates. Chinese peacekeepers now patrol as part of a United Nations mission in Sudan.
The country is also increasingly dependent on global commerce for its well-being, factors which in past eras led countries such as the U.K. and the U.S. to boost military spending. Combined imports and exports last year amounted to $3.6 trillion, and China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, is also the world’s second-biggest oil importer after the U.S.
The U.S., with an economy less than three times the size of China’s, has a military budget about between five and six times as big. The Pentagon is asking for $613.9 billion next year, which also includes $88.5 billion in supplemental spending for wars. Unlike China’s, the U.S. defense budget is shrinking. The Pentagon’s request is $31.8 billion less than the amount enacted by Congress for 2012.
China’s defense spending increased an average of 16.2 percent a year from 1999 to 2008, according to figures from a defense white paper published in 2009. While building up spending, China has also proclaimed that it takes a nonconfrontational approach in the region.
“China’s limited military strength is aimed at safeguarding sovereignty, national security and territorial integrity,” Li said. “It will not in the least pose a threat to other countries.”
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Michael Forsythe in Beijing at mforsythe@bloomberg.net; Yidi Zhao in Beijing at yzhao7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net
|
– China will up its defense spending by 11.2% in 2012 to $106.4 billion, citing its unhappiness with the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, reports the AP. China has made double-digit increases to its military spending in all but two of the years since the early 1990s, although this year's increase is down slightly from the 12.7% rise in 2011. Despite the seemingly dramatic rise, China's economy has also grown quickly over the past two decades, and military spending as a percentage of GDP has stayed relatively low, officially 1.3% last year. “Our defense spending is relatively low compared with other major countries,” says one Chinese official. However, security experts think China's true spending is likely much higher (the CIA estimated 4.3% of its GDP in 2006). With maritime disputes with Vietnam, Japan, and the Philippines and rough relations with India, China faces an array of security threats. “China lives in a neighborhood where it doesn’t have any natural allies or friends," a former Australian ambassador to China tells Bloomberg. “China’s got a lot of things that require a state to have military hardware for."
|
Rihanna stepped out in New York in one of her most revealing daytime looks yet – as she continues to rebel against handlers who have been urging her to tone down her wild behavior.
The singer was seen shopping in SoHo in a revealing, and see-through, tiny pink strapless bra with a pleated skirt, showing off her flat stomach and toned arms.
The star, who matched her look with Converse sneakers, sunglasses and bright yellow talon nails, wandered around the SoHo shops with girlfriends before heading to Da Silvano for an early dinner.
She cancelled a trip to the UK last week insisting she needed to spend more time with her family and her grandmother, Dolly, who is suffering from cancer. She was spotted catching the Miami Heat game on Saturday at 40/40 with her family, including her grandfather, and her group was later joined by her ex Chris Brown. Rihanna and Brown later headed with their respective entourages to Meatpacking hotspot SL.
While sources told the UK’s Closer Magazine that Rihanna’s friend and manager Jay-Z has ordered her to “go to rehab,” sources tell Page Six that this is not the case, and the real issue is that Rihanna is at the center of a management struggle at Roc Nation about how to deal with her rebellious behavior, and refusal to stay away from Brown.
One source told Page Six, “Rihanna feels she has worked hard, and rightly deserves to enjoy her huge success. She has rebelled against her management and her record label execs who want her to tone her lifestyle down and work more. She has been taking more vacations, wearing more wild outfits, posting more on Twitter. Her message is that she’s an artist, and will live her life how she likes.” ||||| That's one way to dominate New York! Nude billboard of Rihanna is centre of attention in Times Square
She's no stranger to stripping off in an effort to promote herself.
But Rihanna's latest advert takes her sexy shots to the next level, with a naked image of the singer dominating Times Square as it appears on a billboard in the centre of New York.
The image shows a red-headed Rihanna covering her modesty with her arms as she promotes her latest fragrance, Rebelle.
Making a statement: A huge billboard showing a nude picture of Rihanna is on display in New York's bustling Times Square
Talking about the scent recently, Rihanna said it was all about girl power, explaining: 'My new fragrance is about taking control but still being a lady.
'There’s a feminine, romantic element to the fragrance — but there’s also a defiant quality in it. I love its duality.'
The billboard of Rihanna came as the singer hit out at claims she had used a body double for portions of her sexy commercial for Armani Jeans.
Naked ambition: The shot of the singer is to promote her latest fragrance, Rebelle
Sheer exhibitionism: Rihanna left little to the imagination as she teamed a see-through bra top with a matching skirt while stepping out in New York yesterday
Rihanna took exception to the article written by The Sun and launched a foul mouthed tirade against the newspaper yesterday afternoon.
She wrote on Twitter: 'Ok @thesunnewspaper, this is the only way I could say this to you!!! F*** YOU....'.
According to The Sun, Irish model Jahnassa Aicken is the other woman who bares her body in a pair of designer knickers.
Just me: Rihanna was fuming at the suggestion portions of her Armani advert showed someone else's figure
The other woman: Jahnassa Aicken is rumoured to be the body shown in parts of the sexy commercial ||||| Tweet with a location
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Rihanna and Chris Brown are “seeing a lot of each other in private,” sources say, and Brown even joined her and her family to cheer on the Miami Heat over the weekend.
The two stars have partied at the same clubs twice in the past two weeks but kept a coy distance. But sources tell Page Six they’re very close in private.
And in a sign that Brown has been forgiven for his infamous 2009 attack on Rihanna, he joined her family, including her grandfather Lionel Brathwaite and various cousins, at Jay-Z’s 40/40 on Saturday to watch the Heat beat the Celtics.
A source told us, “Rihanna arrived first in a yellow cab, with her family and friends, and was escorted to a private room. Brown arrived a little later and joined her and her family. They sat on the same couch together rooting for the Heat. There was no sign of his girlfriend.”
The pair then left separately — with Brown exiting first with his pals — while Rihanna and her family remained behind to watch the Manny Pacquiao–Timothy Bradley fight.
As we reported yesterday, Rihanna and Brown reunited later at Meatpacking club SL — where they kept a cool distance. They partied in separate booths but kept a close eye on each other. He sent over two bottles of Ace of Spades Champagne.
Meanwhile, sources say Rihanna’s management is deeply divided on how to deal with the “Chris Brown issue.” One source said, “Everyone in the business assumes she and Chris are getting back together, and it is only a matter of time before they’ll be more public about it.
“It’s like she is testing the water — first they work on music together, then they hang out in a friendly way, so the public won’t be completely shocked when they step out together publicly.
“There is also a tug of war at Roc Nation over the final say on what she is doing. But everyone agrees they can’t control Rihanna and can’t stop her seeing Chris, no matter how much they fear the negative public reaction will be. It means she probably won’t release another album this year, for fear of a backlash.”
|
– The media is moving on from "zombie apocalypse" to "Rihannapocalypse." The gossip rags are teeming with stories about the singer's rebellious ways, and Newser rounds up the juicy tidbits: Sign No. 1 that she's nearing breakdown: The singer apparently spent yesterday shopping in SoHo ... wearing a strapless bra ... that was pretty darn see-through, reports the New York Post. (Click to see a photo.) She now appears naked on a billboard in Times Square, but that's not the falling-apart part. The Daily Mail notes that the ad promotes her perfume Rebelle, and it's the second fashion ad to create buzz this week. The Sun apparently claimed Rihanna used a body double in a sexy Armani Jeans ad, leading the singer to tweet, "Ok @thesunnewspaper, this is the only way I could say this to you!!! F*** YOU." (Click to read the whole tweet, which gets nastier.) She's hanging out with Chris Brown ... in the presence of her family. The Post reports that Brown watched a Miami Heat game with Rihanna's family over the weekend. The two later sat in separate booths at a Meatpacking District club; he sent her table two bottles of champagne. Still, the Post notes that they two have been careful to keep "a coy distance." She has, horrors, been taking more vacations. A source tells the Post that her management and record label execs want her to buckle down, but instead Rihanna is having fun and "posting more on Twitter."
|
Sanford PD told woman to "stop calling 911" hours before she was killed
Three hours before Latina Herring was murdered, she can be seen on Sanford police body camera video arguing with her boyfriend, Allen Cashe, the man accused of taking his AK-47 and going on a shooting rampage, killing Herring, her 8-year-old son and attempting to kill her 7-year-old son, her father and two bystanders.
Advertisement
At 3:20 in the morning Monday, police were called to a Wawa.
“I don’t have her house keys,” Cashe says on the body camera video.
“Man, you got my keys,” she yells.
“I’m not trying to play games,” said Cashe. “You have an attitude coming home from the club drunk.”
Twenty minutes later, police were called again, to a home on Hays Drive. According to video released by Sanford police Friday, officers on scene dismissed Herring’s concerns.
“She’s making false accusations,” an officer said. “It’s the second time she’s done it.”
At one point, police tell Herring to “stop calling 911.”
“We’re going to handle it,” an officer tells Herring. “Just stop calling 911 and making accusations that you don’t know about.”
Police, in the video, say the couple was just arguing and it was not physical. They call it a “civil matter.” At one point Cashe is handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car but is released. Police say there was no reason to arrest anyone.
One officer says Herring, frustrated, said she should have just lied and said Cashe hit her.
It is unclear why Cashe, or Herring, called 911. Officers on scene remarked he may have wanted to harm her.
“I think he’s calling because he’s afraid he’s going to do something to her,” an officer said to another.
Herring’s friend Ladasha Beasley says Sanford police should have done more.
“Sanford PD’s a big disappointment to me and to others,” said Beasley. “To protect and serve who man? Who? Justice needs to be served.”
Sanford police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the newly released body camera video and how officers handled the scene.
Cashe is accused of going on his shooting spree around 6:30 a.m. Police let him leave the scene after he got his keys, which sparked the argument.
The four shooting survivors remain in the hospital. Three are stable and one is in critical condition. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
/ Updated By Alex Johnson
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said police told the victim to stop calling 911. In fact, they were speaking to a third-party, in another location, who was on the phone with police.
A few hours before a Florida woman and her 8-year-old son were fatally shot last week, police responded to a domestic dispute between the woman and the suspect.
Early on the morning of March 27, Sanford police were twice called to intervene between Latina Verneta Herring, 35, and Allen Dion Cashe, 31, who were quarreling over the keys to her house and car, according to an arrest report obtained by NBC affiliate WESH of Orlando and The Orlando Sentinel.
About three hours later, around 6:30 a.m., Cashe emptied the magazine of an assault-style rifle, investigators said. Herring, who was shot seven times, died at the scene. Her 8-year-old son, Branden, was critically wounded; he died Tuesday. Police said four other people were also shot — Herring's father and 7-year-old son, who were critically wounded, and two bystanders.
Allen Dion Cashe, guarded by armed officers, in court March 28 in Seminole County, Florida. WESH-TV via NBC News Channel
Police body camera video of the pre-shooting encounters with Herring show her and a man identified as Cashe yelling at each other at a gasoline station about who has the car keys.
"I'm not trying to play games," Cashe tells Herring on the video. "You have an attitude coming home from the club drunk."
About 20 minutes later, officers were again called, this time to Herring's home. In the police video, Cashe is handcuffed and placed in a patrol car, but he is then released after officers conclude that it is a civil matter, not a criminal one.
"She's making false accusations," one of the officers says to another cop. "It's the second time she's done it."
Allen Dion Cashe in a 2015 booking photo. Seminole Country Sheriff's Office
Three hours later, Herring was dead, both of her sons and her father were critically wounded and two bystanders suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
In the arrest report, investigators said Cashe admitted to "firing an entire magazine from his AK-47 style" rifle, shooting Herring and "possibly 'accidentally' shooting both children while they were sleeping." According to the arrest report, he told investigators that he was upset with Herring for calling police and for "stealing his car keys."
But Police Chief Cecil E. Smith said the day of the shooting: "The cause of this was Mr. Cashe's making the decision to recklessly shoot and harm these individuals."
Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett said in a statement that he was deeply saddened by "the senseless shooting in Sanford," adding: "Domestic violence is a reality in society that doesn't distinguish itself among race, creed, location, color or class."
According to court records, Cashe remains in jail without bond pending arraignments on April 17 on a charge of violating parole and on May 2 on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, five counts of attempted homicide and a count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
|
– Body cam video released by police in Sanford, Fla., after a man allegedly went on a shooting spree last week that killed his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son, shows cops scoffing at the woman's "false accusations" and telling her to "stop calling 911," WESH reports. In the early morning of March 27, police responded twice to an altercation between 35-year-old Latina Herring and 31-year-old Allen Cashe, per an arrest report cited by NBC News. In the first encounter around 3:20am at a gas station, Herring and Cashe are seen screaming at each other about who was holding onto the keys, with Cashe insisting, "I'm not trying to play games" and telling Herring she had an "attitude" after coming home intoxicated after a night out. Less than half an hour later, cops were called once again, this time to a home NBC identifies as Herring's, and they don't appear to be taking Herring seriously. "It's the second time she's done it," one officer is heard saying about Herring's so-called "false accusations," with another telling her that police were going to "handle" the situation but that she should "just stop calling 911." How they handled it: Cashe was cuffed and placed in the back of a police vehicle, but then let go after cops determined the incident was a "civil matter." Just a few hours later, Cashe reportedly opened fire, killing Herring and her son. Herring's 7-year-old son and father were injured in the attack, as were two bystanders; WESH says three are in stable condition, one in critical condition. Cashe is in jail without bond until his first arraignment on April 17 for parole violation, followed by a May 2 appearance on charges of premeditated murder, attempted homicide, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
|
This article is over 1 year old
Hollywood Reporter says CEO Bob Iger has told employees that film would be released in segments online unless hackers were paid in bitcoin
Pirates of the Caribbean 5: hackers threaten to post film online unless Disney pays ransom
Hackers claim to have plundered Walt Disney’s forthcoming Pirates of the Caribbean film and are threatening to release it unless the studio pays a ransom, it was reported on Monday.
Bob Iger, the studio’s CEO, told a town hall meeting of ABC employees that hackers said they had accessed the film and would release it in segments online unless paid a ransom in bitcoin, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
He did not name the film, but said Disney had refused to pay and was working with federal investigators.
Deadline.com said the film was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the latest instalment of the franchise starring Johnny Depp. It is due to reach theatres on 25 May.
Disney did not immediately respond to a Guardian query seeking confirmation.
Iger said the extortionists threatened to release five minutes of the film and then 20-minute chunks unless a sizeable ransom was paid.
Hollywood has become a prime target for cybercriminals. Last month, an anonymous hacker, or group of hackers, followed through on a threat to upload the fifth season of Orange is the New Black online after Netflix refused to pay a ransom.
Hackers have also reportedly targeted Hollywood agencies such as UTA, ICM and WME.
In 2014, hackers paralysed Sony Pictures and demanded the studio cancel distribution of The Interview, a comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.
Revelation of the extortion against Disney follows the global ransomware cyber-attack which has affected British hospitals and other organisations in at least 99 countries.
Disney is a potentially lucrative target. The Los Angeles-based behemoth is dominating box offices through its core filmmaking studio, nicknamed the Mouse House, as well as Marvel studios and Lucasfilm.
It has billed the fifth instalment of the Pirates franchise as a reboot, with Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow returning to the ocean alongside Geoffrey Rush as Hector Barbossa and Orlando Bloom as Will Turner. Javier Bardem joins the franchise as an undead captain. ||||| The exec says the thieves demanded a ransom, which the company is refusing to pay.
Have real-life pirates taken aim at Disney?
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed Monday that hackers claiming to have access to a Disney movie threatened to release it unless the studio paid a ransom. Iger didn't disclose the name of the film, but said Disney is refusing to pay. The studio is working with federal investigators.
Iger's comments came during a town hall meeting with ABC employees in New York City, according to multiple sources.
Disney's upcoming theatrical release slate include Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which opens Friday, and Cars 3, set to bow June 16. Rumors circulated online last week that a work print of Star Wars: The Last Jedi had been pirated and was being held for ransom, but days later online chatter tipped that rumor as a hoax. The studio had no comment.
The Disney chief said the hackers demanded that a huge sum be paid in Bitcoin. They said they would release five minutes of the film at first, and then in 20-minute chunks until their financial demands are met.
While movie piracy has long been a scourge, ransoms appear to be a new twist.
The ransom demand of Disney comes only weeks after a hacker uploaded 10 episodes of the upcoming season of Orange Is the New Black to The Pirate Bay after Netflix refused to pay an undisclosed amount. The episodes were posted on Pirate Bay six weeks ahead of the series' official June 9 launch.
Several Hollywood agencies have also been targeted by hackers with extortion plots in recent months, including UTA, ICM and WME.
|
– The new Pirates of the Caribbean movie has apparently fallen into the hands of a different kind of pirate, and they're threatening to make it public unless a ransom is paid. Disney CEO Bob Iger told employees Monday that hackers have seized a Disney movie and are demanding a massive Bitcoin payment, the Guardian reports. Iger, widely believed to have been talking about franchise reboot Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, said the unidentified hackers threatened to release five minutes of the movie online followed by 20-minute chunks until the ransom was paid or the entire movie was leaked. The movie is scheduled for a May 25 release. Disney has refused to pay the ransom and is working with the FBI, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The latest Orange Is the New Black season was recently released by hackers after Netflix failed to pay a ransom, and analysts say studios can probably expect many more such threats in the year to come. The likes of Disney and Netflix may have efficient security, but you "have all these vendors and small production companies which don’t have great security and probably don’t have the budget to focus on their own security so hackers get in pretty easily," Hector Monsegur, a former hacker who became an FBI informant and director of Security Assessments for Rhino Security Lab, tells Deadline.
|
Emmanuel Dunand/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
LONDON — Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund chief, has succeeded in generating some rare unanimity in crisis-hit Greece with remarks in which she described the Greeks as tax-dodgers.
“Insulting,” said Evangelos Venizelos, the Socialist leader, in response to an interview Ms. Lagarde gave to The Guardian, a British newspaper. “Greek workers pay their taxes, which are unbearable,” said Alexis Tsipras of the far-left Syriza party.
As of Monday, more than 19,000 comments had been posted on Ms. Lagarde’s Facebook page, many from Greeks and most uncomplimentary.
The controversy also spilled over to her native France, where Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the government spokeswoman, described Ms. Lagarde’s view of the Greeks as “a bit of a caricature.”
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of France’s left-wing Front de Gauche, suggested she should quit and demanded to know what right she had to make “unworthy” comments about the Greeks.
In the offending interview, published Saturday, the I.M.F. boss appeared to place the blame firmly on the Greeks for their present economic mess and suggested “all these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax” should help themselves collectively by paying it.
In the furor that followed, Ms. Lagarde issued a statement expressing sympathy for the Greeks and the challenges they were facing. That was why the I.M.F. was supporting Greece’s efforts to overcome its economic crisis, she said.
She tempered her original point by adding: “An important part of this effort is that everyone should carry their fair share of the burden, especially the most privileged and especially in terms of paying their taxes.”
While Ms. Lagarde’s Facebook page was overwhelmed with comments, some Greeks set up a rival page to channel the national outrage. Commentary on social media accused Ms. Lagarde of preaching to poor Greeks from the position of a highly paid — and untaxed — international bureaucrat.
That came with advice to stay out of Greece:
M/s Lagarde would be well advised never to step foot on Greek soil — unless of course she can withstand the wrath of the Greek people ! — Taking On Banks (@bankcustomers) May 28, 2012
Bill Mitchell, an Australian economist, wrote in his blog on Monday that her remarks fit into a pattern of bullying by international institutions as Greece headed for a new round of elections next month.
The Guardian itself challenged Ms. Lagarde’s views in a follow-up editorial suggesting that, as French finance minister at the end of the boom years, she was partly responsible for Europe’s current financial plight.
“Not only should Christine Lagarde know better, she does know better,” the newspaper said.
Criticizing her for placing the blame on spendthrift southern European nations, it said: “Imprudent borrowers require foolhardy lenders, and in Greece and elsewhere that role has often been played by northern European banks.” ||||| The International Monetary Fund has ratcheted up the pressure on crisis-hit Greece after its managing director, Christine Lagarde, said she has more sympathy for children deprived of decent schooling in sub-Saharan Africa than for many of those facing poverty in Athens.
In an uncompromising interview with the Guardian, Lagarde insists it is payback time for Greece and makes it clear that the IMF has no intention of softening the terms of the country's austerity package.
Using some of the bluntest language of the two-and-a-half-year debt crisis, she says Greek parents have to take responsibility if their children are being affected by spending cuts. "Parents have to pay their tax," she says.
Greece, which has seen its economy shrink by a fifth since the recession began, has been told to cut wages, pensions and public spending in return for financial help from the IMF, the European Union and the European Central Bank.
Asked whether she is able to block out of her mind the mothers unable to get access to midwives or patients unable to obtain life-saving drugs, Lagarde replies: "I think more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger who get teaching two hours a day, sharing one chair for three of them, and who are very keen to get an education. I have them in my mind all the time. Because I think they need even more help than the people in Athens."
Lagarde, predicting that the debt crisis has yet to run its course, adds: "Do you know what? As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time. All these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax." She says she thinks "equally" about Greeks deprived of public services and Greek citizens not paying their tax.
"I think they should also help themselves collectively." Asked how, she replies: "By all paying their tax."
Asked if she is essentially saying to the Greeks and others in Europe that they have had a nice time and it is now payback time, she responds: "That's right."
The intervention by Lagarde comes after the caretaker Greek government met to discuss a sharp fall in tax revenues – down by a third in a year. Under the terms of the country's bailout, Athens has agreed to improve Greece's poor record for tax collection in order to reduce its budget deficit, and Lagarde's remarks are evidence of a growing impatience in the international community. Reports surfaced in Germany and France of preparations being made to cope with Greece's possible departure from the single currency after its election on 17 June.
Belgium's deputy prime minister, Didier Reynders, said it would be a "serious professional error" if central banks and companies did not prepare for an exit.
The euro came under fresh attack on the foreign exchanges, dropping below €1.25 at one point on Friday, as the Spanish government was in talks to pump up to €19bn of rescue finance into Bankia, one of the country's biggest banks, and the Catalan regional government sought financial help from Madrid to deal with its debts.
Signs emerged of a widening gulf between Germany and France over whether common eurobonds should be issued to help those countries, such as Greece and Spain, with high interest rates on their debt.
Jens Weidmann, president of the Bundesbank, poured cold water on the idea – which is strongly backed by the French president, François Hollande – and also said financial aid to Greece should be cut off if it failed to keep to the bailout deal.
Jürgen Fitschen, joint head of Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche, described Greece as "a failed state … a corrupt state". Separately, however, there were reports suggesting that the chancellor, Angela Merkel, was dusting down the economic modernisation plan used to revive East Germany after the fall of communism in the belief that similar measures could be applied to Greece and other struggling eurozone countries. Today's Der Spiegel magazine says Merkel will present a six-point plan based on the East German blueprint as a growth strategy. It includes measures such as privatisation, looser employment law and lower tax rates.
Opinion polls are pointing to a close race between parties backing and opposing the terms of Greece's €130bn bailout, but neither Germany nor the IMF has demonstrated any willingness to water down Greece's austerity programme.
In her interview Lagarde says Greece is not getting softer treatment than a poor country in the developing world, and that the IMF does not find it harder to impose strong conditions on a rich nation.
"No, it's not harder. No. Because it's the mission of the fund, and it's my job to say the truth, whoever it is across the table. And I tell you something: it's sometimes harder to tell the government of low-income countries, where people live on $3,000, $4,000 or $5,000 per capita per year, to actually strengthen the budget and reduce the deficit. Because I know what it means in terms of welfare programmes and support for the poor. It has much bigger ramifications." ||||| Christine Lagarde, the IMF boss who caused international outrage after she suggested in an interview with the Guardian on Friday that beleaguered Greeks might do well to pay their taxes, pays no taxes, it has emerged.
As an official of an international institution, her salary of $467,940 (£298,675) a year plus $83,760 additional allowance a year is not subject to any taxes.
The former French finance minister took over as managing director of the IMF last year when she succeeded her disgraced compatriot Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was forced to resign after he faced charges – later dropped – of sexually attacking a New York hotel maid.
Lagarde, 56, receives a pay and benefits package worth more than American president Barack Obama earns from the United States government, and he pays taxes on it.
The same applies to nearly all United Nations employees – article 34 of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations of 1961, which has been signed by 187 states, declares: "A diplomatic agent shall be exempt from all dues and taxes, personal or real, national, regional or municipal."
According to Lagarde's contract she is also entitled to a pay rise on 1 July every year during her five-year contract.
Base salaries range from $46,000 to $80,521. Senior salaries range between $95,394 and $123,033 but these are topped up with adjustments for the cost of living in different countries. A UN worker based in Geneva, for example, will see their base salary increased by 106%, in Bonn by 50.6%, Paris 62% and Peshawar 38.6%. Even in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, one of the poorest areas of the world, a UN employee's salary will be increased by 53.2%.
Other benefits include rent subsidies, dependency allowances for spouses and children, education grants for school-age children and travel and shipping expenses, as well as subsidised medical insurance.
For many years critics have complained that IMF, World Bank, and United Nations employees are able to live large at international taxpayers' expense.
During the 1944 economic conference at Bretton Woods, where the IMF was created, American and British politicians disagreed over salaries for the bureaucrats. British delegates, including the economist John Maynard Keynes, considered the American proposals for salaries to be "monstrous", but lost the argument.
Officials from the various organisations have long maintained that the high salaries are a way of attracting talent from the private sector. In fact, most senior employees are recruited from government posts.
|
– IMF chief Christine Lagarde probably wants this one back: She infuriated Greeks last week by asserting that a big part of the nation's financial crisis is "all these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax." It's time for this nation of tax-dodgers to pay up, she declared. After getting bombarded by critics on Facebook, Lagarde walked back the criticism a bit, notes the New York Times. But today, the Guardian follows up with more fodder for her critics: LaGarde has to pay no taxes at all on her own $468,000 salary. "I suppose we can have a discussion about why international organization employees shouldn’t pay taxes," writes David Dayen at Firedog Lake. "But the bigger issue is that Lagarde surely knew at the time of making comments about evil tax evaders that she paid no tax on her salary. This reeks of the attitude of one system for the little people, and one for the elites, which characterizes elite discourse in this day and age."
|
Not very long after God told some at St. Joseph Abbey that the way out of financial hardship might be selling the monks’ handcrafted caskets, the state of Louisiana arrived with a different message.
It was a cease-and-desist order and came with threats of thousands of dollars in fines and possible criminal prosecution.
“Before we even sold a casket,” St. Joseph Abbot Justin Brown said in a recent interview in the picturesque abbey, which is located about an hour’s drive from New Orleans, on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain. Now a band of libertarian lawyers is hoping that the honey-colored Louisiana cypress coffins provide the vehicle for a Supreme Court review of government economic regulations.
Brown, a soft-spoken man who is only the fifth leader of a monastery that dates to 1889, said he had not known that in Louisiana only licensed funeral directors are allowed to sell “funeral merchandise.”
That means that St. Joseph Abbey must either give up the casket-selling business or become a licensed funeral establishment, which would require a layout parlor for 30 people, a display area for the coffins, the employment of a licensed funeral director and an embalming room.
“Really,” Brown said. “It’s just a big box.”
And so, after much prayer and two failed attempts to get the Louisiana legislature to change the law, the monks went to federal court.
The monks won round one in July, when U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. ruled Louisiana’s restrictions unconstitutional, saying “the sole reason for these laws is the economic protection of the funeral industry.”
The Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, which has argued that the law protects consumers, has appealed, and the circuit court in New Orleans will hear the case in early June.
The monks are represented by the Arlington County-based Institute for Justice, which has a knack for picking empathetic, working-class parties — hair braiders, flower arrangers, city tour guides — to personify what it says is its battle against government regulation that strangles free enterprise.
The group is on a constant watch to find the perfect case to challenge a series of economic regulation decisions nearly unbroken since the New Deal. Courts must find only that there is a “rational basis” for an act, the most accommodating standard for government action.
William H. “Chip” Mellor, president of the group, said there are three essential components to a successful suit: “outrageous facts,” “evil villains” and “sympathetic clients.”
By that measure, the institute might find it hard to top St. Joseph Abbey. Jeff Rowes, one of the lawyers in the case, said he recently gave this advice to a seminar of law students:
“The number one thing you should do as a public interest litigator is to get monks as your clients in every single case.”
‘It’s God’s idea’
Brown, 54, never really thought of going into the casket-building business, although the abbey has built caskets for years for the monks and others in southeast Louisiana.
But the monks of St. Joseph, part of the Order of Saint Benedict, must support themselves. “Ora et labora” — “prayer and work” — is the order’s motto. Money comes from contributions, the seminary that trains priests, a retreat center and small enterprises such as a gift shop that features abbey-made Monk Soap in fragrances such as Mayan Gold.
But the abbey lost a large portion of its income in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed part of the pine timberlands whose harvest had been profitable.
It was Deacon Mark Coudrain, a woodworking enthusiast asked by his father to build a casket for him, who approached Brown with the prospect of turning the abbey’s occasional coffin construction into a business.
“I really like to say it’s God’s idea that I didn’t want to do,” Coudrain said. Eventually, he decided, “there’s a need, the abbey’s the perfect place and God was saying, ‘You know, I taught you something, why don’t you use it?’ ”
So the monks prayed, voted and bought $200,000 in equipment to establish St. Joseph Woodworks.
And so for some of the 36 monks at St. Joseph — they range in age from 26 to 89 — casket-building has become part of the daily routine. Prayers and readings start at 6; breakfast is taken in silence at 7. Mass is at 11:15 and lunch at noon.
At a recent meal, the monks scattered along long wooden tables anchored by the requisite Louisiana condiments of Tabasco and Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, listening to a fellow monk read from Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Lincoln.”
There are more chores in the afternoon — some monks teach at the seminary next door — and the singing of psalms at 5:30. Dinner is at 6, the O’Reilly book replaced by a more religious text.
At the woodshop, several of the monks work with Coudrain and volunteers. Brother Elias Eichorn, the “iron monk” who recently completed the Boston Marathon and is training for a triathalon, works on lids. Brother Emmanuel Labrise, a fairly recent arrival from Pennsylvania, lines them with white cloth.
There are two versions, a monastic style with metal handles that sells for $1,500 and a traditional version with wooden rail handles for $2,000. In a nod to modernity, they can be modified for the oversized. Each is blessed and, an in attempt to create the abbey’s signature, marked with a medal of Saint Benedict.
“Noble simplicity,” Brown said. “It’s simple, but it’s not cheap.”
‘The last word in life’
The workshop was dedicated Nov. 1, 2007, and a local Catholic newspaper reported the event. The cease-and-desist letter came immediately, Brown said.
The abbot said it was difficult to know what to do. The abbey had made a huge investment, but he was reluctant to sue for the right to sell the caskets.
“Was that something monasteries should do, or should we just lay low and be quiet about it?” Brown wondered. “A lot of these funeral directors are good Catholic men.”
He decided to continue to sell caskets to those who asked for them but not to advertise. His state House representative, Scott Simon (R), looked for a compromise. “It was my first bill,” Simon said in an interview. The funeral directors association, he said, had it killed in committee.
“I learned that funeral directors have the last word in life, and in the legislature,” Simon said.
After the funeral directors board in 2010 subpoenaed Brown and Coudrain to testify about the casket sales, the men agreed to let the Institute of Justice file a federal lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s law as a violation of due process and equal protection. The abbey’s attorneys said Louisiana is the only state to enforce a ban on in-state sales.
Although robes are usually worn just around the monastery, Brown said, he donned his habit for the news conference on the courthouse steps, which featured a casket.
Representatives of the funeral directors board, the association that lobbies the legislature and several funeral directors who serve on both did not return phone calls or e-mails asking for comment on the case.
But in court pleadings, the board said the legislature had good reason for limiting in-state sales of caskets. The act protects Louisianans from “improper and overreaching sales tactics in the area of ‘at need’ casket sales,” the brief says. In some parts of the state, many burials are aboveground, and that requires “knowledgable decisions” in casket sales “mindful of Louisiana’s unique situation.”
The institute’s attorneys say that makes no sense. The state has no legal requirement that anyone be buried in a casket, and, under federal rules, funeral directors must accept a casket that a family has purchased elsewhere.
Thus, Louisianans are free to purchase a casket online from Wal-Mart or Costco, Judge Duval noted, but not from an in-state casket-maker.
Still, the Louisiana board argues, courts are simply not free to overturn economic regulation laws that have some rational basis.
And, the board said, if it has the “incidental consequence of economic protectionism, such a consequence does not render Louisiana’s statutory scheme constitutionally infirm.” To second-guess the legislature is to return to the days before the New Deal, when courts imposed their own economic judgment, the board said
The Institute for Justice’s Mellor replies that protectionism is different.
“The standard of review is so favorably tilted to the government that legitimate occupations are foreclosed — or entry into the occupations is so heavily conditioned — that they basically become cartels or monopolies protected by government edict,” he said.
Federal appeals courts have split in evaluating similar laws. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit said there was nothing unconstitutional about an Oklahoma law that protected the intrastate funeral home industry.
“While baseball may be the national pastime of the citizenry, dishing out special economic benefits to certain in-state industries remains the favored pastime of state and local governments,” it ruled.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit struck down a Tennessee law protecting funeral directors, saying an attempt to “privilege certain businessmen over others at the expense of consumers is not animated by a legitimate governmental purpose.”
The institute’s attorneys hope the eventual decision from the New Orleans appeals court will make the issue attractive to the Supreme Court.
If that happens, Brown said, so be it.
“I was concerned that it would disturb the peace of the monastery by getting involved in something somewhat controversial, adversarial, but it hasn’t,” he said. “If you study monastic history, there were often conflicts between monks and civil authorities.” ||||| Not very long after God told some at St. Joseph Abbey that the way out of financial hardship might be selling the monks’ handcrafted caskets, the state of Louisiana arrived with a different message.
It was a cease-and-desist order and came with threats of thousands of dollars in fines and possible criminal prosecution.
“Before we even sold a casket,” St. Joseph Abbot Justin Brown said in a recent interview in the picturesque abbey, which is located about an hour’s drive from New Orleans, on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain. Now a band of libertarian lawyers is hoping that the honey-colored Louisiana cypress coffins provide the vehicle for a Supreme Court review of government economic regulations.
Brown, a soft-spoken man who is only the fifth leader of a monastery that dates to 1889, said he had not known that in Louisiana only licensed funeral directors are allowed to sell “funeral merchandise.”
That means that St. Joseph Abbey must either give up the casket-selling business or become a licensed funeral establishment, which would require a layout parlor for 30 people, a display area for the coffins, the employment of a licensed funeral director and an embalming room.
“Really,” Brown said. “It’s just a big box.”
And so, after much prayer and two failed attempts to get the Louisiana legislature to change the law, the monks went to federal court.
The monks won round one in July, when U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. ruled Louisiana’s restrictions unconstitutional, saying “the sole reason for these laws is the economic protection of the funeral industry.”
The Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, which has argued that the law protects consumers, has appealed, and the circuit court in New Orleans will hear the case in early June.
The monks are represented by the Arlington County-based Institute for Justice, which has a knack for picking empathetic, working-class parties — hair braiders, flower arrangers, city tour guides — to personify what it says is its battle against government regulation that strangles free enterprise.
The group is on a constant watch to find the perfect case to challenge a series of economic regulation decisions nearly unbroken since the New Deal. Courts must find only that there is a “rational basis” for an act, the most accommodating standard for government action.
William H. “Chip” Mellor, president of the group, said there are three essential components to a successful suit: “outrageous facts,” “evil villains” and “sympathetic clients.”
By that measure, the institute might find it hard to top St. Joseph Abbey. Jeff Rowes, one of the lawyers in the case, said he recently gave this advice to a seminar of law students:
“The number one thing you should do as a public interest litigator is to get monks as your clients in every single case.”
‘It’s God’s idea’
Brown, 54, never really thought of going into the casket-building business, although the abbey has built caskets for years for the monks and others in southeast Louisiana.
But the monks of St. Joseph, part of the Order of Saint Benedict, must support themselves. “Ora et labora” — “prayer and work” — is the order’s motto. Money comes from contributions, the seminary that trains priests, a retreat center and small enterprises such as a gift shop that features abbey-made Monk Soap in fragrances such as Mayan Gold.
But the abbey lost a large portion of its income in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed part of the pine timberlands whose harvest had been profitable.
It was Deacon Mark Coudrain, a woodworking enthusiast asked by his father to build a casket for him, who approached Brown with the prospect of turning the abbey’s occasional coffin construction into a business.
“I really like to say it’s God’s idea that I didn’t want to do,” Coudrain said. Eventually, he decided, “there’s a need, the abbey’s the perfect place and God was saying, ‘You know, I taught you something, why don’t you use it?’ ”
So the monks prayed, voted and bought $200,000 in equipment to establish St. Joseph Woodworks.
And so for some of the 36 monks at St. Joseph — they range in age from 26 to 89 — casket-building has become part of the daily routine. Prayers and readings start at 6; breakfast is taken in silence at 7. Mass is at 11:15 and lunch at noon.
At a recent meal, the monks scattered along long wooden tables anchored by the requisite Louisiana condiments of Tabasco and Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, listening to a fellow monk read from Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Lincoln.”
There are more chores in the afternoon — some monks teach at the seminary next door — and the singing of psalms at 5:30. Dinner is at 6, the O’Reilly book replaced by a more religious text.
At the woodshop, several of the monks work with Coudrain and volunteers. Brother Elias Eichorn, the “iron monk” who recently completed the Boston Marathon and is training for a triathalon, works on lids. Brother Emmanuel Labrise, a fairly recent arrival from Pennsylvania, lines them with white cloth.
There are two versions, a monastic style with metal handles that sells for $1,500 and a traditional version with wooden rail handles for $2,000. In a nod to modernity, they can be modified for the oversized. Each is blessed and, an in attempt to create the abbey’s signature, marked with a medal of Saint Benedict.
“Noble simplicity,” Brown said. “It’s simple, but it’s not cheap.”
‘The last word in life’
The workshop was dedicated Nov. 1, 2007, and a local Catholic newspaper reported the event. The cease-and-desist letter came immediately, Brown said.
The abbot said it was difficult to know what to do. The abbey had made a huge investment, but he was reluctant to sue for the right to sell the caskets.
“Was that something monasteries should do, or should we just lay low and be quiet about it?” Brown wondered. “A lot of these funeral directors are good Catholic men.”
He decided to continue to sell caskets to those who asked for them but not to advertise. His state House representative, Scott Simon (R), looked for a compromise. “It was my first bill,” Simon said in an interview. The funeral directors association, he said, had it killed in committee.
“I learned that funeral directors have the last word in life, and in the legislature,” Simon said.
After the funeral directors board in 2010 subpoenaed Brown and Coudrain to testify about the casket sales, the men agreed to let the Institute of Justice file a federal lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s law as a violation of due process and equal protection. The abbey’s attorneys said Louisiana is the only state to enforce a ban on in-state sales.
Although robes are usually worn just around the monastery, Brown said, he donned his habit for the news conference on the courthouse steps, which featured a casket.
Representatives of the funeral directors board, the association that lobbies the legislature and several funeral directors who serve on both did not return phone calls or e-mails asking for comment on the case.
But in court pleadings, the board said the legislature had good reason for limiting in-state sales of caskets. The act protects Louisianans from “improper and overreaching sales tactics in the area of ‘at need’ casket sales,” the brief says. In some parts of the state, many burials are aboveground, and that requires “knowledgable decisions” in casket sales “mindful of Louisiana’s unique situation.”
The institute’s attorneys say that makes no sense. The state has no legal requirement that anyone be buried in a casket, and, under federal rules, funeral directors must accept a casket that a family has purchased elsewhere.
Thus, Louisianans are free to purchase a casket online from Wal-Mart or Costco, Judge Duval noted, but not from an in-state casket-maker.
Still, the Louisiana board argues, courts are simply not free to overturn economic regulation laws that have some rational basis.
And, the board said, if it has the “incidental consequence of economic protectionism, such a consequence does not render Louisiana’s statutory scheme constitutionally infirm.” To second-guess the legislature is to return to the days before the New Deal, when courts imposed their own economic judgment, the board said
The Institute for Justice’s Mellor replies that protectionism is different.
“The standard of review is so favorably tilted to the government that legitimate occupations are foreclosed — or entry into the occupations is so heavily conditioned — that they basically become cartels or monopolies protected by government edict,” he said.
Federal appeals courts have split in evaluating similar laws. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit said there was nothing unconstitutional about an Oklahoma law that protected the intrastate funeral home industry.
“While baseball may be the national pastime of the citizenry, dishing out special economic benefits to certain in-state industries remains the favored pastime of state and local governments,” it ruled.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit struck down a Tennessee law protecting funeral directors, saying an attempt to “privilege certain businessmen over others at the expense of consumers is not animated by a legitimate governmental purpose.”
The institute’s attorneys hope the eventual decision from the New Orleans appeals court will make the issue attractive to the Supreme Court.
If that happens, Brown said, so be it.
“I was concerned that it would disturb the peace of the monastery by getting involved in something somewhat controversial, adversarial, but it hasn’t,” he said. “If you study monastic history, there were often conflicts between monks and civil authorities.”
|
– A group of monks in Louisiana is heading to federal appeals court in a battle against the state. The monks want the right to sell their handcrafted caskets, but the state has demanded they cease and desist because of regulations regarding "funeral merchandise"—which the monks say were enacted to unfairly protect the state's funeral industry, reports the Washington Post. "Really, it's just a big box," says the abbot. The monks were victorious their first time in federal court, but the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors appealed, and the next round will be heard early next month. St. Joseph Abbey, located an hour's drive outside of New Orleans, entered the casket business in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina destroyed an income-generating section of forest owned by the monastery. Before they even sold their first coffin, the state ordered they either stop or take the obstacle-filled path of becoming a licensed funeral establishment. A group of what the Post calls "libertarian lawyers" took up the monks' case and are hoping it makes it all the way to the Supreme Court as an example of government interference in free enterprise. Read the full story here.
|
Investigators continue to try to determine what led to the death of a high school senior found dead in a north Houston hotel room Saturday morning following MacArthur's prom.Authorities identified that girl as 17-year-old Jacqueline Gomez. They say her boyfriend realized she wasn't breathing Saturday morning when he woke up at the Hyatt Hotel off the North Sam Houston Parkway. Investigators are now trying to determine what led to her death.From those staying at the hotel Friday night, the MacArthur prom seemed like any other affair; a celebration and memories made."It seems nice," said hotel visitor Michael Block. "It put me back to when I was in the 12th grade."It was at the after party that things got out of hand."You can imagine if you have ever attended a high school prom what goes on there," said Det. Mike Miller with HPD homicide. "This is no exception."On Saturday morning, police got a frantic call from a teenage boy, saying Gomez, his girlfriend, was not breathing in their 8th floor room."There was an indication that there was alcohol in the room," said Det. Miller. "Of course, prescription painkillers is something we're looking at as well."Hotel guest Kyren Block, 17, was staying in a room down the hall. He's here from San Antonio for a basketball tournament."We knocked on the door to see if anything was going on, but they didn't answer," he said.No answer, but Block says he could hear the partying going all night from that room."The boyfriend, at this point, is being completely honest with us and we have no reason to believe that he at all contributed to this death," said Det. Miller. "But in my line of work, you have to be absolutely sure."Another prom, one for Aldine High School, went on at the same hotel Saturday night. We spoke with some students who said this tragic event will make them think twice about what they'll do at and after prom. ||||| Teen girl found dead in hotel after Aldine ISD prom
Photo: Family Photo Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Image 1 of 3 Jacqueline Gomez, 17, MacArthur High School. She was found dead the day after her prom. Jacqueline Gomez, 17, MacArthur High School. She was found dead the day after her prom. Photo: Family Photo Image 2 of 3 Jackie Gomez Jackie Gomez Photo: Courtesy Of Leandra Mendez. Image 3 of 3 Jackie Gomez Jackie Gomez Photo: Courtesy Of Leandra Mendez. Teen girl found dead in hotel after Aldine ISD prom 1 / 3 Back to Gallery
Jacqueline Gomez was excited for prom, showing her friends her dress, asking advice on how to do her nails and getting ready for a night of celebration.
But something went wrong. The 17-year-old's body was found just before 11 a.m. Saturday in a room at the Hyatt Hotel at 425 N. Sam Houston Parkway E, where Aldine ISD's MacArthur High School held its prom the night before.
Gomez and her date spent the night of prom at the hotel, 15 miles north of downtown. According to police, the next morning, her date called 911 and told dispatchers Gomez wasn't breathing.
Rescue crews found her body, police said.
Gomez's friends are still trying to process the loss of their friend they had just celebrated with.
"It's shocking," said classmate Leandra Mendez, 19, who was with her at prom Friday. "I can't believe it. I mean, really, I can't believe it.
Talking about dresses
The girls spent the week leading up to the party talking about their dresses and all the details that go with prom.
Gomez confided to her friends that she planned to spend the weekend with her date - believed to be a former classmate - at the hotel, news that worried Mendez and friend Justice Gonzalez, 17.
"Me and Justice were telling her, 'Please don't go,' " Mendez said.
On Friday, she arrived around 8 p.m., wearing a light-colored dress speckled with silver sequins. She'd gotten her nails done, and her hair made up, hanging off of one side.
"Everything was going well, she was sitting at the table with us," Gonzalez said.
Gomez, a tall, slim, dark-haired girl, had struggled with school as a sophomore, Mendez said. But she'd had made it through her senior year, and was planning to take classes starting this summer at Lone Star College to become a pharmacy technician.
She spent a lot of her time working at the Kroger's on Aldine Mail Route Road in the store's pharmacy, Mendez said.
'Loved working'
"She loved working, she always loved working," Mendez said of Gomez, whom she described as "very outgoing, smart, very loud, never shy."
Around 11 p.m. Friday, Gomez left to go up to the hotel room.
"I told her right before left - she left early - I told her, 'Come here,' " Gonzalez said. She whispered in her friend's ear: " 'Just please be safe, Jackie.' And I gave her a hug, and she left."
Police said they are awaiting autopsy results, but that there were no signs of trauma and that her date has been cooperative.
"The boyfriend stated to us they had been drinking alcohol prior to going to sleep," said Jodi Silva, an HPD spokeswoman. A detective told a TV news reporter they were also looking into whether prescription painkillers were involved.
Aldine ISD officials could not be reached for comment. ||||| Female student found dead after prom at Hyatt Hotel in north Houston
HOUSTON – The Block family, in town for a basketball tournament, stayed at the Hyatt in north Houston Friday night, while the MacArthur prom was well under way.
“It seemed nice. Put me back to when I was in 12th grade. But I hate to hear that. That’s sad,” said Michael Block, in town from San Antonio.
They would never have thought the night would take a tragic turn for 17-year-old Jacqueline Gomez, a MacArthur High School student, whose prom night would be her last.
“She then stayed overnight in the hotel. In the morning hours, the person that was with her found her deceased in her bed. We are not sure at this hour what the cause of death is,” said Det. Mike Miller, with the HPD Homicide Division.
Police said they found alcohol and prescription pain killers in the hotel room. They also told KHOU 11 News that the girl’s boyfriend had called 911. They took him in for questioning, only to shed light on what happened.
“He was there. He knows everything, so we’re just continually wanting to find out what happened and everything,” said Miller. “We have no reason to believe he contributed to her death.”
Kyren Block and his family were staying just a few doors down from some of the MacArthur High School students.
“Like I said you could hear it all the way down the hallway. They were yelling,” said Block.
Others staying at the hotel had no idea what had happened.
“The girls had on beautiful gowns, you know chiffon-looking gowns. They looked really nice. I watched them come in. Yeah that’s very tragic,” said Donald Burton, a hotel guest.
Homicide detectives are still investigating and trying to find out what took the 18-year-old’s life.
KHOU 11 News learned that Gomez worked at the Kroger grocery store just down the street from MacArthur High School. She was just two weeks away from graduation.
“My heart sank, I hoped it really wasn’t her. I didn’t want to believe it,” Bibiana said.
Her close friends Bibiana and Antonio now only have pictures to remember their friend by.
“She was an amazing girl,” Bibiana said.
“She liked helping out everybody,” Antonio added.
For now the MacArthur senior’s friends and family are struggling to cope with her loss. They’re telling KHOU 11 News they want answers. They want to know what exactly happened to her and why.
If you would like to help her family pay for funeral services, click here.
|
– A teenage girl celebrated her prom night by partying in a hotel room with her date, and ended up dead the next morning—possibly from a mix of alcohol and prescription painkillers, KHOU reports. Jacqueline Gomez, 17, was excited about her MacArthur High School prom in Houston, showing her dress to friends and asking for advice on doing her nails, reports the Houston Chronicle. And once the event at a Hyatt Hotel was over, she went upstairs with her date. "I told her right before left—she left early—I told her, 'Come here,'" said a friend, who whispered in her ear: "'Just please be safe, Jackie.' And I gave her a hug, and she left." A woman staying down the hall tells ABC13 she heard partying in the room all night and knocked on the door "to see if anything was going on, but they didn't answer." The next morning, Jacqueline's date frantically called 911 saying she wasn't breathing. He later told police they had been drinking, and police suspect painkillers were involved too. "We have no reason to believe that he at all contributed to this death," said a detective. "But in my line of work, you have to be absolutely sure." A friend of Jacqueline's said her "heart sank" when she heard the news: "I hoped it really wasn't her. I didn't want to believe it. She was an amazing girl."
|
Rep. Michele Bachmann has been propelled into the 2012 presidential contest in part by her insistent calls to reduce federal spending, a pitch in tune with the big-government antipathy gripping many conservatives.But theMinnesota Republican and her family have benefited personally from government aid, an examination of her record and finances shows. A counseling clinic run by her husband has received nearly $30,000 from the state ofMinnesota in the last five years, money that in part came from the federal government. A family farm in Wisconsin, in which the congresswoman is a partner, received nearly $260,000 in federal farm subsidies.And she has sought to keep federal money flowing to her constituents. After publicly criticizing the Obama administration's stimulus program, Bachmann requested stimulus funds to support projects in her district. Although she has been a fierce critic of earmarks — calling them "part of the root problem with Washington's spending addiction" — the congresswoman nonetheless argued recently that transportation projects should not be considered congressional pork.As Bachmann prepares to formally launch her presidential bid Monday in Waterloo, Iowa, Republican strategists warned that she needs to square her record with her public pronouncements."She's kind of built an area in the field of candidates where she's the hawk on those kinds of issues, so any sort of issue that will show her record is not totally consistent will affect some of her support," said Craig Robinson, a former political director of the Iowa GOP. "I don't think it's a deal-breaker, but I think it's something she's going to have to be willing to confront head-on."For now, Bachmann is declining to answer questions on the topic. Her congressional and campaign staff did not respond to numerous requests for comment.Bachmann has long sought to distance herself from those who benefit from public money. "I don't need government to be successful," she proudly told Fox News host Bill O'Reilly in fall 2009 when he asked why she inspired such ire among liberal critics.Yet despite her broadsides against "socialized medicine," Bachmann's husband, Marcus, applied for public funds for his counseling clinic, Bachmann & Associates. Since 2006, he has received nearly $30,000, according toMinnesota state records. The bulk of the money — $24,041 — came in the form of grants from the state Department of Human Services to train staff how to deal with clients suffering from chemical dependency and mental illness. That program was financed in part by the federal government.Michele Bachmann lists the Lake Elmo, Minn.-based clinic — which aims to provide "quality Christian counseling in a sensitive, loving environment," according to its website — as one of her assets on her financial disclosure forms.Another of Bachmann's assets — a family farm owned by her late father-in-law, Paul Bachmann — received nearly $260,000 in federal money between 1995 and 2008, largely from corn and dairy subsidies, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data compiled by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research organization that scrutinizes such subsidies. Paul Bachmann died in May 2009, but the congresswoman retains a partnership in the farm.Bachmann said in December that the subsidies went to her in-laws and she never received "one penny" from the farm, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. However, in financial disclosure forms, she reported receiving between $32,503 and $105,000 in income from the farm, at minimum, between 2006 and 2009.Publicly, Bachmann has objected strongly to federal farm payments.When she voted against the 2008 farm bill, a $307-billion package that would govern federal agriculture policy for five years, Bachmann declared that it was "loaded with unbelievably outrageous pork and subsidies for agricultural business and ethanol growers." She was one of two nays cast byMinnesota's eight-member delegation.Just a year later, however, Bachmann wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, praising the federal government for helping prop up the prices of pig products and dairy by directly buying the commodities, a move that benefited her constituents."I would encourage you to take any additional steps necessary to prevent further deterioration of these critical industries, such as making additional commodity purchases," she wrote on Oct. 5, 2009. The Los Angeles Times/Tribune Washington Bureau obtained the letter through a Freedom of Information Act request.The USDA that year had stepped up its purchase of pork and dairy products for use in school lunches and other government food programs, seeking to stabilize prices in the then-flagging industries.While not technically a subsidy, commodity purchase programs are "a deliberate effort of the government to prop up these industries," said David DeGennaro, legislative analyst for the Environmental Working Group.More recently, Bachmann objected strongly to the Obama administration's $830-billion stimulus package, saying before the 2009 congressional vote on the matter: "I cannot support this new direction for the American economy." ||||| While Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has forcefully denounced the Medicaid program for swelling the "welfare rolls," the mental health clinic run by her husband has been collecting annual Medicaid payments totaling over $137,000 for the treatment of patients since 2005, according to new figures obtained by NBC News.
The previously unreported payments are on top of the $24,000 in federal and state funds that Bachmann & Associates, the clinic founded by Marcus Bachmann, a clinical therapist, received in recent years under a state grant to train its employees, state records show. The figures were provided to NBC News in response to a Freedom of Information request.
The clinic, based in Lake Elmo, Minn., describes itself on its website as offering "quality Christian counseling" for a large number of mental health problems ranging from "anger management" to addictions and eating disorders.
The $161,000 in payments from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to her husband's clinic appear to contradict some of Michelle Bachmann's public accounts this week when she was first asked about the extent to which her family has benefited from government aid. Contacted this afternoon, Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Bachmann, said the congresswoman was doing campaign events and was not immediately available for comment.
Questions about the Bachmann family's receipt of government funds arose this week after a Los Angeles Times story reported that a family farm in which Michelle Bachmann is a partner had received nearly $260,000 in federal farm subsidies.
Read more reporting by Michael Isikoff in 'The Isikoff Files'
When asked by anchor Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday" about the story's assertion that her husband's counseling clinic had also gotten federal and state funds, Bachmann replied that it was "one-time training money that came from the federal government. And it certainly didn't help our clinic."
At another point, she said, "My husband and I did not get the money," adding that it was "mental health training money that went to the employees."
But state records show that Bachmann & Associates has been collecting payments under the Minnesota's Medicaid program every year for the past six years. Karen Smigielski, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, said the state's Medicaid program is funded "about 50-50" with federal and state monies. The funds to Bachmann & Associates are for the treatment of low-income mentally ill patients and are based on a "fee for service" basis, meaning the clinic was reimbursed by Medicaid for the services it provided.
Smigielski added that these were not the only government funds that Bachmann & Associates has received. The clinic also participates in managed-care plans that are reimbursed under a separate state-funded Minnesota Health Care program. But the state does not have any records of payment information to the individual clinics that participate. (During her Fox News appearance, Bachmann was not asked about Medicaid payments, and she made no mention of them.)
Another state official, Patrice Vick, communications manager for the Human Services Department, said she was puzzled by Michelle Bachmann's assertion on the broadcast that the funds under the state grant went to employees. While the grant was to train employees to help them treat chemical dependency, the money did not go directly to those being trained, she said. "It went to the clinic," Vick said.
"The contract was with the clinic," Vick added later. But she had no immediate information about whether the clinic passed it along directly to the employees being trained or used it to cover its costs of training.
Rep. Michele Bachmann and her husband, Marcus, recite the Pledge of Alligence, before she announced her presidential candidacy Monday in Waterloo, Iowa.
The issue of her receipt of government aid has gotten attention because Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite, has been a fierce critic of federal spending programs and has called for drastic cutbacks. This has especially been the case on health care, including the expansions of Medicaid called for under the new health care law.
When Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed an executive order earlier this year expanding the state's Medicaid program for more than 95,000 state residents, Bachmann was joined state Republican lawmakers in denouncing the move.
"Right now, Governor Dayton is wanting to commit Minnesota taxpayers to add even more welfare recipients on the welfare rolls at a very great cost," Bachmann said at a news conference in St. Paul in January.
"She's giving hypocrisy a bad name," said Ron Pollock, executive director of Families USA, a consumer health care advocacy group, when asked about the Medicaid payments to Bachmann & Associates. "It's clear when it feathers her nest she's happy for Medicaid expenditures. But people that really need it — folks with disabilities and seniors — she's turning their backs on them."
|
– A clinic run by Michele Bachmann's therapist husband has collected $137,000 in payments from a program lashed by the GOP presidential candidate: Medicaid. Those payments are on top of an additional $30,000 in government grant money for employee training at Marcus Bachmann's clinic. The clinic, which advertises "quality Christian counseling" for a range of mental health issues, also participates in a state subsidized health insurance program, notes MSNBC. Revelation of the health care payments—in addition to some $260,000 in subsidies for a Wisconsin farm owned in part by the Bachmanns—is proving an embarrassment to the Tea Party candidate who rips such "big government" aid on the campaign stump. When Minnesota's governor signed a law earlier this month expanding Medicaid coverage to more state residents, Bachmann railed that "even more welfare recipients" would be added to the "welfare rolls at a very great cost." She's "giving hypocrisy a bad name," says the executive director of health care advocacy organization Families USA. "It's clear when it feathers her nest she's happy for Medicaid expenditures. But people that really need it—folks with disabilities and seniors—she's turning their backs on them." Bachmann was not immediately available for comment, but has insisted neither she nor her husband have personally benefited from government subsidies going to the clinic or family farm.
|
As the ruinous force of Sandy begins to diminish, the nominal pause it created in the presidential election campaign is about to fade away.
President Barack Obama continued his detour from the campaign trail Tuesday to focus on storm response. Republican Mitt Romney set aside a planned political rally in favor of a relief event to help storm victims. Both asked supporters to make donations to the Red Cross.
Enlarge Image Close Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Mitt Romney helped unload supplies for storm relief in Kettering, Ohio, Tuesday.
Enlarge Image Close Pool/Getty Images Barack Obama spoke at Red Cross headquarters in Washington.
But a presidential campaign racing toward its conclusion next week is taking little more than a short break to acknowledge the storm's impact.
Even as Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama canceled political appearances Tuesday, the two campaigns escalated a heated exchange over Mr. Romney's suggestion that the president's auto bailout had benefited China, rather than U.S. autoworkers. With new TV ad buys, Mr. Romney and his allies also pushed to enlarge the set of competitive states to include Pennsylvania, long an elusive prize for the Republican nominees.
Mr. Romney will return to his schedule of campaign appearances Wednesday in hopes of regaining the momentum many polls showed he had built in recent weeks. Mr. Obama is scheduled to follow suit on Thursday, after more time in Washington and a tour of storm damage in New Jersey, as he juggles the political rewards and risks of focusing on the government disaster response.
Northeast states grappled with how to make sure voting next week isn't unduly affected by the storm. With widespread power outages, flooding and blocked roads, officials said they may have to move or consolidate some polling locations. Connecticut gave voters two extra days to register while Maryland said it may have to resort to paper ballots for some locations due to power outages, which could delay the vote count.
For Mr. Obama, the turn to disaster management paid a surprising political dividend when he won praise on Tuesday from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who has been a scathing critic of his presidency.
"The president has been great," Mr. Christie, who represents Mr. Romney at campaign events, said on MSNBC. "The president has been all over this and he deserves great credit." It was one of several television interviews in which Mr. Christie praised Mr. Obama, who will tour New Jersey storm damage Wednesday with the governor.
The risk for Mr. Obama is that every day he is in Washington he isn't traveling the country for campaign rallies like one in Ohio last week, when the presidential plane landed in front of thousands of ecstatic supporters.
"The president's No. 1 asset of Air Force One has now been grounded," said Scott Reed, manager of Republican Bob Dole's 1996 presidential bid. Mr. Obama's campaign uses such events to push supporters to take advantage of early voting.
Even before Mr. Romney announced he would resume campaigning Wednesday with three events in Florida, he managed to stay in the public eye in the battleground state of Ohio. He turned a planned political rally in Dayton into a relief event for storm victims.
As Mr. Romney maintained a reserved public posture, his campaign proceeded with partisan drive. The campaign's first new campaign commercial in Pennsylvania, part of a bid to expand the map of competitive battlegrounds, says the president's policies led 22 coal-fired power plants to close or be converted to another form of fuel.
Obama campaign spokesman Michael Czin responded that the ad "distorts the president's record and reeks of desperation. Under President Obama's leadership, employment in coal mining hit a 15-year high in 2011 while he's making historic investments in clean coal research and development."
Romney advisers hailed the last-minute advertising push as further evidence the president's support is eroding in unexpected places. Because 96% of Pennsylvania voters cast their ballots on Election Day, rather than through absentee or early voting, Republicans have hinted for months that the state was a prime target for a late push.
"This expansion of the electoral map demonstrates that Gov. Romney's momentum has jumped containment from the usual target states and has spread to deeper blue states that Chicago never anticipated defending," Romney political director Rich Beeson wrote in a memo widely circulated on Tuesday.
Mr. Romney's campaign would not say how much money it had budgeted for Pennsylvania, and it was still in the process of buying airtime Tuesday afternoon.
The Romney campaign and its outside allies are spending at least $4.5 million in Pennsylvania this week, according to operatives tracking the 2012 race.
The Romney allies are also buying airtime in attempts to expand the list of competitive states, spending nearly $2 million in Michigan and roughly $900,000 in Minnesota.
Mr. Obama's campaign is responding in Pennsylvania, and by Tuesday afternoon had bought at least $650,000 in airtime through Election Day, as well as $290,000 in Minnesota, according to political strategists tracking the spending. The campaign also plans to match Republican advertising in Michigan, an Obama aide said.
Obama campaign manager Jim Messina dismissed the Pennsylvania ad buy as a "desperate play" by a campaign still looking for a path to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win. The president is holding a lead of roughly five percentage points in the state, according to an average of public-opinion surveys compiled by Real Clear Politics. And Mr. Romney has spent very little time in the state.
"Let's be very clear: The Romney campaign and its allies decision to go up with advertising in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Minnesota is a decision made out of weakness, not strength," Mr. Messina said.
Not even the emergence of unexpected battlegrounds could distract from the importance of the nine swing states that have been the focal point of this election since early last year, particularly Ohio.
The two campaigns sparred Tuesday over a TV ad the Romney camp aired in Ohio suggesting the president's auto bailout paved the way for Chrysler Group LLC, one of the beneficiaries of that federal intervention, to build Jeeps in China.
The Obama campaign called the ad misleading, releasing its own spot to push back on this latest attack.
Chrysler borrowed about $10.5 billion from the U.S. as part of its 2009 bankruptcy restructuring. In May 2011, the "new Chrysler," controlled by Fiat, repaid the last $7.1 billion it owed the government. But the U.S. Treasury department has said it is unlikely to fully recover the roughly $1.3 billion it is owed by the "old Chrysler."
In a blog post on Oct. 25, Chrysler's chief spokesman, Gualberto Ranieri, called Mr. Romney's claim a "leap that would be difficult even for professional circus acrobats."
Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of the Fiat/Chrysler Group, waded into the controversy on Tuesday, emailing company employees to reassure them that production of Jeep sport utility vehicles won't be moved to China. Instead, he said the company will be expanding Jeep production in the U.S., while looking to produce cars in China to be sold in that market.
"Jeep assembly lines will remain in operation in the United States and will constitute the backbone of the brand," Mr. Marchionne wrote. "It is inaccurate to suggest anything different."
The Romney campaign ignored the Obama campaign's criticism over its initial TV spot, airing a new radio ad that says Chrysler "plans to start making Jeeps in, you guessed it, China."
"Barack Obama says he saved the auto industry,'' the radio ad says. "But for who? Ohio or China?"
Mr. Obama canceled campaign events Wednesday in Ohio. He hasn't made a campaign appearance since Sunday. In remarks at a Red Cross relief center Tuesday, he said his message to federal relief officials is: "No bureaucracy, no red tape, get resources to where they need to be as fast as possible."
Obama aides say that there is a downside to staying off the campaign trail with so few days remaining before Election Day. But they view the pause in campaigning as more harmful to Mr. Romney, who they say is having trouble promoting his message as the nation focuses on the storm.
Mr. Obama is planning a campaign blitz in the final days, starting with scheduled campaign events Thursday in Nevada, Colorado and Ohio. On Friday he is scheduled to spend the entire day in Ohio. In supervising disaster response, Mr. Obama reinforced a campaign theme that the government plays a crucial role, and disaster relief is one of the few that enjoy bipartisan support.
"It is a welcome counterpoint to a campaign that has been anything but elevated and, on the president's side, has been devoted at least as much to making the case against Romney as making the case for himself,'' said William Galston, a political analyst who was a domestic policy aide to President Bill Clinton.
—Sara Murray, Carol E. Lee, Danny Yadron, Mark
Peters, Douglas Belkin
and Christina Rogers contributed to this article.
Write to Janet Hook at janet.hook@wsj.com ||||| Mitt Romney and President Obama will re-emerge on the presidential trail on Wednesday, but in starkly different ways.
Romney will hold a trio of events in the swing state of Florida with prominent Republicans Sen. Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioOvernight Defense: Senate passes 0B defense bill | 3,000 US troops heading to Afghanistan | Two more Navy officials fired over ship collisions Senate passes 0B defense bill Trump bets base will stick with him on immigration MORE (Fla.) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
ADVERTISEMENT
Obama will also appear with a prominent Republican: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who will be giving the president a tour of the damage in his state in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
The president returns to the road on Thursday with campaign stops in Green Bay, Wis., Boulder, Colo., and Las Vegas, according to the Obama campaign.
The divergent paths underscore the challenge both campaigns have faced in recent days, trying to best balance the demands of a presidential race and the need to project the appropriate sensitivity as the Eastern Seaboard grapples with the aftermath of the catastrophic storm.
Obama has a natural advantage with the power of incumbency. The White House made sure to update reporters early Tuesday morning with the president’s work on response efforts to Sandy — including his endeavors overnight — and released photos of Obama meeting with federal officials. Later in the afternoon, the president visited the Red Cross, where he declared that his “message to the federal government” was “no bureaucracy, no red tape.” On Wednesday, a White House official noted Obama had continued to receive overnight updates on recovery efforts and he will be briefed again later today on "the impacts and the extensive federal support being provided to support state and local recovery efforts." The official noted that "the President continues to direct his team to lean forward aggressively."
But Obama's day job can also hamper his reelection efforts: He hasn’t been on the campaign trail since Saturday, though he’s been able to brandish prominent surrogates like Vice President Biden and former President Clinton.
More from The Hill:
• Liberal groups push for free wireless Internet
• Calif. sends privacy warnings to app makers
• Sandy not expected to affect gas prices
• Al Gore Al GoreStop the loose talk about hurricanes and global warming Parties struggle with shifting coalitions OPINION | Midterms may provide Dems control — and chance to impeach MORE: Sandy a ‘disturbing sign of things to come
• Odd couple Christie and Obama to tour devastated NJ
• Romney proves his mettle as a candidate
• Bloomberg tells Obama not to visit New York
• Campaigns seek to score points with Jewish voters on Iran
Romney, meanwhile, returns to the campaign trail on Wednesday after a one-day break.
The Republican candidate, sensing the need to make up ground in crucial swing states — and wary of losing momentum — will continue his aggressive campaign schedule through the final six days of the election.
But Obama will likely own the news cycle Wednesday; the images of him and Christie walking side by side could pay political dividends for the president.
The outspoken Republican governor, who gave the keynote address at this year’s GOP convention and endorsed Romney, has been effusive in his praise for the president in the aftermath of the storm.
“The federal government’s response has been great. I was on the phone at midnight again last night with the president, personally — he has expedited the designation of New Jersey as a major disaster area,” Christie told NBC News on Tuesday.
Asked by reporters if Romney might also visit the state, as had been previously rumored, Christie said he had “no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested.”
“If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, then you don’t know me,” Christie added.
Obama campaign aides said Tuesday that the president is doing what voters elected him to do and is monitoring the situation hour by hour. Those close to the campaign suggested that Obama could be back on the trail later this week, possibly as early as Thursday.
Strategists from both sides suggest that if the president’s response to the storm is seen as effective, it could buoy Obama in the campaign’s waning hours.
“Good government is gonna be good politics,” said Steve Elmendorf, who served as deputy campaign manager for John Kerry John Forbes KerryBringing the American election experience to Democratic Republic of the Congo Some Dems sizzle, others see their stock fall on road to 2020 The Hill's 12:30 Report MORE’s presidential bid. “He has to spend as much time as necessary making sure the federal government is responsive and on top of the issues in the affected states.”
Republican strategist Ford O’Connell, meanwhile, said that “as long as Obama looks like he’s at the head of the government, he’s getting some political points, too. There’s some advantage to looking as though you’re in charge.”
But the Romney campaign also looked to use the storm to display its candidate’s compassion and leadership.
At a “storm relief” event in Dayton, Ohio, Romney encouraged supporters to donate supplies that the campaign would transport to New Jersey, and helped box and load the supplies onto a moving truck.
“I appreciate your generosity. It’s part of the American spirit, the American way, to give to people in need,” Romney told the assembled crowd.
While both sides insisted their candidates were focused on the recovery efforts, strategists acknowledged that the campaigns were scrambling to strike the right tone in the storm’s aftermath.
“Both campaigns are basically going positive — maybe not in television ads, but in their speeches at public events. They can’t afford to go negative in an environment like this,” said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean. “They have to connect to voters and what they care about, and right now, that is recovering from Hurricane Sandy. So if they want to be part of the hurricane news coverage that has saturated the national news 24 hours a day, it’s a wise idea to adjust their events and their schedule.”
At the same time, political analysts acknowledged that with an election less than a week away, both Obama and Romney would need to re-engage on the campaign trail.
“The biggest risk is looking too political, but at the same time we’re six days out and the show must go on,” said O’Connell.
— This story was last updated at 9:40 a.m. on Oct. 31.
|
– With Election Day less than a week away, President Obama and Mitt Romney are preparing to get back on the campaign trail—or at least those parts of it not flooded by superstorm Sandy. Romney resumes his campaign schedule today with three rallies in Florida, while Obama will start campaigning again tomorrow after spending time in Washington and viewing storm damage in New Jersey today, reports the Wall Street Journal. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he turned down Obama's request to visit the storm-battered city, but he stresses the move was not a "diss," reports Politico. The mayor praised FEMA's response and the level of cooperation between city, state, and federal governments. But Obama's visit to New Jersey could pay political dividends, the Hill notes. Republican Gov. Chris Christie has praised the president's handling of the disaster, saying the president "has been all over this and he deserves great credit." Asked whether Romney would also visit the state, Christie said he had "no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested," adding that "if you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, then you don’t know me." In Ohio, the swing state considered most likely to decide the election, fears that the storm would seriously disrupt early voting have not come to pass, the Washington Post reports. Only one county reported a power outage at its early-voting site yesterday, and several key counties say that as the storm approached, early voting was at its busiest since voting began.
|
People around the world prepare for the coming of the new year.
BEIJING |
BEIJING (Reuters) - Two young Tibetan monks set themselves on fire to protest against government religious controls in western China on Monday, two exiled Tibetan sources said, the third such protest this year that could spark fresh tension in the unstable region.
The 18-year-old monks, Kelsang and Kunchak, belong to the Kirti monastery -- a major site of protest against Chinese policies and the scene of a harsh crackdown by security forces in May -- one India-based exiled Tibetan activist, told Reuters.
The monks' self-immolations could lead to a renewed crackdown in Aba prefecture, a heavily ethnic Tibetan part of Sichuan province that many advocates of self-rule say should form part of a larger homeland under Tibetan control.
"When they set themselves on fire, they shouted: 'We need freedom of religion,'" said the activist, who asked not to be identified, adding that he obtained his information from at least five sources in China and overseas.
Both monks immolated themselves at 10 a.m. local time (0200GMT) on Monday, he said.
The two monks suffered slight burns and were in stable condition, state news agency Xinhua said, citing doctors. The report added that "the suicide attempt is under further investigation."
When asked about the self-immolations, Hu Jiang, an official from the Aba prefecture information office, told Reuters: "I don't know anything about it, I'm not quite clear."
Calls to the police bureau in Aba prefecture went unanswered.
A Tibetan monk, Kanyag Tsering, from the sister Kirti monastery in the Indian town of Dharamsala, where Tibet's government-in-exile is based, said he had received confirmation that the Chinese military removed the bodies of the two monks.
Tsering said he got his information from at least 10 different people inside the monastery and within Aba, including eyewitness accounts of the self-immolations.
Tsering said the two monks were heard shouting several slogans as they burned themselves, including: "Long live the Dalai Lama".
The self-immolations come just six months after another Tibetan Buddhist monk, Phuntsog, 21, from the same monastery, burned himself to death. Kelsang is related to Phuntsog.
China last month jailed three monks for their involvement in Phuntsog's self-immolation.
His death kicked off a harsh crackdown, with security forces detaining about 300 Tibetan monks for a month.
Monks from the Kirti monastery also participated in protests that gripped Tibet and Tibetan areas of China in March 2008, when Buddhist monks and other Tibetan loyal to their exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama confronted police and troops.
Beijing has repeatedly accused the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama of being a separatist who supports violence, charges he denies.
The Dalai Lama and China have argued lately about what should happen when he dies. Beijing says he has to reincarnate, but the Dalai Lama has questioned whether this tradition should continue.
"Like a has-been star, he fears the loss of popularity," the official Xinhua news agency wrote in a commentary. "In pursuit of fame and power, he has deviated from the commandments of Buddhism and used his religion as a subterfuge for his personal political motives."
"The Dalai Lama ... should seriously follow the teachings of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, and seek the dharma that will liberate him from the rotation of life and death," it added.
(Additional reporting by Sabrina Mao, Editing by Ben Blanchard and Sugita Katyal) ||||| Successor chosen by Dalai Lama 'illegal': China
BEIJING — China said Monday any successor chosen by the Dalai Lama would be "illegal" after the Tibetan spiritual leader announced that he, and not Beijing, would decide whether he should be reincarnated.
The Dalai Lama, who is 76, said on Saturday he would decide when he was "about 90" whether he should be reincarnated, in consultation with other monks, and that China should have no say in the matter.
Under Tibetan tradition, monks identify a young boy who shows signs he is a reincarnation of a late leader, but many predict China will simply appoint its own successor to the Dalai Lama.
China's foreign ministry said any reincarnation process would have to be conducted in accordance with the country's "laws and regulation".
"The title of Dalai Lama is conferred by the central government and is illegal otherwise," ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists.
"There is a complete set of religious rituals and historical conventions in reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and a Dalai Lama identifying his own successor has never been the practice.
"The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should follow religious rituals and historical conventions and laws and regulations of this state."
Tibet's spiritual leader said he had decided to lay out "clear guidelines to recognise the next Dalai Lama" while he was still "physically and mentally fit" so that there was "no room for doubt or deception."
The Dalai Lama made the statement in a 4,200-word document issued after a gathering of leaders of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, home of the government in exile.
He had earlier signalled a willingness to break with custom by choosing a successor before his death or among exiles outside Tibet. He had also said he might be open to electing the next Dalai Lama.
China's stance raises the prospect of two Dalai Lamas -- one recognised by Beijing and the other chosen by exiles or with the blessing of the current Dalai Lama.
This happened in 1995, when China rejected the Dalai Lama's choice to be the next Panchen Lama, the second-highest ranking Tibetan Buddhist, and picked its own reincarnation.
The Chinese-raised Panchen Lama, Gyaincain Norbu, is now 21 and often extols Beijing's rule over Tibet. The Dalai Lama's selection, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, has not been seen since 1995 after he was detained by China.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. He later founded the government in exile in Dharamshala after being offered refuge by India.
China vilifies him as a "separatist" who incites violence in Tibet, while he insists his sole focus is a peaceful campaign for greater autonomy for his homeland.
China's state news agency Xinhua echoed the ministry's statements, calling the spiritual leader a "has-been" and saying his latest comments were aimed at keeping him in the spotlight following his retirement from politics.
"Over the decades since he fled China in 1959, the Dalai Lama has come to enjoy his role as a political monk, travelling across the globe, picking up his accolades and selling his independence claim," it said.
"Like a has-been star, he fears the loss of popularity, a personal loss that does no harm to his fellow Tibetans, but would certainly announce the eventual failure of his separatist attempt."
Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
|
– The Dalai Lama says it’s up to him to decide whether he should be reincarnated—and of course China isn't having any of that. Beijing today dismissed any successor picked by the spiritual leader himself as illegal, following the 76-year-old’s statement this weekend that he’ll make a decision on reincarnation when he’s “about 90." He said China shouldn’t weigh in on the choice; China, however, says that “the title of Dalai Lama is conferred by the central government and is illegal otherwise." Traditionally, monks pick a young boy to be Dalai Lama based on signs he is the previous leader’s reincarnation, AFP notes. But “a Dalai Lama identifying his own successor has never been the practice,” says a rep for China’s foreign ministry. “The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should follow religious rituals and historical conventions and laws and regulations of this state." The current Dalai Lama said he planned to offer “clear guidelines to recognize the next Dalai Lama” while he remains “physically and mentally fit.” Meanwhile, two young Tibetan monks set themselves on fire today in China, calling for religious freedom.
|
Roger Ebert, the popular film critic and television co-host who along with his fellow reviewer and sometime sparring partner Gene Siskel could lift or sink the fortunes of a movie with their trademark thumbs up or thumbs down, died on Thursday in Chicago. He was 70.
His death was announced by The Chicago Sun-Times, where he had worked for more than 40 years. No cause was specified, but he had suffered from cancer and related health problems since 2002.
It would not be a stretch to say that Mr. Ebert was the best-known film reviewer of his generation, and one of the most trusted. The force and grace of his opinions propelled film criticism into the mainstream of American culture. Not only did he advise moviegoers about what to see, but also how to think about what they saw.
President Obama reacted to Mr. Ebert’s death with a statement that said, in part: “For a generation of Americans — especially Chicagoans — Roger was the movies. When he didn’t like a film, he was honest; when he did, he was effusive — capturing the unique power of the movies to take us somewhere magical.”
Mr. Ebert’s struggle with cancer gave him an altogether different public image — as someone who refused to surrender to illness. Though he had operations for cancer of the thyroid, salivary glands and chin, lost his ability to eat, drink and speak (a prosthesis partly obscured the loss of much of his jaw, and he was fed through a tube for years) and became a gaunter version of his once-portly self, he continued to write reviews and commentary and published a cookbook on meals that could be made with a rice cooker.
“When I am writing, my problems become invisible, and I am the same person I always was,” he told Esquire magazine in 2010. “All is well. I am as I should be.”
In recent years, Mr. Ebert became a prolific presence on Facebook and Twitter, on which he had more than 800,000 followers, and was a blogger as well.
He fired tweets with machine-gun rapidity, on topics both profound and prosaic. He commented on pro football, his captions for The New Yorker cartoon contest, an old pub he once frequented, James Joyce short stories and untold numbers of movies and television shows, to which he linked. “Pixar is the first studio that is a movie star,” went one tweet.
He swore he would not become addicted to Twitter, but emphatically did. But Mr. Ebert — whose handle was @ebertchicago — never tweeted during a movie.
Mr. Ebert liked to say his approach — dryly witty, occasionally sarcastic, sometimes quirky in his opinions — reflected the working newspaper reporter he had been, not a formal student of film. His tastes ran from the classics to boldly independent cinema to cartoons, and his put-downs could be withering.
“I will one day be thin, but Vincent Gallo will always be the director of ‘The Brown Bunny,’ ” he wrote.
His thumbs-up-or-down approach drew scorn from some critics, who said it trivialized film criticism. Speaking to Playboy magazine in 1991, Mr. Ebert agreed that his television program at the time was “not a high-level, in-depth film-criticism show.” But he argued that it demonstrated to younger viewers that one can bring standards of judgment to movies, that “it’s O.K. to have an opinion.”
In 1975 he became the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize, for his Sun-Times reviews. His columns were syndicated to more than 200 newspapers in the United States and abroad, and he wrote more than 15 books, many by skillfully recycling his columns. In 2005 he became the first film critic to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“In the century or so that there has been such a thing as film criticism, no other critic has ever occupied the space held by Roger Ebert,” Mick LaSalle, movie critic for The San Francisco Chronicle, wrote in 2010. “Others as influential as Ebert have not been as esteemed. Others as esteemed as Ebert have not had the same direct and widespread influence. And no one, but no one, has enjoyed the same fame.”
With Mr. Siskel, Mr. Ebert popularized television film criticism. Their collaboration began in 1975. Mr. Ebert was asked to appear on WTTW, the public broadcasting station in Chicago, as co-host of a new movie-review program. He was intrigued, but then taken aback when told that Mr. Siskel, the film critic of The Chicago Tribune, would be his partner.
“The answer was at the tip of my tongue: no,” Mr. Ebert told Time magazine in 1987.
As for Mr. Siskel, he said he initially had no desire to team up with “the most hated guy in my life.” ||||| I will always regret that I had only one direct exchange with Roger Ebert, and it took place via email. In that brief but (for me) significant correspondence, he proved as kind and gracious a soul as you would expect. Personally, I wish I’d behaved better.
It was on March 6, 2006, the morning after “Crash” won the Oscar for best picture — an upset in every sense for those of us who were rooting for the presumptive favorite, “Brokeback Mountain.” The resulting online uproar was so intense that it spurred Ebert to write a vigorous defense of Paul Haggis’ film, decrying “the fury of the ‘Crash’-lash” and accusing the hardcore “Brokeback” fans of acting in bad faith. More or less proving him right, I lashed out. I fired off a crankily defensive email, lambasting someone I had read and respected for ages but never met, and whom I would have addressed on any other occasion with nothing less than stammering politeness.
See Also: Roger Ebert Dies at 70 Photos
To my surprise, Ebert saw fit not only to publish my letter in his Movie Answer Man column, but also to write me a personal reply, in which he thanked me for getting in touch, conceded some of my points while gently reasserting his own, and told me he respected my work. Shamed but not silenced, I sent back a bloated apology, which occasioned another polite response and an altogether friendlier, more harmonious back-and-forth. I may have started us off on the wrong foot, but Roger redeemed our encounter with his characteristic good nature and genuine delight in engaging with his readers — the very qualities that made him, for so many of us, an ideal companion at the movies.
My takeaway lesson was that an act of grace, especially one coming from an elder and a superior, will always prevail over a difference of opinion. And it was the consummate grace of Ebert’s voice — that inimitable blend of wit, erudition, amiability and common sense — that made him our most important and indispensable film critic, someone you loved to read no matter how violently you disagreed with him. Like all great thinkers and writers, he rendered irrelevant the small-minded tyranny of right and wrong answers through his vivid, literate and unpretentious command of language. His thumbs may have changed the face of criticism, but it is Ebert’s writing for which he will be most fondly and significantly remembered.
We all have our favorites — in my case, derived from hours spent not watching the various TV shows he made famous with Gene Siskel (although I did that, too), but poring over the review archives on the Chicago Sun-Times’ website. I remember watching “Dead Poets Society” in high school and feeling pretty much alone in despising it; I found a kindred spirit in Ebert, who memorably tore the film to shreds: “I was so moved, I wanted to throw up.” A few years later he nailed the beauty and heartache of “The Sweet Hereafter,” noting that Atom Egoyan’s intricate, time-shuffling film had been constructed “in the simplest possible way. It isn’t about the beginning and end of the plot, but about the beginning and end of the emotions.”
See Also: Hollywood Reacts to Ebert’s Death on Twitter
Ebert always looked for emotion. He could eviscerate a movie with the best of them, but in many ways his work offered precisely the opposite of the cruel cynicism that is assumed to be the critic’s stock-in-trade. In more recent years, he seemed to err increasingly on the side of charity, adopting a sometimes mystifyingly liberal hand with four-star reviews — a generosity that nonetheless went hand-in-hand with his essentially optimistic view of the medium.
Stories of his support for younger critics are legion, but even as he was fostering aspiring talent, he never stopped showing us how it was done. Too often, when we talk about art, we do so in tones of overly hushed, self-serious reverence, placing it on a forbidding pedestal. As someone who can lapse into all manner of contorted academic language to explain why readers should care about Hou Hsiao-hsien or Nuri Bilge Ceylan, I envy the exquisite simplicity with which Ebert can nail a film like Bela Tarr’s “Werckmeister Harmonies”: “If you have not walked out after 20 or 30 minutes, you will thereafter not be able to move from your seat.” Without ever once deviating from a conversational tone, Ebert could make watching Welles, Bresson, Ozu and Mizoguchi sound like nothing less than the purest joy.
VIDEO: Roger Ebert Through the Years
In the hands of someone with an unprecedented command of our collective moviegoing minds, this is no small thing. I wanted to applaud when he made the bold decision to include a recent release, “The Tree of Life,” on his list of the 10 greatest films of all time for the decennial Sight & Sound poll. A critic of his age and stature may well have waited to see if Terrence Malick’s film stood the test of time, but Ebert was nothing if not a forward thinker. Before many of us knew Twitter from Facebook, he had already adapted his work to suit the demands of an online following that grew only more massive as time went on.
It is impossible to quantify the influence that Roger Ebert has had on anyone who cares even remotely about movies and movie criticism. But why limit it to such a narrow range of interest? Inside or outside the often insular, self-protective ranks of film critics, I can think of no writer who has commanded as wide a readership, or been more deeply invested in fostering a dialogue with that readership — a dialogue that overflowed freely into matters of art, science, religion, morality and politics. There was nothing Ebert couldn’t write about, just as there was seemingly no medium through which his work could not be transmitted.
It is one of the saddest ironies of Ebert’s long, courageous battle with cancer that he was robbed of one of the very things that defined him most: his voice. I speak, gratefully, of his voice in the physical sense, for his real voice never left us and never will. Tirelessly reviewing, blogging and tweeting until the bitter end, he came perhaps as close as anyone can claim to having triumphed over the physical onset of death and its cruelest deprivations. For anyone who ever longed to say something of value about the movies and the world they reflect, he is no less an inspiration in death than he was in life. ||||| Editorial: We were all better for knowing Roger Ebert
Updated:
Do you love what you do?
Do you go to work every day and try to master your job and feel deeply that it matters? Do you believe that you can, through sheer excellence, make it matter even more?
Roger Ebert did.
He loved everything he ever did, and made it matter to all of us, perhaps because he chose wisely.
Roger loved the movies and big ideas and great conversation and hard work. He loved the very idea of living a full and examined life, and he was an inspiration to millions of others. Movie fans adored Roger, of course, but so did all of us who at times can feel that electric surge that is life itself.
Speaking of the vitality of youth, Dylan Thomas once wrote — and Roger would appreciate the literary allusion — “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower drives my green age.” That was Roger, a life force, and it did not fade as his green age grew grey.
Roger grew up in Urbana, a pudgy only child, a questioning Catholic boy, in the thrall even then of movies and journalism and ideas, and blessed even then with a stunning work ethic. As a kid in high school, he would work all night covering sports for the local paper, then hit the bars — underage — with those glamorous local reporters he couldn’t get enough of.
Roger moved on to the big city, Chicago, and could never get enough of that, either. He cranked out the smartest stories for the Sun-Times, always delivered in deceptively simple Midwestern prose. Then he’d schmooze into the wee hours with the likes of Nelson Algren and Mike Royko at Riccardo’s and the Billy Goat and, best of all, O’Rourke’s.
But when the drinking got the best of him, Roger quit cold. He wanted to do so much more of everything else — he knew he had it in him — and the drinking got in the way.
Roger was unafraid to try his hand. There was his great TV movie review show, “Sneak Previews,” with his unlikely friend and competitor, Gene Siskel. There was an awful screenplay. And a better novel. And an excellent blog that should have won him his second Pulitzer Prize.
And we who were lucky to work with him, we who felt such intense pride in being Chicago Sun-Times journalists simply because Roger was one of us, we were all better for his example and friendship.
Roger grew wiser with age. A bit less prideful. A good deal more forgiving. You could see it in his film reviews which, frankly, turned more thumbs up over time. Roger did not agree this was so — he was as tough as ever, he would insist. But he also once wrote, late in life, that while it is easy to find fault in a film or in any work of art, our obligation to each other is to see and appreciate that which is great.
That was our Roger. To his dying day, he could grow as excited as a little boy at a carnival when he discovered something of true excellence. And then he would tell everybody — he just had to.
In so doing, Roger Ebert achieved a rare greatness of his own.
|
– Following Roger Ebert's passing, voices across the country are remembering his landmark contribution to film criticism—as well as his companionship. At Variety, Justin Chang reflects on Ebert's "characteristic good nature and genuine delight in engaging with his readers—the very qualities that made him, for so many of us, an ideal companion at the movies." He goes on to salute "the consummate grace of Ebert’s voice—that inimitable blend of wit, erudition, amiability, and common sense—that made him our most important and indispensable film critic." The New York Times calls Ebert likely "the best-known film reviewer of his generation, and one of the most trusted ... The force and grace of his opinions propelled film criticism into the mainstream of American culture," writes Douglas Martin. "Not only did he advise moviegoers about what to see, but also how to think about what they saw." The Chicago Sun-Times, his longtime stomping grounds, praises his "stunning work ethic," noting that "we who felt such intense pride in being Chicago Sun-Times journalists simply because Roger was one of us ... were all better for his example and friendship." His wife offers a poignant statement, per NPR, on "my husband, my friend, my confidante, and oh-so-brilliant partner of over 20 years." Their romance, Chaz Ebert says, was "more beautiful and epic than a movie." Though he was "happy," she notes, "he was also getting tired of his fight with cancer, and said if this takes him, he has lived a great and full life."
|
Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
WASHINGTON — When the news broke that Reality Winner, a 25-year-old NSA contractor with an apparently heavy social media presence, had been charged with leaking a classified document to reporters, many people wondered: How does someone so young have a such a top-level security clearance?
It’s actually very common.
"The vast majority of people who do the National Security Agency’s intercept work, who translate and analyze — most of them are fresh out of high school," said Matthew Aid, an intelligence historian who has written about the NSA. "There are thousands and thousands of 18 to 21-year-olds doing critically important and secret work around the world."
Related: Feds Arrest NSA Contractor in Leak of Top Secret Russia Document
The NSA is a military intelligence agency, and many of the people who work on the front lines of intelligence gathering in the military are young enlisted personnel. If they are eavesdropping on anyone from a terrorist in Afghanistan to a Russian colonel, they need a very high security clearance. The equipment, the methods, the words they hear — are all highly classified.
So it was that Winner, who served in the Air Force from 2010 until December 2016, found her way to a job as a contractor at an NSA facility in Georgia. A Cryptologic Language Analyst for the Air Force, she was fluent in the languages of Afghanistan. She was arrested at her home Saturday for allegedly leaking a document about Russian hacking of U.S. electoral systems that was published in a story by The Intercept on Monday afternoon.
The issue that Winner’s arrest highlights is not her age, current and former intelligence officials say — it is what they perceive as a cultural shift that has led a small but growing subset of spy agency employees to break the ultimate organizational taboo, and share secrets with the public and the news media.
There have always been American spies who have betrayed their country for money. Now, from Chelsea Manning to Edward Snowden to Reality Winner, a new class of rogue employee has emerged: People who decide there are secrets the public needs to know, and take it upon themselves to share them with reporters.
Reality Leigh Winner, 25, a federal contractor charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for sending classified material to a news organization, poses in a picture posted to her Instagram account. Reality Winner / Instagram via Reuters
"It’s a new kind of insider threat that the agency can’t defend against," Aid said.
And it’s getting worse, he added, in part because "Donald Trump and the change in the political scene in America has created an environment for a lot of people who feel that they have to DO something. You become an instant activist."
Winner was vocal in her opposition to Trump on social media, but her motives are unclear. According to federal charging documents, she admitted to mailing a Top Secret document detailing Russian hacking intelligence to the news media. She faces one count of "gathering, transmitting or losing defense information."
The lines are blurry, but Winner and those like her seem in a different class than the Washington insiders who have always leaked to settle internal scores or to make policy points. They are small fries, far from the nation’s power centers, inside a vast intelligence apparatus who decide the public needs to know what they do. Manning leaked from Baghdad; Snowden was based in Hawaii; Winner was in Georgia.
"These are people who have a greater sense of loyalty to some outside cause than to the organization they are working in, and that’s a new thing for the intelligence community," said a former senior NSA official, who asked not to be named so he could speak more candidly about sensitive topics.
There is another dimension, another former NSA official said: Too much information is classified, and everyone working in intelligence knows it.
Related: NSA Leak Mystery Not Solved With Arrest of Hal Martin
Indeed, the document Winner allegedly leaked did not seem, on its face, to be terribly sensitive. The U.S. government, after all, was perfectly willing to acknowledge its authenticity by charging Winner barely an hour after the story broke on The Intercept, as if to send a message. The charging documents don’t link the case to The Intercept, but officials quickly did so in background comments to reporters.
Her attorney, Titus Thomas Nichols, said Winner has yet to enter a plea, although a detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday. She remains jailed in Lincoln County.
"A week ago today she was living her life," he said. "Now she’s in the middle of a political whirlwind." ||||| (CNN) The federal contractor accused of leaking classified information to an online news outlet regarding a 2016 Russian military intelligence cyberattack complained about the Trump administration and posted about leaks on what appears to be her public Twitter account.
Reality Leigh Winner, 25, was employed as a contractor with Pluribus International Corp., a government facility in Georgia from around February 13, according to an affidavit supporting her arrest. Her Twitter activity dropped significantly after that date.
The Justice Department announced charges Monday against Winner. She is accused of leaking classified information, used as the basis for an article The Intercept published Monday, detailing a classified National Security Agency memo.
Twitter account under Sara Winners
Winner posted on Twitter as Sara Winners but didn't seem too concerned with concealing her identity. Her profile picture is a photo of herself, and she posted a selfie in February.
She also uses her Twitter username @Reezlie on Instagram; however, her activity on the two platforms differed dramatically. On Instagram, she primarily posted selfies from the gym and pictures of food, while on Twitter she rarely posted about herself, focusing more on politics -- behavior not uncommon for people who use both social networks.
Accounts she follows
Winner follows 50 Twitter accounts, among them Edward Snowden, WikiLeaks, several with links to the group Anonymous and "alt" government agency accounts that became popular after President Donald Trump's inauguration, including AltFDA. None of the accounts appear to be personal connections.
Anti-Trump
Winner didn't hide her disdain for Trump. On Election Night, when it became apparent that Trump would win, she tweeted, "Well. People suck. #ElectionNight"
On February 11, she was particularly active on the social network, tweeting directly at the President, describing him as an "orange fascist."
Melania and I are hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Mrs. Abe at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. They are a wonderful couple! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2017
the most dangerous entry to this country was the orange fascist we let into the white house — Sara Winners (@Reezlie) February 11, 2017
Winner didn't appear to post explicitly about hacking or leaking but did retweet and like several tweets on the topic.
She "liked' a tweet from the hacking group Anonymous in November that hinted at hacking a Mac computer the then-President-elect was using.
Donald Trump using a Mac. Very insecure! Would be SAD if something happened!! https://t.co/9DPWiBRgtK — Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) November 29, 2016
Winner also favorited a February 15 tweet linking to an article about White House press secretary Sean Spicer's reported lax approach to his personal data security and also liked a WikiLeaks tweet linking to a Wall Street Journal reported headlined, "Spies Keep Intelligence From Donald Trump on Leak Concerns."
WSJ says US intelligence says it is intentionally concealing information from US president @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/1tYJNENLAR pic.twitter.com/u8hzVDZI2q — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) February 16, 2017
'Alt' accounts
She follows several "rogue" Twitter accounts designed to look like they are run by federal agencies. Many of these accounts claim to be run by agency employees unhappy with the Trump administration.
She retweeted a post in January from the "Rogue NASA" account that attempted to explain why such accounts were becoming more popular.
Rogue Twitter accounts are fun, but gov't employees and scientists are very afraid of being fired if they speak out & share facts. #resist — Rogue NASA (@RogueNASA) January 25, 2017
Winner's Twitter activity slowed in mid-February, and the last time she appeared to tweet before her arrest Saturday was on March 5, when she tweeted at Anonymous, "what happened to the Feb 28th call for Trump to resign?"
Her mother, Billie Winner, said her daughter wasn't especially political and had not praised past leakers such as Snowden to her. "She's never ever given me any kind of indication that she was in favor of that at all," her mother said. "I don't know how to explain it."
Her court-appointed attorney, Titus Nichols, told CNN he was unable to confirm Tuesday that the Twitter account was Winner's.
Earlier, he said he believes the government has a political agenda by going after his client, whom he says is a low-level government employee. Nichols said he hasn't seen anything that would lead him to believe Winner is guilty of these charges.
CNN has reached out to Pluribus International to ask if it was aware of Winner's Twitter account. ||||| Reality Leigh Winner, a federal contractor from Augusta, Georgia, has been charged by the Department of Justice for leaking classified information on a 2016 Russian military intelligence cyberattack to The Intercept, an online news outlet.
Winner, who is 25 years old, was not a public figure prior to the news of her arrest. Here's what we know about her so far.
A federal contractor who allegedly took a risk
Winner served as a contractor with Pluribus International Corporation, according to officials, and had been working at an unidentified government facility in Georgia "since on or about Feb. 13," according to an affidavit in support of application for her arrest warrant, written by Justin C. Garrick, a special agent with the FBI.
Pluribus International Corporation lists one employee location in Georgia on its website -- Fort Gordon, a United States Army installation -- but it's unclear if that is indeed where Winner was based.
ABC News reached out to Pluribus International Corporation for a comment about Winner's arrest but did not immediately receive a response.
She had top secret security clearance at her job, Garrick wrote in the affidavit.
On or about May 9, 2017, Winner allegedly printed and improperly removed the classified intelligence report, according to Garrick's affidavit, which noted that the material had been dated on May 5.
The Intercept reached out to the government on May 30 for comment on the story it was planning to run, and on June 1, the FBI was notified about that interaction.
According to the affidavit, Winner confessed to Agent Garrick on June 3.
Winner was formally charged by the Justice Department with removing and mailing classified material to a news outlet on Monday. She has not yet entered a plea.
Her attorney told ABC News that Winner remains in federal custody, and will have a detention hearing on Thursday to determine if she will be released before her trial.
"A good person ... caught in a political whirlwind"
Winner is a former Air Force linguist who speaks Pashto, Farsi and Dari, according to her attorney, and had recently worked as a yoga instructor at a studio called Oh Yeah Yoga in Augusta.
Oh Yeah Yoga owner Annalisa Adams described Winner to ABC News as a "reliable" employee.
"She taught first class at my studio in January," Adams said. "She started doing sub stuff but eventually - she was so reliable - I gave her two classes."
She added, "[Winner] was never anything but completely professional and we're honestly all in complete shock that she took this step."
"She’s a good person with no criminal history who is caught in a political whirlwind," her attorney, Titus Thomas Nichols, told ABC News in a statement Monday night.
Winner’s mother, Billie Winner-Davis, called her a "very passionate" person who was outspoken about her beliefs.
"Very passionate about her views and things like that, but she’s never to my knowledge been active in politics or any of that,” Winner-Davis told The Daily Beast on Monday.
Gary Davis, Winner’s stepfather, described Winner to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday as a veteran and a patriot.
“She’s a veteran, six years’ service of the Air Force,” he said. “She received commendations during that time. She’s just a passionate young woman who probably made some mistakes.”
“You may not agree with her politics but she is a patriot,” Davis told the paper.
Winner's social media presence shows her to be frequently critical of President Trump, and concerned about environmental issues.
Roughly four months ago, she wrote a Facebook post that was critical of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.
"Repeat after me: In the United States of America, in the year 2017, access to clean, fresh, water is not a right, but a privilege based off one's socio-economic status," Winner wrote. "If that didn't feel good to say aloud, contact your senators today and tell them those exact words as to why the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines cannot be built on American soil. Let's fix the pipes meant to bring water, sans lead or pollutants, to our citizens before we build pipes meant to benefit big oil and poison the land. #NoDAPL"
|
– Reality Winner was charged Monday with leaking a document about the Russian hacking of US electoral systems. One of the most surprising things, according to NBC News, was that a 25-year-old had top-level security clearance. But apparently it's not that unusual. Most people who do NSA work involving intercepting communications and translation are just out of high school. "There are thousands and thousands of 18- to 21-year-olds doing critically important and secret work around the world," an expert on the NSA says. Many of them, like Winner, are young members of the military. She served six years in the Air Force. A high security clearance is needed to listen in on terrorists or members of foreign governments. Intelligence officials are concerned that Winner is part of a growing number of American intelligence employees leaking state secrets not for money but because they feel the public has a right to know the information. The election of President Trump is making people feel like they need to take action. CNN details Winner's anti-Trump comments on social media. And ABC News has more information on the 25-year-old, including that she speaks Pashto, Farsi, and Dari and had recently worked as a yoga instructor, where she was known as a "reliable" employee. Winner's mother says her daughter is "very passionate about her views."
|
The "super tunnels" were the sixth and seventh found between Tijuana and San Diego since 2010.
This image shows an agent examining one of two tunnels discovered April 1, 2014 in San Diego's Otay Mesa industrial park. The first tunnel, stretching about 600 yards, was discovered on Tuesday. Authorities say it was equipped with lighting, a crude rail system and wooden trusses. The other tunnel was discovered Thursday. It’s described as stretching more than 700 yards and more sophisticated, with an electric rail system and ventilation equipment. (Photo: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) via AP)
Two more suspected drug-smuggling tunnels linking warehouses in Tijuana and San Diego have been uncovered by U.S. and Mexican authorities, and a 73-year-old California woman is accused of being the logistics manager for one passageway.
No drugs or other contraband were found in the so-called super tunnels, which featured lights, rails, wooden supports and ventilation, or in warehouses on either side of the border, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Friday.
The passages, which U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said cost millions of dollars to build, were the sixth and seventh super tunnels found between Tijuana and San Diego since 2010.
STORY: Major drug-smuggling tunnel found between San Diego, Tijuana
The first tunnel found this week was found Tuesday in an industrial park in the Otay Mesa section of San Diego. About 600 yards long and 70 feet underground, it was detected under the cement floor of a warehouse containing children's toys and TVs.
Wednesday, the San Diego Tunnel Task Force arrested Glennys Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen from Chula Vista, a San Diego suburb. She is accused of overseeing logistics and faces federal charges of conspiring with others to maintain a drug-involved premises.
The second, more sophisticated passage was unearthed Thursday in Otay Mesa by Mexican investigators following leads from their U.S. counterparts. Stretching about 700 yards long, it contained a multi-tiered electric rail system, said ICE, which did not indicate the contents of the second warehouse or the warehouses in Tijuana.
"While technology certainly plays a part in our ongoing efforts, ultimately these investigations often owe more to the powers of observation and old fashioned detective work – and that was exactly what happened here," said said Derek Benner, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego.
In November 2010, border agents uncovered an 1,800-foot-long drug-smuggling super tunnel connecting Tijuana with the same industrial park in San Diego. More than 20 tons of marijuana were seized in the Otay Mesa warehouse; Mexican soldiers confiscated five tons at the other end.
Since 2006, more than 80 cross-border tunnels in various stages of construction have been found, mostly in California and Arizona.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1jLZlfL ||||| ICE agents uncover one of two tunnels on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico this week. The tunnel was hidden in a warehouse and was equipped with a crude rail system. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement / )
Just as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in San Diego shut the door on their latest drug-smuggling tunnel case, another one opened up.
On Wednesday, ICE officials arrested a 73-year-old Chula Vista woman on suspicion of overseeing the operation of an underground tunnel leading under the border to an Otay Mesa industrial park in San Diego.
On Thursday, they found a second tunnel, which is one longer and more sophisticated than the first.
The busts “eliminated a multi-million dollar drug smuggling venture and have reduced it to nothing more than a colossal waste of money on the part of the drug cartels," said William Sherman, the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Diego special agent in charge, in a statement.
"Our goal is to not only shut these tunnels down before they become operational, but to ensure that the cartels backing these elaborate smuggling operations are investigated and prosecuted."
The two tunnel discovered this week mark the sixth and seven cross-border passages that authorities have located in the last four years. Officials have found more than 80 tunnels from California to Arizona since 2006.
But the quantity of drugs – if any – that were successfully channeled through the tunnels found this week is unknown, authorities said. According to the federal complaint against Glennys Rodriguez of Chula Vista – who is accused of supervising the pathways - the warehouse where the first tunnel was found was purchased last May.
In their announcement, authorities described the elaborate passage smugglers had carved under the border:
The first tunnel was approximately 600 yards long, secured with wooden trusses and equipped with lighting and a crude rail system. Its exit on the U.S. side was 70-feet below ground and had a pulley system for hoisting packages to the surface.
Children’s toys were found strewn in the warehouse where the tunnel lead, officials said.
Agents have found similar settings outside other tunnels they’ve uncovered. They say operators hire people to occasionally drop by the property to make it appear to be a normal business to neighbors, according to court documents.
The second tunnel was discovered by Mexican authorities on Thursday. Authorities found that the second tunnel exited just around the corner from the first and was noticeably more advanced.
The second tunnel was about 700 yards long, had ventilation and a multi-tiered electrical rail system.
So far, Rodriguez is the only person facing charges, but her criminal complaint names several other people who authorities believe are related to the tunnels, including a man who authorities said has been caught constructing cross-border tunnels before.
ALSO:
Chinese Americans say Irvine leaders have 'Cold War mentality'
Teen stowaway survives, but how? 'Boy's body went into a frozen state'
Guns, badges stolen from locker room during LAPD charity football game
Joseph.serna@latimes.com
Twitter: @josephserna
|
– Federal agents discovered two more major drug tunnels between California and Mexico this week, reports USA Today. Each began under a warehouse in Tijuana and ended under another in San Diego. The discovery holds a lesson for cartels: If you're going to spend millions building these things, you might want to invest in better fronts. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents found the first one after noting that the US warehouse had nothing but cheap toys inside, as if it were an exporter, the same front used in a tunnel found last year, reports the Union-Tribune. The discovery of the first tunnel led to the discovery of the second one in a nearby warehouse in the same industrial park. Authorities arrested a 73-year-old woman in Chula Vista, California, suspected of supervising the smuggling operations, reports the LA Times. The tunnels were 600 to 700 yards long and were equipped with lighting and rail systems, with one notably more sophisticated than the other. Unlike previous discoveries—these are the sixth and seventh tunnels found between Tijuana and San Diego since 2010—no drugs were found during the raids.
|
Trump vexes allies as he calls for Russia to rejoin G-7 The statement comes as Trump was already feuding with Macron and Trudeau ahead of the world leader meeting in Canada.
President Donald Trump on Friday called for Russia to be reinstated into the group of the world’s largest economies, drawing the ire of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers and further inflaming tensions at the G-7 meeting in Canada.
“Now, I love our country. I have been Russia's worst nightmare,” Trump said. “But with that being said, Russia should be in this meeting. Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting?”
Story Continued Below
Trump made the remarks on the White House South Lawn as he left for the G-7 summit in Quebec, which he will depart from early in order to travel to Singapore, where he is scheduled to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next week.
His suggestion that the G-7 welcome Russia back into the fold is likely to heighten tensions in Quebec, where the president is expected to meet with allies irate over his decision to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and the European Union. In recent days, Trump has engaged in a war of words with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The G-7, short for Group of Seven, was the G-8 until 2014, when the group’s members expelled Russia over its invasion and annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The G-7’s current membership comprises the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain.
“I would recommend — and it's up to them, but Russia should be in the meeting, it should be a part of it. You know, whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run,” Trump told reporters. “And in the G-7, which used to be the G-8, they threw Russia out. They should let Russia come back in. Because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.”
The most reliable politics newsletter. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Trump's suggestion that Russia be brought back into the exclusive club of industrialized nations earned at least one endorsement Friday — that of Italy's new, right-wing prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, who wrote on Twitter that he agreed with the U.S. president.
But the British government raised alarms about the proposal, which also brought bipartisan scorn from U.S. lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).
“President Trump is turning our foreign policy into an international joke, doing lasting damage to our country, without any rhyme or reason. We need the president to be able to distinguish between our allies and adversaries, and to treat each accordingly. On issue after issue, he’s failed to do that," Schumer said in a statement. “The president’s support for inviting Russia back into the G-7, just after they meddled in the election to support his campaign, will leave millions of Americans with serious questions and suspicions.”
"This is weak. Putin is not our friend and he is not the president's buddy," Sasse said in his own statement. "He is a thug using Soviet-style aggression to wage a shadow war against America, and our leaders should act like it."
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a frequent Trump critic who tangled with the president earlier this week, was blunt in a tweet: "No, Russia should not be added to the G-7."
Flake's Arizona colleague, GOP Sen. John McCain, was similarly critical of the president's suggestion in a statement emailed to reporters Friday afternoon.
“Vladimir Putin chose to make Russia unworthy of membership in the G-8 by invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea. Nothing he has done since then has changed that most obvious fact," McCain said. “The President has inexplicably shown our adversaries the deference and esteem that should be reserved for our closest allies.”
Trump’s support for Russia’s reentry into the group of leading economies adds to the lengthy list of warm gestures he has offered for the Kremlin and its leader, President Vladimir Putin. Critics of the president have long complained that his foreign policy is too soft on Russia, which the U.S. intelligence community has said sought to interfere in the 2016 election on Trump’s behalf, especially relative to the president’s get-tough approach to foreign policy elsewhere around the globe.
But while Trump’s rhetoric toward Russia, and Putin in particular, has been noticeably warmer than that of his predecessor, the president and his administration have pointed often to significant steps taken against the Kremlin, including new sanctions, the expulsion of dozens of diplomats and the forced closure of Russia’s two West Coast consulates, in Seattle and San Francisco.
"If Hillary got in, I think Putin is probably going, ‘Man, I wish Hillary won,’ because you see what I do," Trump said on Friday about his harsher actions against Russia.
Russia had been scheduled to host the G-8 summit in 2014 and had been planning to hold the leaders’ gathering in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, which was also the site of the Winter Olympics that year. But after Russian troops invaded Crimea, officials quickly rescheduled for Brussels, the de facto capital of the European Union, which participates in both the G-7 and the G-20. Russia remains a part of the larger group.
Trump has run afoul of some of America's closest allies in the run-up to the Quebec gathering.
He has devoted significant focus in recent weeks to resetting U.S. trade relationships around the globe, complaining especially loudly about what he says is unfair treatment by top trade partners like Canada and the EU. The president's decision to impose tariffs on both earned him a stern rebuke from Trudeau and the leaders of multiple major EU nations.
Trump was originally scheduled to meet Friday for two bilateral meetings, one with Trudeau and another with Macron, although the White House said Friday morning that Trump was running late and that the Macron meeting would have to be rescheduled for later in the day. Trudeau's greeting of Trump ahead of their meeting appeared somewhat stiff but was marked mostly by handshakes and pleasantries.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump and Macron met informally and "exchanged pleasantries and briefly discussed trade." She added that Macron and Trump would hold another meeting later Friday.
Macron and Trump both promised this week to confront Trump over his recent decision to impose tariffs on U.S. allies, using blunt language to describe their positions.
“Maybe the American president doesn’t care about being isolated today, but we don’t mind being six, if needs be,” Macron said.
Following their joint meeting at the summit, Macron said he and Trump had a “very direct discussion.“ But both of the leaders‘ description of their chat were devoid of the escalating rhetoric they had exchanged in the days and hours leading up the summit.
“I also want to congratulate you, because I‘m reading what‘s going on in France,“ Trump told Macron in front of a gathering of reporters. “You've got great courage. You‘re doing the right thing.“
Trump hit back on Twitter late Thursday.
"Please tell Prime Minister Trudeau and President Macron that they are charging the U.S. massive tariffs and create non-monetary barriers," he tweeted. "The EU trade surplus with the U.S. is $151 Billion, and Canada keeps our farmers and others out. Look forward to seeing them tomorrow."
He added, "Prime Minister Trudeau is being so indignant, bringing up the relationship that the U.S. and Canada had over the many years and all sorts of other things...but he doesn’t bring up the fact that they charge us up to 300% on dairy — hurting our Farmers, killing our Agriculture!"
When asked by reporters Friday morning about the spat, Trump presented it as a temporary trade dispute and that "in the end we'll all get along."
"Look, all of these countries have been taking advantage of the United States on trade," Trump said. "We have massive trade deficits with almost every country. We will straighten that out. And I'll tell you what, it's what I do. It won't even be hard, and in the end we'll all get along. ... When it all straightens out, we'll all be in love again."
The president later made light of the distance between himself and Trudeau on trade, joking during a bilateral meeting that the prime minister “has agreed to cut all tariffs and all trade barriers between Canada and the United States.“ Trump then reassured reporters the two were “actually working“ on the matter and had “made a lot of progress today.“
Trump managed to draw a laugh from Trudeau and Merkel prior to a working session on Friday afternoon. The president caught sight of New York Times photographer Doug Mills, turned to Trudeau and quipped: "He's the number one photographer in the world. Unfortunately, he works for The New York Times."
The remarks, overheard by a pool reporter, prompted laughter from Trudeau and Merkel. Reporters were subsequently escorted out.
Despite numerous other differences, Western leaders have remained united in the need to maintain economic sanctions and other pressure on Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine — not just in Crimea but also in the eastern Donbas region, where it has supported an armed insurgency. An international investigative team recently announced that a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet, Flight MH-17, that was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 was destroyed by a Russian missile supplied by a specific military unit in southern Russia.
Putin has continued to deny any Russian role in that episode, which killed all 298 people on board. Putin initially denied that Russian military forces had invaded Crimea but later acknowledged that they had done so, and even bestowed awards on soldiers who participated in the operation.
David Herszenhorn and Cristiano Lima contributed to this report. ||||| President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving the White House in Washington, Friday, June 8, 2018, to attend the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Associated Press)
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving the White House in Washington, Friday, June 8, 2018, to attend the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and the annual Group of Seven meeting of industrialized nations (all times local):
8:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump is calling for Russia to be reinstated to the leading group of industrialized nations, now known as the Group of Seven.
Trump tells reporters: "Russia should be in the meeting, should be a part of it."
Russia was ousted from the elite group in 2014 as punishment for President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea and its support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. The suspension was supported by the other members of the group, including the U.S., Canada, Japan and four European nations.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump associates colluded with Russia in a bid to sway the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favor.
___
7:25 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he won't be talking about the Russia probe for a while because he'll be focused on trade talks at the annual Group of Seven meeting of industrialized nations.
Trump notes on Twitter that he's heading for Canada, where the nations' leaders are gathering at a Quebec resort. Several are expected to challenge Trump's new trade policies, which include tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Trump tweets that the talks "will mostly center on the long time unfair trade practiced against the United States." After that, he'll head to Singapore for a summit with North Korea.
He adds: "Won't be talking about the Russian Witch Hunt Hoax for a while!"
___
6:40 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he is looking forward to "straightening out unfair Trade Deals" at the annual Group of Seven meeting.
The group of industrialized nations is gathering at a Quebec resort for discussions that are expected to be tense. The leaders from France and Canada say they will push back against new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Trump showed no signs of budging on his trade policies Friday, tweeting: "Looking forward to straightening out unfair Trade Deals with the G-7 countries. If it doesn't happen, we come out even better!
___
1:50 a.m.
President Donald Trump is set to descend on the annual Group of Seven meeting of industrialized nations, expecting tough trade talks as his go-it-alone policies leave him increasingly isolated.
On the eve of Friday's gathering at a Quebec resort, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previewed what will likely be a tense two days. They stressed the need for respectful dialogue but say they will push back against new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, as they have on other issues.
Trump is showing no signs of backing away from what he sees as key campaign promises. He tweeted Thursday: "Getting ready to go to the G-7 in Canada to fight for our country on Trade (we have the worst trade deals ever made)." ||||| Quebec City (CNN) President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia should be reinstated to a leading group of industrialized nations ahead of his visit to the G7 summit this weekend.
Trump's statement is an extraordinary break from key US allies, and particularly striking given Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. A special counsel investigation into whether Trump campaign officials colluded with Russia is underway, though Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations.
"Russia should be in this meeting," Trump told reporters upon leaving the White House for the summit, which is being held in Charlevoix, Canada. "They should let Russia come back in, because we should have Russia at the negotiating table."
Russia was suspended from the group -- then known as the G8 -- in 2014 after the majority of member countries allied against Russia's annexation of Crimea, which Russia continues to hold.
Asked in an interview earlier this week about what would need to happen for Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Austria's ORF broadcasting corporation that "there are no such conditions and there can never be."
Friction with key allies
Trump's comments underscore the growing divide between the US, under his administration, and Washington's closest allies.
The President's willingness to look the other way on Russia's annexation of Crimea -- the first violation of a European country's borders since World War II -- will particularly deepen the chill with allies such as the UK, France and Germany, which are already furious about US trade tariffs, and Trump's rejection of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement.
"We always been clear we should engage with Russia where it is in our interests, but we need to remember why G8 became the G7: it was because Russia illegally annexed Crimea," a European diplomat told CNN. "Since then, we have seen an increase in Russian misbehavior and attempts to undermine democracy in Europe. It is not appropriate for Russia to rejoin until we see it behaving responsibly. Putin should get nothing for free."
At home, Trump's continuing failure to condemn Russia for its aggressive behavior and his ongoing push to restore more normal relations is bound to raise questions, once again, about his affinity for Moscow and Putin.
Sen. John McCain blasted Trump for his comments, saying "The President has inexplicably shown our adversaries the deference and esteem that should be reserved for our closest allies."
The Arizona Republican, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that Putin "chose to make Russia unworthy of membership in the G-8 by invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea. Nothing he has done since then has changed that most obvious fact. Every day, Russian-led separatist forces are killing Ukrainians in the Donbass. Every day, Putin's forces are helping the Assad regime slaughter the Syrian people. And every day, through assassinations, cyber-attacks, and malign influence, Russia is assaulting democratic institutions all over the world."
The statement added, "Those nations that share our values and have sacrificed alongside us for decades are being treated with contempt. This is the antithesis of so-called 'principled realism' and a sure path to diminishing America's leadership in the world."
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, also a member of the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement, "Putin is not our friend and he is not the President's buddy. He is a thug using Soviet-style aggression to wage a shadow war against America, and our leaders should act like it."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump was turning US foreign policy "into an international joke, doing lasting damage to our country."
Former Vice President Joe Biden also criticized Trump's remarks , writing on Twitter, "Putin's Russia invaded its neighbors, violated our sovereignty by undermining elections, and attacks dissidents abroad. Yet our President wants to reward him with a seat at the table while alienating our closest democratic allies. It makes no sense."
The comment not only surprised American allies and politicians, but Trump's own National Security Council staff.
A National Security Council official told reporters in Quebec Trump's comments were not planned.
When asked about whether there was a potential for a summit between Russian President Putin and President Trump, the official said there have been no discussions in terms of when, where or what that summit might look like. The official added that there was some chatter, but it's not something the NSC is working on internally.
Acrimonious start to G7
Trump's comments also come at a time when Trump is on the outs with other members of the G7. On Thursday, Trump engaged in a bitter back-and-forth with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over Twitter, both of whom he'll meet face-to-face on Friday.
Trump is expecting a knock-down, drag-out fight with top US allies over trade during his time at the conference, held in remote Quebec. It's a battle he believes he can win, but which he's unenthusiastic about waging in person, people familiar with his thinking say.
On Thursday, Macron said the leaders would not rule out a 6+1 communique as opposed to the traditional document signed by all leaders at the end of the summit with shared goals and principles.
One G7 leader, however, quickly backed Trump's statement: Italy's newly sworn in Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, who said it would be in "everyone's interest" for Russia to be reinstated.
Although Conte, a former law professor, has not voiced particularly strong opinions on Russia in the past, his two deputies -- the leader of the Five Star movement and the far-right League Party, who have considered influence over him -- have frequently expressed pro-Russia views.
|
– President Trump is calling for Russia to be reinstated to the leading group of industrialized nations, now known as the Group of Seven, the AP reports. "Now, I love our country. I have been Russia's worst nightmare," Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House Friday morning as he prepared to leave for the G7 summit in Canada, per Politico. "But with that being said, Russia should be in this meeting. Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting?" He added: "Whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run. And in the G7, which used to be the G8, they threw Russia out. They should let Russia come back in. Because we should have Russia at the negotiating table." Russia was ousted from the elite group in 2014 as punishment for President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea and its support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. The suspension was supported by the other members of the group: the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. CNN notes Trump's remarks come after a public Twitter battle Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over new tariffs the US has hit its allies with for "national security" purposes.
|
Locking your door isn't always a safeguard against intrusion. Neither is a caretaker, apparently.
An elderly woman was in for a shock at her home in central Pennsylvania when she and her daughter discovered an unknown man camped out in an upstairs closet where he had secretly been living for several weeks.
The unidentified homeowner, in her 80s, was limited to the first floor due to difficulty moving, which allowed the man to remain undetected on the second floor until the mother and daughter heard a noise coming from upstairs, NBC News reports.
Police in Bedford County said that the man, Mark Potts, turned out to be the boyfriend of the woman's caretaker. He had moved several suitcases into the home and even had a small handgun in his possession, according to Bedford County District Attorney Bill Higgins.
Officials said that Potts faces criminal trespassing charges and the caretaker could face additional charges for aiding him. ||||| text size
Bedford woman finds man living inside her home
By: Lauren Hensley
BEDFORD, Pa.-- In Bedford on Juliana Street, a woman in her mid-80s goes for weeks before discovering a man is living inside of her home.
"They heard a noise upstairs and they found this man hiding in a closet he had been living there for several weeks,” Bedford County District Attorney Bill Higgins said.
The homeowner is not as mobile as she, used to be, so she mainly lives on the first floor of her two story-story home. The woman has a caretaker and was introduced to the caretaker’s boyfriend Mark Potts.
But when the woman's daughter paid a visit, they found Potts was living under her roof.
“When police searched the upstairs room, they found several suitcases, a duffel bag and other personal items belonging to Potts. He was taking up residence there. He didn't bring in new furniture but he was living there,” Higgins said.
Police said when they found Potts, he also had a small handgun on him.
“This guy put this woman in fear and he probably killed any future feelings of security and we are going to make sure he is held accountable for that,” Higgins said.
Potts is facing criminal trespassing charges.
The name of the caretaker has not been released just yet but according to Higgins, police are investigating and he expects charges to be filed against her as well.
Bedford woman finds man living inside her home
|
– A woman in her 80s who lives alone in Pennsylvania wasn't actually living alone, it turns out. Police in Bedford say that a 49-year-old man had secretly moved in and was living on her second floor for several weeks, reports WJAC-TV and the Bedford County Free Press. His rent-free living came to an end when the woman's daughter paid a visit, and she and her mom heard a noise upstairs. A quick investigation turned up Mark Allen Potts hiding in a closet. “When police searched the upstairs room, they found several suitcases, a duffel bag, and other personal items belonging to Potts," says county DA Bill Higgins. "He was taking up residence there." Authorities say Potts, who faces charges of criminal trespassing, also had a handgun. The homeowner had once met him—he was the boyfriend of her caretaker. "Locking your door isn't always a safeguard against intrusion," observes a post at Philly Voice. "Neither is a caretaker, apparently." (Another alleged home intruder got caught after logging into Facebook.)
|
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that farmers could not use Monsanto’s patented genetically altered soybeans to create new seeds without paying the company a fee.
The ruling has implications for many aspects of modern agriculture and for businesses based on vaccines, cell lines and software. But Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, emphasized that the decision was narrow.
“Our holding today is limited — addressing the situation before us, rather than every one involving a self-replicating product,” she wrote. “We recognize that such inventions are becoming ever more prevalent, complex and diverse. In another case, the article’s self-replication might occur outside the purchaser’s control. Or it might be a necessary but incidental step in using the item for another purpose.”
But Justice Kagan had little difficulty ruling that an Indiana farmer’s conduct in the case before the court, Bowman v. Monsanto Company, No. 11-796, had run afoul of patent law.
Farmers who buy Monsanto’s patented seeds must generally sign a contract promising not to save seeds from the resulting crop, which means they must buy new seeds every year. The seeds are valuable because they are resistant to the herbicide Roundup, itself a Monsanto product.
But the Indiana farmer, Vernon Hugh Bowman, who had signed such contracts for his main crop, said he discovered a loophole for a second, riskier crop later in the growing season.
For that second crop, he bought seeds from a grain elevator filled with a mix of seeds in the reasonable hope that many of them contained Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready gene.
Seeds from grain elevators are typically sold for animal feed, food processing or industrial uses. But Mr. Bowman planted them and sprayed them with Roundup. Many plants survived, and he replanted their seeds.
Monsanto sued, and a federal judge in Indiana ordered Mr. Bowman to pay the company more than $84,000. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent cases, upheld that decision, saying that by planting the seeds Mr. Bowman had infringed Monsanto’s patents.
Justice Kagan agreed, suggesting that Mr. Bowman had been too clever for his own good.
Mr. Bowman’s main argument was that a doctrine called patent exhaustion allowed him to do what he liked with products he had obtained legally. But Justice Kagan said it did not apply to the way he had used the seeds.
“Under the patent exhaustion doctrine, Bowman could resell the patented soybeans he purchased from the grain elevator; so too he could consume the beans himself or feed them to his animals,” she wrote.
“But the exhaustion doctrine does not enable Bowman to make additional patented soybeans without Monsanto’s permission,” she added, and went on to say that “that is precisely what Bowman did.”
Justice Kagan said that allowing Mr. Bowman’s tactic would destroy the value of Monsanto’s patent. “The exhaustion doctrine is limited to the ‘particular item’ sold,” she wrote, “to avoid just such a mismatch between invention and reward.”
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Mr. Bowman acknowledged the general principle that he had no right to make a new product with Monsanto’s seeds. But he said he had used the seeds precisely as they were intended to be used — planting them “in the normal way farmers do,” Justice Kagan wrote.
Accepting that theory, she wrote, would create an “unprecedented exception” to the exhaustion doctrine. “If simple copying were a protected use,” she wrote, “a patent would plummet in value after the first sale of the item containing the invention.”
Mr. Bowman also argued in briefs that soybeans naturally “self-replicate or ‘sprout’ unless stored in a controlled manner,” meaning that “it was the planted soybean, not Bowman,” that created the new seeds.
Justice Kagan rejected what she called “that blame-the-bean defense.”
“Bowman was not a passive observer of his soybeans’ multiplication,” she wrote, adding: “Put another way, the seeds he purchased (miraculous though they might be in other respects) did not spontaneously create eight successive soybean crops.”
“It was Bowman, and not the bean,” she wrote, “who controlled the reproduction (unto the eighth generation) of Monsanto’s patented invention.” ||||| Indiana farmer's effort to replicate soybeans that are resistant to weed killer is determined to be a patent infringement.
The entrance to the Monsanto Company, headquartered in St. Louis, is seen in 2005. (Photo: James A. Finley, AP) Story Highlights Unanimous ruling protects biotechnology entrepreneurs from predators
Justices gave little credence to Indiana farmer's argument
Ruling does not settle all future cases involving self-replicating products
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court usually isn't friendly toward questionable patents, but it came down overwhelmingly on the side of agribusiness giant Monsanto Monday in a case that's bound to resonate throughout the biotechnology industry.
The court ruled unanimously that an Indiana farmer violated Monsanto's patent on genetically modified soybeans when he culled some from a grain elevator and used them to replant his own crop in future years.
"If simple copying were a protected use, a patent would plummet in value after the first sale of the first item containing the invention," Justice Elena Kagan ruled in a short 10-page opinion. "The undiluted patent monopoly, it might be said, would extend not for 20 years as the Patent Act promises, but for only one transaction. And that would result in less incentive for innovation than Congress wanted."
Who it helps: Inventors and entrepreneurs who have patents on products that can be self-replicated, from computer software to cell lines. While Kagan's decision is limited to the Monsanto case, it bolsters the argument that self-replicating products can be protected from patent infringement even if their challengers go through third parties.
Who it hurts: Consumers paying high prices. The Center for Food Safety released a report in February that showed three corporations control much of the global commercial seed market. It found that from 1995-2011, the average cost to plant 1 acre of soybeans rose 325%.
What's to come: Still pending is a decision on whether human genes can be patented. That case tests a company's patent on the genes that can identify an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. During oral arguments in April, the justices seemed far more skeptical of the merits of that patent.
Monsanto's soybeans represent the cream of the crop because they are resistant to the weed killer Roundup. Farmers must pay Monsanto's price to plant the beans themselves.
That's not what Indiana farmer Vernon Hugh Bowman did. After one year of going through Monsanto, he bought his second crop from a grain elevator. Then he used his own soybeans that resisted Roundup in future years -- in essence, the court said, making copies of a patented invention.
Bowman's attorney, Mark Walters, had argued that the Monsanto seeds were acquired innocently enough from the grain elevator, and that Bowman's little operation never would threaten the company's monopoly.
Two lower federal courts weren't impressed with Bowman's case, ruling in favor of Monsanto. And that argument carried little weight with the justices when the case was argued in February. They noted that Monsanto had spent hundreds of millions of dollars over more than a decade to perfect its soybeans -- something it would not have done if others could so easily replicate them.
Bowman contended the soybeans were "self-replicating," but Kagan said that "blame-the-bean defense" wasn't worthy.
"Bowman was not a passive observer of his soybeans' multiplication," she said. "Or, put another way, the seeds he purchased, miraculous though they might be in other respects, did not spontaneously create eight successive soybean crops.
"It was Bowman, and not the bean, who controlled the reproduction (unto the eighth generation) of Monsanto's patented invention," Kagan said.
Monsanto officials applauded the decision, not just for the company but for innovators of all shapes and sizes.
"The court's ruling today ensures that longstanding principles of patent law apply to breakthrough 21st century technologies that are central to meeting the growing demands of our planet and its people," said David F. Snively, the company's executive vice president. "The ruling also provides assurance to all inventors throughout the public and private sectors that they can and should continue to invest in innovation that feeds people, improves lives, creates jobs, and allows America to keep its competitive edge."
Jim Greenwood, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, said the ruling will benefit all forms of biotechnology, "as well as the patients, farmers and consumers who benefit from biotechnology's help in healing, feeding and fueling the world."
But Center for Food Safety executive director Andrew Kimbrell called the ruling a setback for farmers. "The court chose to protect Monsanto over farmers," he said. "The court's ruling is contrary to logic and to agronomics, because it improperly attributes seeds' reproduction to farmers, rather than nature."
Fordham University School of Law professor Mark Patterson noted the decision stops short of determining how self-reproducing inventions should be handled in all cases.
"Justice Kagan, in the last paragraph of the opinion, noted that 'such inventions are becoming ever more prevalent, complex, and diverse,'" Patterson said. "Either the court or Congress will have to address them again soon."
Follow @richardjwolf on Twitter.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/165FPGy
|
– Sometimes Goliath beats David—or Vernon, as the case may be. Seventy-six-year-old farmer Vernon Hugh Bowman has lost his Supreme Court battle with Monsanto over his use of patented soybean seeds, the New York Times reports. The court upheld an $84,000 lawsuit brought against Bowman by the agribusiness giant for growing and saving its seeds without paying a fee. Bowman had obtained the seeds from a grain elevator intended for animal feed, and argued that a doctrine called "patent exhaustion" allowed him to do as he pleased with the grain once he had purchased it. This may be true if he wanted to eat the seeds, but Justice Elena Kagan ruled that it does not extend to growing more seeds and replanting them without paying Monsanto for their use. But this case was about more than a few soybeans. Other industries with self-replicating products—from biotechnology to software—were paying close attention to see if their patents would remain safe, USA Today reports. But Kagan warned the outcome of this one case did not necessarily assure their futures. "Our holding today is limited," she wrote. "We recognize that such inventions are becoming ever more prevalent, complex, and diverse. In another case, the article's self-replication might occur outside the purchaser’s control. Or it might be a necessary but incidental step in using the item for another purpose."
|
Sinéad O'Connor is accustomed to shocking people. The Irish singer has been a natural-born attention getter since she first gained fame over 20 years ago, when she was as recognizable for her shorn head and fiercely outspoken opinions as she was for her haunting voice and arresting beauty. So when she turned up to perform at Ireland's Bray Music Festival over the weekend, it was inevitable that she'd create an uproar. The latest wild stunt from the woman who once defiantly ripped up a picture of the pope on "Saturday Night Live"? Getting older and gaining weight. The horror!
Sporting a short dark bob, eyeglasses, a belly-revealing mesh top and a more ample figure than fans remember from her "Nothing Compares 2 U" heyday, the 44-year-old dared to appear, as Inquisitr helpfully noted,"No Longer Bald or Skinny." ABC News asked, "Sinéad O'Connor, Is That You?" and ran the inevitable slide show of celebrity weight-loss ups and downs, while E! crowed that O'Connor went "from looking like Natalie Portman in 'V for Vendetta' to your dorky self in high school" and did its own slide show of "shocking transformations."
It's not entirely surprising that the image of a bald, white-clad waif would be so indelible in the public mind. O'Connor has lived largely out of the spotlight for several years now, and has not released any new music since 2005. Even her own website is conspicuously riddled with photos of her more familiar doe-eyed and pixie-ish image. Yet the Internet outpouring of astonishment mixed with glee over her changed appearance has been the truly unpleasant sight in all of this. On People.com alone, there are hundreds of comments -- many on the theme of what a "shameless blimpo" "pig" she's become, and many others flat out refusing to believe that the photographs are truly of O'Connor.
Anyone who is old enough to have had a moment of disbelief regarding the Facebook friend request of a long-lost pal knows that time does not march equally over everyone. The changes we barely notice on the people we're around all the time don't register as dramatically as those on the faces and bodies of those we don't see regularly. The urge to contrast then and now, to check off either the "still got it" or "let themselves go" boxes in our minds is powerful. It's the subtext that drives high school reunions and the Googling of ex-lovers, the reason former Clash guitarist Mick Jones once musically bragged that among his accomplishments, "Somehow I stayed thin while the other guys got fat." And for the legions of detractors O'Connor has amassed over her outspoken career, perhaps there's a strange satisfaction in seeing evidence that she's no longer the head-turner who could rock a chrome-dome and still be gorgeous. Bet you're not so high and mighty now, missy!
Yet as Carrie Fisher recently remarked of her long-ago golden bikini heyday, "I swear when I was shooting those films I never realized I was signing an invisible contract to stay looking the exact same way for the rest of my existence." So Sinéad is likewise no longer the woman she was in 1990. And yes, big shoulder pads and see-through tops are a sartorial misstep on almost everyone. But is any of that really a cause for such a conspicuous outpouring of schadenfreude? O'Connor is now a mother of four who has been open about her struggles with bipolar disorder. In 2007, she told Oprah Winfrey, "I actually kind of died and got born again as a result of taking the meds." And as some of O'Connor's more charitable online defenders have noted, many of the medications used to treat bipolarism also cause weight gain.
"Shocking" though O'Connor may continue to be to others, the singer, who claims she "really enjoyed" her recent Bray set, seems to have in recent years become far less scandalous to herself. In 2008, she genially told an Australian newspaper, "I am not a pop star as I was ... so I am not having to deal with that kind of attention. Then I was young and now I am old and ugly and a bit fat ... I'm entitled to have a belly." She's also entitled to change her hairstyle, haters.
As it happens, this morning on the way to a doctor's appointment, I passed by a neighbor I hadn't seen in a while. I almost didn't recognize her, because she too has transformed of late. She was thinner and paler, and on her head she wore the telltale headscarf of a woman going through chemo. So in case anybody out there needs a reminder, here it is: To be able to grow older is a gift. To be on medication that can save your life is a blessing. A little thickening around the middle seems like a small price to pay. Though much has changed in the more than two decades since Sinéad O'Connor was that volatile, beautiful rock star, many things have improved with time. The once-suicidal girl now admits that "It doesn't matter if things aren't perfect." And tempered by life and experience, that clear, achingly lovely voice has only become more poignantly astonishing. ||||| LONDON -- In 1990, Sinead O’Connor’s cover of a near-forgotten Prince single, “Nothing Compares 2U,” burst onto the global musical consciousness like an exploding firework. Combining soaring vocals with the shock of a shaven head that served only to make her expressive eyes more poignant, O’Connor’s performance was mesmerizing.
Fame followed -- and later imploded -- amid a slew of unpopular religious and political opinions from the singer, including an attack on the Roman Catholic Church for its cover-up of child sex abuse.
Despite the fall from grace the singer remained entrancing, combining gamine fragility with an appetite for hard politics. Her tight crew cut, consciously anti-feminine Doc Marten boots, baggy sweaters and old men’s overcoats remained her trademark look. And nothing she wore or didn’t wear could disguise the sheer power of her vocal and lyrical talent.
Earlier this week, more than two decades after her astonishing debut, pictures of a very different looking O’Connor surfaced online after a performance at the Bray Music Festival on the West Coast of Ireland. Showing a frumpier, bespectacled O’Connor under a mop of black hair and in black garb that would have been nun-like, but for the exposure of a generous segment of plump belly, the singer’s appearance has caused quite a stir -- even on our own website.
Newspapers, online blogs and the social media sphere of Facebook and Twitter, have erupted with astonishment and shock at O’Connor’s transformation.
“The 44-year year-old singer was unrecognizable from her musical heyday as she took to the stage wearing a highly unflattering combination of a stomach-baring black net top, and an ill-fitting black trouser suit,” said the Daily Mail.
As if that weren’t damning enough, the singer’s self-absorbed air appears to have irked the paper further: “With her black hair in a messy crop, and wearing glasses and a gold crucifix necklace, Sinead appeared to be in a world of her own as she performed alongside [reggae singer Natty] Wailer.”
Closer to home, Us Weekly wrote that the singer had shocked her fans with a look that was “completely unrecognizable,” while ABC News put the “formerly slim” singer in a gallery of stars including Kirstie Alley and Jennifer Hudson who have had trouble with their yo-yo-ing weight. “Nothing compares…to what Sinead O’ Connor looks like now,” it captioned.
Hang on. Should a singer who used her window of fame to highlight discomfiting political opinions as well as bringing hauntingly personal songs like “Troy” and “Three Babies” into the musical canon really be judged by the same harsh standards that are common currency for actresses and reality TV stars?
Sinead O’Connor is no Kim Kardashian, whose every eyebrow pluck and forehead wax is the stuff of a celebrity interview or product endorsement. Nor is she a Natalie Portman or Renee Zellweger, whose morphing body shape is part of her artistic reach.
Instead, the Dublin-born singer, who has four children since achieving the heights of fame, has always turned her back on the conventions of beauty that are apparently necessary for media acceptance. The prickly distaste that she still manifests for a prototypical feminine style seems remarkably unchanged from the attitudes she held in her youth.
"What the voices expressing astonishment at her new look are really shocked by, is that Sinead O’Connor should care so little for the opinions by which so many in the entertainment industry are harshly judged."
Per the outrage that has followed the singer’s appearance at Bray, you could be forgiven for thinking that O’Connor has spent the last decade and a half under a rock, all the better to astonish her fans when she re-emerged several kilos heavier and without a bald head. In fact, she has an enjoyed a musical career that has continued, somewhat under the radar, and the singer has released a new album every two years or since 2000 as well as touring recently in Moscow and the UK.
What the voices expressing astonishment at her new look are really shocked by, is that Sinead O’Connor should care so little for the opinions by which so many in the entertainment industry are harshly judged. The astonishment at her weight gain is as much at her carelessness of what others think of her as it is about a singer succumbing to the ageing process over 20 years. In fact, it’s not overplaying it to suggest that her critics are actually uncomfortable with her refusal to hide herself away permanently now that the years where gamine skinniness was her trademark look are in the past.
It is just weeks since the music industry deified Amy Winehouse, a troubled singer whose addictions transfixed tabloid readers during the years that they also cruelly foreshortened a talented jazz diva’s life.
Like O’Connor, Winehouse’s talent was of the once-in-a-generation kind, a degree of difference away from even the commercial heights achieved by the likes of Adele, another British talent who for all her record-selling success, falls into a more conventional mold. Even as Winehouse’s failed romances and damaging addictions were lived out in the harsh glare of newspaper front pages, her emaciated thinness, hyper-sexualized outfits and suspiciously enhanced cleavage nonetheless less fell on the right side of the aesthetic the entertainment industry is prepared to accept.
Unlike Winehouse, Connor has managed to get through life, have a family and keep doing what her fans want her to do: perform and record music. Along the way her various admissions of suffering child abuse, a bipolar disorder and coming out as a lesbian suggest that the journey has not been without its demons.
But, far from criticizing the singer for her temerity to continue performing even when she does not fit the nostalgic memory of two decades past, O’Connor should congratulated for her ability to keep on going. Twenty years on, the lyrics of songs like “Feel So Different,” “I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got” and “Three Babies” have become even more poignant than they were the first time around.
And as this video of the singer performing “Nothing Compares 2U” in Moscow last month shows, her voice has lost none of its ability to astound and move.
|
– Catch those new photos of Sinead O'Connor performing in Ireland? (See the video in the gallery at left for a sample.) She is, gasp, no longer the slim, bald 20-something who captivated fans, and the Internet has not been kind in pointing this out. Lay off, write Mimi Turner at the Hollywood Reporter and Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon. O'Connor, now 44 and the mother of four, "has always turned her back on the conventions of beauty that are apparently necessary for media acceptance," writes Turner. "The prickly distaste that she still manifests for a prototypical feminine style seems remarkably unchanged from the attitudes she held in her youth." O'Connor also has battled bipolar disorder for years, and the antidepressants she takes can cause weight gain. "To be able to grow older is a gift," writes Williams. "To be on medication that can save your life is a blessing. A little thickening around the middle seems like a small price to pay." Besides, O'Connor still has that amazing gift that made her a once-in-a-generation talent: "Tempered by life and experience, that clear, achingly lovely voice has only become more poignantly astonishing," writes Williams.
|
President Obama said Sunday that he wants the investigation of the prostitution scandal that led 11 U.S. Secret Service agents to be returned home from Cartagena, Colombia, where they had been sent to provide protection for him, to be thorough and rigorous.
During a news conference Sunday at the conclusion of the Summit of the Americas, Obama said he expects all agents to conduct themselves with “dignity and probity” and all U.S. personnel to “observe the highest standards” when serving abroad.
If the allegations that the men brought prostitutes to their hotel rooms on Wednesday prove true, Obama said, “then, of course, I’ll be angry.”
“We’re representing the people of the United States,” he said.
Obama’s remarks were his first about the growing scandal. The Secret Service placed the men on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. The agents — who were removed from Cartagena on Thursday and replaced with a new team shortly before Obama’s arrival Friday — were returned to Washington and interviewed by the Office of Professional Responsibility, the agency’s internal affairs unit.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department has ordered its own inquiry after determining that five of its personnel, who were staying at the same hotel as the Secret Service agents, violated curfew on Wednesday night. All of the U.S. personnel were part of Obama’s advance team that was preparing logistics and security for his arrival.
The alleged misconduct came to light after one of the agents became involved in a dispute with a woman Thursday morning over a payment, and Colombian police reported the matter to the U.S. Embassy.
The controversy has shifted some attention away from Obama’s trip to the economic summit, at least in the United States, where the media have focused on the accusations of heavy drinking and womanizing.
Obama was asked about the matter by a reporter in his joint news conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Obama made a point to praise the Secret Service in general, emphasizing that the agency does “very hard work under very stressful circumstances.”
“I’m very grateful for what they do,” he said. “I will wait until the full investigation [is completed] until I pass final judgment.”
Lawmakers in Washington were pressing Sunday for more details about the investigation.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), whose panel maintains jurisdiction over all federal agencies, said he has reason to believe that more than 11 agents were involved.
“We think the number might be higher, and we’re asking for the exact amount of all the people who, quote, were involved,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Issa did not elaborate on that statement, and his office did not respond to follow-up questions from The Washington Post.
On the talk show, Issa also said: “This kind of a breach is a breach in the federal workforce’s most elite protective unit, and they don’t just protect the president, of course; they protect the Cabinet members, the vice president, the first family, candidates. So when you look at this, you realize if you can have this kind of breakdown, one that could lead to blackmail . . . then we’ve got to ask: Where are the systems in place to prevent this in the future?”
The Secret Service agents allegedly involved are a mix of special agents, who provide personal protection for the president and other high-level officials, and members of the uniformed division, who handle logistical support and building security, officials briefed on the investigation have said.
Jon Adler, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, said a lawyer representing the agents did not want to discuss the matter with reporters until it had been adjudicated.
Staff writer Joe Davidson contributed to this report. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| The frontlines of the sniper wars on the streets of Syria.
CARTAGENA, Colombia |
CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - Gracing the cover of the latest Time magazine and trumpeting his nation's security achievements, President Juan Manuel Santos had hoped the Summit of the Americas would showcase the modern face of Colombia.
Yet global media coverage from this weekend's gathering of more than 30 heads of state has focused instead on a scandal after members of U.S. President Barack Obama's security detail were caught with prostitutes in historic Cartagena.
The hotel incident - which has seen 11 Secret Service agents sent home and five servicemen grounded - outraged Colombians proud of their often-vilified country's push to become a major regional player.
"Colombia is not just prostitutes, drugs and violence, it's much more than that," said Maria Fernanda Martinez, 35, a Colombian tourist on vacation in Cartagena. "There are many better things to show the world."
U.S. soldiers and contractors backing Colombia in its fight against drug traffickers and Marxist insurgents have in the past been involved in sex scandals in rural areas near army bases.
A largely successful decade-old offensive against the rebels and cocaine cartels has allowed Colombia to begin shedding its international notoriety for violence and crime.
"The Colombian Comeback" was how Time put it, below a black-and-white portrait of Santos on its latest edition. "From nearly failed state to emerging global player - in less than a decade."
"HOW SHAMEFUL"
Headlines over the weekend, however, were less flattering for the host of the Organization of American States (OAS) meeting.
"The only media coverage of the summit is the scandal of the gringos and the prostitutes," said one Colombian diplomat based in Europe, who asked not to be named. "How shameful."
Details of the saga unfolded just as the heads of state began discussing weighty issues such as trade protectionism, Cuba and the war on drugs.
"I never thought the summit agenda had much hope of being achieved," former opposition presidential candidate Carlos Gaviria told Reuters. "But it turned into more of a media sideshow, a ridiculous distraction, than a serious political meeting of presidents."
The incident unfolded when the Americans brought a number of prostitutes back to a beachfront hotel near where Obama was due to stay when he arrived the following day, a local police source said.
At least one member of the security contingent flashed his badge and demanded that hotel staff allow him to remain with a woman, the source said.
Prostitution is legal in "tolerance zones" in Colombia, though also widely practiced outside those areas without sanction.
Cartagena residents, who had hoped to project an image of warmth and hospitality to the world, tutted their disapproval.
"This links Cartagena with prostitution and that's not fair," said Maria Consuelo Ortega, 33, who works in a store in the colonial quarter of the city.
"How can it be forgotten when it's linked to Obama?"
(Additional reporting by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Brian Ellsworth and Xavier Briand)
|
– The Summit of the Americas is over, but the prostitution scandal involving Secret Service agents keeps on going, overshadowing what was supposed to be a chance to showcase Colombia to the international community, reports Reuters. "From nearly failed state to emerging global player—in less than a decade" is what Time called Colombia on its latest cover. But because of the scandal, the old Colombia is being broadcast around the world. "The only media coverage of the summit is the scandal of the gringos and the prostitutes," said one Colombian diplomat. "How shameful." As for President Obama, he finally weighed in on the scandal yesterday, calling for a thorough and rigorous investigation into what happened, reports the Washington Post. While defending the Secret Service in general, Obama said if allegations about misconduct prove to be accurate, “then, of course, I'll be angry," he said. That investigation will be expanded beyond Colombia to look at longer patterns of behavior in the Secret Service, said Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of a House panel on government oversight. "Things like this don't happen once if they didn't happen before," said Issa.
|
Los Angeles police arrested San Francisco 49ers linebacker-defensive end Aldon Smith at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday afternoon after he indicated he was in possession of a bomb.
Editor's Picks Fox: Troubled 49ers can learn from Seahawks The 49ers should follow the Seahawks' example of how to keep off-field incidents from derailing the team, writes Ashley Fox.
More from ESPN.com The 49ers cannot be pleased defensive end Aldon Smith has had yet another run-in with the law. The franchise could rethink picking up his option for 2015, writes Bill Williamson. 1 Related
Smith was booked Sunday afternoon, according to LAPD Sgt. Michael Fox. Smith was charged with a false bomb report, which is punishable by up to one year in jail. He posted $20,000 bail Sunday night, according to multiple reports.
49ers general manager Trent Baalke issued a statement saying: "We are disappointed to learn of the incident today involving Aldon Smith. As this is a pending legal matter and we are still gathering the pertinent facts, we will have no further comment."
According to Los Angeles World Airports PIO Sgt. Karla Ortiz, the incident happened as the man, later identified as Smith, was going through Terminal 1 screening and was randomly selected for secondary screening.
Smith then became belligerent and uncooperative with the process and with the TSA agent, making a comment indicating that he was in possession of a bomb before proceeding toward the gate area, according to Ortiz.
Troubled San Francisco 49er Aldon Smith was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport. Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
Los Angeles Airport Police made contact with him at the gate and he then became uncooperative again and was detained and taken into custody by Airport Police.
Many people on the scene, including former Marine veteran Clayton Mullaly, captured the incident on video.
This incident is Smith's latest run-in with the law.
In November, Smith pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from an incident at a party at his home in 2012.
Smith also missed five games this past season while spending time in an alcohol treatment center. He entered treatment voluntarily three days after he was arrested for drunken driving for the second time since early 2012. ||||| SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California-bound Southwest Airlines flight was diverted to Omaha, Neb. on Sunday after witnesses said a passenger tried to open a door.
The captain of the Chicago-to-Sacramento flight landed on Eppley Airfield to "have an unruly passenger removed" before continuing on to Sacramento, the airlines said in a statement.
The flight with 5 crew members and 134 passengers arrived safely at its destination about two hours behind schedule.
"Some gentleman just decided that he wanted us to visit the Lord today and ... open up the back hatch while we were all already up in the air," Monique Lawler told KABC-TV after reaching her final destination in Los Angeles.
She said the man acted strangely during the flight, and that at one point he came out of the bathroom soaking wet. She said when he went to the back of the cabin to try to pry open the door, a flight attendant screamed for help.
A doctor told KCRA-TV in Sacramento he and two other passengers tackled the man and restrained him until air marshals led him in handcuffs off the plane.
"He was going to do bad things to the plane so it was pretty scary," Scott Porter said.
The airline had no further details about the incident.
A call to the Omaha Airport Authority seeking information about the passenger wasn't immediately returned.
|
– More legal trouble for the San Francisco 49ers' Aldon Smith: The linebacker-defensive end was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport yesterday for indicating he had a bomb, reports ESPN. Police say Smith became belligerent and uncooperative after being selected for secondary screening and was arrested in the gate area after making a comment suggesting he was in possession of a bomb. Smith—who was busted for drunk driving last September and still faces weapons charges from a party-turned-shootout at his home in 2012—could face up to a year in prison if found guilty of making a false bomb report. Another airline passenger ended up being hauled off a plane in handcuffs yesterday after trying to open a door midair on a Chicago-to-Sacramento flight, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Omaha, reports the AP. Witnesses say the man had been acting strangely throughout the flight and was tackled and restrained by other passengers after attempting to pry the door open. "Some gentleman just decided that he wanted us to visit the Lord today, and decided to open up the back hatch of Southwest Airlines flight while we were already up in the air," one passenger tells KABC.
|
Tom Colicchio has changed the name of his hot Beekman Hotel restaurant Fowler & Wells to Temple Court after realizing the first moniker has a racially charged past.
The chef said in a statement: “In the mid-1800s, the building where the Beekman . . . now stands housed the offices of Fowler & Wells, a pair of publishers and phrenologists.”
Phrenology is the study of skull size and structure to determine mental abilities, and was often used as a justification for discrimination and slavery.
After picking the name, Colicchio and his team “dove more deeply into the works of Fowler & Wells” and “discovered facts about their beliefs that go against everything we stand for.” ||||| Phrenology really was used to justify slavery, as portrayed in Django Unchained. But it was also used to justify abolition
"Why don't they kill us?" asks Calvin Candie, the southern slave owner in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. He wants to know why the African slaves he brutalises do not rise up and take revenge. Before long, he has the skull of a recently deceased slave on the dinner table. "The science of phrenology," he announces, "is crucial to understanding the separation of our two species." He hacks away at the back of the skull with a saw, removing a section of the cranium and pointing to an allegedly enlarged area. In African slaves, Candie claims, this bump is found in the region of the brain associated with "submissiveness".
For Candie, phrenology not only explained slavery, it justified it.
Needless to say, phrenology has now been thoroughly debunked: the idea that the shape of the skull can be used to infer mental characteristics is just plain wrong. But it was extremely popular all over the world during the 19th century, finding converts among reform-minded Bengalis in Kolkata, India, and colonial settlers in Australia. As part of my research into the global history of phrenology, I came across the real-life Calvin Candie.
He was called Charles Caldwell, a doctor from Kentucky who revelled in both phrenology and slave ownership. As in the film, Caldwell was a Europhile, travelling to Paris in the 1820s where he picked up the latest medical craze. He later returned to France in the 1840s in order to hobnob with Pierre Marie Dumoutier, a phrenologist just back from a three-year round-the-world voyage.
Slave owner and phrenologist Charles Caldwell. Photograph: Public domain
At the time, Dumoutier's immense collection of skulls and casts could be found at the Musée de Phrénologie in Paris. There Caldwell could practise phrenology, feeling for bumps on the heads of Tahitians and Marquesas Islanders. No doubt he was considered very à la mode back in Kentucky. In fact, Caldwell even boasted of being one of the earliest experts in phrenology in the United States.
Caldwell deployed phrenology in almost exactly the same manner as the fictional Candie. In 1837 he wrote to a friend claiming that "tameableness" explained the apparent ease with which Africans could be enslaved. This was a standard phrenological argument. Areas located towards the top and back of the skull, such as "Veneration" and "Cautiousness", were routinely claimed to be large in Africans. His correspondent concurred, writing: "They are slaves because they are tameable." Clearly enjoying himself, Caldwell replied: "Depend upon it my good friend, the Africans must have a master."
Areas for 'veneration' and 'Cautiousness' were said to be large in Africans. Photograph: Alamy
It's worth emphasising that these words are not from a Tarantino script, crafted for Hollywood shock value. They were written by a slave owner desperate to preserve his brutal way of life. And, while the physical violence of slavery is masked in Caldwell's letters, they betray his warped sense of morality. In a letter written on Christmas Eve 1838, Caldwell made the outrageous claim: "My slaves live much more comfortably than I do."
The fact that phrenology was used to justify slavery is perhaps unsurprising. What would one expect from such an overtly racist science? But it wasn't just the slavers. My research revealed that some of the most vocal anti-slavery campaigners of the 19th century were also advocates of phrenology, and used it to justify their stance.
Lucretia Mott, a particularly uncompromising American abolitionist, sent her children to phrenological lectures and spoke of the "truth of phrenology" in letters to friends. When she visited Britain she stayed with the renowned Scottish phrenologist George Combe, himself an anti-slavery campaigner. Horace Mann, another major figure in abolitionist politics, was so keen on phrenology that he subscribed to the official journal. After becoming president of Antioch College in Ohio, he even boasted in the same sentence that the professors he employed were both "anti-slavery men" and "avowed phrenologists".
Photograph: public domain
These are not isolated examples. If anything, the majority of phrenologists were against slavery.
How can this be? George Combe, a man whose phrenological books sold more copies during the 19th century than Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, explained his reasoning: "The qualities which make them submit to slavery are a guarantee that, if emancipated and justly dealt with, they would not shed blood."
For abolitionists, the apparent weakness and timidity of the Africans served two purposes. It countered fears that they would take revenge on their masters if set free. It also provided a moral argument: if Africans were innately weak, society should help them, not enslave them.
In the 19th century, scientific racism and abolition were by no means mutually exclusive.
|
– A celebrity chef has spent tens of thousands of dollars to quietly change the name of his Manhattan restaurant after he discovered its meaning had racial undertones. Per the New York Times, Tom Colicchio, the lead judge on Bravo's Top Chef, originally called his eatery in the New York City's financial district Fowler & Wells, named after publishers Samuel Wells and brothers Lorenzo and Orson Fowler, whose building rested on the same site as Colicchio's restaurant in the mid-1800s. However, a little digging by Colicchio's team after they'd already named the restaurant revealed "facts about [the Fowlers' and Wells'] beliefs that go against everything we stand for," per a statement cited by Page Six. More specifically, the Fowlers and Wells were advocates of phrenology, the study of the shape and size of the skull, which many in the 19th century believed to be an indicator of one's mental abilities—and which was often used to "prove" African-Americans were mentally inferior and to justify slavery (at least one of the Fowler brothers had eyebrow-raising thoughts on this). Colicchio, who's an outspoken liberal on social media, said that although his team incorporated the concept of phrenology into the restaurant's theme (including on the bar's menu), they didn't initially realize quite how bad the practice's roots could be. Once they made this discovery, they went about coming up with a new name and reworking logos, signage, business cards, and menus to match. The restaurant's new name: Temple Court, named after the building it's housed in.
|
A new study finds that 260 million people a day cross bridges in the USA that are structurally deficient.
A collapsed section of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River is seen in an aerial view on May 24 in Mount Vernon, Wash. (Photo: Mike Siegel, AP) Story Highlights Federal Highway Administration estimates repairs would cost $76 billion
Average age of the structurally deficient bridges is 65 years old
One expert says: 'We've never had a better bridge system"
More than one in nine bridges in the USA — at least 66,405, or 11% of the total — are structurally deficient, according to a new report.
These are not rarely used, out-of-the way structures: Each day, Americans take 260 million trips over structurally deficient bridges, says the report from Transportation for America, a Washington, D.C.-based coalition that works to improve transportation.
The report comes less than a month after the May 23 collapse of a span of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington state. Part of the bridge collapsed when it was struck by a truck with an oversize load. That bridge, built in 1955, was not structurally deficient.
The structurally deficient bridges are 65 years old on average, and the Federal Highway Administration estimates that repairing them would cost $76 billion.
A structurally deficient bridge isn't necessarily one that's dangerous or about to collapse; rather, they are bridges that require significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement.
A truck is removed May 27 from the wreckage of an Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Mount Vernon, Wash. That bridge, which was built in 1955 and collapsed May 23, was not structurally deficient. (Photo: Washington State Department of Transportation via AP)
The repair bill will likely increase as many of the nation's most heavily traveled bridges, including those built as part of the interstate system, near the end of their expected life spans. "You're seeing the aging of the system," says David Goldberg, a co-author of the report. "It really does parallel the (aging of) the Baby Boomers in a startling way."
This is a problem that has worsened since Transportation for America's last report on bridges, in 2011: Fifteen states have seen an increase in their structurally deficient bridges. The report projects that in 10 years, one in four bridges will be 65 years old or older.
In the two-year federal transportation funding bill it passed last year, Congress eliminated a dedicated fund for bridge repair. "The upshot is that bridge repair now must compete with other transportation needs," the report says. Money previously targeted for bridge repair was rolled into a new National Highway Performance Program, which can be spent only on highways that are part of the National Highway System, which includes interstates and major state highways. Nearly 90% of structurally deficient bridges are not part of the National Highway System.
Transportation for America recommends that Congress raise new dedicated revenues for transportation programs including bridges; that 180,000 bridges be made eligible for the new funding program, and that repair of bridges and highways be made a national priority.
Not everyone is alarmed over the state of the nation's bridges. "From my perspective, we've never had a better bridge system than we have right now," says David Hartgen, senior fellow at the libertarian Reason Foundation who co-authored a February report on the condition of roads and bridges in the USA. "The overall system is getting better slowly and steadily over time" as states work to improve their roads and bridges.
Hartgen, emeritus professor of transportation studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, says it's good that more responsibility for repairing bridges is shifted from the federal government to the states. "The states are closer to the problem," he says. "I'm not overly pessimistic about the funding picture. At the state level, there is more willingness to raise state taxes for bridges."
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/11XSsQ1 ||||| Elaine Thompson / AP The north end of the Interstate 5 bridge crossing the Skagit River lies collapsed in the water on Friday, in Mount Vernon, Wash. A truck carrying an oversize load struck the four-lane bridge on the major thoroughfare between Seattle and Canada, sending a section of the span and two vehicles into the Skagit River below Thursday evening. All three occupants suffered only minor injuries. At an overnight news conference, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste blamed the collapse on a tractor-trailer carrying a tall load that hit an upper part of the span.
The Washington state bridge collapse that spilled two cars into the Skagit River could give Americans pause as they hit the roads for Memorial Day holiday travel.
With good reason.
This weekend, millions will cross 66,000 bridges that the federal government has deemed "structurally deficient," meaning key elements are in poor condition.
The Federal Highway Administration hastens to note that label doesn't mean they are unsafe or in danger of collapse, but transportation advocates say it highlights a growing crisis of aging infrastructure, deferred maintenance and rebuilding, and design flaws.
"We don't expect an epidemic of collapses — that's the extreme," said Dan Goldberg, communications director for Transportation for America, a coalition that identified the busiest deficient bridges in the nation in a 2011 report.
"We are going to see probably some more of this, but the more likely scenario is contending with the issues of decay that happen before the collapse."
Big potholes, weight restrictions and lane closings are some of the inconveniences bridge users face unless reconstruction and replacement is ramped up across the nation, Goldberg said.
The Interstate 5 bridge in Mount Vernon, Wash., which apparently crumpled after being hit by an oversized truck, was not on the Federal Highway Administration's structurally-deficient list.
Famed spans aren't the problem. San Francisco's Golden Gate, for instance, is in pretty good shape. The Brooklyn Bridge is undergoing a massive rehabilitation project to correct its deficiencies.
But hundreds of less glamorous bridges — many of them generic overpasses that take commuters over cross streets or other highways — remain vulnerable.
Here are six crossings, together used by more than 1 million vehicles each day, that don't make the grade:
Maryland DOT A view of I-695 crossing over Liberty Road in Maryland in August 2012.
I-76 over Klemm Ave. in Gloucester, N.J.: The deck and superstructure are in poor condition on this 11-lane interstate overpass that dates to 1956. More than 191,000 vehicles use it every day, and $30 million has been earmarked for deck replacement.
IS-695 over Milford Mill Road in Baltimore, Md.: Built in 1961 and reconstructed in 1979, this eight-lane overpass on the Baltimore Beltway has a deck and substructure in poor condition. But good news for nearly 190,000 vehicles that cross each day: It will be replaced in a two-year project starting this summer.
Halona St. Bridge in Honolulu, Hawaii: Built in 1938, this slab bridge over the Kapalama Canal is not slated for replacement until 2019. Some 184,000 vehicles travel the two-lane crossing, which has a deck and substructure in poor condition.
Colorado DOT A view of the I-70 bridge over Havana Street in Denver, Colo. E-17-JP
I-70 over Havana St. in Denver, Colo.: This 10-lane structure, which has a deck and substructure in poor condition, is slated for a rebuild in the next few years. Built in 1964 and reconstructed in 1978, it services 183,000 vehicles a day.
I-278 approach to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island, N.Y.: On an average day, 182,700 vehicles take this overpass to a majestic double-decker bridge. The substructure of the two-lane approach, built in 1961, is in poor condition.
I-95 over Hendricks Ave. in Jacksonville, Fla.: The deck is in poor condition on this nine-lane section of interstate that handles 121,000 vehicles a day. Built in 1959 and reconstructed in 1989, it is undergoing a replacement.
Source: Information about the structures was compiled by Nationalbridges.com, a website that analyzes data in the Federal Highway Administration's national bridge inventory. ||||| Visualizing the numbers
Did you know that in another ten years, one in four bridges will be 65 years old or older? And today, almost 50 percent of bridges of that age are structurally deficient?
In the minute it’ll take you to view this full infographic with more facts like that, another 180,000 trips will be taken on deficient bridges. Click to see the whole graphic, learn more, and share it with your friends.
Click for more details about the data.
|
– If this story didn't already cause you to develop a mild case of gephyrophobia, then this one may do the trick: Some 11% of America's bridges are structurally deficient and in need of repair, according to a new report from Transportation for America. It's a stat made more serious when you consider this next one: 260 million trips are made across the 66,405 problematic bridges each day. As USA Today explains, these bridges aren't necessarily dangerous, they just need a lot of work, which has been priced at $76 billion by the Federal Highway Administration. That amount will just get larger as the years pass. These bridges are, on average, 65 years old, and in 10 years, the number of "senior citizen" bridges will be one in four. "You're seeing the aging of the system," says a co-author of the report. "It really does parallel the [aging of] the Baby Boomers in a startling way." Congress recently eliminated a dedicated bridge repair fund, meaning "bridge repair now must compete with other transportation needs," the report states. Rather than "an epidemic of collapses," the more common consequences of the aging bridge system will be things like more large potholes and closed lanes, the co-author tells NBC News.
|
Motiva Enterprises' Port Arthur, Texas refinery, the nation's largest, may be shut as long as two weeks for assessment of the plant and repair of any damage, sources familiar with plant operations said on Thursday.
The 603,000 barrel per day (bpd) Port Arthur Refinery was shut on Wednesday due to flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey.
In a statement to CNBC, Motiva said it "cannot provide a timeline for restart at this time." The oil company says it will begin assessing the refinery "as soon as the local area flooding has receded," although Motive is uncertain about how long it will take for floodwaters to diminish. ||||| Update:
Colonial Pipeline said it expects to be able to return to full service Sunday, restoring a critical fuel pipeline that serves much of the Southeast.
Colonial's Lines 1 and 2 continue to operate from Lake Charles, Louisiana to the east, the company said, but deliveries will be intermittent and dependent on terminal and refinery supplies. Lines remain down from Houston - one of the areas hardest hit by the storm to Herbert, Texas.
"We currently estimate that we will be able to return to service from Houston Sunday, following an evaluation of our infrastructure and successful execution of our start up plan," Colonial said.
Colonial Pipeline 1 carries as much as 40 percent of the South's gasoline. Line 2 primarily transports diesel and aviation fuels.
Earlier:
Colonial Pipeline has shut down key fuel lines running from Houston through Mississippi, Georgia Alabama and up the East Coast after Hurricane Harvey forced the closure of refineries and other facilities.
Colonial said its facilities west of Lake Charles, Louisiana are out of service due to the storms. That closure, along with hurricane-related shutdowns of refineries in the Gulf Coast, led to the decision to cease operations on Colonial's Line 2, which transports primarily diesel and aviation fuels. Line 1, which carries gasoline, will suspend service today. Line 1 had been operating at a reduced capacity since Harvey hit.
Line 1 provides nearly 40 percent of the South's gasoline.
"Once Colonial is able to ensure that its facilities are safe to operate and refiners in Lake Charles and points east have the ability to move product to Colonial, our system will resume operations," the company said in a statement.
By volume, Colonial is the largest pipeline operator in the country, delivering more than 100 million gallons of refined products each day to markets between Houston and New York City, serving more than 50 million people. Of the 26 refineries connected to the Colonial system, 13 are located between Houston and Lake Charles, the company said.
The shutdowns are adding to growing concerns about fuel availability as drivers around the Southeast find themselves paying more at the pump. On Thursday morning, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. was $2.462, up almost 2 cents from yesterday and 11 cents from last week, according to fuel tracking site GasBuddy.
Experts said prices could increase as much as 35 cents a gallon as refineries remain offline during storm cleanup.
In its statement, Colonial addressed those concerns.
"Colonial is one part of the fuel delivery system, and there are multiple means of supplying the market to mitigate concerns with supply, including other pipelines, trucks, and barges," it said.
Georgia-based Colonial was twice forced to shut down parts of its pipeline last year due to a leak and a fire in Alabama. The shutdowns led to higher gas prices and isolated shortages across the Southeast.
Hurricane Harvey made its first landfall in Texas last Friday, dumping more than 50 inches of rain on Houston and surrounding counties. The storm made a second landfall Wednesday in Louisiana and is now tracking to the northeast through Mississippi and northern Alabama. ||||| The Trump administration has tapped an emergency stockpile of crude oil in response to the major refinery outages in the U.S. Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Harvey.
The Energy Department said it will send 500,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Phillips 66 (PSX) refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The oil reserve is made up of a complex of tanks and deeper underground storage caverns. It can hold more than 700 million barrels of oil, making it the largest emergency oil reserve in the world.
The move is aimed at shielding Americans from higher gasoline prices, which have begun to rise sharply due to a shortage of gasoline caused by refinery shutdowns, port closures and oil production outages.
Officials said the refinery, which hasn't been shutdown by the historic flooding, requested the release of emergency oil. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) is the largest shareholder in Phillips 66
The Energy Department said it will "continue to provide assistance as deemed necessary," including more potential drawdowns from the emergency reserve.
The decision to tap the oil reserve follows the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, which normally carries a huge amount of gasoline between Houston and the East Coast. The key pipeline was knocked offline because there isn't enough gasoline flowing for it to operate.
Related: Harvey shuts down major fuel pipeline
Energy Secretary Rick Perry noted the Colonial Pipeline outage is driven by limited gasoline supplies, not damage to the pipeline itself.
"I don't know how long it's going to take to get those (refineries) back on," Perry told reporters on Thursday aboard Air Force Two with Vice President Mike Pence.
Matt Smith, director of commodities research at ClipperData, said the emergency stockpile release is likely aimed at helping to fill up the Colonial Pipeline.
"There's a huge logistical challenge going on at the moment because those refineries up and running don't have access to the oil they need," said Smith.
The Energy Department is also trying to ease fears about a severe gasoline shortage.
"This release sends a message to the market that the U.S. government is willing to address any kind of supply shortages. There's definitely a psychological impact," said Joe McMonigle, a former Energy Department official who now serves as senior energy analyst at the Hedgeye Potomac Research Group.
The widespread disruption in the U.S. Gulf Coast has lifted the average price of a gallon of gasoline by 10 cents to $2.449 on Thursday, according to AAA.
Related: Harvey to be one of the most expensive natural disasters ever
McMonigle predicted the Energy Department will take more steps because refinery recoveries are likely to be slow.
Historic flooding caused by Harvey knocked one-fifth of the nation's refining capacity offline, according to S&P Global Platts. Thirteen oil refineries in Texas have shut down or are in the process of closing, while others are operating at reduced rates.
"The situation on the ground is even worse than what is being reported. This may not be a quick turnaround. it could take some time for the industry to get back on its feet," McMonigle said.
The U.S. dipped into the strategic oil reserve during other disruptions, such as the 2011 turmoil in Libya and during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Earlier this year, President Trump proposed selling off half of the oil sitting in the reserve to raise revenue. Some analysts at the time criticized the proposal as risky. ||||| FILE PHOTO: Clouds from Hurricane Harvey are seen in the background as smoke rises from a burn off at an oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo
HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Harvey’s impact on the energy industry spread worldwide as flooded U.S. refiners and closed fuel pipelines threatened to squeeze national supply, roiling global fuel markets and rerouting millions of barrels of fuel to the Americas to avert shortages.
The storm, which lashed Louisiana with rain on Thursday, has pummeled the U.S. Gulf Coast, immersing Houston, Texas, and the surrounding area in several feet of water and forcing the closure of about a quarter of U.S. refining capacity.
Benchmark U.S. gasoline prices RBc1 and margins RBc1-Clc1 surged anew on Thursday. The jump came after the Colonial Pipeline, the biggest U.S. fuel system, said it would shut its main lines to the Northeast by Thursday amid outages at pumping points and lack of supply from refiners.
That artery can carry 3 million barrels of gasoline and other products daily.
At least two East Coast refineries have run out of gasoline for immediate delivery as they scrambled to fill barges for markets normally supplied by the Gulf Coast, two refinery sources said.
Others were seen running at higher rates to boost profitability by filling shortages.
“This is going to be the worst thing the U.S. has seen in decades from an energy standpoint,” said an East Coast market source, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the press.
On Thursday, the U.S. Energy Department said it would release 500,000 barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to supply the refineries that are still running in an effort to stem fuel shortages.
The first emergency release from the reserve since 2012 will be delivered to the Phillips 66 (PSX.N) refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, according to a department statement.
Concerns over fuel shortages ahead of the U.S. Labor Day extended weekend were mounting, said analysts at JBC Energy.
U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 topped $2 per gallon for the first time since 2015, up more than 20 percent since just before the storm began, while U.S. crude oil prices were on track for their steepest monthly losses in more than a year. [O/R]
Average U.S. retail fuel prices have surged by more than a dime per gallon from a week ago, the AAA said early on Thursday.
The Gulf makes up nearly half of total refining capacity in the United States, the world's largest net exporter of refined petroleum products, and the storm is set to impact global flows. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2xzsKWz)
About 4.4 million barrels of U.S. refining capacity have been shut by Harvey, including the nation’s largest refiner, Motiva Port Arthur, which can process more than 600,000 barrels a day. The total shut-in is about 24 percent of U.S. refining capacity, almost equal to Japan’s daily consumption.
The closures rattled global fuel markets, and European and Asian traders diverted millions of barrels of gasoline and diesel to the Americas to help fill that gap. But the supplies from those distant markets may not arrive fast enough to avert a crunch.
“Sourcing additional barrels from Europe is a potential solution, but an increased level of uncertainty is introduced surrounding the timeliness of delivery, given the logistics of travel time and securing tankers,” said Michael Tran, director of global energy strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
The Asian refining margin on Thursday hit $10.41 a barrel, the highest since January 2016 DUB-SIN-REF. Gasoline prices in the region GL92-SIN-CRK were $16.34 a barrel, also the highest since January 2016. In Europe, benchmark gasoline margins jumped to a two-year high of nearly $21 per barrel.
The U.S. disruptions have hit wholesalers. The premium for Chicago-area gasoline above benchmark futures is at its highest since June 2016, while the Gulf Coast price is at its widest above futures since August 2012. [PRO/U]
Suppliers in Chicago were trying to secure supplies after the Explorer Pipeline, which typically carries about 350,000 barrels a day (bpd) to the region, shut down.
“It’s not a significant problem at the present time, but it could turn into one,” said William Fleischli, executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association, which represents 400 fuel distributors. Fleischli said much depended on how long the shutdowns last.
Average retail gasoline prices have risen to $2.449 per gallon nationwide, up 4.5 cents a gallon from a day earlier and 10.1 cents from a week ago, AAA data showed.
In Georgia and North Carolina, fuel prices are up about 17 cents and average prices in South Carolina have risen nearly 20 cents per gallon from a week ago.
Though flood waters have yet to recede, energy analysts said they anticipated potential long-term effects from the historic storm. Goldman Sachs analysts wrote Wednesday they expected about a tenth of what is now offline to stay shut for several months. ||||| Gasoline prices were surging again Thursday amid refinery closings in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey.
Gas futures for September delivery were up 12% to $2.11 a gallon at 10:40 a.m. ET. In their eighth straight day of gains, futures are on their longest rising streak in four years, according to Bloomberg. Futures for October delivery also rallied.
Prices at the pump are also higher. The AAA average national gas price at 3:43 a.m. ET on Thursday was $2.449 a gallon, up from an average price of $2.348 a gallon last week.
Motiva's refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, which is the largest refinery in the US, shut down Wednesday as floodwater rose. And on Thursday, Colonial Pipeline, which owns the largest pipeline for gas distribution in the US, had planned to shut down its gasoline line because Gulf Coast refiners were unable to process crude oil, Bloomberg reported. "Deliveries will be intermittent and dependent on terminal and refinery supply," the company said in an update.
To help with the gasoline shortage, the Energy Department on Thursday said it was releasing 500,000 barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve that holds supplies for emergencies. The agency said it loaned the barrels of both sweet and sour crude to a Phillips 66 refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which has not been affected by Hurricane Harvey.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that some gas stations in the area may run out of supplies during the Labor Day weekend. Gas stations on the East Coast could also experience shortages, Bloomberg reported, and this could send gas prices even higher.
Crude-oil prices rose in a "knee jerk reaction" tracking gasoline following news that Exxon Mobil was shutting down its Beaumont, Texas, refinery for up to two weeks, according to Jesse Cohen of Investing.com. The closing of the Motiva refinery and news that the storm Irma had strengthened to a hurricane and could hit Gulf production provided another boost, Cohen said.
The front-month West Texas Intermediate crude-oil contract gained 2.5% to $47.09 a barrel but remained on track for its fifth straight weekly decline.
|
– Hurricane Harvey has devastated Texas, and it's also bringing bad news for drivers across the nation. Harvey's impact on the Gulf Coast caused several major refineries and a key gasoline pipeline to shut down, the AP reports. What that means: Prices are on the rise: Per GasBuddy, the average price of a gallon of gas in the US was $2.469 Thursday afternoon. That's up 2.3 cents from Wednesday, 11.7 cents from last week, 15.1 cents from last month, and 24.3 cents from last year. They're even higher in some areas: Reuters, citing AAA data, says fuel prices in Georgia and North Carolina are up 17 cents a gallon from a week ago; in South Carolina, almost 20 cents. And they're likely to go higher: Per Business Insider, gas futures for both September and October are up. In fact, Thursday was their eighth straight day of gains, their longest rising streak in four years. There's also the problem of gas availability: The AP reports that QuikTrip, one of the biggest convenience store chains in the country, is going to stop selling gas entirely at about half of its stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area in anticipation of shortages. Even locations that have gas may run out: The Star-Telegram reports that convenience store operators and gasoline retailers are warning there's a major chance some Texas locations will run out of gas this weekend due to supply chain disruptions. Specifics on those disruptions: Colonial, the largest pipeline operator in the country, has shut down key fuel lines (AL.com) and Motiva Enterprises' Port Arthur, Texas refinery, the biggest in the country, may be closed for as long as two weeks (CNBC). Some of the other refineries and pipelines affected are starting back up, CNBC reports. A dire quote: "Hurricane Harvey has potentially cut US fuel-making capacity to the lowest level since 2008," per Bloomberg. And another: "This is going to be the worst thing the US has seen in decades from an energy standpoint," a market analyst tells Reuters. What's being done to help: Per Bloomberg, the EPA is exempting many southeastern states from requirements that they use fuel meeting clean-air standards. And CNNMoney reports the Trump administration is tapping the emergency US oil reserve; the Energy Department will send 500,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Phillips 66 refinery in Louisiana. That could help with gas prices.
|
Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations.
Our general interest e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.
Symptoms By Mayo Clinic Staff
Diabetic ketoacidosis signs and symptoms often develop quickly, sometimes within 24 hours. For some, these signs and symptoms may be the first indication of having diabetes. You may notice:
Excessive thirst
Frequent urination
Nausea and vomiting
Abdominal pain
Weakness or fatigue
Shortness of breath
Fruity-scented breath
Confusion
More-specific signs of diabetic ketoacidosis — which can be detected through home blood and urine testing kits — include:
High blood sugar level (hyperglycemia)
High ketone levels in your urine
When to see a doctor
If you feel ill or stressed or you've had a recent illness or injury, check your blood sugar level often. You might also try an over-the-counter urine ketones testing kit.
Contact your doctor immediately if:
You're vomiting and unable to tolerate food or liquid
Your blood sugar level is higher than your target range and doesn't respond to home treatment
Your urine ketone level is moderate or high
Seek emergency care if:
Your blood sugar level is consistently higher than 300 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 16.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)
You have ketones in your urine and can't reach your doctor for advice
You have multiple signs and symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis — excessive thirst, frequent urination, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, fruity-scented breath, confusion
Remember, untreated diabetic ketoacidosis can be fatal.
||||| Two Sydney parents have been charged with the manslaughter of their diabetic six-year-old son, who died after attending a "self-healing" course where he was allegedly deprived of insulin and food.
Emergency services found the Year 1 student unconscious and not breathing at the Ritz Hotel in Hurstville on April 30, 2015, after the boy had left the workshop held at a nearby clinic. He died at the scene.
SHARE
Share on Facebook SHARE
Share on Twitter TWEET
Link Hongchi Xiao, the "healer" who treated the six-year-old boy.
Police on Tuesday arrested the boy's father, 56, and mother, 41, at their home in Prospect in Sydney's west and took them into custody, alleging their "gross negligence" caused the boy's death. Authorities believe the parents were complicit in the deliberate denial of food and medicine.
But the man who ran the $1800 week-long course continues to elude police in Australia as well as Britain, where he was recently detained on suspicion of manslaughter over another death.
SHARE
Share on Facebook SHARE
Share on Twitter TWEET
Link Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died during a weekend retreat run by Hongchi Xiao. Photo: Supplied
Hongchi Xiao, a Chinese born self-described "healer" who left Australia in the days after the death, practises his own form of therapy called "paidalajin", which combines fasting, stretching and slapping the skin to the point of bruising.
"You have to be hard a little bit, cruel a little bit, but not too much," Mr Xiao said when describing paidalajin in a video last year.
Advertisement
He was treating Danielle Carr-Gomm, a 71-year-old diabetic, when she died suddenly in October during a retreat he ran in south-west England. Police then released him on bail.
Mr Xiao, who has promoted himself in Australia with the help of his Queensland convert Ben James, compared his treatment to yoga and taichi.
"In each of my books and seminars, I have emphasised that I am not a doctor," Mr Xiao said in a message posted to Facebook that rejected responsibility for the boy's death.
The same post linked to what he called a "strictly controlled" Indian study of 25 people that recommended paidalajin for diabetes while referring to "healing crises".
"[Type 1 diabetes patients] recorded improvements in their clinical condition," the report said.
"However, during the Healing crisis and fasting when their blood sugars went up [they] needed medical support in the form of calories, fluids and rapid action insulin to prevent ketoacidosis."
Ketoacidosis is a medical emergency caused by a lack of insulin, according to Diabetes Australia.
The Tasly Healthpac Centre in Hurstville where the boy attended the workshop has previously said that Mr Xiao "rented a room from our centre to conduct what was described to us as a series of health seminars". The clinic has said the boy was not a patient of the clinic.
The parents, granted conditional bail, were both due to appear before local courts this week. They each face a maximum of 25 years' jail if convicted.
|
– In 2015, Australian 6-year-old Aidan Fenton attended a controversial week-long "self-healing" workshop meant to treat his diabetes. After attending a course and returning to a nearby hotel, the boy collapsed in his family's room; his parents' screams got the attention of staff, who called police, but Aidan died at the scene, the Washington Post reports. Now, nearly two years later, his parents, ages 56 and 41, have been arrested and charged with their son's manslaughter. Police say Aidan was denied food and insulin, and they say his parents were complicit in that denial; their "gross negligence" caused his death, police say, per the Sydney Morning Herald. If convicted, they face 25 years in jail. The workshop was run by Hongchi Xiao, a Chinese man who describes himself as a "healer" and practices what he calls "paidalajin" therapy. It involves fasting, stretching, and slapping the skin until it bruises in order to release "poisoned blood." He has not been charged in Aidan's death, and in a Facebook post shortly after the incident he denied responsibility. But he was arrested in November in the UK on suspicion of manslaughter after a 71-year-old woman with diabetes died during one of his retreats. He's currently out on bail. Xiao insists that a study shows his paidalajin therapy can "cure" diabetes, though he notes that during a "healing crisis" while undergoing the therapy, patients needed treatment including "rapid action insulin to prevent ketoacidosis," a medical emergency that can lead to death. (A family faces charges in the death of a teen after a 68-day fast.)
|
The actress “didn’t believe this day would come,” she said on “Megyn Kelly Today” Friday, reacting to the early morning arrest of Harvey Weinstein, whom she says raped her 20 years ago at the Sundance Film Festival. Her reaction was right in line with how much of Hollywood cheered the mogul’s downfall. ||||| On Thursday, Morgan Freeman issued a statement of apology following accusations of harassment by multiple women who have worked on movie sets with him, worked for his production company, or interviewed him in a professional setting.
In a CNN report published on Thursday, eight women alleged that the 80-year-old actor subjected them to inappropriate behavior, including unwanted touching and comments about their figure. Several of the accusers said they didn't report Freeman's alleged behavior because they feared for their jobs.
Freeman responded to the accusations in a statement to ET. "Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy," the statement reads. "I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected -- that was never my intent."
However, interview footage from past ET sit-downs with the Oscar-nominated actor shows more examples of questionable behavior, as described in the CNN report.
In 2015, author and activist Janet Mock served as an ET special correspondent covering Freeman’s film, Five Flights Up. During their junket interview, Freeman addressed Mock’s appearance, saying, “I don’t know how you all manage to do that all the time.”
“You got a dress halfway between your knee and your hips, and you sit down right across from me and you cross your legs,” he continued.
Mock, who is currently writing and producing for Ryan Murphy’s new FX series, Pose, addressed the encounter in a statement to ET on Thursday, saying, “This interaction is an exhibition of the casual nature at which men in positions of power believe that everything belongs to them, including women’s bodies as they’re merely just trying to do their job.”
“For me, as a young woman of color, who is a reporter and a fan of popular culture, I was deeply disappointed that someone who was seen as America’s grandfather was susceptible to such disturbing behavior and felt comfortable enough to do that as cameras were rolling, and that he could take claim of my body and look at it before even looking into my eyes.”
Entertainment reporter Chloe Melas, who co-authored the CNN piece on the accusations against Freeman, said she began reaching out to women after experiencing what she described as her own inappropriate encounter with the actor, at a press junket for his 2017 film, Going in Style.
Melas, who was six months pregnant at the time, claims Freeman looked her up and down while shaking her hand, and repeatedly said some variation of “I wish I was there,” as cameras rolled in front of his co-stars and other junket personnel. The reporter said she was later told that Warner Bros. HR could not corroborate the account because only one of Freeman's remarks was on video and the Warner Bros. employees present did not notice anything.
See more on the accusations against the actor in the video below.
RELATED CONTENT:
RELATED: Morgan Freeman Accused of Harassment and Inappropriate Behavior by 8 Women
NEWS: Jeffrey Tambor Accused Of Verbal Harassment by 'Arrested Development' Co-Star Jessica Walter
NEWS: Gwyneth Paltrow Says She Loves Brad Pitt for Confronting Harvey Weinstein
|
– Morgan Freeman says this could "undermine" everything he's done. On Friday, the 80-year-old actor issued a personal defense of his behavior with women, saying he's kidded around with female colleagues but never jeopardized work environments or offered jobs for sex, the LA Times reports. "I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye, by Thursday’s media reports," Freeman says in a statement. "All victims of assault and harassment deserve to be heard. And we need to listen to them. But it is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced compliments or humor." Freeman is likely referring to recent Entertainment Tonight footage of him sitting down with female interviewers. In one instance, he asks a correspondent if she was married and "fooled around with other guys." In another, with author/activist Janet Mock, he marvels at how she "got a dress halfway between your knee and your hips, and ... cross[ed] your legs." For Mock, this was "an exhibition of the casual nature at which men in positions of power believe that everything belongs to them, including women's bodies." But Freeman says he only wanted women to "feel appreciated and at ease around me. As a part of that, I would often try to joke with and compliment women, in what I thought was a lighthearted and humorous way." See his initial apology here.
|
Melania Trump, wife of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, spoke out for the first time Monday since a videotape was released of her husband making lewd comments about women in 2005, saying, "we are moving on."
Trump made the comments to Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt in an interview Tuesday morning on "Fox & Friends."
“Those words, they were offensive to me and they were inappropriate,” Trump told Fox News. “And he apologized to me. And I expect -- I accept his apology. And we are moving on.”
Trump added that she believes the mainstream media wants to damage her and her family by “saying lies about me, lies about my family.”
She said in the interview that the comments that were made on the tape were not made by the person she knows and that any other allegation of Donald Trump’s sexual misconduct should be handled in court.
Trump was then asked what she would tell women who were deterred because of the lewd tapes.
“My husband is kind and he’s a gentleman. He cares about people. He cares about women.”
She also said that it's fair for the media and her husband to bring up former President Bill Clinton's infidelities amid his wife's presidential campaign.
“They're asking for it. They started,” Trump said, referring to nude images from the 1990s published by the New York Post earlier this year. “They started from the beginning of the campaign putting my picture from modeling days."
"That was my modeling days and I'm proud what I did. I worked very hard,” she added.
Melania Trump's image later was used in a negative ad campaign during the Republican primary.
At the time of its release, Donald Trump accused former rival Ted Cruz of being involved and responded by tweeting an unflattering image of the Texas senator's wife. Cruz denied involvement in the release of the photos.
As for any debate advice for her husband, Trump said that he should “be himself and talk about the issues.” ||||| (CNN) Melania Trump defended Donald Trump in her first interview since the Republican nominee faced allegations of sexual misconduct, calling those accusations "lies" and saying Trump was "egged on" into "boy talk" during a 2005 tape in which he made lewd comments about women.
"I believe my husband. I believe my husband," she said in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday.
"This was all organized from the opposition. And with the details ... did they ever check the background of these women? They don't have any facts."
She also said she hadn't heard her husband use that kind of language before.
"No. No, that's why I was surprised, because I said like I don't know that person that would talk that way, and that he would say that kind of stuff in private," Melania Trump said.
"I heard many different stuff -- boys talk," she said. "The boys, the way they talk when they grow up and they want to sometimes show each other, 'Oh, this and that' and talking about the girls. But yes, I was surprised, of course."
JUST WATCHED Do politics impact which accusers you believe? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Do politics impact which accusers you believe? 05:35
She specifically attacked a first-person account in People Magazine, in which journalist Natasha Stoynoff said Trump made an unwanted advance while she worked on a story about his one-year wedding anniversary.
The reporter described a chance encounter later with Melania Trump, who says it never happened -- and her lawyers have threatened to sue over the claim.
"Even the story that came out in people magazine, the writer she said my husband took her to the room and start kissing her," she said. "She wrote in the same story about me -- that she saw me on 5th Avenue, and I said to her, 'Natasha, how come we don't see you anymore?' I was never friends with her, I would not recognize her."
That, Melania Trump said, "was another thing like people come out saying lies and not true stuff."
'Egged on'
It was the first public defense Melania Trump has made of her husband since a tape in which Trump bragged about sexually aggressive behavior toward women was published by The Washington Post and NBC. In the wake of that report, several women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.
Trump said her husband was "egged on" in the 2005 tape in which he made lewd comments about his own sexually aggressive behavior toward women -- remarks she says were "boy talk."
"I said to my husband that, you know, the language was inappropriate. It's not acceptable. And I was surprised, because that is not the man that I know," she said.
"And as you can see from the tape, the cameras were not on -- it was only a mic. And I wonder if they even knew that the mic was on," she said, referring to Trump and NBC's "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush.
She said they were engaged in "boy talk, and he was led on -- like, egged on -- from the host to say dirty and bad stuff."
She said she agrees with Michelle Obama's assertion that kissing or groping a woman without consent is sexual assault.
"But every assault should be taken care of in a court of law. And to accuse, no matter who it is, a man or a woman, without evidence is damaging and unfair," she said.
Melania Trump defended her husband's criticism on the campaign trail of his accusers' looks -- an implication that the women who have alleged his misconduct aren't attractive enough to sexually assault.
'I know he respects women'
"He's raw. He will say it as he feels it. So you know, I know he respects women. But he's defending himself because they're lies," she said.
She said she jokes that her husband at times behaves like an overgrown boy -- and that she saw his "Access Hollywood" remarks as emblematic of that.
"Sometimes I say I have two boys at home -- I have my young son and I have my husband. But I know how some men talk, and that's how I saw it, yes," she said.
She said she would keep their personal conversations private -- but that Trump apologized for his remarks on the tape.
"I accept his apology. I hope the American people will accept it as well. And it was many, many years ago. He's not the man that I know," she said.
Melania Trump called her husband "real" and "raw" -- and said because of his years as an entertainer, he faced an especially tough challenge transitioning into politics, because he has made decades' worth of controversial comments.
"It's very hard, especially for him -- when he decided to run for the presidency, because he did so many stuff in his life. He was on so many tapes, so many shows. And we knew that -- that, you know, tapes will come out, people won't want to go against him.
"But my husband is real. He's raw. He tells it like it is. He's kind. He's a gentleman. He supports everybody. He supports women. He encourages them to go to the highest level, to achieve their dreams. He employs many, many women," she said.
'He didn't say he did it'
She said she wouldn't describe what Trump said on the tape as sexual assault, even though in the video Trump appeared to be describing his own actions.
"No, that's not sexual assault," she said. "He didn't say he did it."
Melania Trump said she believes Trump in part because she's seen him deflect brazen advances from other women.
"I see many, many women coming to him and giving phone numbers and, you know, want(ing) to work for him -- inappropriate stuff from women. And they know he's married," she said.
"You've seen that?" Cooper asked.
"Oh yes, of course. It was in front of me," Trump said. "In front of me. And I've said, like, 'Why did you give your number to my husband?' "
Melania Trump reserved her strongest critique for the political press, which she says has yet to report an accurate story about her.
"I didn't expect media would be so dishonest and so mean. I didn't expect that," she said. "Also for me, from the beginning, I never had one correct story -- one honest story."
She backed her husband's claims that the election is being rigged in Hillary Clinton's favor, arguing that media bias is undercutting her husband.
"Well I see it how the media is portraying -- I see how they report things, and what they want to say and what they don't want to say," she said.
"They're going -- just for example, he makes a speech 45 minutes long, they take a sentence out, and they're going on and on about that sentence, nothing else," she said. "And he talks about the issues, and that's what American people want to hear, it's about issues, about jobs, about the future of our country, and that's what he wants to do.
She added: "He wants to secure the borders, he wants to secure America, he wants to bring jobs back, he wants to bring economy back, and he's very passionate about American people, because he knows he can do that. He's a worker, he's a fighter, he is, he's very passionate about it, and he will not give up, he will fight till the end, and he will fight for American people as he's fighting now for himself."
Melania Trump also made clear she doesn't want sympathy.
"I'm very strong. And people -- they don't really know me. People think and talk about me like, 'Oh, Melania, oh poor Melania,'" she said.
"Don't feel sorry for me. Don't feel sorry for me. I can handle everything," she added. ||||| The drama between Billy Bush and NBC News may finally be over.
TMZ reports that Bush and NBC have reached a financial agreement in his contract that officially ended his employment with the network.
Sources say that Bush is happy with the final number, but it will remain confidential. When he joined “TODAY” full time, he reportedly signed a $3.5 million per year contract for three years. So you get an idea of what the settlement could be.
RELATED: According to reports, Billy Bush is close to his exit from NBC and lawyers are determining a settlement amount
Bush reportedly felt like a “scapegoat” following a leaked tape that featured lewd comments he made with Donald Trump during a 2005 taping of “Access Hollywood.” He felt that his dismissal was simply for PR reasons.
According to the tabloid, staff at NBC was sent a final notice about Bush’s dismissal.
“While he was a new member of the ‘TODAY’ team, he was a valued colleague and longtime member of the broader NBC family. We wish success as he goes forward,” the memo read.
|
– Melania Trump has kept a low profile since the GOP convention, but she's suddenly taking a more aggressive role on behalf of her husband. In interviews with CNN and Fox News, the wife of Donald Trump said she has accepted his apology over the language he used in his recent hot mic scandal, suggested he was egged on by host Billy Bush, and characterized it as "boys' talk." As for the women accusing her husband of sexual abuse, "they don't have any facts." Some excerpts: "I said to my husband that, you know, the language was inappropriate. It's not acceptable. And I was surprised, because that is not the man that I know." (To Anderson Cooper of CNN.) "Those words, they were offensive to me and they were inappropriate. And he apologized to me. ... I accept his apology. And we are moving on." (To Ainsley Earhardt of Fox.) Her husband "was led on—like, egged on—from the host to say dirty and bad stuff." (CNN) She said she'd never heard her husband talk like that. "No, that's why I was surprised, because I said like I don't know that person that would talk that way, and that he would say that kind of stuff in private." (CNN) It's "boys' talk," she said. "The boys, the way they talk when they grow up and they want to sometimes show each other, 'Oh, this and that' and talking about the girls. But yes, I was surprised, of course." (CNN) On the tactic of dredging up Bill Clinton's past: “They're asking for it. They started,” she said. "They started from the beginning of the campaign putting my picture from modeling days." (To Fox News.) Nude images of Melania Trump appeared in the New York Post, and another surfaced in an ad by a super PAC backing Ted Cruz. (Billy Bush has been fired by NBC.)
|
Penelope Scotland Disick isn't the only baby girl with famous parents who made her debut this past weekend!
As Us Weekly reported on Sunday, Sienna Miller and her fiance Tom Sturridge welcomed their first child over the weekend in London — and a source now confirms to Us that the bundle of joy is a girl! The British actors have been dating for over a year and debuted signs of their engagement — Miller's dazzling diamond engagement ring — in mid-February.
PHOTOS: Sienna's chic bump style
After remaining mum about her pregnancy for several months, the G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra actress, 30, finally opened up to British Vogue in April.
"Even though I'm under strict instructions not to say anything as it would completely defeat the point of everything I've tried to achieve in the last eight years," the resolutely private Miller (who famously dated Jude Law) expressed to the mag. "I'm feeling fine…It's all progressing nicely and it's very exciting."
PHOTOS: More pregnant celebrities
Despite the couple's silence about their new addition to their family, Miller and Sturridge, 26, made no hesitation in stepping out in public on several celebratory occasions.
PHOTOS: Incredible post-baby bods
In May, the couple stole some time away in Portofino, Italy for a babymoon. A week later, they got decked out to celebrate Sturridge's BFF Robert Pattinson's 26th birthday at Gordon Ramsey's restaurant in London, England.
Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!
Want stories like these delivered straight to your phone? Download the Us Weekly iPhone app now! ||||| With the arrival of their second child,andmust certainly be over the moon with joy. New additionmay be second in line to older brother, but she is the famous couple’s first little girl.
Given daddy Disick’s affection for his little man, it stands to reason that his new baby girl will be showered with love.
Take a look back at some of his best daddy moments with Mason and Scott in the gallery.
In fact, the the 29-year-old restauranteur has made such an impression on his son that he’s even passed on his impeccable fashion sense.
He may be only 2-years-old, but tiny tyke has a wardrobe that rivals even the best dressed celebs. See some of Mason’s styles below.
Mom Kourtney is quite the fashionista herself, of course.
Celebuzz Single Player No Autoplay (CORE)
No changes are to be made to this player ||||| Let's say hello to Penelope Scotland Disick.
"Scott and I are overjoyed to welcome our precious angel Penelope Scotland Disick into our lives. We are forever blessed. Mommy and baby are resting comfortably," Kourtney tells E! News.
The 33-year-old E! star had an all-natural birth, and her new mini-me tipped the scales at 7 pounds, 14 ounces.
"It was a great. She had an easy delivery," matriarch Kris Jenner tells us. "[Penelope] is so cute. She looks just like Mason. She's so beautiful. We are so happy."
As it happens, this has been one highly anticipated birth (complete with a headline-grabbing false alarm), and not just among the fans.
Kourtney and Scott announced the news of the impending stork delivery last November, and revealed that they were expecting their first daughter in February of this year (son Mason turned the big 0-2 in December).
|
– Oh joy: The world finds itself with yet another Kardashian. The daughter of Kourtney and partner Scott Disick arrived yesterday, and the couple is "overjoyed" and feels "forever blessed," Kourtney says in a statement to E!. Penelope Scotland Disick joins older brother Mason, 2, after an all-natural birth that Kardashian mom Kris Jenner says was "easy." Need more? Though we find it hard to believe anything Scott Disick does can accurately be described as "cute," feel free to click on to some of his allegedly adorable daddy moments. Kardashian wasn't the only celeb mommy giving birth this weekend: Sienna Miller also welcomed a baby girl, her first child with fiancé Tom Sturridge, Us reports.
|
CLOSE With the World Series tied at 1-1, USA TODAY Sports' Steve Gardner tells you how the Cubs got the victory in Game 2 over the Indians. USA TODAY Sports
Cubs player Kyle Schwarber hits an RBI single against the Indians in the fifth inning of Game 2. (Photo: Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports)
CLEVELAND — It no longer defies imagination, but assaults the senses, wondering how sheer and utter fantasy could become reality.
How in the world could a baseball player spend six months just learning to walk again after a devastating knee injury, not playing in a single game, and lead the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series victory since 1945, with a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians, evening the Series at 1-game apiece?
"It’s the 'Legend of Kyle Schwarber,' " catcher David Ross said.
And the way this narrative is playing out, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant predicts, it will soon be coming to a movie theater near you.
"I can’t even describe what he’s doing right now," said left fielder Ben Zobrist, who’s hitting .625 this series and is like a back-drop to center stage. "No one’s ever seen anything like it."
There has never been a position player in baseball history whose first hit of the season was in the World Series until Schwarber came along. He doubled off Cleveland ace Corey Kluber in Game 1, and then went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk in Wednesday’s victory.
"He better not take one single swing in the offseason," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said.
Indeed, the dude is making a total mockery out of spring training, let alone rehab assignments.
This is a guy who had no hits in four at-bats in April before he blew out his left knee. He had one hit in eight at-bats in the Arizona Fall League. Now, on baseball’s greatest stage, he is hitting .429, reaching base five times in nine at-bats, with a double, two singles and two RBI.
If he keeps this up, and Schwarber leads the Cubs to their first World Series title since 1908, there will be generations of Schwarbers who will never have to pay for a drink or adult beverage in their lifetimes in the city of Chicago.
"If we win three more," Rizzo said, "he doesn’t have to take another swing in his life. Take your time, and enjoy your life."
Considering that Schwarber has all of four months of baseball experience on his bubble-gum card, and is baseball’s ultimate gym rat, there’s a better chance of him conducting hitting lessons when he’s 80 than ever giving up this gig.
"He’s just a dirt bag," Rizzo said. "He’s always around the field. He’s always watching baseball. Always watching film. Sometimes, too much.
"When he was on the DL, he’s there watching film, studying scouting reports, and I would yell at him, 'What are you doing? What are you doing?' "
Who realized all along that Schwarber was secretly plotting his comeback?
"Baseball’s a crazy game," Schwarber said. "It will do crazy things to you."
So crazy, that he went along with the Cubs’ narrative, that he would be out for the season. When you tear two knee ligaments, no one expects to see you until next season. If he had only sustained the injury earlier, maybe in spring training, he’d have a chance, but not during the season.
And even if he was physically able to return before the end of the season, there would be no time for a minor-league rehab assignment, no time to get down his timing, no time to see major-league pitching.
"That’s why we’re calling it 'The Legend of Kyle Schwarber,' " Ross said. "That’s who does this. It just blows my mind what he’s doing. He’s doing things that are unheard of."
Yet, on baseball’s biggest stage, in front of millions on national TV, Schwarber is turning the World Series into his own reality TV show.
Watch Schwarber become the Cubs’ first DH in World Series history. Watch Schwarber hit. Watch Schwarber run. Watch Schwarber drive in two runs.
Oh, and if you need to tug at the heartstrings too, watch Schwarber become emotional talking about his 10-year-old friend, Campbell Faulkner of Queen Creek, Ariz.
Faulkner, diagnosed with a rare form of mitochondrial disease, has a team of 13 doctors. He struggles to stand and walk for extended periods of time. He needs two feeding tubes in his stomach just to provide him with nutrition. He missed nearly 100 days of school last year because of his illness and doctor appointments.
Schwarber met him in spring training and saw him last weekend before meeting the Cubs in the World Series. Faulkner is his friend, and Schwarber wears a bright green wristband in his honor to make those aware of the disease.
"Really young, smart kid, and he’s just always got a big smile on his face," Schwarber said. "You know, that draws your attention to him. He’s living life to his fullest, even though he’s got something to overcome.
"He’s just a good kid. How could you not like him?"
It’s all part of the legend of Schwarber, the 23-year-old who became the Cubs’ all-time postseason home run leader last year by hitting five homers in just 27 at-bats, and now is doing what no one can possibly believe they’re seeing.
"For a guy to be able to do something like this," winning pitcher Jake Arrieta said. "is just ... I’m kind of speechless."
In the words of Cleveland manager Terry Francona, who suffered his first World Series loss a manager in 10 games: "I can see why Theo (Epstein) sent a plane for him. I would too. That’s a lot to ask, but special players can do special things."
Epstein, president of the Cubs, was stunned when the six-month medical reports last week revealed Schwarber was a month ahead of schedule. Schwarber was so excited, he asked for permission to go to the Arizona Fall League, to see how he looked. He played two games, did all the agility drills, ran the bases, slid, and with Epstein watching the video of him on his computer, took the gamble. He sent a private plane for him Monday, and on Tuesday, was in the starting lineup batting fifth.
Now, the question an inquiring, starving, championship-drought fan base wants to know: Could the Cubs dare put him in the field this weekend against the Indians? They are going back to National League rules. There will be no DH at Wrigley Field. Can he possibly play the field when he hasn’t played the outfield since tearing two knee ligaments on April 7?
"He may be catching for all we know," Rizzo said.
Well, it’s safe to say he won’t be catching until next spring, but considering the way he’s running the bases every time he’s aboard, there’s a certain manager who will be pushing for the cause.
"I'm waiting to hear from our guys from our medical side," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, "because obviously he looks good. He looks good at the plate. Running the bases, he looks pretty good so far.
"There's nothing about watching him that tells me that he's inhibited right now.
"He’s a different cat, he absolutely is."
It’s one thing if there had been the scintilla of discussion that Schwarber could possibly be ready for the playoffs, even privately among the Cubs’ front office. Or even if Schwarber had told a few teammates that this was his secret plan all along. But nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Sure, there were times during the season when Schwarber would tease his teammates, saying he’d be back for that day-night doubleheader in August against the Milwaukee Brewers, and everyone would laugh. It was a running joke all season. The laughter stopped when Rizzo was having dinner with strength coach Tim Buss before Game 3 of the NLCS in Los Angeles.
"I said, 'What?' " Rizzo said. " 'Seriously? For real?' I couldn’t believe it."
The Cubs still can’t.
"I just took it day by day," Schwarber said. "There were days I just wasn’t feeling it. My teammates picked me up and I had some guys come over and say to me, 'World Series, you’re coming back.’ I’d just laugh it off.
"Then, when it came to reality, it was a shock."
Imagine how the rest of us feel.
"The Legend of Kyle Schwarber," Ross slowly said again.
Stay tuned. The sequel is Friday, the first World Series night game in Wrigley Field history.
"They are going to go nuts," Ross said.
Follow Nightengale on Twitter and Facebook
Gallery: Cubs, Indians clash in World Series ||||| CLEVELAND — “They’re going to make a movie about him,” Kris Bryant said.
Bryant might be right. But even after two jaw-dropping performances, the climax of “Legend: The Amazing Comeback of Kyle Schwarber,” lies ahead.
Yes, the word, “legend,” is admittedly lofty for a player who is only 23, but that’s the description several of his teammates chose, not me.
Filming resumes Friday night at Wrigley Field, in Game 3 of the World Series, with the Cubs and Indians tied at one game each.
The next plot twist — “Will Schwarbs be in left field?” — likely will not be a twist at all. He will be in left. He will receive a standing ovation for the ages. He will hit a ball into Lake Michigan, and then ride a chariot down Michigan Avenue, woe to any billy goat that stands in the way.
The Cubs, according to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, have yet to decide whether Schwarber will be in the outfield. Doctors initially cleared him only to hit and run the bases, serve as a DH. But the Cubs will talk to the doctors again on Friday.
The team does not intend to put Schwarber in jeopardy. But Epstein and others say they view him as healed from the surgery he underwent to repair two damaged ligaments a little more than six months ago.
“He’s got tremendous strength and flexibility in the knee, as demonstrated by what he’s done out there,” Epstein said, referring to Schwarber’s double and walk in Game 1, his two RBI singles and walk in Game 2, the quality of his at-bats overall.
“We’ll see. If he does end up playing out there, we’ll make sure he’s smart about it. If he doesn’t, we’ll put him in a big spot (as a pinch-hitter) to take one of the most important at-bats of the game."
Three days ago, a lot of people thought the Cubs were nuts to even consider giving Schwarber his first start since April 7 in Game 1 of the World Series. Now, many of those same people are saying, “How can the Cubs not keep playing him?”
There is risk. There is always risk. At some point, this becomes a question of protecting Schwarber from himself. “He’ll run through a wall. He’ll do anything,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. “But that’s on us to make sure we check all the right boxes.”
Schwarber prepared for the Series by tracking 1,300 pitches from a pitching machine at the Cubs’ spring-training facility in Mesa, Az. He did not, however, track 1,300 flyballs. And he was a below-average outfielder even before he got injured in a collision with center fielder Dexter Fowler.
Still, as Epstein indicated, the Cubs can proceed with relative caution. Replace Schwarber for defense if they get a lead. Use him off the bench in Games 4 and 5, when two flyball pitchers, John Lackey and Jon Lester, are scheduled to pitch.
Heck, the Cubs will benefit even if Schwarber cannot play the field and is limited to one at-bat per game. In Game 1, Schwarber hit a double off a dominant Corey Kluber and drew a walk off the hellacious Andrew Miller. In Game 2, he drilled one RBI single off Trevor Bauer on a 3-0 count, the other off reliever Bryan Shaw after falling behind 0-2.
He has seen 40 pitches in nine plate appearances, a rate that would nearly have led the majors if sustained over a full season. He is hitting as if he missed no time, taking pitches inches off the plate, repeating his short, powerful swing with seemingly no effort. You hear baseball people talk about players who can roll out of bed and hit. Schwarber practically did.
“The professional at-bats just blow my mind,” catcher David Ross said. “The eye he has at the plate, taking pitches, taking walks. There is not a more impressive thing that I’ve seen in a long time than the Andrew Miller at-bat (Tuesday). I thought (manager) Joe (Maddon) might pinch-hit for him. Who’s the idiot? Me.”
Yet, the Cubs are the people least surprised by all this. They understand that Schwarber possesses rare offensive gifts. They know how much he cares about the club. And they saw how hard he worked to return.
“This guy has been running in pools, doing rehab stuff the entire summer, hoping somehow he could contribute,” Hoyer said. “We let him rehab in Chicago because he was such a big part of it, so great to be around.
“A lot of guys we wouldn’t have allowed to stay here. But with him, he’s such a good teammate, he wants it so badly. If he had any possibility he was going to come back and help us, he was going to do it.”
Most players, Ross said, would have “checked out” after suffering such a major injury; they would have gone home, done their rehab, played with their kids and prepared for the following season.
Schwarber was different. Schwarber always was part of the team.
“All of this was for these guys in the clubhouse and our organization,” he said. “It wasn’t for me.”
The players could not help but notice.
“He stayed locked in when he was hurt,” Ross said. “Mentally, he’s been competing in his mind for a long time with us.
“Our new weight room has all mirrors. You look in there and he was in a full sweat by the time I get to the field. He’s got his day in before we start and he stays, does all his rehab, stays for the game, grinds out the game with us, cheering guys on, watching video, doing scouting reports. He’s a baseball rat.”
Call Hollywood. Hold Wrigley. And if the doctors say OK, clear out left field.
Lights! Schwarber! Action!
|
– Even those not paying close attention to the World Series might be hearing the name Kyle Schwarber being thrown around a lot after the first two games. As in, "The Legend of Kyle Schwarber" as the Chicago Cubs catcher puts it, per USA Today. The 23-year-old suffered a devastating knee injury in the third game of the season on April 7 and sat out the rest of the year. In a surprise move, the Cubs put him back in the lineup for the World Series as a designated hitter. After doubling in Game 1—one of the few bright spots for the Cubs that game, which came after TV analyst Pete Rose predicted he'd strike out three times—Schwarber had two RBI singles in the Cubs' Game 2 victory and scored another run himself. He's batting .429 with two walks. "They're going to make movies about him," says teammate Kris Bryant. No position player has ever recorded his first hit of the season in the World Series. And his "eye" at the plate is astonishing his teammates, notes the Chicago Tribune. The problem for the Cubs is that Schwarber is not medically cleared to play the outfield, but that could change before Friday's game in Chicago, where no designated hitter is allowed. But "the next plot twist— “Will Schwarbs be in left field?'—likely will not be a twist at all," writes Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports. "He will be in left. He will receive a standing ovation for the ages. He will hit a ball into Lake Michigan, and then ride a chariot down Michigan Avenue, woe to any billy goat that stands in the way."
|
The driver of a Wal-Mart tractor-trailer that slammed into a limo carrying comedian Tracy Morgan last June had been awake more than 28 hours, the National Transportation Safety Board said today.
Interested in ? Add as an interest to stay up to date on the latest news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest
Around 1 a.m. on June 7, 2014, 35-year-old Kevin Roper – then halfway through the 13th hour of his 14-hour shift – slammed into Morgan’s limo from behind, killing comedian James McNair and seriously injuring Morgan and three others.
Before starting his Wal-Mart shift, Roper had driven 12 hours in his personal vehicle from his home in Georgia to his base in Delaware, according to the NTSB.
His “decision to drive 800 miles overnight” was “a factor in the crash,” NTSB senior accident investigator Dennis Collins said today.
Though Wal-Mart provided fatigue information during its driver training, it was not required to have a fatigue management program,the NTSB said.
Moments before the crash, the trailer was traveling at 65 mph, 20 mph over the construction zone’s 45 mph speed limit.
“Had the truck driver been traveling at the posted work zone speed limit of 45 mph, it could have been stopped before impact,” NTSB investigator David Rayburn said today.
Roper's attorney told ABC News he would dispute the NTSB's conclusions.
The passengers in the rear of the limo’s rear compartment were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, NTSB chairman Christopher Hart announced at a board meeting today, nor had they received a safety briefing outlining the benefits of seat belts.
After being hit by the Wal-Mart truck, the limo then struck three other vehicles and rolled over before coming to rest on its side on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Because the limo had been customized, “the passengers had no available exits until emergency responders removed parts of a plywood panel that had been installed,” Hart said today.
Indeed, it took nearly 40 minutes for first responders to extricate some of the victims from the limo.
“I shudder to think what would have happened if this vehicle had caught fire,” NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt noted.
Roper was later charged with one count of vehicular homicide and several counts of assault by auto, with authorities saying they believed he had dozed off behind the wheel. He pleaded not guilty.
The crash left Morgan, then 45, in critical condition, with multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury.
Since then, the comedian has “struggled” to regain his old self, his lawyer said.
In a June 2015 interview with “Today” anchor Matt Lauer, Morgan wondered through tears whether he was ever “going to be funny again.”
He filed a civil suit against Wal-Mart; they reached a confidential settlement in May.
The retailer, which initially faulted Morgan and his colleagues for not wearing seat belts, later “took full responsibility for the accident,” according to Morgan’s lawyer. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — A Wal-Mart truck driver who hadn't slept in 28 hours failed to slow down despite posted warning signs and was responsible for a highway crash last year that severely injured comedian Tracy Morgan and killed another comedian, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.
FILE - In this April 9, 2014, file photo, actor Tracy Morgan attends the FX Networks Upfront premiere screening of "Fargo" at the SVA Theater in New York. The National Transportation Safety Board is meeting... (Associated Press)
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Christopher Hart speaks during an NTSB meeting at their headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015, to determine the cause of an accident last... (Associated Press)
An accident description is displayed on a large screen as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) meets at their headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015, to determine the cause of... (Associated Press)
But the board said the failure of Morgan and other passengers in a limousine-van to wear seat belts and adjust headrests contributed to the severity of injuries when the limo was struck from behind by the truck.
Most of their injuries were caused when the passengers were whipped around or thrown into the sides of the vehicle, the board said at a meeting to determine the cause of the crash and make safety recommendations.
None of the passengers in the back of the 10-seat limo or the driver was wearing a seat belt.
The board said truck driver Kevin Roper of Jonesboro, Georgia, could have prevented the June 7, 2014, crash if he had slowed to 45 mph, the posted speed limit for the construction work zone on the New Jersey Turnpike near Cranbury, where the crash occurred.
The truck traveled 0.9 miles past the first work zone sign and more than 0.4 miles past the 45 mph speed limit sign without slowing from 65 mph. The truck was going that fast until it reached a closing distance of approximately 200 feet before the impact.
At 45 mph, the truck could have stopped before impact, the board concluded.
The collision with the limo started a chain reaction crash that affected 21 people in six vehicles.
"One tragic aspect of roadway deaths is that so often they could have been prevented," said the safety board's chairman, Chris Hart.
Heavy trucks are involved in nearly 1 in 8 fatal crashes, NTSB said. In work zones, 1 in 4 fatal crashes involves a heavy truck.
Roper had driven over 800 miles overnight from Georgia to a Wal-Mart distribution center in Delaware to pick up a load before starting the trip without stopping for sleep.
He had worked for Wal-Mart for 15 weeks and had had nine "critical event reports." Critical event reports, which are generated by a truck's computers and downloaded by Wal-Mart, record things such as hard braking, activation of the vehicle's stability control system or other events that might indicate unsafe driving.
Roper also had been involved in a preventable accident, causing him to lose his safety bonus, investigators said.
Wal-Mart had provided guidance to its drivers on preventing fatigue, but didn't have a comprehensive program to prevent drivers from being assigned over-tiring schedules or to make sure they were rested before reporting to work, the board said. Since then, Wal-Mart has taken greater steps to educate drivers about fatigue and has said it will put in place a program to reduce fatigue, investigators said.
The board has long raised concerns about operator fatigue leading to accidents across all modes of transportation, from airline pilots to train engineers.
Investigators said the limo wound up on its side with its rear doors jammed shut. A sheet of plywood that had been added to the limo to separate the cab from passengers blocked occupants from escaping the vehicle through the front doors after the crash.
It took emergency responders working with the assistance of other motorists 37 minutes to remove the first of the crash victims from the rear of the limo.
Investigators said emergency responders, mostly volunteers, didn't have the training to address some of the logistical and coordination issues arising from the complicated accident. New Jersey doesn't have requirements for the number of training hours that volunteer emergency responders must have, or a certification program, they said.
Comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair of Peekskill, New York, a mentor of Morgan's, was killed. Morgan suffered head trauma, and was in a coma for two weeks. Three other passengers in the limo suffered serious injuries.
Morgan, a former "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock" star, and the others were returning from a show in Dover, Delaware.
Roper was charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto in state court in New Jersey.
___
Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy
|
– How are your reflexes after you've been awake for 28 straight hours? The NTSB says the driver of the truck that smashed into Tracy Morgan's limo was in that exact predicament, reports ABC News. Kevin Roper, 35, drove 800 miles from his home in Georgia to Delaware, where he got into his Walmart truck and embarked on a 14-hour trip, say NTSB investigators. In the 13th hour of that trip, Roper hit Morgan's vehicle on the New Jersey Turnpike, killing one passenger and injuring Morgan and three others. In addition to driver fatigue, the NTSB also notes that Roper was doing 65 in a construction zone, 20mph over the limit, reports AP. “Had the truck driver been traveling at the posted work zone speed limit of 45mph, it could have been stopped before impact,” says NTSB investigator David Rayburn. The agency also says that neither Morgan nor the other passengers in the limo van were wearing seatbelts, which likely made their injuries worse. (Walmart has settled with Morgan, who vows to make people laugh again.)
|
By
GQ recently unveiled its list of the 50 Most Powerful People in Washington, a look at who's up in the nation's status-obsessed capital. But power is fluid in Washington, and it's wielded in ever-changing ways, from the city's establishment bosses to its hungry young strivers. So now we're bringing you the most powerful person in D.C. this week (and the least powerful): a mini-guide to the players in American politics and why they matter now.
Most Powerful Person in Politics: Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
Those who doubt Hillary's viability in 2016 should take note of the viral meme "Texts From Hillary." It's a Tumblr that pairs a photo of HRC looking like a boss on a C-17 with even more boss quotes, retweeted ad infinitum this week. How much do Washington women love the texts? "For attribution: omgsomuch," EMILY's List spokesperson Jess McIntosh emails. "It's just the idea that Hillary is a force to be reckoned with, and she is still very relevant among Americans," says Stacy Lambe, one of D.C.'s young communications professionals who came up with the idea with a friend over drinks last week. "We just captured on a simple idea about who she is, this whole 'head bitch, in-charge, badass' image that the photo itself demonstrated and we just had fun with that. It wasn't a commentary on anything, but the success might be due to the fact that there's this appreciation for her that has grown since she took over as Secretary of State. I think people have learned to appreciate who she is and value her again."
||||| Clinton: Stop talking.
Worried woman: It’s 3 a.m. and I think something’s happening.
Clinton: On it.
Like most Internet sensations, the “Texts from Hillary” took a winding path from artifact to thing. When the photo first appeared last fall, a blogger from Reuters suggested that it made Clinton look bad: stuck on a plane, overloaded with work, falling asleep in her chair. “Quick quiz,” he wrote. “You realize your job may sort of suck if you . . . are trying to read your PDA with your sunglasses on.”
But when the photo turned up, inexplicably, on his Facebook feed last week, Adam Smith saw it differently. Smith, 29, who works for a campaign-finance nonprofit in Washington, D.C., reposted the shot on Twitter with a comment along the lines of, “Have you seen how fierce Hillary is in this picture?”
Last Wednesday at a bar, Smith showed the photo to his friend Stacy Lambe, 26, who works for a D.C. communications firm. “I said, ‘Have you seen this Hillary picture? I think we could make a meme out of it’ ” Smith told me by phone. “And he said, ‘Texts from Hillary.’ And I said, ‘Done.’ ” They went home and started a Tumblr blog, and before long, people were sending suggestions of their own.
Nearly every contribution falls along the same theme: Hillary’s not beleaguered, she’s in charge. This is the story the photo tells. The frown makes her seem impatient. The sunglasses make her look aloof, but also glamorous. Gone are the man’s-world accessories, the pantsuit and masculine haircut. Secretary Clinton is a woman, comfortably feminine, with long blonde hair, a chunky necklace, a giant broach.
And, crucially, she’s texting. In an age of impersonal communications, there’s no medium more distant or nonchalant. Texting requires no utterance, no grammar, no coherent thought, and barely any physical effort. (The other day, a friend texted me: “k.” I knew what she meant.) To send a text is to say, “I’m sending you this message with my thumbs. That’s all you get of me.” ||||| It’s been an overwhelming–and hilarious–week for us here at Texts from Hillary (TFH). What started as a joke at the bar between two friends turned into a national conversation about Secretary Clinton and went as far as talks about 2016.
After a week that included 32 posts, 83,000 shares on Facebook, 8,400 Twitter followers, over 45K Tumblr followers, news stories around the world, Renee Montagne from Morning Edition saying “ROFL,” a Maureen Dowd column, and a tweet from ?uest Love, we think it’s time to stop while we are ahead.
As far as memes go – it has gone as far as it can go. Is it really possible to top a submission from the Secretary herself? No. But then when you get to text with her in real life – it’s just over. At least for us. But we have no doubt it will live on with all of you on the Internet.
The site will stay up but we won’t be posting anything new here. You can follow us on Twitter (@ASmith83, @Sllambe) and Tumblr (Stacy at ImWithKanye and Adam’s work account, Public Campaign Action Fund).
Thanks for all the LOLz. We truly appreciate all the support.
It turns out that memes really do come true.
-Stacy and Adam ||||| So it's week two and we're still talking about Texts From Hillary, the simple-yet-brilliant meme started by D.C.-based communications professionals Stacy Lambe and Adam Smith.
Here's why it works: Most memes make fun of their subjects. This one is all about respect. As Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal said yesterday, Hillary Clinton is "one of the few people who is in the Obama administration whose reputation from her work there has been enhanced as opposed to roughened." Where Obama, Biden, Gates, Geithner et al have suffered gray hairs and waning enthusiasm, Clinton — who entered the administration as Obama's graying runner-up — has undergone a reinvention and seems more powerful and unflappable than ever.
Two takes from today:
Benjy Sarlin, Talking Points Memo:
Her 2008 campaign, which once seemed a cautionary tale about hubris, looks at least somewhat better with age. Obama touted a unifying national message in his run against Clinton, suggesting that Clinton’s scars from decades of battling Republicans would make it difficult to ever be effective in the White House. Now Obama’s post-partisan vision has given way to a tough dogfight of a general election in which he’s running against the intransigent Republican party’s “thinly veiled social Darwinism.” And Clinton’s popularity — including with Republicans — has never been higher, prompting yet another boomlet of interest in a 2016 presidential run.
Marin Cogan, GQ's Death Race 2012: ||||| What a difference four years makes: When she was running for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton was parodied as drab and calculated, especially compared with young and vigorous Barack Obama and winking and fresh-faced Sarah Palin. Now, she’s fueling Internet jokes based on her own brand of badass cool.
More than just an image rebound, Clinton is enjoying a genuine resurgence.
Her 2008 campaign, which once seemed a cautionary tale about hubris, looks at least somewhat better with age. Obama touted a unifying national message in his run against Clinton, suggesting that Clinton’s scars from decades of battling Republicans would make it difficult to ever be effective in the White House.
Now Obama’s post-partisan vision has given way to a tough dogfight of a general election in which he’s running against the intransigent Republican party’s “thinly veiled social Darwinism.” And Clinton’s popularity — including with Republicans — has never been higher, prompting yet another boomlet of interest in a 2016 presidential run.
Part of this is the nature of her position. The secretary of State has traditionally been an apolitical figure and, consequently, those who have held the position have often enjoyed higher approval ratings than their boss. Clinton has held fast to this tradition and avoided injecting herself into the day’s hot-button issues. There are some occasional exceptions — last month she told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that she was glad to see Rush Limbaugh’s screed against law student Sandra Fluke draw widespread condemnation.
Still, given how well established — and polarizing — a political figure Clinton was considered prior to her appointment compared to many of her predecessors, the scale of her popularity is impressive. A recent Gallup poll showed her favorability rating reach new heights at 66 percent, including 40 percent of Republicans who view her positively, an astronomical figure for a prominent Democrat these days. From the public’s perspective, it’s clear that she’s settled easily into a behind-the-scenes role as a loyal and competent secretary of State.
Her lower visibility seems to have created some pent-up demand from her fans, though. This week a website “Texts From Hillary” created by two supporters, Stacy Lambe and Adam Smith, exploded on the Internet, generating tens of thousands of links on Facebook and Tumblr in its first 24 hours. The site features several two-panel gags that show Clinton on her Blackberry, clad in shades on a military jet, purportedly texting with various political and pop culture figures, from Condoleezza Rice to Ryan Gosling.
Clinton’s cold, relentless style was considered one of her biggest vulnerabilities, forming the basis for parodies of her on “Saturday Night Live” and attracting a number of sexist jabs from pundits. By the end of her campaign, however, she had drawn considerable respect even from many critics for her toughness and resolve during a long and difficult primary. Lambe told TPM he was hoping to capture this trait in his site.
“That photo just captures how people tried to make her out to be a bitch when she’s actually the head bitch in charge,” Lambe said. “Ever since she was appointed secretary of State there’s been a renewed appreciation for Hillary.”
As for the idea for the initial two-panel gag, “the alcohol helped,” said Smith.
It’s no accident that the notion of Clinton as the peak of steady competence has proven so resonant. Phil Singer, a spokesman for her 2008 presidential campaign, told TPM Clinton’s recent success follows a consistent trend in which she is best regarded when working on policy instead of politics. Before her 2008 run, for example, Clinton was an extremely popular senator both in New York and among her colleagues.
“When people see her doing her job and not getting involved with the back-and-forth, they’re happy,” Singer said, acknowledging that it was “ironic” given her highly political roles as First Lady, a tough Senate candidate in 2000 and an even tougher presidential candidate in 2008.
The fact that she’s kept her hands clean during an incredibly tense three-year standoff between the White House and national Republicans may also artificially boost her standing as voters imagine what could have been if she had won the nomination.
“Some people’s views on her may be reflective of the fact people had higher hopes for Obama,” Republican strategist Liz Mair said, “and its sort of evened out so she looks better by comparison.”
Not surprisingly, the 2016 speculation that began even before the 2008 election ended is worming its way back into the press in a major way. Plenty of Democrats are hoping she’ll run again, with Nancy Pelosi declaring just last week that she should consider waging another bid.
Clinton has mostly avoided the topic, though she’s hinted that her political days may be behind her at this point. She would be 69 on inauguration day, 2017.
“I believe that she’s being absolutely honest with you when she says she doesn’t think she’ll go back into politics,” Bill Clinton told ABC News recently. “But if she comes home and we do this foundation stuff for the rest of our lives, I’ll be happy; if she changes her mind and decides to run, I’ll be happy.”
Were Clinton to run she would almost certainly shed a significant amount of her current popularity with the right as soon as she seized a partisan mantle again. But her impressive tenure as secretary of State in a difficult transition period from the tumultuous Bush era would only boost her core appeal as the party’s most battle-tested heavyweight. One need only look to the equivalent time period in the 2004 presidential cycle to underscore how unpredictable things are in politics — Barack Obama was a virtually unknown state senator then, and George Allen was widely considered the man to beat on the Republican side.
Benjy Sarlin Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
|
– The latest meme to take the Internet by storm also might just indicate a Clinton renaissance: Texts From Hillary features imagined conversations between Clinton and pretty much anyone—other politicians, Sarah Palin, Mark Zuckerberg, Jay-Z—using a photo of Clinton taken last fall on a flight to Tripoli, in which she looks particularly badass in sunglasses while, apparently, texting. Sample line, from Clinton to John Boehner: "Baby in the room next to me at the hotel wouldn't stop crying last night. Thought of you. LMAO." Interestingly, when the now-iconic photo first appeared, a Reuters blogger noted that it was unflattering to Clinton, reports the Boston Globe, making her look tired and overworked. But when Adam Smith saw it recently, he thought she looked "fierce," shared the photo with a friend, and started the Tumblr account. Now, people are sending in their own suggestions for imaginary conversations, all of them featuring a take-charge Clinton. A few reactions from around the WWW: "More than just an image rebound, Clinton is enjoying a genuine resurgence," writes Benjy Sarlin on Talking Points Memo. Four years ago, her "cold, relentless style was considered one of her biggest vulnerabilities," but now people respect it. In fact, this meme "is all about respect," notes Dylan Byers on Politico. "Where Obama, Biden, Gates, Geithner, et al have suffered gray hairs and waning enthusiasm, Clinton … has undergone a reinvention and seems more powerful and unflappable than ever." "Gone are the man’s-world accessories, the pantsuit and masculine haircut," notes Joanna Weiss in the Globe. "Secretary Clinton is a woman, comfortably feminine, with long blonde hair, a chunky necklace, a giant brooch." The popularity of the meme proves that Hillary could be a contender in 2016, adds Marin Cogan in GQ. Check out the Tumblr in full here.
|
Please enable Javascript to watch this video
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A Memphis woman said she feels betrayed after her date stole her car and then used it to go on a date with her God sister.
As far as nights out go, Faith Pugh said the one she had Saturday with Kelton Griffin was disappointing from the beginning.
She said when he showed up, he didn’t even bring his own car.
“I don’t know who dropped him off. He just got dropped off,” Pugh said.
Pugh said she knew Griffin from their years in high school, but hadn’t spoken to him much lately until he reached out and suggested dinner.
“He just out of the blue texted me and asked me to go out,” Pugh said.
They took Pugh’s black Volvo, but then Pugh said Griffin couldn’t decide where he wanted to take her.
They ended up stopping at an Airport Area gas station.
“He asked me could I go in the gas station for him to get a cigar,” she said.
It turns out that was a big mistake.
“He drove off. I came outside and my car was gone,” Pugh said.
Pugh said her mother picked her up, but then she got a surprising text from her God sister, saying Griffin had asked her out.
“I said, ‘Okay, well send me the address to where you at, and I’m on my way. Tell him to come on,’” she said.
Pugh said they used the GPS on her God sister’s phone to tail Griffin before losing him, but then found him again at a drive-in movie theater on Summer Avenue.
Pugh said he was in her car with her God sister.
“He let her drive, so she drove him to the drive-in. He didn’t even have any money. She actually paid their way to get in the drive-in just so I could get my car back,” Pugh said.
Police arrested Griffin that night.
It’s not his first arrest.
In 2016, police said he and two other men ate out before robbing a restaurant.
If he’s looking for company for his next meal out, Pugh said he needn’t look to her.
“I hope he’s in jail for a long time. I never want to speak to him ever again,” she said. ||||| MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC)-- A man is accused of stealing a car on a date and using it to take another woman on a date.
A woman reported her car stolen Saturday after Kelton Griffin went to her house to go on a date.
According to a police report, Griffin stopped at Marathon station on Winchester Road and asked the woman to get him some cigars. While she was in the building, he drove off in her Volvo.
WMC is reporting that the victim said she tried to contact Griffin but he would not answer her calls and deleted her from social media.
Later in the evening, another woman texted the victim that Griffin had asked her on a date.
The victim relayed information about the date and led police to the Summer Drive-In theater.
Officers found Griffin in the driver seat of the Volvo and took him into custody.
Griffin is charged with theft of property.
|
– From the annals of classy guys: A Tennesee man is accused of stealing a woman's car to use on a date with her godsister that same night, the Commercial Appeal reports. Kelton Griffin, 21, allegedly took out Faith Pugh last weekend in her black Volvo because he had no wheels himself. "He just out of the blue texted me and asked me to go out," Pugh tells WREG. And when they did, she says, "he asked me could I go in the gas station for him to get a cigar." Emerging from said station, she saw no Griffin and no car. Picked up by her mother, Pugh says she got a text from her godsister—saying Griffin had asked her on a date. Pugh and her mom apparently followed them via GPS on her godsister's phone, and found the pair watching a movie at a drive-in. "He let her drive," says Pugh, "so she drove him to the drive-in. He didn't even have any money. She actually paid their way to get in the drive-in just so I could get my car back." Griffin was soon arrested by Memphis police and charged with property theft, per Lex 18. Police say he's been arrested before, for robbing a restaurant with two other men in 2016. Seems Pugh isn't exactly waiting for his call: "I hope he's in jail for a long time," she says. "I never want to speak to him ever again."
|
Paul R. Giunta/Getty
David Crosby hit a jogger at 55 miles per hour – the posted speed limit – while driving in Santa Ynez, California, according to KEYT. Emergency responders airlifted 46-year-old victim Jose Jiminez, who suffered multiple fractures, abrasions and lacerations, to a hospital. His injuries are reportedly not life-threatening. The incident took place near the singer-songwriter's home.
Related The Oral History of CSNY's Infamous 'Doom Tour' The band and key associates revisit a wild 1974 run of drug-fueled and ego-ridden gigs
Crosby told authorities that he had been blinded by the sun at the time of the accident. Neither drugs nor alcohol played a role in the accident, according to a police report, and Crosby stopped his vehicle immediately after the accident. TMZ reports police are still investigating the incident.
The singer-songwriter has kept a low profile in recent months, though he piped in late last year to confirm that Crosby, Stills and Nash would not be touring with bandmate Neil Young ever again. At the time, he said that Young was "very angry" with him and told a fan on Twitter that he knew "at least 20 better guitar players than Neil." Ostensibly, Young was angered by Crosby's comments that his girlfriend, Daryl Hannah, was a "purely poisonous predator," in an interview with The Idaho Statesman.
Graham Nash chimed in later and said that Young was "just a little upset right now."
Prior to the controversy, CSN performed with "Neil Young" (or at least Neil Young played by Jimmy Fallon) on the Tonight Show for a funny rendition of Iggy Azalea's "Fancy." The quartet accordingly replaced the rapper's "I-G-G-Y" chant with "C-S-N-Y."
Last January, Crosby put out a new solo album, Croz, premiering the album via Rolling Stone. "I spent a lot of that time working with Crosby, Stills and Nash these past two decades," he said. "But I wanted to challenge myself and work outside the group. Also, I do things differently than they do and a couple years ago, I just started writing like crazy. I'm so happy that I did." ||||| Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash came together in the late 1960s and have continually split and reformed through the decades. According to The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Young had become a respected elder statesman of rock by the 1990s. Nash, meanwhile, had become a successful photographer while Crosby had become ill and received a liver transplant. Here, Crosby, Stills and Nash perform in front of a crowd at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 2012. Hide Caption 1 of 11
Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – Blondie formed forty years ago, with Debbie Harry, pictured, as front-woman. "Heart of Glass" was its first big hit, in 1979, and the band followed up with chart-topping singles such as "Call Me" and "Rapture." Here, Harry performs on May 15, 2014 in New York City. Blondie released its latest album, "Ghosts of Download," this week. Hide Caption 2 of 11
Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – Black Sabbath emerged in 1969, and become one of the leading proponents of heavy metal music. The band -- whose front man, Ozzy Osbourne, became known as the Prince of Darkness -- was critically snubbed but sold more than 8 million albums before Osbourne went solo in 1979. Osbourne and other band members then played together intermittently through the 1990s and 2000s, and were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. They joined the U.S. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year. Here, Osbourne performs onstage at the Barclays Center of Brooklyn on March 31, 2014 in New York City. Hide Caption 3 of 11
Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – The New York Dolls formed in 1971, and helped drive the punk movement. According to The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, their cross-dressing "captured the outrage and threat of glam." However, tragedy hit the group when drummer Billy Murcia died after suffocating when he mixed alcohol and pills in the band's first England tour. The band played support for Alice Cooper in 2011. Here, the New Yorks Dolls' David Johansen performs at London's Alexandra Palace on October 29, 2011. Hide Caption 4 of 11
Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – The Rolling Stones formed in 1962 and, while the band has taken breaks, it's never broken up. According to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they hold the record for band longevity. The Stones represented the opposite of the Beatles, according to the biography, epitomizing "the darker, bluesier and more boldly sexual side of rock and roll." They are due to play Australian and New Zealand later this year, after postponing due to the death of singer Mick Jagger's partner, designer L'Wren Scott. Here, Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards perform at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on March 12, 2014 in Shanghai, China. Hide Caption 5 of 11
Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – ACDC was formed by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young in Sydney, in 1963. "Highway to Hell," in 1979, put them on the U.S. charts and the album "Back in Black," released in 1980, sold more than 22 million copies to become one of the best-selling albums in U.S. history. According to The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, their "rowdy image, giant riffs and macho lyrics" helped make them one of the biggest hard rock bands in history. Here Angus Young of AC/DC performs on stage on the first day of the Download Festival at Donington Park on June 11, 2010 in Derby, England. Hide Caption 6 of 11
Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – The Who started in 1964, and blasted into the charts with their anthem "My Generation." According to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the band "didn't just play rock and roll, they attacked their music and their instruments with raw power fueled by teenage rage." In the late 60s and early 70s they released conceptual albums "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia" before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. Here, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend perform at the 02 Arena on June 15, 2013 in London, England. Hide Caption 7 of 11
Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – The Eagles emerged in the early 1970s from Los Angeles, and have sold more than 100 million albums. The Eagles "Their Greatest Hits" album went platinum and is one of the biggest selling in the U.S. The band broke up in 1980 but reunited in the mid 1990s with a successful tour, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Here, Bernie Leadon, Timothy B. Schmit and Glen Frey of the Eagles perform during "History Of The Eagles Live In Concert" at the Bridgestone Arena on October 16, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. Hide Caption 8 of 11
Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – The origins of British instrumental group The Shadows date back to 1958, with Cliff Richard as a key front person. The band disbanded in 1968, but started up again in the 70s. They were then inactive through the 90s but reunited in the mid 2000s. Here, the now Sir Cliff Richard performs with Hank Marvin of The Shadows at Kirstenbosch Gardens to a sold out crowd on 9 March 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa. Hide Caption 9 of 11
Bands still going 40 years later 11 photos Bands still going 40 years later – The Beach Boys, known as the band who invented California Rock, emerged in the early 1960s after brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson began churning out easy pop hits like "Surfin Safari" and "Surfin U.S.A.," about the West Coast life. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Here, Brian Wilson, David Marks, Mike Love and Al Jardine of The Beach Boys perform at the Royal Albert Hall on September 27, 2012 in London, England. Hide Caption 10 of 11 ||||| David Crosby was looking forward, but it was right into the sun.
The Crosby, Stills & Nash singer-songwriter hit and injured a pedestrian with his car Sunday while motoring his 2015 Tesla on a street near his ranch in California's Santa Ynez Valley—but luckily, everyone involved is going to be all right.
"David Crosby is obviously very upset that he accidentally hit anyone," a rep for the artist said in a statement to E! News today. "And, based off of initial reports, he is relieved that the injuries to the gentleman were not life threatening. He wishes the jogger a very speedy recovery."
Jose Jimenez, 46, was jogging with his 14-year-old son when the 73-year-old Crosby dinged him with the right front end of his vehicle, according to a California Highway Patrol collision report obtained by E! News.
According to the CHP, Crosby was going the speed limit—55 mph—and he didn't see Jimenez off to his right because he was driving into the sun.
|
– A jogger in California is lucky to be alive after an encounter with folk-rock legend David Crosby. Jose Jimenez, 46, was on a road near Crosby's Santa Ynez when the singer hit him in his 2015 Tesla, which was traveling at or near the 55mph speed limit, CNN reports. Jimenez was airlifted to the hospital with fractures and other non-life-threatening injuries. Crosby stopped after the collision, and the California Highway Patrol says he's unlikely to face charges since the jogger was supposed to be on the other side of the rural road, running against traffic, E! Online reports. A CHP spokesman says Crosby "was not impaired or intoxicated in any way," but he didn't see the jogger because of the sun. "David Crosby is obviously very upset that he accidentally hit anyone," a rep tells E! Online. "And, based off of initial reports, he is relieved that the injuries to the gentleman were not life-threatening. He wishes the jogger a very speedy recovery." Apart from the accident, the 73-year-old singer-songwriter hasn't been in the news much lately, Rolling Stone notes, although he put out new solo album Croz early last year, and last fall confirmed that Crosby, Stills, and Nash would never tour with Neil Young again—but said he knows "at least 20 better guitar players than Neil."
|
India’s top court has ruled that adultery is no longer a crime, declaring that the colonial-era law is unconstitutional and discriminatory against women.
A five-judge bench of the supreme court unanimously ruled that the criminal offence of having a sexual relationship with a woman without her husband’s consent was archaic and deprived women of agency.
The case, brought by an Indian businessman living in Italy, sought to have section 497 of the Indian penal code and another similar provision made gender neutral. But the court said the offence, which carried a prison sentence of up to five years, was arbitrary and needed to go.
“It is time to say husband is not the master,” said the chief justice, Dipak Misra. He quoted John Stuart Mill: “Legal subordination of one sex over another is wrong in itself.”
Indu Malhotra, one of two women among the 25 judges on the court, said: “The time when wives were invisible to the law, and lived in the shadows of their husbands, has long since gone by.”
There is no official data on how frequently men were prosecuted under the law, but it was often raised in divorce proceedings, lawyers say.
The decision is one of several socially progressive rulings by the court this session. This month the justices ruled to decriminalise homosexuality, and on Friday they will decide on a case about whether women in their menstruating years can be restricted from entering Kerala state’s Sabarimala temple.
Indian court upholds legality of world's largest biometric database Read more
Like the decision to legalise homosexual acts, some advocates against the adultery law characterised Thursday’s decision as an act of decolonising the country’s Raj-era criminal code.
“I welcome this judgment by the supreme court,” said Rekha Sharma, the head of India’s National Commission for Women. “It was an outdated law, which should have been removed long back. This is a law from British era. Although the British had done away with it long back, we were still stuck with it.”
The court has been more willing to affirm British-era legislation when it comes to restricting speech, in recent years endorsing imperial laws against criminal defamation and creating (but later dropping) a rule that Indians must stand while the national anthem is played in movie theatres.
“I wouldn’t yet call it a progressive era in the court,” said Gautam Bhatia, a Delhi-based lawyer and legal scholar. He said in cases such as the adultery or homosexuality rulings, the court was dispensing with laws that had clearly fallen behind social mores. “These are the low-hanging fruit,” he said.
Thursday’s decision was decried by some prominent feminists including Swati Maliwal, Delhi’s commissioner for women. She said the adultery law should have become gender neutral because it could be a deterrent against men abandoning their families, in a society where women wield little power, especially in poorer or deeply patriarchal areas of the country.
“Thousands of women approach the commission, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, saying their husbands are acting in an adulterous manner and have left them without support to look after the children,” Maliwal said. “At least with this law a woman can get a sense of justice, and the men have a kind of fear that when they enter a relationship, it has some sanctity that they have to live with.
“In an ideal society I would totally agree with this judgment, but we are not talking about an ideal society,” she said.
Lawyers for the central government had opposed scrapping the adultery law, arguing that diluting sanctions against infidelity would “result in laxity of the marital bonds”. The law had survived three previous legal challenges, the most recent in 1988.
The succession of high-profile cases provides a notable send-off for Misra, an at times controversial chief justice who has been the subject of public complaints from his fellow judges over his handling of politically sensitive cases.
The Delhi high court is currently examining another law that makes an exception for sexual assault if the perpetrator and victim are married. The government as well as several men’s rights groups have filed petitions against scrapping the marriage exception.
Karuna Nundy, a supreme court lawyer leading the case to overturn the marital rape law, said Thursday’s judgment bolstered her argument. “Both laws based on the doctrine of a man owning his wife, the wife being property,” she said.
Nundy said the court had shown in recent judgments that it now believed “sexually autonomy is not forfeited at the marital door”. ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Under the law the woman could not be punished as an abettor - the man was considered to be a seducer
India's top court has ruled adultery is no longer a crime, striking down a 158-year-old colonial-era law which it said treated women as male property.
Previously any man who had sex with a married woman, without the permission of her husband, had committed a crime.
A petitioner had challenged the law saying it was arbitrary and discriminated against men and women.
It is not clear how many men have been prosecuted under the law - there is no data available.
This is the second colonial-era law struck down by India's Supreme Court this month - it also overturned a 157-year-old law which effectively criminalised gay sex in India.
While reading out the judgement on adultery, Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that while it could be grounds for civil issues like divorce, "it cannot be a criminal offence".
Who challenged the law?
Last August, Joseph Shine, a 41-year-old Indian businessman living in Italy, petitioned the Supreme Court to strike down the law. He argued that it discriminated against men by only holding them liable for extra-marital relationships, while treating women like objects.
"Married women are not a special case for the purpose of prosecution for adultery. They are not in any way situated differently than men," his petition said.
The law, Mr Shine said, also "indirectly discriminates against women by holding an erroneous presumption that women are the property of men".
In his 45-page petition, Mr Shine liberally quotes from American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, women rights activist Mary Wollstonecraft and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on gender equality and the rights of women.
Image copyright EPA Image caption Previous pleas were dismissed by the court in the interests of "stability of marriages"
However, India's ruling BJP government had opposed the petition, insisting that adultery should remain a criminal offence.
"Diluting adultery laws will impact the sanctity of marriages. Making adultery legal will hurt marriage bonds," a government counsel told the court, adding that "Indian ethos gives paramount importance to the institution and sanctity of marriage".
What did the adultery law say?
The law dictated that the woman could not be punished as an abettor. Instead, the man was considered to be a seducer.
It also did not allow women to file a complaint against an adulterous husband.
A man accused of adultery could be sent to a prison for a maximum of five years, made to pay a fine, or both.
And although there is no information on actual convictions under the law, Kaleeswaram Raj, a lawyer for the petitioner, said the adultery law was "often misused" by husbands during matrimonial disputes such as divorce, or civil cases relating to wives receiving maintenance.
"Men would often file criminal complaints against suspected or imagined men who they would allege were having affairs with their wives. These charges could never be proved, but ended up smearing the reputations of their estranged or divorced partners," he told the BBC.
Interestingly, Indian folklore and epics are full of stories about extra-marital love. Most love poems in Sanskrit, according to scholar J Moussaief Masson, are "about illicit love".
But Manusmriti, an ancient Hindu text, says: "If men persist in seeking intimate contact with other men's wives, the king should brand them with punishments that inspire terror and banish them".
What did the judges say?
All five Supreme Court judges hearing the case said the law was archaic, arbitrary and unconstitutional.
"Husband is not the master of wife. Women should be treated with equality along with men," Chief Justice Misra said.
Judge Rohinton Nariman said that "ancient notions of man being perpetrator and woman being victim no longer hold good".
Justice DY Chandrachud said the law "perpetuates subordinate status of women, denies dignity, sexual autonomy, is based on gender stereotypes".
He said the law sought to "control sexuality of woman (and) hits the autonomy and dignity of woman".
Critics have called the law "staggeringly sexist", "'crudely anti-woman'", and "'violative of the right to equality'".
"The legal system should not regulate whom one sleeps with," wrote Rashmi Kalia, who teaches law.
The main concern, according to the respected journal Economic and Political Weekly, is "not whether the expectations of fidelity in a marriage are right or wrong, or whether adultery denotes sexual freedom."
"It is whether the state can and should monitor a relationship between adults that is too complex, sensitive and individual for it to be capable of doing in a just manner," the journal wrote in a recent editorial.
Where else is adultery a criminal offence?
Image copyright Mansi Thapliyal Image caption The latest challenge was made in view of the "changed social conditions"
Adultery is considered illegal in 21 American states, including New York, although surveys show that while most Americans disapprove of adultery, they don't think of it as a crime.
"The criminal statutes remain in force for largely symbolic reasons, and there isn't enough enforcement risk for anyone to incur the political costs of repealing them," Deborah Rhode, a professor of law at Stanford University and the author of Adultery: Infidelity and the Law told the BBC.
Adultery is prohibited in Sharia or Islamic Law, so it is a criminal offence in Islamic countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
Taiwan punishes adultery by up to a year in prison and it is also deemed a crime in Indonesia. In fact, Indonesia is drafting laws that prohibit all consensual sex outside the institution of marriage.
In 2015, South Korea's Supreme Court struck down a similar law where a man could be sent to prison for two years or less for adultery. The court said the law violated self-determination and privacy.
More than 60 countries around the world had done away with laws that made adultery a crime, according to Indian lawyer Kaleeswaram Raj.
In the UK, adultery is not a criminal offence and like many other countries, one of the main reasons given for divorce.
Couples cannot use adultery as a ground for divorce if they lived together as a couple for six months after the infidelity was known about.
Have there been previous challenges to the law?
In 1954, the law was first challenged by a petitioner asking why women cannot be punished for the offence, and that such "exemption was discriminatory".
Image copyright Mansi Thapliyal Image caption Critics have called the law "violative of right to equality"
The Supreme Court rejected the plea.
Since then, the top court has rejected similar pleas, including the constitutional validity of the law, at least twice - 1985 and 1988.
"The stability of marriage is not an ideal to be scorned," a judge said in 1985.
A married woman had approached the court, demanding the right to file a complaint of adultery against her husband's unmarried lover. The court, rather patronisingly, described the plea as a "crusade by a woman against a woman".
It said the law was about punishing the "outsider" who "breaks into the matrimonial home" and "violates its sanctity".
Two different panels on law reforms in 1971 and 2003 recommended that women should also be prosecuted for the offence.
"The society abhors marital infidelity. Therefore there is no good reason for not meting out similar treatment to the wife who has sexual intercourse with a married man," the 2003 panel, led by a judge, said.
In 2011, the top court, hearing another plea, said the law was facing criticism for "showing a strong gender bias, it makes the position of a married woman almost as a property of her husband".
What has the reaction been to the latest ruling?
Many Indians were not even aware the law existed. However, after Thursday's ruling, people have been largely supportive of the verdict.
Others said the top court should now move to make marital rape a criminal offence:
But a few felt that the law should have been made gender neutral instead of being struck down:
|
– "It is time to say husband is not the master," Dipak Misra, the chief justice of India's top court, says in a ruling striking down the country's adultery law. "Legal sovereignty of one sex over another is wrong." The ruling jettisoning the 158-year-old colonial-era law means adultery is no longer a crime in India, the BBC reports. Long criticized as archaic and sexist, it made it illegal for a man to have sex with a married woman without the permission of her husband. Misra said that while adultery could certainly be an issue in civil cases like divorce, "it cannot be a criminal offense." The law had been challenged three previous times, most recently in 1988. "I welcome this judgment by the supreme court," says Rekha Sharma, the head of India’s National Commission for Women. "It was an outdated law, which should have been removed long back." She notes that the law dated from the British colonial era—but the British got rid of their version of the law many years ago. Government lawyers had urged the court to keep the law, arguing that "making adultery legal will hurt marriage bonds." The Guardian reports that those who brought the case had only sought to make the law gender neutral, but the court decided to simply get rid of it. (Earlier this month, the court struck down a colonial-era law banning gay sex.)
|
A mental adventure familiar to most students is that of cramming one’s mind with knowledge in the run up to an exam. Once the exam is done, we gleefully evacuate our brain of all this hard-won learning that’s no longer needed. Within days, we can barely remember the subject matter, let alone the details. At such moments, it’s as if we’ve forgotten on purpose.
It might then come as a surprise to learn that until recently, there was little scientific evidence that people could have any deliberate influence on their rates of forgetting. But in the last few years, a small family of experimental techniques have showed that, under the right conditions, we can in fact deliberately forget things. The effects are subtle, but nonetheless suggestive: being able to forget at will would, after all, be a killer life skill.
But how does deliberate forgetting work? An exciting new study sheds light on the question.
Jeremy Manning and Kenneth Norman have been doing wonderful work on memory for years, and in a remarkably cunning experiment, they provide evidence that we forget things by discarding the mental context within which those memories were first learned.
Sticky brain or memory like a sieve? | Ben Ambridge Read more
The study is a sophisticated one, and it’s worth reading the original here (methods sections are always the best bit, FYI). But in essence, they instructed people to deliberately remember or forget words they’d just learned. And they then spied on the brain to see what happened next.
What they observed is that the brain that attempts to remember keeps active the mental context that was present during the learning – whereas the brain that tries to forget discards that context, letting go of the mental scaffolding that had (probably) supported the construction of those memories in the first place.
That context is the key to forgetting is striking, and makes intuitive sense, since it’s also the key to remembering. The most powerful memory technique of all is the “memory palace”, which is precisely an instrument that exploits the powers of spatial context to enhance memory. By imagining objects around sequences of locations (contexts), we can then recall those memories by visiting those contexts.
In more familiar territory, a fundamental rule of hosting a good party is to make sure the event transitions through several rooms or locations. Parties that unfurl all in the same space become a mess of disorganised memory; by contrast, when a party transitions through a series of differentiated contexts, such variety is soon reflected in memory, and one can recall precisely what one experienced in each location, enjoying each moment for its own recollected merits.
And of course, the quality of an experience correlates almost exactly with how well it sits in memory. Our most magical and meaningful experiences tend to include lots of doubt and suffering at the time. But such vulgar details dim in memory, and when the golden burst of meaning and friendship at the top of the tiring mountain path, for instance, is all that remains of a remembered adventure, we know that it was a wonderful time.
Too many neurons spoil the memory Read more
It’s sometimes said that we live in an age that doesn’t value memory, which would seem to be rather worrying in light of the vital role of memory in meaning. I don’t completely agree with this concern (the world’s never been more memorable), but this study on the importance of context in remembering and forgetting can attune us to at least one way in which we might do better with our experience.
Consider how we now tend to photograph the most important moments in our lives rather than just drinking them in. When we do this, we diminish our first-hand experience, confident that by having stored (and perhaps shared) a photo, we’ve logged the moment. That leaves us much less likely to directly remember the original experience, allowing the photo to do our remembering for us.
The result is that our lives become ever more biased in favour of the visual and the shareable. Vision is the most dispassionate, the least emotional, of all the modalities, and what we share inevitably biases our recollections towards moments where we seemed beautiful and happy, as opposed to those when we actually were. So our recollected lives become thinner, and less truthful.
This mode of living is what the late Doris McIlwain called Living Palely, and I highly recommend reading her call for us to rationally embrace irrational emotion in order to live, and remember, fully.
Perhaps, one day, we will all be able to remember at will the best parts of life and forget the parts that hold us back. There are techniques at our disposal to help us do both. But they require more than just changing the way we relate to our memories – they require us to tweak the way we live. And that is no small feat. ||||| Photo
The leaders of the independent commission that investigated the 9/11 attacks, former Governor Tom Kean of New Jersey and former Representative Lee Hamilton of Indiana, carried out that highly sensitive task with integrity and rigor.
Now they are weighing in again as the Obama administration prepares to make public at least some of the 28 pages from a separate, earlier investigation by a congressional panel that examined possible Saudi government involvement in the attacks. The pages have been kept secret since 2002.
In a statement issued last Friday, Mr. Kean, the commission chairman, and Mr. Hamilton, the vice chairman, effectively delivered this bottom line to Americans: Be cautious in judging the material when it becomes available.
Former Senator Bob Graham, who was a co-chairman of the separate 2002 joint congressional inquiry into the attacks, has long claimed there is evidence of complicity by institutions and people in Saudi Arabia beyond the 15 Saudi nationals who were among the 19 Al Qaeda terrorists. Such allegations are adding new tensions to an already fraught Saudi-American relationship.
But Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Kean stress that, unlike their commission, the congressional panel never had a chance to investigate any of the leads contained in the 28 pages. Those pages were based mostly on raw, unvetted material from the F.B.I. and “therefore, are comparable to preliminary law enforcement notes, which are generally covered by grand jury secrecy rules. Those rules exist to avoid implicating people in serious crimes without the benefit of follow-up investigation to determine if such suspicions are substantiated,” they wrote.
The two men said they consider this point crucial since the attacks were the worst mass murder ever in the United States. “Those responsible deserve the maximum punishment possible. Therefore, accusations of complicity in that mass murder from responsible authorities are a grave matter. Such charges should be levied with care,” they added.
Their comments do not appear to be an attempt to whitewash any Saudi role. The 9/11 report was critical of Saudi Arabia: It cited the government’s funding of schools and mosques that fanned an extreme form of Islam known as Wahhabism, as well as contributions by some wealthy Saudis to Islamic charities with links to terrorism.
During its tenure, the commission investigated all leads in the 28 pages and only one Saudi government employee was implicated in the plot, Mr. Kean and Mr. Hamilton said. He was Fahad al Thumairy, who worked as an imam at a mosque in Los Angeles and was employed by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The commission found no evidence that Mr. Thumairy, who returned to Saudi Arabia in 2003, assisted two of the hijackers when they came to Los Angeles in 2000 but “he is still a person of interest,” they wrote.
When it wrapped up its investigation in 2004, the commission concluded that there was “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded” al Qaeda. In 2015, another independent panel created by Congress, the 9/11 Review Commission, found no new evidence against the Saudi government.
The director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said on Monday that it was realistic to expect the administration to release at least some of the 28 classified pages by June. Whatever emerges must be weighed in the context of the work already done by Mr. Kean and Mr. Hamilton and their team.
|
– A member of the official commission that investigated the 9/11 attacks is ratcheting up pressure on the White House to make public 28 pages of a congressional report dealing with suspected Saudi involvement. In an interview with the Guardian, former Navy secretary John Lehman lays it out in blunt terms: “There was an awful lot of participation by Saudi individuals in supporting the hijackers, and some of those people worked in the Saudi government,” he says. “Our report should never have been read as an exoneration of Saudi Arabia.” Lehman adds that he's not implicating members of the Saudi royal family or top civilian officials, but rather lower-echelon employees, perhaps in the Saudi ministry of Islamic affairs. Last month, the leaders of the commission—former GOP Gov. Tom Kean of New Jersey and former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana—cautioned against releasing the 28 pages and noted that just one Saudi official had been implicated in the plot. (That was diplomat Fahad al-Thumairy, who was deported and remains a "person of interest," notes the New York Times.) But Lehman says he knows of at least five other Saudi employees who were under suspicion. “They may not have been indicted, but they were certainly implicated,” he says. “There was an awful lot of circumstantial evidence.”
|
Actress Marcia Strassman has died at the age of 66 after a long battle with breast cancer, her sister Julie Strassman confirmed. Though Marcia Strassman acted in a wide range of TV shows and feature films, she was best known for her lead roles in the TV show Welcome Back Kotter and the comedy feature Honey I Shrunk the Kids and its sequel, Honey I Blew Up the Kids. Strassman also served on the national board of the Screen Actors Guild.
“She was the funniest, smartest person I ever met,” said Julie Strassman of her sister. “And talented. She knew everything. Now I won’t be able to call her and ask her questions.”
News of Strassman’s death first emerged in online posts by a long-time friend, Curb Your Enthusiasm director Bob Weide: “So sad that a sweet friend, kind person & wonderful actress Marcia Strassman lost her brave battle with cancer today.”
Another friend, singer/actress Cher, also tweeted: “Wanted U2 No,a Funny,Talented Friend Died.Not 4U 2feel sorry 4me,but she died alone, &Energy from U is powerful &Sends (love) ‘Marsha (sic) Strassman'”
Strassman was born Apri 28, 1948 in New York City, and grew up in New Jersey. She came to Los Angeles when she was just 18, her sister said. She was initially a singer in the late 1960s with some modest local success, most notably with The Groovy World of Jack and Jill and The Flower Children. She also had a few TV roles, including three episodes of The Patty Duke Show. She left show business for a time before returning as an actress in a recurring role as nurse Margie Cutler in M.A.S.H.
In 1975, Strassman had a breakout role in the TV hit Welcome Back Kotter, opposite comedian Gabe Kaplan, playing his frequently exasperated wife Julie. That show, about a teacher returning to the tough high school and neighborhood where he grew up, ran through 1979.
Strassman worked steadily thereafter, most notably in major roles on several mostly short-lived TV shows, including Booker, Tremors, Third Watch, Providence, and Noah Knows Best and as a voice-over artist on the children’s animated show Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and elsewhere.
Her biggest film success came playing the wife and mother opposite Rick Moranis in Disney’s hit comedy Honey I Shrunk The Kids and its equally successful sequel, Honey I Blew Up The Kids. She also appeared in 1985’s The Aviator with Christopher Reeve and Roseanna Arquette.
Strassman was active in fundraising for various progressive and social causes, including breast cancer research and treatment even before she was diagnosed, her sister said. She was a member of the Screen Actors Guild national board, elected to a three-year term in 2010. Julie Strassman said her sister continued to sing, and had many other skills and a wide group of friends throughout Hollywood.
“She had more friends than anyone in the world,” Julie Strassman said. “She could do anything. She made clothes, made curtains, knitted sweaters for friends. She could dance.”
Strassman died Oct. 25 in her Sherman Oaks, Calif., home, after a seven-year fight with breast cancer. She is survived by her daughter, New York costume designer Elizabeth “Lizzie” Collector, whom Julie Strassman called her sister’s “great love.” She is also survived by brother Steven Strassman.
Services are pending, but Julie Strassman asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her sister’s name to organizations fighting cancer. ||||| LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marcia Strassman, who played Gabe Kaplan's wife, Julie, on the 1970s sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter," has died. She was 66.
This photo provided by Julie Strassman, shows her sister actress Marcia Strassman. The actress who played Gabe Kaplan’s wife, Julie, on the 1970's sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter,” has died at age 66. Strassman’s... (Associated Press)
Strassman died at her Sherman Oaks, California, home on Friday after battling breast cancer for seven years, her sister, Julie Strassman, said Sunday.
"They gave her 2 ½ years to live but she lasted much longer," she said. "She was very courageous."
Strassman had numerous roles on television and in film during her five-decade career.
She played nurse Margie Cutler on the first season of "M.A.S.H." before her breakout role in "Welcome Back, Kotter." The show was about a teacher returning to the tough high-school of his youth to teach a classroom full of misfits, including future movie star John Travolta.
She also played Rick Moranis' wife in the Disney hit movie "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" and its sequel, "Honey I Blew Up the Kid."
Born on April 28, 1948, in New York City, Strassman began acting as a teen, replacing Liza Minnelli in the off-Broadway musical "Best Foot Forward." She moved to Los Angeles at 18 and landed a steady stream of roles.
She was a member of the Screen Actors Guild national board, and was an active fundraiser for breast cancer research and other social causes, her sister Julie said.
Strassman is also survived by a daughter and a brother.
Plans for funeral services are pending. ||||| 1 Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American ...more
More About
Age: Died at 67 (1915-1982)
Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
Profession: Actor
Credits: Casablanca, Spellbound, Notorious, Autumn Sonata
Also Ranked
#9 on The Best Actresses in Film History
#21 on The Greatest Actors & Actresses in Entertainment History
#44 on Which Actor Would You Bring Back for One Final Movie?
#42 on The Greatest Actress Performances of All Time ||||| Actress Marcia Strassman, known for her roles in such hits as “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “MASH,” died Friday after a long fight with breast cancer, her sister Julie Strassman confirmed. She was 66.
Along with her many TV credits, Strassman co-starred opposite Rick Moranis in the 1989 Disney live-action hit “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” and 1992 sequel “Honey I Blew Up the Kid.” She was also a longstanding member of the national board of the Screen Actors Guild.
The news of her death broke online when her friend, director Bob Weide, sent a tweet about her passing. Strassman died at her home in Sherman Oaks.
So sad that a sweet friend, kind person & wonderful actress Marcia Strassman lost her brave battle with cancer today. pic.twitter.com/4gQ4MEvEal — Bob Weide (@BobWeide) October 26, 2014
Strassman’s first major TV role came in 1964, when she appeared in “The Patty Duke Show.” She would go on to play Nurse Margie Culter in several episodes of “MASH.”
She’s best known, however, as Julie Kotter, wife to the titular school teacher on “Welcome Back, Kotter.” The series ran on ABC from 1975-1979 and featured a young John Travolta in the cast.
Most recently, Strassman had a stint on “Third Watch” in 2004, appeared in the 2003 TV adaptation of the “Tremors” films and NBC’s “Providence.” Also included in her TV credits are “Booker” and “Noah Knows Best,” and she did voice work for animated series including “Aaaahh!!! Real Monsters.”
Along with her the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” films, she was also in 1985 film “The Aviator” with Christopher Reeve and Rosanna Arquette.
Related Marcia Strassman: 12 Things You Didn’t Know About Her Career
Julie Strassman said her sister performed in an annual event to benefit breast cancer research called Duets for years, and was active in raising money and awareness for the disease, even before she was diagnosed.
Ron “Horshack” Palillo and Robert “Epstein” Hegyes of the original “Welcome Back, Kotter” cast died in 2012. John Sylvester White, who played Mr. Woodman on the show, died in 1988.
Strassman is survived by her daughter, costume designer Elizabeth “Lizzie” Collector, along with her sister Julie and brother Steven Strassman. Julie Strassman added that she was a beloved aunt to her son, Jesse, and daughter, Halley.
Funeral services are pending. Julie Strassman requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to cancer organizations such as the Susan B. Komen Foundation and the American Cancer Society, in Marcia Strassman’s name.
|
– An actress known to one generation as Gabe Kaplan's wife, Julie, on Welcome Back, Kotter and to another as the mom in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids has died after a seven-year battle with breast cancer. Marcia Strassman died Saturday at home in Sherman Oaks, Calif.; she was 66, the AP reports. "They gave her two and a half years to live but she lasted much longer. She was very courageous," says sister Julie Strassman. "She was the funniest, smartest person I ever met. And talented. She knew everything. Now I won't be able to call her and ask her questions," she tells Deadline. The actress is also survived by a daughter and a brother. Strassman was born in 1948 in New York City and went to Los Angeles at age 18. Her career began in music but turned to acting when she appeared on The Patty Duke Show and landed the role of nurse Margie Cutler on M.A.S.H. This was followed by her role on Kotter, then as the mom opposite Rick Moranis in the Disney hit and its sequel. She also appeared in Third Watch in 2004, adds Variety. Even before her cancer diagnosis, Strassman was involved in cancer research and treatment organizations. "She had more friends than anyone in the world. She could do anything," her sister says. (Click to read about other celebrities who died of breast cancer.)
|
Former First Lady Michelle Obama made no mention of the man who replaced her husband as president during her first post-White House speaking engagement Thursday in Orlando and appeared to rule out seeking office in the future.
“It’s all well and good until you start running, and then the knives come out,” she said. “Politics is tough, and it’s hard on a family … I wouldn’t ask my children to do this again because, when you run for higher office, it’s not just you, it’s your whole family.”
“Plus,” she added, “there’s just so much more we can do outside of the office, because we won’t have the burden of political baggage.”
Obama participated in a 45-minute Q&A during the American Institute of Architects’ annual conference at the Orange County Convention Center on Thursday. She spoke about adjusting to life after the White House and discussed her goals for the future and causes she hopes to support.
“One issue that I am excited about continuing to work on is … to help young girls get an education around the world,” she said, citing the Let Girls Learn initiative she launched as first lady. Obama also stressed the need to combat violence against women and improve their access to healthcare.
“The plight of women and girls is real,” she said. “The struggles are real.”
Her remarks came days after President Barack Obama’s first public appearance since leaving office. The ex-president spoke at a forum Monday for students at the University of Chicago, reflecting on his formative experiences in politics and doling out advice.
Like her husband days earlier, Michelle Obama never mentioned President Donald Trump during Thursday’s event, though she did get laughs for making reference to news media coverage of his first 100 days in office.
“So far, so good,” she said, asked about her adjustment to life as a private citizen. “It hasn’t been that long, really. It’s been less than 100 days. I think everybody’s counting 100 days. We’re counting, too.”
Later, she described holding back her emotions after saying goodbye to White House workers on the day of Trump’s inauguration. “I didn’t want to have tears in my eyes because people would swear I was crying because of the new president,” she said.
Obama said said she and her family were enjoying the freedoms of post-White House life, such as being able to open their windows at night, travel without a motorcade and answer their own front door.
“You can imagine our two dogs, Bo and Sunny, who had never heard a doorbell in their life,” she said.
Obama said she and her husband are hard at work on plans for the Barack Obama Presidential Center, which will be in Jackson Park on the south side of Chicago and hosted by the University of Chicago.
“We have spent a lot of time looking at structures and models and it’s been a phenomenal experience,” she said. “We’re also thinking about what’s going to happen in that building, the programming, what we can do not just for the city of Chicago, but for the country and the world, perhaps.”
Despite her hesitance to seek elected office in the future, Michelle Obama pledged that she and her husband will be active in social causes.
“Barack and I have been in public service our whole lives,” she said. “Public service will always be in our blood.”
The Obamas mostly have kept a low profile since Barack Obama’s farewell address in January, though details and photos of their post-presidential vacation have surfaced in recent weeks. Michelle Obama was last in Central Florida for the Invictus Games at Walt Disney World in May 2016.
jeweiner@orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5171 or @JeffWeinerOS on Twitter
11 arrested in Orange during ICE sweep of Florida, Puerto Rico » ||||| Story highlights Obama has stayed clear from the spotlight since they left the White House
She says being in the White House was tough on their family
Washington (CNN) Former first lady Michelle Obama said she would never run for political office because she "wouldn't ask my children to do this again."
In her first speech since leaving the White House, she told an audience at the America Institute of Architecture convention in Orlando that being in the White House was tough on her family.
No cameras were permitted at the speech, where Obama told the audience she can help the country as a private citizen without being in the political spotlight, adding that the vitriol of politics meant that people "thought I was the devil." Obama said she will continue to work for young girls and women around the world who face challenges with education, medical care, economic inequality and violence.
"It's good to get out of the house," she said about being at the event. "(It's been) so far so good -- it hasn't been that long since we left ... it's good to not have the weight of the world upon your shoulders."
Read More
|
– If you were hoping that the US might someday have a President Michelle Obama, we have bad news for you. The former first lady says she won't run for political office, CNN reports. During her first speech since the Obamas left the White House, Michelle on Thursday told a crowd at the American Institute of Architecture convention in Florida that since exiting political life, it's been "good to not have the weight of the world upon your shoulders." She added that she plans to continue working on behalf of women and girls, but that she can make an impact without being an elected official. "It’s all well and good until you start running [for office], and then the knives come out. Politics is tough, and it’s hard on a family," she said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. "I wouldn’t ask my children to do this again because, when you run for higher office, it’s not just you, it’s your whole family." She added that as a private citizen, she can work for the causes that are important to her without "the burden of political baggage," but assured the audience that public service would always be a part of her and her husband's lives.
|
The Justice Department and the FBI have launched a review of thousands of criminal cases to determine whether any defendants were wrongly convicted or deserve a new trial because of flawed forensic evidence, officials said Tuesday.
The undertaking is the largest post-conviction review ever done by the FBI. It will include cases conducted by all FBI Laboratory hair and fiber examiners since at least 1985 and may reach earlier if records are available, people familiar with the process said. Such FBI examinations have taken place in federal and local cases across the country, often in violent crimes, such as rape, murder and robbery.
The review comes after The Washington Post reported in April that Justice Department officials had known for years that flawed forensic work might have led to the convictions of potentially innocent people but had not performed a thorough review of the cases. In addition, prosecutors did not notify defendants or their attorneys even in many cases they knew were troubled.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced that it will conduct the more expansive review.
“The Department and the FBI are in the process of identifying historical cases for review where a microscopic hair examination conducted by the FBI was among the evidence in a case that resulted in a conviction,” spokeswoman Nanda Chitre said in a statement. “We have dedicated considerable time and resources to addressing these issues, with the goal of reaching final determinations in the coming months.”
FBI spokeswoman Ann Todd deferred comment to the Justice Department.
In its April report, The Post identified two District men convicted largely on the testimony of FBI hair analysts who wrongly placed them at crime scenes. Santae A. Tribble, now 51, was convicted of killing a taxi driver in 1978, and Kirk L. Odom, now 49, was convicted of a sexual assault in 1981. Since the Post report, Tribble’s conviction was vacated, and on Tuesday, prosecutors moved to overturn Odom’s conviction and declare him innocent. The Justice Department had not previously reviewed their cases.
Chitre said the new review would include help from the Innocence Project, a New York-based advocacy group for people seeking exoneration through DNA testing. It also would include the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Steven D. Benjamin, a Richmond lawyer who is incoming president of the association, called the review “an important collaboration” and a departure from one-sided government reviews that left defendants in the dark.
“Mistakes were made. What is important now is our working together to correct those mistakes,” Benjamin said, adding that his organization will “fully assist in finding and notifying all those who may have been affected.”
The review comes as the National Academy of Sciences is urging the White House and Congress to remove crime labs from police and prosecutors’ control, or at least to strengthen the science and standards underpinning the nation’s forensic science system.
The last time the FBI abandoned a forensic practice was in 2005, when it ended efforts to trace bullets to a specific manufacturer’s batch through analyzing their chemical composition after its methodology was scientifically debunked. The bureau released files in an estimated 2,500 bullet-lead cases only after “60 Minutes” and The Post reported the problem in 2007.
Michael R. Bromwich, a former Justice Department official who investigated the FBI Laboratory in the mid-1990s as inspector general and, more recently, the city of Houston’s crime lab, said the review is important as the nation’s crime labs come under scrutiny.
“These recent developments remind us of the profound questions about the validity of many forensic techniques that have been used over the course of many decades and underscore the need for continuing attention at every level to ensuring the scientific validity and accuracy of the forensic science that is used every day in our criminal justice system,” Bromwich said.
The Post reported in April that hair and fiber analysis was subjective and lacked grounding in solid research and that the FBI lab lacked protocols to ensure that agent testimony was scientifically accurate. But bureau managers kept their reviews limited to one agent, even as they learned that many examiners’ “matches” were often wrong and that numerous examiners overstated the significance of matches, using bogus statistics or exaggerated claims.
Details of how the new FBI review will be conducted remain unclear. The exact number of cases that will be reviewed is unknown. The FBI is starting with more than 10,000 cases referred to all hair and fiber examiners. From those, the focus will be on a smaller number of hair examinations that resulted in positive findings and a conviction.
It also is unclear whether the review will focus only on exaggerated testimony by FBI examiners or also on scientifically unfounded statements made by others trained by the FBI, or made by prosecutors. Also unclear is at what point government officials will notify defense attorneys or the Innocence Project.
In past reviews, the department kept results secret and gave findings only to prosecutors, who then determined whether to turn them over to the defense. ||||| The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000.
Of 28 examiners with the FBI Laboratory’s microscopic hair comparison unit, 26 overstated forensic matches in ways that favored prosecutors in more than 95 percent of the 268 trials reviewed so far, according to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the Innocence Project, which are assisting the government with the country’s largest post-conviction review of questioned forensic evidence.
The cases include those of 32 defendants sentenced to death. Of those, 14 have been executed or died in prison, the groups said under an agreement with the government to release results after the review of the first 200 convictions.
The FBI errors alone do not mean there was not other evidence of a convict’s guilt. Defendants and federal and state prosecutors in 46 states and the District are being notified to determine whether there are grounds for appeals. Four defendants were previously exonerated.
The admissions mark a watershed in one of the country’s largest forensic scandals, highlighting the failure of the nation’s courts for decades to keep bogus scientific information from juries, legal analysts said. The question now, they said, is how state authorities and the courts will respond to findings that confirm long-suspected problems with subjective, pattern-based forensic techniques — like hair and bite-mark comparisons — that have contributed to wrongful convictions in more than one-quarter of 329 DNA-exoneration cases since 1989.
In a statement, the FBI and Justice Department vowed to continue to devote resources to address all cases and said they “are committed to ensuring that affected defendants are notified of past errors and that justice is done in every instance. The Department and the FBI are also committed to ensuring the accuracy of future hair analysis testimony, as well as the application of all disciplines of forensic science.”
Peter Neufeld, co-founder of the Innocence Project, commended the FBI and department for the collaboration but said, “The FBI’s three-decade use of microscopic hair analysis to incriminate defendants was a complete disaster.”
“We need an exhaustive investigation that looks at how the FBI, state governments that relied on examiners trained by the FBI and the courts allowed this to happen and why it wasn’t stopped much sooner,” Neufeld said.
Norman L. Reimer, the NACDL’s executive director, said, “Hopefully, this project establishes a precedent so that in future situations it will not take years to remediate the injustice.”
While unnamed federal officials previously acknowledged widespread problems, the FBI until now has withheld comment because findings might not be representative.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a former prosecutor, called on the FBI and Justice Department to notify defendants in all 2,500 targeted cases involving an FBI hair match about the problem even if their case has not been completed, and to redouble efforts in the three-year-old review to retrieve information on each case.
“These findings are appalling and chilling in their indictment of our criminal justice system, not only for potentially innocent defendants who have been wrongly imprisoned and even executed, but for prosecutors who have relied on fabricated and false evidence despite their intentions to faithfully enforce the law,” Blumenthal said.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and the panel’s ranking Democrat, Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), urged the bureau to conduct “a root-cause analysis” to prevent future breakdowns.
“It is critical that the Bureau identify and address the systemic factors that allowed this far-reaching problem to occur and continue for more than a decade,” the lawmakers wrote FBI Director James B. Comey on March 27, as findings were being finalized.
The FBI is waiting to complete all reviews to assess causes but has acknowledged that hair examiners until 2012 lacked written standards defining scientifically appropriate and erroneous ways to explain results in court. The bureau expects this year to complete similar standards for testimony and lab reports for 19 forensic disciplines.
Federal authorities launched the investigation in 2012 after The Washington Post reported that flawed forensic hair matches might have led to the convictions of hundreds of potentially innocent people since at least the 1970s, typically for murder, rape and other violent crimes nationwide.
The review confirmed that FBI experts systematically testified to the near-certainty of “matches” of crime-scene hairs to defendants, backing their claims by citing incomplete or misleading statistics drawn from their case work.
In reality, there is no accepted research on how often hair from different people may appear the same. Since 2000, the lab has used visual hair comparison to rule out someone as a possible source of hair or in combination with more accurate DNA testing.
Warnings about the problem have been mounting. In 2002, the FBI reported that its own DNA testing found that examiners reported false hair matches more than 11 percent of the time. In the District, the only jurisdiction where defenders and prosecutors have re-investigated all FBI hair convictions, three of seven defendants whose trials included flawed FBI testimony have been exonerated through DNA testing since 2009, and courts have exonerated two more men. All five served 20 to 30 years in prison for rape or murder.
University of Virginia law professor Brandon L. Garrett said the results reveal a “mass disaster” inside the criminal justice system, one that it has been unable to self-correct because courts rely on outdated precedents admitting scientifically invalid testimony at trial and, under the legal doctrine of finality, make it difficult for convicts to challenge old evidence.
“The tools don’t exist to handle systematic errors in our criminal justice system,” Garrett said. “The FBI deserves every recognition for doing something really remarkable here. The problem is there may be few judges, prosecutors or defense lawyers who are able or willing to do anything about it.”
Federal authorities are offering new DNA testing in cases with errors, if sought by a judge or prosecutor, and agreeing to drop procedural objections to appeals in federal cases.
However, biological evidence in the cases often is lost or unavailable. Among states, only California and Texas specifically allow appeals when experts recant or scientific advances undermine forensic evidence at trial.
Defense attorneys say scientifically invalid forensic testimony should be considered as violations of due process, as courts have held with false or misleading testimony.
The FBI searched more than 21,000 federal and state requests to its hair comparison unit from 1972 through 1999, identifying for review roughly 2,500 cases where examiners declared hair matches.
Reviews of 342 defendants’ convictions were completed as of early March, the NACDL and Innocence Project reported. In addition to the 268 trials in which FBI hair evidence was used against defendants, the review found cases in which defendants pleaded guilty, FBI examiners did not testify, did not assert a match or gave exculpatory testimony.
When such cases are included, by the FBI’s count examiners made statements exceeding the limits of science in about 90 percent of testimonies, including 34 death-penalty cases.
The findings likely scratch the surface. The FBI said as of mid-April that reviews of about 350 trial testimonies and 900 lab reports are nearly complete, with about 1,200 cases remaining.
The bureau said it is difficult to check cases before 1985, when files were computerized. It has been unable to review 700 cases because police or prosecutors did not respond to requests for information.
Also, the same FBI examiners whose work is under review taught 500 to 1,000 state and local crime lab analysts to testify in the same ways.
Texas, New York and North Carolina authorities are reviewing their hair examiner cases, with ad hoc efforts underway in about 15 other states. ||||| Cleveland Wright has asked a D.C. Court judge to clear his name after new DNA test results in 2012 exonerated his co-defendant in two similar 1978 murders. (Alexandra Garcia/The Washington Post)
Cleveland Wright has asked a D.C. Court judge to clear his name after new DNA test results in 2012 exonerated his co-defendant in two similar 1978 murders. (Alexandra Garcia/The Washington Post)
Nearly every criminal case reviewed by the FBI and the Justice Department as part of a massive investigation started in 2012 of problems at the FBI lab has included flawed forensic testimony from the agency, government officials said.
The findings troubled the bureau, and it stopped the review of convictions last August. Case reviews resumed this month at the order of the Justice Department, the officials said.
U.S. officials began the inquiry after The Washington Post reported two years ago that flawed forensic evidence involving microscopic hair matches might have led to the convictions of hundreds of potentially innocent people. Most of those defendants never were told of the problems in their cases.
The inquiry includes 2,600 convictions and 45 death-row cases from the 1980s and 1990s in which the FBI’s hair and fiber unit reported a match to a crime-scene sample before DNA testing of hair became common. The FBI had reviewed about 160 cases before it stopped, officials said.
(Related: ‘Irreversible harm’ when FBI didn’t reveal flawed lab work in death-row cases)
The investigation resumed after the Justice Department’s inspector general excoriated the department and the FBI for unacceptable delays and inadequate investigation in a separate inquiry from the mid-1990s. The inspector general found in that probe that three defendants were executed and a fourth died on death row in the five years it took officials to reexamine 60 death-row convictions that were potentially tainted by agent misconduct, mostly involving the same FBI hair and fiber analysis unit now under scrutiny.
“I don’t know whether history is repeating itself, but clearly the [latest] report doesn’t give anyone a sense of confidence that the work of the examiners whose conduct was first publicly questioned in 1997 was reviewed as diligently and promptly as it needed to be,” said Michael R. Bromwich, who was inspector general from 1994 to 1999 and is now a partner at the Goodwin Procter law firm.
Bromwich would not discuss any aspect of the current review because he is a pro bono adviser to the Innocence Project, which along with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is assisting the government effort under an agreement not to talk about the review. Still, he added, “Now we are left 18 years [later] with a very unhappy, unsatisfying and disquieting situation, which is far harder to remedy than if the problems had been addressed promptly.”
Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole this month ordered that reviews resume under the original terms, officials said.
(Related: U.S. reviewing 27 death penalty convictions for FBI forensic testimony errors)
According to the FBI, the delay resulted, in part, “from a vigorous debate that occurred within the FBI and DOJ about the appropriate scientific standards we should apply when reviewing FBI lab examiner testimony — many years after the fact.”
“Working closely with DOJ, we have resolved those issues and are moving forward with the transcript review for the remaining cases,” the FBI said.
1 of 25 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Investigating flaws in forensics View Photos A Washington Post investigation reveals that Justice Department officials have known for years that flaws in forensic techniques and weak laboratory standards may have led to the convictions of innocent people across the country, raising the question: How many more are out there? Read related story. Caption A Washington Post investigation reveals that Justice Department officials have known for years that flaws in forensic techniques and weak laboratory standards may have led to the convictions of innocent people across the country, raising the question: How many more are out there? Read related story. Santae A. Tribble, photographed in public defender Sandra Levick’s office in Washington last month. Tribble spent 28 years in prison based largely on analysis of hairs found at the scene of a taxi driver’s murder in 1978. More advanced DNA testing showed that none of the hairs used as evidence shared Tribble’s genetic profile. A judge has vacated his conviction and dismissed the underlying charges. Alexandra Garcia/The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
Emily Pierce, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said: “The Department of Justice never signed off on the FBI’s decision to change the way they reviewed the hair analysis. We are pleased that the review has resumed and that notification letters will be going out in the next few weeks.”
During the review’s 11-month hiatus, Florida’s Supreme Court denied an appeal by a death-row inmate who challenged his 1988 conviction based on an FBI hair match. James Aren Duckett’s results were caught up in the delay, and his legal options are now more limited.
Revelations that the government’s largest post-conviction review of forensic evidence has found widespread problems counter earlier FBI claims that a single rogue examiner was at fault. Instead, they feed a growing debate over how the U.S. justice system addresses systematic weaknesses in past forensic testimony and methods.
“I see this as a tip-of-the-iceberg problem,” said Erin Murphy, a New York University law professor and expert on modern scientific evidence.
“It’s not as though this is one bad apple or even that this is one bad-apple discipline,” she said. “There is a long list of disciplines that have exhibited problems, where if you opened up cases you’d see the same kinds of overstated claims and unfounded statements.”
Worries about the limitations and presentation of scientific evidence are “coming out of the dark shadows of the legal system,” said David H. Kaye, a law professor at Penn State who helped lead a Justice Department-funded study of fingerprint analysis and testimony in 2012. “The question is: What can you do about it?”
Courts and law enforcement authorities have been reluctant to allow defendants to retroactively challenge old evidence using newer, more accurate scientific methods.
The Justice Department and FBI inquiry, which examines convictions before 2000, could provide a way for defendants to make that challenge. Because the government is dropping procedural objections to appeals and offering new DNA testing in flawed cases if sought by a judge or prosecutor, results could provide a measure of the frequency of wrongful convictions.
Responding to the FBI review, the accreditation arm of the American Society of Crime Lab Directors last year recommended that labs determine whether they needed to conduct similar reviews, and New York, North Carolina and Texas are doing so.
According to a Justice Department spokesman, officials last August completed reviews and notified a first wave of defendants in 23 cases, including 14 death-penalty cases, that FBI examiners “exceeded the limits of science” when they linked hair to crime-scene evidence.
However, concerned that errors were found in the “vast majority” of cases, the FBI restarted the review, grinding the process to a halt, said a government official who was briefed on the process. The Justice Department objected in January, but a standoff went unresolved until this month.
After more than two years, the review will have addressed about 10 percent of the 2,600 questioned convictions and perhaps two-thirds of questioned death-row cases.
The department is notifying defendants about errors in two more death-penalty cases and in 134 non-capital cases over the next month, and will complete evaluations of 98 other cases by early October, including 14 more death-penalty cases.
No crime lab performed more hair examinations for federal and state agencies than the 10-member FBI unit, which testified in cases nationwide involving murder, rape and other violent felonies.
Although FBI policy has stated since at least the 1970s that a hair association cannot be used as positive identification, like fingerprints, agents regularly testified to the near-certainty of matches.
In reality, there is no accepted research on how often hair from different people may appear the same. The FBI now uses visual hair comparison to rule out someone as a possible source of hair or as a screening step before more accurate DNA testing.
This month, the inspector general reported that inattention and foot-dragging by the Justice Department and the FBI led them to ignore warnings 15 years ago that scientifically unsupported and misleading testimony could have come from more than a single hair examiner among agents discredited in a 1997 inspector general’s report on misconduct at the FBI lab.
The report said that as of 1999, Justice Department officials had enough information to review all hair unit cases — not just those of former agent Michael P. Malone, who was identified as the agent making the most frequent exaggerated testimony.
By 2002, Maureen Killion, then director of enforcement operations, had alerted senior criminal division officials to “the specter that the other examiners in the unit” were as sloppy as Malone, the inspector general said.
“This issue has been raised with the FBI but not resolved to date,” Killion wrote to then-Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff and his principal deputy, John C. Keeney, in July 2002, the report said.
Twelve years later, the Florida case shows the continued inadequacy of officials’ response.
Duckett, then a rookie police officer in Mascotte, Fla., was convicted of raping and strangling Teresa McAbee, 11, and dumping her into a lake in 1987.
After a state police examiner was unable to match pubic hair found in the victim’s underwear, prosecutors went to Malone, who testified at trial that there was a “high degree of probability” that the hair came from Duckett.
Such testimony is scientifically invalid, according to the parameters of the current FBI review, because it claims to associate a hair with a single person “to the exclusion of all others.”
The Florida court denied Duckett’s request for a new hearing on Malone’s hair match. The court noted that there was other evidence of Duckett’s guilt and that the FBI had not entirely abandoned visual hair comparison.
Duckett attorney Mary Elizabeth Wells confirmed this week that Duckett’s case was under the FBI’s review. Both Wells and Whitney Ray, a spokeswoman for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, said Thursday that parties had not been notified of results, but they otherwise declined to comment.
Duckett’s case was eligible for the 1996 review as a Malone case but was omitted, even though the inspector general stated that “it was important to the integrity of the justice system” that all of Malone’s death-penalty cases be immediately reviewed.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the omission.
Get updates on your area delivered via e-mail
|
– Impressed when an FBI forensic expert testifies in court? Jurors likely are too, but the FBI's hair-comparison unit actually gave unscientific testimony against criminal defendants for more than 20 years before 2000, according to the FBI and the Justice Dept. Among the FBI's 28 microscopic hair experts, 26 "overstated forensic matches" to favor the prosecution in nearly all of the 268 cases reviewed so far, the Washington Post reports. "The FBI’s three-decade use of microscopic hair analysis to incriminate defendants was a complete disaster," says Peter Neufeld, who helped found the Innocence Project. The reviewed cases include 32 defendants given the death sentence, 14 of whom have already died in prison or were executed; about 2,500 cases involving hair matches are being looked at in all. Of course, other evidence may have sufficed to convict defendants found guilty. But the FBI, acknowledging the problem, has agreed to work with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the Innocence Project in reviewing cases between 1972 and 1999. Now 46 states and the District of Columbia are receiving information that could lead to appeals, if defense lawyers, prosecutors, or judges are willing or able. Truth is, there's no scientific standard for matching hair, the Post says. Worse, the forensic-hair scandal is only part of an ongoing review of all criminal forensics, which the Post has reported on here, here, and here. "The forensic science system ... has serious problems that can only be addressed by a national commitment to overhaul the current structure," a science panel concluded back in 2009.
|
David Goldberg, the chief executive of online-questionnaire provider SurveyMonkey and husband of Facebook Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, died suddenly Friday night. He was 47 years old.
Mr. Goldberg’s brother posted the news on Facebook Saturday morning and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a friend of the family, shared the post shortly after.
The... ||||| David Goldberg, SurveyMonkey CEO and husband of Sheryl Sandberg
The two met in 1996 when they both were working in Los Angeles, said Goldberg, who recently sat down with The Times before he spoke to an audience at "Start-ups: Uncensored" seminar at the Shutters on the Beach hotel in Santa Monica.
He also happens to be married to Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, whom Forbes declared to be one of the most powerful women in the world.
At 26 he sold his first start-up, Launch Media, for $12 million to Yahoo. Goldberg then served as general manager of Yahoo Music, and later left to work at Benchmark Capital as entrepreneur in residence. In 1999 he acquired a fledgling online survey company called SurveyMonkey and grew it into a billion-dollar business.
"We went out to dinner and a movie and hit it off. She fell asleep on my shoulder, which I thought was great," Goldberg said. "Turns out, I learned much later, she sleeps through every movie, on any shoulder that is available, but it worked on me at that moment of time."
Although Sandberg was dating someone else at the time and later moved to Washington, D.C., they remained good friends and started dating six years later.
“On the day–to-day stuff we both ask each other for advice. But it is great having one of the smartest people in business as your partner. I don’t have to make an appointment to ask what you think about this or whatever, it’s good with my team. I always say, 'Well Sheryl said.' "
In a competitive work environment in which many judge work ethic by the number of hours spent in the office, Goldberg encourages a work-life balance. He says he tries to remain rooted to his family and strives to lead by example. Despite the demands of their jobs, both Goldberg and Sandberg leave work at 5:30 p.m.
"We made the decision on this particular thing, that we are going to be home with our kids. I am at home with my kids from 6 to 8. If I have a work dinner, I’ll schedule to have dinner after 8. But we’re working at night. You’ll get plenty of emails from me post-8 p.m. when my kids go to bed."
While most CEOs stress success, Goldberg said he is big on failure.
"You want to hire great people and give them the opportunity to fail. You need to let them figure things out as they go along," he said. "If they fail repeatedly, then you probably have to find a different person, but if you don’t let people have that opportunity to fail, they don’t get to learn and grow and try things."
Although meetings are necessary and an important way to communicate and share information, Goldberg keeps them to a maximum of three regularly scheduled meetings a week.
"I just find that people can waste a lot of time in meetings, so I try to restrict meetings to the minimum that they need to be," he said. "But I have lots of time in my day where I am available to have informal conversations, where I grab someone to talk, and people can just walk up to my desk and talk to me."
He added: "We have a lot to do. But it is not whether or not we get it done tomorrow or the next day that is going to matter. So we get it done over a long period of time. For me going home at 5:30 is as much about my own choices, but also giving my team those choices too."
|
– Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, is known as a champion for women. What's less well-known is that her husband, Dave Goldberg, who died unexpectedly Friday at the age of 47, spent his life working to strengthen women's voices, reports the New York Times, which calls Goldberg "perhaps the signature male feminist of his era." Even as a teenager, his prom date says he pushed her to speak up in class, telling her, "They need to hear your voice." Years later, when an employee had a child, he didn't stop challenging her—but he did start letting her spend a day each week working from home. In his own life, he made sure he could be at home with the kids while his wife, whom he had encouraged to fight for a high salary, was traveling. Both often left work at 5:30 to have dinner with their two kids, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2013—though he noted that doesn't mean they don't work after dinner. Goldberg was "the first major chief executive in memory to spur his wife to become as successful in business as he was," adds the New York Times, and was a central figure in Sandberg's bestseller, Lean In. "The most important career choice you’ll make is who you marry. I have an awesome husband, and we’re 50/50," she said in 2011, per the Wall Street Journal. From his perspective: "It is great having one of the smartest people in business as your partner," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I always say, 'Well, Sheryl said.'"
|
Credit: Stanimir G.Stoev/Shutterstock View full size image
Although marijuana may have a reputation as a relatively harmless drug, a new case report links it to the deaths of two young men in Germany.
Toxicological examinations concluded that the men were under the influence of cannabis before they died, and traces of THC — the main active ingredient in marijuana — were found in the men's blood and brain tissue, the researchers wrote in the report.
In both cases, the deaths were related to cardiovascular complications. In one of the deaths, a 23-year-old man without a history of health problems suddenly collapsed while using public transportation, and died after 40 minutes of unsuccessful resuscitation efforts, according to the case report based on postmortem investigations. The man had a small amount of marijuana in his pockets when he was found, according to the researchers at the Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf in Germany, who reported the case.
In the second case described in the report, a 28-year-old man was found dead at home by his girlfriend. An ashtray, rolling paper and a sealable plastic bag containing remnants of marijuana were found next to the body. The man had occasionally used cannabis, the researchers wrote. He had also abused alcohol and drugs, such as amphetamines and cocaine until about two years before his death, they wrote. [5 Bad Habits You Should Still Quit]
"After exclusion of other causes of death, we assume that the young men died from cardiovascular complications evoked by smoking cannabis," the researchers wrote.
"We assume the deaths of these two young men occurred due to arrhythmias evoked by smoking cannabis," but this assumption does not rule out that the men were predisposed to cardiovascular risks, they wrote.
Nikolas P. Lemos, the chief forensic toxicologist for the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office, said there have been confirmed cases in which marijuana has had harmful effects on the heart.
"The potential cardiotoxicity of cannabis has been reported in peer-reviewed abstracts as well as scientific proceedings before, including by my team," Lemos said.
"This case report adds two more cases from Germany, but since late last year, we have known and reported on this drug's potential cardiotoxic effects in some parts of the general population," he said.
The researchers in Germany who reported the deaths declined an interview request from Live Science, citing an overwhelming media response to the paper and "some quite unpleasant reactions from individuals."
Following the online publication of the paper, Jost Leune, the head of the German Association for Drugs and Addiction in Hannover, Germany, criticized the report in an interview with the website TheLocal.de, saying, "Cannabis does not paralyze the breathing or the heart."
"Deaths due to cannabis use are usually accidents that are not caused by the substance, but to the circumstances of use," Leune said.
However, other recent research also has linked marijuana use with cardiovascular complications in young and middle-age adults. In a study published in April in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers examined data on health complications following marijuana use, gathered from 2006 to 2010 by the French Addictovigilance Network. They found that among the 2,000 cases of reported complications, 35 cases involved heart problems. Among those were 20 people who had heart attacks, including nine who died.
"There is now compelling evidence on the growing risk of marijuana-associated adverse cardiovascular effects, especially in young people," study author Émilie Jouanjus, a medical faculty member at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse in France, said in a statement at the time. "It is, therefore, important that doctors, including cardiologists, be aware of this, and consider marijuana use as one of the potential causes in patients with cardiovascular disorders."
"It is important that people realize that any drug can have harmful effects," Iain M. McIntyre, a director and chief toxicologist at the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office, told Live Science.
Some people who are predisposed to cardiac events may be particularly vulnerable to potential harmful effects of marijuana use, and the new report shows this, McIntyre said.
One limitation of the report, however, was that it did not specify for how long the two men had been using marijuana, he said.
The researchers who wrote the report stressed that the risk of cardiovascular effects of marijuana use in the general population is low, but it is higher in people who have cardiovascular issues.
"Persons who are at high risk for cardiovascular diseases are even recommended to avoid the use of cannabis," they wrote.
Lemos said he hopes the report will raise awareness of the potential health complications of marijuana use. "I am delighted to see this additional work in hope that medical examiners, coroners and physicians will realize that they need to collect specimens, test for cannabis in post-mortem fluids and consider the contributions of cannabis in the death investigations.
"We simply cannot, any longer, adhere to the old mentality that 'marijuana does not kill," Lemos told Live Science. "We are now seeing evidence from my office and elsewhere that it just might."
The case report was published in the April issue of the journal Forensic Science International.
Follow Agata Blaszczak-Boxe on Twitter. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. ||||| Study Highlights
Marijuana use may result in heart-related complications in young and middle-aged adults.
Nearly 2 percent of the health complications from marijuana use reported were cardiovascular related.
A quarter of these complications resulted in death, according to a French study.
Embargoed until 3 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. ET WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2014
DALLAS, April 23, 2014 — Marijuana use may result in cardiovascular-related complications — even death — among young and middle-aged adults, according to a French study reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
“In prior research, we identified several remarkable cases of cardiovascular complications as the reasons for hospital admission of young marijuana users,” said Émilie Jouanjus, Pharm.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and a medical faculty member at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse in Toulouse, France. “This unexpected finding deserved to be further analyzed, especially given that the medicinal use of marijuana has become more prevalent and some governments are legalizing its use.”
Researchers analyzed serious cardiovascular-related complications following marijuana use that was reported to the French Addictovigilance Network in 2006-10. They identified 35 cases of cardiovascular and vascular conditions related to the heart, brain and limbs.
Among their findings:
Most of the patients were male, average age 34.3 years.
Nearly 2 percent (35 of the 1,979) marijuana-related complications were cardiovascular complications.
Of the 35 cases, 22 were heart-related, including 20 heart attacks; 10 were peripheral with diseases related to arteries in the limbs; and three were related to the brain’s arteries.
The percentage of reported cardiovascular complications more than tripled from 2006 to 2010.
Nine patients, or 25.6 percent, died.
Researchers note that marijuana use and any resulting health complications are likely underreported. There are 1.2 million regular users in France, and thus potentially a large amount of complications that are not detected by the French Addictovigilance System.
“The general public thinks marijuana is harmless, but information revealing the potential health dangers of marijuana use needs to be disseminated to the public, policymakers and healthcare providers,” Jouanjus said.
People with pre-existing cardiovascular weaknesses appear to be more prone to the harmful effects of marijuana.
“There is now compelling evidence on the growing risk of marijuana-associated adverse cardiovascular effects, especially in young people,” Jouanjus said. “It is therefore important that doctors, including cardiologists, be aware of this, and consider marijuana use as one of the potential causes in patients with cardiovascular disorders.”
Surveillance of marijuana-related reports of cardiovascular disorders should continue and more research needs to look at how marijuana use might trigger cardiovascular events, she said.
Co-authors are Maryse Lapeyre-Mestre, M.D., Ph.D., and Joelle Micallef, M.D., Ph.D. There are no author disclosures.
The study was funded by French InterMinisterial mission for the fight against drugs and addiction, MILDT (Mission interministérielle de lutte contre les drogues et toxicomanies) and the French drug agency ANSM (Agence Nationale de Sécurité des Médicaments).
Additional Resources:
For more information on this subject view the AHA Heart Blog post: States move forward with marijuana legalization despite lack of research .
. infographic available on the right column of the release link http://newsroom.heart.org/news/marijuana-use-may-increase-heart-complications-in-young-middle-aged-adults?preview=b7b428026ac982ed55d512c1ad0f62fe.
Follow AHA/ASA news on Twitter @HeartNews.
###
|
– Marijuana has a reputation for being a safe drug, but some researchers say there is mounting evidence that the drug is associated with adverse heart complications. In two new case studies, two young men in Germany—ages 23 and 28—with no drugs other than THC in their systems and no known health issues (though the 28-year-old had used other drugs up until a few years ago), both died due to complications from abnormal heart rhythms, or arrhythmias. "After exclusion of other causes of death, we assume that the young men died from cardiovascular complications evoked by smoking cannabis," the researchers conclude. They added that the two men may have also been predisposed to cardiovascular risks. Though the researchers tell LiveScience there have been some "quite unpleasant reactions from individuals" following their report, and while some researchers say there isn't a strong enough link to implicate marijuana, there is mounting evidence that there are "marijuana-associated adverse cardiovascular effects, especially in young people," an author of a similar study said in an American Heart Association statement. Either way, one toxicologist says people should proceed with caution: "Some people who are predisposed to cardiac events may be particularly vulnerable to potential harmful effects of marijuana use, and the new report shows this." (Berkeley, meanwhile, recently voted to give free medical marijuana to the poor.)
|
Supporters light candles during a vigil for 15-year-old Jordan Edwards in Balch Springs, Texas, Thursday, May 4, 2017. Edwards was killed leaving an unruly house party Saturday night when former police... (Associated Press)
Supporters light candles during a vigil for 15-year-old Jordan Edwards in Balch Springs, Texas, Thursday, May 4, 2017. Edwards was killed leaving an unruly house party Saturday night when former police officer Roy Oliver opened fired on the car Edwards was a passenger in. Oliver was fired Tuesday for... (Associated Press)
DALLAS (AP) — A white Texas police officer faces a murder charge in the shooting of a black teenager after being fired earlier in the week, authorities said.
Roy Oliver turned himself in Friday night, just hours after the Dallas County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for his arrest in the April 29 death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Oliver, a former officer in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs, was later released after posting bail at the Parker County Jail in Weatherford, about 95 miles west of Dallas. His bond had been set at $300,000.
The sheriff's office said in a statement the warrant was issued based on evidence that suggested Oliver "intended to cause serious bodily injury and commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that caused the death."
Oliver fired a rifle at a car full of teenagers leaving a party, fatally shooting Edwards who was a passenger in the vehicle. The teen's death led to protests calling for Oliver to be fired and charged. On Tuesday, the same day that the officer was fired, news broke of the Justice Department's decision not to charge two white police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the shooting death of a black man in 2016. And a white officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, pleaded guilty that day to federal civil rights charges in the fatal shooting of a black man in 2015.
Edwards and his two brothers and two other teenagers were leaving an unruly house party in Balch Springs when Oliver opened fire on their car with a rifle. The bullets shattered the front passenger-side window and struck Edwards. It took a few moments for Edwards' 16-year-old brother, who was driving, and other passengers to notice that he was slumped over in his seat.
Police had said the teenagers' car was backing up toward officers "in an aggressive manner," but later said body camera video showed the vehicle actually driving away from the officers.
The investigation into the shooting "will continue and does not conclude with the arrest," sheriff's spokeswoman Melinda Urbina said.
Attorneys for Oliver and the family of Edwards didn't respond to requests for comment.
Oliver's firing Tuesday was for violating department policies in the shooting.
Records show that Oliver was briefly suspended in 2013 following a complaint about his conduct while serving as a witness in a drunken-driving case.
Personnel records from the Balch Springs Police Department obtained by The Associated Press show Oliver was suspended for 16 hours in December 2013 after the Dallas County District Attorney's Office filed the complaint. Oliver also was ordered to take training courses in anger management and courtroom demeanor and testimony.
The personnel records also included periodic evaluations that noted at least one instance when Oliver was reprimanded for being "disrespectful to a civilian on a call." That evaluation, dated Jan. 27, 2017, called the reprimand an isolated incident and urged Oliver to be mindful of his leadership role in the department.
The complaint from the prosecutor's office said the office had a hard time getting Oliver to attend the trial, he was angry he had to be there, he used vulgar language that caused an assistant district attorney to send a female intern out of the room, and he used profanity during his testimony.
"In an email from one of the prosecutors he states you were a 'scary person to have in our workroom,'" then-Balch Springs Police Chief Ed Morris wrote in the suspension findings.
Oliver joined the Balch Springs department in 2011 after being an officer with the Dalworthington Gardens Police Department for almost a year. A statement from Dalworthington Gardens officials on Wednesday included details of that and previous intermittent employment as a dispatcher and public works employee between 1999 and 2004.
He received an award for "meritorious conduct" as a dispatcher and there were no documented complaints or disciplinary action in either his work as a public safety officer or dispatcher, according to the statement. Between his employment as a dispatcher and officer in the Dallas suburb, Oliver was in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of sergeant while serving two tours in Iraq and earning various commendations. He served for two years in the Texas National Guard reserves through 2012.
After the Dallas County Attorney's Office complained about Oliver's behavior, Morris suspended the officer for 16 hours, which Oliver completed by forfeiting two sick days.
___
Weissert reported from Austin. Associated Press writers Terry Wallace, Paul J. Weber in Austin and Juan A. Lozano in Houston contributed to this report. ||||| Police originally said Oliver fired on the car because it was backing up aggressively toward the officers. But the department revised its account after reviewing body-cam footage, saying the car was driving away when Jordan was shot.
The arrest warrant affidavit, obtained Friday by The Dallas Morning News, says another officer used his gun to break the car's rear window before Oliver got behind the officer and fired several rounds into the car as it drove past.
The white officer's shooting of an unarmed black teenager has renewed allegations nationwide that racial bias among police has led to deadly overreactions.
An attorney for Jordan's family, Lee Merritt, said Friday that Jordan's parents were "grateful" investigators sought a murder charge. The news came as they prepared to bury Jordan on Saturday.
Merritt said it was clear from the start that Oliver should be arrested on the highest possible charge.
"I think it begins to at least give the appearance that the state is not going to sweep this clear wrong under the rug as it's done in the past," Merritt said. "However we also have to learn from history that we don't have a conviction yet. And so we still have some ways to go." ||||| A fired Balch Springs police officer faces a murder charge in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, the Dallas County Sheriff's Office says. (Published Saturday, May 6, 2017)
A fired Balch Springs police officer has been released on bond after he surrendered to authorities Friday to face a murder warrant in the shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.
Roy Oliver posted a $300,000 bond after he was booked at the Parker County Jail in Weatherford, about 95 miles west of Dallas.
Fired Balch Springs Police Officer Booked on Murder Charge
A fired Balch Springs police officer has been released on bond after he surrendered to authorities Friday to face a murder warrant in the shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. (Published Friday, May 5, 2017)
"I was elated," said Edwards family attorney, Jasmin Crockett. "We've seen this play out so many times in so many cities across America. So in less than a week, we have an officer that got fired, we have an officer that has an arrest warrant."
Lee Merritt, another attorney for the Edwards family, said the family has now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Oliver, the Balch Springs Police Department and the city of Balch Springs.
On Saturday, Jordan Edwards mother Shaunkeyia Stephens released a statement.
Now the hard work of justice begins to ensure Mr. Oliver is held responsible for his horrific act of violence against my son.Shaunkeyia Stephens, Jordan Edwards mother
"I was driving home. It was on the radio," said Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber, explaining how he heard the news. "This is a horrific tragedy we know that the Edwards family is grieving. We're in a lot of pain over here, too."
The chief said he didn't get a heads-up on the arrest warrant because he asked for an independent, transparent investigation, and that's how it's supposed to work.
The shooting occurred around 11 p.m. last Saturday as officers responded to a 911 call reporting intoxicated teens walking around in the 12300 block of Baron Drive.
Balch Springs police originally said the vehicle in which Edwards was riding backed up toward officers "in an aggressive manner." But Chief Haber said Monday that police video shows the vehicle was instead "moving forward as the officers approached."
Haber wouldn't release the police video or describe it in detail other than to acknowledge he erred in describing the encounter, but he said he was troubled by what he saw.
"It did not meet our core values. We have a certain set of values, and it did not meet our values," Haber added.
Oliver was later fired from the police department.
Investigators say evidence suggests Oliver "intended to cause serious bodily injury and commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that caused the death of an individual," according to the warrant.
"If there's something to learn, let's learn it, but let's not learn it as individuals," Haber said. "Let's learn as a group and push that message out together."
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office said Friday that its investigation into Edwards' death will continue.
|
– Roy Oliver, the former Texas police officer who fatally shot 15-year-old Jordan Edwards last Saturday night, turned himself in hours after an arrest warrant was issued Friday. Oliver, who was fired from the force in the Dallas suburb of of Balch Springs on Tuesday, was freed Friday night after posting $300,000 bail at the Parker County Jail, the AP reports. According to the arrest warrant, the officer, who is charged with murder, fired a rifle into a car full of teenagers leaving a rowdy party. The teenager's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officer, the city, and the Balch Spring Police Department. Their lawyers say they are glad to see swift action taken against a white officer who shot a black youth. "I was elated," Edwards family attorney Jasmin Crockett tells NBC 5. "We've seen this play out so many times in so many cities across America. So in less than a week, we have an officer that got fired, we have an officer that has an arrest warrant." Oliver, an Iraq vet who had been with the Balch Springs force since 2011, was involved in another gun incident just two weeks before the Edwards shooting, reports the Dallas Morning News. Monique Arrendondo, 26, says the officer, in plain clothes and off-duty, drew his gun and demanded ID after his truck was rear-ended. "As soon as I put my gear into park, he was already out of his truck, and he was at my window," she says. "He pulled out his gun on me."
|
Editor's Note: On Friday, Feb. 6. 2015, ISIS said the hostage was killed by a Jordanian airstrike.
With ISIS’s brutal murder of Peter Kassig, a 26-year-old American aid worker who dedicated his life to the plight of Syrian refugees, the militant group has one more U.S. citizen remaining in its clutches, according to current and former U.S. officials, as well as individuals involved in efforts to free the Americans.
The hostage is the only American woman held by the militant group. She is the same age as Kassig, and, like him, was kidnapped while trying to help people whose lives have been upended by the long Syrian civil war. She was particularly moved to help children who have been orphaned and separated from their families. The woman was taken in August 2013, along with a group of other aid workers who have reportedly been released.
U.S. officials and the woman’s family have requested that her name not be made public, fearing that further attention will put her in greater jeopardy. No news organization has published her name. But the general circumstances of her capture and captivity have been known and widely reported for more than a year now.
ISIS’s intentions for its remaining American prisoner are unclear. But current and former U.S. officials told The Daily Beast that it was notable she doesn’t appear at the end of a video, released Sunday, that shows the aftermath of Kassig’s beheading. That breaks with ISIS’s pattern of showing the next hostage it intends to kill.
ISIS has killed Muslim women, as well as children. But it has never murdered a female Western hostage on camera. Doing so would mark a radical departure even for a group that has relied on bloody propaganda to lure foreign fighters to its ranks.
A former U.S. counterterrorism official said that before ISIS decides what to do with its remaining American hostage, it will consider carefully the public reaction it could spark. “Before they’re doing anything, they want to have a really good feel for how it will play,” the former official said.
ISIS has reportedly demanded more than $6 million for the remaining American hostage’s freedom, a figure in keeping with the impossibly high ransoms it has placed on other U.S. citizens it has held. The Obama administration has a firm policy of not paying ransom for hostages and has even advised the families of Americans held in Syria that they could be criminally prosecuted if they paid for their loved ones’ releases. (ISIS has freed European citizens, however, from countries where ransoms aren’t illegal.)
The fact that ISIS requests any ransom for its American prisoners and makes it too high for most people to pay indicates that the group isn’t really serious about freeing the Americans, according to current and former U.S. officials and hostage-negotiation experts. Instead, the hostages are being used as props in ISIS’s global propaganda campaign, which is largely aimed at recruiting new followers. Viewed through that lens, ISIS’s American and British captives (the U.K. likewise has an official ban on ransoms) have been more useful to the group for its videos than in raising money, even though ransoms are an important source of ISIS’s income.
The latest ISIS video, showing Kassig’s death, had been expected ever since he was first shown on camera in early October, in another beheading video, and identified as the militant group’s next victim. But this new film differs in key respects from its predecessors, and it may offer new insights into ISIS’s propaganda strategy—and its weaknesses.
The latest video is uncharacteristically long, clocking in at more than 16 minutes, as opposed to the earlier two- to three-minute films showing hostages being murdered. The new video is filled with breathless celebration of the rise of the so-called Islamic State and an exhortation to its followers to join in armed struggle against the “crusader” forces of the United States and the United Kingdom. Indeed, it seems rather desperate in its chest-thumping. It’s also remarkably more brutal—though not to American hostages. A parade of knife-wielding ISIS fighters behead 18 captives, described as Syrian military officers and pilots, in a ghoulish display filled with slow-motion effects and ominous music. It’s by far the most grisly depiction of beheadings ever shown by ISIS.
Kassig is shown only near the end of the video, already beheaded. Unlike other hostages who have read (presumably coerced) statements denouncing the U.S.-led airstrikes, Kassig is never shown speaking. His killer alludes to the fact that he had “little to say” and that other American captives killed before him had already spoken out against the Obama administration. Several current and former U.S. officials speculated that Kassig, who converted to Islam while in captivity and adopted the name Abdul Rahman, might have defied his captors by refusing to read their script or even have insisted on reciting passages from the Quran. “I suspect that Pete knew this was coming and that he refused to talk,” said one individual who has been involved with efforts to free American hostages.
Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily Digest Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't). By clicking “Subscribe,” you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason.
Kassig’s parents had made his conversion to Islam, which they described as genuine and profound, a central pillar of their highly public efforts to free him. The Kassigs, of Indiana, had given television interviews about their son, made YouTube videos pleading with ISIS for his release, and held prayer vigils with members of the American Muslim community. At every turn, they described their son as a faithful follower who had dedicated his life to easing the suffering of innocents.
In a statement Sunday, Kassig’s parents said their son was “fed by a strong desire to use his life to save the lives of others” and that he “was drawn to the camps that are filled with displaced families and to understaffed hospitals inside Syria. We know he found his home amongst the Syrian people, and he hurt when they were hurting.”
President Obama, also in a statement, called Kassig by his chosen Muslim name and contrasted his charity and self-sacrifice with the “darkness” of ISIS. Secretary of State John Kerry called Kassig “a young American who personified the values of altruism and compassion which are the very essence of his adopted religion of Islam.”
ISIS’s long-winded video recites chapter and verse the historic roots of the group, from its early days in Iraq fighting U.S. forces in 2004, and seeks to position the rise of ISIS as an inevitable development in a grand battle against the “crusaders.” The video also argues that ISIS is collecting followers across the Middle East, even as far east as China.
ISIS has a reason to buck up its forces and make itself seem invincible: U.S. airstrikes against the group are starting to yield some results. On Saturday, Iraqi ground forces, supported by American aircraft, took back an important oil refinery in Baiji, about 130 miles north of Baghdad, that ISIS had seized. (Illicit oil revenue has been a major source of the group’s funding.) And the U.S. has been closing in on ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, though efforts to kill him and his followers have been frustrated by ISIS’s use of encryption to shield its communications from American surveillance efforts.
Still, the video is a reminder of how feckless U.S. efforts to free American hostages have become. Insiders have said the process has been marred by bureaucratic turf wars and a refusal by the United States to negotiate with ISIS, which has freed European hostages in exchange for ransom.
The State Department and the White House have been opposed to paying ransoms, but the FBI and the Justice Department have taken a more nuanced position, according to people involved in the efforts. In particular, the FBI told the parents of James Foley, the first American whom ISIS killed on camera, that they could “walk us right up to that point” of paying a ransom but not be directly involved in exchanging funds, Diane Foley, James’s mother, told The Daily Beast last month.
The FBI has facilitated the payment of a ransom for American hostages before, most notably in 2002, for the release of two Christian missionaries, Martin and Gracia Burnham, who were held by an al Qaeda affiliate in the Philippines. A former U.S. official said the FBI took steps to obscure its role and that the terrorists never knew the U.S. government was involved in the ransom effort.
More recently, a ransom allegedly was paid to free American journalist Peter Theo Curtis in August from al-Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, according to two sources with direct knowledge of Curtis’s case. Suspicion has focused on the government of Qatar, which has strong ties to Nusra, as the source of the money.
A spokesperson for the State Department has denied that the United States paid a ransom, and administration officials told the Qataris they shouldn’t pay one, either. FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said that the bureau fully complies with U.S. policy as it relates to ransom payments. According to individuals familiar with the matter, Nusra may have hoped that by negotiating for Curtis’s release, it would demonstrate to the United States that it wasn’t as extreme as ISIS and could engage in a reasonable dialogue.
Those hopes might be dashed, however, by U.S. airstrikes in Syria, which have hit Nusra positions, provoking the group’s wrath. Prior to the bombing campaign, which began in September, U.S. intelligence officials warned not to hit the Nusra group, which occasionally has fought alongside U.S.-backed rebels in Syria. Now Nusra is forging an alliance with ISIS, an outcome that had once been considered unthinkable because of a deep schism between ISIS and al Qaeda over the future of the Islamist movement.
How that might effect the Westerners still held in Syria is unknown. The-26 year-old aid worker being held by ISIS isn’t the only one. Freelance journalist Austin Tice was abducted in Syria more than two years ago. The Obama administration has claimed that Tice was held by the Syrian government. But this claim has never been verified and who holds him now is unclear. ||||| BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group has beheaded Peter Kassig, releasing a video Sunday showing a masked militant standing over the severed head of a man it said was the former U.S. Army Ranger-turned-aid worker, who was seized while delivering relief supplies in Syria last year.
This still image taken from an undated video published on the Internet by the Islamic State group militants and made available, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, purports to show extremists marching Syrian soldiers... (Associated Press)
This undated photo provided by the Kassig Family shows Peter Kassig delivering supplies for Syrian refugees. A new graphic video purportedly produced by Islamic State militants in Syria released Sunday... (Associated Press)
In this undated photo provided by the Kassig family, Peter Kassig, is shown with his maternal grandparents. His grandfather, a co-founder of Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, was an... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this August 2013 file photo provided by the Kassig Family, Peter Kissig, who friends and family say changed his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig, right, works as a medic to help a wounded man near... (Associated Press)
FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Kassig Family shows Peter Kassig standing in front of a truck filled with supplies for Syrian refugees. A new graphic video purportedly produced by Islamic... (Associated Press)
President Barack Obama confirmed Kassig's slaying after a U.S. review of the video, which also showed the mass beheadings of a dozen Syrian soldiers.
The 26-year-old Kassig, who founded an aid group to help Syrians caught in their country's brutal civil war, "was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity," Obama said in a statement.
He denounced the extremist group, which he said "revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and destruction."
The slain hostage's parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, said they were "heartbroken" by their son's killing, but "incredibly proud" of his humanitarian work.
Kassig "lost his life as a result of his love for the Syrian people and his desire to ease their suffering," the parents said in a statement from Indianapolis, where a vigil was held Sunday for the slain American. His parents attended the vigil.
With Kassig's death, the Islamic State group has killed five Westerners it was holding. American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were beheaded, as were British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.
Unlike previous videos of slain Western hostages, the footage released Sunday did not show the decapitation of Kassig or the moments leading up to his death.
"This is Peter Edward Kassig, a U.S. citizen ... who fought against the Muslims in Iraq," said the black-clad militant, who spoke with a British accent that was distorted in the video, apparently to disguise his identity. Previous videos featured a militant with a British accent that the FBI says it has identified, though it hasn't named him publicly.
The footage released Sunday identifies the militants' location as Dabiq, a town in northern Syria that the Islamic State group uses as the title of its English-language propaganda magazine and where they believe an apocalyptic battle between Muslims and their enemies will occur.
The high-definition video also showed the beheadings of about a dozen men identified as Syrian military officers and pilots, all dressed in blue jumpsuits. The black-clad militant warns that U.S. soldiers will meet a similar fate.
"We say to you, Obama: You claim to have withdrawn from Iraq four years ago," the militant said. "Here you are: You have not withdrawn. Rather, you hid some of your forces behind your proxies." A U.S.-led coalition is targeting the Islamic State group in airstrikes, supporting Western-backed Syrian rebels, Kurdish fighters and the Iraqi military.
Kassig, who served in the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, a special operations unit, deployed to Iraq in 2007. After being medically discharged, he returned to the Middle East in 2012 and formed a relief group, Special Emergency Response and Assistance, to aid Syrian refugees.
A certified EMT, Kassig had delivered food and medical supplies and provided trauma care to wounded Syrians before being captured in eastern Syria on Oct. 1, 2013. Friends say he converted to Islam in captivity and took the first name Abdul-Rahman.
In a statement issued as he flew back to Washington from the Asia-Pacific region, Obama said Kassig "was a humanitarian who worked to save the lives of Syrians injured and dispossessed" by war. The president offered prayers and condolences to Kassig's family.
"We cannot begin to imagine their anguish at this painful time," he said.
Burhan Agha, a Syrian who worked with Kassig in Lebanon, wept when recounting his friend's humanitarian work.
"If I could apologize to each American, one by one, I would, because Peter died in Syria, while he was helping the Syrian people," Agha told The Associated Press by telephone from Switzerland, where he is seeking asylum. "Those who killed him claimed to have done it in the name of Islam. I am a Muslim and am from Syria. ... (His killers) are not Muslims."
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "horrified by the cold-blooded murder," saying that the Islamic State group had "again shown their depravity."
In previous videos showing the beheadings of the two American journalists and two British aid workers, the hostages were shown kneeling in orange jumpsuits as they were forced to make speeches before their killer lifted a knife to their throats.
The latest video did not show Kassig being beheaded. And unlike previous videos, it did not show other Western captives or directly threaten to behead anyone else. It also had lingering close-ups on some militants' exposed faces, a few of whom appeared to be foreigners.
The video appeared on websites used in the past by the Islamic State group, which now controls a third of Syria and Iraq.
The terror group still holds other captives, including British photojournalist John Cantlie, who has appeared in several videos delivering statements for the IS, likely under duress, and a 26-year-old American woman captured last year in Syria while working for aid groups. U.S. officials have asked that the woman not be identified out of fears for her safety.
The video appeared to be part of continuous efforts to strike at the U.S., which is leading an aerial campaign against the group that began in August in Iraq and spread to Syria the following month.
The video came two days after a recording by the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was uploaded to the Internet. The militant leader warned that the U.S.-led coalition's campaign had failed and it would eventually have to send ground troops into battle.
The group has declared a self-styled Islamic caliphate in areas under its control, which it governs according to its violent interpretation of Shariah law, including massacring rebellious tribes and selling women and children of religious minorities into slavery.
The group's militants have also beheaded and shot dead hundreds of captives, mostly Syrian and Iraqi soldiers, during its sweep across the two countries, and has celebrated its mass killings in extremely graphic videos.
The Islamic State group has its roots in al-Qaida's Iraqi affiliate but was expelled from the global terror network over its brutal tactics and refusal to obey orders to confine its activities to Iraq. It became even more extreme amid the bloody civil war in neighboring Syria and grew strong enough to launch a lightning offensive across Iraq.
Syria's war began as an uprising against President Bashar Assad. Activists say that conflict has killed more than 200,000 people.
___
Associated Press writers Julie Pace in Brisbane, Australia, David Aguilar in Detroit, Jon Gambrell in Cairo, Vivian Salama in Baghdad and Josh Lederman aboard Air Force One contributed to this report. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "The 26-year-old American was captured last year"
A video posted online claims to show that Islamic State militants have killed the captured US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig.
The video shows a masked man standing over a severed head which he says is that of Mr Kassig.
The US says it is working to determine the authenticity of the video, which also shows a mass beheading of 18 Syrian troops.
Mr Kassig, also known as Peter, was captured last year.
His family, who live in the US state of Indiana, said they were awaiting confirmation of the reports about their "treasured son".
"We prefer our son is written about and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family, not in the manner the hostage takers would use to manipulate Americans and further their cause," the family said in a statement.
Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner: "This is an act of desperation"
This is perhaps the most elaborate and graphic of all the murder videos posted online by IS. Much of it is taken up with a recent history lesson on Iraq and Syria as seen through the eyes of the jihadists. But the latter part shows the beheading of 18 Syrian prisoners in revolting, lingering detail.
Unlike earlier videos, this one revels in gore. Amongst the boiler-suited captives murdered in cold blood is a man IS says is the former US soldier Peter Kassig, who converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman.
Neither his conversion, nor the fact that he was helping refugees when he was captured a year ago, appear to have saved him.
Mr Kassig's murder is a sign of frustration that IS militants are unable to hit back at the coalition air strikes that have driven them off key sites like the Mosul and Haditha dams, and prevented them from seizing the town of Kobane.
An idealist 'simply trying to help people'
Abdul-Rahman Kassig in his own words
Unlike similar videos released in the past, the latest shows the faces of many of the jihadis. It also at one point gives a specific location - near Dabiq in Aleppo province, with an identifiable village in the background.
The latest video did not show the person identified as Mr Kassig being beheaded. Also unlike previous videos, it did not show other Western captives or directly threaten to behead anyone else.
The US National Security Council said it was investigating the video, and would be "appalled by the brutal murder" if it was confirmed.
IS has previously murdered four Western hostages - British men Alan Henning and David Haines, and US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
Those killings were carried out by a man believed to be British. That man bears a resemblance to one of the masked militants pictured in the video purporting to show Mr Kassig.
Image copyright EPA Image caption Parents Ed and Paula Kassig have said they are awaiting confirmation of the reports
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "horrified by the cold-blooded murder" and that Islamic State had "again shown their depravity".
Emotional letter
Image copyright Handout Image caption A photograph of Abdul-Rahman with his father, Ed, fishing on the Ohio River in Indiana in 2011
Mr Kassig's parents last month released extracts of a letter written by their son, in which he said the "stress and fear" of captivity were "incredible".
"They tell us you have abandoned us and/or don't care but of course we know you are doing everything you can and more.
"Don't worry Dad, if I do go down, I won't go thinking anything but what I know to be true. That you and mom love me more than the moon and the stars."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Former hostage Nicholas Henin spoke to the BBC about Mr Kassig in October
Mr Kassig was a former US Army Ranger who served in Iraq.
He later trained as an emergency medical technician and founded the Special Emergency Response and Assistance (Sera) organisation, helping to supply camps on both sides of the Syrian border.
He was undertaking a project for Sera when he was captured in October 2013 while travelling to eastern Syria.
The exiled leader of Syria's opposition National Coalition, Hadi al-Bahra, said in a statement Mr Kassig would be remembered as a hero.
"Kassig paid the ultimate sacrifice trying to relieve the suffering of his fellow human beings far away from home. The thugs of Isis will pay the price for their evil crimes," he said.
|
– ISIS has beheaded another hostage, but while the outcome is grimly familiar, analysts say the video revealing the death of Peter Kassig has differences that hint at serious problems for the militant group. Unlike four earlier videos showing the execution of Western hostages, the quality is poor, Kassig is not seen reading a statement, and no other hostage is displayed. Instead, only the American's severed head is shown. Analysts suspect that the threat of airstrikes stopped the militants from being able to film outside for long. "The likeliest possibility is that something went wrong when they were beheading him," an expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies tells the New York Times. Another possibility, he says, is that Kassig resisted and the "media-savvy" militants were unable to get the video they wanted. Other analysts speculate that the hostage—who converted to Islam while in captivity—may have chosen to recite quotes from the Koran instead of his captors' script. More: Kassig, a former US Army Ranger, founded an organization to aid refugees from the Syrian civil war. His parents say they are heartbroken by the killing but incredibly proud of his work, the AP reports. He "lost his life as a result of his love for the Syrian people and his desire to ease their suffering," his parents, who live in Indianapolis, said in a statement. The latest ISIS video, which also shows the execution of 18 Syrian captives in "revolting, lingering detail," is also different because it shows the faces of many militants and gives a specific location in Syria, notes BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner. He calls Kassig's execution an "act of desperation" carried out by the group because it is unable to fight back against coalition airstrikes. With Kassig dead, ISIS' only remaining American hostage is a 26-year-old woman, security officials tell the Daily Beast. Like Kassig, she was kidnapped while carrying out aid work. Her name has not been made public and officials say it is significant that she doesn't appear in the group's latest video—and while it's not clear what the militants have planned for her, even ISIS is likely to carefully consider the public reaction to killing a female Western captive on camera.
|
Woodruff, SC - The man charged with abducting an Anderson woman and keeping her chained in a metal storage shed has implicated himself in a 13-year-old unsolved murder of four at a Chesnee motorcycle shop, and is now suspected in the deaths of as many as seven people, the sheriff announced late Saturday night.
Sheriff Chuck Wright said murder warrants have been drawn charging Todd Christopher Kohlhepp with the murder of four people at Superbike Motorsports in Chesnee, a quadruple slaying that occurred exactly 13 years ago Sunday.
In addition, Kohlhepp, who was seen walking the property with investigators Saturday afternoon, has led authorities to where he said two other bodies are buried. Wright did not identify those individuals, nor, he said, have investigators unearthed those remains.
"Mr. Todd talked to me today and I prayed with him," Wright said. "I prayed that he would find God."
Asked how authorities were certain that Kohlhepp was responsible for the previously unsolved killings at the motorcycle shop, Wright said, "He told us some stuff that nobody else ought to know."
Earlier Saturday, Wright identified a body found in a shallow grave on the property Friday as that of Charles David Carver. Carver, the boyfriend of the kidnapped woman, was shot multiple times before he was buried in a shallow grave in a clearing off Wofford Road, authorities said.
Wright and Coroner Rusty Clevenger delivered the news of Carver's identification during a brief update earlier Saturday night.
"We certainly wanted a different outcome than this," Wright said. He declined to go into detail about the ongoing investigation but said more information would be released later Saturday.
Carver died of multiple gunshot wounds to the upper extremities, said Clevenger, who ruled the death a homicide.
Earlier Saturday, the mother of the missing Anderson man whose girlfriend was abducted and found chained inside a storage shed told the Anderson Independent Mail that she is refusing to give up hope she will one day see her son alive.
“Until I see a body, I can’t give up,” said Joanne Shiflet, mother of the 32-year-old Carver. “For this to be over, I have to see him.”
In an exclusive interview with the Independent-Mail, Shiflet said she has experienced a range of emotions since learning on Friday that Kohlhepp, 45, allegedly shot her son. Her son's girlfriend was found on Thursday chained around her neck and ankles inside a metal shed on a 95-acre tract of land owned by Kohlhepp on Wofford Road near Woodruff.
The victim has told investigators that she saw Kohlhepp shoot Carver, according to 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette, who said it is likely Kohlhepp will face at least one charge of murder.
Late Saturday afternoon, Kohlhepp in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit could be seen accompanied by law enforcement authorities walking on the property. It was not immediately clear why Kohlhepp was brought to the search scene and whether he was cooperating with investigators. He was escorted off the property in an unmarked SUV less than hour later.
Wright has refused to comment on Kohlhepp's appearance.
Wright had previously said human remains were found on the property and that investigators fear they are dealing with the work of a serial killer.
Law enforcement would soon take shifts searching the property one portion at a time, Wright added.
"This is one of the biggest crime scenes I've been involved in," he said.
He said they were dedicated to finding any evidence on the property "no matter how long it takes."
Shiflet said she has been told that it may be several days before she learns whether the body is that of her son.
“Right now, I am just angry,” said Shiflet, who lives in Starr.
The pair were reported missing in early September by friends and family in Anderson. Kohlhepp has been charged with the woman's kidnapping and is being held without bond at the Spartanburg County Detention Center.
Shiflet said she was in court for Kohlhepp's arraignment on Friday when she learned that the woman had told authorities she saw Kohlhepp shoot Carver.
“It was like a slap in the face,” Shiflet said.
According to Shiflet, Carver and the woman drove from Anderson to Kohlhepp's land near Woodruff to talk to him about clearing some property for him.
“It ended up being a trap,” she said.
Shiflet said she learned during Friday’s hearing that the woman knocked on the door of a two-story garage after she and Carver arrived at the property. According to Shiflet, The victim said Carver was shot immediately after the door opened.
Carver’s car was found on the property Thursday.
Shiflet said she and her husband and their adult children have spent much of their time at the property near Woodruff since the woman was found Thursday. She said the wait for answers has been agonizing.
“It is kind of like the feeling of being seasick,” Shiflet said.
She described her son as a cheerful man who enjoyed helping others. "David loved laughter. He loved making people laugh,” Shiflet said. “He was always smiling.”
Shiflet said her son got married about three years ago. She said he and his wife separated in late May or early June. Neighbors of the couple at the Anderson Crossing Apartments said their break-up was acrimonious.
Shiflet said financial problems factored into her son’s failed marriage. “It was hard for David to make ends meet with only one of them working,” she said.
Carver met his girlfriend while working with her mother at a warehouse in Greenville, Shiflet said. They were friends at first, she said, before the woman moved into his apartment this summer.
Shiflet said she was introduced to her about a week before the woman and her son went missing in late August.
“She came up and gave me the biggest hug,” Shiflet said. “She told me that she wanted me to know everything about her.”
Shiflet said she knew that her son was in love.
“You could feel it,” she said. “This was the first happiness that he had known for a long time.”
Investigators returned to the scene before sunrise Saturday to resume their search of property in Spartanburg County. As law enforcement continued to work through the morning, several local residents set up a table with snacks and water for police, media and volunteers at the property on Wofford Road near Woodruff.
Among the onlookers in Woodruff was Scott Waldrop, who said his family has lived on Wofford Road for about 22 years, and who said he struck up an acquaintance with the Kohlhepp a couple of years ago shortly after Kohlhepp purchased the 95-acre property.
He said Kohlhepp liked to talk a lot, and they hit it off the first time. He said Kohlhepp liked to show off his guns. Though he was not a hunter, he was a "great marksman," Waldrop said.
Waldrop said he helped plant trees in front of the fence lining the property and assisted posting no trespassing signs.
They last communicated through text messages last week, he said. Kohlhepp had sent Waldrop a message that said, "Remind me later to tell you about my little altercation with some hunters two weeks ago. The ran off my land in middle of dark (sic)."
Waldrop said that when he heard about Brown being discovered alive nearby he thought she had been found in a container on a four-acre piece of property the two had seen near Kohlhepp's property. He texted Kohlhepp Thursday asking him to call him as soon as possible, not knowing that Kohlhepp had been taken into custody in connection with the woman's kidnapping.
Waldrop said he was shocked to she was found on Kohlhepp's land. "It's a bad travesty," he said.
Wright said authorities will continue the painstaking process of searching the property for as long as it takes to find answers. Wright said they had searched about 30 to 40 percent of the property since Thursday. He said they have found numerous weapons and ammunition.
Several holes could be seen Friday night near the center of the property where an excavator had dug up the earth. A beige two-story garage stood nearby. Barnette said investigators found a bed with chains around it in the living space above the garage.
A gravel path connected the garage to a dark green shed and storage container where the woman was kept chained. The door to the container was open, and crime scene tape cordoned off the area.
In one clearing, officers could be seen collecting evidence from one of several shallow holes in the ground. ||||| In this Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 photo, police search a field on property owned by Todd Kohlhepp where a missing woman was found chained up in a large storage container in Woodruff, S.C. (Tim Kimzey/The... (Associated Press)
In this Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 photo, police search a field on property owned by Todd Kohlhepp where a missing woman was found chained up in a large storage container in Woodruff, S.C. (Tim Kimzey/The Spartanburg Herald-Journal via AP) (Associated Press)
WOODRUFF, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina man killed at least seven people in a hidden crime spree that lasted more than a decade and only was uncovered when police rescued a woman chained at the neck in a storage container, authorities said Saturday.
Todd Kohlhepp accepted responsibility for an unsolved massacre one day before the 13th anniversary of the deaths that stumped authorities, said Sheriff Chuck Wright, first elected a year after the murders.
Kohlhepp, 45, confessed to the deaths of the owner, service manager, mechanic and bookkeeper of Superbike Motorsports, a motorcycle shop in Chesnee, in Spartanburg County.
"God answered our prayers. If it wasn't for Him answering our prayers and Todd talking to us, I don't know that we'd ever solve that case," Wright said.
Wright says Kohlhepp also showed law enforcement officers Saturday where he says he buried two of his other victims on his 95-acre property near Woodruff. Kohlhepp, in handcuffs and wearing an orange jumpsuit, was at the site for less than an hour.
Those are in addition to the body found Friday at the site. Wright and Coroner Rusty Clevenger identified that victim as 32-year-old Charles Carver, the boyfriend of the woman found Thursday in a locked metal container.
Carver and the woman went missing around Aug. 31. Their last known cellphone signals led authorities to the property.
The Associated Press is not naming the woman because the suspect is a sex offender, though authorities have not said whether she was sexually assaulted.
Carver died of multiple gunshot wounds. An anthropologist is helping determine how long Carver was buried, Clevenger said. He declined to say how many times Carver had been shot.
The sheriff says it's possible more bodies will be uncovered.
The wife of one of the 2003 victims said detectives told her Kohlhepp was an angry customer who had been in the shop several times.
Melissa Ponder told The Associated Press she was resigned that her husband Scott's death would never be solved before getting a phone call Saturday evening from one of the case's original detectives.
Detectives told family members of all four victims of the confession at the same time.
"He knew too much about the crime scene," Ponder said of Kohlhepp's account to detectives. "He knew everything."
The Superbike killings stunned the Chesnee community, with rumors like they were committed by a Mexican drug gang or were part of a love triangle crushing the families of the victims.
Melissa Ponder is glad the rumors weren't true.
"It isn't closure, but it is an answer," she said. "And I am thankful for that."
Kohlhepp was released from prison in Arizona in 2001. At 15 years old, he was convicted of raping a 14-year-old neighbor at gunpoint and threatening to kill her siblings if she called police. Kohlhepp had to register as a sex offender.
But that didn't stop him from getting a South Carolina real estate license in 2006 and building a firm.
Wright said "it's strange" that Kohlhepp managed the pretext of a normal life for so long.
Scott Waldrop, who's lived next door to the Woodruff property for nearly 22 years, said he thought Kohlhepp was a serious Doomsday "prepper" who liked his privacy, but "he didn't seem like a threat."
Waldrop said when he saw the container, it was full of bottled water and canned goods. After buying the property two years ago, Kohlhepp immediately started putting a chain link fence around it.
Waldrop said Kohlhepp paid him to put no trespassing signs, cut trees for him and other odd jobs around the property. Kohlhepp also installed deer cameras and put bear traps throughout.
"I was the only one he let over there, I think because I laughed at his jokes and listened to him," he said. "I just hate to know somebody who's done something like this."
Kohlhepp has a house about 9 miles away in Moore, where neighbor Ron Owen said Kohlhepp was very private, but when they did talk across the fence, he was a "big bragger."
Kohlhepp liked to talk about the money he made day trading online, for example, and about his two BMWs. He recently told Owen, 76, that he'd spent $80,000 on the chain link fence.
"We didn't see any signs whatsoever that this was going on," Owen said. "My first reaction's a baseball bat, but I know I'm not to take that in my own hands. God will deal with him."
___
Collins reported from Columbia.
___
Associated Press writers Allen G. Breed and Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Alex Sanz in Spartanburg contributed to this report.
|
– The horror in South Carolina, where authorities last week rescued a woman chained to a storage container before finding the body of her boyfriend, is only deepening. Suspect Todd Kohlhepp has now admitted to killing at least seven people over the course of a decade, reports WLTX, including an unsolved shooting rampage at a motorcycle shop that killed four 13 years to the day ago on Sunday. "God answered our prayers. If it wasn't for Him answering our prayers and Todd talking to us, I don't know that we'd ever solve that case," said local sheriff Chuck Wright, via the AP. "He told us some stuff that nobody else ought to know." Kohlhepp, a registered sex offender, was spotted on Saturday leading authorities around his rural 95-acre property near Woodruff; he apparently showed cops the locations of two bodies he'd buried there. Law enforcement is continuing to search the property, says Wright, who adds, "this is one of the biggest crime scenes I've been involved in." Says the widow of one of the victims of the motorcycle shop shooting: "It isn't closure, but it is an answer. And I am thankful for that."
|
A former police officer from Siberia who was jailed for murdering 22 women has been charged over another 47 deaths to which he has confessed, making him Russia’s most prolific killer.
Mikhail Popkov, nicknamed the Werewolf, was handed a life sentence two years ago after the murders in the city of Angarsk, near Lake Baikal. He attacked women he considered were immoral because they were out late at night.
Between 1994 and 2000 Popkov offered his victims lifts before taking them to remote locations where he killed them with axes, knives or screwdrivers. Three of the murders were committed while he was on duty, using a police car.
Local media reported that Popkov, 49, had admitted in prison to another 60 killings. So far prosecutors… ||||| Popkov has confessed to 59 new murders. Picture: Vostochno-Sibirskaya Pravda
Siberian maniac and former policeman Mikhail Popkov - who raped his victims before killing them - appears to be the world's third worst known serial killer.
In an interview today with The Siberian Times, the Russian Investigative Committee - the Russian equivalent of the FBI - clarified a series of confusing news agency and newspaper reports this week on the number of new cases.
The true total of women victims - believed to be aged 17 to 38 - is far higher than previously reported.
The sensational new findings follow intensive detective work over two years since father-of-one Popkov - who was married when he committed his offences and is nicknamed 'The Werewolf' - was convicted in January 2015 of an initial 22 murders of mostly young women.
Irkutsk Investigative Committee spokeswoman Karina Golovacheva: 'So there are 59 new murders. That means, if we add them to the earlier 22, it will be 81 murders in total.' Picture: Investigative Committee in Irkutsk region
The butcher sexually attacked his mainly young female victims before slaying them with axes, knives or screwdrivers over an 18 year period immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Irkutsk Investigative Committee spokeswoman Karina Golovacheva admitted there had been confusion over the numbers, and used her interview with The Siberian Times to officially clarify and confirm the sinister detail of Popkov's reign of terror.
'To clarify the numbers, Popkov has confessed to 59 new murders,' she said. 'We are not counting in this total those 22 for which he was already sentenced. These cases are already closed.
'So there are 59 new murders. That means, if we add them to the earlier 22, it will be 81 murders in total.'
Popkov (middle) has a higher total than worst-ever Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo (right) who was convicted of 53 murders, and the more recent Moscow maniac Alexander Pichushkin (left), known as the Chessboard Killer, who killed 49. Picture: The Siberian Times
She said that currently he is charged with 47 new murders, and another dozen are still officially under investigation, but imminent charges are expected over these additional alleged crimes.
She emphasised: 'We are quite sure about the 12 other cases. We are now gathering all the evidence.' Further analysis of the evidence is underway and 'in the nearest future we can bring charges in these 12 cases' which Popkov has already admitted.
Earlier, contradictory reports in Russian news agencies led to conflicting reports on the numbers.
But it is today clear that Popkov - on the basis of charges to which he has already confessed - has a higher total than worst-ever Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, aka the Butcher of Rostov, who was convicted of 53 murders, and the more recent Moscow maniac Alexander Pichushkin, known as the Chessboard Killer, who killed 49.
He is also higher than Ukrainian Anatoly Onoprienko, who was active at the end of the Soviet era, and was convicted of a total of 52 murders.
'He says very clearly, when and what was done. We are looking for evidence that confirms his words. A large number of episodes are confirmed.' Picture: Investigative Committee, The Siberian Times
If - as expected following his confessions - his toll is confirmed by the court as 81, only two serial killers in the world, Luis Garavito and Pedro Lopez, both South American, will have had higher numbers of proven victims.
'When the investigation is finished, and Popkov has read the case materials, the trial can begin,' she said.
It is also now established that his murders continued for a full decade after police previously believed they had stopped. 'The period of his murders also has changed,' she said. 'He was killing women from 1992 to 2010, so he did not stop in 2000.'
Earlier, investigators believed he was correct in saying that he had halted his vicious sexual attacks and killings in 2000 because he became 'impotent' after contracting venereal disease from a victim.
Tatiana Martynova (right) with a friend Yulia Kuprikova (middle) who they were both killed together. Viktoria Chagaeva (L), pictured with her younger sister Tatiana and mother Lyubov. Viktoria Chagaeva, 49, who owns a beauty salon in Angarsk, with a picture of her beloved younger sister Tatiana, killed by the 'Wednesday murderer'. Pictures: The Siberian Times
Popkov is co-operating with investigators, and his testimony has been crucial to uncovering the 59 new cases. But it is not ruled out that there are more cases than the 81 he admits.
One theory is that he is deliberately rationing his confessions to delay the moment when he is sent from his current detention prison to a harsh penal colony to serve his life sentence.
In a court appearance in Irkutsk, details of which have just been disclosed, he was asked by judge Pavel Rukavishnikov how many women he had killed. He shrugged and replied: 'I can't say exactly, I didn't keep a record.'
But the mass killer told the court: 'I admit my guilt in full'....'committing the murders, I was guided by my inner convictions.'
After he was detained in 2012, he told police he wanted to 'cleanse' the streets of 'prostitutes'.
The maniac's victims, top to bottom - Yulia Shapovalova and Maria Molotkova; Maria Molotkova funerals, and pictures of two other victims, Marina Lyzhina, 35 (l) and Liliya Pashkovskaya, 37 (r) at their funerals. Pictures: The Siberian Times
He often offered victims nighttime lifts in his police car before taking them to remote locations where he raped and killed them, leaving their naked bodies in woods on roadsides.
Senior investigator Andrei Bunayev disclosed last year: 'The investigation will be very long because there are a lot of cases. He names the places where bodies are hidden.
'We find these bodies, and check his involvement. He says very clearly, when and what was done. We are looking for evidence that confirms his words. A large number of episodes are confirmed.'
He said Popkov 'left biological traces in some cases which were not studied earlier - but now there is an opportunity to examine them'. In other cases, sites were dug up guided by the convicted mass murderer.
Victim Yulia Kuprikova, killed by the 'Wednesday murderer'. Picture: The Siberian Times
'Popkov is collaborating with us,' he said. 'Everything he says is confirmed. He confidently guides us to the place where a body is found and explains what happened, what injuries he caused.'
After he ceased being a policeman, it is known Popkov drove between his home city of Angarsk, in Irkutsk region, where many of his crimes were committed, and Vladivostok, on the country's Pacific coast, a distance of some 3,900 kilometres.
Yet a painstaking search has not found evidence of crimes in other regions - so far.
'It was established that he killed women in other cities and towns of Irkutsk region, but we have not found any evidence he killed someone in other regions,' - said Lieutenant Golovacheva.
'At the moment we cannot give much detail as the investigation is ongoing. We can say more when the trial starts.'
Two of his earlier victims were Tatiana (Tanya) Martynova, 20, and Yulia Kuprikova, 19, found dead on 29 October 1998 in an Angarsk suburb following a night out.
One theory is that he began his murder spree after - wrongly - suspecting his wife Elena of cheating on him. Pictures: Channel 1, NTV
'The pain does not go away - it was me who gave Tanya a ticket to go to a concert, and she was killed after attending it," said her sister Viktoria Chagaeva, 49, who owns a beauty salon in Angarsk.
Popkov's wife Elena, 51, and daughter Ekaterina, 29, a teacher, initially stood by him, refusing to believe he was a mass killer. But since his trial they have moved to another city to begin new lives.
One theory is that he began his murder spree after - wrongly - suspecting his wife of cheating on him. He found two used condoms in the rubbish at home, and this led to his drive to take revenge on women, it is claimed. In fact the contraceptives had been used by guests.
'I just had some reasons to suspect her,' said Popkov, of his belief that his wife had slept with another man. 'I'm not looking for excuses, but this was the impetus for my future.'
His daughter Ekaterina, 29, a teacher, initially stood by him, refusing to believe he was a mass killer. Pictures: Channel 1, NTV
He admitted to having a negative view of women who went out at night to drink without their husbands or boyfriends. Now he says: 'I had no right to evaluate people, their behaviour ... this is my repentance.'
He evaded capture for years because police could not contemplate that one of their own officers could be a mass killer.
He daughter at first refused to believe he could be a mass killer.
'I do not believe any of this. I always felt myself as 'Daddy's girl',' she said. 'For 25 years we were together, hand in hand.
'We walked, rode bikes, went to the shops, and he met me from school. We both collect model cars, so we have the same hobby. I wanted to be a criminologist, so I read a book with tips of how investigators catch serial killers and there were also basic classifications [about murderers].
he told police he wanted to 'cleanse' the streets of 'prostitutes' in his home city of Angarsk where he worked as a policeman. Pictures: The Siberian Times, Photo-Angarsk
'Daddy doesn't fit any of these classifications -- he doesn't look like some maniac.'
Popkov has previous told journalists that he was only caught because of advances in DNA technology used to tackle crimes.
'I could not anticipate the examination of DNA,' he said. 'I was born in another century. Now there are such modern technologies, methods, but not earlier. If we have not got to that level of genetic examination, then ... I would not be sitting in front of you.'
Asked he could turn back time, what he would do differently, he said: 'All initially should have been changed. Straight from school. Since childhood.' |||||
(Photo courtesy Siberian Times)
Former Siberian policeman Mikhail Popkov, who is already serving a life sentence for the murders of 22 women, has confessed to killing 59 more, police told the Siberian Times.
Nicknamed the “werewolf” of Siberia for the brutality of his methods — he raped women and then killed them with axes, knives or screwdrivers — Mikhail Popkov carried out his bloody rampage between 1992 and 2010 in the Angarsk and Irkutsk regions of Siberia, the paper reported. According to the state news agency Tass, he resigned as a police officer in 1998.
When he was first detained in 2012, the Siberian Times said, he told police his goal was to “cleanse” the streets of prostitutes.
According to Tass, the investigation began when women kept disappearing from public places in Angarsk in the mid-1990s, at the time Popkov was a police officer. Later, authorities started finding mutilated bodies of the women around Irkutsk.
They also found tire tracks from a Niva cross-country vehicle at some of the crime scenes, which ultimately led them to Popkov.
At first he confessed to three murders.
But as police investigated, and as he began talking, the number rose to the 22 for which he was convicted and sentenced in January 2015.
Irkutsk police spokeswoman Karina Golovacheva has told the Siberian Times that Popkov has now confessed to 59 new slayings. “That means, if we add them to the earlier 22, it will be 81 murders in total.” Of the 59 cases, 47 have produced charges. “We are quite sure about the 12 other cases,” Golovacheva told the paper, and “in the nearest future we can bring charges” in the twelve others.
The victims have ranged in age from 17 to 38.
Popkov, according to earlier reports of the case, started his spree when he was a policeman, offering women rides in his police car and then taking them to remote locations and raping and killing them.
After laborious probes, police have found body after body in the places where Popkov told them they were hidden.
The Siberian Times speculated that he was confessing gradually to the killings rather than all at once in hopes of delaying his transfer from a detention prison to a penal colony.
If authorities ultimately confirm 81 as the number of Popkov’s victims, that would make him one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, behind Colombia’s Luis Garavito, a child-killer nicknamed “The Beast” who claimed at least 138 lives in the 1990s, and Pedro López (“The Monster of the Andes”) with 110 proven victims in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru between 1969 and 1980.
More from Morning Mix
‘Flip or Flop’: The phoenix-like rise and bizarre fall of HGTV’s second favorite couple
Shaking hands is ‘barbaric’: Donald Trump, the germaphobe in chief
Trailer showing white actor portraying Michael Jackson makes his daughter ‘want to vomit’
Introducing Daliyah, the 4-year-old girl who has read more than 1,000 books
|
– An ex-cop already serving life for 22 murders has been charged with 47 more killings and another 12 are under investigation, which would make Mikhail Popkov the worst serial killer in Russian history and the third-worst in world history. Law enforcement sources tell the Siberian Times that Popkov, who targeted women he thought were immoral because they were out late at night, has been providing investigators with information including the locations of bodies. He claims to have started his killing spree, which stretched across a large area of Siberia, after he began suspecting that his wife had cheated on him. Popkov, who resigned from the force in Angarsk in 1998, per the Washington Post, was arrested in 2012 after investigators got a tip-off and checked the DNA of thousands of current and former police officers, the Times of London reports. Police sources say he has claimed to have killed at least 81 women with axes, knives, and screwdrivers, a total that exceeds the 52 killed by "Butcher of Rostov" Andrei Chikatilo between 1978 and 1990 and the 48 murdered by "Chessboard Killer" Alexander Pichushkin between 1992 and 2006. (Here's why he was called the "Chessboard Killer.")
|
A computer model has found a smiling expression is key to a first impression of being approachable, while large eyes signal youthfulness, and dominance is linked partly to a masculine face shape.
You may think you can judge a person you just met based on his or her facial expressions. Does a smile indicate a person is easygoing or insincere? Does squinting show concentration, or mistrust?
First impressions of people — such as whether they are trustworthy, dominant or attractive — can develop from a glimpse as brief as 100 milliseconds or less. Brain scans suggests that such judgments are made automatically, probably outside of people's conscious control.
But now, a computer system that mimics the human brain has identified which facial features most influence how others first perceive a person, scientists say.These findings could lead to computer programs that automatically see which photographs would help people give the best first impressions they can, the researchers added.
Because first impressions can affect people's future behavior and can be difficult to overturn, "it's useful to know how we're being judged on our appearance, especially since these judgments might not be accurate — think of effects on court cases or democratic elections, for example," said study co-author Tom Hartley, a cognitive neuroscientist and psychologist at the University of York in England. "Should we really trust a smiling face?" [Smile Secrets: 5 Things Your Grin Reveals About You]
Although some previous research has suggested that there may be a kernel of truth in some first impressions, Hartley noted that people typically go too far with the judgments they develop from first impressions. "For instance, someone with a young-looking face is judged to have other immature characteristics," Hartley said. "Evidence is clear that often judging a book by its cover is just plain wrong, but we all do it."
Given the increasing presence of faces on social media sites, first impressions could be more important than ever, Hartley suggested.
"Whereas, in the past, we got to know people through meeting them in the flesh, increasingly, our first contact is online, and our first impressions are based on the images we provide on social media profiles," Hartley told Live Science.
Previous research has shown that "the many different judgments characterizing first impressions tend to fall along three underlying dimensions," Hartley said. "One is approachability — do they want to help me or to harm me? The next is dominance — can they help or harm me? The last is youthful-attractiveness — perhaps representing whether they would be a good romantic partner or rival."
Judging images
To learn more about how first impressions are formed, the research team at the University of York found 1,000 photographs of people on the Internet, and showed them to six volunteers. The participants rated their first impressions of the people in the photos on social traits such as trustworthiness and dominance. These images were typical of pictures seen every day, ranging widely in angle, lighting, ages, expressions, hairstyles and so on.
Each face was broken down into 65 physical features, such as the shape of a person's jaw, mouth, eyes, cheekbones or eyebrows. The researchers then analyzed these faces using an artificial neural network, a kind of artificial intelligence computing system that mimics how the brain works. They had the neural network attempt to learn which facial physical features might be linked to first impressions of social traits.
This modelsuggested "that given enough data, we can accurately gauge people's likely impressions of a given image," Hartley said. "If you're thinking about attaching a picture to their CV, résumé or online dating profile, maybe you should take a look at our paper first!"
The model found that mouth shape and area were linked to approachability — unsurprisingly, a smiling expression is a key component of an impression of approachability. When it came to youthful-attractiveness, eye shape and area were important, in line with views linking relatively large eyes to a youthful appearance. Dominance was linked with features indicating a masculine face shape, such as eyebrow height, cheekbones, as well as color and texture differences that may relate to either masculinity or a healthy or tanned overall appearance.
"Our results suggest that some of the features that are associated with first impressions are linked to changeable properties of the face or setting that are specific to a given image," Hartley said. "So, things like expression, pose, camera position, lighting can all, in principle, contribute alongside the structure of our faces themselves. In some ways, our model parallels or makes explicit the kinds of judgment that might be relevant to casting directors, animators and portrait photographers who select or manipulate images to create certain impressions."
Wanna look more trustworthy?
By reversing this process, the researchers created a model that generated cartoon faces depicting the typical characteristics of someone judged as having certain social traits. The researchers compared the results with those of 30 human judges, and found that these cartoon faces usually gave the first impressions they were designed to give. [7 Personality Traits You May Want to Change]
Hartley suggested that future research might be able to use these findings "to select an image which conveys a desirable impression, perhaps even automatically."
However, Hartley noted that the researchers looked only at Caucasian faces in this study, to avoid possible confounding effects of race, though they are currently conducting cross-cultural studies to find out how culture impacts the results.
"We know that people process faces of other ethnicities differently from their own — this might be because of cultural stereotypes, but also more subtle things such as the level of experience we have with different kinds of variation in the face," Hartley said. "As it's not practical to incorporate faces and judges from every possible geographic, cultural and ethnic background, we instead try to keep these factors fixed by focusing on one ethnic and cultural group at a time. We can then investigate the ways in which different groups rely on different facial features and perhaps reach different social judgments in a step-by-step way."
In addition to looking across cultures, future studies can also "use brain imaging to investigate how these social impressions are created in the brain," Hartley said. Another direction for research "will be to look at ways in which first impressions can be influenced by directly manipulating specific features, and whether, with the knowledge we now have, we can influence people's social decisions by choosing images with particular characteristics," he added.
The scientists detailed their findings online July 28 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. ||||| Image copyright HANNAH GAL / SPL Image caption Approachable? Intelligent? People's responses to 1,000 photographs were used to build the model
Whether it's a curled lip or a keen cheekbone, we all make quick social judgements based on strangers' faces.
Now scientists have modelled the specific physical attributes that underpin our first impressions.
Small changes in the dimensions of a face can make it appear more trustworthy, dominant or attractive.
The results, published in the journal PNAS, could help film animators or anyone looking to create an instant impression on a social network.
Dr Tom Hartley, a neuroscientist at the University of York and the study's senior author, said the work added mathematical detail to a well-known phenomenon.
"If people are forming these first impressions, just based on looking at somebody's face, what is it about the image of the face that's giving that impression - can we measure it exactly?"
Three key dimensions of a first impression Approachability: how likely is this person to help (or hinder) me?
Dominance: how capable is this person of carrying out those intentions?
Attractiveness: is this person young and good looking - a potential romantic partner?
Positive first impressions are especially important in a world dominated by social media, from LinkedIn to Tinder.
Dr Hartley sees the commercial potential in applying his numerical model to the photos people use to present themselves online. "It's obviously potentially very useful," he told the BBC.
To make the calculations, each of 1,000 face photos from the internet was shown to at least six different people, who gave it a score for 16 different social traits, like trustworthiness or intelligence.
Overall, these scores boil down to three main characteristics: whether a face is (a) approachable, (b) dominant, and (c) attractive.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Cartoon faces based on the new mathematical model, sliding along 3 scales: approachability, dominance and attractiveness
By measuring the physical attributes of all 1,000 faces and putting them together with those scores, Dr Hartley and his team built a mathematical model of how the dimensions of a face produce those three impressions.
The next step was to get the computer to extrapolate. Using their new model, the team produced cartoon versions of the most (and least) approachable, dominant and attractive faces - as well as all the possibilities in between.
Image copyright T Hartley / PNAS Image caption Six faces and their computerised approximations, including study author Dr Tom Hartley (second from left)
Image caption The same treatment given to the Today programme's John Humphrys
You could use these kind of numbers to decide when is a good time to take a photograph, or to choose the photograph that's really optimal in putting forward the best possible impression Dr Tom Hartley, University of York
Finally, and most importantly, these cartoon results could be tested. When the researchers quizzed more participants about their impressions of the artificial, cartoon faces, the ratings matched. People said that the computer's cartoon prediction of an approachable face was, indeed, approachable - and so on.
So has all this work revealed humanity's ultimate trustworthy jawline, or the most assertive shape for eyebrows? Dr Hartley is cautious.
"Lots of the features of the face tend to vary together," he explained. "So it's very difficult for us to pin down with certainty that a given feature of the face is contributing to a certain social impression."
There are some obvious trends however - including the tendency for masculine faces to be perceived as dominant, or for a broadly smiling face to seem more approachable and trustworthy.
This points to a potentially worrying implication: brief facial expressions can make a big difference to how we are received by strangers.
"It might be problematic if we're forming these kind of judgements based on these rather fleeting impressions," Dr Hartley said, "particularly in today's world where we only might see one picture of a face, on social media, and have to form our impression based on that."
Image copyright T Hartley / PNAS Image caption A mathematical model produced cartoon faces based on how people rated various facial dimensions
On the other hand, the findings could help people put their best face forward.
"It might be very useful for organisations who are interested in people's faces," said Dr Hartley.
[Being] approachable is tied to smiling expressions and unapproachable to frowning or angry expressions, while dominance is tied to masculine features Dr Anthony Little, University of Stirling
That might include interests as diverse as photographers, Facebook and Pixar.
"You would be able to use these kind of numbers to decide when is a good time to take a photograph, or maybe to choose the photograph that's really optimal in putting forward the best possible impression - and you might want to put forward different kinds of social impressions in different situations."
Animators, on the other hand, "have to give life, and give some social meaning, to the faces of their characters just by changing small things," Dr Hartley said.
"What we're doing is trying to put that on a scientific footing. It's been fascinating to find out more about it."
Dr Anthony Little, a reader in psychology at the University of Stirling, said the findings point to something "simple and important" about the way physical attributes guide our social responses.
Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Impressions included attractiveness and trustworthiness - potential mate or used car salesman?
"The results highlight that the way we see other people may be in relatively simple terms, as approachable/unapproachable and dominant/submissive," said Dr Little, whose own research on faces and psychology includes using a website to crowd-source ratings.
"Each of these two factors looks to be tied to specific face features. So, approachable is tied to smiling expressions and unapproachable to frowning or angry expressions, while dominance is tied to masculine features.
"The third factor, youthful-attractiveness, appears less distinct."
This is because of interplay between attractiveness and the other two factors, Dr Little explained. ||||| Within moments of meeting someone new, we've make both conscious and subconscious judgments about them—even if we're just looking at a picture of them. First impressions largely hinge on a person's facial features, which we judge on three major axes: dominance, approachability and attractiveness. Now, researchers publishing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences have revealed the underpinnings of our snap judgments.
To create a model that could predict first impressions, the team first asked volunteers to record their first impression of more than 1,000 photos of people's faces, taken from the internet, the BBC reports. Then, the researchers built a model based on careful measurements of the faces combined with the respondents' first impressions.
To test how accurate their program was, the researchers used it to generate cartoon faces representing different first impressions of dominance, approachability and attractiveness, the BBC continues. They asked volunteers to make judgments about both the cartoons and the real-life faces they represented and found that the impressions matched.
The team thinks their findings could help animators create more convincing characters, as well as aid those looking to make a good first impression through an application photo or social network profile picture, the BBC adds.
|
– Have masculine or feminine features? A big smile? Characteristics like these, it seems, are central to our snap judgements of people's faces. Using a computer model, researchers have figured out how different features affect our first impressions, the BBC reports. The system is based on 1,000 pictures of different faces gathered online. In a study, researchers had respondents give opinions of these faces, focusing on approachability, dominance, and attractiveness. Researchers then created a mathematical model that translated those opinions into distinct facial measurements—an effort to "crack the code of first impressions," notes Smithsonian. The result was a computer program that generates cartoon faces intended to be dominant or submissive, approachable or off-putting. Another batch of study subjects offered their opinions of the cartoons—and they fit the computer's assessments. Masculine features and a good tan were apparently tied to the perception of dominance, while smiles were associated with approachability, LiveScience reports. Knowing how first impressions work may be particularly important these days: "Whereas in the past, we got to know people through meeting them in the flesh, increasingly, our first contact is online, and our first impressions are based on the images we provide on social media profiles," says the study's lead author. Of course, what's attractive could change a lot in the next century.
|
Juneau Mayor Death Investigation
More from KTUU Juneau Mayor Death Investigation
UPDATE:
Juneau Police say the body of deceased Juneau Mayor Greg Fisk was found by his adult son who called 911 to report the death Monday night.
The cause of death is unknown pending an autopsy by the State Medical Examiner, police said. Results of the autopsy are expected within several days.
"JPD is aware of rumors that an assault occurred in connection with Fisk’s death. Those rumors are speculation," police said in a press release Monday night. "Detectives are actively investigating facts of the incident and all evidence is being preserved and documented."
ORIGINAL STORY:
Juneau mayor Stephen "Greg" Fisk was found deceased inside his residence on the 400 block of Kennedy Street, Juneau Police said Monday.
Police received a 911 call at around 3:30pm Monday reporting a deceased person had been found inside the residence. JPD responded to the area with Capital City Fire/Rescue.
Fisk was pronounced dead on scene, police said. Investigation is ongoing.
“At this time it is an unattended death so it’s in the very early stages of an investigation," said JPD spokeswoman Erann Kalwara. "We haven’t determined if there’s anything suspicious or not.”
The City and Borough of Juneau cancelled Assembly meetings scheduled for 6pm and 7pm Monday night, according to a statement posted on Facebook.
Fisk was elected mayor in October, after securing nearly twice as many votes as incumbent Merrill Sanford.
Juneau Deputy Mayor Mary Becker said Fisk was a long time family friend and was devastated to hear of his death.
"He was a wonderful person and a friend and from the calls I’ve been receiving tonight, I’m not the only one who felt he was wonderful person and a good friend to Juneau," Becker told Channel 2. "It’s so devastating to have this happen, it’s basically unbelievable."
As deputy mayor, Becker says she will assume the responsibilities as acting mayor in accordance with state law.
"Our attorney is researching what kind of steps and procedures we will need to take so that we do everything legally. That’s all I know for right now," Becker said.
For more coverage on this story, visit KTOO's website.
This is a developing story. Check back for details. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
|
– The mayor of Juneau has been found dead in his home less than two months after he was elected. The body of Greg Fisk, 70, was found by his adult son on Monday afternoon and police, who have not released a cause of death, have been searching the area and interviewing neighbors, the Alaska Dispatch reports. Juneau police are "aware of rumors that an assault occurred in connection with Fisk's death. Those rumors are speculation," police said in a statement Monday night. "Detectives are actively investigating facts of the incident and all evidence is being preserved and documented." Fisk, a former state fisheries specialist, easily beat incumbent Merrill Sanford last month to become mayor of Alaska's capital, the Dispatch reports. Deputy Mayor Mary Becker, who says Fisk was an old family friend, will now become acting mayor. He was a "wonderful person and a friend and from the calls I've been receiving tonight, I'm not the only one who felt he was a wonderful person and a good friend to Juneau," she tells KTUU. "It's so devastating to have this happen, it's basically unbelievable."
|
These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| "Obama has decimated the friggin' constitution, so I don't give a damn," the Helmetta cop says on camera. "Because if he doesn't follow the Constitution we don't have to."
A still photo of the YouTube video showing Helmetta Special Police Officer Richard Recine talking about the U.S. Constitution. (Photo: YouTube) Story Highlights Special Police Officer Richard Recine is under investigation for remarks about Obama, Constitution.
Video recorded by residents campaigning for animal shelter reform.
UPDATE: N.J. cop in Obama rant resigns after video goes viral
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article contains language that some readers may find offensive.
A borough police officer was caught on camera telling a resident that police don't have to follow the Constitution because President Barack Obama doesn't, either.
Special Police Officer Richard Recine now is the subject of an internal affairs investigation after the video was posted online and was seen by Police Director Robert Manney, who called the comments an "embarrassment."
In the video, taken Monday at the borough municipal building, resident Steve Wronko gets into a verbal confrontation with Recine, who was called to the building because Wronko was seen taking pictures inside.
After Wronko insists he has a constitutional right to record in a public place, Recine responds.
"Obama has decimated the friggin' constitution, so I don't give a damn," says Recine, a retired Franklin cop. "Because if he doesn't follow the Constitution we don't have to."
Wronko then turns to the person recording the camera to make sure that was recorded. Recine repeats himself.
"Our president has decimated the constitution, then we don't have to."
On Wednesday, Manney said Recine's words were "uncalled for and unprofessional."
Manney, who appears in the video but only after Recine had made his comments, said the investigation should be "completed very swiftly" because "the evidence is right there."
"I've already spoken to that officer in regards to that. In my opinion it's an embarrassment."
Recine works as a part-time special police officer earning an hourly wage while collecting a $79,000 annual pension for his retirement as a police officer from Franklin in 2006. Helmetta is a small town of less than 2,200 people known for its police speed trap along the main drag.
Wronko's wife said Wednesday that she and her husband were at the municipal building to file public record requests. The couple have been campaigning for reform at the borough animal shelter, which they said gave them an underage and sick puppy that caused them thousands of dollars in veterinarian bills.
"We wanted them to pay for the medical bills. Now it's way past the money," Collene Freda-Wronko said. "Now it's about getting animals out of that shelter and getting people into that shelter who could run that facility better."
She said police have ordered her husband to stop videorecording at the animal shelter during two previous incidents.
Manney said police have the right to ask citizens to identify themselves in a municipal building.
"He was in our building and he got some of our employees upset," he said about Wronko. "They were worried because they've seen him before lurking around. In my opinion he was looking for an issue."
Staff Writer Sergio Bichao: 908-243-6615; sbichao@mycentraljersey.com
Read or Share this story: http://mycj.co/1scydwb
|
– A New Jersey police officer has resigned after saying that he can ignore a citizen's Constitutional rights—because President Obama has already "decimated the friggin' Constitution." Special Police Officer Richard Recine made the heated remark Monday in a confrontation with a resident of Helmetta, NJ, who had been seen taking photos inside a municipal building, My Central Jersey reports. The resident, Steve Wronko, told Recine he had a constitutional right to snap the shots. "Obama has decimated the friggin' constitution, so I don't give a damn," said Recine. "Because if he doesn't follow the Constitution we don't have to." What's more, Recine's comments were all captured on video (WARNING: foul language). An internal affairs investigation quickly followed, and Police Director Robert Manney called Recine's words an "embarrassment." Manney said the probe should wrap up "very swiftly" since "the evidence is right there." Recine, a 59-year-old part-time officer, told My Central Jersey why he resigned: "I don't want to give a black eye to law enforcement," he said. "I don't want all officers painted with the same brush." Wronko's wife said the whole thing started because she and her husband were trying to reform the borough animal shelter, which had given them a sick puppy that ended up costing thousands of extra dollars in veterinary services.
|
At some point in the not too distant future, Tom Hardy needs to book himself in for a new tattoo. The 39-year-old British actor has already got quite a few, as the markings protruding from his T-shirt — and the many topless shots that exist of him on the internet — attest. He's had the London skyline, a Chinese dragon, his wife's name (and his ex-wife's initials), a Madonna and child and a Buddha with an AK47. This latest one though, he's dragging his heels about. "I haven't got it yet," he says cheerily, taking a deep lungful from his electronic cigarette, "because it sucks."
Hardy had a wager with Leonardo DiCaprio, with whom he starred in last year's The Revenant, a story of betrayal and vengeance among 19th-century fur trappers. DiCaprio predicted that Hardy would get an Oscar nomination for his supporting role as a feral frontiersman who leaves DiCaprio's character for dead after the latter is mauled by a grizzly bear. Hardy bet a tattoo of the winner's choosing that he wouldn't. Hardy lost. Hardy recreates DiCaprio's design on a Post-it note for me. "He wrote, in this really shitty handwriting: 'Leo knows everything.' Ha! I was like, 'OK, I'll get it done, but you have to write it properly.'"
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
And he probably will. Hardy's body art is very much a statement of his commitment: to his lovers, to his family, to himself. Also, to his agent. He has her name, Lindy King, tattooed on the inside of his arm, which he said he would do if she ever got him into Hollywood. Thanks to gigs like The Revenant, in which Hardy brought a magnetic savagery to every scene; or 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, which saw him knock the stuffing back into the moth-eaten action movie franchise; or playing Bane in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises and thereby creating an instantly iconic super-villain who was as terrifying as he was kinky — she most certainly did.
But Hardy is both in Hollywood and not in Hollywood. He's matinee-idol handsome, with plump lips, smouldering eyes and those much-papped pecs, but he resists playing the pretty, heroic roles his physiognomy was made for. He prefers to play gangsters, villains and psychopaths. And he's very, very good at it. He has an innate, undeniable charisma on screen that puts him at the top of every director's wish list — all right, as we'll get on to, perhaps not all of them — but often forgoes behemoth movies in favour of smaller, weirder films in which he can experiment, cut loose. He is steadfastly tightlipped about his personal life, but refreshingly candid about his profession. His friendship is something to be treasured; his enmity is something to be feared.
Also, have you seen the pictures that go with this article? They were Hardy's idea. All of them, from the makeup to the location, to the outfits, to the gun and fruit props. Amazing, right? But also, WTF? Tom Hardy is not your average actor, not your average movie star. In fact, he's not your average man.
He started out averagely enough but quickly demonstrated a reluctance to stay so. Tom Hardy was born on 15 September 1977, the only child of Edward (aka "Chips"), an advertising executive and sometime comedy writer, and Anne, an artist. He was raised in East Sheen, a pleasant suburb of west London. He went to nice private schools, where, he told me when we met once before, he "wasn't the best student". Drama was a passing interest, though it was encouraged by Chips and Anne because, as he said, "from a very privileged position I was underachieving and my desperate parents were like, 'Fucking hell, we've got to find something for Tom to do.'"
Then things got worse. Underachieving turned into serious misbehaving — including getting caught with a friend in a stolen Mercedes-Benz with a firearm — which eventually spiralled into a debilitating drink and drug addiction. "Inside I wanted it to stop," he told me when I interviewed him last time for the cover of the May 2015 issue of Esquire, "but if you get caught out you keep putting your hand in the fire because you're a bad dog and that's what's expected of you. And it's just a waste. Such a waste. I know plenty of people who were born with a nice silver spoon or whatever — very dead. And died painfully, and unnecessarily."
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
He did find his way to the Drama Centre in London and got his first professional gigs in Steven Spielberg's WWII drama Band of Brothers and Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, both of which came out in 2001. But even with such a high-calibre start, he was in serious danger of losing it. He once admitted, "I would have sold my mother for a rock of crack," and has described the moment he woke up lying in a pool of blood and vomit on London's Old Compton Street with a crack pipe in his hand. He's also told a story of the time he was supposed to meet director John Woo in Hollywood but instead found himself passed out in a bed in downtown LA alongside a naked man he didn't know with a gun and cat (whom he didn't know either).
Eventually, he says, reality bit. "There were systematically, constantly, things that were put across my path where it was, 'Tom, you need to wake up because there are more important things to do. And you keep on doing stuff that's nonsense, and you of all people have been born with opportunities.' So I had words with myself about the reality of wanking about when there's such a lot to be getting on with." He's been sober since 2003, though the impulses are still there. In Canada, he told me about "Arthur", the orangutan who is the metaphorical manifestation of his destructive urges, which he likens to Winston Churchill's "black dog" of depression. Always present, never to be ignored.
There's an idea that actors should come to roles as blank slates, so that your knowledge of their real lives doesn't detract from the role they're playing, but with Hardy it feels that his experiences add another layer to his performances. It's why he was so captivating as a homeless drug addict in the 2007 BBC adaptation of Stuart: A Life Backwards, so terrifying as Britain's most notorious prisoner Charles Bronson in 2008's surreal biopic Bronson, so convincing as both Ronnie and Reggie Kray in Brian Helgeland's Legend, the 2015 film about east London's most feared mobsters (though they did love their mum). He doesn't have to channel the time his pet goldfish died in order to play characters who have been brutalised or broken; he can play men who stare into the existential abyss because he has stared into it himself. He's got a unique perspective. Or as he told a fellow addiction survivor in a video for The Prince's Trust charity, "I'm an addict and an alcoholic so I have my ups and downs. My head is a bit wonky."
It's early November when we meet in a postproduction house in Soho, central London, and Hardy has a deadline. He needs to finalise the edit on the third episode of Taboo, an eight-part BBC drama which he created with his father, and which he both stars in and is executively producing. Taboo is set in 1814, and Hardy plays James Delaney, an adventurer who returns home from 10 years in the Congo to discover that his recently dead father has bequeathed him an unusual inheritance, which is of interest to both the British and American governments and the East India Company. But, of course, given that it's come from the brain of Hardy, Taboo is not your average costume drama.
However, on that front you're going to have to take my word for it. Before we sit down in an edit suite to watch the episode, I have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. "You can write what you think," says Hardy, "just not why you think it." So we sit there side by side on a black leather sofa as an editor called Serkan plays back the episode on a large screen, Hardy scribbling continuously on an A4 pad and working his way through a stack of four (yes, four) pizzas and a bottle of Diet Coke; me making notes in my own notebook, mostly about the pizzas.
What I can tell you is that Taboo is seedy, gritty, knotty and complex. There are twists and subversions — even perversions — of character tropes that make most period dramas look like an episode of Peppa Pig. It was conceived in some ways, says Hardy, to be an "anti-Downton", and despite having lush production values that make London, where it is mostly set, look dank and grubby and decadent and sumptuous all at the same time, and boasting a cast of period drama stalwarts including Jonathan Pryce and Tom Hollander, Taboo goes to places that other shows of that genre don't. Let's just say, the title of the show is no accident.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
When it finishes, we move to the kitchen area of the production house, which is off a windowless corridor of closed doors, next to each of which is a sign identifying the programme being edited inside: Poldark, Endeavour, Fortitude. Our conversation is occasionally interrupted by vitamin-D-starved TV types popping in to make cups of coffee, as well as some loud male and female groans repeating over and over from an edit suite across the hall (fighting or schtupping? "Sounds like a bit of both," says Hardy).
Hardy seems fairly relaxed, given that he's under a reasonable amount of pressure. His production company, Hardy Son and Baker, which he runs with a producing partner, Dean Baker, has to send the finished series to the BBC and the American broadcaster, FX, by Christmas so that it can air in January. "And I've just handed in 14 pages of notes on episode three," he points out, without much evident contrition. I ask him how he feels watching the episode back. "I know every line, and I know where everything is in every scene, and I know where most candles are," he says. "So yeah, I'm never happy."
Hardy had the idea for the show when he was playing Bill Sikes in a 2007 BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist, and conceived the character originally as "a Sherlock Holmes-type detective, a bit more physical as well as smart, but who has that hyper-vigilance; a spiritual, hybrid shaman-cum-cannibal-serial-killer-type thing". He spent the next nine years going through many different iterations of the idea trying to get it made; and now he has. As Dean Baker puts it, who lets me into the edit suite before Hardy arrives: "It's very much Tom's baby."
Black wool hat, £145; black denim jeans, £480,both by Gucci. Necklace, trunks, watch, Hardy's own.
To make matters more complicated, Hardy also had an actual baby at the end of October, with his wife, the actress Charlotte Riley, whom he met on a 2009 ITV adaptation of Wuthering Heights. (He also has an eight-year-old son, Louis, with his ex-girlfriend Rachael Speed.) Three weeks later, he started shooting Taboo, and during those months of production he says he was getting between four and six hours of sleep a night, waking up between 12 and two with "the little one" (he lets slip the baby's gender, though he asks me not to print it; he never tells me "its" name) and then getting up for work again at 4.30 or 5.30. The sleep deprivation, he says, was a killer: "If anyone else did that to you you'd have them up at the Hague for war crimes."
Now he's nearly finished on Taboo, he plans to book some time off as he's officially "pantsed". To be fair, he doesn't look too shabby. In dark jeans and trainers and a The Wolf of Wall Street T-shirt, with a neat-but-not-too-neat beard and short back and sides, he is handsome and looks positively fresh. Which is not exactly how I remembered him.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
When I interviewed Hardy before, it was in Calgary, where he was already several months into shooting The Revenant, which was being filmed in the foothills of the Rockies. (The production would later relocate to Argentina in search of snow.) He was living in a rented house with some friends who were also in the film, apparently whiling away his downtime playing computer games and boxing. He looked hunched, smaller than his 5ft 9in, with a wiry beard and sensible, outdoorsy clothing. He could almost have passed for a local. We were supposed to go to a shooting range; we ended up going to a paint-your-own-pottery shop in a retail park on the outskirts of town. His suggestion.
It was only upon seeing what he did in The Revenant — his character John Fitzgerald is wild, amoral and animalistic and yet somehow still sympathetic and human, a balance that Hardy is a master at striking — and then meeting him again in London that I understand quite how much the role must have been absorbing him (and why dabbing glaze on a mug might have made a pleasant change from the day job). Though he resists the pompous terms that surround the craft of acting, calling it "just face-pulling at the end of the day", you can't help but feel there's a bit of Method in his madness, whether it's intentional or not.
In Calgary, he was having a little contretemps with the director, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu over "some sexy stuff" Iñárritu wanted his character Fitzgerald to do, which Hardy was resisting. "It's just fucking nauseating having to listen to it every day. Going, 'Yeah yeah yeah; love it, love it, love it; but no.'" A little later, when he was calmer, he added, "He's a scallywag, and I'll end up doing it to please him, and there'll be no Oscar at the end of it for me…. Ha ha ha! There might be for him." (He was, on both counts, correct.) Later, photos will emerge of Hardy wearing a T-shirt of his own design featuring a picture of Fitzgerald putting Iñárritu in a choke-hold.
In London, he admits he's only just recovering. "Because it's a good two years away it feels… There are still echoes of exhaustion from it, but I think it's a beautiful film," he says. "I want to watch it again now because I have got a really healthy distance. It's always the way, when people say, 'It was a really tough time in my life when I was in it,' in hindsight it's a very fond memory. At the time it was aarararaghgh" — he makes a noise like a fatally wounded buffalo — "never ending! The Forevernant. It went on forever and it was confusing. The Forever-and-evernant! It was never-ending, confusion, chaos, none of us were in any form of control, we were being controlled, you know? And that was frustrating and stressful."
It's worth noting how unusual that statement is. Not least because it gives you a glimpse into how he speaks — how his synapses fire off at a mile a minute and you have to grab on to the subject and object of the sentence, if you can find them, and then just hang on for the ride — but because it's so frank. Though he will add, "I love Alejandro", it was very clear that there were large periods during the making of that film that he did not. Unlike so many — maybe all — actors at his level, there's none of that game-faced, media-trained blandness from Hardy. And thank God for that.
It's why stories seep out from productions he's been involved with of spats between him and directors or fellow cast members. About how he told a journalist he was "ready to punch" Nicholas Winding Refn, his director in Bronson. Or the reports, from both sides, that he'd had a fist-fight with Shia LaBeouf, his co-star in the bootlegging drama Lawless (Hardy said LaBeouf, somewhat implausibly, "knocked me out sparko"). Or how he had run-ins with both his co-star Charlize Theron and director George Miller on the set of 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road; he publicly apologised to the latter at the film's Cannes Film Festival press conference.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
But you don't hire Tom Hardy if you don't want Tom Hardy, and for the most part, he'll make it worth your while. It's the friction that creates the spark. "If I come in as an actor," he says on the sofa outside the edit suite in London, "I check the fragilities and the breaking points for the whole piece and the team, because that's what I get paid to do. So if I don't do that, then I'm not doing you a service or me a service, because that's what we came to do. If someone says, 'No Tom, I don't want you to do that, I just want you to come down the middle in a bat suit,' — not the Batman suit, I mean literally, in a bat suit — then you know what? I probably won't do that film."
Hardy obviously inspires loyalty in those directors who know how to handle him. On the subject of Batman suits, Christopher Nolan is clearly one such employer, having cast Hardy first in 2010's Inception, as louche dream-cracker Eames, and then in the career-rocketing role of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, whose costume included a restrictive respirator that proved Hardy could eye-act with the best of them. He has recently finished shooting a few days in an unspecified role in Nolan's Dunkirk, a drama based around the 1940 evacuation of Allied troops from the coast of northern France, which is due to come out in summer 2017 and which, like all Nolan productions, is largely shrouded in secrecy until then (though pictures that leak online appear to show Hardy in the guise of a Spitfire pilot).
Nolan is a director whose approach stands up to Hardy's scrutiny. "He's a great on-set leader," he says, "as well as a fucking brilliant film-maker and a visionary. I do have thoughts, but the thing about him is that he can contain them — they don't shock him. And he doesn't want to miss a trick, so if you've got something he'll want to use it. He'll soon tell you, 'That's enough now, thanks,' which is great. Because then you know your boundaries."
(Another director who seems more than happy to see Tom Hardy is Daniel Espinosa, the Swedish director of Child 44, a 2015 crime thriller in which Hardy starred as a Soviet soldier on the trail of an infanticidal maniac. Espinosa is in the postproduction house editing something of his own and during our interview he bounds in to say hi, sporting what must be a newly grown ponytail, as Hardy's first reaction upon seeing him is to cry out, "Yo! You look like a girl!" before hugging him warmly.)
It's not surprising to hear Hardy describing the usefulness of boundaries. He is a person for whom structure is clearly essential — not surprisingly then, he shows a keen interest in the military and has lots of soldier friends — as he seems to possess an internal drive towards flux, maybe even chaos. His mood, as some reporters have discovered, can change with the wrong question, and you won't necessarily be able to predict which one it will be and why. Interviewing him, you feel like you could ask him anything, but you also have to be prepared for any response: it's a definite don't-give-it-if-you-can't-take-it deal.
Tan gabardine trench coat, £1,840; dark red mohair-wool suit, £1,600; Grey silk tie, £140; sky blue/white cotton shirt, £345; brown leather belt, £220, all by Gucci
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
My experiences with him have only been good ones — he's friendly, entertaining and funny — but you still feel you have to be on your toes. At one point I bring up his accent, which often meanders from well-spoken London public school boy (which he is), to London rude boy (which he isn't, though like many London public school boys he probably learned the art of camouflage). At our second meeting, unlike our first, he seems to have acquired a northern twang, saying things like "loovely" and "fuhn". I ask him, innocently enough, if he's rehearsing something set in the north of England. He replies, with a flicker of annoyance, that his wife is from Middlesbrough and his mum is from Yorkshire and it's probably that. Right you are, Tom. I beat a hasty retreat.
On the face of it, it might look like Hardy is starting to toe the Hollywood line. With the release of Mad Max: Fury Road he became a bona fide box office star — as well as garnering critical acclaim, it grossed close to $400m worldwide — and with The Revenant he got his first Academy Award nomination. When DiCaprio won the Oscar for best actor, the first person he thanked in his acceptance speech was Hardy, whom he called "my brother in this endeavour". Hardy was in the audience, too, with Charlotte, to watch Mark Rylance beat him to the award for best supporting actor. On the TV coverage, Rylance appeared to say something to Hardy as he walked up to the stage; I ask Hardy if he remembers what it was. "I think he said, 'Fucking amateur.' Hur hur! Or, 'This is how it's done.' Hur! I can't remember. But it was just amazing to be there."
The year before, he had watched the ceremony on TV in Calgary with his friends while, for reasons best known to themselves, prancing about in ladies' clothing. Then suddenly he was there in his dickie bow, being praised by DiCaprio and applauded by the establishment. "I don't think I ever expected to be welcomed to one of those events," he says. "I always felt like a bit of a naughty boy, and I always thought part of me would be like, 'Nah'. And then actually I was like, 'Oh yeah! I'll have a sniff of that.'"
The whole Oscars experience was made even more surreal by the fact it was the Hardys' first trip away from their new baby. "Obviously there's that pull and we were both jetlagged and nervous, but fuck me, if you're going to leave home and do anything we really ought to do this," he says. "I've got a photo of us in our outfits underneath the 88th Academy Awards logo, and that's a piece of history, isn't it? That's mum and dad in their heyday. They were there. Wicked." [When a reporter approached Hardy while he waited outside the Dolby Theater, he explained, with perfect Enlightened Dad poise, that he was waiting for Charlotte to finish breast-pumping in the bathroom.]
Whether he likes it or not, Tom Hardy is now a major movie star. So what should his next career move be? A romantic comedy? A superhero flick? Somehow you can't quite see him in tights and a cape (unless the Elton John biopic he's been signed onto for ages finally gets off the ground — and wouldn't that be something?). With his artistic singularity and his mercurial temper and his mutating accent and his scattergun syntax and his monstrous pizza consumption, he's just too wonderfully, blessedly odd. Even if he does have a nice jawline, sticking him in the Batsuit would be a wasted opportunity.
And sure enough, one of the projects that is looming at the start of next year is Fonzo, from director Josh Trank, in which Hardy will play — wait for it — an ageing and syphilitic Al Capone. Yes, it's another baddie, and another gangster for that matter, but that hasn't escaped his notice, either. There's clearly something in his psyche that is lured to the darker side of the human experience, perhaps because he's been there himself.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
"There's a part of me that wants to do different stuff," he says, "but there's a part of me that goes: do you know what? I want to carry on playing gangsters because every time you go a little bit deeper in that study. Why switch it up and be rice-paper thin? 'Oh, he's good because he's doing a musical now!' You know what I mean? It's like, 'Look at me! I'm trying to please people!'"
Or as he put it to me more bluntly in Calgary, "I enjoy the nuttery in my work. So that's probably why when somebody goes, 'Do you want to play another loony?' I go, 'Yeah, I would actually, yeah.'"
There's also supposed to be another Mad Max film, though he's hazy on the timings, plus McCullin, a feature film about the war photographer Don McCullin that Hardy Son and Baker will produce and he will star in. The experience of working on his own stuff should, says Hardy, give him a certain catharsis when returning to his bread-and-butter work as an actor for hire. "That energy that I had is just misdirected on other people's shows," he says. "As long as I've got an outlet elsewhere then I'm happy to go and fit bathrooms. If someone's built their own house and they want me to come and fit a bathroom, just tell me what you want and I'll come and do it."
Maybe. But part of you hopes he won't. Part of you hopes he'll reimagine your bathroom so it's not at all what you were expecting. Or maybe he'll take a sledgehammer to your bathroom and build you a kitchen instead. Or a jungle gym. Or a fucking submarine.
Because you don't hire Tom Hardy if you don't want Tom Hardy. And who wouldn't?
Styling by Nicole Schneider.
Taboo is on BBC1 from 7 January. ||||| Getty Images
Tom Hardy recently added to his extensive tattoo collection, courtesy of Leonardo DiCaprio.
While filming 2016’s The Revenant together, the actors made a super high-stakes bet. Leo was convinced that Hardy’s performance would earn him an Oscar nomination, and Hardy humbly disagreed. As we know now, DiCaprio was correct, and Hardy kept his end of the bargain by getting a tattoo of his oh-so-wise costar’s choosing. Yep, seriously.
Originally, as Hardy told Esquire UK in an interview, the art design wasn’t particularly to his liking.
“He wrote, in this really shitty handwriting: ‘Leo knows everything,’” Hardy said. “Ha! I was like, ‘OK, I’ll get it done, but you have to write it properly.’”
And Hardy eventually came through. A photographer in San Francisco recently posted a selfie with the actor, and you can clearly see the words “Leo knows all” peeking out from under his T-shirt, on his right bicep.
Last year, Hardy told Vanity Fair about the unfairness of the bet, saying, “Fucker. He would never get a tattoo if he lost that bet! It was just one-way. I’m covered in shit tattoos anyway, so it doesn’t make any difference to me. If I got a big bold ‘Leo’ right across my thigh or across my face. It’s just that, isn’t it? You bet a tattoo, you lose. That’s what happens.”
Yes, Hardy. Yes, it is. And while it isn’t the world’s most glamorous ink, there are certainly worse things than being a successful actor with a dumb tattoo designed by a fellow movie star that symbolizes your Academy Award nomination. Worse things, indeed.
|
– Let it be said that Tom Hardy is a man of his word. A 2016 Esquire UK profile opened with an anecdote about how he had to add a fresh tattoo to his tattoo-heavy body because of a bet he made and lost with Leonardo DiCaprio. His Revenant co-star thought Hardy would walk away with an Oscar nomination, Hardy disagreed, to his eventual peril. He got the nom, lost the bet, and had to get a tattoo of DiCaprio's design. And as MTV News reports, there's now photo proof that he did. In the Esquire interview, Hardy hinted at the eventual inking, saying, "He wrote, in this really sh--ty handwriting: 'Leo knows everything.' Ha! I was like, 'OK, I'll get it done, but you have to write it properly.'" But, he added, "I haven't got it yet because it sucks." That's apparently changed, as evidenced by a photo posted to Instagram of Hardy posing with a photographer in San Francisco. On Hardy's right bicep you can make out the words "Leo knows all."
|
The situation has become dangerous and unacceptable. San Francisco City Attorney’s Office
It was fun while it lasted.
The wheels came off San Francisco’s short-distance transportation experiment on Monday, when City Attorney Dennis Herrera sent a cease and desist letter to three companies that had flooded the city’s streets with electric scooter rentals.
The scooters, which were popular in spite of some maintenance issues, represent a wave of venture capital money pouring into short-distance transportation tools. One of the companies, Bird, has become a familiar presence on the streets and sidewalks near its headquarters in Santa Monica, California. It’s of a piece with the dockless and electric bicycle boom, epitomized by Uber’s high-value acquisition of e-bike start-up Jump last week.
But nowhere have scooters blanketed a city quite like San Francisco. Among the city’s complaints: The scooter companies have violated state law (yes, apparently California has a state statute governing electric scooters) by allowing riders to scoot on sidewalks, without helmets, and with two people to a scooter. Helmet laws in particular tend to be the kiss of death for shared mobility programs, sending potential users back into taxi cabs.
Below are the photos the City Attorney released to bolster the case for a crackdown, noting, “We cannot overstate the public safety hazard that operating motorized scooters pose on City sidewalks.”
“We cannot overstate the public safety hazard that operating motorized scooters pose on City sidewalks,” the City Attorney writes. San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.
Scooters left on Market Street. San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.
Scooters outside the De Young Museum San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.
An older man dodges a scooter downtown. San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin—himself no stranger to overstatement (he once compared housing construction in San Francisco to the destruction of Bến Tre)—is working on a municipal law to regulate scooter usage. At least two San Franciscans, including Peskin, claim to have broken their toes tripping over scooters.
However, as many San Franciscans have pointed out, the presence of scooters is in many ways less of a nuisance—and objectively, less of a danger—than the city’s private automobiles. Joe Rivano Barros made the point in a series of tweets over the weekend:
San Franciscans may find the scooters a nuisance, but it’s mostly that they are an unfamiliar one, and for some residents, a reminder that the city is changing.
Update, 5:50 p.m. After this article was published, a spokesperson for the City Attorney responded to a question: How many documented injuries or accidents had occurred involving electric scooters? Here is the response: ||||| Jack Handlery logs into an app to use a motorized scooter in San Francisco, Tuesday, April 17, 2018. San Francisco is ordering three companies that rent out motorized scooters to stop operating until... (Associated Press)
Jack Handlery logs into an app to use a motorized scooter in San Francisco, Tuesday, April 17, 2018. San Francisco is ordering three companies that rent out motorized scooters to stop operating until they can ensure riders are following state law and the dockless devices are not a hazard to the public.... (Associated Press)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco is ordering three companies that began renting motorized foot-pedal scooters in the city last month to stop operating until they can ensure riders are obeying state laws and that the devices are not a hazard to the public.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in letters to LimeBike, Bird and Spin that the city has received numerous complaints of riders whizzing by on sidewalks, not wearing helmets and parking the devices on sidewalks, obstructing the right of way.
Despite previous warnings, the scooter companies are "creating a public nuisance on the city's streets and sidewalks and endangering public health and safety," he wrote.
Hundreds of the scooters began appearing around the tech-friendly city in March, and were quickly picked up by riders. They have become an annoyance for many because they do not require docking stations and can be set down anywhere when a ride is over.
California law requires riders of motorized scooters to wear a helmet, not carry passengers and not operate on sidewalks. The rules appear in videos riders must watch and sign off on when they download the cellphone app that unlocks the scooters.
Herrera provided the companies with photographs showing scooters lying in the middle of sidewalks and people riding without helmets. They have until April 30 to address complaints, he said.
Jack Handley, who works at his family-run hotel, said he pays about $2 to use a scooter for about five minutes, which he said he rides on the street.
"I can grab one and zoom on over to where I need to go and then zoom right back," Handley said after dropping off a LimeBike outside a FedEx office in downtown San Francisco.
He said he would stop using them if he is required to get a permit or wear a helmet.
"I'm not going to carry a helmet with me," he said. "I would rather walk than go through that headache."
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved legislation requiring the scooter companies have transit agency permits to operate and to allow public workers to remove scooters without permits from streets or sidewalks.
The ordinance requires companies to educate users about how to safely ride and store the devices and establishes fines starting at $125 per scooter.
"Sidewalks are for pedestrians and strollers and disabled individuals and wheelchairs," said the law's author, Supervisor Aaron Peskin.
"We're not trying to ban them," he said. "But we want to make sure that they're operating in a way that is helpful to the transportation problems of San Francisco."
David Estrada, chief legal officer for Santa Monica, California-based Bird Rides Inc., said the company wants to work with city officials to solve traffic problems in San Francisco.
"They request we do some education for riders and request we implement some technology to address some of the issues, we have all of that in the works," Estrada said.
The company, whose founder Travis VanderZanden was chief operating officer at Lyft and former vice president of global driver growth at Uber, started a pilot program Tuesday requiring San Francisco riders to take a photo showing how they parked the scooter at the end of their trip, Estrada said.
Users who repeatedly violate the rules will be suspended, said Kenneth Baer, a spokesman for Bird. "San Franciscans have logged more than 90,000 miles on Birds, which shows that there is great demand for new, environmentally friendly ways to get around this great city," Baer said.
Santa Monica's city attorney in December filed a criminal complaint against Bird, saying the company was operating without a permit and had ignored required licensing and orders to remove the scooters from sidewalks. Bird pleaded no contest and agreed to pay more than $300,000 in fines and secure proper licenses.
Spokespeople for San Mateo, California-based LimeBike and San Francisco-based Skinny Labs Inc., also known as Spin, did not immediately return emails seeking comment Tuesday.
___
This story has been clarified to note Peskin was the law's author, not sponsor.
___
Associated Press writers Terry Chea and Ryan Nakashima contributed to this report. ||||| The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted today to approve the ordinance that looks to regulate electric scooters in San Francisco. The ordinance seeks to establish regulation and a permitting process that would enable the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency or Department of Public Works to take action against scooters from companies that don’t have an official permit from the city.
“Part of the brouhaha has been really the function of the fact, which was admitted yesterday, was that some of these companies have been a little bit fast and loose with the truth,” Supervisor Aaron Peksin, a sponsor of the ordinance, said today at the Board of Supervisors meeting.*
Peskin is referencing the fact that Lime, Spin and Bird deployed their respective scooters without permission from the city. The permitting scheme the city has in mind, Peskin said, is very similar to the one San Francisco has in place around stationless bike-sharing.
“This is a basic permitting scheme to allow the professional staff at SFMTA to permit these with sensible, regulatory frameworks and to be able to confiscate unpermitted vehicles or devices,” Peskin said.
He added that these electric scooters can absolutely serve some benefits to people in San Francisco, but that it does not mean the city should have to sacrifice its sidewalk space. The next step is for the BOS to continue working with the SFMTA to develop this regulation. At a hearing yesterday, the SFMTA said it hopes to open up the permitting process by May 1.
Earlier in the meeting today, the BOS adopted a resolution to develop a working group to inform future legislation around emerging technologies. One of the resolution’s sponsors, Supervisor Norman Yee, noted how he’s heard from seniors and people in wheelchairs who are “being imperiled and inconvenienced because they are having to navigate around scooters and bikes.”
He later added, the purpose of the working group would be to ensure the city is mindful of both the intended and unintended consequences of emerging technologies.
Yesterday, SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera sent cease-and-desist letters to Lime, Bird and Spin, but that doesn’t seem to be making any difference to Lime, Bird and Spin. All three of their respective scooters were found on the streets of San Francisco this morning.
“As it says in the letter, the City Attorney has laid out some recommendations for operation that he will like to see implemented by April 30; he has not requested an immediate stoppage of service,” a Bird spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We are taking his concerns very seriously and reviewing his recommendations for improving Bird in San Francisco.” Lime says it’s taking the City Attorney seriously, as well as the vote by the BOS today. “In response, we are updating our current community outreach plan to address the City’s concerns about pedestrian safety, parking compliance, and rider education,” a Lime spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We plan to roll out new initiatives, along with our complete response to the City Attorney by the end of next week.” Lime says it will also provide helmets to users, which will we able for pickup starting April 22. Similar to Bird, Lime will also start requiring people to submit a photo of their properly parked scooter at the end of the ride. Additionally, Lime says it will more clearly state that riding on or blocking sidewalks is illegal. I’ve reached out to Spin about its operations in San Francisco. I’ll update this story if I hear back.
An earlier version of this story misattributed Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s quotes to another supervisor.
|
– A battle between the city of San Francisco and companies that rent out motorized scooters has come to a head: On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance seeking to regulate the scooters, TechCrunch reports. At issue is the fact that the companies—LimeBike, Spin, and Bird—started operating three weeks ago without approval from the city, and city authorities say the electric scooters can be dangerous. "We cannot overstate the public safety hazard that operating motorized scooters pose on City sidewalks," said City Attorney Dennis Herrera in a cease-and-desist letter to the companies Monday, per Slate. The letter ordered the companies to stop operating until a plan was in place to make sure customers stop riding on sidewalks and without helmets or drivers licenses, and stop parking in places that block sidewalks, ramps, and transit stops. (They don't require a docking station and can thus be left anywhere when riders are done using them, the AP reports.) TechCrunch says the letter didn't "seem to be making any difference," as scooters from all three companies were spotted on San Francisco streets Tuesday. The Board of Supervisors is looking to put a permitting process in place for the scooter companies similar to the one that exists for bike-sharing companies operating in the city; it hopes to have the process in place by May 1. It also plans to establish fines starting at $125 when scooter regulations are violated.
|
A man claims he contracted a "harmful parasite that eats away at the cornea of the eye" when he was splashed with water while riding the Raging Rapids at Kennywood Park, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
Robert and Krystsina Trostle, of Squirrel Hill, were waiting in line July 2 when they noticed that the water surrounding the ride was "dirty, stagnant and sludge-like," the lawsuit said. "Additionally, the Trostles noticed that the waterfall was not operating."
Advertisement
Near the end of the ride, Robert Trostle was splashed with water in his left eye, according to the lawsuit.
"Unbeknownst to Robert, this seemingly inconsequential event caused him to come into contact with microsporidia, a harmful parasite that eats away at the cornea of the eye and was present in the water used in the Raging Rapids," the lawsuit claims.
Stay updated with breaking news: Download the WTAE mobile app
Over the next two days, Robert Trostle's left eye became inflamed, itchy, red, photosensitive and "severely painful," the lawsuit said.
He was diagnosed with acute conjunctivitis on July 5 and given antibiotics, but the symptoms got worse, and he was diagnosed with microsporidia keratitis on July 14, according to the lawsuit.
"Robert had to undergo an extremely painful surgery where the parasite was scraped out of the eye with a surgical scalpel, and he was required to remain in a dark room for the next two days," the lawsuit said. "The microsporidia parasite penetrated the second level of Robert's eye and the entirety of the parasite was unable to be removed via surgery. Robert still has problems with his left eye, including but not limited to, blurry vision, difficulty with night vision, redness, itchiness, dryness, inflammation and pain, along with microsporidia still being present in his eye."
The Trostles claim that Kennywood did not have "adequate policies and procedures to inspect the water being used on the 'Raging Rapids' ride to eliminate and/or reduce the dangers posed by microsporidia and ensure it is safe for use," according to the lawsuit.
The suit was filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, alleging negligence against Kennywood Entertainment and claiming damages in excess of $35,000.
Nobody answered the door Wednesday night at the address listed in the Trostles' lawsuit.
“As soon as he was shot in the eye with the water, he immediately started experiencing, that day, discomfort in that eye. There's no other possible cause other than that," said Trostle's attorney, Alan Perer, via telephone.
Kennywood spokesman Nick Paradise said he was unable to comment on pending litigation. In an email, he said the parasite claim was an allegation that has not been proven.
"In general, safety is Kennywood's top priority in everything we do, and that certainly extends to maintenance of the rides and water involved in rides," Paradise said.
AlertMe ||||| Sign up for one of our email newsletters.
A Pittsburgh man claims in a lawsuit that a ride on the Raging Rapids at Kennywood left him with a parasite that “eats away at the cornea of the eye.”
The lawsuit filed this week by Robert Trostle and his wife, Krystsina, in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court claims he was splashed in the left eye by dirty water that contained a parasite known as microsporidia. Doctors have not been able to completely kill off the parasite, according to the lawsuit.
During a trip to Kennywood on July 2, “while in line, the Trostles noticed the water surrounding the Raging Rapids was dirty, stagnant and sludge-like,” the lawsuit said. “Additionally, the Trostles noticed the waterfall was not operating.”
Robert Trostle was splashed toward the end of the ride, “which is customary for those riding the Raging Rapids.”
The splash led the parasite to embed in Trostle's eye, according to the lawsuit, which alleges negligence against Kennywood Entertainment Inc.
His left eye became inflamed, and he was treated July 5 for acute conjunctivitis with antibiotics. But his condition worsened, and doctors diagnosed him on July 14 with microsporidia keratitis.
“Robert had to undergo an extremely painful surgery where the parasite was scraped out of the eye with a surgical scalpel, and he was required to remain in a dark room for the next two days,” according to the lawsuit. “The microsporidia parasite penetrated the second level of Robert's eye and the entirety of the parasite was unable to be removed via surgery.”
He still suffers from inflammation, blurry vision, redness and pain, the lawsuit said.
The Raging Rapids simulates a whitewater rafting excursion and opened in 1985, according to Kennywood's website.
The Trostles, of Squirrel Hill, are represented by Pittsburgh attorney Alan Perer, who told the Tribune-Review Thursday that the Allegheny County Health Department took samples from the ride's water after the incident. He said the health department would not provide results, despite Perer filing a Right To Know request in the fall.
“That's one of the reasons we filed suit,” Perer said. “We need more information. But we're virtually certain this is how he got the parasite.
The county health department issued a statement Thursday afternoon.
“This was reported to the Health Department during the summer,” health department spokesman Ryan Scarpino wrote in an email. “ACHD notified the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and assisted them with the investigation. At this time, the investigation is still ongoing, and no further information is available.”
Kennywood spokesman Nick Paradise said he could not comment on pending litigation. He said safety of all rides and water are a “top priority” at Kennywood.
In June, the family of a teen who contracted a brain-eating amoeba after rafting at a North Carolina water park, sued the facility.
The lawsuit on befalf of Lauren Seitz, 18, alleged the U.S. National Whitewater Center's rafting channels were dangerous and that park operators showed “conscious disregard for the safety of visitors.”
Seitz, of Westerville, Ohio, died of a rare brain infection caused by a single-celled animal, the amoeba Naegleria fowleri, days after visiting the center on June 8, 2016, with a church group , according to the Charlotte Observer. She was in a raft that overturned. The amoeba can infect a person when water goes up the nose and infections are rare, but almost always fatal. the Observer reported.
The park closed down for nearly two months and a federal epidemiologist found that filtration and disinfection systems were inadequate to properly clean the facility's waters.
A park employee complained that its water quality caused raft guides to routinely contract staph infections, ringworm and other skin illnesses, the Observer reported. Dead animals and trash were commonly found floating on the water's surface, the employee said.
The park wound up changing its filtration and disinfection system.
Ben Schmitt is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7991, bschmitt@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @Bencschmitt. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
|
– Its website proclaims Kennywood "Pittsburgh's best amusement park." Robert Trostle would likely append "for contracting an eye-eating parasite" to the end of that. That's what the Squirrel Hill man is claiming happened to him during a July 2 visit to the Pennsylvania park, per a negligence lawsuit filed Tuesday. It says Trostle and wife Krystsina opted to ride the Raging Rapids water ride, which is supposed to mimic a white-water rafting trip, even after noticing the ride's water was "dirty, stagnant and sludge-like" and its waterfall wasn't running. The ride typically splashes riders at the end, reports TribLive, and in Trostle's case, he said the water hit his left eye—and then the trouble allegedly began. Per the suit, the eye reddened, became sensitive to light, and itchy and painful, reports the Post-Gazette. He was initially diagnosed with acute conjunctivitis. Antibiotics didn't rectify the situation, and on July 14 he was diagnosed with microsporidia keratitis. The suit says microsporidia is a "harmful parasite that eats away at the cornea of the eye," and alleges it was in the ride's water. It's also still in Trostle's eye, he says: Though he underwent an "extremely painful" surgery that involved scraping the parasite out with a scalpel, he claims the parasite reached a "second level" of his eye where surgery can't reach it, leaving him with vision problems and discomfort. A rep for the park wouldn't comment on the suit directly but says, "Safety is the top priority of everything we do." WTAE reports Trostle is seeking at least $35,000 in damages. (This 18-year-old died after being exposed to an amoeba on a rafting trip.)
|
MARTIN: I know, I know, I know.
CORKER: So but, what I am saying. But obviously, what happens, the thing that is different, if I’m running in a Republican primary, you know obviously you end up being constrained. But, I just, if you could, I’m not asking any different than I have the entire 10 years and eight months that I have been in office. You know, and one of the reasons, the main reason was the statement that I made. You know, I told people, I didn’t intend to serve more than two terms, that’s been a really big drag on me.
But in addition to that, the other part of our statement was true that the next 15 months we believe to be the most important time of our service and to be constrained by looking over your shoulder with some winger running against you, you know, let’s face it that impedes your ability to serve. So I just — again, I haven’t like changed course I just don’t have the worry.
I actually can continue over the next 15 months being the same senator that I’ve been. So, sure, I mean the president concerns me. I mean there’s no question. And, I like him. O.K., I enjoyed playing golf with him, you know, he’s a very courteous kind person. It’s not that I dislike him.
MARTIN: Right.
CORKER: I know for a fact that every single day at the White House it’s a situation of trying to contain him.
MARTIN: Yeah.
CORKER: Look, you know that. It’s not like —
MARTIN: Yes, you’re right.
CORKER: I mean, you’ve talked to enough people to know that that’s just a fact. So, thankfully we’ve got some very good people there. At least today, we’ve got some very good people there and they have been able to push back against his worst instincts.
MARTIN: Yeah.
CORKER: But yes, I mean, you know, yes. He concerns me. I mean he would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation. But a lot people that — Let me put it this way, I think that — So I’ll just stop there. Sure, I mean, do I want him to be successful? Absolutely.
MARTIN: Let me just —
CORKER: Have we worked with him. Are you still here?
MARTIN: Yes, sir. I’m here, I’m here. Yes, sir. I’m here, I can hear you. ||||| ADVERTISEMENT
Man of the hour! Bob Corker, retiring Republican senator from Tennessee and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has been earning Twitter plaudits for his sorties against President Trump. He has called the president a toddler on Twitter (134,000 retweets and counting!) and told The New York Times that the president's instability might well put America "on the path to World War III."
In the scripted kabuki theater of American politics, the respected Republican statesman who calls out the president of his own party as reckless or extreme is a stock character, who must always receive loud calls of adulation from the chorus of the press. Bravo!
But why is it, exactly, that anyone should respect Bob Corker's opinion about the president? Should it be more, or less, respected than his endorsement of that same irresponsible toddler for the presidency? His campaign-era praise for the foreign policy thinking of the man who he now warns risks World War III? His jockeying for a spot on the ticket with the toddler? His dismissal of those who, within the Republican Party, were saying exactly the same things, you know, back when something could have been done about it?
There has been a very strong correlation between Bob Corker's public comments on Donald Trump and Bob Corker's perceived short-term interests, and his new about-face is no exception. He only started "uncorking" (get it?) about Trump once he decided not to run for re-election in a state that Trump carried by 25 points. He has calibrated his retirement announcement to encourage speculation about a 2020 bid, for which his recent comments are clearly useful in positioning him as an establishment primary challenge to Trump. What is it, exactly, that anyone should respect here?
For the record, I am not engaging in "whataboutism." I absolutely agree with Corker that the president of the United States behaves like a toddler and in other ways that are grave and alarming. The difference is that I haven't spent the past year obfuscating about that for political gain.
It's worth expressing some moral outrage about that. Corker was an instrumental part of a Republican establishment that foreswore every opportunity to stop Trump during the campaign for the sake of short-term political gain: refusing to unite behind an anti-Trump candidate, quashing dissent in the run-up to the convention, sucking away the oxygen that might have enabled a non-quixotic third-party conservative bid, comforting themselves with notions that the GOP could "run the country from Congress" and so it was okay to put a "toddler" in charge of America's nuclear arsenal. Edmund Burke was right: All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. The Bob Corkers of the world bear more responsibility for Donald Trump's election than the Stephen Bannons and Sean Hannitys. Corker's "toddler" comment is damning — but less so for Trump (it's not exactly a scoop) than for Corker himself. If Trump is such a toddler, why did Corker enable his rise in the first place?
But there is also an important, even fundamental, political point, here. As Talleyrand, that French geopolitical master whom foreign policy hands should be able to quote, would say, "C'est pire qu'un crime, c'est une faute." ("It was worse than a crime; it was a blunder.") It is well-understood that the United States, and the West in general, is in the grips of a populist insurgency that often has noxious ideas and even more often lacks the competence to turn even its good ideas into policy. It is less well-understood that a main driver of this insurgency's strength is the intellectual and even, arguably, moral bankruptcy of too many in our governing elites, who often speak the language of the common good but seem to believe in little more than that the common good always intersects with their own class interest and that they have a natural right to rule. Bob Corker's sudden rediscovery of principle right at the moment when it stops being risky politically is a darkly comical symbol of this contemptible attitude.
Donald Trump became president at least in part because large swathes of Republican voters feel screwed by their party, and they feel this way because they are, well, correct. During his Senate tenure, Bob Corker's notable stances on economic policy include voting for Wall Street bailouts, support for a flat tax, and attacks on Social Security and Medicare.
Fixing a problem requires first understanding it. Trump's personal behavior is contemptible and alarming, but the reason why someone like Trump could get into the White House in the first place, and the way to prevent a new Trump once this one is out one way or another, is to understand how and why the establishment that enabled his rise and the rise of his movement failed. There has been no hint that Bob Corker or those of his establishment ilk understand any of this, or plan to do anything about it other than continue to behave like the stereotype of the kind of establishment Republican that drove a once-proud party (and thence, the world) into the hands of a fool.
Trump's obvious psychological unfitness for his office, important though it is, is also a convenient way to distract from the fundamental failures of the Republican establishment that made him possible. But on this subject Bob Corker has been utterly silent. I would rather hand the nuclear button to Bob Corker than Donald Trump, but if the difference between a toddler and a man is that the latter is capable to self-reflect and then take responsibility for his own actions, then the difference between these two becomes blurred.
Bob Corker isn't an opponent of Donald Trump. He is his enabler. ||||| Republicans woke up Columbus Day morning to the sights and sounds of the wheels coming off their midterm-election bus and their legislative jalopy. First came a widely publicized war of words between President Trump and the prominent Republican senator, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker. Then came a Bloomberg News story by Jennifer Jacobs and Bill Allison laying out Steve Bannon’s intention to back challengers to most of the GOP senators seeking re-election next year.
The Trump-Corker contretemps began last week when the Tennessee lawmaker, who had been a top contender to be Trump’s running mate as well as secretary of State, took an obvious shot at the president when he told reporters that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly “are those people that help separate our country from chaos.” Corker amplified his criticism on Fox News Sunday, charging that Trump was treating his office like “a reality show,” with reckless threats toward other countries that could set the nation “on the path to World War III.”
The tweet wars then began in earnest. Trump fired back that Corker “didn’t have the guts” to run for re-election, and Corker reponded by saying, “It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.” After adding that the former reality television star was “like he’s doing ‘The Apprentice’ or something,” Corker concluded that “he concerns me,” and it should “concern anyone who cares about our nation.”
In a New York Times interview later Sunday, this in a phone call with Jonathan Martin and Mark Landler, Corker said that “I know for a fact that every single day at the White House, it’s a situation of trying to contain him.” Trump fired up his twitter gatling gun and wrote that “Bob Corker gave us the Iran Deal, & that’s about it. We need HealthCare, we need Tax Cuts/Reform, we need people that can get the job done!”
While Trump has been highly critical of the Republican-led Congress in general, and the Senate Republican leadership in particular, for their failure to repeal and replace Obamacare, his exchange with Corker went to a darker place. Corker did what a lot of Republican leaders have been tempted to do — question the president’s maturity and stability, and speculate how that might affect his performance as commander-in-chief.
Over the last year Trump has singled out for criticism two endangered GOP incumbents up for re-election this year, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Dean Heller of Nevada. He also has engaged in an on-going feud with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. If Trump is to get anything done legislatively without having to depend on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, he must have the support of Corker, McConnell, Flake, and Heller. The opportunities to align with Schumer and Pelosi are likely to be few and far between.
Citing three sources “familiar with his plans,” the Bloomberg News article reported that Bannon “plans to support as many as 15 Republican Senate candidates in 2018, including several challengers to incumbents. He’ll support only candidates who agree to two conditions: They will vote against McConnell as majority leader, and they will vote to end senators’ ability to block legislation by filibustering. Bloomberg went on to say that only Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is safe because he’s considered sufficiently conservative and seen to be moving toward the more populist approach Bannon favors.
Bannon has already scored a victory in Alabama by successfully backing former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore against a Luther Strange, a senator appointed by the GOP establishment. The Bloomberg piece reported that Bannon was targeting incumbents Flake, Heller, Nebraska’s Deb Fischer, Wyoming’s John Barrasso, and Utah’s Orrin Hatch, and the New York Times reported on Sunday that another Bannon favorite, Erik Prince, founder of the controversial security firm Blackwater, was considering a challenge to Barrasso. In the event that Sen. John McCain leaves office early — he is undergoing treatment for a virulent form of brain cancer — Bannon has indicated a preference for Paul Gosar, a state representative and tea party activist. In the race to replace Corker, Bannon intends to support Rep. Marsha Blackburn.
Almost any conversation with congressional Republicans starts and ends with the need to cut taxes, now that tax reform no longer seems possible. Having failed to pass any legislation of real significance this year, and with a president who carries little weight on Capitol Hill, Republicans desperately need to put some points on the board. They are banking on passing a tax cut that’s meaningful, that voters can see, feel, and touch. If they pass something insufficiently large, the political payoff will be commensurately small.
With 25 Democratic Senate seats up next year, ten in states Trump carried, five in states the former real estate developer won by 19 points or more, this should be a year for the GOP to expand its current narrow 52-48 majority. Under different circumstances, the GOP could hope to boost their Senate numbers by four to seven seats, perhaps even reaching the magic 60-seat Senate super-majority level that could break filibusters on party line votes. But given their current disarray, Republicans will need to fight hard to gain any new seats, and losing one or two of their own seats would put their majority in jeopardy.
The stakes are even higher in the House where their majority status is in real danger. The party needs to sublimate its divisions, get mainstream Republicans to the polls, and persuade the Trump base to cast ballot for non-Trump Republicans. That’s a tall order. And it’s why last week’s news reduced the odds of the GOP retaining its majority from a good bet to even money.
Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously characterized Erik Prince’s political plans. He is considering a run against John Barrasso of Wyoming. ||||| The Failing @ nytimes set Liddle' Bob Corker up by recording his conversation. Was made to sound a fool, and that's what I am dealing with! ||||| Donald Trump’s weekend Twitter spat with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker is a familiar story: The President is a Party of One for whom personal loyalty is the only test. He isn’t going to change, so the meaningful question is how Republicans should navigate his periodic explosions to help the country and maintain their majorities in Congress.
Mr. Trump unleashed his tirade because he is still sore that Mr. Corker said this summer that the President hadn’t shown the stability or competence to be successful. The two later had... ||||| Sen. Bob Corker, the retiring Republican chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, has engaged in a heated back-and-forth with Trump for days now, including in an interview with The New York Times where he said that he feared Trump was steering the nation "on the path to World War III."
The President, a politician whose mantra has long been to hit back harder than someone hits him, is now treating Corker like he did his primary opponents: By giving him a nickname.
"The Failing @nytimes set Liddle' Bob Corker up by recording his conversation," Trump tweeted on Tuesday. "Was made to sound a fool, and that's what I am dealing with!"
"So have at it," Corker told the reporter. "I understand we're on the record. I don't like normally talking to you on the record -- I'm kidding you -- but I will."
Asked about Corker's comments, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters, "Sen. Corker is certainly entitled to his own opinion, but he's not entitled to his own facts."
"The facts certainly don't lie, the President has certainly been very successful," she continued.
Asked if Corker should resign, Sanders said that decision is not for the White House to make. "I think that's a decision for Sen. Corker and the people of Tennessee," Sanders said.
Trump continued his feud with Corker during a Tuesday meeting with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, pushing back on the senator's statement that Trump is putting the United States on a path toward World War III.
"We were on the wrong path before. All you have to do is take a look," he said when asked if Corker was right. "Now we're on the right path."
Trump labeling Corker "liddle" is a throwback to the 2016 campaign, when he gave Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, then a presidential candidate himself, the same moniker.
"I'm the writer," Trump told New York magazine in 2016. "Let me start with Little Marco. He just looked like Little Marco to me. And it's not Little. It's Liddle. L-I-D-D-L-E. And it's not L-Y-I-N-G Ted Cruz. It's L-Y-I-N apostrophe. Ted's a liar, so that was easy."
The feud between Corker and Trump had escalated this weekend when the President tweeted that the outgoing senator "begged" for his endorsement before declining to run for re-election.
"He also wanted to be Secretary of State, I said 'NO THANKS.' He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal," Trump tweeted. "Hence, I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn't have the guts to run!"
Todd Womack, Corker's chief of staff, denied the claim later in the day.
"The President called Senator Corker on Monday afternoon and asked him to reconsider his decision not to seek re-election and reaffirmed that he would have endorsed him, as he has said many times," Womack said in a statement.
Corker, in the New York Times interview, said that Trump is acting "like he's doing 'The Apprentice' or something," and added that he could set the nation "on the path to World War III."
The comment comes a week after Corker jabbed Trump, stating that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly "help separate our country from chaos."
The clash between Corker and Trump highlights fraying relations between the President and the men and women in Congress who the White House needs to deliver on the agenda Trump ran on. Trump has yet to score a signature legislative victory, a black mark on his record given his party controls both the Senate and House.
Trump said Tuesday that he didn't think his feud with Corker would imperil his tax cut plan.
"I don't think so. I don't think so at all," he said. "I think we are well on our way."
Corker's comments have already infuriated Trump's base. Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist who was let go from the White House earlier this year, called on the senator to resign in response. ||||| Should I have outed the people who said these things—or should the countless other press people who have heard similar views? No: Reporters do have to keep confidences, and I conveyed the substance of this case as best I could during the Trump Time Capsule series through the election. Moreover, it’s not clear that “concerns�? like these would have changed anyone’s mind. During the campaign, most of Trump’s fallen rivals blasted him in exceptional terms—before truckling to support him against Hillary Clinton. One of the most remarkable illustrations was Senator Ted Cruz’s extended denunciation of Trump as a “pathological liar�? just before Trump clinched the nomination. Of course Cruz turned around to support him in the general election and has cast nearly all his Senate votes (94 percent) in alignment with Trump. Meanwhile, it’s not even the lead news of the week that Trump’s own secretary of state has half-heartedly non-denied Stephanie Ruhle’s report on NBC that he called Trump a “fucking moron.�?
Now that Bob Corker, one-time supporter of Trump, has taken the commendable step of going public, what’s next?
* * *
For reporters, there is a logical extension from the opening Corker has given. Get Mitch McConnell, get Paul Ryan, get John Thune and John Barrasso and John Cornyn, get Kevin McCarthy, get every Republican in a position of responsibility to answer: Do you agree with your colleague that Donald Trump is a danger to the country and the world? Who’s right here: Your comrade who is the veteran chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee? Or a president who can’t stop tweet-threatening “Little Rocket Man�?? And what about Corker’s claim that the White House is a daily battleground to keep the incumbent under control? Are you going to call one of your own a liar? Or is he right about Trump?
They won’t answer. Knowing how not to answer comes as second nature. More smoothly than Rex Tillerson, they will decline to get into the “silly stuff.�? But they should be put on the spot and made to take a stand. Especially the ones who will either face the voters soon—or who are deciding, as Corker did recently, whether that’s even worth it.
(To be clear: every reporter already knows these are the questions to ask, and overall the resilience of the press is one of the heartening aspects of this disheartening era. I’m just spelling out what to look for as day breaks and senators get within reporters’ range.)
For congressional Republicans, this is your moment in history’s eye. One of your colleagues, who has chosen not to run for office again, and who also was the object of one of Trump’s intemperate attacks this morning, has decided that he might as well tell the truth. It turns out that this is often the right way to go! As the (slightly altered) line from Mark Twain put it, by telling the truth you will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Perhaps Corker’s motivations are not the purest or most glorious. He was nice to Trump last year, when Corker was in the mentioning-cloud as a possible secretary of state, and he was part of the “respectable�? Republicans who disastrous enabled Trump. Corker’s retorts today followed personal attacks from Trump. Still, he’s doing more than his colleagues have. And Corker has moved toward a better place for himself in the annals of Senate history than he would have had only 24 hours ago.
|
– President Trump's feud with Republican Sen. Bob Corker is apparently still on, based on the new nickname the president bestowed upon Corker Tuesday morning. "The Failing @nytimes set Liddle' Bob Corker up by recording his conversation," Trump tweeted. "Was made to sound a fool, and that's what I am dealing with!" Trump was referring to the interview Corker gave to the New York Times in which the senator likened the Trump White House to a "reality show" and suggested that reckless comments from the president could lead to World War III. Developments: Audio, transcript: The Times released excerpts from the interview, as well as audio here. It's not clear what Trump meant in saying that the newspaper set up Corker, but the transcript makes clear that Corker knew he was on the record, notes CNN. He also knew the call was being recorded, telling the reporter that his staff was recording it, "and I hope you are, too." GOP trouble: At the National Journal, political analyst Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report writes that Trump went to a "darker place" in his Corker criticism, and he now thinks the GOP majority is in jeopardy not only in the Senate but in the House. "The party needs to sublimate its divisions, get mainstream Republicans to the polls, and persuade the Trump base to cast ballot for non-Trump Republicans," he writes. "That's a tall order. And it's why last week's news reduced the odds of the GOP retaining its majority from a good bet to even money." Ulterior motives? Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry of the Week calls Corker a hypocrite for his sudden public turn on the president and suggests that the retiring senator is positioning himself to be an "establishment" primary challenger to the president in the 2020 election. Now what? James Fallows at the Atlantic writes that if Corker truly believes Trump might blunder his way into World War III, he has an obligation to "do something about it" by providing a crucial check on Trump's actions through his position as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. "Talk is better than nothing, but action is what counts." WSJ weighs in: The conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal thinks Corker spoke the truth about the president's "lack of discipline, short fuse, narcissism and habit of treating even foreign heads of state as if they are Rosie O'Donnell," and it hopes other top Republicans follow Corker's lead because it might actually help. Little reaction: NBC News rounds up reaction from top Republicans to Corker's statements about the president and finds "silence or a shrug." A typical sentiment, from Marco Rubio: "You'll have to ask Sen. Corker what led him to make that statement. I haven't made that statement." Trump's new criticism comes just a week before a Senate vote important to Trump's tax plan, notes the New York Times.
|
Both exercises show that each side is training with the other side’s capabilities and most likely war plans in mind. Whilst spokespeople may maintain that these operations are targeted against hypothetical opponents, the nature and scale of them indicate otherwise: Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO, and NATO is preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia.
We do not suggest that the leadership of either side has made a decision to go to war or that a military conflict between the two is inevitable, but that the changed profile of exercises is a fact and it does play a role in sustaining the current climate of tensions in Europe. These tensions are further aggravated and elevated into a sense of unpredictability when the exercises are not pre-notified or publicly announced beforehand, as is apparently the case with a number of Russian exercises.
In our view, the implementation of the following four recommendations could help to defuse or at least minimize the tensions connected with the increased frequency and scale of the military exercises now taking place: ||||| Intensified military exercises by Russia and NATO are fueling tensions in Europe that have already been heightened by the conflict in Ukraine, a research group said.
While Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization call the drills defensive, they may treat each other’s actions “as provocative and deliberate aggravation,” worsening mistrust, according to a report Wednesday by the London-based European Leadership Network. The two sides are readying in case of confrontation, it said.
The former Cold War foes have stepped up military activity, especially near the Baltic region, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year. The war in Ukraine has prompted NATO to create command units across eastern Europe, while Russia has recalibrated its military goals toward the transatlantic alliance, which it accuses of approaching its borders.
“We don’t suggest that the leadership of either side has made a decision to go to war or that a military conflict between the two is inevitable,” the ELN said. Even so, “the changed profile of exercises is a fact and it does play a role in sustaining the current climate of tensions in Europe.”
NATO and Russia should communicate better on plans to hold military drills to lessen the risk of incidents, according to the ELN. It recommended limiting exercises in border areas.
Neither Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov nor his deputy Andrei Bobrun replied to phone calls made by Bloomberg.
‘Well Ahead’
The ELN report “misleadingly puts NATO and Russian exercises on par,” Carmen Romero, the military alliance’s deputy spokeswoman, said by e-mail.
The authorities in Moscow have announced more than 4,000 drills this year, more than 10-fold NATO’s plans, and Russian exercises have also involved nuclear and nuclear-capable forces, according to Romero. NATO is “well ahead” of the ELN’s recommendations, she said.
“The scale and scope of Russia’s exercises are far beyond anything the alliance is doing and they are increasing tensions across the region,” Romero said. “Russia is deliberately avoiding military transparency and predictability.”
President Vladimir Putin last month approved Russia’s new naval doctrine that puts greater focus on the Atlantic and the Arctic to counter NATO’s activity near its borders.
Wargames Might Help Russia Sell Some Tanks
Read this next:
The U.S.-led alliance has tried to calm nerves of late. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last month that he doesn’t see an immediate threat to the alliance’s members. NATO plans to reduce by half the number of aircraft deployed for air patrols in the Baltic region, whose skies have seen a surge in Russian activity. ||||| This post has been updated to include a response to the report from NATO.
MOSCOW – The Russian military exercises in March spanned the nation’s vast territory – from the high north, far above the Arctic Circle, all the way to territories near Japan. Massive NATO drills a few months later pulled thousands of troops across Europe. After decades of post-Cold War calm, Europe is again becoming a region of high military drama – and according to some experts, a place with a growing risk of accidental confrontation.
Russian soldiers woke in early March to unannounced, snap exercises that eventually grew to encompass more than 80,000 service members. Above the Barents Sea, strategic bombers practiced attacks. Near the Latvian border, airborne troops performed landings as attack helicopters and artillery gave them cover. In the Baltic Sea, the Russian Navy practiced with missiles.
The training was on such a large scale that it could only have been practicing for what would happen during a war with the U.S.-led NATO defense alliance, according to the European Leadership Network, which on Wednesday published a report looking at the increased military exercises on both sides of the Russia-West divide.
The Russian exercises:
The Northern Fleet: Conducts mine-sweeping, anti-submarine and air defense operations in the Barents and Norwegian Seas. Strategic bombers practice attacks with fighter support and airborne units simulate helicopter landings in combat areas. Naval fighters simulate interceptions of enemy aircraft. Kola Peninsula and Arctic Islands: Airborne and ground units from the interior are redeployed to the Kola Peninsula. Airborne troops land on Russia’s Arctic Islands. The Baltic Sea fleet: Performed search and destroy simulations, air defense tactics, missile and artillery practice. Naval aviation units conduct night training. Ground units perform nighttime live-fire exercises. Airborne operations: Airborne troops perform landings near the Latvian border while attack helicopters and artillery conduct fire support for ground forces. The Black Sea Fleet: Conducts search and destroy simulations, anti-submarine and mine sweeping operations. Marines practice live-fire exercises. Eastern Front: Ground units conduct simulated combat operations on Sakhalin and Kuril islands.
NATO has also been practicing in eastern Europe, though on a smaller scale. Its Allied Shield exercises in June brought together 15,000 service members from 19 member nations and three partners, and it has stepped up exercises in reaction to Russian threats as a way, NATO leaders say, of deterring Kremlin aggression.
But with communications links between the two sides frayed, intentions can quickly be misread, raising the risk of accidental confrontation, the European Leadership Network argues. And with tensions at their highest since the Cold War – but without Cold-War-era lifelines for communication – there is a greater chance for unpleasant surprises. Already, there have been near-misses with Russian military aircraft getting dangerously close to civilian jetliners above the Baltic Sea.
The NATO exercises:
BALTOPS 15: Baltic Sea naval exercise focusing on amphibious operations in Sweden and Poland. Consisted of 49 ships, 61 aircraft, 1 submarine and 700 landing troops. Operations were conducted near Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad. Saber Strike 15: Large-scale armored and airborne live-fire operations with close air support involving 6,000 troops in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Estonia. Trident Joust: Exercises focus on coordination large-scale allied operations and the redeployment of NATO headquarters to the area of those operations. Noble Jump: First deployment of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force which is to provide a rapid response to infiltration of an allied territory by enemy special forces and irregular personnel. Over 2,100 troops from nine NATO states participated.
The risk of escalation is high, with each side watching the other train, and concluding that even more military exercises are necessary.
“The changed profile of these exercises is a fact and plays a role in sustaining the current climate of fear and tension in Europe,” wrote Ian Kearns, one of the report’s authors.
The group is pushing for more direct links between the two sides, warning each other about the exercises. In the longer run, it says, new arms control efforts would help quell tensions.
NATO has argued that its exercises are simply a defense deterrent, aimed at communicating the alliance’s determination to fight on behalf of nations such as the Baltics that feel threatened by Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Russia’s "exercises are part of a more aggressive Russian military doctrine," said NATO deputy spokeswoman Carmen Romero in a statement in response to the report. "In response, NATO has increased its presence in the eastern part of our alliance, in order to enhance collective defense."
She added: "Russia has consistently refused all NATO offers for greater military transparency, dating back to well before the current crisis."
Russian leaders, meanwhile, have long complained of NATO’s expansion to their borders and say that it is a threat to Russia’s own security interests. Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the risk of NATO expansion into Ukraine as one of the reasons last year that he annexed the Crimean Peninsula, home of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. They, too, may be seeking to deter what they see as an increasingly active alliance – although it did not spark back into life in eastern Europe until after the Russian takeover of Crimea.
The back-and-forth is a "dangerous dynamic," the report’s authors write.
For now, neither side appears likely to back down.
Read more:
Russia’s anti-American fever goes beyond the Soviet era’s
U.S. military vehicles paraded 300 yards from the Russian border
|
– Like a game of Risk, Russia and NATO have not only been suspiciously eying each other in recent months, but also conducting military exercises in border areas that the Washington Post says are making Europe "a region of high military drama." Now a UK-based think tank is warning that these war games could lead to real conflict if they don't start communicating and scaling down their activities, the Guardian reports. The European Leadership Network says that although reps from both sides may insist these training exercises—including a flurry of activity in March for Russia and in June for NATO, per the Post—are against hypothetical opponents, it's clear there are definite foes in mind, and that alleviative measures need to take place ASAP to stave off a possible confrontation. "Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO, and NATO is preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia," the report asserts, adding that even though this doesn't make a real conflict unavoidable, it helps perpetuate tension in the region—especially thick since the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The organization's recommendation: Tamp down the size and scale of said exercises, start hammering out a new treaty on limiting the types of weapons used along the borders, and publicly announce beforehand when exercises are being held (Russia is pointed out as a prime offender in this regard). But a NATO rep told Bloomberg that the ELN report "misleadingly puts NATO and Russian exercises on par" and that "the scale and scope of Russia's exercises are far beyond anything the alliance is doing. Russia is deliberately avoiding military transparency and predictability." (NATO's got its hands full with ISIS, too.)
|
MINNEAPOLIS -- The 2014 All-Star Game was one big love poem to Derek Jeter, and National League starting pitcher Adam Wainwright did more than any other player on the premises to advance the feel-good storyline.
As Jeter strolled toward home plate in the bottom of the first inning, Wainwright laid his glove on the mound, took a walk toward second base and joined in the wall-to-wall applause at Target Field. When Jeter finally dug his left toe in the box and got down to business, the pitcher-batter staredown turned into a test of wills.
"He told me, 'Let's go,' and I told him no," Wainwright said later. "It's the only time I'll ever tell Derek Jeter no."
So it was almost impossible to comprehend how Wainwright's show of respect would quickly be forgotten, a celebration would elicit controversy, and the pitcher's well-intentioned mix of candor and good humor would somehow brand him as the villain of the evening. In this age of instant information dissemination and rapid reactions, Wainwright learned the hard way that too much honesty can turn a stand-up guy into a Twitter piñata.
Before throwing a pitch, Adam Wainwright put his glove on the rubber and stepped back to let Derek Jeter have a moment. Rob Carr/Getty Images
Shortly after giving up an opposite-field double to Jeter, a triple to Mike Trout and a home run to Miguel Cabrera that helped propel the American League to a 5-3 victory over the National League, Wainwright inadvertently stepped in it big-time. While reflecting on Jeter's at-bat, he provided one detail too many.
"I was going to give him a couple of pipe shots," Wainwright said. "He deserved it. I didn't know he was going to hit a double or I would have changed my mind. I thought he was going to hit something hard to the right side for a single or an out. I probably should have pitched him a little bit better."
Chances are the negative fallout from the event will blow over relatively quickly. But this much is certain: Wainwright's biggest claim to fame in New York will no longer be freezing Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran with a curveball in the ninth inning of Game 7 in the 2006 National League Championship Series.
Wainwright will undoubtedly be subjected to his share of criticism over the coming days. He will be accused of raining on Jeter's parade, of cheapening the Captain's moment and of undermining the integrity of the All-Star Game. He understands that better than anyone, which is why he spent the better part of 10 minutes after the game flogging himself for his bad judgment.
He referred to himself as a "knucklehead" and an "idiot" while simultaneously expressing regret that his choice of words might have taken away from Jeter's big moment.
"If I'm going to get taken to the slaughterhouse for saying a stupid phrase, then I deserve it," Wainwright said. "If you can't laugh at yourself when you mess up, then you're going to continue to mess up. And you know what? I messed up. But I didn't try to let him get a hit. I messed up by speaking afterward."
For all the mixed messages and confusion that Wainwright elicited Tuesday, he probably did Major League Baseball a favor by exposing the massive problems inherent with what the All-Star Game has become in recent years. If there were any doubt, commissioner Bud Selig's "This One Counts" initiative has outlived its usefulness and needs to be put to rest before the 2015 All-Star Game in Cincinnati.
It has been 11 years since MLB began awarding home-field advantage in the World Series to the AL or NL team based on the outcome of the All-Star Game, and Selig maintains that the system has achieved its purpose by elevating a quaint midsummer exhibition into must-see summer viewing. If raising the stakes can increase the suspense and prompt more viewers to tune in to the game, that's obviously a good thing. And as Selig is fond of saying, the old system of alternating home-field advantage between leagues from one year to the next wasn't exactly "Einstein's theory of relativity."
After putting Derek Jeter on base, it wasn't long before Adam Wainwright had reason to regret it. Scott Rovak/USA TODAY Sports
But as the Wainwright-Jeter flap shows, the system has way too many pitfalls and minefields to be viable anymore.
MLB can't attach paramount importance to the All-Star Game when fans elect the starters, players have a say in the process, managers round out the rosters, and fans have yet another say in the Internet Final Vote. There are just too many constituencies to satisfy, and the voting becomes one big hash.
If home-field advantage in the World Series is at stake, every team should not have a representative, as is the custom, and the best players need to stick around for the long haul rather than make cameos. A prime example is Trout, who would have played all nine innings Tuesday instead of exiting in the sixth inning with a double, a triple and two RBIs in three at-bats.
And while this might seem sacrilegious, you can debate whether Jeter should have even been playing in the All-Star Game this year if it were strictly about winning. Of the 12 American League shortstops who qualify for the batting title, Jeter ranks 11th with a .647 OPS -- ahead of only Seattle's Brad Miller. Jeter deserved to be in Minneapolis for his class, fan appeal and overall body of work, and it would have been a crime for fans to miss a chance to say goodbye to him. But even a die-hard Yankees rooter might have trouble justifying Jeter batting leadoff for the AL squad if this were strictly about "This One Counts."
Some Yankees fans will claim that Wainwright's "pipe shot" phrase was disrespectful to Jeter because it implied that The Captain couldn't have gotten a hit without a helping hand. If so, they're a lot more sensitive than Jeter, who was content to let things slide when informed of Wainwright's comments after the game.
"If he grooved it, thank you," Jeter said. "You still have to hit it."
That's the perspective and self-assurance of a man who has 3,408 hits and five World Series rings on his résumé and knows that he will be going to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
The flap over Wainwright's grooved pitch reflects the changing mindset that linking World Series home-field advantage has wrought. When Chan Ho Park allegedly grooved a pitch to Cal Ripken Jr. in the Iron Man's final All-Star appearance in 2001, it was perceived as more a sign of generosity than a major breach of etiquette. But then, if Park did feed Ripken a "pipe shot," he at least had the good sense to keep quiet about it.
Sometimes the line between showmanship and winning tends to blur at the All-Star Game. Two years ago, Justin Verlander gave up five runs in the first inning of the AL's 8-0 loss in Kansas City and admitted that he wanted to light up the radar gun.
"I know this game means something," Verlander said at the time, "but we're here for the fans, and I know the fans don't want to see me throw 90 [mph] and hit the corners. Just let it eat and have fun."
Wainwright's biggest sin, in contrast, was trying to balance competition, respect for a distinguished elder and his natural inclination to avoid conducting media interviews like a garden-variety baseball robot. In exchange for spreading himself too thin, he almost blew up Twitter.
"People in New York already don't like me, so anything else I say will just fuel the fire there," Wainwright said before leaving Target Field. "I should probably hush up."
It's a little late for that. But if Wainwright's experience at the 2014 All-Star Game can prompt MLB to take a hard look at the event and what it should be, maybe his long, emotional night in Minnesota will have been worth it.
|
– Last night was Derek Jeter's last All Star Game, and it went beautifully, as the Yankee captain went 2-for-2 with a double. There was just one problem: That double might have been a gimme. After he left the game, Adam Wainwright said that he wasn't exactly gunning for Jeter. "I was going to give him a couple of pipe shots. He deserved it," Wainwright said. "I didn't know he was going to hit a double or I would have changed my mind. I thought he was going to hit something hard to the right side for a single or an out. I probably should have pitched him a little bit better." Jeter laughed off the comments. "If he grooved it, thank you," he said. Wainwright backed off the remarks before the game was even over, saying he was joking. "I feel terrible about this if anyone's taking any credit away from Derek Jeter," he told Fox Sports reporter Erin Andrews. "It was mis-said. … I hope people realize I'm not intentionally giving up hits out there." The Cardinals ace is still sure to come under fire this week anyway, Jerry Crasnick at ESPN predicts, though he thinks Wainwright did baseball a favor "by exposing the massive problems inherent with what the All-Star Game has become in recent years. If there were any doubt, commissioner Bud Selig's 'This One Counts' initiative has outlived its usefulness."
|
International Women’s Day on Thursday is intended to celebrate women’s cultural and economic achievements and call for more gender parity. But as the calendar turns to March 8, it’s also time for the corporate pile-on of feel-good ads and product rollouts as brands rush to chime in on the pro-woman conversation.
Mattel on Tuesday unveiled 17 new “role model” Barbies for the occasion, honoring female icons such as Amelia Earhart and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson. Modern-day figures like Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins and Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim also got their own lookalike dolls.
During the Oscars on Sunday, Nike aired a new ad starring Serena Williams that commemorated International Women’s Day. In the commercial, the tennis star says she’s been criticized as not “the right kind of woman,” but has learned that “there’s no wrong way to be a woman.”
Read More: Why You Should Wear Purple on International Women’s Day
Uber released a video in Asian markets that seeks to disprove myths about female drivers there, and Facebook has designed IWD-themed cards, photo frames, and backgrounds to adorn text posts by users on mobile devices.
In a wackier stunt, a California McDonald’s location is turning its trademark golden arches upside-down so what is normally an M becomes a W for women.
The history of International Women’s Day stretches back more than a century, but supporting it in 2018 may feel especially urgent for brands, as it’s the first IWD since the #MeToo movement went viral, prompting a much-needed reevaluation of how corporate America, Hollywood, and the media treat female employees. But even in the current climate, where the public seems especially receptive to messages of female empowerment, brands must tread carefully. There was criticism, for instance, that Mattel’s ‘role model’ Barbies appear to fit the doll’s trademark silhouette and the McDonald’s W was panned by some on social media as an empty, odd symbol.
Great job, feminism — we did it!!! pic.twitter.com/6ICfQbYuop — Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) March 7, 2018
The ongoing #MeToo and Time’s Up movements may make it seem like celebrating IWD is a no-brainer for brands, but in fact, the campaigns against sexual harassment and sexism have raised the bar, says Erin Keeley, CMO at Mono, an ad agency.
Messaging like the Nike ad is “motivational,” Keeley says. Such ads “make you feel good; they are a positive message,” she says. “You hate to say that you don’t want brands to do that.” But the dialogue around women’s equality seems to be “turning a corner,” she says, where awareness and inspiration aren’t enough. The conversation has moved on to action; into “what happens next,” she says.
Subscribe to The Broadsheet, Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women.
That’s a harder mission for brands, but Keeley says Getty Images seemed to pull it off during International Women’s Day 2017, when it announced that it was launching a female-focused sports photography internship with the goal of adding more diversity to the field and contributing “to a more positive portrayal of sportswomen in the media.”
In that same vein, commentators commended Frances McDormand for including in her Oscars acceptance speech an actionable step—demanding an inclusion rider—that actors could take to change the industry; she went beyond just girl-power cheerleading.
Read More: See Photos of the Women’s Rights Movement Dating Back 100 Years
The IWD conversation is also one that not every brand has to join. Tapping into IWD makes sense “if your brand is about progress; if it’s aligned with what’s happening that day,” Keeley says.
But even for those companies, IWD can be a prickly occasion to celebrate.
Liquor company Diageo tried to promote the progressive history of its Johnnie Walker brand in late February when it introduced its limited edition “Jane Walker” scotch whisky, its traditional Johnny Walker bottle with a female iteration of the brand’s Striding Man logo. Sale of Jane Walker is tied to Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. In introducing the new bottle, the company touted the near equal gender make-up of its expert blenders and the women in its leadership ranks. “Women have played a significant role in the brand’s history dating back to 1893,” the company said in a release. But a quote by the brand’s vice president—“Scotch as a category is seen as particularly intimidating by women”—riled critics, including late-night host Stephen Colbert, who gave it the monologue treatment: “They changed the name to Jane Walker with a lady version of the mascot. Female drinkers everywhere will say, ‘Finally, a brand that’s condescending to me.'” ||||| Tweet with a location
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| In a study that Barbie conducted, 81% of 8,000 moms who had daughters under the age of 10 said they were worried about the types of role models their little girls were exposed to. These new dolls are a direct response to this anxiety. “We are thrilled to shine a light on real life role models to remind them that they can be anything,” Lisa McKnight, SVP and GM of Barbie, said in a statement announcing the collection.
At first blush, the toy brand has done an admirable job of highlighting inspirational women of many different ethnicities from around the world who have an impressive array of achievements. There’s Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins from the United States, two Michelin-star French chef Hélène Darroze, and Chinese ballerina Yuan Tan. There are even historical icons like artist Frida Kahlo, NASA mathematician Katherine Jenkins, and pilot Amelia Earhart.
And some even come with props! Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim has her own snowboard, Australian conservationist (and Steve Irwin’s daughter) Bindi Irwin comes with a koala bear, and Chinese volleyball champion Hui Ruoqi has a ball in tow.
The dolls’ faces, eye colors, and hairstyles appear carefully designed to capture the likenesses of the real woman each is meant to represent. But for all this attention to detail, it seems strange that Mattel made all the dolls rail thin. In fact, the dolls’ bodies are almost identical each another–which is the first tip-off that something is amiss. Irwin’s doll is a little shorter than her counterparts, while Ruoqi’s is slightly taller, and Spanish entrepreneur Vicky Martin Berrocal’s is a smidge curvier, but there is nothing realistic about these dolls at all.
It’s an odd move for Mattel. Since 2009, Barbie sales have spiraled downward. Between 2012 and 2014 alone, the brand’s sales plummeted by 20%. While part of this shift has to do with kids preferring electronic toys over analog ones, analysts say that part of the decline is due to parents who believe Barbie is a bad influence on girls. A slew of research has found that playing with Barbie makes girls feel lower self-esteem about their bodies. ||||| If you’ve visited Google, you’ll know that Wednesday’s Doodle honors International Women’s Day!
The Google Doodle, which can be viewed around the world, is an interactive feature on the website’s homepage that features stories from “everyday women,” including 12 female artists of varying backgrounds to celebrate women’s social, economic, and political achievements as well as to address gender equality.
International Women’s Day was founded more than a century ago after more than 15,000 women marched in New York City to demand better working conditions and voting rights.
This year, the company collaborated with Tunalaya Dunn, Kaveri Gopalakrishnan, Anna Haifisch, Isuri, Saffa Khan, Laerte, Estelí Meza, Karabo Poppy Moletsane, Philippa Rice, Francesca Sanna, Chihiro Takeuchi and Tillie Walden to mark International Women’s Day 2018, which is officially celebrated on March 8.
In addition, their inspiring messages have been translated into more than 80 languages.
It's officially #IWD2018 in the 🌎🌍🌏! Explore stories from women all over the globe in today's #GoogleDoodle & share yours using #HerStoryOurStory! → https://t.co/ydJboV47yJ pic.twitter.com/FBNpCPtMK8 — Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) March 7, 2018
And you too can contribute to International Women’s Day as Google is encouraging ladies from all over to share their own stories using the hashtag #HerStoryOurStory.
“We invite storytellers of all kinds to join us by posting their own personal stories about a moment, person, or event that has impacted their lives as women,” the company shared.
Google isn’t the only brand to announce initiatives in celebration of International Women’s Day.
This #InternationalWomensDay, we are honoring more female role models than ever before. Introducing the largest addition to our Sheroes line to date – meet our new Global Sheroes. Share your role models with us to help inspire more girls using #MoreRoleModels. #IWD2018 pic.twitter.com/NBwxxgDAXg — Barbie (@Barbie) March 7, 2018
Mattel and Barbie released a new collection of history-making dolls by debuting the immortalized versions of Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, Bindi Irwin and Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins.
In addition, fast food conglomerate McDonald’s flipped its iconic golden arches upside down from an “M” to a “W” in “celebration of women everywhere,” according to Business Insider. A Lynwood, California, location turned the sign specifically for International Women’s Day. McDonald’s also stated it will turn its logo upside down on all its digital channels, such as Twitter and Instagram, on Thursday. ||||| On Women's day, French newspaper Liberation highlighted injustice done to women regarding wages (AFP)
Male readers of leftwing French daily Liberation were asked to pay 25 percent more for their paper on Thursday, to underscore the gender pay gap on International Women's Day.The paper published two versions with different cover pages, one marked "for women, 2 euros, normal price" with a pictogram of a woman, the other marked "for men, 2.50 euros" with a pictogram of a man.In a front-page message the paper noted that despite equal pay for equal work being enshrined by law since 1972, French women earn on average 25.7 percent less than men, according to a 2017 report from an inequality watchdog."To highlight this injustice Liberation has decided to apply the same difference to its sale price for a day, meaning 50 cents more for men," it said, adding that profits from the operation would be donated to France's non-governmental Equality Observatory.Liberation said it was inspired by Canadian monthly Maclean's, which charged men more for its March edition also to denounce the wage gap.On Wednesday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced plans to get tough on companies that pay women less.Under a package of workplace reforms to be finalised next month, wage gap screening software will be rolled out in all companies with more than 250 employees from 2019, and in all companies with over 50 employees by 2022, Philippe said.Companies with "unjustified" disparities will have three years to rectify the situation or face fines of up to 1 percent of their wage bill, he said.Drawing on 2012 statistics, the Equality Observatory said last year that women earned 25.7 percent less than men.A 2014 report by national statistics agency INSEE put the gap slightly lower, at 23.8 percent.When adjustments for part-time work were factored in, women were still paid on average 17.4 percent less, the report found.For the same job, women are estimated to be paid nine percent less. ||||| Obituary writing is more about life than death: the last word, a testament to a human contribution.
Yet who gets remembered — and how — inherently involves judgment. To look back at the obituary archives can, therefore, be a stark lesson in how society valued various achievements and achievers.
Since 1851, The New York Times has published thousands of obituaries: of heads of state, opera singers, the inventor of Stove Top stuffing and the namer of the Slinky. The vast majority chronicled the lives of men, mostly white ones.
Charlotte Brontë wrote “Jane Eyre”; Emily Warren Roebling oversaw construction of the Brooklyn Bridge when her husband fell ill; Madhubala transfixed Bollywood; Ida B. Wells campaigned against lynching. Yet all of their deaths went unremarked in our pages, until now.
Below you’ll find obituaries for these and others who left indelible marks but were nonetheless overlooked. We’ll be adding to this collection each week, as Overlooked becomes a regular feature in the obituaries section, and expanding our lens beyond women.
You can use this form to nominate candidates for future “Overlooked” obits. Read an essay from our obituaries editor about how he approaches subjects and learn more about how the project came to be.
|
– Thursday is International Women's Day, an annual event getting more attention than usual in 2018 because it's the first in the wake of the #MeToo movement. As expected, brands (including McDonald's) are looking to capitalize, though critics are calling out examples of perceived misfires. Here's a look at what's going on in the US and around the world: Obituaries: One of the more interesting efforts comes from the New York Times, which acknowledges that it has focused too much on men in its obituaries over the years. A new project, "Overlooked," seeks to correct that by catching up on obits that should have been done but weren't. Subjects now getting their due include poet Sylvia Plath, anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells, and Jane Eyre author Charlotte Bronte. Branding: At the Financial Times, Kate Allen thinks the move by McDonald's to flip its arches into a W is "possibly the most superficial approach to gender politics in the universe." Nor is she a fan of the stunt by French newspaper Liberation to charge male readers more on Thursday. "There are various ways to highlight the gender pay gap, but this is a vastly oversimplified one to pick." Branding, II: Fortune looks at other corporate efforts, including Mattel's "role model" Barbies, also being panned. The problem for companies is that sloganeering is no longer enough, writes Claire Zillman. Google is also in on the day with its interactive Google Doodle, which invites women to share their own stories, notes People.
|
PHOENIX An Arizona grandfather has been arrested and accused of leaving his five-year-old granddaughter alone in the desert with a loaded and cocked .45-caliber handgun and the instruction to "shoot any bad guys," authorities said on Monday.
Paul Armand Rater, 53, was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix on suspicion of two counts of felony child abuse and one count of felony child endangerment stemming from incident on Sunday night.
Deputies said he and the child left their home in Buckeye, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Phoenix, in a pickup truck early on Sunday afternoon and that the girl was reported missing four hours later.
She was eventually located in the desert by her mother and an off-duty firefighter. The child was holding the powerful pistol.
"She was given the gun and told to shoot any bad guys," Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told Reuters by telephone. "I don't know how a five-year-old can tell a good guy from a bad guy, but that's what she said she was told."
Rater was later located at a store where he told deputies the vehicle had broken down and that he had left the girl under a tree in the desert because she was complaining she could not walk anymore, court records showed.
He admitted leaving the girl with his gun, "while he went for a few drinks and a cheeseburger," the sheriff's office said.
The child was returned to her mother and state child welfare authorities were alerted, the sheriff's office said.
(Reporting by David Schwartz; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Sandra Maler) ||||| BUCKEYE - The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has arrested a Buckeye man for leaving his granddaughter alone and with a gun in the desert near Rainbow Valley.
According to MCSO, 62-year-old Paul Rater and his granddaughter left his home in Buckeye on Sunday to go for a ride in the washes. Four hours later the family reported the two missing.
A firefighter on an ATV eventually heard the little girl crying for help.
"I don't know why papa left me, I was calling for him," quoted Sheriff Joe Arpaio of the little girl.
Rater left his granddaughter with a loaded and cocked .45 caliber handgun.
"He told her it was to shoot the bad guys. How does a 5-year-old know the difference between good guys and bad guys?," said Arpaio.
The Sheriff says Rater was found off Miller Road where he'd been having a few drinks and a cheeseburger. He said he walked for hours to get help after his truck broke down, but deputies say Rater never asked anyone for help or even mentioned the little girl.
The little girl was returned to her mother and the Department of Child Safety was notified.
Rater was booked into the 4th Avenue Jail on two counts of child abuse and one count of child endangerment.
|
– After downing a cheeseburger and a handful of drinks Sunday evening, Paul Rater called home and ordered his wife to come get him, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says, per the Arizona Republic. But instead of his wife showing up at the South Buckeye Equestrian Center, the cops did—and hauled him into a Maricopa County jail on child endangerment and abuse charges for allegedly leaving his 5-year-old granddaughter alone in the desert with a peculiar and perilous set of instructions. "She was given [a] gun and told to shoot any bad guys," Sheriff Joe Arpaio tells Reuters. "I don't know how a 5-year-old can tell a good guy from a bad guy, but that's what she said she was told." Deputies say the girl had been reported missing about four hours after she went out Sunday afternoon with her grandpa in his pickup truck. It's unclear whether the truck broke down or somehow became stuck; Rater says he didn't have his cellphone on him, couldn't call for help, and started walking. The 53-year-old says his granddaughter started to complain she couldn't go further, so he left her under a tree with a .45-caliber handgun that was both loaded and cocked, per Reuters. An off-duty firefighter and the girl's grandmother found her during a frantic search; she was holding the weapon with "one round in the chamber and the hammer locked back," per a police statement. Workers at the equestrian center (a bar/restaurant/feed store) say when Rater arrived he did gripe about having to walk out of the desert but made no reference to the girl. "He came across multiple people and never thought he should call 911," deputies say in the statement. Bond for Rater was set at $25,000 on Monday, per KPHO. The girl has been returned to her mother, ABC15 notes. (Young children with guns almost never ends well.)
|
Lindsay Lohan scrambles to meet courtroom requirements as prosecutors aim to toss her in jail
Valerie Macon/Getty Lindsay Lohan attempts to clean up her act one day before her courtroom appearance.
LOS ANGELES – Lindsay Lohan has been cramming for her courtroom cameo Wednesday and hopes a favorable probation report will keep her out of jail.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, want the starlet's no-nonsense judge to toss her in the pokey for violating court orders in her complicated necklace theft and DUI case.
"We will be seeking jail time," Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney, told the Daily News.
The new probation report, which Judge Stephanie Sautner will review at the progress report hearing Wednesday morning, found the starlet in "substantial compliance" with the terms of her sentence, sources said.
Mateljan said his office reviewed the report but still considers her missteps egregious enough to yank her freedom.
"One of the terms was that (Lohan) serve her community service at the Downtown Women's Center, and she's subsequently been terminated," Mateljan said. "The judge said she needed to complete the program there, at that particular location."
Lohan, 25, got dumped by the center for habitually missing appointments, he confirmed.
Lohan's publicist wouldn't discuss the Wednesday hearing but said LiLo completed her court-ordered shoplifting course, switched her community service gig to the Red Cross and has been working with a psychologist, per the judge's orders.
"She performed community service at the Red Cross pretty much every day last week, and she's been actively going to therapy," her spokesman Steve Honig told the Daily News. "She's very focused on meeting her court-ordered obligations."
It's not clear how she handled her once-a-week therapy requirement while she traveled to New York and Europe for fashion shows and a modeling gig.
Sautner already lectured Lohan in July, telling the slacking starlet to get serious about her 480 hours of community service.
"I think the judge will give her another stern warning, but I wouldn't be surprised if she followed the strict letter of her ruling and put Lindsay in jail," celebrity defense lawyer Trent Copeland, who is not connected to the case, told the Daily News.
"It all depends on how Judge Sautner defines substantial, because Lindsay was not ordered to be sort of in compliance or kind of in compliance, she was ordered to be in full compliance," Copeland said.
Lohan spent two weeks in jail for violating probation in 2010 and a month under house arrest for swiping the necklace earlier this year.
Even if she's tossed in jail Wednesday, she'll most likely bail out immediately pending a probation violation hearing.
ndillon@nydailynews.com ||||| Los Angeles city prosecutors will ask a judge to send Lindsay Lohan back to jail after she violated the terms of her probation.
Lohan was kicked out of a program at the Downtown Women's Center, where she was instructed by a judge to do community service for a necklace theft conviction.
L.A. County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner on Wednesday will review Lohan's probation progress as part of a sentence stemming from probation in a 2007 drunk-driving conviction and a May misdemeanor theft conviction. The judge could be satisfied with Lohan's progress or set a hearing to decide whether her behavior amounts to a violation of her probation and requires she be jailed.
The actress rarely appeared at a women's shelter for 350 hours of required service and never shown up at the coroner's office, where she was supposed to do another 120 hours of community service. She is now seeking to complete the women's shelter hours at the American Red Cross, according to authorities.
"She was terminated from the women's center program for failing to show up. This was one of the terms of her probation. So we will seek jail time for her," said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the city attorney.
Lohan was ordered in May to have her 480 hours of community service completed by April 2012.
As of last week, Lohan had completed 21 of 360 hours required at the skid row shelter for women, according to law enforcement sources. Jane Robison, a district attorney's office spokeswoman, confirmed that because she failed to keep appointments at the women's center, she was transferred to the American Red Cross for those community service hours.
A spokesman for the actress acknowledged last week that she transferred to the Red Cross.
In a posting on her Twitter account last week, Lohan defended herself. "I am not to be made an example of anymore. I am working hard and fulfilling my obligations every single day, to the court as well as myself," she wrote. "If I travel, its for work and its been approved. As is anything I do when I leave the state. I'd appreciate it if people will just let me do what is asked of me, so that I can get my life back. Please ignore the reports which have no truth to them. Thank you."
|
– Prosecutors are out to put Lindsay Lohan back behind bars after she blew off her community service. Lohan has never shown up at an LA coroner's office, where she was supposed to work 120 hours, and rarely appeared at a women's shelter, where she was required to put in 360 hours. The time was mandated as part of Lohan's probation on a drunken driving and theft charge. "She was terminated from the women's center program for failing to show up. This was one of the terms of her probation. So we will seek jail time for her," a spokesman for the city attorney told the Los Angeles Times. As of last week, she has worked only 12 of the mandated 480 hours, according to a spokeswoman. Lohan arranged to switch her shelter service to the Red Cross and she performed community service there "pretty much every day last week," her publicist explained to the New York Daily News. Lohan tweeted just days ago: "I am working hard and fulfilling my obligations every single day, to the court as well as myself. If I travel, it's for work and it's been approved. I'd appreciate it if people will just let me do what is asked of me, so that I can get my life back." Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner today reviews Lohan's probation progress.
|
0 Up votes, mark as useful
0 Down votes, mark as not useful ||||| CAMDEN, N.J. – A Knoxville, Tennessee, man was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for recruiting individuals to cash fraudulent money orders that he received from a former South Jersey U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Eugene Bowen, 35, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an information charging him with one count of transmitting and presenting unlawfully issued USPS money orders with intent to defraud the United States. Judge Rodriguez imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Bowen admitted that Marc Saunders, 40, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, a former employee at the USPS branch in New Lisbon, New Jersey, provided him with stolen money orders and told him to recruit others to cash them. Bowen admitted that he recruited individuals to cash the money orders and paid them a small fee, while keeping the rest of the money for Saunders and himself.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced Bowen to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $18,470.
On Dec. 12, 2017, Saunders pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme, including producing the money orders with a stolen imprinting machine and giving them to others to cash. His sentencing is scheduled for July 24, 2018.
Acting U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the USPS, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kenneth M. Cleevely of the Eastern Area Field Office, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyson M. Oswald of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: John Brennan Esq., Marlton, New Jersey ||||| Three accomplices have received prison terms in connection with a scheme to cash money orders stolen from the U.S. Postal Service. (Photo: Jim Walsh/Staff photographer)
CAMDEN – A former postal worker escaped prison for orchestrating a scheme to cash stolen money orders, but his middlemen weren’t so fortunate.
A federal judge has sentenced the last of three accomplices to prison, ordering Anthony Bell, 39, of Philadelphia to spend a year and a day in custody for his role in the 15-month scheme.
That followed prison terms of 20 months for Eugene Bowen, 36, of Knoxville, Tennessee, and nine months for Andre Sutton, 39, whose address was not available.
More: Ex-postal worker admits he burned 20 tubs of mail
In contrast, the scheme’s organizer, 40-year-old Marc Saunders of Sicklerville, received a five-year probationary sentence last month, including eight months of home confinement.
Saunders was ordered to pay restitution of almost $100,000.
The middlemen also were ordered to make restitution — about $22,400 for Bell, $18,500 for Bowen and $4,700 for Sutton.
Postmaster left printer unguarded
Three men have received prison terms in connection with the theft of U.S. Postal Service money orders. (Photo: Jim Walsh/Staff photographer)
A 13-page affidavit filed in federal court in Camden says a postmaster’s errors set the stage for thefts that eventually reached some $100,000.
It says the manager of the New Lisbon post office in rural Pemberton Township failed to return a machine that printed money orders when the Postal Service introduced new technology in February 2013.
The postmaster, who was transferred to another office in June 2013, also neglected to destroy about 180 loose money orders that could be printed with the outdated machine, the affidavit says.
Saunders began working more than a year later at the Pemberton office, where the printing machine — too big for the postmaster’s safe — had been stored in a cabinet, according to the affidavit by David Bannon, a special agent with the Office of Inspector General at the Postal Service.
More: Florida man accused of altering $1 money orders, depositing them for more than $2K
The Postal Service began investigating in late 2015, after people started cashing stolen money orders at post offices in the Philadelphia area, the affidavit says.
Bannon said serial numbers on the money orders led him to the Pemberton Township office on rural Four Mile Road, where he learned the imprinting machine had vanished.
According to the affidavit, Bannon then realized the stolen money orders carried ZIP codes — imprinted by the stolen machine — for post offices “all over the United States.”
None, however, were marked with New Lisbon’s ZIP code.
As a result, Bannon suspected a postal employee had stolen the machine from New Lisbon and was repeatedly changing its ZIP code setting to divert attention from that branch.
Social media ties accomplices together
Most of the money orders were cashed at post offices in the Philadelphia area, but 22 were passed in Knoxville, where Bowen allegedly recruited residents of homeless shelters to conduct the transactions.
Nine orders were cashed in post offices around York, Pennsylvania, and one in Jersey City.
The August 2017 affidavit noted about 50 money orders never surfaced — and the printing machine remained missing.
Investigators were able to identify lower-level participants, who cashed the money orders for a fee. They then linked their cellphones and Facebook pages to those used by Saunders and the middlemen, the affidavit says.
More: Mailman hoarded more than 17,000 pieces of mail, authorities say
It notes one alleged ring member, identified only as M.M., passed a stolen money order in September 2015 — and at the same time bought a legitimate order made out to Saunders, then a Mount Laurel resident.
The affidavit also notes the men shared family ties and childhood connections.
It says Bowen and Saunders are cousins, while Sutton told investigators he grew up in the same neighborhood as Bell, attended high school with Saunders, and used to play football with Bowen.
The affidavit also says Bannon received two faxed letters in June 2017 from Bowen and a payee that used language from the “sovereign citizens” movement to challenge his authority and that of the court system.
Bell was sentenced July 25, one day after Saunders received his probationary term. Bowen and Sutton were sentenced in June.
All of the men were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez.
Follow Jim Walsh on Twitter: @jimwalsh_cp
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2vGkHGX
|
– A neglected printing machine and nearly 200 blank money-order forms caught the eye of Marc Saunders sometime after he started working at the Postal Service's New Lisbon, NJ, branch in 2014. Four years later, Saunders has been hit with a five-year probation and ordered to pay the agency back almost $100,000 after he pleaded guilty to orchestrating a scheme in which he printed fraudulent money orders and gave them to others to cash, the Cherry Hill Courier-Post reports. Saunders' accomplices, who helped him find people to cash the money orders (including residents of homeless shelters), fared worse on the prison front: Anthony Bell, 39, was given a year and a day behind bars and a $22,400 restitution bill; Eugene Bowen, 36, a 20-month prison sentence and $18,500 restitution; and Andre Sutton, 39, a nine-month sentence and $4,700 restitution. An affidavit filed in Camden federal court by David Bannan, a special agent for the USPS' Office of Inspector General, details how the New Lisbon branch phased out the old money-order machine in 2013. Because it couldn't fit inside the office safe, however, the New Lisbon postmaster placed it inside a cabinet; it remained there when she moved to another branch later that year. The agent details his "evidence pointing to an inside job," noting Saunders ran his scheme between August 2015 and December 2016. Most of the money orders were cashed in the Philly area, as well as in Knoxville, Tenn. Once the stolen money orders started to emerge, Bannan traced the serial numbers to the New Lisbon office, where the machine had gone missing. Investigators then tied people who did the cashing to the suspects via their Facebook connections and cellphone info.
|
CLOSE Actor Tom Sizemore is accused of touching an 11-year-old girl’s genitals, while filming a movie in 2003. Buzz60
'The Hollywood Reporter' says actor Tom Sizemore, seen here in 2014, was suspended from the 2003 film 'Born Killers' after he allegedly violated an 11-year-old girl. (Photo: Jordan Strauss, Invision/AP)
Another week, another ugly allegation of sexual assault against a Hollywood star, this time tough-guy actor Tom Sizemore who is accused of sexually molesting an 11-year-old actress on a movie set in 2003.
The Hollywood Reporter posted a story late Monday recounting how Sizemore, then 42, allegedly was told to leave the Utah set of a crime thriller called Born Killers (shot as Piggy Banks) after the child actress told her mother that Sizemore had touched her genitals during a photo shoot for the film.
But her parents declined to press charges and months later, Sizemore returned for reshoots in Malibu. THR said the story was based on interviews with a dozen people involved with the production who confirmed that Sizemore was sent home over the alleged incident, and that it provoked anger and tensions on the set.
Sizemore, 55, already notorious in Hollywood for his drug use and convictions for battery against women, has never been accused of molestation before.
He is best known for his roles in action films and dramas, especially Saving Private Ryan in 1998 and Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor in 2001. Despite his rap sheet, he has worked steadily; his IMDb page lists 15 projects in 2018 alone.
This incident has previously gone unreported, THR reported, but is coming out now in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment-and-rape scandal, which has set off a cascade of similar allegations and a belated industry move towards openness about such accusations.
USA TODAY reached out to Sizemore's representatives but has received no response. His agent, Stephen Rice, told the industry trade paper, "Our position is 'no comment.'"
Charles Lago of DTLA Entertainment Group, who was Sizemore's former manager for a half-dozen years until Lago dropped him in disgust after he was accused of beating women, said he was "not surprised" by the allegation. He blamed Sizemore's behavior on frequent drug use.
"He's the most abhorrent person I've ever met in my life," Lago said, although this alleged incident happened before he worked with Sizemore. "I heard something happened on the set but I didn't realize it involved a child. It was hushed up."
The young actress, now 26, was unidentified at her request; she told THR she didn't want to talk about the matter except to say that she's recently hired a lawyer to explore legal action against the actor as well as her parents.
THR reported Sizemore is said to have denied the young actress' claim as soon as he was confronted with it; shortly after, he was quietly dropped by his management firm and talent agency.
The promotional photo session required the child, who had a small role in the film, to be seated on Sizemore's lap for a holiday picture.
"This is when Sizemore allegedly either rubbed his finger against the girl's vagina or inserted it inside," THR reported. The paper quoted production manager Cassidy Lunnen recalling that the "the girl was so young it was unclear to her and (later) her parents what had actually taken place and if it was intentional or not."
The paper also interviewed Robyn Adamson, who portrayed the wife in the film, who stood near the photographer when the picture was being taken. She recalled the child, who was wearing a flannel nightgown, reacted to something during the photoshoot.
"At one point her eyes got just huge, like she could've vomited," Adamson told the paper. "I was watching her. She soon reintegrated and kept going, although she had trouble taking direction. Later, when I was told about what happened, I knew exactly what it was."
When casting director Catrine McGregor heard about the alleged encounter from the child's agent, she filed a complaint with the Screen Actors Guild legal department and pushed for Sizemore's immediate dismissal from the project. (SAG declined to comment to THR.)
The paper also talked to a production assistant, Roi Maufas, who said the crew believed what the child said because they considered Sizemore a "sleazebag."
"There was never any doubt," Maufas said. "He was this guy who was already known for making inappropriate comments, being drunk, being high. We're talking about consistent behavior, just being 'Tom Sizemore' on set every day. Then this happens. Guys reached for hammers."
The producers of the film told THR they removed Sizemore from the set as soon as they heard about the assertion, reviewed the photographs from the portrait session but found them to be inconclusive, and suggested to the child's parents they could contact police if they wanted.
"They did talk to the police but didn't press charges," producer Michael Manshel told the paper. "We also talked to Tom at the time, and told him everything that had been told to us, and he said: 'I've done a lot of awful things, and I'd never do anything with kids.' We considered whether we had some responsibility to him to not pass judgment on him."
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2AEiA7M ||||| A dozen cast and crewmembers tell THR that the actor was sent home after the girl told her parents about the incident.
Actor Tom Sizemore was told to leave a Utah film set in 2003 after an 11-year-old actress told her mother that he had touched her genitals, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Months later, he returned for reshoots in Malibu after her parents declined to press charges. The incident has never been revealed publicly.
When contacted, the now 26-year-old former actress, whom THR is not identifying at her request, declined to address the matter except to note that she's recently hired a lawyer to explore legal action against the actor as well as her parents. Sizemore declined to address the situation. "Our position is 'no comment,'" says his agent Stephen Rice.
THR spoke to a dozen people involved with the production of the film, a crime thriller called Born Killers (shot as Piggy Banks). They confirmed Sizemore was sent home over the alleged incident. According to these cast- and crewmembers, rumors swirled and emotions rose on set over what had allegedly transpired.
Sizemore, notorious for his long rap sheet that includes charges of drug use and battery against women, has not previously been accused of molestation. An actor with a tough-guy image then at the height of his scandal-driven infamy, when the Utah incident occurred he'd recently been convicted of physically abusing and harassing his ex-girlfriend, the former "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss.
Sizemore is said to have denied the young actress' claim as soon as he was confronted with it. His management firm Untitled and talent agency CAA quietly dropped him shortly afterward. He's currently repped by the boutique firm Pantheon.
Cast- and crewmembers, inspired by the nascent movement toward industry transparency in the post-Harvey Weinstein era, explain that the incident took place near the end of production on Born Killers (not to be confused with Oliver Stone's earlier Natural Born Killers, which Sizemore also appeared in). It was during a second-unit still portrait session, to capture photos of Sizemore's character with his abandoned wife and daughter. The imagery would serve as a plot device in the $5 million film, which was released by Lionsgate in 2005. The film centers on two immoral brothers on a crime spree. (Sizemore played the dissolute father who raised them.)
The roughly half-hour session required the young actress, who had a small role in the production, to be seated on Sizemore's lap in a holiday tableau. This is when Sizemore allegedly either rubbed his finger against the girl's vagina or inserted it inside. Production manager Cassidy Lunnen recalls that "the girl was so young it was unclear to her and [later] her parents what had actually taken place and if it was intentional or not."
During one setup, which required just the two of them, Robyn Adamson, who portrayed the wife, stood away, near the photographer. She recalls of the girl, who was wearing a flannel nightgown: "At one point her eyes got just huge, like she could've vomited. I was watching her. She soon reintegrated and kept going, although she had trouble taking direction. Later, when I was told about what happened, I knew exactly what it was."
Catrine McGregor, the casting director who hired the young actress, fielded a call from the actress' agent the next day, explaining that the girl had informed her mother that she'd been inappropriately touched. "The mother noticed that her daughter was unusually quiet and told her she was going to take her to this swimming place that was the little girl's favorite thing," says McGregor, a four-decade veteran in the business, who notes that she subsequently filed a complaint with SAG's legal department and advocated for Sizemore's immediate dismissal from the project. (SAG declined to comment.) "When the girl put on her bathing suit, she told her mother that it reminded her of the day before, in an upsetting way — that the bathing suit's contact against her felt like what happened when the man had put his finger inside her," as McGregor understood the events on-set.
Word spread quickly. "It filtered down to the crew," says Roi Maufas, who worked as a production assistant. "The little girl said what she said and we all thought, 'That fucking sleazebag.' There was never any doubt. He was this guy who was already known for making inappropriate comments, being drunk, being high. We're talking about consistent behavior, just being 'Tom Sizemore' on set every day. Then this happens. Guys reached for hammers. [Producer James R. Rosenthal, who died in 2011], who was livid himself, had to stop a group of us from going to visit Mr. Sizemore to kick the guy's ass."
In interviews, the film's producers Jai Stefan, Michael Manshel and Gus Spoliansky note that they removed Sizemore from set as soon as they heard about the assertion, reviewed the photographs from the portrait session but found them to be inconclusive evidence and sought out the parents to encourage them to engage law enforcement if they felt compelled to do so. Stefan, who along with the others describes being heavily affected by the actress' claim ("I was like, 'Did that just happen on my watch?' I started crying"), recalls the parents "not wanting the little girl being taken off the movie. We said we can remove her, remove him, remove both."
"They did talk to the police but didn't press charges," says Manshel adding: "We also talked to Tom at the time, and told him everything that had been told to us, and he said: 'I've done a lot of awful things, and I'd never do anything with kids.' We considered whether we had some responsibility to him to not pass judgment on him."
Eventually, in need of pick-up shots, they invited Sizemore to Spoliansky's Malibu home a couple of months later for reshoots.
"We had a fiduciary responsibility to complete the film so we decided to go about business as usual — lacking the evidence of what happened that day," says Spoliansky. Still, he's quick to add, "We took the allegation extremely seriously and we were willing to do anything, including dismissing Tom. We just couldn't be police, judge and jury."
McGregor, the first to come forward to THR about the episode, speculates that the girl's parents may not have wanted to compound professional harm with emotional harm, observing that they "didn't want to possibly ruin their daughter's film career."
Sizemore, 55, gained renown in the 1990s for a series of tough-guy supporting roles in primarily action films and dramas, including Point Break, True Romance, Strange Days and Wyatt Earp, leading to his biggest career moments with Saving Private Ryan in 1998 and Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor in 2001. (In 2000 he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his acting in the HBO movie Witness Protection.)
After the Born Killers shoot, and in the midst of becoming a father (to twin boys in 2005), Sizemore continued to work steadily, although relegated to smaller roles on less prestigious projects. More recently, though, his career has picked up again, particularly on TV, with notable arcs on USA's Shooter and Showtime's revival of Twin Peaks. In September, he appeared opposite Liam Neeson in Felt, playing an FBI rival of the Deep Throat source in the Watergate drama. At press time, according to IMDb, he's attached to, and frequently listed as starring in, more than three dozen often low-budget and genre independent film projects in some stage of development or production.
Sizemore has long publicly contended with a drug addiction that dates to his teens. (Among other troubles, Bakersfield police charged him with possession of methamphetamine in 2007, and three years later he appeared on Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew.) He also has a history of alleged aggressive behavior toward women, most recently in February, pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges of domestic abuse for assaulting his girlfriend in July 2016 in downtown L.A. This followed two previous arrests for suspected battery of another woman in 2009 and 2011, and before that his Fleiss conviction in Los Angeles court in August 2003 — the same month that production began on Born Killers. He'd eventually be sentenced to half a year in prison for the Fleiss matter.
"I remember being excited that he went to jail," says Jennie Latham, a second assistant director on the film, "even if it was for something else."
|
– The latest disturbing Hollywood sexual misconduct allegation involves Tom Sizemore, an actor who has already faced drug and domestic violence charges. Multiple cast and crew members tell the Hollywood Reporter that Sizemore, best known for roles in war films including Black Hawk Down, was kicked off a Utah movie set in 2003 for allegedly touching an 11-year-old girl's genitals. They say the day after a Born Killers scene in which the girl sat on Sizemore's lap, she told her parents that he had touched her inappropriately, possibly putting his finger inside her. "At one point her eyes got just huge, like she could've vomited. I was watching her," co-star Robyn Adamson says. "Later, when I was told about what happened, I knew exactly what it was." "There was never any doubt. He was this guy who was already known for making inappropriate comments, being drunk, being high," says production assistant Roi Maufas. "Then this happens. Guys reached for hammers," he says. Producers say Sizemore, who was ordered to leave the set, denied the allegations. Crew members say the girl's parents spoke to police, but ended up not pressing charges, possibly out of fear of ruining her film career. She is now 26 and says she is considering legal action against both Sizemore and her parents. Sizemore, 55, was dropped by his management firm soon after the incident. Former manager Charles Lago tells USA Today that he is "not surprised" by the allegations. "He's the most abhorrent person I've ever met in my life," Lago says.
|
Some of the reports describe Pakistani intelligence working alongside Al Qaeda to plan attacks. Experts cautioned that although Pakistan’s militant groups and Al Qaeda work together, directly linking the Pakistani spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, with Al Qaeda is difficult.
The records also contain firsthand accounts of American anger at Pakistan’s unwillingness to confront insurgents who launched attacks near Pakistani border posts, moved openly by the truckload across the frontier, and retreated to Pakistani territory for safety.
The behind-the-scenes frustrations of soldiers on the ground and glimpses of what appear to be Pakistani skullduggery contrast sharply with the frequently rosy public pronouncements of Pakistan as an ally by American officials, looking to sustain a drone campaign over parts of Pakistani territory to strike at Qaeda havens. Administration officials also want to keep nuclear-armed Pakistan on their side to safeguard NATO supplies flowing on routes that cross Pakistan to Afghanistan.
This month, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in one of the frequent visits by American officials to Islamabad, announced $500 million in assistance and called the United States and Pakistan “partners joined in common cause.”
The reports suggest, however, that the Pakistani military has acted as both ally and enemy, as its spy agency runs what American officials have long suspected is a double game — appeasing certain American demands for cooperation while angling to exert influence in Afghanistan through many of the same insurgent networks that the Americans are fighting to eliminate.
Behind the scenes, both Bush and Obama administration officials as well as top American commanders have confronted top Pakistani military officers with accusations of ISI complicity in attacks in Afghanistan, and even presented top Pakistani officials with lists of ISI and military operatives believed to be working with militants.
Benjamin Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said that Pakistan had been an important ally in the battle against militant groups, and that Pakistani soldiers and intelligence officials had worked alongside the United States to capture or kill Qaeda and Taliban leaders.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Still, he said that the “status quo is not acceptable,” and that the havens for militants in Pakistan “pose an intolerable threat” that Pakistan must do more to address.
“The Pakistani government — and Pakistan’s military and intelligence services — must continue their strategic shift against violent extremist groups within their borders,” he said. American military support to Pakistan would continue, he said.
Several Congressional officials said that despite repeated requests over the years for information about Pakistani support for militant groups, they usually receive vague and inconclusive briefings from the Pentagon and C.I.A.
Nonetheless, senior lawmakers say they have no doubt that Pakistan is aiding insurgent groups. “The burden of proof is on the government of Pakistan and the ISI to show they don’t have ongoing contacts,” said Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat on the Armed Services Committee who visited Pakistan this month and said he and Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the committee chairman, confronted Pakistan’s prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, yet again over the allegations.
Such accusations are usually met with angry denials, particularly by the Pakistani military, which insists that the ISI severed its remaining ties to the groups years ago. An ISI spokesman in Islamabad said Sunday that the agency would have no comment until it saw the documents. Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said, “The documents circulated by WikiLeaks do not reflect the current on-ground realities.”
The man the United States has depended on for cooperation in fighting the militants and who holds most power in Pakistan, the head of the army, Gen. Parvez Ashfaq Kayani, ran the ISI from 2004 to 2007, a period from which many of the reports are drawn. American officials have frequently praised General Kayani for what they say are his efforts to purge the military of officers with ties to militants.
American officials have described Pakistan’s spy service as a rigidly hierarchical organization that has little tolerance for “rogue” activity. But Pakistani military officials give the spy service’s “S Wing” — which runs external operations against the Afghan government and India — broad autonomy, a buffer that allows top military officials deniability.
American officials have rarely uncovered definitive evidence of direct ISI involvement in a major attack. But in July 2008, the C.I.A.’s deputy director, Stephen R. Kappes, confronted Pakistani officials with evidence that the ISI helped plan the deadly suicide bombing of India’s Embassy in Kabul.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
From the current trove, one report shows that Polish intelligence warned of a complex attack against the Indian Embassy a week before that bombing, though the attackers and their methods differed. The ISI was not named in the report warning of the attack.
Another, dated August 2008, identifies a colonel in the ISI plotting with a Taliban official to assassinate President Hamid Karzai. The report says there was no information about how or when this would be carried out. The account could not be verified.
General Linked to Militants
Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul ran the ISI from 1987 to 1989, a time when Pakistani spies and the C.I.A. joined forces to run guns and money to Afghan militias who were battling Soviet troops in Afghanistan. After the fighting stopped, he maintained his contacts with the former mujahedeen, who would eventually transform themselves into the Taliban.
And more than two decades later, it appears that General Gul is still at work. The documents indicate that he has worked tirelessly to reactivate his old networks, employing familiar allies like Jaluluddin Haqqani and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whose networks of thousands of fighters are responsible for waves of violence in Afghanistan.
General Gul is mentioned so many times in the reports, if they are to be believed, that it seems unlikely that Pakistan’s current military and intelligence officials could not know of at least some of his wide-ranging activities.
For example, one intelligence report describes him meeting with a group of militants in Wana, the capital of South Waziristan, in January 2009. There, he met with three senior Afghan insurgent commanders and three “older” Arab men, presumably representatives of Al Qaeda, who the report suggests were important “because they had a large security contingent with them.”
The gathering was designed to hatch a plan to avenge the death of “Zamarai,” the nom de guerre of Osama al-Kini, who had been killed days earlier by a C.I.A. drone attack. Mr. Kini had directed Qaeda operations in Pakistan and had spearheaded some of the group’s most devastating attacks.
The plot hatched in Wana that day, according to the report, involved driving a dark blue Mazda truck rigged with explosives from South Waziristan to Afghanistan’s Paktika Province, a route well known to be used by the insurgents to move weapons, suicide bombers and fighters from Pakistan.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
In a show of strength, the Taliban leaders approved a plan to send 50 Arab and 50 Waziri fighters to Ghazni Province in Afghanistan, the report said.
General Gul urged the Taliban commanders to focus their operations inside Afghanistan in exchange for Pakistan turning “a blind eye” to their presence in Pakistan’s tribal areas. It was unclear whether the attack was ever executed.
Photo
The United States has pushed the United Nations to put General Gul on a list of international terrorists, and top American officials said they believed he was an important link between active-duty Pakistani officers and militant groups.
General Gul, who says he is retired and lives on his pension, dismissed the allegations as “absolute nonsense,” speaking by telephone from his home in Rawalpindi, where the Pakistani Army keeps its headquarters. “I have had no hand in it.” He added, “American intelligence is pulling cotton wool over your eyes.”
Senior Pakistani officials consistently deny that General Gul still works at the ISI’s behest, though several years ago, after mounting American complaints, Pakistan’s president at the time, Pervez Musharraf, was forced publicly to acknowledge the possibility that former ISI officials were assisting the Afghan insurgency. Despite his denials, General Gul keeps close ties to his former employers. When a reporter visited General Gul this spring for an interview at his home, the former spy master canceled the appointment. According to his son, he had to attend meetings at army headquarters.
Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.
Suicide Bomber Network
The reports also chronicle efforts by ISI officers to run the networks of suicide bombers that emerged as a sudden, terrible force in Afghanistan in 2006.
The detailed reports indicate that American officials had a relatively clear understanding of how the suicide networks presumably functioned, even if some of the threats did not materialize. It is impossible to know why the attacks never came off — either they were thwarted, the attackers shifted targets, or the reports were deliberately planted as Taliban disinformation.
One report, from Dec. 18, 2006, describes a cyclical process to develop the suicide bombers. First, the suicide attacker is recruited and trained in Pakistan. Then, reconnaissance and operational planning gets under way, including scouting to find a place for “hosting” the suicide bomber near the target before carrying out the attack. The network, it says, receives help from the Afghan police and the Ministry of Interior.
In many cases, the reports are complete with names and ages of bombers, as well as license plate numbers, but the Americans gathering the intelligence struggle to accurately portray many other details, introducing sometimes comical renderings of places and Taliban commanders.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
In one case, a report rated by the American military as credible states that a gray Toyota Corolla had been loaded with explosives between the Afghan border and Landik Hotel, in Pakistan, apparently a mangled reference to Landi Kotal, in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The target of the plot, however, is a real hotel in downtown Kabul, the Ariana.
“It is likely that ISI may be involved as supporter of this attack,” reads a comment in the report.
Several of the reports describe current and former ISI operatives, including General Gul, visiting madrasas near the city of Peshawar, a gateway to the tribal areas, to recruit new fodder for suicide bombings.
One report, labeled a “real threat warning” because of its detail and the reliability of its source, described how commanders of Mr. Hekmatyar’s insurgent group, Hezb-i-Islami, ordered the delivery of a suicide bomber from the Hashimiye madrasa, run by Afghans.
The boy was to be used in an attack on American or NATO vehicles in Kabul during the Muslim Festival of Sacrifices that opened Dec. 31, 2006. According to the report, the boy was taken to the Afghan city of Jalalabad to buy a car for the bombing, and was later brought to Kabul. It was unclear whether the attack took place.
The documents indicate that these types of activities continued throughout last year. From July to October 2009, nine threat reports detailed movements by suicide bombers from Pakistan into populated areas of Afghanistan, including Kandahar, Kunduz and Kabul.
Some of the bombers were sent to disrupt Afghanistan’s presidential elections, held last August. In other instances, American intelligence learned that the Haqqani network sent bombers at the ISI’s behest to strike Indian officials, development workers and engineers in Afghanistan. Other plots were aimed at the Afghan government.
Sometimes the intelligence documents twin seemingly credible detail with plots that seem fantastical or utterly implausible assertions. For instance, one report describes an ISI plan to use a remote-controlled bomb disguised as a golden Koran to assassinate Afghan government officials. Another report documents an alleged plot by the ISI and Taliban to ship poisoned alcoholic beverages to Afghanistan to kill American troops.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
But the reports also charge that the ISI directly helped organize Taliban offensives at key junctures of the war. On June 19, 2006, ISI operatives allegedly met with the Taliban leaders in Quetta, the city in southern Pakistan where American and other Western officials have long believed top Taliban leaders have been given refuge by the Pakistani authorities. At the meeting, according to the report, they pressed the Taliban to mount attacks on Maruf, a district of Kandahar that lies along the Pakistani border.
The planned offensive would be carried out primarily by Arabs and Pakistanis, the report said, and a Taliban commander, “Akhtar Mansoor,” warned that the men should be prepared for heavy losses. “The foreigners agreed to this operation and have assembled 20 4x4 trucks to carry the fighters into areas in question,” it said.
While the specifics about the foreign fighters and the ISI are difficult to verify, the Taliban did indeed mount an offensive to seize control in Maruf in 2006.
Afghan government officials and Taliban fighters have widely acknowledged that the offensive was led by the Taliban commander Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, who was then the Taliban shadow governor of Kandahar.
Mullah Mansour tried to claw out a base for himself inside Afghanistan, but just as the report quotes him predicting, the Taliban suffered heavy losses and eventually pulled back.
Another report goes on to describe detailed plans for a large-scale assault, timed for September 2007, aimed at the American forward operating base in Managi, in Kunar Province.
“It will be a five-pronged attack consisting of 83-millimeter artillery, rockets, foot soldiers, and multiple suicide bombers,” it says.
It is not clear that the attack ever came off, but its planning foreshadowed another, seminal attack that came months later, in July 2008. At that time, about 200 Taliban insurgents nearly overran an American base in Wanat, in Nuristan, killing nine American soldiers. For the Americans, it was one of the highest single-day tolls of the war.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Tensions With Pakistan
The flood of reports of Pakistani complicity in the insurgency has at times led to barely disguised tensions between American and Pakistani officers on the ground.
Meetings at border outposts set up to develop common strategies to seal the frontier and disrupt Taliban movements reveal deep distrust among the Americans of their Pakistani counterparts.
On Feb. 7, 2007, American officers met with Pakistani troops on a dry riverbed to discuss the borderlands surrounding Afghanistan’s Khost Province.
According to notes from the meeting, the Pakistanis portrayed their soldiers as conducting around-the-clock patrols. Asked if he expected a violent spring, a man identified in the report as Lt. Col. Bilal, the Pakistani officer in charge, said no. His troops were in firm control.
The Americans were incredulous. Their record noted that there had been a 300 percent increase in militant activity in Khost before the meeting.
“This comment alone shows how disconnected this particular group of leadership is from what is going on in reality,” the notes said.
The Pakistanis told the Americans to contact them if they spotted insurgent activity along the border. “I doubt this would do any good,” the American author of the report wrote, “because PAKMIL/ISI is likely involved with the border crossings.” “PAKMIL” refers to the Pakistani military.
A year earlier, the Americans became so frustrated at the increase in roadside bombs in Afghanistan that they hand-delivered folders with names, locations, aerial photographs and map coordinates to help the Pakistani military hunt down the militants the Americans believed were responsible.
Nothing happened, wrote Col. Barry Shapiro, an American military liaison officer with experience in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, after an Oct. 13, 2006, meeting. “Despite the number of reports and information detailing the concerns,” Colonel Shapiro wrote, “we continue to see no change in the cross-border activity and continue to see little to no initiative along the PAK border” by Pakistan troops. The Pakistani Army “will only react when asked to do so by U.S. forces,” he concluded. ||||| A huge cache of secret US military files today provides a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, Taliban attacks have soared and Nato commanders fear neighbouring Pakistan and Iran are fuelling the insurgency.
The disclosures come from more than 90,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports about the conflict obtained by the whistleblowers' website WikiLeaks in one of the biggest leaks in US military history. The files, which were made available to the Guardian, the New York Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel, give a blow-by-blow account of the fighting over the last six years, which has so far cost the lives of more than 320 British and more than 1,000 US troops.
Their publication comes amid mounting concern that Barack Obama's "surge" strategy is failing and as coalition troops hunt for two US naval personnel captured by the Taliban south of Kabul on Friday.
The war logs also detail:
• How a secret "black" unit of special forces hunts down Taliban leaders for "kill or capture" without trial.
• How the US covered up evidence that the Taliban have acquired deadly surface-to-air missiles.
• How the coalition is increasingly using deadly Reaper drones to hunt and kill Taliban targets by remote control from a base in Nevada.
• How the Taliban have caused growing carnage with a massive escalation of their roadside bombing campaign, which has killed more than 2,000 civilians to date.
In a statement, the White House said the chaotic picture painted by the logs was the result of "under-resourcing" under Obama's predecessor, saying: "It is important to note that the time period reflected in the documents is January 2004 to December 2009."
The White House also criticised the publication of the files by WikiLeaks: "We strongly condemn the disclosure of classified information by individuals and organisations, which puts the lives of the US and partner service members at risk and threatens our national security. WikiLeaks made no effort to contact the US government about these documents, which may contain information that endanger the lives of Americans, our partners, and local populations who co-operate with us."
The logs detail, in sometimes harrowing vignettes, the toll on civilians exacted by coalition forces: events termed "blue on white" in military jargon. The logs reveal 144 such incidents.
Some of these casualties come from the controversial air strikes that have led to Afghan government protests, but a large number of previously unknown incidents also appear to be the result of troops shooting unarmed drivers or motorcyclists out of a determination to protect themselves from suicide bombers.
At least 195 civilians are admitted to have been killed and 174 wounded in total, but this is likely to be an underestimate as many disputed incidents are omitted from the daily snapshots reported by troops on the ground and then collated, sometimes erratically, by military intelligence analysts.
Bloody errors at civilians' expense, as recorded in the logs, include the day French troops strafed a bus full of children in 2008, wounding eight. A US patrol similarly machine-gunned a bus, wounding or killing 15 of its passengers, and in 2007 Polish troops mortared a village, killing a wedding party including a pregnant woman, in an apparent revenge attack.
Questionable shootings of civilians by UK troops also figure. The US compilers detail an unusual cluster of four British shootings in Kabul in the space of barely a month, in October/November 2007, culminating in the death of the son of an Afghan general. Of one shooting, they wrote: "Investigation controlled by the British. We are not able to get [sic] complete story."
A second cluster of similar shootings, all involving Royal Marine commandos in Helmand province, took place in a six-month period at the end of 2008, according to the log entries. Asked by the Guardian about these allegations, the Ministry of Defence said: "We have been unable to corroborate these claims in the short time available and it would be inappropriate to speculate on specific cases without further verification of the alleged actions."
Rachel Reid, who investigates civilian casualty incidents in Afghanistan for Human Rights Watch, said: "These files bring to light what's been a consistent trend by US and Nato forces: the concealment of civilian casualties. Despite numerous tactical directives ordering transparent investigations when civilians are killed, there have been incidents I've investigated in recent months where this is still not happening.
Accountability is not just something you do when you are caught. It should be part of the way the US and Nato do business in Afghanistan every time they kill or harm civilians." The reports, many of which the Guardian is publishing in full online, present an unvarnished and often compelling account of the reality of modern war.
Most of the material, though classified "secret" at the time, is no longer militarily sensitive. A small amount of information has been withheld from publication because it might endanger local informants or give away genuine military secrets. WikiLeaks, whose founder, Julian Assange, obtained the material in circumstances he will not discuss, said it would redact harmful material before posting the bulk of the data on its "uncensorable" servers.
WikiLeaks published in April this year a previously suppressed classified video of US Apache helicopters killing two Reuters cameramen on the streets of Baghdad, which gained international attention. A 22-year-old intelligence analyst, Bradley Manning, was arrested in Iraq and charged with leaking the video, but not with leaking the latest material. The Pentagon's criminal investigations department continues to try to trace the leaks and recently unsuccessfully asked Assange, he says, to meet them outside the US to help them. Assange allowed the Guardian to examine the logs at our request. No fee was involved and WikiLeaks was not involved in the preparation of the Guardian's articles.
|
– Covert operations, hidden civilian victims of the Afghanistan War and US suspicions that Pakistan is aiding the Taliban are among the shocking secrets bared in some 92,000 leaked American military documents posted yesterday on Wikileaks. The New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel were given early access to the documents, and all three publications are running huge front-page stories on the leaked information today. Among major civilian casualties never before reported to the American public were 7 children, killed in 2007 during a raid by a secret special American operations unit called Task Force 373, according to the records. The documents also reveal that US officials fear that even as Pakistan collects some $1 billion in US aid to combat militants members of its intelligence community secretly meet with the Taliban to help organize networks of militants to fight American soldiers, reports the Times. National Security Adviser James Jones blasted Wikileaks' disclosure of classified information—one of the biggest leaks in US military history—saying it endangers the lives of American servicemen and threatens US security. The Times said in a statement to readers that it took care "not to publish information that would harm national security interests."
|
Pink had the best reaction when she learned she would be on the cover of PEOPLE’s 2018 Beautiful issue.
Speaking with Ellen DeGeneres for her episode airing Wednesday, the Beautiful Trauma hitmaker, who graces this week’s issue with her 15-month-old son Jameson Moon and 6½-year-old daughter Willow Sage, joked, “I feel more beautiful and I’ve decided that for the whole week that the magazine is out no one is allowed to look me directly in my eyes.”
RELATED: Grammy Winner Pink Graces the Cover of PEOPLE’s Beautiful Issue with Her Two Kids
Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.
The mother of two, 38, also recalled that she “laughed out loud” after finding out about the title. “I immediately turned to whoever was in the room and said, ‘Did you ever think this was as good as it gets?’ ” she said.
“I think, honestly, it was Jameson and Willow that secured that deal for me. I’m wondering if in 20 years if Jameson’s gonna be upset about his first cover. I mean, it’s pretty good,” Pink admitted before reenacting her son’s facial expression.
For more from our Beautiful issue, pick up the magazine when it hits newsstands on Friday and check out all of our coverage on PEOPLE.com.
Watch the full episode of People Cover Story: Pink – How I’m Raising Strong Kids, streaming now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device.
While her younger child has yet to understand the true meaning of his famous mother’s cover, Willow now has another example of what beautiful means — even if she’s still not that impressed.
“She actually just said to me, ‘You know that part on your show where you talk about that time you talked about me?’ She’s talking about the MTV speech,” Pink said when asked about Willow’s reaction, referring back to her viral August 2017 MTV VMAs speech about body image inspired by a time Willow said, “I’m the ugliest girl I know.”
RELATED VIDEO: Beautiful Issue Cover Star Pink Gets Candid About Her Marriage & How She Takes on the Haters
“She goes, ‘Yeah well I still feel that way.’ I was like, ‘For what? That you’re ugly?’ She’s like, ‘Yup, I just want you to know I still feel that way. Nothing you did helped.’ I was like, ’Thanks, babe. Well you know we all feel that way sometimes.’ She’s like, ‘We do?’ I’m like, ‘We’re not doing this again. I have to go,’ ” Pink told DeGeneres.
RELATED: Pink’s Daughter Willow Stars in Her First Makeup Tutorial: ‘Like Mama Like Daughter’
Peggy Sirota
Want to keep up with the latest from PEOPLE? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our best stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
As for what beautiful means to her, the singer revealed a lot has changed from her teenage perspective.
“I don’t think my 13-year-old self would listen, but I love the way things are changing. And I love that our perception of beauty has completely been knocked on its head,” Pink explained.
RELATED: Editor’s Note: PEOPLE Renames the World’s Most Beautiful Issue — and Guess Who Is on the Cover
“There’s nothing wrong with beautiful and there’s nothing wrong with beautiful on the inside, beautiful on the outside. It’s all different shades, it’s all different sizes. It means whatever it means to you,” she said. “I think on one hand my sense of humor is the best part about all of it and on the other hand, it’s a wonderful time that we’re celebrating all different kinds of people.”
RELATED GALLERY: Pink and Carey Hart’s Sweetest Family Pics
The Ellen DeGeneres Show airs weekdays (check local listings). ||||| FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, file photo, Pink performs "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden in New York. Pink is on the cover of People magazine’s... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, file photo, Pink performs "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden in New York. Pink is on the cover of People magazine’s... (Associated Press)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pink is on the cover of People magazine's beauty issue, and she's got some adorable company — her young children.
The magazine has rebranded its "Most Beautiful" issue as "The Beautiful Issue" and features dozens of celebrities, including some posing with their best friends, their rescue pets and without makeup.
People Editor-in-Chief Jess Cagle says the magazine adopted the approach to "make clear the issue is not a beauty contest." Cagle says Pink was chosen after editors saw photos of the singer with her children, 15-month-old son Jameson Moon and 6-year-old daughter Willow Sage.
Pink offers her thoughts on parenting in the issue and says she believes in giving affection and letting her son and daughter know that they can count on her and her husband, motocross racer Carey Hart.
"My parents obviously did not believe in that and I worked out okay," the singer told the magazine. "I always tell Willow, 'I'm going to teach you the rules so that you'll know how and when to break them.'"
Several stars who have been featured on the cover of the magazine's "Most Beautiful" issues in the past are included in the 2018 edition, including Courteney Cox, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts, who has been featured on the cover of the "Most Beautiful" issue a record five times.
Among the men featured in the issue are Jimmy Kimmel, Drake, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon.
The issue is on newsstands Friday.
___
Online: www.people.com/the-beautiful-issue/ ||||| To celebrate PEOPLE’s upcoming Beautiful Issue, we’re showcasing some of the most glamorous ladies on TV as you’ve never seen them before. We asked the cast of every Real Housewives franchise to pose makeup-free — and they happily ditched their glam squads and shared natural selfies.
We kicked things off with the ladies from Dallas and today we’re heading to Beverly Hills to see what the cast looks like without mile-long lashes, contouring and professional blowouts. Check out their barefaced photos below, and read on to find out what makes them feel the most confident and beautiful.
Watch PEOPLE Now every day for more makeup-free Housewives and don’t miss the cover reveal of PEOPLE’s Beautiful Issue on April 18th.
Kyle Richards
Courtesy Kyle Richards
How have you learned to embrace features you’re self-conscious about?
I tend to feel self-conscious about my body, as my weight fluctuates. As I’ve gotten older, I’m not as hard on myself and more accepting of my “flaws.” As long as I’m eating healthy and exercising regularly, I feel more confident.
As you’ve gotten older, how has your beauty routine changed?
As I’ve gotten older, it takes me a lot longer to get ready for bed at night. I’m very diligent about my skin and my routine takes more time. However when it comes to makeup, as I get older, I think less is more. Often on RHOBH I would wear more makeup and fake lashes. I would always watch the show and think it actually made me look older, so I made a point to wear less. Plus, my husband likes me without makeup on.
If you were only going to wear one beauty product, what would it be?
One beauty product would be moisturizer with glycolic acid and one makeup product would be lip gloss.
Lisa Rinna
Courtesy Lisa Rinna
What physical feature have you always loved to play up?
My lips!
If you were only going to wear one beauty product, what would it be?
Sunscreen! It’s the most important product you can use.
Teddi Mellencamp
Courtesy Teddi Mellencamp
When do you feel most beautiful?
After a long run, a hot shower and cuddling in sweats with my family.
As you’ve gotten older, how has your beauty routine changed?
I’m getting a lot more facials and laser treatments. Oh, and Botox.
If you were only going to wear one beauty product, what would it be?
An all-natural spray tan because I have a lot of redness in my skin and that’s the easiest way for me to look like I have an even complexion.
Dorit Kemsley
Courtesy Dorit Kemsley
What physical feature have you always loved to play up?
My legs, for sure!
How have you learned to embrace features you’re self-conscious about?
I’m most self-conscious about my breasts since having children. I try and find the right bras and clothes, sometimes it’s a struggle.
Camille Grammer
Courtesy Camille Grammer
What does being make-up free mean to you?
Being makeup free means less time getting ready. It’s freeing in a way.
How have you learned to embrace features you’re self-conscious about?
For years, I was self-conscious of my smile. My left incisor never grew in so it made my smile off-center. I had braces to pull my teeth together and four veneers to make my teeth look more unified. ||||| She might be a Grammy-winning pop star known for her brazen attitude and tomboyish style, but Alecia Moore — professionally known as Pink — admits she’s just taking it “day by day” when it comes to being a mom to her two kids Jameson Moon, 15 months, and Willow Sage, 6½, with husband Carey Hart.
“The thing about parenting is you never know if anything you’re doing is working,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “That’s been the most humbling thing for me. In my head, I sound amazing and then I turn around and her eyes are completely glazed over. I have no idea. We’ll see.”
Currently on her Beautiful Trauma tour, Pink, 38, describes her own upbringing in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, as “free range, I guess.”
RELATED: Pink Admits She ‘Laughed Out Loud’ Upon Hearing Beautiful Issue Cover News: ‘I Feel More Beautiful’
“My mom worked full time and went to school full time. My dad was an insurance salesman,” she says. “My brother and I rode bikes to school and played in the woods all day. Lots of rescuing animals, tree climbing, sports, gymnastics. I had a good childhood.”
Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Babies newsletter.
Peggy Sirota
RELATED GALLERY: Pink and Carey Hart’s Sweetest Family Pics
With her own kids, she has embraced more of an attachment parenting style. “Yeah, I believe in affection,” she says. “I believe in needs being met and faith being implemented, and I believe in letting your kids know they can count on you, and that you’ll be there. My parents obviously did not believe in that and I worked out okay. I always tell Willow, ‘I’m going to teach you the rules so that you’ll know how and when to break them.’ ”
Watch the full episode of People Cover Story: Pink – How I’m Raising Strong Kids, streaming now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device.
The singer also strives to create a gender-neutral environment for her brood. “Absolutely. [But] I feel like gender-neutral is in itself a label and I’m label-less,” she says. “I don’t like labels at all so I believe that a woman and a girl can do anything.”
RELATED: Beautiful Issue Cover Star Pink Gets Candid About Her Marriage & How She Takes on the Haters
More than anything, Pink says she believes in “fairness and justice. And I believe that a boy can do anything. So I have boys that flip dirt bikes and I have boy friends that wear dresses. It’s all okay to me. It’s whatever floats your boat. So that’s the kind of house that we live in.”
For more from our Beautiful issue, pick up the magazine when it hits newsstands on Friday and check out all of our coverage on PEOPLE.com.
Peggy Sirota
RELATED VIDEO: Pink Gives Daughter Willow Touching and Empowering Dating Advice After 6-Year-Old Asks About Boys
RELATED: WATCH: Pink Tells Daughter ‘We Don’t Change’ in Inspiring Speech About Self-Acceptance at MTV VMAs
As for her children’s future, Pink is more concerned with “just the world that we live in,” she says. “I have so many worries and fears as a parent. I’m such a worrier. They’re going to be fine. They chose this family. They know what they’re doing. But the world, I don’t know if the world’s going to be fine, and so I pray a lot. I cry a lot. I talk to them a lot. I hope a lot. I curse a lot.”
For now, she and Hart, 42, “try not to take life too terribly seriously,” Pink adds. “We laugh a lot. It’s all about our family unit and time spent together, and much less about external stuff.”
|
– Pink is on the cover of People magazine's beauty issue, and she's got some adorable company—her young children. The magazine has rebranded its "Most Beautiful" issue as "The Beautiful Issue" and features dozens of celebrities, including some posing with their best friends, their rescue pets, and without makeup. (See the cover here.) People Editor-in-Chief Jess Cagle says the magazine adopted the approach to "make clear the issue is not a beauty contest." Cagle says Pink was chosen after editors saw photos of the singer with her children, 15-month-old son Jameson Moon and 6-year-old daughter Willow Sage. Pink offers her thoughts on parenting in the issue and says she believes in giving affection and letting her son and daughter know that they can count on her and her husband, motocross racer Carey Hart, reports the AP. People reports that Pink spoke with Ellen DeGeneres in a segment that will air Wednesday, and admits she "laughed out loud" when she learned of the news. "I immediately turned to whoever was in the room and said, 'Did you ever think this was as good as it gets?'" Several stars who have been featured on the cover of the magazine's "Most Beautiful" issues in the past are included in the 2018 edition, including Courteney Cox, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, and Julia Roberts, who has been featured on the cover of the "Most Beautiful" issue a record five times. Among the men featured in the issue are Jimmy Kimmel, Drake, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon. The issue is on newsstands Friday.
|
These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| The Bank of England’s first plastic banknote, the new Winston Churchill fiver, will be unveiled at Blenheim Palace, the wartime leader’s ancestral home, on Thursday.
It forms part of the Bank’s switch to polymer banknotes, which will end 320 years of paper money. The Churchill fiver, which goes into circulation in September, will be the first of a series of new plastic notes, followed by the Jane Austen £10 next year and the JMW Turner £20 by 2020.
Manufactured from a transparent plastic film and coated with an ink layer, polymer banknotes are seen as cleaner, more durable and more secure than paper. The material allows the inclusion of clear “windows” to protect against counterfeits.
The faces of Britain's banknotes – in pictures Read more
They are also more environmentally friendly than paper because they can last up to two-and-a-half times longer, according to the Bank of England. It claims that the durability will offset the higher production costs and save an estimated £100m.
The Bank’s laboratory tests showed polymer banknotes only begin to shrink and melt at 120C, so they are expected to survive a washing machine spin cycle – although they could be damaged by a hot iron.
The move to polymer notes will land shops and banks with a bill of up to £236m, it has been estimated, because ATMs, vending machines and self-service machines will need to be recalibrated to take the new plastic notes, which are 15% smaller than the current notes. Some older ATMs will need to be replaced.
More than 30 countries already use polymer notes, including New Zealand, Canada, Fiji, Mauritius and Mexico. They were first introduced by Australia, in 1988.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest All you need to know about the new fiver …
The Churchill fiver will replace the current £5 note featuring prison reformer Elizabeth Fry. News in 2013 that she would be replaced with the former prime minister sparked an outcry as it meant that, apart from the Queen, there would be no female figures on British banknotes. A few months later the Bank announced that writer Jane Austen would be the next face of the £10 note.
Churchill will be pictured alongside a view of Westminster with Big Ben showing 3 o’clock – the approximate time on 13 May 1940 when Churchill declared in a speech: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
• This article was amended on 3 June 2016. An earlier version said that Winston Churchill will be the first statesman to feature on British banknotes. The Duke of Wellington appeared on £5 notes from 1971 to 1991.
|
– The Bank of England introduced a five-pound note Thursday that marks the beginning of the end of a three-century run for paper money in the UK, reports the Guardian. This particular note is made of a thin plastic and designed to last more than twice as long as its paper counterpart. It features the queen on the front and Winston Churchill on the back, and it goes into circulation in September. The current five-pound paper note will remain in use for another year. Next up comes up a 10-pound plastic note featuring Jane Austen in 2017 and a 20-pound note featuring painter JMW Turner by 2020. The unveiling comes ahead of Britain's crucial vote on whether to exit the European Union, and Bloomberg notes that both sides of the debate have claimed none other than Churchill to be in their camp. Asked on Thursday about how Churchill might view the question, Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney opted to play it safe. “It’s not for me to make any inference about that,” he said.
|
Pennsylvania State police said they arrested a woman for two different drunken-driving crashes in the same day.
Troopers from Somerset said Michele Leonard, 47, of Somerset, crashed her car about 5 p.m. Saturday. She was arrested, tested for blood-alcohol levels and then released. The news release wasn't clear about to whom she was released, and the trooper investigating the case was off Monday.
VIDEO: Watch Ashlie Hardway's report
Police said that after her release from the state police barracks, Leonard offered a stranger $3 for a ride back to her crashed vehicle, which she entered and began driving.
Police said Leonard again lost control of the car and sideswiped a parked car in Somerset Township about 6 p.m., then crashed into a shed belonging to Stanley Fisher.
"I looked out my window and saw a car fly down my driveway, past my truck, heard a big crash and looked out -- she slammed into my shed," Fisher said. "She tried to back up. I stopped her, took her keys from her. She said, 'I can't get another DUI.' I said, 'What do you mean?' She said, 'I already have one today.'"
Charges for both instances are pending against Leonard once police receive blood-alcohol test results.
Fisher said most of the costly tools in his shed were destroyed, as was the shed itself. Crews were on his property Monday moving what was salvageable from the shed to a truck where the items will be put into a storage unit, which Fisher will have to pay for until a new shed is built.
"It's something no one should have to go through. She should have never been driving the second time," Fisher said.
Reached at her home less than a mile from Fisher's house, Leonard said she had no comment. ||||| SOMERSET TOWNSHIP (KDKA)- A woman in Somerset County was arrested for driving under the influence two times in one night. Michele Leonard crashed her vehicle on two-separate occasions that night as well.
Police were called to an accident scene near the intersection of Waterlevel and Lowry Roads in Somerset Township around 5:58 p.m. Saturday.
When police arrived, they learned that the Leonard had been arrested an hour earlier for crashing her car while driving under the influence.
When she was released from State Police, Leonard paid a stranger $3 for a ride back to the original crash site to continue driving her car.
As Leonard was driving her vehicle for a second time, she lost control, traveled off the roadway and sideswiped a parked vehicle.
She continued traveling off the roadway and crashed into a garage. Leonard was then arrested for a second time for driving under the influence.
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
|
– You'd think a DUI arrest would be a wake-up call. Apparently not for everyone. Pennsylvania State Police say they arrested 47-year-old Michele Leonard for driving under the influence on Saturday after Leonard crashed her car near an intersection in Somerset County, per KDKA. She was then released, but instead of heading home, Leonard paid a stranger $3 to drive her back to her vehicle, police tell WTAE. Was she just going to pick up her purse? Um, no. Police say Leonard got behind the wheel and starting driving down the road before she lost control again, sideswiped a parked car, and crashed into a man's shed around 6pm. "I looked out my window and saw a car fly down my driveway, past my truck, heard a big crash ... She slammed into my shed," says Stanley Fisher. "She tried to back up. I stopped her, took her keys from her. She said, 'I can't get another DUI.' I said, 'What do you mean?' She said, 'I already have one today.'" Police have charged Leonard over the second incident; her blood-alcohol test results are pending. (This guy was arrested for DUI in a motorized wheelchair.)
|
Tweet with a location
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| A baby in China went 10 days with a chopstick stuck up his nose, which punctured his brain and caused an infection because nobody noticed, Central European News reported.
Hanhang, 1, was eating chow mein with his parents in Chaoyang City when he tripped and fell, sending the object up his nose, CEN reported.
His parents removed the chopstick and rushed him to the hospital for further treatment where doctors failed to notice additional pieces of the object penetrating his brain, according to the report.
“When we got home after our first visit to the hospital, my husband broke all the chopsticks in half and threw them away as we were worried something like this could happen again,” Yu Liao, Hanhang’s 25-year-old mom told CEN.
“But we had no idea there was still one inside of his head,” she said.
Hanhang began vomiting and showing signs of drowsiness, prompting his parents to bring him to the hospital for a second time, Liao told CEN. It was then that doctors noticed the piece of chopstick in his brain.
“We were beside ourselves with worry,” Liao said.
“After removing the remaining six centimeters his condition improved immediately, but he does have a brain infection so will be staying in the hospital for further treatment,” Dr. Li Shaovi told CEN.
“Luckily it did not affect him much.” ||||| Family, doctors fail to notice chopstick stuck in boy's brain via @foxnewshealth http://t.co/3YSbWVAwXQ pic.twitter.com/uXOkgLGMuH — Fox News (@FoxNews) March 6, 2015
The x-ray photo of a Chinese boy’s brain that was punctured by a chopstick is unsettling. Yet it’s this image that finally allowed a medical team to understand why the child was vomiting and fatigued and ultimately save his life.
Hanhang, 1, was walking around with a chopstick when he tripped and fell, according to CEN.
The long stick drove up his nose and his parents quickly removed the object and took him to the hospital.
Doctors examined Hanhang and failed to notice that the chopstick had punctured the brain and small pieces were still lodged in his head.
“When we got home after our first visit to the hospital, my husband broke all the chopsticks in half and threw them away as we were worried something like this could happen again,” Yu Liao, Hanhang’s 25-year-old mom told CEN.
“But we had no idea there was still one inside of his head,” she said.
At home, Hanhang’s condition worsened as he repeatedly vomited and was noticeably lethargic.
His parents brought him back to the hospital where doctors ordered an X-ray and discovered the chopstick piece.
“We were beside ourselves with worry,” Liao said.
“After removing the remaining six centimeters his condition improved immediately, but he does have a brain infection so will be staying in the hospital for further treatment,” Dr. Li Shaovi told CEN.
Kids and chopsticks can be a dangerous combination. A 2-year-old Chinese boy stuck a chopstick in his nose last year and it penetrated three inches into his brain. Doctors spent four hours carefully removing it. Also, last year a 12-year-old Chinese boy was running across a school playground when he fell over onto a pair of chopsticks in his hand. The sticks penetrated his neck and the boy underwent surgery to remove them.
Note to parents: Chopsticks are to only be handled by children sitting at the dinner table.
|
– He's OK now, but a toddler in China went 10 days with part of a chopstick in his brain. It seems young Hanhang tripped and fell with the chopstick in his hand, and it went straight up his nose, according to a report by Central European News spotted by Fox. His parents saw it happen, removed the chopstick—or so they thought—and took him to the hospital to be safe. Unfortunately, doctors sent him home without realizing that about 2 inches of the chopstick had broken off and was still inside. “When we got home after our first visit to the hospital, my husband broke all the chopsticks in half and threw them away as we were worried something like this could happen again,” says his mother, Yu Liao. When the boy grew increasingly lethargic and sick, his parents brought him back, and only then did an X-ray reveal the reason. Hanhang showed immediate improvement once it was removed. The Mommy Files blog at the San Francisco Chronicle rounds up two similar stories and concludes, "Note to parents: Chopsticks are to only be handled by children sitting at the dinner table." (The X-ray calls to mind another strange case, this one involving a nail gun.)
|
Brad Pitt Further Clarifies Jen Aniston Remarks
The night was devoted to unveiling his latest movie, the based-on-fact baseball movie Moneyball, but Brad Pitt still found a moment to clarify comments he made last week regarding his marriage to Jennifer Aniston "That was never my intention for it to be spun that way," he said of those who interpreted his remarks to be critical of his former mate. "People read things into it that just weren't there."At the Oakland Coliseum, where the movie premiered and much of Moneyball takes place, Pitt, 47, said the role of Oakland Athletics manager Billy Beane offered him a unique behind-the-scenes perspective of America's favorite pastime. (The film is based on nonfiction author Michael Lewis's Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.)"Getting into the Oakland Coliseum and being inside the baseball world is something you just don't get to do every day," he said. "When you are a spectator, you are left behind the gate, so to speak. So getting inside was a real privilege."But while Pitt, 47, never played baseball himself, it's likely he'll one day be watching son Maddox swing for the fences."My son is a big baseball fan," he said. " We went to a Yankees game and we were sitting next to the dugout. [Derek] Jeter offered him a cracked bat, and he said, 'It's broken!' " ||||| Although Brad Pitt has "Moneyball," one of his most-buzzed about films in recent memory set to release, comments he made to Parade magazine involving his ex Jennifer Aniston remain top of mind.
Pitt spoke to Matt Lauer in an interview to air Thursday on TODAY, and clarified some of those remarks, saying that his point was lost in the controversy. "I don't know what was pieced together or put together. All I know is that my point was, the best thing I'd done as a father is be sure that my kids have a good mother," Pitt said. "That's all I was, or am, trying to say. It has no reference to the past. And I think it's a shame that I can't say something nice about Angie without Jen being drug in. You know, she doesn't deserve it."
Pitt told Lauer that although he chooses to "live outside all that," i.e., the rumors that constantly swirl around his relationships with current partner Angelina Jolie or Aniston, he had to attempt to clarify what he meant to say. "I don't want them to say anything bad like that about Jen. She's a dear friend of mine," he said, adding that Aniston did not reach out to him after the Parade quotes were published.
But back to the driving force behind Pitt's interview: "Moneyball." Although there's already Oscar talk surrounding the baseball pic, Pitt says he's distancing himself from that for now. "It remains a great piece of material for me that I got to take on. And, we're all -- it's too early to talk about all that other stuff," Pitt told Lauer. "It's all good fun if your number comes up, and it's even more fun when your friend's number comes up."
Tune in Thursday for the complete interview on TODAY.
Related content: ||||| Whatddya know? The Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston bash-fest plot thickens. The latest piece of succulent gossip to drip from the ripe, fruit-bearing tree? It's two-fold, actually. One part says that Jennifer Aniston's team "went ballistic" when they got wind of Pitt's asinine comments; the other part says that Pitt's asinine comments actually came from a place of jealousy. As in Brad, although blissfully in love with Angelina Jolie, is actually jealous that Jennifer's so in love.
Hmm ... did Jennifer's team actually go ballistic? And are they the savviest people in the whole wide world, spinning the jealousy angle? Or is it true, Brad really is jealous?
Of course, no one will ever know for sure, as, well, everything in Hollywood needs to be taken with a heaping spoonful of salt, but it does make for an interesting discussion. Shall we?
First, let's start with the deets. Apparently after the rude comments Pitt made to Parade magazine -- and Team Aniston's going ballistic -- they reached out to Brad's camp and "read him the riot act." Then, a short while later, Brad gave his jank explanation, saying that what he said was taken out of context, Jennifer's a wonderful woman, blah blah blah yawn lies. Now here comes the interesting part. That same source who leaked this information to the press is saying that the real reason for Pitt's comments is because he's jealous of Justin Theroux. Hmph.
Here's what I believe. Well, a little of all of it, actually. I don't doubt for a second that Jen's team went bonkers after getting wind of the news -- and that's natural; their job is to protect her. I also believe that they "read him the riot act," which, in turn, made him apologize, which, in turn, makes him an even bigger jerk since everything he said after the fact was disingenuous poppycock. I also kind of believe that he is, in fact, a little bit jealous that Jen's really happy with Justin. That's natural, too. They were married, after all, and human beings will be human beings. Where this whole "jealousy" thing is coming from, though? Eh, not really going to chalk that one up as a fact. In other words, I certainly don't think Brad ever overtly expressed anything like that. I think it's just something Jennifer Aniston's "people" are saying to make him look bad.
And it's kind of genius. 'Cause it's totally working.
What do you believe?
Image via chris_natt/Flickr ||||| Cover Story: Jen Aniston's Team "Went Ballistic" After Brad Pitt Insult
Brad Pitt made a big-time boo-boo.
He's garnering Oscar buzz for his role in Moneyball, but Angelina Jolie's man sparked a public relations catastrophe last week -- all for a Parade interview in which he casually slammed his five-year marriage to Jennifer Aniston, which ended in 2005.
PHOTOS: Brad and Jen, the way they were
(In the interview released Sept. 15, Pitt, 47, sniffed that he "wasn't living an interesting life" before Jolie, and that he was "trying to pretend my marriage was something that it wasn't.")
And, yes, his 42-year-old ex-wife got wind of the catty comment. "She was annoyed," a pal close to the Horrible Bosses actress tells the new Us Weekly, out now. "She thought it was rude and inappropriate."
Team Aniston -- her agent and publicists -- "went ballistic," a Pitt insider reveals, and angrily reached out to Pitt's camp.
PHOTOS: When exes attack
"They got his team involved and Brad was read the riot act -- the only way you can read the riot act to Brad Pitt," the source says.
Within 24 hours, Pitt had surprisingly released a statement lamenting that his words were misinterpreted, and that his former love "is an incredibly giving, loving and hilarious woman."
PHOTOS: Justin Theroux, Angelina Jolie -- separated at birth?
Still, the Pitt source says, "no one believes his words were taken out of context -- he said what he said. I do hear that he's remorseful."
And although Pitt is clearly blissed out with Jolie, 36, and their six kids, "We think he's jealous she's in love," the source says.
PHOTOS: Jen's hottest bikini shots
Indeed, Aniston hasn't let her ex's harsh words get in the way of her hot romance with Justin Theroux, with whom she's now spending time with in NYC. "Justin's The One!" an Aniston pal says.
For much more on Pitt and Aniston's unexpected new war -- and how Pitt and Jolie "make fun of" her -- pick up the new Us Weekly, out now!
|
– Brad Pitt is trying to promote Moneyball, his film coming out tomorrow, but everyone keeps insisting on asking him about his Jennifer Aniston non-slam from last week. The whole thing was made into something it wasn’t by the tabloid press, Pitt tells Matt Lauer in a Today interview this morning (watch at left). “My point was, the best thing I'd done as a father is be sure that my kids have a good mother,” he says. “That's all I was, or am, trying to say. It has no reference to the past. And I think it's a shame that I can't say something nice about Angie without Jen being drug in. You know, she doesn't deserve it.” He also calls Aniston “good people,” a “valuable person,” and a “dear friend." Earlier this week, he had already clarified his comments to People, saying it “was never my intention for it to be spun” as a diss. “People read things into it that just weren't there." An Aniston friend tells Us that Jen was “annoyed” by Pitt’s comments and found them “rude and inappropriate,” and a Pitt source says her team “went ballistic” and called Pitt to “read [him] the riot act” before he released his first clarification. But another Jen source tells E! that story “is complete crap,” and that “Jennifer does not want to continue any of this nonsense." Click for more on Pitt’s Today interview, or check out one take on why Pitt’s apology is “totally bogus.”
|
Image copyright AP Image caption Defections across the North-South land border are rare
A North Korean soldier has defected to the South across the two countries' heavily armed border, South Korean officials have said.
The soldier said he shot dead two officers before crossing over just after noon (03:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Our correspondent says defections across the land border are rare. The last soldier fled in 2010.
More than 20,000 North Koreans have gone to the South in the last 60 years, mostly via China and SE Asia.
The two countries are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict, which ended in a ceasefire not a peace treaty.
Gunshots heard
The soldier was quoted as saying that he killed his platoon and squad commanders while on guard duty.
A defence ministry official said six gunshots were heard and guards saw the soldier cross the demarcation line on a western section of the tightly guarded border.
They used loudspeakers to establish that he wanted to defect and guide him to safety, they added.
The official said he was in protective custody and was still being interrogated.
There has been no confirmation of the North Korean casualties and no unusual activity observed on the North Korean side of the border.
The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul says that about a million soldiers and a million land mines line the Demilitarised Zone, and only a handful of people have crossed from North to South by land in the past few years.
Most make their way to the South by a long and dangerous land route, she says.
This takes them through China and on to countries such as Thailand or Mongolia. ||||| In what is apparently the first such incident in nearly two-and-half years, a North Korean soldier has defected across the heavily armed land border with the South.
South Korean military officials say a soldier from the North claims he shot and killed his platoon and squad chiefs while on guard duty before defecting across the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone.
The incident occurred at noon Saturday along the western section of the DMZ.
Officials say South Korean troops at the border heard gunshots, confirmed the North Korean soldier's desire to defect, and escorted him to a guard post. He is now undergoing interrogation.
The senior analyst in Seoul for the International Crisis Group, Daniel Pinkston, says there is no indication the defection denotes any instability in the reclusive and impoverished state.
“We'll see as he's debriefed and it's just a one-off incident, so I don't think there's too much we can read into it besides that at this point,” he said.
Pinkston points out that soldiers in North Korea's army posted to the border area are scrupulously vetted.
“Those who are stationed in the border area, around the DMZ and especially right on the DMZ, are those who are considered to be loyal to the regime. They've been screened and they do not put people there who would be considered disloyal,” he said.
Defections by North Koreans along the DMZ are rare. The last known incident involving a soldier occurred in March, 2010.
Under North Korea's collective punishment system, a disloyal act of this magnitude would mean harsh treatment for the soldier's family, extending for three generations.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul says South Korea has increased surveillance along the DMZ following the incident and the military has activated its crisis management facility. However, there is no sign of any unusual activity on the northern side.
The DMZ is a legacy of the 1953 armistice which brought a three-year civil war to a halt. But the two Koreas have never signed a peace treaty.
|
– A rarity in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea today: A soldier from the North defected and claims to have killed two commanding officers in order to do so, reports the Voice of America. Soldiers in the South heard about six shots, then allowed the soldier to cross the DMZ. He is still being interrogated. “We'll see as he's debriefed and it's just a one-off incident, so I don't think there's too much we can read into it besides that at this point,” says an analyst with the International Crisis Group. Pyongyang, not surprisingly, has not confirmed the incident, reports the BBC. The North generally puts only its best soldiers at the border after a careful vetting process, and defections are rare. One reason: The family of a defecting soldier is sure to face harsh punishment, notes VOA.
|
By Lucy Morgan, Times Senior Correspondent
In Print: Thursday, July 26, 2012
TALLAHASSEE — In a wide-ranging deposition that spanned two days in late May, former Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer denounced some party officials as liars and "whack-a-do, right-wing crazies'' as he described turmoil in the months before his resignation.
Greer said some GOP leaders were meeting to discuss ways they could suppress black votes while others were constantly scheming against each other.
He blamed criminal fraud charges filed against him in 2010 on legislative leaders and other party officials who he says orchestrated an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the statewide grand jury to avoid paying him money he was due.
His statements were in response to questions from lawyers for the party, Senate President Mike Haridopolos and Sen. John Thrasher. Greer has filed a lawsuit against the party and the two officials in an attempt to collect $130,000 he was promised in a written agreement shortly before he resigned. The lawsuit, pending in Leon County, is unlikely to be resolved until after a criminal trial scheduled for mid November.
Copies of the 630-page deposition and other documents were released by statewide prosecutors Wednesday.
Greer's testimony offers a window into the level of animosity that exists between Greer and the party he once ran.
• Greer said "the party was in turmoil" as officials wanted to get rid of him and former Gov. Charlie Crist because they disagreed with some of Crist's decisions, including the appointment of a liberal African-American judge to the Florida Supreme Court, Crist's endorsement of John McCain for president in 2008 and the hug Crist gave President Barack Obama in 2009. "My phone lit up with people wanting me to censure the governor,'' Greer said. "The tea party came into existence. There was a feeling within the party that the tea party was just a bunch of whack-a-dos."
• After the party's budget and audit committee started asking questions about House and Senate spending, including legislators who used party credit cards for personal expenses, Greer said he wanted to open the books and credit card records, but party officials and legislative leaders vetoed the idea.
• Greer said he warned others at the party that the budget committee was made up of "whack-a-do, right-wing crazies'' who were trying to take over because of continuing disagreements with Crist and legislative leaders. House and Senate leaders insisted that no one at the party could control their campaign finances. "We eat what we kill,'' Greer said the leaders told him. "Legislative leaders were using their party credit cards like drunken sailors and they made it clear to me I was not to interfere with their spending,'' Greer said.
Thrasher, who succeeded Greer as party chairman, called Greer's suggestion of voter suppression and other accusations "absurd, absolutely absurd'' and said Greer is making "baseless accusations on other people in an effort to divert attention from himself.''
Thrasher said party officials had no choice but to get rid of Greer once they discovered he had secretly created a company that was getting money from the party.
Many of the questions posed to Greer were about his creation of Victory Strategies LLC, a company that collected almost $200,000 from the party while he was running it. The criminal charges stem from that contract.
Greer's animosity was evident on almost every page of the deposition as he described the inner workings of a party that has controlled Florida since 1998.
On voter suppression, Greer said he had just completed a December 2009 meeting with party general counsel Jason Gonzalez, political consultant Jim Rimes and Eric Eikenberg, Crist's chief of staff, when questions arose about fundraising.
"I was upset because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting. It had been one of those days,'' he said.
Rimes said he recalls no discussion of suppressing votes at any meeting. Eikenberg did not return phone calls.
Greer said party officials were questioning spending on fundraising trips to New York, Yankees games, limos, expensive cigars and other items when Gonzalez asked him if he had any ownership in Victory Strategies. Greer said he initially denied owning any interest in the company but later admitted it when he and Gonzalez were alone. Gonzalez told state investigators that Greer did not own up to his involvement in the business and threatened to sue anyone who made the accusation. A number of other party officials told state investigators they were unaware of Greer's involvement in the company. Contacted this week, Gonzalez said he could not publicly discuss the case.
Asked about his failure to tell other officials, Greer said they didn't ask.
Asked if he told party finance chairman John Rood, a Jacksonville businessman, Greer said Rood was "basically useless as finance chairman.''
By late December 2009, Greer found himself under pressure to resign. He said he agreed to leave for the "betterment of the party'' and in January 2010 signed a severance agreement that was to pay him the rest of his $130,000 for the year.
Greer said he got concerned when Haridopolos and Thrasher, who had both signed the agreement, began to publicly deny knowledge of it. Haridopolos later admitted signing it, insisting he had not read it.
"Around the party most people considered President Haridopolos to be not the brightest person, but I would assume he would have read the agreement before he signed it,'' Greer said.
Greer had good words only for House Speaker Dean Cannon, saying the Orlando Republican tried to get others to live up to the severance agreement and promised to help him find a lobbying job and clients.
After others at the party refused to honor the severance agreement, Greer said Cannon and Haridopolos contacted his friend Jim Stelling to say that political consultants Pat Bainter and Marc Reicheldfer were going to pay Greer $200,000.
Despite promises of payment and a request from Bainter for information on where to wire the money, none was ever paid, Greer said. After he left the party, Greer said he heard that Thrasher was telling people they were going to have him arrested. A short time later, Greer was indicted by a statewide grand jury on charges of money laundering and fraud.
The charges and the party's failure to pay him have ruined his life, Greer said.
"They took everything I worked for my whole life,'' he added. Now his family is on food stamps, some of his possessions have been repossessed and his children watched their father being arrested.
"Any good thing I did at the Republican Party has been destroyed by these people,'' he said. "I want my life back. I want them to say they are sorry for what they did to me.'' ||||| In the debate over new laws meant to curb voter fraud in places like Florida, Democrats always charge that Republicans are trying to suppress the vote of liberal voting blocs like blacks and young people, while Republicans just laugh at such ludicrous and offensive accusations. That is, every Republican except for Florida’s former Republican Party chairman Jim Greer, who, scorned by his party and in deep legal trouble, blew the lid off what he claims was a systemic effort to suppress the black vote. In a 630-page deposition recorded over two days in late May, Greer, who is on trial for corruption charges, unloaded a litany of charges against the "whack-a-do, right-wing crazies'' in his party, including the effort to suppress the black vote.
In the deposition, released to the press yesterday, Greer mentioned a December 2009 meeting with party officials. "I was upset because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting,'' he said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He also said party officials discussed how “minority outreach programs were not fit for the Republican Party," according to the AP.
|
– Liberals have been accusing recent GOP-led voter ID laws of aiming to disenfranchise minorities, who tend to vote Democrat. Now former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer is saying on record that, yes, those laws are actually about stopping black people from voting, reports Salon, picking up on a story in the Tampa Bay Times. “I was upset because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting,” Greer said, recalling a 2009 meeting with party officials. Greer also said the party's budget committee had been taken over by "whack-a-do, right-wing crazies." Greer is hardly without an axe to grind, though. His statements came from a 630-page deposition made in May as part of his trial on corruption charges. Greer paid a company he owned nearly $200,000 from GOP coffers while he was the chairman, although he contends it was authorized and made for services rendered. Florida state Sen. John Thrasher, who succeeded Greer as party chairman, called Greer's comments about voter suppression "baseless accusations on other people in an effort to divert attention from himself.''
|
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants allowed to live and work in the United States since 2001 will lose their right to remain in the country in 2019, officials said on Monday, marking the Trump administration’s latest move to tighten immigration enforcement.
The United States will end the Salvadorans’ temporary protected status (TPS) on Sept. 9, 2019, giving them 18 months to leave or seek lawful residency, and for El Salvador to prepare for their return, administration officials said. The status was granted in the wake of two devastating 2001 earthquakes in El Salvador that left hundreds of thousands in the country homeless.
The decision to end TPS for Salvadorans is part of the administration’s broader push to tighten immigration laws and expel those living in the United States illegally. The move was heavily criticized by immigrant advocates who said it ignored violence in El Salvador and gave the Salvadorans few options but to leave the United States or remain illegally.
The Trump administration has faced a series of deadlines over the past year to decide whether to end the protected status of immigrants in the United States whose home countries have been affected by disasters.
Salvadorans are by far the largest group under TPS, a program administration officials said is supposed to provide a temporary haven for victims, not a permanent right to remain in the United States.
Critics have complained TPS has allowed participants to repeatedly extend their stays in 6-month to 18-month increments.
Patricia Hernandez, 53, arrived in the United States in 2000 and applied for TPS after the 2001 earthquakes. She has lived in North Carolina for 18 years and runs a subcontracting construction business with her Honduran husband. The couple have two U.S.-born teenage sons.
“This is a real blow for everyone,” said Hernandez by telephone. “Most of us pay taxes, we’re not living off the government, we’re not criminals.”
The family will move to Honduras with their children and the couple do not intend to return north, she said, though they worry about violence and political instability in central America.
Trump administration changes to the TPS program mean that over the next two years approximately 250,000 people who previously had permission to live and work in the United States will be subject to deportation if they remain.
Haitians and Nicaraguans will lose their protected status in 2019 and Hondurans, the second largest group in the program, could lose their rights later this year.
Maria Gloria Ceren de Quinonez poses with a picture of her daughter Susana and granddaughters Gabriela and Monica who live in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status, in Santa Tecla, El Salvador January 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
“The past practice of allowing foreign nationals to remain in the United States long after an initial emergency in their home countries has ended has undermined the integrity of the program and essentially made the ‘temporary’ protected status a front operation for backdoor permanent immigration,” said Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, which favors less immigration overall.
VIOLENCE IN EL SALVADOR
Advocates of the program say long-term resident Salvadorans and their children should not be sent back to El Salvador, a country struggling with a weak economy and gang violence that has given it one of the world’s highest murder rates.
“Our (U.S) government is complicit in breaking up families — nearly 275,000 U.S.-born children have a parent who is a TPS holder — and further destabilizing our neighboring countries,” said Oscar Chacon, executive director of Alianza Americas, an immigrant advocacy group.
There are approximately 1.35 million Salvadorans of any status living in the United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau data analyzed by the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank.
A senior administration official briefing reporters on the decision said it was based on the status of El Salvador’s recovery from the 2001 earthquakes. The country has received millions of dollars in aid and rebuilt schools, homes and hospitals, the official said.
In the past two years, the United States has repatriated 39,000 Salvadorans, showing the ability of El Salvador to absorb an influx, the official said.
The government of El Salvador said on Monday that it was glad the administration decided to at least leave the program in place until September 2019.
“El Salvador’s Foreign Ministry lobbied heavily for the interests of our fellow citizens,” the government said in a statement, adding that it would continue to search for alternatives and seek action by the U.S. Congress to protect the migrants.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce had urged the government to extend TPS protections for Salvadorans, Haitians and Hondurans, saying “the loss of employment authorization for these populations would adversely impact several key industries,” including “construction, food processing, hospitality, and home healthcare services.”
Congressional Democrats on Monday expressed support for finding a permanent solution to help Salvadorans in the United States. But that will be politically difficult at a time when there are rival immigration priorities, including providing permanent protection for “Dreamers” - undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.
That effort has been weighed down by demands from conservatives in Congress to couple any such move with new efforts to clamp down on illegal immigration, especially from Mexico and Central America.
Slideshow (10 Images) ||||| Trump officials argue that the U.S. has been deporting migrants to El Salvador for years, and that temporary protected status was always supposed to be temporary. Last year, the administration ended the program for two other countries, Haiti and Nicaragua. Recipients from those nations, like those from El Salvador, will have an 18-month grace period to leave the U.S. or apply for other forms of immigration relief, officials said.
|
– An estimated 200,000 Salvadorans and their 190,000 US-born children aren't the only people stressed out about the administration's decision to withdraw Temporary Protected Status: The government of El Salvador, which estimates 95% of TPS holders are employed or own businesses in the US, says it will "face a great challenge" if tens of thousands are deported after Sept.19, 2019, when the protection from deportation introduced after two deadly earthquakes in 2001 expires. But Salvadoran officials don't think it will come to that. Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez tells the Washington Post that the government will lobby Congress to find a way for people losing TPS status to remain legal US residents. "We think we have sufficient time and will work hard for this alternative," he says. Congressional Democrats support finding a way for the Salvadorans to stay, though they have multiple other immigration issues to deal with, Reuters reports. Advocates warn that El Salvador has one of the world's highest murder rates, making it a dangerous place to deport people to—and that its economy will be devastated if it loses billions of dollars in remittances from the US. "This is really bad news for our country," Nayib Bukele, the mayor of San Salvador, tells the Los Angeles Times. "Our country doesn't create opportunities for the Salvadorans who live here. Imagine what we're going to do with 200,000 more coming in." Experts say that if there are mass deportations, many former TPS holders are likely to try to move to the US illegally—as will some Salvadorans displaced by the skilled and bilingual new arrivals.
|
A condemned killer's trial was so tainted by the racially influenced decisions of prosecutors that he should be removed from death row and serve a life sentence, a judge ruled Friday in a precedent-setting North Carolina decision.
Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks' decision in the case of Marcus Robinson comes in the first test of a 2009 state law that allows death row prisoners and capital murder defendants to challenge their sentences or prosecutors' decisions with statistics and other evidence beyond documents or witness testimony.
Only Kentucky has a law like North Carolina's Racial Justice Act, which says the prisoner's sentence is reduced to life in prison without parole if the claim is successful.
"The Racial Justice Act represents a landmark reform in capital sentencing in our state," Weeks said in Fayetteville on Friday. "There are those who disagree with this, but it is the law."
Race played a "persistent, pervasive and distorting role" in jury selection and couldn't be explained other than that "prosecutors have intentionally discriminated" against Robinson and other capital defendants statewide, Weeks said. Prosecutors eliminated black jurors more than twice as often as white jurors, according to a study by two Michigan State University law professors Weeks said he found highly reliable.
Robinson's case is the first of more than 150 pending cases to get an evidentiary hearing before a judge. Prosecutors said they planned to challenge Weeks' decision, and District Attorney Billy West declined further comment.
Weeks ruled race was a factor in prosecution decisions to reject potential black jurors before the murder trial of Robinson, a black man convicted of killing a white teenager in 1991. The jury that convicted Robinson had nine whites, two blacks and one American Indian.
Robinson and co-defendant Roderick Williams Jr. were convicted of murdering 17-year-old Erik Tornblom after the teen gave his killers a ride from a Fayetteville convenience store. Tornblom was forced to drive to a field, where he was shot with a sawed-off shotgun.
Robinson came close to death in January 2007, but a judge blocked his scheduled execution. Williams is serving a life sentence.
Nearly a dozen members of Tornblom's family left the courtroom without commenting. Robinson's mother, Shirley Burns, said she would advocate for the law, which a new Republican majority in the state's General Assembly is trying to eliminate.
"Everybody is not guilty, everybody is not innocent, but at least be fair," Burns said after the ruling. "It wasn't all about Marcus. It's about anyone who suffers discrimination."
Central to Robinson's case was the Michigan State University study. It reported that, of almost 160 people on North Carolina's death row, 31 had all-white juries, and 38 had only one person of color.
Study co-author and Michigan State professor Barbara O'Brien told a North Carolina legislative panel last month the review of more than 7,400 potential capital jurors couldn't find anything other than race to explain why potential black jurors were rejected by prosecutors more than twice as often as whites.
Robinson defense attorney James Ferguson of Charlotte told Weeks, who decided the case without a jury, that the study showed race was a significant factor in almost every one of North Carolina's prosecutorial districts as prosecutors decided to challenge and eliminate black jurors.
"This case is important because it provides an opportunity for all of us to recognize that race far too often has been a significant factor in jury selection in capital cases," Ferguson said when the hearing opened in January.
Union County prosecutor Jonathan Perry, who helped the Cumberland County District Attorney's Office argue the case against Robinson, said the study was untrustworthy because it was based on a too-limited sample of death penalty cases to provide meaningful results. The study also failed to detect numerous nonracial reasons that a person might be struck from a jury, Perry said.
The Republican-led Legislature tried to repeal the Racial Justice Act earlier this year, but lawmakers failed to override a veto by Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat.
In 1998, Kentucky was the first state to enact a similar law. But the American Bar Association said in a report it was unclear exactly how often it has been used except for during the 2003 trial of an African-American man accused of kidnapping and killing his ex-girlfriend, who was white. In that case, the defendant's lawyers used the Kentucky Racial Justice Act during jury selection to include questions that would address the issue of racial discrimination. The defendant, Nathaniel Wood, was convicted of wanton murder and other crimes and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
___
Associated Press writer Janet Cappiello contributed to this report from Louisville, Ky. ||||| Prosecutors called other prosecutors, judges and a political scientist to bolster their claims that race is not among their considerations when weighing whether to strike a potential juror.
That study found that qualified black jurors those not released for cause, such as opposition to the death penalty were struck by prosecutors at nearly twice the rate as qualified white jurors. In Cumberland County, they were struck at 2.6 times the rate, according to the researchers.
Defense attorneys used a sweeping study of capital cases in North Carolina done by Michigan State University law school researchers to bolster their claims.
In selecting that panel, Robinsons defense team claimed, prosecutors struck half the blacks eligible for the jury and only 15 percent of those who were not black.
Defense attorneys for Robinson argued earlier this year that prosecutors struck blacks from the jury pool at a much higher rate than whites. The jury that sent Robinson to death row included nine white jurors, one American Indian and two blacks, according to court filings.
Cases he has presided over: In the mid-1990s, he presided over the court proceedings in Robeson County against the two men accused of killing James Jordan, father of basketball star Michael Jordan.
Other legal jobs: Weeks worked several years in private practice and was an assistant Cumberland County public defender for 10 years.
On the bench: 23 years. Recently announced plans to retire at the end of this year.
— Marcus Reymond Robinson will soon gather his few belongings from the cell on North Carolina’s death row where he has spent the past 18 years and make a historic move to a maximum-security prison cell.
The 39-year-old convicted murderer is the first North Carolina death row inmate to have his sentence converted to life without possibility of parole using the state’s fledgling and unique Racial Justice Act.
Under the 2-1/2-year-old law, Judge Gregory Weeks was able to weigh statistics while considering Robinson’s claims that racial bias played a role in his trial and sentence.
Prosecutors announced plans to appeal the Robinson decision, a challenge that could slow rulings in similar claims from 154 other death row inmates.
Weeks, Cumberland County’s chief resident Superior Court judge, read a summary of his findings Friday in a courtroom full of people keenly aware that they were witnessing a landmark ruling.
Robinson, wearing a white shirt and light-colored pants, sat at a table with his lawyers. The family of Erik Tornblom, the man Robinson killed in 1994, watched silently, though the disappointment showing on their faces spoke volumes. The family left the courthouse without commenting.
Weeks said that “race was a materially, practically and statistically significant factor” in the selection of a jury for Robinson’s trial.
Prosecutors, according to a Michigan State University Law School study, used peremptory challenges to remove blacks from juries more than twice as often throughout North Carolina as they used them for whites.
In Cumberland County, it was almost three times as often.
“When the government’s choice of jurors is tainted with racial bias, that overt wall casts down over the parties, the jury and the court to adhere to the law throughout the trial,” Weeks said. “The very integrity of the court is jeopardized when a prosecutor’s discrimination invites cynicism respecting the jury’s neutrality and undermines public confidence.”
Effect on other cases
Weeks’ findings that potential black jurors systematically had been left out of the process of capital cases in North Carolina and Cumberland County at the time of Robinson’s trial could play significantly in the cases of other death row inmates. Weeks said such decisions by prosecutors to strike African-Americans from potential jury pools undermined the courts and had a sweeping impact on the integrity and trust the community could place in the process.
Only a few inmates on North Carolina’s death row did not file Racial Justice Act claims.
The ruling, the first of its kind in this country, came two days before the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened the door for states to adopt such laws as the Racial Justice Act.
North Carolina and Kentucky are the only two states that have done so, though.
The Racial Justice Act, which was narrowly adopted in 2009 along party lines, has been praised by supporters as a way to address blatant and subtle racism undermining the integrity of the state’s courts.
Weeks had harsh words for prosecutors, saying the evidence presented earlier this year by Robinson’s attorneys was enough “to support an inference of intentional discrimination.”
The judge and many of the defense lawyers and death penalty critics said they hoped the ruling Friday would mark the beginning of a new chapter in North Carolina justice.
“We had hoped for this decision, we had worked for this decision. We thought the judge’s decision was powerful,” said James Ferguson, a Charlotte civil rights attorney who represented Robinson. “We know our work is not over, but we think this is a beginning.”
District attorneys issued a statement strongly disputing that race is a significant factor in capital murder cases.
Legal scholars and death row critics from across the nation have watched with interest as the Robinson case went through the courts.
“The North Carolina legislation is a commendable attempt to do what the Supreme Court attempted to brush under the tablecloth,” said James Acker, a criminal justice professor at the State University of New York-Albany who is putting on a symposium this weekend about the death penalty and race. He was referring to the 1987 Supreme Court decision that opened the door for states to adopt laws that give judges the authority to consider statistics in racial bias challenges.
Robinson, who has been incarcerated at Central Prison only with death row inmates since his conviction, will move to a general prison population. For the first time in years, he will be among those who are not awaiting execution.
Shirley Burns, Robinson’s mother, described the moment as bittersweet. Her thoughts were with the Tornbloms, but she said the justice system should treat people fairly.
“There’s justice at last,” Shirley Burns said. “You’ve got to treat people right. You’ve got to treat people fair. That’s what we depend on when we go through the system.”
Blythe: 919-836-4948
|
– A black inmate in North Carolina came off death row today thanks to a controversial new law in the state. A judge reduced the sentence of Marcus Reymond Robinson to life without parole after ruling that prosecutors purposely sought to keep blacks off his jury, reports the News & Observer of Raleigh. The landmark ruling is the first under the state's Racial Justice Act, and about 150 other death row inmates in the state have cases pending, notes AP. Among other things, the law allows the judge to take statistical patterns on race into account. In this case, Robinson's legal team showed that prosecutors rejected about 50% of potential black jurors and only 15% of non-black jurors. The jury ended up with only two black people. That disparity is enough "to support an inference of intentional discrimination," wrote the judge, according to the New York Times. Robinson was convicted of murdering a white teenager in 1994.
|
GQ editor Dylan Jones told star what he said was 'offensive' to fashion company Hugo Boss
Comic seen making an early exit from after-show party at Royal Opera House
Brand said Hugo Boss 'made the Nazis look f****** fantastic' and goose-stepped onstage
Comedian Russell Brand was allegedly ejected from the GQ Men Of The Year Awards after-show party after he made jibes onstage about the event's sponsors Hugo Boss - and its historical links to the Nazis.
The comic, who picked up a gong at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, criticised the German fashion firm, who sponsored the show, for making uniforms for Hitler's regime.
The wild bunch: Rita Ora, Noel Gallagher and Russell Brand caught up at the after-party before he was allegedly asked to leave by the event's organisers
Brand took to the stage after Boris Johnson who received GQ magazine’s award for Politician of the Year at Tuesday night's event at the Royal Opera House in London.
Swift exit: Russell seen arriving at the GQ Men of the Year awards at The Royal Opera House on Tuesday
And after the mayor made jokes regarding the recent chemical attacks and subsequent deaths in Syria, Brand said: 'Glad to grace the stage where Boris Johnson has just made light of the use of chemical weapons in Syria,' during his acceptance speech for the Oracle award.
'Meaning that GQ can now stand for genocide quips.
'I mention that only to make the next comment a bit lighter because if any of you know a little bit about history and fashion, you'll know Hugo Boss made the uniforms for the Nazis,' he added.
'But they did look f****** fantastic, lets face it, while they were killing people on the basis of their religion and sexuality."
Brand, who ended his speech by telling Noel Gallagher, another of the winners on the night, "Good luck getting more offensive than that, son", was then according to The Sun kicked out of the aftershow party in central London.
A spokesman for GQ declined to comment on the claims when contacted.
Brand was seen chatting to Noel Gallagher and Rita Ora at the party, but he looked unnerved after taking a few photos with fans, and then made a swift exit accompanied by his security guard.
Offensive: GQ editor Dylan Jones with The Who rocker Roger Daltrey. Jones told Brand what he did to the event sponsors was 'offensive'
Brand took to Twitter to tell his fans about an exchange he said he had with Jones
The comic took to Twitter to tell his fans about an exchange he said he had with the magazine's editor Dylan Jones, writing: 'GQ editor: What you did was very offensive to Hugo Boss.
'Me: What Hugo Boss did was very offensive to the Jews', which was accompanied by the hashtag '#nazitailor'.
The fashion firm backed the event to the tune of £250,000, and would no doubt have been left reeling by Brand's tirade which included him putting a finger under his nose to mimic Hitler's moustache and goose-stepping on stage.
It isn't the first time Brand has run into trouble at the annual bash. In 2006 he was involved in a row with Rod Stewart after telling guests at the event he had slept with his daughter Kimberly.
In 1999, GQ editor James Brown resigned after the magazine published a list of of the 200 most stylish men of the 20th century, which included the Nazis and Field Marshal Rommel alongside Humphrey Bogart and John F Kennedy.
The star-studded dinner and pretty raucous award ceremony with a night full of barbs and verbal fisticuffs attended by celebrities including Lou Reed, Simon Pegg, Sir Bobby Charlton, Rita Ora, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Justin Timberlake.
Off colour: Rob Brydon joked about Stephen Fry's suicide attempt
The event at the Royal Opera House, in Covent Garden, central London, was hosted by comic Rob Brydon who led from the front with an off colour remark about Stephen Fry.
Brydon reduced the audience to stunned silence when he joked bipolar Stephen Fry could not be 'left alone with vodka and pills', which comes after the actor and writer's admission that he tried to commit suicide last year.
Writer of the Year winner, Charles Moore took aim at Brand when took to the stage to collect his award.
He reminded the audience of the BBC scandal Brand resigned from Radio 2 over - Sachsgate.
Moore refused to pay his license fee in 2009 in protest over the affair, in which Brand, egged on by Jonathan Ross, left inappropriate messages on the voicemail of Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter.
The writer compared Brand's persecution of Sachs to that of the Nazis persecution of Sachs' forefathers.
Meanwhile Noel Gallagher criticised Foreign Secretary William Hague, who presented an award, for being 'here with all the s**t going on around the world you should be sorting out'. ||||| Crawl of outlinks from wikipedia.org started March, 2016. These files are currently not publicly accessible. Properties of this collection. It has been several years since the last time we did this. For this collection, several things were done: 1. Turned off duplicate detection. This collection will be complete, as there is a good chance we will share the data, and sharing data with pointers to random other collections, is a complex problem. 2. For the first time, did all the different wikis. The original runs were just against the enwiki. This one, the seed list was built from all 865 collections.
|
– Tip for Russell Brand: When accepting an award, maybe don't joke about the award show sponsor's Nazi ties. The comedian was accepting the Oracle Award at the British GQ Men of the Year Awards in London last week when he made this comment about fashion label Hugo Boss, which was sponsoring the event: "If any of you know a little bit about history and fashion, you'll know that Hugo Boss made the uniforms for the Nazis. The Nazis did have flaws, but, you know, they did look f---ing fantastic, let's face it, while they were killing people on the basis of their religion and sexuality." Later, he added, "We're selling a lot of these ... they're flying off the shelves!" and goose-stepped while doing a Nazi salute. The Sun reports Brand was booted from the after-party over the joke, and the Daily Mail says the comedian later elaborated on Twitter: "GQ editor: 'What you did was very offensive to Hugo Boss.' Me: 'What Hugo Boss did was very offensive to the Jews.' #GQAwards #nazitailor." Gawker posted video of Brand's speech today.
|
The Pennsylvania State Police have a rigorous application process, which includes a polygraph pretest. Recently, a Crawford County man applying to become a state trooper apparently failed his polygraph so spectacularly, not only didn't he get the job, he ended up under arrest, instead.
The Associated Press reports that 29-year-old Joseph Adam White, of Hartstown, was at the Meadville barracks for his police cadet lie detector exam when he admitted having sex with an underage girl four years ago during the polygraph pretest.
The story doesn't detail how the subject came up. Only that White allegedly told the examiner that he had had consensual sex and other contact with the girl in 2011. She is now 19.
Police tell AP they charged White on Thursday with four counts of unlawful sexual contact with a minor and 10 counts of corruption of minors after interviewing the woman and corroborating that information.
Needless to say, he won't be getting an interview. ||||| MEADVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Police say a Pennsylvania man applying to become a state trooper has been arrested after saying during a polygraph pretest that he had sex with an underage girl four years ago.
State police say 29-year-old Joseph Adam White, of Hartstown, was at the Meadville barracks Jan. 15 for his police cadet lie detector exam. They say during the pretest, he told the examiner he had consensual sex and other contact with the girl in 2011. She is now 19.
Police say they charged White on Thursday with four counts of unlawful sexual contact with a minor and 10 counts of corruption of minors after interviewing the woman and corroborating that information.
Online court records don't list an attorney for White, and he doesn't have a listed phone number.
|
– A Pennsylvania man is behind bars after allegedly telling state police he'd had sex with an underage girl. What's unusual: He told them while applying for a job as a state trooper, the AP reports via the Patriot-News. Police say Joseph White, 29, made the admission during a polygraph pretest at the Meadville state police barracks on Jan. 15. He allegedly admitted to consensual sex and other sexual contact with the girl four years ago; she's now 19. Police say the victim later corroborated the incidents, which occurred in a field in South Shenango Township, the Meadville Tribune reports. White was arrested Thursday on multiple charges of unlawful sexual contact with a minor and corruption of minors, and jailed on $25,000 bond. "Needless to say, he won't be getting an interview," quips the Patriot-News.
|
Unfortunately, Laura Linney doesn't come across as a dying woman struggling to save her own life so much as a really dorky PTA mom dressed up as a clown in order to bring a little cheer to the children's cancer ward. Having just been diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma, Cathy (Linney) is haunted by the specter of approaching death, yes, but she's also super-determined to do a goofy little dance and spray a little water out of her flower lapel into some poor leukemia patient's eye. She's going to smile quizzically and shrug and give you an "Aw shucks, what can I say, folks? I'm here for 18 more months!" (Da dum dum -- ch!) and what are you going to do? Laugh?
Now that we've established my relative worthlessness in the big scheme of things, I will tell you one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt: A comedy about cancer needs to be really, really funny. Otherwise, it will be awful. With " The Big C " (premieres 10:30 p.m., Aug. 16, on Showtime), all of the vital signs looked good from the start. You've got Laura Linney, an actress who has been easy to love ever since she charmed the world as Mark Ruffalo's weary older sister in "You Can Count On Me." You've got Oliver Platt, known for his ability to pump vim and vigor into other oddball premium cable shows like "Bored to Death" and "Huff."
Cancer. I don't like typing that word. My sister goes to work every day and cuts cancer out of people's bodies, and I can't even type the word "cancer" without cringing. My sister looks people right in the eyes and tells them whether they'll live for another year or die in a few weeks -- and I watch shows about rich housewives for a living.
No. You're going to cringe and beg to be put out of your misery.
Now I'm going to make a wild, inappropriate guess here. I'm going to guess that either show creator Darlene Hunt or Laura Linney or both of them were given the following note at some point: "Lighten it up!" Maybe some test audience thought the story was too gloomy, too depressing, too focused on death. "Death? Yuck!" they said. "We don't want death. We want zany pot-dealer moms who shrug and slurp on frappuccinos! We want zany multiple-personality-disorder moms who shrug and toss back canned beer! We want zany nurse moms who shrug and pop prescription drugs and have affairs with their pharmacist buddies! But zany control-freak moms who shrug and get naked in the back yard, because they're about to die? No thank you! Cheer this mother up, give her a jaunty smile, a kick in her step! Make her flirt openly with her much-younger doctor! Make her scare the bejeezus out of her snarky teenage son! When she's sad about stuff, make it clear that she's also just feeling so lucky to be alive for another day! You know what this dying mom needs? She needs to smile more often! Haven't you read 'Crazy Sexy Cancer'?"
So here's Linney, smiling through every scene, cracking really funny jokes about only having a few months to live, jokes about as fun and lighthearted as an unexpected spray of water in your chemo-bloodshot eyes. Here's Cathy feeling pleased that she goaded her doctor into admitting that she has a killer rack. Here's Cathy eating only desserts and doing cartwheels in the hallway of the school where she teaches and getting a pool installed in her backyard and riding a bicycle built for two with a flower basket and streamers coming out of the handlebars. Kooky, unsexy cancer!
Cathy doesn't want chemo for her melanoma. She doesn't want any treatment that will only make her bald. She doesn't want to tell anyone she has cancer. She just wants to play practical jokes and set stuff on fire! She just wants to kick her husband, Paul (Platt), out of the house, because he's an overgrown kid, gosh darn it! She just wants to hang out with her crazy homeless-by-choice brother, the one who spends his life in various parking lots, yelling at people about how their SUVs are destroying the earth. Cathy's plucky, to-hell-with-it approach should be moving, but instead it comes off with all of the grace and ease of a grizzly bear in a ballerina skirt. Cathy titters. She sighs and squints. She giggles nervously and smiles in a pinched way.
But let's not blame this show's flaws on cancer. Cathy is a mom who suggests to her son that they "chillax" together. When he calls her gay, she yells anemically after him, "Don't use 'gay' like that!" "You're sooo not allowed to say I'm embarrassing," she warns her brother, Sean (John Benjamin Hickey), who spends every episode saying things like, "Enjoy your swirly chemicals!" and "Wake up and smell your $10 latte!"
Oliver Platt, on the other hand, succeeds at milking every oddly melancholic moment as Linney's husband. Paul rages at Cathy's inscrutability, he confesses his deepest secrets to a therapist, he misunderstands and becomes lustful and retreats and somehow Platt makes it all believable. We buy this guy as a real person, in all of his selfish, needy, self-pitying glory. Maybe the overgrown boy role is just easier to pull off, or maybe Platt is particularly great at walking that line between comic and tragic.
I really want to love Linney in this role, because she's a great actress and she does pull off about half of her scenes in "The Big C." But there's just something leaden and unnatural about the way her role is written and performed, as if someone is standing on the sidelines yelling "Smiles, everyone! Smiles!" the whole time. Because if you take the Linney we've seen before -- a little gloomy, a little shrill – and insert her into this picture, it works so much better. Instead, Cathy seems self-conscious in everything she does. She spends most of each episode grinning from ear to ear like the reluctant host of a sorority rush party, counting the seconds until she's free to get drunk on cosmopolitans.
On the page, "The Big C" is occasionally clever. But the mood of the actual show is all wrong. The timing is off. The heavy scenes are almost as badly timed and directed as the funny scenes, and those scenes that alternate between funny and sad only induce whiplash. None of the emotions in play feel remotely organic or nuanced or sweet. And by the end of the third episode, we understand exactly what we're going to see, over and over again, throughout the course of the first season: Beleaguered, denial-plagued smiley mom, man-child husband, insolent son, angry shut-in neighbor, angry overweight girl (played by Gabourey Sidibe from "Precious") trying to diet, angry radical brother. Simply putting one nutty character in a room with another nutty character does not a comedy make, yet that's what each scene of this show boils down to.
And that's a shame. Because "The Big C" could be a great show; it should be a great show. There are so many possibilities. Death brings out the best and the worst in everyone and everything, and it can be very funny -- just ask anyone who's dealt with the death of someone close to them. Instead, "The Big C" offers us the same stuff we've seen before from every cancer subplot on every TV show ever made: cute younger doctors, annoying cancer support groups, impulsive decisions and an interminable wait for the moment when our patient finally tells her family she's sick. "I'm here all year, performing at stage IV!" Cathy yells to an imaginary audience at the end of the first episode. "Come on, you've gotta give it up for me a little bit! It's kinda funny -- death comedy?" In this case, unfortunately, it's not. ||||| Those who die on crime series like “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” do so to help — or hurt — the ones left standing. Even “Dexter,” a Showtime series about a serial killer who preys, vigilante-style, on serial killers, examines an engaging psychopath’s fixation on crime and punishment, not extinction.
The high school teacher hero of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” has cancer, but even there, the action is less about his struggle with his disease than about his decision to start a rollicking life of crime as a meth dealer.
Photo
On “The Big C” Ms. Linney’s Cathy is almost refreshingly ordinary — a Minneapolis schoolteacher with a husband and child and a dull but comfortable life. Except, of course, that she too has a secret: melanoma.
The story begins after Cathy has been told she has a year to live. It is a tribute to Ms. Linney’s talent — and her body of work in movies like “Love Actually” and “The Savages” — that viewers don’t have to see for themselves that Cathy was a reserved, apologetic person before the diagnosis, the kind of dutiful worker bee who is easily silenced by stronger personalities. Ms. Linney makes it understood before uttering a word.
“The Big C” is framed as a comedy: Cathy’s imminent death sentence unleashes another, freer side of her. Suddenly, she is speaking up, except when she decides not to.
She doesn’t tell anyone about her cancer, not even her husband, Paul (Oliver Platt), or her son, Adam (Gabriel Basso), or her brother, Sean (John Benjamin Hickey), a homeless ecology nut who lives out of Dumpsters.
Instead, Cathy tells people off — including a rude and hostile student, Andrea (Gabourey Sidibe from “Precious”), who is dangerously overweight; and a reclusive and sour neighbor, Marlene (Phyllis Somerville), who is unpleasant.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Casting off a lifetime of inhibitions, Cathy flirts with her doctor, smokes a cigarette, digs a swimming pool in her yard and, in restaurants, orders only drinks and dessert.
“The Big C” isn’t just about facing death, of course; it’s also about a woman who tries to live each day as if it were the last. The paradox of dealing playfully with a subject that is so taboo is that it’s easy to slide into safe comic clichés. In “Last Holiday,” Queen Latifah played a meek department store clerk who, when told she has a year to live, moves to a luxury hotel in Europe and savors life, delicious food and telling people exactly what she thinks.
Photo
That film was a romantic comedy with a happy ending: Queen Latifah’s character was misdiagnosed. “The Big C” is unlikely to let Cathy magically off the hook.
Accordingly, the series is at its best when sardonic and subdued. Some of the black humor is the kind that cancer patients are prone to share among themselves. Impolitic truth telling is more broadly amusing, and plenty of movies have toyed with the comedy of characters who can’t stop telling the truth, notably “Liar, Liar” and “The Invention of Lying.” Cathy is funniest when she speaks her mind.
“The Big C” works because most of the writing is strong and believable, and so is Ms. Linney, who rarely sounds a false note and here has perfect pitch.
Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.
But perhaps because the subject is so challenging, the creators took some easy shortcuts in casting other characters. Mr. Platt as Paul is childish and egotistical and very much like the childish and egotistical husband he played in Nicole Holofcener’s recent film, “Please Give.” Before playing crusty, solitary Marlene, Ms. Somerville played crusty, solitary May in the movie “Little Children.”
Ms. Linney has the harder task of portraying the kind of reserved, reticent woman she has played in the past, but one who suddenly gets, as her brother puts it, “her weird back.”
It’s a credit to the actress, and the writers, that the weirder Cathy gets, the more likable she becomes.
THE BIG C
Showtime, Monday nights at 10:30, Eastern and Pacific times; 9:30, Central time.
Created by Darlene Hunt; Ms. Hunt, Jenny Bicks, Neal H. Moritz, Vivian Cannon and Laura Linney, executive producers; Mark Kunerth, Michael Engler and Merrill H. Karpf, co-executive producers. Produced by Sony Pictures Television Inc.
WITH: Laura Linney (Cathy), Oliver Platt (Paul), John Benjamin Hickey (Sean), Phyllis Somerville (Marlene), Gabriel Basso (Adam), Gabourey Sidibe (Andrea), Idris Elba (Lenny) and Reid Scott (Dr. Todd). ||||| Traditionally, the term "the Big C" refers to cancer , and as the main character of Showtime 's new series by the same name has recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma , it seems a fitting title. In this case, "The Big C" could also refer to several other things — the big concept, for instance. Showtime has developed an alarming penchant for putting women in extreme situations and playing it for comedy, albeit of the darker variety. But cancer is still dicey, hitting closer to home for many viewers than, say, split personalities ( "United States of Tara" ) or even drug addiction ("Nurse Jackie.")"The Big C" could also mean "big cast." Much has been made of critics' darling Laura Linney and her decision to enter the world of serialized television (though no doubt her Emmy win for HBO 's " John Adams " made it a tiny bit easier). Here she is joined by fellow stage actor John Benjamin Hickey ("Love! Valour! Compassion!"), the wonderfully elastic and prolific Oliver Platt , "Precious" Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe and veteran performer Phyllis Somerville (" NYPD Blue," "Little Children"), who inevitably steals every scene she's in.The pilot is also directed by Bill Condon , but that seems to be pushing the whole "things that begin with C" conceit. Still, even on paper, "The Big C" has a lot going on. Then the action starts and things get, well, Crazy. And not necessarily in a good way.Linney's Cathy is a high school teacher who has just learned that the large and unmistakably problematic splotch on her back is Stage 4 melanoma. She is not interested in pursuing experimental treatments or sharing this information with any of the people closest to her. Instead, she begins to survey her life through the lens of its newly measured length, and much of what she sees is not to her liking.She has a husband (Platt) so unapologetically childish that he says things like "stinky poo poo" and still gets drunk enough to pee on the front lawn; a son (Gabriel Basso) who is insolent and selfish even by early-teen standards; a wild-haired neighbor ( Somerville ) who seems to have wandered out of a Flannery O'Connor short story; a hateful, mouthy summer school student (Sidibe) and a homeless eco-activist brother (Hickey) given to wearing plastic bags around his neck.All of whom are introduced in the pilot, by the way, and this is a half-hour show.Clearly, creator and executive producer Darlene Hunt is not sending Cathy gentle into that good night or anywhere else for that matter. No, Cathy will be dropping f-bombs , digging nonpermitted pools and splattering school buses with paintballs. Although "The Big C" does pose the eternal question — How would you live your life if you knew its actual dimensions? — it tries very hard not to take the expected path.Too hard, unfortunately. So determined are Hunt, executive producer/showrunner Jenny Bicks and Linney that "The Big C" be unsentimental that they jam early episodes with so many over-blown characters and wacky antics that it's impossible to attach meaning to any of them. Platt especially is almost criminally misused; as middle-aged wild child to Cathy's more orderly (read: controlling) adult, he wanders in and out of scenes like some infantile forest creature, defined only by wifely resentment, unrecognizable as an adult male (much less one who has, apparently, a job big enough to pay for the very nice house in suburban Connecticut).Linney, who has made a career exploring the fear and rage that is so often disguised as devotion, summons her not-inconsiderable charms to create a woman teetering between breakdown and breakthrough. That Cathy has no friends outside her eccentric brother is less than believable, but it's a fair enough narrative decision. Much of the early story revolves around Cathy forming relationships with Sidibe's Andrea, whom she has decided to save from her weight problem, and Somerville's Marlene, who has hard-won wisdom to offer.But while many of the scenes of "The Big C" are compelling in themselves, taken together they create a manic and manipulative half-hour. In attempting to capture the freefall of discovering that life will be a matter of months instead of years, Hunt and her writers have surrounded Cathy with so much attention-grabbing insanity — She must have a pool! A smackdown with Andrea, another with Marlene! Her brother is a nut! But maybe he's right! No way is her son going to summer camp! And how can she live with a man who never closes the cupboard doors! — that it's hard to keep your eyes on the woman herself.Cathy's decision to keep the news of her cancer to herself is the closest thing we get to a through-line, and fortunately, it's a very good one. We all carry the certainty of our own end with us — as poet laureate W.S. Merwin reminds us: "Every year without knowing it I have passed the day / When the last fires will wave to me" — though for the most part we do it without discussion or even acknowledgment. How then should knowing the particulars change us, and what part of that knowledge do we owe friends and family? Watching Cathy flail wildly at her husband and child, one can't help but think she is treating them unfairly by not explaining what is really going on. But whatreally going on? Every day is another step toward the last, even for a teenager, and who's to say that Cathy is closer to her end than any of those around her?There are enough graceful moments in "The Big C" and certainly enough fine actors to hope that in subsequent episodes, things will slow down, that the grim determination to be "different" will give way to something, if not less outraged or outrageous, then less visibly straining to be so.
|
– Critics are split on The Big C, Showtime's Laura Linney-starring comedy about a woman with cancer living out the last year of her life, which debuts tonight: The cast is perhaps a bit large for a half-hour show, writes Mary McNamara in the Los Angeles Times, and the whole thing is so determined to be unsentimental that it is instead jammed "with so many over-blown characters and wacky antics that it's impossible to attach meaning to any of them." Heather Havrilesky agrees, noting that the show's attempts to "lighten up" the subject matter turn the whole thing into a "kooky, unsexy" ride that will make you "cringe and beg to be put out of your misery," she writes on Salon. But Alessandra Stanley likes it—especially Linney, "who rarely sounds a false note and here has perfect pitch," she writes in the New York Times. "The series is at its best when sardonic and subdued. Some of the black humor is the kind that cancer patients are prone to share among themselves." For more on the widely admired Linney, click here.
|
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts college president is apologizing after campus police were called to investigate a black student quietly eating her lunch in a common room.
Smith College President Kathleen McCartney says in a letter Thursday the college is hiring a "third-party investigator" to review the incident and that every Smith staff member will undergo mandatory anti-bias training.
Officials say an employee at the Northampton college called 911 Tuesday to report someone appeared "out of place" in the building.
The school says there was nothing suspicious. McCartney has apologized to the undergraduate student, who is a teaching assistant this summer.
The woman who has identified herself as the student posted on Facebook that it was outrageous she couldn't eat her lunch in peace.
She added: "All I did was be black." ||||| NORTHAMPTON (CBS) – Smith College is investigating after police were called to investigate a black student who was eating her lunch in a common room.
“This shouldn’t happen to anyone at all,” Oumou Kanoute said crying.
Kanoute is a rising sophomore at Smith College. She works at a summer program teaching chemistry to high schoolers for Smith’s STEM program and was reading in the dining hall of the Tyler House dorm Tuesday.
“Next thing you know, I see the cop walk in with a Smith employee whom I’ve never seen before and the man asked me, ‘we were wondering why you’re here?’” Kanoute said.
She says police told her an employee had called about a suspicious black man. She recorded video with her phone, adding her own text on Instagram, with a post that’s prompted outrage from supporters.
“No student of color should have to explain why they belong at prestigious white institutions,” she wrote. “I worked my hardest to get into Smith, and I deserve to feel safe on my campus.”
She added: “All I did was be black.”
“It just still upsets me to just talk about it because I don’t even feel safe on my own campus and I’m away from home. I’m the first in my family to go to college. I’m doing this not only for me but for my family, for my ancestors,” Kanoute told WBZ-TV
Smith’s president sent a statement apologizing and assuring the student, “That she belongs in all Smith spaces. This painful incident reminds us of the ongoing legacy of racism and bias in which people of color are targeted while simply going about the business of their daily lives…building an inclusive, diverse and sustainable community is urgent and ongoing work.”
Kanoute appreciates the apology but wants more.
“I want the identity of the caller released,” she says. “I want a public apology from that caller and I want them fired from the school.”
Smith’s administration says privacy laws prevent them from releasing the name, so Kanoute has turned to social media with a plea for help.
“I tried to like shake it off. I didn’t even want to speak up and speak out because I know not everyone’s going to agree with what you need to say. Not everyone’s going to listen to you,” Kanoute says. “I’m just so upset.” ||||| Each incident shared a catalyst: Someone considered black people going about their everyday lives to be suspicious or dangerous enough to call the police. On Facebook, Ms. Kanoute noted that the person who called the police did not approach her first.
“I am blown away at the fact that I cannot even sit down and eat lunch peacefully,” she wrote.
The employee who placed the call to the police was placed on leave pending an investigation, the college announced on Friday.
In a statement on Thursday, Kathleen McCartney, Smith’s president, apologized to Ms. Kanoute and said that “we continue to fall short even as we continue to make progress.”
“This painful incident reminds us of the ongoing legacy of racism and bias in which people of color are targeted while simply going about the business of their daily lives,” Ms. McCartney said. “It is a powerful reminder that building an inclusive, diverse and sustainable community is urgent and ongoing work.”
Amy Hunter, the college’s interim director of inclusion, diversity and equity, said that she had reached out to Ms. Kanoute and was investigating the incident along with human resources and the campus police. ||||| Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What was the charge to the investigators?
A: The investigators were asked to determine whether any employees violated the college’s Affirmative Action Policy in connection with the incident on July 31, 2018. The college also asked the investigative team, irrespective of its findings, to share recommendations for ways Smith could improve its policies and practices on interactions with persons who may be perceived as suspicious.
Q: Did the external report find the July 31, 2018 incident was the result of bias?
A. No. The investigators ultimately concluded that “the Caller provided a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for calling the Campus Police on the day of the Incident.” Further, “the Investigative Team did not find sufficient information that this decision was based on the Reported Party’s race or color, or violated the Policy.” Nevertheless, the report acknowledges that the student was having lunch near a campus dining area, and that she was put in fear when the officer approached her.
Q: Has the college responded to the student’s request for an apology and to meet with the caller?
A: Yes. President McCartney apologized publicly on August 2, 2018. President McCartney also reached out to the student on August 3, to personally apologize and offer to meet and continues to welcome a meeting with the student. The college offered restorative justice mediation between the student and the caller. The caller has agreed to mediation, and the offer remains open.
Q: Has the college responded to the student’s requests for affinity housing, employee training, changes in policies and procedures, and investigation of the legacy of President Emeritus Neilson?
A: Yes.
Regarding specific requests from the student and the ACLU, President McCartney’s letter to the community on September 4 includes pertinent information, including new and existing initiatives. These include:
Affinity housing: The college’s Residential Experience Working Group, which was established earlier this summer, will conduct a comprehensive examination of how Smith, as an educational institution and a residential college, can optimize the learning potential of living and dining in community. This group will address, among other things, affinity housing.
Employee training: The college committed to mandatory anti-bias training for staff and faculty. Please see President McCartney’s October 20 email for more information.
Changes in policies and procedures: The college currently has policies prohibiting race and gender discrimination and robust procedures for prevention and enforcement. See, for example:
For additional information on potential policy changes, see President McCartney’s October 29 letter to the community.
William Allan Neilson served as president of Smith from 1917 to 1939. The ACLU has circulated an excerpt from a previously published 1927 letter from Neilson referencing segregation and student housing. The public is welcome to view and assess Neilson’s legacy via his personal papers, including those that reference his service on the board of the NAACP and his role in founding the Legal Defense and Education Fund of the NAACP.
Out of an interest for transparency and to support research into Neilson’s views on race, the college has digitized two sets of documents:
The full letter referenced by the ACLU is available in the first link.
The college continues to evaluate additional reforms proposed by the student, guided by the findings and recommendations in the report. As part of the review process, Smith also looks forward to input from campus governance groups such as the Committee on Mission and Priorities and the Inclusion Counsel.
Q: Will Smith be implementing the recommendations in the report?
A: Smith is carefully considering the recommendations in the report and looks forward to input from the affected parties and the community to fully assess which additional steps are appropriate.
Q: What is the employment status of the staff member who called campus police?
A: The report concluded that no employees violated Smith College policies. Therefore, the college does not anticipate pursuing any adverse employment action in connection with the events of July 31. However, the report has identified certain areas for improvement in Smith’s training for employees, including on encounters with people on campus who may appear to be unfamiliar or out of place. Smith is assessing potential enhancements to its staff trainings to address concerns about the influence of implicit bias in this area.
Q: What information has been redacted from the investigative report?
A: The substance and findings of the independent investigation have not been changed or redacted. The college has, however, redacted certain language to preserve confidentiality consistent with college policy, relating to those interviewed in the investigation.
Q: Have any lawsuits been filed in relation to the July 31 incident?
A: No.
Q: What is the nature of the ACLU’s involvement?
A: Although no lawsuits have been filed, an ACLU attorney is providing counsel to the student and has been in communication with the college since late August.
Q: Social media posts from August 21 purport to identify the caller to Campus Police. Are the posts accurate?
A: No. Neither of the individuals named in these posts placed the call.
Q: Who led the external investigation of the incident?
A: Two experienced attorneys investigated the incident: Anthony Cruthird and Kate Upatham.
Anthony Cruthird has close to 20 years of experience in the field of civil rights and education. The bulk of his experience stems from his prior role as a senior civil rights attorney and team leader with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), where his work centered on investigating and remedying complaints alleging discrimination on the bases of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, and age.
Kate Upatham worked for eight years as a Civil Rights Attorney with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR). She has conducted numerous investigations including with OCR’s compliance team that proactively ensures that schools receiving Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education, and public entities, are in compliance with the laws enforced by OCR.
Both attorneys are members of the Sanghavi Law Office.
Q: What type of training do Campus Police officers receive?
A: Campus Police officers receive training including, but not limited to:
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Implicit bias (led by the District Attorney’s Office)
Trauma-informed victim response
Violence prevention and de-escalation
Massachusetts State Police training plus an additional nine-week in-house field training
Q: Are college employees required to take anti-bias training?
A: Yes. Please read President McCartney’s October 20, 2018 email to the community regarding employee diversity and bias training.
Q: Does Smith outsource its security to the Northampton Police Department or any other armed police department?
A: No. Campus Police officers respond to all on-campus calls, 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Campus Police may contact the Northampton Police Department for additional support only in those instances where required—large events, major crimes, etc.
Q: Are Campus Police officers armed?
A: No. Campus Police officers do not carry firearms.
Q: Was there a call to 911?
A: No. The caller contacted Smith College's Campus Police dispatch.
Q: Is there a police report available of the July 31 call to campus police?
A: A Community Incident Report was filed recording the Campus Police officer’s response to the call. The Community Incident Report is included as an exhibit to the investigative report.
|
– A Massachusetts college president is apologizing after campus police were called to investigate an undergraduate black student quietly eating her lunch in a common room. Smith College President Kathleen McCartney says in a letter Thursday the college is hiring a "third-party investigator" to review the incident and that every Smith staff member will undergo mandatory anti-bias training. Officials say an employee at the Northampton college called 911 Tuesday to report someone appeared "out of place" in the building, the AP reports. The school says there was nothing suspicious. The New York Times identifies the student as Oumou Kanoute, who says she was on break from work when she was approached by a campus police officer, who quickly surmised nothing was amiss. "I am blown away at the fact that i cannot even sit down and eat lunch peacefully," Kanoute wrote on Facebook, including two short video clips of her interaction with the police officer. "I did nothing wrong, I wasn't making any noise or bothering anyone. All I did was be black." Kanoute adds she had a "complete meltdown" following this "wrong and uncalled for" incident. "No students of color should have to explain why they belong at prestigious white institutions," she noted. "I worked my hardest to get into Smith, and I deserve to feel safe on my campus." Kanoute also tells CBS Boston she wants the person who called to report her—she says police told her it was an employee at Smith—identified and fired. McCartney has apologized to Kanoute, a rising sophomore who's spending the summer as a teaching assistant working with high school students in a Smith STEM program.
|
HUNTINGTON BEACH – When Diana Carrillo, her sister and two friends decided to try the Saint Marc Pub-Cafe in Pacific City last week, they were hoping for a nice shared experience.
They got a shared experience, but not one they would have expected.
When they were seated, 24-year-old Carrillo of Irvine, said the waiter asked her, “Can I see your proof of residency?”
Carrillo said she was shocked.
“I already had my ID out. I couldn’t say anything,” she said.
She turned to her sister, Brenda Carrillo, and friends and said, “Did he just ask me that?”
Carrillo said the waiter asked the other three women the same thing, saying “I need to make sure you’re residents before I serve you.”
After talking with the manager, who apologized, the four left the restaurant. Carrillo related her experience, on Saturday, March 11, on social media, which has since taken on a life of its own.
The restaurant posted an apology three days later that said in part, “This type of behavior is not representative of the St. Marc brand and will not be tolerated.”
Kent Berden, the senior director of operations at the restaurant, said Wednesday that he fired the waiter, whose name was not disclosed. He said the waiter’s actions were unacceptable and not reflective of the restaurant.
“The individual didn’t follow corporate policy by any stretch of the imagination,” Berden said.
He said this was the first such complaint the restaurant has had since it opened in 2015.
Carrillo, whose parents are immigrants, said the interaction was part of what she fears is going to be a growing trend.
“I feel that’s the direction we’re headed in, given who’s the president,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons I posted it on social media rather than just dealing with the restaurant.”
Berden said the waiter told him he thought the question was asked “in a joking fashion.”
Carrillo isn’t buying it. She said the waiter showed no hint of humor, just a “bad vibe.”
The restaurant contacted Carrillo and offered to donate 10 percent of this weekend’s sales to a charity of her choice and invited the four women to be VIP guests.
Carrillo said she declined the invitation but did accept the restaurant’s donation offer, asking that it go to Orange County Immigrant Youth United. The restaurant said it would comply.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7964, gmellen@scng.com ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites.
|
– You can expect your waiter to ask all kinds of questions when he approaches the table, but, "Can I see your proof of residency?" is not among them. Nevertheless, that's what four female diners experienced at the upscale Saint Marc restaurant in Huntington Beach, Calif., earlier this month, reports the Orange County Register. One of them, 23-year-old Brenda Carrillo, recalls to the Los Angeles Times that she was dumbfounded as the waiter elaborated, "I need to make sure you're from here before I can serve you." The four women complained to a manager and left the restaurant, and Carrillo's sister, Diana, then posted about their treatment online. After the post began drawing reactions, the restaurant apologized online and said the waiter had been fired. "In no way are the actions of this former employee representative of the Saint Marc brand nor are they reflective of the opinions of anyone else on our team, including executive management," said a restaurant statement. A Saint Marc exec says the waiter explained that he meant the question as a joke, but the women say he clearly did not. Saint Marc offered to bring the women back for VIP treatment and donate 10% of the night's proceeds to a charity of their choice. They declined the first but asked that the money go to a group that helps undocumented immigrants. The Carrillo sisters, described by Brenda as "light-skinned Latinas," do not fall into that category, for the record. They were born and raised in California. "It sends a chill through your entire body," says Diana of the incident. (Read another story of dining-gone-wrong in California.)
|
Afghan National army soldiers search a car at a checkpoint ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Oct. 20, at the Independent Election Commission compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct.... (Associated Press)
Afghan National army soldiers search a car at a checkpoint ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Oct. 20, at the Independent Election Commission compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (Associated Press)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The three top officials in Afghanistan's Kandahar province were killed when their own guards opened fire on them at a security conference Thursday, the deputy provincial governor said, and a Taliban spokesman said the target was Washington's top general in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, who escaped without injury, according to NATO.
Agha Lala Dastageri, Kandahar's deputy provincial governor, said powerful provincial police chief Abdul Raziq was among the dead, along with Kandahar Gov. Zalmay Wesa, who died of his wounds at a nearby hospital.
Dastageri said provincial intelligence chief Abdul Mohmin also died inside the governor's sprawling residence where the attack occurred.
Three Americans — a service member and two civilian workers — were wounded in the shooting, said U.S. Col. Knut Peters, a spokesman for NATO troops in Afghanistan. Their conditions were not immediately known.
"Gen. Miller is unhurt," said Peters. Miller is the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
It was members of Wesa's elite guard unit who turned their guns on their colleagues during a high-level security meeting ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections.
Khalid Pashtun, a member of parliament from the province, said Afghan Security Forces cordoned off the area and a U.S. military helicopter circled overhead as a gun battle that began at 3 p.m. local time raged on for more than one hour.
Peters said initial reports indicate one of the original attackers is dead. He had no further information.
In a telephone interview, the spokesman for the Taliban in Afghanistan's southern region, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said the Taliban carried out the attack. He said Gen. Miller was the target and said Raziq, the governor and the intelligence chief were killed.
Pashtun said an Afghan military corps commander was also among the dead, although he didn't name him.
An Interior Ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media said Raziq rarely visited the governor's residence and was meticulous about his own security.
Razik was a particularly powerful figure in southern Kandahar and a close U.S. ally despite widespread allegations of corruption. He ruled in Kandahar, the former Taliban heartland, with an iron fist and had survived several attempts to kill him, including one last year that resulted in the death of five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates.
Security has been steadily deteriorating in Afghanistan with increasingly brazen attacks being carried out by insurgents and Afghanistan's security forces have been on high alert ahead of Saturday's elections.
The Taliban have threatened the polls and warned teachers and students not to participate in the vote and not to allow schools to be used as polling centers. The insurgents said in a statement Wednesday that they will target Saturday's elections, which they view as illegitimate, but that they do not want to harm civilians.
Meanwhile, a NATO convoy was attacked late Wednesday near the Afghan capital, killing two civilians and injuring five Czech troops, Afghan officials and the Czech military said Thursday.
The attack, which took place in the district of Bagram in Parwan province, also wounded three Afghan civilians, said Wahida Shakar, spokeswoman for the provincial governor.
Bagram is about 40 kilometers (24 miles) from Kabul and is also the home of a sprawling U.S. military base
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Of the five Czech soldiers, one was seriously injured when their vehicle overturned following the explosion. The soldier underwent surgery and the Czech military said he was not in life-threatening condition.
Earlier, NATO spokeswoman Sgt. 1st Class Debra Richardson had said three alliance service members were hurt in the bombing but didn't provide more details.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said an insurgent suicide bomber rammed his car into the NATO convoy.
The attack on the NATO convoy came at the end of a particularly violent day across Afghanistan as tensions are rising ahead of the country's parliamentary elections on Saturday.
A Taliban bombing in southern Helmand province killed a candidate running in the elections. The Taliban also attacked checkpoints in the northern Baghlan province, killing six policemen and wounding two others in a four-hour battle. Also, in eastern Maidan Wardak province, a suicide car bomber targeted a military vehicle, killing two Afghan army troops.
In recent months, Afghan troops have come under near-daily attacks. NATO troops, which handed over security to Afghan forces at the end of 2014, mostly train and assist with air power. So far this year, eight U.S. soldiers and three other NATO service members have died in Afghanistan.
___
Associated Press writer Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report. ||||| KABUL—One of southern Afghanistan’s most powerful political and military figures was assassinated Thursday and the top U.S. commander in the country escaped unharmed when bodyguards for the governor of southern Kandahar province opened fire following a meeting to discuss security preparations for this weekend’s parliamentary elections.
The Taliban, which has pledged to disrupt the elections set for Saturday, claimed responsibility for the attack. Gen. Abdul Razik, the Kandahar police chief who was killed, and the U.S. commander,...
|
– The top US commander in Afghanistan survived an assassination attempt Thursday, but a high-ranking Afghan official was killed. US Army Gen. Scott Miller was not injured in the attack in Kandahar City, which took place after a meeting to discuss security ahead of Saturday's national elections, reports the Wall Street Journal. However, the assault in which bodyguards for a regional governor opened fire did kill Kandahar's police chief, Gen. Abdul Raziq, described by the Journal as "one of southern Afghanistan's most powerful political and military figures." One other Afghan official was killed, the regional governor critically wounded, and three Americans—a service member and two civilians—were also hurt, per the AP. The New York Times calls the attack "one of the most devastating Taliban assassination strikes of the long Afghan war," and the Taliban confirmed afterward that Miller and Raziq had been the targets. The assault took place at the regional governor's compound. "When the high-ranking participants were heading to helicopters, an enemy infiltrator opened fire on them,” says an Afghan government official. The 39-year-old Raziq was a controversial figure, seen as crucial in maintaining order in the region but also accused of human rights abuses and corruption.
|
Watch Queue Queue
Watch Queue Queue Remove all
Disconnect ||||| Sitting in the coveted second-place spot as votes continued to roll in for the crowded New Hampshire Republican primary, Ohio Governor John Kasich Tuesday night presented himself as a compassionate alternative in what has become a negative campaign.
Though he was well behind Donald Trump in the first-in-the-nation primary, Kasich said he saw the results as a sign that “the light overcame the darkness of negative campaigning.”
A strong finish could help Kasich gather momentum as he moves on to other primary states.
Advertisement
Kasich, a former chairman of the House Budget Committee and a moderate conservative, described “magic in the air with this campaign.”
Get Today in Politics in your inbox: A digest of the top political stories from the Globe, sent to your inbox Monday-Friday. Sign Up Thank you for signing up! Sign up for more newsletters here
“In this campaign, I’ve become convinced even more about what it takes to win a political campaign and what it takes for somebody to be a leader,” he said. “It’s not just what’s up here in the head, it’s also what’s deep in here in the heart.”
Kasich, who said via Twitter he would head to South Carolina to continue his primary bid, saved some tough talk for the Democratic candidates for president.
He said he believed Sanders would speak Tuesday night until he turned 77 (Sanders is 74), and urged Hillary Clinton to move on because her campaign hadn’t worked in New Hampshire.
“It’s not going to work here for them next fall,” Kasich said, “because I’m coming back to New Hampshire.”
Advertisement
Kasich, a former Lehman Brothers employee and nine-term House member, has stood back from joining attacks on his Republican opponents, priding himself on his “positive campaign” efforts, but he still has taken at least a few shots at Democrats.
“I am for Bernie being president of Ben and Jerry’s,” Kasich, who finished eighth in the Iowa caucuses, said this week.
Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com . Follow him on Twitter @steveannear .Andy Rosen can be reached at andrew.rosen@globe.com . Follow him on Twitter at @andyrosen ||||| Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersPro-Clinton Super-PAC launches 2 ads against Trump Reid blames Sanders supporters for disruptions at Nev. convention Overnight Finance: House unveils 2M Zika bill | GOP hasn't given up on budget | New phase in Puerto Rico fight MORE told a screaming crowd at his New Hampshire headquarters that his victory over Hillary Clinton Hillary Rodham ClintonPro-Clinton Super-PAC launches 2 ads against Trump Overnight Healthcare: Zika fight enters new phase Democrats’ promises same as past utopian efforts — they will fail MORE in the state's primary was the result of excited voters he said could be mobilized in a general election.
"What happened here in New Hampshire in terms of the enthusiastic and aroused electorate ... that is what will happen all over this country," Sanders said.
ADVERTISEMENT Surrounded by supporters chanting "we don't need no super-PAC," the Vermont Independent declared, "It is just too late for the same old same old establishment ... the American people want real change."
"The government of our great country belongs to all the people and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors and their super-PACS."
Sanders began speaking to the crowd a little more than an hour after The Associated Press called the race in his favor immediately after polls closed in New Hampshire.
Sanders reminded the crowd that just nine months ago they had no campaign organization and no money, "and we were taking on the most powerful political organization in the United States of America" — referring to the Clintons.
Sanders said he was going to New York City tonight and tomorrow but not to hold a fundraiser on Wall Street. He said he was instead going to hold a fundraiser "right here, right now, right across America," asking his supporters to go to his website and contribute.
The crowd cheered loudest when Sanders talked about a "yuge" voter turnout. "And I say 'yuuuge,'" he said, riffing on a line he used on Saturday Night Live with comedian Larry David.
"Yuge!" the Sanders supporters yelled. ||||| Bernie Sanders thrashed Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, an emphatic early triumph for a populist campaign long dismissed as an afterthought in the Democratic presidential primary.
The Vermont senator's dominant performance in his neighboring state could force Clinton's team to reassess its operations and solidify Sanders' candidacy as a serious threat for the nomination.
Story Continued Below
"The people of New Hampshire have sent a profound message to the political establishment, the economic establishment and by the way, to the media establishment," Sanders said in his victory speech. "What the people here have said is that given the enormous crises facing our country, it is just too late for the same-old, same-old establishment politics and establishment economics. The people want real change."
He warned his supporters that his win could augur an uglier phase of the race. “They are throwing everything at me but the kitchen sink, and I have a feeling that kitchen sink is coming soon," Sanders said.
With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Sanders led Clinton 60 percent to 38 percent. Sanders' senior strategist, Tad Devine, told POLITICO it “was, we believe, the biggest margin of victory in a contested Democratic primary in history."
Clinton sought to signal a new stage of her campaign as it looks to regroup for the March contests, which feature more diverse electorates that should aid her cause.
"It's not whether you get knocked down that matters, it's whether you get back up," she told supporters after calling Sanders to concede. She echoed many of Sanders' campaign themes — vowing to crack down on Wall Street, push for campaign finance reform and fight for women's rights, gay rights and workers' rights — but said that she could actually produce results.
“Now we take this campaign to the entire country," she declared. "We’re going to fight for every vote in every state. We’re going to fight for real solutions to make a difference in people’s lives.”
But the New Hampshire results were so convincing that the race was called as soon as the last polls in the state closed, and Sanders supporters were still making their way into Concord High School for his watch party. Cheers erupted and music blared when TVs showed him as the winner.
"Nine months ago, if you told somebody that we would win the New Hampshire primary, they would not have believed you," Sanders wrote in a fundraising appeal to supporters asking for $3 a pop. "Not at all. Too bold, they would have said. Not enough money to compete against the billionaires. You showed them tonight."
In her own message to supporters, Clinton wrote that she "[wished] tonight had gone differently."
"But I know what it's like to be knocked down -- and I've learned from long experience that it's not whether you get knocked down that matters. It's about whether you get back up," she wrote.
The Clinton campaign released a separate memo Tuesday evening mapping out the candidate's way forward.
"The nomination will very likely be won in March, not February, and we believe that Hillary Clinton is well positioned to build a strong – potentially insurmountable – delegate lead next month," campaign manager Robby Mook wrote in the memo, which touted the importance of next month and Super Tuesday in particular.
The campaign also emphasized Clinton's strength among Hispanic and African American voters, as well as her broader appeal beyond Iowa and New Hampshire.
"Additionally, as the campaign moves to states with a heavier presence of military personnel and veterans, Sen. Sanders should expect renewed questions about his foreign policy proposals and preparedness to be Commander-in-Chief," Mook wrote, also pointing to the campaign's "data-driven operation" to get out the vote in the months to come.
"We believe that Hillary’s unique level of strength among African Americans, Hispanics, women and working families of all backgrounds – combined with the most data-driven and targeted campaign ever waged – will net the delegates in March needed to put her on a clear path to the nomination," he wrote in the memo.
Exit poll data from NBC News suggested that 55 percent of primary voters had made up their mind before last month, while just 23 percent said they had waited until the last few days. CNN's exit poll data showed similar results.
Earlier Tuesday, Devine told MSNBC's "MTP Daily" that the margin of victory was important.
“Yes, I mean I think if we have a substantial victory, that will help us even more," he said, noting the importance of bringing in younger and independent voters."I think that’s an important case that we’d want to prove," he added.
Moments earlier, Mook told Chuck Todd that their operation is prepared for an "uphill climb" after Tuesday's primary.
Eight years ago, after a humbling third-place Iowa finish, Clinton staged a come-from-behind win in New Hampshire that rescued her campaign. This time, Clinton eked out a win in Iowa, but New Hampshire never looked nearly as kind to her.
For his part, Sanders achieved a bit of history with his victory, becoming the first Jewish candidate to win a primary, something that previous contenders such as Joe Lieberman, Arlen Specter and Milton Shapp were unable to achieve.
The high stakes for both sides in the first-in-the-nation primary have been on glaring display all week long.
In their first head-to-head debate last Thursday in Durham, New Hampshire, the two candidates dropped the comity of the first four debates for a bruising, two-hour rumble. In one memorable clash, Sanders attacked Clinton over her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs; Clinton responded that her rival was leveling a "very artful smear" of corruption against her: "Enough is enough," she admonished. "If you've got something to say, say it."
Since then, though, Clinton has been on the defensive. After being asked at the debate whether she would release transcripts of her paid speeches, at first she said that she would "look into" it, but then struck a less amenable tone. “Let everybody who’s ever given a speech to any private group under any circumstances release them,” Clinton told ABC. “We’ll all release them at the same time.”
Generational and gender tensions between the two candidates' supporters grew more pronounced over the weekend. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem declared to Bill Maher that young women are only supporting Sanders because "the boys are with Bernie," then later apologized. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, a Clinton surrogate, trotted out her maxim, "There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other." Sanders disavowed a group of supporters calling themselves "Berniebros," saying, "Anybody who is supporting me and doing sexist things, we don't want them."
Former President Bill Clinton got into the act, too, denouncing Sanders (without mentioning him by name) as "the champion of all things small and the enemy of all things big.”
Clinton had tried to tamp down expectations, saying some pundits have argued she would have been better off skipping the state. On Saturday, both candidates took brief detours from campaigning in the state: Clinton went to Flint, Michigan, to address the water crisis; Sanders traveled to New York City for a "Saturday Night Live" skit with his spot-on impersonator, Larry David.
Gabriel Debenedetti contributed reporting from Concord, New Hampshire. ||||| AP Photo Trump: 'We are going to win so much'
Donald Trump was magnanimous in declaring victory Tuesday night — but all signs of his immediate post-Iowa humility were gone.
Instead, he was back to boasting about "winning" and pledging to make American great again, while taking slams at Democratic winner Bernie Sanders and totally ignoring Hillary Clinton.
Story Continued Below
“We are going to start winning again and we are going to win so much," Trump said at his victory party in Manchester, two hours after news outlets declared him the victor in the New Hampshire GOP primary. "You are going to be so happy.”
He immediately blasted Sanders, who had given his own victory speech just before him.
“I heard parts of Bernie’s speech," Trump said. "He wants to give away our country, folks.”
But Trump also struck populist notes similar to those Sanders had sounded, trumpeting what he called his self-funded campaign and his independence from lobbyists and special interests. “I think one of the things that really caught on — self-funding my campaign,” Trump said.
“We are now going to make [deals] for your benefit," he added. "We are going to make the deals for the American people.”
Trump never mentioned Clinton, who trailed Sanders by more than 20 points with more than three-quarters of the results in.
He nodded only obliquely to his second-place finish in Iowa behind Ted Cruz.
"You know, we learned a lot about ground games in one week, I have to tell you,” he said.
Trump acted the part of the GOP front-runner at the start of his speech, thanking Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and congratulating the Republicans who had finished far behind him — though he quickly moved on. “Now that I got that over with...,” he said.
Trump reiterated many of the campaign pledges he's been making for months: rebuilding the military, taking care of veterans, protecting the Second Amendment and building a wall on the Mexican border.
“We’re going to build a wall," he said. "It’s going to be built. Believe it or not, it’s not even a difficult thing to do.”
He pledged to be "the greatest jobs president that God ever created" and cast doubt on the official unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, suggested that the real unemployment rate could be as high as 42 percent.
Trump thanked his parents, his siblings, his wife and his children, as well as his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and his spokeswoman, Hope Hicks.
He said his wife, Melania, "said right from the beginning, 'You know, if you run you know you’re going to win.'”
With 76 percent of the vote counted in the GOP primary, Trump was leading with 34 percent of the vote. John Kasich was in second with 16 percent, with Cruz, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio behind him.
|
– Donald Trump won the first electoral victory of his life Tuesday night and he promised supporters there would be many more to come. "We are going to start winning again and we are going to win so much," he said at his victory party in New Hampshire, per Politico. "You are going to be so happy." Trump—who cruised to victory with around 34% of the vote—went on to repeat campaign promises to build a border wall, "make America great again," and be the "greatest jobs president that God ever created." He also slammed fellow New Hampshire winner Bernie Sanders, accusing him of wanting "to give away our country." Here's what some of the other candidates had to say: Marco Rubio finally admitted that his debate performance on Saturday was a disaster, the Washington Post reports. "Our disappointment tonight is not on you—it's on me," Rubio, who finished in fifth, told supporters. "I did not do well on Saturday night, so listen to this: That will never happen again." During his victory speech, Bernie Sanders praised the "yuge" voter turnout and said that what happened in New Hampshire "in terms of the enthusiastic and aroused electorate" will happen all over America, reports the Hill. "The government of our great country belongs to all the people and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors and their super PACS," he said. In a fiery concession speech, Hillary Clinton vowed to "take this campaign to the entire country" and "fight for every vote in every state," reports Politico. "It's not whether you get knocked down that matters, it's whether you get back up," she said. Ted Cruz, claiming he was "effectively tied for third" in the New Hampshire race, congratulated Trump and John Kasich and thanked New Hampshire, telling supporters: "Your victory tonight has left the Washington cartel utterly terrified." After his second-place finish, Kasich told supporters that there was "magic in the air" and the "light overcame the darkness of negative campaigning," per the Boston Globe. "In this campaign, I've become convinced even more about what it takes to win a political campaign and what it takes for somebody to be a leader," he said. "It's not just what’s up here in the head, it's also what's deep in here in the heart."
|
What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, and where is it now?
Statistical tools can’t answer those questions any more definitively than Malaysian officials have. Yet they can help refine and focus the hunt for the plane and for a solution to the deepening mystery of its March 8 disappearance.
Bayesian statisticians are particularly helpful in a search operation. Their methods allow hunters to update their estimates of the probability of finding their target in any latitude-longitude combination — or even in three dimensions, accounting for depth in the water. Bayesians helped hunt U-boats in World War II, a U.S. submarine in the 1960s and an Air France jet in 2011.
There’s a fourth dimension to the current search: the cause of the disappearance. New developments, such as information about how the plane’s communication systems were shut off, have lowered the probability that the plane disappeared because of an accident and increased the likelihood of deliberate diversion. Which explanation is the current leader, in turn, affects the probability of finding the plane at any given location: A deliberate act has made spots farther from the takeoff point of Kuala Lumpur more likely.
Bayesian inference formalizes what will seem, to many unfamiliar with it, like common sense. Its founding principle is that most new situations can be assessed and assigned probabilities: How likely is this restaurant to be good? How likely is this cough to be a cold? How likely is Duke to win the NCAA title?
Our first estimate of these probabilities may be no better than an educated guess. For example, we know that 60 percent of our restaurant meals in town have been good, or that Duke has won titles in four of the last 25 seasons (16 percent).
Then we start layering new information. The restaurant is full. Now we can feel more confident in our choice: All of our good meals in town have been in full restaurants, but just half of our bad meals have been. What is the chance of a good meal, given that a restaurant is full? It’s 75 percent, based on this new information, since 75 percent of meals in full restaurants have been good. Before ordering, we check our favorite food-review website and see that the place has four and a half stars out of five. Every meal we’ve eaten at restaurants rated that highly has been good, but just half of our meals at restaurants with lower ratings have been. So we update our probability again, accounting for any overlap between full restaurants and highly rated ones — until we eat, when probability is no longer a relevant concept because our mouths are full.
Apply the same ideas to Duke, and you might examine the Blue Devils’ current ranking, their recent games, the probability FiveThirtyEight’s model and others assign to the team’s title hopes, and other tools to update that coarse, 16 percent probability.
These examples require calculation of a single probability. Targeting a search in an area requires a probability estimate for every point in that area, really a probability distribution. Initially, we might guess that the probability is uniform: The object of interest is equally likely to be at any point. Then we update that distribution based on new information, such as — in the case of a missing plane — flight path, wind, ocean flow and which areas have been searched already.
This approach has informed water searches for sunken treasure, for men overboard and for plane-crash debris, said Lawrence D. Stone, chief scientist at Metron Scientific Solutions, who has worked on many of these searches. Among them: the hunt for the remnants of Air France Flight 447, which crashed in 2009 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, killing all 228 people on board.
Stone and his team’s methods helped inform a fifth Air France search two years after the crash, after four other efforts failed. Within six days, they found the wreck, and helped to show that the crash likely occurred because of pilot error in response to autopilot mode disengaging. After waiting nearly two years to understand their relatives’ disappearance, passengers’ families finally had answers. “We were very pleasantly surprised,” Stone said by email. “It doesn’t always happen this way.”
Among the challenges is finding basic information about which areas have already been searched. “Search managers typically assume the search will be resolved quickly; only when it drags on do they realize they should have employed better record-keeping from the start,” Colleen M. Keller, a Metron senior analyst who worked with Stone on the Air France hunt, said by email. “Without good records, it will be very difficult for us to reconstruct and credit the current search effort.”
Even with ample data, Bayesian hunters must quantify subjective judgment, “using expert testimonies and imagination,” as Nozer Singpurwalla, a professor of risk analysis and management science at the City University of Hong Kong, put it in an email.
The Metron team outlined its success in a paper that makes plain the subjectivity inherent to the approach. For instance, the team had to account for the possibility that an earlier search covered an area including the wreckage site but missed it. So they examined each prior search, one by one.
In the second search, in June and July 2009, two U.S. Navy ships listened for acoustic signals from beacons on the flight data recorder (also called the black box) and the cockpit voice recorder. Searchers designed the ships’ path to ensure that they got within 1,730 meters (a little over a mile) of every point in the area of the Atlantic they were scanning. Metron searchers had to calculate the probability that this search failed not because it was in the wrong area but because the beacons malfunctioned. This step alone, critical in determining how likely it was that a repeat search in that area would yield the wreckage, required several intuitive estimates, or educated guesses, if you like.
First, the scientists calculated the probability the beacon would be heard within 1,730 meters as at least 90 percent. Then they capped that probability at 90 percent, based on learning from past searches that “detection estimates based on manufacturers’ specifications and operator estimates tend to be optimistic.”
“I had been burned a couple of times before by optimistic sensor performance estimates,” Stone said.
Next they had to account for the possibility the beacons had been damaged in the crash. This, too, required extrapolating from past crashes, which yielded an 80 percent probability each beacon was unscathed. But how close together were the beacons — and if one beacon was damaged, was the other more likely to be? Or was the probability of either one being damaged independent? The scientists figured there was a 25 percent chance of independence and 75 percent chance of dependence. That, in turn, yielded a probability of 77 percent that if the wreck were in that area, the beacon search would have turned it up. And that was just one piece of one adjustment to the scientists’ estimate of where they might find the plane wreckage.
This method may sound like making up numbers, but to advocates of Bayesian techniques, applying a rigorous framework to expert subjective judgment is valuable. “This is one of the strengths of the Bayesian method,” Stone said. “We did not have a thousand examples of AF447-like crashes to guide us. This is when the Bayesian approach is most useful.”
There are far fewer than 1,000 examples of past missing airplanes to guide the current search — just 80 since 1948, according to the Aviation Safety Network. Only two planes in the last seven years disappeared for at least 10 days: Adam Air Flight 574, in 2007; and Air France Flight 447. That makes subjective judgment a crucial input into the search, whether it’s being done qualitatively, or quantitatively using Bayesian methods.
Keller said Metron isn’t involved in the Malaysia Airlines hunt. If it were, the same principles would apply: Start with all data, such as radar, visual or acoustic measurements, transmissions from the plane and so on. Then update to account for unsuccessful searches, and keep updating as new information comes in. “Bayesian search theory allows flexibility in this way and even accommodates conflicting information,” Keller said. “Nothing is discounted.”
The extra layers of complexity in the Malaysia Airlines search — the new estimates of the plane’s location, mounting evidence that a deliberate act caused the disappearance — complicate the Bayesian calculations and estimates.
Bradley Efron, a Stanford University statistician, said the complications make Bayes a bad fit for the Malaysia Airlines hunt. “Bayes’ Rule is good for refining reasonable (or at least not unreasonable) prior experience on the basis of new evidence,” Efron, who also expressed skepticism to Al Jazeera America, wrote in an email. “It is not good when new evidence changes the situation drastically.”
But Tony O’Hagan, professor emeritus of probability and statistics at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., said that’s the perfect situation for Bayesian techniques, which should make searchers most effective in adapting to changing information, so long as they properly assume from the get-go that the plane might not be in the initial search area.
Other advocates of Bayesian stats pointed to their usefulness in bringing discipline to what can be a difficult search process. Citing the work of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky on decision-making, O’Hagan said, “People have two modes of thinking. There’s a quick, instinctive mode and a slow, thoughtful mode. When problems are important enough, we need to force ourselves into the second mode — and Bayesian methods are exactly what we need.” He added, “It is likely that Bayes’ theorem would adjust faster than people would tend to do using quick-mode thinking” — because people can get locked into their quick conclusions, while Bayes slowly and steadily tacks.
Arnold I. Barnett, a statistician at the MIT Sloan School of Management, worries that people who use the tools without fully understanding them may be led astray, “that the very act of quantifying a probability obscures the point that the numerical estimate is itself subject to uncertainty,” he said. “Thus the estimate might be taken more literally than is warranted.”
Despite the widespread use of Bayesian methods in searches, not every airline or government uses them — there’s no evidence the Malaysian government nor Malaysia Airlines has in the current search, though they are getting help from a team of French government investigators who worked on the Air France hunt. (The Malaysian embassy in Washington, D.C., didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment, and calls to the embassy on Monday yielded an automated reply that the office was closed because of snow.)
“I suspect that they just guess, like professional baseball managers used to do before ‘Moneyball,’” said Peter Thall, a biostatistician at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
CORRECTION (March 18, 11:30 a.m.): An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Metron joined the search for Air France Flight 447 two years after the crash. Metron joined earlier; a search based on its Bayesian calculations that found the wreck began two years after the crash.
CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this article garbled an example of Bayesian inference about choosing a restaurant. The example should have said that meals were good at half of restaurants with ratings below four and a half stars, not that half of lousy meals have been good. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption Members of the Brazilian Frigate Constituicao recovering debris in June 2009
Statisticians helped locate an Air France plane in 2011 which was missing for two years. Could mathematical techniques inspired by an 18th Century Presbyterian minister be used to locate the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370?
In June 2009, Air France flight 447 went missing flying from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Paris, France.
Debris from the Airbus A330 was found floating on the surface of the Atlantic five days later, but the mystery of why the plane crashed could only be answered by finding the black box and the cockpit voice recorder.
You may think that having found the debris it would be easy to find the rest of the plane, but it's not that simple - after a number of days, the material would have moved with the ocean current.
Software does exist that can simulate how the debris has travelled from the initial impact. It is used regularly by the US Coast Guard.
But in this case, because this area near the equator is known for unpredictable currents - particularly at that time of year - it was no help.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Debris from the Air France crash is laid out for investigation in 2009
American, Brazilian and French ships, planes and submarines all searched for the plane, but they couldn't find it.
At this point France's aviation accident investigation authority, BEA, made a call to a group of statisticians in the US who had expertise in finding objects lost at sea.
Senior analyst Colleen Keller flew to France to help.
More or Less: Behind the stats Listen to More or Less on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, or download the free podcast Download the More or Less podcast More stories from More or Less
"The French BEA had already done a wonderful job of coming up with different theories for why the aircraft might have crashed," she says.
They also had lots of data about historical crashes and the results of the searches that had already been carried out.
To turn all this information into numbers and probability, Keller and her team from Metron Inc in Virginia, relied on Bayesian statistics named after a British Presbyterian minister called Thomas Bayes.
This type of thinking allows you to assess various scenarios at once - even contradictory ones. The probability of each being true is brought together to give you the most likely solution. And if you find new information, you can revise your model easily.
Keller and her colleagues went through all the available information and assessed the uncertainties of each piece of data - applying Bayesian principles of probability to work out the most likely location of the plane.
The team split up the search area into a grid, and applied to each cell a figure representing the probability that the plane would be found there.
Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption A Brazilian Air Force radar plane prepares to leave Fernando de Noronha airport to search for Flight 447
To calculate these figures, they first looked at the theories about what caused the plane to crash. For instance, they assessed the likeliness of various mechanical failures, and came up with a probability for each scenario.
They then assessed historical data from previous crashes, noting, for example, that planes were usually found very close to where they were last known to have been.
Finally, Keller and her team lowered the probability of the plane being found in locations that had already been searched.
"There are two components to Bayesian maths which make it unique. It allows you to consider all the data you have including the uncertainties which is very important because nothing is certain," says Keller.
"And to combine it all - it even allows you to combine views that contradict each other.
"For instance with the Malaysian search, you have that arc to the north and the arc to the south. It's either one or the other but it can't have gone both ways, but [Bayes] allows you to preserve all your theories and weight them."
The second benefit is that the Bayesian approach is very flexible, Keller says. It allows you to update your body of knowledge at any time. If something new comes up, you factor it in and update the probability map.
Image copyright EUMETSAT HO Image caption A 2009 infrared satellite image shows weather conditions off the Brazilian coast and the plane search area
In the case of the Air France plane, they could be sure that the plane had come down within a 40-mile radius of the last location pinged out by its on-board computer system.
Who was Thomas Bayes? Image copyright Other Born in London, 1702, the eldest of seven children
Studied logic and theology at University of Edinburgh from 1719 until 1722
Became the The Reverend Thomas Bayes, serving as minister in a Presbyterian chapel
But as a Nonconformist, he did not follow Church of England doctrines or practices
Best known for his mathematical work on probability, giving rise to Bayes' Theorem
Bayesian probability estimates are used all over the world, built into software that forecasts events including financial markets and weather
Died in Royal Tunbridge Wells in 1761
Yet this area was so huge that the investigators were struggling to know where to look.
The probability map Keller provided gave, by contrast, a much tighter area to search.
A team went out there, hoping that finally the mystery would be solved. But those hopes were dashed. There was no sign of the plane.
It seemed the statisticians could not help after all.
Some months later, though, Air France got back in touch and asked Keller to make one last attempt to analyse the data.
This time, she and her colleagues decided they were not happy with one of their initial assumptions.
The historical data showed that after a crash, the black box will be emitting a signal in 90% of cases.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, search teams had spent a lot of time sweeping the areas close to the last known location, listening for the ping of the black box or voice recorder.
They had heard nothing. So Keller and her team had decided there was a very low probability the plane would be found there.
But what if neither the black box nor the voice recorder were sending a signal?
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Alain Bouillard of the BEA speaking about the Air France 447 black boxes, found in 2011
The Metron statisticians now adapted their model to this possible scenario and came up with a new area of highest probability.
A team returned to the scene to look - and this time they found the plane.
The mystery of the crash was solved. The black box and voice recorder data appear to show that the pilots were given faulty speed readings, responded inappropriately, and lost control of the plane.
It's very likely if we don't get any breakthroughs, [Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is] at the bottom of the Indian Ocean and we will never find it, sadly Colleen Keller
"It still was a minor miracle that we found it," says Keller.
"It was lucky that the wreckage was on the bottom of the ocean floor, on a very sandy area. There were some areas down there that looked like the Himalayas - in terms of mountains, crags, and valleys."
If the plane had been in one of those areas, she says, "it could have been undetected forever".
Keller says she is not sure Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will be found.
"It's a big world out there. And I know people are saying - how could you possibly hide or not find a Boeing 777?
"[But] it's very likely if we don't get any breakthroughs, it's at the bottom of the Indian Ocean and we will never find it, sadly."
Even finding debris might not mean finding the bulk of the plane.
"If we found wreckage at this point, it would tell us it was in one body of water rather than the other," Keller says. "But it's so long since the plane would have crashed that I don't think the wreckage is going to be very helpful."
Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook
|
– Forget satellite images and aerial searches—the best way to find Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 may be with mathematical techniques dating back to the 18th century, the BBC reports. That's how Air France flight 447 was found in 2009, using "Bayesian statistics" to measure the probability of the plane being in one place or another. Named after Presbyterian minister and mathematician Thomas Bayes, the technique allowed experts to apply several factors to each point on a map: For example, what was the chance it crashed from mechanical failure? How far do planes tend to crash from their last known location? What was the chance that search teams missed debris in various locations? It's like picking a restaurant by balancing how full it is, what your favorite restaurant-review website says, and so on—except that experts hunting for Airbus A330 did that for each point where plane may have crashed in the Atlantic, Five Thirty-Eight notes. It was so hard that the US team of statisticians invited by France gave up, until they de-emphasized one statistic: that a plane's black box emits a signal after a crash 90% of the time. They changed their findings, and presto, the plane was found. Bayesian techniques have helped people find World War II U-boats, men overboard, and sunken treasure, but there's no evidence that Malaysia is employing them now. "I suspect that they just guess, like professional baseball managers used to do before Moneyball," says a biostatistician.
|
Fry's fury over article comments
Stephen Fry said he was portrayed as the "antichrist" after he was apparently quoted claiming the only reason women slept with men is that "sex is the price they are willing to pay for a relationship".
The Observer said the "uncharacteristically extreme comments... denote a marked break in tone from a man whose public schtick tends towards inoffensive charm and gently upmarket wit".
It said the remarks are "likely to be roundly dismissed by those who have embraced the idea of women's ability to have unemotional, uncommitted sex as an empowered lifestyle choice".
Fry, 53, used his favourite medium, micro-blogging site Twitter, to offer his response, posting: "So some paper misquotes a humorous interview I gave, which itself misquoted me and now I'm the Antichrist. I give up."
Shortly afterwards, the broadcaster and writer, who has almost two million followers, added the simple message: "Bye bye."
Fry's magazine article comments set the Twittersphere alight. Danny Mercer wrote: "I love Stephen Fry but WHAT comments to make. I'm willing to accept he was misquoted but ... how badly can you be misquoted?! Daft."
The Observer was quoting Fry from an interview he gave to gay magazine Attitude in which he is reportedly said: "If women liked sex as much as men, there would be straight cruising areas in the way there are gay cruising areas... It doesn't happen. Why? Because the only women you can have sex with like that wish to be paid for it."
Matthew Todd, editor of Attitude magazine, told the Guardian: "Stephen Fry wasn't making any judgment about that, or saying it was a good or a bad thing, he was just pondering why that may be."
Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved. ||||| Exactly a year to the day since he threatened to leave Twitter because he thought there was "too much aggression and unkindness around", Fry posted "Bye Bye" on his account.
The tweet to his 1,910,676 followers came after Fry claimed he was misquoted over comments suggesting that women were incapable of enjoying sex.
The openly homosexual broadcaster, who claimed he was celibate for 16 years, finding the idea of sex disgusting, said it was clear that women had no interest in sex from the fact that they do not go out seeking casual encounters in graveyards or on Hampstead Heath.
He claimed that women only go to bed with men “because sex is the price they are willing to pay for a relationship”.
Fry’s remarks have been branded “rubbish” and "madness" by feminists who have questioned his qualifications for making pronouncements on female sexuality.
The 53-year-old, who hosts the popular quiz show QI on BBC1, launched the bizarre tirade in an interview published in the November issue of Attitude magazine.
He said: "If women liked sex as much as men, there would be straight cruising areas in the way there are gay cruising areas. Women would go and hang around in churchyards thinking: 'God, I've got to get my f------- rocks off', or they'd go to Hampstead Heath and meet strangers to shag behind a bush.
“It doesn't happen. Why? Because the only women you can have sex with like that wish to be paid for it."
He continued: "I feel sorry for straight men. The only reason women will have sex with them is that sex is the price they are willing to pay for a relationship with a man, which is what they want.
“Of course, a lot of women will deny this and say, 'Oh no, but I love sex, I love it!' But do they go around having it the way that gay men do?"
Germaine Greer, the eminent feminist author and academic, said Fry’s remarks were “gratuitous” and accused the broadcaster of having “delusions of grandeur”.
She said: “Stephen Fry is clearly under a delusion that he is an authority on female sexuality. Well, if he thinks that women are not interested in genital encounters with total strangers then he is absolutely right. But to conclude that we are therefore uninterested in sex is madness.
“It is true that men have an interest in a kind of sex which women find infinitely depressing, and it’s true that women really don’t want to hang around toilets hoping that someone will come along and play with their bits. That is not what passion is about for us and we would be placing ourselves in mortal danger if it was.
“Women have an idea of passion which men like Stephen can’t even begin to imagine. What women yearn for is intimacy. The fact that for women sex is an integral part of closeness doesn’t mean we are any less interested in it.’
Rosie Boycott, the feminist journalist, also denounced Fry’s outburst as “rubbish”.
She said: “Women are just as capable as men are of enjoying sex. We don't go cruising or cottaging on Hampstead Heath because we don't need to.”
Paul Flynn, the journalist who interviewed Fry, said: "I thought it was quite an odd generalisation to make at the time, but he delivered it with certainty and it was clearly something he'd thought about."
Fry also used his interview to disclose details of the “extraordinary underworld” of cottaging – anonymous sex between homosexual men in public lavatories - with which he was “slightly obsessed” in his youth.
RELATED PRODUCT
|
– Britain's most popular tweeter has apparently quit Twitter after being lambasted for comments about women's sexuality. Actor Stephen Fry tweeted "Bye Bye" to his 1.9 million followers after he claimed he was misquoted in a magazine interview that women don't enjoy sex. According to the interview, the homosexual celebrity, 53, said women obviously aren't interested in sex because they don't seek out casual encounters on the street, reports the Telegraph. He said women only have sex because that's "the price they are willing to pay" for a relationship. "If women liked sex as much as men, there would be straight cruising areas in the way there are gay cruising areas," the magazine Attitude quotes him as saying. "Women would go and hang around in churchyards thinking: 'God, I've got to get my f****ing rocks off', or they'd go to Hampstead Heath and meet strangers to shag behind a bush." He added: "I feel sorry for straight men." Fry insists he was misquoted in the story that triggered a firestorm of criticism, though he hasn't clarified his comments. "Now I'm the AntiChrist," he complained. (Click here for a list of celebs who should quit Twitter.)
|
Destiny: The Prime Minister, David Cameron, knows that he has just 18 weeks until the General Election to drill home his message – or see his political career finished
At 30,000ft above Cornwall, flying towards a crucial Election battleground, immaculate in suit and blue tie, it is strange to hear the Prime Minister talk about cleaning out stinking drains over Christmas.
A domestic emergency forced David Cameron to roll up his sleeves and stick his arm down a U-bend in the pipes at his Oxfordshire house.
‘Unblocking a lot of drains is not my strong suit but the kitchen, bathrooms, everywhere... our house is falling apart,’ he explains.
The British economy will be a trickier fix, he acknowledges, and DIY Dave’s mantra is that only he has the tools to save us.
The Prime Minister knows that he has just 18 weeks until the General Election to drill home that message – or see his political career finished before he is 50. Worst of all, he would go down in history as the man who lost to Ed Miliband.
Launching his bid for another five years in Downing Street in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Mr Cameron:
Vows to ‘hit the ground running and hard’ if he is re-elected, introducing reforming legislation on education and welfare within the first 50 days.
Warns German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of discussions this week on Britain’s future in the EU that he is prepared to take Britain out of Europe, saying: ‘If I don’t get what is needed, I rule nothing out.’
Is so close to the American President that Obama calls him ‘bro’.
Reveals that he authorised the removal from the Tory candidates list of an aide to Home Secretary, and future leadership prospect Theresa May.
Tells Boris Johnson that he will have to wait for a Cabinet seat.
And claims that Labour’s budget plans will cost £13.5billion extra just in interest payments on the deficit, more than the police budget.
As he surveys the green patchwork of fields and villages across the United Kingdom where he needs to win enough votes to avoid disaster, he says starkly: ‘The choice is competence or chaos.’
Drain duty aside, Cameron had a very merry Christmas. He cooked, went for bicycle rides and long walks (‘to run off the mince pies’), played winter tennis with his son Elwyn on the court which Tony Blair had specially renovated, found Downton Abbey too long but watched a re-run of Out Of Africa with four-year-old daughter Florence falling asleep on his lap (‘nothing nicer in the world’).
There was only one major work interruption, a quick dash to London over ebola. After turkey at Chequers, it was home to Chipping Norton.
As Father Christmas (he claims that all his children, even his ten-year-old daughter, still believe), he delivered stockings.
‘We always, on Christmas morning, have the stockings opened all in our bed. It’s my favourite hour of the year.’
His gift from his wife Samantha was a casserole dish – ‘we exchanged practical presents’ – while he gave her the latest Nick Hornby, Funny Girl, before immediately borrowing it back.
Scroll down for video
Passionate: The Prime Minister, right, spells out his plan to to The Mail on Sunday editors Geordie Greig, left, and Glen Owen
What has not changed is his quirky music sense. Two years ago, it was a Swedish folk band, First Aid Kit. His new favourite is Nick Mulvey, a folk singer who trained in President Castro’s Cuba – ‘a bit grungy, I admit’. Picture the PM in apron, stirring the beef bourguignon in time to a song called Cucurucu.
A big change in the Cameron holidays this year was that he was also chief supervisor for the children’s homework. He discovered the modern way of calculating long division and hated it.
‘What was wrong with the old way?’ he asks. It is clearly something his new Education Secretary Nicky Morgan may well be looking into.
This is the most important Election for a generation, a real choice between continued competence or disaster David Cameron
‘It’s very confusing as suddenly your children look at you and say why are you doing it in a totally different way.’
His Christmas reading was dominated by Do No Harm, a frank memoir by Henry Marsh, an outspoken brain surgeon, whose opening line is: ‘I often have to cut into the brain and it is something I hate doing.’
It is an intriguing choice, because the NHS is one of the main subject areas – Europe and the threat from Nigel Farage’s Ukip are the others – which the PM appears reluctant to dwell on.
The party’s campaign chief, Lynton Crosby, has been emphatic in his advice to Mr Cameron: if the election is dominated by the economy, you will win.
If it becomes mired in rows about Brussels, or protecting the NHS, Ed Miliband will enter Downing Street.
Mr Cameron is on a plane to cover as much ground as possible in a day, taking in marginal seats in Cornwall and Yorkshire.
Chancellor George Osborne meanwhile is campaigning against Vince Cable in Twickenham.
Focused: The Prime Minister's election campaign is firmly concentrating on the economy
Today, Mr Miliband unveils his predictable core strategy – that the NHS is not safe in Tory hands.
The Battle for Britain has begun. Cameron passionately argues that the country’s future prosperity has never been more at risk.
His message is simple and he is sticking religiously to it: if Labour get in they will wreck the economy.
‘This is the most important Election for a generation, a real choice between continued competence or disaster.
'This is all about security from the Conservatives and the chaos you’d get from everybody else. If you lose control of your debt and deficit, you get massive cuts in things such as health and education. You get appalling insecurity, jobs lost, firms going overseas.’
He is an extraordinarily assured politician, with a grasp of detail on everything from local planning in Cornwall to employment legislation in Yorkshire, allied to an almost messianic drive to win.
Cameron said: ‘Samantha is passionate about me continuing what I am doing. The Government has done a good job but it isn’t finished'
His confidence is particularly impressive given that he is in the fight of his political life. Even if he does defy the polls to win on May 7, Tory rebels are poised to strike –either if the margin is so slim he is forced into another Coalition with the Lib Dems, or because he campaigns to stay in Europe on terms which the Tory Right find unacceptable.
With his Old Etonian schoolfriend Boris Johnson on the brink of returning to Westminster, and growing speculation about the leadership ambitions of Mrs May, Tory MPs openly discuss the prospect of Mr Cameron stepping down halfway through the next Parliament after a victory.
According to this theory, if the 2017 referendum on our membership of the EU goes against Mr Cameron, he would be forced to resign. But if he won, he would also think it was the right time to attempt to pass the leadership mantle to Mr Osborne.
The Prime Minister says not: he is committed to serving a full, five-year second term. And if he wins in May, he will ‘hit the ground running and hit it hard’, legislating on school and welfare reforms within the first 50 days.
He says he is fully backed by his wife. ‘Samantha is passionate about me continuing what I am doing. The Government has done a good job but it isn’t finished. We have to see it through, that is her strong view.’
Mrs Cameron, the 43-year-old ‘First Lady’, is key to understanding the Prime Minister, who next year will celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary.
When he lies awake in the middle of the night, worrying about whether to send in the special forces to rescue a hostage, she is the first person he turns to.
‘She has very good judgment. I talk to Samantha about the most difficult decisions, life and death situations such as rescuing hostages or putting troops potentially in harm’s way. You worry a lot. It is a very turbulent night when something like that is going to happen.
‘There is a whole process in Cobra (the emergency committee) and listening to military advice, but in the end I make the decision.’
He adds dotingly: ‘If she’d organised Napoleon’s march on Moscow, they would have reached Vladivostok in good time. This year she did a lot of the Christmas shopping but I tried to make up for it with some cooking.’
And the secret to their marriage?
‘We love each other, that’s a good start. We try not to go to bed on an argument and we spend time together and don’t take it for granted.’
The dreaded European issue will take centre stage next week when Cameron meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel in London
THE PRIME MINISTER ON...
Taking hostage-rescuing advice from Sam 'I talk to her about the most difficult decisions. There is a process in Cobra [but] she has very good judgment' Boris joining Cabinet after a victory in May 'Boris can do almost anything. I am sure there will be an opportunity... in time' His close relationship with Obama 'Yes, he sometimes calls me 'Bro' Gay weddings 'Lots of people have invited me. I’m sure I will go to one soon'
Last week saw the first gay marriages in Scotland and his legislation on the issue is something of which he is proud.
Not that he has yet attended a gay wedding. ‘Lots of people have invited me and sent me lovely letters saying if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to marry the person I love. But I haven’t been to one yet. I’m sure I will soon.’
So did he do it for libertarian reasons? ‘No, I’m not a libertarian. I believe in it as a man who believes in family and marriage. I don’t see why gay people who love each other shouldn’t be able to as well.’
The dreaded European issue will take centre stage next week when Cameron meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel in London.
She has made it clear she will not countenance any prospect of heeding reformist Tory calls to rip up the European Union’s principle of freedom of movement to give the UK more power to block immigration from the rest of the EU.
The Prime Minister has pledged that if EU leaders do not give Britain more control over certain policy areas – his so-called ‘red lines’ – then he will not tell the country to back continued membership of the EU in the 2017 vote.
Merkel’s agreement is essential to his ‘red lines’ and it will be on the table for their meeting. ‘I am sure it will be part of our discussions,’ he says.
‘The most important thing of all is being able to make changes to the welfare system. The key areas are safeguarding the single market, getting out of ever closer union, being able to veto regulations and a package of measures on welfare.
If you look at the reaction to my welfare speech in Germany and one or two European capitals, you will see they gave it a broad welcome. Germany wants Britain to stay in Europe.’ Striking a defiant note, he declares: ‘If I don’t get what is needed, I rule nothing out.’
Is it true that up to nine members of his Cabinet want to be free to campaign for an ‘Out’ vote in the referendum?
‘That’s news to me,’ he insists.
His relationship with Washington is less fraught. Obama rings and now calls him ‘bro’ – far better than George W Bush’s patronising ‘Yo, Blair’.
The leaders of the Right in the UK and the Left in the US found strong common ground. Like most Prime Ministers, he likes their approbation. ‘The President has said the special relationship is stronger than it has ever been privately and in public and I agree.’
Friends: Cameron said Obama rings and now calls him ‘bro’ – far better than George W Bush’s patronising ‘Yo, Blair’
Unveiling the Tories’ campaign poster in Halifax, Cameron is focused on the single message: It is all about the economy. He worries about Britain’s fortunes going down the drain without DIY Dave and his team there to keep everything flowing.
The big number he bandies about is the £13.5 billion in extra interest.
‘That is the difference between the two parties in what it would cost Britain if we went with Labour’s plans. It’s like going on a spending binge with a credit card and having absolutely no idea how you are going to meet the interest. That is what Labour are about. They have learnt absolutely nothing in the past five years. It’s still more borrowing, more spending, more debt. That is totally unfair on future generations, let alone our own generation. I think its utterly irresponsible.’
Cameron boasts of record employment and a responsible stewardship of the UK economy out of the disaster created by Labour overspending. But is he blue enough for the Tory heartland?
‘Of course I am. I am a very instinctive Conservative. I have created a welfare system where it pays to work. I have created independent schools within the state sector bringing excellence to children wherever they are. Labour are naïve in thinking they can build a stronger country on a whole lot of debt.’
Cameron is careful to praise Boris Johnson as his Old Etonian schoolfriend is on the brink of returning to Westminster
He is ready to roll out his plans for the first 50 days, new laws and incentives to roll back the frontiers of the state. But he will not be drawn on any specific so early in the Election race. ‘On tax cuts, we have set out our plans that you should be able to earn £12,500 before you pay any tax at all and you should be earning £50,000 before you pay the 40p rate. We couldn’t be clearer.’
Several Ministers believe Cameron is yet to play his Election trump card, a cut or perhaps even the abolition of inheritance tax. If so, he is not showing his hand today.
‘I want to go through the stages of people’s lives – making sure they can get a job, cutting taxes so you keep more of your own money, more school places. That might sound prosaic but to me it is what politics is about, public service.’
He remains fundamentally opposed to the state taking more than it needs of taxpayers’ hard-earned money and he detests the idea of a wealth tax, or Mansion Tax as Labour calls it, which has so spectacularly backfired in France.
‘That [tax] is alive and part of Ed Balls’s plan for Britain. Having a homes tax like that is wrong. Extracting money from people every year in respect of the same asset is wrong. People have worked hard all their lives and put their money in this asset. This Government has done a lot to make sure wealthy foreigners pay their taxes.
‘But if you want to be successful you have also got to make sure your country is attractive to invest in.’
With some simmering signs of a potential leadership fight within the Tory ranks after the Election, Cameron is lightly dismissive.
He is careful to praise Boris Johnson and Theresa May, but reveals that he authorised the removal last month of May’s close aide Nick Timothy from the list of Tory candidates at the next Election for not campaigning for the party in the Rochester by-election. If selected, Mr Timothy would have been in prime position to run a May leadership bid.
The fact about Boris is he can do almost anything, as I have discovered. What happens to him after the Election will have to be discussed
‘We had to apply a rule fairly that everyone on a candidates list has to canvass in a by-election.’ Was he consulted about Mr Timothy’s removal? ‘I am consulted about everything.’
And he makes no promise of an early Cabinet seat for the London Mayor. ‘The fact about Boris is he can do almost anything, as I have discovered. What happens to him after the Election will have to be discussed. He has an enormous talent.
‘I’m delighted he is coming back to the House. I hope I played a role in helping him do that. He is an absolute star. He wants to focus on being Mayor because he will be an MP and Mayor but I am sure in time there will be an opportunity for him to serve in other ways.’
This Election is the first where social media will play a crucial role. On Friday, Cameron was asked to do more than a dozen selfies in as many minutes.
‘The danger is everything becomes an obsession for five minutes, rather than getting to the heart of the issues,’ says the man who famously posed for one at Nelson Mandela’s funeral.
Actually, he often grabs the cameras to expedite the selfie process and knows it is the best way to get his presence out beyond the traditional campaign trail.
But it is the deficit and the spectre of Labour as debt gorgers to which he keeps returning for lasting effect. ||||| Barack Obama is so close to David Cameron that the US President calls him "bro", the Prime Minister has revealed.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, Mr Cameron described the famously “special�? relationship between Washington and Westminster as “stronger than it has ever been, privately and in public,�? and that during phone calls Obama refers to him as “bro�?.
For those less well-versed in youth vernacular, the Urban Dictionary helpfully defines the term as describing “an alpha male idiot�? or “obnoxious partying males often seen at college parties�?.
“Bro�? may also describe a type of bra designed specifically for men.
However, perhaps it should be assumed Obama uses it as a term of endearment, to mean close pals or “brothers�?.
Either way, it can be seen as a step forward from George W Bush’s condescending idiom: “Yo, Blair.�?
As if we needed any more proof of the blossoming bromance, here are some pictures of the transatlantic “bros�? looking all buddied-up.
|
– The "special relationship" between the US and the UK is still back-slappingly good, according to David Cameron. President Obama has said "the special relationship is stronger than it has ever been privately and in public and I agree," the British prime minister tells the Daily Mail, revealing that Obama sometimes calls him "bro" when they talk on the phone. The term is more commonly associated with frat boys than world leaders, but the Independent has decided it's still "a step forward" from George W. Bush's "condescending" greeting for Tony Blair: "Yo, Blair!" In the Mail interview, Cameron, who faces a tough election battle in May, also discusses gay marriage—he's proud of introducing the legislation and says he will probably attend a same-sex wedding soon—and his own marriage. He says Samantha Cameron is the first person he turns to for advice on difficult decisions like sending in special forces to rescue hostages. "If she'd organized Napoleon’s march on Moscow, they would have reached Vladivostok in good time," he says.
|
Freedom Industries Inc., facing multiple lawsuits and state and federal investigations after the Jan. 9 spill, filed a Chapter 11 petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of West Virginia.
Company president Gary Southern signed the paperwork, which lists the company's assets and liabilities as a range — both between $1 million and $10 million. It says the company has at least 200 creditors and owes its top 20 creditors $3.66 million.
The water was tainted after a chemical used to clean coal leaked from a storage tank and then a containment area at a facility owned by Freedom Industries. The water ran into the Elk River, contaminating the state's largest water system.
The bankruptcy document says the leaky storage tank appears to have been pierced through its base by some sort of object. It also says a current theory for the hole is that a local water line that broke near the Charleston plant could have made the ground beneath the storage tank freeze in the cold days before the spill.
After the spill, residents in a nine-county area around the state capital of Charleston were told not to use the water for anything other than flushing toilets. Some businesses and schools were forced to close for several days. The water restrictions have since been lifted for most residents.
The terminal that leaked had not been inspected by state officials since 2001, when it was owned by a different company operating under more stringent rules. State officials said Freedom Industries bought the terminal last month.
|
– Being implicated in the contamination of a state's water supply is not so good for business. Freedom Industries, the company whose tank leaked a chemical into the Elk River in West Virginia, filed for bankruptcy today, reports the Charleston Gazette. The move for Chapter 11 protection comes amid of flood of lawsuits from businesses and individuals who had to go without municipal water for several days. Most of the 300,000 affected residents have water again. The company listed its liabilities at a maximum of $10 million, which might be wishful thinking. "I think they underestimated the liabilities just a tad," an attorney who filed a class-action suit against the company deadpans to the Wall Street Journal. In its filing, the company shed a little more light on what it thinks happened: A water line broke during "extraordinarily frigid temperatures," and that made the ground freeze beneath a storage tank. The tank then got punctured by an unknown object, reports AP. "Authorities have taken note of a hole in the affected storage tank that appears to have come from an object piercing upward," the filing reads.
|
Story highlights Four of the eight explosions take place at the Mahabodi complex
The temple houses a tree where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment
Suspicion falls on the Islamist group Indian Mujahideen
A series of small bombs went off in and around a world-famous Buddhist temple in eastern India Sunday, injuring two people, authorities said.
Four of the eight explosions occurred at the Mahabodhi temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Bihar state that houses a tree where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.
The temple itself was not damaged.
The other four blasts hit other sacred locations around Mahabodhi, said Bihar police official S.K. Bhardwaj.
A 50-year-old Tibetan and a 30-year-old Myanmar national were injured in the attack, Bhardwaj said.
While no one took responsibility for the attack, suspicion fell on the home-grown Islamist group Indian Mujahideen, Bhardwaj said.
The group, designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, is blamed for dozens of deadly bomb explosions throughout India since 2005. ||||| Image caption The Bodh Gaya temple complex is one of the oldest in India
A series of blasts has shaken India's holiest Buddhist shrine, where the Buddha himself is said to have gained enlightenment, police have said.
Two people were injured in nine explosions in the Bodh Gaya temple complex, in northern Bihar state.
Police described the bombs as low-intensity timed devices. Windows and one door in the complex were damaged.
The Indian government said the blasts were a terror attack. No group has said it was responsible.
Witnesses said some of the bombs exploded close to the Bodhi tree, thought to be a descendant of the one that the Buddha sat under when he achieved enlightenment, according to tradition.
Police said there was no damage to the tree.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned the blasts, saying: "Such attacks on religious places will be never be tolerated."
The Bodh Gaya complex is one of the oldest Buddhist sites in India. It was listed as a world heritage site by the UN cultural organisation Unesco in 2002.
Correspondents say attacks on Buddhists are rare in India, but there have been recent Muslim-Buddhist tensions in nearby Burma (also called Myanmar), Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, went on a quest for enlightenment some time in the 5th or 6th Century BC. He is said to have achieved it while sitting under the Bodhi tree (tree of awakening).
There are currently some 376 million followers of Buddhism worldwide.
|
– Two people were injured as a number of small bombs hit a major Buddhist temple yesterday in eastern India. The Mahabodhi temple complex, home to a tree where Buddha is said to have reached enlightenment, was struck by at least four blasts, but the temple wasn't damaged, CNN reports—nor was the tree, though bombs reportedly went off nearby, the BBC adds. Several other explosions hit sacred spots near the UNESCO World Heritage Site, in India's Bihar state, police say. The injured were a Tibetan, 50, and a Burmese national, 30. No group took responsibility for the attack, but authorities suspect Indian Islamist group Mujahideen.
|
The world’s ugliest color has been described as “death,” “dirty” and “tar,” but this odious hue is serving an important purpose: discouraging smoking.
Pantone 448 C, a “drab, dark brown” also called “opaque couché,” was specifically selected after three months and multiple studies by research agency GfK. The agency was hired by the Australian government to find a color that was so repugnant that if it was on tobacco products, it would dissuade people from smoking.
A man smokes a cigarette on September 25, 2014 in Paris, holding a sample of a "plain cigarette packaging" cigarette box (THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images) THOMAS SAMSON—AFP/Getty Images
The new color was adopted for all tobacco packaging along with graphic health warnings. Now, other governments are following suit. The United Kingdom, Ireland and France have all passed “plain packaging” laws as well, using mockups using the same murky color. Ugly never looked so good.
Gifts: The 100 Most Influential Images of All Time ||||| Key facts and figures on tobacco sales, consumption and prevalence
Tobacco sales and excise
$5.135 billion in September 1959;
$3.720 billion in December 2012; and
$3.260 billion in December 2015.3
Know your limits – changes to Australia’s duty free tobacco allowance
Smoking prevalence rates
ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2014-15
the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over who were daily smokers was 38.9% in 2014-15, down from 44.6% in 2008 and 48.6% in 2002;
in 2002, 51% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males aged 15 years and over were daily smokers, the daily rate declined to 46% in 2008 and to 41% in 2014-15;
in 2002, 47% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females aged 15 years and over were daily smokers, the daily rate declined to 43% in 2008 and to 36% in 2014-15;
fewer young people are starting to smoke with a significant decrease in daily smoking rates of those aged 15-24, down to 31% in 2014-15 from 39% in 2008; and
the data indicates that the majority of the change in daily smoking rates has occurred in non-remote areas (37% of people aged 15 years and over smoking daily in 2014-15, down from 48% in 2002), compared with remote areas (47% smoking daily in 2014-15, down from 50% in 2002).
ABS National Health Survey: First Results, 2014-15
14.7% (age-standardised) of adults aged 18 years and over smoked daily (approximately 2.6 million smokers), decreasing from 16.1% in 2011-2012;
16.9% of males and 12.1% of women smoked daily;
16.3% of 18-44 year olds smoked daily;
12.7% of adults aged 45 years and over smoked daily;
31.4% were ex-smokers;
52.6% had never smoked;
people living in Outer Regional and Remote areas of Australia had higher rates of daily smoking at 20.9% compared to people in Inner Regional areas at 16.7% and Major Cities at 13.0%; and
21.4% of people living in areas of most disadvantage smoked daily compared with 8.0% who live in areas of least disadvantage.
Table 1: Comparison of adult daily smoking rates, 18 years and older, from 2001 to 2014-156
2001* 2004-05* 2007-08* 2011-12* Males 27.2 26.2 23.0 18.3 Females 21.2 20.3 19.0 14.1 Total % 22.3 21.3 19.1 16.3
Australian Secondary School Students’ use of tobacco in 2014
smoking among 12 to 15 year olds is at its lowest level since 1984, when the survey began;
there was a significant decrease in the youth smoking rate (12-17 year olds). In 2014, 5% were current smokers which is significantly lower than the 7% found in both 2011 and 2008; and
more youth have no experience with smoking in their lifetime: 94% of 12 year olds and 61% of 17 year olds.
National Drug Strategy Household Survey detailed report 2013
daily smokers aged 14 years or older in Australia declined from 16.6% in 2007, to 15.1% in 2010 and 12.8% in 2013; and
daily smokers aged 18 years or older, declined from 17.5% in 2007, to 15.9% in 2010 to 13.3% in 2013.
young people are delaying commencing smoking – the average age at which 14 to 24 year olds smoked their first full cigarette increased from 15.4 years of age in 2010 to 15.9 years of age in 2013;
the proportion of 12-17 year olds who had never smoked in 2013 remained high at 95%;
the proportion of 18 to 24 year olds who have never smoked increased significantly between 2010 and 2013, from 72% to 77% respectively;
people aged 18 to 49 years of age were far less likely to smoke daily than they were 12 years ago;
the average number of cigarettes smoked per week has decreased from 111 cigarettes in 2010 to 96 cigarettes in 2013; and
16.5% of smokers (14 years or older) reported using unbranded tobacco in their lifetime with 3.6% using unbranded tobacco (half the time or more) in 2013, declining from 4.9% in 2010.
Table 2: Decrease in Australian Smoking prevalence 1991 to 20139, 10
1991 1993 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 14+ yrs 24.3 25.0 23.8 21.8 19.4 17.5 16.6 15.1 12.8# 18+ yrs 25.0 26.1* 25.0 22.7 20.0 18.2 17.5 15.9 13.3#
Specific population groups6
Remoteness
People aged 14 years or older, living in remote and very remote areas, were twice as likely to have smoked daily in the previous 12 months as those in major cities: 22% compared with 11.0%.
The proportion of people aged 14 years or older smoking daily rose with increasing remoteness: 11.0% in major cities; 15.4% in inner regional; 19.4% in outer regional; and 22% in remote and very remote areas.
Socioeconomic and employment status
People (14 years or older) living in areas with the lowest socioeconomic status (SES) were 3 times more likely to smoke daily than people with the highest SES, 19.9% compared with 6.7%, but there were significant declines in daily smoking in both these groups between 2010 and 2013.
The declines in daily smoking seen nationally were also seen among employed people but there were no significant changes in the smoking behaviour of unemployed people who were unable to work between 2010 and 2013.
People aged 14 years or older, who were unemployed, were 1.7 times more likely to smoke daily and those who were unable to work were 2.4 times more likely to smoke daily.
Compared to 2010, employed people aged 14 years or older were less likely to smoke daily in 2013, down from 16.1% to 13.5% respectively.
Table 3: Comparison of 2010 and 2013 State and Territory tobacco smoking status, people aged 14 years or older, by sex and jurisdiction (age-standardised).11, 12
2010 NSW Vic QLD WA SA Tas ACT NT National Males 15.6 15.0 18.4 17.5 17.1 16.1 12.0 27.5 16.4 Females 12.9 14.7 15.0 13.6 13.1 15.8 10.1 16.8 13.9 Persons 14.2 14.9 16.7 15.6 15.0 15.9 11.0 22.3 15.1
2013
2013 NSW Vic QLD WA SA Tas ACT NT National Males 13.3 14.0 17.0 15.7 12.9 19.8 9.6 23.6 14.6 Females 10.3 10.6 13.3 8.9 13.0 13.1 9.7 17.6 11.2 Persons 11.8 12.3# 15.2 12.3# 13.0 16.5 9.7 20.8 12.9#
Figure 1: Smoking prevalence rates for 14 years or older and key tobacco control measures implemented in Australia since 19906
Tobacco control timeline
1973 – health warnings first mandated on all cigarette packs in Australia.
1976 – bans on all cigarette advertising on radio and television in Australia.
1986 to 2006 – phased in bans on smoking in workplaces and public places.
1990 – bans on advertising of tobacco products in newspapers and magazines published in Australia.
1992 – increase in the tobacco excise.
1993 – Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 prohibited broadcasting and publication of tobacco advertisements.
from 1994 to 2003 – bans on smoking in restaurants.
1995 – nationally consistent text-only health warnings required.
1998 to 2006 – bans on point-of-sale tobacco advertising across Australia.
2006 – graphic health warnings required on packaging of most tobacco products.
2010 – 25% increase in the tobacco excise.
2011 – first complete State or Territory ban on point-of-sale tobacco product displays.
2012 – offence for any person to publish tobacco advertising on the internet or other electronic media.
2012 – introduction of tobacco plain packaging, and updated and expanded graphic health warnings.
2013 – changes to the bi-annual indexation of tobacco excise and the introduction of the first 12.5% tobacco excise increase on 1 December.
2014 –12.5% excise increase on 1 September.
2015 –12.5% excise increase on 1 September.
2016 – release of the Post Implementation Review of Tobacco Plain Packaging.
2016 –12.5% excise increase will be implemented on 1 September.
Tobacco plain packaging
Share this page
Each year, smoking kills an estimated 15,000 Australiansand costs Australia $31.5 billionin social (including health) and economic costs.The Australian Government and state and territory governments, through the Council of Australian Governments, have committed by 2018, to reduce the national adult daily smoking rate to 10% and halve the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult daily smoking rate (from 47% in 2008).Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show the total consumption of tobacco and cigarettes in the December quarters from 2012 to 2015, as measured by estimated expenditure on tobacco products:Tobacco clearances data (including excise and customs duty) are an indicator of tobacco volumes in the Australian market, and provide a useful approximation of tobacco consumption over time. Treasury has advised that tobacco clearances fell by 3.4% in the 2013 calendar year relative to the 2012 calendar year and fell a further 7.9% in the 2014 calendar year. As at the end of 2014, tobacco clearances had fallen a total of 11.0% since 2012.These tobacco clearance rates do not take into account refunds of excise equivalent customs duty made under Customs’ plain packaging related Tobacco Refund Scheme between December 2012 and May 2013. These refunds cannot be related to annual net clearances on a comparable basis to other data used to derive tobacco clearance rates.The tobacco excise rate was indexed to average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) from 1 March 2014 and there have been three of four 12.5% increases in the tobacco excise rate (1 December 2013, 1 September 2014, 1 September 2015) implemented. The next 12.5% increase will occur on 1 September 2016.As part of Health initiatives announced in the 2016 Budget, the Australian Government is reducing the allowable amount of duty free tobacco for travellers arriving in Australia.From 1 July 2017, travellers aged 18 years and over can only bring 25 grams of duty free tobacco, plus one open packet, into Australia. The tobacco can be in any form (cigarette, loose leaf and so on) and is equivalent to approximately 25 cigarettes.If you have more than this amount, you will be required to pay duty on all tobacco in your possession, unless you agree to dispose of the excess.Please ensure you are familiar with duty free limits when travelling to Australia.For more information on duty free limits, as well as what you can and cannot bring to Australia visit the Duty free concession page on the Department of Immigration and Boarder Protection website.There are a number of sources the Government relies on to monitor smoking rates, including data from national surveys conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), and drug and alcohol information collected nationally from secondary school students by the Cancer Council Victoria.On 28 April 2016, the ABS released the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2014-15.The survey was conducted from September 2014 to June 2015 with a sample of 11,178 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in private dwellings across Australia. The report shows that in 2014-15:On 8 December 2015, the ABS released the National Health Survey: First Results 2014-15.The survey was conducted in all states and territories and across urban, rural and remote areas of Australia (other than very remote areas) from July 2014 to June 2015, and included around 19,000 people in nearly 15,000 private dwellings. The report shows that in 2014-15:On 24 November 2015, the Cancer Council Victoria released the 2014 Australian secondary school students’ use of tobacco report.The survey included over 23,000 secondary aged students aged between 12 and 17 years of age during months of June to December of the 2014 academic school year. The report shows that in 2014:On 25 November 2014, the AIHW released the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey detailed report (2013 NDSHS).The survey collected data from 23,855 people across Australia aged 12 years and over living in private dwellings. The report shows that in 2013:Other 2013 NDSHS findings included:The 2013 NDSHS results do not reflect any impact from the Australian Government’s 1 March 2014 change to bi-annual indexation of tobacco excise or the first of four 12.5% excise increases on tobacco products which took effect on 1 December 2013.Australia’s low smoking rate is the result of sustained, concerted and comprehensive public policy efforts from all levels of government and action from public health organisations.Further information on the impact of tobacco plain packaging in Australia is available on the Evaluation of Tobacco Plain Packaging in Australia page ||||| Tweet with a location
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Find another color PANTONE 448 C
*Before using, understand that the colors shown on this site are computer simulations of the PANTONE Colors and may not match PANTONE-identified color standards. Always consult PANTONE Publications to visually evaluate any result before utilization. ||||| (CNN) Can the sight of a greenish-brown color really be enough to deter smokers from reaching for their next pack of cigarettes?
Lawmakers in the UK hope the "world's ugliest color" will be helpful in lowering smoking rates in their country. In May, previously passed legislation will go into effect requiring all packs of cigarettes to be standardized. Tobaccos products will be stripped of brightly colored branding and replaced with a sludge-like color.
But does the stripped-down, "ugly" packaging really reduce smoking?
Researchers from the UK and Canada summarized several studies that look at the impact of tobacco packaging on consumer attitudes and behavior. Their findings were published today in a Cochrane Review
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, co-author of the review, noted that "the evidence we have so far suggests that standardized packaging may reduce smoking prevalence and increase quit attempts."
The UK law, passed last year, is similar to a cigarette standardization plan Australia enacted in 2012, which also features graphic health warnings and standardized fonts.
The muddy color -- Pantone 448C -- was chosen after marketing research company GfK Bluemoon was commissioned to develop ideas for unappealing cigarette packing. The agency asked Australian smokers about colors they found unappealing and overwhelming. Pantone 448 C was later named "the world's ugliest color."
Respondents reportedly associated the color with the words "dirty," "tar" and "death."
I used to feature so much in all your 70s couches, curtains and wallpapers. What did I do to deserve this? — Pantone 448 C (@Pantone448C) August 17, 2012
Deterring bathroom breaks
Cigarette and tobacco packaging is not the first time the murky shade has been used in an attempt to turn people away from certain behaviors. According to Angela Wright, a color consultant and author of "The Beginner's Guide to Colour Psychology," the technique has been around for decades.
She cites American color consultant Faber Birren, who in the 1960s devised a way to stop department store employees from taking lengthy bathroom breaks.
"The company asked him, 'Can you improve the working area so they don't have to leave all the time and use the restrooms?' " Wright said.
"Birren actually took a different view and painted the restrooms in a color similar to Pantone 448C. And nobody wanted to spend time in the restrooms after that."
This is just one of the many examples that the "world's ugliest color" has been used to minimize appeal to control human behavior.
Is Pantone 448C really that bad?
What makes Pantone 448C so off-putting? Wright said she believes it's the association with human waste.
"It makes perfect sense that smoking packets would use a vile green that looks like bodily fluids and makes people feel slightly nauseated," she said.
But not everyone agrees.
France will also introduce plain cigarette packaging.
"I actually quite like the color," said psychologist Dr. Carolyn Mair of the London College of Fashion, UAL. "It's an earthy, muted, rich color, very much of nature. But then I also don't smoke."
Color in advertising
The use of color can play a key role in brand perception among the public.
"Blue is often used in services such as banking and law because of its association with loyalty, honesty and reliability," Mair said. Red meanwhile "raises the pulse rate ... and communicates strength and high energy," Wright said.
Color associations Red: Strength, energy, passion Blue: Focus, loyalty, calmness Yellow: Ego, optimism, openness Green: Balance, youth, eco-friendly Purple: Luxury, femininity, glamour Sources: Angela Wright, Carolyn Mair
"Football teams who have red uniforms are giving themselves more physical energy but also communicating to the opposite team that they are powerful and strong."
And purple has connotations with luxury, Mair said.
"Think of Cadbury chocolate (which has a purple logo). At least when it started out, it had the association with a glamorous, smooth, feminine brand," she added.
Color combinations can also have powerful connotations.
In the UK, the Esso petrol logo features red, white and blue -- much like many national flags, including those of the United States, Great Britain and France.
"So this combination can result in an instinctive loyalty," Wright said.
The eye of the beholder
That said, perception also plays a huge role -- as seen in Wright's and Mair's different responses to Pantone 448C.
"Red could be seen as aggressive and demanding -- or as exhilarating and exciting," Wright said. "Similarly, blue could be perceived as calming and well-thought-through -- or excessively bureaucratic and emotionless."
Wright sees the overwhelming color of our times as a bleak gray.
"Gray is the color of austerity," Wright said. "And we're going to keep wearing gray until we feel better financially."
That is, unless you feel compelled to lighten things with a splash of Pantone 448C. ||||| It’s none of these. They’re too pretty (Picture: Getty)
A team of experts spent three months trying to determine the world’s ugliest colour.
And, after detailed research into which colours generated the most negative reactions among the general public, the dubious honour goes to Pantone 448C, also known as opaque couché – a sludgy brown colour that was alternately described by respondents as ‘tar’, ‘dirty’ and even ‘death’.
Charming.
But why, you might well ask, are a team of experts throwing so much shade at a colour that was already pretty dreary to begin with?
The world’s most off-putting colour (Picture: Getty)
Well, because researchers believe it may be the key to cutting cigarette sales.
Back in 2012, researchers at Gfk Bluemoon were commissioned by the Australian government to design new packaging aimed at discouraging people from buying cigarettes.
So, they set out to find the most offensive and unappealing shade in the colour spectrum to put on the packets.
Over 1,000 smokers took part in seven studies over a period of three months to identify the ugliest colour, with opaque couché coming out on top (or bottom, depending on how you look at it).
World's ugliest colour, Pantone 448C (opaque couché), helps reduce smoking rates down under: https://t.co/jvTGv8wfiu pic.twitter.com/ImE6ZKASpi — SPHR@Cam (@SPHRcam) June 1, 2016
Other colours that turned smokers off included lime green, beige, white, mustard and dark gray. Medium olive was also considered a front-runner until it was rejected in the final stages for being ‘too classy’.
But, after three months, Pantone 448C was judged the ultimate turn-off and used to cover cigarette boxes across Australia.
And now, after the use of the new and very unexciting packaging has shown early success in curbing cigarette sales Down Under, the UK, Ireland and France have all developed plainer cigarette packaging, featuring, you’ve guessed it, Pantone 448C.
The new packaging, featuring the world’s ugliest colour (Picture: Getty)
The new packets launched on May 20.
Proving, once again, that beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder.
MORE: Finally, the world’s favourite colour has been revealed
|
– In 2012, a marketing research company determined Pantone 448 C (aka "opaque couché") was the world's ugliest color—and it's been used to try to save lives ever since. Per the Guardian, GfK surveyed 1,000 smokers back then to find out which hue turned them off the most, and this Pantone pick—a greenish-brown blend that survey participants said reminded them of "death" and "tar"—emerged the winner. Time notes the agency had been commissioned by the Australian government to find a color so repellent it could be used on cigarette packaging to discourage people from lighting up. The new color was found to have the most ability to "minimize appeal" and "maximize perceived harm" and was implemented on plain cigarette packs with health warnings across Australia, the Brisbane Times reported at the time. Early results are now in, and it appears the color that CNN describes as "sludge-like" may have made an impact: Cigarette sales have fallen, and now other countries such as the UK, France, and Ireland are following suit, per Metro. So what is it about the color that makes it such an effective sales deterrent? A color consultant tells CNN it may be the strong resemblance to, well, poop. But not everyone's on board with trashing opaque couché. Pantone sniffs to the Guardian, "At the Pantone Color Institute, we consider all colors equally," noting that the color's "deep, rich earth tones" make it a oft-chosen pick for sofas. But perhaps the saddest entity of all? The long-silent Pantone 448 C Twitter account, which back in 2012 reacted to the news of its denigrated status by tweeting, "I used to feature so much in all your 70s couches, curtains, and wallpapers. What did I do to deserve this?" (Speaking of ugly, this dating site rejects ugly people.)
|
MURRYSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Flailing away with two kitchen knives, a 16-year-old boy with a "blank expression" stabbed and slashed 21 students and a security guard in the crowded halls of his suburban Pittsburgh high school Wednesday before an assistant principal tackled him.
Alex Hribal, the suspect in the multiple stabbings at the Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa., is escorted by police to a district magistrate to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 9, 2014,... (Associated Press)
Alex Hribal, the suspect in the multiple stabbings at the Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa., is escorted by police to a district magistrate to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 9, 2014,... (Associated Press)
Westmoreland County emergency management spokesman Dan Stevens, left, looks on as Franklin Regional School District Superintendent Gennaro Piraino pauses while addressing the media during a news conference... (Associated Press)
A parent holds hands with a Franklin Regional High School while picking up the student after more than a dozen students were stabbed by a knife wielding suspect at the school on Wednesday, April 9, 2014,... (Associated Press)
Students walk past a row of buses as they leave the campus of the Franklin Regional School District after more then a dozen students were stabbed by a knife wielding suspect at nearby Franklin Regional... (Associated Press)
A man and woman walk away from Franklin Regional High School after more then a dozen students were stabbed by a knife wielding suspect at the school on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Murrysville, Pa., near... (Associated Press)
Students and guardians walk to their car from the Franklin Regional Middle School after more then a dozen students were stabbed by a knife wielding suspect at Franklin Regional High School on Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
Emergency responders gather in the parking lot of the high school on the campus of the Franklin Regional School District where several people were stabbed at Franklin Regional High School on Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
Students are escorted from the campus of the Franklin Regional School District after more then a dozen students were stabbed by a knife wielding suspect at nearby Franklin Regional High School on Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
Alex Hribal, the suspect in the multiple stabbings at the Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa., is escorted by police to a district magistrate to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 9, 2014,... (Associated Press)
A police officer guards the entrance Heritage Elementary School as students are dismissed after more than a dozen students were stabbed by a knife wielding suspect at nearby Franklin Regional High School... (Associated Press)
A student and guardian walk to their car from Franklin Regional Middle School after more then a dozen students were stabbed by a knife wielding suspect at nearby Franklin Regional High School on Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
Mike Kane, a parishioner at the Newlonsburg Presbyterian Church in Murrysville, Pa., works on a sign outside his church that abuts the Franklin Regional School District campus, where more then a dozen... (Associated Press)
Alex Hribal, the suspect in the multiple stabbings at the Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa., is escorted by police to a district magistrate to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 9, 2014,... (Associated Press)
Parents arrive to pick up their children from a nearby middle and elementary school after more then a dozen students were stabbed by a knife wielding suspect at Franklin Regional High School on Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
At least five students were critically wounded, including a boy whose liver was pierced by a knife thrust that narrowly missed his heart and aorta, doctors said. Others also suffered deep abdominal puncture wounds.
The rampage — which came after decades in which U.S. schools geared much of their emergency planning toward mass shootings, not stabbings — set off a screaming stampede, left blood on the floor and walls, and brought teachers rushing to help the victims.
Police shed little light on the motive.
The suspect, Alex Hribal, was taken into custody and treated for a minor hand wound, then was brought into court in shackles and a hospital gown and charged with four counts of attempted homicide and 21 counts of aggravated assault. He was jailed without bail, and authorities said he would be prosecuted as an adult.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a message for comment.
The attack unfolded in the morning just minutes before the start of classes at 1,200-student Franklin Regional High School, in an upper-middle-class area 15 miles east of Pittsburgh. It was over in about five minutes, during which the boy ran wildly down about 200 feet of hallway, slashing away with knives about 8 to 10 inches long, police said.
Nate Moore, 15, said he saw the boy tackle and stab a freshman. He said he going to try to break it up when the boy got up and slashed his face, opening a wound that required 11 stitches.
"It was really fast. It felt like he hit me with a wet rag because I felt the blood splash on my face. It spurted up on my forehead," he said.
The attacker "had the same expression on his face that he has every day, which was the freakiest part," Moore said. "He wasn't saying anything. He didn't have any anger on his face. It was just a blank expression."
Assistant Principal Sam King finally tackled the boy and disarmed him, and a Murrysville police officer who is regularly assigned to the school handcuffed him, police said.
King's son told The Associated Press that his father was treated at a hospital, though authorities have said he did not suffer any knife wounds.
"He says he's OK. He's a tough cookie and sometimes hides things, but I believe he's OK," Zack King said. He added: "I'm proud of him."
In addition to the 22 who were stabbed or slashed, two people suffered other injuries during the melee, authorities said. The security guard, who was wounded after intervening early in the melee, was treated and released.
"There are a number of heroes in this day. Many of them are students," Gov. Tom Corbett said in a visit to the stricken town. "Students who stayed with their friends and didn't leave their friends."
As for what set off the attack, Murrysville Police Chief Thomas Seefeld said investigators were looking into reports of a threatening phone call between the suspect and another student the night before. Seefeld didn't specify whether the suspect received or made the call.
The FBI joined the investigation and went to the boy's house, where authorities said they planned to confiscate and search his computer.
"They are a very, very nice family. A great family. We never saw anything out of the ordinary," said John Kukalis, a next-door neighbor for about 13 years.
His wife, Sonya Kukalis, said: "It should be an eye-opener for everybody. Everyone always thinks it's the other neighborhood, the other town. We need to be kinder and show compassion to more people. Something must have been going on for him to do this."
While several bloody stabbing rampages at schools in China have made headlines in the past few years, schools in the U.S. have concentrated their emergency preparations on shooting rampages.
Nevertheless, there have been at least two major stabbing attacks at U.S. schools over the past year, one at a community college in Texas last April that wounded at least 14 people, and another, also in Texas, that killed a 17-year-old student and injured three others at a high school in September.
On Wednesday, Mia Meixner, 16, said the rampage touched off a "stampede of kids" yelling, "Run! Get out of here! Someone has a knife!"
The boy had a "blank look," she said. "He was just kind of looking like he always does, not smiling, not scowling or frowning."
Meixner and Moore called the attacker a shy boy who largely kept to himself, but they said he was not an outcast and they had no reason to think he might be violent.
"He was never mean to anyone, and I never saw people be mean to him," Meixner said. "I never saw him with a particular group of friends."
Michael Float, 18, said he had just gotten to school when he saw "blood all over the floor" and smeared on the wall near the main entrance. Then he saw a wounded student.
"He had his shirt pulled up and he was screaming, 'Help! Help!'" Float said. "He had a stab wound right at the top right of his stomach, blood pouring down."
Float said he saw a teacher applying pressure to the wound of another student.
About five minutes elapsed between the time the campus police officer summoned help over the radio at 7:13 a.m. and the boy was disarmed, the police chief said.
Someone, possibly a student, pulled a fire alarm during the attack, Seefeld said. Although that created chaos, the police chief said, it emptied out the school more quickly, and "that was a good thing that that was done."
Also, a girl with "an amazing amount of composure" applied pressure to a schoolmate's wounds and probably kept the victim from bleeding to death, said Dr. Mark Rubino at Forbes Regional Medical Center.
Public safety and school officials said an emergency plan worked as well as could be expected. The district conducted an emergency exercise three months ago and a full-scale drill about a year ago.
"We haven't lost a life, and I think that's what we have to keep in mind," said county public safety spokesman Dan Stevens.
___
Associated Press writers Mike Rubinkam in Allentown and Jesse Washington in Murrysville, Pa., and AP news researchers Judith Ausuebel and Barbara Sambriski contributed to this report. ||||| Story highlights The DA says 4 people are in critical condition, including one who was "eviscerated"
Alex Hribal, 16, faces 4 counts of attempted homicide, 21 counts of aggravated assault
Teachers use students' hoodies as tourniquets on injured teens, student says
An assistant principal tackled the accused attacker, authorities say
A teenage boy wielding two kitchen knives went on a stabbing rampage at his high school in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, early Wednesday, before being tackled by an assistant principal, authorities said.
Twenty students and a security officer at Franklin Regional Senior High School were either stabbed or slashed in the attack, Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck told reporters.
The accused attacker was been identified as 16-year-old Alex Hribal, according to a criminal complaint made public. Hribal, who was arraigned as an adult, faces four counts of attempted homicide, 21 counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a weapon on school grounds, the documents show.
"I'm not sure he knows what he did, quite frankly," Hribal's attorney, Patrick Thomassey, said, adding he would file a motion to move the case to juvenile court.
"...We have to make sure that he understands the nature of the charges and what's going on here. It's important that he be examined by a psychiatrist and determined where he is mentally."
A doctor who treated six of the victims, primarily teens, said at first they did not know they had been stabbed.
"They just felt pain and noticed they were bleeding," Dr. Timothy VanFleet, chief of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, told CNN.
"Almost all of them said they didn't see anyone coming at them. It apparently was a crowded hallway and they were going about their business, and then just felt pain and started bleeding."
Arguing against bail for Hribal, the district attorney told the court that four of the victims were in critical condition, including one who was "eviscerated." There's a question whether the victim will survive, Peck said.
Hribal is being held without bail at the Westmoreland County juvenile detention center.
Authorities have not detailed a possible motive in the attack, but the district attorney said in court the teen made "statements when subdued by officials that he wanted to die."
'Don't know what I got going down'
The carnage began shortly before the start of classes, when an attacker began stabbing students in a crowded hallway and then went from classroom to classroom.
Student Matt DeCesare was outside the school when he heard a fire alarm ring and then saw two students come out of the school covered in blood.
Then he saw teachers running into the building and pulling "a couple of more students out," he told CNN. The students had been stabbed.
To stanch the bleeding, the teachers asked the students for their hoodies.
"We all took our hoodies off and handed them to the teachers to use as tourniquets to stop the bleeding," he said.
Recordings of emergency calls released in the wake of the attack provide a soundtrack of sorts to the terror and chaos that played out inside the school.
"I don't know what I got going down at school here but I need some units here ASAP," one officer can be heard saying.
Minutes later in another call, another official, breathlessly, can be heard detailing casualties: "About 14 patients right now."
Then another call for help. "Be advised inside the school we have multiple stab victims," one of the officers said. "So bring in EMS from wherever you can get them.
'Saw the kid who was stabbing people'
Student Mia Meixner was standing at her locker.
"I heard a big commotion like behind my back," she told CNN. "And I turned around and I saw two kids on the ground."
She thought a fight had broken out, but then she saw blood.
"I saw the kid who was stabbing people get up and run away," she said.
Then she saw a girl she knew standing by the cafeteria. "She was gushing blood down her arm."
Meixner dropped her books and went to help the girl.
"I started hearing a stampede of students coming down from the other end of the hall, saying 'Get out, we need to leave, go, there's a kid with a knife.' Then a teacher came over to me and the girl I was trying to help. And she said she would handle the girl and that I should run out. So then I just ran out of the school and tried to get out as soon as possible."
Meixner never heard the attacker utter a word.
"He was very quiet. He just was kind of doing it," she said. "And he had this, like, look on his face that he was just crazy and he was just running around just stabbing whoever was in his way."
She said she didn't know the boy, but he had been in a lot of her classes. "He kept to himself a lot," she said. "He didn't have that many friends that I know of, but I also don't know of him getting bullied that much. I actually never heard of him getting bullied. He just was kind of shy and didn't talk to many people."
Hribal's attorney described him as a "nice young man," who has never been in trouble.
"He's not a loner. He works well with other kids," he said. "...He's scared. He's a young kid. He's 16, looks like he's 12. I mean, he's a very young kid and he's never been in trouble so this is all new to him."
At least a dozen FBI agents could be seen going in and out of Hribal's family home in the hours after the attack. Shortly before the agents arrived at the house, a man believed to be Hribal's father drove up.
"My prayers go out to everyone who was injured today, and I hope they recover as soon as possible," he told reporters.
Hribal's attorney said the family was upset by the allegations. "They did not foresee this at all," he said.
Tackled by an assistant principal
Assistant Principal Sam King is being credited with bringing to an end the 5-minute rampage that authorities say began about 7:15 a.m. ET.
King tackled the teen, Peck told reporters. A school resource officer was able to handcuff the suspect, Police Chief Thomas Seefeld said.
The accused teen was being treated for injuries to his hands, the chief said.
Police Officer William "Buzz" Yakshe, who also serves as a resource officer at the school, helped subdue the suspect, said Dan Stevens, the county deputy emergency management coordinator. Yakshe is "doing fine," Stevens said. "He's more upset than anything else over what happened, because these are his kids."
A fire alarm that was pulled during the attack probably helped get more people out of the school during an evacuation order, Seefeld said. Students were running everywhere and there was "chaos and panic."
JUST WATCHED Students stabbed at Pennsylvania school Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Students stabbed at Pennsylvania school 00:47
Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – Parents and students embrace near Franklin Regional High School, where authorities say at least 20 people were injured in a stabbing spree Wednesday, April 9, in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – Accused attacker Alex Hribal, 16, is escorted from a district magistrate after he was arraigned as an adult on April 9. He faces four counts of attempted homicide, 21 counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a weapon on school grounds, according to a criminal complaint made public. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – A police officer blocks the entrance to the school on April 9. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – Students leave the school's campus on April 9. Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – A police officer stands by the scene outside the high school on April 9. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – A woman walks onto the campus of the Franklin Regional School District on April 9. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – Students walk away from the campus on April 9. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – Emergency responders gather in the parking lot of Franklin Regional High School on April 9. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – Jenna Mickel, a sophomore at Franklin Regional High School, stands with her father, Richard, as she talks to reporters outside the school on April 9. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – Emergency responders gather in the high school's parking lot. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – A pair of women leave the school's campus on April 9. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school Stabbings at Pennsylvania high school – A Salvation Army disaster services vehicle drives past a school bus and onto the campus on April 9. Hide Caption 12 of 12
At one point, a female student applied pressure to the wounds of one of the male victims, possibly helping to save his life, said Dr. Mark Rubino, chief medical officer at Forbes Regional Hospital in nearby Monroeville, Pennsylvania, where seven teens were taken for treatment.
The students who were hurt range in age from 14 to 17, Stevens said. The injuries were stabbing-related, such as lacerations or punctures, he said.
'It doesn't happen here'
The attack in Murrysville is the latest in a string of school violence that has occurred across the nation. But mass stabbings, such as the one at the high school, are rare.
The attack has rattled the town, a residential enclave with a population of about 20,000.
A message on the Franklin Regional School District's website said all of its elementary schools were closed after the incident, and "the middle school and high school students are secure."
Franklin Regional Senior High will be closed "over the next several days," district school Superintendent Gennaro Piraino said. The district's middle school and elementary schools will be open Thursday, and counseling will be available for the whole district, he said.
Information on what led to the stabbings and the conditions of the injured are still unfolding.
Bill Rehkopf, a KDKA radio host and Franklin Regional High School graduate, called the stabbing shocking.
He said he kept thinking, "It doesn't happen here, it can't happen here."
|
– A student who was stabbed in the liver remains in critical condition following today's rampage at a high school in suburban Pittsburgh that left 23 others injured and a sophomore in custody. The suspect is 16-year-old Alex Hribal, and he has been charged as an adult with four counts of attempted homicide and 21 counts of aggravated assault. The motive remains unclear, but the AP says police are investigating reports of a threatening phone call between Hribal and another student last night. It wasn't clear which of the two made the call. The accounts of exactly what happened at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville are still unfolding, but authorities say assistant principal Sam King and a security guard at the school tackled and subdued the attacker in a hallway. Some other details emerging: The attack began in a classroom when Hribal pulled out two 8-inch kitchen knives and began slashing students, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He reportedly followed them as they fled into the hallway and stabbed others as he ran. During the assault, the attacker "was very quiet," student Mia Meixner tells CNN. "He just was kind of doing it. And he had this, like, look on his face that he was just crazy and he was just running around just stabbing whoever was in his way." A doctor at a nearby hospital said a female student with "an amazing amount of composure" likely saved the life of one of the more seriously injured male students by applying pressure to his wounds. That appears to be junior Gracie Evans, who recounts to the Pittsburgh newspaper: "My friend was on his stomach, and the other kid who was severely injured was told to sit up. I knew that wasn't right. I said to a few students, we need pressure on this wound, and they gave me some paper towels, and I held pressure on that wound for about 10 minutes." Authorities say 22 people were stabbed or slashed, all but one of them students, and two more students suffered other injuries in the chaos.
|
"To the world, Chernobyl and Fukushima seem like dangerous places, but for the people who live there, that danger is simply a fact of life," says photojournalist Michael Forster Rothbart, who spent two years cataloging the lives of people living in the shadow of nuclear accidents. These images are the result.
"Most photojournalists distort Chernobyl. They visit briefly, expecting danger and despair, and come away with photos of deformed children and abandoned buildings," Forster Rothbart says in his new book, Would You Stay? "This sensationalist approach obscures more complex stories about how displaced communities adapt and survive."
Forster Rothbart's book is about the relative normalcy of people's lives near Chernobyl and Fukushima. But he does find a lot of danger and despair, of course. Would You Stay? is full of people living with cancer. The towns around Chernobyl are depressed, and lacking opportunity. Young people leave if they get the chance. Many of the residents are older, with more invested in the area. In Fukushima, where the disaster happened more recently, people are living in a state of limbo, not knowing when, or if, they might be able to return to their homes.
Authorities ringed Chernobyl with four zones following the 1986 nuclear disaster. Nearest the site is the Exclusion Zone, where people are not supposed to live at all (though about 400 "self-settlers" do, and there's all kinds of "smuggling, research, farming, tourism, poaching" going on, Forster Rothbart says). Then come three further zones where "evacuation was merely encouraged, not mandatory." They contain 2,293 villages with about 1.6 million inhabitants.
Up to 3,800 people still work at the Chernobyl plant, "not doing very much." The site, which had three other reactors, stopped producing electricity in 2000. But workers have to stay while decommissioning is completed—a process that could take years due to chronic under-funding.
Forster Rothbart has seen the effects of environmental damage in Bhopal, India, Azerbaijan, and the Canadian Arctic. What separates Chernobyl and Fukushima, he says, is the insidiousness of the contamination. Nobody quite knows how it will affect them:
"When your home gets washed away, the damage you see is immediate and obvious," he says. "When you are hit by radiation, the consequences are never so clear. It’s all a game of probabilities. How much? How dangerous? How soon will it affect me?"
The people living around Chernobyl are still unsure about the risks 27 years after the fact. And now the same thing is happening Fukushima, though residents have access to daily radiation reports:
Says Forster Rothbart: "What I saw in Fukushima is that many evacuees are living in a state of limbo, still staying in temporary housing, waiting to learn if they’ll be able to return home, waiting for more answers that never seem to come." ||||| SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Ukraine’s looking toward the sun to put a radioactive wasteland back into business.
Thirty years after atomic fallout from the Chernobyl meltdown rendered an area the size of Luxembourg uninhabitable for centuries, Ukraine is seeking investors to develop solar power near the defunct Soviet reactors.
Sunshine is one of the only things that can be harvested from Chernobyl’s 1,000 square mile exclusion zone, where long-lasting radiation makes farming and forestry too dangerous. Save for the guards and workers who maintain the roadblocks and barriers, the area about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Kiev remains devoid of productive activities.
“The Chernobyl site has really good potential for renewable energy,” Ukraine’s environment minister Ostap Semerak, 44, said at an interview in London. “We already have high-voltage transmission lines that were previously used for the nuclear stations, the land is very cheap and we have many people trained to work at power plants.”
The move to solar at Chernobyl may also help Ukraine move closer toward the European Union and influence public opinion in conflict zones along the Russian border.
“We have normal European priorities, which means having the best standards with the environment and clean energy ambitions,” said Semerak. “We want to be a successful Ukraine, to show people in the conflict zone that life is better and more comfortable with us.”
Ukraine’s government remains in an uneasy cease-fire with Kremlin-backed rebels in the eastern region of Donbass along the Russian border. Both sides have struggled to implement obligations outlined under the Minsk Accords and international monitors still report outbreaks of violence, which has left thousands dead and displaced from their homes.
Until recently, Ukraine was heavily dependent on natural gas imported from Russia. The government has been weaning itself from over-reliance following consecutive winters when Russia threatened to withhold supplies because of payment disputes. Last year Ukraine more than halved consumption from its eastern neighbor, according to Ukrtransgaz PJSC.
With solar resources better than Germany’s, which has almost 39 gigawatts of panels installed, Ukraine is increasing its focus on renewables. The government’s initial 1 gigawatt solar target could cost about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).
Source: Solargis
The environmental ministry has received expressions of interest for its Chernobyl solar complex from two U.S. investment firms and four Canadian energy companies, Semerak said. Ukrainian developers plan to install 4 megawatts of panels on the site by year-end.
The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development is also considering financing, though the talks are at early stages.
“We can consider such projects like all other renewable projects subject to there being credible and viable investment proposals and all other environmental issues and risks can be addressed to our satisfaction,” said Sevki Acuner, the EBRD’s director for Ukraine.
If the project takes off, it may evolve into a bigger initiative that leverages the transmission lines with 4 gigawatts capacity that are already onsite -- a legacy of the nuclear plant.
Watch Next: Capturing Iceland's Winds ||||| Before the fire, the vomiting, the deaths and the vanishing home, it was the promise of bumper cars that captured the imagination of the boys.
It will be 30 years ago Tuesday that Pripyat and the nearby Chernobyl nuclear plant became synonymous with nuclear disaster, that the word Chernobyl came to mean more than just a little village in rural Ukraine, and this place became more than just another spot in the shadowy Soviet Union.
Even 30 years later – 25 years after the country that built it ceased to exist – the full damage of that day is still argued.
Death toll estimates run from hundreds to millions. The area near the reactor is both a teeming wildlife refuge and an irradiated ghost-scape. Much of eastern and central Europe continues to deal with fallout aftermath. The infamous Reactor Number 4 remains a problem that is neither solved nor solvable.
But on the night before their world changed, nothing seemed more important to the boys than shiny blue and yellow cars, with actual steering wheels, almost ready for a 10-year-old to drive.
They knew they would have to wait till May 1, 1986, for the bumper cars to be turned on – a seemingly impossible-to-live-through week away. So Alexandr Sirota and his friends couldn’t resist sneaking into the new park after dark, beneath the deep shadows of the yet-unblinking new Ferris wheel, and under the inky dark of what would soon be the electrified roof over the bumper cars.
“We’d sit in the cars and make car noises,” recalls Sirota, who’s now 40. “It was everything we could imagine wanting in life at that time. As young boys, our lives seemed perfect.”
It wasn’t just the new bumper cars, or the new amusement park. Their hometown, Pripyat, had been swampland 30 years before. Now it was a city built to serve the future. And the driver of that future was visible southeast of town, the four massive reactors of the Lenin Nuclear Power Plant, which in common parlance was called Chernobyl, for a village some 9 miles distant.
As the boys sat in the bumper cars, dreaming of the future, they knew what had to happen next. An adult would flip switches and draw some of the plentiful electricity a mile down the wires from the station, probably Reactor Number 4, as that was the nearest. The rest would be magic. Life would be magic.
Those were the thoughts that consumed Sirota’s dreams as he went to bed on April 25, 1986, and after he woke on April 26 and rushed off to School No. 1. Looking back ,it was the death of this dreamlike childhood that would come to haunt him – as much as the months of hospitalizations, as much as the Geiger counter that became his most common clothing accessory, as much as watching his mother’s beautiful, long, blond hair fall out in clumps.
For Sirota, the worst nuclear accident in history didn’t begin dramatically. That morning, he sat in class and contemplated how to best glue colored paper to a jar as a May Day gift for his mother.
We knew, with certainty, with arrogant certainty, that we were in control of the power we were playing with. This was the day . . . we learned we were wrong. Sergiy Parashyn, Chernobyl engineer
“Someone came in the room and called our teacher, said it was an emergency meeting in the teachers’ meeting room,” Sirota recalls. “We were told to study quietly. Of course we didn’t. The teachers were gone forever. For more than an hour we sat around. I suppose they were trying to figure out what to do, and it wasn’t an easy discussion. Something was wrong, but we didn’t know exactly what.”
Slowly word filtered through the school that the meeting was about problems at the plant. The kids pressed their noses against the glass of the classroom windows to watch as, across the street, on the manicured lawn of the city’s new hospital, the first military helicopters landed. They were soon surrounded by a jumbled chaos of emergency vehicles.
The kids opened windows and started shouting questions to those milling about on the street below. “What happened?” “Have you seen it?” “Is that the army?” But the adults didn’t know much more. It was a fire at the nuclear plant. Someone used the word “avariya,” meaning “accident.”
The aspen, birch, fir and oak trees in the small strip of forest outside the windows blocked their view, but the students knew there was a bridge just a short run away from which they could peer at the accident without obstruction.
“To kids, it was too tempting to pass up,” Sirota recalls.
He grabbed his jar, some paper and glue – evidence that he intended to work on the gift – and sprinted toward the plant.
Sirota wasn’t the first to reach the small bridge, which ran over rail lines on the south side of town, but he remembers that it wasn’t yet crowded, either. He remembers running up to the railing, half throwing himself in the way that boys do, eyes wide, hoping to see excitement.
Instead, he saw smoke, and not enough to hold the attention of a 10-year-old for long.
“It looked more like fog than fire,” he recalls. “We were looking at the reactor, but we couldn’t see any destruction.”
The bridge they were standing on wasn’t yet known as “The Bridge of Death.” That would come later.
[SEKTOR 2]
Panic sets in at Reactor Number 4
Early that morning, just after 1 a.m., while those in Pripyat dozed, the engineers who’d spent the previous 24 hours putting Reactor Number 4 through a stress test were getting nervous. The readings weren’t right. The radiation levels were climbing too high.
But the Soviet mindset at 1 a.m. on April 26, 1986, was very different from what it would be 24 hours later. In fact, the global perception of nuclear power was about to change.
“We knew, with certainty, with arrogant certainty, that we were in control of the power we were playing with. We could make the forces of nature bend to our will. There was nothing we could not do,” recalls Sergiy Parashyn, who’d been an engineer at the plant since 1977 and had arrived there within the hour. “This was the day, of course, when we learned we were wrong.”
Parashyn, who later would become the director of the complex and remains one of Ukraine’s foremost experts on nuclear energy, says that as the dials indicated problems, the safe approach would have been to shut down the test.
“If we had, all would have been well,” he says. “That was not the course chosen.”
Later reports would call the staff inexperienced, poorly trained. But that was not how they perceived themselves, Parashyn recalls. In their own minds, they were the best and the brightest, leading the way into a glorious future where power was abundant and life would have no limits. Their plant, after all, was only 16 years old.
So as the radiation levels climbed, instead of stopping the test, those in charge ordered it to continue. They would find the limits and learn from that. And when they reached that limit, and the temperature inside the sealed reactor began to climb, and climb beyond expectations, Parashyn says they did what seemed prudent: They hit what he calls “the shut-down button.”
We knew, with certainty, with arrogant certainty, that we were in control of the power we were playing with. This was the day . . . we learned we were wrong. Sergiy Parashyn, Chernobyl engineer
It turned out to be a huge mistake.
“Imagine you are driving a car, quite fast, and you see an obstacle in the road,” he explains. “Naturally, you hit the brakes to slow down and avoid the obstacle. But now imagine that the brakes have been wired incorrectly, and touching the brakes actually acts as an accelerator. When you try to slow down, you speed up, into the obstacle.
“Chernobyl was built with this mistake. Had the operators done nothing, it would have been fine – it would have corrected itself – but they had no way to know this, until this moment.”
Even 30 years later, nuclear physicists familiar with the disaster disagree on what went wrong. The only area of agreement appears to be that somehow when the engineers attempted to slow the nuclear reaction by inserting control rods into the reactor core, the process actually sped up.
It was a known flaw. Something similar had happened three years earlier during tests in Lithuania, and a warning had gone out, recalls Georgi Kopchinsky, who on April 26, 1986, was a director of the Soviet central committee on nuclear energy. As he talks about Chernobyl, he wrings his hands, smokes nervously and admits it’s a very tough topic for him.
“We knew this,” he says. “Three years earlier we’d sent out a warning to all plants with reactors with these absorbers, warning of this problem. But no actions had been taken. This was our arrogance at the time. We believed we were the masters of the atomic reactions. It was a horrible mistake.”
When Chernobyl’s operators raised the control rods into the reactor to absorb the flying neutrons and slow down the reaction, the action took only about 15 seconds to complete. But in those seconds, the reaction, instead of slowing, sped up and the temperature inside the reactor reached 3,000 degrees, turning the water used to cool the uranium into steam.
In the sealed environment of the reactor, the steam had no place to expand. That’s when the roof blew, and an estimated 10 tons of the 200 tons of enriched uranium blasted into the atmosphere.
After the roof blew, the walls collapsed and the superheated uranium melted and consumed all that fell into it. The long-term problem was forming, a 2,000-ton mass of metal, concrete and uranium that was pooling below the reactor.
But that was a long-term problem. The more immediate concern was the 10 tons of enriched uranium streaming into the atmosphere above Chernobyl, and spreading out in all directions over northern, eastern and central Europe. Eventually, a scientific report commissioned by the European Parliament would estimate that, to some extent, Chernobyl radiation contaminated 40 percent of Europe.
The time was 1:23 a.m. The world had changed. But those sleeping just downwind had no idea.
[ Sektor 3]
The Bridge of Death
It was about 9 a.m. when Sirota got bored and decided to leave the bridge.
Earlier, in the dark, the bridge had been crowded with adults watching the multicolored flames of burning graphite from the reactor. They’d “oohed” and “aahed.” It was beautiful. They’d also been soaking up a radiation dose determined to be about 500 roentgen, or two-thirds of a fatal dose. The legend is that none of those who stood on the bridge that morning survived.
Sirota says that isn’t true. He survived. He saw others who survived. Still, as he left the bridge, he was leaving behind many who would soon die agonizing deaths.
All told, about 4,000 people would eventually die from the accident, according to a report by the World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Others say those numbers are wildly low. Alexey Yablokov, a former environment adviser to Russian President Boris Yeltsin, estimated the global death toll to be 1.44 million. Other reports placed the cancer death totals at 30,000 to 60,000. Belarusian physicist Georgiy Lepin, a vice president of the association of liquidators of Chernobyl, the men brought in to fight the fire and clean up, estimated that within a few years, 13,000 rescue workers had died and another 70,000 were left unfit for work. The official number of disabled Chernobyl rescue workers today in Ukraine is 106,000.
A United Nations study says that “5 million people currently live in areas of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine that are contaminated with radionuclides due to the accident; about 100,000 of them live in areas classified in the past by government authorities as areas of ‘strict control.’ ” About 4,000 people, mostly children, developed thyroid cancer from the radiation, the U.N. says; the survival rate for the cancer is 99 percent.
Sirota, of course, knew none of this that morning.
Clutching his jar, his glue, his colored papers, and knowing that school was out, he did what any 10-year-old boy would as the world was collapsing. He ran home to see whether he could find his mom.
She found him. She was dressed for the office, her long blond hair perfect, falling across her shoulders, as always. He noted that she wasn’t happy. She scolded him for his dirty school clothes. She asked if he’d been anywhere near the plant. He lied and said the students had been cleaning the schoolyard, a lie she would not learn about for a decade.
We knew, with certainty, with arrogant certainty, that we were in control of the power we were playing with. This was the day . . . we learned we were wrong. Sergiy Parashyn, Chernobyl engineer
She worked for the Pripyat Palace of Culture. She oversaw the city’s literary needs, bringing in books and writers, and organizing a “Workers Writing Program.” That day she was hosting a poetry reading.
It was hard to imagine that the news from the plant was bad. The city looked normal.
“She told me to stay inside until she got home, just in case,” he recalls.
Their apartment was on the southern edge of town, and faced the reactor. From a higher floor, above the trees, he could have looked at it. As it was, he opened the window and straddled the sill, talking with the friends below who had managed to get away from school and then back outside.
They’d talk, then run off and gather another tidbit of information and run back to shout it at him. It became a game.
When his mom returned, it was with the news that they’d need to prepare for a three-day evacuation. As the sky outside his window glowed red, she put him to bed in his coat and boots. He woke to loudspeakers: “Attention, attention, dear comrades. . . . In the interest of the safety of the people, which is a priority to us, there is reason to evacuate.”
The announcement warned that they were to leave at 2 p.m. Buses would be provided, and they’d be taken to their evacuation locations. They were told not to worry. Police would watch their homes and make sure there was no looting.
“Only take what is necessary and vital documents,” the loudspeakers repeated, over and over.
“We were going away for a few days. It seemed like a picnic, like an adventure,” Sirota recalls. He filled a little suitcase with two changes of clothes, some pajamas. His mom made room in her bag for a few of his favorite toys. “It never occurred to me that we wouldn’t be coming back, that this life was over.”
Pripyat, after all, was an ideal place to live. One propaganda poster told residents, “Let the Atom be a Worker, not a Soldier.” The medians dividing fresh new streets were thickly planted with flowers. The towering apartment blocks were still unchipped. The bay cut into the Pripyat River was perfect for swimming in the summers and boating much of the rest of the year. The city hadn’t even had time to install the obligatory statue of Vladimir Lenin on the pedestal awaiting it in the central square. Everything was new and the future promising.
Twenty years before, this was a region of small and poor farming villages. By 1986, it housed the Soviet version of yuppies. Education levels were high. Wages were high. Parents videotaped kids’ parties, just as they would have in the United States. In those videos, the kids looked eerily similar to how they would have looked in Kansas City or Charlotte, from the style of their clothes and haircuts to their broad smiles and constant laughter.
So as the bus pulled out of town, heading toward Kiev 60 miles south, Sirota wasn’t worried. He and his mom were off to spend a couple of nights with his aunt. But he’d be back soon enough.
Those days became weeks, then months, then, after the studies were complete, the official verdict was that people could return to live in Pripyat in 3,000 years.
It became clear he’d left more than clothes and toys behind. He’d never been sick a day in his life before. He was proud of that. His mother bragged about that.
But he spent most of the rest of 1986 in the hospital. He would not be cured, however. Doctors would tell him it was psychosomatic, and the official Ukrainian medical diagnosis for many who complained of radiation-related illnesses after Chernobyl was “radiophobia.” The so-called “Chernobyl victims” were more afraid of what had happened than actually sick, went the official line. They should be fine, or at least suffering no more than anyone else.
Sirota would continue to return to the hospital for stays of a month or more every year, at least once, until recently.
“Who knows better what I need now than me?” he asks. “They give me the medicines and the needles. I take care of myself now.”
His eyes tear up, though, when he looks at photos of his mother’s beautiful hair.
“Most of her hair fell out,” he explains. “She cuts what’s left very short.”
[ Sektor 4 ]
Calling for help
Kopchinsky, the Soviet nuclear official, remembers the first phone call coming in at about 2 a.m. He was in Moscow at the time.
“Something had happened at Chernobyl, and it was something bad. That was what we knew.”
Immediately, calls went out for Soviet nuclear experts to gather in Moscow and discuss what to do next. At about the time the sun rose, he says, they got their first indication that “it was very serious.” By 11 a.m. they’d dispatched a planeload of scientists to the site to make a quick assessment.
Something had happened at Chernobyl, and it was something bad. That was what we knew. Georgi Kopchinsky, Soviet nuclear official
On the scene it was chaos, recalls Parashyn, the Chernobyl engineer. “We had no idea what we were looking at, the depth of the disaster, that first morning,” he says. “We had meetings, loud meetings, where we tried to figure it out.”
What they figured out was the worst nuclear-energy disaster in human history, far worse than the explosion at Kyshtym nuclear complex in 1957 in what was then the Soviet Union, which released 70 tons of radioactive material into the air, or the 1957 fire at the Windscale Nuclear Reactor in northwestern England, which forced a ban on milk sales for a month, or the Three Mile Island disaster in Pennsylvania on March 29, 1979, where a cooling malfunction led to a partial meltdown.
All of central and eastern Europe was at risk. Even today, in Bavaria in southern Germany, wildlife officials warn hunters not to eat the meat of wild boars, which continue to show high levels of radiation contamination.
Across Europe, children were advised to stay indoors that April and May. In East Berlin, shoppers were astonished to find grocery shelves teeming with fresh lettuce, which usually would have been sent across the wall for wealthier West Berliners. But West Berliners didn’t want the tainted stuff, so East Berlin had salad.
Chernobyl changed the way nuclear engineers viewed nuclear power. “Safety culture” – the idea that protecting the people and the environment should be emphasized over all other goals – became the watchword.
Helen Rycraft, a senior nuclear safety officer at the IAEA in Vienna, calls the Chernobyl accident as “a complete watershed.”
“The entire industry changed,” she says.
“Safety culture had not been properly instilled in nuclear power plants in the USSR prior to the Chernobyl accident,” the IAEA report concludes. “Many of its requirements seem to have existed in regulations, but these were not enforced. Many other necessary features did not exist at all. Local practices at nuclear plants, of which it may be assumed that practices at Chernobyl were typical, did not reflect a safety culture.”
After Chernobyl, Rycraft says, the regime of secrecy and competition that had been the norm among nuclear nations began to erode. “It taught us we need to learn from each other.”
“It was the first major accident where organizational issues were identified as a key factor,” she says. “The Soviets called safety culture ‘the ghost in the machine.’ It’s the healthy questioning behind every aspect, every detail, of a nuclear program.”
[Sektor 5]
Life in the exclusion zone today
Despite the health problems, Pripyat remained a fundamental part of Sirota’s dreams. He would next see the city six years later, in 1992. He and a friend sneaked in to take a look around at their old home. He remembers being most surprised by the fact that very little had changed.
They’d been told to leave their furniture and most of their clothes behind because officials knew it would all be radioactive. Special teams had come and emptied the contents of the apartments into the streets to be burned, and buried.
But poor and opportunistic Ukrainians had arrived to pick through their belongings before they were destroyed. They found a city filled with treasures, often guarded by nothing more than a threat that seemed less real than a free couch, refrigerator or wardrobe of clothes.
When he recounts what happened 30 years ago, Sirota can vividly recall the details, not because they were wildly dramatic, but because on his visit to his home nothing looked out of place. Windows hadn’t shattered in a nuclear wind. Foundations hadn’t shaken from exploding atoms. The earth didn’t bake in escaping radioactivity.
They say it’s just the warm water that gets them so big. But I don’t think you should eat the fish. Alexandr Sirota
Yet what had been a perfect childhood, in what seemed like a perfect town, and in what they were told was on the edge of a perfect future, had ended, abruptly.
Sirota had hoped beyond reason to gain it back when a few years ago he bought a small house at the end of a gravel lane just outside the the exclusion zone imposed around the old reactor. Move the modest but sturdy house across the pasture and it would be inside an area identified as unsafe for human habitation for the next 3,000 years.
There are several reasons he moved back to the area. For one, his house, on a decent plot of land, cost the equivalent of just $125. Even in poor rural Ukraine, that’s cheap.
It would be even cheaper inside the exclusion zone. Ukrainian officials are known to have turned a blind eye to a small group of very poor, and illegal, residents who returned to the homes standing inside the forbidden zone. Officials estimate that 197 squatters hide there. And for short spells, workers can live inside the zone. There’s even a hotel for overnight visits.
The wildlife is tough to beat. Wolves and bears and big cats, even wild horses, thrive inside the perimeter. In a field across the road from Sirota’s house, he points to the wild Przewalski’s horses. Originally from Central Asia, they’re endangered, wiped out in many of their former ranges. They seem to thrive around his house.
Still, he’s painfully aware that the radiation settled into the soil, from which it’s drawn into the roots of trees and grass and mushrooms.
“I don’t eat the mushrooms from here,” he says. “I avoid eating the game. That’s what they tell us: We’re safe as long as we don’t.”
But many do. At the tiny grocery in his 600-resident village of Dytyatky, he points out a freezer of local cuts of meat. The cuts are roughly done, uneven, hunters’ cuts of meat, not a butcher’s clean, even meat packages.
When 70-year-old Maria is asked whether she worries about the health risks of food coming from so close to Chernobyl, she waves a hand and spits: “Ach, radiation. I can’t see it. Why should I worry?”
Sirota worries, but he’s drawn to this place. He lives with a Geiger counter around his neck. He carries a second one in case the first malfunctions.
The constant clicking as the Geiger counter measures the local radiation serves as a soundtrack to his life. The faster the clicking, the higher the radiation levels. When the clicking goes into overdrive, he moves on, to find a place where the levels are safer.
Even at home, resting or cooking, the clicking is constant, click . . . click . . .click.
His work these days is showing visitors around the irradiated area. A couple of days a week he passes through the heavily guarded gates into the contaminated zone. It’s how he earns a living.
“People want to see this,” he explains. “I can understand the curiosity, but there isn’t much to see.”
Then, in what used to be the plant’s lagoon running along the edge of the Pripyat River, he shows off the 9-foot-long catfish. In the summer, he’ll toss loaves of bread and watch their long bodies spiral over one another in the muddy water as they dine.
“They say it’s just the warm water that gets them so big,” he explains. “But I don’t think you should eat the fish.”
His Geiger counter has gone from fast clicks to a solid buzz (clickclickclickclick).
[Sektor 6]
A million years of problems
When the steam burst through the roof of Reactor Number 4 in 1986, it took with it 5 percent of the enriched uranium. That means 10 tons vanished. It also means 95 percent, or 190 tons, remained. They’re still there.
After the blasted reactor partially collapsed into the nuclear material, it created a radioactive blob of uranium, concrete, steel and assorted junk weighing about 2,000 tons. Ideally, Ukraine would remove the material. Sergiy Parashyn grabs a pen and paper as he talks about the problems with that.
“We do not know how to do this,” he explains. “We do not have the technology to do this. It must be something new.”
He sketches the blob, then makes a quick drawing of a tractor with a scoop on one side and a large rotating blade on the other. He smiles at the crude drawing, then shrugs.
“One problem is that the material is decaying and is brittle, and when we cut it up to transport it to disposal bins, it will very likely fill the air with radioactive dust,” he explains. So the tractor has to be able to operate in a radioactive environment, it has to be able to control and eliminate any dust and it has to operate in an area that will not be at all safe for humans. “Maybe something like this would work, maybe it wouldn’t. We don’t know. That’s a problem.”
It’s a problem because while 5 percent of the radioactive material caused problems that continue 30 years later and will continue to cause problems for eons to come, the other 95 percent of the material could represent about 20 times the problems.
For instance, if mistakes are made and the brittle material is released into the atmosphere, they’re back to square one. If the material gets into the Pripyat River, it will flow into the Dnieper River. The Dnieper River is the water source for Kiev. The Dnieper is the primary water source for much of Ukraine.
Clearly, nothing man made is more than temporary, and therefore it isn’t adequate. Detlef Appel, geologist
This is why Ukrainian officials are counting on what they call a sarcophagus to contain the site, a massive structure that looks like a Quonset hut being assembled behind a wall that is intended to deflect radiation from the decaying plant from workers.
When finished, it will be rolled across the crumbling concrete of the surrounding ground to cover and further seal the dangerous reactor. The work is expected to be completed in 2018, though that is just a guess. It’s expected to last 100 years. It’s not nearly long enough.
Reactor Number 4 today is essentially an unplanned nuclear-waste dump. To serve in that role requires it to last for 3,000 years. That means the area surrounding Chernobyl will be safe to inhabit by people again in the year 4986.
How likely is that? To get an idea of what it means to contain and control a deadly and potentially devastating radioactive pile in Ukraine for 3,000 years, consider what the world looked like 3,000 years ago:
The Iron Age was beginning. The Trojan War was fairly recent news. Egypt had Pharaohs. King David was succeeded by his son, Solomon. Canaanites were the big world traders. Christ was 1,000 years from showing up. Muhammad was 1,500 years away.
The legendary founding of Rome, of Romulus and Remus and the wolf, wouldn’t take place for 300 years.
It’s not simply that a lot has changed in the last 3,000 years, it’s that almost everything has.
And yet, Detlef Appel, a geologist who runs PanGeo, a Hamburg, Germany, company that consults on such nuclear storage issues, notes that 3,000 years probably isn’t long enough. He suggests that truly safe radioactive waste storage needs to extend a million years into the future. Think back to when man’s earliest relative began to walk the Earth.
“We can trust human endeavor, perhaps, for a few hundred years, though that is doubtful,” he said. “Storage implies a way to retrieve the materials. It requires trained personnel, maintenance, updating and security. Clearly, nothing man made is more than temporary, and therefore it isn’t adequate.”
Even the continents will have moved in a million years.
Tetiana Verbytska, an energy policy expert at the National Ecological Center of Ukraine, worries that people are far too easygoing about Chernobyl. Among government officials right now, mindful of the 30-year anniversary, there is a movement to shrink the radius of the highly contaminated no man’s land from 18 miles to 6.
“The move to reduce the highly contaminated zone has nothing to do with science and everything to do with public relations,” she says. “In Ukraine, each April we make wonderful speeches about our commitment to dealing with this problem, and the rest of each year we hope the problem will just go away.”
There are other reasons to worry. Ukraine is creaking under a civil war against insurgents backed by Russia and scraping by with an economy that in the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union has been looted by a series of oligarchs. It doesn’t have the money to fund an educational system that can be expected to create legions of top scientists and engineers.
Officials speak very proudly of the new sarcophagus roof that is being put into place. But the finish date on that has been repeatedly backed up, and there’s no guarantee that its 2018 date won’t be moved again.
A variety of disasters could still strike. The site’s existing covering, built in haste after the accident, could collapse, shattering the brittle mix of radioactive materials below and sending nuclear dust into the atmosphere to mix with rain. There could be an earthquake. The entire site is fragile.
Olga Kosharna, the lead scientist at the Ukrainian Department of Energy and Nuclear Safety in Kiev who oversaw safety at Chernobyl in the 1990s, recalls walking the roof above the shattered reactor and being horrified to find holes that had been burned through the concrete.
The shoes she wore that day were highly contaminated and had to be destroyed.
Alexandre Polack, a spokesman for the European Union, notes in an email that the date to begin removing radioactive material from the site is still 20 to 30 years away. “The current shelter covering destroyed Reactor 4 was reinforced in recent years and seems stable,” he writes. “However it was built in haste after the accident and never intended as a long-term solution.”
Verbytska emphasizes that the mass of uranium debris inside Reactor Number 4 is now a mess that goes beyond human ability to clean up. Others dismiss the situation as a problem, but one that technology can fix.
“We don’t have the technology to fix the problem,” she says. “We don’t have the process to develop the technology to fix the problem, and we don’t have the money to support the process to develop the technology to fix the problem. The solutions for our Chernobyl problems are very much ‘seal it for now.’ We will have smart children and smart grandchildren who in 100 years or so will figure out what to do.”
[Sektor 7]
A modern Pompeii
After the disaster, radiation burned off the tops of the trees. Soviet officials ordered the trees cut down and buried deep. But they failed to properly encase the buried wood. As a new forest grew unchecked above the radioactive remains of the old forest, the new wood was also highly radioactive. The whole thing will have to be dug up and encased and buried again, properly.
Still, Sirota burns it for warmth, though he acknowledges that is probably unsafe.
Sirota’s tour takes him across the Bridge of Death, which looks just as remote and harmless today as it did to him that morning, and on into Pripyat, which remains a modern Pompeii, a city abandoned in an instant, the trappings of what had been daily life left where they lay.
The difference is that while Pompeii is carefully managed for tourists, Pripyat is still very much an outlier on the tourist map: perhaps Pompeii were Vesuvius still erupting.
The roads remain wide, though they’re overgrown today, vividly, eerily green. Trees grow out of old manholes, and through cracks in the old parade ground. The lichen on the trees is long, spindly, beautiful and eerie. There is a plastic baby doll in the doorway of an old administrative building. Sirota notes the doll is clearly Western in style and that it appears to have been left by a photographer trying to add emotional impact, to conjure memories of the children who once lived and played here.
“If you need to see the children who were once here, I’m here,” he explains.
In his old school, a textbook remains on a desk. It is open to pages decorated with drawings of missiles and tanks and warplanes, the Cyrillic words reminding readers, “The stars of the Kremlin shine everywhere. . . . The children have a beautiful homeland. A better one does not exist.”
Sirota’s eyes often develop red rims as he talks about his old home, though he wipes away the tears before they run down his cheeks.
“Obviously, I’m drawn to Chernobyl,” he explains. “It’s the source of the greatest sadness of my life, but that’s also because it was the source of my greatest joy. I feel that the accident at the plant stole a perfect childhood, a perfect life, from me. I know this isn’t rational, but I stay here, hoping that someday I might get it back.” ||||| Chernobyl's exclusion zone to be revived with solar
The Ukrainian government has announced plans to use Chernobyl's nuclear wasteland for solar energy generation. Meanwhile in Belarus, a 22.3 MW PV plant is already under construction in Brahin district, around 20 miles from Chernobyl.
Flickr/thisisbossi One time European PV power plant leader, Ukraine is turning back to solar in unlikely places.
30 years after the Chernobyl accident, the Ukrainian government aims to give a new renewable life to thousands hectares of the exclusion zone in the northern part of the country. While long-lasting radiation makes the area unfit for human habitation, agriculture or forestry, its cheap land and remaining electric transmission facilities can be used for solar power generation.
“Land and transmission line connection are the most expensive parts of any solar project, and we have both of them here,” general director of the Chernobyl plant Igor Gramotkin told local news outlets in April, when the country was commemorating the 30th anniversary of the nuclear disaster.
At the end of June, Ukraine's minister of the environment and natural resources Ostap Semerak presented country's plans for the revival of the exclusion zone at Canada-Ukraine Business Forum in Toronto. After the forum, he announced that a number of Canadian investors are looking at developing solar and biofuel power plants near Chernobyl.
Semerak also noted that the implementation of such projects requires new legislation in terms of allocation of land in the exclusion zone. “We expect that this issue will be fully settled by the end of the current session of Parliament. In early June, the corresponding bill already passed a first reading,” the minister said.
In a recent interview Semerak has confirmed that the ministry of environmental and natural resources was already negotiating with two U.S. investment firms and four Canadian energy companies interested in the Chernobyl's solar potential. Ukrainian developers plan to install a 4 MW project at the site by the end of the year, Bloomberg reports.
According to the ministry of environmental and natural resources, 34 solar power plants with the total capacity of over 120 MW are scheduled to be completed in Ukraine in 2016. Despite the political and economic difficulties facing the country, Ukraine is aiming to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix up to 11% by 2020, the ministry reports.
As recent developments demonstrate, after several years of stagnation, international solar developers have begun showing renewed interest in Ukraine. Yesterday, a 4 MW PV plant was successfully connected to the grid in Vysokopillya, a southern part of the country. According to the developer, the German-based Work Team, heavy rainfall, snow, and freezing rain have frequently posed challenges for solar developers in the area. China-based PV-inverter manufacturer Sungrow supplied its SG60KTL inverters for the PV plant.
Belarus' PV plan for Chernobyl
Belarus, Ukraine's northern neighbor, has its own solar plans for the land affected by the Chernobyl disaster. In April this year, the telecommunications company Velcom, a subsidiary of the Austrian company Telecom, announced an investment of more than €23 million ($ 25.3 million) for a 22.3 MW PV plant in Brahin district, located at the Ukrainian border, next to the nuclear wasteland.
Velcom is planning to sell the generated electricity, as well as use it for the company's needs. “We expect the solar plant to cover about 50% of the company's energy needs and pay itself off in four to five years”, Velcom CEO Helmut Duhs said at a press-conference in Minsk. He added that the company had chosen this particular area not only because of its southern location but also because of the cheap price land prices.
According to the company, the solar facility in Brahin district will be comprised of 85,000 PV panels installed across the area of 56 hectares. The construction works are scheduled to be completed by the end of this summer.
|
– If anything, the land in the 1,000-square-mile exclusion zone left largely untouched since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 is cheap. After all, studies suggest it won't be inhabitable until the year 4986, reported McClatchy DC in April, and pretty much nothing can be harvested from it. But now Ostap Semerak, Ukraine's environment minister, is drumming up foreign interest in solar power projects across the wasteland, which he says is uniquely, if a bit ironically, suited to renewables, reports Bloomberg. PV Magazine reports that Igor Gramotkin, today the general director of the Chernobyl plant, in April pointed out that "land and transmission line connection" are the most expensive elements of a solar undertaking. Lucky then, that "we already have high-voltage transmission lines that were previously used for the nuclear stations," says Semerak. "And we have many people trained to work at power plants" (thousands still work at Chernobyl). Plus there's all that inexpensive land. Ukraine's interest in renewables is partly politically motivated given the fragile cease-fire with Kremlin-backed rebels near the Russian border, not to mention increasing friction with the Putin camp over natural gas bills. Semerak says four energy companies from Canada and two investment firms from the US have expressed interest in a solar complex at the Chernobyl site, while Ukrainian developers intend to install panels there before 2016 is through. (Apparently human habitation is worse for wildlife than radiation, according to this exclusion-zone activity.)
|
Academy cringing over news of Sacha Baron Cohen’s rumored Oscars stunt Rumored to be hitting red carpet in 'The Dictator' costume
Sacha Baron Cohen has been blacklisted from the red carpet on Hollywood's biggest night.
The actor's tickets for Sunday's 84th Academy Awards ceremony have been rescinded amid fears he would attend in full costume as the character from HIS upcoming flick "The Dictator," Deadline.com reported.
The unusual move was taken by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences after rumors circulated that Cohen would violate the decorum of the awards show with the publicity stunt.
"Unless they're assured that nothing entertaining is going to happen on the Red Carpet, the Academy is not admitting Sacha Baron Cohen to the show," an insider told Deadline's Nikki Finke.
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Cohen had been invited to attend the Oscars as a member of the cast of the best picture nominee “Hugo”.
The 40-year-old British comic, however, has built his career on edgier material - famously staying in character as he turns unsuspecting passersby into the butts of his jokes in movies like 2006's "Borat: Cultural Learnings of AMerica for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" and 2009's "Bruno."
His role in the upcoming "The Dictator" was described by the Hollywood Reporter as a “sex-crazed Gaddafi-meets-Hussein ruler who fights to stop democracy from coming to his country.”
The movie, which also stars Anna Faris, B.J. Novak and John C. Reilly, is slated to be released May 11. ||||| Will Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘The Dictator’ Walk The Oscar Red Carpet?
UPDATED 5:30 PM WITH MORE DETAILS
EXCLUSIVE… BREAKING 3PM… The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has pulled actor Sacha Baron Cohen‘s tickets from the 84th Academy Awards. This means he is banned from attending the Oscars even though he is an Academy member and one of the stars from Hugo, Paramount’s 11-nominated movie and Best Picture contender. “Unless they’re assured that nothing entertaining is going to happen on the Red Carpet, the Academy is not admitting Sacha Baron Cohen to the show,” Paramount just told me. The reason is that a proposal reached the Academy for Baron Cohen to strut the Red Carpet in full costume as his title character in the upcoming Paramount comedy The Dictator. UPDATE AT 5:30 PM: Later today, faced with all the bad publicity resulting from its action, the Academy tried to parse what it did when questioned by some media outlets. But the fact is that, this morning, the Academy’s Managing Director Of Membership Kimberly Rouch phoned Paramont’s awards staff to say Baron Cohen’s tickets had been pulled unless he gives the Academy assurances ahead of time promising not to show up on the Red Carpet in costume and not to promote the movie on the Red Carpet. The Academy made it clear that, without those assurances, it would not issue him the tickets. So he’s banned.*
Of course, the next best thing to that publicity stunt is all the media coverage which this ban is going to generate for Baron Cohen’s film. So the Academy has decided to act like dictators about the actor playing The Dictator. Ugh.
Sancha Baron Cohen Today Show Video
Loosen up, people. Frankly, the Academy looks like uptight wankers with this treatment of one of the globe’s funniest comedians. The Academy merely had to say no when that proposal was presented to it. Everyone involved in the ceremony was adamantly against it on the grounds that it makes a mockery of what Hollywood considers its most prestigious event. Instead, the Academy clearly wants another overly long, ridiculously reverential show about movies no one bothered to see where the best thing about the telecast will be the comeback of popular host Billy Crystal at age 63.
UPDATE: Is Academy Blinking On Banning Sacha Baron Cohen From Oscars 2012?
The Dictator is a spoof about the “heroic story of a Middle Eastern dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy never comes to the country he so lovingly oppressed”. Whether the fact that the 84th Academy Awards will be beamed into 200 countries had anything to do with this ban is unclear. But it is highly unusual for the Academy to pull a member’s tickets. An Oscars spokesperson acknowledged to Deadline yesterday: ”We would hope that every studio knows that this is a bad idea. The Red Carpet is not about stunting.” Oh really? Then why did Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park crossdress down the Red Carpet as J-Lo and Gwyneth Paltrow in evening gowns in 2000? Or Ben Stiller appear as an Oscar presenter in full blue Avatar makeup and hair in 2010?
Deadline reported yesterday that Baron Cohen’s plan was to come dressed as The Dictator and then change into a tuxedo and attend the Oscars as planned. He wasn’t scheduled to present an award, but he was arriving at Kodak Theatre as part of the Paramount contingent. Now he can’t do even that. Paramount has a Best Picture nominee in the Martin Scorsese-directed Hugo in which Baron Cohen plays the train station inspector of the movie about an orphan in 1930s Paris.
At the 2007 Oscars, Baron Cohen was asked to be a presenter and said he would do it only if he could be in character as Borat. And Oscars’ Powers That Be said, “No way.” He didn’t attend. But this is the first time he has been officially banned from the show.
Purists feel that the Oscars is no place for such in your face promotion. The Academy hasn’t even allowed movies to be advertised during the Oscarcast, until this year. Then again, these Oscars have very little suspense because it’s a forgone conclusion that many of the winners of the marquee categories are already known and The Artist will win Best Picture. The prospect of Baron Cohen’s Red Carpet walk was the closest thing to drama.
This would not have been Baron Cohen’s first time upstaging an awards show. To promote Bruno, he flew through the air at the MTV Movie Awards and landed with his crotch in the face of Eminem, who later admitted the stunt was rehearsed. And a trailer for The Dictator certainly was one of the raciest ever allowed by the MPAA during the Super Bowl, where Baron Cohen’s character was hilariously depicted running a competitive race while and leg-shooting rivals with a starter pistol as they got close to him.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here. ||||| Contrary to reports, the Academy has not yet pulled Sacha Baron Cohen's Oscar tickets over his plan to appear on the red carpet in character for his next movie — but that could still happen
According to an executive with the Academy who did not wish to be identified, AMPAS officials have been in touch with representatives for Baron Cohen since they learned of his plan to attend the Oscars in costume as the title character in "The Dictator."
Their message to British comic was clear: "Our red carpet is not for stunting."
The Academy is now waiting for a response from Baron Cohen's camp; once they receive one, they will decide whether he can use the tickets he received as a cast member of the Best Picture nominee "Hugo."
Baron Cohen would have done red carpet interviews in character – and if his past appearances as Borat and Bruno were any indication, would have used the occasion to be disruptive (and probably pretty funny).
Also read: 'The Dictator' Trailer: Sacha Baron Cohen Laughs in the Face of Tyranny (Video)
Baron Cohen caused problems for the Oscars four years ago, when they asked him to present but he insisted on doing so only in character, as Borat. The Academy refused.
The Oscars have a history of being uncomfortable with the unpredictable. Last year, AMPAS executives were worried that Banksy, director of the nominated documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop," would try to take the stage in disguise.
Speaking of a conversation he had with representatives for the elusive graffiti artist, Academy president Tom Sherak said, "We suggested to them that it might be a good idea that if he did win, one of them would accept in his place – that it would not be dignified for the Academy to have somebody come up wearing a monkey's head."
(Angry reps for Banksy disputed that he ever wore a monkey mask in public.)
Also read: Steve Pond's Oscar Picks: 'The Artist' Will Win, but Should It?
The Academy wasn't amused in 2000, when Best Song nominees Trey Parker and Matt Stone ("South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut") showed up in knockoffs of the famous awards-show gowns worn by Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Parker and Stone had not cleared their plan with the Academy before that show – and, they said, they got plenty of dirty looks (plus a thumbs-up from Michael Caine) as they walked the red carpet.
Baron Cohen was reportedly planning to do something similar, wearing his "Dictator" outfit for an in-character trip down the red carpet and then changing into a tux for the show.
Using an Oscar appearance to promote an upcoming film is not, of course, completely unknown. This year's host, Billy Crystal, did just that in 1991 when he made his entrance on a horse before the release of "City Slickers," and Ben Stiller appeared onstage in his "Starsky and Hutch" costume in 2004.
But those were onstage, where it was sanctioned and controlled. The red carpet is something else – out there, the Academy doesn't like wild cards. Related Articles: 'The Dictator' Trailer: Sacha Baron Cohen Laughs in the Face of Tyranny (Video) Steve Pond's Oscar Picks: 'The Artist' Will Win, but Should It? 2012 Oscars: Complete List of Nominees
|
– Sacha Baron Cohen has been told he's not welcome at this Sunday's Academy Awards unless he promises he won't arrive dressed up as a Middle Eastern military dictator. Oscar tickets are in jeopardy for the creator of Borat and Bruno because of fears that he will arrive on the red carpet in character as the "sex-crazed Gadhafi-meets-Hussein" title character of his latest spoof, The Dictator, reports the New York Daily News. Baron Cohen had been invited as one of the stars of Best Picture contender Hugo, "but our red carpet is not for stunting," an Academy official tells Reuters. With most of this year's Oscar winners looking like a foregone conclusion, "the prospect of Baron Cohen’s red carpet walk was the closest thing to drama" viewers could expect this year, notes Nikki Finke at Deadline. Maybe the Academy feared a repeat of the funnyman's 2009 MTV Awards stunt, when Bruno descended from the ceiling in angel wings and landed butt-first on Eminem.
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.