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GOP Eyes Gains As Voters In 11 States Pick Governors
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jim Cole/AP Jim Cole/AP
Voters in 11 states will pick their governors tonight, and Republicans appear on track to increase their numbers by at least one, with the potential to extend their hold to more than two-thirds of the nation's top state offices.
Eight of the gubernatorial seats up for grabs are now held by Democrats; three are in Republican hands. Republicans currently hold 29 governorships, Democrats have 20, and Rhode Island's Gov. Lincoln Chafee is an Independent.
Polls and race analysts suggest that only three of tonight's contests are considered competitive, all in states where incumbent Democratic governors aren't running again: Montana, New Hampshire and Washington.
While those state races remain too close to call, Republicans are expected to wrest the North Carolina governorship from Democratic control, and to easily win GOP-held seats in Utah, North Dakota and Indiana.
Democrats are likely to hold on to their seats in West Virginia and Missouri, and are expected to notch safe wins in races for seats they hold in Vermont and Delaware.
Holding Sway On Health Care
While the occupant of the governor's office is historically far less important than the party that controls the state legislature, top state officials in coming years are expected to wield significant influence in at least one major area.
And that's health care, says political scientist Thad Kousser, co-author of The Power of American Governors.
"No matter who wins the presidency, national politics is going to be stalemated on the Affordable Care Act," says Kousser, of the University of California, San Diego.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision giving states the ability to opt out of the law's expansion of Medicaid, the federal insurance program for poor, disabled and elderly Americans, confers "incredible power" on the states and their governors, Kousser says.
Just look at what happened when the Obama administration in 2010 offered federal stimulus money to states to begin building a high-speed rail network. Three Republican governors, including Rick Scott of Florida and Scott Walker of Wisconsin, rejected a share of the money citing debt and deficit concerns.
"A [Mitt] Romney victory would dramatically empower Republican governors," Kousser says.
State-By-State View
North Carolina: One-term incumbent Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue, the first woman to hold the state's top office, announced in January that she would not seek re-election after polls showed her with high disapproval ratings and trailing Republican candidate Pat McCrory.
The seat is expected to be won by McCrory, a former Charlotte mayor, who is facing Perdue's lieutenant governor, Walter Dalton. McCrory lost a close race to Perdue in 2008, when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama became the first Democrat to win North Carolina in more than three decades. The Real Clear Politics average for the race has McCrory maintaining a 14.3 percentage point lead.
Montana: Popular Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer — he won his last election with 65 percent of the vote — has reached his two-term limit. The state's Democratic Attorney General Steve Bullock is trying to keep the seat in his party's column by associating himself with Schweitzer's legacy. He's in a tough race with former two-term GOP Rep. Rick Hill.
New Hampshire: Former Democratic state Sen. Maggie Hassan has also promised a continuation of the policies of her predecessor, retiring Democratic Gov. John Lynch. Her opponent is lawyer Ovide Lamontagne, a Tea Party conservative who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1996 and for the U.S. Senate in 2010. The national parties have invested in the campaigns, which have focused on fiscal and women's health care issues.
Washington: The state's governorship has been in Democratic hands for 32 years, and former U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee is in a dead-heat battle to keep it that way. His opponent is the state's Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna. McKenna has a proven ability to win statewide, but working in Inslee's favor are Obama's poll numbers. The Real Clear Politics average shows Obama with an average 13.6 percentage point lead over Romney; Inslee is leading McKenna by an average of 1 percentage point.
Pretty Much Sure Things
Republican Govs. Jack Dalrymple in North Dakota and Gary Herbert in Utah, and GOP Rep. Mike Pence in Indiana are expected to win. So are Democratic Govs. Peter Shumlin in Vermont and Jack Markell in Delaware.
Democrats are also hoping to hold on to the governorship in Missouri, where Jay Nixon is running for a second term against Republican Dave Spence; and in West Virginia, where Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, former state senate president, is running for his first full term after winning a special election in 2011. GOP businessman Bill Maloney is his opponent, as he was last year.
Nixon has been consistently outpolling Spence by an average of about 7 points in Missouri. Tomblin is seen as likely to retain his seat, even in a state where Romney is leading Obama by double digits. ||||| GOP Eyes Gains As Voters In 11 States Pick Governors
Jim Cole / AP i Jim Cole / AP
Voters in 11 states will pick their governors tonight, and Republicans appear on track to increase their numbers by at least one, and with the potential to extend their hold to more than two-thirds of the nation's top state offices.
Eight of the gubernatorial seats up for grabs today are now held by Democrats; three are in Republican hands. Republicans currently hold 29 governorships, Democrats have 20; and Rhode Island's Gov. Lincoln Chafee is an Independent.
Polls and race analysts suggest that only three of tonight's contests are considered competitive, all in states where incumbent Democratic governors aren't running again: Montana, New Hampshire and Washington.
While those state races remain too close to call, Republicans are expected to wrest the North Carolina governorship from Democratic control, and to easily win GOP-held seats in Utah, North Dakota and Indiana.
Democrats are likely hold on to their seats in West Virginia and Missouri; and expected to notch safe wins in races for seats they hold in Vermont and Delaware.
Holding Sway On Health Care
While the occupant of the governor's office is historically far less important than the party that controls the state legislature, top state officials in coming years are expected to wield significant influence in at least one major area.
And that's health care, says political scientist Thad Kousser, co-author of The Power of American Governors.
"No matter who wins the presidency, national politics is going to be stalemated on the Affordable Care Act," says Kousser, of the University of California-Berkeley.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision giving states the ability to opt out of the law's expansion of Medicaid, the federal insurance program for poor, disabled and elderly Americans, confers "incredible power" on the states and their governors, Kousser says.
Just look at what happened when the Obama administration in 2010 offered federal stimulus money to states to begin building a high-speed rail network. Three Republican governors, including Rick Scott of Florida and Scott Walker of Wisconsin, rejected a share of the money citing debt and deficit concerns.
"A [Mitt] Romney victory would dramatically empower Republican governors," Kousser says.
State-by-State View
North Carolina: One-term incumbent Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue, the first woman to hold the state's top office, announced in January she would not seek re-election after polls showed her with high disapproval ratings and trailing Republican candidate Pat McCrory.
The seat is expected to be won by McCrory, a former Charlotte mayor, who is facing Perdue's lieutenant governor, Walter Dalton. McCrory lost a close race to Perdue in 2008, when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama became the first Democrat to win North Carolina in more than three decades. The Real Clear Politics average for the race has McCrory maintaining a 14.3 percentage point lead.
Montana: Popular Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer — he won his last election with 65 percent of the vote — has reached his two-term limit. The state's Democratic Attorney General Steve Bullock is trying to keep the seat in his party's column by associating himself with Schweitzer's legacy. He's in a tough race with former two-term GOP Rep. Rick Hill.
New Hampshire: Former Democratic state Sen. Maggie Hassan has also promised a continuation of the policies of her predecessor, retiring Democratic Gov. John Lynch. Her opponent is lawyer Ovide Lamontagne, a Tea Party conservative who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1996 and for the U.S. Senate in 2010. The national parties have invested in the campaigns, which have focused on fiscal and women's health care issues.
Washington: The state's governorship has been in Democratic hands for 32 years, and former Rep. Jay Inslee is in a dead-heat battle to keep it that way. His opponent is the state's Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna. McKenna has a proven ability to win statewide, but working in Inslee's favor are Obama's poll numbers. The Real Clear Politics average shows Obama with an average 13.6 point lead over Romney; Inslee's leading McKenna by an average of 1 percentage point.
Pretty Much Sure Things
Republican governors Jack Dalrymple in North Dakota and Gary Herbert in Utah, and GOP Rep. Mike Pence in Indiana are expected to win. So are Democratic governors Peter Shumlin in Vermont and Jack Markell in Delaware.
Democrats are also hoping to hold on to the governorship in Missouri, where Jay Nixon is running for a second term against Republican Dave Spence; and in West Virginia, where Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, former state senate president, is running for his first full term after willing a special election in 2011. GOP businessman Bill Maloney is his opponent, as he was last year.
Nixon has been consistently out-polling Spence by an average of about 7 points in Missouri. Tomblin is seen as likely to retain his seat, even in a state where Romney is leading Obama by double digits. | – It's a race for the governor's mansion in 11 states today, and the GOP could end the night at the helm of more than two-thirds of the 50 states. The GOP currently controls 29 of the country's top state offices; it's expected to keep the three Republican ones that are up for grabs (Utah, North Dakota, and Indiana), and wrest North Carolina from the Dems. That brings its toll to 30, with the potential to take three more, reports NPR. Races in Montana, New Hampshire, and Washington are still too close to call, and in all three, Democrat incumbents aren't seeking reelection. The results could have a big impact on health care, since a Supreme Court ruling grants states the ability to opt out of ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion. "A Romney victory would dramatically empower Republican governors," said one analyst. Click for NPR's state-by-state breakdown of what could happen. |
UPDATE: 4/19/2001 Read Richard Metzger: How I, a married, middle-aged man, became an accidental spokesperson for gay rights overnight on Boing Boing
It’s time to clarify a few details about the controversial “Hey Facebook what’s SO wrong with a pic of two men kissing?” story, as it now beginning to be reported in the mainstream media, and not always correctly.
First of all, with regards to the picture:
The photo which was used to illustrate my first post about the John Snow Kiss-In is a promotional still from the British soap opera “Eastenders.” It features one of the main characters from the show (Christian Clarke, played by the actor John Partridge- left) and someone else who I don’t know. I am not a regular viewer so I can’t say if the man on the right is an extra or an actual character.
This picture has itself caused scandal in the UK, as it was a gay kiss that was broadcast before the watershed, and as such led to a number of complaints to the BBC. However, since this episode aired (October 2008) Christian now has a boyfriend and a few more gay kisses have taken place.
In relation to the John Snow Kiss-In event, I used this particular photo because I considered it to be quite mild (no groping, no tongues). The photos I had considered using before I chose that one are much more racy. Oh the irony!
Secondly, the removal of the Facebook John Snow Kiss-In event:
It turns out that the Facebook event for the John Snow Kiss-In was not blocked by Facebook, but made private by the creator of the event itself. Paul Shetler, the organizer, left this comment on the previous thread:
“Hey I just saw this. Before it goes too far, I just want people to know that FB have NOT removed the kiss-in event page; it’s still there, but _I made the event private after the event_ was over and only visible to those who had been invited as there were starting to be trolls posting abusive nonsense on it.”
Thanks for clearing that up, Paul. Now if Facebook will only reply to Richard’s query about why they removed my original post and photo when he put it up on his wall…
It has been erroneously reported in the media that our own Richard Metzger (who lives in Los Angeles) organized the London “Kiss-In” event, which is untrue, and also unfair to Paul Shetler and the actual organizers. Also, Richard did not state in his post that Facebook HAD taken the event page down, he just questioned IF this was the case and IF there was a connection with MY post about the event being removed from his own wall. This seems to have confused some people.
Here is a report on the John Snow Kiss-In from the Guardian, featuring an interview with Mr Shetler:
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UPDATED: A photo of two men kissing that was posted on a Facebook page protesting a London pub’s decision to eject a same-sex couple for kissing has been removed by the social networking site, an error, according to a rep for the company.
"The photo in question does not violate our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and was removed in error," the statement, obtained by America Blog, says. We apologize for the inconvenience"
The Dangerous Minds Facebook page was set up to promote a “gay kiss-in” demonstration in London to protest the pub. The page used a photo of two men kissing to promote the event.
According to NYULocal.com, the photo was quickly removed and the following e-mail was sent to administrators of the Facebook page: “Shares that contain nudity, or any kind of graphic or sexually suggestive content, are not permitted on Facebook.”
The decision to remove the photo has prompted scores of people to post their own pictures of same-sex couples kissing in protest — dozens in the last few hours alone. | – It turns out Facebook is only guilty of about half of what it’s been accused of in the gay kiss incident. The social networking site apologized yesterday for taking down an image used to promote a “kiss-in” event in London. “The photo in question does not violate our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, and was removed in error,” the site said in a statement, according to the Advocate. But Facebook did not, as has been reported in several places, take down the kiss-in event itself. Here’s what happened: The photo Facebook took down was posted by the Dangerous Minds blog to promote the event. In its initial write-up about the incident, the blog observed that the page organizing the protest had been taken down. But it was actually the organizer himself who "removed" the event, Dangerous Minds clarified. Organizer Paul Shetler explains that he decided to switch it from a public event to a private one, as "there were starting to be trolls posting abusive nonsense on it." |
It's the Golden State's latest version of the Great Secession.
Fed up by Sacramento's regulations and Southern California's political sway, residents in one rural Northern California county are taking steps to leave the state.
The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted, 4-1, on Tuesday to pursue seceding from California, the Redding Record Searchlight reported. Proponents say Siskiyou should form a new state -- called Jefferson -- with other counties in Northern California and Southern Oregon they believe share similar interests.
On Tuesday more than 100 people filled the supervisors' chambers, many of whom indicated support for the declaration, the Searchlight reported. When a speaker asked those in the audience who was in favor, "nearly every hand in the room was raised," the newspaper said.
"Many proposed laws are unconstitutional and deny us our God-given rights," said Happy Camp resident Gabe Garrison. "We need our own state so we can make laws that fit our way of life."
"The state of Jefferson is the place I want to raise my son," Kayla Brown said.
Resident complaints include a lack of representation in Sacramento and insufficient attention to major issues for the county, such as water rights and a rural fire prevention fee, the Searchlight reported.
"We have to have government that's local, understands our issues and has empathy," said Mark Baird, a rancher who the Searchlight said was heading the effort.
Supervisor Marcia Armstrong cited restoration of limited government as one of the reasons she supported the declaration.
"We also have this enormous bureaucracy of unelected officials making decisions for us," she said.
Supervisor Ed Valenzuela, who chairs the board, was the only vote against the decision, the Searchlight said. He cited the oath he took upon his reelection to "uphold the Constitution and uphold the constitution of the state of California."
"I signed on to work within the system I know," he said. "I don't like it, I don't agree with it all the time, but ... I did sign up for that and I will continue to do so."
Neighboring counties, which would be invited to join Jefferson, are also weighing secession. Humboldt County Supervisor Rex Bohn told the Times-Standard that his board would probably meet to consider their options.
"I was one of the people who thinks the state of Jefferson wasn't a bad idea," he told the newspaper. "There has been a total lack of respect of our water rights and the fire fee. Those things may not be important to the rest of the state, but it's important to us."
Secession efforts within California date back to the 1800s. The most recent high-profile attempt came in 2011, when Riverside County officials weighed a proposal to pursue the establishment of "South California," which would have seen 13 counties leave the Golden State.
[For the Record, 1:50 p.m. PDT Sept. 4: An earlier version of this post incorrectly attributed Humboldt County Supervisor Rex Bohn's comments on the state of Jefferson to the Redding Record Searchlight. They were made to the Times-Standard.]
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kate.mather@latimes.com ||||| The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday to support the county's split from the state of California.
It's the first in a long series of steps to form the proposed state of Jefferson, which proponents of the effort say would bring representation to rural North State counties that currently are beholden to the whims of representatives of the more heavily populated Southern California and free them from burdensome state regulations.
”We have to have government that's local, understands our issues and has empathy” for those affected, said Mark Baird, a Scott Valley rancher who's also president for Scott Valley Protect Our Water and vice president of the Siskiyou Water User's Association.
Baird is leading the charge to form a new state from rural counties in Northern California and Southern Oregon, though he certainly wasn't the only voice in support of the move.
More than 100 people packed the supervisors' chambers Tuesday for the discussion on whether the county should issue a declaration that it wants to secede from the state. Nearly all those in attendance appeared to be for the move and about a dozen spoke in support of it.
”Many proposed laws are unconstitutional and deny us our God-given rights,” said Gabe Garrison of Happy Camp. “We need our own state so we can make laws that fit our way of life.”
Among those in attendance was Erin Ryan, field representative for Rep.
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Doug LaMalfa. When asked for the congressman's opinion, she said that she and other LaMalfa staff members supported the effort to secede, but she did not know LaMalfa's thoughts on it.
She also said there's support for the split in Sacramento.
The discussion also attracted members of groups from Shasta and Tehama counties who are looking for their own supervisors to pass similar declarations.
”It would be the only way I could see everyone coming together in a positive manner,” said Tom Moller of Red Bluff.
Also there was Kayla Brown, a mother in her early 20s, who said she didn't want to raise her child in California.
”The state of Jefferson is the place I want to raise my son,” she said.
At one point in the meeting a speaker asked for a show of hands from those in attendance who supported the split. Nearly every hand in the room was raised.
And supervisors echoed much of that enthusiasm in their own comments.
”I haven't had one contact in regard to this issue, that's in opposition,” Supervisor Michael Kobseff said.
Supervisor Marcia Armstrong said the issues were about regulation, restriction of rights, lack of representation, regionalism and restoration of limited government.
”We also have this enormous bureaucracy of unelected officials making decisions for us,” she said.
Board Chair Ed Valenzuela was the sole vote against the declaration. He said he was elected to solve problems within the system.
”It comes down to because I took an oath. I took an oath when I ran for re-election, which I just did, and that was to uphold the Constitution, and uphold the constitution of the state of California,” he said. “And within that, and because knowing what it's like to be a minority, I know the value of having to work from the other side without the numbers and without support. I signed on to do that, I signed on to work within the system I know. I don't like it, I don't agree with it all the time but at the same token, I did sign up for that and I will continue to do so.”
In August, county residents lobbied the board to consider separating from the state over a laundry list of complaints including a lack of representation in Sacramento for the Republican-majority county, issues pertaining to water rights and the rural fire prevention fee.
If the county were to split from the state, any action taken today would be the first step in a long process that would require approval from the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress.
Siskiyou County would also invite other neighboring counties in California and Southern Oregon to join in the effort to create a new state.
The U.S. Constitution allows for the formation of new states, though land can't be taken from existing states without the consent of state and federal governments.
Humboldt County 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn said he can understand the frustration in Siskiyou County and that he tends to agree with most of the issues that were brought up by the board.
”I was one of the people who thinks the State of Jefferson wasn't a bad idea,” Bohn said. “There has been a total lack of respect in terms of our water rights and the fire fee. Those things may not be important to the rest of the state, but it's important to us. This is a major thing for everyone that lives rurally.”
Bohn said the problem is that only 16 percent of the state is rural, and decisions in Sacramento are sometimes based on the needs or realities of more urban areas.
”It's kind of a drastic measure to get someone to listen to you, but I guess they feel like they're not getting heard,” he said.
Bohn added that the Humboldt County supervisors will likely meet to discuss the issue.
Humboldt County 3rd District Supervisor Mark Lovelace said he took the talk of secession as a statement of frustration.
”There has to be basic economic underpinnings to make a state work,” Lovelace said. “There is a certain romantic appeal and allure to the state of Jefferson, this entire idea of what could have been, but in reality it would not be good economically.”
He said one of the problems with a rural county seceding is that the tax base starts small.
”Siskiyou is one of the largest counties with one of the smallest populations,” he said. “It is also full of state roads that they won't be able to maintain, and federal land.”
Times-Standard staff writer Catherine Wong contributed to this report. | – Not a big fan of Southern California? Neither is Northern California, apparently. Supervisors in rural Siskiyou County voted 4-1 Tuesday in favor of seceding from the state, reports the Times-Standard. The county thinks state officials in Sacramento are too focused on the big metro areas of the south and thus want to form a state of its own—to be called Jefferson. Supporters want to invite other northern counties, and perhaps a few from Oregon, to join, too, notes the Los Angeles Times. ”We have to have government that's local, understands our issues, and has empathy,” says one local rancher. It's clearly a very long-shot bid, one that would eventually require the blessing of both the state legislature and the US Congress. Still, neighboring Humboldt County is expected to meet soon to consider the idea. (Meanwhile, some counties in Colorado want to form a new state of their own.) |
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The WARC files associated with this crawl are not currently available to the general public. ||||| Summary: Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia is aimed at building a devices and services strategy, but the joint company won't take the same form as Apple.
Microsoft has been working on its evolution into a devices and services company, away from the services business it has traditionally been, for several years now with limited success.
Its acquisition of most of Nokia is the latest acceleration of that strategy — to move further away from the moribund world of the beige desktop and towards the sunlit world of smartphones and tablets.
Owning the desktop (via Windows) and building additional services on top, like Office or search, has been vital for Microsoft's strategy until now, so as our interest shifts from the desktop to the tablet or smartphone it's essential to Microsoft's broader business (even Azure) that it can retain that connection in some form. To be a winner in the business market it also has to be a winner in the consumer market, something that wasn't the case a decade ago.
As Microsoft's own presentation about the deal, announced on Monday, notes: "With the consumerisation of IT user matter at both home and work... We cannot risk having Apple or Google foreclose app innovation, integration, distribution or economics."
Nokia lashed itself to Microsoft's mast after losing out to iOS and Android in the smartphone market share stakes and with the limited success of the Lumia range so far enough to keep interest in Windows Phone alive, most analysts are seeing a certain amount of inevitability to the acquisition, even if they are split on what its biggest implications are.
Forrester mobile analyst Charles Golvin said the steadily diminishing investments by other Windows Phone licensees has left Microsoft with just Nokia as its standard bearer and added Microsoft now appears "poised to adopt a vertically integrated strategy more akin to Apple's".
But he said Microsoft's challenge remains how to unite the myriad services and brands — Windows, Nokia, Live, Surface, Xbox, Bing and more — into a cohesive experience that will command and cement customer loyalty.
"That's a tall order and one that should weigh strongly on the board's choice of a new CEO," he said.
Richard Holway, chairman of analyst TechMarketView, said given that Microsoft paid $8.5bn for Skype in 2011, the price it is paying for Nokia "seems extremely reasonable".
However, he added: "Our only 'surprise' now is the timing of the announcement. For such a big deal to come just days after Ballmer stood down seems mighty strange."
For Holway, there is also an opportunity for the enlarged Microsoft to step up its business mobility efforts: "There is undoubtedly a market opportunity for the creation of a provider of mobile solutions for the enterprise. Taking Office onto various mobile platforms. Providing secure emailing in a sector once occupied by BlackBerry."
But such a move carries its own risks — Microsoft's success has been build on being hardware agnostic and persuading device manufacturers to support it. Already its move into the tablet market with Surface will have unsettled its manufacturers which have struggled to come up with convincing form factors to tackle the decline of the PC. If Nokia's rumoured tablet appears too, this will further complicate Microsoft's relations with these partners who are essential for the success of Windows 8 (as well as Office and other products).
But, as Holway points out, "on balance, Microsoft needed to make a bold move into mobile. Not doing so would mean certain terminal decline. This way at least holds out some chance of survival."
Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at analyst Gartner, said by buying rather than just partnering with Nokia, Microsoft gets deeper integration, the benefit of its patents and removes any risk of Nokia either going Android or being acquired by someone else.
But success against iOS and Android will depend on how the companies integrate.
"Nokia benefits from higher R&D spend as well as more marketing budget. Microsoft benefits from a good relationship with carriers, good direct channel presence in emerging markets, the potential of going after more aggressively to the business market," she told ZDNet.
But for Milanesi, business is a secondary concern, even if it is an attractive target where Microsoft, and to a less extent Nokia, have experience: "First and foremost it needs to be about consumers. Enterprise are certainly a target especially considering the state BlackBerry is in but consumers make or break a phone vendor today."
From Milanesi's point of view, emerging markets need to be a longer term target for Microsoft — but the battle needs to be won in the mature markets first.
For Forrester principal analyst Thomas Husson, Nokia adds to Microsoft's developing market strategy. It's looking increasingly likely that the US and western European smartphone market is reaching saturation, so that most growth will come from emerging markets. Here Nokia's Asha devices could play a neat role as an 'on-ramp' for consumers buying their first smartphone. Tied in with a revamped tablet strategy this could open up a new front against Android in particular.
But Husson cautioned: "This is going to be a long journey. In some countries, Windows Phone 8 market share is now above five percent and close to 10 percent. It thus still offers a limited reach for developers and marketers.
"Nokia is indeed still massivley popular in some emerging countries but competition is very high with Far East manufacturers and low-cost Android devices. I think it will depend on Microsoft's new strategy for emerging markets beyond just mobile phones."
All of this shows the number of competing — and occasionally contradictory — demands upon Microsoft's management.
As the incumbent player in a fading market, Microsoft has a take into account those differing requirements as it tries to build for the future. For example, balancing Microsoft's business customers against the need to get into consumer tech, the need to build its own hardware business against the need to keep manufacturers onside, and building up a mobile business while protecting its PC heritage.
It's easy to look at Apple's integrated hardware and software model and the rich ecosystem that sits around it, but it's much harder to emulate.
Global coverage: Nokia Interim CEO: Microsoft deal makes us stronger | Even with Nokia devices, Microsoft wants to license Windows Phone to other makers | Does its Nokia buy thwart or fuel a possible Microsoft break-up? | Microsoft shows how to flush decades of Nokia goodwill away | Microsoft gets less than $10 per Windows Phone unit | Microsoft-Nokia deal: Reaction from the Twitter trenches | Elop drops Nokia CEO role to lead devices team under Microsoft deal
Further reading ||||| Microsoft is buying Nokia's cell phone business and licensing its patent portfolio, according to both companies.
In 2003, Nokia's cell phone market share exceeded 35%. That same year, its phone business alone posted an operating profit of 5.48 billion euros. Today's sale price, which includes 1.65 billion euros in patents, is just 5.44 billion euros. It's been a rough decade.
Nokia's cell phone collapse has been a spectacular one. The Finnish giant dominated the dumbphone era after Motorola, another faded star that recently fell into the hands of a comparative upstart. But it was blindsided by Apple, then deprived of a chance to regain its footing by an even more aggressive Google, which followed close behind.
The story, in hindsight, is simple: Nokia did not have a truly compelling smartphone ready when a large segment of the developed world was first compelled by smartphones. Whether this was the result of complacency — Nokia was, in the mid-2000s, the leader of the niche smartphone category — doesn't matter now.
Nokia's miscalculations became impossible to ignore in 2008, the same year Microsoft decided, internally at least, to scrap its ancient and inadequate Windows Mobile platform in favor of something entirely new. Under these circumstances, it's easy to imagine how a sort of camaraderie might have emerged at the time, or at least a mutual sympathy. Certainly a shared interest: to break back into the market from which they had been unceremoniously expelled.
During the next two years, while Microsoft readied Windows Phone 7 and Nokia floundered on, the seeds of Sunday's deal were sewn. A chastened Nokia was a natural partner for the tardy but determined Microsoft; it needed a software solution and Microsoft needed help with hardware. The 2009 vision of 2013 renders clearly: Two giants, united after some missteps, regain their rightful place. By 2010, when the head of Microsoft's Business division left to take the helm at Nokia, the gears were moving. Many at the time wondered if Stephen Elop's time at Nokia would be spent grooming the company for purchase — a foreigner in all possible ways, he began his time at the company with a memo rightly but offensively declaring Nokia's proud platform a failure, and quickly pledged the company's commitment to the still-tiny Windows Phone. It felt like a radical about-face, but no matter: Nokia and Microsoft were going to save each other.
Now, with Elop returning to Microsoft after a job well done — well, a job, done —that plan has come to fruition. The only problem is that there's little left to save. Windows Phone has barely dented the now much larger smartphone market. Nokia hasn't had a Windows Phone hit. This incongruity — between a successfully executed, slyly strategic long-term merger plan and a much grander, more general sense of failure — might explain Microsoft's deeply strange and somewhat sad stated goals for its Nokia acquisition.
Microsoft' s "Strategic Rationale," titled "Accelerating Growth," is a disjointed and bizarre document. It manages to sound both insane and uninspiring, outlining modest goals that still sound unrealistic.
For example, it lays out a plan to pull in over $45 billion dollars in smartphone revenue by 2018. But it plans on doing this by securing just 15% of the projected global smartphone market — not exactly a world-beating plan, keeping in mind the time frame. Consider: 2018 is five years away. Five years ago was the year the App Store first opened. ||||| Hello there,
There is a pertinent story about a man who was working on an oil platform in the North Sea. He woke up one night from a loud explosion, which suddenly set his entire oil platform on fire. In mere moments, he was surrounded by flames. Through the smoke and heat, he barely made his way out of the chaos to the platform's edge. When he looked down over the edge, all he could see were the dark, cold, foreboding Atlantic waters.
As the fire approached him, the man had mere seconds to react. He could stand on the platform, and inevitably be consumed by the burning flames. Or, he could plunge 30 meters in to the freezing waters. The man was standing upon a "burning platform," and he needed to make a choice.
He decided to jump. It was unexpected. In ordinary circumstances, the man would never consider plunging into icy waters. But these were not ordinary times - his platform was on fire. The man survived the fall and the waters. After he was rescued, he noted that a "burning platform" caused a radical change in his behaviour.
We too, are standing on a "burning platform," and we must decide how we are going to change our behaviour.
Over the past few months, I've shared with you what I've heard from our shareholders, operators, developers, suppliers and from you. Today, I'm going to share what I've learned and what I have come to believe.
I have learned that we are standing on a burning platform.
And, we have more than one explosion - we have multiple points of scorching heat that are fuelling a blazing fire around us.
For example, there is intense heat coming from our competitors, more rapidly than we ever expected. Apple disrupted the market by redefining the smartphone and attracting developers to a closed, but very powerful ecosystem.
In 2008, Apple's market share in the $300+ price range was 25 percent; by 2010 it escalated to 61 percent. They are enjoying a tremendous growth trajectory with a 78 percent earnings growth year over year in Q4 2010. Apple demonstrated that if designed well, consumers would buy a high-priced phone with a great experience and developers would build applications. They changed the game, and today, Apple owns the high-end range.
And then, there is Android. In about two years, Android created a platform that attracts application developers, service providers and hardware manufacturers. Android came in at the high-end, they are now winning the mid-range, and quickly they are going downstream to phones under €100. Google has become a gravitational force, drawing much of the industry's innovation to its core.
Let's not forget about the low-end price range. In 2008, MediaTek supplied complete reference designs for phone chipsets, which enabled manufacturers in the Shenzhen region of China to produce phones at an unbelievable pace. By some accounts, this ecosystem now produces more than one third of the phones sold globally - taking share from us in emerging markets.
While competitors poured flames on our market share, what happened at Nokia? We fell behind, we missed big trends, and we lost time. At that time, we thought we were making the right decisions; but, with the benefit of hindsight, we now find ourselves years behind.
The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't have a product that is close to their experience. Android came on the scene just over 2 years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable.
We have some brilliant sources of innovation inside Nokia, but we are not bringing it to market fast enough. We thought MeeGo would be a platform for winning high-end smartphones. However, at this rate, by the end of 2011, we might have only one MeeGo product in the market.
At the midrange, we have Symbian. It has proven to be non-competitive in leading markets like North America. Additionally, Symbian is proving to be an increasingly difficult environment in which to develop to meet the continuously expanding consumer requirements, leading to slowness in product development and also creating a disadvantage when we seek to take advantage of new hardware platforms. As a result, if we continue like before, we will get further and further behind, while our competitors advance further and further ahead.
At the lower-end price range, Chinese OEMs are cranking out a device much faster than, as one Nokia employee said only partially in jest, "the time that it takes us to polish a PowerPoint presentation." They are fast, they are cheap, and they are challenging us.
And the truly perplexing aspect is that we're not even fighting with the right weapons. We are still too often trying to approach each price range on a device-to-device basis.
The battle of devices has now become a war of ecosystems, where ecosystems include not only the hardware and software of the device, but developers, applications, ecommerce, advertising, search, social applications, location-based services, unified communications and many other things. Our competitors aren't taking our market share with devices; they are taking our market share with an entire ecosystem. This means we're going to have to decide how we either build, catalyse or join an ecosystem.
This is one of the decisions we need to make. In the meantime, we've lost market share, we've lost mind share and we've lost time.
On Tuesday, Standard & Poor's informed that they will put our A long term and A-1 short term ratings on negative credit watch. This is a similar rating action to the one that Moody's took last week. Basically it means that during the next few weeks they will make an analysis of Nokia, and decide on a possible credit rating downgrade. Why are these credit agencies contemplating these changes? Because they are concerned about our competitiveness.
Consumer preference for Nokia declined worldwide. In the UK, our brand preference has slipped to 20 percent, which is 8 percent lower than last year. That means only 1 out of 5 people in the UK prefer Nokia to other brands. It's also down in the other markets, which are traditionally our strongholds: Russia, Germany, Indonesia, UAE, and on and on and on.
How did we get to this point? Why did we fall behind when the world around us evolved?
This is what I have been trying to understand. I believe at least some of it has been due to our attitude inside Nokia. We poured gasoline on our own burning platform. I believe we have lacked accountability and leadership to align and direct the company through these disruptive times. We had a series of misses. We haven't been delivering innovation fast enough. We're not collaborating internally.
Nokia, our platform is burning.
We are working on a path forward -- a path to rebuild our market leadership. When we share the new strategy on February 11, it will be a huge effort to transform our company. But, I believe that together, we can face the challenges ahead of us. Together, we can choose to define our future.
The burning platform, upon which the man found himself, caused the man to shift his behaviour, and take a bold and brave step into an uncertain future. He was able to tell his story. Now, we have a great opportunity to do the same.
Stephen. | – Why did Microsoft buy Nokia's phone business? We now know Microsoft's answer: The computing giant released a 30-slide presentation today arguing that the move will improve Microsoft's margins on Windows phones, which will allow it to invest more in the platform, which will accelerate sales and market share growth, the Washington Post reports. But John Herrman at Buzzfeed has another explanation: "Fear of dying alone." Here's what he and other pundits are saying: The presentation "manages to sound both insane and uninspiring, outlining modest goals that still sound unrealistic," Herman argues—like capturing a whole 15% of the smartphone market. "It's a fitting end for the close of Microsoft's Ballmer era, during which the company … missed out on the most important change in consumer electronics in decades" while remaining profitable in unglamorous ways. Like everyone, Microsoft is trying to ape the Apple model, MobileOpportunity observes. But it's not so sure that's a good idea. "There already is an apple," the blog points out, and other software/hardware hybrid companies, like Palm and BlackBerry, have been crushed under its heel. Maybe Microsoft should have tried to patch up its tried-and-true strategy of licensing its OS. The move risks complicating Microsoft's crucial relationships with other PC and device manufacturers, one analyst tells ZDNet. But he adds that "Microsoft needed to make a bold move" or face "certain terminal decline," and that the price it paid for Nokia "seems extremely reasonable." Meanwhile, Matthew Yglesias at Slate digs up a fairly interesting memo from Nokia CEO (and, perhaps, Microsoft heir apparent) Stephen Elop, in which he uses the story of a Deepwater Horizon worker leaping from the burning oil platform—a seemingly desperate, yet necessary move—to explain the company's shift from its own failed OS to Windows Phone. Of course, Yglesias notes, that move "was basically a total failure." To read the full parable, click here. |
After a year in which liberals scored impressive, high-profile Supreme Court victories, conservatives could be in line for wins on some of this term's most contentious issues, as the justices consider cases that could gut public sector labor unions and roll back affirmative action at state universities.
However, as the court's new term kicks off Monday, uncertainty surrounds several other politically potent cases that could wind up on the court’s agenda.
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Litigation over state efforts to limit abortion by regulating clinics and doctors is making its way to the high court. And the justices are already facing a batch of petitions involving the rights of religious institutions to opt out of providing contraception under Obamacare.
Both issues seem likely to land on this term's docket, although the justices haven’t formally taken up either.
Many in the Obama administration would also like to see the court weigh in on immigration in coming months, upholding the president’s right to grant quasi-legal status and work permits to millions of immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children.
But it’s unclear whether that fight will get to the justices in time for a decision this term or whether Obama’s effort to expand his executive actions on immigration will remain blocked by a lower court order until the president leaves office.
Here’s POLITICO’s look at five of the most important cases the justices could grapple with soon:
A potential body blow to labor
Public-employee unions and politicians of both parties are keenly focused on a California dispute about whether states can compel government employees to pay union dues. A loss for the unions could sharply diminish the clout of a movement already struggling with its political relevance.
The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, was brought by Orange County, Calif. schoolteacher Rebecca Friedrichs and other teachers, who are arguing that forcing them to pay union dues violates their First Amendment rights. They also contend that unions should have to get permission before collecting dues used for political purposes, as opposed to the current system that requires objecting employees to opt out.
“The significance is substantial, either way it comes out,” said University of California at Irvine Law Professor Catherine Fisk. “The reason why conservative lawyers are bringing these case is the hope that a significant number of government employees choose not to join the union and certain government employee unions will be weaker.”
The Roberts court has not been friendly to unions, issuing a 5-4 ruling last year that prohibited mandatory union fees for home health workers but stopped short of banning so-called “agency shops” in government.
The new case directly asks the justices to overturn a 38-year-old precedent that allows all workers covered by union negotiations to be charged for representation.
How the case will be resolved is unclear, partly because the conservative justices often see limits on government employee’s First Amendment rights when their speech is at issue. Fisk said the unions are “rationally fearful” about what the court will do, but she thinks the justices might end up dumping the case after it’s heard. “I think the case raises so many doctrinal problems for them,” she said.
Higher ed affirmative action back in the crosshairs
Two years after punting the case back to an appeals court, the justices will take a second crack at resolving a dispute about the constitutionality of the University of Texas at Austin's affirmative action program. The case was brought by rejected applicant Abigail Fisher, who contends she was rejected because of her race.
The last time Fisher’s case went before the high court, affirmative action opponents hoped it would serve as a vehicle to pare back preferences for racial and ethnic groups at government-run schools. However, the justices instead told the 5th Circuit it had been too deferential to the University of Texas’s claims that the programs were narrowly tailored to promote diversity. Justice Anthony Kennedy won the support of six other justices for a decision that said such programs must be handled with "strict scrutiny,” but the decision did not suggest they were automatically unconstitutional.
Justice Elena Kagan has recused herself because she was involved in the case during her previous service as solicitor general. The real question is whether Kennedy will join the four other Republican appointees in setting such a high bar for affirmative action that many public colleges will abandon the preferences and admissions practices they use to achieve racial and ethnic diversity.
The meaning of "one person, one vote’
A Texas case has the potential to deal a blow to Latino political clout, tilting the balance of power away from urban areas and towards suburban and rural areas with more white voters. Evenwel v. Abbott presents the question of whether state legislative districts can be apportioned using a count of eligible voters rather than a count of all people.
If immigrants (both illegal and legal) as well as children can be left out of the count, “the rural areas where voters tend to have fewer non-citizens or where there are fewer young people concentrated would necessarily gain,” said New York University Law Professor Rick Pildes. “It’s a reasonable inference if the urban areas are more Democratic leaning that they would lose power to more Republican rural areas.”
Congressional redistricting shouldn’t be directly affected by the case, Pildes said, because the Constitution says the U.S. census used for that reapportionment should be based on each state's population. But others say the ruling could spill over into Congressional redistricting down the line.
Religious nonprofits and Obamacare
In the Hobby Lobby case last year, the justices allowed for-profit companies to seek religious exemptions from Obamacare’s coverage requirements. But now, several religious-affiliated schools and institutions –including the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home in Denver – have filed lawsuits, too.
They argue that the administration’s process for allowing religious nonprofits to opt out of the contraception requirement requires them to violate their religious beliefs. The Supreme Court has eight petitions – including one that just arrived from the federal government — on this issue.
Some prominent judges are effectively begging the Supreme Court to jump in by lamenting the refusal of some courts to protect the largely-Catholic religious entities from sanctions for failing to fill out paperwork that triggers the contraception exemption but also sets in motion coverage from others.
“How ironic that this most consequential claim of religious free exercise, with literally millions of dollars in fines and immortal souls on the line, should be denied when nearly every other individual religious freedom claim has been upheld by this court,” 5th Circuit Judge Edith Jones complained in a dissent last week. “How tragic to see the humiliation of sincere religious practitioners, which, coming from the federal government and its courts, implicitly denigrates the orthodoxy to which their lives bear testament. And both ironic and tragic is the harm to the Judeo-Christian heritage whose practitioners brought religious toleration to full fruition in this nation. Undermine this heritage, as our founders knew, and the props of morality and civic virtue will be destroyed.”
The justices haven’t signaled which of the challenges, if any, they’ll consider but are expected to do so in the coming weeks.
Testing when abortion clinic regulations go too far
Two of the latest tactics in the abortion wars could wind up before the justices this term: requirements that doctors performing abortions have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and that abortion clinics meet standards for hospitals or surgical centers.
An appeals court has upheld most such limits in Texas, but in June the Supreme Court voted, 5-4, to block key parts of the law until the justices decide whether to weigh in. Petitions to take up that case and a similar law in Mississippi are already pending at the Supreme Court.
Supporters of the laws say they are designed to protect women's health, but abortion providers and abortion rights advocates say the laws would force many clinics to close and penalize poor women who could not afford travel to distant clinics.
A similar Wisconsin law led to combative oral arguments in front of the 7th Circuit last week. Judge Richard Posner suggested the law was a transparent effort to prevent abortions, not aid women.
“Governor Walker, before he withdrew from the presidential competition, said he thought abortion should be forbidden even if the mother dies as a result, " Judge Richard Posner said to a lawyer for the state, in remarks first reported by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "Is that kind of official Wisconsin policy?"
“That perhaps is Governor Walker’s personal view, but it’s not a state policy,” Assistant Attorney General Brian Keenan replied. Keenan insisted requiring doctors to have admitting privileges was a reasonable precaution to aid women.
“The admitting privileges would benefit the continuity of care for the woman when she goes to that hospital,” he said.
Posner said the fact that the law was intended to kick in one business day after it was passed made clear the authors' intentions. “That statute can’t be justified in terms of women’s health,” the judge said.
Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.
||||| The new term’s biggest rulings will land in June, as the 2016 presidential campaign enters its final stretch, and they will help shape the political debate.
“Constitutional law and politics are certainly not the same thing, but they are interrelated, never more so than in a presidential election year that will likely determine who gets to appoint the next justice or two or three,” said Vikram D. Amar, dean of the University of Illinois College of Law.
By the time the next president is inaugurated, Justice Stephen G. Breyer will be 78, Justices Scalia and Kennedy will be 80, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be 83.
“This coming term will again put into focus that the court is divided along partisan lines and that the 2016 presidential elections will be hugely consequential in shaping constitutional and other law for perhaps a generation or more,” said Neal E. Devins, a law professor at William & Mary.
The current court is the first in history split along partisan lines, where the party of the president who appointed each justice is a reliable predictor of judicial ideology. Put another way, all five Republican appointees are to the right of all four Democratic appointees. It was not long ago that Republican appointees like Justices John Paul Stevens and David H. Souter routinely voted with the court’s liberal wing.
As a consequence of the current alignment, Professor Devins said, “the Roberts court has generated more marquee decisions divided by party alignment than all other courts combined.”
The last term’s big cases did not for the most part follow that pattern because Justice Kennedy, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and sits at the court’s ideological fulcrum, voted with the court’s liberal wing at an unusually high rate.
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“The story of the last term is that the left side of the court did a lot of winning,” said Irving L. Gornstein, the executive director of Georgetown’s Supreme Court Institute.
“This term,” he added, “I would expect a return to the norm, with the right side of the court winning a majority but by no means all of the big cases, with Justice Kennedy again the key vote.”
The cases on unions and affirmative action, for instance, were almost certainly added to the docket by the more conservative justices in the confidence that they would be able to move the law to the right. Both cases were created by legal entrepreneurs and brought on behalf of plaintiffs recruited by conservative groups.
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The case on unions, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, No. 14-915, may deal a blow to organized labor. “It could set the stage for a Citizens United-style reconsideration in the area of union dues,” said John P. Elwood, a lawyer at Vinson & Elkins, referring to the 2010 decision that transformed campaign finance law.
The new case takes aim at a compromise fashioned by the court in 1977 in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.
In Abood, the court said public workers who decline to join a union can nevertheless be required to pay for the union’s collective bargaining efforts to prevent freeloading and ensure “labor peace.” But nonmembers, the court went on, cannot be forced to pay for the union’s purely political activities, as that would amount to forbidden compelled speech under the First Amendment.
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The California teachers who brought the new case say t collective bargaining is itself political, as it concerns public policy on spending, seniority, class size and the like. Unions respond that the case is a First Amendment Trojan horse designed to further weaken the power of organized labor.
The unions have reason to be nervous. The court has twice signaled that it may be ready to overrule Abood notwithstanding the doctrine of stare decisis, Latin for “to stand by things decided.” Justice Alito, the court’s leading critic of Abood, offered a joking alternative definition in public remarks last month.
“It is a Latin phrase,” he said. “It means ‘to leave things decided when it suits our purposes.’ ”
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The case on unions is not the only sequel on the docket.
In Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, No. 14-981, the court will return to the subject of whether the Constitution permits public colleges and universities to take account of race in admissions decisions.
In 2013, in a short, vague compromise ruling in the case, the court refused to decide whether the admissions plan at the University of Texas at Austin — which combines race-neutral and race-conscious tools to achieve diversity — is constitutional. The court’s return to the subject after an appeals court sustained the hybrid plan has struck many supporters of affirmative action as an ominous sign.
The case was brought by the Project on Fair Representation, a small conservative advocacy group that successfully mounted a challenge to the Voting Rights Act in 2013. The group is also behind this term’s most important case on voting, Evenwel v. Abbott, No. 14-940, which asks the court to address the meaning of “one person, one vote.”
The court has never resolved whether state voting districts should have the same number of people, including unauthorized immigrants, children and others not eligible to vote, or the same number of voters. Allowing states to count only voters would in many parts of the country shift political power from cities to rural areas, a move that would generally benefit Republicans.
On the last day of the term in June, Justices Breyer and Ginsburg announced that they had grave doubts about the constitutionality of the death penalty and seemed to invite a broad challenge. It has not yet arrived, and it is hardly clear that a majority would be receptive to such a challenge.
The new term does have an unusually high number of capital cases presenting more focused issues, including a challenge to Florida’s sentencing scheme, Hurst v. Florida, No. 14-7505, and a case on race discrimination in jury selection, Foster v. Chatman, No. 14-8349.
The court has not heard an abortion case since 2007, when it upheld the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. That seems about to change.
The most likely candidate is a challenge to a Texas law that threatens to reduce the number of abortion clinics in the state to about 10, down from more than 40. Should the court agree to hear the case, Whole Woman’s Health Center v. Cole, No. 15-274, it is likely to produce the most important abortion ruling since 1992, when Planned Parenthood v. Casey reaffirmed the constitutional right to abortion identified in Roe v. Wade in 1973.
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The question in the Texas case is whether two parts of a 2013 state law imposed an “undue burden” on the constitutional right to abortion. One part of the law requires all clinics in the state to meet the standards for “ambulatory surgical centers,” including regulations concerning buildings, equipment and staffing. The other requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
An appeals court largely upheld the contested provisions, but the Supreme Court in June, by a 5-to-4 vote, stepped in to block the ruling while it considered whether to hear the case.
That suggests three things: that the court is likely to hear the case, that its decision will be closely divided and that the ruling will land in June, thrusting a volatile and divisive issue into the middle of the presidential race. ||||| WASHINGTON—The death penalty is shaping up to be a big issue for the Supreme Court as it begins a new term Monday, with at least six capital-punishment cases on the docket and a recent wave of executions keeping the justices up late to field last-minute appeals.
In the weeks ahead, the court is set to hear arguments over the constitutionality of capital sentences in Florida, Georgia, Kansas and Pennsylvania. The focus on execution issues follows a 5-4 ruling last term involving a sedative used for lethal injections. The split... | – The Supreme Court is facing a docket of high-profile political cases that will test whether recent liberal victories were more fluke or firm conviction, the New York Times reports. The court—which is divided 5-4 for conservatives, but saw Justice Roberts vote liberal on Obamacare and same-sex marriage—will look at cases including unions, affirmative action, and possibly abortion. A primer: Unions: Since 1977, unions have been allowed to charge non-union workers for dues that go to collective bargaining efforts, but not political ones. Now California teachers have brought a case saying collective bargaining is itself political. "It could set the stage for a Citizens United-style reconsideration in the area of union dues," a lawyer says. Affirmative Action: Abigail Fisher says that being white played a role in the University of Texas denying her admission back in 2008. The Supreme Court punted on her case in 2013, and now it's back on the docket. Like the unions case, this was brought by a conservative group that recruited the plaintiffs. The death penalty: Justices will decide on capital-punishment cases in Pennsylvania, Kansas, Georgia, and Florida, the Wall Street Journal reports. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer have already expressed doubts about whether capital punishment is constitutional. "One person, one vote": Should state legislative districts be drawn based on their number of people or eligible voters? If justices choose the latter—leaving out immigrants and children—Latinos could lose political clout and rural areas will gain, Politico reports. Abortion: Justices may opt to revisit a Texas law that could reduce the state's abortion clinics from more than 40 to roughly 10. At issue is whether new clinic requirements are an "undue burden" on women's right to an abortion. One commentator believes this Supreme Court session will be ugly for liberals. |
If True, Building Set For Demolition Could Be Manhattan's Oldest October 15, 2013 5:39 PM
Preservationist Adam Woodward discovered a cellar that he believes could be the foundation of the Revolutionary War-era Bull’s Head Tavern. (credit: Adam Woodward)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A preservationist says he has found evidence that a Manhattan building is the former site of an 18th-century tavern where George Washington is believed to have enjoyed a celebratory drink during the American Revolution.
If it is indeed the home of the legendary watering hole, the discovery could mean that the building that is perhaps Manhattan’s oldest is slated to demolished.
“After the English had marched up the Bowery and out of the city (in 1783), George Washington and Governor (George) Clinton stopped at the Bull’s Head (tavern),” preservationist Adam Woodward told WCBS 880’s Alex Silverman.
play pause Preservationist Believes He's Found Tavern Where George Washington Visited
WCBS 880's Alex Silverman...
The building at 50 Bowery, which has had many faces since, is being prepared for demolition so a hotel can be built at the site. Legend had it that “the Bull’s Head’s structure, cellar, bones” were still inside, Woodward said.
He decided to poke around and, in the basement, Woodward found what he believes are Colonial-era, hand-hewn and hand-planed joists and foundation walls.
“Found myself in what I am pretty certain is the 1750s historic tavern,” he said.
Woodward said he felt compelled to investigate in the building, which once housed a chain drugstore and the Atlantic Garden beer garden, because time was running out.
“I just realized that it would be the last chance to solve one of the great mysteries of New York City history,” he said.
“It was pretty incredible walking back in time 250 years.”
Historian and author David Freeland told Silverman that the find “would make it very likely the oldest building remaining in Manhattan.”
That has Woodward hoping city officials will act quickly to preserve the site.
“What an incredible opportunity that the city suddenly has for this thing to re-emerge,” he said.
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Maybe George Washington slept there, or maybe he only watered his horse and ordered stronger stuff for himself. Either way, David Freeland sounded excited as he crossed the threshold where a famous Colonial-era tavern, the Bull’s Head, once welcomed thirsty out-of-towners.
“There are treasures inside,” said Mr. Freeland, an author and a historian who researched the site for a book about a beer garden that later occupied the tavern’s place on the Bowery.
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But all he saw was debris from the building’s most recent life, as a chain drugstore with a Chinese restaurant upstairs. He did not reach the treasures that thrilled local-history aficionados over the weekend — namely, some old-looking joists and foundation walls in the basement — because the steps were blocked by rubble. The site is to be cleared for a hotel.
The joists were discovered by a photographer and preservationist, Adam Woodward, who suspects that structural elements of the Colonial-era tavern were used in the construction of the much larger beer hall, the Atlantic Garden. It reigned as “one of the show places of New York” from 1858 on, The New York Times said when it finally shut down in 1911.
But what about the tavern where Washington established his temporary headquarters in November 1783 as the British withdrew?
“The whole issue of whether the Bull’s Head was buried inside the Atlantic Garden was one of the great mysteries of New York,” Mr. Woodward said.
Until, apparently, the other day, when he got a look inside. He saw iron work from the 19th century and I-beams from later on. And then he saw a stairway to the basement, and headed down.
“At one point there was a distinct change in the building material, from cinder block to a brick-and-stone foundation wall,” he said. “I followed that wall and found myself at the front of the building, under the sidewalk at the Bowery, and looked up and saw what looked to me like 18th-century hand-hewn and hand-planed joists and beams with extremely wide floorboards right above them.”
He said, “I was thinking, I am standing in the cellar of the Bull’s Head.”
The Bull’s Head opened around 1750 on the fringe of what was a still-young city concentrated below the Bowery. Washington and his troops marched down the Bowery and stopped there in 1783 before making “their official entrance into the city proper,” said Kerri Culhane, a historian who wrote the application that won the Bowery a place on the National Register of Historic Places.
The neighborhood “was a butchers’ district in the 18th century and the 19th century,” Ms. Culhane said. “People drove livestock down from the hinterland and the slaughterhouse was behind the Bowery. That’s where the trading took place.”
It was also a home to the ancestors of future V.I.P.’s. “The Astors started out as butchers,” she said, but began snapping up land. They even owned the Bull’s Head site.
But the tavern closed. Mr. Freeland wrote that the building became a store that sold stoves until the Atlantic Garden opened as a beer garden.
It was a popular gathering place for German immigrants in its early days, and in the 1870s and 1880s, the Atlantic Garden was raided repeatedly for selling beer on Sundays, when the city’s excise laws appeared to forbid that. Mr. Freeland noted that the laws did not mention beer, only “intoxicating liquors or wines.” The Atlantic Garden’s owner got off after one raid because the judge sampled the beer the police had seized and complained it was so watered down that “a man might drink by the gallon without getting drunk.”
Later still, the Atlantic Garden became “a place where Tin Pan Alley songwriters would go to plug their songs,” Mr. Freeland said. One tune that apparently got its start there in the 1890s was “Daisy Bell,” the song that turned the phrase “bicycle built for two” into a catchphrase.
Mr. Woodward said he hoped the demolition for the hotel could be delayed long enough for “a proper archaeological exploration.” (Calls to the owner were not returned on Monday.)
“I can’t think of another lot in Manhattan that has a more important history,” Mr. Woodward said, “and the fact that it might be intact, a couple of feet under the building, is an incredible opportunity to get on archaeological record.”
||||| Elected officials and the Landmarks Preservation Commission are both doing their best to launch a thorough investigation of what may very well be the famed 18th century saloon the Bull's Head Tavern, but their options are limited. Photographer Adam Woodward first documented the ancient, hand-planed wood joists and stone foundation in the basement of 50 Bowery last week, and both he and historian David Freeland are convinced that these are the remnants of Bull's Head. If so, this would be the oldest surviving structure in Manhattan by far, and as Woodward puts it, an "incredible opportunity to get on archaeological record." But the fate of the site depends on the current owner, Alex Chu, who is demolishing the site to make way for a new hotel.
The Landmarks Commission tells The Lo-Down that they're "aware of the situation," but "cannot require the owner to conduct archaeology." The best they can do is give the owner a list of good archaeologists. Some elected officials are also getting involved, but again they've got to take it up with Chu first.
· Landmarks Commission: No Jurisdiction to Mandate Historic Site Survey at 50 Bowery [TLD]
· All Coverage of Bull's Head Tavern [~ENY~] | – In 1783, after the British soldiers left New York City, George Washington is believed to have stopped for a celebratory drink at the Bull's Head tavern. Now a preservationist thinks he's found the historic site—and if he's right, it could be the oldest building in Manhattan. Adam Woodward had heard that the building at 50 Bowery, currently scheduled to be demolished so a hotel can go up, might have "the Bull's Head's structure, cellar, bones," he tells CBS New York. So he searched the basement, and "found myself in what I am pretty certain is the 1750s historic tavern," he says. Specifically, he found what he thinks are hand-hewn and hand-planed joists and foundation walls from the Colonial era. Since that time, the building has housed a drugstore, a Chinese restaurant, and a beer garden, among other things. Now he's hoping city officials will preserve the site, saying, "What an incredible opportunity that the city suddenly has for this thing to re-emerge." A historian is also convinced it is indeed the old tavern, and investigations have been launched by elected officials and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Eater NY reports. But ultimately, the commission says, it "cannot require the owner to conduct archaeology," so a lot depends on him. He's apparently not talking yet; the New York Times couldn't get hold of him. |
A still image taken from Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) video footage shows what they say is a small unidentified aircraft shot down in a mid-air interception after it crossed into southern Israel October 6, 2012.
DUBAI (Reuters) - The incursion by an unmanned aircraft into Israeli airspace at the weekend exposed the weakness of Israeli air defenses, an Iranian military official was quoted as saying on Monday.
The Israeli air force shot down a drone on Saturday after it crossed into southern Israel, the military said, but it remained unclear where the aircraft had come from.
Jamaluddin Aberoumand, deputy coordinator for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the incident indicated that Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defense system "does not work and lacks the necessary capacity", Fars news agency reported.
The Iron Dome system, jointly funded with the United States, is designed to shoot down short-range guerrilla rockets, not slow-flying aircraft. It intercepted more than 80 percent of the targets it engaged in March when nearly 300 rockets and mortars were fired at southern Israel, the Pentagon said at the time.
The drone was first spotted above the Mediterranean near the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to the west of Israel, said military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich. An Israeli warplane shot it down above a forest near the occupied West Bank.
Israeli parliament member Miri Regev, a former chief spokesman of the military, wrote on Twitter it was an "Iranian drone launched by Hezbollah", referring to the Lebanese Shi'ite group that fought a war with Israel in 2006.
Israeli defense officials have not confirmed this.
Aberoumand attributed claims the drone was made by Iran to a "psychological operation" by Israel, but did not confirm or deny them. "The Zionist regime (Israel) has many enemies," he added.
On at least one occasion, Iranian-backed Hezbollah has sent a drone into Israeli airspace. And in 2010, an Israeli warplane shot down an apparently unmanned balloon in the Negev near the country's Dimona nuclear reactor.
The Israeli military released a 10-second video clip of what it said was Saturday's mid-air interception, showing a small aircraft just before a missile from a fighter jet destroys it.
Israel has threatened to bomb Iran's nuclear sites if diplomatic efforts fail to stop the nuclear work it believes is aimed at getting weapons capability, a charge Tehran denies.
Iran has responded with threats to attack U.S. military bases in the region and retaliate against Israel if attacked.
(Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Alistair Lyon) ||||| GAZA Israel said it struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday after Palestinian militants fired rockets at southern Israel, in what they said was a response to an Israeli air strike that killed one militant and wounded a second a day earlier.
Israel said its air raid targeted 25-year-old Mohammed Makawi whom it linked to a radical group involved in a recent Sinai border attack in which an Israeli was killed. Hospital sources in Gaza said Makawi died of his wounds.
The armed wing of Hamas, the Islamists who control the Gaza Strip, said it had joined in Monday's rocket attack along with the smaller Islamic Jihad group.
Gaza has been under the control of Hamas since 2007. The Islamist group rejects permanent peace with Israel and the two sides fought a three-week war in December-January 2008-2009. The border is tense, with frequent clashes.
The Israeli army says over 470 rockets have been fired from Gaza this year, but it was the first time since June that Hamas had acknowledged launching rockets at Israel. A Hamas spokesman said the movement would not remain passive in the face of what it called "one-sided" Israeli violence.
The Israeli army said it had targeted "Hamas terror activity sites and terrorist squads responsible for the rocket fire", but gave no details. Israeli forces say they will not tolerate such attacks and will hold Hamas responsible for them.
Gaza hospital officials said one Islamic Jihad militant thought to have been involved in the rocket attack had been wounded by Israeli tank fire east of the town of Rafah.
Residents of Khan Younis in southern Gaza said an Israeli tank fired at the suspected launch area, slightly wounding four children and damaging a minaret and a water tower.
Abu Ubaida, spokesman of the Hamas armed wing Izz El-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, said the rocket firing was a message to Israel that it would not accept "a formula of a one-sided aggression by the occupation on flimsy pretexts".
With Egyptian mediation, Hamas has made efforts in the past to clamp down on smaller militant groups that persist in mounting attacks on Israel, partly in order to avoid another devastating war. The Israeli offensive in the winter of 2009 killed more than 1,000 Palestinians.
But on Monday Abu Ubaida said Hamas had displayed a "high level of coordination" with Islamic Jihad in unleashing the latest rocket barrage.
"Should the enemy continue its aggression against the Gaza Strip the reaction by the resistance will be stronger and broader," he said.
The homemade weapons fired from Gaza are inaccurate, but potentially lethal. An Israeli spokeswoman said some exploded harmlessly on Monday near the border with the Gaza Strip. But one kibbutz resident said children could have been killed.
"It was a very powerful barrage," Ilan Yosef of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak near the Gaza border told Israel radio. "The goat pen in the (children's) petting corner was severely hit and a vet is treating the animals still alive and dealing with those that aren't."
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Alistair Lyon) | – Israel launched a round of airstrikes on Gaza today, wounding two militants and eight bystanders, including some children. Israel says the attack was retaliation for a round of Palestinian rockets fired yesterday, which Palestinians say were in response to another Israeli airstrike earlier in the day, Reuters reports. More than 470 rockets have been fired from Gaza since June, but this was the first time Hamas acknowledged responsibility. As usual the rockets failed to harm anyone, though one did kill some goats at a petting zoo. The incident comes in the wake of a drone flight into Israeli airspace this weekend, which some have speculated came from Iran. An Iranian military official today boasted that the incident proved that Israel is vulnerable, and that its anti-missile defense system "does not work and lacks the necessary capacity." But he denied that the drone was made by Iran, saying such accusations represented a "psychological operation" on Israel's part. "The Zionist regime has many enemies," he said. Iran, meanwhile, is blaming Israel for a hack attack on its oil rigs. |
PARIS (AP) — The Pompidou Centre in Paris hopes to display a long-vanished Picasso painting in May, now that it has been recovered by U.S. customs authorities.
This undated photo provided by the United States Department of Justice, shows a cubist painting entitled “The Hairdresser” by Pablo Picasso. Authorities say the painting worth millions of dollars was... (Associated Press)
The 1911 cubist painting "The Hairdresser," worth millions of dollars, was reported missing from a Pompidou storeroom in 2001. It was smuggled into the U.S. in December from Belgium.
Pompidou director Alain Seban said the discovery comes as a "true comfort" at a time when the cultural world is reeling from an Islamic State video showing the destruction of statues in Iraq.
Seban said in a statement Friday that he hopes the work can be exhibited again publicly in May.
U.S. and French authorities have not announced any arrests in the case. ||||| A stolen Picasso worth millions of dollars was shipped to the U.S. in a package that described it as a $37 "art craft" — but it will soon be on its way back to France.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn filed papers Thursday to forfeit the century-old cubist painting, which was swiped from a museum storeroom in 2001. "A lost treasure has been found," U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement.
The canvas, titled "La Coiffeuse," was bequeathed to France's National Museum and was placed in storage at the Centre Georges Pompidou, where staffers discovered it was missing when they received a loan request for it.
It was shipped by Federal Express from Belgium in December and seized at the Port of Newark. Officials said shipper was identified only as "Robert" and the destination was a climate-controlled storage facility in Queens. Court papers did not indicate whether the sender or intended recipient have been identified.
La Coiffeuse, painted by Picasso in 1911. U.S. Department of Justice
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— Tracy Connor ||||| A Picasso painting missing from Paris for more than a decade resurfaced in the United States, where it had been shipped under false pretenses as a $37 holiday-themed “art craft.”
The 1911 painting, “La Coiffeuse,” which translates to “The Hairdresser,” was unearthed in December in a FedEx shipment from Belgium to Newark. The canvas had been smuggled out of a storeroom of the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Paris museum and arts center, and its whereabouts had not been known.
On Thursday, Loretta E. Lynch, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, filed a civil complaint to forfeit the Picasso and return it to France.
Its shipping papers described it as a $37 “art craft/toy” and also read “Joyeux Noel,” French for “Merry Christmas.” When federal Customs and Border Protection officials examined the shipment, though, they found the master artist’s work. Department of Homeland Security officials working from Long Island City, Queens, which is within the Eastern District of New York’s jurisdiction, then took over.
The oil painting is owned by the French government; it had been bequeathed to the National Museums of France by one of its former directors. It was last exhibited in Munich in 1998, and then returned to Paris, where it was stored at the Pompidou. Officials there thought it was safe and sound until they received a loan request for it in 2001, searched the storerooms and could not find it. They declared the painting, then valued more than $2.5 million, stolen.
On Dec. 17, someone going by “Robert” with an address in Belgium shipped the painting to a climate-controlled warehouse in Long Island City. The next day, the painting arrived at the Port of Newark and was seized.
French museum officials came to New York last month to examine the painting in person alongside historical records and photographs, and they confirmed that it was “La Coiffeuse.”
Under federal law, imported merchandise can be seized by the government if it was stolen or smuggled.
“The market to sell stolen antiquities in the United States is drying up,” Anthony Scandiffio, deputy special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, which seized the painting after border officials flagged it, said in a statement. | – A Picasso painting that was found to have vanished from a Paris museum more than a decade ago has turned up—in the US, in a package shipped from Belgium. Its papers identified it as a $37 "art craft/toy" and also included the line "Joyeux Noel," or Merry Christmas, the New York Times reports. A man named "Robert" attempted to send the package to a climate-controlled warehouse in Queens, New York, in December, but custom officials at the Port of Newark seized what turned out to be Picasso's 1911 La Coiffeuse (The Hairdresser). French museum officials traveled to New York last month and confirmed the find is indeed the missing Picasso work, which the Centre Georges Pompidou realized was missing from its storerooms in 2001 following a loan request; it was then valued at more than $2.5 million. Court documents don't specify whether the sender or would-be recipient have been identified, NBC News reports, but "a lost treasure has been found," US attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement. She filed a civil complaint yesterday that will have the painting returned to France. The Pompidou's director, who called the painting's rediscovery a "true comfort," hopes the painting can go on display at the museum as early as May, the AP reports. (Another Picasso work was stolen days before this one was found.) |
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. ||||| St. Paul's Top 3 Dive Bars"Best burger in town. Really, it's that amazing. Not a huge place, so don't bring your whole extended family with you."
WCCO Viewers' Choice For Best Egg Roll In MinnesotaIn this week’s Best of Minnesota, the tastiest egg rolls can be found at a popular neighborhood restaurant in northeast Minneapolis called Que Viet.
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Minneapolis Moonshine: 5 Of The City's Top DistilleriesWe crunched the numbers to find the top distilleries in Minneapolis, to help you find the best spots to meet your needs.
Artsy Deals Worth Seeking Out In St. Paul This WeekLooking to up your appreciation of the arts? We've rounded up three artsy deals around St. Paul this week.
Mike's Mix: Crooked Water Spirits & The 'BB' BoulevardierThis cocktail is a riff on the classic Boulevardier cocktail; which, itself, is a bourbon-base version of a Negroni. | – A dispute over the freshness of Wendy’s fries leaves a 25-year-old Minnesota woman facing criminal charges. According to CBS Minnesota, Wendy's employees claim that Eiram Chanel Amir Dixson became argumentative during a drive-thru transaction just after noon Thursday after the woman asked specifically for fresh French fries. Reports don't specify the condition of the fries, or whether she even received them, but do make clear that an argument followed. Employees allege Dixson reached through the drive-thru window and, after an employee threw a soft drink at her, proceeded to spray them with Mace. The restaurant manager was hit directly in the face while two more employees were also in the line of the spray, per the police report. All three employees provided similar accounts of the incident, according to ABC News 5. Dixson is being charged with felony use of tear gas to immobilize. If found guilty, she’ll face a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a $3,000 to $10,000 fine. Wendy’s drive-thrus see their share of action: last year, a worker was allegedly bit over a wrong order in Virginia, while a Florida man reportedly threw an alligator through a drive-thru window as a prank. |
The wounded officer is Crystal Almeida, 26. The third victim was identified as Scott Painter, a Home Depot loss-prevention officer.
Almeida and Painter were still in critical condition on Wednesday, but they were making "remarkable recoveries," Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
Hall thanked the community for its support and asked for continued prayers.
The suspect, 29-year-old Armando Luis Juarez, was arrested Tuesday night after a police chase that ended in a neighborhood near Love Field. He was initially arrested on one charge of aggravated assault against a public servant and another against the civilian.
A capital murder charge was added Wednesday morning after Santander's death.
The district attorney's office has assigned a team of attorneys to prosecute Juarez in "pursuit of justice," District Attorney Faith Johnson said in a written statement. ||||| DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A Dallas police officer has died less than 24 hours after being shot at a North Dallas Home Depot store. Another officer and a store employee, who were also both shot, remain hospitalized.
Officer Rogelio Santander died at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas hospital at 8:11 a.m. Wednesday.
Dallas police Chief U. Renee Hall held a press conference outside the hospital this morning. When CBS 11 News reporter Robbie Owens offered sympathies the Chief said, “We appreciate it” and then made the announcement.
“We come before you this morning with broken hearts and we regret to inform you that Officer Rogelio Santander, Badge 10934, has succumbed to his injuries,” she said. “We’re asking you to continue to pray for the [Santander] family and the DPD family.”
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings also announced Officer Santander’s death during a regularly scheduled city council meeting. Interrupting the meeting, which was already in progress, he said, “It is with great sadness that we must inform you that Officer Rogelio Santander, Badge #934, passed away at 8:11 this morning.”
Along with Officer Santander, Officer Crystal Almeida and the Home Depot security guard, now identified as Scott Painter, all underwent surgery after the shooting. Officer Almeida and Mr. Painter both remain hospitalized.
During the press conference Chief Hall said, “We are happy to report that Officer Crystal Almeida and our loss-prevention officer Scott Painter is making remarkable recovery. They are still in critical condition but we are optimistic about what we’re seeing with them right now.”
The man who police say shot the officers and the security guard – Armando Luis Juarez – woke up behind bars today. After the shooting, a manhunt, and late night police chase, Juarez was taken into custody and ultimately transferred to the Dallas County Jail very early Wednesday morning.
Officers Santander and Almeida both joined the Dallas Police Department there years ago, assigned to the Northeast Division.
A source close to the investigation told CBS 11 News reporter J.D. Miles that Officer Santander was shot in the back of the head and Officer Almeida was shot in the face.
Wednesday morning Dallas police Sergeant Michael Mata, who is also president of the Dallas Police Association, said, “When an officer is shot or killed or injured in one city, it affects every officer across the country. We are one huge family.”
The shooting happened just after 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Home Depot store in the 11600 block of Forest Central Drive, near U.S. Highway 75 and Forest Lane, after the two police officers were called to help an off-duty officer.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Dallas police Officer Seward was working off-duty at the store when Mr. Painter alerted him that a male customer was acting suspiciously in the store. Officer Seward detained the person, identified him as Armando Juarez, and discovered a felony warrant had been issued for him.
Officer Seward had called on-duty police officers to the scene and Officers Santander and Almeida responded. All of the police officers met in the store’s loss-prevention office and then Officer Seward then went to Officer Santander and Almeida’s squad car to look up the felony warrant for Juarez and confirm that was the person being detained inside.
The affidavit details how Officer Seward was returning to the building when he heard a “shots fired” broadcast over his police radio, proceeded inside and found Officers Santander and Almeida and Mr. Painter all on the floor of the loss-prevention office “with apparent gunshot wounds.”
Police say there was a witness inside the office who said he saw Juarez shoot all three people.
Immediately after the shooting armed officers were seen in back of the Home Depot as employees and customers rushed out of the store and away from the area.
A massive search for the suspect — including police helicopters and officers on the ground — followed after witnesses reported the shooter had fled on foot and may be hiding in a nearby creek. But when police reviewed security camera video they discovered Juarez fled from the scene in a white-colored work truck. It was then police put out a description of the truck — that had “GX4” on the back fender, a ladder rack, and large exhaust pipes rising from the front — and issued a be on the lookout (BOLO) alert.
Police later spotted the truck, with Juarez and a female passenger inside, in Southeast Dallas and gave chase. Officers were ultimately able to corner Juarez in a residential neighborhood near Dallas Love Field Airport and took the 29-year-old man into custody. The unidentified woman was also detained. It isn’t know if she is facing any charges.
“We got our man,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said at a late-night news conference.
Moments after Juarez was taken into custody, Chief Hall thanked the officers on a radio call.
“Base to all units: Excellent work, excellent work. Thank everybody for their diligence in this matter. Appreciate you so very much and we’re still praying for our brother and sister,” she said.
A number of officers continue to hold vigil at Presbyterian Dallas hospital. “Most of the family that is coming is already here,” Mata said. “Obviously, they’re holding on the best they can. This [being shot] is something I think all [police] families realize they could be facing. But when it happens, you never want it to be you.”
At the time of his arrest Juarez had an outstanding warrant for Felony Theft. With the death of Officer Santander, Juarez has now been charged with Capital Murder in addition to the charge of Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant for the shooting of Officer Almeida. He remains in jail on a $1.1 million bond. ||||| Law enforcement officers stand guard at the driveway entrance to the emergency room at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Two Dallas policemen were reportedly shot at a nearby Home Depot and reportedly... (Associated Press)
Law enforcement officers stand guard at the driveway entrance to the emergency room at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Two Dallas policemen were reportedly shot at a nearby Home Depot and reportedly were transported to the Dallas hospital on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning... (Associated Press)
DALLAS (AP) — A Dallas police officer died Wednesday after a shooting that wounded another officer and an employee at a home improvement store, the city's mayor said.
Mayor Mike Rawlings was presiding over a city council meeting when he announced the death of Rogelio Santander, a member of the police force for three years. Santander, officer Crystal Almeida and a loss-prevention officer for Home Depot were shot Tuesday by a man identified by police as 29-year-old Armando Luis Juarez.
The two officers and the store loss-prevention officer underwent surgery for their injuries after the shooting in the north of the city, Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall said late Tuesday.
Almeida and the loss-prevention officer, who hasn't been identified, were in critical condition Wednesday.
Police arrested Juarez following a high-speed car chase. He's being held at the Dallas County jail on charges of aggravated assault on a public servant and felony theft. He was taken into custody shortly before 10 p.m.
"We got our man," Rawlings said at a late-night news conference at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.
But relatives of Juarez said they couldn't believe he would be involved in such a violent episode.
"There's no way my son could've done this," Ruben Juarez told The Dallas Morning News, adding that he didn't think his son owned any guns.
Armando Juarez's grandmother, Janie Longoria, told reporters Tuesday that her grandson is a "sweet, lovable person," but that his friends are a bad influence.
"And I told him to stay away from those people," she said.
Police were called to the store to help an off-duty police officer to remove Juarez from the store. Police have not said if he was suspected of shoplifting or why he was being ejected from store. Juarez opened fire as he was being escorted from the store and made his escape. Several law enforcement agencies were involved in the pursuit that led to his eventual arrest.
Rawlings said late Tuesday that he remains "upset at the lack of respect for our police in this city and in our country."
In 2016, four Dallas police officers and a transit officer were shot dead by a sniper in an ambush that came toward the end of a peaceful protest over the police killings of black men in other cities.
Juarez was arrested in January on a charge of unlawful use of a motor vehicle after authorities say he was found in a stolen vehicle. He also pleaded guilty to a drug-possession charge. | – A 27-year-old Dallas police officer died Wednesday after being shot the day prior at a Home Depot in Lake Highlands. The Morning News identifies the officer as Rogelio Santander. He'd been called to the store around 4pm by a cop who was working an off-duty job there and noticed Armando Luis Juarez was behaving oddly. The off-duty cop detained Juarez and learned he had an outstanding felony warrant. Santander and Crystal Almeida, 26, responded to the scene; authorities say they and a loss prevention officer employed by Home Depot were shot by Juarez as he was being escorted from the store. A source tells CBS Dallas Santander was shot in the back of the head and Almeida was shot in the face. She remains in critical condition, as does the Home Depot employee. Police say Juarez fled and a high-speed car chase ensued, per the AP. He was apprehended Tuesday night and is being held on charges of aggravated assault on a public servant and felony theft. "We got our man," said Mayor Mike Rawlings. |
BALTIMORE (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says it's looking for a man who has cost the service about $500,000 after responding to nearly 30 of his fake distress calls.
In a press release published Friday, the Coast Guard says the 28 calls have originated from around the area of Annapolis, Maryland.
Each call involved the same male voice and used an emergency radio channel. He's been making the calls since July 2014. The two most recent calls were made on the night of July 21 and the early morning of July 22.
The Coast Guard also says hoax calls distract rescuers from real emergencies, putting both the public and the responding crews at risk. ||||| A hoax caller in Maryland cost the Coast Guard about $500,000 in the past two years by making false distress alerts.
The caller made 28 false distress alerts from Annapolis, Maryland, beginning in July 2014, according to the Coast Guard. The two most recent calls were received Thursday and Friday, the Coast Guard reported. They also said they determined the calls to have originated from Annapolis, between Loretta Heights and Admiral Drive.
The estimated cost of the responses to these false alarms is $500,000.
The Coast Guard provided an audio file of the caller, in which the caller repeats “mayday” -- a word used to indicate distress at sea.
Making false distress calls is a felony, punishable by a maximum of six years in prison, a $10,000 civil fine, $250,000 criminal fine and a reimbursement to the Coast Guard for their efforts, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard also said such false distress alerts detract from their ability to respond to actual alerts.
“A hoax call is a deadly and serious offense,” said Lt. Cmdr. Sara Wallace, who heads the response sector in Maryland. “Calls like these not only put our crews at risk, but they put the lives of the public at risk.”
Anyone with information about the caller is asked to contact the Coast Guard's regional command center at 410-576-2525 or email investigators at CGIS-Baltimore@uscg.mil. | – The US Coast Guard says it's looking for a man who has cost the service about $500,000 after responding to nearly 30 of his fake distress calls, reports the AP. In a press release published Friday, the Coast Guard says the 28 calls have originated from around the area of Annapolis, Maryland. Each call involved the same male voice and used an emergency radio channel. He's been making the calls since July 2014. The two most recent calls were made on the night of July 21 and the early morning of July 22. “A hoax call is a deadly and serious offense,” a Coast Guard rep tells NBC4, which notes that such calls are a felony that carry six years in prison, $10,000 civil fine, $250,000 criminal fine, and reimbursement to the Coast Guard. "Calls like these not only put our crews at risk, but they put the lives of the public at risk.” |
High-profile Hollywooders, as well as several sports, business and political luminaries, are offering up a string of last-minute, big-dollar contributions both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
Actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Zach Galifianakis, Renee Zellweger, Susan Saint James Ebersol and Amanda Seyfried are among the four-figure donors in recent days to Obama’s campaign, according to federal campaign finance disclosures.
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reset PHOTOS: Stars hit up the swing states Play Slideshow POLITICO’s late night roundup
Author Anne Rice, Disney TV Animation Executive Producer Dan Povenmire, and comedy writer Ian Maxtone-Graham are other notable Obama contributors.
For Romney, actor Kelsey Grammer, Denver Broncos executive John Elway and former game show host Bob Barker have made 11th hour, four-figure donations.
Sarah Palin’s political action committee, SARAH PAC, also chipped in $5,000 last week.
Heritage Foundation Executive Becky Dunlop, American Beverage Association Chief Executive Susan Neely, former Mike’s Hard Lemonade President Philip W. O’Neil, the political action committee of the Consumer Electronics Association and the congressional campaign of Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) are among the recent donors of at least $1,000 to Romney’s campaign. ||||| The Obama campaign is using a mailer modeled after online cat memes as part of their final get out the vote push in the crucial battleground state of Ohio. On the mailer, there is a picture of a cat peeking out from behind a laptop decorated with Ohio-themed Obama campaign stickers highlighting the push to get people to vote early.
“STOP LOOKING AT CATS ONLINE AND GO VOTE,” text on the flyer says.
A user on the social news site Reddit with the handle MollyBloom11 posted a picture of the mailer on the site last night. They were clearly impressed with the campaign’s understanding of internet culture.
“The Obama campaign sent me this today…They know their audience,” MollyBloom11 wrote.
The Obama campaign confirmed the mailer was real and has been used in Ohio. They were not immediately sure whether similar imaging has been used for online ads or in other states.
Follow Hunter Walker on Twitter or via RSS. hwalker@observer.com | – The stars are coming out in a big way as Election Day looms. The latest: Will Ferrell really, really wants you to vote—and he'll do anything to make sure you do, he promises in a new video for President Obama. "Hungry? How about a home-cooked meal? Hope you like angel hair pasta," he says. "You need a guy to help you move a couch? Done. I've even got my own van." But his promises get bigger—and weirder—from there. "If you vote, I'll eat anything you tell me to—garbage, hair, human toenails, underpants, whatever—I'll do it," he swears. The president's name stays out of it until the very end, when Ferrell concludes, while holding a football, "Vote Obama. It's a slam dunk." On Jimmy Kimmel's show last week, Chris Rock offered up a special message to white voters. "In times like these, you need a white president you can trust," Rock explains. "And that white president's name is Barack Obama." His evidence that Obama is actually white? The president used to be called "Barry," he likes to golf, he wears "mom jeans," and he has a Portugese water dog, among other things. Amy Poehler kept her endorsement brief and to the point: "If you can vote, go vote for Obama," she concludes. Obama himself is also urging voters to hit the polls ... and he's doing it cat-meme style. It's not just ads: Celebrities are making last-minute donations to both campaigns, Politico reports. Jake Gyllenhaal, Zach Galifianakis, Renee Zellweger, and Amanda Seyfried all recently made four-figure contributions to Obama's campaign, while Kelsey Grammer, Bob Barker, and John Elway did the same for Romney. Click here, here, or here to see previous celebrity endorsements. |
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Two young men found dead from gunshot wounds in a Huntington Beach apartment on Sunday, Nov. 19 have been identified as brothers, with investigators not ruling out a murder-suicide or an accident-suicide, police said on Monday.
Officers found Benjamin Ullestad, 25, and Brandon Ullestad, 22, dead in the apartment they shared just before 3 p.m., according to the Orange County Coroner’s Office.
Investigators are trying to piece together what led to the deaths, said Officer Angela Bennett, an agency spokeswoman.
“We don’t know,” she said. “We’re not ruling (murder-suicide) out. We’re not ruling out an accident-suicide. But we are not looking for any outstanding suspects.”
Though police would not give many details about the investigation yet, they did say a handgun was found at the scene.
It was unclear who made the distressed call from inside the home that led police to the apartment, which is close to Marina High School, the baseball fields of Marina Park and Helen Murphy Branch Library. ||||| A man who declined to give his name but identified himself as the owner of the building wore surgical gloves as he loaded full trash bags into the back of an SUV. ||||| HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA) – The shooting deaths of two brothers inside a Huntington Beach apartment were being investigated Tuesday as the result of a possible murder-suicide, authorities said.
Police received a call at 2:45 p.m. Sunday that sent officers to the 15700 block of Taft Lane, said Huntington Beach police Lt. David Dereszynski. They found the bodies of two men identified by the county coroner’s office as 25-year-old Benjamin Ullestad and 22-year-old Brandon Ullestad, he said. A handgun was recovered at the scene.
Investigators were not ruling out that the double shooting could be a case of murder-suicide, police said.
“We are not looking for outstanding suspects at this time,” Dereszynski said, adding that “there is no threat to the community.”
(©2017 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.) | – Mystery surrounds the deaths of two brothers whose bodies were found in their Huntington Beach, Calif., apartment Sunday. Police got a call from the apartment that afternoon and arrived to find Benjamin Ullestad, 25, and Brandon Ullestad, 22, dead from gunshot wounds. A handgun was found at the scene, and police "do not believe there are any outstanding suspects," per a spokesperson, but the investigation is ongoing. Police say there is no threat to the community, CBS LA reports. Possibilities so far include a murder-suicide or an accident, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Orange County Register reports it's not clear who made the "distressed" 911 call from the apartment, and notes that an "accident-suicide" is a possibility. Neighbors say the area is typically quiet, making the incident particularly surprising. According to the brothers' Facebook pages, both attended Cal State Long Beach and Benjamin was a legal assistant at a Newport Beach law firm; both Facebook pages feature photos of the men shooting guns. Police found a June 28 receipt for a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun on a table by the door. Their mother also lives in the apartment where the brothers were found, but was in Tennessee when they died. |
Article Excerpt
WASHINGTON—Behind the political showdown over the deadly U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya, are a few dozen heavily edited words.
The 94-word intelligence summary emerged from a daylong email debate between more than two dozen intelligence officials, in which they contested and whittled the available evidence into a bland summary with no reference to al Qaeda, an assessment the administration now acknowledges was wide of the mark.
Now famous as "the talking points," the 94 words were used by United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice on Sunday talk shows days after the attack. That moment has become a proxy for a ... ||||| Article Excerpt
WASHINGTON—Behind the political showdown over the deadly U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya, are a few dozen heavily edited words.
The 94-word intelligence summary emerged from a daylong email debate between more than two dozen intelligence officials, in which they contested and whittled the available evidence into a bland summary with no reference to al Qaeda, an assessment the administration now acknowledges was wide of the mark.
Now famous as "the talking points," the 94 words were used by United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice on Sunday talk shows days after the attack. That moment has become a proxy for a ... | – The Wall Street Journal today takes a look at the life and death of 94 little words: the heavily edited and ultimately faulty Benghazi talking points compiled by the CIA in the wake of the consulate attack. Just a day after the attack, the CIA's reports were already referencing al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb. The following day, David Petraeus appeared before House and Senate groups; he, too, mentioned the terrorists, and was asked to compile unclassified talking points that Congress could use. By noon on Sept. 14, a draft was circulating—and it referenced al-Qaeda. But an exhausting process of editing followed, with more than two dozen CIA officials weighing in on the copy over email—and battling about the inclusion of al-Qaeda. Those opposed argued it should be removed because the intel was shaky (sourced from intercepted phone calls) and over fears it could alert al-Qaeda members to the fact that they were being watched. The opponents won out, though the term "extremists" remained; the FBI agreed with the call. It also contained this line: "The demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo." On Sept. 15, the CIA station chief in Tripoli began to voice his concern with the assertions that the attack was both spontaneous and that demonstrations were occurring. He sent the CIA an email summarizing his thoughts the next day—but Susan Rice had already been hand-delivered the 94 fateful words the night before, so that she could prep for her news show appearances. Click for the Journal's full take, which charts the ultimate change in the CIA's assessment. |
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A volcanic eruption in Tonga has created a new island — although one scientist said Wednesday it could soon disappear.
CORRECTS SOURCE - In this photo, taken Jan. 14, 2015 and released by New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a volcano erupts near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean. A volcano that has been... (Associated Press)
CORRECTS SOURCE - In this photo, taken Jan. 14, 2015 and released by New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a volcano erupts near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean. A volcano that has been... (Associated Press)
The volcano has been erupting for a month in the ocean about 65 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the capital, Nuku'alofa. Last week it disrupted international air travel to the Pacific archipelago for several days.
New Zealand volcanologist Nico Fournier said he traveled by boat to within about a mile of the new island on Saturday to take a closer look.
He said it's made mainly of loose scoria and its dimensions are about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) by 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles), and that it rises about 100 meters (109 yards) above the sea.
"It's quite an exciting site, you get to see the birth of an island," he said. "Visually it was quite spectacular, but there was no big sound coming with it, no boom. It was a bit eerie."
He said that once the volcano stops erupting, it will likely take the ocean no more than a few months to erode the island entirely. He said it would need to be made of lava or something more durable to survive.
Fournier, who works for New Zealand agency GNS Science, said he was able to establish that the volcano was mainly belching steam into the atmosphere, and that the small amount of ash it was sending out was rising no more than about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).
That will come as a relief to airlines, as it is the ash that can be dangerous to planes.
Fournier said the ocean around the island is likely fairly shallow, perhaps only about 100-200 meters (328-656 feet) deep. He said there is no name yet for the new island, and he has been told that any naming rights will fall to Tonga's king. ||||| Volcanic eruption creates new island in Tonga
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Wednesday, January 21, 2015, 2:28 PM - A volcano that began erupting last month in Tonga has created a large new island, officials announced Friday.
The volcano is located 65 kilometres northwest of the nation's capital. According to the Land and National Resource Ministry, the volcano has been quiet for the past five years.
It began rumbling on December 20.
Officials say the volcano is erupting from two vents. One is spewing ash and rock onto the uninhabited island Hunga Ha'apai while the other is underwater, about 100 metres offshore.
Ministry officials toured the area last Thursday and confirmed the presence of a new island.
RELATED: Amazing drone video of Icelandic volcano
"The new island is more than one kilometer ... wide, two kilometers ... long and about 100 meters... high," the ministry writes in a statement.
"During our observations the volcano was erupting about every five minutes to a height of about 400 meters ... accompanied by some large rocks... as the ash is very wet, most is being deposited close to the vent, building up the new island."
Foliage near the volcano appears to be dying off, likely due to ash and gases in the atmosphere.
Tonga is located some 2,000 kilometres northeast of New Zealand. It is situated on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', an area known for frequent seismic activity. | – Mother Earth has given birth to new land. An island has formed in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where a volcano has been erupting since Dec. 20. Tonga's Ministry of Lands, Survey, and Natural Resources tells the Weather Network the volcano is erupting from two vents. One is spewing ash and rock onto an uninhabited island; the other is underwater. An expert who came within a mile of the new island, 40 miles northwest of the capital, says it's roughly a square mile in size. But as it's made of loose scoria—a dark volcanic rock—he says it should erode away within a few months once the volcano quiets, the AP reports. If it were formed from lava, it might be more durable. Still, "it's quite an exciting site, you get to see the birth of an island," the expert says. Ministry officials say rocks are being thrown some 1,300 feet into the air, while the volcano is sending steam into the atmosphere. Bits of ash are now climbing about 6,000 feet, down from 30,000 feet last week. That means planes diverted from the area can now pass over safely. However, ash and acidic rain are still showering anything in a 6-mile radius, killing tree leaves on neighboring islands, ABC Australia reports. The volcano last erupted over five years ago. |
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday that 16 million children living in America received food stamps in 2014, or about one out of every five kids.
Census said that number is up dramatically from 2007, before the Great Recession, when 9 million kids were receiving food stamps, or about one in eight. The data comes from Census’ 2014 survey on families.
“The rate of children living with married parents who receive food stamps has doubled since 2007,” Census said.
The findings are likely to bolster claims from some Republicans that the Obama administration seems to have a goal of putting more people under government aid programs. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 2012 called President Barack Obama the “food stamp president,” which led some to say his comment was racist.
The debate over food stamps has led to a sort of chicken-and-egg argument between Republicans and Democrats. The GOP has said the end of the recession should allow Congress to reduce spending on food stamps.
While Democrats have tried to give President Barack Obama credit for a rebounding economy, they also note that millions of additional people are using food stamps, and that the program should not be cut yet. The total number of people using food stamps has almost doubled since the start of the Great Recession, to nearly 48 million in 2013.
The number finally dipped from that peak in 2014, but just a little, to about 46 million people.
Republicans have tried since 2013 to cut food stamp spending, as part of their overall plan to slow spending and get control of the budget deficit. In 2013, the House voted to cut $39 billion from food stamps over a decade, and almost a year ago, President Barack Obama signed a final deal that will cut just $8.7 billion from the program over ten years.
That cut was estimated to reduce food stamp benefits by about $90 per month for the hundreds of thousands of homes that use them. ||||| WASHINGTON The number of children in the United States relying on food stamps for a meal spiked to 16 million last year, according federal data, signaling a lopsided economic recovery in which lower income families are still lagging behind.
The roughly one in five children who received food stamps in 2014 surpassed pre-recession levels, when one in eight or 9 million children were on food stamps, according to the U.S. Census survey of American families released on Wednesday
Republicans in Congress have sought to cut back on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or food stamp program as part of a larger plan to balance the budget.
Early last year lawmakers proposed $40 billion in cuts from the program over 10 years. The final farm bill signed into law trimmed $8.6 billion from the program, eliminating benefits for about 850,000 people, according to estimates by anti-hunger advocates.
Other findings of the survey show a rapidly changing America in which more children are being raised in single-parent homes and more young people are delaying marriage.
Of the 73.7 million children under 18 in the United States, 27 percent were living in single parent homes last year, tripling the 9 percent in 1960.
The number of marriages also dwindled last year with less than half of households in America made up of married couples, compared to three-quarters in 1940, the survey found.
The median age for people first getting married in 2014 was 29 for men and 27 for women up from 24 and 21 respectively in 1947.
(Reporting by Elvina Nawaguna; Editing by Sandra Maler) ||||| The number of children receiving food stamps remains higher than it was before the start of the Great Recession in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual Families and Living Arrangements table package released today.
The rate of children living with married parents who receive food stamps has doubled since 2007. In 2014, an estimated 16 million children, or about one in five, received food stamp assistance compared with the roughly 9 million children, or one in eight, that received this form of assistance prior to the recession.
These statistics come from the 2014 Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which has collected statistics on families and living arrangements for more than 60 years. Today’s table package delves into the characteristics of households, including the marital status of the householders and their relationship to the children residing in the household. The historical data on America’s families and living arrangements can be found on census.gov. | – There are roughly 73.7 million kids running around America, and about 16 million, or nearly one in five, of them are doing so fueled by food stamps, according to US Census data out yesterday. That number is particularly alarming when compared to pre-recession levels: In 2007, some 9 million, or one in eight, kids were on food stamps. There are currently about 46 million Americans total on food stamps, down from the 2013 peak of 48 million. The jump signals what Reuters says is a "lop-sided" economic recovery that has left low-income people behind, but it also underscores a fundamental partisan divide over social welfare programs. As the Blaze notes, Republicans want to scale back the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program—arguing that the end of the recession should indicate less need—and trimmed $8.6 billion and 850,000 people from its rolls with last year's farm bill. Democrats, meanwhile, argue that it's too soon to scale back the program. Meanwhile, some other highlights from the Census numbers: 27% of children live in single-parent homes, three times the 9% who did in 1960 10% of kids live with a grandparent, 15% have a stay-at-home mom, 0.6% have a stay-at-home dad, and 38% have at least one foreign-born parent 48% of households are made up of married couples, down from 76% in 1940 Americans are continuing to marry later, at a median age of 29 for men and 27 for women; that's up from 24 and 21 in 1947 |
For members of the deaf community, ordering food or drinks at a drive-thru can be a frustrating, or even impossible, experience. But as one deaf woman recently discovered, Starbucks is trying to make this feature accessible for customers with disabilities -- with the help of a little technology.
On Tuesday, 28-year-old Rebecca King of St. Augustine, Florida, uploaded a video to Facebook which reveals what happened during her visit to a local Starbucks drive-thru.
The video shows King driving up to the ordering kiosk. A woman’s voice emits from the intercom.
"Hi, welcome to Starbucks," the woman says. "What can we get started for you today?"
King does not respond and waits in her seat. A few moments later, a Starbucks barista appears on a monitor.
King begins to communicate with the woman using sign language, and the barista signs right back.
"Starbucks! This is what I’m talking about!" King wrote in her Facebook post, which has been watched more than 4.9 million times to date. "Share it away! We can change the world!" ||||| A new technology is getting a lot of attention — and for good reason — at the brand-new Starbucks by the outlet malls in St. Johns County.
A video posted on Facebook shows a customer named Rebecca King using sign language for an order -- and barista, Katie Wyble, quickly signs back.
Wyble says she's had a "passion for sign language since I first saw a teacher use it when I was in preschool." Wyble used a two-way video screen to see King, and the duo quickly completed an order for two coffees.
King's video of the encounter went viral overnight. The video was just posted Tuesday, and it has more than 1 million views and over 65,000 shares.
“Share it away," King said on Facebook. "We can change the world!”
“I think more people need to know about what we’re doing because it moves customer service to a whole new level,” Wyble said. “I hope it helps make more people aware of what they can to do serve others in their communities.”
St. Augustine is known to have a large deaf and blind community. Action News Jax spoke to Professor Tiri Fellows, who is deaf and teaches American Sign Language. She had a translator tell us what she thought about this technology.
“I think it's awesome because it gives the deaf opportunity to order in a different way through the window,” Dr. Fellows said.
Dr. Fellows says going through a drive-thru without a device like this is such a hassle for the deaf or hearing impaired.
She says its about time someone created this device to help them.
“It’s about time,” Dr. Fellows said. “My friends from Arizona saw that on Facebook, Illinois Texas — they all reposted that video.”
Dr. Fellows hopes the video continues to spread on social media so other businesses will want to get the technology as well. | – A Florida Starbucks has made it easy for deaf customers to order at the drive-thru—and video of one deaf woman's experience has been viewed more than 6.5 million times since she posted it on Facebook Tuesday. "Starbucks! This is what I'm talking about!" wrote Rebecca King. The 28-year-old tells First Coast News she was surprised on Monday when she drove up to the St. Augustine Starbucks ordering window and a barista appeared on a two-way video screen to take her order via sign language. She went back the next day to record video of her doing the same thing. "It is a big deal to (the) deaf community that Starbucks has one now. Nowhere else has that!" says King. "We all want to have that at every drive-thru in the world." The barista is 22-year-old Katie Wyble, who tells Action News Jax she's had a "passion for sign language since I first saw a teacher use it when I was in preschool"; she continued to study it in grade school, high school, and college. "I think more people need to know about what we’re doing because it moves customer service to a whole new level,” Wyble adds. “I hope it helps make more people aware of what they can to do serve others in their communities." St. Augustine has a large deaf community and the Starbucks in question is brand-new. It's not clear whether other Starbucks locations have the same capability, but the Huffington Post notes that at least two other chains, Culver's and Subway, have installed their own technology to help deaf customers order. |
It is illegal to take conch shells with living organisms from Florida beaches. (Photo: breckeni, Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A Texas tourist who collected 40 queen conchs seashells from Key West, Florida, is going to jail for 15 days.
A Florida judge also sentenced Diana Fiscal-Gonzalez of Dallas to serve six months of probation and pay a $500 fine, plus $268 for court costs, for taking 40 queen conchs from the waters that surround Key West, the Miami Herald reports.
Fiscal-Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty, said she didn't know taking the shells from the beach was illegal. She was planning to give the state-protected mollusks away as gifts.
Recreational collection of empty seashells is allowed in Florida, but the conch shells Fiscal-Gonzalez collected contained organisms inside. Taking a living queen conch is illegal. Also, killing, mutilating or removing a living queen conch from a shell is prohibited, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission notes.
More: Florida bucket list: 20 things you have to do in the Sunshine State
Fiscal-Gonzalez was arrested by an officer from the commission on July 13, 2017, after an anonymous tipster called the agency. Officer John Martino reported seeing three containers full of queen conches soaking in bleach and water when he met with Fiscal-Gonzalez.
Conch shells are an important part of Florida Keys culture. Native-born islanders are called Conchs, and the Keys are nicknamed the Conch Republic. Empty conch shells, which produce a unique sound when blown, have also been used as signaling devices in the Florida Keys for centuries.
Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2uwcuFE ||||| She said she didn’t know it was illegal to take conchs. She’s heading to jail anyway. | – A tourist in Florida has been sentenced to 15 days jail time after she says she thought she was simply collecting sea shells. Per the Miami Herald, Diana Fiscal-Gonzalez was caught after harvesting dozens of queen conchs from the coast of Key West. Fiscal-Gonzalez, who was visiting from Texas, was reportedly arrested July 13 by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer following a tip. Fiscal-Gonzalez had a reported 40 conch shells in a plastic container. She told authorities she didn't know it was illegal to collect the live creatures in the state of Florida. A judge sentenced her to jail, anyway, as well as to six months probation. Fiscal-Gonzalez will have to pay a $500 fine as well as $268 in court costs, according to USA Today. The conch has been a protected species in Florida since the 1970s, when over-harvesting led to a steep decline in their population in the region. In the Florida Keys, the conch is especially beloved. Floridians native to the stretch of islands refer to themselves as conchs and Key West High School's mascot is the endearingly named Fighting Conch. An FWC officer said most of the conchs Fiscal-Gonzalez took were still alive and returned to the water following her arrest. |
The second ex-wife of Peter Cook has issued a written apology to his first wife — supermodel Christie Brinkley — for ignoring her warning about the architect’s philandering.
“Christie and I have talked recently and I have privately apologized to her, but, given the public nature of their divorce and custody battle, I feel a public apology is also appropriate and deserved,” Suzanne Shaw wrote in a letter obtained by The Post Thursday.
Shaw said she was sorry for bad-mouthing the model by saying in 2012 that “it was the black cloud of Christie Brinkley’s hate” that had tainted Shaw’s marriage to Cook — when he had actually been continuing his skirt-chasing ways.
“Christie was wrongly vilified as being an embittered ex-wife,” Shaw wrote. “I now believe she had every right to do what she did by taking a public stand; she was only trying to protect her children and have the truth be told. Given the nature of Peter’s behavior, and battles for sole custody of their children, it was necessary for her to confront him publicly.”
Christie’s six-year marriage to Cook imploded in 2007 after she learned of his affair with 18-year-old office clerk Diana Bianchi. Cook rebounded by getting hitched to Shaw, who stood by his side during his ongoing court battles with Brinkley. During a 2012 hearing, Brinkley tried to warn Shaw about Cook’s infidelity.
“When you find out he’s been cheating on you, I’ll be here for you,” Brinkley said in a courthouse hallway.
“Come up with a new line!” Shaw barked back. It turned out Brinkley was right, and Shaw split with Cook this year, accusing him of cheating.
“What I say here is by my own volition. I truly feel it’s simply the right thing to do. I’m deeply sorry for my part in causing Christie any unnecessary pain,” Shaw writes.
“Unfortunately, I fell under Peter’s spell, but now that the reality of who he is has been revealed, I regret my involvement. Christie is a wonderful mother and community member who involves herself in charitable causes and has truly made a contribution to society.”
“Last week, Christie said, ‘I wish you the courage to do the right thing for yourself, your daughter and countless women suffering at the hand of an extreme narcissist.’ I believe I have done this now. I thank Christie for forgiving me and I wish her only the best.
“I would like to move on with my life now, quietly and privately. Peter and I have filed for divorce. I am putting this behind me.” ||||| Once a cheater, always a cheater!
Eight years after his severely bitter split from Christie Brinkley and their subsequent financial and custody battle, the model’s
unfaithful ex husband, Peter Cook, has legally separated from his wife, Suzanne Shaw— and sources tell the New York Post’s Page Six that his infidelities are to blame.
PHOTOS: Cheaters Gallery
“Suzanne stood by Peter for years, through all his battles with Christie, but he lied to her and completely misrepresented himself. She repeatedly caught him cheating,” an insider told the paper.
Shaw, who was wed to Cook, 55, for more than six years, left their Hamptons home in February with her teenage daughter after filing for separation.
PHOTOS: Celebs Who Have Been Divorced Twice Before 40
Cook’s lawyer, John J. Fellin, denies his client cheated.
“The separation agreement does not mention, in any way, infidelity by Mr. Cook, and any such allegations to that end are without merit,” he told The Post.
PHOTOS: Don’t Get Mad, Get Everything! Inside The 16 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces Of All Time
Brinkley, 60, and Cook are still at each other’s throats years after they split amid allegations he cheated with his 18-year-old assistant, Diana Bianchi. The National ENQUIRER recently reported that the pair has been battling over custody issues with their 16-year-old daughter, Sailor.
“The sad reality is, almost eight years later, Christie is still mired in our divorce and hatred of me which has been irreparably damaging to our children,” Cook recently told RadarOnline.com. | – Christie Brinkley's marriage to Peter Cook ended in 2008 after he had an affair with an 18-year-old; he went on to wed Suzanne Shaw. Shaw stood by Cook's side during the 2012 Cook-Brinkley court battle over child support, and things got ugly: At one point Brinkley told Shaw in a court hallway, "When you find out he's been cheating on you, I'll be here for you." Shaw responded, "Come up with a new line"; Shaw also said that her own marriage to Cook had been marred by Brinkley's "black cloud of hate." Only, um, Shaw and Cook filed for divorce this year ... after Cook allegedly cheated on Shaw. Now Shaw has apologized to Brinkley for bad-mouthing her years ago, Page Six reports. "Christie and I have talked recently and I have privately apologized to her, but, given the public nature of their divorce and custody battle, I feel a public apology is also appropriate and deserved," reads a letter from Shaw obtained by the New York Post. "Christie was wrongly vilified as being an embittered ex-wife. I now believe she had every right to do what she did by taking a public stand," Shaw writes. "Unfortunately, I fell under Peter's spell, but now that the reality of who he is has been revealed, I regret my involvement." Click for more on the latest cheating allegations against Cook. |
The 2012 Republican primary is about to enter the elimination round.
When the GOP presidential candidates meet in Michigan Wednesday for a CNBC debate on the economy, they’ll no longer be looking to make a first impression. With less than two months to go before the Iowa caucuses, there’s a much more urgent objective: survival.
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Herman Cain may not be viable much longer, unless he can manage to move the 2012 conversation away from the allegations of sexual harassment that have plagued his campaign. Flagging conservatives such as Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann can’t afford to muddle aimlessly through another candidate forum. If Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum can’t take advantage of this chaotic moment, they may never get another chance. And Jon Huntsman is running out of time to connect with his attempt at a maverick message.
With the exception of front-runner Mitt Romney — and perhaps Ron Paul, the libertarian congressman whose devoted base of support never really diminishes or grows — nearly every candidate in the race is almost one misstep away from political death.
“Voters have formed general impressions of most of the candidates by this point, but a mixed or poor impression hasn’t been fatal,” said Dan Schnur, a former adviser to John McCain’s 2000 campaign. “Going forward, any problems become much more damaging because the clock is ticking.”
Schnur, who now directs the University of Southern California’s Unruh Institute of Politics, said Cain had helped speed up the winnowing process: “We were probably going to get to this point pretty soon anyway, but the controversy surrounding Cain’s campaign may be serving as a reminder to voters of the stakes involved here.”
Michigan Republican National Committeeman Saul Anuzis, a Romney supporter, suggested debates were increasingly about “which people make the mistakes and have the most to lose, not the most to gain.”
“Usually there’s a loser in a debate, not necessarily a winner,” said Anuzis. “I think there will be a desire by all the candidates to stay on [economic] issues and focus on those issues. The question is whether we will get pulled away by the Cain stuff or something else.”
Cain signaled in a press conference Tuesday that he hopes to move on from battling charges of personal misconduct and get back to talking about policy. With his poll numbers holding up in the low-20 percent range, it’s clear that some of his fans have been giving him the benefit of the doubt so far.
The CNBC debate – the ninth of the year, and the sixth involving the full GOP presidential field – will test Cain’s ability to hold on to those supporters and turn the page on the worst week of his campaign. ||||| article
The CNBC debate kicks off tonight in the shadow of the Cain circus. Will the other candidates ignore the elephant in the room, and will Gingrich finally reach the top tier? David A. Graham on what to look for. Plus join Howard Kurtz for a live chat during the debate, starting at 8pm ET.
After three weeks’ respite, the packed Republican presidential debate season is about to return to full tilt. The GOP field will convene in a Detroit suburb on Wednesday for a debate hosted by CNBC. Using a traditional setup, the debate is supposed to focus on economic issues, including taxation, jobs, and the deficit, but fireworks are likely on a few other topics as well. Here’s what to watch for Wednesday night.
1. Will the Herman Cain Allegations Take Center Stage?
Last time around, Herman Cain was a target because his fortunes were rising, along with the popularity of his 9-9-9 plan. Much has happened since, and although his polls numbers have flat-lined, not tanked, repeated allegations of sexual harassment or worse seem to be on their way to derailing the Cain train. How will his rivals handle it? They could attack him directly; even the usually detached Romney edged that way Tuesday, saying the allegations against Cain were serious. But that might be unnecessary and counterproductive. Focusing on Cain’s circus rather than, say, high unemployment is bad for the Republican brand, so they may instead let him bleed slowly as they avert their eyes.
2. Will the ‘Not-Mitt’ Movement Dent Romney’s Armor?
Although it’s long been clear that Mitt Romney was the man to beat in the Republican field, the last two weeks have seen the anybody-but-Mitt movement crystallizing like never before. Bookended by scathing attacks by George Will and Erick Erickson—the voices of the Old Republican Establishment and the Upstart Activist Right, respectively—and peaking with the creation of the website Not Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor’s opponents have come together, Transformers-style. But behind whom? With most of the rest of the field fading or too damaged to take up the standard, Jon Huntsman Jr., whose once-promising candidacy hasn’t even gotten as far as spinning its wheels, is making a late play, producing his own anti-Romney ad. Can Huntsman or some other challenger dent Romney’s armor? Or will the unflappable frontrunner parry all blows with the effortless, bland approach he’s used so far?
3. Will Newt Gingrich Finally Join the First Tier?
With Cain potentially on the outs, could Newt Gingrich finally be having his moment? The former House speaker could appeal to the same voters as Cain (they agree on plenty, as demonstrated by their lovefest on Saturday), he’s experienced, and his campaign seems to have come back from several prematurely declared deaths. Indeed, he’s rising in some polls. But Gingrich’s previous debate performances have been polarizing. While some of the more cerebral Republican pundits gushed over his oratorical and rhetorical talents, he has a tendency to come across as petulantly contrarian and needlessly pedantic. If he can temper those tendencies, the debate could propel him to the first tier of the race.
4. Will Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann Show Up?
Long, long ago—if you can remember that far back—both Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry were first-tier candidates. Their chances at returning to the top tier are slipping away quickly, though Perry’s ample war chest is a crutch. It will be interesting to see how they try to claw back—if at all. Will Perry come across as giddy and drunk, as he did in New Hampshire last month? Will Bachmann figuratively show up? She has been a nonfactor for several debates, but could try to expand on outreach to moms or maybe go big on religion.
5. Will Serious Economic Plans Finally Make an Appearance? | – With Iowa just two months away, the stakes are high for tonight’s GOP debate. Politico describes it as an “elimination round,” with everyone except Mitt Romney—and maybe the seemingly immovable Ron Paul—“one misstep away from political death." Here’s what to watch for: Will anyone touch Herman Cain’s scandal? Focusing on that circus might hurt the GOP brand, the Daily Beast points out, “so they may instead let him bleed slowly as they avert their eyes.” Who can be the Not-Mitt? Anti-Romney sentiment coalesced this week, but has no standard bearer. Newt Gingrich is gaining some buzz, especially after his heart-to-heart with Cain, so some speculate that he's next. Who matters? “For Huntsman, Santorum, and Bachmann, the debate is totally about relevance and trying to maintain some respectability,” an ex-Huntsman campaign manager says. “Not much more, I don’t think.” Will Rick Perry be sober? Perry is reeling after his, um, interesting New Hampshire speech. Perry can come off “like a deer caught in headlights,” says one strategist. “He’s got to decide, what are the two or three messages I’m going to drive?” What about Mitt? “Romney can begin to play ball-control politics,” says a former McCain adviser. “He just needs to be reassuring and not say anything really dumb." |
Let’s start with the crossbow, because the crossbow is huge. I’m sitting in the passenger seat of a camo-painted ATV, rumbling through the northern Louisiana backwoods with Phil Robertson, founder of the Duck Commander company, patriarch at the heart of A&E’s smash reality hit Duck Dynasty, and my tour guide for the afternoon. There are seat belts in this ATV, but it doesn’t look like they’ve ever been used. Phil is not wearing one. I am not wearing one, because I don’t want Phil to think I’m a pussy. (Too late!) The crossbow—a Barnett model equipped with a steel-tipped four-blade broadhead arrow—is perched on the dash between us. It looks like you could shoot through a goddamn mountain with it.
“That’ll bury up in you and kill you dead,” Phil says.
The bow is cocked and loaded, just in case a deer stumbles in front of us and we need to do a redneck drive-by on the poor bastard, but the safety is on. SAFETY FIRST. Still, Phil warns me, “You don’t want to be bumping that.”
As we drive out into the woods, past a sign that reads parish maintenance ends, Phil is telling me all about the land around us and how the animals are a glorious gift from God and how blowing their heads off is part of His plan for us.
“Look at this,” he says, gesturing to the surrounding wilderness. “The Almighty gave us this. Genesis 9 is where the animals went wild, and God gave them wildness. After the flood, that’s when he made animals wild. Up until that time, everybody was vegetarian. After the flood, he said, ‘I’m giving you everything now. Animals are wild.’”
There’s a fly parked on Phil’s long beard. It’s been there the whole ride, and I desperately want to pluck it out, but I decide against it. Along with the crossbow, there’s a loaded .22-caliber rifle rattling around in the footwell. And yet, much like the 14 million Americans who Nielsen says tune in to Duck Dynasty every week—over 2 million more than the audience for the Breaking Bad finale—I am comfortable here in these woods with Phil and his small cache of deadly weaponry. He is welcoming and gracious. He is a man who preaches the gospel of the outdoors and, to my great envy, practices what he preaches. He spends most of his time out here, daydreaming about what he calls a “pristine earth”: a world where nothing gets in the way of nature or the hunters who lovingly maintain it. No cities. No buildings. No highways.
Oh, and no sinners, too. So here’s where things get a bit uncomfortable. Phil calls himself a Bible-thumper, and holy shit, he thumps that Bible hard enough to ring the bell at a county-fair test of strength. If you watch Duck Dynasty, you can hear plenty of it in the nondenominational supper-table prayer the family recites at the end of every episode, and in the show’s no-cussing, no-blaspheming tone. But there are more things Phil would like to say—“controversial” things, as he puts it to me—that don’t make the cut. (This March, for instance, he told the Christian-oriented Sports Spectrum magazine that he didn’t approve of A&E editing out “in Jesus” from a family prayer scene, even though A&E says that the phrase has been uttered in at least seventeen episodes.)
Out here in these woods, without any cameras around, Phil is free to say what he wants. Maybe a little too free. He’s got lots of thoughts on modern immorality, and there’s no stopping them from rushing out. Like this one:
“It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”
Perhaps we’ll be needing that seat belt after all.
· · ·
The Duck Dynasty origin story is the mighty river from which all other Robertson-family stories flow. And it is an awesome story, one that improves the more it is told, so here is my stab at it: Phil Robertson grew up bone poor in the northwest corner of this state—a place where Cajun redneck culture and Ozark redneck culture intersect—to a manic-depressive mother and a roughneck father. He was a star quarterback in high school and earned a scholarship to play at Louisiana Tech, but quit after one season because football interfered with duck-hunting season. The guy who took his roster spot at Tech was Terry Bradshaw, because that’s how these kinds of stories go.
Phil On Growing Up in Pre-Civil-Rights-Era Louisiana
“I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once. Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I’m with the blacks, because we’re white trash. We’re going across the field.... They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”
According to Phil’s autobiography—a ghostwritten book he says he has never read—he spent his days after Tech doing odd jobs and his evenings getting drunk, chasing tail, and swallowing diet pills and black mollies, a form of medicinal speed. In his midtwenties, already married with three sons, a piss-drunk Robertson kicked his family out of the house. “I’m sick of you,” he told his wife, Kay. But Robertson soon realized the error of his ways, begged Kay to come back, and turned over his life to Jesus Christ.
In 1972, with Jesus at the wheel, Robertson founded the Duck Commander company, which sold a line of custom-made duck-hunting calls that quickly became popular among avid hunters for their uncanny accuracy in replicating the sound of a real duck. He eventually sold half the company to his son Willie, now 41, and together they made a DVD series about the family’s duck hunts, which led to a show on the Outdoor Channel, which led to Duck Dynasty on A&E, which led to everything blowing right the fuck up.
The show—a reality sitcom showcasing the semiscripted high jinks of Phil, his brother “Uncle Si,” his four sons, Alan, Willie, Jase, and Jep, and the perpetually exasperated but always perfectly accessorized Robertson-family ladies—has become the biggest reality-TV hit in the history of cable television, reportedly earning the family a holy shit–worthy $200,000-an-episode paycheck. It’s a funny, family-friendly show, with “skits that we come up with,” as Phil describes the writing process. They plunder beehives. They blow up beaver dams. And when the Robertson-family ladies go up to a rooftop in a hydraulic lift, you just know that lift will “accidentally” get stuck and strand them.
But the show, whose fifth season premieres on January 15, is just one part of the family’s pop-cultural dominance. In 2013 four books written (kind of!) by Robertson family members made the top ten on the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list. Another book—penned by Jase Robertson and detailing his Christian rebirth at age 14, his struggle to forgive his father’s past behavior, and his young daughter’s struggle through five facial-reconstruction surgeries to overcome a severe cleft lip and palate—is forthcoming and destined to make it five best-sellers. There’s also a book of devotionals somewhere in there, along with Duck Dynasty–themed birthday cards, bobblehead dolls, camo apparel (pink camo for the ladies), Cajun-spice seasoning, car fresheners, iPhone games (from the press release: “As players successfully complete the challenges, their beards grow to epic proportions and they start to transform from a yuppie into a full-blown redneck!”), and presumably some sort of camou flage home-pregnancy test.
It’s easy to see the appeal. The Robertsons are immensely likable. They’re funny. They look cool. They’re “smarter than they look,” says sportswriter Mark Schlabach, who co-writes the family’s books. And they are remarkably honest both with one another and with the viewing audience: Phil’s old hell-raising, Si’s traumatic stint in Vietnam, the intervention that the family staged for Jep when he was boozing and doing drugs in college (Phil placed him under house arrest for three months)—all of it is out in the open. The more they reveal, the more people feel connected to them.
And then, of course, there is their faith, which plays no small role here. During the family’s initial negotiations about the show with A&E, Jase told me, “the three no-compromises were faith, betrayal of family members, and duck season.” That refusal to betray their faith or one another has been a staple of every media article about the Robertson family. It’s their elevator pitch, and it has made them into ideal Christian icons: beloved for staking out a bit of holy ground within the mostly secular, often downright sinful, pop culture of America.
· · ·
Phil Robertson’s house is located in the sticks about twenty miles outside the city of Monroe (pronounce it mun-roe). It’s a rather small house—the kind of place its owner would proudly call “humble.” The kitchen table is covered with big plastic tubs of cinnamon rolls and mini muffins. There are candy dishes filled to the brim, bricks of softening butter, and packages of jerky made from unknown animals, sent by unnamed fans. (I tried some, and it was awesome.) Just inside the front door, a giant flat-screen TV shows Fox News on mute at all times, and a bunch of big squishy sofas are arranged in a rectangle around it.
Si Robertson is sitting on the couch facing the TV. Jep Robertson, age 35, the youngest son, curls up in a recliner in the corner with a pistol strapped to his waist. He barely speaks, like a countrified Silent Bob. Jase, 44, and Willie share a love seat while Phil lounges barefoot on a camo-patterned recliner in the far corner of the room. Two dogs share the recliner’s footrest with Phil’s heavily callused bare feet. He has severe bunions, so his big toes jut in at forty-five-degree angles. The main TV room is cluttered with mismatched furniture and photos hung haphazardly on the walls. And Phil looks like part of the clutter himself, as if he’d been wedged into that recliner a while back by some absentminded homeowner who didn’t know where else to put him. ||||| (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
Jesse Jackson has decided to weigh in on the inflammatory comments that Phil Robertson made to GQ about gays and African Americans.
In an interview with Drew Magary, the "Duck Dynasty" star said the Nazis needed Jesus, that he never saw the mistreatment of African Americans while growing up in Louisiana before the civil rights era and that homosexuality was a sin.
A&E; has already suspended Robertson, but Reverend Jackson, his Rainbow PUSH Coalition and GLAAD are demanding to meet with network execs, along with Cracker Barrel's CEO, to discuss the future of all "Duck Dynasty" memorabilia or content.
Read: Phil Robertson Defends Anti-Gay Comments: 'All I Did Was Quote From The Scriptures'
"These statements uttered by Robertson are more offensive than the bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, more than 59 years ago," Jackson said in a statement obtained by ABC News.
"At least the bus driver, who ordered Rosa Parks to surrender her seat to a white person, was following state law. Robertson's statements were uttered freely and openly without cover of the law, within a context of what he seemed to believe was 'white privilege.'"
The release, dated Dec. 23, requests a meeting within 72 hours with A&E; and Cracker Barrel execs and urges the network to uphold Robertson's suspension.
Jackson and GLAAD said they believe it's not right for a personality with such a large platform to benefit from such comments.
Related: 'Duck Dynasty' Suspends Phil Robertson
On Sunday, Robertson defended his comments about gays and blacks to a small Bible study group in West Monroe, La.
"I will not give or back off from my path," he reportedly said Sunday.
Robertson added that his GQ comments were quotes from the Bible. "I didn't think much of it at all, but it seems a lot of other people did," he said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: ABC is a part owner of the A&E; Network" | – Phil Robertson's anti-gay comments have been getting the lion's share of attention in recent days, but he also said a few things to GQ about African Americans that, along with those aforementioned comments, aren't sitting so well with Jesse Jackson. In discussing his youth in pre-civil rights era Louisiana, the Duck Dynasty patriarch said, in part: I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once. ... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues." In a Dec. 23 statement obtained by ABC News, Jackson addressed Robertson's comments in no uncertain terms. "These statements are more offensive than the bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, more than 59 years ago. At least the bus driver, who ordered Rosa Parks to surrender her seat to a white person, was following state law. Robertson’s statements were uttered freely and openly without cover of the law, within a context of what he seemed to believe was 'white privilege.'" Jackson, his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and GLAAD in the statement demand a meeting with A&E execs ... along with Cracker Barrel's CEO, to discuss content and merchandising. |
Relocation of endangered animals carries risks but loss of half of them is highly unusual
Eight out of 14 critically endangered black rhinos have died after being moved to a reserve in southern Kenya, wildlife officials have revealed, in what one conservationist described as “a complete disaster”.
Preliminary investigations pointed to salt poisoning as the rhinos tried to adapt to saltier water in their new home, the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife said in a statement. It suspended the moving of other rhinos and said the surviving ones were being closely monitored.
Last male northern white rhino is put down Read more
Save the Rhino estimates there are fewer than 5,500 black rhinos in the world, all of them in Africa, while Kenya’s black rhino population stands at 750, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Losing the rhinos was “a complete disaster”, the prominent Kenyan conservationist Paula Kahumbu, of WildlifeDirect, told the Associated Press.
Cathy Dean, chief executive of Save the Rhino, said she and international colleagues were shocked and deeply saddened.
She called for external experts to be called in to carry out a thorough investigation into what went wrong, with the findings published in full.
Dean said the scale of the deaths from the translocation was greater than rhino fatalities caused by poaching so far this year in Kenya.
“It’s an absolute tragedy to lose seven [now eight] animals in this way,” Dean said. “The most important thing is for Kenya to do a proper inquiry and investigation into what went wrong. For that to happen the Kenya Wildlife Service needs to bring in external vets and translocation specialists from other countries - Namibia, for example.”
The relocation of endangered animals – known as translocation – involves putting them to sleep for the journey and then reviving them in a process that carries risks. But the loss of half of them is highly unusual.
The black rhinos were moved from the Nairobi and Lake Nakuru national parks to a new sanctuary created in Tsavo East national park in an operation announced by Najib Balala, the Kenyan tourism minister and carried out in collaboration with WWF Kenya.
In a statement the ministry said its preliminary investigations suggested the rhinos had died of salt poisoning as they tried to adapt to saltier water in their new home. It suspended the ongoing move of other rhinos and said the surviving ones were being closely monitored.
“The eight dead rhinos were among those that had been moved to the sanctuary in an initiative to start a new population in line with the National Rhino Conservation and Management Strategy,” the ministry said. “This kind of mortality rate is unprecedented in Kenya Wildlife Service operations.”
“A total of 14 rhinos had been planned to be translocated.
It was the first time since the 1990s that black rhinos had been moved to Tsavo East, which originally had a population of nearly 2,000, according to Save the Rhino, but now has between 10 and 20.
Kahumbu said officials must take responsibility and explain what went wrong. “Rhinos have died. We have to say it openly when it happens, not a week later or a month later,” she said. “Something must have gone wrong, and we want to know what it is.”
Kenya wants to increase its black rhino population to 2,000 by creating populations in areas that provide the right habitat for the animals to thrive.
Dean said translocation was not as common in Kenya as in other southern African countries, such as Namibia.
“In Kenya, they do it every three to four years, whereas other countries are doing them every year,” she said.
“There needs to be a postmortem and we need to look at the whole protocol for translocation.”
The ministry said it had invited an external expert from South Africa to join its investigation and if negligence was found to be a contributory factor disciplinary action would be taken.
“We will make the investigation results public as soon as we receive them,” the statement said.
According to KWS figures, nine rhinos were killed in Kenya last year. In May, three more were shot dead inside a specially protected sanctuary in northern Kenya and had their horns removed. In March, the last male northern white rhino on the planet, an older bull named Sudan, was put down by Kenyan vets after becoming ill. ||||| FILE- In this file photo taken on Saturday, April 30, 2005, Kenya Wildlife Services wardens hold a fully grown 30 year old female black Rhino, after it was darted at Nairobi National Park. A Kenyan wildlife... (Associated Press)
FILE- In this file photo taken on Saturday, April 30, 2005, Kenya Wildlife Services wardens hold a fully grown 30 year old female black Rhino, after it was darted at Nairobi National Park. A Kenyan wildlife official on Friday, July 13, 2018 says seven critically endangered black rhinos are dead following... (Associated Press)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Eight critically endangered black rhinos are dead in Kenya after wildlife workers moved them from the capital to a new national park, the government said Friday, calling the toll "unprecedented" in more than a decade of such transfers.
Preliminary investigations point to salt poisoning as the rhinos tried to adapt to saltier water in their new home, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife said in a statement, describing how the animals likely became dehydrated and drank more salty water in a fatal cycle.
The ministry suspended the ongoing move of rhinos and said the surviving ones in the new park were being closely monitored.
The loss is "a complete disaster," said prominent Kenyan conservationist Paula Kahumbu of WildlifeDirect.
Conservationists in Africa have been working hard to protect the black rhino sub-species from poachers targeting them for their horns to supply an illegal Asian market.
In moving a group of 11 rhinos to the newly created Tsavo East National Park from Nairobi last month, the Kenya Wildlife Service said it hoped to boost the population there. The government agency has not said how the rhinos died. Fourteen of the animals were to be moved in all.
"Disciplinary action will definitely be taken" if an investigation into the deaths indicates negligence by agency staff, the wildlife ministry said.
"Moving rhinos is complicated, akin to moving gold bullion, it requires extremely careful planning and security due to the value of these rare animals," Kahumbu said in a statement. "Rhino translocations also have major welfare considerations and I dread to think of the suffering that these poor animals endured before they died."
Transporting wildlife is a strategy used by conservationists to help build up, or even bring back, animal populations. In May, six black rhinos were moved from South Africa to Chad, restoring the species to the country in north-central Africa nearly half a century after it was wiped out there.
Kenya transported 149 rhinos between 2005 and 2017 with eight deaths, the wildlife ministry said.
According to WWF, black rhino populations declined dramatically in the 20th century, mostly at the hands of European hunters and settlers. Between 1960 and 1995 numbers dropped by 98 percent, to fewer than 2,500.
Since then the species has rebounded, although it remains extremely threatened. In addition to poaching the animals also face habitat loss.
African Parks, a Johannesburg-based conservation group, said earlier this year that there are fewer than 25,000 rhinos in the African wild, of which about 20 percent are black rhinos and the rest white rhinos.
In another major setback for conservation, the last remaining male northern white rhino on the planet died in March in Kenya, leaving conservationists struggling to save that sub-species using in vitro fertilization.
___
Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa | – Eight endangered rhinos have died after a move to a new park in Kenya. Per the AP, the black rhinos died in what Kenyan conservationist Paula Kahumbu calls "a complete disaster" after they were relocated from two locations to Tsavo East National Park last month. Officials suspect salt poisoning as the cause, pointing to higher salinity in water sources in their new home. When the saltier water made the rhinos thirsty, they likely drank even more, possibly leading to their deaths, the country's Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife said in a statement. The rhinos were among 11 moved to the park, and officials said the surviving animals are being closely monitored. The planned relocation of other rhinos to the park has been suspended. As the Guardian notes, the Save the Rhino organization estimates the total world population of black rhinos at around 5,500. The species is targeted by poachers who aim to collect their horns for the black market in Asia. Moving endangered animals from one sanctuary to another is called translocation and is done in hopes of establishing healthy populations in new areas. While deaths can and do occur with such moves, officials say a death rate of this magnitude is uncommon. Kenyan wildlife officials said the results of an investigation into the deaths would be made public as soon as it concludes. |
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. |
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Expert: Summer gold rush could be the best in 20 years | Share
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A geologist and gold mining expert said this year’s summer gold rush is expected to be the best in two decades. Advertisement
WEBVTT MAX: WE'RE GOING TO BE ONTRAVERSE CREEK, AND THIS IS AWELL-KNOWN AREA TO FIND GOLD.AND AFTER MONTHS OF RAIN ANDSUBSEQUENT FLOODING, THIS WOULDHAVE BEEN THE PLACE TO BE FOR ANEASY SCORE.>> YOU CAN PICK UP, LITERALLYPICK UP, SMALL NUGGETS OF GOLDRIGHT AFTER THE FLOODING.MAX: THOSE AREAS ARE NOW GONE,PICKED OVER BY GOLD PANNERS KEENON THE BEST TIME TO FIND THEMINERAL, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEANYOUR CHANCES AT TREASURE THISYEAR ARE GONE.>> AS FAR GOLD, THE DEPOSITS OFGOLD, THIS IS GOING TO RIVAL ANDCOME CLOSE TO 1997, THE FLOOD OF1997.MAX: COME SUMMER, WHEN THEMOUNTAIN MELTOFF IS UNDERWAY ANDCREEKS, STREAMS, AND RIVERSRECEDE, THE 2017 GOLD RUSH WILLBE ON.>> THIS STREAM RIGHT HERE WILLBE DOWN TO JUST A FEW INCHESDEEP, AND THERE WILL BE PEOPLEIN HERE WITH SLUICE BOXES ANDGOLD PANS AND LOOKING FOR GOLDTO SEE WHAT'S BEEN DEPOSITEDFROM THIS LAST SET OF FLOODS.MAX: BEFORE FINDING THAT IN ANAREA LIKE TRAVERSE CREEK, YOUHAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THERIGHT EQUIPMENT WHEN LOOKING FORGOLD.>> YOU CAN COME OUT WITHSOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A GOLDPAN.MAX: OR YOU CAN TAKE IT UP ANOTCH WITH A SLUCIE BOX. >> THE GOLD BEING HEAVY IS GOINGTO GET CAUGHT IN THIS BLACK MATAND BEHIND EACH ONE OF THESERIFFLES, WHERE THERE'S AN EDDYCREATED, AND IT ALLOWS THEHEAVIER MATERIAL TO DROP OUT.MAX: AT BLACK SHEEP MINING INSACRAMENTO, BUINESS BOOMS INANTICIPATION OF WHAT MIGHT BEFOUND COME JULY.>> WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF GROUNDTHAT'S BEEN MOVED AROUND ANDEXPOSED TO WHERE PEOPLE HAVEN'TGOTTEN TO IT IN YEARS OR EVER,EVEN.SO WE'RE SEEING A LARGE INCREASEIN BUSINESS.MAX: THOSE PROSPECTORS WILL ENDUP OUT HERE AT PLACES LIKESTIFLE MEMORIAL CLAIM READY FORA DIG GEOLOGIST RICH DVORACEKSAYS WILL BE UNLIKE ANYTHINGWE'VE SEEN IN 20 YEARS.JUST DON'T EXPECT RICH TO TELLYOU WHERE TO LOOK.>> IF YOU DO FIND GOLD, DON'TTRUST ANYBODY TO TELL YOU WHERETHEY GOT IT, TO BE TRUTHFULABOUT IT.I RARELY AM.MAX: IN EL DORADO COUNTY, MAX ||||| JAMESTOWN, Tuolumne County (KPIX 5) — Weeks of rainy weather across Northern California and the storm runoff through the hills of gold country have triggered a new gold rush.
“Miner Gary” Thomas said he always finds at least a little gold here on his property near Jamestown in Tuolumne County, but this year, there’s so much more runoff than normal and it’s shaking the gold from these hills.
Thomas said it could provide a “Eureka” moment for those inclined to come up here and look for it. “(The runoff) kind of ‘etch-a-sketches’ everything,” said Thomas. “Eveything I had dug up and now my dig spots are all gone.”
The known gold digs were washed out, trees uprooted, and landscape eroded. The runoffs have also removed gold out of the old abandoned mines and sent it down the river.
“It’s going to bring down more gold,” said Thomas. “It’s going to bring up new areas that I never got to.”
Thomas runs tour groups through his property and said now is the optimum time for gold hunting because the storms have just finished churning the landscape.
Officials from the Bureau of Land Management say the erosion “concentrates” the gold by removing the lighter rock and soil.
You may be wondering if this reporter found any during our time here. We did find some fine flakes of what they call “flour gold” and it was found more quickly than normal in just a couple of panning sessions.
“Eureka!” said Thomas.”That’s hard to do.”
But not as hard this year, now that Mother Nature has shaken up the motherlode.
Thomas said one hot spot this year will be below the Oroville Dam, because the huge water releases from the spillway could reveal some new pockets of gold. ||||| Joey Wilson, left, rings up Curtis Barwick for a gold pan and a portable slough Saturday at Adventures in Prospecting in downtown Oroville. Dan Reidel — Enterprise-Record
Oroville >> Now is not the time to quit your day job in hopes of striking it rich. However, people with a new or renewed interest in gold mining may be spending more of their summer weekends near rivers and streams.
Joey Wilson owns Adventures in Prospecting in Oroville, where he says there’s been more excitement among his gold mining customers.
“There’s always been gold in the Feather River,” he said. What’s new is that the recent floods have moved things around.
It’s not just the Feather River. Floods scoured the banks of the American River, the Mokelumne, the Yuba and just about any other waterway where 49ers once got their boots dirty.
Curtis Barwick was in Oroville Saturday waiting for the prospecting store to open. He usually looks for gold closer to his home in Anderson, but decided to check out Oroville on his day off. He said gold mining gets him outdoors and helps him “recharge,” after a stressful week at work. It’s a lot like hiking, another of his hobbies, but with gold mining there’s a chance of a reward.
“The odds are greater than winning the lottery,” he said. Even on days when he only finds a few flakes, it’s fun to turn over rocks and sand.
He’s not alone. In fact, he’s a member of the Shasta Miners and Prospectors Association.
Back in the day, miners in the 1850s did not have metal detectors. Barwick bought one a while back and said if “lead was gold, I’d be rich.” He had found more bullet casings than he cares to collect. Other finds include coins, and a 1944 nickel. He gave his girlfriend a ring he found in the dirt, and would recommend that anyone who buys a metal detector have some fun digging around in their own backyard.
Others make gold mining an adventure. That’s one of the reasons Wilson named his shop “Adventures in Prospecting.” He sells wet suits and fins, and personally loves to dive when he hunts gold.
Finding gold is a common thread for Cindy and Paul Pekarek, who were at the Montgomery Street miner’s supply shop Saturday. The couple belong to the Mother Lode Goldhounds, near Grass Valley, and for fun they travel to new digs, including Oroville.
Paul Pekarek is a five-time gold mining champion, he said pointing to a pin on his wide-brimmed, black leather hat. The pin includes a miniature gold pan, pickaxe and shovel, with a real glob of gold in the center. To win the championships, he proved he could pan faster than most others.
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Some people, like Mark Saposnik, are “pretty serious” about gold mining. Saposnik spent his summers during college dredge mining. It’s more difficult to find gold now that dredging is no longer allowed, he said. The recent floods have “rearranged the rivers,” he said, and he’ll spend more time stomping around.
Spillway gold?
Gold miners can speculate all they want about gold that may or may not have washed down the hillside near the Oroville spillway. Before hydraulic mining was outlawed, hillsides up and down the river were washed away to unearth gold.
Gold is heavy, and prospectors would love to discover what is among the debris at the Diversion Pool. However, the area is closed except for the work crew.
Recent word from Department of Water Resources acting director Bill Croyle was that he did not know if gold had been found in the area.
It’s a moot point because “if anybody gets close to it they will be run off,” said Bob Van Camp, known locally as “Digger Bob.”
Van Camp was the spokesman in 2014 when a 5.18 pound gold nugget was found in the Butte foothills. The man who found the nugget has remained anonymous, but Van Camp was allowed to tell the story.
As for the spillway debris, Van Camp said he believes there is a gold vein that runs from Potter’s Ravine and south, including the area of the spillway.
In addition to panning near waterways, prospectors look for quartz, especially chunks that have been worn smooth by water flow. “Then you go downstream.”
He’ll also walk the higher ground with a metal detector, hoping some of that quartz will give him a strong signal.
Ninety-nine percent of the time the quartz is just quartz, but “now and again,” the quartz will have “some sort of metal in it.” This might mean manganese or silver, “or there may be gold inside.”
Part of the fun in finding gold is knowing it’s something that an old-time gold miner missed, Van Camp said. “I don’t do it for the money. I just do it for the adventure, for the challenge.”
He would love to get his hands dirty in the Diversion Pool at Lake Oroville right now. However, he understands that DWR is working night and day to get the water flow back to normal.
People will be looking at other areas, where gold panning is allowed. After the floods of the mid 1990s, “it was good getting for those of us who knew how to look,” he said.
For an amateur, the adventure could lead to frustration. “But I don’t want to discourage people from learning about history, getting some fresh air and enjoying themselves, even if they don’t find anything.”
Right now, the water is still high. When dry times arrive, more streambed will be exposed, he said.
“I’m going to have a ball this summer.”
Know the rules
The rules have changed for gold miners. Suction dredge equipment is no longer allowed, which includes “mechanized or motorized” systems for removing material from the water.
Contact reporter Heather Hacking at 896-7758. | – This winter's flooding in Northern California has done more than bring relief after years of drought; it's created the prospect of the best gold prospecting in 20 years. Gold hunters in the area tell the Chico Enterprise-Record the floods have "rearranged the rivers" and "move things around." That means gold veins that have been hidden for 200 years are suddenly exposed. According to CBS San Francisco, the floods also swept gold out of abandoned mines and washed it downriver. While KCRA reports that gold can simply be picked off the ground following major flooding, the best prospecting will come in the summer months when the water has receded. Right now, rivers are still high and government workers are trying to keep would-be prospectors away while they get things under control. But in the summer—which experts say could be the busiest since the one that followed major flooding in 1997—stream beds will be exposed for better gold hunting. "I'm going to have a ball," one prospector tells the Chico newspaper. The epicenter for the new gold rush could be the Oroville Dam, which nearly catastrophically flooded this winter and required the use of an emergency spillway for the first time. (This treasure hunter is seeking $1 billion in gold from a sunken ship.) |
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A North Carolina couple is trying to pull back the curtains on a popular home renovation reality show.
Deena Murphy and Timothy Sullivan are suing the production company for HGTV’s “Love It or List It,” claiming the hit show turned their dream home into a nightmare.
The lawsuit against Big Coat TV and one of its contractors alleges the couple were “victims of shoddy work and unfair trade practices” that left their floors, windows and other parts of their home damaged.
RELATED: 'Fixer Upper': What it's actually like to be on the home show
The show’s premise is to renovate a family’s home while the owners contemplate moving into a new home. But the couple's lawsuit may provide too much of a peek behind the reality television curtain.
TODAY The program's hosts, David Visentin and Hilary Farr
“One of the things they're doing in this lawsuit is kind of blowing the secrecy off of reality TV,” said TODAY legal analyst Lisa Bloom.
In their lawsuit, Murphy and Sullivan describe Big Coat’s business model as “skewed.” They said they gave the production company $140,000 for renovations, but only about $85,000 went to the contractor. They claim the production company used the remaining funds “for the production of its series.”
TODAY North Carolina couple Deena Murphy and Timothy Sullivan are suing the show's production company.
In a statement to TODAY, the couple’s attorney said the company’s incentive was “to make decisions that favor the television show but not the homeowners.”
RELATED: 'Fixer Upper' Joanna Gaines shares her spring cleaning checklist
The “Love It or List It” production company disputes the allegation.
“We believe that this claim is in no way supported by any of the facts of the case, and we will be defending ourselves vigorously in this matter,” it told TODAY in a statement.
TODAY sought comment from the contractor listed as one of the lawsuit defendants but did not hear back. ||||| 1:11 See Billy Graham's visit to South Carolina, including USC football stadium and Ft. Jackson Pause
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2:23 How to report Social Security fraud ||||| A North Carolina couple is suing the producers of Love It Or List It, saying the show left them with a house that was shoddily constructed. The Raleigh News & Observer says that Deena Murphy and Timothy Sullivan agreed to participate in the hit HGTV series under the guise that they were considering a move to a rental property with their teenage foster children. The problem, according to the suit against Big Coat TV and Aaron Fitz Construction, was that the show’s principals—designer Hilary Farr, real estate agent David Visentin, and contractor Eric Eremita—are “actors or television personalities playing a role for the camera,” not people who “played more than a casual role in the actual renovation process.” While this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s ever suffered through Farr and Visentin’s bullshit “no, you are” banter, it’s still mildly disheartening to hear.
For the episode, which aired in April 2015, Murphy and Sullivan were asked to deposit $140,000 into a fund with the production company, who would later use that money to pay Fitz and other subcontractors. According to the suit, the couple voiced its concerns about Fitz, saying it had below-average reviews on Angie’s List, but they were ignored. Over the course of the renovations, only $85,780.50 was disbursed to Fitz, leaving the couple wondering where the rest of their money went. The suit also questions how Big Coat can operate as a general contractor, a role it’s not licensed for.
Murphy and Sullivan are also claiming that Love It Or List It is even more of a scam than it generally seems, with the couple saying the show never used a licensed architect to develop plans for their house, and that they were never shown houses that were actually for sale in North Carolina—or for sale by any licensed North Carolina real estate broker. They also say any work done on the show was work that they’d previously made plans for with another company, Werx-Design Build.
According to the suit, the actual work done on the house was “disastrous,” leaving the home “irreparably damaged.” Duct work was left open, leading to vermin entering the house, and the couple complains of “low-grade industrial carpeting, unpainted surfaces, and windows painted shut.”
As the News & Observer summarizes, “Big Coat’s purported agreement,” the lawsuit contends, ‘admits that it is in the business of television production, not construction. ... The homeowners’ funds essentially pay the cost of creating a stage set for this television series.’”
Maria Armstrong, Big Coat’s CEO and the show’s executive producer, says that the company intends to “vigorously defend what [it] consider[s] false allegations.”
Submit your Newswire tips here. | – When Deena Murphy and Timothy Sullivan wanted to renovate their Raleigh, NC, rental property, they didn't want a DIY project, so they did what they thought was the next best thing: signed up to have an HGTV show do it for them. But per a lawsuit the couple has now filed against Big Coat, the production company behind Love It or List It, as well as the local contractor who overhauled the home, they were left with "disastrous work," including holes in the floor and windows painted shut, the Charlotte Observer reports. The suit also alleges the "reality-TV" program is "scripted, with 'roles' and reactions assigned to the various performers and participants, including the homeowners." And the show's hosts, designer Hilary Farr and real estate agent David Visentin, and its resident general contractor? "Actors or television personalities … [who don't play] more than a casual role in the actual renovation process." Per their contract with Big Coat, the couple deposited $140,000 that would be used to pay Aaron Fitz Construction and its subcontractors. About $85,000 was distributed to Aaron Fitz during the overhaul, even though Murphy and Sullivan say they expressed concerns about mediocre reviews seen on Angie's List. The rest of the money got pumped into producing the show, the couple claims, reports Today.com. They say the show is "even more of a scam than it generally seems," as the AV Club frames it. "The homeowners' funds essentially pay the cost of creating a stage set for this television series," the suit says. A statement from Big Coat's CEO says the company will "vigorously defend what we consider to be false allegations." (This DIY project took six months to make and much less time to eat.) |
Anissa Weier is brought into court for a hearing last month. On Thursday, her attorney said she would plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in the Slender Man case. She and Morgan Geyser are accused of stabbing another girl. (Photo: Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Anissa Weier plans to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in the Slender Man stabbing case next week.
Weier's co-defendant, Morgan Geyser, had already entered such a plea, often referred to as NGI, at a hearing last month.
At the time, prosecutors pressed the judge to inquire whether Weier might go the same route, since it requires the court to appoint doctors to examine the defendant and report whether their condition would support the plea. One of Weier's attorneys, Maura McMahon, said the defense had not yet decided.
But in a pleading filed this week, McMahon indicated that Weier now wants to change her not guilty plea to the insanity plea. A hearing was set for Sept. 9 for that change of plea.
Weier and Geyser, both 14, were 12 when prosecutors say they plotted and attempted to kill their sixth-grade classmate and friend Payton Leutner in May 2014.
ARCHIVE: Slender Man case coverage
Leutner was stabbed 19 times and left for dead in a Waukesha park the morning after a sleepover party for Geyser's 12th birthday, but managed to crawl near a path, where she was found by a passing bicyclist.
Both defendants later told police they were trying to either impress or avoid the wrath of Slender Man, a fictional internet boogeyman the girls said they believed would harm them or their families if they didn't kill their friend.
They remain charged as adults with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, after efforts to have their cases transferred to juvenile court were denied.
A defendant entering an NGI plea contends that at the time she committed a crime, a mental disease or defect prevented her from appreciating the wrongfulness of her action, or from conforming her conduct to the law.
Someone found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect is typically committed to a state mental hospital for treatment.
Geyser, who has been diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia, has already spent months at Winnebago Mental Health Institute under a separate civil commitment.
During earlier hearings, mental health experts testified that Weier was competent to proceed with the case, but had not done more extensive evaluations required for an NGI review. She remains at a West Bend juvenile detention center.
No trial date has been set in the case.
Read or Share this story: http://on.jsonl.in/2civi3X ||||| Two girls accused of trying to kill a classmate to please horror character Slender Man want jurors from outside their home county to decide their trials.
Morgan Geyser's attorneys filed a motion this week seeking jurors from outside Waukesha County because of heavy media coverage. Geyser has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
A letter the other girl's defense attorneys submitted to the court seeks outside jurors as well. The letter noted that girl plans to plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Investigators say Geyser and Anissa Weier, who were 12 at the time of the 2014 attack, plotted for months before luring the victim, who also was 12, into some woods and repeatedly stabbing her. The girls hoped killing her would please Slender Man, a demon-like character in online stories.
The victim crawled out of the woods to get help.
Both girls face an attempted homicide charge in adult court. Their attorneys had been fighting to move them into juvenile court but a state appeals court in July ruled they should remain in adult court.
| – Both girls in Wisconsin's disturbing "Slender Man" case will now be pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Attorneys for 14-year-old Anissa Weier signaled this week that they want to change her plea in the attempted murder case from not guilty to "NGI," meaning that she's likely to be committed to a state mental hospital for treatment if found not guilty, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Co-accused Morgan Geyser, who is also 14, has been diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia and has already entered an NGI plea. Both girls were 12 years old in 2014 when they allegedly stabbed a 12-year-old classmate 19 times and left her for dead in what they told investigators was an attempt to please the online horror character "Slender Man." In July, an appeals court ruled that they should be tried as adults for the attempted killing. WISN reports that lawyers for both girls are seeking to have the case heard by jurors from outside Waukesha County, where the attack took place, because of heavy media coverage. |
A 90-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing his stepdaughter after investigators gained information from the Fitbit she wore at the time of the incident, according to police.
When authorities responded to a welfare check Sept. 13 at the San Jose home of 67-year-old Karen Navarra, they found her dead at the scene, the San Jose Police Department said.
She had a gaping laceration on her neck, a deep laceration on her head and a kitchen knife in her hand, according to the statement of facts written by police and provided by the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office.
A medical examiner determined Navarra couldn't have caused all the wounds herself and detectives believed the scene was staged to appear as a suicide, the document said.
Police spoke to Navarra's stepfather, 90-year-old Anthony Aiello, who is married to Navarra's 92-year-old mother.
Aiello told police he last saw Navarra Sept. 8 when he brought pizza and biscotti to her at home; Aiello said he stayed there for about 15 minutes then drove home, the document said.
San Jose Police Department
Aiello told police when he was later outside his house, he heard a car honk and saw Navarra drive by waving with a second person in the passenger seat, the document said. Police recovered surveillance video from near Aiello's home and determined Navarra never drove by that day, the document said.
Navarra had a Fitbit Alta HR on her left wrist when she was found, according to police.
The data showed a significant spike in her heart rate Sept. 8 at 3:20 p.m., followed by a rapid slowing, the document said. The Fitbit stopped registering heart rate data that day at 3:28 p.m.
“ ” He denied that he was present when she was killed and suggested that someone else might have been in the house.
Police also checked surveillance video near Navarra's home and determined Aiello's car was parked in his stepdaughter's driveway from 3:12 p.m. to at least 3:33 p.m. on Sept. 8, the document said.
Aiello, of San Jose, was arrested and charged with murder Sept. 25, police said.
Aiello was read his Miranda rights and interviewed by police, during which he confirmed he was at his stepdaughter's home at about 3 p.m., the document said. Aiello told police he dropped off the pizza, didn't see anyone else in the home and left after five to seven minutes, the document said.
Aiello said his stepdaughter walked him to the door and handed him two roses when he left, the document said.
"During the interview, Aiello was confronted about the information from Fitbit and the corresponding surveillance video indicating that his car was in the driveway,” the document said. “After explaining the abilities of the Fitbit to record time, physical movement and heart rate data," investigators told Aiello his stepdaughter had died before he left.
But Aiello "denied that he was present when she was killed and suggested that someone else might have been in the house," the document said.
During the interview, investigators also told the 90-year-old man that police found two shirts with blood splatter in his garage; he responded that he cuts himself frequently, the document said.
"He was told that the deposits of blood were not localized in one area and were more consistent with splatter," the document said. "Aiello indicated that he might have cut his hand and shaken it while he was wearing those shirts."
Aiello appeared in court last Thursday before being remanded to custody, with no bail, authorities said, adding that he is scheduled to return to court this Thursday for plea proceedings and identification of counsel.
A representative for Fitbit declined to comment to ABC News on the case.
This isn't the first time a Fitbit was used as evidence to make a murder arrest.
Richard Dabate is accused of killing his wife in Connecticut in 2015; a piece of evidence against Dabate is that the victim's Fitbit data contradicted what he told police, according to the Hartford Courant. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
Also, when Iowa jogger Mollie Tibbetts vanished this summer, investigators said they were looking into what information could be gathered from her Fitbit. The data was not ultimately used in making an arrest in her killing.
This report was featured in the Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, episode of ABC News' daily news podcast, "Start Here."
"Start Here" is the flagship daily news podcast from ABC News -- a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or the ABC News app. On Amazon Echo, ask Alexa to "Play 'Start Here'" or add the "Start Here" skill to your Flash Briefing. Follow @StartHereABC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for exclusive content, show updates and more. ||||| A woman’s Fitbit clocked a rapid rise in her heart rate before a sudden drop-off to nothing, helping San Jose police piece together clues and charge her 90-year-old stepfather with her murder, according to court records.
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Tony Aiello was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murdering his 67-year-old stepdaughter, Karen Navarra, on Sept. 8. Aiello is married to Navarra’s 92-year-old mother.
Navarra, a pharmacy technician described by family as a “recluse,” was discovered deceased by a co-worker Sept. 13 after she failed to show up to her job.
Police said Navarra was found slumped over in a chair, clutching a large kitchen knife with a “gaping” slit to her neck. To investigators, the scene appeared to be staged to look like a suicide.
But a later autopsy revealed “multiple deep and intrusive wounds” to her head and facial area, most likely inflicted by a small hatchet or ax. The doctor told investigators Navarra couldn’t have inflicted the wounds herself and classified the case as a homicide.
At his initial interview, Aiello told San Jose police that he dropped by Navarra’s home on Saturday, Sept. 8, to bring her pizza, according to court records. He also said he was outside his own home a few hours later, and witnessed his step-daughter drive by and honk with someone else in the passenger seat.
But police say Aiello’s account didn’t match up with what they saw on surveillance footage.
Nearby cameras captured his car at Navarra’s home for at least 21 minutes that day, between 3:12 p.m. and 3:33 p.m, but they didn’t show her car ever leaving in the direction Aiello described, police said.
Investigators noted Navarra was wearing a Fitbit, a wristband device that can collect data like number of steps walked and heart rate, when she was found, and they later consulted with the company to see if the device could offer any clues. A company employee told police Navarra’s heart rate spiked at 3:20 p.m. Sept. 8 and then rapidly slowed. The device stopped registering a heartbeat at 3:28 p.m.
Aiello repeated his initial story after his arrest and denied that he killed his stepdaughter, according to court records. When confronted with the Fitbit evidence Aiello suggested someone else could have been in the home. He told police she couldn’t have died when he was there, because she walked him to the door.
Police also found clothes in his hamper covered in blood splatter. Aiello told police he cuts himself frequently, according to court records.
Homicide investigators across the country have turned to fitness trackers to help piece together timelines, movements and other key information for their cases.
A Connecticut man was arrested after his wife’s Fitbit data showed her last movements were more than an hour after her husband said she had been killed by intruders.
In Wisconsin, another man’s Fitbit acted as an alibi. The device corroborated his story during a crucial window of time when police said his live-in girlfriend’s body was being dumped in a field.
Aiello is being held without bail and is due in court Oct. 4.
AlertMe | – Police in San Jose believe a 90-year-old man murdered his 67-year-old stepdaughter—and he might have gotten away with it if she hadn't been wearing a Fitbit. Police say they found Karen Navarra dead at her home Sept. 13 with a kitchen knife in her hand and deep wounds to her head and neck, ABC News reports. After the medical examiner concluded that she had been murdered by somebody who tried to make the death look like a suicide, investigators used surveillance footage to determine that stepfather Anthony Aiello had visited her the day of her death. He told them he had seen her later in the day—but her Fitbit revealed that her heart rate spiked, slowed, then stopped while he was at the house. During a police interview, "Aiello was confronted about the information from Fitbit and the corresponding surveillance video indicating that his car was in the driveway," police said in a statement. After police explained "the abilities of the Fitbit to record time, physical movement and heart rate data," Aiello claimed somebody else must have been in the house. He also claimed that two shirts with blood splatter found in his garage must have gotten that way after he cut himself and shook his hand, KOAT reports. Aiello, who is married to Navarra's 92-year-old mother, was arrested and charged with murder last week. (A Fitbit told a different story after this man said a fat intruder killed his wife.) |
University of Chicago / Facebook
Amid a high-profile controversy at the University of Chicago over the value of trigger warnings and "intellectual safe spaces," a male student is suing the Hyde Park school on the grounds that it is not a safe space for young men.
The unnamed student has been accused of sexual assault by his peers at least twice, but the university found he was not at fault after investigating the claims through its own process for resolving on-campus disputes between students. The lawsuit, filed last week, demands $175,000 in damages against the university.
The university has come under scrutiny in recent years for its handling of sexual assault accusations among students and is being investigated by the federal government for violating Title IX. Now this student says the school has swung too far in the other direction, creating a "gender-biased, hostile environment against males, like John Doe, based in part on [the University of Chicago's] pattern and practice of investigating and disciplining male students who accept physical contact initiated by female students, retaliating against male students, and providing female students preferential treatment under its Title IX policies."
The lawsuit, which can be read in full here, details the relationships John Doe had with two unnamed women referred to as Jane Doe and Jane Roe in 2013. The lawsuit claims the relationships and his sexual activities with them were always consensual, but Jane Doe began publicly accusing him of sexual assaulting them in 2016, several years after the fact. The lawsuit excerpts a series of Tumblr blog posts written by one of his accusers in 2013 and 2014 as evidence that the relationship was in fact consensual.
Among other issues, the male student says he was harassed by the female students after one Tweeted about the alleged assault and a group of students staged a protest to boycott a student theater production he directed, and after his named was placed on "the Hyde Park List,"—a very unofficial list of University of Chicago students accused of sexual misconduct that was disseminated anonymously in 2014.
The complaint relies on some common arguments used to refute sexual assault claims women bring against men: that the women are scorned lovers trying to re-write history out of anger, and that people who believe sexual assault allegations are biased against men because of the mainstream cultural image of men as more interested in casual sex than women. The lawsuit claims one female student had a "vendetta" against him and was retaliating after being rejected, and that the university operates under “archaic assumptions that female students do not sexually assault or harass their fellow male students because females are less sexually promiscuous than men.”
[H/T Jezebel] ||||| A University of Chicago male student from New York accused twice of sexual assault slammed the school's conduct in a new lawsuit, charging that "UC routinely portrays a large portion of their male students as sexual predators."
The student, named as John Doe in the lawsuit, claims the university violated Title IX with its unfair treatment. He was subjected to a "fundamentally unfair, arbitrary and capricious disciplinary procedure that violates both Title IX and UC's policies and/or procedures related to allegations of sexual misconduct," according to the lawsuit obtained by the Chicago Maroon, a student newspaper at the school.
Title IX is in place to ensure that universities don't discriminate against students and faculty based on gender.
The male student, from Somers, N.Y., charges that two women, named as Jane Doe and Jane Roe, falsely accused him of sexual assault. Jane Doe is also being sued, according to the Maroon.
What you should know about reporting sex assault on campus
The suit alleges that the school refused to allow John Doe to file a Title IX complaint against Jane Doe for harassment and retaliation, yet UC allowed Jane Doe to file a Title IX complaint to retaliate for an alleged sexual assault two years earlier.
John Doe and Jane Doe became acquainted before their first semester in September 2013 through a Facebook page for accepted students, according to the lawsuit. John Doe and Roe met during their first semester.
The lawsuit states that after John Doe broke off his relationships with the two women, Roe filed a complaint with the school falsely accusing John Doe of sexual misconduct in the spring of 2014. The accusation was regarding alleged conduct that took place the previous December.
The school rejected Roe's claims "despite UC's anti-male gender bias conduct and gross negligence in conducting an investigation," according to the lawsuit.
Brown student could be allowed back after sex assault suspension
However, Roe then launched a vendetta against the male student, according to the lawsuit. She placed his name on the so-called "Hyde Park List," a Tumblr page accusing six current and former male students of sexual assault or sexual harassment.
Roe also "falsely and maliciously advised members of UC's community that John Doe was a sexual predator," according to the suit.
The school did not take any steps to "correct" Roe's conduct, according to the suit, as John Doe was told the school's "confidentiality" policies prevented him from personally refuting Roe's defamation within "UC's Community."
Roe then blogged in October of 2014 that the school was forcing her to participate in class "with the person who sexually assaulted [HER]." The school ordered John Doe removed from the physics lab they were both in, despite his strong opposition, the lawsuit states.
UC investigating sexually explicit ‘gag reflex' sign near campus
In addition, the school "unlawfully alleged a right to discipline" the male student because his sister responded to Roe's "fallacious" posts on Twitter.
The other woman mentioned in the suit, Jane Doe, first mentioned in her blog that she had been "sexually assaulted" in November of 2014, according to the complaint. However, in her own "vernacular," according to the lawsuit, the male student and Jane Doe "hooked up" in September of 2013 but did not have sexual intercourse.
Jane Doe harassed the male student in a series of tweets earlier this year, according to the lawsuit. The male student filed a Title IX complaint against her, but the school took no action.
The suit seeks $175,000 in damages, according to the Maroon. ||||| A male student twice investigated for sexual assault by the University of Chicago has sued the school, saying its handling of the complaints against him demonstrated a “gender-based, hostile environment against males.”
The student, identified in the lawsuit as “John Doe” from Somers, N.Y., claims the University failed to treat him fairly after a University disciplinary panel cleared him of a sexual assault charge in 2014. The suit also accuses a female student of defamation for publicly saying he assaulted her and others. The complaint was filed on August 24 in federal court in Chicago.
The suit asks for more than $175,000 in damages.
The case against the University states that, in its treatment of the plaintiff in the case, “UC was motivated by pro-female, anti-male bias that was, at least in part, adopted to refute criticism within the student body and public press that UC was turning a blind eye to female complaints of sexual assault.”
The suit is part of a recent trend of litigation by male students at American universities who claim to have been discriminated against in sexual assault investigations in violation of Title IX, a federal statute that prohibits sex discrimination at colleges and universities that receive federal funding. So far, these claims have generally failed, though last month a federal appeals court ruled in favor of a similar suit against Columbia University.
The suit involves two separate allegations of sexual assault against “John Doe” filed with the University as Title IX complaints. The first allegation, filed by a female student called “Jane Roe” in the lawsuit, was decided in “John Doe’s” favor in 2014. The second was filed this year by another female student, called “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit, over an alleged instance of sexual assault in 2013. “Jane Doe” is being sued, along with the University.
The student the suit refers to as “Jane Roe” said “John Doe” assaulted her in the spring of 2014. A College disciplinary hearing in May of that year “found that the preponderance of the evidence did not support [“Jane Roe’s”] allegation that [“John Doe”] sexually assaulted her,” according to a letter sent to the plaintiff by former assistant dean of students Kathleen Ford. The letter was included as an exhibit in the suit.
The suit alleges that “Jane Roe” told other people at the University of Chicago that “John Doe” had raped her and that she added his name to the “Hyde Park List,” a Tumblr page that listed students it said had committed sexual assault or harassment.
“Roe” is not a defendant in the lawsuit. Instead, the suit points to the University’s decision to remove the plaintiff from a physics lab with “Roe” after the case had been decided, and its failure to stop her from repeating her allegations, as examples of the University’s bias against him as a male student.
In May of this year, the plaintiff directed a TAPS-sponsored play called The Bald Soprano, according to an email released as an exhibit in the case. Before the play’s debut, flyers were posted on bulletin boards around campus urging people to boycott the show, and a protest was staged near the theater on the play’s opening night.
“For me, it’s about supporting survivors, boycotting events put on by perpetrators of sexual assault, and accountability in RSOs,” then second-year Emma Maltby, who participated in the protest, said when interviewed by The Maroon at the time.
At the protest, students held signs with slogans like “Support survivors, not perpetrators,” “Boycott rapists,” “Silence = violence,” and “Hold your friends accountable.” Some protesters also had tape over their mouths, with “Support survivors” written on the tape.
Students protest in Reynolds Club. Zoe Kaiser
At the time, protesters would not speak to The Maroon on the record about whether their protest was related to a specific incident or person.
Before the protest, the female student called “Jane Doe” in the suit tweeted that the director of a TAPS show had assaulted her and other people on campus. The plaintiff’s law firm sent her a cease-and-desist order in June, demanding that she stop saying that “John Doe” had sexually assaulted her or other people, formally apologize to him, and issue an apology and retraction on social media. As of publication, the original tweet was still posted on “Jane Doe’s” Twitter account.
In May of this year, “John Doe” filed a Title IX complaint against “Jane Doe,” alleging harassment. Jeremy Inabinet, associate dean of students for disciplinary affairs, told him that the actions he cited did not constitute harassment under University policy and dismissed the allegation.
“Jane Doe” then filed a Title IX complaint in June against “John Doe,” saying he had sexually assaulted her in 2013. "John Doe" then filed another complaint with the school, saying that "Jane Doe’s" complaint was in bad faith and retaliation against his decision to file his May complaint and otherwise defend himself against rape allegations. The University initially told “John Doe” that it planned to pursue the case against him under the 2015 Student Manual, which had a different definition of consent from the 2013 Student Manual.
The suit says that “it was impossible for John Doe to know whether his consensual physical encounters with Jane Doe in 2013 might violate subsequently created stringent mandates in UC’s 2015 Manual.”
The suit also claims that the University failed to respond to public accusations that “John Doe” had sexually assaulted people and treated him unfairly by agreeing to hear “Jane Doe’s” Title IX complaint. The suit includes selected posts from the female defendant’s blog which it alleges show that their 2013 encounter was consensual.
The suit alleges that the female defendant’s comments were defamatory, and claims that she and the University inflicted emotional distress on the plaintiff. It alleges, among other things, that the University of Chicago violated Title IX by creating a hostile environment, selectively enforcing its provisions, and retaliating against “John Doe” for defending himself against allegations of sexual assault.
The case states that the University’s policy for Title IX investigations takes cues from the Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague” letter, which lays out how Title IX complaints about sexual violence or harassment between students should be handled by school administrations. It alleges that the letter defines females as the victims in Title IX cases and makes it difficult for male defendants to defend themselves in such investigations.
All of the parties in this case declined to comment, either personally or through their legal counsel or press representative.
An August 24 docket entry by the clerk of the district court noted that the University of Chicago had agreed to extend the amount of time the plaintiff had to respond to the defendant’s Title IX complaint, and to adjudicate that complaint under the definition of consent found in the 2013 Student Manual rather than the definition in the 2015 Student Manual. Judge Edmond Chang ruled that the case will continue to be conducted using pseudonyms for the plaintiff and female defendant, as the plaintiff requested.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 14.
Editor’s Note: Based on information available in now-public court documents, it is possible to identify the parties in this lawsuit. The Maroon chose not to identify them because “John Doe” is a plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit, and reporting his name might further this alleged defamation, and because “Jane Doe” alleges that she is a victim of sexual assault, and The Maroon, like many media organizations, does not report the names of alleged victims of sexual assault without the victim’s permission in cases when the victim’s name is not widely known. | – In a lawsuit seeking more than $175,000 in damages, a male student claims the University of Chicago has an "anti-male gender bias" and "routinely portrays a large portion of their male students as sexual predators." The New York Daily News reports the student, named only as John Doe in the lawsuit, was accused of sexual assault by two female students. Despite being found innocent by the university in both cases, John Doe claims that he was the victim of a "fundamentally unfair, arbitrary, and capricious disciplinary procedure" and that the university violated his rights under Title IX. According to Chicagoist, John Doe claims the university disciplines male students "who accept physical contact initiated by female students." The University of Chicago was recently accused of not doing enough for female students who had been sexually assaulted, but John Doe's lawsuit claims the university has now gone too far in the other direction, the Chicago Maroon reports. He says the university did nothing when the two women called him a sexual predator online and in public, leading to the protest of a theater production he directed. He claims the university ignored a Title IX complaint he filed against one of the women after she filed a similar complaint against him. The lawsuit states he was even removed from a physics class he shared with one of the women at her request. In addition to suing the University of Chicago for creating a "hostile environment for men," John Doe is also suing one of the women. (Something similar happened at the University of Texas-Austin.) |
5 years ago
Washington (CNN) – "Reprehensible." "Irresponsible." "Hard to stomach."
White House senior adviser David Plouffe did not mince words Sunday when talking about the reaction by Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich to President Barack Obama's comments on the Trayvon Martin shooting.
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"Those two comments are really irresponsible. I would consider them reprehensible," Plouffe said on CNN's "State of the Union." "I think those comments were really hard to stomach, really, and I guess trying to appeal to people's worst instincts."
While the GOP presidential candidates said the incident was a tragedy, Santorum and Gingrich were particularly critical of the president's response to the shooting in which Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, was shot and killed by a George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman claimed he shot Martin in self-defense.
A somber Obama on Friday commiserated with the Martin family and urged authorities to fully investigate the shooting.
"If I had a son he would look like Trayvon," Obama said. "I think (his parents) are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and we will get to the bottom of exactly what happened."
Santorum said the president politicized the events, while Gingrich characterized Obama's comments as "nonsense."
"What the president of the United States should do is try to bring people together, not use these types of horrible and tragic individual cases to try to drive a wedge in America," Santorum said Friday on "The Hugh Hewitt Show," a radio program.
"Is the president suggesting if it had been a white who had been shot, that would be OK because it wouldn't look like him? That's just nonsense," Gingrich said Friday on conservative host Sean Hannity's radio show, "The Hannity Show." "I mean dividing this country up, it is a tragedy this young man was shot."
But Plouffe, who served as Obama's 2008 campaign manager, said the Republican reaction is evidence of a circus-like primary.
"I don't think there's very many people in America that would share that reaction. You know, this Republican primary at some points has been more of a circus show and a clown show," Plouffe told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.
Although he indicated the Obama campaign expects Romney to be the Republican nominee, Plouffe also predicted an aggressive election come fall.
"Romney has a big delegate lead so we've always felt you know because Romney's won a couple of big states lately, the fundamentals kind of support him," Plouffe said. "But it's going to be a close competitive race no matter who come out the other side."
Also see:
Santorum's Louisiana win does little to change the game of delegate math
‘Math isn’t adding up,’ Gingrich delegate says
Santorum video: 'Obamaville' is a house of horrors
Watch State of the Union with Candy Crowley Sundays at 9am ET. For the latest from State of the Union click here. ||||| White House senior adviser David Plouffe said on Sunday that the administration is "confident" that the U.S. Supreme Court will find the health care law constitutional.
"We are confident it will be upheld," Plouffe said on ABC's "This Week," a day before oral arguments open on the case.
He said the mandate requiring every American to obtain health insurance is a concept developed by conservative thinkers and once supported by Republicans Newt Gingrich, Bob Dole and Mitt Romney, who Plouffe termed the "godfather" of the mandate.
Asked why the law isn't more popular, Plouffe said that hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent attacking it and that the major benefits won't kick in until 2014.
"We just have to tell the story of this," he said. "One thing I am confident of, by the end of this decade, we are going to be very glad the Republicans termed this Obamacare because when the reality of health care is in place it will be nothing like the kind of fear mongering that was done."
Read more about: Supreme Court, David Plouffe, Health Law ||||| White House senior adviser David Plouffe declined on Sunday to say whether President Barack Obama would support or fight a gay marriage plank in the Democratic Party's platform.
"We don’t even have a platform committee," Plouffe said on ABC's "This Week." "We are going to work through the platform process."
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and 22 senators have endorsed the national party taking a stance on marriage legalization.
Obama, however, remains opposed to gay marriage.
Read more about: Barack Obama, David Plouffe, Gay Marriage ||||| White House senior adviser David Plouffe on Sunday branded the House Republican spending plan as the "Romney-Ryan budget," a tactical move to link the budget crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) with the Republican presidential front runner Mitt Romney.
"If Mitt Romney is the nominee, then this really is going to be the Romney-Ryan plan," Plouffe said on ABC's "This Week." "He said he's going to rubber-stamp it. ... So the American people have to understand, if Mitt Romney's elected president, he'll rubber-stamp that budget. And here's what that budget is. It fails the standard -- it fails the test of balance and fairness and shared responsibility. It showers huge additional tax cuts on the wealthy ... that are paid for by veterans and seniors and the middle class, so it's not a balanced approach."
"So the president's approach is the right approach. It's the balanced approach," Plouffe said. "Anybody out there that's offered a deficit reduction plan, any expert says it's got to have balance, which means it's got to cut spending, and we've already cut a lot of spending, almost $2 trillion. It's got to reform entitlements in the right way. And you've got to get revenue through tax reform."
Ryan defended his plan on "Fox News Sunday," saying Medicare would grow at the same rate as under the president's plan while balancing the budget more quickly.
Read more about: Mitt Romney, David Plouffe, Paul Ryan | – David Plouffe is making the talk-show rounds this morning, and CNN reports that he's wasting zero time in bashing Newt Gingrich for accusing President Obama of politicizing the Trayvon Martin killing, and dismissing the GOP nomination race at large as a "clown show." Gingrich "is clearly in the last throes of his political career," said Plouffe, and instead of exiting "with some shred of dignity," has "clearly chosen" to "say these irresponsible, reckless things." "I think the president spoke movingly about this tragedy, as a father," Plouffe said. "So I think those comments were really hard to stomach, really, and I guess trying to appeal to people’s worst instincts." Elsewhere on the Plouffe dog-and-pony show, as per Politico: On Paul Ryan's budget: "If Mitt Romney is the nominee, then this really is going to be the Romney-Ryan plan. He said he's going to rubber-stamp it." On being "confident" health care reform will be upheld by the Supreme Court: "By the end of this decade, we are going to be very glad the Republicans termed this ObamaCare, because when the reality of health care is in place it will be nothing like the kind of fear mongering that was done." On the White House's gay marriage stance: "We don’t even have a platform committee. We are going to work through the platform process." |
0 JSO: Body believed to be missing Jacksonville woman found; coworker arrested
PHOTO GALLERY: Memorial quickly growing at site where body found
A body believed to be the remains of missing Jacksonville woman Savannah Gold were found late Saturday, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
Related Headlines Government shutdown: Trump signs bill to temporarily reopen government
The body was found in a pond off Club Duclay Road — near Blanding Blvd. — in west Jacksonville.
Gold’s coworker at Bonefish Grill, manager Lee Rodarte, 28, became a suspect after discrepancies were found in his story, JSO said.
Traffic tickets issued to Rodarte in 2006 show that he once lived on the same street where the body was found.
Rodarte appeared in court Sunday after being booked on charges including murder and tampering with evidence. A judge said he is being held without bond on the murder charge.
Judge ordered Rodarte be held without bond on the murder charge. He's also accused of tampering with evidence in Savannah Gold's death pic.twitter.com/PrALgdTb3r — Brittney Donovan (@brittneydonovan) August 6, 2017
Lee Rodarte, suspect in Savannah Gold's murder, just had his first appearance in #Jacksonville pic.twitter.com/YYNHf83eBE — Brittney Donovan (@brittneydonovan) August 6, 2017
RAW INTERVIEW: Gold's father, friend make emotional plea
JSO said Gold got into Rodarte’s car in the parking lot of the restaurant on Wednesday evening before her shift.
They apparently had a fight. The two had an off-and-on relationship, JSO said.
A struggle ensued, JSO said, and Rodarte appeared to take an object and slash the tire of Gold’s car. After a few minutes, he drove away in his own car, JSO said.
Confirmed Lee Rodarte will make his first court appearance this afternoon. He's charged with murder and evidence tampering. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/qaDj9HfJfy — Christy Turner (@ChristyANJax) August 6, 2017
Rodarte was arrested at the Mandarin restaurant located just off I-295 on Saturday night.
According to JSO, Rodarte admitted to killing Gold and disposing of her body in the pond at the end of Club Duclay Road.
Rodarte led police to the body, JSO said. An autopsy is pending to confirm the remains are that of Gold and to determine cause of death.
JSO said video surveillance showed a possible struggle inside Rodarte's car. On the video, JSO said, Rodarte could be seen walking to Gold's car, opening a door and looking inside.
JSO said Rodarte returned to his car and drove off at 6:04 p.m. Gold was never seen exiting the car, JSO said.
The company that owns Bonefish Grill released a statement Sunday:
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Savannah and will miss the joy and happiness she brought to work every day. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with family and friends during this difficult time, including the people she worked with here at Bonefish Grill."
The restaurant put a sign on their door Sunday that said they were closed.
Gold was quickly reported missing Wednesday after she didn’t show up for her shift at Bonefish Grill on San Jose Boulevard.
About 30 minutes after Gold was supposed to be at work, her father Daniel said he got a text from Gold’s phone. It had misspelled words and said she was running away with a great guy she met and would call them later.
That was the moment Gold’s parents said they knew something was wrong.
“He showed it to me and I immediately knew that it wasn’t her," Sharon Gold said. "We text each other all day and every day … and this was not from my daughter. It was from someone else."
Gold's aunt created a GoFundMe account Sunday to raise money for funeral expenses.
UPDATES ON THIS STORY: Get the free Action News Jax app
FACEBOOK LIVE: JSO's Steve Gallaher announces discovery of body:
Gold's coworker was arrested after he admitted to killing her and dumping her body in a pond several miles away https://t.co/XgDmERaoPw — Brittney Donovan (@brittneydonovan) August 6, 2017
© 2019 Cox Media Group. ||||| Shortly after Savannah Gold headed to her job at the Bonefish Grill restaurant in Jacksonville last Wednesday, her family began receiving strange text messages from her phone.
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“Hey i just wanted to tell you and mom i met a really great guy and we’re running away together,” she texted her father, according to a missing persons report. “I love him and we’re leaving tonight i’ll call you later when we get to where we are going.”
Her family instantly became suspicious. “The spelling was all whacked out,” her father, Daniel Gold, told WSB-TV. “It looked really strange.”
Gold never made it to work that day — but her car was found in the parking lot. “Her car was outside with a slashed tire and her purse, with her ID, credit cards and money [were] in the car with it unlocked,” Daniel Gold told the news station. “That really got us concerned.”
Savannah Gold/Facebook
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office interviewed 28-year-old Lee Rodarte Jr., a Bonefish Grill culinary manager who allegedly had an on-again, off-again relationship with the 21-year-old Gold.
“The suspect when interviewed by police admitted to being in the Bonefish Grill parking lot with the victim, killing her, and disposing of her body” in a nearby lake, the Sheriff’s Office alleged in a statement. “Rodarte led police to remains that were located by the JSO Dive Team and we believe the remains to be Savannah Gold.”
Lee Rodarte Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
The sheriff’s office says that they’re waiting for the medical examiner to officially identify the remains.
Surveillance video at the restaurant shows Gold getting into Rodarte’s car. Police say that there was a “possible struggle” in the car before Rodarte drove off.
Gold’s family told News4Jax.com that Rodarte spoke to them after her disappearance and expressed his concerns. They also say that he helped hand out missing persons flyers before speaking to police.
Authorities believe that Rodarte was the one who sent the texts after Gold’s death, Jacksonville Sheriff Lieutenant Steve Gallagher told reporters.
Rodarte has been charged with murder and evidence tampering. He is jailed without bond at the Duval County Jail. He has not yet entered a plea, and it is unclear if he has retained an attorney. | – A Florida man murdered a co-worker and then used her phone to send a text to her parents, police say. The parents of 21-year-old Savannah Gold say their suspicions were immediately aroused by the "really strange" message they received after she left for work at the Bonefish Grill in Jacksonville last Wednesday, People reports. "Hey i just wanted to tell you and mom i met a really great guy and we’re running away together," one message to her father said. "I love him and we're leaving tonight i'll call you later when we get to where we are going." "He showed it to me and I immediately knew that it was someone else," mother Sharon Gold tells Action News Jax. "We text each other all day ... and this was not from my daughter." Says father Daniel Gold, "The spelling was all whacked out." After Gold's car was found in the restaurant's parking lot with a slashed tire and her purse still inside, authorities identified manager Lee Rodarte, 28, as a suspect because of inconsistencies in his story. Police say Rodarte, who was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Gold, eventually admitted killing her and led them to her body, which he had dumped in a lake. Investigators believe Rodarte was the one who sent the text to Gold's parents. Her parents say after the disappearance, he told them he was worried about her and even helped hand out missing-person flyers. He has been charged with murder and evidence tampering and is being held without bond. |
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." |
Football fans, get ready to rock. While there’s no telling which two teams will face off when Super Bowl LIII hits Atlanta on February 3, a source tells Us that Maroon 5 have been tapped to grace the halftime stage.
“The offer has been extended and they’ve pretty much accepted,” says the insider in the latest issue of Us Weekly. It’s a dream come true for Adam Levine and his six bandmates. As the Voice coach told Howard Stern in 2015, “We very actively want to play the Super Bowl.”
Though at the time the 39-year-old frontman denied rumors that the group was in talks to play the big game that year, he also told Stern they had been on a “short list” of groups for a while.
Currently on tour promoting their 2017 album, Red Pill Blues, the band has a break from shows in between a Las Vegas New Year’s Eve gig and the February 19 start of the Australian leg of their tour — leaving their schedules wide open for the February 3 game.
Before embarking on the tour in May, Levine opened up to Ellen DeGeneres about bringing his wife, Behati Prinsloo, and daughters Dusty Rose, 23 months, and Gio Grace, 7 months, on the road with him for the first time. “We’ll probably have to have a family bus,” he told the talk show host. “Touring with the kids will be fun because it will be an amazing experience for them. They get to see the world.”
At last year’s Super Bowl in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Justin Timberlake took the stage to deliver a medley of his hits and a tribute to the late singer Prince.
For more on Maroon 5 and Super Bowl LIII, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
Reporting by Jennifer Peros
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Want stories like these delivered straight to your phone? Download the Us Weekly iPhone app now! ||||| Looks like it's not a "Secret" anymore!
A source close to the situation says Maroon 5 is scheduled to perform Super Bowl LIII halftime on Feb 3rd in Atlanta, Georgia.
A second source close to the NFL tells ET that Maroon 5 is the halftime performer for Super Bowl LIII.
The band -- made up of frontman Adam Levine with Jesse Carmichael, James Valentine, PJ Morton, Matt Flynn, Sam Farrar and Mickey Madden -- is currently on their Red Pill BluesTour, but conveniently have a break between a New Year's Eve show in Las Vegas and the Australian leg of their tour, which kicks off on Feb. 19.
Levine has previously expressed interest in performing the halftime show, telling Howard Stern in 2015 that he and his bandmates "very actively want to play the Super Bowl."
A spokesperson for the NFL released a statement to ET regarding who is being considered to perform on Super Bowl Sunday. "It’s a Super Bowl tradition to speculate about the performers for the Pepsi Halftime Show," the statement begins. "We are continuing to work with Pepsi on our plans, but do not have any announcements to make on what will be another epic show."
ET has reached out to the band's reps, as well as Pepsi, who sponsors the halftime show.
Last year at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Justin Timberlake did the honors of performing at halftime during the Super Bowl LII game, which the Philadelphia Eagles won 41-33 over the New England Patriots.
See highlights from his show, which included a tribute to Prince, below:
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Related Gallery ||||| Maroon 5 will be the halftime performers at the 2019 Super Bowl, multiple sources confirm to Variety.
While the group is stylistically more similar to recent performers like Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars than more controversial ones such as Beyonce and Lady Gaga, Maroon 5’s most recent hit was a tag-team with Cardi B — “Girls Like You” — and it recently collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on the song “Don’t Wanna Know,” so some left-field guest appearances on Super Bowl Sunday are certainly a possibility.
One of the great challenges in choosing a halftime performer isn’t just its mainstream appeal, but in finding an artist who hasn’t already performed. Over the years, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, U2, The Who, Katy Perry and even the Black Eyed Peas have all performed, and of course the 2004 set from Janet Jackson (featuring Timberlake) was marred by controversy due to her “wardrobe malfunction.” Prince’s 2007 performance — which saw him playing a galvanizing version of “Purple Rain” in a rainstorm — is widely regarded as the all-time best halftime set.
The NFL has faced an additional challenge this year due to its stance regarding former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to take a knee during the National Anthem as a sign of protest, which has spurred outrage in some quarters, from the president on down. Kaepernick has not played since the 2016 season and his contract has not been picked up by another team, largely due to the controversy. Reports emerged last year that Jay-Z had turned down an offer to perform during halftime, which he seemingly confirmed in the lyrics to his recent song with Beyonce, “Apesh–“: “I said no to the Super Bowl: you need me, I don’t need you.”
Reached for comment, a NFL rep tells Variety, “It’s a Super Bowl tradition to speculate about the performers for the Pepsi Halftime Show. We are continuing to work with [longtime sponsor] Pepsi on our plans but do not have any announcements to make on what will be another epic show.”
A rep for Maroon 5 could not immediately be reached for comment. | – Two sources tell Variety the Super Bowl LIII halftime act has been chosen, and it's Maroon 5. Another source tells Us, "The offer has been extended and they’ve pretty much accepted," while ETOnline says the band is the "frontrunner" to perform. The band itself, fronted by The Voice coach Adam Levine, has not commented, but Levine has in the past made it clear he'd love to perform there. As for the NFL, it says in a statement, "It’s a Super Bowl tradition to speculate about the performers for the Pepsi Halftime Show. We are continuing to work with [longtime sponsor] Pepsi on our plans but do not have any announcements to make on what will be another epic show." The big game will be played at Atlanta, Georgia's Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Feb. 3, 2019. |
Provided by FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force Authorities are looking for this man, accused of taking a cab to rob a bank in Centennial.
Provided by FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force Authorities are looking for this man, accused of taking a cab to rob a bank in Centennial.
Provided by FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force Authorities are looking for this man, accused of taking a cab to rob a bank in Centennial.
Provided by FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force Authorities are looking for this man, accused of taking a cab to rob a bank in Centennial.
The FBI wants the public’s help to find a man who took a cab to rob a bank in the Denver Tech Center, robbed the bank, then had the cabbie drive him to Denver International Airport.
“The FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force does not know if he actually boarded a plane,” according to a news release.
Video taken in the cab clearly shows the man’s face, and pictures taken in the Public Service Credit Union shows him wearing what looks like a white dust mask over his lower face.
He got into the cab near the Bellco Theater in downtown Denver and took it to the credit union at 6850 S. Yosemite St., where he showed a small pistol and ordered a teller to give him an undisclosed amount of money before fleeing the bank.
The suspect is a white man in his late 20s to early 30s, approximately 6 feet tall, with a thin to medium build. He wore a black beanie cap, dark gray jacket, black shirt with white letters, dark jeans and dark sunglasses.
Anyone with information can call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867, or text 274637 with the title DMCS, and a message. ||||| DENVER (AP) — Authorities say a man who held up a Denver bank got a cab ride to and from the robbery.
The Denver Post reports (http://dpo.st/1XoG8qd ) the FBI is asking for the public's help to find the suspect. Authorities say the man took a cab to the bank, asked the driver to idle while he went inside, and then had the cabbie drive him to Denver International Airport.
Officials say it's unknown if the suspect actually boarded a plane after going to the airport.
Video from inside the cab clearly shows the man's face, and pictures taken in the Public Service Credit Union show the man wearing what appears to be a white dust mask while inside the bank, where he threatened a teller with a small handgun.
___
Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com | – Authorities say a man who held up a Denver bank got a cab ride to and from the robbery. The Denver Post reports the FBI is asking for the public's help to find the suspect. Authorities say the man took a cab to the bank, asked the driver to idle while he went inside, and then had the cabbie drive him to Denver International Airport. Officials say it's unknown if the suspect actually boarded a plane after going to the airport, the AP reports. Video from inside the cab clearly shows the man's face, and pictures taken in the Public Service Credit Union show the man wearing what appears to be a white dust mask while inside the bank, where he threatened a teller with a small handgun. |
ROME — If the paragon of all Christmas trees is the one in front of the Rockefeller Center in New York — first erected, mind you, by an Italian in 1931 — the prize for most pitiful must go to the one that stands in Rome’s Piazza Venezia this year. Just days after it was put up, it began to gray and shed its needles, and soon it had become nearly see-through. The tree cuts so sad and forlorn a figure that it has been nicknamed Spelacchio, or Mangy.
Spelacchio arrived in Rome early this month from the Trentino region, near Italy’s border with Austria, and what with transport expenses and decorations, the 70-foot fir is estimated to have cost Italian taxpayers 48,000 euros, or $57,000. It’s not clear what has ailed it. Maybe Spelacchio was unsettled by the trip; perhaps it was ill on departure. By way of explanation, Antimo Palumbo, a tree historian who was standing by Spelacchio’s side on Friday morning, pointed at the concrete all over its roots. “You see that?” he told me. “They decided to pour the concrete to keep it steady, but that killed it instead.”
There isn’t enough time, money or political will to replace the tree, and so Spelacchio the Mangy will stay in Piazza Venezia through the holidays, and for many locals it has already become a metaphor for what’s wrong with the city, and the country.
Traffic in Rome is chronically congested, public transport is inefficient, trash collection is slow and sporadic. Early hopes about Virginia Raggi, who was elected mayor last year on an anti-establishment agenda, promptly faded amid familiar allegations of corruption and nepotism. ||||| Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Gehiago jakin
Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Gehiago jakin
Hmm, arazo bat egon da zerbitzariarenera iristeko. Berriro saiatu? Gehitu Txio gurasoak Media gehitu
Zure webgunean edo aplikazioan Twitter-eko edukia kapsulatzean, Garatzaile Akordioa eta Garatzaile Politika onartzen dituzu.
Aurreikusi ||||| ROME — No sooner had workers hoisted a 72-foot tall Norway spruce in Rome’s central Piazza Venezia this month than the mocking began.
The tree was quickly nicknamed Spelacchio, or Mangy, because so many of its dead needles were dropping off, leaving the tree looking a bit bare. Chatter spread quickly on social media where Romans traded jokes about the spruce and criticized its sad appearance.
Insults quickly turned to intrigue as the Italian media plumbed the tree’s costs, questioned how it had been transported to the city and analyzed its state of health.
“It has clearly been traumatized,” one expert declared.
A consumer rights group asked an administrative court, which has oversight over government spending, to investigate what it described as a “shameful spectacle for citizens and tourists” and demanded that the tree be removed immediately. ||||| Published on Dec 15, 2016
Created in 1965, this show is 51 years old and still going strong! What would we do without Charlie Brown and Linus and Snoopy and the gang? | – Rome wasn't built in a day, but it looks like its Christmas tree may have been. The "toilet brush" of a tree now standing in one of the city's busiest public squares and being roundly mocked in Italy and around the world makes Charlie Brown's Christmas tree look lush by comparison. The New York Times reports that the 72-foot-tall Norway spruce erected in the Piazza Venezia and nicknamed "Spelacchio," or "Mangy," will cost the city about $57,000 in all—and locals are outraged that so much money was outlayed for a tree that one expert says "has clearly been traumatized." Thrillist documents some of the online reaction to the sad, needle-sparse spruce, which it calls a "balding network of pines and brittle branches." "Maybe the dogs drank all the water in the tree stand?" one amused viewer tweeted, while another offered a backhanded compliment: "Big fan of Rome's Christmas tree for looking how we all feel." Others defend the tree, saying it looks OK when it's lit up at night. "We are all Spelacchio!" one supporter told a local paper. Per the Times, the tree even has a few Facebook accounts and a Twitter handle in its name, with one tweet proclaiming: "I have more followers than branches." A consumer rights group that calls the tree a "shameful spectacle for citizens and tourists" is lobbying to have the tree taken down and has asked a local court to scrutinize the tree's costs. Rome's mayor says her office is also looking into TreeGate. |
Follow Friday’s updates on the Kavanaugh hearing here: John Dean to warn of a ‘pro-presidential powers’ Supreme Court
Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh is appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as senators continue publicly interviewing President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh, a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has a good chance of being confirmed when the Senate votes later this month. Under questioning from senators, he has so far touched on Roe v. Wade, said courts — not the president — are “the final word” and, as the hearing began, watched drama unfold regarding Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)’s pledge to release confidential documents.
Key moments from the hearing:
• Drama over confidential emails....that were already cleared for public release
• Kavanaugh advised against calling Roe “settled law”
• Kavanaugh elaborates on dissent on contraception and religious objections
• Emails show more involvement with nominee than Kavanaugh previously suggested
10:13 p.m.: Hearing adjourned
More than 12 hours after the questioning began Thursday morning, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) adjourned the confirmation hearing for the day. Grassley closed the session by praising Kavanaugh for his “compelling and credible” answers, highlighted his history on the bench and said that “unquestionably, you’re qualified to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.”
“I hope a lot of people in this country have formed very positive views of you, as I have,” Grassley said.
Kavanaugh spent nearly 24 hours over two days answering questions, with many of the discussions on Thursday centering in some way or another on President Trump, who nominated Kavanaugh to the high court. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including some Republicans, pressed Kavanaugh about his expansive views of presidential power and past writings that concluded civil suits and criminal investigations of presidents would be better delayed until the chief executive left office. Read more about Thursday’s hearing here.
Friday is the fourth and final scheduled day of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing, which will feature comments from witnesses.
— Mark Berman
8:55 p.m.: Behind the dramatic release of once-concealed documents
The dramatic release Thursday of once-concealed documents from Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh’s tenure in the George W. Bush White House spotlighted the simmering frustrations from Democrats over how Republicans have kept secret vast parts of Kavanaugh’s voluminous paper trail.
Tens of thousands of pages from Kavanaugh’s records have been hidden from public view, only available to senators and certain congressional aides in advance of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings this week.
On Thursday, a small sample of the “committee confidential” documents were disclosed after Democratic senators asked that they be approved for public release, raising questions about why the documents had been considered confidential in the first place.
Read more here.
7:30 p.m.: Pressed on gay rights, Kavanaugh declines to say same-sex marriage ruling was correctly decided
Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) pressed Kavanaugh for the first time Thursday night about gay rights. The judge refused to answer whether the high court’s ruling declaring a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry was correctly decided.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the man Kavanaugh would replace on the bench, cast the deciding vote in the case, Obergefell v. Hodges.
Kavanaugh instead read aloud from another Kennedy ruling this year involving gay rights in which the justice wrote that gay people “cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior in dignity and worth.”
Harris noted that Kavanaugh earlier this week characterized the landmark decision declaring segregated schools unconstitutional as a great moment in history, and asked whether the high court’s decision legalizing gay marriage was a similar moment.
The judge said only that it was precedent.
The White House sent out information on Kavanaugh’s record on gay rights soon after the exchange, noting that Kavanaugh has not had a major case involving gay rights in his 12 years on the D.C. Circuit.
“Kavanaugh rules fairly and impartially based on the law, not the identity of the parties before him, and he has a record of faithfully applying legal protections for racial minorities, women, and other protected groups,”the White House statement said.
— Ann E. Marimow
7:11 p.m.: Kavanaugh, pressed again, said he has not discussed the Mueller probe
Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), who late Wednesday asked Kavanaugh if he had discussed special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election with attorneys at the law firm founded by President Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, questioned him again Thursday.
Picking up a line of inquiry that her colleagues, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), had followed during the day, Harris peppered him with follow-up questions. Noting that he had denied having “inappropriate” conversations about it, Harris asking Kavanaugh if he had discussions regarding the special counsel’s probe and whether he had discussed it with anyone at Kasowitz’s firm, saying she had unspecified “reliable information” he had done the latter. (The firm denied this earlier in the day).
Kavanaugh asked Harris if she was asking whether he spoke to anyone specific about it, but she said that was not the question.
“That is not the subject of the question, sir,” she said. “The subject of the question is you and whether you were part of a conversation regarding special counsel Mueller’s investigation.”
Kavanaugh, nearly a day after their exchange late Wednesday, responded: “The answer’s no.”
Harris replied by thanking him and saying “it would have been great if you could’ve said that last night,” prompting Kavanaugh to begin a reply before cutting him off.
“Let’s move on,” Harris said.
The end of the exchange prompted a rare reaction from White House counsel Donald McGahn, who has largely kept his poker face during the hearings while seated behind Kavanaugh in clear view of the cameras. After Harris’s remark about moving on, McGahn gave a slight shake of his head and briefly arched his eyebrows.
— Mark Berman
6:52 p.m.: Booker asks why Kavanaugh won’t recuse himself from the Mueller probe
Hours after Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) took center stage with drama over some of the documents the committee had, he had a chance to speak to Kavanaugh, pressing the judge on a variation of a question he had been asked previously during the hearings: Why not recuse himself from any court matters that would involve the ongoing special counsel probe because, as Booker said, “it’s really important that the Supreme Court be above suspicion”?
Kavanaugh responded by saying doing so would mean showing he did not have judicial independence.
“All I would be doing is demonstrating that I don’t have the independence of the judiciary … that is necessary to be a good judge,” Kavanaugh responded. “All of the nominees who’ve gone before have declined to commit because that would be inconsistent with judicial independence.”
— Seung Min Kim
5:50 p.m.: Hearing pauses for dinner
The hearing was halted until 6:15 p.m. for a dinner break. After that, four senators will get their turns to question Kavanaugh before the committee opens up a new round of questioning.
5:15 p.m.: Kavanaugh declines to condemn Trump’s attacks on judiciary
Kavanaugh refused to repudiate what Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) described as President Trump’s “blatant, craven and repeated attacks” on the federal judiciary.
Blumenthal was referring to Trump’s criticism that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “has embarrassed us all” and “her mind is shot.” Ginsburg had been critical of Trump, prompting him to make the comments on Twitter during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Kavanaugh took a pass, saying he did not want to “get within three Zip codes” of such a political controversy.
Blumemthal noted that the president’s first Supreme Court pick, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, explicitly condemned Trump’s attacks as “disheartening” and “demoralizing.” Gorsuch spoke generally, but his comments came after the president had criticized the ethnic background of Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who ruled against the administration’s travel ban.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) followed up, suggesting that the judge was resisting any criticism of President Trump.
Kavanaugh disagreed. As a judge, he said, “We stay out of politics, we don’t comment on comments made by politicians.”
— Ann E. Marimow
5:08 p.m.: Blumenthal presses Kavanaugh on Mueller probe
The ongoing special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election took center stage at the hearing again Thursday afternoon — this time, in a line of questioning from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
Following questions on Wednesday night and again Thursday morning, Kavanaugh was again pressed about special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe, which could eventually make its way before a Supreme Court featuring Kavanaugh as a member.
Blumenthal asked Kavanaugh if he had ever discussed the investigation with anyone, and Kavanaugh echoed his earlier remark in saying: “I’ve had no inappropriate discussions with anyone.”
Blumenthal followed that by asking if the judge had ever discussed the investigation with anyone, whether appropriately or inappropriately. Kavanaugh acknowledged that it had come up — “If you’re walking around in America it’s coming up, senator” — but he also repeatedly emphasized that he never crossed any lines in discussing it.
“I’ve never suggested anything about my views about anything, commitments, foreshadowing, I’ve had no inappropriate discussions,” he said.
Blumenthal then pivoted to asking if Kavanaugh had discussed it with anyone in the White House, including Donald McGahn, the White House counsel seated behind Kavanaugh during the hearings. When Blumenthal asked Kavanaugh if he had discussed the probe with McGahn or anyone else in the White House, calling it a yes or no question, Kavanaugh said: “I’m not remembering any discussions like that.”
He added, though, that during his preparations for the confirmation hearings, he had readied for queries like the ones Blumenthal had posed. The questioning grew mildly tense, with Blumenthal suggesting that Kavanaugh’s answers were ambiguous, which the judge disputed.
After Blumenthal finished his questioning, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) broke in to ask Kavanaugh if he had ever suggested to anyone how he would rule on any matter related to the Mueller probe, and the judge answered: “No, I have not.”
Blumenthal followed up his questions about the probe by asking whether Kavanaugh had discussed the inquiry with anyone at the law firm founded by President Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz.
Earlier on Thursday, the firm Kasowitz Benson Torres said in a statement that “no discussions” regarding the probe had occurred “between Judge Kavanaugh and anyone at our firm.”
When asked by Blumenthal, Kavanaugh echoed his earlier comments that he did not remember any discussions with anyone at the firm about the probe. When asked if he knew Kasowitz, Kavanaugh said no.
When asked if he knew anyone at the firm, Kavanaugh said yes, naming Ed McNally, who used to work at the White House counsel’s office and is now at the firm. Kavanaugh said he had not discussed the special counsel’s probe with McNally.
— Mark Berman
3:35 p.m.: Kavanaugh tries to clarify involvement in judge’s confirmation
Kavanaugh on Thursday discussed his involvement in the confirmation of now-Judge William H. Pryor Jr. to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit — clarifying his testimony from 2004 when he said he hadn’t handled that nomination when he served as an associate White House counsel.
The nominee’s comments came after the new disclosure of emails earlier Thursday that detailed what appeared to be Kavanaugh’s involvement in Pryor’s confirmation fight, including conference calls to coordinate strategy and meetings to discuss plans for the nominee’s hearings.
Kavanaugh explained Thursday that in the George W. Bush White House counsel’s office, one person would be assigned to handle the confirmation of each judicial nominee. “As I recall at least, I was not the primary person on that,” Kavanaugh said, referring to Pryor’s nomination.
While Kavanaugh said he didn’t recall specifics of his involvement, some examples he cited were attendance at meetings and mock hearing sessions.
In 2004, during his confirmation hearing for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Kavanaugh said several times under questioning by then-Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) that he had not been involved with Pryor’s confirmation.
“I am familiar generally with Mr. Pryor, but that was not one that I worked on personally,” Kavanaugh testified then, although he noted during the hearing that he knew Pryor. Upon further questioning, Kavanaugh said: “I was not involved in handling his nomination.”
Kavanaugh, with the help of Grassley, clarified another one of the emails involving Pryor. On Dec. 16, 2002, Kavanaugh received an email from another White House aide with the subject line “CA11” — a reference to the 11th Circuit. The aide, Kyle Sampson, asked: “How did the Pryor interview go?” Kavanaugh then responded: “Call me.”
Grassley, noting that Democrats attempted to “insinuate that you interviewed Judge Pryor,” asked Kavanaugh: It’s “more likely to indicate that you know the people who interviewed Judge Pryor?”
Kavanaugh responded: “That sounds correct.”
— Seung Min Kim
2:56 p.m.: Kavanaugh elaborates on dissent on contraception and religious objections
Advocates for reproductive rights are concerned about the contraceptive-coverage requirement in the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare. In a 2015 case, Kavanaugh dissented from his colleagues and sided with the group Priests for Life, which argued that a provision in the law to opt out for religious objections was too burdensome.
Kavanaugh elaborated Thursday on the basis for his dissent, telling Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) that “the government had ways to ensure contraceptive coverage without doing so on the backs of religious objectors.”
The issue remains in court after the Trump administration issued new rules making it easier for employers to refuse to provide coverage for birth control on the basis of religious objections.
Cruz also asked the judge about a case on which he worked as a lawyer in private practice in which he backed a high school’s decision to allow student-led prayers over the public address system at football games. He argued that students were delivering their own messages, not speaking on behalf of the school. The Supreme Court disagreed, finding the policy unconstitutional.
“Religious people, speakers and speech are entitled to equal treatment,” Kavanaugh said Thursday.
— Ann E. Marimow
2:41 p.m.: Kasowitz firm denies discussing special counsel probe with Kavanaugh
In one of the most widely noticed parts of the hearings, Kavanaugh was questioned late Wednesday by Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) about whether he had discussed special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election with attorneys at the law firm founded by President Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz.
On Thursday, Kavanaugh was asked again about this by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), who gave the judge an opportunity to clarify his responses to Harris. Kavanaugh said he did not “recall any conversations of that kind,” adding that he was not familiar with the names of all of the attorneys from the firm Kasowitz Benson Torres.
Kavanaugh said he had not had any “inappropriate conversations” or commented on his views about the legal aspects of the probe, elements of which could potentially make it to the Supreme Court.
On Thursday, the Kasowitz firm also said that no one there had discussed the probe with Kavanaugh.
“There have been no discussions regarding Robert Mueller’s investigation between Judge Kavanaugh and anyone at our firm,” the law firm said in a statement.
— Mark Berman
1:57 p.m.: Hearings resume after lunch break
After pausing for lunch, the hearings are getting back underway. The first hours brought an extended drama over documents as well as questions about abortion, executive power and the special counsel’s probe, with extensive questioning still expected for the remainder of the day.
1:38 p.m.: The drama over ‘confidential’ emails — which were already cleared for public release
Democrats mounted dramatic protests Thursday over documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh’s tenure in the George W. Bush White House, as senators began releasing his emails that had been withheld from the public.
The records that Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) posted on their websites Thursday morning had, in fact, already been cleared for public release, according to Democratic and Republican aides on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Those documents were cleared earlier Thursday morning, according to spokesmen for both sides.
Nevertheless, the drama over the emails once marked “committee confidential” engulfed much of the third day of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, with Booker vowing to disclose them in defiance of Senate rules.
“I openly invite and accept the consequences of releasing that email right now,” Booker said. “The emails are being withheld from the public have nothing to do with national security.”
Bill Burck, Bush’s presidential records representative, said later Thursday, “We cleared the documents last night shortly after Senator Booker’s staff asked us to. We were surprised to learn about Senator Booker’s histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly. In fact, we have said yes to every request made by the Senate Democrats to make documents public.”
Such theatrics have characterized Kavanaugh’s hearings, in which Democrats have repeatedly complained that Republicans have withheld documents from the committee and the public that shed important light on Kavanaugh’s past.
The documents that took center stage on Thursday were labeled “committee confidential” — available for any senators to view but shielded from the public.
Late Wednesday, a handful of Democratic senators sent Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) several requests to make emails once marked “committee confidential” available to the public so they could discuss them during the public hearing on Thursday. Those records are being cleared as the Justice Department reviews them, as well as representatives for Bush.
Booker may have violated Senate rules late Wednesday, when he spoke about the content of emails that technically were still under “committee confidential” status at that point.
“You’ve also written that an effort designed to benefit minority-owned businesses, an effort to try to give them a fair shake because they had been historically excluded — and these are your words now — used a lot of legalisms and disguises to mask what is, in reality, a naked racial set-aside. That’s what you said. That’s how you referred to it,” Booker said, referring to one of the emails from Kavanaugh.
Later in his questioning, Booker referred again to the committee confidential emails: “I have letters here, sir, that have asked for — now, the one email specifically entitled racial profiling that somehow — I mean, literally the email was entitled racial profiling, that somehow was designated as something that the public couldn’t see. This wasn’t — this wasn’t personal information.”
Releasing “committee confidential” information violates Senate rules and could result in expulsion from the Senate. But whether the Senate actually pursues the violation is a separate question.
— Seung Min Kim
1:17 p.m.: Hearing pauses for lunch
Grassley paused the hearing for a lunch break, which he said would take 30 minutes but potentially longer, noting that senators have two votes scheduled this afternoon.
1:10 p.m.: Court orders, not the president, are “the final word,” Kavanaugh says
Senate Democrats raised concerns Thursday about the president’s attacks this week on the Justice Department and Kavanaugh’s broad view of executive power expressed in his legal opinions and speeches. In a tweet on Monday, Trump criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the recent indictments of two Republican congressmen, the latest in a string of criticisms the president has levied against both Sessions and the department he leads.
“In this age of President Donald Trump, this expansive view of presidential power takes on added significance,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).
Kavanaugh emphasized the importance of the separation of powers and an independent judiciary as a backstop.
“I’ve made clear in my writings that a court order that requires a president to do something or prohibits president from doing something is the final word in our system,” Kavanaugh said.
— Ann E. Marimow
12:32 p.m.: Hearing resumes
After a 15-minute break that lasted for about 25 minutes, Kavanaugh has taken his seat again to answer questions.
12 p.m.: Read Kavanaugh’s email on Roe v. Wade
In an email Kavanaugh wrote in 2003 that was made public Thursday, he argued against calling the decision “settled law of the land.”
In his email, Kavanaugh wrote that he was “not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe” that way, noting that the Supreme Court “can always overrule its precedent.”
When asked about the email by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday, Kavanaugh said he was not expressing his own views, but rather those of “legal scholars.”
Read his email here. And head here for more on what else he has said on the issue.
— Mark Berman
11:27 a.m.: Kavanaugh denies any “inappropriate conversations” about special counsel probe
Late Wednesday night, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) questioned Kavanaugh about whether he had discussed the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election with attorneys at the law firm founded by President Trump’s personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz.
The exchange drew intense scrutiny online, and on Thursday, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) gave Kavanaugh an opportunity to clarify his responses to Harris, who did not disclose with whom she suspected the judge may have had such conversations.
“I don’t recall any conversations of that kind,” Kavanaugh told Hatch, adding that he was not familiar with the names of all of the attorneys from the firm Kasowitz Benson Torres.
Kavanaugh stressed that he had not had any “inappropriate conversations” or commented on his views about the legal aspects of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation that could make their way to the Supreme Court.
“No hints, forecasts, previews, winks — nothing about my view as a judge or how I would rule on that or anything related to that,” Kavanaugh said.
— Ann E. Marimow
11:20 a.m.: Emails show more involvement with controversial judicial nominee than Kavanaugh previously suggested
Kavanaugh testified in 2004 that he did not “personally” handle the nomination of a controversial George W. Bush judicial candidate: Judge William Pryor, who now sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. But emails made newly public early Thursday show more involvement than he appeared to indicate in his 2004 testimony.
On Dec. 16, 2002, Kavanaugh received an email, reviewed by The Washington Post, from another White House aide with the subject line “CA11” — a reference to the 11th Circuit. The aide, Kyle Sampson, asked: “How did the Pryor interview go?” Kavanaugh then responded: “Call me.”
Another email from June 5, 2003 reviewed by The Post showed Kavanaugh on an email chain with a handful of other officials, alerting them to a 4 p.m. conference call to “discuss Pryor and coordinate plans and efforts.” A separate email earlier that day, on which Kavanaugh was blind carbon copied, discussed a meeting that would be held the following day to “discuss nominee Bill Pryor’s hearing” the following week.
Kavanaugh was nominated by Bush on April 9, 2003, and his confirmation hearing was held June 11, 2003. He was confirmed in 2005.
In 2004 during his confirmation hearing for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Kavanaugh said several times under questioning by then-Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) that he had not been involved with Pryor’s confirmation.
“I am familiar generally with Mr. Pryor, but that was not one that I worked on personally,” Kavanaugh testified then. Upon further questioning, Kavanaugh said “I was not involved in handling his nomination.”
Pryor drew controversy because he had called Roe v. Wade “the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history.” As attorney general of Alabama, he had filed an amicus brief in a key Supreme Court case on gay rights, Lawrence v. Texas, that struck down state sodomy laws. Pryor wrote that states should “remain free to protect the moral standards of their communities through legislation that prohibits homosexual sodomy.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the swing votes on Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, voted against Pryor’s confirmation in 2005.
White House spokesman Raj Shah did not immediately return a request for comment on the newly disclosed Pryor emails.
A spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), said some previously “committee confidential” documents are being made public as they are cleared by the Justice Department. Other records that have been requested to be made public are still being reviewed by DOJ and representatives for Bush.
— Seung Min Kim
11:01 a.m.: Kavanaugh advised against calling Roe “settled law,” email shows
While he was a White House lawyer in the Bush administration, Kavanaugh advised against referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade as the “settled law of the land,” according to a 2003 email made public Thursday.
“I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so,” Kavanaugh wrote after reviewing a draft of what was intended to be an op-ed in favor of a judicial nominee.
Kavanaugh addressed the decision on Wednesday, refusing to say whether he believed that Roe v. Wade, the decision that guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion, was correctly decided. He also said the Supreme Court had affirmed it in subsequent cases.
On Thursday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) read aloud from Kavanaugh’s newly released email and said it has “been viewed as you saying you don’t think Roe is settled” and asked him to explain.
Kavanaugh said he was referring not to his own views, but to the “views of legal scholars.”
Read more here.
— Mark Berman
10:45 a.m.: On cameras in the court, Kavanaugh said he is open to hearing from other justices
Kavanaugh was asked about a common question regarding the court: Cameras or no cameras?
The Supreme Court itself operates in a relatively anachronistic format, blocking cameras — and most other forms of technology — when cases are argued and announced. The question of whether it should remain that way has been raised over the years, including to nominees who went on to join the court. During Justice Neil M. Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings last year, he said he was open to hearing more about the issue.
Kavanaugh also said he was open to learning more, including from the justices already on the court to hear “what they think about this.”
“To learn, if I were to be confirmed, from the experience there and to see what the experience there is like,” he said. “To listen to the justices currently on the Supreme Court.”
— Mark Berman
10:38 a.m.: Questioning begins and is promptly interrupted by protesters
An hour after the hearing got underway, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee chairman, began his questioning of Kavanaugh, who had not spoken while senators debated what to do with confidential documents.
A protester shouting about health care and chanting “SHAME” was taken outside by police as Grassley began. Then, as Kavanaugh began to speak, a male protester quickly interrupted, standing on a chair and shouting, “Save Democracy, save Roe!” as he was hauled out of the committee room by the Capitol Police.
10:30 a.m.: Senate Democrats in open revolt over confidential Kavanaugh documents
After Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said he was willing to violate Senate rules and release confidential documents, Senate Democrats on the committee appeared in open revolt as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) read aloud from the rules on expulsion. Raj Shah, a White House spokesman, also tweeted the rules on Thursday morning.
Cornyn read aloud from rules stating that a senator who discloses “the secret or confidential business” of the Senate could be “liable ... to suffer expulsion.”
Booker responded by saying: “Bring the charges.” His comment was echoed by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who said: “Apply the rule, bring the charges. All of us are ready to face that rule.”
“This is about the closest I’ll ever have in my life to an ‘I am Spartacus’ moment,” Booker said.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) also joined in, saying: “If there’s going to be some retribution against the senator from New Jersey, count me in.”
Their comments were echoed by Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who tweeted during the debate: “I stand w/ Judiciary Committee Democrats who are well within their rights to release these very important documents that a former Kavanaugh deputy designed as ‘committee confidential.’ The American ppl deserve to know the truth about Judge Kavanaugh’s record. #WhatAreTheyHiding?”
— Ann E. Marimow
10 a.m.: Booker says he is willing to violate Senate rules to release confidential documents
The fight over access to Kavanaugh’s records from his time in the Bush White House intensified in the opening moments of the hearing Thursday morning. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said he is prepared to violate Senate rules and release confidential committee documents — and to risk the consequences.
Booker had questioned Kavanaugh Wednesday night about his use of the term “naked racial set-aside” and said he would make public documents backing up that assertion.
“I openly invite and accept the consequences of releasing that email right now,” Booker said. “The emails being withheld from the public have nothing to do with national security.”
Under the committee’s rules, Booker could be expelled from the Senate for releasing such records.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) angrily responded to Booker and referred to his potential aspirations for higher office, saying “running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate.” Cornyn argued that “this is no different from the senator deciding to release classified information that is deemed classified.”
9:34 a.m.: Hearing gets underway
Nearly 12 hours after the first day of questioning wrapped up, Kavanaugh is back before the Senate Judiciary Committee for more questioning. Kavanaugh took his seat at 9:33 a.m., sitting alone at the witness table with a stack of papers to his left and three small water bottles to his right.
Before the hearing began, the committee’s Republican members were seen gathered around committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) while he spoke before they took their seats.
Grassley gaveled in the hearing at 9:34 a.m.
— Mark Berman
8 a.m.: What to watch for in today’s hearing
The third day of hearings will see Kavanaugh facing more questioning from senators. Among other things to expect and watch for:
• The battle over access to records from Kavanaugh’s tenure in the Bush White House is sure to resurface, with Democrats asking the committee to release additional documents that have not been disclosed to the public.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) implied Wednesday that there is evidence in confidential Senate Judiciary Committee records that Kavanaugh in 2003 was privy to an email allegedly stolen by a former committee staffer. Kavanaugh said he never knowingly dealt with stolen records. Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) did not guarantee that those documents would become public this week, but said, “we’ll try to get them.”
• More questions are likely about Kavanaugh’s views on a host of pivotal issues, including guns, abortion, executive power, health care, affirmative action and more, as well as about his experiences on the bench and in the Bush White House.
• Health care and the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act will continue to be a potent issue, particularly as a legal challenge to the law unfolds in a courtroom in Texas this week. The nominee says he can’t assure senators that he would uphold the law’s requirement that insurers cover people with preexisting conditions because doing so would compromise his judicial independence. Democrats say they will revisit the issue.
• Loud, angry protests are likely to continue to punctuate the Senate debate about Kavanaugh’s legal theory and judicial opinions. A phalanx of Capitol Police officers, dressed in dark blue and some with zip ties, have been a fixture against the back wall of the hearing room, poised to quietly haul out protesters. Capitol Police on Wednesday arrested and charged another 66 people with disorderly conduct for disrupting the hearings.
• In one of the most confusing — and tense — exchanges Wednesday, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) raised the prospect without offering evidence that Kavanaugh may have spoken about the Mueller investigation with somebody at Kasowitz, Benson and Torres, a law firm that has represented Trump. It’s unclear whether Harris will revisit the issue again Thursday, but the exchange went viral and quickly became one of the most talked-about moments of the Kavanaugh hearings.
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh appears during a confirmation hearing at the Hart Senate Office Building on Wednesday in Washington. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
Read more coverage:
Read Day One and Day Two of the Kavanaugh hearing
The Fix: 5 takeaways from the Brett Kavanaugh hearings so far
The Daily 202: Kavanaugh hearing offers an ‘unprecedented’ display of the Senate’s institutional decline
Read more at PowerPost ||||| Washington (CNN) Brett Kavanaugh emerged from two days of tough questioning in the Senate Judiciary Committee without making any obvious missteps that could imperil his confirmation as the justice who will pull the Supreme Court to the right and hand Donald Trump a generational presidential legacy.
He avoided ceding ground on the most contentious issues, either by saying he wanted to keep "three zip codes" away from politics or by arguing that he could not comment on "hypothetical" cases that could come before him on the nation's top bench.
Kavanaugh refused to say whether a sitting president must respond to a subpoena -- not an academic issue in the age of Trump. He declined to agree to Democratic calls for him to recuse himself from any cases related to the Russia investigation. And he would not say where he would come down on abortion, amid expectations among conservatives he would like to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But Democrats did not walk away from a deeply divisive hearing with nothing. Top lawmakers showed vigor in cross examining Kavanaugh and by portraying him as Trump's man on the court and may have at least partly lived up to expectations of the party's fired up base for a show of backbone ahead of the mid-term elections.
After emerging largely unscathed after the final round of questions from senators that stretched late into Thursday evening, Kavanaugh could take comfort in passing his biggest test. If Republicans stick together he is almost certain to be confirmed while minority Democrats face their own challenge in keeping the votes of red state senators with tough re-election races in their column.
Booker's document fight
Thursday's hearing featured another bitter showdown between Democrats who are furious at the failure of the White House to hand over tens of thousands of key documents on time or at all, and at restrictions on the public release of material that was made available.
New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker said he was ready to risk expulsion from the Senate for making public documents pertinent Kavanaugh's time as a top White House aide to President George W. Bush, but the GOP mocked him for grandstanding ahead of a possible 2020 run -- saying it had already cleared the emails for release.
In a striking political gambit, Booker, backed up by Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, released emails -- which had been designated as "committee confidential" -- that reference Kavanaugh's position on racial profiling and thoughts on Roe v. Wade dating from his time as a White House official under Bush.
Booker, who as a potential 2020 presidential candidate had an incentive to make a splash in the hearing, said he took the action as an act of "civil disobedience."
"I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate. ... I openly invite and accept the consequences of my team releasing that email right now," Booker said.
"This is about the closest I'll probably ever have in my life to an 'I am Spartacus' moment," he added.
Republican Sen John Cornyn warned Booker that releasing documents marked "committee confidential" would break Senate rules.
"Running for president is not an excuse for violating the rules of the Senate," the Texas Republican said.
Later Thursday, Bill Burck, a lawyer who oversaw the process of providing Bush administration documents, undercut Booker's grand gesture, saying that the material in question had been cleared on Wednesday night at the request of the senator's staff.
"We were surprised to learn about Senator Booker's histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly. In fact, we have said yes to every request made by the Senate Democrats to make documents public," Burck said in a statement.
The office of Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, also said that senators, including Booker, were notified "before they spoke today" that the restrictions on the documents had been waived.
Booker, however, insisted he was in the right, saying he read from the documents aloud in the hearing on Wednesday night long before they were cleared at around 4 a.m. Democrats have repeatedly complained that the White House is withholding tens of thousands of documents relevant to the nomination and wants many more that have been provided released to the public.
The New Jersey senator also said he doubted Cornyn would follow through on his threats to enforce Senate discipline against him.
"I think he's like a lot of bullies are: a lot of talk, no action," Booker said.
North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis took exception to his Democratic colleague's tactics.
"Certainly in the six hours between the time that email hit your email box and the theatrics that happened in this chamber today you could have actually found out that you didn't have to be Spartacus, you didn't have to go interact with civil disobedience, you got what you wanted," Tillis said.
The schoolyard taunts underlined how the hearing, ahead of what appears to be Kavanaugh's likely confirmation, has become another battlefield in the vicious partisanship and complete lack of trust between the parties that is wracking Washington at a critical moment of the Trump era
Booker's intervention followed a set of glowing reviews from liberals for another potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who late Wednesday night appeared to discomfort Kavanaugh with a series of questions designed to find out with whom he had discussed special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
Harris returned to the question on Thursday evening, saying that she had been working on "reliable information" that Kavanaugh had a conversation about the probe with someone from Kasowitz Benson Torres, the law firm founded by Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz.
Kavanaugh had sidestepped the question on Wednesday, so Harris asked him again and he replied "the answer's no."
Earlier, the firm said in a statement to CNN there had been no such discussions.
Harris did not disclose the "reliable information" on which she based her questions.
JUST WATCHED Senator challenges Kavanaugh on Mueller probe Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Senator challenges Kavanaugh on Mueller probe 02:55
2003 email shows Kavanaugh discussing Roe
In another flashpoint development, a previously unreleased 2003 email from Kavanaugh, while he was an official in the Bush White House, shows him raising the point of whether Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the right to an abortion, was settled law of the land.
In the internal White House email, obtained by CNN, Kavanaugh wrote: "I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe v. Wade as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so."
"The point there is in the inferior court point," Kavanaugh wrote, responding to a draft op-ed that had been circulated for edits between lawmakers and White House staff.
The draft, meant to be submitted under the name of "high-profile, pro-choice" women in support of a Bush judicial nominee, had said that "it is widely understood accepted by legal scholars across the board that Roe v. Wade and its progeny are the settled law of the land."
During the confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Kavanaugh said: "As a general proposition I understand the importance of the precedent set forth in Roe v. Wade."
Trump said during his campaign that he would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe. In recent years, Supreme Court nominees have gotten through their confirmation hearings by refusing to say how they would rule on what they say is a hypothetical future case on the issue.
The New York Times first reported the email.
Throughout the contentious hearing, now in its third day, Kavanaugh has tried to give political questions -- especially those related to Trump and his potential legal woes -- a wide berth.
On Wednesday he insisted that "no one is above the law" but declined to say whether a sitting president must respond to a subpoena.
Senate Democrats have suggested that Kavanaugh could be biased in favor of the President and worry that his views on the primacy of executive power could help Trump evade legal scrutiny.
Booker warned that given Trump's frequent attacks on the Justice Department there was a "shadow over the independence of the judiciary" and said it was understandable for some Americans to wonder whether a nominee picked by the President would owe loyalty to him or had been nominated to shield him from a criminal investigation.
"My only loyalty is to the Constitution," Kavanaugh responded. "I have made that clear, I am an independent judge." ||||| 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 ||||| Senators Dispute Status Of Released Documents As Questioning Of Kavanaugh Wraps Up
Enlarge this image toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Updated at 10:55 p.m. ET
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh weathered another long day of questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday.
He was pressed once again for his views on presidential power.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sought a promise from Kavanaugh that he would be willing to serve as a check on the president who nominated him.
"Give us some reassurance about your commitment to the democratic institutions in this country, in the face of a president who seems prepared to cast them aside," Durbin said. "Whether it's voter suppression, the role of the media — case after case, we hear this president willing to walk away from the rule of law in this country."
"No one is above the law," Kavanaugh replied. "I've made clear in my writings that a court order that requires a president to do something or prohibits a president from doing something under the Constitution or laws of the United States is the final word in our system."
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, complained that the Supreme Court had been unduly deferential to President Trump this summer when it upheld his travel ban, despite what she called the administration's "obviously bogus" justification. She pressed Kavanaugh on when the high court should question a president's national security claims.
"National security is not a blank check for the president," Kavanaugh said, pointing to a number of cases in which the court had overruled the administration. "Even in the context of wartime, the courts are not silenced. Civil liberties are not silent."
Kavanaugh told lawmakers he is so committed to judicial independence, he stopped voting in national elections after he became a judge.
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., again asked Kavanaugh if he'd ever spoken with anyone at the law firm of Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, renewing a line of questioning she'd opened Wednesday night.
"The answer is no," Kavanaugh said.
As he's done throughout the hearing, Kavanaugh declined to answer a series of questions from Harris about issues that might come before the high court, including abortion, same-sex marriage and immigration.
The White House issued a statement late Thursday praising Kavanaugh.
"Through long hours and days of questioning, Judge Kavanaugh consistently reinforced his firm belief in the bedrock principles of judicial independence and the rule of law," deputy press secretary Raj Shah said in the statement.
Kavanaugh was asked repeatedly during the televised hearing about whether he would support opening the Supreme Court to TV cameras. He promised to keep an open mind, but said he would also want to consider the views of the eight current justices.
Thursday's session began with Democrats on the committee in open revolt over the handling of documents from Kavanaugh's tenure in the George W. Bush White House.
Some documents have been withheld altogether. Others have been provided to the committee on "confidential" terms, meaning senators can see them but they can't be made public.
Democrats object that the confidential label has been applied to a wide swath of records, many of which contain no personal or sensitive information. They also complain that classification decisions were made by former President Bush's attorney, William Burck, a former deputy of Kavanaugh's.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., released some of the confidential documents Thursday morning. Hirono also released "confidential" documents, drawing a stern rebuke from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who called them "irresponsible and outrageous."
"This is no different from the senator deciding to release classified information," Cornyn said Thursday morning. "No senator deserves to sit on this committee, or serve in the Senate, in my view, if they decide to be a law unto themselves and willingly flout the rules of the Senate and the determination of confidentiality and classification."
Read the documents released by Sen. Hirono here and the documents released by Sen. Leahy here.
For all the theatrics on both sides, the debate over documents fizzled by Thursday afternoon, once it became clear their release had been authorized by Bush's attorney overnight.
"We cleared the documents last night shortly after Senator Booker's staff asked us to," Burck said in a statement. "In fact, we have said yes to every request made by the Senate Democrats to make documents public."
And an aide to Grassley told NPR that "counsels for the senators who requested waivers last night/this morning for particular documents were notified that their requests had been honored beginning at around 3:50 this morning."
But a spokesperson for Hirono said the senator was not informed that the documents released by her office Thursday morning had been approved to be made public.
It is not clear whether Booker knew the documents he released had already been approved before his statements Thursday morning at the beginning of the hearing — when he said that his decision to release the documents was a form of civil disobedience and that he was aware he was risking expulsion from the Senate for making the documents public.
"Cory said this morning that he was releasing committee confidential documents, and that's exactly what he's done," Booker spokeswoman Kristin Lynch said in an email to NPR. "Last night, he was admonished by Republicans for breaking the rules when he read from committee confidential documents. Cory and Senate Democrats were able to shame the committee into agreeing to make last night's documents publicly available, and Cory publicly released those documents as well as other committee confidential documents today. And he'll keep releasing them because Republicans are hiding Brett Kavanaugh's record from the American people."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The documents released by Booker include a batch of emails concerning racial profiling, affirmative action and other race-conscious government programs.
In a 2002 email, Kavanaugh wrote that security procedures adopted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks should ultimately be race-neutral, though he acknowledged that developing such procedures could take time. Others in the White House suggested racial profiling might be legally justified if it enhanced security.
In a 2001 email, Kavanaugh addressed a legal challenge to an affirmative action program within the Department of Transportation.
"The fundamental problem in this case is that these DOT regulations use a lot of legalisms and disguises to mask what in reality is a naked racial set-aside," he wrote.
Kavanaugh had sidestepped questions from Booker on Wednesday night about the circumstances in which government can and cannot use race-conscious measures to address past discrimination.
He conceded that hopes he expressed nearly two decades ago for a color-blind society have not been fulfilled.
"We see on an all-too-common basis that racism still exists in the United States of America," Kavanaugh said. "Our long march to racial equality is not over."
Separately, The New York Times reported on leaked emails from the "confidential" file. One is an email drafted by Kavanaugh in 2003, in which he questioned whether the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion should be described as "settled law of the land."
Pressed on that email by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Thursday, Kavanaugh explained he was simply summarizing views of legal scholars and not offering his own view.
On Wednesday, Kavanaugh said he understands the weight that many people attach to Roe. But he declined to say whether that case was properly decided.
Throughout the hearing, Kavanaugh has avoided commenting on Trump's behavior, despite urging from Senate Democrats.
"I'm not going to get within three zip codes of a political controversy," he said Thursday, when Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked him about Trump's attacks on judges, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
"I've spoken about my respect and appreciation for the eight justices on the Supreme Court," Kavanaugh said. "I know they're all dedicated public servants who have given a great deal to this country."
Barring surprises, Kavanaugh appears likely to win confirmation in time to take his place alongside those eight justices when the Supreme Court begins its fall term next month.
Not seeing the video? Click here. | – Day three of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing has opened with a bang: Democratic Sen. Cory Booker says he has ordered his staff to release a Kavanaugh email even though it's supposed to remain under wraps. It's not clear yet what the email says, but NBC News reports that it concerns racial profiling. Booker called his act one of civil disobedience, reports NPR. "I openly invite and accept the consequences," he said, per CNN. "The penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate." Indeed, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn read aloud rules stating that a senator who divulges "the secret or confidential business" of the Senate faces expulsion, reports the Washington Post. "Bring the charges," said Booker. "All of us are ready to face that rule," added fellow Democrat Richard Blumenthal. Democrats have been chafing that too many of Kavanaugh's documents are either being withheld or deemed off limits for the hearing. Booker's stand comes after the New York Times obtained some of those off-limits emails. In one from 2003, when Kavanaugh was working in the White House of George W. Bush, he objects to language that Roe v. Wade is "settled law." He was going over a draft opinion stating that "it is widely accepted by legal scholars across the board that Roe v. Wade and its progeny are the settled law of the land," but he took exception to the phrase. "I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so," he wrote at the time. As the Times notes, Kavanaugh didn't state his personal opinion on the matter. |
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. ||||| Cartoon Wars Part I
Cartman and Kyle are at war over the popular cartoon, "Family Guy." When the creators of the show announce that they will show the image of the prophet Muhammad, the network threatens to ban the episode. Cartman sees this as his chance to get "Family Guy" off the air for good. The two boys embark upon a mad chase across the country and the fate of "Family Guy" lies with whichever boy reaches Hollywood first. | – Apparently there are places even South Park fears to tread. After getting a death threat from the jihadist website RevolutionMuslim.com, the show pulled the prophet Mohammed out of this week's episode, bleeping out all mention of his name, putting “censored” banners over parts of the episode and, where necessary, replacing him with Santa Claus in a bear suit, the Huffington Post reports. Here's the deal: last week's episode (which you can see a clip of here) mocked the taboo against showing the prophet Mohammed, having him show up first hidden inside a U-Haul, and then inside a bear costume. This week's episode was to continue that story. It's unclear whether the extra censorship is intended to appease the irony-challenged folks at RevolutionMuslim or mock them. South Park, incidentally, has tackled the issue before, and even depicted Mohammed on screen once with impunity. |
The number of donors who raise big money for President Barack Obama jumped in the last three months as he builds a war chest for what will likely be the costliest presidential election ever.
At least 41 people have raised at least half a million dollars for the president, compared to 27 in Obama's first report, according to an analysis of campaign data released Friday.
The big donors, known as "bundlers," are typically well-connected people who pledge to gather tens of thousands of dollars for a candidate.
Former Goldman Sachs executive Jon Corzine and Dreamworks Animation chief executive executive Jeffrey Katzenberg are on Obama's elite list and raised $500,000 or more.
The president's campaign finance report shows he can still pull in major cash despite a stagnant economy, dipping approval ratings and grumblings among some liberal supporters that he has not done enough for their cause.
While still keeping ties to his famed small donor operation, Obama is relying heavily on major donors early on to finance a campaign that is likely to break records in spending, according to Anthony Corrado, a campaign finance expert at Colby College in Maine.
"The emphasis has been on doing larger dollar fundraising events particularly asking for $2,500," Corrado said. "Events like this help him to raise substantial amounts of money for the campaign allowing him to exceed his pace for 2007."
GOP ahead in polls
Obama and the Democratic National Committee have raised more than $150 million so far for his bid for a second term, far outstripping Obama's Republican rivals.
But fundraising prowess doesn't guarantee victory for the incumbent, who is fighting for re-election amid a economic stagnation and high unemployment.
Opinion polls show that Obama will have a tough time winning re-election next year. A Gallup poll released on Friday showed that U.S. registered voters, by 46 percent to 38 percent, are more likely to vote for an unnamed Republican presidential candidate than for Obama in 2012. Obama recently called himself the "underdog" in the race.
Bundlers raised about a third of Obama's war chest so far.
Earlier on Friday, Republican Mitt Romney posted $14 million for the quarter, second to fellow Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry's $17 million. Obama's comparable fundraising figure for the three months was $43 million.
Obama voluntarily releases a list of bundlers. No other major candidate has done so.
The president regularly brings in more than $1 million in a single evening of fundraising, as supporters donate the legal maximum of $35,800 to his campaign and the Democratic party for the chance to have dinner and take a picture with the president.
UBS executive Robert Wolf and hedge fund executive Orin Kramer are also big Obama fundraisers.
'Doing well with small donors'
At least 40 percent of all the money raised by the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee last quarter came from those giving in increments of $200 or less.
The Obama campaign has been touting its connections to mainstream Americans who send smaller checks, calling itself a grassroots effort.
"They are still doing well with small donors," said Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a thank tank.
The campaign said that in the third quarter about 600,000 people donated to the campaign.
Much has been made of dipping support among Wall Street for Obama. Some financial executives, including hedge fund managers, have complained about Obama's tax and financial regulation policies and his comments about the wealthy, at times calling them "fat cats."
In the second quarter, more Wall Street money did flow to Romney, who has deep ties there. Still, Obama boosted the number of bundlers with Wall Street ties in that period.
The Republican candidates' reports, due Saturday, offer the first broad look at their financial health.
They are the first official tallies of donations and expenses for contenders Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and businessman Herman Cain, who said he raised $2.8 million this quarter.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, had nearly $15 million on hand in addition to the roughly $14 million in contributions during the July-September period that he reported Friday.
Perry, who briefly surged to the top of the Republican presidential field this summer, has roughly the same in the bank.
Not counting major support from Republican-leaning super political action committees, the virtual tie between Romney and Perry for cash on hand means the two have similar amounts to spend on ads and travel just months before heading into key primary states.
Perry is expected to dig into his campaign funds to buy TV ads to Romney's record on health care, abortion, gay rights and job creation. His campaign suggested this week that the moment for a barrage of attack ads was near.
Romney, the former governor of a predominantly Democratic state, has been attacked for his shifting positions on social issues that are held dear by conservative voters who dominate the Republican primary season. ||||| It is no secret that the relationship between President Obama and Wall Street has chilled. A striking measure of that is the latest campaign finance reports.
Mitt Romney has raised far more money than Mr. Obama this year from the firms that have been among Wall Street’s top sources of donations for the two candidates.
That gap underscores the growing alienation from Mr. Obama among many rank-and-file financial professionals and Mr. Romney’s aggressive and successful efforts to woo them.
The imbalance exists at large investment banks and hedge funds, private equity firms and commercial banks, according to a New York Times analysis of the firms that accounted for the most campaign contributions from the industry to Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama in 2008, based on data from the Federal Election Commission and the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
It could widen as Mr. Obama, seeking to harness anger over growing income inequality, escalates his criticism of the industry, after a year spent trying to smooth ties bruised by efforts to impose tougher regulations.
Since this spring, Mr. Romney has raised $1.5 million from employees of firms like Morgan Stanley; Highbridge Capital Management, a hedge fund; and Blackstone, a private equity firm. Mr. Obama has raised just over $270,000 from firms that were among his leading sources of campaign cash in 2008.
Employees of Goldman Sachs, who in the 2008 campaign gave Mr. Obama over $1 million — more than donors from any other private employer in the country — have given him about $45,000 this year. Mr. Romney has raised about $350,000 from the firm’s employees.
Those figures do not account for all Wall Street giving, nor for the full force of each candidate’s robust network of Wall Street “bundlers,” wealthy individuals who raise money from friends, family members and business associates. And Mr. Obama continues to dominate Mr. Romney — and the rest of the Republican field — in overall fund-raising. He has raised close to $100 million so far this year for his campaign, three times more than Mr. Romney, as well as $65 million for the Democratic National Committee.
The gap in Wall Street giving to Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney underscores disenchantment with Mr. Obama in the industry and the challenges both candidates will face in grappling with public anger about the financial world.
For much of the last year, aides to Mr. Obama have sought to mollify Wall Street executives still bristling over the president’s criticisms of their profits and bonuses, while defending the administration’s program of tougher oversight and regulation as both necessary and beneficial to the industry in the long term.
But with Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who once ran the private equity firm Bain Capital, the candidate many in Mr. Obama’s camp believe is his most likely Republican opponent next fall, Mr. Obama’s campaign appears to sense an opportunity to harness public resentment over an industry that has largely thrived while the rest of the economy has not.
“There’s no doubt that Governor Romney has raised money off of his belief that Wall Street should be allowed to write its own rules again by repealing Wall Street reform,” said Ben LaBolt, an Obama campaign spokesman. “The president put in place protections to ensure that the financial crisis is not repeated and that unacceptable risks aren’t taken with Americans’ life savings.”
For his part, Mr. Romney is now pitching himself as the turnaround expert for an ailing national economy. He has personally wooed major Wall Street donors, successfully recruiting several senior financial executives poised to back Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey had he opted for a White House bid.
But anger at big banks — manifested by the growing Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City and elsewhere — is palpable enough that Mr. Romney must avoid being seen as a friend of an industry that many Americans blame for onerous bank fees and underwater mortgages. | – President Obama's big-money "bundlers" are on the rise, with at least 41 supporters now having raised more than $500,000 each for the president, reports MSNBC. That's a sizeable jump from the 27 bundlers—well-connected supporters who help candidates raise big money—reported three months ago. It's also a sign that we're getting closer to the 2012 election season, predicted to be the most expensive ever. "The emphasis has been on doing larger dollar fundraising events, particularly asking for $2,500," said a campaign finance expert. "Events like this help him to raise substantial amounts of money for the campaign allowing him to exceed his pace for 2007." Obama and the DNC have raised more than $165 million so far, well ahead of the Republican field—however, the really big money of Wall Street is increasingly lining up behind Mitt Romney and the GOP, reports the New York Times. Since the spring, Romney has raised more than $1.5 million from banks, hedge funds, and other financial firms; Obama, however, has gotten just $270,000. Goldman Sachs employees alone gave Obama more than $1 million in 2008, but so far in this election cycle, he's gotten just $45,000; Romney, on the other hand, has received $350,000 from them. |
New video shows the chaotic moments after a large tree fell on top of wedding party in Whittier. Kate Larsen reports for the NBC4 News at 11 on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016. (Published Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016)
New Video Shows Moments After Tree Fell on Wedding Party
One person was killed and five others were injured after a large tree fell on top of a wedding party at a Southern California park on Saturday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Multiple people were trapped after a tree toppled over around 4:30 p.m. in Whittier's Penn Park, fire officials said.
"I heard the crackling and I'm looking up and it was just an odd sound," witness Mary Escarga told NBC4.
A wedding party was taking pictures after the ceremony when a 100-foot tall eucalyptus tree fell, trapping up to 20 people, the fire department said. Chainsaws were used to remove those who were trapped underneath the tree's branches.
Bride's Mother Killed After Tree Falls on Wedding Party
The mother of the bride was killed when a tree fell on a wedding party in Whittier. Kate Larsen reports for the NBC4 News at 9 on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016. (Published Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016)
One person was killed and five people, including a young girl, were injured. The five people who were injured suffered minor and moderate injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment. They are expected to recover.
2 trees fell during a wedding at Penn Park, multiple people injured... pic.twitter.com/zuVf9h60TN — pat (@ChiefPat_) December 18, 2016
"The scene was very chaotic," said Sgt. Jason Zuhlke of the Whittier Police Department.
Rene Zaldivar, who was at the park for a quinceañera, said he saw the bride during the chaos.
"She was limping a little bit, but she was screaming about her mom – they couldn’t wake her up."
A search dog was brought in to search for additional victims who could still be trapped.
"Fortunately, there weren't more people injured by the tree collapse," John Tripp, a Los Angeles County Fire Department deputy chief, said at a news conference. "It could have been a lot worse."
Police Guard Park After Tree Falls on Wedding Party, Killing 1
Police were on guard the morning after a tree crashed down on a wedding, killing one person and injuring five others. Marin Austin reports for Today in LA Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016. (Published Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016)
The wedding party was taken to a nearby senior center where mental health counselors were made available to them.
Officials could not confirm that the heavy rains reported Friday evening played a factor in the tree collapse.
Arborists are expected to investigate why the tree fell.
The identity of the person who was killed has not yet been released.
NBC4's Kate Larsen contributed to this report. ||||| WHITTIER >> The Whittier community grieved Sunday as authorities continued their investigation into what caused a massive eucalyptus tree to topple onto a wedding party at Penn Park in Whittier on Saturday night, leaving one woman dead and seven other people injured, including a 4-year-old girl who was hospitalized in critical condition.
Witnesses reported the group was taking pictures beneath the 100-foot-tall tree at Penn Park, 13950 Penn Street, when it suddenly uprooted and fell, transforming what began as a celebration into a scene of tragedy.
The identity of the woman killed in the freak accident was not yet available Sunday, Los Angeles County Department of Medical-Examiner Investigator Rudy Molano said. The relationships between the woman who died, as well as the badly injured child, to the bride and groom were unclear.
“The important thing is to focus on the family, to let them know that this community is behind them, and that we’re praying for them,” Whittier Mayor Joe Vinatieri said.
• Related Story: 1 killed, child critical after tree topples onto wedding party at Whittier park
“It was supposed to be one of the most exciting days of their lives, and instead, it turned into what it turned into,” he said.
“There’s so many people in Whittier. … Who are upset, as am I, asking, ‘What can we do?’” the mayor said. “The best we can do right now is pray for that family and pray for that child, and let the family know that we care.”
Penn Park will remain closed to the public indefinitely as authorities investigate what caused the large eucalyptus tree to fall, City Manager Jeff Collier said.
An arborist is expected to inspect the scene today or Tuesday, he said.
It was too early to say what may have caused the tree to fall, according to Collier.
“We can’t speculate until we have the arborist come out here and investigate,” he said.
Until then, officials will not remove the debris.
“We want to preserve the scene at this point. We want to make sure we have a chance to see everything as it exists today,” Collier said.
While the city already has an ongoing program to maintain and inspect trees, officials are also in the process of double-checking the integrity of the many other towering trees in Penn Park, City Manager Jeff Collier said.
• Photos: Tree falls on wedding party at Whittier park killing one
Police guarded the scene to keep away trespassers Sunday morning, as crews went through the debris to retrieve belongings of the victims.
The park, which is staffed by city officials seven days a week, is a popular site with wedding parties and other celebrations. Groups can often be seen posing for pictures beneath the park’s giant trees.
“What’s intrinsically wonderful about it is those trees,” Vinatieri said.
As the investigation progresses, “the important thing is to focus on that family,” Vinatieri said. “There’s an outpouring of concern, sadness and prayer.”
Injuries due to sudden tree falls are uncommon, but not unheard of in the region.
Eight children were injured, two of them critically, when an 85-foot-tall Italian stone pine tree toppled over at the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena on July 28, 2015.
That incident also occurred following a bout of heavy rain amid years of drought.
Saturday’s accident in Whittier took place within days of Southern California’s first significant storm of the season.
An arborist concluded the tree in Pasadena likely fell because it was taking in more water than it could release, increasing its weight, coupled with weak roots on two sides of the tree.
The family of 6-year-old twins injured in the incident have since filed a lawsuit against the museum alleging the incident was the result of negligence and failure to maintain the tree. Kidspace Museum subsequently filed a claim against the city of Pasadena, arguing that the city is liable for any legal costs or damages associated with the incident. ||||| Skip in Skip x Embed x Share One woman was killed when a eucalyptus tree collapsed on a wedding party taking photos in Southern California Time
Los Angeles County Fire Dept. firefighters work at the scene where a large tree fell on a wedding party in Whittier, Calif., Dec. 17. (Photo: Keith Durflinger, The Whittier Daily News via AP)
A joyous wedding party was cut short Saturday afternoon when a large tree in a southern California park fell on attendees, killing one and injuring five others.
Officials in Whittier, Calif., said they received multiple 911 calls around 4:30 p.m. PT of a fallen tree in Penn Park. When officers arrived, they found some family members who had gathered for wedding photos trapped underneath a large eucalyptus tree.
Fire officials arrived shortly after with chain saws to cut people loose from the tree's limbs. One of the victims, who was not identified, died at the scene.
"They were here for a joyous occasion and then, unfortunately, a very large tree interrupted that," said John Tripp, a Los Angeles County Fire Department deputy chief. "They right now are going through a lot of issues that we are trying to support."
Los Angeles County Fire Dept. personnel work at the scene where a large tree fell on a wedding party in Whittier, Calif., on Dec. 17. Southern California fire officials say one person died and five people were injured after a large eucalyptus tree fell down onto a wedding party taking pictures at a park. (Photo: Keith Durflinger, The Whittier Daily News via AP)
Another victim was taken to a local trauma center, Tripp said. The others were hospitalized and treated for minor injuries.
"Fortunately, there weren’t more people that were injured by the tree collapse," he said ."It could have been worse.”
Arborists are scheduled to arrive on Sunday to help investigate the cause of the tree collapse. Tripp said he does not know the cause yet, but he believes the tree may have been weakened by the five-year drought as well as the recent pre-winter rain storm that hit the region.
"Not that I think this could have been prevented," he said, "but it’s just again showing that the vegetation in southern California is still very stressed from the drought we’ve had for five years.”
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2hUxdyi | – "It’s just again showing that the vegetation in southern California is still very stressed from the drought we’ve had for five years." So said LA County Fire Department Deputy Chief John Tripp in the wake of a Saturday tragedy in Whittier, reports USA Today: A family was taking wedding photos in Penn Park near a 100-foot-tall eucalyptus tree when it uprooted and fell, trapping some of the party underneath. A woman was killed and five others, including 4-year-old girl, injured in the incident, which happened at 4:30pm local time, reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. The relationship of the woman and girl to the bride and groom has not been released. NBC Los Angeles reports as many as 20 people were trapped under the tree, and chainsaws were used to extricate them. A witness shared this wrenching observation about the bride: "She was limping a little bit, but she was screaming about her mom—they couldn’t wake her up." An arborist will investigate Monday or Tuesday. NBC notes it rained heavily the previous night. |
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Authorities on Wednesday were searching for an inmate they believe has made his second escape from a maximum-security South Carolina prison.
Officers began searching just before 2 p.m. Wednesday for Jimmy Causey, an inmate at Lieber Correctional Institution, about 90 miles (149 km) southeast of Columbia, according to Sommer Sharpe, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections. No other details have been released.
Causey, 46, has now escaped from two different prisons in a dozen years. He and another inmate, convicted murderer Johnny Brewer, escaped Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia in 2005 by hiding in a trash truck.
The pair eluded authorities for three days before being apprehended at a motel along busy Interstate 95, not far from the prison from which Causey escaped on Wednesday. A pizza delivery driver told The Associated Press at the time she tipped off authorities when she recognized a customer as one of the two men being sought by authorities.
Both men were returned to prison. Brewer was found two years later, hanging from a bed sheet in his cell. Grilled by state lawmakers about how the escape happened, then-prisons director Jon Ozmint blamed budget cutbacks that had forced his department to cut 800 security positions, leaving some areas like the trash compactor and loading dock unmonitored by officers.
The director also said the men had fashioned fake heads out of toilet paper and put them in their beds, fooling officers at a 7:15 a.m. prisoner count. After a 9:00 a.m. count came up short, officials did a roll call and realized the two were missing.
Causey, 46, was sentenced to life in prison in 2004 after he was convicted of holding Columbia attorney Jack Swerling and his family at gunpoint in their home. He was first incarcerated in state prison in 1992 on charges including grand larceny, according to online records.
In December, another inmate serving a life sentence escaped from a different maximum-security prison in South Carolina. Authorities said 47-year-old Michael Allen Williamson stabbed a police officer during his escape from McCormick Correctional Institution in the western part of the state. The officer's protective vest deflected many blows, but she was treated for two stab wounds to her arm and shoulder.
___
Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP. Read more of her work at https://apnews.com/search/meg%20kinnard. ||||| 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. | – Police in South Carolina say they're searching for an inmate who's extremely dangerous—and has managed to break out of a maximum-security prison for the second time since he began serving a life sentence in 2004. Jimmy Causey, 46, has been missing from the Lieber Correctional Institution since around 2pm Wednesday, the AP reports. In his previous escape, he broke out of the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia in 2005 with convicted murderer Johnny Brewer by hiding in a trash truck. After three days on the run, they were recaptured at a motel 100 miles away on Interstate 95 when a pizza delivery driver recognized them and tipped off authorities. Residents near the Ridgeville, SC, prison have been urged to "remain vigilant, keep vehicles and homes secured" while the search continues. Causey, who first went to state prison for grand larceny in 1992, is serving a life sentence for kidnapping prominent Columbia attorney Jack Swerling and his wife and daughter, the Post and Courier reports. He held the lawyer—who had represented him in previous cases—at gunpoint and demanded money. During the trial, the court heard that Swerling had managed to get reduced sentences for Causey on two occasions in the 1990s, but Causey still held a grudge about having been sent to prison at all. |
But Lerner should have been gone shortly after this scandal first unraveled in the press. Not only is she the person who was in charge of the group that wrongly targeted conservatives, she dishonestly testified that she didn’t know about the targeting until 2012, when the inspector general found she knew as early as 2011. She’s the person who told a conference call of reporters, “I’m not that good at math,” even though she’s a manager in an agency that’s at bottom all about math.
What I think is even more politically and morally suspect – and has gotten very little attention -- Lerner actually presided over the bizarre, bumbling rollout of the story, by planting a question about the controversy with an attorney at an American Bar Association conference. According to Morgan Lewis tax lawyer Celia Roady, Lerner herself asked that Roady inquire about whether the IRS had targeted conservative groups. That led to Lerner’s public apology – and the scandal swirling around the White House, which found itself surprised by the sudden disclosure.
The invaluable tax-policy expert David Cay Johnston called for Lerner’s firing a week ago – and that was even before there was proof that she had set up the question at the ABA conference. ||||| Lois Lerner, the IRS staffer who is under fire for her role in the agency’s targeting of conservative groups, has been placed on administrative leave, according to congressional aides.
She will still be paid while on leave, a congressional aide said, as required under civil service rules.
Lerner, who heads an IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups, first disclosed the extra scrutiny the agency gave to Tea Party groups almost two weeks ago when answering a planted question at a Washington legal conference.
Since then, lawmakers from across the political spectrum have said that they believe Lerner misled them and have called for her dismissal.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), a senior Republican on the Finance Committee, said in a Thursday statement that new acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel had asked Lerner to resign — and that Lerner was only placed on leave after she declined that request. Aides on Capitol Hill confirmed that Lerner had refused to resign.
In her first public appearance since the disclosure, Lerner on Wednesday invoked her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination at a House Oversight hearing.
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The IRS announced in an internal memo circulated to the media that Ken Corbin will be taking over as the acting director of the tax-exempt organizations division. Corbin, a 25-year veteran at the IRS, has been deputy director in a division that processed millions of tax returns a year.
Lerner’s move to administrative leave comes after President Obama pushed out acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller over his role in the targeting. Werfel, formerly a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget, took over as acting commissioner on Wednesday.
The IRS also announced after the controversy broke that Joseph Grant, Lerner’s boss at the agency, will retire in early June.
Lerner will likely have to make her way back to Capitol Hill in the coming weeks, after House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) concluded that she waved her rights against self-incrimination by defending herself in an opening statement at Wednesday's hearing.
Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday became the latest prominent lawmakers to call for Lerner to be removed, in a letter to Werfel made public shortly before news of Lerner’s administrative leave broke.
Reps. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.), Joe Crowley (D-N.Y) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) have also called for Lerner to be pushed out.
"In naming Ken Corbin as acting director to replace Lois Lerner, the administration has taken a strong step to address serious mistakes made by the IRS Exempt Organization Division," Levin said in a statement. "This and further corrective action are vital in restoring the confidence of the American people."
According to a Treasury audit, Lerner found out in June 2011 that IRS staffers were giving extra scrutiny to conservative groups seeking tax-exempt 501(c)(4) status by searching for organizations with names like “Tea Party” and “patriots.”
Lerner immediately ordered that the criteria targeting conservative groups be changed, but staffers in a Cincinnati office eventually once again implemented more political screening criteria, according to the audit.
“I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations, and I have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee,” Lerner told House Oversight on Wednesday.
“Because I'm asserting my right not to testify, I know that some people will assume that I've done something wrong. I have not.”
The audit, from Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration, also found that some groups waited months, even years, for their tax-exempt applications to be approved.
National Review first reported that Lerner was being placed on administrative leave.
The publication also reported late Thursday that letters suggest Lerner was directly involved in the agency’s targeting of conservative groups more than nine months after she first learned of the activity.
— This story was updated at 7:34 p.m.
| – The IRS official at the center of the recent scandal has been placed on administrative leave, reports the National Review. Lois Lerner had been in charge of the agency's tax-exempt unit, which singled out conservative groups for added scrutiny. Her immediate boss already has been forced into early retirement, and critics have been calling for Lerner's head to roll as well. (Her role in using a planted question to make the controversy public hasn't helped her cause.) On Capitol Hill yesterday, Lerner denied any wrongdoing but invoked the Fifth in refusing to answer questions. The chair of the House Oversight panel, Darrell Issa, says he plans to call her back to testify, arguing that she waived her right to the Fifth by making an opening statement, reports the Hill. The decision to put Lerner on leave comes days after the new acting chief of the IRS, Daniel Werfel, took over. |
Sunbury, PA (17801)
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Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 24F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. ||||| 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.
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.
Book says Hillary talks to dead
First lady acknowledged
'imaginary' chats.
June 22, 1996
Web posted at: 11:55 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton held imaginary conversations with Eleanor Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi as a therapeutic release, according to a new book written by Bob Woodward, says a report in Sunday's edition of The Chicago Sun-Times.
The first lady declined a personal adviser's suggestion that she address Jesus Christ, however, because it would be "too personal," according to Woodward's book, "The Choice."
The book, which is still to be published, takes a behind-the-scenes look at the Clintons, as well as Bob and Elizabeth Dole.
Woodward says the adviser was Jean Houston, co-director of the Foundation for Mind Research, which he describes as a group that studies the psychic experience and altered and expanded consciousness.
The book portrays Houston as an influential adviser who urged Mrs. Clinton to write her book, "It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us," and in the process "virtually moved into the White House" for days at a time to help with revisions, the Sun-Times reported.
Woodward suggests the White House hoped to keep Mrs. Clinton's relationship with Houston and her talks with the dead a secret.
"Most people in the White House did not know about Hillary's sessions with Houston. ... To some of the few who did, the meetings could trigger politically damaging comparisons to Nancy Reagan's use of astrology," Woodward wrote.
Mrs. Clinton's spokeswoman, Lisa Caputo, is quoted in the Sun-Times as saying the first lady's interest in Houston is no secret.
Woodward says anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson, daughter of famed anthropologist Margaret Mead, joined her in sessions of imaginary conversations.
Woodward is an assistant managing editor at The Washington Post. As a reporter, he helped break the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein.
Mrs. Clinton herself wrote about her imaginary conversations with Eleanor Roosevelt in her June 10 column. She said she talked to Roosevelt about the role of a first lady.
"She usually responds by telling me to buck up, or at least to grow skin as thick as a rhinoceros," Mrs. Clinton wrote.
In the column, she described Houston as an expert on philosophy and mythology. "(Houston) has shared her views with me on everything from the ancient Greeks to the lives of women and children on Bangladesh," she wrote.
Mrs. Clinton also acknowledged her relationship with Bateson.
"She and I have spent hours discussing the ways in which women in different societies attempt to fulfill their responsibilities to their families, jobs and communities," Mrs. Clinton wrote.
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Yes | – A Pennsylvania middle school teacher is in hot water over his spelling of "Hillary Clinton," and no, Benjamin Attinger didn't forget an "L." The Daily Item reports the Shikellamy Middle School teacher was asked by 6th-grade student Mary Reinard for help in sending a letter to Clinton. Mary wrote the letter, in which she reportedly asked Clinton if she really spoke to the dead (a 1996 book said she had imaginary chats with Eleanor Roosevelt and Gandhi, but not Jesus, as a "therapeutic release," per a CNN article published at the time). She and Attinger put it in an envelope bearing the school's return address, and Attinger addressed it: to "HILIAR RODHAM CLINTON." Mary brought the letter home to stamp and mail, and stepmom Shannon Reinard spotted the "liar" in the name and called the school on Friday. In a voicemail Attinger left the Sunbury mom, he apologized and claimed it was a "kind of a joke ... because I was telling her it (talking to the dead) wasn't true." The family met with Attinger and administrators on Tuesday and say they've accepted his apology and don't want him fired. Mary says she's relieved she didn't mail the letter as it was; she hadn't spotted the typo. "I would have felt embarrassed. I wouldn't have been able to go to school for a week." Now, instead of embarrassed, she's "nervi-cided." That's nervous and excited, because after Chelsea Clinton on Wednesday tweeted she'd be happy to hand-deliver the letter to her mom, she was connected with Shannon Reinard on Twitter and told her they'd be on the lookout for the letter, which had been properly mailed. "Please thank Mary for her courage," Chelsea Clinton wrote, per the Meadville Tribune. |
CLOSE Doctors at a Baltimore hospital have performed the world's most extensive penis transplant, this one also involving the scrotum and part of the abdominal wall. (April 23) AP
Surgeons at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine announced Monday that they have performed the first total penis and scrotum transplant on an American military veteran. (Photo: Getty Images)
A U.S. serviceman severely injured several years ago in an IED blast in Afghanistan has received the world's first total penis and scrotum transplant, surgeons at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine announced Monday.
The man, whose identity was not released, is recovering well and expected to regain both urinary and sexual function, Richard Redett, who led the transplant team, said at a Monday telephone news conference.
The patient did not receive testicles from his donor to avoid the ethical issues that might ensue if he later had children, said Damon Cooney, another transplant team member. The testicles would have contained sperm from the recently deceased donor.
The donor was not identified, nor was his cause of death, but in a statement, his family praised the sergeant’s service to his country and noted the donor family includes a number of veterans.
“We are so thankful to say that our loved one would be proud and honored to know he provided such a special gift to you,” said the statement, read by Alexandra Glazier, president and CEO of New England Donor Services, which arranged for the donation. “We hope you can return to better health very soon and we continue to wish you a speedy recovery.”
Two years ago, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital performed a more limited transplant on a penile cancer patient. That patient, Thomas Manning, continues to do well, though his sexual function hasn’t fully recovered yet, said Curtis Cetrulo, who runs the reconstructive transplantation program at Massachusetts General. The hospital has yet to conduct another penile transplant, as it awaits funding and other logistical issues, he said.
There have also been several successful penile transplants in South Africa, as well as an unsuccessful one in China.
The Johns Hopkins surgery, performed in a 14-hour procedure in late March, was the most extensive yet, involving more tissue than has been previously transplanted, the surgeons said.
In addition to a large skin graft covering part of the sergeant’s abdomen, penis and scrotum, surgeons connected three arteries, four veins and two nerves to provide blood flow and sensation to the donated tissue. His internal organs were not severely damaged by the blast.
Redett said he expects the patient will regain the ability to urinate by the time he leaves the hospital later this week. It will take about six months for the nerves to regrow enough to restore sexual function and sensation, but Redett said he is optimistic that will take place.
Johns Hopkins covered the cost of the procedure, and hopes to complete more in the near future, said W. P. Andrew Lee, who directs the hospital’s Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
The hospital does not plan to use the procedure for gender reassignment surgery, he said.
Once it becomes more routine, penile transplantation is likely to cost about the same as a liver transplant, said L. Scott Levin, chairman of orthopedic surgery and a professor of plastic surgery at Penn Medicine. (One recent estimate puts the total cost of a liver transplant in the United States above $800,000.) It is still an open question who will pay for such procedures, Levin said.
Another major issue in transplantation is rejection. The recipient’s body may reject the donated tissue at any time, so the Johns Hopkins patient will have to be on continuous therapy to tamp down his immune system, said Gerald Brandacher, who handled the immune aspects of the Johns Hopkins transplant.
To reduce the risk of rejection, the patient was also infused with bone marrow from the donor. This approach has been used in eight other patients who received transplants, such as arms, that were transformative but not lifesaving. Balancing the donor’s bone marrow with the recipient’s allows the patient to take only one low-dose medication a day instead of the three typically taken by transplant patients, Brandacher said.
Injuries that affect sexual and urinary function can be devastating to a person’s identity, self-esteem and intimate relationships, said Lee, whose department has been preparing for penile transplantations since 2013.
“We believe that genital-urinary transplantation can help those warriors with missing genitalia, just as hand and arm transplants transformed the lives of amputees,” he said.
At Massachusetts General, publicity surrounding the penile transplant encouraged other patients with genitourinary tissue damage to seek care.
“We’ve had many people who are really despondent come out of the shadows and get worked up,” Cetrulo said.
Even if they weren’t transplant candidates they have now been helped in other ways, Cetrulo said, noting many people with these conditions consider suicide, and suffer even more emotional pain than people in need of arm or face transplants.
Hopefully, the Johns Hopkins' patient will inspire others to seek help, Cetrulo said. “That’s one of the most incredible and important contributions of this case, not only to this individual whose life has probably been saved.”
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2vDM2Nt ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — A veteran who lost his genitals from a blast in Afghanistan has received the world's most extensive penis transplant, and doctors said Monday he is recovering well and expected to leave the hospital this week.
Saying they wanted to address "an unspoken injury of war," Johns Hopkins University surgeons rebuilt the man's entire pelvic region — transplanting a penis, scrotum and part of the abdominal wall from a deceased donor — in a highly experimental 14-hour operation last month.
Such transplants "can help those warriors with missing genitalia just as hand and arm transplant transformed the lives of amputees," Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, Hopkins' chairman of plastic and reconstructive surgery, told reporters Monday.
The patient, who asked to remain anonymous, is expected to recover urinary and, eventually, sexual function.
The scrotum transplant did not include the donor's testicles, meaning reproduction won't be possible. "We just felt there were too many unanswered ethical questions" with that extra step, said Hopkins' Dr. Damon Cooney.
Three other successful penis transplants have been reported, two in South Africa and one in 2016 at Massachusetts General Hospital. Those transplants involved only the penis, not extensive surrounding tissue that made this transplant much more complex.
The loss of a penis, whether from cancer, accident or war injury, is emotionally traumatic, affecting urination, sexual intimacy and the ability to conceive a child. Many patients suffer in silence because of the stigma their injuries sometimes carry.
Doctors sometimes reconstruct the form of a penis from a patient's own skin, usually to treat congenital abnormalities or during transgender surgery. That requires using implants to achieve erection.
For a functional penis transplant, surgeons must connect tiny nerves and blood vessels. Candidates face some serious risks, including rejection of the tissue and side effects from anti-rejection drugs that must be taken for life.
But penis transplants have generated intense interest among veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, and a few years ago Hopkins surgeons began planning and rehearsing how to perform such a complex operation in patients with widespread tissue damage. The Department of Defense Trauma Registry has recorded 1,367 male service members who survived with genitourinary injuries between 2001 and 2013. It's not clear how many victims lost all or part of the penis.
Hopkins is screening additional veterans to see if they are good candidates for this type of reconstructive transplant. Finding donors is an additional hurdle: In the U.S., people or their families who agree to donate organs such as the heart or lung must be asked separately about also donating a penis, hand, face or other body part.
The Hopkins patient received an extra experimental step, an infusion of bone marrow from his donor that research suggests may help a recipient's immune system better tolerate a transplant. Surgeons said that is enabling the veteran to take one anti-rejection drug instead of several.
In a statement from Hopkins, the patient was quoted as saying: "When I first woke up, I felt finally more normal."
___
The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | – A US serviceman has become the world's first man to ever receive a full penis and scrotum transplant. Per USA Today, the veteran was injured by an IED years ago while on combat tour in Afghanistan. Surgeons from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine announced the historic news on Monday after performing the unprecedented surgery in Baltimore last month. The patient is expected to recover both urinary and sexual function, according to the surgeons. Surgeons said they rebuilt the man's entire pelvic region over the course of 14 hours. Per the AP, the scrotum transplant did not include the donor's testicles, meaning reproduction won't be possible. "We just felt there were too many unanswered ethical questions" with that extra step, said Hopkins' Dr. Damon Cooney. Three other successful penis transplants have been reported, two in South Africa and one in 2016 at Massachusetts General Hospital. Those transplants involved only the penis, not extensive surrounding tissue that made this transplant much more complex. Hopkins is screening additional veterans to see if they are good candidates for this type of reconstructive transplant. The Hopkins patient received an extra experimental step, an infusion of bone marrow from his donor that research suggests may help a recipient's immune system better tolerate a transplant. Surgeons said that is enabling the veteran to take one anti-rejection drug instead of several. In a statement from Hopkins, the patient was quoted as saying: "When I first woke up, I felt finally more normal." |
A 12-year-old boy died Monday after being electrocuted when he touched a fence that had been electrified by a live wire at a Fleming Athletic Complex ball field near the Bernie Ward Community Center.
Melquan Kwame Robinson, of the 3400 block of Applejack Terrace, was at football practice at the Lumpkin Road complex when he went over a chain-link fence, according to Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen.
A live wire was reportedly touching the fence, and when Melquan grabbed the fence, he was electrocuted, Bowen said. Three other people were also injured in the incident.
Melquan was taken to the Children's Hospital of Georgia where he was pronounced dead at 9:56 p.m. His body will be taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation lab for an autopsy Tuesday.
Don Clark, a Robinson family friend and Melquan's former coach, said the child's parents are trying to go through the grieving process. Melquan was their firstborn and one of three children.
"They're definitely upset over the fact of how could this happen, with the fact that there were so many children," Clark said. "You can play the what ifs in many different scenarios and it will never get any better. The fact that this situation happened with so many kids out here, it's heartbreaking."
Clark said Melquan was very protective of his siblings and loved his family, which makes the situation that much tougher. Clark feels that it might be hard for his siblings to deal with the loss of their brother because of how young they are.
According to a statement from the city of Augusta, which owns and operates the community center and athletic complex, three other people were injured in the accident. Two were juveniles and the other was an adult, according to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all involved in this accident," Mayor Hardie Davis said in a statement. "We ask Augustans to stand together to extend our condolences and embrace the family of Melquan Kwame Robinson with love during this sudden and unexpected loss."
Clark praised the courage shown by the two other children who were injured trying to save their friend. Their conditions were not available Tuesday night.
"The friends, the way they responded, what motivates a young boy that young to jump into action and help their friend out," Clark said. "Those are the two young boys that are in the hospital right now because they were trying to help out a friend."
Clark said he will remember Melquan's smile. Melquan was energetic, very athletic and very passionate about playing football and sports, according to Clark. He said Melquan wanted to be a professional athlete when he grew up.
Melquan was a member of the Trinity Elite Titans football team, which issued a statement on Facebook: "Good morning everyone, this is a sad moment for our Trinity Elite Titans family......we are still in disbelief. We are sending our prayers and love out to the family of our football player, #MelquanKwameRobinson#, who has gone to rest with the Lord. One solider gone too soon.........you will be truly missed!!!!"
Although the family is grieving, Clark wanted to remind people that this is affecting friends, teammates and coaches of Melquan. He hopes the city and the community are able to come together for the family and friends.
"This is exactly one of those tests, that as a city and a community, we all need to stand up and move forward toward the challenge," Clark said.
According to a sheriff's office report, a deputy who responded to the scene performed chest compression on Melquan about 9 p.m. Another deputy stated in the report that he was told the child had been electrocuted by the outfield fence. After a few rounds of chest compressions, Melquan coughed and was turned to his left side. A deputy checked his pulse but none was found, and chest compressions were continued, the report states.
A Gold Cross ambulance unit arrived about 9:16 p.m. and loaded Melquan onto a stretcher. Another ambulance arrived to transport a second victim, according to the incident report, which stated that the child was with Melquan and was injured when he tried to pull his friend down from the fence.
A third victim told deputies that he and Melquan were throwing a football and it went over the fence. Melquan climbed the fence to get the ball and when he came back over, he was electrocuted, the incident report states. He tried to pull Melquan from the fence and he too was injured, according to the incident report.
Bowen said his office, the sheriff's office and the city will each conduct investigations. Bowen will primarily focus on the death, while the city will look into how the live electrical wire happened.
Georgia Power released a statement saying it will work with local officials as they conduct the investigation.
"Georgia Power's condolences and sympathies are with the individuals and their families following last night's tragic event at Fleming Athletic Complex," the statement says. "Our preliminary investigation indicates that Georgia Power does not control or maintain the voltage that energized the fences at the complex."
Melquan was a seventh-grader at Morgan Road Middle School, according to Kaden Jacobs, the Richmond County school system's director of communications.
"Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time," Jacobs said. "We have provided additional support to Morgan Road Middle School for students and staff."
All football activities have been canceled for the rest of the week at Fleming Park, according to a spokesperson for the complex.
Clark said more details will be provided in the future on how the community can help.
"We lost a future leader," he said. "We lost a future athlete. We lost a child in our city."
A vigil will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at Bernie Ward Community Center.
Staff writers Amanda King and David Lee contributed to this article. ||||| Tuesday, October 16, 2018
(News 12 at 11)
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Multiple investigations begin after a 12-year-old boy is electrocuted at a local park and two other boys who tried to help him are still recovering from their injuries.
The mom of David Sette, one of the boys who tried to help, said her son is doing better. He was moved from ICU to a regular room at The Children's Hospital, but she says doctors have some concerns with his blood levels involving muscle breakdown, which can lead to future problems. We haven't yet heard a condition update of the other friend who jumped in to help.
It was a freak accident that turned tragic for three families. Deputies say 12-year-old Melquan Robinson climbed over the fence at Fleming Park to get a football. The incident report says, "When Robinson went to come back over the fence, he was electrocuted."
"He had the grit and motivation to get up and keep going," said Melquan’s former football coach, Don Clark.
Deputies say Melquan had no pulse. They tried to revive him, but couldn't.
"If my child was the one that didn't make it, I think I would just be devastated. I wouldn't have words," Whitney Winston said.
Two of Melquan's friends ran to help. Both boys were shocked too, taken to the hospital, but survived.
"The fact that this happened with so many kids out here it's just. It's heartbreaking," Clark said.
Parents hit especially hard knowing this could have been their child.
"I was out here for my son's football game," Winston said.
Whitney Winston's 6-year-old son was playing a football game right before it happened. It's her son's first year playing here, and now possibly his last.
"Worried, cause I don't know if we'll stay playing football," Winston said.
Tonight, she's holding onto her son a little tighter and sending her prayers to all those mourning the loss of this 12-year-old boy.
"I wish well to the parents. I send out my thoughts and prayers and strength, and to the boys," Winston said. "And that mother that has one less child."
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
(News 12 First at 5 / News 12 at 6 O’Clock / NBC 26 at 7)
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Two young boys are recovering in the hospital while one family mourns the loss of a son. 12-year-old Melquan Robinson was killed Monday when he tried to jump over a chain link fence that was charged by an underground electrical wire.
It happened during football practice at Fleming Park, owned by the city.
There’s absolutely more than one victim in this tragic accident, as parents and teammates watched in horror. Two young boys jumped into action to help pull Melquan from the fence.
News 12 had the chance to speak with Melquan’s former football coach Tuesday afternoon. He’s been chosen as a spokesperson for the Robinson family as they grieve. He says heartbreak has hit the young band of brothers.
“The fact that this happened with so many kids out here, it’s just heartbreaking,” Don Clark was able to hold his emotions while he spoke to us Tuesday.
Melquan died a short time after he was brought to a local hospital. Clark says the family is sick over their loss.
"[Monday] this mother went to bed, or woke up with her son still walking around living, and [Monday] she realized she lost her first born. It's not an easy thing."
He says the family is too hurt to even speak.
"This just happened yesterday. They are barely even able to determine what’s what."
Melquan's former coach is saying what his parents can't.
“This young man was where he needed to be. He was doing what he loved. He was doing what was tied to his passions.”
Clark tells us the city is suffering the loss of a future leader, athlete and an overall amazing child.
Melquan's family is holding a vigil Thursday at 6:00 at Bernie Ward Community Center. They are opening it up to the entire community.
| – A 12-year-old was killed and two other boys were injured after a chain link fence electrified by a live underground wire electrocuted them at a city park in Georgia. During football practice at Fleming park in Augusta on Monday, Melquan Robinson hopped a fence to retrieve a ball, WRDW reports, citing the incident report that says when he "went to come back over the fence, he was electrocuted." The seventh-grader was pronounced dead later at Children's Hospital of Georgia, according to the Augusta Chronicle. Two other boys who tried to help their friend were injured and hospitalized, according to reports. The mother of one of them, David Sette, tells WRDW that her son is improving. Per the Chronicle, an adult also was injured in the incident. "We lost a future leader. We lost a future athlete. We lost a child in our city," Melquan's former coach, acting as a spokesman for the bereaved family, tells the Chronicle. The oldest of three children, Melquan loved his family and was very protective of his siblings, he says. Multiple investigations into the incident are reportedly underway, with city officials looking into how the fence became electrified. Georgia Power, offering "condolences and sympathy," said in a statement that the utility "does not control or maintain the voltage" that caused the electrocution. Melquan's family will hold a vigil Thursday at the Bernie Ward Community Center. "This young man was where he needed to be," his former coach says, per WRDW. "He was doing what he loved." (A medieval re-enactor was impaled in a freak accident.) |
Could Hawaii Become A Same-Sex Wedding Destination?
Enlarge this image toggle caption iStockphoto iStockphoto
Starting Monday, same-sex marriage is legal in Hawaii. The state has long been a destination for weddings and honeymoons. And now state officials, as well as hotels and restaurants, are hoping the latest marriage-equality law will spur a new market for wedding tourism.
Wedding planner Keane Akao is showing off a secluded beach wedding site, one of several on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
"You can use the beach for pictures," he tells a couple, "and this is actually called Secret Beach."
His company, Perfectly Planned Hawaii, offers wedding planning for same-sex couples. Swaying palm trees and clear blue water make for a dream ceremony.
Akao started his company with his business partner less than six months ago, just before Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie called for a special session to debate same-sex marriage.
"People now can look at Hawaii as a destination to have their marriage done legally," says Akao, "and for it to be recognized by the federal government, no matter what state they may live in."
He has received more than two-dozen confirmations since the bill passed last month.
One couple planning to marry in the islands is Cira Abiseid and Cyrilla Owle. Last month, they celebrated their union in a ceremony with family and friends at home in Conway, Ark. But their home state doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, so Owle says they're going to Hawaii to make it official.
"I think there's two things that came in effect when planning where we wanted to be married," says Owle. "First, like any couple, we wanted to see where we wanted to go for our honeymoon. So who doesn't want to go to Hawaii for their honeymoon, right? And the second reason was, where could we get a license?"
"Same-sex couples will be attracted to Hawaii for the same reasons that opposite-sex couples are attracted to Hawaii," says Sumner La Croix, an economist at the University of Hawaii. "It's the great weather, it's the warm water, it's the beautiful scenery. And it's also the aloha spirit."
La Croix estimates that over the next three years, gay marriage will boost tourism in Hawaii by $217 million. Unlike some other states with marriage equality laws, Hawaii already has a booming tourism industry. La Croix believes that gives Hawaii an advantage.
"The machinery of marriage is already in place here. There are hotels that are in the marriage business," he says. "They're used to catering to couples who are honeymooning or want to get married or are celebrating a marriage. There are wedding photographers. There are caterers. There's a large number of firms that are specialized in the marriage business."
In Hawaii, tourism is a $14 billion industry. Now, the island chain is positioning itself for a spike in visitors — among them, Honolulu-based hotel chain Aqua Hospitality. It already offers LGBT travel deals, including the "out and proud" package and the "civil unions romance special."
Bigger beachfront resorts are also getting in on the action. The Sheraton Waikiki is the only hotel on Oahu providing on-site marriage licenses. General Manager Kelly Sanders says now the hotel is running a new ad campaign in mainland LGBT publications.
"Yes, there's a revenue opportunity," says Sanders. "There's an opportunity for all of us to really have that great success, but in my mind it's something that should have happened already. And so it's just now being able to really open all of our arms as wide as they can be and say welcome."
It was Hawaii that back in 1991 touched off the national conversation about same-sex marriage. Then, three couples sued to force the state to issue them marriage licenses. Now, more than two decades later, Hawaii is the latest state to recognize marriage equality. ||||| Six couples tied the knot early Monday, shortly after midnight, when a new law allowing same-sex couples to marry took effect.
A Waikiki resort was hosting mass ceremonies for anyone wanting to sign up, while a group of clergy who pushed for the new law planned to host a wedding for an openly gay Unitarian minister at a church near downtown Honolulu.
Hawaii's marriage laws allow couples to register for a license and be married the same day, a process conducive for tourists only in the state a short time.
Couples can sign up for a license online, then be verified by any license agent throughout the state.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
The first couples are starting to take advantage of Hawaii's newfound aloha for gay weddings.
Dozens of couples were expected to start tying the knot early Monday, moments after midnight, when a new law allowing same couples to marry takes effect in the state.
Couples at the Sheraton Waikiki began filling out license applications a few minutes after midnight, as license agents huddled around four laptops in a conference room adjacent to a 30th floor lounge where the ceremonies were set to take place.
Guests sipped champagne, dined on appetizers, listened to piano music and took pictures with each of seven cakes on display for the occasion, one for each of the first six couples getting married and a three-tiered centerpiece cake adorned with pink and white roses.
"Next," exclaimed Ethan Wung after being the first of the group to complete the license application with his groom, Keola Akana.
Wung said he and Akana were getting married after entering into a civil union last year so they could receive federal benefits.
Organizers were waiting for each of the first six couples to finish their paperwork before starting the ceremony.
The resort was hosting mass ceremonies for anyone wanting to sign up, while a group of clergy who pushed for the new law planned to host a wedding for an openly gay Unitarian minister at a church near downtown Honolulu.
"It's just exciting and historic and we wanted to be a part of it," Maria Gallo, a Honolulu resident who planned to marry her partner, Beth Creary, said earlier.
"This is like a confirmation with a group of people here who are sharing our joy," she said.
Hawaii's marriage laws allow couples to register for a license and be married the same day, a process conducive for tourists to hold ceremonies here.
Couples can sign up for a license online, then be verified by any license agent throughout the state. Agents have set up shop throughout the islands, from resorts on Maui and the Big Island to hard-to-reach places on Kauai.
For those wanting to get licenses in person, Hawaii's Health Department planned to open its doors at 8 a.m. local time Monday morning.
"We started this battle 23 years ago and we get to finish it tonight," said Michael Golojuch Jr., chairman on Honolulu Pride and one of the organizers of the midnight weddings at the Sheraton.
Hawaii is often credited with starting the national gay marriage discussion, when couples applying for a marriage license led to a court fight the eventually helped prompt Congress to pass the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. Part of the law was struck down earlier this year by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Golojuch said the weddings will touch Hawaii in a good way and that businesses have begun to think about how to embrace the gay community.
"They opened up their doors to us, their hearts to us," Golojuch said. "That's what we're seeing with a lot of the business community that understands that $217 million is what our economy needs to keep on going."
An estimate from a University of Hawaii researcher says Hawaii will get a $217 million tourism boost over the next three years as a result of gay marriage.
Hawaii's Legislature _ overwhelmingly comprised of Democrats _ passed the law last month during a special session. Gov. Neil Abercrombie called for the special session after the U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
___
Oskar Garcia can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oskargarcia | – After lawmakers approved gay marriage in Hawaii last month, the ceremonies have officially begun. The law went into effect last night at midnight, and six couples were quick to get hitched, the AP reports. At a Sheraton in Waikiki, those looking to tie the knot could join in a giant ceremony. "We started this battle 23 years ago and we get to finish it tonight," says an activist at the hotel. Indeed, Hawaii played a key role in the early gay marriage debate: When same-sex Hawaiian couples sought marriage licenses in the 1990s, a court battle ensued, resulting in the Defense of Marriage Act. In the state, couples can apply for a marriage license and get married in the same day. That could be a boon for destination weddings in a state already well-equipped for tourist ceremonies. A University of Hawaii researcher says the state could see a $217 million increase in tourism thanks to the process. NPR speaks with an Arkansas couple already planning a wedding trip. "There's two things that came in effect when planning where we wanted to be married," says Cyrilla Owle. "First, like any couple, we wanted to see where we wanted to go for our honeymoon. So who doesn't want to go to Hawaii for their honeymoon, right? And the second reason was, where could we get a license?" |
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Trading in all Nasdaq-listed stocks and options was halted on Thursday due to technical problems on the bourse, according to Nasdaq OMX Group (NASDAQ:NDAQ) . The exchange sent out a series of emails alerting investors that it was experiencing issues with "quote submissions." In response, the New York Stock Exchange has also stopped trading in all Nasdaq securities at the request of Nasdaq OMX. "All orders in those securities have been cancelled back to customers," said NYSE in a statement. The Nasdaq Composite index (NASDAQ:COMP) was last at 3631.17, up 31.38 points, before trading was suspended. There was no immediate word on when transactions will resume. [Updated with NYSE developments.]
Read the full story:
Nasdaq halts all trade in Nasdaq-listed securities
U.S. stocks up; Nasdaq-listed trade halted ||||| Article Excerpt
A technical glitch knocked out trading in all Nasdaq Stock Market securities for three hours Thursday afternoon, an unprecedented meltdown for a U.S. exchange that paralyzed a broad swath of markets and highlighted the fragility of the financial world's electronic backbone.
Nasdaq officials scrambled to figure out what happened and resume trading. They shared few of their findings with trading firms or the public during regular trading hours, sowing confusion across Wall Street and leaving many investors frustrated.
The decision to reopen trading with about 35 minutes to go before the close came after exchange officials were sure that banks ... | – Nasdaq is back in business after an apparent technical glitch brought the exchange to a rare halt this afternoon for more than three hours, reports the Wall Street Journal. The exchange hasn't fully explained what happened, but trading of all Nasdaq securities ground to a halt just after noon today, reports MarketWatch. Other exchanges quickly suspended trading of Nasdaq stocks. "All orders in those securities have been canceled back to customers," says the New York Stock Exchange in a statement. Nasdaq blamed "quote submissions" in an email to investors. |
Hand Grips Clinically Proven Beneficial for Prevention of Low Back Injuries.
Don't let snow shovelling be a pain in your back.
Welcome to MOTUS. We manufacture hand grips that offer arthritis and back pain relief and reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and tendinitis.
Motus grips are a snow shovel accessory that make snow shovels easier to work with. Use the D-grip and the T-grip on shovels, scoops, pushers and roof rakes. The ergonomic design adjusts to any stature, short or tall, left or right-handed.
The D-grip mounts mid-way down the handle and gives lifting leverage to the forward hand. The T-grip mounts at the upper end of the handle and gives pushing and pulling control to the back hand. In combination, they optimize their mechanical advantage.
There are two main actions that take place when working with snow shovels:
Lifting is involved in the use of snow and scoop shovels.
Biomechanically, lifting involves the body as a third class lever.
Adding the D-grip mid-way down the shovel handle moves the fulcrum to the lower hand, transferring the effort to the long end of the shovel, making it a first class lever.
With increased leverage, the user may now lift a heavier load with greater ease.
Pushing & Pulling is involved in the use of snow pushers and roof rakes.
Adding the D-grip mid-way down the handle improves posture by allowing the user to stand taller with less back bend.
Limb alignment and hand position with the D-grip are more neutral, reducing the risk of repetitive stress injury.
Neutral limb alignment and hand position also reduce fatigue and blisters.
Adding the T-grip handle at the upper end allows a greater range of motion.
A straight line of force from the shoulder to the grip opens the space between the shoulders for good posture and reduced risk of back and muscle strain.
Neutral limb alignment and hand position help reduce arthritis and back pain.
A Case Study Assessment of MOTUS Power-Grip Products
by Dean Kriellaars, Ph.D.,
University of Manitoba, School of Medical Rehabilitation
May 20, 1992
I. Description
Straight Grip (T-grip)
The straight grip provides a fixed hand placement at right angle to the implement shaft.
D-ring Handle (D-grip)
The d-ring handle provides a hand placement site, which is slightly displaced from the implement shaft. The d-ring can be positioned at any angle relative to the shaft but is typically positioned close to a right angle to the shaft.
II. Method
A pseudo-static, biomechanical assessment of the straight grip Power-Grip product was undertaken in case study fashion for a simple shoveling task. The Newtonian equations for static equilibrium were developed to estimate the trunk joint moment required to hold a load with and without the straight hand-grip. A dynamic and EMG analysis was not undertaken.
III. Results for the Straight Grip
A. This hand-grip permits the wrist angle to remain in a near neutral position in the ulnar/radial plane. The amount of ulnar deviation is limited to a maximum of 10 degrees as compared to 35 degrees (near the end of range of motion) without the use of the straight grip.
In lifting with an implement, the wrist can undergo maximum ulnar deviation during a specific period. This results in compression of the tissues located on the ulnar side of the wrist (the ulnar nerve, blood supply, carpal ligaments, tendons, etc.) and tension in the radially located tissues. Prolonged or repetitive loading of a joint at the end of range of motion can be deleterious to the tissues. In the mid-range of a joint, the muscles can operate efficiently to bear the load, however, in the end of range of motion, the passive tissues bear a disproportionate amount of the load since the muscles are in a compromised position. The decreased ulnar deviation resulting from the use of the straight grip is beneficial to the structures in and about the wrist.
B. The hand-grip requires the forearm to be in a pronated position.
Without the use of the straight grip, the forearm would be in a supinated position. This positioning influences the set of muscles recruited to perform the task. Most notably, with the forearm in a supinated position, the biceps brachii can operate to control the amount of supination and is in an advantaged position to aid in elbow flexion. When the straight grip is used, the forearm is positioned in pronation. This positioning results in a different muscle strategy to be employed during the lifting task. The biceps brachii is positioned in a relatively lengthened position and the forearm extensors and forearm supinators are required to control the degree of pronation. The difference in lifting with the straight grip represents a substitution of muscles required to perform the task. An electromyographical analysis would be required to establish the precise muscle activation pattern. This may limit the amount of elbow flexion used to perform the task enabling the user to incorporate larger trunk and lower limb musculature.
C. The change in wrist position and forearm pronation results in an increased shoulder abduction angle (5-10 degrees).
The change in wrist position requires the shoulder to be abducted. The lifting task normally involves the use of shoulder abductors. When the straight grip is used the starting angle for the abduction movement is greater. The change in joint angle would alter the muscle activation pattern required to perform the task. It is possible to speculate that the supraspinatus muscle, which is claimed to account for the first 5 degrees of abduction, would not be involved in the abduction when the straight grip is employed, instead the larger deltoid muscles would be primarily involved. This may result in a decreased likelihood of tendinitis (or similar disorder) of the intrinsic shoulder muscles. This speculation would have to be examined with electromyographical analysis.
D. The change in upper limb kinematics (joint angles) due to the hand-grip reduces the trunk flexion angle in the neighborhood of 5 degrees.
The kinematics of the upper limb holding on to the straight grip allows the trunk to remain in a more upright position during a lifting task. This results in a decreased effort from the extensor muscles of the hip and back since they do not have to work as hard to hold up the weight of the trunk. These muscles do not have to work as hard since there is i) a decrease in the moment of the weight of the upper body due to a decrease in the moment arm, and ii) a decrease in the moment of the weight of the load (that being lifted) due to a decrease in the moment arm are (the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the weight force acting vertically downward to the specific axis of rotation, say the L4 vertebral axis). This decrease in the moment of the load and upper body weight would be in the order of 5%. For repetitive tasks this small decrease would result in substantial energy savings and may result in less cumulative trauma.
E. The change in upper body kinematics (joint angles) allows the load borne by the implement to be carried closer (about 5 cm) in the para-sagittal plane to the joint axes of rotation, most notable the hip and lumbar vertebral axes, as well as the upper limb axes (shoulder and elbow).
Similar to point D., when the lifted load is carried closer to the body this results in a decrease in the moment arm of the load relative to the body's axes of rotation (hip, lumbar, shoulder, etc.). The decrease in moment arm reduces the tendency of the load to rotate downward which proportionately relieves the muscles from having to rotate the load upward. The magnitude of this effect is between 3 and 5 %.
The overall reduction in load arising from the decrease in trunk angle and the closer load carrying is near 10%. This is a substantial amount, not only for repetitive tasks, but also for a single execution of a task. This would be beneficial for prevention and rehabilitation of low back injuries.
F. The hand-grip did not result in an observable change in lower limb kinematics.
The method employed in this study did not permit accurate evaluation of lower limb kinematics. A video motion analysis would be required for this purpose.
G. The hand-grip constrains the user to a specific set of lifting postures.
This constraint arises from the fact that the user must hold the grip and since the grip is fixed on the implement shaft the user's upper limbs are required to maintain a fixed geometry during lifting. Any task executed repetitively results in specific muscle fatigue, as such it may be beneficial to allow the user to rest or the freedom to adopt different postures to perform the same task which results in a substitution of non-fatigued muscles for the fatiguing muscles. This factor is primarily related to user understanding of proper lifting concepts and is not actually limited by the straight grip (i.e. changing the position of the straight grip periodically).
H. The straight grip was found to fit any of the 14 different implements tested independent of:
1. material (plastic, metal or wood),
2. shaft diameter
3. the presence of water (rain).
The straight grip was found to loosen or tighten somewhat with variations in temperature. The user would be advised to check that the grip is secure before each use.
I. The hand-grip reduces the potential for blister formation.
The kinematics of lifting without the hand-grip involves movement of the hand relative to the shaft resulting in skin surface shear which leads to blistering. With the use of the straight grip the magnitude of skin surface shear may be less which would result in a decrease in blister formation.
CASE STUDY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
"hand-grip permits the wrist angle to remain in a near neutral position"..."beneficial to the structures in and about the wrist."
"enabling the user to incorporate larger trunk and lower limb musculature."
"decreased likelihood of tendinitis (or similar disorder) of the intrinsic shoulder muscles"
"remain in a more upright position during a lifting task"..."substantial energy savings and may result in less cumulative trauma."
"The overall reduction in load arising from the decrease in trunk angle and the closer load carrying is near 10%. This is a substantial amount, not only for repetitive tasks, but also for a single execution of a task. This would be beneficial for prevention and rehabilitation of low back injuries."
"The hand-grip reduces the potential for blister formation."
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||||| "Would it kill you to shovel the front walk?" A monster snowstorm raging from New Mexico to Maine raises this question afresh. Typically it's posed by a woman standing with hands on hips and assuming a Thurberesque mien as she gazes down on a man exercising his thumb on the remote but otherwise in repose. The correct answer: "It might."
Snow-shovel design may not rank up there with the Three Gorges Dam as an engineering challenge, but it kills more than 10 times as many people each year. My Slate colleague Juliet Lapidos has observed that the 1,200 annual heart-failure deaths attributed to blizzards represent only about 0.3 percent of all annual deaths from heart disease. But that's a lot more people than die from watching a football game (though that poses health risks too). You can say all these shovelers should exercise more, and that's certainly true. But such advice is of little help to a sedentary soul whose doorstep is suddenly buried in a four-foot drift.
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The science of shoveling was invented by the Progressive Era efficiency expert (and father of Taylorism) Frederick Winslow Taylor. Taylor observed laborers shoveling varying weights and concluded that the shovel load with which "a first class man would do his biggest day's work" was about 21 pounds. That's remarkably close to the current recommendation from Canada's Center for Occupational Health and Safety (keep per-shovel snow loads below 24 pounds). At the Bethlehem Steel works in Pennsylvania, Taylor gave out shovels specifically designed to hold 21 pounds—small ones for shoveling iron ore, big ones for shoveling ash—and made "thousands of stop-watch observations" to calculate the most efficient shoveling method.
Taylor's purpose was not to preserve workers' health but to maximize output; by following his recommendations, Bethlehem was able to increase the daily weight shoveled by each laborer from 16 to 59 tons. But because physical endurance was a necessary component to maximizing output, Taylor's shoveling method also reduced wear and tear on the human body. "[T]his is not nigger driving," Taylor said (that's how Progressives talked in 1911); "this is kindness; this is teaching; this is doing what I would like mighty well to have done to me if I were a boy trying to learn how to do something." He recommended that workers
press the forearm hard against the upper part of the right leg, just below the thigh … take the end of the shovel in your right hand and when you push the shovel into the pile, instead of using the muscular effort of your arms, which is tiresome, throw the weight on the body of the shovel … [T]hat pushes your shovel in the pile with hardly any exertion and without tiring the arms in the least.
Reading Taylor's recommendations, one is struck by two significant changes in American life. One is that 100 years later African-Americans are considered human beings whose physical well-being concerns society (at least in theory) as much as that of Caucasians. The other change is that, even taking into account that Taylor's subjects were all experienced manual laborers, people must have had much stronger backs back then.
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Like This Story | – If you live in America, there’s a good chance you’re shoveling snow today—or will be soon—but beware: The dreaded chore can actually kill you. How to avoid such a tragic fate? Well, for starters, keep your per-shovel load to 24 pounds or less. Beyond that, however, the recommendations get muddled, notes Timothy Noah on Slate: Shovels that make it easier to gather the snow make it harder to lift the snow, and vice versa. There is one obscure shovel supposedly better suited to both parts of the job, but good luck finding one in a hardware store. A few other things will lessen your risk: Don’t start shoveling while snow is still falling (it’s colder, so you’ll put additional strain on your heart); don’t bundle up too much (getting too hot isn’t good, either); and don’t drink coffee (it increases your heart rate) or hot cocoa (who knows why?) right before shoveling. If that all sounds like too much trouble, “wait till someone younger or poorer than you knocks on your door and offers to shovel your walk for $20 or $30,” Noah recommends. “Delegate. The economy will benefit and your cardiologist will thank you.” |
Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have separated after 10 years of marriage. The pair has one son, Walker, 4.
PHOTOS: Biggest celeb splits of 2013
"Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have jointly decided to separate at this time," a rep for Menzel tells Us Weekly. "Their primary focus and concern is for their son. We ask that you respect their privacy during this time."
PHOTOS: Hollywood's ugliest divorces
The former couple, both 42, met while costarring in the original Broadway production of Rent in 1995 and later reprised their roles in the 2005 film adaptation.
PHOTOS: Hollywood's most expensive divorces
As recently as October, Diggs told Us, "We're doing good!" when congratulated on his milestone wedding anniversary at the Men's Health 25th Anniversary Party in New York City, despite the cheating rumors the couple had faced this past summer. ||||| Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel Separate
After a decade of marriage, Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel have separated, PEOPLE confirms."Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have jointly decided to separate at this time," reps for the couple tell PEOPLE exclusively. "Their primary focus and concern is for their son. We ask that you respect their privacy during this time."Diggs – who is currently starring in The Best Man Holiday – and Menzel, both 42, met as costars in the original production of the Broadway musical Rent in the mid-1990s. They married in 2003 and had a son , Walker, in September 2009.Menzel, a Tony Award winner for Wicked who's currently voicing a character in Frozen, spoke to PEOPLE about the marriage earlier this year, saying it wasn't always smooth sailing."We work at it," she said. "I'm not going to glamorize it or glorify it – we go through tough times like everybody else, but we love each other very much. We try not to be away from each other for more than two weeks at a time, and we try to find new ways to communicate." | – Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel are separating after more than a decade of marriage, Menzel's rep confirms to Us. The 42-year-olds first met in 1995 while both were starring in the original Broadway production of Rent, and later co-starred in the film version of the musical. They married in January 2003 and have a 4-year-old son together. No word on the cause for the split, but Us notes they were plagued by cheating rumors over the summer, and People points out that in April, Menzel said that they sometimes had a long-distance marriage, which can be hard but "we work at it." |
JERUSALEM — New archaeological tests have confirmed that the site many Christians believe to be the tomb of Jesus Christ dates back 1,700 years to A.D. 325, the same era when the Romans first identified the place as holy.
With invasions, fires and even earthquakes occurring at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre over the centuries, historians had questioned whether the tomb had been destroyed or moved.
To date the tomb, known as the Holy Edicule, conservators from the National Technical University of Athens looked at radioactive elements in the architectural glue that fit it together. They also used ground-penetrating radar and laser scanning.
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The tomb is the size of a coat closet, and was open for just 60 hours while restoration work was also carried out.
The results of the tests were first reported Tuesday by National Geographic.
"Scientists and archaeologists are very excited about this because, what it does is, it corroborates our historical accounts," said National Geographic archaeology writer Kristin Romey, who was on site during the nine-month renovation project.
Experts believe the site was identified around A.D. 325 A.D., when the Roman emperor Constantine the Great came to the city with his team to locate places associated with the life of Jesus.
A holy fire ceremony is held at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on April 15. Atef Safadi / EPA file
The Romans are said to have torn down a temple in Jerusalem where they found the cave that they believed to be his burial site. They then built a shrine and a church around that site.
Three different Christian denominations — Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox — share custody over the church, and there have been turf wars and brawls in the past over the management of the site.
Even the restoration took decades to settle. In 1959, the various denominations agreed to conserve the edicule, but it took until 2016 to actually agree on a plan for the restoration, National Geographic archaeologist-in-residence Fredrik Hiebert said.
The same Greek team that restored the Acropolis in Athens was chosen to carry out the project.
Archaeologists believe there may be more surprises to come at the site.
“There is so much information in the data that was collected by the restorers during the conservation project,” Hiebert said. “There are many, many stories still to be told.” ||||| Over the centuries, Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre has suffered violent attacks, fires, and earthquakes. It was totally destroyed in 1009 and subsequently rebuilt, leading modern scholars to question whether it could possibly be the site identified as the burial place of Christ by a delegation sent from Rome some 17 centuries ago.
Now the results of scientific tests provided to National Geographic appear to confirm that the remains of a limestone cave enshrined within the church are remnants of the tomb located by the ancient Romans.
Mortar sampled from between the original limestone surface of the tomb and a marble slab that covers it has been dated to around A.D. 345. According to historical accounts, the tomb was discovered by the Romans and enshrined around 326.
View Images A restorer removes debris beneath a broken marble slab to expose the original rock surface of what is considered the burial place of Jesus. Photograph by Oded Balilty, AP for National Geographic
Until now, the earliest architectural evidence found in and around the tomb complex dated to the Crusader period, making it no older than 1,000 years.
While it is archaeologically impossible to say that the tomb is the burial site of an individual Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth, who according to New Testament accounts was crucified in Jerusalem in 30 or 33, new dating results put the original construction of today's tomb complex securely in the time of Constantine, Rome's first Christian emperor.
The tomb was opened for the first time in centuries in October 2016, when the shrine that encloses the tomb, known as the Edicule, underwent a significant restoration by an interdisciplinary team from the National Technical University of Athens.
Several samples of mortar from different locations within the Edicule were taken at that time for dating, and the results were recently provided to National Geographic by Chief Scientific Supervisor Antonia Moropoulou, who directed the Edicule restoration project.
When Constantine's representatives arrived in Jerusalem around 325 to locate the tomb, they were allegedly pointed to a Roman temple built some 200 years earlier. The Roman temple was razed and excavations beneath it revealed a tomb hewn from a limestone cave. The top of the cave was sheared off to expose the interior of the tomb, and the Edicule was built around it.
A feature of the tomb is a long shelf, or "burial bed," which according to tradition was where the body of Jesus Christ was laid out following crucifixion. Such shelves and niches, hewn from limestone caves, are a common feature in tombs of wealthy 1st-century Jerusalem Jews.
The marble cladding that covers the "burial bed" is believed to have been installed in 1555 at the latest, and most likely was present since the mid-1300s, according to pilgrim accounts.
When the tomb was opened on the night of October 26, 2016, scientists were surprised by what they found beneath the marble cladding: an older, broken marble slab incised with a cross, resting directly atop the original limestone surface of the "burial bed."
Some researchers speculated that this older slab may have been laid down in the Crusader period, while others offered an earlier date, suggesting that it may have already been in place and broken when the church was destroyed in 1009. No one, however, was ready to claim that this might be the first physical evidence for the earliest Roman shrine on the site.
Is This Really The Tomb Of Christ? Scholars discuss whether the tomb of Christ is actually the tomb of Christ and how it would have looked.
The new test results, which reveal the lower slab was most likely mortared in place in the mid-fourth century under the orders of Emperor Constantine, come as a welcome surprise to those who study the history of the sacred monument.
"Obviously that date is spot-on for whatever Constantine did," says archaeologist Martin Biddle, who published a seminal study on the history of the tomb in 1999. "That's very remarkable."
During their year-long restoration of the Edicule, the scientists were also able to determine that a significant amount of the burial cave remains enclosed within the walls of the shrine. Mortar samples taken from remains of the southern wall of the cave were dated to 335 and 1570, which provide additional evidence for construction works from the Roman period, as well as a documented 16th-century restoration. Mortar taken from the tomb entrance has been dated to the 11th century and is consistent with the reconstruction of the Edicule following its destruction in 1009.
"It is interesting how [these] mortars not only provide evidence for the earliest shrine on the site, but also confirm the historical construction sequence of the Edicule," Moropoulou observes.
The mortar samples were independently dated at two separate labs using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), a technique that determines when quartz sediment was most recently exposed to light. The scientific results will be published by Moropoulou and her team in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
Secrets of Christ’s Tomb premieres Sunday December 3 at 9/8c on the National Geographic Channel. The immersive, 3-D exhibition " Tomb of Christ: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre Experience" is open at the National Geographic Museum in Washington D.C. through the fall of 2018. | – Millions of people flock to Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre each year. Many believe it to house the tomb of Jesus Christ, though scientists have thus far been unable to date the tomb to the time when the Romans built a church around it. Now, however, a new series of tests "corroborates our historical accounts" as a National Geographic writer puts it to NBC News. It's easiest to understand the significance by understanding the history: Around AD 325, experts believe Roman Emperor Constantine the Great arrived in Jerusalem on the hunt for places linked to Jesus; his team identified the cave that they believed Jesus was buried in and built a shrine (known as the Edicule) to enclose the tomb and then a church around it. That church was destroyed in 1009, recounts National Geographic. It was rebuilt, and all archaeological dating coincided with that rebuilding—proving it was at most about 1,000 years old. The tomb was opened for the first time in centuries in October 2016 to allow for the Edicule to be restored. A marble slab was discovered beneath marble cladding, and mortar samples taken from the slab dated to around AD 345. National Geographic's take: "While it is archaeologically impossible to say that the tomb is the burial site of an individual Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth ... [the] results put the original construction of today's tomb complex securely in the time of Constantine." (Scientists have issued a dire warning about the site.) |
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Steve Wynn’s plan to sell a pair of Picasso paintings for a high estimate of $105 million was derailed after the more expensive of the two was damaged Friday -- a dozen years after the billionaire collector and erstwhile casino magnate put his elbow through another masterpiece by the artist.
Picasso’s 1943 self-portrait "Le Marin" Source: Christie’s
“Le Marin,” a 1943 self-portrait, was damaged Friday “during the final stages of preparation” for auction Tuesday and pulled from the block, Christie’s said in a statement. It declined to comment on the nature or extent of the damage. Lin Wood, a spokesman for Wynn, declined to comment.
The painting, which measures a little more than 4-by-2 1/2 feet and estimated at $70 million, was one of three Wynn consigned to Christie’s for sale this week for a total of as much as $135 million, according to the auction house’s estimates. On Monday, Picasso’s 1964 portrait of a woman with a cat, “Femme au chat assise dans un fauteuil,” was also pulled from the auction by mutual agreement with the seller, Christie’s said. That piece, also owned by Wynn, is estimated at $25 million to $35 million.
Wynn, who suffers from a disease that affects his peripheral vision, accidentally struck his Picasso “Le Reve” with his right elbow in 2006 while showing it to friends in his Las Vegas office, leaving a hole the size of a silver dollar. The painting had been worth $139 million before that, according to Wynn’s lawsuit against the insurer, Lloyd’s of London. A restorer said the repaired painting was worth $85 million, according to the lawsuit. Hedge fund titan Steve Cohen bought it from Wynn in 2013 for $155 million.
“Femme au chat assise dans un fauteuil” Photographer: Katya Kazakina/Bloomberg
Both withdrawn paintings had been guaranteed by Christie’s and backed by third-party guarantees. The withdrawal of a work from sale removes any guarantee made for the transaction, Christie’s said, adding that its consignment contracts “have insurance provisions to cover damage and other contingencies.”
Wynn resigned as chief executive officer of Wynn Resorts Ltd. in February amid sexual-misconduct allegations. He has denied wrongdoing.
The other Wynn lot at Christie’s is Andy Warhol’s 1963 “Double Elvis [Ferus Type],” which will be offered as planned at the postwar and contemporary evening sale on May 17, Christie’s said. Estimated at more than $30 million, it depicts Elvis Presley dressed as a cowboy and shooting from the hip.
The painting last appeared at auction in 2012 when it fetched $37 million at Sotheby’s. At the time it was bought by the Mugrabi family, which owns one of the world’s largest private Warhol collections.
— With assistance by Peter Jeffrey ||||| Follow
ALBRECHT DÜRER (1471-1528) The Four Horsemen of the Apocal... | – Pricey mistake: A Picasso worth an estimated $70 million had to be yanked from an auction at Christie's this week because it sustained damage as workers were preparing it. It's not clear how bad the damage is to Le Marin, or The Sailor, or even how the damage occurred, but the auction house said in a statement that two outside conservators "have made recommendations for the successful restoration of the painting," reports ABC News. One weird twist: The painting belongs to former casino mogul Steve Wynn, who previously had bad luck with a different Picasso painting. Back in 2006, Wynn stuck his elbow through Picasso's Le Reve while showing it to friends in his Las Vegas office, reports Bloomberg, which adds that Wynn has a disease that messes up his peripheral vision. That restoration had a happy ending: The painting had been valued at $139 million prior to the damage, and Wynn eventually sold it for $155 million. This hasn't been a stellar year for Wynn: He stepped down as CEO of Wynn Resorts amid a slew of sexual harassment allegations. |
(Packaged in cans by Sierra Nevada, and draught from amazing brewers across the country. Available late December!)
When the Camp Fire started in the hills above our Chico brewery on November 8, 2018, it soon became the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. The fire burned more than 153,000 acres, killed at least 85 people, and destroyed more than 13,000 homes. Many of our employees and community members were severely impacted by this tragic event.
In the days following the fire, we announced plans to brew Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, a fundraiser beer for Camp Fire relief. We committed to brewing the beer and donating 100% of the sales to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund, aimed at long-term community rebuilding support. And we asked every brewery in the country to do it with us.
We sent out the “bat signal” calling our friends in the industry, asking our suppliers to donate ingredients, asking other breweries (our competitors) to donate their time and labor costs, and asking our wholesalers and retailers to carry the beer for free. It was a big ask, and we never could have anticipated the response.
More than 1,400 breweries signed up to brew Resilience. Our suppliers donated ingredients to every brewery nationwide. Wholesalers and retailers agreed to carry the beer and donate every dollar they received. All of them agreed to do this for free to benefit people they had never met.
In all, Resilience Butte County Proud IPA should hit the market in mid-late December more than 17,000 barrels—or 4.2 million pints—strong. Every dollar Sierra Nevada receives will go to those impacted by the Camp Fire.
Thank you to the brewing community. Thank you to our suppliers. Thank you to our wholesalers and retailers. And thank you to every single customer who is helping us rebuild our Butte County community—one pint at a time.
Brewers | Malt Suppliers | Hop Suppliers | Wholesalers
Resilience Night
When: December 20th
Where: Your favorite participating brewery
Please join us for Resilience Night! On Thursday, December 20, we’ll raise a glass with the 1,400+ breweries around the world brewing Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, our fundraiser beer for Camp Fire relief. Head to your local participating brewery to try their version of Resilience IPA–every dollar spent on Resilience will benefit those impacted by the Camp Fire. Together, we can raise more than $10 million to rebuild Butte County.
Untappd
We are excited to announce that, starting December 15th, Untappd is participating in the release of Resilience IPA by offering its users a limited edition badge that can be earned by checking in to ANY Resilience IPA FROM ANY of the breweries that are officially participating. Not an Untappd user? Join today!
Where to get Resilience!?
Cans
Resilience IPA is packaged in cans by Sierra Nevada. The beer is starting to ship now. It will take some time for it to get from us, to the wholesalers, to the retailers. The amount of time depends on several factors, but distance is the main determiner. You can use our beer locator to find retailers nationwide that have it. The locator is updated continuously, so check back often.
Find Resilience IPA at Retail
Draught
Resilience IPA is available on draught from more than 1,400 breweries. You can use the brewer map below to locate participating breweries, and visit them for a pint!
Find Resilience IPA on Draught
Brewers
Thank you to the more than 1,400 breweries around the world who have so graciously volunteered to brew Resilience and donate 100% of the sales. Our brewing community never ceases to amaze us, and we’re proud to work alongside you.
Map for mobile
Brewer list sorted by state
Homebrewers can participate too, with the Resilience IPA homebrew recipe!
(updated 1/10/19)
10 Barrel Brewing Co
10 Barrel Brewing Company
10 mile brewery
1188 Brewing Company
1781 Brewing Co.
1850 Brewing Company
1912 Brewing Company
1940’s Brewing Company
21st Amendment
25 West Brewing
26 Degree Brewing Company
2nd Shift Brewing
2Toms Brewing Co.
3 Bridges Brewing
3 Floyds Brewing Co
3 Sheeps Brewing Co
3 Stars Brewing Company
4 Hands Brewing Co
4 Noses Brewing Company
42 North Brewing Company
49th State Brewing Company
5 Alarm Brewing Co
515 Brewing Company
612Brew
7 Devil’s Brewing company
7Sisters Brewing Company
7venth Sun Brewery
8 Bit Brewing Company
8th Wonder Brewery
902 Brewing Co
Abita Brewing Company
AC Golden
Accomplice Beer Company
Acopon Brewing Company
Adobe Creek Brewing
Adroit Theory Brewing
Ahnapee Brewery
Akasha Brewing Company
Akronym Brewing
Alameda Island Brewing Company
Alamo Beer Co
Aldus Brewing Co. / B’s of the Back Rose
Ale Industries
AleCraft Brewery
AleSmith Brewing Company
All Rise Brewing Co.
Allagash Brewing
Allegheny City Brewing
Allegory Brewing
Alloy Brewing Company
Almanac Beer Co
Alosta Brewing Co.
Altamont Beer Works
Alter Brewing Co.
Alternation Brewing Company
Alvarado Street Brewery
Ambassador Brewing, Co.
Ambridge Brewery
Anacortes Brewery
Anchor Brewing
Anchorage Brewing Company
Angel City Brewery
Angry Fish Brewing Company
Angry Horse Brewing
Angry Inch Brewing
Anvil Brewing
Appalachian Brewing Company
Appalachian Mountian Brewery
Arcadia Brewing Company
Arches Brewing
Ardent Craft Ales
Arkansas Brewer’s Guild
Arkose Brewery
Armstrong Brewing Company
ART IS AN ALE Brewing
Artifex Brewing Company
As Built Brewing
Asbury Park Brewery
Aston Abbey Brewing Company
Athens Brewing Co
Athletic Brewing Company
Atlantic Beach Brewing Company
Atlantic Brewing Company
Atlas Brew Works
Atrevida Beer Co.
Attic Brewng Company
Auburn Alehouse
Auburn Brewing Company
Austin Beerworks
AVERY BREWING CO
B Chord Brewing Company
b2 Taphouse & Brewery
Baa Baa Brewhouse
Back East Brewing LLC
Back Forty Beer Company-Birmingham
Backpocket Brewing
BackStory Brewery
Backstreet Brewery
Bad Beat Brewing
BAD Brewing Company
Bad Lab Beer
Badass Backyard Brewing
Badger State Brewing Company
BADSONS Beer co.
Bale Breaker Brewing Company
Ballast Point Brewing
Bare Hands Brewery
Barebottle Brewing Company
Barley Brown’s Beer
Barley Creek Brewing Company
Barley Forge Brewing Company
Barrel Harbor Brewing Company
BarrelHouse Brewing Co.
Barrister’s Brewing Inc.
Barrow Brewing Company
Bartlett Hall
Batch Brewing Company
Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op
Bauhaus Brew Labs
Baxter Brewing Co, LLC
Bayou Teche Brewing
Beachwood Brewing
Beale’s Beer
Bear & Squirrel Brewing Company
Bear Island Brewing Company
Bear Republic Brewing Co
Bearded Fox Brewing Company
Bearded Iris Brewing Company
Beards Brewery LLC
Bearpaw River Brewing Co.
BearWaters Brewing Company
Beaver Island Brewing Company
Beaver St. Brewery
Beaverhead Brewing Company
Belching Beaver Brewery
Bell’s Brewery Inc
Beltway Brewing Company
Benchmark Brewing Company
Bend Brewing Co,
Bent River Brewing
Bent Shovel Brewing
Berryessa Brewing co
Bhramari Brewing Company
Bierly Brewing
Big Ass Brands Inc.
Big Barn Brewing Co.
Big Boss Brewing
Big Grove Brewery
Big Island Brewhaus
Big Lick Brewing Company
Big Sexy Brewing
Big Slide Brewery & Public House
Bigelow Brewing Company
Bike Dog Brewing Co.
Bike TrAle Brewing
Billsburg Brewery
Biloba Brewing llc
Biloba Brewing llv
Biloxi Brewing Company
BIRDFISH BREWING CO.
Biscayne Bay Brewing Company
Bismarck Brewing
Bissell Brothers Brewing
BITTER BROTHER BREWING
Black Acre Brewing Company
Black Bottle Brewery
Black Cloister Brewing Company, Toledo
Black Forest Brewery
Black Hammer Brewing
Black Hog Brewing Co
Black Hoof Brewing
Black Market Brewery
Black Monk brewery
BLACK PLAGUE Brewing
Black Project
Black Tooth Brewing Company
Blackadder Brewing Company
Blackberry Farm Brewery
Blackstone Brewing Company
Blaker Brewing
Blazing Tree Brewery
Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant
Block 15 Brewing Co.
Blue Ghost Brewing Company
Blue Moon Brewing Co
BLUE MOUNTAIN BREWERY
Blue Note Brewing
Blue Oak Brewing Company, LLC
Blue Point Brewing Company
Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery
Bluebonnet Beer Company
Bluejacket
Blueprint Brewing Company
Blü Dragonfly Brewing
Boathouse Brothers Brewing Co.
Bobby Oliver
Bobtown Brewhouse
Bold City Brewery
Bold Missy Brewery
Bomber Brewing
Bone Hook Brewing Company
Bonesaw Brewing Company
Boneyard Beer
Bonfire Brewing
Bookhouse Brewing
Boom City Brewing CO
Boone Valley Brewing
Bootleggers Brewing Co
Boots Brewing Company
Bootstrap Brewing
Boqueron Brewing Co
Born Colorado Brewing
Boscos Restaurant and Brewing Company
Bottle Logic Brewing
Boxcar brew works
Boxcar Brew Works
Bozeman Brewing Co.
Bradley Brew Project
Braindead Brewing
Bravery Brewing
Braxton Brewing Company
Breckenridge Brewery & Pub
Brethren Brewing Company
Brew LoCo DBA Phase 2 Brewing
Brewcaipa Brewing Co
BrewChatter
BrewDog Brewing Company LLC
Brewer’s Alley
Brewery ARS
Brewery At Simmzy’s Burbank
Brewery Draconum
Brewery Legitimus
Brewery Techne
Brewery Twenty Five
Brick Vault Brewery & BBQ
Brickyard Brewing Company
Bright Ideas Brewing
Brightside Aleworks
Brite Eyes Brewing Co.
British Bulldog Brewery
Broadway Brewery
Broken Arrow Brewing Company
Broken Bow Brewery
Broken Compass Brewing
Broken Goblet Brewing
Broken Horn Brewing
Brooklyn Brewery
Brothers Cascadia Brewing
Brothers Kershner Brewing Company
Brouwerij West
Brown Iron brewhouse
Brown’s Brewing Company
Bru Florida Growler Bar
Bruz Beers
Bryan College Station Zoigl
Brüeprint Brewing Company
Bube’s Brewery
Buck Bald Brewing
Bucket Brigade Brewery
BuckleDown Brewing
Buffalo Brewing Company
Bugnutty Brewing Company
Bull City Burger and Brewery
Buoy Beer Company
Bur Oak Brewing
Burgeon Beer Company
Burn ‘Em Brewing
Burning Barrel Brewing Company
Burns Family Artisan Ales
Butcherknife Brewing Company
Button Brew House
Byway Brewing Company
C.T. Doxey Brewing Company
Cabarrus Brewing Company
Caldera
Calicraft Brewing Company
Calusa Brewing
Camp Colvos Brewing
Canal Park Brewing Company
Canon & Draw Craft Brewery
Canteen Brewhouse
Canton Brew Works, LLC
Cape Cod Beer
Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.
Carbondale Beer Works
Carmel Craft Brewing Company
Carnival Cruise Line/Carnival Horizon
Carnival Cruise Line/Carnival Vista
Carolina Brewing Company
Carrollwood Brewing Company
Cascade Lakes Brewing Company
Catawba Valley Brewing Company
Catskill Brewery
Cavendish Brewing Company
CB & Potts Restaurant and Brewery
Cedar Crest Brewery & Winery
Celis Brewery
Cellarmaker Brewing Company
Center Square Brewing
Central Coast Brewing
Central Waters Brewing Co
Cerberus Brewing Co
Chain reaction Brewing
Champion Brewing
Chandeleur Island Brewing
Channel Brewing Co.
Chaos Mountain Brewing
Chapman Crafted Beer
Charleville Brewing Company
Chatham Brewing
Chattahoochee Brewing Company
Cheluna Brewing Co
Chino Valley Brewery, Inc.
Christian Moerlein Brewing Co.
Chubby Squirrel Brewing Co
Cigar City Brewing
CINDER BLOCK BREWERY
Cinderlands Beer Co
Cisco Brewers
Cismontane Brewing
City Built Brewing Company
Claimstake Brewing
Clandestine Brewing
Claremont Craft Ales
Climate City Brewing Company
Cloudcroft Brewing Co.
Clouds Brewing
Coal Mine Ave Brewing Company
Cobblehaus Brewing Co.
Coelacanth Brewing
Columbia Kettle Works
Columbus Brewing Co
Common Roots Brewing Company
Common Space Brewery
Commonhouse Aleworks
Community Beer Co.
Component Brewing Company
Comrade Brewing
Concrete Beach Brewery
Confluence Brewing Company
Congregation ales
Contrary Brewing Co.
Conversion Brewing
Cool Beerwerks
COOP Ale Works
Cooperage Brewing Company
CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing Co.
Copper pig brewery Llc
Copper State Brewing Co.
Corner Point Brewing
Corralitos Brewing Company
Cottontown Brew Lab
Country Boy Brewing
Court Avenue Brewing Company
Cowtown Brewing Co, LLC
Cox Brewing Company
Craft Brewing Company
Craft Brews and Geek News Podcast
CraftHaus Brewery
Creature Comforts Brewing Co.
Creatures Of Habit Brewing Co
Crescent Farmhouse Ales
Crooked Ewe Brewery & Ale House
Crooked Handle Brewing Co.
Crooked Lane Brewing Co
Crooked Letter Brewery
Crooked Run Brewing
Crooked Thumb Brewery
Crosstown Brewing Company
Crown Brewing
Crux Fermentation Project
Culture Brewing Co
Danville Brewing Company
Dark City Brewing Company
Dark Sky Brewing Company
DC Oakes Brewhouse and Eatery
Dead Armadillo Craft Brewing
DEAD HIPPIE BREWING
Dead Oak Brewing Company
DeadBeach Brewery
Deadline Brewing Project
Death of the Fox Brewing Company
Decatur Brew Works
Deciduous Brewing Company
Definitive Brewing Company
Del Cielo Brewing Co.
Dempsey’s Restaurant & Brewery
Denali Brewing Company
Denton County Brewing Company
Deschutes Brewery
Destihl Brewery
Device Brewing Company
Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company
Devils Backbone Brewing Company
Dimensional Brewing Company
Dionysus Brewing Company
Dirt Farm Brewing
Dirty Job Brewing
Discretion Brewing
Dissent Craft Brewing
Dixie Grill & Brewery
Docent Brewing
Dog Days Brewing
Dog Money Restaurant & Brewery
Dogfish Head
Dos Desperados Brewery
Double Mountain Brewery
Double Peak Brewing Co.
Dovetail Brewery
Down the Road Beer Co
Dragon’s Tale Brewery
Drake’s Brewing Company
Draughtsmen Aleworks
Dreaming Dog Brewery
DRU BRU
Drumming Grouse Brewery, L.L.C.
Dry Dock Brewing Company
Dry River Brewing
Dual Citizen Brewing Company
Dubina Brewing Co.
Dunbar Brewing
Dunedin Brewery
Dunloe Brewing
Dust Bowl Brewing Co.
Dynasty Brewing
earnest brew works LLC
Earth and Fire Brewing Company
Earth-Bread+Brewery
East Branch Brewing Company
East Brother Beer Co
East Cliff Brewing Company
east end brewing co
East Nashville Beer Works
Eastern Market Brewing Co
Eastpoint Beer Company
Eckert Malting and Brewing
ecliptic brewing
Ecusta Brewing Company
Edge Brewing Company
eel river brewing co.
Eight & Sand Beer Co
EJ Phair Brewing Co.
El Dorado Brewing Company
EL PASO BREWING CO.
El Rancho Brewing
Elation Brewing Company
Elgin Park Brewery
Eli Fish Brewing
Elk Horn Brewery
Elkhorn Slough Brewing Co
Ellicottville Brewing Company
Ellipsis Brewing
Elm City Brewing Company
Elmhurst Brewing Co
Elysian Brewing Co.
Emmett’s Brewing Company
Endeavor Brewing Co
Endo Brewing Company
Enid Brewing Company
Envy Brewing
Epidemic Ales
Equinox Brewing Co.
Escape Brewing Company
Escape Craft Brewery
eske’s brew pub
ETX Brewing Co.
Eureka Heights Brew CO
Eventide Brewing
Ever Grain Brewing Co
Everybody’s Brewing
Ex Novo Brewing Company
Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company
Exile Brewing Company
Fa t Head’s Brewery
Faction Brewing Company
Factotum Brewhouse
Fair State Brewing Cooperative
Fair Winds Brewing Co.
Fairfield Craft Ales
Fall Brewing Company
Fall River Brewing Company
Family Business Beer Co
Fanatic Brewing Co
Fargo Brewing Company
Farmers Brewing Co., LLC
Farnam House Brewing Company
Fat Bottom Brewing
Fat Toad Brewing Company
Federation Brewing
Fenders Brewing
Ferguson Brewing Company
FERMENT BREWING COMPANY
Fernson Brewing Company
FETISH* Brewing Company
Fiddlin’ Fish Brewing Company
Fieldwork Brewing Company
Fifth Street Brew Pub
Fifty West brewing company
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company
Figure Eight Brewing LLC
Final Draft Brewing Company
Final Gravity Brewing Company
Fine Creek Brewing Company
Fire on the Mountain Brewing
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Firetower Farm Brewery
First Magnitude Brewing Company
Five Boroughs Brewing Co.
Five Suns Brewing
Five Window Beer Co.
Flagstaff Brewing Company, Inc
Flat Fish Brewing Company
Flat Tail Brewing Co.
Flatland Brewing Company
Flesk Brewing
Flightline Brewing Co
Flying Bison Brewing Company
Flying Fish Brewing Co.
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Flyover Brewing Company
Foam Brewers
Fools Fire Brewing Company
Fort Myers Brewing Co.
Fort Point Beer Company
Fortnight brewing company
Foundation Brewing Company
Founders Brewing Co.
Fountain Square Brewing Company
Fountainhead Brewing Company, LLC
Four Horsemen Brewery
Four Peaks Brewing Co.
Four Seasons Brewing Company, Inc.
Fourpenny House
Fox Brewing
Fox Island Brewing
Fox N Hare Brewing Company, LLC
Free State Brewing Company
Freetail Brewing Co.
Freewheel Brewing Company
French Broad River Brewery
FRIENDSHIP BREWING COMPANY
Frolic Brewing Company
Full Circle Brewing
Full Moon Brewworks
Fuller Smith and Turner PLC
Fullsteam Brewery
Funk Brewing - Elizabethtown
Funk Brewing Company
Funkwerks
Funky Buddha Brewery
FX Matt/Saranac Brewing Co.
G5 Brew Pub
GameCraft Brewing
Garage Brewing Co
Garage Project
Garden Grove Brewing and Urban Winery
Gate City Brewing Company
Geist Beerworks
Georgetown Brewing Co
Gfb Scottish Pub
Ghost River Brewing Co.
Ghost Town Brewing
Giesenbräu Bier Co
Gilded Goat Brewing Company
Gilman Brewing Company
Goat Ridge Brewing Co
GoatHouse Brewing
Gold Camp Brewing Company
Golden Road Brewing
Golden State Brewery
Goldspot Brewing Comapny
Goldwater Brewing Co.
Good beer
Good City Brewing Co
Good Hops Brewing LLC
Good Word Brewing & Public House
GoodLife Brewing
Goose Island Beer Co.
Goose Island Brewhouse Philadelphia
Goose Island Brewhouse Toronto
Goose Island Brewhouse
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant
Gordon Biersch Burbank
Grace Ridge Brewing
Grain reaper brewing
Grains & Taps
Grainworks Brewing Company
Granite Mountain Brewing
Grass Valley Brewing Company
GrassLands Brewing Company
GravSouth Brew Co.
Great Black Swamp Brewing Co.
Great Burn Brewing
Great Chicago Fire Brewery & Tap Romm
Great Divide Brewing Co.
Great Fermentations (homebrew supply store)
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Great North Aleworks
Great Notion Brewing
Great River Brewery
Green Bench Brewing Company
Green Bus Brewing
Green Cheek Beer Co.
Green Earth Brewing Company
Green Feet Brewing
Green Flash Brewing Co
Green Man Brewery
Greenport Harbor Brewing Company
Grey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island
Griffin Claw Brewing Company
Grillin & Chillin Alehouse
Grist Iron Brewing Co.
Grizzly Peak Brewing Company
Grove City Brewing Company
Grove Roots Brewing Company LLC
Guanella Pass Brewery
Guinness Open Gate Brewery - Baltimore
Hair of the Dog
Hairy Cow Brewing Company
half brothers brewing company
Half Door Brewing
Hangar 24 Craft Brewing
Happy Basset Brewing Company
Harbor Brewing Company
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
Harpers Ferry Brewing
Hay Camp Brewing Co
Haymarket Pub & Brewery
Heavy Riff Brewing Company, LLC
Helicon Brewing
Hellbender Brewing Company
Hellbent Brewing Company
HenHouse Brewing Company
Heretic Brewing Company
Hermitage Brewing
high hops brewery
High Water Brewing
Higherground Brewing Co.
Highland Brewing Company
Highpoint Brewing Company, LLC
Hillenbrand Farmhaus Brewery
Hinterland Brewery
Hoboken Brewing LLC
Hoi Polloi Brewing
Holy City Brewing
Home Brewing Co
HONOLULU BEERWORKS
HooDoo Brewing Company
Hoof Hearted Brewing
Hop & Barrel Brewing
Hop Dogma Brewing Company
Hop Farm Brewing Company
Hop Nuts Brewing
Hop Valley Brewing Company
Hoparazzi Brewing Co
Hops & Grain Brewing
HopSaint Brewing Company
Hopvine Brewing Company
Hopworks Urban Brewery Vancouver
Hoquiam Brewing Co., Inc.
Horse & Dragon Brewing Company
House 6 Brewing Company
House of Pendragon Brewing Co.
Hugger Mugger Brewing
Human Village Brewing Co.
Humble Abode Brewing
Humble Sea Brewing Company
Hunga Dunga Brewing Co.
Hunters Point Brewery/Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
Icarus Brewing Company
Icarus Brewing
Idyllwild Brewpub
Ignite Brewing Company
Immersion Brewing
Imprint Beer Company
In The Loop Brewing Company
Inbound Brewco
Independence Brewing Co.
Independent Brewing Company
Independent Fermentations Brewing
Indian Valley Brewing
Indie Alehouse
Infusion Brewing Company
InnerSpace Brewing company
Innovation Brew Works
Inside The Five Brewing
Insight Brewing
Insurrection AleWorks
Intersect Brewing
Intuition Ale Works
Inverness Brewing
Iowa Brewing Co
Iron Goat Brewing
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant
Iron Horse Brewery
Iron Rail Brewing
Iron Springs Pub & Brewery
ISHII BREWING CO.
Islamorada Brewing Company
Island Brewing Company
Isle Brewers Guild, LLC
J. Wakefield Brewing
Jack Mason’s Tavern &Brewery
Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery
Jackrabbit Brewing Company
Jackson Street Brewing
JAFB
Jailhouse Brewing Company
JAKs Brewing CO
Jefferson County Ciderworks
Jekyll Brewing
Jessup Farm Barrel House
Johnson City Brewing Company
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Jones Creek Brewing
Joyride Brewing Co.
JRH Brewing, LLC
Jt walkers
Jubeck New World Brewing
Kalona Brewing Company
kannah creek brewing co
Kansas City Bier Company
Karbach Brewing Co
Karben4 Brewing
Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Keegan Ales
Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei
Kelsey Creek Brewing Co.
Kenai River Brewing Company
Kennebunkport Brewing Company
Kern River Brewing Company
Ketch Brewing
KettleHouse Brewing Company
Keweenaw Brewering Company
Kickback Brewery
King Cong Brewing
King Harbor Brewing Company
King’s & Convicts Brewing Co.
King’s Road Brewing Company
Kinsmen Brewing Company
Knee Deep Brewing Co
Knox County Brewing Co
Kona Brewing Co
Koto Brewing Company
Krafty draft brewpub
Krauski’s Brewskis
Kros Strain Brewing
Kuenstler Brewing
Kunstmann
La Cabra Brewing
La Quinta Brewing Co.
Labatt Brew House
Lady Justice Brewing
Lake Anne Brew House
Lake Placid Pub & Brewery
Lancaster Brewing Co
Land-Grant Brewing Co
Lansing Brewing Company
Lantern Brewing
LaOtto Brewing
Lariat Lodge Brewing Company
Last Call Brewing Company
LAST MINUTE BREWING, LLC
Last Stand Brewing Company
Latchkey Brewing Company
Latitude 42 brewinf Co.
Laughing Monk Brewing
Launch pad brewery
Lb. Brewing Co.
Lead Dog Brewing Co
Leashless Brewing
Left Hand Brewing Company
Left Nut Brewing
Legal Draft Beer Co.
Legal Remedy Brewing
Level Beer
Levity Brewing Company
Lewis & Clark Brewing Company
Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery
Limestone Brewers
Lincoln Beer Company
Lion Bridge Brewing Company
Liquid Riot Bottling Co
Listermann Brewing Co.
Little House Brewing Companuy
Livingood’s Restaurant & Brewery
Local 315 Brewing Co
Local Relic
Locavore Beer Works
Lodi Beer Company
Loma Brewing Co
Lone Pint Brewery
Long Beach beer lab
Loomis Basin Brewing Company
Lord Hobo Brewing Co
Los Angeles Ale Works
Lost Coast Brewery
Lost Grove Brewing
Lost Lantern Brewing
Lost Winds Brewing Company
Loudoun Brewing Company
Love City Brewing Company
Lower Forge Brewery
Lucky Envelope Brewing
Lucky Luke Brewing
Lucky Town Brewing Company, LLC
Ludlam Island Brewery
lumber house brewery
Lumberyard Brewing Co.
Lunacy Brewing Company & Kelly Green Brewing Company
M Special Brewing Company
M. T. Head Brewing Co
Mac & Jacks Brewery Inc.
Mackenzie Brewing Company
Macon Beer Company
Mad Chef Craft Brewing
Mad Duck Craft Brewing Co
Mad Fox Brewing Company
Mad River Brewing Company
Mad Swede Brewing LLC
Madewest Brewing Company
Madison Brewing Company
MadTree Brewing Company
Magic Hat Brewing Company and Artifactory
Magnolia Brewing Co.
Main & Mill Brewing Company
Makai Brewing Company
mammoth brewing company
Marble Brewery
Marker 48 Brewing
Marshall Brewing Company
MARTIN HOUSE BREWING COMPANY
Maryland Beer Company
Marz community brewing
Mash Lab Brewing
Mash Monkeys Brewing Company
Mason’s Brewing Company
Mastry’s Brewing Co.
Maui Brewing Co.
Maumee Bay Brewing Co.
Maxline Brewing
McClellan’s Brewing Company
McMenamins High Street Brewery
McMenamins Mill Creek Brewery
Meantime Brewing Company
Melvin Brewing Bellingham
Melvin Brewing
Memphis Made Brewing
Mica Town Brewing
Midnite Mine Brewing Co.
Mighty River Brewing Co.
MIKE HESS BREWING CO.
Mikkeller San Diego
Mill City Brew Werks
Mill Creek Brewing Company
Mill House Brewing Company
Mill Whistle Brewing
Millersburg Brewing Company
Millstream Brewing Co.
Milwaukee Brewing Company
Miner Brewing Company
Miners Alley Brewing Company
Miscreation Brewing Company
Misfit’s Brewing
Missing Mountain Brewing Company
Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewery
Mockery Brewing
Modern Times Beer
Moerlein Lager House
Moksa Brewing Co
Molly Pitcher Brewing Company
Monadnock Brewing Company, Inc
Monarch Brewing Company
Monkey Fist Brewing Company
Monnik Beer Co.
Monocacy Brewing
Montauk Brewing Company
Moo-Duck Brewery
Moonlght Brewing Co
Moosehead Breweries Limited
Morgan Territory Brewing
mother earth brewing
Mother Road Brewing Company
Mother Tucker Brewery
Motorworks Brewing
Mount Gretna Craft Brewery
Mount Olympus Brewing
Mountain Rambler Brewery
Mountain Valley Brewing
Mraz Brewing Company
Mudshark Brewery
Mule & Elk Brewing Company
Mule & Elk Brewing
Mumford Brewing
My Lowe Brewing Co
Mystic Roots Brewing
Naked River Brewing Company
NAP TIME LIQUID CREATION
Napa Smith Brewery
Narrow Gauge Brewing Company
Narrow Path Brewing Company
Narrows Brewing Company
Naughty Oak Brewing
New Anthem Beer Project w/ Casita Cerveceria
New Axiom Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Co
New District Brewing Company
New England Brewing Co
New Helvetia Brewing Co.
New Image Brewing
New Main Brewing Company
New Realm Brewing Company
New Sarum Brewing Company
Newburgh Brewing Coany
Newport Craft Brewing and Distilling Co.
Next Chapter Brewing Company
Night Shift Brewing
Ninkasi Brewing Company/Yachats Brewing
No Clue Craft Brewery
No Label Brewing Company
No Worries Brewing Company
No-Li Brewhouse
Noble Ale Works
Noble Creature Cask House
Noble Roots Brewing Company
NOBO Brewing Company
NoCoast Beer Co.
NoDa Brewing Company
NOLA Brewing Company
Norbrook Farm Brewery LLC
Norsemen Brewing Company
North Coast Brewing Co.
North Country Brewing Co. LLC
North High Brewing
Northway Brewing Company
Nothing’s Left Brewing Co.
Novel Brewing Company
Novel Strand brewing Company
O’Connor Brewing Company
O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company
Oak Road Brewery
Oakland United Beerworks
Oakshire Brewing
OB Brewery
Obec Brewing
Obed and Isaacs Microbrewery
Ocean View Brew Works
Odd Logic Brewing Company
Odell Brewing Company
Off Main Brewing
Off the Grid Brewery
OHSO Brewery Gilbert
OHSO Nano-Brewery
Ol’ Republic Brewery
Old Colorado Brewing Company
Old Kan Beer and Co
Old Nation Brewing Co
Old Street Brewery
Ole Dallas Brewery
Ology Brewing Co
Opposition Brewing Company
ORIGINAL PATTERN BREWING COMPANY
Oskar Blues Brewery
Our Mutual Friend Brewing
Out.Haus Ales
Outbreak Brewing Company
Overflow Brewing Company
Overtime Brewing
Ozark Beer Compamny
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Milwaukee Brewery
Pacific Brewing & Malting Co.
Pacific Plate Brewing Co.
Pair O’ Dice Brewing Company
Palm City Brewing
Palm Harbor Brewery
Papa Marce’s Cerveceria
Paradise Brewing
Paradise Creek Brewery
Pariah Brewing Company
Pastime Brewery
Patron Saints Brewery
Pawleys Island Brewing Compnay, LLC
Payette Brewing Company LLC
Peace Tree Brewing Co.
Pedal Haus Brewery
Pedro Point Brewing
Pelican Brewing Company
Pentagonal Brewing Co.
Perennial Artisan Ales
Periodic Brewing
Persuasion Brewing Co.
Phantom Canyon Brewing Company
Phantom Carriage Brewery
PicoBrew Inc.
Pig Iron Brewing
Pig Minds/Prairie Street Brewing
Piney River Brewing Co.
Pinthouse Pizza Craft Brewpub
Pitt Street Brewing Company
Pizza Boy Brewing
Pizza Port Brewing Company
Plow Brewing Company
Point Labaddie Brewery
Pollyanna Brewing Company
Ponysaurus Brewing Company
Poor House Brewing Company
Porchlight Brewing Co
Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey
Port City Brewing Company
Port O’Pints Brewing Company
Portage Brewing Company
Porter Brewing Co.
Poseidon Brewing Company
Postdoc Brewing
Pour Man’s Brewing Company
Prairie Street Brewing Co.
Pressure Drop Brewing
prestonrose farm and brewing
PRISON CITY BREWING
Promised Land Brewing Company
PUBLIC Craft Brewing Co
Public House Brewing Company
Pulpit Rock Brewing Company
Pure Project, LLC
Purpose Brewing & Cellars
Pyramid Brewing Company
Quarter Celtic Brewpub
Quattro Goombas Brewery
Quest Brewing Company
Quintopia Brewing Co
R.Shea Brewing
Rabbit Hole Brewing
Rabbit’s Foot Meadery/Red Branch Brewing Co.
Railhouse Brewery
Railyard Brewing Co.
Rainy Daze Brewing
Rally King Brewing
Ramskeller Brewery
Randolph Beer
Rapp’s Barren Brewing Company
Rare Bird Brewpub
Rare Form Brewing Company
Real Ale Brewing Co.
Recess Brewing
Reclaimed Rails Brewing Company
Recon Brewing
Red Bus Brewing Co.
Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing Co.
Red Tandem Brewery
Red Truck Beer Company
Redhook
Redwood Cove Brewery
Redwood Curtain Brewing Company
Reformation Brewery
Refuge Brewery
Rentsch Brewery
Rescue Brewing Co
Resident Brewing
Resolute Brewing
REV Winery and Brewery
Revision Brewing Company
Revolution Brewing
Rhinegeist Brewery
Right Proper Brewing Company
Rincon Brewery
Ritter Brewing Company LLC
River City Brewing Company
River Dog Brewing Company
River rat brewery
River Ridge Brewing
River Rock Brewery
River Rouge Brewing Company
Riverport Brewing Co.
Riverwatch Brewery
Roadhouse Brewing Co.
Robot Brewing Company
Rock Bottom Brewery
Rock Bottom La Jolla
Rock Bottom Nashville
Rock Coast Brewery
Rock County Brewing Company
Rock God Brewing Co. LLc
Rocket Frog Brewing Company
Rocky Hill Brewing
Rogue Ales
Rohrbach Brewing Company
Root Shoot Malting
Roses’ Taproom
Rouleur Brewing Company
Round Guys Brewing Company
Roundabout Brewery
Rowley Farmhouse Ales
Royal Palm Brewing Company
Russian River Brewing Company
Rustech Brewing Company
Rusty Bull Brewery Company
Rusty Nickel Brewing Co.
Rök House Brewing Co.
Sacred Waters Brewing Company
Sacrilege Brewery + Kitchen
Sactown Union Brewery
Saint Archer Brewing Company
Saint Arnold Brewing Co
Salem Ale Works
Salt Flats Brewing
Salt Marsh Brewing
Saltwater Brewery
Salud Cerveceria
Samuel Adams
San Diego Brewing Co.
San Francisco Brewing Co.
San Gabriel River Brewery, Inc
San Pedro Brewing Company
Sanctum Brewing Co.
Sandbox Brewing Company
Sandy Springs Brewing Company
Sanitas Brewing Company
Santa Clara Valley Brewing
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
Santa Maria Brewing Co.
Santa Maria Brewing Co
Sante Adairius Rustic Ales
Saucy Brew Works
Saugatuck Brewing Company
Savagewood Brewing Company
Sawtooth Brewery
Scarlet Lane Brewing Company
Schilling Beer Co. / Resilience Brewing
Schlafly Beer/The Saint Louis Brewery
Scofflaw Brewing Company
Scottsdale Beer Company
Scriptown Brewing Company
SeaQuake Brewing
Sebago Brewing Brewery
Second Chance Beer Company
Second District Brewing Co.
Second Salem Brewing Co
Second State Brewing
Second Wind Brewing Company
Secret Trail Brewing Company
Sequoia Brewing Company
Service Brewing Company
Seven Saws Brewing LLC
Seventh Son Brewing Co.
Shadow Puppet Brewing Company
Shady Oak Barrel House
Shaidzon Beer Co.
Shakopee Brewhall
Shanty Shack Brewing
Sheboygan Beer Company
Shoe Tree Brewing Co.
Shoreline Brewery
Short’s Brewing Co.
Sibling Revelry Brewing
Side A Brewing Company
Side Lot Brewery
Side Project Brewing
Sidellis lake tahoe and south lake brewing company
Silver City Brewery
Silver Moon Brewing
SingleSpeed Brewing Co.
Six Rivers Brewery
Six Ten Brewing
Ska Brewing Company
Sketchbook Brewing Co
Skiback Brewing Co.
Skull Camp Brewing
Skull Mechanix Brewing
Skull Tree Brewing
Skyland Ale Works
Slate Rock Brewing, LLC
Slate Town Brewing Company LLC
Slaughter County Brewing Company
Sleeping Giant Brewing Co
SLO Brew
Sloop Brewing Company
Smith & Lentz Brewing Company, LLC
Snake River Brewing Co.
Snowbank Brewing
Snowy Mountain Brewery
Societe Brewing Company
Sockeye Brewing
Solid Ground Brewing
Solorio Brewing Company
Solvang brewing company
Something Brewery
Something Wicked Brewing
Sonder Brewing
Sonoma Springs Brewing Company
Soul Squared Brewing Company
Sound to Summit Brewing
Southern Barrel Brewing company
Southern Grist Brewing Company
Southern Star Brewing Company
Southern Swells Brewing Co.
Spider Bite Beer Co.
Spider City Brewing
Spoonwood Brewing Co.
SPRINGFIELD BREWING CO.
St Elmo Brewing Co
St Pete Brewing Company
St. Boniface Craft Brewing Co.
standard deviant brewing
Starr Hill Brewery
Start Line Brewing Company
State 48 Brewery
State Room Brewery
Steady Habit Brewing Company, Inc
Steam Bell Beer Works
Steam Donkey Brewing Co.
Steam Theory Brewing Company
Steel Bender Brewyard
Steel Bonnet Brewing Company
Stem Ciders
Stereo Brewing
Stillmank Brewing Co
Stone Arch Brew Pub
Stone Brewing
Stonehome Brewing Company
Stony Creek Brewery
StormBreaker Brewing
Stoudts Brewing Company
Stoup Brewing
Stovetop Brewing LLC.
Straight To Ale
Streetside Brewery
Strum Brewing Company
Studio Brew
Stump City Brewing LLC
Suds Monkey Brewing Company
Sudwerk Brewing Co.
Suffolk Punch Brewing
SunRift Beer Company
Super Owl Brewing
Superior Coast Brewery
Surly Brewing Co.
Sutter Buttes Brewing
Swashbuckler Brewing Company
SweetWater Brewing Company
Swine city brewing
Switchback Brewing Co.
Switchyard Brewing Co
Tactical OPS Brewing Inc
Tailgate Brewery
Tampa Bay Brewing Company
Tampa Beer Works
Tangled Roots Brewing Co.
Taplands
Taproot Brewing Company
TAPS Brewery
Tarpon River Brewing
Tecumseh Brewing Co.
Temblor Brewing Company
Temescal Brewing
Ten Pin Brewing Co
Tenaya Creek Brewery
Tennessee Brew Works
Tent City Beer Company
Terrapin ATL Brew Lab
Texas beer company
THAT Brewery
The ABGB
The Bell Marker Brewery & Kitchen
The Booth Brewing Co.
The Brewerie At Union Station
The Brewers Cabinet
the Brewhouse
The Brewing Lair
The Brewing Projekt
The Brewtorium
The Bruery/Offshoot Beer Co.
The Collective Brewing Project
The Den Smokehouse & Brewery
The Dudes’ Brewing Company, LLC
The Explorium Brewpub
The Filling Station Microbrewery
The Fox Brewpub
The Franklin Brewing Co
The Good Liquid Brewing Company
The Good Liquid Brewing company
the Grand Canyon Brewing Company
The Leaning Cask Brewing Company
The Levee Brewery and Pub
The Millworks Brewery
The Mitten Brewing Company
The Monk’s Cellar
The peak brewery
The Peddler
The Perch
The Rare Barrel
The Shop Beer Co.
The Southern Brewing Company
The Unknown Brewing Company
Thew Brewing Company
Thin Line Brewing Company
Thin Man Brewery
Third Place Brewing
Third Space Brewing
Third Wheel Brewing
Thirsty Bear Organic Brewery
Thorn Brewing Company
Three 3’s Brewing Company
Three Creeks Brewing Co.
Three Mile Brewing Company
Three Mugs Brewing Company
Three Rivers Brewing Co.
Three Tigers Brewing Company
Three Weavers
Threes Brewing
Throwback Brewery
Thunder Canyon Brewstillery
Thunder Island Brewing Company
Tilted Mash Brewing
Timeless Pints Brewing Company
Timnath Beerwerks
Tin Roof Brewing Company
Tin Whiskers Brewing
Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co.
Tired Hands
Titletown Brewing Co
Tomfoolery Brewing
Tommyknocker Brewery
Top Rung Brewing Company
Topa Topa Brewing Company
Toppling Goliath Brewing Company
Towne Park Brewery
Townsite Brewing Inc
Track 7 Brewing Co.
Transplants Brewing Company
Trap Door Brewing
Trapezium Brewing Company
Trek Brewing Company
Tributary Brewing Co.
Trillium Brewing Company
Triple C Brewing
Triple Rock Brewing Company
Triptych Brewing
Triton Brewing Company
Troegs Independent Brewing
Trophy Brewing Company
Troubadour Maltings
Trubble Brewing
True Respite Brewing Company
True Symmetry Brewing Co
TUPPS Brewery
Tustin Brewing Co.
Twelve String Brewing Co
Twenty-Six Acres Brewing Company
Twin Creeks Brewing Company
Twinpanzee Brewing Co
Twisted Bine Beer Co.
Twisted Cypress Brewing Company
Twisted Hippo
Twisted Oak Tavern and Brewery
Twisted Spike brewing Co.
Two Beers Brewing Co.
Two Henrys Brewing Company
Two Rivers Brewing Company
Two Roots Brewing Co.
Two Wheel Brewing Co.
Two-Shy Brewing
Two22 Brew
Uberbrew LLC
UBrew NanoBrewery & Homebrew Supply
Uinta Brewing co
Uncle Billy’s Brewery
Unicorn Brewing
union barrel works
Uniontown Brewing Co.
Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co.
Unmapped Brewing Co.
Unreal Brewing Co.
UpCountry Brewing
Upland Brewing Co
Urban Farm Fermentory
Urban Roots Brewing
Urban South Brewery
Urban Village Brewing Company
Vallensons’ Brewing Company
Variant Brewing Company
Veza Sur Brewing Co.
vice brewing company
Vine n Hop
Virtue Cider
Volunteer Brewing Company
von Trapp Brewing
Vortex Alley Brewing
Wabash Brewing
Wachusett Brewing Company, Inc
Wacker Brewing Co.
Waikiki Brewing Company
Walkabout Brewing Company
Wallenpaupack Brewing Company
Wander Brewing
Wasser Brewing Company
Wasserhund Brewing Company
Water Street Brewery
Waterfront Brewery
WATERMAN BREWING COMPANY
Weathered Ground Brewery
Weathered Souls Brewing Co
Well 80 Artesian Brewing Co
Wellspent Brewing Company, LLC
West Sixth Brewing
Westbound & Down
Western Red Brewing
Westfax Brewing Company
Wet Coast Brewing Co.
Whetstone Craft Beers
Whipsaw Brewing
White Labs
Whitestone Brewery
Wichita Brewing Company
Wicked Boxer Brewing
Wicked Weed Brewing
WICKS BREWING CO.
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.
Wiedemann Brewing Co.
Wiens Brewing
Wild Acre Brewing Company
Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co.
Wild Mind Artisan Ales
Wild Ride Brewing
Willimantic Brewing Company
Willow Rock Brewing Compa
WISEACRE Brewing Company
Wiseacre Brewing Company
Wissahickon Brewing Company
Wolf Creek Brewery
Wolf Tree Brewery
Wolf’s Ridge Brewing
Woodbury Brewing Company
Wooden Robot Brewery
Woodsboss Brewing Company
Woodstock Inn Brewery
Woody’s Brewing Co.
Wooly Pig Farm Brewery
Working Man Brewing Company
Wormtown Brewery
Worth Brewing Company
Worthy Brewing
Wren House Brewing Co
Wynwood Brewing Co
Xicha Brewing Co.
Yakima Craft Brewing Co
Yazoo Brewing
YeeHaw Brewing
Yolo Brewing Company
Zed’s Beer
Zero Gravity Craft Brewery
Zeroday Brewing Company
Zone 9 Brewing Company
Zwei Brewing CO
Malt Suppliers
Thank you to our malt suppliers who have generously donated malt to breweries across the country to brew Resilience!
Hop Suppliers
Thank you to our hop suppliers who have generously donated hops to breweries across the country to brew Resilience!
Wholesalers
Thank you to our wholesalers who have graciously offered to carry Resilience and donate 100% of the sales to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief fund!
Hensley Beverage Company - Phoenix, AZ
Silver Eagle Distributors - Houston, TX
Empire Distrubutors of NC, Inc. - Wilmington, NC
Empire Distrubutors of NC, Inc. - Durham, NC
Premium Distributors of Virginia - Chantilly, VA
Premium Distributors of Washington DC - Washington, DC
Markstein Sales Company - Antioch, CA
Redding Distributing - Redding, CA
Columbia Distributing - Santa Rosa, CA
Del Reka Distributing - Eureka, CA
DBI Beverage Company - Ukiah, CA
Pepsi Mt. Shasta Bottling & Distributor - Mt. Shasta, CA
Superior Products - Willows, CA
Harbor Gardena - Gardena, CA
Harbor Huntington Beach - Huntington Beach, CA
Gate City Beverage - San Bernardino, CA
Beauchamp Distributing - Compton, CA
Columbia Distributing - Santa Rosa, CA
Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale - Pittsburgh, PA
Cherokee Distributing - Knoxville, TN
Tennessee Crown - Chattanooga, TN
Mountain Beverage Company - Gypsum, CO
High Country Beverage Western Slope - Grand Junction, CO
B & K Distributing - Steamboat Springs, CO
Briggs Distributing - Billings, MT
Fun Beverage - Kalispell, MT
Southern Glaze’s Wine & Spirits of Nevada - Las Vegas , NV
Romer Beverage - Kingman, AZ
United Distributors Inc. - Smyrna, GA
JJ Taylor Distributing - Florida - Tampa, FL
Blue Ridge Beverage, Abingdon Division - Abingdon , VA
Boening Brothers - Lindenhurst, NY
Blue Ridge Beverage, Lynchburg Division - Lynchburg, VA
Hayden Beverage - Boise, ID
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Thank you to our retailers who have graciously offered to carry Resilience and donate 100% of the sales to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief fund!
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These awesome folks are also contributing. Thank you!
*Thank you to Resilience Brewing, a side project of Schilling Beer Co., for not only allowing us to call this beer Resilience, but for volunteering to brew it, too! ||||| CLOSE Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is releasing a special edition Resilience Butte County IPA that will send 100% of the proceeds to Camp Fire relief efforts. USA TODAY
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, California, in making Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, the proceeds of which will support Camp Fire relief efforts. (Photo: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.)
The deadliest fire in California history has set into motion the largest charitable collaboration ever among the nation's breweries, as more than 1,200 have signed on to brew a beer to raise funds for those affected by the Camp Fire in Northern California.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., which is located in Chico, California, part of Butte County but west of the areas hardest hit by the fire, fed first responders and displaced residents during the fire and handed out clothing, too.
But Ken Grossman, who founded the brewery in 1980, wanted to do more. He decided to brew a special beer, Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, and donate all the proceeds to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund, which it seeded with a $100,000 donation.
Then, Grossman asked other breweries across the U.S. to join in. "We are working with malt, hop and yeast suppliers to provide raw ingredient donations to all participating breweries and are asking those breweries to donate 100 percent of their sales to the fund, as well," he said in the letter, a copy of which is posted online.
"We know that the rebuilding process will take time, but we’re in this for the long haul," Grossman said. "Our hope is to get Resilience IPA in taprooms all over the country to create a solid start for our community’s future."
More: Paradise fire survivor: 'This was my home before, and I want it to be again'
More: Colossal California wildfire finally contained; grim search for bodies continues
Collaboration is common among independent brewers, and so is the brewing of charity beers. But the response to Sierra Nevada's Camp Fire initiative has been historic. "I’m quite sure that it’s both the largest-ever collaboration and the biggest industry charity ever," said Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery.
So far, more than 1,000 breweries have pledged to make their own batches of Resilience Butte County Proud IPA. "This is a great idea spearheaded by a great indie craft brewing pioneer supporting a great cause," said Sam Calagione, co-founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware, which brewed its batch of Resilience IPA and plans to serve it in late December.
"Our thoughts are with all of the brave folks who have helped navigate this challenging moment in Northern California and all of the families who have lost love ones," Calagione said. "The craft brewing community has always been altruistic and mutually supportive, and giving back to our communities is one of the things we collectively do best."
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware, is one of about 1,000 breweries joining Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in making Resilience Butte County IPA, the proceeds of which will support Camp Fire relief efforts. (Photo: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery)
Another of the participating breweries, Fort Collins, Colorado-headquartered New Belgium Brewing, recalls the hardship caused by the nearby 2012 High Park fire. The brewery's paperboard manufacturer, Graphic Packaging International, is located in Oroville, California, in Butte County.
“Many of their co-workers have tragically lost their homes, yet they’re still coming to work every day. That is the definition of resilience, and we’re happy to support recovery efforts in any way that we can," New Belgium Brewing CEO Steve Fechheimer said. New Belgium brewed its batch Tuesday and plans to make it available at its Fort Collins and Asheville tasting rooms in about two weeks.
"At New Belgium, we believe that business can be a force for good, and we think that ethos is shared throughout the craft beer community,” Fechheimer said.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, California, in making Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, the proceeds of which will support Camp Fire relief efforts. (Photo: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.)
Sierra Nevada brewed its batch of more than 74,000 gallons on Tuesday and plans to release it Jan. 5, 2019. Sierra will can some of that beer and also make it available on draft. Other participating breweries will only sell Resilience IPA on draft, with most releases planned in late December and early January. Overall, the project should yield about 8.6 million pints of beer, the brewery estimates.
Breweries joining include small, midsize and regional breweries nationwide as well as Anheuser-Busch-owned Goose Island Beer Co. and Miller Coors-owned Blue Moon Brewing Co. For a list of the breweries participating, go to Sierra Nevada's website. There's also a Google Doc on the brewery site, now listing more than 1,200 breweries on board.
There are now more than 1,000 breweries listed on the @SierraNevada
Resilience Butte County Proud IPA page. Pretty awesome reminder of how the brewing community can come together.https://t.co/Z2hB12BSlq — Bart Watson (@BrewersStats) November 27, 2018
"Even as the beer industry has grown so much since the early days and become increasingly competitive, it is so wonderful to see hundreds of breweries nationwide rallying behind one of the movement's absolute most important pioneers," said Greg Engert, beer director for Neighborhood Restaurant Group in Alexandria, Virginia, which brewed a batch of the IPA at its Bluejacket brewery in Washington, D.C.
Sierra Nevada's Grossman had hopes of sharing the beer's recipe with perhaps 500 breweries that would also make the beer and donate the proceeds. "That was kind of his pie-in-the-sky goal; if we really work hard maybe we can hit 500 breweries, and we have doubled that number," brewery spokesperson Robin Gregory said. "I know he wanted to raise at least seven figures, and it looks like, if our math is correct, it’s going to be a bit higher than that."
Stone is proud to be participating in @SierraNevada’s #ResilienceIPA charity efforts. Sierra Nevada has come up with this new beer recipe and shared it with hundreds of other craft breweries to support those who now need our help after the fire. pic.twitter.com/31mZ1fjOw0 — Stone Brewing (@StoneBrewing) November 27, 2018
The Camp Fire took the lives of at least 85, with another 249 listed as missing, and destroyed nearly 19,000 buildings. About 15 percent of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. employees lost their homes in the fire, as did "countless friends and family members as well," she said.
Even before the fire was officially extinguished, the brewery had set up the relief fund. "Once the fire is out, we will distribute all donated money to partner organizations that are dedicated to rebuilding and supporting the communities that have been affected," Grossman said in a note on the brewery's website, also signed by daughter Sierra and son Brian.
The beer is a "really classic" West Coast-style India pale ale made with Centennial and Cascade hops, Gregory said. "If it's going to be raising money to rebuild our community, we felt like it should be a taste of home. We wanted to go with that classic danky west coast IPA ... (that is) fresh, piney, citrusy, hop-heavy, and nice and bright."
Thank you @ButteSheriff@KoryHonea for helping us brew Resilience Butte County Proud IPA today. And thank you to the 1,000+ breweries brewing #ResilienceIPA around the world. Grateful doesn’t begin to describe it. #ButteStrong#ButteCountyProudpic.twitter.com/qFwSpIuOI6 — Sierra Nevada Beer (@SierraNevada) November 28, 2018
Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.
Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/11/28/camp-fire-relief-beer-brewed-sierra-nevada-and-1-000-others/2124195002/ ||||| November 21, 2018
The Camp Fire–the most devastating wildfire in California’s history–has hit close to home for Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. While the Chico brewery was spared, many of Sierra Nevada’s employees, patrons and neighbors lost everything as the Camp Fire ravaged northern Californian.
To help raise much needed support for the recovery efforts, Sierra Nevada has created a beer called Resilience IPA. Sierra Nevada, along with many of its professional brewing peers, will be brewing and selling Resilience IPA with all proceeds donated to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund through Golden Valley Community Bank Foundation.
It is our hope that homebrewers will make a batch of Resilience IPA in solidarity with Sierra Nevada and pro breweries across the country. While we can’t sell our creations and donate the proceeds, please consider donating to the Golden Valley Community Bank Foundation if you are able.
Are you a professional brewery or homebrew shop that would like to join the cause? Contact Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
This recipe was provided by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and scaled down from the original by Chip Walton of Chop and Brew. ||||| Brewery Name
10 Barrel Brewing Co
1781 Brewing Co.
2Toms Brewing Co.
3 Floyds Brewing Co
3 Sheeps Brewing Co
4 Hands Brewing Co
5 Alarm Brewing Co
8th Wonder Brewery
902 Brewing Co
Alamo Beer Co
44
Aldus Brewing Co. / B's of the Back Rose
555 Centennial Avenue
Hanover
PA
17331
163646
https://untappd.com/brewery/163646
https://untappd.akamaized.net/site/brewery_logos/brewery-163646_a0468.jpeg ||||| Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico is brewing up another way to raise money for victims of the Camp Fire.
On Tuesday, Sierra Nevada will begin brewing a special IPA to raise money for fire relief efforts. The beer is called Resilience Butte County Proud IPA
The fire hit close to home for the company, with 15 percent of their employees losing homes in the fire.
Sierra Nevada Founder Ken Grossman reached out to other small breweries across the country and shared the recipe.
As of Tuesday morning, 998 breweries nationwide will be making and releasing the Resilience IPA and donating the proceeds. Sierra Nevada spokesperson Robin Gregory said they now hope to raise more than a million dollars through the fundraiser.
"We were absolutely blown away," Gregory said. "We knew that we would probably get a good response, and were hoping, it would be great if we could get to 500 breweries committing. That was a big kind of pie in the sky goal, now it looks like we're going to have double that number."
The company's hops and malt suppliers are donating the ingredients to make the beer, and Resilience Brewing Company gave Sierra Nevada permission to use the Resilience name temporarily.
Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman has already donated $100,000 dollars to fire victims by establishing the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund supported through the Golden Valley Bank Community Foundation.
The IPA will be released around the first of the year. | – Breweries across the US are joining forces to raise money for those affected by the deadliest, most destructive wildfire in California history. More than 1,000 beermakers will brew batches of Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, with 100% of the proceeds going to Camp Fire relief efforts, USA Today reports. The fundraiser is being spearheaded by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., which is headquartered in Chico, Calif., an area that was threatened by the Camp Fire, which burned more than 153,000 acres, destroyed some 19,000 buildings, and killed at least 85 people in Butte County earlier this month. Sierra Nevada brewed its batch of Resilience IPA on Tuesday, founder Ken Grossman said in a statement, and the brewer will make it available in late December. “We know that the rebuilding process will take time, but we’re in this for the long haul,” Grossman says. “Our hope is to get Resilience IPA in taprooms all over the country to create a solid start for our community’s future.” (Check out participating breweries here.) While the Camp Fire, which was fully contained as of Sunday, left the Sierra Nevada brewery unscathed, it did destroy the homes of 15% of the company’s employees, KRCR reports. Initially, the brewer was hoping to get 500 other breweries on board to make Resilience IPA, spokesman Robin Gregory says, adding that they have been “absolutely blown away” by the response. Overall, the company expects the effort to produce about 8.6 million pints. Resilience is described as a “classic” West Coast-style IPA (here’s the recipe for homebrewers). (This man handed out $1,000 checks to Camp Fire victims.) |
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The 34-year-old, who co-hosts the home buying and renovation show with his wife, Christina, revealed to The Insider that his thyroid cancer was discovered by a fan who wrote in after noticing a lump on Tarek's neck.
"We actually ended up spending the day with her," Tarek said, revealing he met the nurse, Ryan Read, on an episode of The Doctors. "It was just such an amazing experience to meet this person, because she stepped up and did what others probably wouldn't have done."
"I probably would've never known that I had cancer," he continued. "And by the time that I would've found out, it probably would've been in a much further stage."
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Tarek -- who was diagnosed in 2013 -- admitted that at the age of 31, the cancer diagnosis was particularly tough to take.
"It really hit me hard," he admitted. "It hit my family hard, and it was just a really scary thing."
Thankfully for the couple and their two children, Tarek's cancer is currently in remission and they remain cautiously optimistic for what may come.
"I feel fantastic. I'm in shape, I'm taking all my medicines, and I'm currently in remission," he said. "Every day that goes by, the odds of the cancer [recurring] decreases, so we're really excited for that."
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Meanwhile, country singer Joey Feek is in hospice care after ending her cancer treatments in late October. Watch her remain brave in her last days in the video below. ||||| Flip or Flop's Tarek El Moussa After Thyroid Cancer Battle: 'I Have Slowed Down Quite a Bit'
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Tarek El Moussa's thyroid cancer is in remission , but the Flip or Flop star is still dealing with lingering effects from his grueling battle "I feel good, but I don't have the energy I used to have," El Moussa, 34, tells PEOPLE. "The only thing is most days or like half the time I feel a little jetlagged. I'm really tired."The real estate guru, who stars alongside his wife Christina on their hit HGTV show, was blindsided by the shocking diagnosis after a fan emailed producers saying she noticed a lump on his neck prompting him to have a biopsy.After surgery revealed it was in fact cancer and it had spread to his lymph nodes, El Moussa then underwent thyroid radioactive iodine therapy."The last three years have been a pretty big challenge," says El Moussa.The couple, who are already parents to daughter Taylor, tried for more than two years to get pregnant with their son, going through two failed attempts at IVF – including one resulting in a miscarriage at eight weeks, just before Tarek’s diagnosis.Now in remission, the new dad, who welcomed son Brayden James with Christina, 32, in August, is positive about his family's future."There is always that chance of reoccurrence but every year that goes by the odds of reoccurrence goes down so it's good," he says. "I have slowed down quite a bit. Which is actually a good thing because I can actually relax now."Flip or Flop airs Thursdays (9 p.m. ET) on HGTV.For more on the El Moussa family, pick up next week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Nov. 23 | – Tarek El Moussa, the co-host of HGTV's real estate and renovation show Flip or Flop, is in remission after a battle with thyroid cancer and has an observant viewer to thank. Back in 2013, El Moussa visited a doctor about a lump that had appeared on his neck, but he was told it was benign. Then Ryan Read, a fan and trained nurse, spotted the growth while watching an episode. "This is not a joke. I'm a registered nurse. I've been watching Flip or Flop. I noticed that the host Tarek has a large nodule on his thyroid, and he needs to have it checked out," she told the show's production company in an email, per the Independent. That email prompted El Moussa, then 31, to get a biopsy, which found he had thyroid cancer and that it had spread to his lymph nodes. El Moussa, who hosts Flip or Flop with his wife, Christina, says the pair got to meet Read when his case appeared on an episode of The Doctors. "We actually ended up spending the day with her," he says, per Entertainment Tonight. "It was just such an amazing experience to meet this person, because she stepped up and did what others probably wouldn't have done." He adds that without Read, he may never have known he had cancer, or "by the time that I would've found out, it probably would've been in a much further stage." El Moussa had the tumor removed and underwent thyroid radioactive iodine therapy. Now "I feel fantastic," he tells People. "Every day that goes by, the odds of the cancer [recurring] decreases, so we're really excited for that." (This dog can also spot thyroid cancer.) |
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A former associate of Paul Manafort pleaded guilty to a lobbying crime and agreed to cooperate with the U.S., giving prosecutors access to insights from a longtime international political operative whose Russian business partner has already been indicted in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.
The lobbyist, Sam Patten, 47, admitted that he failed to register in the U.S. as a foreign agent for his work lobbying on behalf of a Ukrainian political party. The nature of his cooperation isn’t clear. Patten worked with Manafort and on Ukrainian campaigns, and reportedly worked on microtargeting operations with Cambridge Analytica.
Mueller’s office referred the prosecution to U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu in the District of Columbia, according William Miller, a spokesman for Liu, who declined to comment about the nature of the cooperation or other matters relating to an ongoing investigation.
Patten appeared in federal court in Washington on Friday.
Patten’s plea agreement also included the suggestion that the Trump Inaugural Committee improperly accepted funds from a foreigner. Patten admitted that he illegally helped a Ukrainian oligarch buy a ticket to Trump’s swearing-in through a straw-man donor, though as part of his cooperation agreement he wasn’t charged.
A onetime State Department official under President George W. Bush, Patten headed the Moscow office of the International Republican Institute in the early 2000s. A Russian employee of IRI at the time, Konstantin Kilimnik, went on to work as a fixer for Manafort in Ukraine and is a business partner with Patten.
Kilimnik has been indicted in absentia alongside Manafort on obstruction of justice charges. Manafort, who was one of President Donald Trump’s campaign chairmen, was found guilty this month in Alexandria, Virginia, of tax and bank fraud charges and is being held in jail. He’s due to stand trial in Washington next month on the obstruction charges as well as charges of money laundering and failure to register for his own lobbying work in Ukraine.
Manafort’s Second Trial Looms, and There May Still Be Third
Patten entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, the same judge who’s overseeing Manafort’s money-laundering and obstruction of justice trial in Washington, scheduled to start next month.
Watching from the gallery was Andrew Weissmann, an expert on money laundering and complex fraud cases who will be the lead prosecutor in Manafort’s trial in Washington. Also in attendance was Scott Claffee, a trial lawyer in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
From 2014, Patten provided a “prominent” Ukrainian oligarch who isn’t named in court papers and his Opposition Bloc political party with lobbying and consulting services, according to the criminal information. A company Patten co-owned with a Russian national received more than $1 million for the work, the U.S. said.
Details about the Ukrainian oligarch match those of Sergei Lyovochkin, an Opposition Bloc leader whom prosecutors have previously identified as funding Manafort’s work in Ukraine. He couldn’t immediately been reached for comment.
As part of his lobbying work, Patten violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act by not disclosing the work to the U.S., prosecutors said. No date has been set for his sentencing.
Cambridge Analytica
Patten worked for multiple political parties and office-holders in Ukraine, according to his website. His work for Cambridge Analytica came during the 2014 election cycle, the Daily Beast reported in April. It was later adopted by “at least one major U.S. presidential candidate,” the Daily Beast said. Patten told the publication that his work for Cambridge Analytica was separate from the work of his consulting firm.
Cambridge Analytica Files U.S. Bankruptcy After Data Scandal
Patten formed a consulting firm in 2015 with Kilimnik, whom Mueller indicted in June. Kilimnik has been identified in filings as having worked for the Russian military’s intelligence service known as the GRU. One filing cited an FBI assessment that his relations to the GRU continued through the 2016 election, which Kilimnik has denied.
The firm that the two set up, Begemot Ventures International Ltd., listed Patten and Kilimnik as the sole officers, according to its Washington, D.C., incorporation records. The company’s website describes it as “a strategic and political advisory firm that helps its clients win elections, strengthen political parities, build the right arguments before domestic and international audiences and achieve better results.”
Begemot, which is Russian for behemoth, matches details of the unidentified firm that prosecutors say received cash for Patten’s Ukraine work.
Patten registered with Congress in 2016 to lobby for a group called the Committee to Destroy Isis, which was financed in part by a Jordanian construction company, according to disclosures filed with the Senate Office of Public Records. He disclosed payments of $50,000 and stopped lobbying for the group in July.
It’s unclear why Mueller referred the case. Previously, he referred information about Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen to the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. In July, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the Justice Department’s national security division would take over responsibility of a case filed against a dozen Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking into the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
“It may have to do with the size of the case, the nature of the case, the resources needed for the case,” said Mike Koenig, a former Justice Department prosecutor.
The Senate Intelligence Committee made a separate criminal referral to the Justice Department based on statements and documents provided by Patten, the committee’s chairman, Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, said in a written statement.
— With assistance by Greg Farrell, Stephanie Baker, Erik Larson, Nick Wadhams, and Bill Allison ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — A business associate of a key figure in the investigation into former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded guilty Friday to failing to register as a foreign agent.
W. Samuel Patten entered his plea in federal court in Washington, shortly after prosecutors released a four-page charging document that accused him of performing lobbying and consulting work in the United States and Ukraine but failing to register as a foreign agent as required by the Justice Department.
Patten was a business associate of Konstantin Kilimnik, a man U.S. authorities have said has ties to Russian intelligence.
Kilimnik worked closely with Manafort, who was found guilty this month of eight financial counts. Kilimnik also is a co-defendant in a pending case against Manafort in Washington, brought by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, that accuses them both of witness tampering.
The Patten case was referred by Mueller's team to the United States attorney's office in Washington, which is handling it. Andrew Weissmann, one of the lead Mueller team attorneys in the Manafort prosecution, was seen at court Friday ahead of Patten's appearance
Court papers don't refer to Kilimnik by name, but say Patten worked with a Russian national on lobbying and political consulting services.
Prosecutors say Patten, who formed a consulting company with a person identified only as "Foreigner A," worked to set up meetings with members of Congress and also drafted talking points for Capitol Hill meetings.
The goal, prosecutors say, was to influence U.S. policy, but they say Patten never filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law is aimed at promoting transparency about lobbying efforts in the United States. | – A business associate of a key figure in the investigation into former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded guilty Friday to failing to register as a foreign agent, per the AP. W. Samuel Patten entered his plea in federal court in DC, after prosecutors released a charging document that accused him of performing lobbying and consulting work in the US and Ukraine but failing to register as a foreign agent. Patten has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, reports Bloomberg. Patten was a business associate of Konstantin Kilimnik, a man US authorities have said has ties to Russian intelligence. Kilimnik worked closely with Manafort, who was found guilty this month of eight financial counts. Kilimnik also is a co-defendant in a pending case against Manafort, brought by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, that accuses them both of witness tampering. The Patten case was referred by Mueller's team to the United States attorney's office in Washington, which is handling it. Andrew Weissmann, one of the lead Mueller team attorneys in the Manafort prosecution, was seen at court Friday. Court papers don't refer to Kilimnik by name, but say Patten worked with a Russian national on lobbying and political consulting services. Prosecutors say Patten, who formed a consulting company with a person identified only as "Foreigner A," worked to set up meetings with members of Congress and also drafted talking points for Capitol Hill meetings. The goal, prosecutors say, was to influence US policy, but they say Patten never filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law is aimed at promoting transparency about lobbying efforts in the United States. |
Image copyright AFP Image caption South Koreans have taken to the streets in mass demonstrations against Ms Park
The scandal in South Korea involving President Park Geun-hye has taken an unexpected twist with news that Viagra has been found in her offices.
Authorities found the pills - usually used to treat erectile dysfunction - while investigating corruption allegations against Ms Park.
The government says the Viagra was bought to combat altitude sickness.
The South Korean leader is accused of allowing her friend, Choi Soon-sil, to influence her decisions.
The presidential office confirmed it bought 364 Viagra and similar generic pills to deal with altitude sickness on official trips to East Africa, although the pills were never used.
The BBC's Stephen Evans in Seoul, says the discovery of Viagra will add an air of remoteness to the president. Many Koreans believe Ms Park is living in a "different world" which will exacerbate political pressure on her to resign.
Some early rumours among Koreans alleged Ms Park could have been involved with cultish rituals with her friend Ms Choi.
Ms Choi, a long-time friend of Ms Park's, is the daughter of Choi Tae-min, a shadowy quasi-religious leader who was closely linked to Ms Park's father, then-president Park Chung-hee.
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Viagra and altitude sickness?
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Viagra is Pfizer's brand name for sildenafil
The discovery of Viagra grew out of the drug UK92480, a new treatment for angina, a heart condition that constricts the vessels that supply the heart with blood.
It failed in treating angina, but during drug trials many volunteers reported an unusual side effect - lots of erections. Scientists ran more tests and discovered its effectiveness at treating erectile dysfunction.
Because of biological similarities between the lungs and penis, scientists also discovered it could help protect against pulmonary hypertension, common in climbers.
At high altitudes decreased levels of oxygen can trigger high blood pressure in the lungs, which in extreme circumstance can be fatal.
Viagra reduces high blood pressure and improves the transport of oxygen in the blood.
Meanwhile, South Korean authorities have raided the offices of Samsung and the national pension fund as part of a corruption investigation linked to the president.
They are probing whether Ms Park pressured the fund to support a Samsung merger, said the Yonhap news agency.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Investigators seized evidence at the National Pension Service
Samsung's offices had already been raided over related allegations.
Wednesday's raid had to do with a merger last year between the electronics giant's construction arm, Samsung C&T, and an affiliate firm, Cheil Industries.
For weeks, tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in Seoul to demand Ms Park's resignation - a call she has resisted. ||||| Park Geun-hye’s aides say branded and generic versions were purchased to treat altitude sickness for staff on trips to elevated capitals in Africa
South Korea President Park Geun-hye’s office has confirmed revelations by an opposition lawmaker that it purchased about 360 erectile dysfunction Viagra pills and the generic version of the drug in December.
While the report has created a frenzy on the internet, Park’s office said the pills were bought to potentially treat altitude sickness for presidential aides and employees on Park’s May trips to Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, whose capitals are thousands of metres above sea level.
Turmoil in east Asia: sensitive moment for region unsettled by Trump Read more
The pills were not used, said Jung Youn-kuk, spokesman of the presidential Blue House. South Korean doctors sometimes prescribe Viagra-style drugs to climbers because they are believed to be effective in preventing altitude sickness.
The Viagra revelation comes as Park grapples with a massive political scandal.
The president is now bracing for an impeachment push by opposition parties and some members of her own Saenuri party amid allegations that she let a secretive confidante manipulate government affairs and amass an illicit fortune, a scandal critics say undermines the country’s democracy.
On Wednesday South Korean prosecutors raided offices of the Samsung Group and the state pension fund as the electronics giant was dragged further into the scandal engulfing Park.
The raid comes as Samsung faces allegations it bribed Park’s confidant Choi Soon-Sil to win state approval for a controversial merger it sought in 2015.
Prosecutors visited the group’s Future Strategy Office, which oversees key business decisions, the Yonhap news agency reported.
A Samsung spokesman confirmed the visit by prosecutors but declined to elaborate.
On Sunday prosecutors said they believed Park was collusively involved in the criminal activities of Choi and two presidential aides who allegedly bullied companies into giving tens of millions of dollars to foundations and businesses Choi controlled, and that Choi was allowed to interfere with state affairs.
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report | – If your political scandal lasts longer than four hours, maybe get rid of all that Viagra you've got stashed in the presidential office. The BBC reports authorities investigating South Korean president Park Geun-hye for corruption discovered more than 300 Viagra pills in her office. A spokesperson for Park tells Reuters the 364 pills—a combination of Viagra and a generic knockoff—were purchased last December to treat aides and employees for altitude sickness during Park's trip to Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya in May but never used. The Guardian notes that all three countries have capitals thousands of feet above sea level. Viagra can reportedly be effective against altitude sickness because it reduces blood pressure and improves oxygen transportation in the blood. But that didn't stop the discovery from causing a stir in South Korea, where Park is facing potential impeachment efforts. Park is accused of letting a friend have influence over government decisions and pressuring businesses to give money to foundations that support her policies. There are also rumors that Park was involved in "cultish rituals." Thousands have been protesting and calling for her to step down in recent weeks. A BBC reporter says the discovery of the Viagra will "add an air of remoteness" to Park, who many already see as living in a "different world." |
PERTH, Australia -- Search crews hunting for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet have failed to relocate faint sounds heard deep below the southern Indian Ocean that officials said were consistent with a plane's black boxes, the head of the search operation said Tuesday.
Angus Houston, the retired Australian air chief marshal who is heading the search far off Australia's west coast, said sound locating equipment on board the Ocean Shield has picked up no trace of the signals since they were first heard late Saturday and early Sunday.
Time may have already run out to find the devices, whose locator beacons have a battery life of about a month. Tuesday marks one month since the plane vanished. Once the beacons blink off, locating the black boxes in such deep water would be an immensely difficult, if not impossible, task.
Up to 14 planes and 14 ships are scouring the 30,000-square-mile search zone.
The wait has been devastating for weary families, CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reports. Many insist the search continues at all costs, despite the frustrations.
It is unclear whether a sub on board the Ocean Shield will be deployed to try to chart out any debris on the sea floor when searchers are certain the black boxes' locator beacons have gone silent. If the sub maps out a debris field, the crew will replace the sonar system with a camera unit to photograph any wreckage.
Houston's comments about deploying the sub contradicted an earlier statement from Australia's acting prime minister, Warren Truss, who said search crews would launch the Bluefin 21 autonomous sub on Tuesday.
The towed pinger locator detected late Saturday and early Sunday two distinct, long-lasting sounds underwater that are consistent with the pings from an aircraft's "black boxes" - the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, Houston said, dubbing the find a promising lead in the month-long hunt for clues to the plane's fate.
Still, officials warned it could take days to determine whether the sounds were connected to Flight 370, which vanished March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing with 239 on board.
"This is an herculean task - it's over a very, very wide area, the water is extremely deep," Defense Minister David Johnston said. "We have at least several days of intense action ahead of us."
Houtson said finding the sound again was critical to narrowing down the search area before the sub can be used. If the vehicle went down now with the sparse data collected so far, it would take "many, many days" for it to cover all the places the pings might have come from.
"It's literally crawling at the bottom of the ocean, so it's going to take a long, long time," Houston said.
Despite the excitement surrounding the Ocean Shield's sound detections, Houston warned that the search had previously been marred by false leads - such as ships detecting their own signals. Because of that, other ships cannot be sent in to help with the underwater search, as they may add unwanted noise.
"We're very hopeful we will find further evidence that will confirm the aircraft is in that location," Houston said. "There's still a little bit of doubt there, but I'm a lot more optimistic than I was one week ago."
Finding the black boxes is key to unraveling what happened to the Boeing 777, because they contain flight data and cockpit voice recordings that could explain why the plane veered so far off-course.
"Everyone's anxious about the life of the batteries on the black box flight recorders," said Truss, who is acting prime minister while Tony Abbott is overseas. "Sometimes they go on for many, many weeks longer than they're mandated to operate for - we hope that'll be the case in this instance. But clearly there is an aura of urgency about the investigation."
The first sound picked up by the equipment on board the Ocean Shield lasted two hours and 20 minutes before it was lost, Houston said. The ship then turned around and picked up a signal again - this time recording two distinct "pinger returns" that lasted 13 minutes. That would be consistent with transmissions from both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.
The black boxes normally emit a frequency of 37.5 kilohertz, and the signals picked up by the Ocean Shield were both 33.3 kilohertz, U.S. Navy Capt. Mark Matthews said. But the manufacturer indicated the frequency of black boxes can drift in older equipment.
Houston said the frequency of the sounds heard was considered "quite credible" by the manufacturer, and noted that the frequency from the Air France jet that crashed several years ago was 34 kilohertz. Pressure from being so deep below the surface and the age of the batteries can also affect the transmission level, he said.
The frequency used by aircraft flight recorders was chosen because no other devices use it, and because nothing in the natural world mimics it, said William Waldock, a search-and-rescue expert who teaches accident investigation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz.
But these signals are being detected by computer sweeps, and "not so much a guy with headphones on listening to pings," said U.S. Navy spokesman Chris Johnson. So until the signals are fully analyzed, it's too early to say what they are, he said.
"We'll hear lots of signals at different frequencies," he said. "Marine mammals. Our own ship systems. Scientific equipment, fishing equipment, things like that. And then of course there are lots of ships operating in the area that are all radiating certain signals into the ocean."
The Ocean Shield is dragging a ping locator at a depth of 1.9 miles. It is designed to detect signals at a range of 1.12 miles, meaning it would need to be almost on top of the recorders to detect them if they were on the ocean floor, which is about 2.8 miles deep.
Meanwhile, the search for any trace of the plane on the ocean's surface continued Tuesday. It is taking place 1,400 miles northwest of the Australian west coast city of Perth, with good weather predicted, said the Joint Agency Coordination Center, which is overseeing the operation.
One-hundred-thirty-three missions have been completed so far in the hunt from the air for debris that could be from Flight 370, but no debris from the plane has been found. ||||| 1 of 7. A fast response craft from Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield tows Able Seaman Clearance Diver Michael Arnold as he searches the ocean for debris in the search zone in the southern Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in this picture released by the Australian Defence Force April 8, 2014.
SYDNEY/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - An Australian ship which picked up possible "pings" from the black box recorders of a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner has been unable to detect any further signals and time is running out to narrow the massive search, officials said on Tuesday.
Angus Houston, head of the Australian agency coordinating the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, said the month-long hunt in the Indian Ocean was at a critical stage given the batteries in the black box beacons had already reached the end of their 30-day expected life.
A U.S. Navy "towed pinger locator" onboard Australia's Ocean Shield picked up two signals consistent with black box locator beacons over the weekend - the first for more than two hours and the second for about 13 minutes.
Houston said the signals represented the best lead in the search yet, but efforts to pick up the pings again had so far been unsuccessful.
"If we don't get any further transmissions, we have a reasonably large search area of the bottom of the ocean to prosecute and that will take a long, long time. It's very slow, painstaking work," said Houston.
The black boxes record cockpit data and may provide answers about what happened to the plane, which was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished on March 8 and flew thousands of kilometers off its Kuala Lumpur-to-Beijing route.
Authorities say evidence, including the loss of communications, suggests the plane was deliberately diverted by someone familiar with the aircraft, but have not ruled out mechanical problems.
Analysis of satellite data led investigators to conclude the Boeing 777 came down in an area some 1,680 km (1,040 miles) northwest of Perth, near where possible pings were picked up and the search is now focused.
BLUEFIN ON HOLD
An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) named Bluefin-21 is onboard the Ocean Shield and could be sent to look for wreckage on the sea floor, but narrowing the search zone first was critical, Houston said.
"It is a large area for a small submersible that has a very narrow field of search, and of course, it is literally crawling along the bottom of the ocean," he said.
"That's why it's so important to get another transmission and we need to continue until there's absolutely no chance the (black box) device is still transmitting."
The Bluefin will scour the ocean floor in 20-hour missions using sonar in an attempt to find the aircraft, before its findings are downloaded and analyzed on board the Ocean Shield.
If anything unusual is spotted, the sonar on board the robotic vehicle will be replaced with a camera to take a closer look. The potential search area is about 4.5 km (2.8 miles) deep, the outer reach of the Bluefin's range.
Some 133 missions have been completed so far in the multinational aerial hunt for debris in the southern Indian Ocean and would continue, officials said.
Up to 11 military planes, three civilian planes and 14 ships planned to take part in the search on Tuesday, with good weather in the search area. But so far, searchers have only turned up fishing gear and other detritus.
"Even after the black box is found, the surface search will continue because they're looking for evidence to investigate why the aircraft went down," Lieutenant Commander Adam Schantz, the officer in charge of U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon search unit, told Reuters.
"So, we'll continue for a while trying to find anything on the surface that might give a reasoning behind the accident."
(Additional reporting by Jane Wardell in Sydney and Anuradha Raghu in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Dean Yates and Michael Perry) | – When an Australian ship heard pings possibly from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, officials saw a big lead open up in the search—but since then, investigators haven't been able to recapture the signal, Reuters reports. That's particularly worrying since the batteries on the jet's black boxes have likely just about run out. But "we need to continue (searching) for several days right up to the point at which there's absolutely no doubt that the batteries will have expired," says Angus Houston, the Australian official leading the search, per CBS News. "If we don't get any further transmissions, we have a reasonably large search area of the bottom of the ocean to prosecute and that will take a long, long time," Houston says. The ship is carrying an autonomous underwater vehicle that can search the depths for the plane, "literally crawling along the bottom of the ocean," Houston notes. Trouble is, findings so far point to "a large area for a small submersible that has a very narrow field of search." Once the vehicle, called Bluefin-21, does head downward, it will conduct 20-hour sonar missions to try to find the plane. |
Letter of Resignation from the Palo Alto Planning and Transportation Commission
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Dear City Council Members and Palo Alto Residents,
This letter serves as my official resignation from the Planning and Transportation Commission. My family has decided to move to Santa Cruz. After many years of trying to make it work in Palo Alto, my husband and I cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family here. We rent our current home with another couple for $6200 a month; if we wanted to buy the same home and share it with children and not roommates, it would cost $2.7M and our monthly payment would be $12,177 a month in mortgage, taxes, and insurance. That’s $146,127 per year — an entire professional’s income before taxes. This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer.
It’s clear that if professionals like me cannot raise a family here, then all of our teachers, first responders, and service workers are in dire straits. We already see openings at our police department that we can’t fill and numerous teacher contracts that we can’t renew because the cost of housing is astronomical not just in Palo Alto but many miles in each direction. I have repeatedly made recommendations to the Council to expand the housing supply in Palo Alto so that together with our neighboring cities who are already adding housing, we can start to make a dent in the jobs-housing imbalance that causes housing prices throughout the Bay Area to spiral out of control. Small steps like allowing 2 floors of housing instead of 1 in mixed use developments, enforcing minimum density requirements so that developers build apartments instead of penthouses, legalizing duplexes, easing restrictions on granny units, leveraging the residential parking permit program to experiment with housing for people who don’t want or need two cars, and allowing single-use areas like the Stanford shopping center to add housing on top of shops (or offices), would go a long way in adding desperately needed housing units while maintaining the character of our neighborhoods and preserving historic structures throughout.
Time and again, I’ve seen dozens of people come to both Commission meetings and Council meetings asking Council to make housing its top priority. The City Council received over 1000 signatures from Palo Alto residents asking for the same. In the annual Our Palo Alto survey, it is the top issue cited by residents. This Council has ignored the majority of residents and has charted a course for the next 15 years of this city’s development which substantially continues the same job-housing imbalance this community has been suffering from for some time now: more offices, a nominal amount of housing which the Council is already laying the groundwork to tax out of existence, lip service to preserving retail that simply has no reason to keep serving the average Joe when the city is only affordable to Joe Millionaires.
Over the last 5 years I’ve seen dozens of my friends leave Palo Alto and often leave the Bay Area entirely. I’ve seen friends from other states get job offers here and then turn them down when they started to look at the price of housing. I struggle to think what Palo Alto will become and what it will represent when young families have no hope of ever putting down roots here, and meanwhile the community is engulfed with middle-aged jet-setting executives and investors who are hardly the sort to be personally volunteering for neighborhood block parties, earthquake preparedness responsibilities, or neighborhood watch. If things keep going as they are, yes, Palo Alto’s streets will look just as they did decades ago, but its inhabitants, spirit, and sense of community will be unrecognizable. A once thriving city will turn into a hollowed out museum. We should take care to remember that Palo Alto is famous the world over for its residents’ accomplishments, but none of those people would be able to live in Palo Alto were they starting out today.
Sincerely,
Kate Downing
UPDATE: Thank you so much for the outpouring of interest and support. While we are leaving Palo Alto, the organization I co-founded that is working to invest in housing and transportation will continue on its work so that maybe in the future we can have a more inclusive community. If you’d like to learn more, go here.
If you’d like to look into the belly of the beast, read the comments on our local paper: Palo Alto Online. The loudest voices in the community feel that the desire to create more affordable housing is spoiled entitlement. Until renters, younger people, and people of more modest means organize, this problem will continue throughout the Bay Area. ||||| Property Type House Condo Townhouse Multi-family Land Other Include MLS-listed homes MLS-listed homes MLS-listed foreclosures include: All listings Only non-foreclosures Only foreclosures For-sale-by-owner homes For-sale-by-owner homes Foreclosed homes Foreclosed homes Sale records Sale records
for: Last 1 week Last 1 month Last 3 months Last 6 months Last 1 year Last 2 years Last 3 years All Schools Home Facts Baths: No min 1+ 1.25+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ Square feet: No min 500 750 1,000 1,250 1,500 1,750 2,000 2,250 2,500 2,750 3,000 3,500 4,000 5,000 7,500 to No max 500 750 1,000 1,250 1,500 1,750 2,000 2,250 2,500 2,750 3,000 3,500 4,000 5,000 7,500 Lot size: No min 2,000 sq ft 4,500 sq ft 6,500 sq ft 8,000 sq ft 10,890 sq ft / .25 acres 21,780 sq ft / .5 acres 1 acre 2 acres 3 acres 4 acres 5 acres 10 acres 40 acres 100 acres to No max 2,000 sq ft 4,500 sq ft 6,500 sq ft 8,000 sq ft 10,890 sq ft / .25 acres 21,780 sq ft / .5 acres 1 acre 2 acres 3 acres 4 acres 5 acres 10 acres 40 acres 100 acres Parking: No min 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ Has garage Year built: No min 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000 1995 1990 1980 1960 1940 1920 1900 to No max 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000 1995 1990 1980 1960 1940 1920 1900 Remarks: e.g. 'pool,' 'office,' or 'fireplace.' Learn more
Listing Facts Days on Redfin: No max New listings (since yesterday) Less than 3 days Less than 7 days Less than 14 days Less than 30 days More than 7 days More than 14 days More than 30 days More than 45 days More than 60 days More than 90 days More than 180 days Status: Active listings Active + under contract/pending Only under contract/pending Price reduced: In the last day In the last 3 days In the last 7 days In the last 14 days In the last 30 days More than 30 days More than 60 days More than 120 days Any time Exclude short sales Include Only* New listings Open houses
This weekend Any time New construction Has view Fixer-upper Waterfront *Only listings which match all the criteria will be shown. Reset Search Options ||||| For the past two years, Kate Downing has been one of Palo Alto's most passionate advocates for building more affordable housing.
As one of the founding members of the citizens group Palo Alto Forward and a member of the city's Planning and Transportation Commission, she also has been a vehement critic of the city's recent tilt toward slow-growth policies, and its failure to address a housing shortage that many in the community and some on the City Council believe has reached a crisis level.
Kate Downing Kate Downing
"Time and again, I've seen dozens of people come to both Commission meetings and Council meetings asking Council to make housing its top priority," Downing wrote. "The City Council received over 1,000 signatures from Palo Alto residents asking for the same. In the annual Our Palo Alto survey, it is the top issue cited by residents.
"This council has ignored the majority of residents and has chartered a course for the next 15 years of this city's development, which substantially continues the same job-housing imbalance this community has been suffering from for some time now: more offices, a nominal amount of housing, which the Council is already laying the groundwork to tax out of existence, lip service to preserving retail that simply has no reason to keep serving the average Joe when the city is only available to Joe Millionaires."
In her resignation letter, Downing pointed to the city's difficulties in filling job openings in the Palo Alto Police Department and renewing contracts with the local teachers because of the "astronomical" cost of housing, not just in Palo Alto but "many miles in each direction."
It is clear, she wrote, that "if professionals like me cannot raise a family here, then all of our teachers, first responders, and service workers are in dire straits."
Downing herself is facing similar challenges, despite the fact that she is a corporate attorney and her husband is a software engineer at Palantir. For several years, they have been renting a home in the Ventura neighborhood. Now, they are preparing to move to Santa Cruz.
In her resignation letter, Downing wrote that "After many years of trying to make it work in Palo Alto, my husband and I cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family here."
"We rent our current home with another couple for $6,200 a month; if we wanted to buy the same home and share it with children and not roommates, it would cost $2.7M and our monthly payment would be $12,177 a month in mortgage, taxes and insurance," Downing wrote. "That's $146,127 per year -- an entire professional's income before taxes. This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer."
Downing also noted that over the last five years, she'd seen dozens of her friends leave Palo Alto and, in some cases, the Bay Area. She also said that she has seen friends from other states get job offers in Palo Alto and then turn them down whey they started to look at the price of housing.
"I struggle to think what Palo Alto will become and what it will represent when young families have no hope of ever putting down roots here, and meanwhile the community is engulfed with middle-aged jet-setting executives and investors who are hardly the sort to be personally volunteering for neighborhood block parties, earthquake preparedness responsibilities, or neighborhood watch," Downing wrote. "If things keep going as they are, yes, Palo Alto's streets will look just as they did decades ago, but its inhabitants, spirit, and sense of community will be unrecognizable.
"A once thriving city will turn into a hollowed out museum. We should take care to remember that Palo Alto is famous the world over for its residents’ accomplishments, but none of those people would be able to live in Palo Alto were they starting out today," she wrote.
Downing is hardly alone in urging the council to act with more urgency on promoting affordable housing. In March, more than 1,000 residents, including numerous former mayors and planning commissioners, signed a petition spearheaded by Palo Alto Forward that urged the council to do more to address this topic.
"The cost of living in Palo Alto has skyrocketed. As a result, we are seeing long-time neighbors move because they can no longer afford the rent," the petition stated. "It is not unusual for Palo Alto workers to commute in from areas as far as Stockton, Gilroy and Tracy, putting severe strain on our roads and our climate. We are on the path to being a city composed only of long-time landowners and wealthy newcomers. This situation is the result of city policies that have discouraged new housing while encouraging more office space."
Recent surveys also suggest that residents are growing increasingly anxious about getting priced out of Palo Alto. In the city's annual survey, the number of people who gave Palo Alto good grades for "variety of housing options” dropped from 27 percent in 2014 to 20 percent in 2015, while the percentage of people who ranked the city as a good or excellent place to retire dropped from 60 percent to 52 percent between 2014 and 2015 (in 2006, it was 68 percent).
Local concerns about housing were also highlighted in a poll that the city commissioned last spring, when it was considering whether to proceed with a business tax to address traffic congestion. The poll showed 76 percent of the respondents listing "cost of housing" as an "extremely serious" or "very serious" problem, a higher percentage than any other issue (the drought and traffic congestion scored second and third, with 65 percent and 53 percent, respectively).
Downing's letter comes at a particularly sensitive time for local politics. The city is about to hold its first City Council election since the slow-growth "residentialist" camp won the council majority in 2014 and four of the council's nine seats will be up for grabs.
Several candidates jumping into the race, including current planning commission Chair Adrian Fine, Human Relations Commission Chair Greer Stone and technology executive Michelle Kraus (all of whom are renters) have vowed to make creation of more housing options a priority if elected.
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Follow the Palo Alto Weekly/Palo Alto Online on Twitter @PaloAltoWeekly and Facebook for breaking news, local events, photos, videos and more. ||||| PALO ALTO -- You're a well-paid professional. You work in tech. You've got it made.
Not if you want to buy a house in Silicon Valley.
On Wednesday, a planning commissioner here became the very public voice of the region's frustrations over spiraling housing costs when she published her resignation letter to the city of Palo Alto. It said that she and her husband are moving to Santa Cruz because -- even with their combined incomes as a tech lawyer and software engineer -- they can't afford to live in this upscale city.
After five years of "trying to make it work in Palo Alto, my husband and I cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family here," Planning and Transportation Commissioner Kate Downing wrote in her public resignation letter.
The letter makes personal what the numbers show: That rising rents and home prices of recent years have put the region beyond the reach of many, even some at the top of the heap -- including in the lucrative tech industry that fuels the rush for housing.
The average rent in Palo Alto was $3,463 in the second quarter of 2016, according to a report last month from Novato-based RealFacts. In June, the median price of a single-family home was $1.2 million in San Mateo County and $982,500 in Santa Clara County, according to the CoreLogic real estate information service.
Downing, 31, has a full-time job as senior corporate counsel to a tech company in Santa Clara. In an interview, she explained that her letter "is not supposed to be a sad story about me. I'm going to land on my feet. I'm extraordinarily lucky and privileged. I'm going to be fine."
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Rather, she characterized the letter as a warning call about economic trends and failed policies that are hurting Palo Alto and the region. "It's clear," she wrote, "that if professionals like me cannot raise a family here, then all of our teachers, first responders and service workers are in dire straits."
Downing and her engineer husband, Steve Downing, 33, share a 2,300-square-foot, four-bedroom house in Palo Alto's Ventura neighborhood with another couple. The monthly rent is $6,200.
"That's actually pretty cheap for here," she said in the interview. "We probably pay on the low end of what they could get for our home."
Her letter calculated that if the couple "wanted to buy the same home and share it with children and not roommates, it would cost $2.7 million, and our monthly payment would be $12,177 a month in mortgage, taxes and insurance. That's $146,127 per year -- an entire professional's income before taxes. This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer."
The Downings based those numbers on putting 20 percent down: "If you put down less than that, you're not going to get picked," she said. "Everyone knows how competitive it is in Palo Alto, with multiple offers on every house. Some of them are putting down all cash. They're coming in with just gigantic deposits."
Downing's letter, a colleague said, is a timely commentary on Palo Alto's changing demographics: "All of us who are in our 20s and 30 and 40s -- we're used to seeing people leave," said Elaine Uang, a co-founder with Downing of the community group Palo Alto Forward.
"You never know when your friends are going to go because there aren't the right housing options here for them to pursue the next stage of life."
A commissioner since November 2014, Downing said in the letter that the city has failed to move the dial on housing. Stating that her own recommendations to the City Council have gone nowhere, she outlined some of the ways in which the housing supply might be expanded in order to "make a dent in the jobs-housing imbalance that causes housing prices throughout the Bay Area to spiral out of control."
She mentioned "small steps like allowing two floors of housing instead of one in mixed-used developments," as well as legalizing duplexes, streamlining restrictions on granny units and "enforcing minimum-density requirements" so that developers will "build apartments instead of penthouses." Housing should be allowed, she wrote, above shops and offices in single-use areas like the Stanford Shopping Center.
"Kate does a good job summarizing the challenges we're facing as a community," said Councilman Cory Wolbach. "To say that Palo Alto has been slow to add housing is a very accurate statement.
"There's nothing shocking here," he added, in regard to Downing's letter. "Palo Alto certainly does not encourage high-density, smaller, more reasonably priced units. It's unfortunate but true."
Palo Alto "is not the family-oriented community it used to be," Downing said. In her estimation, it's becoming a place for "jet-setting executives and investors" who have neither the time or inclination to help out with block parties or join Neighborhood Watch.
"Young people are not moving here anymore. It used to be a place of innovation, where people created art and sculpture in their backyards or started companies in their garages. Now, it's more for people who are CEOs and executive vice presidents."
Contact Richard Scheinin at 408-920-5069, read his stories at www.mercurynews.com/richard-scheinin and follow him at Twitter.com/RealEstateRag. ||||| In what’s becoming a regular story in the Bay Area, many Peninsula towns’ refusal to increase housing has led to a mass exit of long-time, working-class residents. First responders, police, teachers, grocery store clerks—the list goes on.
These small cities, rich with tech money and close-proximity desirability, have left it to San Francisco, Oakland, and only a few other areas to house the influx of new-moneyed arrivals.
And with that, another noteworthy exodus has taken place: Palo Alto Planning and Transportation commissioner Kate Vershov Downing and her family have decided to leave the pricey town for Santa Cruz because they, like many other residents, can no longer afford the area.
In a letter of resignation, she starts off saying:
Dear City Council Members and Palo Alto Residents, This letter serves as my official resignation from the Planning and Transportation Commission. My family has decided to move to Santa Cruz. After many years of trying to make it work in Palo Alto, my husband and I cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family here. We rent our current home with another couple for $6200 a month; if we wanted to buy the same home and share it with children and not roommates, it would cost $2.7M and our monthly payment would be $12,177 a month in mortgage, taxes, and insurance. That’s $146,127 per year — an entire professional’s income before taxes. This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer.
Downing goes on to note that the city council is, in part, to blame for this mess, noting that pleas from citizenry for more housing go ignored.
I have repeatedly made recommendations to the Council to expand the housing supply in Palo Alto so that together with our neighboring cities who are already adding housing, we can start to make a dent in the jobs-housing imbalance that causes housing prices throughout the Bay Area to spiral out of control. Small steps like allowing 2 floors of housing instead of 1 in mixed use developments, enforcing minimum density requirements so that developers build apartments instead of penthouses, legalizing duplexes, easing restrictions on granny units, leveraging the residential parking permit program to experiment with housing for people who don’t want or need two cars, and allowing single-use areas like the Stanford shopping center to add housing on top of shops (or offices), would go a long way in adding desperately needed housing units while maintaining the character of our neighborhoods and preserving historic structures throughout. Time and again, I’ve seen dozens of people come to both Commission meetings and Council meetings asking Council to make housing its top priority. The City Council received over 1000 signatures from Palo Alto residents asking for the same. In the annual Our Palo Alto survey, it is the top issue cited by residents. This Council has ignored the majority of residents and has chartered a course for the next 15 years of this city’s development which substantially continues the same job-housing imbalance this community has been suffering from for some time now: more offices, a nominal amount of housing which the Council is already laying the groundwork to tax out of existence, lip service to preserving retail that simply has no reason to keep serving the average Joe when the city is only affordable to Joe Millionaires.
Like Menlo Park, Palo Alto’s housing stock is extremely pricey. You can hardly find a home on the market right now for less than $1 million. And there’s no sign of things slowing down.
Read the entire piece here. | – Palo Alto's planning and transportation commissioner sat down and did the math: For Kate Vershov Downing and husband Steve to purchase a home similar to the 4-bedroom, 2,300-square-foot dwelling they currently rent (with another couple, at $6,200 a month), their monthly payment would be $12,177. That's $146,127 a year on mortgage, insurance, and taxes, and that's assuming they had half-a-million dollars for a down payment. "This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer," she writes; she's senior corporate counsel to a tech company and her husband works for Palantir. And so after five years of trying to make it work in Silicon Valley, the Downings, "cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family," Kate writes in a public resignation letter posted Tuesday announcing her move to Santa Cruz. She tells the Mercury News that her letter "is not supposed to be a sad story about me. ... I'm extraordinarily lucky and privileged." But she writes that "it's clear that if professionals like me cannot raise a family here, then all of our teachers, first responders, and service workers are in dire straits." Indeed, Curbed SF backs up its assertion that there's little on the market there for less than $1 million with a link to Redfin, which, for example, has a listing for a $729,000 house ... that's 529 square feet. In her letter, Downing—called "one of Palo Alto's most passionate advocates for building more affordable housing" by Palo Alto Online — takes the City Council to task for ignoring residents' clamor for significant change on the housing front; her letter repeats some of the recommendations she herself has made. (Palantir is having a profound effect on the city's commercial space.) |
Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton are welcoming a little one to their newly-formed family -- but it isn't a baby. The Telegraph reports the newlyweds have just adopted a cocker spaniel puppy, whose name has not been released.
According to the report, the puppy is barely a few months old and is the son of Kate's mother's dog, Ella.
US Weekly reports the couple was initially worried they weren't ready to take care of a pet, but after a short trial period, all fears were assuaged.
"William and Catherine fell in love with the pup instantly and it wasn't long before they decided to keep him," a Palace aide told the magazine. "He's now part of the royal fold!" ||||| Duke and Duchess welcome new arrival: Kate and Wills adopt pet cocker spaniel but the name remains a mystery
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge now have a three-month old puppy
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have welcomed a new addition to their family - an adorable three-month old puppy.
The couple acquired the male cocker spaniel in early December and have been happily settling him in at their rented farmhouse in North Wales.
Remarkably, however, William and Kate have given palace aides strict instructions not to publicly reveal the name of their pet, arguing that it is a ‘private’ matter.
‘He is a private pet and they do not want his name to be made public although the couple are happy to confirm that they do, indeed, have a new dog,’ a spokesman at St James’s Palace, the couple’s London headquarters, intoned.
Royal sources say the black pup is ‘a few months old’ and comes from a litter bred by Kate’s mother, Carole Middleton, who adores the breed.
‘I don’t know whether the Middleton family dog is a boy or a girl, but the Duke and Duchess’s puppy is the result of the family dog breeding with one belonging to another breeder,’ said an aide.
The new dog is the couple’s first together and replaces Prince William’s black labrador, Widgeon, who died about two years ago.
Over the years, the Royal Family have embraced dogs as their favoured pets.
Formal portraits from the 17th century onwards show kings, queens and their children happily posing with their beloved animals, from pugs to greyhounds, King Charles spaniels to corgis.
Some pets have even merited their own portraits, and, as in many households, were considered very much members of the family.
Prince William’s black labrador, Widgeon, died about two years ago (left, stock picture) but now he has acquired a male cocker spaniel with wife Kate
When Queen Victoria’s beloved collie, Noble, died at Balmoral in 1887, he was buried in the grounds of the castle and given his own gravestone, which read:
'Noble by name by nature noble too
Faithful companion sympathetic true
His remains are interred here'
A terrier named Caesar belonging to King Edward VII was given even greater status when, having outlived the king, he walked behind His Majesty’s coffin in the funeral procession.
The current Queen is, of course, associated with the corgi.
The breed was introduced to the Royal Family by her father, King George VI, in 1933 when he bought a corgi called Dookie from a local kennels.
For her eighteenth birthday, The Queen was given a corgi named Susan from whom numerous successive dogs were bred.
Some corgis were mated with dachshunds (most notably Pipkin, who belonged to Princess Margaret) to create ‘dorgis’.
At present, The Queen owns three corgis, Monty, Willow and Holly and three dorgis, Cider, Candy and Vulcan, who travel with her everywhere, with Her Majesty looking after them herself as much as possible.
Tradition: The current Queen is associated with the corgi
Other members of the Royal Family own dogs of various breeds. The Duchess of Cornwall owns two Jack Russell terriers, Tosca and Rosie, and recently acquired a rescue pup called Beth from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
Spaniels are one of the oldest known breeds of dogs and are believed to have to come to the UK during Caesar’s invasion in 55 and 54 BC.
It is assumed they originated from Spain as the word spaniel is believed to have been derived from Hispania or possibly from the French phrase chiens de l’Espagnol (dog of Spain).
Spaniels were initially bred to flush game out of dense brush but by the late 1600’s had become specialized into water and land breeds.
The difference between cocker and springer spaniels is that the former are smaller, more compact, dogs and can have marginally more placid temperaments.
As a breed cocker spaniels have friendly, affectionate, happy natures and considered to be wonderful family pets.
The arrival of the couple’s anonymous new pooch is particularly timely as he will help keep Kate, 30, company while her husband is posted to the Falkland Islands for six weeks.
Search and Rescue pilot William, 29, will fly out tonight with his Sea King crew on a routine deployment to the region, leaving his wife on her own.
She is expected to spend more time in London while he is away and will largely live with her pup at Kensington Palace, the couple’s London base.
Last night betting firm Ladbrokes were offering odds of 10/1 on the dog being called Charlie, 33/1 on Bouncer and 66/1 on Fenton, after the now world-famous hound seen chasing deer in Richmond Park, which became a YouTube sensation.
The pup has not been formally revealed in public yet but has been seen being walked by the couple on beaches near their Anglesey home. | – You may have heard the happy news: Prince William and Kate Middleton are the proud parents of a 3-month-old cocker spaniel. However, if you were hoping to find out what they're calling the puppy, prepare to be disappointed. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have strictly instructed aides not to reveal his name, the Daily Mail reports. Says a spokesperson, "He is a private pet and they do not want his name to be made public although the couple are happy to confirm that they do, indeed, have a new dog." Click for pictures of the "private pet." |
CLOSE On Friday the AMC movie theater chain scrapped its tone deaf idea of attracting millennials to its theaters by allowing movie-goers to text while watching films. AMC says the proposal it floated this week has been relegated to the cutting room floor. USA TODAY
Texting-friendly screens — coming soon to AMC? (Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN, AFP/Getty Images)
AMC Theatres is changing the script on plans to allow moviegoers to text in the theater.
The movie theater chain said Friday it will scrap plans to allow some theater patrons to text during movies, a move its CEO had said it considered to attract more millennials.
"We have heard loud and clear this is a concept our audience does not want," said AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron said in a statement.
NO TEXTING AT AMC. Won't happen. You spoke. We listened. Quickly, that idea has been sent to the cutting room floor. pic.twitter.com/JR0fo5megR — AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) April 15, 2016
AMC's about-face follows an interview Aron gave to Variety, where he suggested making some theaters friendlier to moviegoers who want to use their smartphones while watching a movie.
"When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow," said Aron. "You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life."
On Twitter, reaction to Aron's idea was swift, and overwhelmingly negative.
So, I guess I won't be seeing movies at AMC theatres. AMC CEO suggests he'll permit texting. https://t.co/nfqEd2rIAO — Augie Ray (@augieray) April 14, 2016
Do this and I'll NEVER go to an AMC again...
AMC Entertainment CEO Open to Allowing Texting in Some Theaters https://t.co/ypLRuczbQF — Jeremy Conrad (@ManaByte) April 14, 2016
Aron says the company will focus on other plans to entice more consumers to go to the movies, including investing more than $1 billion to enhance theaters and their systems.
"With your advice at hand, there will be NO TEXTING ALLOWED in any of the auditoriums at AMC Theatres," he says. "Not today, not tomorrow, and not in the foreseeable future."
The harsh reaction to AMC's proposal falls in line with U.S. sentiment on when it's appropriate to use a smartphone. According to a national survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 95% of Americans polled said it's not OK to use a smartphone "at the movie theater or other places where others are usually quiet."
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1Sf2MfC ||||| For years now, movie theater operators have been trying to dissuade their customers from chatting on cell phones or texting during shows. Some issue stern pre-show warnings that anyone caught texting or talking will be shown the door.
It's not surprising then that the new chief executive and president of AMC Theaters, Adam M. Aron, caused a stir by suggesting that nation's second-largest movie theater company would consider the idea of making certain auditoriums "more texting friendly" in a bid to get millennials to go to the movies more often.
"When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don't ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow," said Aron in an interview with Variety published online Wednesday.
"You can't tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That's not how they live," said Aron, who hailed from outside the movie business before taking the reins of parent company AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) in January.
His suggestion that the company might revisit its stance on texting during shows didn't sit well with many movie buffs, who flooded AMC's social media accounts with objections. Some threatened to take their business elsewhere if AMC followed through with the idea.
The company quickly responded to the backlash with the following post: "Press reports we are considering test allowing texts in a very few screens. We know vast majority of audience wants no texting. If ever, we only would pursue this in a way that we can be totally confident ALL our guests will fully enjoy the movie-going experience at AMC."
That still wasn't enough to quell critics on Twitter and Facebook. By Friday, AMC retreated with a company statement that included the following tweet:
NO TEXTING AT AMC. Won't happen. You spoke. We listened. Quickly, that idea has been sent to the cutting room floor. pic.twitter.com/JR0fo5megR — AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) April 15, 2016
Aron, former CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT), is no doubt mulling new ways for AMC to woo an increasingly distracted and demanding audience. Rather than turn off their smartphones, many millennials would rather skip the theater altogether, or kick back at home and stream movies on their flat-screen TVs or mobile devices, via Netflix (NFLX) and other services.
In 2015, America's 18- to 24-year olds represented 10 percent of the U.S. population and bought 14 percent of all movie tickets sold here, down from 16 percent in 2014, according to Stan Meyers, a Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst who covers media and entertainment companies.
Teens, somewhat surprisingly, are going to the movies more often these days, as are those in the 60-plus set, as measured by their percentage contributions to overall ticket sales between 2014 and 2015, said Meyers.
"One of the things keeping millennials away from the movies is that they need to be on their phones all the time. What [Adam Aron] wants to do is segregate different groups so that people don't want to be on their phones, i.e., older demographic groups, and those who do could be in different [auditoriums]," said Meyers.
In his first few months as CEO, Aron has taken other steps to ensure that AMC, known as an innovator in the movie business, stays competitive in the face of demographic shifts and rapid technological change. In March, AMC announced that it has struck a deal to acquire Carmike Cinemas (CKEC), a merger that would create the world's largest chain of movie theaters.
AMC, a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, is also reportedly close to a deal with the Screening Room, a startup that will offer new releases in the home, via a set-top box that transmits movies, for $50 per view, according to Variety.
The venture is controversial within the movie business, but Variety reports that the Screening Room, backed by Sean Parker of Facebook (FB) and Napster fame, is seeking to pave its way by sharing its proceeds with distributors and providing customers with two free movie tickets per view, which would help boost concession sales for theater operators.
But it's the texting controversy that has put AMC in the hot seat in the eyes of some moviegoers. That is perhaps not surprising given that some people feel so strongly about the etiquette surrounding cell phone use in theaters that the issue has sparked violence. In early 2014 an argument between two men in a theater in Wesley Chapel, Florida, over texting ended in a fatal shooting. Before the argument erupted, the man who was eventually shot was sending text messages to his daughter during the previews to the movie. ||||| 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 ||||| Adam Aron has been head of AMC Entertainment for less than four months, but in that short time he’s already orchestrated one of the most significant deals in the country’s history. In February, AMC announced that it has an agreement to buy Carmike, propelling it from being the second-biggest exhibitor in the country to the world’s top movie theater chain.
Aron has a diverse resume, having been head of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, CEO and co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team, chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts and president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line. But in an industry dominated by lifers, he is a newcomer to the exhibition space.
That’s giving him a willingness to experiment. He’s pushing to expand AMC’s food options, bolster its loyalty program and market more aggressively. Some moves may ruffle feathers. In a bid to attract younger, smartphone savvy consumers, Aron said he was open to making some theaters texting and mobile device-friendly.
That may make him unpopular. When Regal Entertainment CEO Amy Miles mused in 2012 that theaters should consider experimenting with relaxing cellphone bans, the blowback was intense.
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Aron sat down with Variety during CinemaCon, the annual exhibition trade show unfolding this week in Las Vegas, to discuss the planned merger with Carmike, ticketing advances and Screening Room, the controversial start-up that wants to debut movies in the home the same day they hit theaters.
You’ve worked in a number of different industries, but you’re new to exhibition. What perspective do you bring?
Coming in fresh, it seems like there’s lots of opportunity to propel revenues or to give consumers better experiences. AMC has been a leader in that regard for a few years now, but I think we will pick up even more of a reputation for that going forward. Already, having been here a couple of months, I know we can step up our marketing activity in a big way. The food that we serve in our theaters can be much more exciting than the current stable of chicken tenders, hot dogs, pizza, in addition to the standard soda and popcorn and candy. A lot of change is possible in this industry for the betterment of our shareholders and our customers.
Marketing costs money. Why do you think it’s worth the expense?
Next year, assuming the Carmike acquisition is consummated, AMC is going to have in the neighborhood of $4 billion worth of revenue. It’s almost irresponsible for a company with $4 billion worth of revenue on the line not to aggressively market. That’s one of the things that can ensure that the $4 billion comes in, and that’s one of the things that can ensure that more than $4 billion comes in. We wouldn’t be spending for additional marketing if we didn’t think we’d be driving big revenue gains.
Are there particular demographics that you plan to target with your marketing?
We ought to be looking at three things. People who are already interested in movies and maybe in a big way, where if we up our game, we could get them to come to more movies. That’s one of the reasons to have a better loyalty program with bigger, broader participation, because loyalty programs work. We can convince people who think they are seeing the most movies they can possibly see to go to more movies.
The second is market share we can take from our competitors if we market AMC better than they market their theaters.
And third, there does seem to be a consensus that there are pockets of consumers who do not see as many movies as other segments of the population and that we can be doing more to attract those people. Millennials come to mind. We need to reshape our product in some concrete ways so that millennials go to movie theaters with the same degree of intensity as baby boomers went to movie theaters throughout their lives.
Would appealing to millennials involve allowing texting or cellphone use?
Yes. When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow. You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life.
At the same time, though, we’re going to have to figure out a way to do it that doesn’t disturb today’s audiences. There’s a reason there are ads up there saying turn off your phone, because today’s moviegoer doesn’t want somebody sitting next to them texting or having their phone on.
Would you have a certain section for texting?
That’s one possibility. What may be more likely is we take specific auditoriums and make them more texting friendly.
There are reports that you have signed a letter of intent to partner with Screening Room. What is your position on the company?
I’m not commenting publicly on Screening Room. I know it’s a topic of hot debate amongst my brethren and sister-en, and I prefer to keep our counsel private right now. Until such time as Screening Room is real, we don’t have to spend a lot of time talking about it publicly.
How open are you to different distribution strategies that might modify the theatrical window?
For all the talk of the Paramount test a year ago [Editor’s note: AMC signed a deal that allowed the studio to debut two films on home entertainment early] and all the talk of Screening Room now, you may be surprised to hear that I think windows are very important. There’s a lot of evidence that shorter windows put theatrical exhibitors at risk. Studios themselves benefit from posting big global box office numbers, which comes from theatrical distribution.
So I start from a general premise that I’m a big fan of windows. Having said that, I’m also a big fan of experimenting and testing on everything that we do to see if there aren’t alternative ways of doing business. I generally look at our 385 theaters as laboratories where we can test lots of different concepts without being afraid that there’s going to be a cataclysmic, sky’s falling in, if we do. I believe in innovation and being imaginative and forward thinking. There are some bedrock principles though.
What are those bedrock principles?
I have two bedrock principles and only two bedrock principles. One is that it’s our burden as managers of the company that runs movie theaters to make sure that the moviegoing experience is as wonderful and spectacular as it possibly can be. The surest way to grow our business and protect it against erosion is to make sure that going to an AMC theater is a pleasing and memorable experience.
The second is the consumer is king. Giving the consumer more choices, more amenities and price points. If we put ourselves in the head of our customer and design our theatrical experience and marketing activity to make their lives better, we’ll have a successful company. Other than that we’ll be flexible and willing to experiment.
Where are you in terms of closing the Carmike acquisition?
There are really only two hurdles to go through. Carmike’s shareholders have to vote to approve the transaction. I expect that’s going to be some time in June. I don’t think they’ve set a date.
We need to get through the Justice Department approval, but we’re optimistic that we will get through both of these hurdles. The contract we have with Carmike requires that we get through this a year from the date of the merger transaction, so early in the first quarter of 2017. It would be nice if we could get it done before that.
What does the merger do for AMC?
By putting together the No. 2 and No. 4 players in the industry, we create a new No. 1 player. There’s extraordinary amounts of research that say that No. 1 players in industries are often the most successful players in their industries. If that turns out to be true, I’d rather be the No. 1 player than the No. 2 player.
Why did you recently sign a deal with ticketing app, Atom Tickets?
They’ve got a great social media platform where when you buy a ticket for a Wednesday night at 7:00 show, it sends a text message to all your friends asking if they want to go to the theater and sit next to you. They click a couple of buttons and your friend can buy a ticket at the same theater and showtime in a reserved seat. That’s a great concept and that’s one of the ways that we can make it easier for Millennials — who live on social media — to meet up with their friends in movie theaters.
Megan Fox delivered a pizza to your seat during Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation this week. What was that experience like?
They took the pizza away as quickly as they delivered it. It was warm, and I could smell it, but we didn’t get to eat it. I can’t tell you how it tasted, but in terms of who and how it was delivered, I can tell you that’s the best pizza delivery I’ve ever had. ||||| Benvido á casa! This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
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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 | – Well, that didn't take long: Less than two days after AMC's CEO gave an interview in which he suggested the theater chain might allow texting in its theaters, he's put out a statement backtracking. "NO TEXTING AT AMC. Won't happen. You spoke. We listened. Quickly, that idea has been sent to the cutting room floor," reads a tweet Friday accompanying the statement. In the statement, CEO Adam Aron acknowledges the social media uproar that followed the texting news (USA Today has rounded up sample tweets from people who swore never to visit an AMC theater again) and says that the chain will not allow texting any time in the "foreseeable future." One analyst tells CBS that Aron's actual idea might not have been as irksome as it sounded: "One of the things keeping millennials away from the movies is that they need to be on their phones all the time. What [Adam Aron] wants to do is segregate different groups so that people don't want to be on their phones, i.e., older demographic groups, and those who do could be in different [auditoriums]." And Aron tried to make that clear on Twitter Thursday, tweeting that AMC might simply do a test run on "VERY FEW screens" and would make sure it was done "in a way we'd be TOTALLY confident ALL our guests will fully enjoy movie going experience." But that wasn't enough, garnering responses like, "No! Not even one! What a stupid idea." |
(CNN) It was an oddly familiar O.J. Simpson that for a little while filled TV screens across America on Thursday.
A Nevada parole board decided Simpson should be freed after the former NFL star apologized for his role in a 2007 armed robbery, said he'd been a model prisoner, and promised that he'd have no conflicts if released.
Simpson's appearance before the board garnered wall-to-wall coverage from cable news shows, coverage that recalled the "trial of the century," and the many months more than 20 years ago when it transfixed a nation.
"I've done my time," Simpson said. "I've done it as well and as respectfully as I think anyone can."
Now 70, Simpson's energy seemed little affected by his time behind bars. He was alert, engaged, and quick to smile, even letting out a hearty laugh when parole board Chairman Connie Bisbee accidentally said he was aged 90. "I feel like it," he said.
Simpson has served nine years of a nine-to-33-year sentence for an armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. He is expected to be released as early as October -- and said he plans to move to his home in Florida.
An entire generation of Americans has come of age since Simpson seemed an almost inescapable public figure. But for one afternoon, it felt like 1995 again.
That was the year he was acquitted of murder charges in the grisly slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Thursday's parole hearing followed renewed interest in his story, which was explored last year in the award-winning documentary "O.J.: Made in America" and the FX true-crime drama "The People v. O.J. Simpson."
Though it's been 22 years since the not guilty verdict, the murder trial's themes of criminal justice and race, trust in police, celebrity and domestic violence remain remarkably resonant in modern culture. "We talk about O.J. as though the story is O.J.," journalist Celia Farber says toward the end of the "Made in America" documentary. "The story is O.J. and us."
Parole board vote unanimous
For his part, Simpson seemed remarkably unaltered. He repeatedly avoided taking full responsibility for the Vegas crime.
At one point, he said he had lived a "conflict-free life," a statement that perhaps bemused anyone whose memory stretches back more than two decades.
"Juice," as he was known in his heyday, said associates misled him during the Vegas robbery and then turned on him in court.
One of those associates is Tom Riccio. Simpson testified that Riccio is the one who called him, persuading him to take part in the robbery. Simpson said Thursday he regretted ever taking Riccio's call.
But, according to Riccio, Simpson did a lot more than that.
"He should wish he didn't make all those calls after my call," Riccio told CNN. "After he took my call he did a lot of things he shouldn't have done."
Riccio added that Simpson was the one who orchestrated the robbery.
"He plotted it all and gathered up men with guns."
Simpson said Riccio avoided punishment by throwing him under the bus.
"Unfortunately, they got a get-out-of-jail-free card when they said 'O.J. told me (to do it),'" Simpson said. "Nothing I can do about that."
Sufficient remorse is not a relevant factor for parole, and Simpson ticked off several mitigating factors that made him a good candidate for release. He was discipline-free in prison, he has stable release plans, he has family and community support -- and, of course, he has no prior criminal convictions.
The four parole board members voted unanimously to grant him parole, and board member Tony Corda said he was graded a "low risk to reoffend."
Simpson smiled, said "thank you," and then put his head down for a few moments silently.
O.J. Simpson wins parole after serving nine years for armed robbery and kidnapping https://t.co/di9NLhRSI6 https://t.co/G3ECaWR0u2 — CNN (@CNN) July 20, 2017
'My best friend'
Simpson said in closing remarks that he had been a peacemaker in the prison and had been a model prisoner.
"I've spent nine years making no excuses about anything. I am sorry that things turned out the way they did. I had no intent to commit a crime."
The parole hearing featured testimony from Arnelle Simpson, the former football great's oldest daughter, who said her father was "my best friend and my rock."
Simpson also said he has taken two "Alternative to Violence" classes, which he said was "the most important course any person in this prison can take."
In addition, robbery victim Bruce Fromong testified that he had forgiven Simpson for the crime at that Las Vegas hotel room, and advocated for his release.
Simpson had also been described by authorities as a model prisoner at Lovelock Correctional Center, a medium-security prison in the Nevada desert.
The robbery
Simpson and an associate were convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon for attempting to steal pieces of Simpson sports memorabilia at gunpoint.
At his 2008 sentencing, the Hall of Fame running back said he went to the room in the Palace Station Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to reclaim family heirlooms and other personal items that had been taken from him. He also claimed he didn't know his associates were armed.
"I wasn't there to hurt anybody," Simpson said. "I just wanted my personal things, and I realize now that was stupid of me. I am sorry."
The case, which featured a colorful cast of seedy characters, secret recordings and a Las Vegas heist, read like a low-budget parody of "Ocean's Eleven," CNN wrote at the time
Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson O.J. Simpson reacts after learning he was granted parole at Lovelock Correctional Center on Thursday, July 20, in Lovelock, Nevada. Simpson is serving a nine-to-33-year prison term for a 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping conviction. Click through the gallery to see moments from the notable life of the former football and media star. Hide Caption 1 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson As a University of Southern California running back, Simpson accepts the Heisman Trophy in December 1968. Hide Caption 2 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson, pictured in 1974, was a running back for the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977. Hide Caption 3 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson with his wife, Marguerite Whitley, his daughter Arnelle and son Jason, circa 1974. The couple were married from 1967 to 1979. They had another daughter, Aaren, who died as a toddler in a drowning accident. Hide Caption 4 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson in action during a Buffalo Bills game against the New York Jets. Hide Caption 5 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson married Nicole Brown Simpson in 1985. Here the couple appears at a Los Angeles nightclub around 1976. Hide Caption 6 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Coach Lou Sabin and O.J. Simpson Hide Caption 7 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson branched out into acting. He appears with Bill Murray, left, Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris in a "Saturday Night Live" skit in 1978. Hide Caption 8 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson As a running back for the San Francisco 49ers, Simpson carries the ball against the Oakland Raiders during a preseason game circa 1978. Hide Caption 9 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson becomes a commentator on ABC's "Monday Night Football" in the mid-'80s. He appears with Joe Namath, left, and Frank Gifford. Hide Caption 10 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson and his children attend Nicole Brown Simpson's funeral in June 1994. Hide Caption 11 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Ronald Goldman was slain with Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson on June 12, 1994. Hide Caption 12 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson In footage seen on TV screens around the world, police chase a white Ford Bronco with a fugitive Simpson inside on the Los Angeles freeways on June 17, 1994. The Bronco eventually returned to Simpson's home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, and he surrendered to police on murder charges in the deaths of his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman. Hide Caption 13 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson's mug shot after his arrest on murder charges. Hide Caption 14 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Fans leave signs of support outside Simpson's house in June 1994. Hide Caption 15 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Lead defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. and prosecutor Marcia Clark face off during a hearing in the murder trial that riveted a nation. Hide Caption 16 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit" was defense attorney Cochran's mantra during the trial. Here, Simpson tries on a leather glove tied to the crime scene at his murder trial on June 15, 1995. Hide Caption 17 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson cheers with his attorneys F. Lee Bailey, left, and Johnnie Cochan Jr. on October 3, 1995, after being found not guilty of killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Though cleared of criminal charges, a civil jury later slapped the former football star with a $33 million wrongful death judgment, and attorneys for the Goldman family have doggedly pursued his assets. Hide Caption 18 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson continued to encounter legal problems, including a "road rage" trial in the Miami area in October 2001. He was found not guilty on charges stemming from a traffic altercation with another motorist. Hide Caption 19 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson appears in court with attorneys Gabriel Grasso, left, and Yale Galanter before sentencing in the sports memorabilia case in December 2008 in Las Vegas. Simpson contended he was retrieving personal items that had been stolen from him and were being sold as memorabilia. He later accused Galanter of having a conflict of interest and failing to mount an effective defense. Hide Caption 20 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson The Palace Station hotel room, the scene of Simpson's reported confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers, is displayed on a monitor during Simpson's trial in September 2008. Hide Caption 21 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Simpson embraces his sister, Carmelita Durio, while his friend Tom Scotto looks on in court after a guilty verdict was reached in October 2008. Simpson was convicted of leading a group of associates into a room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino and using threats, guns and force to take back items from two dealers. Hide Caption 22 of 23 Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson Disgraced football star O.J. Simpson appears in court on May 13, 2013, seeking to get his robbery, assault and kidnapping convictions thrown out after spending more than four years in prison. He argued that bad legal advice led to his arrest and conviction in a confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers. His 2008 conviction came 13 years after his acquittal on murder charges in the deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Hide Caption 23 of 23
Simpson's legal team argued that the nine-to-33-year sentence did not match the crime and that it was, in fact, a form of payback for his controversial acquittal in the deaths of Brown and Goldman. Even Bruce Fromong, a victim in the robbery, agreed.
"It wasn't about justice," Fromong said in "O.J.: Made in America." "They wanted the guy that got away with murder in 1994."
Simpson has always denied he killed Brown and Goldman. Their families won a wrongful death civil judgment against him in 1997.
At a parole hearing in 2013, Simpson said he regretted the Las Vegas kidnapping and robbery.
"I just wish I had never gone to that room. I wish I had just said, 'Keep it,' and not worry about it," he said. ||||| 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. ||||| 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 | – OJ Simpson's big moment has arrived. A hearing is underway at which he is trying to convince members of the Nevada Board of Parole that he should go free. "I haven't made any excuses in the nine years that I've been here and I'm not trying to make an excuse now," said the 70-year-old Simpson early in the proceedings, per the AP. Later, he added, "I am sorry that things turned out the way they did. I had no intent to commit a crime." He also appeared to stifle a sob in his appeal to the board. Simpson has been imprisoned since 2008 over an armed robbery and kidnapping case, but he and many legal analysts think that the board will vote to release him. If so, he's expected to be out on Oct. 1. The televised hearing is being livestreamed at various sites, including CNN. Per CNN, one of the first questions posed to Simpson by a board member in regard to the robbery, in which he and other men entered a Vegas hotel room to reclaim sports memorabilia, was, "What were you thinking?" Simpson called it a "big mistake" and emphasized that he wasn't armed. "I would never pull a gun on anybody." He insisted that he learned only afterward that one of the men with him, who was "behind me," brandished a gun. Another board member noted that he hadn't taken an alcohol-abuse program as he promised he would at his last hearing. Other Simpson quotes: "I'm at a point in my life where all I want to do is spend as much time with my children." "I've basically spent a conflict-free life." Daughter Arnelle Simpson said her father is "remorseful," and she wants him to come home so they can "move forward," adding, "It's been hard." |
Ardent Donald Trump supporter, Scott Baio, was allegedly physically attacked by the wife of a Red Hot Chili Peppers band member for supporting the president-elect. The actor filed a police report claiming Nancy Mack, who is married to Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer, Chad Smith, went off on him for supporting Trump at a function with their elementary school kids, TMZ reports.
Scott Baio Claims Physical Attack by Chili Pepper’s Wife Over Trump https://t.co/qEzmWyX5NN — TMZ (@TMZ) December 15, 2016
Authorities say Scott Baio was at an event with his daughter on Saturday in Thousand Oaks, California, when Mack confronted him and allegedly began chiding and cursing him. Mack’s husband has been vocal about being anti-Donald Trump, citing him as a racist. Baio is one of Trump’s strongest celebrity supporters in Hollywood.
According to the report, Scott Baio told police that he asked Nancy Mack to keep it down because kids were present, but she didn’t back down. The wife of the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer demanded to know how he could support a man who said, “Grab ’em by the pu**y.”
Baio says she repeatedly screamed, “Grab ’em by the pu**y.”
Scott asked Nancy to stop, but she continued screaming the comment. He said at that point, Mack began attacked him physically by grabbing him under his arms, shaking, and pushing him.
Sources close to Nancy Mack claim she was mimicking how Donald Trump hugs women and meant no actual harm against Scott Baio.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department is reportedly investigating the incident. Mack is listed as a battery suspect.
Scott Baio has taken a lot of heat for being a Donald Trump supporter, but he’s dished a lot of it back to critics. Throughout the campaign, people were on Twitter issuing threats and he was one of the rare celebrities who voiced his support for the Republican president-elect. He spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention, saying in his speech that Hillary Clinton wanted the presidency only for herself, not for the American people.
‘Let’s not just make America great again Let’s make America.. America again’~ Scott Baio pic.twitter.com/CHa0yMkB7L — Tennessee GOP (@TEN_GOP) December 10, 2016
Chad Smith, on the other hand, has ripped into anyone supporting the president-elect. An interview he gave to Virgin Radio was transcribed by Alternative Nation, in which he called Trump supporters “uneducated whites” who vote for a “sexual predator.”
“The people in America are white, uneducated, and they’re sick of Washington politics, and they think in their uneducated minds that any change is better than continuing with the same kind of politicians we have,” Smith said.
When Smith referenced the comments Trump made about feeling entitled to grab women by the genitals because of his fame, he said Trump could kill someone and his supporters would still vote for him.
“What’s scariest about it is that people who support him don’t care,” continued the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer. “He could probably come out in the next month and say he murdered somebody, and they’d still vote for him. It’s insane, it’s insanity. It’s disgusting, it’s a bummer.”
To most everyone’s surprise, Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency on November 8. A number of celebrities claimed they’d leave the country if Trump won, but are staying put. Among those who vowed to move if Trump won were Chelsea Handler, Rosie O’Donnell, Amy Schumer, Cher, Jon Stewart, and Bryan Cranston.
Scott Baio is accustomed to dealing with anti-Trump protesters, but this the first time someone has gotten physical with him over his support of the president-elect. More celebrities in Hollywood align themselves with the political views of the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer and his wife.
[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images] ||||| When half the entertainment industry lives in the same city, you're bound to hear about odd and occasionally antagonistic celebrity combinations from time to time. Today's example: Nancy Mack, wife of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith , is being accused of physically assaulting actor Scott Baio .
Their alleged confrontation, per TMZ , took place at an event hosted by the elementary school attended by children of both families. According to Baio, it stemmed from a political disagreement rooted in his outspoken support of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
Mack, who's been equally public in her disdain for Trump, is accused of confronting Baio at the function by "berating and cursing" him, specifically by referencing the archival recording that made headlines during the election after it surfaced and revealed Trump discussing the many ways in which women make themselves available to male celebrities. Baio reportedly claims he asked Mack to calm down in the interest of the children present; TMZ 's sources say she was "undeterred," and continued to loudly repeat Trump's taped claim that he could "grab" women "by the p----."
Baio apparently told police the argument turned physical when Mack grabbed, shook, and pushed him — an accusation Mack has reportedly refuted by saying "she was merely trying to show Baio how Trump hugs women."
The Ventura County Sheriff's Department is said to be investigating the incident and eyeing Mack as a battery suspect. While both parties are known for their active social media presences, neither Baio nor Mack have commented publicly as of this writing. | – It sounds like a bunch of random words strung together, but it's a real news article: Scott Baio claims that during an elementary school function in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Saturday, the wife of the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer started cussing him out and then physically attacked him. Baio, aka Charles in Charge and/or Chachi, filed a police report over the incident, and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department is investigating, TMZ reports. Baio is a Donald Trump supporter; Nancy Mack is not, and she allegedly wanted to know how Baio could vote for someone who would talk about grabbing women "by the pussy." Baio says he asked her to stop screaming because kids, including his daughter and a child or children of Mack's, were around, but she kept doing so, using curse words and repeating the above-mentioned "pussy" comment. He says she then grabbed him underneath his arms, shook him, and pushed him. But sources close to Mack say any such movements were simply an attempt to illustrate, for Baio's education, how Trump hugs women. The Inquisitr notes that Mack's husband, Chad Smith, has publicly denounced Trump, saying his backers are "uneducated whites" who voted a "sexual predator" into office. |
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/ Updated By Corky Siemaszko
More former Ohio State University wrestlers have come forward to contradict Rep. Jim Jordan’s claim that he had no idea the wrestling team doctor was molesting athletes.
One of the wrestlers, Shawn Dailey, said he was groped half a dozen times by Dr. Richard Strauss in the mid-1990s, when Jordan was the assistant wrestling coach. Dailey said he was too embarrassed to report the abuse directly to Jordan at the time, but he said Jordan took part in conversations where Strauss' abuse of many other team members came up.
"I participated with Jimmy and the other wrestlers in locker-room talk about Strauss. We all did," Dailey, 43, told NBC News, referring to Jordan. "It was very common knowledge in the locker room that if you went to Dr. Strauss for anything, you would have to pull your pants down.”
Dailey spoke out two days after NBC News reported that three former wrestlers who were coached by Jordan more than two decades ago accused the GOP congressman of turning a blind eye to Strauss' alleged abuse and then lying about it. Jordan denied knowing anything about the abuse and continues to do so.
Dailey corroborated the account of one of those wrestlers, Dunyasha Yetts, who told NBC News that Yetts had protested to Jordan and head coach Russ Hellickson after Strauss tried to pull down his wrestling shorts when Yetts went to see him for a thumb injury.
"Dunyasha comes back and tells Jimmy, ‘Seriously, why do I have to pull down my pants for a thumb injury?’" Dailey recalled. "Jimmy said something to the extent of, ‘If he tried that with me, I would kill him.'"
Calling Jordan “a close friend,” Dailey said he is a Republican and that he contributed to the powerful Ohio congressman’s first political campaign for state representative in 1994.
“What happened drove me out of the sport,” said Dailey, a married father of two who works as a fundraiser for an Ohio college. “So I was surprised to hear Jim say that he knew nothing about it."
“Jimmy’s a good guy,” Dailey added. “But to say that he had no knowledge of it, I would say that’s kind of hurtful.”
Also Thursday, Mark Coleman, another former wrestler and a former UFC world champion, told The Wall Street Journal that Jordan was aware of the abuse and had not taken action. “There’s no way unless he’s got dementia or something that he’s got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State,” said Coleman, who said he was Jordan's roommate on several wrestling trips.
Jordan, via spokesman Ian Fury, has denied any knowledge of the abuse. On Wednesday, Jordan, a founder of the arch-conservative House Freedom Caucus, who has been floated to succeed retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan, repeated the denial in an interview with Politico.
“It’s not true,” said Jordan, who was assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1986 to 1994. “I never knew about any type of abuse. If I did, I would have done something about it.”
Fury did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday after Dailey's remarks. But Jordan got a shoutout of support from President Donald Trump, who spoke to reporters Thursday on Air Force One.
“I don’t believe them at all," Trump said of the allegations against Jordan. "I believe him. Jim Jordan is one of the most outstanding people I’ve met since I’ve been in Washington. I believe him 100 percent. No question in my mind. I believe Jim Jordan 100 percent. He’s an outstanding man.”
Strauss died of suicide in 2005. The university opened an investigation into the abuse in April after former Ohio State wrestler Mike DiSabato came forward with allegations.
Dr. Richard Strauss' photo from a 1978 Ohio State University employment application. Ohio State University / via AP file
The Perkins Coie law firm, which is overseeing the probe for the university, has interviewed more than 150 former students and witnesses so far, OSU officials said. Former athletes from 14 Ohio State sports have reported abuse by Strauss, the university said.
Dailey said he has spoken twice with investigators from Perkins Coie. Asked if they questioned him about Jordan’s actions at the time, as well as the actions of the other coaches, Daily answered, “They did.”
“I was one of the first five or 10 people they spoke with,” Dailey said he was told by investigators. “They largely wanted to know what my experiences were, what had happened, if it had been reported.”
Yetts and two other former Ohio State wrestlers previously told NBC News that it was common knowledge that Strauss showered regularly with the students and inappropriately touched them during appointments. Yetts, who served 18 months in prison for stealing nearly $2 million from investors, was the only wrestler who said he had directly reported the abuse to Jordan, but all three wrestlers said it would have been impossible for Jordan to be unaware of the abuse.
Hellickson, the former coach and Jordan's mentor, said in a recent video — made by DiSabato — that he had told Strauss that he was being too "hands on” with students.
The Perkins Coie investigators are in possession of that video, DiSabato said.
Former Ohio State wrestler Mike DiSabato discusses abuse he says he suffered from Dr. Richard Strauss. Andrew Welsh-Huggins / AP
Fox News reported Thursday that Jordan has received what he described as threatening emails from DiSabato, including one that landed in his inbox early on Wednesday and was “the last straw.” Jordan forwarded the emails to the U.S. Capitol Police, which is reviewing them, Fox reported. NBC News has reached out to the Capitol Police but has not confirmed the report.
Dailey said that after he left the team in 1996, he underwent counseling to deal with what happened.
“Over the years, I kind of beat myself up for not reporting it,” he said. “There were so many signs about what Strauss was doing and that they were ignored. It's very frustrating.”
Dailey said he’s speaking out now because he knows it’s hard for men to publicly acknowledge sexual abuse, and he wants to be an “advocate for men and boys to come forward with these issues.”
“You get the sense that you’re really not going to get justice,” he said. “That’s the part that bothers me the most. What happened was so widespread.” ||||| WASHINGTON—Five former wrestlers, including former UFC world champion Mark Coleman, said this week that Rep. Jim Jordan was aware of, but didn’t respond to, allegations of sexual misconduct by an Ohio State University team doctor when the lawmaker was an assistant wrestling coach there in the 1990s.
“There’s no way unless he’s got dementia or something that he’s got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State,” Mr. Coleman, the mixed martial arts champion, said of Mr. Jordan in an interview Wednesday. Messrs. Coleman... ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
/ Updated By Corky Siemaszko
Rep. Jim Jordan, the powerful Republican congressman from Ohio, is being accused by former wrestlers he coached more than two decades ago at Ohio State University of failing to stop the team doctor from molesting them and other students.
The university announced in April that it was investigating accusations that Dr. Richard Strauss, who died in 2005, abused team members when he was the team doctor from the mid-1970s to late 1990s.
Jordan, who was assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1986 to 1994, has repeatedly said he knew nothing of the abuse until former students began speaking out this spring, and continued to deny it on Tuesday. His denials, however, have been met with skepticism and anger from some former members of the wrestling team.
Three former wrestlers told NBC News that it was common knowledge that Strauss showered regularly with the students and inappropriately touched them during appointments, and said it would have been impossible for Jordan to be unaware; one wrestler said he told Jordan directly about the abuse.
Former head coach Russ Hellickson, Jordan's mentor, said in a recent video — made by Mike DiSabato, a former wrestler — that Hellickson had told Strauss that he was being too "hands on” with students.
DiSabato, whose allegations against Strauss prompted Ohio State to open its investigation, called Jordan a “liar.”
“I considered Jim Jordan a friend,” DiSabato said. “But at the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn’t know what was going on.”
DiSabato said he reached out to Jordan this year, before going to the university, to tell Jordan that he planned to go public with his allegations. Jordan told him to “please leave me out of it,” DiSabato said. “He asked me not to get him involved.”
"At the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn’t know what was going on.”
Dunyasha Yetts, who wrestled at Ohio State in 1993 and 1994, said he and others told Jordan about Strauss.
“I remember I had a thumb injury and went into Strauss’ office and he started pulling down my wrestling shorts,” he said. “I’m like, what the f--- are you doing? And I went out and told Russ and Jim what happened. I was not having it. They went in and talked to Strauss.”
Yetts said he and his teammates talked to Jordan numerous times about Strauss.
“For God’s sake, Strauss’s locker was right next to Jordan’s and Jordan even said he’d kill him if he tried anything with him,” Yetts said.
Yetts admitted that he did time for bilking investors out of nearly $2 million. “I am not a perfect person, but ask any of the wrestlers and they will tell you everybody knew about Doc,” said Yetts, who served 18 months in prison.
As for Jordan, Yetts said, “He’s a great guy. We would have all these great talks with him and he talked about how one day he’d be the president of the United States."
"So it’s sad for me to hear that he’s denying knowing about Strauss," he said. "I don’t know why he would, unless it’s a cover-up. Either you’re in on it, or you’re a liar.”
A former teammate of DiSabato’s who asked not to be identified said he never told Jordan directly that Strauss had abused him. But there is no way Jordan could have avoided the rumors “because it was all over the locker room.”
“I love Jimmy to death,” the ex-wrestler said. “It was a head-scratcher to me why he would say he didn’t know anything. Doc used to take showers with the team even though he didn’t do any workouts, and everybody used to snicker about how you go into his office for a sore shoulder and he tells you to take your pants down.”
When the first stories about the university investigation appeared this spring, Jordan told The Columbus Dispatch, “I had not heard about any type of abuse at all.” He also said that “no one reported any type of abuse” to him.
After NBC News reached out to Jordan, the congressman’s spokesman repeated the denial.
“Congressman Jordan never saw any abuse, never heard about any abuse, and never had any abuse reported to him during his time as a coach at Ohio State,” his spokesman, Ian Fury, said in an email to NBC News.
Shortly after the NBC News story was published, Fury added the following statement: "He has not been contacted by investigators about the matter but will assist them in any way they ask, because if what is alleged is true, the victims deserve a full investigation and justice.”
But Kathleen Trafford of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, the Dayton, Ohio-based law firm that was appointed as legal counsel to Ohio State, said in a statement that investigators "had previously contacted Rep. Jordan's office by email and phone to request that he participate in an interview."
"To date, Rep. Jordan has not responded to those requests," Trafford wrote. "The investigative team is continuing its efforts to schedule an interview with Rep. Jordan."
Jordan, a founder of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of the most conservative representatives, is a staunch ally of President Donald Trump and is frequently mentioned as a possible replacement for the speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.
Ryan, through his spokesman Doug Andres, also weighed in on the Ohio State investigation and Jordan's role.
"These are serious allegations and issues," Andres said. "The university has rightfully initiated a full investigation into the matter. The speaker will await the findings of that inquiry."
DiSabato forwarded to NBC News an email he sent on April 24 to Jordan and the congressman’s brother, Jeff, who runs Jeff Jordan's State Champ Camp, a nationally known wrestling camp in Ohio. DiSabato sent the email 19 days after Ohio State announced on April 5 that it was investigating Strauss and the administrators of the wrestling program at the time, including the coaches, just as other colleges have done in similar circumstances.
DiSabato was concerned that the university would ultimately sweep his allegations under the rug, and he wanted to ensure that Jordan would back him up.
“I ask you to give your full attention to the information attached to this email,” DiSabato wrote. “We [are] watching you. … You have the platform to cut through the double talk, placation and finger pointing.”
Jordan and his brother did not reply to the email, DiSabato said. Jeff Jordan said in an email that he'd never attended or worked at Ohio State University.
Rep. Jim Jordan speaks during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on June 28. Alex Wong / Getty Images
Jim Jordan, who has made a name for himself in Congress by grilling investigators probing alleged collusion by the Trump campaign with the Russians, is among the witnesses expected to be questioned by the law firm that Ohio State hired to conduct the probe into Strauss’ misconduct, officials involved with the investigation said.
In the video that DiSabato made about the allegations against Strauss, which DiSabato sent to Ohio State in June, Hellickson, the former head wrestling coach, said he told school administrators about Strauss and also warned the doctor to steer clear of his wrestlers.
“I said, ‘You make the guys nervous when you shower with them,’” Hellickson said in the video. “His response was, ‘Coach, you shower with your guys all the time.’ And I said, ‘Not for an hour, Doc.’”
DiSabato and his former teammates said Jordan and Hellickson were close, and if the head coach had qualms about Strauss he would have shared them with his No. 2.
“Jim was Coach Russ’ right-hand man,” one former wrestler said.
Hellickson, an Olympics silver medalist in wrestling in 1976 who has done commentary from the games for NBC Sports, did not return calls for comment.
In response to a series of questions from NBC, Ohio State emailed a statement saying that the law firm Perkins Coie was overseeing the probe into the Strauss allegations for the university. OSU said it has also reached out “to the Columbus Division of Police and the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for any potential criminal investigation.”
“To date, Perkins Coie has interviewed more than 150 former students and witnesses and is engaged in further investigative efforts,” the university said in the statement. “Ohio State has shared all additional information that has come to the attention of the university with the independent investigators whose work is ongoing.”
It’s unclear whether former Ohio State coaches or administrators could face any penalties from the university for not protecting wrestlers from Strauss.
“Our efforts will continue to be focused on uncovering what may have happened during this era, what university leaders at the time may have known, and whether any response at the time was appropriate,” the university’s statement said. “Once the independent investigation has been completed, we will be in a position to consider what further action might be appropriate.”
Jordan is wrestling royalty. Born and raised in Champaign County, Ohio, he was a four-time state wrestling champion. Competing for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he won NCAA titles in 1985 and 1986.
But in the wrestling world, Jordan is best known for defeating future two-time Olympic gold medalist John Smith twice in an NCAA tournament in 1985.
Jordan returned home to Ohio and — while working as a coach — earned a master’s degree in education at Ohio State and later a law degree from Capital University in Columbus before launching his political career in 1994 when he was elected to the Ohio General Assembly.
A 1978 employment application information for Dr. Richard Strauss, from Ohio State University personnel files. Ohio State University via AP file
Strauss signed on at Ohio State as an attending physician in September 1978 and served as a team physician in the athletics department from July 1981 to June 1995, according to the university’s statement. He also worked as a part-time doctor in the university’s student health department from July 1994 to August 1996.
After resigning from the Ohio State medical staff in 1994, Strauss stayed on as an emeritus faculty member until he retired in July 1998 and moved from Columbus to Los Angeles, the university said.
Citing Los Angeles County coroner records, The Columbus Dispatch reported that Strauss died of suicide in 2005 after struggling with pain and other health issues.
Strauss’ relatives have not spoken publicly about the allegations since they surfaced. NBC News was not able to reach any of his relatives.
DiSabato, who runs a Columbus-based sports and entertainment agency called the Profectus Group, said the recent conviction of former Olympics gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar prompted him and other Ohio State athletes to come forward about Strauss.
Strauss’ primary job was to give wrestlers physicals, treat them for injuries and monitor their health, DiSabato said. He said Strauss also preyed on students who played other sports.
“Strauss sexually assaulted male athletes in at least fifteen varsity sports during his employment at OSU from 1978 through 1998,” DiSabato wrote in a June 26 email to Kathleen M. Trafford of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, the Columbus-based law firm that represents Ohio State. “Athlete victims include members of the following programs: football, basketball, wrestling, swimming, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, gymnastics, ice hockey, soccer, baseball, tennis, track and cross country.”
Chillingly, DiSabato added: “Based on testimony from victim athletes from each of the aforementioned varsity sports, we estimate that Strauss sexually assaulted and/or raped a minimum of 1,500/2,000 athletes at OSU from 1978 through 1998.”
Ohio State has confirmed that investigators have received “confidential reports of sexual misconduct committed by Strauss” from former athletes in 14 sports and from former patients in Student Health Services.
In the video, DiSabato said Strauss knew that many of the athletes were small-town kids who weren’t likely to protest if the doctor told them to disrobe, for fear of losing their scholarships. He said coaches knew that Strauss was a predator.
“Everybody knew before you were going into the [examination] room that Doc Strauss was going to touch you,” DiSabato said. “It was like a joke before you went in there.”
Strauss wasn’t the only Ohio State official who showered with the team, DiSabato said. After practice ended at 3:30 p.m., some university professors, administrators and others would show up in the shower stalls just as the athletes were arriving, he said.
It was, DiSabato said, like walking through “the gauntlet of sexual deviancy.”
Another former wrestler whose testimony appears on the video DiSabato submitted to investigators described how Strauss grabbed his penis during an examination.
“I didn’t do a thing,” he said when asked how he responded. “Probably, because I was scared.”
He broke down when asked why, after all these years, he was speaking out.
“Why am I doing this now? It’s just hard,” he said. “I don’t want this to ever have to happen to anybody else, ever … at The Ohio State University or any school.” | – The number of Ohio State wrestlers who've come forward to say Rep. Jim Jordan knew about abuse at the hands of their team doctor is rising, despite Jordan's adamant denials. After an initial report on three former wrestlers, NBC News interviews a fourth accuser, Shawn Dailey, who says he was groped several times by Dr. Richard Strauss in the mid-'90s, when Jordan was the team's assistant coach. "It was very common knowledge in the locker room that if you went to Dr. Strauss for anything, you would have to pull your pants down," Dailey, now 43, says, adding he never approached Jordan about his own abuse but took part in locker room discussions about Strauss with Jordan. Dailey specifically backs up the account of former teammate Dunyasha Yetts, saying Jordan's reply to Yetts after Yetts complained about Strauss was: "If he tried that with me, I would kill him." Dailey notes he's a Republican, like Jordan, whom he calls a "close friend" and "good guy" whose campaign he donated to in 1994. Still, "what happened drove me out of the sport," he says. "So I was surprised to hear Jim say that he knew nothing about it. … That's kind of hurtful." Former UFC champ Mark Coleman also speaks out, telling the Wall Street Journal "there's no way unless [Jordan's] got dementia or something that he's got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State. … I have nothing but respect for this man, I love this man, but he knew as far as I'm concerned." Meanwhile, President Trump has weighed in, telling reporters Thursday that he believes Jordan "100%, no question in my mind." "Jim Jordan is one of the most outstanding people I've met since I've been in Washington," Trump said, adding he doesn't believe the allegations against him "at all." |
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— A quick-thinking Johnston County emergency dispatcher is credited with saving the day after he helped police locate a woman who was trapped inside the trunk of a car.
On Jan. 14, 911 supervisor Tim Medlin received a call from a woman who said she was locked in the trunk of a moving car by her jealous boyfriend. Medlin said it was hard to understand her.
"The only thing we knew is it was a female that was very upset, and that she was in the trunk of the car," he said.
The call got disconnected. He called back but could not reach the woman.
Medlin then had the idea to text her from a cell phone. She responded.
"Texting, it was the only way I knew we would probably not get her in trouble," Medlin said. "When I sent a simple text, 'Can you text?' She responded, 'Yes.' The immediate response after that was, 'Help me.'"
The woman was able to provide Medlin with the make and color of the vehicle and told him she believed she was headed to Fayetteville.
Medlin called the Cumberland County Sheriff's office, who then contacted Verizon Wireless, and was able to locate the phone.
The woman also gave authorities the name of her boyfriend - Nicholas Mattevi.
Once they had a location, Fayetteville police spotted the car, rescued the woman and arrested Mattevi.
"They located her. It was a good feeling to know she was located," Medlin said.
Jason Barbour, Johnston County's 911 director, said all 911 centers can receive text messages, but cannot initiate them, something he says needs to change.
"This is a prime example of technology being used to the fullest at someone's greatest time of need," Barbour said. "We can only receive texts and then text back one another. We can't start the conversation. So that was the problem."
Barbour said he is glad Medlin had a cell phone nearby to text the woman, but believes all 911 centers should be able to be updated so that they can initiate texts from their systems.
Mattevi was charged with false imprisonment. He was released on a $10,000 bond. ||||| A 911 dispatcher for Johnston County, North Carolina, recently helped save a woman who was locked in the trunk of a moving car, according to officials.
The 29-year-old woman called 911 around 4 a.m. on Jan. 14, 2017, saying she had a disagreement with her boyfriend, who forced her into a trunk, Jason Barbour, director of the Johnston County Emergency 911 Communications Center, said.
Barbour told ABC News today that the shift supervisor at the time, Tim Medlin, responded to the call.
"She was crying and very upset, so it was hard to understand her at first, but [Medlin] finally heard her say she was locked in a trunk of a car," Barbour explained. "The call then dropped, and his multiple attempts to call her back were unsuccessful."
Medlin "refused to give up" and used the office's emergency cellphone in an attempt to reach the woman, according to Barbour.
"It was this flip phone, and [Medlin] texted the woman on that phone since he couldn't reach her by calling," Barbour said. "Fortunately, she started texting back and told us that she needed help and that she believed she was in a red Mustang headed towards Fayetteville."
Medlin was then able to get the woman's location with the help of a cellphone provider. Police responded and stopped the car in the city of Fayetteville, Barbour said.
"And lo and behold, the woman was in the trunk of the car," Barbour said. He added that if it wasn't for Medlin's quick thinking, the woman may not have been found on time.
"He really stood by our motto, 'Failure is not an option,'" Barbour said.
Lt. Todd Joyce, a public information officer for the Fayetteville Police Department, told ABC News today that the woman in the trunk was found unharmed. He added that her boyfriend, 32-year-old Nicholas Mattevi, was arrested around 5 a.m. and charged with false imprisonment, a misdemeanor.
Fayetteville Police Department
Mattevi has since been released from jail, according to Joyce. He said it was not immediately clear if Mattevi had obtained a lawyer or entered a plea.
ABC News could not reach Mattevi for comment.
The Cumberland County District Court did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for information. ||||| A 911 dispatcher's quick thinking may have saved a life or prevented a more serious crime. It happened in Johnston County as a woman was locked in the trunk of car going down the interstate.Around 4 a.m. Saturday, January 14, Johnston County 911 Shift Supervisor Tim Medlin got a 911 cell phone call from a woman who said she'd been kidnapped from Raleigh and put in the trunk of a car which was traveling down the highway.At that point, the car was headed east on I-40 nearing the I-95 interchange. Dispatchers had that information from a cell phone tracking device. But, the caller wasn't able to tell dispatchers anything else valuable before the call was lost.She didn't answer when they called back. That's when Medlin had an idea. Dispatchers had a cell phone to notify supervisors if the land lines went out. He decided to use it to text the woman who called.She responded, told them she knew the man driving, and were likely headed to Fayetteville. Dispatchers sent Fayetteville police to the address. They arrested Nicholas Mattevi and charged him with false imprisonment.There was huge sigh of relief in the Johnston County 911 center."Okay, they're out with her. They've got them. They've confirmed that they've got them. We're like, 'Okay, this is over with. It's done. I can go home. I can go to bed. We've done our job,'" Medlin recalled.The phone that Medlin used is an old flip phone. His boss told ABC11 Monday he's going to buy a smart phone for the team so if it ever happens again they'll have a keyboard. | – A North Carolina woman allegedly locked in the trunk of a moving car by her boyfriend was saved by a quick-thinking 911 dispatcher and a lowly flip phone, ABC News reports. The 29-year-old woman called 911 around 4am Jan. 14. The woman had gotten in a fight with her boyfriend, who was "jealous," according to WRAL. Before dispatcher Tim Medlin could get much information from the woman, the call was dropped. He was unable to get her to answer when he called back. Then Medlin remembered a flip phone the 911 communications center keeps around in case the phone lines go down, WTVD reports. He says texting was the only way he could think to contact her without getting "her in trouble." The woman texted Medlin back, letting the dispatcher know she was in a red Mustang headed toward Fayetteville. Verizon provided the location of the woman's phone, and police stopped her and her boyfriend, Nicholas Mattevi, in Fayetteville. Mattevi, 32, was arrested and charged with false imprisonment. "I can go to bed," Medlin recalls feeling upon hearing of the arrest. "We've done our job." He says he's planning to buy a smartphone for the office to replace the old flip phone and make it easier to text if there's a next time. Medlin's boss tells ABC the dispatcher "really stood by our motto: Failure is not an option." (This 911 dispatcher was accused of hanging up on callers.) |
The change comes as card fraud has more than doubled in the U.S. over the last 15 years while falling in much of the rest of the world where chip-enabled cards have been in place for much of that time. ||||| Advertisement
Recently received a new credit card that has a microchip on its front? Wondering about the change?
Credit cards with security chips are a part of the new card processing system being adopted by the U.S., whereby the card used by a consumer will have a special microchip that will need to be inserted in a reader rather than swiped at a checkout terminal to close a transaction.
The new credit cards look like any old credit card except that they have a tiny metallic chip on the front. The chip-embedded cards deploy EMV microchips, which is short for Europay, MasterCard and Visa. This system is already in use in several parts of Europe.
The microchip basically contains a user's payment information, which so far was contained on the magnetic strip. The microchip also gives a novel code which is different for every purchase.
The transition to chip-enabled credit cards will make life more difficult for criminals as they are more secure than magnetic strip-only cards.
How? Because the microprocessor in the microchips - which is like a mini computer - adds an additional layer of security for each transaction.
According to Visa's Stephanie Erickson, Head of Authentication Product Integration, while criminals were able to make counterfeit physical copies of magnetic strip-based cards, the chip-based cards will make the process more difficult. Since the chips contain data relating to a specific purchase, their reproduction is tough.
"They can't create a counterfeit card which is two-thirds of the fraud we see in the system," says Erickson.
Moreover, Erickson opines that countries which shifted to this technology within two years of the transition, saw the counterfeit reduce by 60 to 70 percent.
Some may argue that the unique transaction code generated by the chip every single time the credit card is used may lead to a compromise. However, experts alleviate the fear by assuring that even if the code was gotten hold of by a thief it would be worthless.
One, however, would still be required to sign even when deploying a chip-based card.
While the new system promises more safety, a downside of the new microchip-based credit cards is that they take longer to process when compared to the older system. If an old swipe transaction took three to five seconds, then this "dip" method takes between five to ten seconds.
The increased time for transaction would impact the lines at the checkout and could be a problem especially during high-traffic periods such as Black Friday.
On Oct. 1, merchants - not card issuers - will be responsible for fraudulent transactions if they don't upgrade their payment terminals.
© 2016 Tech Times, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. ||||| On Thursday, merchants who cannot process chip-enabled cards could become liable for fraudulent transactions at their stores. MasterCard and Visa set the deadline for the new rules, which are part of their agreements with the retailers and banks that use their networks. American Express will shift liability on Oct. 16.
Consumers, however, will not be caught in the middle. Federal law requires banks to reimburse consumers for different types of fraud. The only difference is that, come Thursday, banks could go after retailers that have not properly updated their equipment.
Not everyone will have chip-enabled cards by the deadline. While most customers at the big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America will receive their cards by the end of the year, some will not get new cards until 2016. Some issuers will also wait until customers’ existing cards are close to expiring.
Credit and debit cards without chips will continue to work until they expire, or until consumers activate their new cards. And they will still work at payment terminals that have been updated to accommodate chips.
But new machines will prompt users who swipe a chip card to dip it instead.
“You should always use the chip device, not the swipe device,” said Ed Mierzwinski, the consumer program director of U.S. PIRG, the federation of state public interest groups. | – Credit card purchases are about to get a little slower and a lot more secure. Consumers have been receiving new cards with fraud-prevention chips and on Thursday, a lot more retailers will be asking customers to put their card in a reader instead of swiping it, reports the Los Angeles Times. Oct. 1 is the day that the credit card industry will start shifting liability for fraudulent transactions to issuers and merchants that haven't adopted the new technology, which is already used in much of the rest of the world and is credited with dramatically reducing fraud by making it harder to duplicate cards. Cards without chips will continue to work until they expire, though experts tell the New York Times that consumers who have the choice should always opt to dip a card in a reader instead of swiping it. The chips in the new cards use a system known as EMV, for creators Europay, MasterCard, and Visa. They contain buyer information and add an extra level of security by creating a new code for every purchase, Tech Times explains. In Europe, consumers need to enter a PIN, but US retailers will only require signatures. Around 70% of cards will have chips by the end of this year, according to the LA Times, though the full switch is expected to take years. Retailers worry that the extra few seconds per purchase will slow down businesses at peak times—and that more fraud will now take place online. "It's like closing the front door but leaving the back door open," a National Retail Federation exec tells the New York Times. "The thieves will figure out that the back door is unlocked." |
Pippi Longstocking Porn Movie Studio Cracks Down Stop Using 14-Year-Old to Promote Sex Tape
Pippi Longstocking Porno -- Movie Studio Cracks Down ... Stop Using 14-YEAR-OLD to Promote Sex Tape
EXCLUSIVE
Images of a 14-year-oldhave no business on a Pippi Longstocking sex tape website ... and now a major Hollywood movie studio is gearing up for war, TMZ has learned.We know ... Columbia Pictures, the studio behind "The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking," learned that multiple websites associated with thesex tape are using images from the 1988 movie to promote the XXX footage.Obviously, that ain't sitting well with Columbia ... so lawyers stepped in and fired off an email, warning the websites to take down shots of the freckle-faced red head girl immediately, or face a big, fat lawsuit.The sites complied for the most part -- removing images of the DVD as well as links to purchase it -- but it still includes many Pippi references, as well as a screenshot from the original movie (in which Tami is 14).We've learned ... one of the XXX sites responded by adding a disclaimer on the home page, saying the sex tape is not sponsored, endorsed by or affiliated with the studio.So far, it's unclear how Columbia feels about the compromise.FYI, you won't believe how popular the Pippi porno websites are -- we're told they both average over 200k views per day. Curiously, the biggest chunk of traffic comes from Sweden.Bork, bork, bork! ||||| Pippi Longstocking BUSTED ... FOR FELONY HIT AND RUN
Pippi Longstocking -- Arrested for Felony Hit and Run
EXCLUSIVE
Tami Erin -- the actress who played-- was arrested Saturday afternoon for felony hit and run and drunk driving ... TMZ has learned.Erin was driving in L.A. when she allegedly hit 3 cars and took off. Law enforcement sources say at least one person was taken to the hospital.And get this ... Erin didn't hit them all at once -- we're told she hit the first car then drove off ... then hit another car and drove off ... and then she hit the last.When cops found her they did a field sobriety test and then arrested her for both the felony hit and run and DUI. One source says she was "totally out of control ... just out of it."Erin refused to submit a blood alcohol test ... and her bail was set at $100K.As TMZ first reported ... Erin's latest screen credit is a gnarly sex tape.-- Tami just bailed out of jail. | – Things seem to have gone downhill for Tami Erin since she played Pippi Longstocking in the '80s: The actress was arrested yesterday for felony hit and run ... while allegedly driving drunk, TMZ reports. Erin is accused of hitting three cars in LA—in three separate incidents, not all at the same time—and leaving the scenes. A source says she was "totally out of control ... just out of it." At least one person had to go to the hospital, according to law enforcement sources. Erin last appeared on TMZ because her sex tape was being marketed with images of her as a 14-year-old Pippi. |
After a freshman died from downing beer, rum and 151-proof liquor in an initiation ritual, California Polytechnic State University in 2010 banned fraternities from recruiting newly arrived students.
Right away, the North-American Interfraternity Conference, which represents 75 national fraternities, jumped in. The Indianapolis-based trade group e-mailed and met with Cal Poly administrators, paid for a study that opposed the ban and spurred a three-year campaign by student leaders. It won, and the school lifted the restriction this year. One freshman, Charlie Ross, couldn’t be happier about the opportunity to join a fraternity right away instead of waiting three months.
“You’ve got a group of guys who watch out for you when you’re drinking,” Ross, 18, said after unpacking his bags at freshman orientation on the San Luis Obispo campus.
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The university’s turnabout shows how the Interfraternity Conference is blocking an approach that some higher education leaders say can save lives: postponing recruitment of freshmen, who account for a disproportionate number of fraternity-related deaths. The conference has opposed proposals at dozens of colleges to delay recruiting by a semester or a year.
“These organizations were putting our freshmen at risk,” said Shirley Tilghman, former president of Princeton University, which prohibited fraternity recruiting of freshmen, starting in the fall of 2012. “There is so much vulnerability in that first week, that first month as a freshman on a college campus -- of feeling lost. It leads to all kinds of decisions that you would not make if you had a little more time to find your way.”
Freshmen Deaths
Princeton students who belonged to fraternities, especially freshmen, were more likely to be hospitalized because of drinking, said Tilghman, who stepped down as president in June. Of 60 fraternity-related deaths nationwide since 2005, 24, or 40 percent, were of freshmen, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Universities often are susceptible to the Interfraternity Conference’s pressure to recruit freshmen because Greek life appeals to applicants and many alumni donors remain loyal to their fraternities. Only 80 of about 800 U.S. campuses with fraternities defer recruiting, according to the conference.
Fraternity membership surged to 327,260 in 2011 from 253,148 in 2005. National fraternities and affiliated foundations generated $185 million in student dues and other revenue in 2010-2011, up 24 percent from 2005-2006, tax records show.
Binge Drinking
White male fraternity members drink more heavily than any other group on campus, and published research suggests that the youngest students are most likely to engage in binge drinking, according to Aaron White, program director for college and underage drinking prevention research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
“The first couple of months of school are a particularly vulnerable time for students with regard to heavy drinking,” White said. “Delaying rush makes a lot of sense.”
Founded in 1909, the Interfraternity Conference joined the industry’s political arm, known as FratPAC, in fighting against a federal anti-hazing bill last year.
The group has stepped up advocacy on campuses, especially against recruiting restrictions. With its encouragement, fraternity leaders at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland rejected a 2011 plan to defer recruiting freshmen. At the University of Colorado at Boulder, the conference backed fraternities’ decision to operate without university recognition, reducing their access to campus facilities, rather than accept deferred recruitment and live-in advisers.
Lawsuit Threat
“The NIC was not supportive” of university rules, said Deb Coffin, Colorado vice chancellor for student affairs.
The University of Central Florida this year lifted a recruitment moratorium, which had been prompted by excessive drinking at fraternities and sororities, after the Interfraternity Conference threatened to sue the school for violating students’ freedom-of-association rights. The national group’s threat didn’t influence the university, said Maribeth Ehasz, a Central Florida vice president.
Of the 24 fraternity-related freshman deaths since 2005, 15 occurred during and after recruiting events, including hazing and initiation rituals.
At Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, freshman David Bogenberger died last year of alcohol poisoning after a fraternity initiation rite known as “Mom and Dad’s Night.” With other pledges, Bogenberger moved from room to room at the chapter house answering questions from members and downing vodka before passing out, court records show.
Fraternity Measures
Fraternities have taken steps to protect students, including banning alcohol at recruiting events and supporting sanctions against violators, said Peter Smithhisler, president of the Interfraternity Conference.
While drinking deaths at fraternities are “heartbreaking,” many students drink too much, not just at fraternities, he said. Keeping out freshmen merely puts a “Band-Aid” on a broader campus problem, he said. It also deprives freshmen of opportunities at fraternities for leadership, career networking and charitable work, he said.
“It would be a travesty if the fraternity experience were not available for the development of these young men,” Smithhisler said. “We believe in the fraternity experience and its ability to really transform an undergraduate into better men, better citizens, better doctors, teachers, engineers.”
Fraternities’ Lifeblood
If colleges are allowed to restrict recruitment for a semester or a year, they could next extend the delay through sophomore year, or even shut down fraternities, as some liberal arts institutions have done, he said.
“Recruitment is the lifeblood for every chapter,” Smithhisler said.
Carson Starkey, whose death prompted the Cal Poly ban, hadn’t planned on joining a fraternity until he arrived at the public university of 19,000 on the central California coast. One out of six undergraduates there participate in Greek life.
The clean-cut, curly-haired 18-year-old from Austin, Texas, knew no one on campus, and the opportunity to bond with fraternity brothers soon appealed to him. He chose to pledge Sigma Alpha Epsilon, one of the largest fraternities, with chapters on almost 230 campuses in the U.S. and Canada.
‘Drink Up’
While it included other activities such as a scavenger hunt, much of Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s initiation revolved around alcohol. After Thanksgiving, fraternity members summoned Starkey and 16 other pledges to the garage of an off-campus house for “Brown Bag Night.” Tarps covered couches to protect them from vomit, according to court testimony. Pledges sat in a circle, with a trash can at the center.
At 10:30 p.m., each pledge was given a brown bag with cans and bottles of alcohol. “Drink up, finish by midnight,” said one upperclassman, according to court testimony.
Starkey’s bag had two 24-ounce cans of Steel Reserve beer, a 16-ounce can of Sparks alcoholic energy drink, and a fifth of rum he was to split with another pledge, one of several Sigma Alpha Epsilon brothers who bought the liquor testified. Pledges also shared a bottle of 151-proof Everclear, which is 75.5 percent alcohol. As members chanted “Puke and Rally,” Starkey emptied his bag in 20 minutes, court records show.
Dirty Mattress
After Starkey passed out, fraternity brothers debated whether to drive him to a hospital less than a mile away, members testified. They placed Starkey in a car and removed his Sigma Alpha Epsilon pin, so that doctors wouldn’t know he was at a fraternity event. Then they changed their minds. Rather than go to the hospital, they brought him back in the house and left him on a dirty mattress, according to court records and Starkey’s mother, Julia.
Starkey died on Dec. 2, 2008, 71 days after starting college. He had a blood-alcohol content of 0.44, or about five times the legal limit, according to court testimony.
Four fraternity brothers pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges related to hazing. They were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 30 to 120 days.
The Starkeys sued Sigma Alpha Epsilon and several members for negligence, settling for at least $2.45 million, court records show.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is committed to “providing a meaningful, beneficial and safe experience” for all members, the national fraternity said in a statement.
Cal Poly barred Sigma Alpha Epsilon from campus until 2033 and considered eliminating fraternities. Instead, it stepped up oversight and decided in 2010 to delay freshman recruiting until January, the school’s second quarter.
‘Huge Pushback’
Soon after the policy was announced, “there was a huge pushback” from the fraternity industry, said Stephan Lamb, then the university’s associate director of student life.
Smithhisler and other Interfraternity Conference executives visited the school in 2010 to ask administrators to rescind deferred recruitment.
“The hand-wringing has started” among fraternity leaders about Cal Poly’s limits on recruitment, Smithhisler wrote in a Jan. 12, 2011, e-mail to Lamb obtained through a request to the university under California’s open-records law.
The next month, the trade group sent industry experts to Cal Poly to conduct an in-depth assessment of the school’s Greek system, according to university records. Typically, universities request such an evaluation and pay an $8,000 fee. In this instance, the conference covered the cost.
Stealing, Drinking
The report was hardly flattering. The assessment, prepared by fraternity executives, college administrators and a social worker, called Cal Poly’s recruitment “dehumanizing and superficial” and said alcohol was “a, and perhaps THE, defining factor” of Greek life.
“Hazing occurs in the men’s chapters, particularly physical/strength endurance, stealing and drinking,” it said. “Alcohol plays a major role in the Cal Poly fraternity/sorority experience, especially within fraternity life.”
Still, the report called for an end to deferred recruitment because it runs “counter to a student’s right to choose.” The policy unfairly required fraternities, but not sororities, to postpone rush, according to the assessment.
The national group worked through students, too. Andy Farrell, who headed Cal Poly’s student fraternity group in 2010, said Smithhisler took him aside and “made it clear that the [Interfraternity Conference] stand is that deferred recruitment should not exist.”
Fighting Rules
National fraternities urged their Cal Poly chapters to fight the new rule, said Michael Franceschi, another student leader at the time. When students organized, the conference supplied them with research and helped edit a paper arguing against deferred recruitment.
“We’d send them drafts of each section,” said Jason Colombini, then a campus fraternity leader and now student body president. “They would tell us things to look into.” Colombini said he acted on his own initiative, not the Interfraternity Conference’s.
Turnover at the top of Cal Poly aided the fraternity cause. Jeffrey Armstrong, who became Cal Poly’s president in 2011, and Keith Humphrey, vice president for student affairs, sympathized with students’ pleas, Colombini said. Unlike their predecessors, Armstrong and Humphrey had been in fraternities, and Armstrong met his wife through his membership in Alpha Gamma Rho.
In June, Cal Poly announced it would abolish deferred recruiting at its 17 fraternities. In return, fraternity members agreed to register their parties, undergo alcohol education and submit to periodic reviews. About $100,000 in higher fees from fraternity members will fund a new university position monitoring Greek life.
‘More Control’
The university didn’t bow to fraternity pressure, Humphrey said. It simply wanted fraternity and sorority recruitment on the same schedule. Deferred recruiting isn’t a “silver bullet,” Armstrong said.
“We’re going to gain a lot more control” through the agreement with fraternity members, Armstrong said. “There will be a lot more accountability.”
The Interfraternity Conference assured the university that fraternities had shown “higher alcohol awareness.” Humphrey agreed, saying that students are taking alcohol safety more seriously.
“We’re entering a different day,” he said.
Still, the number of people transported to the hospital by Cal Poly police because of alcohol doubled to 35, in 2012-2013, from 2008, the year Starkey died. The statistics don’t indicate how many belonged to fraternities. The increase shows that students are more willing to call for help, said Martin Bragg, Cal Poly’s director of health and counseling services.
Lambda Cabana
Since 2011, the university has disciplined nine fraternities, in most cases for alleged alcohol-related violations. After Lambda Chi Alpha’s “Lambda Cabana” beach volleyball tournament and charity fundraiser in April, three underage partygoers went to the hospital with alcohol poisoning, according to university records.
The university suspended Lambda Chi activities. Lambda Chi Alpha said it hadn’t organized any parties after the fundraiser, records show. Graham Garland, president of its Cal Poly chapter, declined to comment. The university later lifted the suspension because an investigation didn’t support allegations against the fraternity, Humphrey said.
In an editorial this month, the student paper, the Mustang News, said fraternities haven’t changed their behavior since Starkey’s death, and the administration made a mistake in letting them recruit freshman right away.
“Cal Poly is opening the door for more trouble,” the editorial said.
Parents Troubled
Carson Starkey’s parents, while pleased with the alcohol education program, opposed ending deferred recruitment. They run a nonprofit group to raise awareness about alcohol poisoning.
“I find it troubling that they [fraternities] would be advocating against our efforts to try to save lives,” said Julia Starkey, 52.
Her son would be alive if recruitment came later, she said.
“I’m 200 percent sure he wouldn’t have joined,” she said. “His core group of friends were outside the fraternity, but that didn’t happen the first weeks of school.”
Fraternities are putting revenue ahead of safety, said his father, Scott Starkey, 54.
“If you defer the recruitment of your members, you’re deferring income, I get that,” he said. “We’re business people. But I also feel there’s a human side.”
Welcoming Freshmen
On a crisp late summer day during freshman orientation last month at Cal Poly, posters near dormitory entrances urged students to wear black wristbands with the name of the Starkeys’ charity: “Aware Awake Alive.”
“Take care of yourself,” read the posters. “Take care of your friends.”
Freshmen were divided over the new rush policy. Adam Massini, 18, from La Quinta, California, said it would be better to delay recruitment.
“Freshmen haven’t had much experience with drinking and don’t know their limits,” said Massini, who is considering joining a fraternity to perform community service.
Waiting isn’t going to stop freshmen from drinking heavily, said Grant Caraway, a former star high school football quarterback from Granite Bay, California.
“Some guys are going to be stupid, no matter what,” Caraway said.
With formal recruiting weeks away, a banner hung outside the Lambda Chi Alpha house. In bold, block letters, it greeted freshmen: “Welcoming You the Right Way Since 1979.”
While deferred recruiting gave freshmen more time to choose a fraternity, Lambda Chi now has no choice but to pursue them right away, said Joe Hare, 21, its vice president.
“If all the fraternities do it, we can’t wait,” he said. “It’s social suicide.”
To contact the reporters on this story: John Hechinger in Boston at jhechinger@bloomberg.net; David Glovin in New York at dglovin@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Golden at dlgolden@bloomberg.net ||||| One warm spring night in 2011, a young man named Travis Hughes stood on the back deck of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house at Marshall University, in West Virginia, and was struck by what seemed to him—under the influence of powerful inebriants, not least among them the clear ether of youth itself—to be an excellent idea: he would shove a bottle rocket up his ass and blast it into the sweet night air. And perhaps it was an excellent idea. What was not an excellent idea, however, was to misjudge the relative tightness of a 20-year-old sphincter and the propulsive reliability of a 20-cent bottle rocket. What followed ignition was not the bright report of a successful blastoff, but the muffled thud of fire in the hole.
Also on the deck, and also in the thrall of the night’s pleasures, was one Louis Helmburg III, an education major and ace benchwarmer for the Thundering Herd baseball team. His response to the proposed launch was the obvious one: he reportedly whipped out his cellphone to record it on video, which would turn out to be yet another of the night’s seemingly excellent but ultimately misguided ideas. When the bottle rocket exploded in Hughes’s rectum, Helmburg was seized by the kind of battlefield panic that has claimed brave men from outfits far more illustrious than even the Thundering Herd. Terrified, he staggered away from the human bomb and fell off the deck. Fortunately for him, and adding to the Chaplinesque aspect of the night’s miseries, the deck was no more than four feet off the ground, but such was the urgency of his escape that he managed to get himself wedged between the structure and an air-conditioning unit, sustaining injuries that would require medical attention, cut short his baseball season, and—in the fullness of time—pit him against the mighty forces of the Alpha Tau Omega national organization, which had been waiting for him.
Phil Toledano
It takes a certain kind of personal-injury lawyer to look at the facts of this glittering night and wrest from them a plausible plaintiff and defendant, unless it were possible for Travis Hughes to be sued by his own anus. But the fraternity lawsuit is a lucrative mini-segment of the personal-injury business, and if ever there was a deck that ought to have had a railing, it was the one that served as a nighttime think tank and party-idea testing ground for the brain trust of the Theta Omicron Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega and its honored guests—including these two knuckleheads, who didn’t even belong to the fraternity. Moreover, the building codes of Huntington, West Virginia, are unambiguous on the necessity of railings on elevated decks. Whether Helmburg stumbled in reaction to an exploding party guest or to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is immaterial; there should have been a railing to catch him.
And so it was that Louis Helmburg III joined forces with Timothy P. Rosinsky, Esq., a slip-and-fall lawyer from Huntington who had experience also with dog-bite, DUI, car-repossession, and drug cases. The events of that night, laid out in Helmburg’s complaint, suggested a relatively straightforward lawsuit. But the suit would turn out to have its own repeated failures to launch and unintended collateral damage, and it would include an ever-widening and desperate search for potential defendants willing to foot the modest bill for Helmburg’s documented injuries. Sending a lawyer without special expertise in wrangling with fraternities to sue one of them is like sending a Boy Scout to sort out the unpleasantness in Afghanistan. Who knows? The kid could get lucky. But it never hurts—preparedness and all that—to send him off with a body bag.
related story 18 U.S. Presidents Were Frat Boys "Fraternity men make up 85 percent of U.S. Supreme Court justices since 1910, 63 percent of all U.S. presidential cabinet members since 1900, and, historically, 76 percent of U.S. senators and 85 percent of Fortune 500 executives ... Fraternities really do breed leaders—a cohort of young men dedicated to being loyal, being knowledgeable, and embracing the skills of leadership success." Read the full story by Maria Konnikova
College fraternities—by which term of art I refer to the formerly all-white, now nominally integrated men’s “general” or “social” fraternities, and not the several other types of fraternities on American campuses (religious, ethnic, academic)—are as old, almost, as the republic. In a sense, they are older: they emanated in part from the Freemasons, of which George Washington himself was a member. When arguments are made in their favor, they are arguments in defense of a foundational experience for millions of American young men, and of a system that helped build American higher education as we know it. Fraternities also provide their members with matchless leadership training. While the system has produced its share of poets, aesthetes, and Henry James scholars, it is far more famous for its success in the powerhouse fraternity fields of business, law, and politics. An astonishing number of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, congressmen and male senators, and American presidents have belonged to fraternities. Many more thousands of American men count their fraternal experience—and the friendships made within it—as among the most valuable in their lives. The organizations raise millions of dollars for worthy causes, contribute millions of hours in community service, and seek to steer young men toward lives of service and honorable action. They also have a long, dark history of violence against their own members and visitors to their houses, which makes them in many respects at odds with the core mission of college itself.
Lawsuits against fraternities are becoming a growing matter of public interest, in part because they record such lurid events, some of them ludicrous, many more of them horrendous. For every butt bomb, there’s a complaint of manslaughter, rape, sexual torture, psychological trauma. A recent series of articles on fraternities by Bloomberg News’s David Glovin and John Hechinger notes that since 2005, more than 60 people—the majority of them students—have died in incidents linked to fraternities, a sobering number in itself, but one that is dwarfed by the numbers of serious injuries, assaults, and sexual crimes that regularly take place in these houses. Many people believe that violent hazing is the most dangerous event associated with fraternity life, but hazing causes a relatively small percentage of these injuries. Because of a variety of forces, all this harm—and the behaviors that lead to it—has lately been moving out of the shadows of private disciplinary hearings and silent suffering, and into the bright light of civil lawsuits, giving us a clear picture of some of the more forbidding truths about fraternity life. While many of these suits never make it to trial, disappearing into confidential settlements (as did that of Louis Helmburg III, nearly two years after he filed his lawsuit) or melting away once plaintiffs recognize the powerful and monolithic forces they are up against, the narratives they leave behind in their complaints—all of them matters of public record—comprise a rich and potent testimony to the kinds of experiences regularly taking place on college campuses. Tellingly, the material facts of these complaints are rarely in dispute; what is contested, most often, is only liability.
Far from being freakish and unpredictable events, fatal and near-fatal falls from fraternity-house roofs, balconies, windows, and sleeping porches are fairly regular occurrences across the country.
I have spent most of the past year looking deeply into the questions posed by these lawsuits, and more generally into the particular nature of fraternity life on the modern American campus. Much of what I found challenged my beliefs about the system, assumptions that I came to see as grossly outdated, not because the nature of fraternity life has changed so much, but rather because life at the contemporary university has gone through such a profound transformation in the past quarter century. I found that the ways in which the system exerts its power—and maintains its longevity—in the face of the many potentially antagonistic priorities in contemporary higher education commanded my grudging respect. Fraternity tradition at its most essential is rooted in a set of old, deeply American, morally unassailable convictions, some of which—such as a young man’s right to the freedom of association—emanate from the Constitution itself. In contrast, much of the policy governing college campuses today is rooted in the loose soil of a set of political and social fashions that change with the season, and that tend not to hold up to any kind of penetrating challenge. And this is why—to answer the vexing question “why don’t colleges just get rid of their bad fraternities?”—the system, and its individual frats, have only grown in power and influence. Indeed, in many substantive ways, fraternities are now mightier than the colleges and universities that host them.
The entire multibillion-dollar, 2,000-campus American college system—with its armies of salaried professors, administrators, librarians, bursars, secretaries, admissions officers, alumni liaisons, development-office workers, coaches, groundskeepers, janitors, maintenance workers, psychologists, nurses, trainers, technology-support staffers, residence-life personnel, cafeteria workers, diversity-compliance officers, the whole shebang—depends overwhelmingly for its very existence on one resource: an ever-renewing supply of fee-paying undergraduates. It could never attract hundreds of thousands of them each year—many of them woefully unprepared for the experience, a staggering number (some 40 percent) destined never to get a degree, more than 60 percent of them saddled with student loans that they very well may carry with them to their deathbeds—if the experience were not accurately marketed as a blast. They show up on campus lugging enormous Bed Bath & Beyond bags crammed with “essentials,” and with new laptop computers, on which they will surf Facebook and Tumblr while some coot down at the lectern bangs on about Maslow’s hierarchy and tries to make his PowerPoint slides appear right side up. Many of these consumer goods have been purchased with money from the very student loans that will haunt them for so long, but no matter: it’s college; any cost can be justified. The kids arrive eager to hurl themselves upon the pasta bars and the climbing walls, to splash into the 12-person Jacuzzis and lounge around the outdoor fire pits, all of which have been constructed in a blatant effort to woo them away from competitors. They swipe prepaid cards in dormitory vending machines to acquire whatever tanning wipes or earbuds or condoms or lube or energy drinks the occasion seems to require. And every moment of the experience is sweetened by the general understanding that with each kegger and rager, each lazy afternoon spent snoozing on the quad (a forgotten highlighter slowly drying out on the open pages of Introduction to Economics, a Coke Zero sweating beside it), they are actively engaged in the most significant act of self-improvement available to an American young person: college!
Phil Toledano
That all of this fun is somehow as essential as the education itself—is somehow part of a benevolent and ultimately edifying process of “growing up”—is one of the main reasons so many parents who are themselves in rocky financial shape will make economically ruinous decisions to support a four-year-residential-college experience for their children. There are many thousands of American undergraduates whose economic futures (and those of their parents) would be far brighter if they knocked off some of their general-education requirements online, or at the local community college—for pennies on the dollar—before entering the Weimar Republic of traditional-college pricing. But college education, like weddings and funerals, tends to prompt irrational financial decision making, and so here we are. Add another pesto flavor to the pasta bar, Dean Roland! We just lost another kid to online ed!
That pursuing a bachelor’s degree might be something other than a deeply ascetic and generally miserable experience was once a preposterous idea. American colleges came into being with the express purpose of training young men for the ministry, a preparation that was marked by a chilly round of early risings, Greek and Latin recitations, religious study, and strict discipline meted out by a dour faculty—along with expectations of both temperance and chastity. Hardly conditions that would augur the current trillion-dollar student-loan balloon that hovers over us like a pre-ignition Hindenburg. But sexual frustration and homiletics would not last forever as the hallmarks of American college life.
related story I Fought Back Against My College's Sexist Fraternity "I was taken aback by the fact that these women would openly acknowledge what I thought we were too old to admit in college: These men were popular. And that made them powerful. And if we rocked the boat, we could be shunned." Read the full story by Meghan McCarthy
In 1825, at Union College, in upstate New York (hardly a garden of earthly delights in the best of circumstances, but surely a gulag experience for those stuck at Union; imagine studying Thessalonians in the ass-cracking cold of a Schenectady February), a small group of young men came up with a creative act of rebellion against the fun-busters who had them down: the formation of a secret club, which they grandly named the Kappa Alpha Society. Word of the group spread, and a new kind of college institution was founded, and with it a brand-new notion: that going to college could include some pleasure. It was the American age of societies, and this new type fit right in. As Nicholas Syrett observes in his excellent history of white men’s college fraternities, The Company He Keeps, these early fraternities were in every way a measure of their time. They combined the secret handshakes and passwords of small boys’ clubs; the symbols and rituals of Freemasonry; the new national interest in Greek, as opposed to Roman, culture as a model for an emerging citizenry; and the popularity of literary societies, elements of which–oratory, recitation, and the presentation of essays—the early fraternities included. Fraternities also gave young college men a way of behaving and of thinking about themselves that quickly took on surprisingly modern dimensions. An 1857 letter that a Sigma Phi member named Jenkins Holland sent to one of his fraternity brothers suggests the new system was already hitting full stride: “I did get one of the nicest pieces of ass some day or two ago.”
From the very beginning, fraternities were loathed by the grown-ups running colleges, who tried to banish them. But independence from overbearing faculties—existing on a plane beyond the reach of discipline—was, in large measure, the point of fraternity membership; far from fearing the opprobrium of their knock-kneed overlords, the young men relished and even courted it. When colleges tried to shut them down, fraternities asserted that any threat to men’s membership in the clubs constituted an infringement of their right to freedom of association. It was, at best, a legally delicate argument, but it was a symbolically potent one, and it has withstood through the years. The powerful and well-funded political-action committee that represents fraternities in Washington has fought successfully to ensure that freedom-of-association language is included in all higher-education reauthorization legislation, thus “disallowing public Universities the ability to ban fraternities.”
An 1857 letter that a Sigma Phi sent to one of his fraternity brothers suggests the new system was already hitting full stride: “I did get one of the nicest pieces of ass some day or two ago.”
Perhaps the best testament to the deep power of fraternities is how quickly and widely they spread. Soon after Gold Rush money began flowing into the newly established state of California—giving rise to the improbable idea of building a great American university on the shores of the Pacific Ocean—fraternity men staked their own claim: a campus in Berkeley had existed barely a year before the brothers of Phi Delta Theta arrived to initiate new members. The thing to remember about fraternities is that when Kappa Alpha was founded at Union, in all of the United States there were only 4,600 college students; fraternities exist as deeply in the groundwater of American higher education as religious study—and have retained a far greater presence in the lives of modern students.
In fairly short order, a paradox began to emerge, one that exists to this day. While the fraternities continued to exert their independence from the colleges with which they were affiliated, these same colleges started to develop an increasingly bedeviling kind of interdependence with the accursed societies. To begin with, the fraternities involved themselves very deeply in the business of student housing, which provided tremendous financial savings to their host institutions, and allowed them to expand the number of students they could admit. Today, one in eight American students at four-year colleges lives in a Greek house, and a conservative estimate of the collective value of these houses across the country is $3 billion. Greek housing constitutes a troubling fact for college administrators (the majority of fraternity-related deaths occur in and around fraternity houses, over which the schools have limited and widely varying levels of operational oversight) and also a great boon to them (saving them untold millions of dollars in the construction and maintenance of campus-owned and -controlled dormitories).
Reader Responses Excerpts from comments posted to this story: "My perspective as a fraternity member and former president of a 120 man chapter at a public university in the Midwest: Fraternity houses are inherently dangerous and fraternity houses are a hell of a lot of fun."
—Valyrian Steel "Like Peter Pan trying to corral the lost boys, the job of fraternity president and his team is incredibly difficult and one that illuminates the arguments for and against the fraternity system."
—Joe "Reform of the drinking laws would help the problems explored in this article a lot more than any realistic attack on the free association rights of young adults."
—C.M. "This is a good article about why lawyers are horrible and destroy everything enjoyable in society."
—GregHood Read all comments
Moreover, fraternities tie alumni to their colleges in a powerful and lucrative way. At least one study has affirmed what had long been assumed: that fraternity men tend to be generous to their alma maters. Furthermore, fraternities provide colleges with unlimited social programming of a kind that is highly attractive to legions of potential students, most of whom are not applying to ivy-covered rejection factories, but rather to vast public institutions and obscure private colleges that are desperate for students. When Mom is trying—against all better judgment—to persuade lackluster Joe Jr. to go to college, she gets a huge assist when she drives him over to State and he gets an eyeful of frat row. Joe Jr. may be slow to grasp even the most elemental concepts of math and English (his first two years of expensive college study will largely be spent in remediation of the subjects he should have learned, for free, in high school), but one look at the Fiji house and he gets the message: kids are getting laid here; kids are having fun. Maybe he ought to snuff out the joint and take a second look at that application Mom keeps pushing across the kitchen table.
Will he be in increased physical jeopardy if he joins one of these clubs? The fraternity industry says no. When confronted with evidence of student injury and death in their houses, fraternities claim they are no worse than any other campus group; that they have become “target defendants,” prey to the avarice of tort lawyers excited by their many assets and extensive liability coverage. It is true that fraternity lawsuits tend to involve at least one, and often more, of the four horsemen of the student-life apocalypse, a set of factors that exist far beyond frat row and that are currently bringing college presidents to their knees. First and foremost of these is the binge-drinking epidemic, which anyone outside the problem has a hard time grasping as serious (everyone drinks in college!) and which anyone with knowledge of the current situation understands as a lurid and complicated disaster. The second is the issue of sexual assault of female undergraduates by their male peers, a subject of urgent importance but one that remains stubbornly difficult even to quantify, let alone rectify, although it absorbs huge amounts of student interest, outrage, institutional funding, and—increasingly—federal attention. The third is the growing pervasiveness of violent hazing on campus, an art form that reaches its apogee at fraternities, but that has lately spread to all sorts of student groups. And the fourth is the fact that Boomers, who in their own days destroyed the doctrine of in loco parentis so that they could party in blissful, unsupervised freedom, have grown up into the helicopter parents of today, holding fiercely to a pair of mutually exclusive desires: on the one hand that their kids get to experience the same unfettered personal freedoms of college that they remember so fondly, and on the other that the colleges work hard to protect the physical and emotional well-being of their precious children.
But it’s impossible to examine particular types of campus calamity and not find that a large number of them cluster at fraternity houses. Surely they have cornered the market in injuries to the buttocks. The number of lawsuits that involve paddling gone wrong, or branding that necessitated skin grafts, or a particular variety of sexual torture reserved for hazing and best not described in the gentle pages of this magazine, is astounding. To say nothing of the University of Tennessee frat boy who got dropped off, insensate, at the university hospital’s emergency room and was originally assumed to be the victim of a sexual assault, and only later turned out to have damaged his rectum by allegedly pumping wine into it through an enema hose, as had his pals.
Or, to turn away from the buttocks, as surely a good number of fraternity men would be well advised to do, consider another type of fraternity injury: the tendency of brothers and their guests to get liquored up and fall off—or out of—the damn houses is a story in itself.
The campuses of Washington State University and the University of Idaho are located some eight miles apart in the vast agricultural region of the Northwest known as the Palouse. It was at the latter institution that the 19-year-old sophomore and newly minted Delta Delta Delta pledge Amanda Andaverde arrived in August of 2009, although she had scarcely moved into the Tri Delta house and registered for classes before she was at the center of events that would leave her with brain damage and cast her as the plaintiff in a major lawsuit filed on her behalf by her devastated parents.
It would have been an unremarkable Wednesday evening—focused on the kind of partying and hooking up that are frequent pleasures of modern sorority women—save for its hideous end. Andaverde and her sorority sisters began the night at Sigma Chi, where the “sorority ladies” drank alcohol and spent the evening with “dates” they had been assigned during a party game. (The language of Andaverde’s legal complaint often seems couched in a combination of ’50s lingo and polite euphemism, intended perhaps to preclude a conservative Idaho jury from making moralistic judgments about the plaintiff’s behavior.) The charms of Andaverde’s assigned date ran thin, apparently, because close to midnight, she left him and made her way over to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, where she quickly ended up on the third-floor sleeping porch.
Many fraternity houses, especially older ones, have sleeping porches—sometimes called “cold airs” or “rack rooms”—typically located on the top floor of the buildings’ gable ends. They are large rooms filled with bunks, some of which are stacked in triple tiers, and their large windows are often left open, even in the coldest months. Many fraternity members have exceedingly fond memories of their time on the porches, which they view—like so many fraternity traditions—as a simultaneously vexing and bonding experience. Although these group sleeping arrangements were once considered an impediment to a young man’s sex life, the hookup culture, in which privacy is no longer a requirement of sexual activity, has changed that, and the sleeping-porch experience is once again coming into favor. For a variety of reasons, sleeping porches feature in a number of lawsuits, pointing to an astonishing fact: despite fraternity houses’ position as de facto residence halls for so many American college students, safety features are decidedly spotty; about half of them don’t even have fire sprinklers.
That pursuing a bachelor’s degree might be something other than a deeply ascetic and generally miserable experience was once a preposterous idea.
According to the complaint, shortly after arriving at SAE, Andaverde ran into a friend of hers, and he took her up to the sleeping porch, where he introduced her to a pal of his named Joseph Cody Cook. Andaverde and Cook talked, then climbed into Cook’s bunk, where the two began kissing. It is at this point that the language of the suit finally frees itself of euphemism and reveals the fearsome power of the unambiguous, declarative sentence: “Amanda rolled onto her shoulder toward the exterior wall, and suddenly, quickly, and unexpectedly dropped off Cook’s mattress into the open exterior window, falling from the third-floor ‘sleeping porch’ to the cement approximately 25 feet below.”
The injuries were devastating and included permanent brain injury. Andaverde was airlifted to a trauma center in Seattle, where she remained for many weeks; in the early days of her care, it seemed she might not survive. Eventually, however, she improved enough to leave the hospital and was transferred to a series of rehabilitation centers, where she spent many months learning to regain basic functions. Police, interviewed about the case, defended themselves the way police departments in college towns all over the country reasonably defend themselves when accused of not preventing a fraternity-house disaster: “We just can’t send undercover people into private houses or private parties,” said David Duke, the Moscow, Idaho, assistant chief of police.
Local news outlets covered Andaverde’s plight widely and sympathetically, although the optimism with which her “miraculous” recovery was celebrated was perhaps exaggerated. A television news report dedicated to that miracle revealed a young woman who, while she had escaped death, had clearly been grievously injured. As the reporter interviewed her mother, Andaverde sat in a wheelchair. When her hands were not propped on a black lap tray latched to the chair, she struggled to grasp a crayon and run it across the pages of a children’s coloring book, or to place the six large pieces of a simple puzzle—square, triangle, circle—into their spaces. She eventually improved from this desperate state—learning to walk and dress herself—but she was a far cry from the student of veterinary medicine she had once been.
The local inclinations to see a badly injured college student as a figure deserving of community support, and to view even a limited recovery as evidence of the goodness of God, are not unaligned with regional preferences for self-reliance and for taking responsibility for one’s own actions, however dire the consequences. The inevitable court case—in which the Andaverde family named not only SAE and Tri Delta as defendants, but also the University of Idaho and the Idaho State Board of Education—was dismissed on summary judgment because there was no dispute that Andaverde fell out of an open window, and because there was no evidence of an inherently dangerous condition in the house: that the window was open was obvious to anyone who walked into the room. The court determined that no other person or institution had a duty to protect Amanda from the actions and decisions—the decision to drink alcohol, as a minor; the decision to climb into a bunk bed; the impulse to roll over—that led to her accident.
Phil Toledano
Andaverde’s case seemed to me to be an isolated tragedy, until I sent away to the Latah County courthouse for a copy of the complaint and discovered within it this sentence: “Amanda’s fall was the second fall of a student from an upper-story fraternity house window at the University of Idaho within approximately a two-week period.” This struck me as an astonishing coincidence. I looked into the matter and found that, indeed, a 20-year-old man named Shane Meyer had fallen from the third-floor window of the Delta Tau Delta house just 12 days before Andaverde’s fall from SAE; not surprisingly, the police reported that “alcohol may have been a factor.” He, too, had been airlifted to Seattle, and incredibly, the two fought for their lives in the same critical-care unit at Harborview Medical Center. I became intrigued by this kind of injury and began to do some more checking into the subject. I discovered that two months after Andaverde’s fall, a 20-year-old student at Washington State—“quite intoxicated,” in the laconic assessment of a local cop—pitched forward and fell from a third-floor window of Alpha Kappa Lambda, escaping serious injury when his fall was broken by an SUV parked below. That these three events were not greeted on either campus by any kind of clamoring sense of urgency—that they were, rather, met with a resigned sort of “here we go again” attitude by campus administrators and with what appeared to be the pro forma appointment of an investigative task force—sparked my interest, and so it was that I entered the bizarre world of falls from fraternity houses, which, far from being freakish and unpredictable events, are in fact fairly regular occurrences across the country.
During the 2012–13 school year on the Palouse—where students from the two campuses often share apartments and attend parties at each other’s schools—the falls continued. In September, a student suffered serious injuries after falling off the roof of the Alpha Tau Omega house at the University of Idaho, and two days later a Washington State student fell three stories from a window at Phi Kappa Tau. In November, a 19-year-old suffered critical head injuries when he fell backwards off a second-floor balcony at the Washington State Lambda Chi Alpha house, necessitating the surgical removal of part of his skull. In April, a University of Idaho student named Krysta Huft filed a suit against the Delta Chi fraternity, seeking damages for a broken pelvis resulting from a 2011 fall, which she claims was from the house’s third-story sleeping porch onto a basketball court beneath it.
I decided to widen my search, and quickly discovered that this is not a phenomenon particular to the Northwest. Across the country, kids fall—disastrously—from the upper heights of fraternity houses with some regularity. They tumble from the open windows they are trying to urinate out of, slip off roofs, lose their grasp on drainpipes, misjudge the width of fire-escape landings. On February 25, 2012, a student at the University of California at Berkeley attempted to climb down the drainpipe of the Phi Gamma Delta house, fell, and suffered devastating injuries; on April 14 of the same year, a 21-year-old student at Gannon University, in Pennsylvania, died after a fall from the second-floor balcony of the Alpha Phi Delta house the night before; on May 13, a Cornell student was airlifted to a trauma center after falling from the fire escape at Delta Chi; on October 13, a student at James Madison University fell from the roof of the three-story Delta Chi house and was airlifted to the University of Virginia hospital; on December 1, a 19-year-old woman fell eight feet from the Sigma Alpha Mu house at Penn State.
This summer brought little relief. On July 13, a man fell more than 30 feet from a third-story window at the Theta Delta Chi house at the University of Washington and was transported to Harborview Medical Center (which must by now be developing a subspecialty in such injuries); that same day, a Dartmouth College employee, apparently having consumed LSD and marijuana, fell out of a second-story window of the Sigma Nu house and was seriously injured. On August 13, a student at the University of Oklahoma fell face-first off a balcony of the SAE house; the next day, a woman fell from a second-story fire escape at Phi Kappa Tau at Washington State University.
The current school year began, and still the falls continued. In September, a student at Washington State fell down a flight of stairs in the Delta Chi house and was rendered unconscious; a University of Minnesota student was hospitalized after falling off a second-floor balcony of the Phi Kappa Psi house; a Northwestern student was listed in critical condition after falling out of a third-floor window of the Phi Gamma Delta house; and an MIT student injured his head and genitals after falling through a skylight at the Phi Sigma Kappa house and landing some 40 feet below.
These falls, of course, are in addition to the many other kinds of havoc and tragedy associated with fraternities. On the Palouse, such incidents include the January 2013 death of 18-year-old Joseph Wiederrick, a University of Idaho freshman who had made the dean’s list his first semester, and who had plans to become an architect. He had attended a party at SAE (of which he was not a member) and then wandered, apparently drunk and lost, for five miles before freezing to death under a bridge. They also include the March 2013 conviction of Jesse M. Vierstra, who, while visiting Sigma Chi over the University of Idaho’s homecoming weekend, raped an 18-year-old freshman in the bushes outside the house. (He is appealing the decision.)
The notion that fraternities are target defendants did not hold true in my investigation. College students can (and do) fall out of just about any kind of residence, of course. But during the period of time under consideration, serious falls from fraternity houses on the two Palouse campuses far outnumbered those from other types of student residences, including privately owned apartments occupied by students. I began to view Amanda Andaverde’s situation in a new light. Why are so many colleges allowing students to live and party in such unsafe locations? And why do the lawsuits against fraternities for this kind of serious injury and death—so predictable and so preventable—have such a hard time getting traction? The answers lie in the recent history of fraternities and the colleges and universities that host them.
from the archives The Hazards of Duke "With a social scene dominated by fraternities and sororities (a way of life consisting of ardent partying and hooking up, offset by spurts of busywork composing angry letters to campus newspapers and taking online alcohol-education classes), ... [Duke] is a university whose thoughtful students are overshadowed by its voraciously self-centered ones." Read the full story by Caitlin Flanagan in the Jan/Feb 2011 issue.
What all of these lawsuits ultimately concern is a crucially important question in higher education, one that legal scholars have been grappling with for the past half century. This question is perhaps most elegantly expressed in the subtitle of Robert D. Bickel and Peter F. Lake’s authoritative 1999 book on the subject, The Rights and Responsibilities of the Modern University: Who Assumes the Risks of College Life?
The answer to this question has been steadily evolving ever since the 1960s, when dramatic changes took place on American campuses, changes that affected both a university’s ability to control student behavior and the status of fraternities in the undergraduate firmament. During this period of student unrest, the fraternities—long the unquestioned leaders in the area of sabotaging or ignoring the patriarchal control of school administrators—became the exact opposite: representatives of the very status quo the new activists sought to overthrow. Suddenly their beer bashes and sorority mixers, their panty raids and obsession with the big game, seemed impossibly reactionary when compared with the mind-altering drugs being sampled in off-campus apartments where sexual liberation was being born and the Little Red Book proved, if nothing else, a fantastic coaster for a leaky bong.
American students sought to wrest themselves entirely from the disciplinary control of their colleges and universities, institutions that had historically operated in loco parentis, carefully monitoring the private behavior of undergraduates. The students of the new era wanted nothing to do with that infantilizing way of existence, and fought to rid themselves of the various curfews, dorm mothers, demerit systems, and other modes of institutional oppression. If they were old enough to die in Vietnam, powerful enough to overthrow a president, groovy enough to expand their minds with LSD and free love, then they certainly didn’t need their own colleges—the very places where they were forming their radical, nation-changing ideas—to treat them like teenyboppers in need of a sock hop and a chaperone. It was a turning point: American colleges began to regard their students not as dependents whose private lives they must shape and monitor, but as adult consumers whose contract was solely for an education, not an upbringing. The doctrine of in loco parentis was abolished at school after school. Through it all, fraternities—for so long the repositories of the most outrageous behavior—moldered, all but forgotten. Membership fell sharply, fraternity houses slid into increasing states of disrepair, and hundreds of chapters closed.
Animal House, released in 1978, at once predicted and to no small extent occasioned the roaring return of fraternity life that began in the early ’80s and that gave birth to today’s vital Greek scene. The casting of John Belushi was essential to the movie’s influence: no one had greater credibility in the post-’60s youth culture. If something as fundamentally reactionary as fraternity membership was going to replace something as fundamentally radical as student unrest, it would need to align itself with someone whose bona fides among young, white, middle-class males were unassailable. In this newly forming culture, the drugs and personal liberation of the ’60s would be paired with the self-serving materialism of the ’80s, all of which made partying for its own sake—and not as a philosophical adjunct to solving some complicated problem in Southeast Asia—a righteous activity for the pampered young collegian. Fraternity life was reborn with a vengeance.
It was an entirely new kind of student who arrived at the doors of those great and crumbling mansions: at once deeply attracted to the ceremony and formality of fraternity life and yet utterly transformed by the social revolutions of the past decades. These new members and their countless guests brought with them hard drugs, new and ever-developing sexual attitudes, and a stunningly high tolerance for squalor (never had middle- and upper-middle-class American young people lived in such filth as did ’60s and ’70s college kids who were intent on rejecting their parents’ bourgeois ways). Furthermore, in 1984 Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, with the ultimate result of raising the legal drinking age to 21 in all 50 states. This change moved college partying away from bars and college-sponsored events and toward private houses—an ideal situation for fraternities. When these advances were combined with the evergreen fraternity traditions of violent hazing and brawling among rival frats, the scene quickly became wildly dangerous.
Adult supervision was nowhere to be found. Colleges had little authority to intervene in what took place in the personal lives of its students visiting private property. Fraternities, eager to provide their members with the independence that is at the heart of the system—and responsive to members’ wish for the same level of freedom that non-Greek students enjoyed—had largely gotten rid of the live-in resident advisers who had once provided some sort of check on the brothers. With these conditions in place, lawsuits began to pour in.
No sooner has a national fraternity rolled out a new “Men of Principle” or “True Gentlemen” campaign than reports of a lurid disaster in some prominent or far-flung chapter undermine the whole thing.
The mid-1980s were a treacherous time to be the defendant in a tort lawsuit. Personal-injury cases had undergone a long shift to the plaintiff’s advantage; the theory of comparative negligence—by which an individual can acknowledge his or her own partial responsibility for an injury yet still recover damages from a defendant—had become the standard; the era of huge jury verdicts was at hand. Americans in vast numbers—motivated perhaps in part by the possibility of financial recompense, and in part by a new national impetus to move personal suffering from the sphere of private sorrow to that of public confession and complaint—began to sue those who had damaged them. Many fraternity lawsuits listed the relevant college or university among the defendants, a practice still common among less experienced plaintiff’s attorneys. These institutions possess deep reservoirs of liability coverage, but students rarely recover significant funds from their schools. As Amanda Andaverde’s attorneys discovered the hard way, a great deal of time and money can be spent seeking damages from institutions of higher learning, which can be protected by everything from sovereign immunity and damage caps (in the case of public universities), to their limited ability to monitor the private behavior of their students. But for the fraternities themselves, it was a far different story.
So recently and robustly brought back to life, the fraternities now faced the most serious threat to their existence they had ever experienced. A single lawsuit had the potential to devastate a fraternity. In 1985, a young man grievously injured in a Kappa Alpha–related accident reached a settlement with the fraternity that, over the course of his lifetime, could amount to some $21 million—a sum that caught the attention of everyone in the Greek world. Liability insurance became both ruinously expensive and increasingly difficult to obtain. The insurance industry ranked American fraternities as the sixth-worst insurance risk in the country—just ahead of toxic-waste-removal companies. “You guys are nuts,” an insurance representative told a fraternity CEO in 1989, just before canceling the organization’s coverage; “you can’t operate like this much longer.”
For fraternities to survive, they needed to do four separate but related things: take the task of acquiring insurance out of the hands of the local chapters and place it in the hands of the vast national organizations; develop procedures and policies that would transfer as much of their liability as possible to outside parties; find new and creative means of protecting their massive assets from juries; and—perhaps most important of all—find a way of indemnifying the national and local organizations from the dangerous and illegal behavior of some of their undergraduate members. The way fraternities accomplished all of this is the underlying story in the lawsuits they face, and it is something that few members—and, I would wager, even fewer parents of members—grasp completely, comprising a set of realities you should absolutely understand in detail if your son ever decides to join a fraternity.
Self-insurance was an obvious means for combating prohibitive insurance pricing and the widening reluctance to insure fraternities. In 1992, four fraternities created what was first called the Fraternity Risk Management Trust, a vast sum of money used for reinsurance. Today, 32 fraternities belong to this trust. In 2006, a group of seven other fraternities bought their own insurance broker, James R. Favor, which now insures many others. More important than self-insurance, however, was the development of a risk-management policy that would become—across these huge national outfits and their hundreds of individual chapters—the industry standard. This was accomplished by the creation of something called the Fraternal Information and Programming Group (FIPG), which in the mid-1980s developed a comprehensive risk-management policy for fraternities that is regularly updated. Currently 32 fraternities are members of the FIPG and adhere to this policy, or to their own even more rigorous versions. One fraternity expert told me that even non-FIPG frats have similar policies, many based in large measure on FIPG’s, which is seen as something of a blueprint. In a certain sense, you may think you belong to Tau Kappa Epsilon or Sigma Nu or Delta Tau Delta—but if you find yourself a part of life-changing litigation involving one of those outfits, what you really belong to is FIPG, because its risk-management policy (and your adherence to or violation of it) will determine your fate far more than the vows you made during your initiation ritual—vows composed by long-dead men who had never even heard of the concept of fraternity insurance.
FIPG regularly produces a risk-management manual—the current version is 50 pages—that lays out a wide range of (optional) best practices. If the manual were Anna Karenina, alcohol policy would be its farming reform: the buzz-killing subplot that quickly reveals itself to be an authorial obsession. For good reason: the majority of all fraternity insurance claims involve booze—I have read hundreds of fraternity incident reports, not one of which describes an event where massive amounts of alcohol weren’t part of the problem—and the need to manage or transfer risk presented by alcohol is perhaps the most important factor in protecting the system’s longevity. Any plaintiff’s attorney worth his salt knows how to use relevant social-host and dramshop laws against a fraternity; to avoid this kind of liability, the fraternity needs to establish that the young men being charged were not acting within the scope of their status as fraternity members. Once they violated their frat’s alcohol policy, they parted company with the frat. It’s a neat piece of logic: the very fact that a young man finds himself in need of insurance coverage is often grounds for denying it to him.
So: alcohol and the fraternity man. Despite everything you may think you know about life on frat row, there are actually only two FIPG-approved means of serving drinks at a frat party. The first is to hire a third-party vendor who will sell drinks and to whom some liability—most significant, that of checking whether drinkers are of legal age—will be transferred. The second and far more common is to have a BYO event, in which the liability for each bottle of alcohol resides solely in the person who brought it. If you think this is in any way a casual system, then you have never read either the FIPG risk-management manual or its sister publication, an essay written in the surrealist vein titled “Making Bring Your Own Beverage Events Happen.”
The official byo system is like something dreamed up by a committee of Soviet bureaucrats and Irish nuns. It begins with the composition—no fewer than 24 hours before the party—of a comprehensive guest list. This guest list does not serve the happy function of ensuring a perfect mix of types and temperaments at the festivity; rather, it limits attendance—and ensures that the frat is in possession of “a witness list in the event something does occur which may end up in court two or more years later.” Provided a fraternity member—let’s call him Larry—is older than 21 (which the great majority of members, like the great majority of all college students, are not), he is allowed to bring six (and no more) beers or four (and no more) wine coolers to the party. (FIPG’s admiration for the wine-cooler four-pack suggests that at least some aspects of the foundational document—including its recommendation for throwing a M*A*S*H-themed party as recently as 2007—have not received much of an overhaul since its first edition, published in the mid‑’80s.) Okay, so Larry brings a six-pack. The first stop, depending on which fraternity he belongs to: a “sober check point,” at which he is subjected to an examination. Does he appear to have already consumed any alcohol? Is he in any way “known” to have done so? If he passes, he hands over his ID for inspection. Next he must do business with a “sober monitor.” This person relieves him of the six-pack, hands him a ticket indicating the precise type of beer he brought, and ideally affixes a “non breakable except by cutting” wristband to his person; only then can Larry retrieve his beers, one at a time, for his own personal consumption. If any are left over at the end of the party, his fraternity will secure them until the next day, when Larry can be reunited with his unconsumed beers, unless his frat decided to “eliminate” them overnight. Weaknesses in the system include the fact that all of these people coming between Larry and his beer—the sober monitors and ID checkers and militarized barkeeps—are Larry’s fraternity brothers, who are among his closest buddies and who have pledged him lifelong fealty during candlelit ceremonies rife with Masonic mumbo jumbo and the fluttering language of 19th-century romantic friendship. Note also that these policies make it possible for fraternities to be the one industry in the country in which every aspect of serving alcohol can be monitored and managed by people who are legally too young to drink it.
During a crisis, the questionnaires and honest accounts that fraternity members submit gratefully to their national organization may return to haunt many of the brothers.
Clearly, a great number of fraternity members will, at some point in their undergraduate career, violate their frat’s alcohol policy regarding the six beers—and just as clearly, the great majority will never face any legal consequences for doing so. But when the inevitable catastrophes do happen, that policy can come to seem more like a cynical hoax than a real-world solution to a serious problem. When something terrible takes place—a young man plummets from a roof, a young woman is assaulted, a fraternity brother is subjected to the kind of sexual sadism that appears all too often in fraternity lawsuits—any small violation of policy can leave fraternity members twisting in the wind. Consider the following scenario: Larry makes a small, human-size mistake one night. Instead of waiting for the slow drip of six warm beers, he brings a bottle of Maker’s Mark to the party, and—in the spirit of not being a weirdo or a dick—he shares it, at one point pouring a couple of ounces into the passing Solo cup of a kid who’s running on empty and asks him for a shot. Larry never sees the kid again that night—not many people do; he ends up drinking himself to death in an upstairs bedroom. In the sad fullness of time, the night’s horror is turned into a lawsuit, in which Larry becomes a named defendant. Thanks in part to the guest/witness list, Larry can be cut loose, both from the expensive insurance he was required to help pay for (by dint of his dues) as a precondition of membership, and from any legal defense paid for by the organization. What will happen to Larry now?
Gentle reader, if you happen to have a son currently in a college fraternity, I would ask that you take several carbon dioxide–rich deep breaths from a paper bag before reading the next paragraph. I’ll assume you are sitting down. Ready?
“I’ve recovered millions and millions of dollars from homeowners’ policies,” a top fraternal plaintiff’s attorney told me. For that is how many of the claims against boys who violate the strict policies are paid: from their parents’ homeowners’ insurance. As for the exorbitant cost of providing the young man with a legal defense for the civil case (in which, of course, there are no public defenders), that is money he and his parents are going to have to scramble to come up with, perhaps transforming the family home into an ATM to do it. The financial consequences of fraternity membership can be devastating, and they devolve not on the 18-year-old “man” but on his planning-for-retirement parents.
Like the six-beer policy, the Fraternal Information and Programming Group’s chillingly comprehensive crisis-management plan was included in its manual for many years. But in 2013, the plan suddenly disappeared from its pages. When asked why this was so, Dave Westol, a longtime FIPG board member, said, “Member organizations prefer to establish their own procedures, and therefore the section has been eliminated.” However, many fraternities continue to rely on the group’s advice for in-house risk management, and it is well worth examining if you want to know what takes place in the hours following many fraternity disasters. As it is described in the two most recent editions that I was able to obtain (2003 and 2007), the plan serves a dual purpose, at once benevolent and mercenary. The benevolent part is accomplished by the clear directive that injured parties are to receive immediate medical attention, and that all fraternity brothers who come into contact with the relevant emergency workers are to be completely forthright about what has taken place. And the rest? The plans I obtained recommend six important steps:
1. In the midst of the horror, the chapter president takes immediate, commanding, and inspiring control of the situation: “In times of stress, leaders step forward.”
2. A call is made to the fraternity’s crisis hotline or the national headquarters, no matter the hour: “Someone will be available. They would much rather hear about a situation from you at 3:27 a.m. than receive an 8:01 a.m. telephone call from a reporter asking for a comment about ‘The situation involving your chapter at ____.’ ”
3. The president closes the fraternity house to outsiders and summons all members back to the house: “Unorthodox situations call for unorthodox responses from leaders. Most situations occur at night. Therefore, be prepared to call a meeting of all members and all pledged members as soon as possible, even if that is at 3 a.m.”
4. One member—who has already received extensive media training—is put in charge of all relations with the press, an entity fraternities view as biased and often unscrupulous. The appointed member should be prepared to present a concise, factual, and minimally alarming account of what took place. For example: “A new member was injured at a social event.”
5. In the case of the death of a guest or a member, fraternity brothers do not attempt direct contact with the deceased’s parents. This hideous task is to be left to the impersonal forces of the relevant professionals. (I know of one family who did not know their son was in any kind of trouble until—many hours after his death, and probably long after his fraternity brothers had initiated the crisis-management protocol—their home phone rang and the caller ID came up with the area code of their boy’s college and a single word: coroner). If the dead person was a fraternity member who lived in the house, his brothers should return any borrowed items to his room and temporarily relocate his roommate, if he had one. Members may offer to pack up his belongings, but “it is more likely the family will want to do this themselves.” Several empty boxes might thoughtfully be left outside the room for this purpose.
6. Members sit tight until consultants from the national organization show up to take control of the situation and to walk them through the next steps, which often include the completion of questionnaires explaining exactly what happened and one-on-one interviews with the fraternity representatives. The anxious brothers are reminded to be completely honest and forthcoming in these accounts, and to tell the folks from national absolutely everything they know so that the situation can be resolved in the best possible manner.
As you should by now be able to see very clearly, the interests of the national organization and the individual members cleave sharply as this crisis-management plan is followed. Those questionnaires and honest accounts—submitted gratefully to the grown-ups who have arrived, the brothers believe, to help them—may return to haunt many of the brothers, providing possible cause for separating them from the fraternity, dropping them from the fraternity’s insurance, laying the blame on them as individuals and not on the fraternity as the sponsoring organization. Indeed, the young men who typically rush so gratefully into the open arms of the representatives from their beloved national—an outfit to which they have pledged eternal allegiance—would be far better served by not talking to them at all, by walking away from the chapter house as quickly as possible and calling a lawyer.
The financial consequences of fraternity membership can be devastating, and they devolve not on the 18-year-old “man” but on his planning-for-retirement parents.
So here is the essential question: In the matter of these disasters, are fraternities acting in an ethical manner, requiring good behavior from their members and punishing them soundly for bad or even horrific decisions? Or are they keeping a cool distance from the mayhem, knowing full well that misbehavior occurs with regularity (“most events take place at night”) and doing nothing about it until the inevitable tragedy occurs, at which point they cajole members into incriminating themselves via a crisis-management plan presented as being in their favor?
The opposing positions on this matter are held most forcefully and expressed most articulately by two men: Douglas Fierberg, the best plaintiff’s attorney in the country when it comes to fraternity-related litigation, and Peter Smithhisler, the CEO of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, a trade organization representing 75 fraternities, among them all 32 members of the Fraternal Information and Programming Group. In a parallel universe, the two men would be not adversaries but powerful allies, for they have much in common: both are robust midwesterners in the flush of vital middle age and at the zenith of their professional powers; both possess more dark knowledge of college-student life and collegiate binge drinking than many, if not most, of the experts hired to study and quantify the phenomenon; both have built careers devoted to the lives and betterment of young people. But two roads diverged in the yellow wood, and here we are. One man is an avenger, a gun for hire, a person constitutionally ill-prepared to lose a fight; the other is a conciliator, a patient explainer, a man ever willing to lift the flap of his giant tent and welcome you inside. I have had long and wide-ranging conversations with both men, in which each put forth his perspective on the situation.
Fierberg is a man of obvious and deep intelligence, comfortable—in the way of alpha-male litigators—with sharply correcting a fuzzy thought; with using obscenities; with speaking derisively, even contemptuously, of opponents. He is also the man I would run to as though my hair were on fire if I ever found myself in a legal battle with a fraternity, and so should you. In a year of reporting this story, I have not spoken with anyone outside of the fraternity system who possesses a deeper understanding of its inner workings; its closely guarded procedures and money trails; and the legal theories it has developed over the past three decades to protect itself, often very successfully, from lawsuits. Fierberg speaks frequently and openly with the press, and because of this—and because of the reticence of senior members of the fraternity system to speak at length with meddlesome journalists—the media often reflect his attitude.
For all these reasons, Fierberg is generally loathed by people at the top of the fraternity world, who see him as a money-hungry lawyer who has chosen to chase their particular ambulance, and whose professed zeal for reforming the industry is a sham: what he wants is his share of huge damages, not systemic changes that would cut off the money flow. But in my experience of him, this is simply not the case. Sure, he has built a lucrative practice. But he is clearly passionate about his cause and the plight of the kids—some of them horribly injured, others dead—who comprise his caseload, along with their shattered parents.
“Until proven otherwise,” Fierberg told me in April of fraternities, “they all are very risky organizations for young people to be involved in.” He maintains that fraternities “are part of an industry that has tremendous risk and a tremendous history of rape, serious injury, and death, and the vast majority share common risk-management policies that are fundamentally flawed. Most of them are awash in alcohol. And most if not all of them are bereft of any meaningful adult supervision.” As for the risk-management policies themselves: “They are primarily designed to take the nationals’ fingerprints off the injury and deaths, and I don’t believe that they offer any meaningful provisions.” The fraternity system, he argues, is “the largest industry in this country directly involved in the provision of alcohol to underage people.” The crisis-management plans reveal that in “the foreseeable future” there may be “the death or serious injury” of a healthy young person at a fraternity function.
Are fraternities acting in an ethical manner, requiring good behavior and punishing poor decisions? Or are they keeping a cool distance from the mayhem, knowing full well that it occurs with regularity?
And then there is Peter Smithhisler, who is the senior fraternity man ne plus ultra: unfailingly, sometimes elaborately courteous; careful in his choice of words; unflappable; and as unlikely to interrupt or drop the f-bomb on a respectful female journalist as he would be to join the Communist Party. He is the kind of man you would want on your side in a tough spot, the kind of man you would want mentoring your son through the challenging passage from late adolescence to young manhood. He believes that the fraternity experience at its best constitutes an appeal to a young man’s better angels: through service, leadership training, and accountability for mistakes, a brother can learn the valuable lessons he will need to become “a better dad, a better teacher, a better engineer, a better pilot, a better ‘insert career here.’” Spend some time talking with Pete Smithhisler, and you can go from refusing to allow your son to join a fraternity to demanding he do so. Indeed, the day after I talked with him, I happened to be at a social gathering where I met two women whose sons had just graduated from college. “The fraternity was what saved him,” one mother said with great feeling. Her son had waited until sophomore year to rush, and freshman year he had been so lonely and unsure of himself that she had become deeply worried about him. But everything changed after he pledged. He had friends; he was happy. When he’d had to have some surgery while at school, his brothers had visited him almost around the clock, bringing him food, keeping up his spirits, checking in with his doctors and charming his nurses. “If only I could have gotten my son to join one,” the other mom said, wistfully. “I kept trying, but he wouldn’t do it.” Why had she wished he’d pledged a fraternity? “He would have been so much more connected to the college,” she said. “He would have had so many other opportunities.” | – Frat-house accidents and sexual assaults are getting so common they're impossible to ignore—but how did it get this bad, and why does it keep happening? In an extensive Atlantic piece, Caitlin Flanagan looks at the history of fraternities and their myriad ways of avoiding legal obligations for what goes on behind closed doors. As Bloomberg reported, 60 students have died in frat-related incidents since 2005, a fact "that is dwarfed by the numbers of serious injuries, assaults, and sexual crimes that regularly take place in these houses," writes Flanagan. She chronicles a few incidents, from a freshman girl's heinous rape at Wesleyan University to a young man who fired a bottle rocket out of his butt at Marshall University—and the guy who fell off a deck videotaping it, and later sued Alpha Tau Omega for his injuries. To avoid financial ruin, fraternities have merged into "vast national organizations" that buy liability insurance, and they've created rules about alcohol consumption that are nearly impossible for party-lovers to follow—so when the inevitable lawsuits come, frat members are considered at fault for breaking the rules. That means their soon-to-be-retired parents pay extensive legal bills, and parents' homeowners insurance often pays settlements. So why do universities allow this perilous environment to persist? Largely because fraternity dorms save schools "untold millions of dollars" in housing, writes Flanagan, and the frat-house party image helps lure students into expensive universities. To be fair, advocates also describe the positives—like increased confidence, brotherhood, and leadership training. But parents should know the dangers: "Until proven otherwise," a lawyer tells Flanagan, "they all are very risky organizations for young people to be involved in." Click for her full piece. |
As Hurricane Irene swung north Thursday, putting the Washington region in its sights, Maryland and Virginia declared a state of emergency and Sunday’s dedication of the memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was postponed.
Organizers said the event will be rescheduled for September or October. The memorial, the first on the Mall honoring an African American, has been a quarter-century in the making, but safety trumped ceremony.
Hurricane Irene was forecast to sweep over the Outer Banks of North Carolina overnight Friday and advance into the Washington area with a vanguard of showers beginning Saturday afternoon.
Early Friday morning, the National Weather Service upgraded the Tropical Storm Watch issued for much of the D.C. area to a Tropical Storm Warning. Meanwhile, Irene weakened slightly to a Category 2 storm as it approached the East Coast, where a hurricane warning was also extended to New Jersey.
If the hurricane stays on track, the worst of Irene will arrive in Virginia, Maryland and the District later Saturday and into Sunday morning. Late-summer vacationers evacuated Atlantic coast beaches, which are expected to be hit hardest before the storm wallops New England.
The intensity of the storm and the shift in the forecast track farther to the west prompted the decision to delay the memorial dedication, said Harry E. Johnson Sr., chief executive of the memorial project foundation.
“I’m disappointed and hurt, really,” Johnson said. “But the memorial is going to be there forever.”
Johnson said the change might allow those who planned to travel to stay home and for those in Washington to leave ahead of the storm.
Governors along the coast, including those in Virginia and Maryland, declared states of emergency Thursday, and thousands of weekend events were canceled.
“This is a large, this is a deadly, this is a slow-moving hurricane that is bearing down on the state of Maryland,” Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said in declaring an emergency. “There will no doubt be a lot of flooding. Citizens should anticipate long periods of electrical outages.”
A significant storm surge is expected to flood coastal areas, and wind-driven flooding may occur along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. The worst of the weather is likely to be east of the Interstate 95 corridor, which may get four to six inches of rain, prolonged winds of 50 to 70 mph, and gusts of 90 to 100 mph, according to meteorologists with The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.
Amtrak canceled train departures from Southeastern states and curtailed some service in the Northeast. Airports said they expected flight delays and cancellations through the weekend, with many airlines allowing fliers to change their plans without penalty.
An endless stream of vacationers rolled across the bridge out of Ocean City, on Thursday evening, and homeowners rushed in the opposite direction to board up their rental properties. Ocean City was one of many resort areas where evacuation was mandatory.
Colleges on the verge of opening for the fall semester warned students to delay their arrival, and the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg told its students to go home.
Three other schools — the University of Maryland, George Washington University and Catholic University — said they would open their dormitories a day early, on Friday, so that students could get settled before the storm hit. George Mason University said it would implement a flexible move-in schedule.
In New York, the Associated Press reported that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) said officials expect to shut down the city’s transit system Saturday afternoon ahead of the hurricane, which is forecast to strike eastern Queens.
After passing over the Bahamas on Thursday, the storm first fell on the U.S. coast in Florida, where its outermost bands swept in with bursts of wind and rain and a driving riptide.
The exodus from the Outer Banks began early Thursday after an evacuation order Wednesday night. Traffic on Route 168 crawled as lines of sport-utility vehicles with surfboards and fishing rods mounted on their roofs headed north from the barrier islands.
“My aunt and uncle are used to storms, but they got a bit worried about this one,” said Melissa Wallace of St. Louis, who had been vacationing at their Cape Hatteras beach house. “We just thought better safe than sorry.”
In the Washington region, there were warnings that people should be prepared for power outages as toppling trees take down electrical lines. Road crews were on alert to clear fallen trees and other wind-driven debris from highways.
More than 2,000 sandbags were being placed at Metro stations where water tends to come up over the curbs and flow down escalators. Metro crews also checked drains in tunnels, and some vehicles assigned to Metro supervisors were being equipped with chain saws to keep the transit system moving. The District and Alexandria offered free sandbags to residents.
O’Malley said the mandatory evacuation of Ocean City underscored the seriousness of the storm. “This is not a time to get out the camera and sit on the beach and take pictures of the waves,” he said.
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) authorized local officials to issue mandatory evacuation orders.
“I reserve the right to direct and compel evacuation from the same and different areas and determine a different timetable both where local governing bodies have made such a determination and where local governing bodies have not made such a determination,” McDonnell said in a statement.
Pepco urged customers who need power for critical medical equipment to review emergency plans and be prepared for extended power outages. Dominion Virginia Power and BGE said repair crews were preparing for emergency restoration work over the next several days. Extra crews from other states were headed to the region to assist with recovery.
“This storm has serious potential to cause widespread damage,” said Rodney Blevins, Dominion’s vice president. “We are geared up to handle any situation as quickly and safely as possible. We are treating Hurricane Irene seriously, and we urge our customers to monitor local weather forecasts for changing conditions in order to remain safe.”
Staff writers Shyamantha Asokan, Dana Hedgpeth, Jenna Johnson, Anita Kumar, Michael E. Ruane and John Wagner contributed to this report. ||||| NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City residents who live in low-lying areas should start moving out on Friday, before Hurricane Irene is expected to hit, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday.
Otherwise, they risk getting stuck because the mass transit system that millions of New Yorkers rely on might have to be shut down on Saturday, he told reporters.
(Reporting by Joan Gralla; Editing by Jan Paschal) ||||| The exodus from the North Carolina coast has begun and tonight it is a slow motion, bumper to bumper march inland as tens of thousands heed warnings to get out of the way of Hurricane Irene.
Gas stations are running out, ATM's are out of cash and one woman was out of a very special night.
Melissa Cook was supposed to get married this weekend.
"The TV showed the mandatory evacuation and I burst into tears," Cook said. "Everything I had planned and dreamed about."
Hurricane Irene's wave of disappointment also affected beach goers in South Carolina. Police closed the beaches to swimming after six swimmers were rescued from rip currents caused by the massive storm.
As Irene -- a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds -- blasted through the Bahamas, the U.S. began bracing for the storm's worst.
To See Irene's Expected Path Over East Coast, Click Here
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, under President Obama's direction, contacted East Coast mayors and governors potentially in Irene's path. Later, she and FEMA director Craig Fugate later held a conference call with state, local, and tribal officials on planning for the storm.
"Given the unpredictability of these storms, we are currently planning for several scenarios, including potential impacts to major metro areas and critical infrastructure," Napolitano said in a Department of Homeland Security news release.
Evacuation orders were issued along the coast of North Carolina today in Dare, Currituck and Cateret counties. There are 180,000 people just in Dare County and another 150,000 people were told to get out of Ocean City, Md.
"This is a very, very serious situation," said Dorothy Toolan, public information officer for Dare County, N.C. "We have not seen anything like this in the lifetimes of most our residents...Once the storm hits it will be very difficult to respond to distress calls."
Not everyone was heading out of town. The parking lot of a Wal-Mart in Moorehead City in Cateret County was filled with people stocking up on supplies to ride out the storm.
"I've lived through hurricanes all my life, and I've only run from one," said a man who identified himself simply as George. "Unless it's a (category) 4 or 5 coming straight at me, I'm not leaving."
"I'm going to sit at home, watch television and play on my computer. I'm not worried about this thing," George said.
In Florida, at least 8 people were hurt after a wave knocked them over on the jerry they were on off Boynton Beach Inlet, The Associated Press reported.
Others were taking no chances. A state of emergency was declared in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg said police are deploying more than 80 boats around the city as well as several helicopters to prepare for emergencies. City hospitals have tested their emergency generators, and the city's airports are stockpiling diapers, cots, blankets, pillow and bottles of water.
Fearing Irene's wrath, Amtrak announced it is canceling all train service south of Washington D.C. for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Irene is traveling at 12 mph, making it a slow moving storm which will allow it to hover over an area and area to dump rain and batter it with ferocious winds for an expended period. ||||| After passing over the Bahamas on Thursday, the storm first fell on the U.S. coast in Florida, where its outermost bands swept in with bursts of wind and rain and a driving riptide.
The exodus from the Outer Banks began early Thursday after an evacuation order Wednesday night. Traffic on Route 168 crawled as lines of sport-utility vehicles with surfboards and fishing rods mounted on their roofs headed north from the barrier islands.
“My aunt and uncle are used to storms, but they got a bit worried about this one,” said Melissa Wallace of St. Louis, who had been vacationing at their Cape Hatteras beach house. “We just thought better safe than sorry.”
In the Washington region, there were warnings that people should be prepared for power outages as toppling trees take down electrical lines. Road crews were on alert to clear fallen trees and other wind-driven debris from highways.
More than 2,000 sandbags were being placed at Metro stations where water tends to come up over the curbs and flow down escalators. Metro crews also checked drains in tunnels, and some vehicles assigned to Metro supervisors were being equipped with chain saws to keep the transit system moving. The District and Alexandria offered free sandbags to residents.
O’Malley said the mandatory evacuation of Ocean City underscored the seriousness of the storm. “This is not a time to get out the camera and sit on the beach and take pictures of the waves,” he said.
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) authorized local officials to issue mandatory evacuation orders.
“I reserve the right to direct and compel evacuation from the same and different areas and determine a different timetable both where local governing bodies have made such a determination and where local governing bodies have not made such a determination,” McDonnell said in a statement.
Pepco urged customers who need power for critical medical equipment to review emergency plans and be prepared for extended power outages. Dominion Virginia Power and BGE said repair crews were preparing for emergency restoration work over the next several days. Extra crews from other states were headed to the region to assist with recovery.
“This storm has serious potential to cause widespread damage,” said Rodney Blevins, Dominion’s vice president. “We are geared up to handle any situation as quickly and safely as possible. We are treating Hurricane Irene seriously, and we urge our customers to monitor local weather forecasts for changing conditions in order to remain safe.”
Staff writers Shyamantha Asokan, Dana Hedgpeth, Jenna Johnson, Anita Kumar, Michael E. Ruane and John Wagner contributed to this report. ||||| Hurricane Irene is forecast to turn north into the U.S. on a path similar to 1985’s Hurricane Gloria, threatening as much as $13.9 billion in insured losses and possibly forcing the evacuation of parts of New York City, officials and forecasters said.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a decision on evacuations would be made tomorrow for residents in areas including Coney Island, Battery Park City and parts of Staten Island.
Irene, a Category 3 major hurricane, is expected to grow larger as it moves toward North Carolina’s Outer Banks this weekend before crashing into the Northeast as early as Aug. 28, according to the National Hurricane Center track projection. The storm is 105 miles (169 kilometers) east-northeast of Nassau, the Bahamas.
“This track is eerily similar to Gloria,” said Chris Hyde, a meteorologist with MDA EarthSat Weather in Gaithersburg, Maryland. “Millions are potentially going to be losing power from North Carolina all the way up to New England.”
Irene may cause $13.9 billion in insured losses and $20 billion in overall economic losses due to lost hours at work, power outages, interruption of shipping and airline traffic, according to estimates by Kinetic Analysis Corp.
Gloria killed 11 people, the hurricane center said. It caused $900 million in damage, said Weather Underground Inc.
Population Threat
More than 65 million people, or about one in five Americans, from North Carolina to Maine, are in the way of the hurricane, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.
Mayor Bloomberg said at a press conference the city is expecting “winds of 60 mph or more” and the storm may be “possibly as strong as a Category 2 on Long Island.” The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared an emergency there and urged people to leave the shore by midday tomorrow. North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue declared a state of emergency for counties east of Interstate 95.
A Category 2 storm has winds of at least 96 mph, and poorly constructed homes are at risk for losing their roofs, high-rise windows can be broken and many shallow-rooted trees will be snapped off or pulled from the ground, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“No matter which way you slice it, there’s probably going to be hurricane-force winds in New York,” said Eric Wilhelm, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.
Forecast Track
Small fluctuations in the track, which currently passes directly over Queens, could mean much greater damage to the city from storm surge, Wilhelm said.
Irene is expected to strengthen later today, the hurricane center said, and could become a Category 4 storm on the five- step Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, bearing winds of at least 131 mph.
“The hurricane will affect millions and cost billions,” Wilhelm said. “This will be remembered as a Northeast hurricane and not a North Carolina hurricane.”
A hurricane watch is in force from Surf City, North Carolina, to the Virginia line, according to the center. A tropical storm watch is in effect from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to Surf City. A watch means storm conditions are likely to begin in two days.
Governor’s Warning
North Carolina’s Perdue told reporters today she was “dismayed that many of the ferries were still empty” at Ocracoke Island, which is evacuating tourists. “We are asking people all over eastern North Carolina to take this storm very seriously,” she said.
The U.S. Navy moved 64 ships away from Norfolk, Virginia, to keep them from being damaged by the storm, the Associated Press reported.
The dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the National Mall in Washington on Aug. 28, at which President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak, is still on schedule.
Residents along the coast north of the Carolinas will “experience a raging hurricane,” said Jim Dale, a risk meteorologist with High Wycombe, England-based British Weather Services. “They will see 70-100 miles-per-hour winds and also copious amounts of rain. Flooding and storm damage from wind is inevitable.”
Bahamas Impact
Irene is ripping through the Bahamas with winds of 115 miles per hour, damaging homes, felling trees and triggering flooding, according to the Bahamas Emergency Management Agency.
The U.S. center warned the Bahamas would experience storm surges of as much as 11 feet above sea level and that up to 12 inches of rain may fall. Irene’s hurricane-strength winds of at least 74 mph extend 70 miles from its core, and tropical-storm- strength winds reach out 290 miles.
The last hurricane to strike the U.S. was Ike in 2008, a Category 2 storm when it went ashore near Galveston, Texas. The most recent major hurricane, one with winds of at least 111 mph, was Wilma in 2005.
Farther east in the Atlantic, Tropical Depression 10 probably will be upgraded to a tropical storm today, the center said. The next tropical storm will be named Jose.
The system is about 505 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and moving west-northwest across open waters at 12 mph, the Miami-based center said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bill Banker at bbanker@bloomberg.net ||||| As massive Hurricane Irene advanced toward the Eastern Seaboard with 115-mph winds, officials issued a hurricane warning for the entire North Carolina coast to the Virginia border, New York ordered low-lying hospitals and nursing homes to evacuate, and at least seven states declared emergencies.If Irene follows its current projected path, it will make landfall along North Carolina's Outer Banks on Saturday. The Category 3 storm withdrew from the Bahamas late Thursday, traveling north at 14 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.Although North Carolina will take the first blow, "The rest of the Eastern Seaboard is well within the path of this storm," National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said.North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Connecticut declared states of emergency."This could be a 100-year event," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said.runtime:topic id="PLGEO100100804000000">New York City officials said they might have to suspend all mass transit beginning Saturday.In addition to ordering nursing homes and hospitals in low-lying coastal areas to evacuate ahead of possible flooding, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg advised residents to stay out of parks."Because of the high winds that will accompany the storm, we are also urging all New Yorkers, for their own safety, to stay out of parks, where the high winds will increase the danger of downed trees and limbs," Bloomberg said. "And incidentally, it's a good idea to stay out of your own backyard if you have trees there."Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial postponed it indefinitely.The hurricane center warned of tidal surges 5 to 10 feet high in North Carolina, accompanied by "destructive and life-threatening waves." Projections show Irene making landfall between Morehead City, N.C., and Cape Hatteras before pushing north. Irene could inundate the state's coastal areas with 6 to 10 inches of rain, and up to 15 inches in some locations, forecasters said.More than 50 million people live in the projected path of the storm. Some forecasters have said Irene has an outside chance of growing into a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds topping 130 mph. But current forecasts predict it will diminish to Category 2 after pummeling North Carolina, with sustained winds up to 110 mph as it plows into Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue declared an emergency in all counties east of Interstate 95, about a quarter of the state, and officials set up emergency shelters inland. President Obama declared North Carolina an emergency too, expediting federal help.The Federal Emergency Management Agency established a depot for food, water, generators, baby formula and other emergency supplies at Ft. Bragg, N.C., as well as at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts.Cars loaded with coolers and surfboards fled the Outer Banks on Thursday, as people heeded orders to leave the exposed barrier islands. Tourists' vehicles clogged the main highway north to Virginia, and traffic on roads leading inland grew heavier as the day wore on.Up to 200,000 tourists and residents are affected by evacuation orders in North Carolina alone, with states to the north rushing to prepare their own evacuation plans. Forecasters said Irene was so big and powerful that severe road flooding and widespread electrical outages were likely, especially in the Northeast, where the ground is saturated from recent rains."This is a very dangerous storm," said Dorothy Toolan of the Dare County Emergency Management office in Manteo, N.C., across the Roanoke Sound from Nags Head . "People really need to take this seriously."Irene would be the first hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Ike devastated the Texas coast in 2008.Facing a two-hour delay on the highway north to their home in Virginia, sisters Susan Wright and Beth Edwards decided to stick around and enjoy a final day in the sun and sand in Nags Head — complete with mimosa cocktails. They had planned a weeklong vacation with their husbands and other friends and family at a $4,000-a-week beach house, only to be hit with a mandatory evacuation order. | – Frightened North Carolinians fleeing Irene are jamming highways as the East Coast steels for what could be the biggest hurricane in decades. At least seven states have now declared a state of emergency, and hundreds of flights are being canceled. Gas stations are running out of fuel and ATMs have been emptied of cash as Americans hit the road for a bumper-to-bumper trip out of Irene's angry path. The Category 3 storm is expected to hit the Southeast sometime tomorrow, and hundreds of thousands of residents have been ordered out of their homes in three North Carolina counties. Norfolk, Va., is also ordering residents to evacuate, and Washington, DC, has been forced to postpone Sunday's planned MLK Memorial dedication. "This is a very, very serious situation," a spokeswoman for Dare County told ABC News. "We have not seen anything like this in the lifetimes of most our residents. Once the storm hits, it will be very difficult to respond to distress calls." Irene is some 700 miles wide now and moving at a slow 12mph, which means it can wreak extensive damage in a region over a long period of time; it could cause up to $13.9 billion in damage on the East Coast. The storm is expected to barrel into New York City on Sunday, packing winds of up to 90mph. New Jersey communities are already being evacuated, and hundreds of street fairs have been canceled and elder care facilities and hospitals in low-lying area will be evacuated in New York today. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg says residents in low-lying parts of the city should get out today as the transit system is planned to be shut down tomorrow. |
Now you can get a new kind of buzz from coffee. Researchers have found a way to turn used coffee grounds into an alcoholic beverage. In recent years, the industry of distilled spirits has put out a call for new beverages with different flavors created from unusual raw materials. To answer this call, some scientists examined the potential of used coffee grounds. The scientists first collected this raw material from a Portuguese coffee roasting company and dried it. Then they heated the powder in water at 163°C for 45 minutes, separated out the liquid, and added sugar. Next, the team mixed in yeast cells, let the concoction ferment, and concentrated the sample to get a higher alcohol content. (A similar process is used to produce other distilled beverages such as whiskey and rum from wheat and molasses.) And voilà! Used coffee grounds produced a new alcoholic beverage with 40% ethanol, comparable to other hard liquor such as vodka and tequila, researchers will report in the September issue of LWT - Food Science and Technology. To evaluate the product, eight trained taste testers were brought in and rated the intensity of different smells and flavors in the alcohol. The judges described the drink as smelling like coffee and tasting bitter and pungent. Researchers noted that the taste could be improved with age and concluded that the quality was good enough for consumption. Don’t count on the caffeine to keep you awake, however; most of it disappears in the brewing process. ||||| Whiskey, vodka, gin or rum…or tequila or brandy…made from wheat, barley, corn, potatoes, rye, sugarcane or any number of fruits—whatever the booze, Americans, the dominant drinkers of hard liquor worldwide, will go for it. But America’s love of hootch pales in comparison to its love of another drink: coffee. A new process that ferments liquor from used coffee grounds, then, may be just what the country is after.
Reporting on a new study for Science, Nisha Giridharan details how to make what could soon be your new favorite drink:
The scientists first collected from a Portuguese coffee roasting company and dried it. Then they heated the powder in water at 163°C for 45 minutes, separated out the liquid, and added sugar. Next, the team mixed in yeast cells, let the concoction ferment, and concentrated the sample to get a higher alcohol content. (A similar process is used to produce other distilled beverages such as whiskey and rum from wheat and molasses.) And voilà! Used coffee grounds produced a new alcoholic beverage with 40% ethanol.
Microbrewers often flavor their beers with coffee, and caffeine-liquor mixes, from the classic rum and coke to the infamous Four Loko, are nothing new. But the new booze is different. The scientists say that their new “Spent Coffee Ground spirit” smells and tastes like coffee and “was considered as having features of a pleasant beverage.”
Plus, the potentially dangerous mix of caffeine and alcohol that gives boozy energy drinks a bad rap should be absent here: most of the caffeine, says Giridharan, “disappears in the brewing process.”
More from Smithsonian.com:
In Texas, a Locavore’s Liquor
Booze Cruise: The Best Local Liquors to Try While Traveling
Pick Your Poison: A Diet Mixer Could Make You Get Drunk Faster | – Soon you may no longer have to choose between treating your hangover with coffee or the hair of the dog. Science reports that scientists have successfully spun used coffee grounds into booze, in a process that sounds relatively straightforward. They dried the spent grounds (which, in this case, came from a Portuguese roaster) then added water and cooked the mixture at 163°C for 45 minutes. The liquid was pulled out, dosed with sugar and yeast, and given time to ferment. In order to make it boozier—read, 40% ethanol—the result was concentrated in a process Science likens to that of distilling spirits. But what would such a discovery be without a taste test? The eight "trained" testers who sampled it reported coffee aromas and a bitter taste. They thought age would actually improve it, but ranked it as palatable. (Smithsonian adds that the scientists described it "as having features of a pleasant beverage.") What it's not: Caffeinated. Most is eliminated as the drink is brewed. |
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis was "shocked and profoundly saddened" by a murderous attack at a home for the elderly in southern Yemen that killed 16 people, including four nuns.
The Vatican secretary of state said in a condolence message on Saturday that the pontiff "prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms."
Officials and witnesses in Yemen said gunmen on Friday stormed a retirement home run by a charity established by Mother Teresa, moving room to room handcuffing the victims before shooting them in the head.
The pope sent prayers for the dead and expressed his spiritual closeness to those affected by this "this act of senseless and diabolical violence." ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's David Campanale says the attack is being blamed on IS
Pope Francis has condemned the killing of 16 people, including four Catholic nuns, at an old people's home in Yemen.
He called Friday's gun attack in Aden an "act of senseless and diabolical violence".
Reports said the attackers pretended they were visiting their mothers to gain access to the home.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though Yemeni officials have blamed so-called Islamic State.
In a statement, the Vatican said two of the nuns killed were Rwandan, one was Indian and one was from Kenya.
'Pointless slaughter'
They were working as nurses at the home and had been serving breakfast to its 80 residents when the attack occurred.
All the victims were shot in the head and had been handcuffed, the Associated Press reported, citing the brother of a victim.
The nuns were from the Missionaries of Charity congregation, which runs the home and was founded in Calcutta by Mother Teresa.
Pope Francis "prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue", Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said.
"He sends the assurance of his prayers for the dead and his spiritual closeness to their families and to all affected from this act of senseless and diabolical violence."
Image copyright EPA Image caption The care home looks after some 80 elderly people
Image copyright AFP Image caption Breakfast was being served when the attack occurred
Missionaries of Charity spokeswoman Sunita Kumar said members were "absolutely stunned" by the killings.
The nun in charge managed to hide and escaped unharmed.
Yemen is engulfed in a brutal civil war between Iran-backed Zaidi Shia Houthi rebels in the north and the Saudi-Arabia backed government in the south.
Islamic State and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have both taken advantage of the war to gain ground in the country.
More than 6,000 people have been killed and 2.4 million people displaced in Yemen's war, the UN says.
Forces loyal to the government and southern militias regained control of Aden in July, aided by Saudi-led coalition air strikes and troops. ||||| 2016-03-05 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis was “shocked and profoundly saddened” by the murder of four Missionaries of Charity and twelve other people at a home for the elderly in Aden, Yemen.
Gunmen entered the building on Friday and went room-to-room, handcuffing victims before shooting them in the head.
A message signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the Holy Father “sends the assurance of his prayers for the dead and his spiritual closeness to their families and to all affected from this act of senseless and diabolical violence.”
The message said Pope Francis “prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue.”
It concludes with a strong appeal for an end to the ongoing violence in Yemen.
“In the name of God, he calls upon all parties in the present conflict to renounce violence, and to renew their commitment to the people of Yemen, particularly those most in need, whom the Sisters and their helpers sought to serve” – the message reads – “Upon everyone suffering from this violence, the Holy Father invokes God’s blessing, and in a special ways he extends to the Missionaries of Charity his prayerful sympathy and solidarity.”
The full text of the message is below
His Holiness Pope Francis was shocked and profoundly saddened to learn of the killing of four Missionaries of Charity and twelve others at a home for the elderly in Aden. He sends the assurance of his prayers for the dead and his spiritual closeness to their families and to all affected from this act of senseless and diabolical violence. He prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue. In the name of God, he calls upon all parties in the present conflict to renounce violence, and to renew their commitment to the people of Yemen, particularly those most in need, whom the Sisters and their helpers sought to serve. Upon everyone suffering from this violence, the Holy Father invokes God’s blessing, and in a special ways he extends to the Missionaries of Charity his prayerful sympathy and solidarity.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State | – Four Catholic nuns and 12 others were killed during an attack on a home for the elderly Friday in Yemen, in what the Vatican is condemning as an "act of senseless and diabolical violence," CNN reports. According to the AP, six gunmen got past the home's gate in the city of Aden by pretending they were visiting their mothers. Four then entered the building and went from room to room, handcuffing victims and shooting them in the head. The nuns, members of an organization founded by Mother Teresa, were acting as nurses in the home and serving breakfast when the gunmen entered, the BBC reports. One nun was able to escape death by hiding inside a fridge. Two of the killed nuns were from Rwanda, one was from India, and another was from Kenya. A Yemeni cook and Yemeni guards were among the other victims. Pope Francis was "shocked and profoundly saddened" by the violence, according to a Vatican press release. The Vatican's secretary of state says the Pope "prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue." A spokesperson for the nuns' organization, the Missionaries of Charity, says the nuns decided to stay in Yemen longer than required in order to continue helping people. The identity of the gunmen is unclear, but Yemeni officials are blaming ISIS. Yemen is in the midst of a civil war, which is being used as cover by both ISIS and al-Qaeda. More than 6,000 civilians have been killed since the war started. |
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California sheriff's official says a mother suspected of attacking a 12-year-old boy she said was bullying her daughter at school may have targeted the wrong child.
Sonoma County sheriff's Lt. Steve Brown said Monday that investigators have not found anything linking the boy to the bullying allegations.
The girl's mom, Delia Garcia-Bratcher, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of inflicting injury on a child after sheriff's deputies say she came to Olivet Elementary Charter School in Santa Rosa on Friday and grabbed the boy by the throat.
Garcia-Bratcher was released Saturday on $30,000 bail. Telephone listings for her were disconnected.
School district officials are also investigating the possible bullying.
Sonoma County prosecutors said Monday they were still awaiting the sheriff's report before deciding on any charges. ||||| SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California woman is facing charges that she grabbed a 12-year-old boy by the throat while confronting him about bullying her daughter, authorities said Sunday.
Delia Garcia-Bratcher, 30, of Santa Rosa came to an elementary school around lunchtime Friday and asked her son, who also attends the school, to point out her daughter's alleged tormentor, the Sonoma County Sheriff's office said in a statement.
The mother grabbed the boy by the throat in front of a number of children, the statement said.
No adult saw the confrontation, and Garcia-Bratcher apparently had not checked in with the school office before coming on campus, authorities said.
The young witnesses later told a deputy the mother threatened the boy about bullying her daughter. The staff at Olivet Charter Elementary School took photos of red marks on the boy's neck as soon as they learned about the alleged assault, authorities said.
Garcia-Bratcher was arrested on a charge of felony child abuse. She was released from jail after posting a $30,000 bail.
A telephone number for a Delia Bratcher was disconnected. But on a Facebook page that said it belonged to Bratcher, she posted that she was hurt by the accusation and asserted that "the truth will be told."
Lt. Mark Essick told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat (http://bit.ly/1mL5FFV) that deputies were looking into the bullying claims but have not substantiated them. ||||| A Santa Rosa woman is accused of grabbing a 12-year-old boy by the throat after confronting him on an elementary school campus about bullying her daughter.
Delia Garcia-Bratcher, 30, was arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse in the Friday incident at Olivet Charter Elementary School on Willowside Road, said Lt. Mark Essick of the sheriff's department.
Garcia-Bratcher came to the 320-student campus about lunchtime and asked her son to point out a boy she suspected of bullying her 10-year-old daughter, Essick said.
She approached the boy in front of other students, grabbed him by the neck, shoved him and warned him to stop, Essick said.
“It's pretty unreasonable for a parent to go storming on campus like this,” Essick said.
The boy ran to a classroom, told a teacher and the two went to the office where school officials took pictures of the injuries.
Essick said red marks were still visible when deputies arrived a short while later.
“You can see fingerprints on his neck,” Essick said.
Garcia-Bratcher was arrested Saturday on a charge of inflicting injury to a child. She was released later in the day on $30,000 bail.
She is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
The woman told arresting officers she was on campus to enroll a third child in school, Essick said.
She spotted her 11-year-old son on the playground and asked him to identify the boy who was allegedly bullying her daughter, he said.
No adults witnessed the confrontation, and the woman had apparently not checked in with the office before coming on campus, authorities said.
Essick said deputies were looking into the bullying claims but so far have not substantiated them.
But, he said, even if bullying was occurring, Garcia-Bratcher had no business confronting the boy directly.
“To take it into her own hands was absolutely the wrong thing to do,” Essick said.
Jennie Snyder, superintendent of Piner-Olivet Union School District, said it is rare to have a parent confront a student on campus.
“Thankfully, it's not something that occurs,” she said.
She said policy requires visitors to sign in to the office and wear a badge.
A letter was being drafted about the incident and would be emailed to parents Monday, she said.
She also said she was looking into bullying claims.
“Student safety is our first and foremost concern,” Snyder said. “We have safety procedures in place and we will be following through on them.”
You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemcrat.com | – A California mom went vigilante on Friday by grabbing and shoving an alleged 12-year-old bully on school grounds, authorities say. Delia Garcia-Bratcher, 30, was visiting Olivet Charter Elementary School in Santa Rosa, Calif., at lunchtime and asked her 10-year-old son to point out his tormenter. Seeing him, she grabbed his neck, gave him a shove, and told him to cut it out. Well, it wasn't long before the boy ran and told on Garcia-Bratcher, who was charged with inflicting injury on a child, the Press Democrat reports. "It's pretty unreasonable for a parent to go storming on campus like this," said a sheriff's department lieutenant. "You can see fingerprints on his neck." What's more, Garcia-Bratcher may have grabbed the wrong boy, as investigators haven't yet linked him to the bullying, the AP reports. Another AP story notes that a phone under the mom's name has been disconnected, and a Facebook page with her name on it says she was wounded by the accusations and "the truth will be told." Released on $30,000 bail, she's due in court on Thursday. |
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. ||||| Researchers: Elephants can tell the difference between human languages
By Agence France-Presse
Monday, March 10, 2014 16:25 EDT
African elephants can differentiate between human languages and move away from those considered a threat, a skill they have honed to survive in the wild, researchers said Monday.
The study suggests elephants, already known to be intelligent creatures, are even more sophisticated than previously believed when it comes to understanding human dangers.
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are the largest land animals on Earth and are considered a vulnerable species due to habitat loss and illegal hunting for their ivory tusks.
Researchers played recordings of human voices for elephants at Amboseli National Park in Kenya to see how they would respond, according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Some of the voices were from local Maasai men, a group that herds cattle and sometimes comes into conflict with elephants over access to water and grazing space. Occasionally, elephants are killed in clashes with Maasai men, and vice-versa.
Other recorded voices were from Kamba men, who tend to be farmers or employees of the national park, and who rarely represent a danger to elephants.
Still other voices tested on the elephants included female Maasai speakers and young boys.
All were saying the same phrase: “Look, look over there, a group of elephants is coming.”
The recorded voices were played for hundreds of elephants across 47 family groups during daylight hours.
When elephants heard the adult male Maasai voices, they tended to gather together, start investigative smelling with their trunks, and move cautiously away.
But when elephants heard females, boys, or adult male Kamba speakers, they did not show concern.
- Discriminating between languages -
“The ability to distinguish between Maasai and Kamba men delivering the same phrase in their own language suggests that elephants can discriminate between different languages,” said co-author Graeme Shannon, a visiting fellow in psychology at the University of Sussex.
That is not the same as understanding what the words mean, but still shows that elephants can decipher the more sing-songy Maasai language from the Kamba tongue, perhaps based on inflections, use of vowels, and other cues.
“It is very sophisticated what the elephants are doing,” said Keith Lindsay, a conservation biologist and member of the scientific advisory committee of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project.
“A lot of animals will take flight at just the general threat posed by people, but a smart animal doesn’t do that,” he told AFP.
“Their response to hearing Maasai men talking was to be alert, to move away, but not to run away in total fear,” added Lindsay, who was not involved in the study.
“It is suggesting that elephants are capable of thinking, (of) recognizing that if Maasai men are talking, they are not likely to be hunting because if they were hunting, they would be quiet.”
- Wiser with age -
Elephant groups with older matriarchs in their midst did best at assessing the threat from different speakers, further bolstering the presumed role of learning in the animals’ behavior.
The elephants also did not act the same way as they did when recordings of lions were played, as was shown in a previous study.
In those scenarios, they bunched together so that juveniles — those most at risk from a lion attack — were in the center, and moved toward the sounds as if to scare the lion away.
When it comes to recognizing people, elephants may not be alone in this ability. Other research has suggested that wild bottlenose dolphins in Brazil have become so familiar with humans that they engage in cooperative hunting with artisanal fisherman.
Great apes, crows and even prairie dogs have also been shown to differentiate between humans on some level.
A separate study published last month in the journal PLoS ONE showed elephants even have specific alarm calls for when humans are near, suggesting the relationship between people and elephants has reached a troubling point and that conservation efforts are more important than ever.
“We have become a formal enemy of the elephants,” said Lori Marino, an expert on animal intelligence at Emory University.
“They can not only make some distinctions between us, but we are now on their list of species to watch out for.”
[Image via Agence France-Presse] ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Seuss had it right: Horton really does hear a Who. Wild elephants can distinguish between human languages, and they can tell whether a voice comes from a man, woman or boy, a new study says.
This handout photo provided by the University of Sussex, taken in April 2011, shows a wild elephant in Amboseli National Park in Kenya reacting to sound played by scientists in experiments that show they... (Associated Press)
That's what researchers found when they played recordings of people for elephants in Kenya. Scientists say this is an advanced thinking skill that other animals haven't shown. It lets elephants figure out who is a threat and who isn't.
The result shows that while humans are studying elephants, the clever animals are also studying people and drawing on their famed powers of memory, said study author Karen McComb.
"Basically they have developed this very rich knowledge of the humans that they share their habitat with," said McComb , a professor of animal behavior and cognition at the University of Sussex in England.
"Memory is key. They must build up that knowledge somehow."
The study was released Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
It's close but not quite like the Dr. Seuss book, where the empathetic elephant Horton hears something that others can't hear.
McComb and colleagues went to Amboseli National Park in Kenya, where hundreds of wild elephants live among humans, sometimes coming in conflict over scarce water. The scientists used voice recordings of Maasai men, who on occasion kill elephants in confrontations over grazing for cattle, and Kamba men, who are less of a threat to the elephants. The recordings contained the same phrase in two different languages: "Look over there. A group of elephants is coming."
By about a two-to-one margin, the elephants reacted defensively — retreating and gathering in a bunch — more to the Maasai language recording because it was associated with the more threatening human tribe, said study co-author Graeme Shannon of Colorado State University.
"They are making such a fine-level discrimination using human language skills," Shannon said. "They're able to acquire quite detailed knowledge. The only way of doing this is with an exceptionally large brain."
They repeated the experiment with recordings of Maasai men and women. Since women almost never spear elephants, the animals reacted less to the women's voices. The same thing happened when they substituted young boys' voices.
"Making this kind of fine distinctions in human voice patterns is quite remarkable," said Emory University animal cognition expert Frans de Waal, who was not part of the study.
While it shows quite a bit about elephant intelligence and adaptability, it also indicates a problem, said biologist Josh Plotnik, founder of Think Elephants International, a research and advocacy group.
"This is both fascinating in that it supports evidence we already have that these animals are behaviorally quite flexible, but also sad because it suggests that the conflict between humans and elephants is growing," Plotnik, who was not part of the study, wrote in an email.
In yet another experiment McComb and Shannon altered female and male voices, making female voices sound male by lowering their tone and resonance, and males sound female by raising their pitches. Those kinds of changes fool most humans, but the clever elephants weren't tricked, McComb said. They still moved away from the altered male voices and not the altered female voices.
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Online:
Journal: http://www.pnas.org
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Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears. | – Speak the wrong language in front of an African elephant, and she may not like you much. In a study at a Kenyan national park, researchers played recordings of different languages and voices for 47 elephant family groups, comprising hundreds of animals. The recordings included the voices of Maasai men, whose cattle-herding can cause run-ins with elephants. Kamba men, on the other hand, are often farmers or national park workers and present little danger to elephants, AFP reports via Raw Story. While the languages recorded were different, the spoken phrase was the same: "Look, look over there—a group of elephants is coming." When the elephants heard Maasai men, they prepared to protect themselves, sniffing around and moving together. But the voices of Kamba men didn't prompt much worry. "They are making such a fine-level discrimination using human language skills," a study author tells the AP. "They're able to acquire quite detailed knowledge." The elephants also appeared to be able to distinguish between men and women: Maasai women's voices didn't set off major alarm bells, nor did Maasai boys'. The findings come as humans and elephants overlap more often in the park, leading to occasional clashes, Discover notes. Indeed, the study is "sad because it suggests that the conflict between humans and elephants is growing," says an expert. |
Riled Robin: Russell Crowe storms out of Radio 4 interview after being accused of giving hero an Irish accent
It was the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of a bull.
Russell Crowe - already smarting over the critics' reaction to his portrayal of Robin Hood - stood accused of making the hero of Sherwood Forest sound a little Irish.
Interviewer Mark Lawson should have known what was coming.
There was a simmering denial, an expletive or two and a rather sudden end to the conversation.
SCROLL DOWN TO LISTEN TO AUDIO (WARNING: CONTAINS BAD LANGUAGE)
Gladiators, ready! Russell Crowe became riled when Mark Lawson queried his accent on Radio 4 arts show Front Row
Crowe, who has a prickly reputation, had been talking to Lawson about his new film Robin Hood for BBC Radio 4's Front Row programme.
Things went wrong when Lawson started dissecting Crowe's accent in the movie.
He suggested there were 'hints' of Irish in the supposedly English accent.
Outburst: Hollywood star Russell Crowe walked out on a BBC Radio 4 interview after being riled by accusations he had made Robin Hood sound Irish
The 46-year-old New Zealandborn star, who lives in Australia, was having none of it.
'You've got dead ears, mate,' he said ominously.
'You've seriously got dead ears if you think that's an Irish accent.'
HOW THE TESTY EXCHANGE UNFOLDED Mark Lawson: 'The accent that you've given him, there are hints to me of Irish, but what... were you thinking in those terms?' Russell Crowe: 'You've got dead ears mate, you've seriously got dead ears, if you think that's an Irish accent.'
Lawson: 'Hints of, I thought...'
Crowe (interrupting): 'B*******.' (Crowe then talks about his portrayal of Robin Hood before coming back to the accent issue)
Crowe: 'I'm a little dumbfounded you could possibly find any Irish in that character, that's kind of ridiculous anyway, but it's your show.'
Lawson: 'So you're... well, I am just asking... so you're going for northern English?'
Crowe: 'No, I was going for an Italian, yeah, missed it? (Laughs) F*** me! (The actor then refuses to answer a question about whether he had not wanted to deliver some of his most famous lines in Gladiator)
Crowe: 'I don't get the Irish thing by the way. I don't get it at all.' (He finishes the interview, waving his cigarette and walking out). Crowe went on to talk about the character but the accusation had clearly hit a raw nerve. 'I'm a little dumbfounded that you could possibly find any Irish in that character - that's kind of ridiculous, but it's your show,' he said. Lawson, who was interviewing Crowe at the Dorchester Hotel in London, did his best to smooth things over. But there was no turning back.
Crowe then refused to answer questions about whether he had not wanted to deliver some of his most famous lines in the blockbuster Gladiator. He is said to have then waved his cigarette and walked off. Voice coaches working on Robin Hood, which like Gladiator-was directed by Ridley Scott, have said they wanted their hero to have an accent closer to the natives of Rutland, which is south east of Nottingham in the East Midlands. But one critic has claimed Crowe's accent 'sounds like an Australian doing an impression of Jim Bowen off Bullseye', while another suggested he had 15 different accents. Last week, Crowe revealed how he had worked on his English accent by listening to tapes of Michael Parkinson.
'If you look at the early ballads about Robin Hood he's connected to Barnsdale and historians argue Yorkshire and Nottingham are the two places he could have come from,' he said.
'So yes, I listened to a lot of Parky - that was a great help.' Crowe's bad temper has led to a number of run-ins over the years.
In 2005, he was charged with second-degree assault after throwing a telephone at a worker at the Mercer Hotel in New York. ||||| Broadcast on: BBC Radio 4, 7:15pm Wednesday 12th May 2010 Duration: 30 minutes Available until: 12:00am Thursday 1st January 2099 Categories: Factual,
Arts, Culture & the Media
Russell Crowe talks to Mark Lawson about playing Robin Hood in Ridley Scott's new prequel.Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, discusses 400 years of the library of his official residence, Lambeth Palace.Ashes to Ashes writers Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham on winding up the final series.And Love the Sinner, a new play at the National Theatre, which focuses on the tensions around the ordination of homosexual priests in the Anglican church.Producer Nicki Paxman. | – He didn't throw anything, but Russell Crowe is making headlines again for his temper. The Robin Hood star walked out on a BBC interviewer who pushed him a bit too far with questions about the legendary outlaw's accent—and some stale gossip about Gladiator. "Front Row" host Mark Lawson said he detected some Irish in the accent the native New Zealander adopted for Robin Hood, and Crowe responded, "Bollocks," reports the Daily Mail. The interview proceeded, and Crowe eventually returned to the matter of the accent, saying, "I'm a little dumbfounded you could possibly find any Irish in that character—that's kind of ridiculous, but it's your show." He was a lot less forgiving when Lawson brought up a recent book that claims Crowe didn't want to do the climactic scene in Gladiator—the actor got up and left. Listen to the interview here; it gets contentious at around 5:50 and ends shortly after the 10-minute mark. |
A rookie cop who shot and killed an unarmed Brooklyn man in an unlit housing project staircase was indicted for manslaughter Tuesday, the Daily News has learned.
In a blockbuster grand jury decision, Peter Liang will face criminal charges that can send him to prison for up to 15 years for the death of Akai Gurley on Nov. 20, a source said.
The secret panel started hearing the case on Feb 4. A spokeswoman for the Brooklyn District Attorney declined to comment.
A source said Liang, 27, was indicted for a top count second-degree manslaughter, which means he acted recklessly. He was also charged with reckless endangerment, second-degree assault and official misconduct, another source said.
“I’m glad the grand jury looked at the evidence and returned an indictment,” Kimberly Ballinger, the victim’s domestic partner and mother of his 2-year-old daughter, told The News.
“I am happy, I have faith in the Brooklyn District Attorney and I thank him.”
Liang discharged one bullet when patrolling the stairways of the Pink Houses in East New York, striking the 28-year-old Gurley in the chest as the man stood in the landing a floor below next to his girlfriend.
The probationary officer, who’s been on the force for less than 18 months, was allegedly holding a flashlight in one hand and clutched a 9-mm Glock in his left hand, which he also used to open a door when the gun fired.
The News reported that Liang and his partner did not answer the radio in the six-plus minutes right after the shooting and instead texted their union delegates.
DA Kenneth Thompson had obtained indictments in recent months against three cops in two different incidents involving alleged assaults during arrests.
Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch called for due process.
“The fact the he was assigned to patrol one of the most dangerous housing projects in New York City must be considered among the circumstances of this tragic accident,” he said of the officer.
“I’m sad that he was indicted,” said Ed Mullins, President of the Sergeants Benevolent Association. "I don’t know exactly what transpired in that hallway, but I believe it’s a truly accidental incident.”
Gurley was struck on Nov. 20, 2014 at the Pink Houses in East New York. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)
Liang is expected to turn himself in Wednesday morning ahead of his arraignment in Brooklyn Supreme Court. He will appear in front of Justice Danny Chun.
The Rev. Al Sharpton said he and Gurley’s relatives “are pleased that the process will now allow for a fair and impartial hearing.”
Ballinger had previously announced her intention to sue the city for $50 million. She, her lawyer Scott Rynecki and Sharpton all lavished praise on Thompson and the panelists.
“This is the first step in the fight for justice for this wrongful and reckless shooting,” Rynecki said.
“The effort to strengthen the relationship between the police and the community necessarily involves holding an officer accountable when an innocent life is taken and a law is broken,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “The indictment is a meaningful step in the right direction in the march toward justice for the family of Akai Gurley.”
Mayor de Blasio said: “No matter the specific charges, this case is an unspeakable tragedy for the Gurley family. We urge everyone to respect the judicial process as it unfolds."
Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins responded to news of the indictment, ‘I’m sad that he was indicted. I don’t know exactly what transpired in that hallway, but I believe it’s a truly accidental incident.’ (Bryan R. Smith)
The closely watched case came after grand juries in Missouri and Staten Island declined in recent months to file charges against police officers accused of killing unarmed black men.
The deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner sparked a national protest movement and calls for reform.
In sharp contrast to the grand juries in those cases, which heard from dozens of witnesses over weeks, the panel that indicted Liang only heard evidence for a few days — the norm in nearly all grand jury proceedings.
In another distinction from the Garner case, where the officer accused of putting the father-of-six in a chokehold before he died testified in front of the grand jury, Liang did not take the stand, a source said.
“Unlike the case in Staten Island, this case shows the difference in a prosecutor who will respect the grand jury's role to decide probable cause, rather than attempt to influence it,” Sharpton said.
He disagreed with the characterization of the young officer as a scapegoat amid a charged, anti-police atmosphere.
“I don't think that he's a sacrificial lamb since a jury will decide his fate," Sharpton told the News. "If anything, Gurley was a sacrificial lamb in a program of vertical policing that we have strongly opposed."
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With Tina Moore, Rocco Parascandola, Jennifer Fermino ||||| Akai Gurley, 28, was unarmed when police fatally shot him Thursday night. The officer who pulled the trigger was indicted Tuesday, according to NY1. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp and Explore Talent
BROOKLYN — The rookie NYPD officer who fatally shot an unarmed man inside a Pink Houses stairwell in November has been indicted by a Brooklyn grand jury.
Officer Peter Liang has been charged with manslaughter in the second degree for his role in the Nov. 20 shooting death of Akai Gurley, 28, who was visiting his girlfriend inside 2724 Linden Boulevard when he was killed in a pitch-black stairwell, according to sources.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Liang's gun was "accidentally discharged" and called Gurley a "total innocent."
It wasn't immediately clear what charges Liang faces. He is expected to turn himself in Wednesday at 2 p.m., sources said.
Liang was conducting a vertical patrol with his gun drawn when he fired a single shot from a landing above the seventh floor, striking Gurley in the chest, the NYPD said.
"This officer deserves the same due process afforded to anyone involved in the accidental death of another," Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Pat Lynch said. "The fact the he was assigned to patrol one most dangerous housing projects in New York City must be considered among the circumstances of this tragic accident."
Liang's lawyer decided not to allow him to testify before the grand jury, and sources speculated that decision was based on his inexperience and it would be wise to tell his story one time if he was indicted.
Gurley’s girlfriend, Melissa Butler, 27, told DNAinfo New York immediately after the shooting that the officers never identified themselves.
“They didn’t present themselves or nothing and shot him,” she said. “They didn’t identify themselves at all. They just shot.”
Liang declined to comment when reached on his cellphone.
"This is a first step in getting justice for the reckless shooting and wrongful death of Akai Gurley," said Scott Rynecki, an attorney for Kimberly Ballinger, the domestic partner of the slain man.
Officers from Liang’s unit had been told to focus on exterior patrols following a spate of shootings in the housing complex, so it was unclear why Liang was performing a vertical patrol.
Weeks later, Gurley’s mother, Sylvia Palmer, said her son had been planning a surprise trip to visit her in Florida for Thanksgiving before he was killed.
“I pray to God that I get justice for my son,” she said. “Because my son didn’t deserve to die like that.”
Liang is the second NYPD officer to be indicted in a week.
Officer Joel Edouard, 37, surrendered on Feb. 3 after he was caught on video stomping a marijuana suspect’s head. He was indicted on charges of assault and official misconduct.
"I'm happy to see this indictment happen," said Kevin Powell, the spokesman for Gurley's family. "It won’t be full justice unless he's actually convicted of the killing of Akai Gurley. We've seen this before where officers are indicted but there’s no conviction."
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was blasted by police unions for statements he made in the wake of a Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo for Eric Garner's death, released a more subdued message Tuesday.
"It has been reported that a Brooklyn grand jury has acted in this case," the mayor said. "No matter the specific charges, this case is an unspeakable tragedy for the Gurley family. We urge everyone to respect the judicial process as it unfolds."
The indictment was first reported by NY1. ||||| A New York City police officer was indicted Tuesday on multiple charges, including manslaughter, in the November shooting death of an unarmed black man in the darkened stairwell of a housing project, a senior law-enforcement official said.
The indictment by a Brooklyn grand jury follows widespread protests after the decision by a grand... ||||| Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story
The Brooklyn district attorney said on Friday that he planned to impanel a grand jury to look into the death of Akai Gurley, an unarmed Brooklyn man who was killed last month by a police officer patrolling a public-housing unit.
With protests continuing over the grand jury decisions not to charge the officers who killed Eric Garner on Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the tension around the Gurley case has also risen. Mr. Gurley was black, as were Mr. Garner and Mr. Brown. The officers in the Garner and Brown cases are white; the officer who shot Mr. Gurley, Peter Liang, is Asian-American.
The district attorney, Kenneth P. Thompson, said in a statement that he did not support the appointment of an independent prosecutor to handle the case, saying he had been elected by Brooklyn’s residents to represent their interests. “It is important to get to the bottom of what happened,” he said.
Mr. Thompson added, at an event on Friday, that prosecutors had not completed their investigation, so the timing for the grand jury was not yet clear.
Mr. Thompson has not said what charge or charges he might ask the grand jury to consider.
Mr. Gurley, 28, was killed Nov. 20 as he walked in a dark stairwell in the Louis H. Pink Houses in the East New York neighborhood, his girlfriend at his side. The elevators in the building often malfunctioned and residents often used the stairs instead, even though the lights in the stairwells were frequently out, as they were that night.
Officer Liang, 27, was conducting a so-called vertical patrol with his partner, starting on the roof and heading down through the stairwells, a common procedure for officers assigned to housing projects. Officer Liang had his gun out and opened the door to a stairwell; the gun went off, authorities said, as Mr. Gurley entered the stairwell one floor below.
The police commissioner, William J. Bratton, characterized the shooting as “an unfortunate accident.”
While there were immediate calls for criminal charges for the officers who killed Mr. Garner and Mr. Brown, opinions about the Gurley case were varied. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who called for protests in the earlier cases, said he “didn’t know” whether an indictment was appropriate for Officer Liang.
“There has to be a full investigation,” Mr. Sharpton said, cautioning that supporters of the officer “should not rush to judgment and say it is an accident when they don’t know what happened.”
United States Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat who represents parts of Brooklyn, said Mr. Thompson’s decision was “a meaningful step in the right direction.”
“Akai Gurley did not deserve to die,” he said, “and the evidence of a kill shot that penetrated his chest and struck him in the heart suggests something more than a noncriminal accident.”
A similar shooting occurred in January 2004, when Timothy Stansbury Jr., 19, was killed on a roof at the Louis Armstrong Houses in Brooklyn by Officer Richard S. Neri Jr. A grand jury declined to indict Officer Neri after he testified that he had unintentionally discharged his weapon after Mr. Stansbury pushed open a rooftop door, startling him.
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Given what is known about the Gurley case, said Delores Jones-Brown, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who directs its Center on Race, Crime and Justice, it seemed likely that a jury would consider criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment charges.
A central question for the grand jury to consider, Professor Jones-Brown said, is “what police are trained and authorized to do in these kinds of situations.” If the police action goes against training and police guidelines, the next step would be to determine how much of the officer’s behavior had diverged from “the kind of care he should’ve been exercising,” she said.
The investigation into the shooting so far has covered the first minutes after the officer shot Mr. Gurley, a law enforcement official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about an ongoing case. Mr. Liang may have used his phone to send a text message during that period, the source said, The Daily News reported on Friday.
James P. O’Neill, chief of department and the highest ranking uniformed officer in the Police Department, declined to comment on Officer Liang’s actions.
“This is an ongoing investigation by our department and the Brooklyn district attorney’s office,” Chief O’Neill said. “I really can’t talk about it.”
The Daily News suggested that Officer Liang was texting a representative of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, although a spokesman for the union said that account did “not appear to be true.” Nonetheless, one police official said, it was not unusual for an on-duty officer to seek guidance from a union representative after firing a gun.
Mr. Jeffries said that in the Gurley case, he hoped a grand jury would vote for an indictment.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean a conviction, but it should mean an indictment that allows the facts to be aired in a public trial,” he said. “When unarmed black men are killed by police officers, we need public trials to help restore confidence in the criminal justice system.” | – A rookie cop with the NYPD will face criminal charges after shooting an unarmed black man to death in a stairwell, reports the Wall Street Journal. A Brooklyn grand jury indicted Peter Liang, 27, on charges of second-degree manslaughter in the November shooting of Akai Gurley, 28, reports the Daily News. The charges essentially accuse Liang of acting recklessly, says the newspaper. Police have previously said that Liang's gun fired accidentally as he and a partner were patrolling a public housing complex and preparing to descend a dark staircase. The bullet struck Gurley, who was on a landing one floor below. “They didn’t present themselves or nothing and shot him,” Gurley's girlfriend, who lives in the building, told DNAInfo after the shooting. “They didn’t identify themselves at all. They just shot.” Liang, who has been on desk duty since the shooting, is expected to turn himself in tomorrow morning. The development follows the lack of indictments in the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases. Those two deaths involved white officers, while Liang is Asian-American, notes the New York Times. |
DULUTH, Minn. - Authorities are releasing more information about the elderly Duluth couple found dead on Saturday.
Duluth police say Ron Tarnowski, 82, and Mary Tarnowski, 78, were found on Saturday shortly before 4 p.m., after they were missing for eight days.
A U.S. Border Patrol Helicopter found their vehicle in a rural area about 150 yards off of Highway 2 in the Brookston, Minnesota area. St. Louis County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Wade Rasch says it appears the couple drove off the road onto a swampy trail that was likely only used as a snowmobile trail during the winter.
Rasch said Mary Tarnowski was found in the car, which was stuck on the trail, and Ron Tarnowski was found closer to the highway. Rasch said it appears Ron went to get help after the car became stuck.
RELATED: Police seek help finding missing Duluth couple
The autopsy results are pending, but Rasch said it's likely the couple died of exposure.
A post on the Find Ron and Mary Tarnowski Facebook page stated, "It is with great sadness that we must report that Ron and Mary Tarnowski have been found deceased in a remote area about a mile from their hunting camp."
The couple had been last seen on surveillance video at a Country Corner store near Brookston, Minnesota, around 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 29.
Ron had early-stage dementia, and Mary had right-sided paralysis, making it difficult to speak. ||||| After a week-long search, Ron and Mary Tarnowski were discovered dead in swampy area in Duluth on Aug. 5. The couple was married for 59 years. (Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)
Ron and Mary Tarnowski spent their days confined almost entirely to their home in Duluth, Minn.
Decades ago, at age 42, Mary Tarnowski suffered from a stroke that left her paralyzed on the right side of her body, making it difficult for her to move or speak. Her husband, Ron, served as her caretaker for more than 35 years, assisting her with daily tasks and rarely leaving her side.
But in recent years, Ron Tarnowski, an Air Force veteran and retired captain for the local fire department, began showing signs of early-stage dementia, his son and police told The Washington Post. Suddenly, the tough man with a “commanding presence,” adventurous spirit and the build of a former football player needed to be taken care of, too.
Getting around became even more difficult for the Tarnowskis — Mary, 78, and Ron, 81. The couple hardly ever left the home, which their son, Karl Tarnowski, built adjacent to his own so he could keep an eye on them.
Occasionally, Mary Tarnowski would ask her husband to go for a drive, perhaps to nearby restaurants. But they never stayed away for very long and would always be back well before nightfall.
“When the sun sets they’ve always been home,” Karl Tarnowski, the younger of the couple’s two sons, said in an interview with The Washington Post.
So it was troubling when, on the evening of July 29, Karl Tarnowski and his wife found the elderly couple’s home empty and their Chevy Tahoe gone.
Mary and Ron Tarnowski had driven away that day without telling anyone. They left behind a cellphone, Mary’s wheelchair and purse, and their medications. At 10 p.m., their worried children called the police to report them missing.
For the next seven days, the family, law enforcement and hundreds of community members in Duluth launched an extensive search effort that covered thousands of miles.
Relatives and local authorities posted fliers all over the surrounding area and posted updates on a Facebook group called “Find Ron and Mary Tarnowski,” which was followed by more than 7,000 people across Minnesota and the United States. Retired Duluth firefighters joined the search for one of their own.
Duluth residents tied purple ribbons around trees and on businesses, in honor of the Alzheimer’s Association. They held news conferences outside the Tarnowskis’ home attended by the Duluth police chief and about 100 community members.
Relatives and police officials weighed several possible theories of where the couple could have gone. Perhaps they had headed northwest to Grand Rapids, Minn., where their sons had been spending the day. Maybe they were stopping by their family’s hunting shack, about 30 miles away from their Duluth home.
On Saturday afternoon, eight days after the couple went missing, the family received their answer, and a tragic end to their strenuous search. A U.S. Border Patrol helicopter found the couple’s Chevy Tahoe on an overgrown, abandoned driveway in a swampy area off the road just two miles away from the family’s hunting property. They were near Brookston, a town about 30 miles from their Duluth home.
Mary’s Tarnowski’s body was discovered inside the Tahoe, and her husband’s body was found outside the vehicle, about 50 feet from the road.
Authorities suspect Ron Tarnowski may have driven onto the trail accidentally before getting his car stuck in the mud, said Lt. Mike Ceynowa, public information officer for the Duluth Police Department. He said police think Tarnowski left the vehicle to seek help.
Autopsy results are pending, but Karl Tarnowski said there are signs that his mother died of a combination of dehydration and heat while sitting in the car on a day with temperatures in the upper 80s. There is also evidence that Ron Tarnowski had fallen down while trudging through the mud, his son said.
Both are believed to have died July 29, the day they went missing, the son said. No foul play is suspected, according to authorities.
“It’s a horrific case,” Ceynowa said. “Nobody wants to lose their parents this way.”
But in the parents’ final moments, Ceynowa said, Ron Tarnowski “was doing what he’s done for years: trying to help his wife and take care of her.”
Karl Tarnowski does not know what prompted his parents to drive so far away, but he suspects his father’s dementia played a role. His father rarely visited the hunting cabin in recent years, and he never traveled there without one of his two sons. Even then, he would be on edge, wanting to hurry home before sundown to take care of his wife.
The morning before they went missing, “everything seemed totally normal,” Karl Tarnowski said. His wife gave his mother a bath and cooked the couple some breakfast. Later that morning, he left town for the day, telling his father, “See you later, Papa.”
“He said, ‘Take your time, but hurry back,'” Tarnowski said. “He said, “We’ll be here anyway. We never go anywhere.”
Evidence uncovered during the course of the seven-day search revealed some details about the rest of their day. The couple stopped by a local Wells Fargo Bank, where Ron Tarnowski withdrew an amount of cash typical for him. Then they stopped at a restaurant for lunch, Karl Tarnowski said.
The map shows the distance from Ron and Mary Tarnowski’s home to where their bodies were found. (Google Maps)
At some point afterward, they headed northwest on Highway 2 toward their hunting property. It was a “beautiful” summer day, Ceynowa said, “a day we all hope for in the north.”
A video from security cameras showed the couple in one of their final moments, walking through a bar and grill in Brookston, Minn., possibly hours before their vehicle got stuck.
The surveillance footage captured the extent of the couple’s immobility. They could be seen slowly walking into the restaurant. Ron Tarnowski led the way, trudging along with his cane and holding his wife’s hand as she walked behind him, dragging a leg. It took 16 minutes for the couple to take a bathroom break, Karl Tarnowski said.
They had been married for 59 years.
Lately, caring for his wife had became a taxing responsibility for Ron Tarnowski. And in recent years, his mental deterioration became a challenge for his wife, their son said.
But throughout these tribulations, Karl Tarnowski said, “their love was outstanding for one another.”
Ron Tarnowski joined the Air Force before graduating from high school and was stationed in the Philippines for a long time, his son said. He actively volunteered with the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization. As a father, he could be a “kind of harsh person” at times, but he had a “heart of gold,” Karl Tarnowski said.
His father often offered to work on welding projects for neighbors and friends, and would always say “this weld is guaranteed,” Tarnowski recounted. “If it breaks, I’ll weld it again.”
Mary Tarnowski was a “big-hearted” mother who “loved people” and always looked forward to playing cards with friends. Before her stroke, she volunteered with the census every 10 years, participated in her children’s parent-teacher associations and made sure everything in the home was organized. She never had a driver’s license, so her husband would frequently drive her around town.
“They went everywhere together,” said Mark Lavalier, a retired firefighter who worked with Ron Tarnowski for several years and who assisted with the search efforts. “You’d never see one without the other.”
The story of the missing couple resonated with families across the state, particularly those with elderly parents, Lavalier said.
“Everybody’s got parents. Everybody watches them get old and realizes they become vulnerable,” Lavalier said. “That’s what people reacted to. This could be my parents. This could be everybody’s parents.”
The story of the Tarnowskis also underscored the dangers vulnerable adults can face when they leave home with no way of being reached or tracked. The OnStar device on the Chevy Tahoe was not activated, and neither Tarnowski was accustomed to carrying and using a cellphone.
Karl Tarnowski urged the importance of making sure vulnerable adults carry GPS tracking devices or cellphones at all times.
“If there’s any positive outcome to this,” he said, it’s that, perhaps, “it’s going to help somebody else find their parents someday.”
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After months of bullying, her parents say, a 12-year-old New Jersey girl killed herself. They blame the school. ||||| A U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations helicopter crew discovered the elderly Duluth couple’s vehicle in a remote location at about 3:45 p.m. Saturday, according to the Duluth Police Department. The investigation into the deaths was ongoing Saturday night, but foul play wasn’t suspected. It appeared the couple’s SUV had gotten stuck, police said.
They were found about a mile from the family’s hunting camp, according to a statement posted on the “Find Ron and Mary Tarnowski” Facebook page that family members had started to aid the search. The camp is near U.S. Highway 2 between Brookston and Floodwood, and a few miles from where the couple had been last seen, the Country Corner store.
“The family would like to thank the many men and women of law enforcement, the active and retired firefighters, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the overwhelming support of the community and the media for the diligent efforts this past week,” the Facebook statement read.
Aircraft involved in the search had been grounded Friday because of thunderstorms in the region, officials said, but returned to the air on Saturday.
The news prompted an outpouring of condolences and support on social media for the Tarnowski family — including the couple’s sons, Kurt and Karl, and Karl’s wife Bev — who had been tireless in recent days in organizing search efforts and checking on possible sightings.
Ron, 82, and Mary, 78, had been last seen July 29 at the Country Corner store along Highway 2. Ron was in the early stages of dementia, and Mary suffered from right-side paralysis and had difficulty speaking. They lived in a home Karl Tarnowski built for his parents, adjacent to his own home in Duluth. They generally spent most of their time at home, going out only for an occasional meal at nearby restaurants.
They weren’t carrying cellphones or credit cards when they went missing, and an OnStar system in their vehicle was not activated, which left authorities with few clues to pinpoint a search over the past week.
“We're not looking for a needle in a haystack, because we haven't found the haystack yet,” Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said at a Saturday morning gathering at the Tarnowskis’ home.
More than 100 volunteers, some wearing purple T-shirts and ribbons for Alzheimer’s awareness, gathered in Ron and Mary’s driveway to begin another day of searching for the couple Saturday. A photo of Ron and Mary was taped to their garage with a sign above it: “Missing 8 days.”
About 20 current and retired Duluth firefighters were among the crowd of volunteers to search for one of their own. Ron was a Duluth firefighter for 31 years.
Retired Duluth firefighters Jim Reed and Mark Lavalier had already been out searching in the past week. Lavalier worked with Ron and lives one block south of the Tarnowskis. Trying to hold back tears on Saturday morning, before the couple was found, he said, “If it was me, I know that they’d be there for me.”
Reed didn’t know Ron well, but said “nobody deserves this, to be lost” and to be confused with dementia.
Law enforcement’s efforts to find the Tarnowskis ramped up on Saturday with a new emergency command center set up in Pike Lake and a new tip line with two dispatchers dedicated to the case.
During the Saturday morning gathering, Tusken said the police department’s violent crimes unit, which handles missing person cases, had been working on the case since Day One and had tracked down dozens of leads in six counties and two states.
The police department decided to change tactics on Friday night due to the expanding search for the couple, and the command center created a centralized location for the various agencies assisting in the search.
At the command center on Saturday, before the Tarnowskis were found, there was a steady stream of phone calls with tips and search updates.
Law enforcement officials studied a gas station’s surveillance video, cross-referencing it with Google Maps and a tip to determine the likelihood that Ron and Mary’s vehicle might have been captured on the video.
On the wall, areas already searched were being marked on a large map of Northeastern Minnesota. Authorities had notified FedEx, UPS and rural mail carriers to keep an eye out, and some student pilots had flown over the region to search while getting in their practice hours.
Reed, the retired Duluth firefighter who had gathered with dozens of other volunteers Saturday morning at the Tarnowskis’ home, said at that time that the community response “is a big circle. Hopefully somebody will do it for us or one of our loved ones if it happened to them. That’s how we do it. We live in a society where we all got to help each other out.”
Andrew Krueger of the News Tribune staff contributed to this report. | – "We're not looking for a needle in a haystack, because we haven't found the haystack yet," said the police chief of Duluth, Minnesota, Saturday morning in regards to the case of an elderly couple who had been missing for 8 days. By the afternoon, a helicopter had found both the haystack and the needle, to tragic ends. Ron and Mary Tarnowski were found dead in the Brookston area, near a hunting shack the family owned about 30 miles from Duluth. Foul play isn't suspected. The Washington Post reports the couple lived near one of their sons, Karl Tarnowski, who noticed they uncharacteristically didn't return home on July 29. The Duluth News Tribune reports the couple didn't have cellphones or credit cards on them, nor did their car's OnStar system engage, leaving authorities with little to go on. But there was, perhaps, a general area: Their last sighting had been at 1pm on the day they went missing at a corner store near Brookston. KARE reports the Tarnowskis' Chevy Tahoe was found in a remote area, apparently stuck on what seemed to be a "swampy" trail typically accessed by snowmobilers in the winter. Mary, 78, was in the vehicle; Ron, 82, was outside it, some 50 feet from the road, suggesting he had gone in search of help. Karl tells the Post that it's thought both died the day they went missing; Mary is believed to have succumbed to dehydration and heat. The couple is depicted as a devoted one: A stroke at age 42 left Mary paralyzed on her right side; Ron was constantly by her side, but had himself begun to show early signs of dementia. (This couple was found 75 years after they went missing.) |
Story highlights Pakistani game show gives away unwanted babies
Childless parents received baby girls during live broadcasts
Critics say it's a publicity stunt to win Ramadan ratings battle
Another newborn due to be given away in coming days
Plumbing new depths in the battle for television ratings, abandoned babies are being given away on a controversial prime-time game show in Pakistan.
TV host Aamir Liaquat Hussain presented baby girls to two unsuspecting couples during his show, which is broadcast live for seven hours a day during the month of Ramadan.
"I was really shocked at first. I couldn't believe we were being given this baby girl," said Suriya Bilqees, now a mother of a two-week old. "I was extremely happy."
Another baby, a boy, is due to be given to another couple at some point in the coming days.
The show's host has been described as a religious scholar, TV megastar and even a sex symbol. His heady mix of religion and entertainment is often followed by controversy.
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"At Christmas there's Santa Claus to give everyone gifts, it's important for Christians. For us Ramadan is a really special time so it's really important to make people happy and reward them," said Hussain.
His show -- Aman Ramazan -- has been dubbed Pakistan's version of The Price Is Right, with members of the 500-strong audience receiving prizes in exchange for answering questions on the Quran.
The giveaway bonanza includes motorbikes, microwave ovens, washing machines and fridges.
He also cooks while men sing Islamic hymns and discusses religion with children in a garden full of rabbits, snakes and goats.
The baby girls given away on the show were found by an NGO, the Chhipa Welfare Association , which says it receives up to 15 abandoned babies a month.
"Our team finds babies abandoned on the street, in garbage bins -- some of them dead, others mauled by animals. So why not ensure the baby is kept alive and gets a good home?" said Ramzan Chhipa, who runs the organization.
"We didn't just give the baby away. We have our own vetting procedure. This couple was already registered with us and had four or five sessions with us."
But, the couple didn't know they would be handed a newborn when they were invited to take part in the show and paperwork was not processed before the live broadcast.
Adoption is not officially recognized in Pakistan and there is no adoption law. The couple will have to apply for guardianship at a family court.
Some viewers praised the show's baby giveaway but others declared it a publicity stunt.
"Pakistan wake up," Shamim Mahmood wrote on the NGO's Facebook page. "Babies are not trophies to be handed to just anyone."
Hussain says it isn't a gimmick to win ratings during the Islamic holy month. He believes his show is unifying a fractured nation, plagued by sectarian violence, religious intolerance and terrorism.
"These are the disenfranchised babies that grow up to be street kids and used for suicide bombing attacks. We have tried to show an alternative," he said.
"Telling people to take these kids off the rubbish on the streets, raise them and make them a responsible citizen, not to destroy society through terrorism," he said.
The show has proved extremely popular, breaking ratings records and may be extended beyond its Ramadan run. He is also planning another program where the audience will be from the minority Hindu, Sikh and Christian communities.
"We've created a symbol of peace and love, that's our show's theme -- to spread love. I'm setting an example. Giving a childless couple an abandoned child," Hussain said. ||||| 1 of 8. A childless couple kisses their newly adopted daughter, Fatima, whom Pakistani television talk show host Aamir Liaquat Hussain gave them on his show, as they sit at the Chhipa Welfare Association office in Karachi August 1, 2013.
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani television is screening what many call its most controversial content yet in a ruthless quest for ratings: a talk-show host who gives away babies live on air.
Aamir Liaquat Hussain, a bespectacled 41-year-old with a neatly trimmed beard, gave away two abandoned infant girls to childless families last month and plans to give away a baby boy this week.
"If we didn't find this baby, a cat or a dog would have eaten it," Hussain proclaimed during one broadcast, before presenting a tiny girl wrapped in pink and red to her new parents. The audience erupted with applause.
Hussain is one of Pakistan's most popular talk-show hosts. During his marathon broadcasts he cooks, interviews clerics and celebrities, entertains children and hosts game shows.
He usually gives prizes like motorbikes, mobile phones and land deeds to audience members who answer questions about Islam.
But at the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when television stations battle fiercely for ratings, Hussain astonished Pakistan when he presented two families with babies.
"We were told that we had passed all the interviews and had been selected to adopt a baby," said Riaz Uddin, 40, an engineer. "We got our baby on live TV."
The abandoned babies were rescued by the Chhipa Welfare Association, a Pakistani aid organization.
"In a day or two, the next baby will be given away, God willing," its head, Ramzan Chhipa, told Reuters on Thursday.
While the Chhipa teams scour the garbage dumps and other sites for discarded newborns, Hussain is also appealing for babies directly.
"If any family cannot afford to bring up their new born baby due to poverty or illness then instead of killing them, they should hand over the baby to Dr Aamir," a notice on his website reads. The children would be given to deserving couples on air, the notice said.
The show's producers did not return Reuters calls seeking comment. It was not clear if poor families wishing to keep their children would also be helped.
FIGHTING FOR VIEWERS
Many Pakistanis expressed disgust that abandoned babies were being given away in what they see as an attempt to boost ratings. Chhipa insisted thousands of people wanted a baby and all potential parents were properly vetted.
The true outrage, he said, was the poverty forcing families to abandon children.
Hussain's show is one of many such broadcasts. The Pakistani media has flourished over the past decade or so following the liberalization of the industry, particularly broadcasting, after decades of tight state control.
Now, instead of battling state restrictions, presenters fight for audiences and advertising by seeing who is most outrageous.
Recent episodes include a female anchor stalking couples in a park to challenge their morality, and a news program which once ran a live broadcast showing a staff member bleeding to death in an operating theatre after he was shot in a riot.
Even among this company, Hussain stands out. In 2008, he hosted scholars who called for the deaths of Ahmadis, a persecuted religious sect in Pakistan. Within a day, two prominent Ahmadis had been shot dead.
The year before, he had to resign from his post as junior minister for religious affairs after denouncing author Salman Rushdie for blasphemy, a crime punished by death in Pakistan.
Since then, his university degree has been exposed as a fake and a video showing him making crude jokes with clerics between takes of his show has leaked onto YouTube.
"There is nothing they won't do to get viewers," said comedian Sami Shah. "If I was a cynic, I'd say this can only end badly. But since I'm a realist, I'll say it's already ended terribly."
(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Ahmed; Editing by Robert Birsel) | – Next time someone complains that American TV has gone a little too far, suggest they take a look at the new gimmick of one of Pakistan's most popular shows: free baby giveaways. As in, actual human babies. Host Aamir Liaquat Hussain gave away two infant girls last month and plans to keep going, reports Reuters. Witness the posting on his website: "If any family cannot afford to bring up their new born baby due to poverty or illness then instead of killing them, they should hand over the baby to Dr Aamir." The first two babies were provided by a Pakistani aid organization that takes in abandoned infants, and both the show and the organization insist that the recipients were vetted. "If we didn't find this baby, a cat or a dog would have eaten it," Hussain told his cheering audience before handing over one of the baby girls to a childless couple. Reuters explains that Pakistan has loosened its control over broadcasting in recent years, leading to a slew of such ratings-grabbing stunts. CNN describes this particular show, Aman Ramazan, as a Pakistani version of The Price is Right. Audience members typically win prizes for correctly answering questions about the Koran. Only now, the show is giving away babies along with fridges and microwaves. |
Army suicide testimony: Sergeant taunted Danny Chen with slurs
An African American soldier, Pvt. Marcus Merritt, testified Wednesday that Holcomb addressed him with a racial slur and threatened to "kill me and put me in a body bag and send me home.’’ Merritt said he became suicidal after enduring punishment and humiliation from Holcomb.
In their opening statements, prosecutors had said testimony would show that soldiers taunted Chen with racial slurs, kicked him and pelted him with rocks in merciless hazing in the weeks before the private’s suicide.
Holcomb, 30, is the first to face court-martial in a case that has focused renewed attention on allegations of hazing and racism in the Army, where Asian Americans are a distinct minority. Courts-martial for the other seven soldiers, including an officer, are scheduled for later this year.
Military prosecutors elicited the testimony in the second day of the proceedings to buttress charges that Holcomb hazed and hounded Chen, a Chinese American, into committing suicide at a remote combat outpost in Afghanistan on Oct. 3. Holcomb, one of eight soldiers charged in connection with Chen’s death, faces charges of negligent homicide, assault, reckless endangerment and other counts.
FT. BRAGG, N.C. -- Sgt. Adam Holcomb bombarded Danny Chen, a shy, 19-year-old Army private, with racial slurs and bloodied Chen’s back by dragging him across rocky ground for disobeying a platoon rule, several former members of Holcomb’s platoon testified at his court-martial Wednesday.
U.S. Army Sgt. Adam Holcomb, right, is the first of eight men facing prosecution… (Raul R. Rubiera, The Fayetteville…)
"He was in my face constantly,’’ Merritt testified when asked why he had contemplated suicide. "All the stuff he did had a long-lasting effect on me.’’
Under cross-examination, Merritt conceded that he knew Holcomb wasn’t serious about killing him. But he also said he feared the sergeant, telling a military psychiatrist he wanted to kill Holcomb.
Holcomb’s immediate superior, Staff Sgt. Darren Holt, told the military panel of 10 officers and non-commissioned officers that he confronted Holcomb after the sergeant dragged Chen across sharp, baseball-sized rocks in late September. Holcomb was angry that Chen had ignored posted rules to turn off power to a water heater after taking a shower.
Holt said he told Holcomb that physically abusing a soldier was wrong and reported the incident to superiors. "I verbally counseled him [Holcomb] . . . and made it clear that was unacceptable,’’ Holt said.
Chen shot himself under the chin in a base guard tower a week after the dragging incident, according to the Army.
Chen’s death outraged some Chinese American activists in New York City’s Chinatown, where Chen grew up with his immigrant parents. Several activists are attending the court-martial, along with journalists from China.
Holcomb’s military lawyers have said Chen killed himself because his parents had disowned him for joining the Army instead of attending college. They have portrayed Chen as an incompetent soldier who endangered his platoon and required constant discipline for such violations as sleeping on guard duty or reporting for his guard post without his helmet.
Defense lawyers have also said that nicknames -- even those with racially tinged overtones -- were common "terms of endearment’’ in the small, tight-knit platoon. One African American platoon member, they said, encouraged soldiers to call him "Black Mamba.’’
Under cross-examination by the defense, former members of the platoon conceded that most discipline meted out by Holcomb was justified by Chen’s failure to follow orders or regulations. Such "corrective training,’’ especially in combat zones, is an accepted way to improve soldiers’ performance, according to testimony.
Several soldiers testified that Chen never gave any overt indication that he was contemplating suicide. The platoon medic, Spec. Zachary Bolin, who treated Chen’s back abrasions at Holcomb’s request, said Chen denied suicidal thoughts when Bolin asked him about it. ||||| 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. | – Playing "Taps" on a well-worn bugle, the emotional recitation of "A Soldier's Creed," and calling each other racial slurs one day per week: all time-honored customs in the US Army? That last practice is, at least in one platoon, according to a black staff sergeant who tells the Army Times that he's filed an equal-opportunity complaint against his platoon leader at Alaska's Fort Wainwright for "[encouraging] 'Racial Thursdays' as a way to build morale and camaraderie," the Times notes. The soldier from the 2nd Platoon, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment tells the newspaper that although epithets were never hurled his way, he was told upon arrival that the special day was a "tradition" in which soldiers "can say any racist remark you want without any consequences." "It's degrading to the soldiers," the staff sergeant says. "We've had soldiers almost fight over the crap that's going on here." A junior enlisted soldier anonymously backs up the NCO's claim, telling the Times that "you didn't have to participate, but they'd remind you." He recalls a Latino soldier being called a "wetback" and "border jumper" before almost getting into a scuffle when the others wouldn't stop. The Alaska unit is the same one in which 19-year-old Pvt. Danny Chen served before killing himself in 2011 after being deployed. Chen, who was Chinese-American, reportedly had rocks thrown at him and was called names like "Dragon Lady" and "Egg Roll" in the weeks before his death in Afghanistan, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2012. A spokesman for the Alaska unit tells the Army Times an investigation into the recent claims is underway and that "there is absolutely no connection between this current investigation and the case of Pvt. Danny Chen. Treating all soldiers with dignity and respect is something this command takes extremely seriously." (Prince Harry once got into hot water with the UK military for using a racial slur.) |
Earlier this week, we introduced a set of updates to our privacy policy and terms of service to help our users better understand our service. In the days since, it became clear that we failed to fulfill what I consider one of our most important responsibilities – to communicate our intentions clearly. I am sorry for that, and I am focused on making it right.
The concerns we heard about from you the most focused on advertising, and what our changes might mean for you and your photos. There was confusion and real concern about what our possible advertising products could look like and how they would work.
Because of the feedback we have heard from you, we are reverting this advertising section to the original version that has been in effect since we launched the service in October 2010. You can see the updated terms here.
Going forward, rather than obtain permission from you to introduce possible advertising products we have not yet developed, we are going to take the time to complete our plans, and then come back to our users and explain how we would like for our advertising business to work.
You also had deep concerns about whether under our new terms, Instagram had any plans to sell your content. I want to be really clear: Instagram has no intention of selling your photos, and we never did. We don’t own your photos – you do.
Finally, there was also confusion about how widely shared and distributed your photos are through our service. The distribution of your content and photos is governed by our privacy policy, and always has been. We have made a small change to our terms to make that as clear as possible.
You can view the current terms and privacy policy, as well as review the updated terms and privacy policy that will take effect on January 19, 2013.
I’m proud that Instagram has a community that feels so strongly about a product we all love. I’m even more proud that you feel empowered to be vocal and approach us with constructive feedback to help us build a better product. Thank you for your feedback, and I look forward to all that Instagram has to bring in the New Year.
Thank you,
Kevin Systrom co-founder, Instagram ||||| Eric Piermont/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO — In the aftermath of the uproar over changes to Instagram’s privacy policy and terms of service earlier this week, the company did an about-face late Thursday.
In a blog post on the company’s site, Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s co-founder, said that where advertising was concerned, the company would revert to its previous terms of service, which have been in effect since October 2010.
“Rather than obtain permission from you to introduce possible advertising products we have not yet developed,” he wrote, “we are going to take the time to complete our plans, and then come back to our users and explain how we would like for our advertising business to work.” Users had been particularly concerned by a clause in Instagram’s policy introduced on Monday that suggested Instagram would share users’ data — like their favorite places, bands, restaurants and hobbies — with Facebook and its advertisers to better target ads.
They also took issue with an update to the company’s terms of service that suggested users’ photos could be used in advertisements, without compensation and even without their knowledge.
The terms of that user agreement said, “You agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your user name, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata) and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.”
Following a reaction that included customers defecting to other services, Mr. Systrom told Instagram users on Tuesday that the new policy had been misinterpreted. “It is our mistake that this language is confusing,” he wrote, and he promised an updated agreement.
That statement apparently was not enough. With more people leaving the service, the company, which Facebook bought for $735 million this year, reacted again by returning to the old rules.
Acknowledging those concerns late Thursday, Mr. Systrom wrote: “I want to be really clear: Instagram has no intention of selling your photos, and we never did. We don’t own your photos — you do.”
Mr. Systrom said the company would still be tweaking its privacy policy to quell users’ fears that their photos might pop-up on third-party sites without their consent.
But Mr. Systrom did not clarify how Instagram planned to monetize its service in the future. Facebook is under pressure to make Instagram earn income.
“It’s a free service — they have to monetize somewhere,” said John Casasanta, a principal at Tap Tap Tap, the maker of Camera+, a photo-filter app that has shunned advertising and instead charges users for premium features. “The days of the simple banner ads are gone. Their user data is too valuable.”
It was unclear whether reverting its terms of service would be enough to satisfy high-profile users like National Geographic, which stopped using its Instagram account in light of the moves, or other users who have aired their grievances on Twitter and Facebook.
The controversy has driven traffic and new users to several other photo-sharing applications.
Pheed, an Instagram-like app that gives users the option to monetize their own content by charging followers to see their posts, gained more users than any other app in the United States on Thursday. By Thursday morning, Pheed had jumped to the ninth most downloaded social-networking app in Apple’s iTunes store, just ahead of LinkedIn.
O. D. Kobo, Pheed’s chief executive, said Thursday morning that subscriptions to the service had quadrupled this week and that in the last 24 hours users had uploaded 300,000 new files to the service — more uploads than any other 24-hour-period since Pheed made its debut six weeks ago.
Another runaway success was Flickr, Yahoo’s photo-sharing service, which redesigned its app last week to make it easier to share photos on Twitter. In a stroke of good fortune, it released the app to positive reviews just as Instagram announced it would no longer sync with Twitter, a Facebook rival.
The day before Instagram announced changes to its terms of service, Flickr’s mobile app was ranked at around 175 in Apple’s overall iTunes app charts. Since that day, the application skyrocketed to the high 20s.
Of course, most of these services are still tiny compared to Instagram, which claims to have more than 100 million members who have uploaded upward of 5 billion photos using its service. And it was unclear if the services’ newfound members had also deleted their Instagram accounts or were merely dabbling in other offerings. But the migration, whether temporary or permanent, was a reminder of the volatility of success and that the fall to bottom can sometimes be as swift as the rise to the top.
Facebook and Instagram declined to say whether they had seen any significant number of account deletions or if they were concerned about losing ground in the photo-sharing market to rivals. Some photo apps took direct aim at Instagram. Camera+ even went so far as to include a snide, holiday-themed reference to Instagram’s stumbles in an app update on Wednesday.
“We’ll never do shady things with your shared pics, because it just isn’t right,” the update noted. “On that note, happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” | – After a furor over changes to its ad terms of service, Instagram tried to clear things up; now, it's simply dropping the changes, the New York Times reports. The company is returning to its old advertising terms from 2010, co-founder Kevin Systrom wrote in a blog post. "Rather than obtain permission from you to introduce possible advertising products we have not yet developed, we are going to take the time to complete our plans, and then come back to our users and explain how we would like for our advertising business to work." "I want to be really clear," he added. "Instagram has no intention of selling your photos, and we never did. We don’t own your photos—you do." Still, the move may have come too late for some users: Similar services like Pheed saw more new users yesterday than any other app in the US, while Flickr's app jumped in popularity from 175 to somewhere in the 20s among iTunes rankings. The question remains, then, how the free service will monetize, notes the Times. |
Many of us drink a cup of coffee on the way to work or chow down on some food while driving.But in New Jersey that could soon land you a ticket, or stiff fines.A controversial new bill, calling for hefty fines and even a driver's license suspension, is making its way through the legislature.Many are wondering, does this distracted driving bill go too far?However, while many are harping on the possibility that motorists would be pulled over simply for drinking coffee, the evidence strongly suggests something needs to be done to drastically reduce distracted driving.According to the latest figures from the federal government, in 2014 there were some 400,000 accidents involving distracted drivers, and 3,000 of those resulted in death.Those numbers are shocking, and sadly most of the accidents were preventable."There are 3,000 people who didn't make it home for reasons that are entirely preventable," said Assemblyman John Wisniewski. "Those reasons are keeping your eye on the road."The proposed law seeks to stop motorists who like to multi-task and take their attention away from driving to do such things as text, use computers, eat or drink without paying attention to the road.The proposed fines for violators are $200 to $400 for the first offense and $400 to $600 for a second offense.A third offense could mean a fine of $600 to $800 and up to a 90 day license suspension, as well as motor vehicle points.Some see the law as an overreach, but lawmakers say it's all about safety and saving lives. ||||| TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Drivers who drink coffee behind the wheel don't need to worry about getting a ticket in New Jersey any time soon.
The sponsor of a bill targeting distracted driving says his measure doesn't specifically cite coffee, despite recent news reports focusing on the beverage.
Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski said the legislation is aimed at discouraging distracted driving and that he cannot imagine that a police officer would pull anyone over for drinking coffee.
Current law already prohibits texting or talking without a hands-free device. The new legislation is broader and would bar "any activity unrelated to the actual operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that interferes with the safe operation of the vehicle."
Wisniewski says he sponsored the bill , which doesn't mention eating or drinking, to avoid the need for new legislation every time technology changes.
He introduced the measure seven months ago, but he has yet to bring it up for a vote in a committee he leads. It also never came up for a vote in the two previous legislative sessions in which he introduced similar bills.
Wisniewski said he was surprised by the reaction to the legislation. He said the outcry against the bill has been so strong that his inbox has filled up even more than when he proposed a 25-cent-per-gallon increase in the gas tax.
Wisniewski said when he introduced the bill before, people worried he was trying to stop them from eating sandwiches while driving.
"It was the 'ham sandwich bill' last time," he said. "Now it's coffee." ||||| 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. ||||| Put down the coffee, bagel or hairbrush and drive! Or else!
A bill winding its way through Trenton would impose stiff fines and even a possible license suspension for drivers who eat, drink, groom, read or use electronic devices behind the wheel.
Violators could face a $200 to $400 fine for the first offense and a $400 to $600 fine for a second offense. A third or subsequent offense could mean a fine of $600 to $800 and up to a 90 day license suspension, as well as motor vehicle points.
The sponsors of the bill, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D- Middlesex and Nicholas Chiaravalloti, D-Hudson, said it is modeled after a law in Maine and is intended to educate, not punish drivers.
"The issue is that we need to try, in every way, to discourage distracted driving, it's dangerous," Wisniewski said. "Education and enforcement can change the attitudes of people."
Some experts say that motorists must be discouraged from multitasking while driving. Others say the bill is an overreach and questioned how police could enforce it.
"This proposed distracted driving law is not needed, since three statutes can be used when a distraction causes unsafe actions, like swerving or crossing a line," said Steve Carrellas, policy and government affairs director for the National Motorists Association state chapter. "There is unsafe driving, careless driving and reckless driving."
Supporters of the bill must come to terms with the fact that a certain level of multitasking by drivers is a reality, Carrellas said.
"Would [the bill] make changing the radio station or adjusting the volume illegal? What about talking to a passenger?" Carrellas asked.
Arnold Anderson, the Essex County Community Traffic Safety Program coordinator, said its imperative that motorists break the habit of doing more than one thing while driving.
"You've got to get people out of the mindset of multitasking," said Arnold Anderson, " You can't multitask. We are so far away from the mindset of ... just drive."
This kills more drivers than anything else
Officials from AAA said that a distraction law would be hard to enforce since an officer would have to observe how the driver was distracted, but also that the bill may have a higher purpose.
"The legislation introduced by Assemblyman Wisniewski, while admirable in theory, may not help police enforce the law," said Tracy Noble, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman.
But a distraction law could have a similar effect as seat belt laws, which Noble and Anderson credited for increasing seat belt use in the state, even without fines.
"The more widespread the message of eliminating distractions becomes, the more likely it is to be ingrained in everyday behavior, similar to seat belt usage," Noble said.
Currently, New Jersey has laws banning the use of hand-held cell phones and texting while driving, but no prohibitions of other behavior that is considered distracting, according to the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com . Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry . Find NJ.com on Facebook | – A New Jersey lawmaker wants to slap stiff fines on motorists guilty of distracted driving, which his bill defines as "any activity unrelated to the actual operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that interferes with the safe operation of the vehicle." A story at NJ.com translates that to mean anyone caught drinking, eating, grooming, or reading an e-device, which in turn has led to a spate of stories suggesting that coffee will soon be outlawed in cars across the state. Not so much, reports the AP. Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski says his bill never mentions the beverage, adding that he'd be stunned if police pulled over a driver just for taking a morning sip. "It was the 'ham sandwich bill' last time," he says, referring to a previous iteration of the bill. "Now it's coffee." Still, he says he's serious about distracted driving, which was blamed for 400,000 accidents and 3,000 deaths in 2014, ABC7 reports. First-time offenders risk being slapped with a fine of up to $400—and $800 for a subsequent breach, plus a 90-day license suspension. Some critics say the legislation, inspired by a similar bill in Maine, goes too far. Steve Carrellas of the state National Motorists Association chapter told NJ.com that existing laws already cover “unsafe actions, like swerving or crossing a line.” He added, "Would [the bill] make changing the radio station or adjusting the volume illegal?" There's time to figure all that out: The measure has yet to come up for a vote even in committee. (A new report calls attention to drowsy drivers.) |
North Korea on Friday secured its presence at South Korea's Pyeongchang Olympics in February with figure skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik grabbing one of the last qualifying spots on offer at the Nebelhorn trophy.
The pair's Olympic qualification is seen as positive development amid an escalating crisis on the Korean peninsula and the potential complications this could have for the Games.
The International Olympic Committee was eager to have North Korean athletes at the Games and has been supporting several of them in terms of equipment, travel and accommodation in their efforts to qualify.
North Korean speed skaters and Nordic skiers could join the figure skaters with their own qualifiers coming up.
The Pyongyang natives successfully completed a solid short program to music by the Beatles on Thursday and produced an even better free skate performance to "Je suis qu'une chanson" to make sure of one of five Olympic qualifying spots on offer.
Kim pumped his fists at the end of their routine, hugging his partner before a team official wrapped a jacket over him.
The International Skating Union (ISU) confirmed their qualification for Pyeongchang, with Russia and Germany, who were top, having already qualified for the Games in South Korea.
The final decision regarding their Olympic participation rests with the North Korean Olympic committee which needs to give the green light.
North Korea did not have any athletes at the 2014 Sochi winter Games.
Tension on the Korean peninsula has risen in recent weeks as North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged war-like threats and insults over the North's nuclear and missile development program.
The North has accused Trump of declaring war after he warned Kim's regime would not last if he persisted in threatening the United States and its allies, having earlier warned North Korea would be totally destroyed in such an event.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in July the North will be given until the last minute to decide whether it will take part in the Olympics. ||||| Story highlights Pair are first North Korean athletes to qualify for 2018 Winter Olympics
Winter Olympics will be held in South Korea from 9-25 February
(CNN) In the small Bavarian ski-town of Oberstdorf, figure skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-sik became the first North Korean athletes to qualify for South Korea's 2018 Winter Olympics -- a development that could have diplomatic implications as well as sporting ones.
The pair -- who perform to the music of The Beatles and have been training in Canada -- produced an impressive free-skate performance to secure one of the final Olympic spots up for grabs at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany in September.
Ryom, 18, and 25-year-old Kim finished 15th at the World Championships last season and spent the summer training in Montreal under French coach, Bruno Marcotte.
Their qualification will be welcome news to South Korea's President Moon Jae-in, who earlier this month told CNN that North Korean participation in PyeongChang will "provide a very good opportunity for inter-Korean peace and reconciliation."
Read More ||||| The two nations have been on convivial sporting terms this year — North Korea sent its women’s hockey team and a taekwondo team to compete in the South — but the Olympics have never gone forward free of geopolitics.
North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, the South Korean capital. And North Korea’s current leader, Kim Jong-un, is highly unpredictable.
When the skaters were asked minutes after Friday’s performance if they hoped to compete at the Games, their coach, Kim Hyon-son, stepped in and said, “It is up to the North Korean Olympic Committee to decide whether they will participate or not.”
The North Koreans appeared relaxed and open — to a point — at a second meeting with reporters after the competition here, the Nebelhorn Trophy, but requested that no questions be asked about the Olympics. Their reluctance probably stemmed from the fact that the decision will not be theirs, said Bruno Marcotte, a prominent French Canadian coach who also works with the skaters.
“It’s out of their hands,” he said.
Clearly, though, the outcome was important to North Korea. It has invested considerable time and money to make Ms. Ryom and Mr. Kim eligible for the Winter Games and respected at the international level. The skaters trained over the summer in Montreal with Mr. Marcotte, whose wife, Meagan Duhamel, is a two-time world pairs champion. And the pressure of a suitable performance here seemed to weigh on Ri Chol-un, an official with the North Korean skating federation. | – Amid rising nuclear tensions, two figure skaters Friday became the first North Korean athletes to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics, which will be held just 40 miles south of the demilitarized zone in South Korea, CNN reports. According to the New York Times, 18-year-old Ryom Tae-Ok and 25-year-old Kim Ju-Sik, who have been training in Canada with a French coach, finished with a score of 180.09 at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany. It was a career-best performance in an international competition for the pair. Kim says they were motivated by their coaches and the people cheering for them. Ryom agreed: "There were many people of different nationalities and backgrounds cheering for us. The fact that we gave them some kind of joy, that was the best part in the performance." While Kim and Ryom's sixth place finish in Germany was enough to nab them one of the final spots in February's Olympics, it remains unclear if they'll actually compete, Reuters reports. The decision rests with the North Korea Olympic Committee. Both South Korea and the International Olympic Committee have been pushing for North Korean athletes to participate in the Games, hoping it will be a diplomatic balm for the countries. The IOC has been providing travel, equipment, and accommodation to North Korean athletes attempting to qualify (North Korean skiers and speed skaters still have a shot), and South Korea's president said North Korea will have as much time as possible to decide if it will participate. North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea, but it did send a women's hockey team and taekwondo team to competitions in South Korea this year. |
Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost her left leg below the knee in the Boston Marathon bombing, said she loves a good challenge.
This April, she’ll “take on a great one.”
Haslet-Davis announced Tuesday morning on the Hallmark Channel that she is training for this year’s 120th Boston Marathon. Her team, “#AdrianneStrong,” which she formed about five weeks ago, will raise funds for the Oklahoma City-based Limbs for Life Foundation.
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120 days until the 120th running of the #bostonmarathon Honored to partner with @limbsforlife giving limbs to those who cannot otherwise afford them. Announcing this partnership with my marathon team #adriannestrong !! Let's do this team!! A photo posted by Adrianne Haslet (@adriannehaslet) on Dec 20, 2015 at 10:05am PST
“I made the decision a little while ago,” Haslet-Davis told Boston.com. “I wanted to train and really see if I was ready this year both physically and mentally before announcing that I’ve been training.”
After the 2013 bombing, Haslet-Davis, a professional ballroom dancer, vowed to dance again. She accomplished that goal less than a year later, and showcased her skills at the marathon finish line on April 28, 2015.
Though she was never a runner, after the bombing, she also vowed to run the marathon.
“I could do a quickstep for hours, but I couldn’t run a block, but I have great trainers and I am getting more comfortable in my blade,” she said.
Half of me is so SO ready to run right now! #underconstruction A photo posted by Adrianne Haslet (@adriannehaslet) on Dec 31, 2015 at 12:34pm PST
Haslet-Davis said she is up to 10 miles with her training. She’s planning to run the April 18 race with her team. She said her race will be dedicated to anyone who has ever supported her or the other survivors.
“It’s just a giant thank you to everyone,” she said.
“I’m going to cry the whole time,” Haslet-Davis later added. “For me, [the finish line] has been defined by triumph, blood, sweat, tears, and tragedy—and with victory—and everyone who crosses it crosses for a different reason for themselves. And maybe it’s even a different reason from when they first cross the starting line.” ||||| A woman who lost part of her leg in the boston marathon bombing two years ago returned to the site yesterday-- but not to run. She returned to show that she could still... Dance.
The elegant steps of a professional ballroom dancer were the only thing moving along Boylston Street this morning. Adrianne Haslet-Davis fox-trotted across the marathon finish line and trampled on the memory of losing her left leg two years ago..
Haslet-Davis was with her husband outside forum restaurant when the second of two explosions blasted marathon spectators. She returned today as part of an on-line campaign highlighting her inspiring comeback.
Among the on-lookers in awe of her performance: Brian Walker, who was at the finish line when the first bomb went off and rendered aid to the injured.
Adrianne's recovery continues, as does her husband's. Better on the outside, she says, than on the inside but getting better everyday. Some of her biggest steps taken just Tuesday morning, for her and for her city. | – Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost most of her left leg in the Boston Marathon bombing, will run the marathon this year. Haslet-Davis, who announced her plans Tuesday, tells Boston.com she wanted to make sure she was ready "both physically and mentally"—she was not a runner when she was hit among a group of spectators at the marathon finish line in 2013, but after the bombing she promised herself she'd eventually run the marathon. "I'm going to cry the whole time," she predicts of the April 18 race. Her team, #AdrianneStrong, will raise funds for the Limbs for Life Foundation. Haslet-Davis, a professional dancer, also vowed she'd dance again—and she did. |
Marketers and manufacturers that promote their products as Made in USA must meet the “all or virtually all” standard. This publication offers practical guidance on Made in USA claims.
Introduction
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is charged with preventing deception and unfairness in the marketplace. The FTC Act gives the Commission the power to bring law enforcement actions against false or misleading claims that a product is of U.S. origin. Traditionally, the Commission has required that a product advertised as Made in USA be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S. After a comprehensive review of Made in USA and other U.S. origin claims in product advertising and labeling, the Commission announced in December 1997 that it would retain the "all or virtually all" standard. The Commission also issued an Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims to provide guidance to marketers who want to make an unqualified Made in USA claim under the "all or virtually all" standard and those who want to make a qualified Made in USA claim.
This publication provides additional guidance about how to comply with the "all or virtually all" standard. It also offers some general information about the U.S. Customs Service’s requirement that all products of foreign origin imported into the U.S. be marked with the name of the country of origin.
This publication is the Federal Trade Commission staff’s view of the law’s requirements. It is not binding on the Commission. The Enforcement Policy Statement issued by the FTC is at the end of the publication.
Basic Information About Made In USA Claims
Must U.S. content be disclosed on products sold in the U.S.?
U.S. content must be disclosed on automobiles and textile, wool, and fur products. There’s no law that requires most other products sold in the U.S. to be marked or labeled Made in USA or have any other disclosure about their amount of U.S. content. However, manufacturers and marketers who choose to make claims about the amount of U.S. content in their products must comply with the FTC’s Made in USA policy.
What products does the FTC’s Made in USA policy apply to?
The policy applies to all products advertised or sold in the U.S., except for those specifically subject to country-of-origin labeling by other laws. Other countries may have their own country-of-origin marking requirements. As a result, exporters should determine whether the country to which they are exporting imposes such requirements.
What kinds of claims does the Enforcement Policy Statement apply to?
The Enforcement Policy Statement applies to U.S. origin claims that appear on products and labeling, advertising, and other promotional materials. It also applies to all other forms of marketing, including marketing through digital or electronic mechanisms, such as Internet or e-mail.
A Made in USA claim can be express or implied.
Examples of express claims: Made in USA. "Our products are American-made." "USA."
In identifying implied claims, the Commission focuses on the overall impression of the advertising, label, or promotional material. Depending on the context, U.S. symbols or geographic references (for example, U.S. flags, outlines of U.S. maps, or references to U.S. locations of headquarters or factories) may convey a claim of U.S. origin either by themselves, or in conjunction with other phrases or images.
Example: A company promotes its product in an ad that features a manager describing the "true American quality" of the work produced at the company’s American factory. Although there is no express representation that the company’s product is made in the U.S., the overall — or net — impression the ad is likely to convey to consumers is that the product is of U.S. origin.
Brand names and trademarks
Ordinarily, the Commission will not consider a manufacturer or marketer’s use of an American brand name or trademark by itself as a U.S. origin claim. Similarly, the Commission is not likely to interpret the mere listing of a company’s U.S. address on a package label in a non-prominent way as a claim of U.S. origin.
Example: A product is manufactured abroad by a well-known U.S. company. The fact that the company is headquartered in the U.S. also is widely known. Company pamphlets for its foreign-made product prominently feature its brand name. Assuming that the brand name does not specifically denote U.S. origin (that is, the brand name is not "Made in America, Inc."), using the brand name by itself does not constitute a claim of U.S. origin.
Representations about entire product lines
Manufacturers and marketers should not indicate, either expressly or implicitly, that a whole product line is of U.S. origin ("Our products are made in USA") when only some products in the product line are made in the U.S. according to the "all or virtually all" standard.
Does the FTC pre-approve Made in USA claims?
The Commission does not pre-approve advertising or labeling claims. A company doesn’t need approval from the Commission before making a Made in USA claim. As with most other advertising claims, a manufacturer or marketer may make any claim as long as it is truthful and substantiated.
The Standard For Unqualified Made In USA Claims
What is the standard for a product to be called Made in USA without qualification?
For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S. The term "United States," as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.
What does "all or virtually all" mean?
"All or virtually all" means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.
What substantiation is required for a Made in USA claim?
When a manufacturer or marketer makes an unqualified claim that a product is Made in USA, it should have — and rely on — a "reasonable basis" to support the claim at the time it is made. This means a manufacturer or marketer needs competent and reliable evidence to back up the claim that its product is "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.
What factors does the Commission consider to determine whether a product is "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.?
The product’s final assembly or processing must take place in the U.S. The Commission then considers other factors, including how much of the product’s total manufacturing costs can be assigned to U.S. parts and processing, and how far removed any foreign content is from the finished product. In some instances, only a small portion of the total manufacturing costs are attributable to foreign processing, but that processing represents a significant amount of the product’s overall processing. The same could be true for some foreign parts. In these cases, the foreign content (processing or parts) is more than negligible, and, as a result, unqualified claims are inappropriate.
Example: A company produces propane barbecue grills at a plant in Nevada. The product’s major components include the gas valve, burner and aluminum housing, each of which is made in the U.S. The grill’s knobs and tubing are imported from Mexico. An unqualified Made in USA claim is not likely to be deceptive because the knobs and tubing make up a negligible portion of the product’s total manufacturing costs and are insignificant parts of the final product. Example: A table lamp is assembled in the U.S. from American-made brass, an American-made Tiffany-style lampshade, and an imported base. The base accounts for a small percent of the total cost of making the lamp. An unqualified Made in USA claim is deceptive for two reasons: The base is not far enough removed in the manufacturing process from the finished product to be of little consequence and it is a significant part of the final product.
What items should manufacturers and marketers include in analyzing the percentage of domestic content in a particular product?
Manufacturers and marketers should use the cost of goods sold or inventory costs of finished goods in their analysis. Such costs generally are limited to the total cost of all manufacturing materials, direct manufacturing labor, and manufacturing overhead.
Should manufacturers and marketers rely on information from American suppliers about the amount of domestic content in the parts, components, and other elements they buy and use for their final products?
If given in good faith, manufacturers and marketers can rely on information from suppliers about the domestic content in the parts, components, and other elements they produce. Rather than assume that the input is 100 percent U.S.-made, however, manufacturers and marketers would be wise to ask the supplier for specific information about the percentage of U.S. content before they make a U.S. origin claim.
Example: A company manufactures food processors in its U.S. plant, making most of the parts, including the housing and blade, from U.S. materials. The motor, which constitutes 50 percent of the food processor’s total manufacturing costs, is bought from a U.S. supplier. The food processor manufacturer knows that the motor is assembled in a U.S. factory. Even though most of the parts of the food processor are of U.S. origin, the final assembly is in the U.S., and the motor is assembled in the U.S., the food processor is not considered "all or virtually all" American-made if the motor itself is made of imported parts that constitute a significant percentage of the appliance’s total manufacturing cost. Before claiming the product is Made in USA, this manufacturer should look to its motor supplier for more specific information about the motor’s origin. Example: On its purchase order, a company states: "Our company requires that suppliers certify the percentage of U.S. content in products supplied to us. If you are unable or unwilling to make such certification, we will not purchase from you." Appearing under this statement is the sentence, "We certify that our ___ have at least ___% U.S. content," with space for the supplier to fill in the name of the product and its percentage of U.S. content. The company generally could rely on a certification like this to determine the appropriate country-of-origin designation for its product.
How far back in the manufacturing process should manufacturers and marketers look?
To determine the percentage of U.S. content, manufacturers and marketers should look back far enough in the manufacturing process to be reasonably sure that any significant foreign content has been included in their assessment of foreign costs. Foreign content incorporated early in the manufacturing process often will be less significant to consumers than content that is a direct part of the finished product or the parts or components produced by the immediate supplier.
Example: The steel used to make a single component of a complex product (for example, the steel used in the case of a computer’s floppy drive) is an early input into the computer’s manufacture, and is likely to constitute a very small portion of the final product’s total cost. On the other hand, the steel in a product like a pipe or a wrench is a direct and significant input. Whether the steel in a pipe or wrench is imported would be a significant factor in evaluating whether the finished product is "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.
Are raw materials included in the evaluation of whether a product is "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.?
It depends on how much of the product’s cost the raw materials make up and how far removed from the finished product they are.
Example: If the gold in a gold ring is imported, an unqualified Made in USA claim for the ring is deceptive. That’s because of the significant value the gold is likely to represent relative to the finished product, and because the gold — an integral component — is only one step back from the finished article. By contrast, consider the plastic in the plastic case of a clock radio otherwise made in the U.S. of U.S.-made components. If the plastic case was made from imported petroleum, a Made in USA claim is likely to be appropriate because the petroleum is far enough removed from the finished product, and is an insignificant part of it as well.
Qualified Claims
What is a qualified Made in USA claim?
A qualified Made in USA claim describes the extent, amount or type of a product’s domestic content or processing; it indicates that the product isn’t entirely of domestic origin.
Example: "60% U.S. content." "Made in USA of U.S. and imported parts." "Couch assembled in USA from Italian Leather and Mexican Frame."
When is a qualified Made in USA claim appropriate?
A qualified Made in USA claim is appropriate for products that include U.S. content or processing but don’t meet the criteria for making an unqualified Made in USA claim. Because even qualified claims may imply more domestic content than exists, manufacturers or marketers must exercise care when making these claims. That is, avoid qualified claims unless the product has a significant amount of U.S. content or U.S. processing. A qualified Made in USA claim, like an unqualified claim, must be truthful and substantiated.
Example: An exercise treadmill is assembled in the U.S. The assembly represents significant work and constitutes a "substantial transformation" (a term used by the U.S. Customs Service). All of the treadmill’s major parts, including the motor, frame, and electronic display, are imported. A few of its incidental parts, such as the handle bar covers, the plastic on/off power key, and the treadmill mat, are manufactured in the U.S. Together, these parts account for approximately three percent of the total cost of all the parts. Because the value of the U.S.-made parts is negligible compared to the value of all the parts, a claim on the treadmill that it is "Made in USA of U.S. and Imported Parts" is deceptive. A claim like "Made in U.S. from Imported Parts" or "Assembled in U.S.A." would not be deceptive.
U.S. origin claims for specific processes or parts
Claims that a particular manufacturing or other process was performed in the U.S. or that a particular part was manufactured in the U.S. must be truthful, substantiated, and clearly refer to the specific process or part, not to the general manufacture of the product, to avoid implying more U.S. content than exists.
Manufacturers and marketers should be cautious about using general terms, such as "produced," "created" or "manufactured" in the U.S. Words like these are unlikely to convey a message limited to a particular process. Additional qualification probably is necessary to describe a product that is not "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.
In addition, if a product is of foreign origin (that is, it has been substantially transformed abroad), manufacturers and marketers also should make sure they satisfy Customs’ markings statute and regulations that require such products to be marked with a foreign country of origin. Further, Customs requires the foreign country of origin to be preceded by "Made in," "Product of," or words of similar meaning when any city or location that is not the country of origin appears on the product.
Example: A company designs a product in New York City and sends the blueprint to a factory in Finland for manufacturing. It labels the product "Designed in USA — Made in Finland." Such a specific processing claim would not lead a reasonable consumer to believe that the whole product was made in the U.S. The Customs Service requires the product to be marked "Made in," or "Product of" Finland since the product is of Finnish origin and the claim refers to the U.S. Examples of other specific processing claims are: "Bound in U.S. — Printed in Turkey." "Hand carved in U.S. — Wood from Philippines." "Software written in U.S. — Disk made in India." "Painted and fired in USA. Blanks made in (foreign country of origin)." Example: A company advertises its product, which was invented in Seattle and manufactured in Bangladesh, as "Created in USA." This claim is deceptive because consumers are likely to interpret the term "Created" as Made in USA — an unqualified U.S. origin claim. Example: A computer imported from Korea is packaged in the U.S. in an American-made corrugated paperboard box containing only domestic materials and domestically produced expanded rigid polystyrene plastic packing. Stating Made in USA on the package would deceive consumers about the origin of the product inside. But the company could legitimately make a qualified claim, such as "Computer Made in Korea — Packaging Made in USA." Example: The Acme Camera Company assembles its cameras in the U.S. The camera lenses are manufactured in the U.S., but most of the remaining parts are imported. A magazine ad for the camera is headlined "Beware of Imported Imitations" and states "Other high-end camera makers use imported parts made with cheap foreign labor. But at Acme Camera, we want only the highest quality parts for our cameras and we believe in employing American workers. That’s why we make all of our lenses right here in the U.S." This ad is likely to convey that more than a specific product part (the lens) is of U.S. origin. The marketer should be prepared to substantiate the broader U.S. origin claim conveyed to consumers viewing the ad.
Comparative Claims
Comparative claims should be truthful and substantiated, and presented in a way that makes the basis for comparison clear (for example, whether the comparison is to another leading brand or to a previous version of the same product). They should truthfully describe the U.S. content of the product and be based on a meaningful difference in U.S. content between the compared products.
Example: An ad for cellular phones states "We use more U.S. content than any other cellular phone manufacturer." The manufacturer assembles the phones in the U.S. from American and imported components and can substantiate that the difference between the U.S. content of its phones and that of the other manufacturers’ phones is significant. This comparative claim is not deceptive. Example: A product is advertised as having "twice as much U.S. content as before." The U.S. content in the product has been increased from 2 percent in the previous version to 4 percent in the current version. This comparative claim is deceptive because the difference between the U.S. content in the current and previous version of the product are insignificant.
Assembled in USA Claims
A product that includes foreign components may be called "Assembled in USA" without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial. For the "assembly" claim to be valid, the product’s last "substantial transformation" also should have occurred in the U.S. That’s why a "screwdriver" assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process doesn’t usually qualify for the "Assembled in USA" claim.
Example: A lawn mower, composed of all domestic parts except for the cable sheathing, flywheel, wheel rims and air filter (15 to 20 percent foreign content) is assembled in the U.S. An "Assembled in USA" claim is appropriate. Example: All the major components of a computer, including the motherboard and hard drive, are imported. The computer’s components then are put together in a simple "screwdriver" operation in the U.S., are not substantially transformed under the Customs Standard, and must be marked with a foreign country of origin. An "Assembled in U.S." claim without further qualification is deceptive.
The FTC and The Customs Service
What is the U.S. Customs Service’s jurisdiction over country-of-origin claims?
The Tariff Act gives Customs and the Secretary of the Treasury the power to administer the requirement that imported goods be marked with a foreign country of origin (for example, "Made in Japan").
When an imported product incorporates materials and/or processing from more than one country, Customs considers the country of origin to be the last country in which a "substantial transformation" took place. Customs defines "substantial transformation" as a manufacturing process that results in a new and different product with a new name, character, and use that is different from that which existed before the change. Customs makes country-of-origin determinations using the "substantial transformation" test on a case-by-case basis. In some instances, Customs uses a "tariff shift" analysis, comparable to "substantial transformation," to determine a product’s country of origin.
What is the interaction between the FTC and Customs regarding country-of-origin claims?
Even if Customs determines that an imported product does not need a foreign country-of-origin mark, it is not necessarily permissible to promote that product as Made in USA. The FTC considers additional factors to decide whether a product can be advertised or labeled as Made in USA.
Manufacturers and marketers should check with Customs to see if they need to mark their products with the foreign country of origin. If they don’t, they should look at the FTC’s standard to check if they can properly make a Made in USA claim.
The FTC has jurisdiction over foreign origin claims on products and in packaging that are beyond the disclosures required by Customs (for example, claims that supplement a required foreign origin marking to indicate where additional processing or finishing of a product occurred).
The FTC also has jurisdiction over foreign origin claims in advertising and other promotional materials. Unqualified U.S. origin claims in ads or other promotional materials for products that Customs requires a foreign country-of-origin mark may mislead or confuse consumers about the product’s origin. To avoid misleading consumers, marketers should clearly disclose the foreign manufacture of a product.
Example: A television set assembled in Korea using an American-made picture tube is shipped to the U.S. The Customs Service requires the television set to be marked "Made in Korea" because that’s where the television set was last "substantially transformed." The company’s World Wide Web page states "Although our televisions are made abroad, they always contain U.S.-made picture tubes." This statement is not deceptive. However, making the statement "All our picture tubes are made in the USA" — without disclosing the foreign origin of the television’s manufacture — might imply a broader claim (for example, that the television set is largely made in the U.S.) than could be substantiated. That is, if the statement and the entire ad imply that any foreign content or processing is negligible, the advertiser must substantiate that claim or net impression. The advertiser in this scenario would not be able to substantiate the implied Made in USA claim because the product was "substantially transformed" in Korea.
Other Statutes
What are the requirements of other federal statutes relating to country-of-origin determinations?
Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and Wool Products Labeling Act — Require a Made in USA label on most clothing and other textile or wool household products if the final product is manufactured in the U.S. of fabric that is manufactured in the U.S., regardless of where materials earlier in the manufacturing process (for example, the yarn and fiber) came from. Textile products that are imported must be labeled as required by the Customs Service. A textile or wool product partially manufactured in the U.S. and partially manufactured in another country must be labeled to show both foreign and domestic processing.
On a garment with a neck, the country of origin must be disclosed on the front of a label attached to the inside center of the neck — either midway between the shoulder seams or very near another label attached to the inside center of the neck. On a garment without a neck, and on other kinds of textile products, the country of origin must appear on a conspicuous and readily accessible label on the inside or outside of the product.
Catalogs and other mail order promotional materials for textile and wool products, including those disseminated on the Internet, must disclose whether a product is made in the U.S., imported or both.
The Fur Products Labeling Act requires the country of origin of imported furs to be disclosed on all labels and in all advertising. For copies of the Textile, Wool or Fur Rules and Regulations, or the new business education guide on labeling requirements, call the FTC’s Consumer Response Center
(202-382-4357). Or visit the FTC online at www.ftc.gov. Click on Consumer Protection.
American Automobile Labeling Act — Requires that each automobile manufactured on or after October 1, 1994, for sale in the U.S. bear a label disclosing where the car was assembled, the percentage of equipment that originated in the U.S. and Canada, and the country of origin of the engine and transmission. Any representation that a car marketer makes that is required by the AALA is exempt from the Commission’s policy. When a company makes claims in advertising or promotional materials that go beyond the AALA requirements, it will be held to the Commission’s standard. For more information, call the Consumer Programs Division of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (202-366-0846).
Buy American Act — Requires that a product be manufactured in the U.S. of more than 50 percent U.S. parts to be considered Made in USA for government procurement purposes. For more information, review the Buy American Act at 41 U.S.C. §§ 10a-10c, the Federal Acquisition Regulations at 48 C.F.R. Part 25, and the Trade Agreements Act at 19 U.S.C. §§ 2501-2582.
What To Do About Violations
What if I suspect noncompliance with the FTC’s Made in USA standard or other country-of-origin mislabeling?
Information about possible illegal activity helps law enforcement officials target companies whose practices warrant scrutiny. If you suspect noncompliance, contact the Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580; (202) 326-2996 or send an e-mail to MUSA@ftc.gov. If you know about import or export fraud, call Customs’ toll-free Commercial Fraud Hotline, 1-800-ITS-FAKE. Examples of fraudulent practices involving imports include removing a required foreign origin label before the product is delivered to the ultimate purchaser (with or without the improper substitution of a Made in USA label) and failing to label a product with a required country of origin.
You also can contact your state Attorney General and your local Better Business Bureau to report a company. Or you can refer your complaint to the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus by calling (212) 754-1320. NAD handles complaints about the truth and accuracy of national advertising. You can reach the Council of Better Business Bureaus on the web at adweb.com/adassoc17.html.
Finally, the Lanham Act gives any person (such as a competitor) who is damaged by a false designation of origin the right to sue the party making the false claim. Consult a lawyer to see if this private right of action is an appropriate course of action for you.
For More Information
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. ||||| Perhaps Walmart’s products aren’t as patriotic as they claim
According to a report recently released by the advertising watchdog group, Truth in Advertising, over 100 products labeled on Walmart’s website as “Made in the USA” are, in fact, imported from other countries.
The report found that both Walmart’s store brand products, such as Equate makeup sponges and tooth whitening strips, as well as other brands, such as Almay eyeliner, were falsely labeled as made in the United States.
Some products clearly displayed contrary information, such as a red, white, and blue “made in the USA” logo on the front, with the words “Made in China” displayed on the back. Other products were stamped with the patriotic logo while the product specifications listed the item as imported.
Walmart had an excuse, but the labels are magically gone
While there is no official certification process for labeling a product “made in the USA,” a company can still be sued for false advertising if they misuse the label. However, rather than taking legal action, Truth in Advertising simply sent a letter to Walmart CEO, Doug McMillon, causing the retail chain some embarrassment, but sparing them the court room drama.
Walmart responded by saying that some manufacturing of its store brands had recently moved to the United States, but the website hadn’t been update yet. However, many Made in USA labels were removed from the website after Truth in Advertising’s letter went public. As for other brands, Walmart claims that the country of origin information comes from the supplier.
Great reminder to stay honest
Unimpressed by these excuses, executive direction of Truth in Advertising, Bonnie Patten, says that the “largest retailer in the world should have made sure its American-made claims were accurate before affixing made in USA labels on the products. Until Walmart cleans up this mess, consumers cannot rely on Walmart with regard to where a product is really made when shopping on the site.”
The report also argues that the website’s labels for “Made in USA” and “Assembled in USA,” with their tiny fonts and identical color schemes, are too similar to distinguish on the website, even though the Federal Trade Commission makes a clear differentiation between these two labels.
All of this is an important reminder for businesses to stay honest in advertising. All it takes is a watchdog with an internet connection and keen eye to uncover false claims. ||||| While there is no official review process required for labeling a product as “Made in the U.S.A.,” a company can get into legal trouble for misusing that label, as doing so may constitute false advertising. A new report from an advertising watchdog group claims that Walmart’s website has more than 100 examples of products incorrectly marketed as made in America.
According to a letter [PDF] recently sent by the group Truth In Advertising to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, “Walmart’s website is mired in USA labeling errors.”
Among the items singled out in the letter are Walmart’s Equate store-brand makeup sponges in the image at the top of this story. TINA says these were given the Made in the U.S.A. label on Walmart.com even though the product’s own packaging clearly states that they were “Made in China.”
Another Equate-brand product called out by TINA are these teeth-whitening strips that the company simultaneously lists as made in America while declaring in the product details that they are imported form outside the country:
In response to the TINA letter, Walmart told the group that manufacturing for both of these products was recently moved to the U.S. but that some stores may still contain versions made overseas and not all the information on the website is correct. Regardless, both items no longer carry the patriotic marketing message.
It wasn’t just store-brand items that got the false “Made in U.S.A.” labels, according to the report. TINA’s letter gives the example of an Almay eyeliner that states the product is made and assembled here in the U.S., even though the packaging declares that it is “Made in Germany.” Walmart says that the country of origin information comes from the supplier.
“False made in USA labeling on Walmart’s website has misled consumers looking to purchase American-made products,’’ said TINA.org Executive Director Bonnie Patten. “The largest retailer in the world should have made sure its American-made claims were accurate before affixing made in USA labels on the products. Until Walmart cleans up this mess, consumers cannot rely on Walmart with regard to where a product is really made when shopping on the site.”
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UPDATE: When reached for comment, a rep for Walmart provided the following statement to Consumerist —
“We are continually working to improve our website listings and information. We are undertaking a more extensive quality assurance review to help eliminate these coding errors. Based on our initial internal review, we believe these errors are limited to a small percentage of items and we are confident in the overall integrity of the information on our website.”
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A more detailed report [PDF] commissioned by TINA looked at the actual “Made in the U.S.A.” labeling on Walmart.com and found a number of issues.
This report noted that Walmart does little to differentiate its “Made in the U.S.A.” label from its “Assembled in the U.S.A.” label, even though the two labels have very different standards in the eyes of the Federal Trade Commission.
“The legibility of the text at the top of the label, which can be either ‘Made in the’ or ‘Assembled in the’, is marginal even for people with excellent or corrected vision, due both to the text’s small size and the low contrast of light blue text on a white background,” writes the report’s author, Dr. Jeff Johnson, who notes that the problem is exacerbated for farsighted people or those looking at the site on a small-format screen. “If such people have not seen it earlier in larger format (e.g., on a product page), they would be unable to determine what it says. Even consumers who have seen that text already in larger format would, in search results, have trouble distinguishing ‘Made in the USA’ from ‘Assembled in the USA’.” | – An advertising watchdog group warns you to beware of patriotic "Made in the USA" labels on some Walmart products, saying the company uses them far too liberally. The group Truth In Advertising sent Walmart CEO Doug McMillon a letter last week saying that "Walmart's website is mired in USA labeling errors," and ran down a few examples, per the Consumerist: The company's store brand Equate Beauty Wedge Applicator Sponges, formerly labeled "Made in the USA" on the website, "are made in China according to the product packaging," the letter says. Some "USA" labels conflict with the product information on the same Web page, according to the letter—including Equate 7 Day Dental Whitening System Advanced Whitening Wraps (imported) and Almay Intense I-color Liquid Eye Liner (made in Germany). Some USA labels ignore the fact that the product is only partly made, or is assembled rather than made, in the US, the letter adds. "False made in USA labeling on Walmart’s website has misled consumers looking to purchase American-made products," says TINA.org Executive Director Bonnie Patten. In response, Walmart says the two Equate products only recently located in the US—yet the "Made in the USA" label on them is now gone, the Consumerist notes. Walmart adds that it's undertaking "a more extensive quality assurance review" of its website. While there's no official standard for "Made in the USA" labeling, companies can get sued over it for false advertising, AGBeat reports. Click to see a more extensive TINA review of Walmart's "USA" labeling. |
We’ve got all the latest developments in the death of Julia Roberts‘ half-sister Nancy Motes, including a reaction from her fiancé John Dilbeck, and a look at the lurking conflict between her grieving partner and surviving family members.
As we previously reported, Moats was found dead at 37 Sunday in what officials indicated was a suicide via overdose, with Los Angeles County Coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter confirming to Yahoo! that numerous “notes [were] found at the scene,” as well as “both prescription and nonprescription pills.” (Toxicology tests remain pending in Moats’ death, Winter said, adding the results could take up to 10 weeks.)
PHOTOS: Stars Who OD’d
On Wednesday, MailOnline.com that caught up with Dilbeck as he ran errands in Santa Monica, Calif; asked if he thought Motes was a drug addict, he shook his head sideways, gesturing, “No.”
When the outlet asked Dilbeck if he’d been in touch with the Pretty Woman star, amidst reports of serious dissension between his camp and his late fiance’s family, he said he had “no comment at this time.”
While Dibeck wasn’t talking, a source close to the situation told the NY Post that he’ll be pushing to keep Moats’ belongings as the sole beneficiary of her estate, which would have implications involving the Oscar-winner.
PHOTOS: Hollywood Bodyguards Tell All — Who Steals, Sexts, Does Drugs & More Star Secrets Revealed
“If Nancy had photos and wrote a diary, describing her feelings towards her sister, he could use them,” the source said. “There is a fear that John could be holding Nancy’s personal items hostage and possibly sell them to the highest bidder.
“While Nancy wasn’t a wealthy woman, she would have had gifts given to her by Julia, as well as intimate family pictures.”
The source said that longstanding hard feelings between Dilbeck and Moats’ relatives stemmed from the fact that Roberts and their mother, Betty Lou Motes, “felt that he was a bad influence on” Nancy.
PHOTOS: Hollywood Bodyguards Tell All — Who Steals, Sexts, Does Drugs & More Star Secrets Revealed
“Julia and her mother had tried for a long time, for years, to get Nancy to go into rehab, and she repeatedly refused,” the source told the paper. “They did not approve of John … but you can’t tell someone of Nancy’s age whom not to date.”
On Tuesday, Dilbeck’s brother Connor publicly chided Moats’ family for their treatment of the late dog walker, and said he believed that the late woman timed her suicide to put a dent in Roberts’ Oscar chances next month. (Roberts, who won the Best Actress award in 2000 for Erin Brockovich, is up for Best Supporting Actress for her role in August: Osage County.)
If you, or anyone you know, is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please immediately seek help. You can speak with a skilled, trained counselor at a national Suicide Prevention Lifeline crisis center in your area, anytime 24/7 — call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). ||||| EXCLUSIVE: Julia Roberts' half-sister 'deliberately timed suicide to harm actress's Oscar chances,' claims her fiance's brother
Nancy Motes took an overdose after writing a suicide note which contained dark secrets about Julia Roberts that she wanted to be made public, said Conner Dilbeck in an exclusive interview with MailOnline
Nancy's fiance John Dilbeck, Conner's brother, found her dead body in the bath Sunday, the same day Julia was due to be at an Oscar nominees lunch
The actress is up for Best Supporting Actress for August: Osage County
However, RadarOnline reported the 37-year-old was battling drug addiction and Julia had tried to save her multiple times by getting her to go to rehab
Julia Roberts' half-sister may have killed herself in a deliberate attempt to harm the actress' career and scupper her chances of winning an Oscar at this year's Academy Awards, her fiance's brother claimed today.
Nancy Motes took an overdose after writing a suicide note which allegedly contained dark secrets about the Pretty Woman star that she wanted to be made public, said Conner Dilbeck in an exclusive interview with MailOnline.
Nancy's fiance John Dilbeck, Conner's own brother, found her dead body in the bath Sunday, the same day Julia was due to be at an Oscar nominees lunch. She is up for Best Supporting Actress for August: Osage County.
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Nominated: Julia Roberts is up for Best Supporting Actress for August: Osage County. She is pictured left in the film
Tragic: Nancy Motes with her fiancé John Dilbeck' - who is said to be too distraught to face the public since her death
'We are talking about people who are powerful,' Conner told MailOnline.
'People who have very delicate power, people who are in the limelight. Their power can be destroyed very easily if unfortunate things make them look more wicked.
'They have to be careful, it can destroy their career or their Academy Award.'
The insight into Nancy's life comes as RadarOnline reported that the 37-year-old who worked as a production worker on Glee was battling drug addiction and Julia had tried to save her numerous times by getting her to go to rehab.
Authorities recovered both prescription and non-prescription drugs at the Los Angeles home.
'Julia tried in vain over the years, even in the last six months, to get Nancy to go to rehab,' a source close to Julia reportedly told RadarOnline.
'Nancy refused the offers and that is when she would often publicly lash out at Julia. It hurt Julia, but she knew her sister was battling addiction.'
The sisters' relationship became even more rocky after Nancy blasted Julia to Britain's Sun newspaper last August. She also gave a bruising interview to the New York Daily News.
Tragic: Julia Roberts' half-sister Nancy Motes killed herself in a desperate attempt to destroy the actress' career and scupper her chances of winning an Oscar at this year's Academy Awards, Conner Dilbeck, pictured, has claimed in an exclusive interview with MailOnline
Busy woman: Roberts has been working the awards circuit for her turn in August: Osage County, which she did here on January 18 while attending the Screen Actors Guild Awards
Plea: Conner wrote about his brother's fiance and Nancy's troubles with Julia Roberts on his Facebook page along with a photo of when John Dilbeck proposed
According to Page Six, the Hollywood star was 'mortified' by the 'embarrassing' stories and wondered if her cash-strapped sister had betrayed her by selling the juicy details to the UK tabloid for money.
It's not clear if Nancy was in fact paid by The Sun for the interview.
However, Conner told MailOnline Julia inflicted 'pure cruelty' on her sister and Nancy's suicide letter was a desperate attempt to expose the alleged treatment.
And a friend and neighbor of Nancy Motes told MailOnline that her death was 'not a Philip Seymour Hoffman thing' but a planned suicide.
Conner claimed the note is eight pages long - not five as had been thought - and Julia is said to be 'terrified' about it coming out.
Conner also revealed that John Dilbeck was overcome by the 'horror' of seeing his fiance's lifeless body in the bath.
In a Facebook post Conner wrote: 'Nancy wanted the Truth to come out and she was Willing to Die to get her point across.'
Conner, 40, lived with Nancy and John in their apartment in Santa Monica, California for years, during which time he saw their relationship blossom.
But the dark side was that he claimed it gave him a front row seat to the he mistreatment he claims Nancy suffered at the hands of Julia.
Watch the full interview on Inside Edition
Emotional: Nancy Motes appeared to post aggressive messages onto her Twitter account in the weeks prior to her tragic death apparently attacking her half-sister Julia Roberts
Conner said: 'I have spent enough time with Nancy and I know enough about her that I can say from first hand experience a lot of things that have happened.'
He added: 'The truth is in the eight pages of her suicide letter.'
In a series of furious posts on Facebook, Conner railed against Julia and squarely blamed her for the tragedy.
He wrote: 'I am posting this as a plea to everyone to Pray for my Brother John.
'His lovely Fiancé, Nancy Motes, was driven to Take her Life yesterday because of the Pure Cruelty of her Sister, Julia Roberts (yes Ms. Pretty Woman herself), that has done everything in her power to Ruin her and my brothers lives.
'He is overwhelmed by this horrible event and all the Turmoil Julia has subjected them too.' Speaking to MailOnline, Conner said that after his brother found his fiance's body last Sunday he called the police and then called his family in distress. Breaking into tears, he said: 'The one thing that has made it more emotional for our family than anything else is to think of the horror of my brother having to walk in their and find his dead love in the water and nothing he could do about it and how she was driven to do this.'
Oscars: Nancy Motes killed herself to scupper her sister's Oscar chances, it has been claimed. Roberts, left, stars in the film with Meryl Streep, center In the months before her death, Nancy took aim at her famous sister on Twitter and one particular tweet apparently gives weight to the claim that she was plotting to hurt the Notting Hill star in some way. Nancy's death hasn't officially been ruled a suicide as a toxicology report has not been completed but her the family said in a statement that she died of 'an apparent drug overdose.' In December, an emotional Nancy mysteriously tweeted, apparently about Julia: 'Hey Hag! Glad you f****ed with me yet? You're going to LOVE what's coming! FYI-You're an awful, hate filled old pathetic excuse for a human.'
Conner's account comes after John Fraschetti, who also knows Nancy's grieving fiancé, claimed the family of the Oscar winner were now 'crying crocodile tears' over the former Glee production worker's death. He said they are only interested in manipulating public opinion after her suicide, but during her life, 'drove her to death.' Making the incendiary comments Tuesday outside Nancy and Dilbeck's home, Fraschetti said Nancy spiraled into depression after Betty Lou Motes, the mother she and Roberts shared, 'rejected' her six months ago - and that she 'just couldn't handle it anymore'. 'And then you get the actress woman who is pretending to grieve but she didn't want to deal with Nancy and made her f***ing miserable.' Nancy Motes was found dead on Sunday in a bathtub filled with water with prescription and 'illegal drugs' near her in an apparent suicide. Fraschetti claims to have seen the letter she left behind.
Fraschetti, who has known Dilbeck since he was 13, said that since her death, her family have been careful to mold a favorable public reaction. 'They are crying crocodile tears. They have taken control of this situation, but they never cared of her when she was alive,' said Fraschetti. Fraschetti said that Nancy, 'couldn't stand the rejection of her mom, who in the last six months had cut her off entirely.' Upset: Julia Roberts' mother Betty Lou Motes is seen leaving her home in Los Angeles looking frail and upset Tuesday afternoon Cut-off: Nancy Motes is pictured in this photo with Julia Roberts when the Oscar winning actress was around 22 years old
'It hurt her that none of her family wanted to be with her. She had a miserable Christmas, truly awful, and I think she just couldn't handle it anymore.'
Fraschetti admitted that Nancy's well-documented problems with drugs and her weight had caused divisions, but claimed that to cut her off was unforgivable.
'They didn’t care when she was alive. She was a handful, and yes she had her problems, but there’s a way to deal with your relatives,' said an angry Fraschetti.
Nancy's suicide note also reveals the true depths of depression that her family's rejection had sent her to.
'It read about how much she loved and cared for her fiancé and how happy he made her, but it also said how unhappy and depressed her family made her and how she couldn’t cope anymore,' said Fraschetti, who said that fiancé, Dilbeck, is grief stricken by Nancy's death and can't face the media.
Indicating that the suicide note goes into detail about how hurt she felt by being ignored, Fraschetti said that Roberts and her family even put pressure on Dilbeck to delete tweets.
But, it was revealed last night that Nancy had apparently tweeted a string of vicious messages aimed at her Oscar winning sister, including 'Just so you all know "America's Sweetheart" is a B****!!' on January 20.
That and others were indeed deleted overnight.
Friend: John Fraschetti has known Nancy Motes' fiance John Dilbeck since he was 13 and says that Julia Roberts and her family cutting off Nancy caused her suicide
'We've got a person who is grieving so much, but then there is the other so called family who are grieving, so to speak, who want to see as little grief as possible for them,' said Fraschetti.
'It's the rich versus the poor, the fake versus the real, he's the one who's in agony, he's the one that's genuine.'
And in an apparent confirmation that she did indeed commit suicide, Fraschetti said that her death was planned, but that she didn't use heroin like Philip Seymour Hoffman.
She wasn’t into heroin, as far as I was aware. It’s not like her or John were heroin addicts. Come on, it’s ridiculous.
‘I wouldn’t read too much into where she did it, it wasn’t in some drug den. She was dog sitting, and I imagine she did this, so she didn’t have to do it at home and let John find her.'
And this afternoon, Julia Roberts' grief-stricken mother looked frail and visibly shaken as she visited the Oscar-winner following the apparent suicide death of her younger daughter, Nancy Motes.
Dressed in a tartan hat and black jacket, Betty Lou Motes was driven by a friend from her home in Pacific Palisades to Julia's mansion in Malibu.
The visit came after it was reported that Nancy left a five page suicide note in which she accused her famous sibling of driving her to kill herself.
Her fiancé discovered her body, which had been dead as long as 12 hours, but a responding EMT worker recovered the extensive letter, according to the New York Daily News.
In the note, Nancy dedicated three pages to her tortured relationship with the Pretty Woman actress, the Daily News quoted a source close to the investigation as saying.
Gone too soon: Nancy Motes, pictured in August (left), died on Sunday from an apparent drug overdose; she is the half-sister of Julia Roberts (right)
Rage: Nancy Motes, tweeted under her husband-to-be's last name online. This vitriolic attack is believed to be against her half-sister, Julia Roberts and happened a little more than a month before she died
Pain: Nancy Motes is also believed to have launched these attacks on the star of Pretty Woman and Mystic Pizza - calling her cruel and blaming her for causing her rage despite her best efforts to remain calm
Sad: Nancy Motes posted these bittersweet tweets in October - in which she laments that she is having to leave her family to find the love she craves from another
'It was definitely a suicide. She left a five-page suicide letter. The EMT found it,' the source told the Daily News.
'There were three pages of rantings that her sister drove her to do this. There was one page to her mom, telling her how much she loved her, and one page apologizing to (her fiancé).'
Nancy and Dilbeck were scheduled to be married in May, but the Georgia native seemed to be unraveling recently.
On Twitter, she sounded decidedly unstable, lashing out at Julia, whom she claims bullied her about her weight when they were growing up. 'So my "sister" said that with all her friends & fans she doesn't need any more love. Just so you all know "America's Sweetheart" is a B****!!' she tweeted on January 20, referring to Roberts. 'Do you want to be a fan of someone so cruel? She's not even that good of an actress. Happy you totally F***ed with me?' she added in a subsequent tweet before claiming she'd never been more angry. 'I must admit I maybe going to far… But I never been so angry in my life. I'm actually a pretty easygoing, peaceful person.'
'(M)y own family has abandoned me,' she tweeted January 22. Three weeks later, she was dead.
The emotional comments, seen on the Twitter handle @Dabbs76, had been deleted by Tuesday morning.
Family: Roberts with Motes and their mother Betty Lou when the star was filming 1997's My Best Friend's Wedding
The most recent Twitter outburst followed similar rants late last year.
For example, Nancy had written previously of her family abandoning her.
'Feeling blessed, even though I'm sick as a dog! I'm very grateful that I have my loves family, since my own family has abandoned me,' she tweeted, referring to her new partner.
Her next tweets also appeared to be angrily directed at the Notting Hill star.
She tweeted: 'Hey Hag! Glad you f****ed with me yet? You’re going to LOVE what’s coming! FYI-You’re an awful, hate filled old pathetic excuse for a human.
'I must be grateful & not hateful. I must forgive. But Damn that is a REALLY hard thing to do sometimes, right?!?!'
Back on December 19, Nancy also sounded depressed. She wrote: 'I must remember how blessed I am even in this very low point in my life. I want ALL of my family to have an awesome magical Christmas! '
And on December 15 she tweeted: 'Must remember to stay strong. Life is a fight. You have to stay in it.'
Back in October Nancy also spoke about her family rift, tweeting: 'It’s a shame when you get more support from strangers than you do from your family. I can’t wait to officially belong to another family!'
She also wrote that she was getting support from her and Julia’s mother Betty, writing: 'So glad to have the support & love of my friends & mom!
Still a smashing success: At 46, Roberts is more in demand than ever; here she leaves a talk about her Meryl Streep drama on February 4
Nancy last tweeted on Saturday, the day before she was found dead in the bathtub.
She wrote: 'Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturdays & watching East Los High! Season 3 coming soon!'
Nancy joined twitter last August and had 69 followers.
She posted several happy photos with her fiancé John Dilbeck who she was due to marry on May 17.
Nancy had been tweeting excitedly about the big day, on October 21 she wrote: 'I found my beautiful shoes for my wedding day! And anyone that wants to bring me down during all the planning I have to do can kiss my ass!'
On October 3 she tweeted a photo of them together, writing: 'YAY! Wedding Venue found! Wedding dress found! Things are truly happening! It's all soooo exciting! I love him!'
Since her tormented tweets were made public overnight, they key sections have been deleted.
On Monday, her family confirmed to People the 37-year-old had passed away in what appears to be an overdose.
On top: The actress on the February cover of Vanity Fair, on stands now
'It is with deep sadness that the family of Nancy Motes ... confirms that she was found dead in Los Angeles yesterday of an apparent drug overdose,' the statement read. 'There is no official report from the Coroner's office yet. The family is both shocked and devastated.'
She was discovered in the bathtub of a home by her fiancé John Dilbeck and pronounced dead at 2:12 p.m., a spokesman for the Los Angeles Coroner's Office told MailOnline.
It is believed she was found at a house where she was pet-sitting for a friend.
Today, Ed Winter, assistant chief at the LA County Coroner's Office, said: ‘The autopsy has been completed and the cause of death has been deferred depending on the toxicology reports. This can take between six and eight weeks.
‘A number of prescription medications were found in the bathroom area as were illegal drugs. We are still investigating whether they were hers or not. We’re not releasing what illegal drugs they were.
‘It could be a possible suicide, but we don’t know the cause of death yet for sure, which is depending on further investigation. It’s more complicated as she also had some medical issues, so we’re not sure what happened at the moment.
'We are not being specific what those issues are, but it could mean a number of reasons for her death, she could have been taking a bath and had a heart attack. We just don’t know at this stage.'
Julia's rep did not return calls to MailOnline. The actress cancelled an appearance at an Academy Awards luncheon on Monday.
Nancy was an aspiring actress who had worked as a production assistant on TV's Glee.
Julia and Nancy had the same mother, Betty Lou, but different fathers: Nancy's dad was Michael Motes and Julia's is the late Walter Grady Roberts.
In August the blonde had complained about growing up in the shadow of the Pretty Woman star, who has been working the awards circuit this year for her turn in August: Osage County with Meryl Streep.
Thinner: Nancy Motes looked considerably thinner in August 2013 as she grabbed coffee near her home in Santa Monica
The younger sibling had said she was known as Julia's 'fat little sister' and said the Oscar-winner had taunted her about her weight, leading her to undergo weight loss surgery in June 2012.
Roberts, 46, made her feel embarrassed and ashamed of her weight, according to Nancy, which peaked at 20st.
She resorted to a £20,000 gastric bypass operation last year.
'It makes me feel incredibly hurt and very sad,' Motes said. 'When you're in a family of very, very exceptionally beautiful people it's intimidating.'
Her other siblings include Eric Roberts, 57, and Lisa Roberts Gillan, 48, who are also actors.
Actress Emma Roberts is the daughter of Eric.
'I think that growing up as Pretty Woman's little sister has definitely made me try to see the person inside and not the person outside,' she added. 'A lot of my life I felt judged for my weight.'
Motes, who grew up in the US state of Georgia, was only 13 when Roberts shot to Hollywood fame as hooker Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman.
The actress, who had won a Golden Globe for playing a young bride in Steel Magnolias, received a second for Pretty Woman.
Motes, who described herself as an 'awkward' child who was bullied at school, could not compete with the success of her 'very pretty and very popular' sister.
She said: 'When I was in high school and she was an adult, she would just let me know that I was definitely overweight. She would make it quite clear to me and in a not so nice manner.
'Julia did not want to see me go down that path [of acting] … So I just got a lot of criticism from Julia, which was very discouraging for me.'
After graduating from high school in 1995, Motes auditioned for roles in Hollywood while working as a waitress. But she could not afford to continue so returned to Georgia.
Niece: Emma Roberts, pictured Monday with Evan Peters, was Nancy's niece
Three years ago Nancy moved back to Los Angeles, after meeting her fiancé John Dilbeck. But she claimed Roberts started taunting her about her weight again days after she arrived.
With her weight soaring, she finally decided to have a gastric bypass fitted.
Motes said she could not afford the £20,000 fee, but rather than ask Roberts, who is worth £90million, for financial help, she took out a loan.
She had lost 7st since the operation last June and had planned on marrying in May.
However, RadarOnline reported last year that Julia planned to boycott the nuptials because she didn't like the groom and didn't want to get stuck paying for the wedding.
'Julia doesn't think much of Nancy's husband-to-be,' the website quoted an insider as saying. 'She's convinced he's sponging off Nancy, who doesn't have much money in the first place.'
At the time of her death, it was not known if she had mended her relationship with Julia.
She said last year: 'It's a work in progress, it's not going to be fixed overnight, nor do I think it's going to be fixed by me just getting skinny.' ||||| Julia Roberts was left devastated and anguished that she could not convince her half-sister Nancy Motes to enter rehab before her tragic drug overdose death in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 9, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.
Motes, 37, a former production worker on the hit television show Glee, was found dead Sunday in a bathtub at a Los Angeles home, where authorities recovered both prescription and non-prescription drugs.
A source close to Oscar-nominee Roberts told Radar: “The sisters had a very complex relationship. They used to be very close when they were younger. Julia tried in vain over the years, even in the last six months, to get Nancy to go to rehab. Nancy refused the offers and that is when she would often publicly lash out at Julia.
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“It hurt Julia, but she knew her sister was battling addiction.
“The addiction to prescription drugs made Nancy a totally different person. There would be periods of sobriety and with that brought clarity. It would be during those moments that the sisters would reconnect. Sadly, of course, those times became less frequent before her death.”
As Radar previously reported, Motes called the Pretty Woman star a “b*tch” and appeared to have called her a “hag” as she vented in a series of tweets sent late last month.
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It was yet another illustration of the pair’s rocky relationship after Motes previously declared Roberts led her to take the extreme measure of having gastric bypass surgery.
“When I was in high school and she was an adult, she would just let me know that I was definitely overweight,” Motes told the New York Daily News last year.
“She would make it quite clear to me and in a not-so-nice a manner.”
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In tweets that have since been deleted, Motes wrote on Jan. 19 under the handle @Dabbs76, “So my ‘sister’ said that with all her friends & fans she doesn’t need anymore love. Just so you all know ‘America’s Sweetheart’ is a B—-H!!’”
She later added, “Do you want to be a fan of someone so cruel? She’s not even that good of an actress. Happy you totally F—ed with me?”
The family insider revealed to Radar that Roberts, 46, made arrangements for her troubled sister to check into a first class rehab facility last year.
“She had agreed to go… this was about a year ago,” the source said.
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“At the last minute, Nancy backed out, gave no reason. Yet, Julia told Nancy if she was ready to get healthy, all she had to do was call. Julia never got that call.”
On Monday, Roberts’ rep released a statement announcing the death of her Motes, as the August: Osage County star withdrew from a number of professional commitments in the wake of the family tragedy, including appearances Monday at a pre-Academy Award luncheon and one on Jimmy Kimmel.
“There is no official report from the Coroner’s office yet,” the spokesperson said. “The family is both shocked and devastated.”
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Added our source: Julia is taking the death very hard. It’s extremely difficult for her because it didn’t have to happen. Julia has a great support network around her and she is relying on her husband [Danny Moder], more now than ever.”
The star’s younger sibling was also half-sister to Eric Roberts and aunt to American Horror Story actress, Emma Roberts.
If you, or anyone you know, is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please immediately seek help. You can speak with a skilled, trained counselor at a national Suicide Prevention Lifeline crisis center in your area, anytime 24/7 — call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). ||||| Julia Roberts has remained silent over the death of her troubled half-sister Nancy Motes, but privately a struggle is going on between the Hollywood star’s family and her late sibling’s devastated fiancé.
A source exclusively tells Page Six that John Dilbeck, whom Motes planned to marry in May, is planning on asserting his right to be a beneficiary of her estate based on their years together and to keep control of her possessions.
The source tells us: “Julia and her mother had tried for a long time, for years, to get Nancy to go into rehab, and she repeatedly refused. They did not approve of John and felt that he was a bad influence on her. But you can’t tell someone of Nancy’s age whom not to date. She was living in a tiny apartment with John, his brother and a child.
“While Nancy wasn’t a wealthy woman, she would have had gifts given to her by Julia as well as intimate family pictures.
“There is a fear that John could be holding Nancy’s personal items hostage and possibly sell them to the highest bidder. If Nancy had photos and wrote a diary, describing her feelings towards her sister, he could use them.”
Nancy took an overdose after writing a suicide note, which allegedly contained dark secrets about the “Pretty Woman” star that she wanted to be made public, Conner Dilbeck, John’s brother, has claimed in an interview.
John found his fiancée’s body in the bath Sunday, the day before Julia was due to be at an Oscar nominees lunch. She is up for Best Supporting Actress for “August: Osage County.”
Conner claims Julia inflicted “pure cruelty” on her sister and Nancy’s suicide letter was a desperate attempt to expose the alleged treatment.
Conner claimed the note is eight pages long, and Motes deliberately timed her apparent overdose to destroy Julia’s Oscar chances. The note is believed to be in the possession of police — who have not confirmed its contents to Julia’s family.
A source countered, “Julia has been nominated for other awards. Timing a suicide doesn’t make sense.” Roberts’ rep declined to comment. | – The latest drama surrounding the death of Julia Roberts' half-sister, Nancy Motes: A source tells the New York Post that Roberts may end up in a battle with Motes' fiance, John Dilbeck, who plans to argue that he should be a beneficiary of Motes' estate due to the length of their relationship. Of particular concern: gifts Roberts gave her sister and "intimate family pictures," the source explains. "There is a fear that John could be holding Nancy’s personal items hostage and possibly sell them to the highest bidder. If Nancy had photos and wrote a diary, describing her feelings towards her sister, he could use them," the source adds. And things get more bizarre: In an interview with the Daily Mail, Dilbeck's brother Conner—who has been ranting about Roberts on Facebook—claims Motes killed herself at this time specifically to hurt Roberts' chances of winning an Oscar for her role in August: Osage County. "We are talking about people who are powerful," he says. "People who have very delicate power, people who are in the limelight. Their power can be destroyed very easily if unfortunate things make them look more wicked. They have to be careful, it can destroy their career or their Academy Award." He also claims Motes' suicide note contains secrets about Roberts that Motes wanted to make public, and that Roberts is "terrified" the note could come out. Meanwhile, Radar has stories from both sides: Some sources insist Roberts had been trying to help Motes by getting her into rehab, but Motes' fiance says she was not a drug addict. |
White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci took a page out of President Trump’s playbook Wednesday night with a tweet threatening to sic the FBI on a supposed information leaker. “In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting the FBI and the Justice Department,” Scaramucci wrote, inexplicably tagging White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. Scaramucci did not specify what information was leaked, but a Politico article cited the incoming communications director’s required financial disclosure in reporting he earned $4.9 million since last year from his ownership stake in investment firm SkyBridge. Scaramucci appeared to delete the tweet, but in a subsequent post said Priebus was among the senior White House officials helping to crack down on leaks. ||||| The incoming White House communications director earned $4.9 million from his ownership stake in SkyBridge. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Scaramucci still stands to profit from SkyBridge from the White House The newly named White House communications director has earned millions from ownership stake since last year, according to his financial disclosure.
Anthony Scaramucci finally has his White House job, but he still stands to profit from an ownership stake in his investment firm SkyBridge Capital.
The incoming White House communications director earned $4.9 million from his ownership stake in SkyBridge in addition to more than $5 million in salary between Jan. 1, 2016, and the end of June, when he joined the Export-Import Bank, according to a financial disclosure filed with the Office of Government Ethics.
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The disclosure form, which is publicly available upon request, hasn’t been previously reported.
The disclosure highlights the extensive wealth Scaramucci has accumulated in his career — much like many of Trump’s other top advisers and Cabinet secretaries — and also the challenge he faces in extracting himself from the potential conflicts his investments could pose.
Scaramucci’s financial filing values SkyBridge Capital at more than $50 million and states that he owns nearly 44 percent of the firm. When the sale of the company is completed, expected to be in the third quarter of this year, he will receive “the agreed-upon purchase price for his share of the sale proceeds,” according to the filing.
Bloomberg valued the Skybridge deal at between $200 million and $230 million when it was announced in January.
“It’s black and white that he’s going to get money,” said Austin Evers, executive director at American Oversight, a watchdog group that focuses on transparency in government.
The SkyBridge website continues to advertise Scaramucci as the firm's managing director, despite the fact that he has been a government employee for more than a month. A SkyBridge spokeswoman said Scaramucci stepped down from the executive post Jan. 17, when the company’s sale was announced. He remained an employee of the firm, collecting a salary, until starting at Ex-Im last month.
The investment firm, which Scaramucci founded in 2005, is in the process of being sold to RON Transatlantic and Chinese conglomerate HNA Group. The sale, set in motion in January when Scaramucci was shedding his holdings in anticipation of landing an administration job, has drawn the scrutiny of regulators and is taking longer than expected to close.
The interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is examining the deal to ensure that it carries no risk to national security. The panel’s review, which comes amid ramped-up scrutiny of business dealings with China, ultimately can be overruled by President Donald Trump.
Scaramucci said Friday his start date wouldn’t be until August so that everything can be “100 percent totally cleansed and clean and I don’t see an issue with it.”
White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom referred questions about Scaramucci’s SkyBridge investment to the Treasury. Treasury spokeswoman Marisol Garibay did not respond to requests for comment.
Scaramucci, a Trump fundraiser and frequent campaign surrogate whose appointment to an administration post was delayed in part because of the complicated nature of the SkyBridge sale, joined Ex-Im in June.
Ex-Im was seen as a "very temporary move," a way to get the Trump loyalist to Washington until a higher-level position could be found, according to one White House adviser.
The bank is across the street from the White House, where Scaramucci was free to come and go thanks to security credentials that gave him 24-hour access. That allowed him to elude the detection of senior White House staffers, including chief of staff Reince Priebus.
Scaramucci has been on unpaid leave from Ex-Im since the day he started there, June 19, a bank spokeswoman said, forgoing his $172,100 salary as chief strategy officer.
A friend said Scaramucci thought his stay at the bank would be longer-lived and that the White House job came unexpectedly.
In his disclosure, Scaramucci listed assets worth as much as $85 million. He has several real estate investments, including single-family rental homes on Long Island.
A minority stake in the New York Mets is worth as much as $5 million. He also is an investor in Juice Press, a chain of snack and smoothie shops in the Northeast.
Scaramucci earned $200,000 in income from a majority stake in Hastings Capital Group, according to his financial disclosure. That ownership share also will be sold as part of the SkyBridge deal with RON and HNA.
As a contributor to Fox News, Scaramucci earned about $88,000, according to his financial disclosure.
He has three mortgages with U.S. Bank for a total liability of $2.5 million to $7 million.
Josh Dawsey contributed to this report. ||||| 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 ||||| WASHINGTON — In the five days since he was named White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci has vowed to hunt down leakers and fire anyone he catches. By the end of his fifth day, he was on the receiving end of what he called a leak about himself.
The financial disclosure form that Mr. Scaramucci filed with the government appeared on Politico’s website on Wednesday night, showing that he has assets worth as much as $85 million. He made $5 million in salary and another $4.9 million from his ownership stake in his investment firm SkyBridge Capital in the first six months of this year, according to the filing.
Mr. Scaramucci responded angrily. “In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony,” he wrote on Twitter, “I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept.”
He added the hashtag #swamp, reflecting President Trump’s promise to drain the swamp, and then included the Twitter handle of Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, who opposed Mr. Scaramucci’s appointment last week. | – New White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci was not happy about what he believed was a leak of information from his financial disclosure Wednesday—though it later emerged that the form was available to the public. "In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and @TheJusticeDept #swamp @Reince45," Scaramucci said in a now-deleted tweet, per the Daily Beast. Scaramucci later denied suggestions that his tagging of Reince Priebus was a declaration of war on the White House chief of staff. "Wrong! Tweet was public notice to leakers that all Sr Adm officials are helping to end illegal leaks," Scaramucci said in a second tweet. The disclosure information believed to have enraged Scaramucci appeared in a Politico report late Wednesday. According to the report, Scaramucci earned $4.9 million from his ownership stake in the SkyBridge Capital plus more than $5 million in salary from Jan. 1, 2016, to the end of June this year, when he began a short-lived stint at the federal Export-Import Bank. The New York Times notes that Scaramucci filed the disclosure form June 23 and under federal law, it would have been available to the public 30 days later. "They aren't in process yet," Scaramucci wrote to the Times after being asked why he thought the report had been leaked. He didn't respond after being told it would have been available July 23. |
(CNN) Hillary Clinton is not considering Bernie Sanders as a running mate, a Democrat familiar with the decision tells CNN.
Sanders, who has still not yet officially conceded the Democratic presidential primary to Clinton, was not expecting to be considered as Clinton's vice president and he does not view her decision as a slight, according to a person close to him.
Instead, Sanders remains committed to changing the Democratic Party, and not "becoming her partner."
He would risk being considered a sell-out by loyal supporters if he joined the Clinton ticket, another person close to Sanders said Wednesday, so the news is not unexpected.
The Vermont senator did not bring up the issue in his private meeting with Clinton on Tuesday night that lasted about 90 minutes.
Read More ||||| 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 Wall Street Journal has revealed a list of potential running mates being vetted by Hillary Clinton, and it doesn't include Bernie Sanders. Possible future vice presidents currently in the early stages of vetting include Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Labor Secretary Tom Perez, Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Rep. Xavier Becerra of California, and Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio. A national poll conducted by Bloomberg found Warren leads in popularity among Clinton supporters, 35% of whom wanted to see her as vice president. She was followed by Booker, Castro, and Al Franken. (Newt Gingrich was the most popular VP choice on the GOP side.) While some Sanders supporters had been hoping for a vice presidential nomination for him, Sanders himself wouldn't be interested in the position anyway, according to a source close to him. CNN reports Sanders would rather work to change the Democratic party from the Senate than be seen as a "sell-out" or Clinton's "partner." That may explain the interest in Warren, whose policies are close to those of Sanders and who could possibly bring some of his supporters over to Clinton. Bustle calls her a "shiny apple to Sanders' orange." Sources close to Clinton say the top priority for a running mate is someone who would be ready to step in as president, and that advisers aren't really looking at what a nominee does for Clinton's campaign in terms of demographics and geography. |
More from this journal ||||| Colorectal cancer is often considered a disease that affects primarily older men, yet this perception may be changing. An extensive analysis of recent data showed that one in every seven colorectal cancer patients was younger than 50. The University of Michigan study raises questions about the current guidelines to begin screening at age 50.
Signs of colorectal cancer, often called the “symptomless cancer,” include anemia, a dramatic change in the size or frequency of bowel movements, and dark blood or blood mixed with stool, (sometimes appearing as black threads), in bowel movements. Because these symptoms may be nonexistent, mild, or infrequent, many people are not aware of their condition until their malignancy becomes advanced and spreads into the lymph nodes. A colonoscopy is the usual screening test, but stool tests are also effective for some people. If you are worried, you can request your primary care physician provide you with one of these simple stool tests, no matter your age.
Younger Patients Increasing
Seeing a recent rise in cancer cases among younger people, a team led by Dr. Samantha Hendren conducted a study of the nationally representative Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Insitute to assess age and treatment patterns among colorectal patients. Specifically, they gathered and analyzed data from patients diagnosed in the United States between 1998 and 2011. Their results point to important changes.
Of more than 258,000 total colorectal cancer patients, 37,847 (about 15 percent) were younger than 50. These younger-than-expected patients were more likely to be diagnosed with either regional or distant malignancies, both of which are more dangerous than localized tumors.
In terms of treatment, younger patients suffering with a distant metastasis — where the cancer has spread from an original tumor — were more likely to undergo surgery than older patients; 72 percent versus 63 percent. Radiation therapy was more likely to be used with younger rectal cancer patients than in older patients; 53 percent versus 48 percent.
By various measures, younger patients saw more positive results. Despite the tendency to have more advanced disease when diagnosed, younger-than-50 colorectal cancer patients overall lived slightly longer without a cancer recurrence. With regard to localized disease, the five-year survival rate was 95.1 percent for younger patients versus 91.9 percent for older patients, with regard to regional disease, 76 percent versus 70.3 percent, and with regard to distant disease 21.3 percent versus 14.1 percent.
“These findings suggest the need for improved risk assessment and screening decisions for younger adults,” wrote the researchers in the study. They believe their work is a wake-up call to the medical community, which should be looking for the signs of colorectal cancer in patients younger than 50.
If age 50 is maintained as the recommended time to begin screening, this study suggests that nearly 15 percent of all patients may be caught late in the process of disease. By comparison, breast cancer screening is recommended to begin at age 40. Less than 5 percent of invasive breast cancers occur in women under that age.
Source: Abdelsattar Z, Wong S, Regenbogen S, et al. Colorectal Cancer Outcomes and Treatment Patterns in Patients Too Young for Average-Risk Screening. CANCER. 2016. ||||| (Reuters Health) - One in seven colon and rectal cancers in the U.S. are now diagnosed in patients younger than age 50, which is when people are advised to begin routine screenings for these tumors, a new study finds.
By 2030, nearly one in four rectal tumors and more than one in 10 colon cancers will be diagnosed in people under 50, researchers estimate in the journal Cancer.
“Colorectal cancer has traditionally been thought of as a disease of the elderly; this study is really a wake-up call to the medical community that a relatively large number of colorectal cancers are occurring in young people,” said senior study author Dr. Samantha Hendren of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Researchers analyzed cancer registry data from 1998 to 2011 for about 258,000 patients with colorectal tumors and found that 37,847 of them, or almost 15 percent, were diagnosed before age 50.
Compared with older patients, those under 50 were 30 percent more likely to be diagnosed with tumors that had spread to the lymph nodes and 50 percent more likely to have cancer that had advanced to other organs, the study found.
Younger patients with tumors that had metastasized, or reached other organs, were also more likely than older people to get more aggressive treatments.
About 72 percent of people under 50 got surgery, compared with 63 percent of older individuals. And while 53 percent of younger patients received radiation, just 48 percent of older people did.
Even though patients diagnosed younger tended to have more aggressive disease, they also lived slightly longer without tumors returning after their initial course of treatment.
Five-year survival odds were about 95 percent for patients under 50 diagnosed with local tumors that hadn’t spread yet, compared to roughly 92 percent for older people.
With tumors that spread to the lymph nodes, five-year survival rates were 76 percent for young people and 70 percent for older patients, while with cancers that metastasized to other organs the survival odds were 21 percent versus 14 percent, respectively.
One shortcoming of the study is that researchers lacked data on family history and other risk factors for colorectal cancers, the authors note. It’s also possible that treatment choices and overall survival were influenced by what’s known as selection bias, when healthier people may get more interventions and have better outcomes.
Often, patients may get an early warning of colorectal tumors with symptoms such as bleeding, changes in bowel habits or pain when going to the bathroom that can point to the need for diagnostic screening, said Dr. Joel Randolph Hecht, director of the gastrointestinal oncology program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles.
“Unfortunately, these symptoms are often ignored by the patient or doctor or ascribed to something like hemorrhoids,” Hecht, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
There are guidelines for screening some people starting at age 40 if they have a family history of colorectal cancer, noted Dr. Sidney Winawer of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
“Without a family history, physicians need to use their judgment when seeing young people who have bowel symptoms and refer those of concern to a gastroenterologist for a diagnostic workup, “ Winawer, who wasn’t involved in the study, added by email. “This is difficult since we do not wish to expose young people to unnecessary tests.”
It isn’t clear from the study findings, however, whether changing preventive screening guidelines to start at a younger age would ultimately prevent more cancer deaths, said Dr. David Weinberg, chairman of medicine at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
“If the goal of screening is disease prevention, as it generally is for colorectal cancer, it is not clear when screening should start,” Weinberg, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “Too early and the yield of screening will be very low since young people are still less likely to get colorectal cancer than older people.”
SOURCE: bit.ly/23o5QvC Cancer, online January 25, 2016. ||||| MONDAY, Jan. 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Colon cancer rates are rising among men and women under 50, the age at which guidelines recommend screenings start, a new analysis shows. One in seven colon cancer patients is under 50. Younger patients are more likely to have advanced stage cancer, but they live slightly longer without a cancer recurrence because they are treated aggressively, the researchers reported. "Colon cancer has traditionally been thought of as a disease of the elderly," said study lead author Dr. Samantha Hendren, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
"This study is really a wake-up call to the medical community that a relatively large number of colon cancers are occurring in people under 50," she added.
However, Hendren said it's too soon to say whether colon cancer screening guidelines should be altered to reflect that trend.
In the analysis, colon cancer among younger patients was often found at an advanced stage, meaning the disease has spread to lymph nodes or other organs. "Part of the reason for this is that these young patients are often diagnosed only after their cancers start to cause symptoms, such as anemia, bowel bleeding or a blockage in the colon," Hendren explained.
Doctors should be on the lookout for these warning signs of colon cancer, she added.
Not all bowel bleeding is caused by cancer, she said. "Bright red bleeding with a bowel movement is usually due to hemorrhoids or fissures, but dark blood or blood mixed with the stool is a warning sign," Hendren said.
People with a family history of colon cancer and others who are at higher risk should begin screening earlier than the age of 50, she said. "This is already recommended, but we don't think this is happening consistently, and this is something we need to optimize," she added.
The report was published online Jan. 25 in the journal Cancer.
Dr. Andrew Chan, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said the reasons for the increase in colon cancer among younger adults isn't known.
"It is unexplained," he said. "It's not simply a change in diagnoses, it's a very real increase. There may be an effect of our environment that could be contributing to the increase."
Smoking, obesity and physical inactivity are all risk factors for colon cancer, as is a poor diet, Chan said. "When we are faced with patients who have many of these elements, we should think more about the potential of them developing colon cancer at an earlier age," he said.
For the study, Hendren and her colleagues culled federal government data on nearly 260,000 patients diagnosed with colon cancer between 1998 and 2011.
Of these patients, nearly 15 percent were younger than 50. These patients were more likely to be diagnosed with advanced cancer and more likely to have surgery than older patients (72 percent versus 63 percent). Radiation therapy was also used more often in younger patients than in older patients (53 percent versus 48 percent), the researchers found.
Younger patients lived a little longer without a cancer recurrence, even though they tended to have more advanced cancer, Hendren said.
For patients under 50, about 68 percent survived five years, while about 67 percent of the patients 50 and older survived five years, she said. "It looks like patients' young age helps them in their cancer treatment and survival," she added.
These findings raise the question of whether screening for colon cancer should begin at an earlier age, Hendren said. "This would be a big and costly change, and I don't know whether it would help more people than it would hurt, so a lot of research would be required to understand this before any changes should be made," she said.
Chan noted that although the incidence of colon cancer is increasing among people under 50, the risk is still low. "I don't think the data at this point support expanding screening to younger age groups," he said.
Hendren said that "the cancer community needs to prepare for the increasing number of very young colorectal cancer survivors who will need long-term support to cope with the physical and psychological consequences of their disease and treatments."
More information
Visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute for more on colon cancer. | – A new study says one in seven US colon cancer patients is younger than 50—raising questions about why more young people seem to be getting the disease and what can be done about it, reports HealthDay via the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Colon cancer has traditionally been thought of as a disease of the elderly," says lead author Samantha Hendren. "This study is really a wake-up call to the medical community that a relatively large number of colon cancers are occurring in people under 50." Using government data on almost 260,000 colon-cancer patients from 1998 to 2011, the study also says younger patients more often have advanced cancer and undergo surgery (72% compared to 63% of patients over 50). The young are also more likely to use radiation therapy (53% to 48%) and have a slight advantage in surviving for five years (68% to 67%). Younger people are more likely to have advanced colon cancer partly because they get tested after noticing symptoms (like colon blockage, bleeding, and anemia), while people over 50 are advised to begin screenings, says Hendren. "Unfortunately, these symptoms are often ignored by the patient or doctor or ascribed to something like hemorrhoids," a scientist adds, per Reuters. Hendren's team conducted the study after noticing a rise in colon cancer among young people, Medical Daily reports, but that spike remains unexplained. Physical inactivity, obesity, smoking, and "an effect in our environment" are all possible causes, a Harvard professor says. More screenings for young people might help, but the yield would be low because under-50s are still less likely to get colon cancer. "This would be a big and costly change," says Hendren, who recommends "a lot of research" be done first. (A new killer is expected to top cancer by 2050.) |
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 ||||| MADISON, Wis. -
The Wisconsin Air National Guard will be conducting training flights the rest of the week, according to an operations alert.
The 115th Fighter Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard will be conducting training flights at night Monday through Thursday, officials said.
Residents may see or hear F-16 fighter jets taking off or landing until about 10 p.m., according to the alert.
Training flights normally happen during the day, but pilots and maintenance personnel are required to conduct nighttime operations as a part of their readiness training, officials said.
Pilots will be following flight paths designed to minimize noise to area residents, according to the alert. ||||| Freezing temperatures Tuesday night might have caused something called a "frostquake" in southern Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service in Sullivan.
Though frostquake is a geological rather than a meteorological term the boom felt in an area from about Columbus to Fox Lake and Johnson Creek to Oconomowoc prompted some people to call the weather service to report the event, meteorologist Justin Schultz said.
"It would sound like someone drove into your house, but as far as we know it didn't cause any damage," Schultz said.
Can confirm the frostquake. It shook the house here in Beaver Dam. @madisontraffic @NWSMKX — Bob Lesh (@Bob_Lesh) January 13, 2016
According to Schultz, the phenomenon occurs when water that drains into the ground freezes, expands and places stress on the surrounding ground.
"The fracturing of the soil and rock creates the frostquake," Schultz said of the seismic event that is actually called a cryoseism.
"This one was maybe a brief rumbling, but a very loud boom was the primary characteristic of this frostquake."
Frostquakes are relatively rare events, Schultz said, but not unheard of in Wisconsin.
"Of all the states that have reported cryoseisms, Wisconsin is among them," Schultz said. | – A weather event that a National Weather Service meteorologist says "[sounds] like someone drove into your house" likely took place in southern Wisconsin on Tuesday night, and it wasn't a tornado, lightning strike, or earthquake. Instead, it was what's called a "frostquake," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, a rare happening in the Badger State that takes place when water that seeps into the ground freezes and expands, fracturing the ground around it. Although no damage has been called in from the so-called cryoseism, that didn't stop the extreme-weather occurrence from frightening locals. "[Loud] boom and house rumbling at 8:30 here outside of Beaver Dam WI. Crazy. Kids were scared," one resident tweeted. One other possibility for those who heard noises: "[Booms] could have been from Air Force planes on exercise per media," tweeted NWS Milwaukee. (Meanwhile, here's what El Niño has in store for the rest of us this winter.) |
TOKYO Exhausted engineers attached a power cable to the outside of Japan's tsunami-crippled nuclear plant on Saturday in a race to prevent deadly radiation from an accident now rated at least as bad as America's Three Mile Island incident in 1979.
Further cabling inside was under way before an attempt to restart water pumps needed to cool overheated nuclear fuel rods at the six-reactor Fukushima plant in northeastern Japan, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.
Japan's unprecedented multiple crisis of earthquake, tsunami and radiation leak has unsettled world financial markets, prompted international reassessment of nuclear safety and given the Asian nation its sternest test since World War Two.
It has also stirred unhappy memories of Japan's past nuclear nightmare -- the U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Working inside a 20 km (12 miles) evacuation zone at Fukushima, nearly 300 engineers were focused on trying to find a solution by restoring power to pumps in four of the reactors.
"TEPCO has connected the external transmission line with the receiving point of the plant and confirmed that electricity can be supplied," the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said in a statement.
Another 1,480 meters (5,000 feet) of cable are being laid inside the complex before engineers try to crank up the coolers at reactor No.2, followed by numbers 1, 3 and 4 this weekend, company officials said.
If that works it will be a turning point.
"If they are successful in getting the cooling infrastructure up and running, that will be a significant step forward in establishing stability," said Eric Moore, a nuclear power expert at U.S.-based FocalPoint Consulting Group.
If not, there is an option of last resort under consideration to bury the sprawling 40-year-old plant in sand and concrete to prevent a catastrophic radiation release.
That method was used to seal huge leakages from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Underlining authorities' desperation, fire trucks sprayed water overnight in a crude tactic to cool reactor No.3, considered the most critical because of its use of mixed oxides, or mox, containing both uranium and highly toxic plutonium.
Japan has raised the severity rating of the nuclear crisis to level 5 from 4 on the seven-level INES international scale, putting it on a par with the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, although some experts say it is more serious.
Chernobyl, in Ukraine, was a 7 on that scale.
THOUSANDS DEAD, MISSING AND SUFFERING
The operation to avert large-scale radiation has overshadowed the humanitarian aftermath of the 9.0-magnitude quake and 10-meter (33-foot) tsunami that struck on March 11.
Nearly 7,000 people have been confirmed killed in the double natural disaster, which turned whole towns into waterlogged and debris-shrouded wastelands.
Another 10,700 people are missing with many feared dead.
Some 390,000 people, including many among Japan's aging population, are homeless and battling near-freezing temperatures in shelters in northeastern coastal areas.
Food, water, medicine and heating fuel are in short supply.
"Everything is gone, including money," said Tsukasa Sato, a 74-year-old barber with a heart condition, as he warmed his hands in front of a stove at a shelter for the homeless.
Health officials and the U.N. atomic watchdog have said radiation levels in the capital Tokyo were not harmful. But the city has seen an exodus of tourists, expatriates and many Japanese, who fear a blast of radioactive material.
"I'm leaving because my parents are terrified. I personally think this will turn out to be the biggest paper tiger the world has ever seen," said Luke Ridley, 23, from London as he sat at Narita international airport using his laptop.
"I'll probably come back in about a month."
Though there has been alarm around the world, experts have been warning there is little risk of radiation at dangerous levels spreading to other nations.
The U.S. government said "minuscule" amounts of radiation were detected in California consistent with a release from Japan's damaged facility, but there were no levels of concern.
Amid their distress, Japanese were proud of the 279 nuclear plant workers toiling in the wreckage, wearing masks, goggles and protective suits sealed by duct tape.
"My eyes well with tears at the thought of the work they are doing," Kazuya Aoki, a safety official at Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told Reuters.
G7 INTERVENTION FOR YEN
The Group of Seven rich nations succeeded in calming global financial markets in rare concerted intervention to restrain a soaring yen.
The dollar surged to 81.98 yen on Friday after the G7 moved to pour billions into markets buying dollars, euros and pounds -- the first such joint intervention since the group came to the aid of the newly launched euro in 2000.
The dollar later dropped back to under 81 yen, but it was still far from the record low of 76.25 yen hit on Thursday.
"The only type of intervention that actually works is coordinated intervention, and it shows the solidarity of all central banks in terms of the severity of the situation in Japan," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT in New York.
Japan's Nikkei share index ended up 2.7 percent, recouping some of the week's stinging losses. It lost 10.2 percent for the week, wiping $350 billion off market capitalization.
The plight of the homeless worsened following a cold snap that brought heavy snow to the worst-affected areas.
Nearly 290,000 households in the north were still without electricity, officials said, and the government said about 940,000 households lacked running water.
Aid groups say most victims are getting help, but there are pockets of acute suffering.
"We've seen children suffering with the cold, and lacking really basic items like food and clean water," Stephen McDonald of Save the Children said in a statement on Friday.
(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg, Nathan Layne, Elaine Lies, Leika Kihara, Jon Herskovitz, Joseph Radford and Chris Gallagher in Japan; Fiona Ortiz in Madrid; Scott DiSavino in New York; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Robert Birsel) ||||| YAMAGATA, Japan -- Emergency workers seemed to try everything they could think of Thursday to douse one of Japan's dangerously overheated nuclear reactors: helicopters, heavy-duty fire trucks, even water cannons normally used to quell rioters. But they couldn't be sure any of it was easing the peril at the tsunami-ravaged facility.
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Three reactors have had at least partial meltdowns, but an even greater danger has emerged. Japanese and U.S. concerns were increasingly focusing on the pools used to store spent nuclear fuel: Some of the pools are dry or nearly empty and the rods could heat up and spew radiation.
It could take days and "possibly weeks" to get the complex under control, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jazcko said. He defended the U.S. decision to recommend a 50-mile evacuation zone for its citizens, a much stronger measure than Japan has taken.
A senior official with the U.N.'s nuclear safety agency said there had been "no significant worsening" at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant but that the situation remained "very serious." Graham Andrew told reporters in Vienna that nuclear fuel rods in two reactors were only about half covered with water, and in a third they were also not completely submerged.
If the fuel is not fully covered, rising temperatures and pressure will increase the chances of complete meltdowns that would release much larger amounts of radioactive material than the failing plant has emitted so far.
Low levels of radiation have been detected well beyond Tokyo, which is 140 miles (220 kilometers) south of the plant, but hazardous levels have been limited to the plant itself. Still, the crisis triggered by last week's earthquake and tsunami has forced thousands to evacuate and drained Tokyo's normally vibrant streets of life, its residents either leaving town or holing up in their homes.
President Barack Obama appeared on television to assure Americans that officials do not expect harmful amounts of radiation to reach the U.S. or its territories. He also said the U.S. was offering Japan any help it could provide, and said he was asking for a comprehensive review of U.S. nuclear plant safety.
Japanese and American assessments of the crisis have differed, with the plant's owner denying Jazcko's report Wednesday that Unit 4's spent fuel pool was dry and that anyone who gets close to the plant could face potentially lethal doses of radiation. But a Tokyo Electric Power Co. executive moved closer to the U.S. position Thursday.
"Considering the amount of radiation released in the area, the fuel rods are more likely to be exposed than to be covered," Yuichi Sato said.
Workers have been dumping seawater when possible to control temperatures at the plant since the quake and tsunami knocked out power to its cooling systems, but they tried even more desperate measures on Unit 3's reactor and cooling pool.
Two Japanese military CH-47 Chinook helicopters began dumping seawater on Unit 3 on Thursday morning, defense ministry spokeswoman Kazumi Toyama said. The choppers doused the reactor with at least four loads of water in just the first 10 minutes, though television footage showed much of it appearing to disperse in the wind.
Chopper crews flew missions of about 40 minutes each to limit their radiation exposure, passing over the reactor with loads of about 2,000 gallons (7,500 liters) of water. Another 9,000 gallons (35,000 liters) of water were blasted from military trucks with high-pressure sprayers used to extinguish fires at plane crashes, though the vehicles had to stay safely back from areas deemed to have too much radiation.
Special police units with water cannons were also tried, but they could not reach the targets from safe distances and had to pull back, said Yasuhiro Hashimoto, a spokesman for Japan's nuclear safety agency.
Unit 3's reactor uses a fuel that combines plutonium, better known as an ingredient in nuclear weapons, and reprocessed uranium. The presence of this mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, means potentially that two very harmful radioactive products could be released into the environment.
Tokyo Electric Power said it believed workers were making headway in staving off a catastrophe both with the spraying and, especially, with efforts to complete an emergency power line to restart the plant's own electric cooling systems.
"This is a first step toward recovery," said Teruaki Kobayashi, a facilities management official at the power company. He said radiation levels "have somewhat stabilized at their lows" and that some of the spraying had reached its target, with one reactor emitting steam.
"We are doing all we can as we pray for the situation to improve," Kobayashi said. Authorities planned to spray again Friday, and Kobayashi said: "Choices are limited. We just have to stick to what we can do most quickly and efficiently."
Work on connecting the new power line to the plant was expected to begin Friday and take 10 to 15 hours, said Nuclear Safety Agency spokesman Minoru Ohgoda. But the utility is not sure the cooling systems will still function. If they don't, electricity won't help.
Four of the plant's six reactors have seen fires, explosions, damage to the structures housing reactor cores, partial meltdowns or rising temperatures. Officials also recently said temperatures are rising even in the spent fuel pools of the other two reactors.
The troubles at the nuclear complex were set in motion by last Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which knocked out power and destroyed backup generators needed for the reactors' cooling systems. That added a nuclear crisis on top of twin natural disasters that likely killed well more than 10,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
Mario V. Bonaca, a physicist sits on an advisory committee to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said he believes the focus of the effort has shifted to the spent fuel pools. "I understand that they've controlled the cooling of the cores," said Bonaca, who said he was basing his understanding on NRC and industry sources.
The storage pools need a constant source of cooling water. Even when removed from reactors, uranium rods are still extremely hot and must be cooled for months, possibly longer, to prevent them from heating up again and emitting radioactivity.
While a core team of 180 emergency workers has been rotating in and out of the complex to avoid exposure, experts said that anyone working close to the reactors was almost certainly being exposed to radiation levels that could, at least, give them much higher cancer risks.
Experts note, though, that radiation levels drop quickly with distance from the complex. While elevated radiation has been detected well outside the evacuation zone, experts say those levels are not dangerous.
U.S. officials were taking no chances. In Washington, the State Department warned U.S. citizens to consider leaving the country and offered voluntary evacuation to family members and dependents of U.S. personnel in the cities of Tokyo, Yokohama and Nagoya.
The first flight left Thursday, with fewer than 100 people onboard, Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy said. Plans also call for airlifting several thousand family members of U.S. armed forces personnel as well as nonessential staff stationed in Japan in the coming days.
The U.S. evacuation zone is far bigger than that established by Japan, which has called for a 12-mile zone and has told those within 20 miles to stay indoors. Daniel B. Poneman, U.S. deputy secretary of energy, said at the briefing that his agency agreed with the 50-mile zone - but said Japan's measures were also prudent.
Nearly a week after the earthquake and tsunami, police said more than 452,000 people were staying in schools and other shelters, as supplies of fuel, medicine and other necessities ran short. Both victims and aid workers appealed for more help, as the chances of finding more survivors dwindled.
Noriko Sawaki lives in a battered neighborhood in Sendai that is still without running water and food or gasoline supplies and that, she said, makes life exhausting. "It's frustrating, because we don't have a goal, something to strive for. This just keeps on going," said the 48-year-old.
In the town of Kesennuma, people lined up to get into a supermarket after a delivery of key supplies, such as instant rice packets and diapers.
Each person was only allowed to buy 10 items, NHK television reported.
With diapers hard to find in many areas, an NHK program broadcast a how-to session on fashioning a diaper from a plastic shopping bag and a towel. ||||| Smoke billowed from a building at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant Friday as emergency crews worked to reconnect electricity to cooling systems and spray more water on overheating nuclear fuel at the tsunami-ravaged facility.
ALTERNATE CROP OF TOK870 OF MARCH 17, 2011 - In this photo taken on Wednesday afternoon, March 16, 2011 and released on Thursday, March 17 by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the top part of the badly... (Associated Press)
A taxi driver moves along a quiet street in Tokyo Thursday, March 17, 2011. In elsewhere in the nation's capital, public apprehension over a brewing nuclear disaster is draining the streets and stores... (Associated Press)
A man watches TV showing a Japanese military helicopter dumping water on the troubled reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, at an electronics retail store in Osaka, western Japan, on Thursday, March... (Associated Press)
A resident carries household belongings in a cardboard as his devastated house was due to be removed by earthmovers at Iwaizumi, northeastern Japan, on Thursday, March 17, 2011 following last week's massive... (Associated Press)
Ecacuees watch a Japanese military helicopter dumping water on the troubled reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex in a live TV broadcast, at Fukushima, northeastern Japan, on Thursday, March 17,... (Associated Press)
In this photo taken on Wednesday afternoon, March 16, 2011 and released on Thursday, March 17 by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the top part of the badly damaged No. 4 unit of the Fukushima Dai-ichi... (Associated Press)
Japan's Self-Defense Forces's helicopter heads to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant to dump water on the stricken reactor in Okumamachi Thursday morning, March 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Asahi Shimbun,... (Associated Press)
A sufferer searches for usable items amid debris in Iwaizumi, northern Japan Thursday, March 17, 2011 following Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT,... (Associated Press)
Cars lie piled up in trees following the March 11 earthquake triggered tsunami at the port in Sendai, Japan, Thursday, March 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Mark Baker) (Associated Press)
In this photo made off NHK TV video footage, a Japan Self-Defense Force helicopter dumps water over the No. 3 unit of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okumamachi, Fukushima Prefecture, Thursday,... (Associated Press)
President Barack Obama arrives to make a statement about Japan following last week's earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear concerns, Thursday, March 17, 2011, in the Rose Garden of the White House... (Associated Press)
A man walks down a nearly empty street Thursday, March 17, 2011, in Tokyo. In elsewhere in the nation's capital, public apprehension over a brewing nuclear disaster is draining the streets and stores... (Associated Press)
ALTERNATE CROP OF TOK872 OF MARCH 17, 2011 - In this photo taken on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 and released on Thursday, March 17 by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), white smoke billows from the badly... (Associated Press)
Headlights of vehicles stream along a landscape destroyed in Friday's earthquake and tsunami in Minamisanriku town, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, March 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT,... (Associated Press)
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is pictured before helicopters dump water on the stricken reactor to cool overheated fuel rods inside the core in Okumamachi, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Thursday... (Associated Press)
Four of the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi plant's six reactor units have seen fires, explosions or partial meltdowns in the week since the tsunami. While the reactor cores where energy is generated are a concern, water in the pools used to store used nuclear fuel are also major worries. Water in at least one fuel pool _ in the complex's Unit 3 _ is believed to be dangerously low, exposing the stored fuel rods. Without enough water, the rods may heat further and spew out radiation.
"We see it as an extremely serious accident," Yukiya Amano, the head of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters Friday just after arriving in Tokyo. "This is not something that just Japan should deal with, and people of the entire world should cooperate with Japan and the people in the disaster areas."
Frantic efforts were made Thursday to douse a number of units with water, and authorities were preparing to repeat many of those efforts.
Friday's smoke came from the complex's Unit 2, and its cause was not known, the nuclear safety agency said. An explosion had hit the building on Tuesday, possibly damaging a crucial cooling chamber that sits below the reactor core.
Last week's 9.0 quake and tsunami in Japan's northeast set off the nuclear problems by knocking out power to cooling systems at the reactors. The unfolding crises have led to power shortages in Japan, forced auto and other factories to close, sending shockwaves through global manufacturing and trade, and triggered a plunge in Japanese stock prices.
Low levels of radiation have been detected well beyond Tokyo, which is 140 miles (220 kilometers) south of the plant, but hazardous levels have been limited to the plant itself. Still, the crisis has forced thousands to evacuate and drained Tokyo's normally vibrant streets of life, its residents either leaving town or holing up in their homes.
The Japanese government has been slow in releasing information on the crisis, even as the troubles have multiplied. In a country where the nuclear industry has a long history of hiding its safety problems, this has left many people _ in Japan and among governments overseas _ confused and anxious.
"I feel a sense of dread," said Yukiko Morioka, 63, who has seen business dry up at her lottery ticket booth in Tokyo. "I'm not an expert, so it's difficult to understand what's going on. That makes it scarier."
A senior official with the U.N. nuclear agency said Thursday there had been "no significant worsening" at the nuclear plant but that the situation remained "very serious." Graham Andrew told reporters in Vienna that nuclear fuel rods in two reactors were only about half covered with water, and they were also not completely submerged in a third.
Edano said Friday that Tokyo is asking the U.S. government for help and that the two are discussing the specifics.
"We are coordinating with the U.S. government as to what the U.S. can provide and what people really need," Edano said.
At times, the two close allies have offered starkly differing assessments over the dangers at Fukushima. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jazcko said Thursday that it could take days and "possibly weeks" to get the complex under control. He defended the U.S. decision to recommend a 50-mile (80-kilometer) evacuation zone for its citizens, wider than the 30-mile (50-kilometer) band Japan has ordered.
Crucial to the effort to regain control over the Fukushima plant is laying a new power line to the plant, allowing operators to restore cooling systems. The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., missed a deadline late Thursday but said Friday that workers hoped to complete the effort in 10 to 15 hours, said nuclear safety agency spokesman Minoru Ohgoda.
But the utility is not sure the cooling systems will still function. If they don't, electricity won't help.
The official death toll from the disasters stood at 6,405 as of Friday morning, with 10,259 missing, the national police agency said.
President Barack Obama appeared on television to assure Americans that officials do not expect harmful amounts of radiation to reach the U.S. or its territories. He also said the U.S. was offering Japan any help it could provide.
A utility official said Wednesday that the company has been unable to get information such as water levels and temperatures from any of the spent fuel pools in the four most troubled reactors.
Workers have been dumping seawater when possible to control temperatures at the plant since the quake and tsunami knocked out power to its cooling systems, but they tried even more desperate measures on Units 3 and 4.
On Thursday, military helicopters dumped thousands of gallons of water from huge buckets onto Unit 3, and also used military firefighting trucks normally used to extinguish fires at plane crashes.
Officials announced Friday they would not continue with the helicopter drops _ televised footage appeared to show much of that water blowing away _ but would continue spraying from the trucks.
Police said more than 452,000 people made homeless by the quake and tsunami were staying in schools and other shelters, as supplies of fuel, medicine and other necessities ran short. Both victims and aid workers appealed for more help, as the chances of finding more survivors dwindled.
At the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, a core team of 180 emergency workers has been rotating out of the complex to minimize radiation exposure.
The storage pools need a constant source of cooling water. Even when removed from reactors, uranium rods are still extremely hot and must be cooled for months, possibly longer, to prevent them from heating up again and emitting radioactivity.
In Washington, the State Department warned U.S. citizens to consider leaving the country and offered voluntary evacuation to family members and dependents of U.S. personnel in the cities of Tokyo, Yokohama and Nagoya.
___
Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna, Elaine Kurtenbach, Shino Yuasa, Jeff Donn and Tim Sullivan in Tokyo contributed to this report. ||||| While the findings were reassuring in the short term, the United States declined to back away from its warning to Americans there to stay at least 50 miles from the plant, setting up a far larger perimeter than the Japanese government had established. American officials did not release specific radiation readings.
American officials said their biggest worry was that a frenetic series of efforts by the Japanese military to get water into four of the plant’s six reactors — including using water cannons and firefighting helicopters that dropped water but appeared to largely miss their targets — showed few signs of working.
“This is something that will likely take some time to work through, possibly weeks, as eventually you remove the majority of the heat from the reactors and then the spent fuel pool,” said Gregory Jaczko, the chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission , briefing reporters at the White House.
The effort by the Japanese to hook some electric power back up to the plant did not begin until Thursday and even if they succeed, it is unclear whether the cooling systems, in reactor buildings battered by a tsunami and then torn apart by hydrogen explosions, survived the crisis in good enough shape to be useful.
“What you are seeing are desperate efforts — just throwing everything at it in hopes something will work,” said one American official with long nuclear experience who would not speak for attribution. “Right now this is more prayer than plan.”
On Thursday, President Obama said that the crisis had convinced him to order the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to do a comprehensive review of the safety of nuclear plants in the United States.
After a day in which American and Japanese officials gave radically different assessments of the danger from the nuclear plant, the two governments tried on Thursday to join forces.
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Experts met in Tokyo to compare notes. The United States, with Japanese permission, began to put the intelligence-collection aircraft over the site, in hopes of gaining a view for Washington as well as its allies in Tokyo that did not rely on the announcements of officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operates Fukushima Daiichi.
American officials say they suspect that the company has consistently underestimated the risk and moved too slowly to contain the damage.
Aircraft normally used to monitor North Korea’s nuclear weapons activities — a Global Hawk drone and U-2 spy planes — were flying missions over the reactor, trying to help the Japanese government map out its response to last week’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake, the tsunami that followed and now the nuclear disaster.
President Obama made an unscheduled stop at the Japanese Embassy to sign a condolence book, writing, “My heart goes out to the people of Japan during this enormous tragedy.” He added, “Because of the strength and wisdom of its people, we know that Japan will recover, and indeed will emerge stronger than ever.”
Later, he appeared in the Rose Garden at the White House to offer continued American support for the earthquake and tsunami victims, and technical help at the nuclear site.
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But before the recovery can begin, the nuclear plant must be brought under control. On Friday, steam that was likely laced with radioactive particles was again rising over the plant, this time billowing from reactor No. 2, which suffered an explosion Tuesday. But Japanese authorities said they did not yet know the cause of the latest release.
American officials, meanwhile, remained fixated on the temperature readings inside that reactor and two others that had been operating until the earthquake shut them down, as well as at the plant’s spent fuel pools, looking for any signs that their high levels of heat were going down. If the fuel rods are uncovered and exposed to air, they heat up and can burst into flames, spewing radioactive elements.
So far the officials saw no signs of dropping temperatures. And the Web site of the International Atomic Energy Agency , the United Nations nuclear watchdog, made it clear that there were no readings at all from some critical areas. Part of the American effort, by satellites and aircraft, is to identify the hot spots, something the Japanese have not been able to do in some cases.
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Critical to that effort are the “pods” flown into Japan by the Air Force over the past day. Made for quick assessments of radiation emergencies, the Aerial Measuring System is an instrument system that fits on a helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft to sample air and survey the land below.
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Daniel B. Poneman, the deputy secretary of energy, said at a White House briefing on Thursday that preliminary results of the initial flights “are consistent with the recommendations that came down from the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” which led to the 50-mile evacuation guideline given to American expatriates. Although the worst contamination is closer to the plant, the recommendation takes into account the possibility of shifting winds or greater emissions.
The State Department has also said it would fly out of the country any dependents of American diplomats or military personnel within the region of the plant and as far south as Tokyo. Space will be made for other Americans who cannot get a flight, it said.
Getting the Japanese to accept the American detection equipment was a delicate diplomatic maneuver, which some Japanese officials originally resisted. But as it became clear that conditions at the plant were spinning out of control, and with Japanese officials admitting they had little hard evidence about whether there was water in the cooling pools or breaches in the reactor containment structures, they began to accept more help.
The sensors on the instrument pod are good at mapping radioactive isotopes, like cesium 137, which has been detected around the nuclear plant and has a half-life of 30 years. In high doses, it can cause acute radiation sickness . Lower doses can alter cellular function, leading to an increased risk of cancer .
Cesium 137 can enter the body through many foods, including milk.
On Wednesday, when the American Embassy in Tokyo, on advice from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told Americans to evacuate a radius of “approximately 50 miles” around the Fukushima plant, the recommendation was based on a specific calculation of risk of radioactive fallout in the affected area.
In a statement, the commission said the advice grew out of its assessment that projected radiation doses within the evacuation zone might exceed one rem to the body or five rems to the thyroid gland. That organ is extremely sensitive to iodine 131 — another of the deadly byproducts of nuclear fuel, this one causing thyroid cancer .
The commission says that the average American is exposed to about 0.62 rem of radiation each year from natural and manmade sources.
The American-provided instruments in Japan measure real levels of radiation on the ground. In contrast, scientists around the world have also begun to draw up forecasts of how the prevailing winds pick up the Japanese radioactive material and carry it over the Pacific in invisible plumes.
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Private analysts said the United States was also probably monitoring the reactor crisis with spy satellites that can spot the heat from fires — helping it independently assess the state of the reactor complex from a distance.
Jeffrey G. Lewis, an intelligence specialist at the Monterey Institute, a research center, noted that the Japanese assessment of Reactor No. 4 at the Daiichi complex seemed to depend in part on visual surveillance by helicopter pilots.
“I’ve got to think that, if we put our best assets into answering that question, we can do better,” he said in an interview.
One main concern at No. 4 has been a fire that was burning there earlier in the week; American officials are not convinced that the fire has gone out.
American officials have also worried that the spent-fuel pool at that reactor has run dry, exposing the rods. Japanese officials, however, have concentrated much of their recent efforts on Reactor No. 3, which has been intermittently releasing radiation from what the authorities believe may be a ruptured containment vessel around the reactor. Temperatures at that reactor’s spent fuel pool are also high.
Perhaps because of the difficulties experienced Thursday trying to accurately drop water from helicopters, the Japanese military announced Friday that it was halting those efforts for at least a day. | – Japan is considering burying its troubled nuclear plant in sand and concrete—the same move made in Chernobyl 25 years ago, Reuters reports. “It is not impossible to encase the reactors in concrete. But our priority right now is to try and cool them down first,” said an official, as authorities work to restore power. Smoke has been rising from the No. 2 reactor at the plant, and authorities aren’t sure of the cause—though it may be linked to the explosion there Tuesday, notes the AP. New damage has been discovered in the fuel pool at the plant’s No. 4 reactor, hampering cooling efforts to refill it with water (click for more on the alarming situation). US data-collecting flights suggest that radiation hasn’t expanded outside a 19-mile area—but Japan has raised its threat level from 4 to 5 out of 7, pointing to danger that extends beyond the local. The crisis could continue for weeks, said a US official. Meanwhile, the Huffington Post notes, authorities are using every cooling method available, from fire trucks to water cannons. |
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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. |
The idea of a "sober January" has been around for as long as man has cursed his in-laws at Christmas. And while a month off the booze sounds like a seductive way to make up for all that hard-drinking festive excess, it’s actually a terrible idea, rooted in guilt rather than science. And for some people who actually have a real problem with alcohol, successfully completing a "sober January" can give the dangerous illusion that they don’t have a problem.
I should know. I was one of them. I speak not only as a veteran of many a sober January, but also as someone who was finally forced to admit that yes, they were an alcoholic, and had to stop drinking entirely. I have not had a drink for several years now. I don’t say this to boast, merely to put in context what follows.
I remember one hungover December morning telling a colleague at the magazine where I was working at the time that I was planning to stay off the drink for a month in the new year.
“Why on earth would you do that?” he replied. “A few drinks are the only thing that get you through January, it’s so bloody miserable.”
He wasn’t an addict, so he didn’t understand the allure of a sober January to someone who was – that the idea of getting obliterated over Christmas and New Year and then "white-knuckling" it for a month before picking up where you left off is deeply appealing to the classic all-or-nothing, getting-away-with-it mentality of the addict.
I managed several sober Januarys and they became an important weapon in my armoury of denial. Me, an alcoholic? Hardly! How could I manage to stay off drink for a month if I was?
I find it particularly depressing that this year, the idea of a dry January is being promoted by the UK’s biggest alcohol charity, the always well-intentioned Alcohol Concern. Although the charity is careful to state in small print at the bottom of its webpage that the challenge should "not be attempted by people with an alcohol dependency problem" unfortunately those are exactly the kind of people a promotion like this will attract. Year after year, the only mates that I could persuade to do a sober January with me were the ones who were as bad as or worse than me. The normals, like my co-worker, were never interested. Why would they be?
If you are worried about the amount you have been drinking, the answer is not to swear off drink for a month. The answer is to try and establish whether you do really have a problem. And the best way to do that, ironically enough, is to do some drinking.
This was the course of action recommended by Bill Wilson, the co-founder of the self-help movement Alcoholics Anonymous. Wilson believed that alcoholics suffer a kind of allergic reaction to alcohol, and that once they start drinking they develop an overwhelming craving for more. This craving, he thought, is only made worse by subsequent attempts to satisfy it with more drink, like an itch that gets worse the more you scratch it.
Wilson’s alcoholism test is remarkably simple, and does not involve any boxes to tick or medical examinations or liver function tests; it just requires a modicum of honesty.
“We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself,” he wrote. “Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it.”
So - unless your sole aim is to save cash - don't challenge yourself to a sober January. Anyone can do that. Try having a pint every night – but just one – if you really want to prove you don’t have a problem.
As my friend said all those years ago, January sucks - just look at the weather outside - and you normals should have all the help you can to get through it. ||||| Create an account for free access to:
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By joining you're accepting our terms and conditions. Please read our privacy policy and cookie policy. Once you have joined, you can update your communications preferences at any time. | – Thinking of giving up booze for the month after a hedonistic holiday season? Well, you might be an alcoholic making a big mistake, writes Tom Sykes at the Telegraph. As a recovering alcoholic, Sykes should know. "I managed several sober Januaries, and they became an important weapon in my armory of denial," he writes. A real alcoholic, after all, couldn't make it, he reasoned. But the truth is the ritual appeals deeply "to the classic all-or-nothing, getting-away-with-it mentality of the addict," while "normals" have no use for it. He advises instead trying to have just one drink a night—if stopping after one is difficult, you'll know you have a problem. But if you actually are a "normal," it turns out there might be some merit in the month-long detox. The staff at the New Scientist ran a small-scale test on themselves, and got some pretty astonishing results. Ten staffers laid off booze for five weeks, and saw their liver fat, blood glucose, and blood cholesterol levels all fall significantly—reducing their risk for liver disease, diabetes, and heart disease—while four staffers who kept drinking saw no changes. But it was a fairly limited experiment, offering no clue how long those effects will last. Heather Timmons at Quartz argues that such "detoxes" are "useless" in the long-term, since the body regularly clears out toxins all on its own. So instead, she recommends taking two or three consecutive days off from drinking each week, since it takes the liver a full day to recover from heavy drinking—plus, over the course of a year, that ensures as many as 150 alcohol-free days. |
In collaboration with the University of Manitoba Libraries, the National Centre of Truth and Reconciliation, and the Library and Archives of Canada, the University of Winnipeg Library has curated and captured a selection of webpages, blogs, news coverage, and PDF files that pertain to Manitoba's ongoing involvement with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This growing collection covers a diverse range of topics, which include survivors’ stories, apologies, responses, cultural events, and more. This is an ongoing web-archiving project that will continue to grow as we witness new ways that reconciliation and healing take place in our province. We gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of Manitoba Tourism, Culture, Heritage, Sport and Consumer Protection, and the Government of Canada in the creation of this collection. ||||| (CNN) A rare Enigma machine used by Nazi Germany during World War II was sold at auction Tuesday for 45,000 euros ($51,500).
The collector who put the machine up for sale at the Artmark auction house in Bucharest, Romania, had spotted it at a flea market in the city and bought it for just 100 euros ($114).
Vitally important to Nazi war efforts, the Enigma machine was used by the German military to encrypt messages into a form they believed was unbreakable.
But the code was cracked by a team of cryptologists at Bletchley Park in southern England -- a breakthrough widely credited with having shortened the war by at least two years.
The instrument sold Tuesday -- to an unnamed online bidder -- was made in Germany in 1941 and is in almost perfect condition, Vlad Georgescu, relationship manager at Artmark, told CNN.
Enigma machines were used by the German military during World War II to encrypt messages. ||||| BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Someone in Romania thought he’d made a fair amount of money when he sold an old typewriter for 100 euros at a flea market. He was wrong.
The “typewriter” was, in fact, a German Wehrmacht Enigma I, a World War Two cipher machine, and the collector who bought it put it up for sale at the Bucharest auction house Artmark with a starting price of 9,000 euros ($10,300) (www.artmark.ro). On Tuesday, Artmark sold it to an online bidder for 45,000 euros.
“The collector bought it from a flea market. He’s a cryptography professor and ... he knew very well what he was buying,” Cristian Gavrila, the collectible consignment manager at Artmark, told Reuters.
Romania was an ally of Nazi Germany until 1944, when it switched sides to the allies. Historians say it may host many other cryptographic machines not yet discovered.
Last month, Christie's New York Books set a world auction record of $547,500 with its sale of a "four-rotor Enigma cipher machine, 1944," to an online bidder. (here
The Enigma was used to encode and decode messages sent by the various branches of the Nazi military, but the British mathematician Alan Turing and his team at Britain’s wartime codebreaking center, Bletchley Park, cracked the codes. By some estimates, their work shortened the war by two years. | – It was a world-class stroke of good luck. An antique "typewriter" snapped up by an eagle-eyed expert in Romania for about $114 at a flea market turned out to be a rare Nazi Enigma cipher machine, CNN reports. The German Wehrmacht Enigma I sold for $51,500 to an anonymous bidder at an auction in Bucharest on Tuesday. During World War II, the German military used the machine to encrypt and decrypt sensitive messages. Depicted in the 2014 movie Imitation Game, dogged English cryptologists at Bletchley Park cracked the code, which the Germans believed unbreakable. Their work was said to have shortened the war by two years. The collector who spotted the rare machine was a cryptography professor who "knew very well what he was buying," Cristian Gavrila of Artmark auction house tells Reuters. Alas, the flea market seller, who thought it an ordinary old typewriter, did not. Romania was an ally of the Nazis until 1944, and historians believe there may be more Enigmas lying undiscovered in attics there. Thousands of machines were produced but very few have come up for sale, per CNN. But the latest sale isn't the biggest by far: A 1944 Enigma machine sold at Christie's New York last month for a record $547,500. Before that, an Enigma machine featured in the 2001 Kate Winslet film Enigma sold in London for $208,137. (Adolf Hitler's purported red phone sold for $243,000.) |
This undated image made available by the Oregon Health & Science University in May 2013 shows a stem cell colony developed from cloned human embryos. Scientists have finally recovered stem cells from... (Associated Press)
Scientists have finally recovered stem cells from cloned human embryos, a longstanding goal that could lead to new treatments for such illnesses as Parkinson's disease and diabetes.
A prominent expert called the work a landmark, but noted that a different, simpler technique now under development may prove more useful.
Stem cells can turn into any cell of the body, so scientists are interested in using them to create tissue for treating disease. Transplanting brain tissue might treat Parkinson's disorder, for example, and pancreatic tissue might be used for diabetes.
But transplants run the risk of rejection, so more than a decade ago, researchers proposed a way around that: Create tissue from stem cells that bear the patient's own DNA, obtained with a process called therapeutic cloning.
If DNA from a patient is put into a human egg, which is then grown into an early embryo, the stem cells from that embryo would provide a virtual genetic match. So in theory, tissues created from them would not be rejected by the patient.
That idea was met with some ethical objections because harvesting the stem cells involved destroying human embryos.
Scientists have tried to get stem cells from cloned human embryos for about a decade, but they've failed. Generally, that's because the embryos stopped developing before producing the cells. In 2004, a South Korean scientist claimed to have gotten stem cells from cloned human embryos, but that turned out to be a fraud.
In Wednesday's edition of the journal Cell, however, scientists in Oregon report harvesting stem cells from six embryos created from donated eggs. Two embryos had been given DNA from skin cells of a child with a genetic disorder, and the others had DNA from fetal skin cells.
Shoukhrat Mitalipov of the Oregon Health & Science University, who led the research, said the success came not from a single technical innovation, but from revising a series of steps in the process. He noted it had taken six years to reach the goal after doing it with monkey embryos.
Mitalipov also said that based on monkey work, he believes human embryos made with the technique could not develop into cloned babies, and he has no interest in trying to do that. Scientists have cloned more than a dozen kinds of mammals, starting with Dolly the sheep.
The new work was financed by the university and the Leducq Foundation in Paris.
Dr. George Daley, a stem cell expert at Children's Hospital Boston who didn't participate in the work, called the new results "one landmark step in a very long journey" toward creating DNA-matched transplant tissue.
Now, Daley said, scientists must compare the embryo-cloning approach with another technology that reprograms blood or skin cells directly into substitutes for embryonic stem cells. This reprogramming approach is technically simpler and doesn't involve embryos or require the donation of human eggs, and it was widely acclaimed when it was reported in 2007. Its Japanese developer shared a Nobel Prize last year.
But these substitute cells show some molecular differences compared to embryonic ones, which has led to questions about whether they can safely be used for treating patients. So it's essential to compare the cells from the two methods, Daley said.
The new results mean "we have another tool," he said. "We have to learn more about this tool."
Daley said he believed scientists will prefer using the reprogramming approach unless it can be proven "beyond a shadow of a doubt" that embryo cloning produces better cells for treating patients.
Mitalipov said he believed his technique would present a particular advantage for treating patients with a certain type of rare diseases. These are caused by mutations in genes of the mitochondria, the power plants of cells. He noted his technique, unlike the cell-reprogramming approach, would supply tissue with new mitochondrial genes that could replace defective ones. Those new genes would come from the egg.
The Rev. Tad Pacholczyk, director of education for National Catholic Bioethics Center, an independent think tank in Philadelphia, reiterated his opposition to embryo cloning, calling the approach unethical.
"It involves the decision to utilize early human beings as repositories for obtaining desired cells," he said. "You're creating them only to destroy them."
Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley, California, said she was glad that Mitalipov doubted the embryos could be used to clone babies. She said the report still provides a good opportunity for the federal government to ban the use of cloning for reproduction. ||||| OHSU Photos
It was hailed some 15 years ago as the great hope for a biomedical revolution: the use of cloning techniques to create perfectly matched tissues that would someday cure ailments ranging from diabetes to Parkinson’s disease. Since then, the approach has been enveloped in ethical debate, tainted by fraud and, in recent years, overshadowed by a competing technology. Most groups gave up long ago on the finicky core method — production of patient-specific embryonic stem cells (ESCs) from cloning. A quieter debate followed: do we still need ‘therapeutic’ cloning?
A paper published this week1 by Shoukhrat Mitalipov, a reproductive biology specialist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Beaverton, and his colleagues is sure to rekindle that debate. Mitalipov and his team have finally created patient-specific ESCs through cloning, and they are keen to prove that the technology is worth pursuing.
Therapeutic cloning, or somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), begins with the same process used to create Dolly, the famous cloned sheep, in 1996. A donor cell from a body tissue such as skin is fused with an unfertilized egg from which the nucleus has been removed. The egg ‘reprograms’ the DNA in the donor cell to an embryonic state and divides until it has reached the early, blastocyst stage. The cells are then harvested and cultured to create a stable cell line that is genetically matched to the donor and that can become almost any cell type in the human body.
Many scientists have tried to create human SCNT cell lines; none had succeeded until now. Most infamously, Woo Suk Hwang of Seoul National University in South Korea used hundreds of human eggs to report two successes, in 2004 and 2005. Both turned out to be fabricated. Other researchers made some headway. Mitalipov created SCNT lines in monkeys2 in 2007. And Dieter Egli, a regenerative medicine specialist at the New York Stem Cell Foundation, successfully produced human SCNT lines3, but only when the egg’s nucleus was left in the cell. As a result, the cells had abnormal numbers of chromosomes, limiting their use.
Monkeying around
Mitalipov and his group began work on their new study last September, using eggs from young donors recruited through a university advertising campaign. In December, after some false starts, cells from four cloned embryos that Mitalipov had engineered began to grow. “It looks like colonies, it looks like colonies,” he kept thinking. Masahito Tachibana, a fertility specialist from Sendai, Japan, who is finishing a 5-year stint in Mitalipov’s laboratory, nervously sectioned the 1-millimetre-wide clumps of cells and transferred them to new culture plates, where they continued to grow — evidence of success. Mitalipov cancelled his holiday plans. “I was happy to spend Christmas culturing cells,” he says. “My family understood.”
The success came through minor technical tweaks. The researchers used inactivated Sendai virus (known to induce fusion of cells) to unite the egg and body cells, and an electric jolt to activate embryo development. When their first attempts produced six blastocysts but no stable cell lines, they added caffeine, which protects the egg from premature activation.
None of these techniques is new, but the researchers tested them in various combinations in more than 1,000 monkey eggs before moving on to human cells. “They made the right improvements to the protocol,” says Egli. “It’s big news. It’s convincing. I believe it.”
The experiments took only a few months, Mitalipov says. “People say, you did it in monkeys in 2007. Why did it take six years in humans?” Most of the time, he says, was spent navigating US regulations on embryo research.
The researchers carried out a battery of tests to prove that their SCNT cells could form various cell types, including heart cells that are able to contract spontaneously.
Their first cell lines were created using fetal skin cells; others were derived using donor cells from an 8-month-old patient with a rare metabolic disorder called Leigh syndrome, to prove that ESCs could be made from more mature donor cells. The technique does not require prohibitive numbers of eggs: it took 15 from one donor to produce one cell line and 5 from a different donor to make another. “The efficiency was the most impressive thing,” says George Daley, a stem-cell expert at Children’s Hospital Boston in Massachusetts.
Such improvements might be necessary to convince people that SCNT research is still worthwhile. Egg donors for the experiment received US$3,000–7,000 in compensation. This is expensive and, according to some bioethicists, risks creating an organ trade that preys on the poor. Because the technique requires the destruction of embryos, funds from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) cannot be used to make or study SCNT-derived cell lines, hampering further clinical research. (Mitalipov maintains a separate laboratory for NIH-funded research.)
Public fears that the technology might be used to create human clones are another sticking point. The research might spark “cloning hysteria” that opponents of stem-cell research could capitalize on, says Bernard Siegel, executive director of the Genetics Policy Institute in Palm Beach, Florida. But Mitalipov has tried without success for more than a decade to produce a monkey by cloning. Tachibana says that an upcoming publication will explain why reproductive cloning of humans is not possible using their SCNT technique.
Still, Daley and most other stem-cell researchers have shifted to another method for creating genetically matched, patient-specific cell lines: reprogramming adult cells to an embryonic state to produce induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. First reported in 2006, the technique does not involve eggs, cloning or destruction of embryos4. “Honestly, the most surprising thing [about this paper] is that somebody is still doing human [SCNT] in the era of iPS cells,” says Miodrag Stojkovic, who studies iPS cells for regenerative medicine and runs a fertility clinic in Leskovac, Serbia.
But Stojkovic, like others, awaits the results of head-to-head comparisons between iPS and SCNT cells. Some research has shown that iPS cells are not completely reprogrammed and that stem cells derived from SCNT are more like embryonic stem cells derived from in vitro fertilization. Mitalipov and Tachibana are now conducting a study to compare iPS cells and SCNT cells derived from the same donor cell. “These results,” says Daley, “will be fascinating.” | – Scientists have made a long-sought—and controversial—breakthrough: They created stem cells from cloned human embryos for the first time, reports AP. In theory, the development by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University means that doctors might someday be able to grow tissue from an ailing patient's own DNA, thus reducing the chance of rejection in a transplant. Commonly cited examples are growing brain tissue to help a patient with Parkinson's disease, or pancreatic tissue to help diabetics. It's "one landmark step in a very long journey," says an expert at Children's Hospital Boston who wasn't involved with the work. The Oregon scientists say they don't think the embryos used in their process could develop into babies, reports NBC News, but the procedure is nonetheless controversial because it requires that the embryos be destroyed. Nature notes that competing technology in the last decade has made the push toward embryonic stem cells less intensive, but adds that the new paper in Cell is sure to reignite the debate. The scientists used eggs from donors, and it took six years to replicate the success they had with monkey embryos. They chalked it up to a series of small revisions over the years instead of a single aha! moment. |
One book dealer thought to have lost £1 million in antique works in he heist said he has been left devastated by the raid.
Alessandro Meda Riquier said 51 books, including by Galileo and rare editions of Dante's Divine Comedy, had been taken.
He told Sky News: "I'm very upset because this is not something you can buy everywhere.
"Behind these books there is a lot of work because we have to search to try to find out where the books are - auction houses, collectors, colleagues - and there's big research behind these books."
He added: "They are not only taking money away from me but also a big part of my job."
The books were being stored at the warehouse as they were due to be flown to the United States, reportedly for this weekend’s 50th California International Antiquarian Book Fair.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that a “number of valuable books” had been taken in the theft and appealed for information.
A spokesman said: "Detectives are investigating a commercial burglary which occurred between January 29 to 30, 2017. A warehouse in Feltham was broken into and a number of valuable books were stolen."
Anyone with information should contact police via 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously. ||||| Books of significant value were stolen from a West London warehouse on the night of 29th January while in transit for the California Book Fair. A full police investigation is underway!
For a complete list of all stolen books, please view the PDF below!
For more details of individual copies, please contact the dealers directly, contact details to be found in the list of stolen books.
If anyone offers you any of these titles, please contact the Police SCD6-ArtandAntiquesUnit@met.police.uk and quote crime reference number 0502127/17
ABA Secretary Camilla Szymanowska on +44 (0) 20 7421 4681 secretary@aba.org.uk
or ABA Security Chair Brian Lake on +44 (0) 20 7631 4220 brian@jarndyce.co.uk immediately! ||||| A gang of thieves has reportedly stolen over £2 million worth of rare books from a warehouse near Heathrow airport in a "Mission Impossible"-style heist, The Mail on Sunday reports.
The newspaper reports that over 160 rare books were stolen, including works by Galileo, Isaac Newton, and Leonardo da Vinci.
Thieves reportedly gained access to the warehouse in Feltham, Middlesex by climbing onto the roof, cutting holes through the reinforced skylights, and then abseiling down into the building.
The heist, which took place on the evening of January 29, was captured on the warehouse's CCTV cameras, The Mail on Sunday reports.
Thieves were observed ignoring all other items stored in the warehouse, instead targeting four containers that stored rare books. A source told The Mail on Sunday that the gang of criminals checked the contents of the containers against a list, "throwing the ones they didn't want away." The books were being stored in the warehouse temporarily as they made their way to the California Book Fair.
The gang then placed the rare books into holdalls and pulled them onto the roof of the building using ropes. The bags were then placed into a van and driven away.
The Mail on Sunday reports that the thieves likely stole the books to order, as it would be difficult to resell the titles. The newspaper says that scientific works, of the type stolen in the raid, "are particularly in demand." It speculates that a wealthy collector known as "the Astronomer" may have ordered gangs to steal books for him.
The most valuable book stolen in the raid is a 1566 edition of "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" by Copernicus. The book, which can be translated as "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres," set out Copernicus' theory that the Sun is at the centre of the universe, not the Earth.
The owner of the rare Copernicus book stolen in the raid, identified only as a dealer from Padua in Italy, told The Mail on Sunday that "It was clearly a robbery done to order. It was a specialised gang. They took only books, nothing else."
The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers has published two separate lists detailing every book believed to have been stolen in the heist. It lists two dealers who have had stock stolen from them: Librario Bado e Mart s.a.s. di Bado R. e C. from Padua, Italy, and Michael Kühn from Berlin, Germany.
Another book that is believed to have been stolen is a 1656 Galileo book titled "Opere di Galileo Galilei," another early scientific work about the universe.
A copy of "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" by Isaac Newton was also stolen in the raid. The book was a landmark work covering physics and mathematics.
A 1506 edition of Dante's "Divine Comedy" was also stolen in the raid. ||||| Books Shortcuts Mission impossible: trying to flog a stolen 500-year-old Dante manuscript Tome raiders have stolen more than 160 rare books by abseiling into a warehouse, but they may struggle to cash in on their £2m crime The theft of rare books, manuscripts and maps is thought to be on the rise. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
In a rare book heist described as “extraordinary” for its Mission: Impossible-style stealth, a gang of thieves has stolen more than £2m worth of antiquarian books from a London warehouse. The three tome-raiders evaded the security system by boring holes through reinforced glass skylights and abseiling 40ft on ropes into the repository. The haul of more than 160 books included a 1566 copy of De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium by Copernicus, worth an estimated £215,000, as well as works by Galileo, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci and a 1569 edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy.
The question is, what happens to the books now? How might they be sold? And who would buy them? “Criminals first try to cash out on these crimes,” leading art lawyer Chris Marinello, CEO of London based Art Recovery International, tells me. “They are looking for buyers and the more publicity the crime gets, they more difficult it becomes to sell these items. Placing them on international databases, such as ARTIVE.org, which records stolen objects so they can not be sold knowingly in the marketplace, means reputable dealers and collectors will not touch them.”
Marinello, who has been working to reduce the trade in illicit cultural heritage for three decades, explains that this, unfortunately, is when the “second crime” often takes places. “The books might then be broken up,” he says. “Some of the illuminated manuscripts and engravings contained therein might be traded in the art market, where many buyers don’t know they were cut out of rare books. It becomes a lot more difficult to trace.”
The theft of rare books, manuscripts and maps from libraries and other repositories is thought to be on the rise. An alarmingly titled conference at the British Library in 2015, The Written Heritage of Mankind in Peril, was prompted by two major heists at European libraries, both of which turned out to be inside jobs. What continues to confound the international rare book market – estimated to be worth $500m (£380m) a year – is how easily stolen books are fenced and resold.
So what’s the solution? “It’s urgent at this point that the victims come forward and record these losses,” Marinello says. “It’s really important to make these books unsellable by disseminating that information. That’s the key. In my experience the books will either turn up very shortly or when the criminals know they can’t sell them they’ll go underground and be traded or sold at 5%-10% of their true value. We might expect a ransom demand as well from someone looking to shake down an insurance company. The next few days and weeks are very important from an investigative point of view.”
Does he believe, as some are saying, that the books might have been stolen to order by a specialist collector? “I would strongly refute that,” he replies. “I think this was more likely similar to the Lufthansa heist in Goodfellas, where somebody had inside information that they were being kept in a warehouse and were particularly valuable. Then someone allowed that information to leak out, and criminals took advantage.” | – It was a heist worthy of Hollywood: Thieves targeted a London warehouse temporarily holding some of the world's rarest books, cut through its skylights, rappelled down, and made off with more than $3 million in bounty, reports the Telegraph. In total, the trio nabbed more than 160 books, and Business Insider notes that CCTV cameras show the thieves ignoring everything in the warehouse but four containers, the contents of which they checked against a list. "This was a big job," Alessandro Meda Riquier, a dealer who lost about $1.6 million worth of books in the heist, tells the CBC. "Police said that it took more than three hours to complete." The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers has published the complete list of stolen publications, but the "jewel" is a 1566 edition of De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium by Copernicus, the book in which he theorized that the sun, not the Earth, is at the center of our solar system. Other notables include a 1506 edition of Dante's Divine Comedy, and a copy of Isaac Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. It smacks of an inside job, an art attorney tells the Guardian, likening it to the Lufthansa heist in the movie Goodfellas. "Somebody had inside information that they were being kept in a warehouse and were particularly valuable," he says. "Then someone allowed that information to leak out, and criminals took advantage.” (One book dealer was murdered for his copy of a children's classic.) |
Trump: Bezos using 'Washington Post' to protect Amazon monopoly
CLOSE Two of our political reporters sit down for an honest conversation about Donald Trump and all the media coverage he's received.Video provided by Newsy Newslook
Once again Donald Trump has kindled the fires of conspiracy.
The soon-to-be Republican nominee for president says Jeff Bezos, the Amazon CEO who owns The Washington Post, is using the paper to attack him and the other political enemies who would force the massive online retailer to pay more in taxes.
Trump told Sean Hannity in an interview Thursday that Bezos is using the Post "like a toy" and "for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed."
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Lynden, Wash. (Photo: Elaine Thompson, AP)
Bezos believes "I would go after him for anti-trust because he has a huge anti-trust problem," Trump said. In his effort tp keep Trump out of the White House and protect his monopoly, the Amazon founder has assigned more than 20 Washington Post reporters to look at every aspect of his life, Trump said.
"We can't let him get away with it," Trump told Hannity.
"Every hour we're getting calls from reporters from the Washington Post asking ridiculous questions," Trump said. The stories are "bad" and "wrong" and "in many cases they have no proper information," he added.
"They're slopping them together and they're going to do a book," he predicted. "And the book is going to be all false stuff because the stories are so wrong."
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/27iCZej ||||| Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump lashed out at Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos Thursday, claiming that the founder of Amazon.com was using the newspaper as a tool to influence corporate tax policy.
"Every hour we're getting calls from reporters from The Washington Post asking ridiculous questions," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "And I will tell you, this is owned as a toy by Jeff Bezos ... Amazon is getting away with murder, tax-wise. He's using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed."
Trump was responding to Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward's disclosure that the newspaper has assigned 20 reporters to investigate the real estate mogul's life.
"We're going to do a book, we're doing articles about every phase of his life," Woodward told the National Association of Realtors convention Wednesday. The veteran reporter, best known for investigating the Watergate break-in that led to Richard Nixon's resignation, said he had begun investigating Trump's real estate deals in New York, which he called "more complex than the CIA."
Bezos, who bought the Post in 2013 from longtime owners the Graham family, has donated to both Democratic and Republican elected officials. According to the website OpenSecrets, Bezos and his wife gave $4,800 each to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., in 2009. The couple also gave $2.5 million to support a 2012 referendum legalizing gay marraige in Washington state.
More recently, however, Bezos donated $2,700 this past September to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
"He thinks I'll go after him for antitrust," Trump said Thursday. "Because he's got a huge antitrust problem because he's controlling so much, Amazon is controlling so much of what they are doing.
"He's using The Washington Post, which is peanuts, he's using that for political purposes to save Amazon in terms of taxes and in terms of antitrust."
Neither Bezos nor Amazon had any immediate comment in response to Trump's claims.
Woodward said Wendesday that Bezos had urged the Post to run as many stories as possible about all the presidential candidates so that voters can't say they were uninformed when they select the next president.
"He said, 'Look, the job at the Washington Post has to be tell us everything about who the eventual nominee will be in both parties,'" Woodward said. "'15-part, 16-part series, 20-part series, we want to look at every part of their lives. And we're never going to get the whole story, of course, but we can get the best attainable." | – Donald Trump seems to have a big new target in his sights: Amazon.com and its founder, Jeff Bezos. In a Thursday interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump accused Bezos of using his Washington Post to try to keep Trump out of the White House. Why? He said Amazon has a "huge antitrust problem" and Bezos is afraid that Trump will go after the company as president. He also said the site is "getting away with murder tax-wise" and that Bezos is using the Post "for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed," reports Reuters. As Fox News points out, the allegations stem from what sounds like a major investigation the Post is conducting into Trump. On Wednesday, the newspaper's Bob Woodward told the National Association of Realtors that "we're going to do a book, we're doing articles about every phase of his life," and that 20 reporters have been put on the story. Trump is preemptively attacking the effort, telling Hannity the book would be filled with "false stuff," per USA Today. "Every hour we're getting calls from reporters from the Washington Post asking ridiculous questions," he said. |
The saga of the illegally obtained nude photos of dozens of celebrities has taken a darker turn. According to Reddit administrators, photos of gymnast McKayla Maroney and MTV actress Liz Lee, shared to 130,000 people on popular forum r/TheFappening, constitute child pornography.
Maroney’s lawyers have confirmed that the illegally obtained photos were taken while the gymnast was underage. The attorneys’ letter, sent to Porn.com and other websites, demands that the images be removed.
Additionally, Reddit users have been sharing revenge-porn photos of the actress Liz Lee, whose photos were not part of the initial leaks, but were taken and leaked by her boyfriend when Lee was 16.
The ongoing leak—dubbed #CelebGate, or more distastefully, “the Fappening”—includes naked photos of A-listers including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton. It’s prompted outrage, and threats of legal actions from the women targeted. It has since emerged that the photos of at least one of the celebrities were taken when they were under 18.
The Reddit community r/TheFappening has become the main hub for the leaked photos, due to the fact that Reddit is one of the few mainstream websites that isn’t proactively deleting all links to them. In an urgent post, the subreddit’s moderators warn the community that the site’s admins have informed them that Maroney was underage in the photos “and that we quickly need to remove them.
“If we don’t remove them,” moderator SickOrSane continues, “this subreddit will most likely be banned, very quickly.”
The moderator also warns against sharing Lee’s photos, which are apparently also being posted on the subreddit.
Redditors have immediately begun to panic, discussing the potential implications of their downloading and sharing child pornography.
Despite the proliferation of child pornography across r/TheFappening—in addition to the stolen intimate photos of adult celebrities—the Reddit admins have chosen not to remove the community, apparently content to let the moderators sort it out instead. They have, however, hidden the forum from r/all, a list of all content on Reddit.
The focus, throughout the subreddit, is the potential ramifications community members may face for possessing child porn.
Here, redditors respond to Classiest_Erection with step-by-step instructions for how to use software to wipe his hard drive, which ostensibly contains illegally obtained underage nudes. We’re watching a crime being aided and abetted in real time.
In another instance, notwhoyouthinimnot goes out of his way to proactively encourage redditors to remove all record of their criminal activity.
Other community members are only too eager to help.
Some are more concerned with the fact that their community may be banned than the fact it’s being used to share flagrantly illegal material.
The moderators, meanwhile, are joking about the fact that child porn has been found on their community. (The linked photo in the screenshot below is not pornographic.)
Reddit admins may yet change course and decide to ban r/TheFappening. Even though redditors are using the site to instruct one another how to hide evidence of the child porn they downloaded via Reddit, administrators seem happy to allow the community to exist.
It still remains unclear how the photos were leaked, though Apple has strongly denied early reports that hackers gained access to them through a vulnerability in iCloud.
Photo via teuobk/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Fernando Alfonso III ||||| The bizarre silver lining to this whole leaked celebrity nudes thing: a group of Redditors is so enamored with Jennifer Lawrence's naked body that they've donated thousands of dollars to the Prostate Cancer Foundation in her honor.
Yesterday, a post on r/TheFappening, a Reddit thread dedicated to, erm, discussing and cataloging the dozens of naked celebrity pictures that hit the internet over the weekend, urged readers to "Be the hero TheFappening deserves" by donating money to prostate cancer research, which, the joke goes, Lawrence has supported in the past. (Get it? Masturbation may reduce risk of prostate cancer in men, and many of these men, upon viewing the photos—you're smart, you get it.)
Horndog J-Law fans came out in droves, and TheFappening is currently the top fundraiser for PCF's Safeway Foundation $1 Million Matching Grant Challenge. According to TheFappening's donation page, they've given $5,273 to the cause so far, and the homepage for the fundraiser lists "Reddit The Fappening" as its most successful donor.
Well, congratulations to you, you proud masturbators of Reddit: TheFappening somehow feels even more skeevy for your noble actions. If the rumors are true, and the weekend's leaks were just the tip of the iceberg, they may find a cure just yet.
[Image via AP] ||||| McKayla Maroney I Was Underage in Hacked Nude Pics
McKayla Maroney -- I Was Underage in Hacked Nude Photos
EXCLUSIVE
Olympic gymnastsays she was under 18 when the hacked nude photos of her were taken ... and now she's taking legal action against several porn sites that reposted the images.TMZ has learned one of Maroney's attorneys fired off a letter to Porn.com ... informing the site that McKayla was underage in several of the photos. The letter demands the images of McKayla -- who turned 18 last December -- be taken down immediately.Another attorney for the gymnast sent a different letter to multiple websites stating Maroney owns the copyright on the hacked photos.The legal claims by her attorneys are a strong indication the photos really do show McKayla -- even though she said on Twitter they were "fake photos." It's also possible only portions of the images are really McKayla. The letter is not specific.A rep for Porn.com tells us they immediately removed the pics once they got the letter from Maroney's attorney. | – Some Internet users who started out gleeful about the leak of celebrities' nude photos are now busy trying to scrub their hard drives of child porn. Lawyers for McKayla Maroney, who turned 18 in December, say the Olympic gymnast was under 18 when the photos of her were taken and demanded that porn websites remove the images, reports TMZ. Maroney had initially tweeted that the photos were fakes. At Reddit, users of a forum that has been used to share leaked pics have been warned that some pictures of Maroney and MTV star Liz Lee were taken when they were underage and if they're not deleted, "this subreddit will most likely be banned, very quickly." The warning was followed by panicked discussion of how to erase the images, reports the Daily Dot, which describes efforts to advise users how to "remove all record of their criminal activity" as the "aiding and abetting" of a crime. The Prostate Cancer Foundation, meanwhile, has decided to return thousands of dollars donated by users of the same subreddit as "guilt money" for viewing the celeb photos, rather crudely " in honor of Jennifer Lawrence " (Gawker has the explanation here). "Guys, we're literally worse than cancer," one user wrote after the donations were returned, as per the Washington Post. (Apple says the leak wasn't a result of "any breach in ... iCloud or Find My iPhone.") |
“Avengers: Infinity War” has maintained its staying power at the domestic box office.
In its third frame, the Disney and Marvel blockbuster earned a huge $61.8 million. Combined with a near-record $200 million launch in China, “Infinity War” earned $343.1 million worldwide this weekend, for a global cume of $1.6 billion. On Saturday, it became the second-fastest film to cross the $500 million mark at the domestic box office.
The superhero adventure has passed “The Avengers” ($1.519 billion), “Furious 7” ($1.516 billion), “Avengers: Age of Ultron” ($1.405 billion), “Black Panther” ($1.229 billion), and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” ($1.332 billion) to become the fifth-highest grossing film of all time globally.
Two mom-led releases got a Mother’s Day boost. Melissa McCarthy’s comedy “Life of the Party” debuted in second with $18.5 million from 3,656 locations. The Warner Bros. and New Line film, directed by her husband, Ben Falcone, is currently averaging a 41% on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a B CinemaScore. It marked one of the lowest openings for a McCarthy-starrer. In comparison, “The Heat” opened in 2013 with $39 million, “Spy” with $29 million in 2015, and “Tammy” with $21.4 million in 2014.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle Union’s “Breaking In” launched in third with $16.5 million in 2,537 locations. The thriller from Universal has a 27% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The low-budget film produced by Will Packer cost approximately $6 million.
“It’s great to see a female-led, action-packed thriller doing so well at the domestic box office this Mother’s Day weekend,” said Jim Orr, president of domestic distribution at Universal Pictures. “We have an amazing partner in Will Packer. He constantly delivers quality titles that audiences cannot get enough of.”
The second weekend of Lionsgate and Pantelion’s comedy “Overboard” landed in fourth with $10 million, while the sixth weekend of Paramount’s “A Quiet Place” secured No. 5 with $6.3 million. “Overboard,” starring Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris, remained steady in its sophomore outing, dropping just 31%. Its domestic tally currently sits at $29.6 million. John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” had one of the best holdovers of the weekend, declining just 18%. To date, the horror film has made $169 million at the domestic box office.
The year-to-date box office is up 4.9% from 2017, according to comScore. The box office is likely to see a boost in coming weeks as “Deadpool 2” opens May 18 and “Solo: A Star Wars Story” bows on May 25.
RELATED VIDEO: ||||| This image released by Marvel Studios shows, front row from left, Danai Gurira, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Evans, Scarlet Johansson and Sebastian Stan in a scene from "Avengers: Infinity War." (Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel... (Associated Press)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Avengers: Infinity War" is still ruling the box office in its third weekend in theaters.
The Walt Disney Studios on Sunday estimates it has added $61.8 million from North American theaters, bringing its total domestic earnings to $547.8 million. Globally the film has now grossed over $1.6 billion, making it the fifth biggest of all time.
The superhero blockbuster easily overpowered newcomers like the Melissa McCarthy comedy "Life of the Party" and the Gabrielle Union thriller "Breaking In."
In a distant second, "Life of the Party" earned an estimated $18.5 million, while the modestly budgeted "Breaking In" took third place with $16.5 million.
The mom-themed films were strategically timed to launch over Mother's Day weekend. Both drew mostly female audiences. | – Melissa McCarthy jumped into the box-office fray with a new movie this weekend, but Avengers: Infinity War still rules, the AP reports. The Walt Disney Studios on Sunday estimates it has added $61.8 million from North American theaters, bringing its total domestic earnings to $547.8 million in its third weekend. Globally the film has now grossed over $1.6 billion, making it the fifth biggest of all time. The superhero blockbuster easily overpowered newcomers like the McCarthy comedy Life of the Party and the Gabrielle Union thriller Breaking In. In a distant second, Life of the Party earned an estimated $18.5 million, while the modestly budgeted Breaking In took third place with $16.5 million. The mom-themed films were strategically timed to launch over Mother's Day weekend. Both drew mostly female audiences. The comedy Overboard came in fourth with $10 million and A Quiet Place held fifth spot with $6.3 million, Variety reports. |
Although infanticide occurs everywhere and at all levels of society, France seems to have been especially afflicted in the past three decades.
The most notorious case in recent years is that of V�ronique Courjault, now 41, jailed in Tours last year after admitting murdering three babies and keeping their bodies in the family freezer.
In November 1984, Jean-Pierre Leymarie and his wife Rolande were jailed for killing seven newborns in Corrèze. Four years later, Rosita Garnier, 38, was jailed by a court in Blois for murdering three newborns.
Sylvie Coulon, 27, from Limoges, was jailed in 1990 for killing four infants and putting their bodies out with the rubbish. And C�line Lesage, 34, admitted the murder of seven babies found in a cellar in Normandy in 2007.
"It's easy to come up with a narrative to explain why it happens in contemporary India or 17th-century Europe, for example, but why is it happening in 21st-century France?" asks Michelle Oberman, author of When Mothers Kill.
The recent French cases also deviate sharply from the pattern in the US, she said, where the mother is usually very young, not in a relationship and who conceals the pregnancy from her parents, and then kills the child as soon as it is born.
One of the conditions often offered up to explain infanticide is "pregnancy denial", a psychiatric condition where a woman either doesn't realise or cannot accept she's having a baby, not even enough to consider an abortion.
"Women can carry on menstruating, they don't put on weight and their breasts don't get bigger because the denial is so strong it overcomes the physical manifestations of pregnancy," explained Anne Carpenter, a consultant forensic clinical psychologist in Glasgow. When the baby arrives, she is forced to confront that reality, and sometimes with catastrophic results.
"With no sense of the child as an individual being, it is viewed more as an inconvenience, and something to be got rid of in the same way as you get rid of the trash," she added.
But denial is not the only explanation. Pierre Lamothe, a French psychiatrist, said in many cases he had studied, the women wanted to be pregnant because it made them feel fully feminine, but they did not want children. "When the child appears, it has no real existence," he said. "Mentally, the woman does not accept that it is a living person." ||||| Pascal Rossignol / Reuters Candles are displayed in front of the house where the bodies of newborn babies were found in Villers-au-Tertre, France, on July 29, 2010
The question is as horrifying as it is important to ask: Why are a rising number of French women killing their newborn babies? Finding the answer has become a matter of urgency following the discovery on Wednesday of eight infants allegedly smothered to death and buried by their mother in northern France. And with that case marking at least the fifth instance of multiple infanticide reported in France since 2003, it has become vital for the nation to confront the phenomenon that appears to be behind it all: a mental condition known as pregnancy denial.
This latest case of newborn murder in France was uncovered in the northern town of Villiers-au-Tertre, after eight tiny bodies were found buried in the gardens of two separate homes. Six of the cadavers were unearthed on July 29 by police at the house of Dominique Cottrez, 45, and her husband Pierre-Marie, 47. Investigators searched their home after the resident of a house previously owned by Dominique's parents turned up two tiny bodies on July 24 while digging a pool in the backyard. According to the French prosecutor leading the inquiry in the town, a short distance south of Lille, Dominique has admitted to hiding her pregnancies and the killings of her babies from her husband, whom police describe as being "dumbstruck" by the revelations. Dominique was charged for the murders; Pierre-Marie has been cleared of wrongdoing and released but could yet become a subject of investigation. (See the top 10 crime stories of 2009.)
The case in Villiers-au-Tertre is only the most recent example of a father of slain babies being apparently unaware of his wife's pregnancies. Four other such cases since 2003 include that of Véronique Courjault, 42, who was convicted in June 2009 of killing three of her newborns two of whom she hid in a freezer and were later discovered by her husband. And this past March, Céline Lesage, 38, was found guilty of murdering six of her babies after she hid her pregnancies from the men who had fathered them. Both women were sentenced to prison Courjault for eight years and Lesage for 15.
Experts explained those cases as resulting from pregnancy denial, an often misunderstood and minimized condition. According to Michel Delcroix, a former gynecologist who served as a court expert in the Courjault trial and others involving pregnancy issues, pregnancy denial is a quasi-schizophrenic condition in which women either don't realize or cannot accept that they are with child not even enough to have an abortion. Whether these women are afflicted with the condition before they deliver or as they're suddenly giving birth, Delcroix explains, the psychological denial is so strong that they refuse to believe they're pregnant even when the reality confronts them. (See more on pregnancy.)
"These women are so convinced pregnancy is impossible that once the child they never wanted arrives, they don't accept it as real and get rid of it to restore order to what they believe is nonpregnant reality," Delcroix says. "However terrible its consequences, pregnancy denial acts in infanticide cases much as a psychotic state that drives someone to kill another person does. Yet we still try women for what they do during pregnancy denial when we don't try psychotic killers deemed not responsible for their actions." Delcroix and others who are fighting for pregnancy denial to be medically and legally recognized as an illness argue that improving ways to identify and treat these women makes more sense than simply punishing the crimes they commit as a result of it.
What causes the condition? Several things, Delcroix says, including previous trauma such as beatings and rape. But other, nonphysical factors can also be involved, and denial can kick in even if a woman has already had and raised children without a problem Lesage has a 14-year-old son; Dominique Cottrez has two grown daughters. And while pregnancy denial has been around for decades or longer, Delcroix says it's rising in frequency. The probable reason, he says, is changes in wider social factors that have downgraded the value of childhood, parenting and family.
But in some cases, it can also be a matter of women simply failing to see themselves as mothers. "Some women never manage to update their self-identity during pregnancy, [while others] want to become pregnant without wanting to procreate," psychiatrist Pierre Lamothe told Le Parisien on Thursday. "When the child arrives, it doesn't really exist for them. They don't give it life, in psychological terms. If they saw it as a [real] baby, they wouldn't kill it." (See the top 25 crimes of the past century.)
Others just never realize or acknowledge that they're with child. Experts on pregnancy denial say most sufferers are either sufficiently overweight or experience such little body change that they simply assume they've gained some weight. In France, 230 women a year discover their pregnancy only while giving birth. Though just a fraction resort to infanticide, Delcroix fears there are more of those cases that remain undiscovered than there are ones that come to light, as in Villiers-au-Tertre. And he poses a chilling question: Does anyone really believe that the spreading phenomenon of pregnancy denial and the infanticide it can lead to is purely a French problem? | – It's a good question. Why, asks Bruce Crumley in TIME, are French women killing their babies? It may have something to do with a little known, "quasi-schizophrenic" phenomenon called "pregnancy denial," he finds. Women with this condition "either don't realize or cannot accept that they are with child," a doctor says. And, he adds, it's not a French-only thing. Women can become "so convinced pregnancy is impossible that once the child they never wanted arrives, they don't accept it as real and get rid of it," the doctor says. Or, as one psychologist tells the Independent, for some women a baby "is viewed more as an inconvenience, and something to be got rid of in the same way as you get rid of the trash." |
(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
John Dean is a connoisseur of coverups, a savant of scandal, so he can more than imagine what it’s like inside the Trump White House right now.
“It’s a nightmare,” he said, presiding in a high-backed leather wing chair off the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Not just for those in the headlines — political strategist Steve Bannon, jack-of-many-duties Jared Kushner — but for their unsung assistants and secretaries as well.
“They don’t know what their jeopardy is. They don’t know what they’re looking at. They don’t know if they’re a part of a conspiracy that might unfold. They don’t know whether to hire lawyers or not, how they’re going to pay for them if they do,” Dean said in a crisp law-counsel cadence. “It’s an unpleasant place.” ||||| Like Us On Facebook
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Whether you’re a full-fledged Trump supporter or a liberal longing for change, you can’t deny the fact Melania Trump looks miserable being America’s first lady.
Various photos have provided obvious evidence that Donald Trump’s wife hasn’t been happy with her new lifestyle, and sources connected to the first family have proven the assumptions to be true.
Those sources have claimed Melania is “unhappy,” adding,
This life wasn’t her dream, it was Donald’s.
A clip from Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Florida on Saturday, February 18, has people more concerned than ever about what’s making Melania upset.
In the footage, Melania was preparing to deliver the Lord’s Prayer for the crowd before speaking, and she seemed startled when Donald walked behind her and touched her arm.
FLOTUS Melania Trump delivers the Lord's prayer at Trump rally To view this video please enable JavaScript, and considerupgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
In the very moment her husband makes contact with her, she quickly turns her head and takes a deep breath before making eye contact with the cameras again.
When she looks back up, she seems disoriented for a split second before she continues her remarks.
While some people haven’t thought much of the reaction to Donald’s touch, others seem concerned for Melania’s well being and are making assumptions about the two’s relationship.
The “flinch” sparked curiosity in Twitter users after the video was shared specifically to point out her reaction.
The caption says,
Literally even the slightest touch by that garbage monster makes her flinch.
Literally even the slightest touch by that garbage monster makes her flinch pic.twitter.com/iCLTRbKvdj — Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) February 19, 2017
Soon enough, the internet caught on and grew concerned for FLOTUS.
“This is so sad.”
Some Twitter users are saying it’s the “very first abuse red flag.”
Some say it “Speaks volumes about their relationship.”
Whether or not Melania’s reaction to Trump’s touch was a sign of abuse or simply a reaction to the roaring crowd surrounding her at the rally, the internet is definitely concerned.
Subscribe to Elite Daily's official newsletter, The Edge, for more stories you don't want to miss. |||||
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive in Tel Aviv. They are flanked by Israel’s president and prime minister and their spouses. (Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images)
If public appearances by a president and first lady are political theater, first lady Melania Trump and her husband, President Trump, miiight want to work on their choreography.
A brief moment caught on camera during the first couple’s arrival at the Tel Aviv airport appears to show the president reaching behind him for his wife’s hand — and she seemingly swatting it away. Or maybe, upon close inspection of the footage, perhaps she just missed grabbing his outstretched hand, like a trapeze artist flubbing the catch.
Rebuffed, POTUS smooths his tie.
The couple’s efforts at hand-holding have long fascinated White House watchers. (“Donald Trump ‘avoids holding Melania’s hand in public because he wants to look like a presidential alpha,’ says body language expert,” was the headline of a Daily Mail story from February.) Others tagged videos of the botched attempt at hand-holding with the hashtag #FreeMelania.
This latest bit of awkwardness, even if it was just a meaningless goof, is likely to just give such narratives, uh, legs. ||||| There was no husband-wife hand-holding as President Donald Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, arrived Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, the second stop on their eight-day tour to five countries.
As the Trumps walked away from Air Force One on the Israeli tarmac, the president was seen reaching for his wife’s hand. She then appeared to be swatting the president’s hand away. Israeli newspaper Haaretz shared a clip of the moment on Twitter, and it has since gone viral.
Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images
The moment comes not long after the first lady’s verified personal Twitter account liked a tweet about her dramatic change in facial expressions at the inauguration when she smiled, then scowled, after the president glanced in her direction. In his anti-Trump tweet, writer Andy Ostroy joked: “Seems the only #Wall @realDonaldTrump‘s built is the one between him and @FLOTUS #Melania #trump.”
The tweet was un-liked after Twitter caught on, and Melania’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, later told PEOPLE “The First Lady wasn’t aware of any of this until I brought it to her attention. It isn’t her primary account and we have since changed the passwords.”
RELATED VIDEO: Exclusive: Natasha Stoynoff Speaks Out: ‘I Don’t Want Women to Feel Afraid’
Just ahead of the president’s overseas tour – his first foreign trip as president – the first lady announced her plans to join.
“I am very excited for the upcoming trip,” the first lady said in a statement. “This will not just be an opportunity to support my husband as he works on important matters of national security and foreign relations, it will also be my honor to visit and speak with women and children from different countries, with different perspectives.”
After arriving in Israel, Monday, Trump became the first president to visit the Western Wall, reported CNN.
The first lady and Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, also prayed at the wall. ||||| 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. ||||| Maybe Melania Trump, a woman who was once photographed for Vanity Fair forking a bowl of expensive necklaces as though they were spaghetti noodles, has more in common with the average American than we initially thought. Like the average American, it appears that she too, cannot stand her husband.
This afternoon in Tel Aviv, President Donald Trump reached for his wife’s hand. Rather than indulge him with human touch, the sort of human touch regular married people who like each other might engage in, the reluctant First Lady swatted his hand away. This wasn’t done backstage before an event, or in the privacy of a place where it was safe to assume there weren’t any cameras. No, Melania has grown bolder in her push to telegraph her disdain for Donald. She did it as she and her husband joined Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife in a photo op. She did it in front of a veritable United Nations of news cameras. She did it so the whole world could see. She doesn’t care if he’s embarrassed, and it completely rules.
And the whole world did see; within minutes, the moment had gone viral. With that swat, Melania had temporarily sated the public’s bottomless appetite to see President Trump denied what he wants in its most viscerally appealing manifestation. Trump wanted his wife to accept him, to join him in acting like a normal human couple for the cameras instead of an orb-fondling wannabe despot. Seeing tweets about a judge striking down an immigration ban, or watching a Trump surrogate make an ass of themselves on cable news just doesn’t taste as delicious to a victory-starved liberal as the image of a woman slapping Trump’s hand away. For the millions who continue to be horrified by the Trump era, there’s nothing more zeitgeisty in 2017 than Trump schadenfreude porn. And there’s nobody more well-positioned to deliver it than our Ice Queen First Lady.
This isn’t the first time Melania has denied Donald’s undersized hands the pleasure of human touch. In January, when the couple arrived in Washington for his inauguration, Donald tried to hold his wife’s hand just before completing the very scary task of going down a flight of stairs. Melania was not having it.
That move kicked off an inauguration weekend that, told from Melania’s perspective, would read like a novel about a tragically trapped princess, or a live-action Pepe Le Pew cartoon starring Melania as the cat. When the couple danced, Melania leaned away rigidly. In every public appearance, the impeccably dressed First Lady wore a veil of despair. Her husband often seemed to forget that she existed. When they kissed, they did not touch. Melania acted like a mascot of left-wing despair.
In the ensuing weeks, Melania’s public disdain for her husband only intensified. An US Weekly cover story declared that she was “secretly miserable” as First Lady, an account I must dispute since it’s always been obvious that she’s miserable. She skipped out on typical first lady duties when the prime minister of Japan visited. And a couple of weeks ago, whoever manages her verified Twitter account favorited a Tweet about how alienated the Trumps seem from each other.
All of this is occurring as Trump’s daughter Ivanka performs most of the non-romantic duties of First Lady, delivering speeches and posing for photos. In recent interviews, Ivanka’s even started putting on a strange Jackie O affect. If I were Melania, I’d find the whole thing irksome.
Critics will point out that Melania, of course, is no hero, and no saint. She’s the one who married Donald, and she can leave whenever she gets sick of living in a golden box in the sky and feeling sorry for herself. There are plenty of women whose lives are much more worse off thanks to the president, and plenty more whose lives would be worse off if not for the saving grace of checks and balances. But her public acting out provides a nice bit of levity for a time that often feels devoid of it; a lot of women would love the opportunity to swat Trump’s hand away.
Melania’s swats also serve to expose another Trump lie: when you’re a star, they don’t always let you do it. | – Innocent flub? Public diss? Either way, President Trump and wife Melania provided an unintentionally buzzy moment upon their arrival in Tel Aviv. Watch it via this video clip from the newspaper Haaretz. It shows the president reaching back to take wife Melania's hand on the airport tarmac and then her, well, not taking him up on it. That has triggered lots of coverage along these lines in the Daily News: She "refused to hold her husband's hand and then slapped it away." A post at the Daily Beast raises the ante on that sentiment. But many also were taking a more middle-ground approach, hedging descriptions of Melania's action with phrases like "appeared to be swatting" (People) or "seems to swat away" (Los Angeles Times). The Washington Post, meanwhile, offered one of the most charitable explanations: "Or maybe, upon close inspection of the footage, perhaps she just missed grabbing his outstretched hand, like a trapeze artist flubbing the catch," writes Emily Heil. She notes that Trumpian hand-holding is a favorite topic of White House watchers, meaning the two ought to at least "work on their choreography" if they want to avoid feeding the memes. (This isn't the first time Melania has seemed to flinch at her husband's touch.) |
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
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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
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*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.) |
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." |
See more of Cassie Young on Facebook ||||| Some people still don't seem to understand that all body types are worthy of love.
A woman named Cassie Young saw this first hand recently after she was approached on Twitter by a personal trainer who offered to help her lose weight before her wedding day. But when she explained that she was already happy with how she looked, the conversation took an odd turn.
The unnamed trainer began to shame her for not trying to "look her best" in her wedding photos. Ugh.
Luckily, his misguided comments did not bring the bride-to-be down. She schooled him, and when she posted the screenshots on Facebook last week, she added an important message: your appearance does not define your self worth.
Cassie ends the post by stating, "Life is waiting for you. It's too short to be spent worrying about a belly roll. Go be happy and live it to your fullest."
SEE ALSO: Nude blogger thanks Instagram for suspending her account and proving her point about censorship
After the post went viral, other Facebook users were disgusted by the trainer's tactic of getting a new client and completely supported Cassie's body-positivity in the comments.
Hell yeah. Further proof there's no such thing as the right or wrong size. ||||| Part of the exchange a woman received from a fitness trainer, who body-shamed her. (Photo: Cassie Young via Facebook)
A personal trainer who tried to body-shame a woman for declining his services received a humbling dress-down on social media.
Cassie Young, 31, is a digital director at the nationally syndicated radio show “The Bert Show,” where she regularly shares her past struggles with body acceptance. Last week, after getting engaged to her boyfriend of nine years, Young received a message from a personal trainer (whose identity she doesn’t reveal), offering to help her “shape up” for the big day. When Young politely declined his offer, things got… weird.
On Thursday, Young posted screenshots of the exchange to her Facebook page. “Congratulations on your engagement,” wrote the man. “Hire me to help you get in shape for your wedding.”
Young replied, “I am in shape! Thank you so much for the offer, though.”
You might think the conversation ended there — but wait.
“I know you want to look your best on your wedding day,” the man pressed. “If you don’t hire me, hire someone. Those pictures last centuries. Your children’s children’s children will still have those pictures.”
Cassie Young. (Photo: Sarah Witherington/OWN Boudoir) More
Young wrote in part, “I know it’s probably hard for you to understand this, but it’s taken me a long time to love my body. I’m constantly shamed or reminded that I’m heavy and I should be embarrassed — or people are embarrassed for me — or just straight up rude, calling me ‘disgusting.’ I’ve battled past all that and like myself and how I look.”
The man countered, “You can accept how you look but you can’t be happy with the way you look. You can’t lie to yourself… I just wish the whole big body acceptance people would accept the fact that they are not happy with their bodies.”
Young replied, “I’m sad for you that your self-worth is wrapped up in your appearance. You clearly place a lot of stock in looks but fail to understand that not everyone wants to be chained to that insecurity.” She also added: “You are perpetuating the problem and I refuse to play that game. I reject your notion of operating on superficiality and looks, and I embrace my inner health goals.”
Still, the man would not let up. Read the entire exchange here.
“I saw his messages while lying in bed at 9:30 p.m. and initially I wasn’t offended because he was just offering his services,” Young tells Yahoo Beauty. “Then I started to think about his position of power and any women he may be exploiting by preying on their insecurities.”
Young would know — after a fifth-grade classmate embarrassed her for wearing size 5 jeans, she spent years counting calories and embarking on yo-yo diets. “I would sit in my closet and cry because I wore sweatpants to work every day for two weeks because no other pair fit,” she tells Yahoo Beauty. “But last year I decided to invest in clothes that fit and have modeling photos taken — I’m tired of telling myself I’m not pretty because I have fat rolls.”
She added, “This guy tried to undo the work I’ve done and plant a seed of doubt in my head during my engagement.”
Despite the trainer’s comments, Young refuses to publicly name him. “I want this to be a learning opportunity,” she tells Yahoo Beauty, adding that putting him on blast would deter that from happening. “No one should be vilified because they’re ignorant.”
Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty. ||||| 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 | – Cassie Young is used to strangers reaching out to her on social media. The 31-year-old is a digital director at the nationally syndicated radio program The Bert Show in Chicago, and she's got more than 14,000 followers on Twitter alone. But when a personal trainer offered to whip her into shape after she announced her engagement to her boyfriend of nearly a decade, he became so persistent—and their chat so emotional—that she posted their exchange on Facebook, where it went viral. "If you think of life as a 'game' with being skinny as how you 'win,' this guy is offering to play by the rules and get you there," she writes. "I'm telling you the game is BOGUS. You don't need the game. I reject the game. I REFUSE TO PLAY." Young tells Yahoo that, since she was first teased about her size in 5th grade, it's taken years and many yo-yo diets to love the body she has. But the trainer—whom she won't name, saying that "no one should be vilified because they're ignorant"—told her that if she didn't hire him she should hire someone else because "those pictures last centuries" and her children's children would see what she looks like, per Mashable. "This guy tried to undo the work I’ve done and plant a seed of doubt in my head during my engagement," she says. She replied to him, "I'll look my best because I'll be so happy I get to marry the man I love." She says the positive comments she's received from readers mean a lot, and that life is "too short to be spent worrying about a belly roll." (People recently tweeted memories of the first time they were body-shamed.) |
This "Survey" crawl was started on Feb. 24, 2018.
This crawl was run with a Heritrix setting of "maxHops=0" (URLs including their embeds)
Survey 7 is based on a seed list of 339,249,218 URLs which is all the URLs in the Wayback Machine that we saw a 200 response code from in 2017 based on a query we ran on Feb. 1st, 2018.
The WARC files associated with this crawl are not currently available to the general public. ||||| 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. ||||| 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 world’s first all-Disney dating website launched this morning. Mousemingle.com is the brainchild of Dave Tavres, a self-proclaimed “software geek” from Culver City, and it caters to those obsessed with all things Disney. “Niche dating sites are more common these days,” Tavres said. “There’s a dating site for pot lovers and JDate for Jewish people. The first time I saw Farmers Only I thought it was a Saturday Night Live sketch.”
Users are asked to check boxes asking about your favorite Disney songs, Disney shopping habits, and “Disney nerd level” in the hopes of finding a match. “All the normal sites,” according to Tavres, “don’t have Disney questions.” Anyone can view user profiles and photos, but contacting someone requires a $12.55 (the “55” is a nod to the year the park opened) monthly membership fee.
Tavres used to live in Anaheim and was even an engineer on the Disneyland Railroad but still had trouble finding dates. “I’m not the guy who hits on women at the park,and there’s no flag that says, ‘hey I’m single,’” Tavres says. “I found it hard to find women who were as interested in Disney as I am.” Good luck to Tavres, I hope he finds a date. What is that old saying abut the bare necessities being the mother of invention? ||||| Obscure Disney knowledge might soon pay off romantically, thanks to a highly specific new dating site that wants to take you from this:
...to this:
It's called Mouse Mingle, and it's a website where people can connect with one another over a shared love of all things Disney. Creator Dave Tavres tells Mashable that his website's been in the works since a 2011 trip to Disneyland with a few friends.
"As usual with my friends, they asked about my dating status and why I wasn't trying the online dating sites," he wrote in an email. "I told them I had tried them, but there was no way to narrow down the searches to find women in the right distance and age range who loved Disney. That was the inception moment." After some brainstorming, he registered the domain name that night.
See also: 8 ways introverts can crush online dating
The website features all the traditional elements of a dating site, with customizable profiles, photos and ratings. For $12.55 a month, users can private message and partake in online chats with other users. Where the website differs from other sites is in its questions, which ask users to share their favorite Disney songs, characters, parks and memories.
"My hope is that people literally around the world will find the site useful," Tavres said. "Just as there are big Disney fans near Disneyland and Disney World, that same single fan-base also lives near Tokyo Disney, Disneyland Paris and other Disney parks. However, there are countless single Disney fans that live in the spaces between Disney parks. Those people often have a greater passion for Disney, as they don't get to visit as often."
Mouse Mingle joins the ever-growing list of niche dating sites like Whovian Love (for Doctor Who fans) and Date Vampires (for...vampires?).
Go forth, Disney fans, and brush up on those Little Mermaid factoids. You'll need them on the first date.
[H/T: Los Angeles Magazine] | – Looking for your Prince Charming or Cinderella? Set your sights on the new dating website exclusively for Disney fans: MouseMingle.com. Creator Dave Tavres—a former engineer on the Disneyland Railroad—says "the inception moment" for the site came back in 2011 when he was telling friends how hard it was to find women who loved Disney as much as he did, per Mashable. He adds the project isn't all that unusual when you consider there are already dating sites that cater to marijuana users and even Doctor Who fans. In this case, users rate their favorite Disney songs, characters, parks, and movies, as well as their "Disney nerd level." Anyone can create a profile, but you'll need to pay a $12.55 monthly membership fee to contact other Disney buffs, reports Los Angeles magazine. (The 55 in the price is a wink at the year the first Disney park opened.) "Traditional [Internet] dating sites don't understand the passion people have for all things Disney. But we do," the site says. Many user photos already up on the site show people dressed as their favorite prince or princess. |
AFTER THE 76ERS had acquired Julius Erving before the 1976-77 season, the team went on a run of being eliminated in the NBA Finals three times and the Eastern Conference Finals twice in a six-year span. While those teams were composed of other star-level players such as Doug Collins, George McGinnis, Bobby Jones, Darryl Dawkins and Lloyd Free, to name a few, there was an ingredient missing. Billy Cunningham, who took over as head coach before the 1977-78 season, knew exactly what it was. "What we needed was that physical presence," Cunningham said yesterday. "As good as Darryl and Caldwell Jones were, they weren't able to take us to the next level. With Doc [Erving] and Bobby Jones and the others, we had great athletes. We needed exactly what we got."
What the Sixers got in the summer of 1982 was Moses Malone, the player everyone thought could take the organization to the promised land. He delivered, carrying the team to its only title since the 1967 season. Though he promised to deliver the title in "Fo', fo', fo' " fashion, the team actually needed 13 games to garner the championship after a sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship series.
Malone passed away yesterday morning in his sleep in Norfolk, Va., at the age of 60. Sadly, the two players from whom Malone took over the center position - Dawkins and Caldwell Jones - also died in the past year, from heart attacks.
In his first season with the Sixers, Malone won MVP honors by averaging 24.5 points and 15.3 rebounds during the regular season in which the team compiled a 65-17 record. In those 13 playoff games, in which the Sixers stomped their way to the championship in three series, Malone averaged 26 points and 15.8 rebounds, garnering Finals MVP.
"I was just with him and Darryl at the ceremony at the Wells Fargo Center when the team unveiled their new uniforms [in mid-June] and then had lunch with Moses and Bobby Jones a couple of weeks after that," Cunningham said. "As always, he was so much fun to be around."
When the name of Moses Malone comes up, it is usually followed by laughs and a story. John Nash, who was assistant general manager for the Sixers when Malone was acquired from the Houston Rockets, shared one yesterday.
"I could write a play about us acquiring Moses," said Nash. "[Owner] Harold Katz called me on a Sunday and said he wanted to get it done. But he was in Las Vegas, [general manager] Pat Williams was in China with Julius on a goodwill tour for the NBA, Billy was in North Carolina on a golf trip and Moses was in Houston. Somehow, we got everyone together, except for Billy, at 7 o'clock that Tuesday night in the Grand Hyatt in New York. We waited for Billy for about 30-to-45 awkward minutes before he came into the room, with his golf clubs over his shoulder. When we asked what took him so long, he said the cab ride was too expensive from Newark Airport, so he took the train in.
"It took until 2:30 in the morning to iron things out, and about two weeks later the deal was finally officially done - though Moses decided to go on a radio station in Virginia the morning after we talked and announced he had signed with the Sixers. It was crazy."
At the time, the deal was the largest for a player in team sports. Malone's contract was for six years at $2.2 million a season. After he averaged 23.9 points and 13.4 rebounds in four seasons, the Sixers traded him and forward Terry Catledge to the Washington Bullets for Jeff Ruland in one of the most-hated deals in Philly sports history. He would return in 1993-94 and average 17.1 points and 13.2 rebounds at age 38 in his next-to-last season.
But few players in this city's sports history, maybe none, connected with the fans with their style of play the way Malone did. There was that ever-present scowl when he was on the court, soaked with sweat, and that jovial smile and large laugh when he was off it that drew so many to embrace him.
"When we got him, we knew all about him," said Maurice Cheeks, the starting point guard on that 1983 team. "He was an MVP. He had great numbers. But we didn't know who he was. Well, it didn't take long for us to mesh with him on the court, and it certainly didn't take long to love him off of it, too.
"When I think of Moses, besides the numbers and the great player, he was a great person. I just think of that laugh. I can still hear it. He would still tease me about pancakes. We had a noon game one time in Milwaukee and Moses was a little late coming down from his room. He saw me eating pancakes and asked me for some. I said no and he couldn't believe it. He teased me for years about those pancakes. It breaks me down to think this has happened."
In that initial meeting in New York, Cunningham pulled Malone aside and let him know his expectations of the player who had won MVP honors in Houston the previous season by averaging 31.1 points and 14.7 rebounds.
"Before we signed, we went into a room and I asked if he could deal with what we want to do," Cunningham said. "I said that we expected him to rebound defensively and get it out and let us run as much as we could, then we'd look for you inside. He said he was 100 percent on board.
"A lot of players were unsettled by the trades we made, popular guys like Darryl and Caldwell. But after two days in training camp with Moses, they understood. Moses' favorite player was Julius. He would just like to play, leave and not talk to anybody. His hero was Doc and he wanted to win it for him. Moses was the smartest player I've been around in my life. Moses knew every player, their strengths and weaknesses, everybody on the court. He was just a basketball junkie."
Malone grew up in Petersburg, Va., and signed a contract with the ABA's Utah Stars following high school. He played two seasons in the ABA before bursting onto the scene in the NBA, where he played 19 seasons. He was a 12-time NBA All-Star, won three MVPs and led the league in rebounding six times. He averaged at least 20 points for 11 straight seasons, was named to the league's 50th anniversary all-time team in 1995 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2001.
Said Sixers CEO Scott O'Neil in a statement: "It is with a deep sense of sadness that the Sixers family mourns the sudden loss of Moses Malone. It is difficult to express what his contributions to this organization - both as a friend and player - have meant to us, the city of Philadelphia and his faithful fans. Moses holds a special place in our hearts and will forever be remembered as a genuine icon and pillar of the most storied era in the history of Philadelphia 76ers basketball. No one person has ever conveyed more with so few words - including three of the most iconic in this city's history. His generosity, towering personality and incomparable sense of humor will truly be missed."
On Twitter: @BobCooney76
Blog: ph.ly/Sixerville ||||| FILE - In this April 20, 1984, file photo, New Jersey Nets' Darryl Dawkins (53) towers over Philadelphia 76ers' Moses Malone (2) as he gets off a shot during first quarter NBA playoff action in Philadelphia.... (Associated Press)
Moses Malone, a three-time NBA MVP and one of basketball's most ferocious rebounders, died Sunday, the Philadelphia 76ers said. He was 60.
The 76ers issued a statement that said Malone had died, but did not immediately provide a cause of death.
Malone was part of the 76ers' 1983 NBA championship team, and the club said he will "forever be remembered as a genuine icon and pillar of the most storied era in the history of Philadelphia 76ers basketball."
A 6-foot-10 center who made the leap right from high school to the pros, Malone is the NBA's career leader in offensive rebounds and led the league in rebounds per game for five straight seasons from 1980-85.
Malone was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and attended the induction ceremonies for the year's class in Springfield, Massachusetts this weekend. | – Three-time NBA MVP and Philadelphia 76ers legend Moses Malone, who with Julius Erving in 1983 brought the City of Brotherly Love its first championship since 1967, has died at the age of 60, reports the Inquirer. "It is with a deep sense of sadness that the Sixers family mourns the sudden loss of Moses Malone," per a team statement. "Moses holds a special place in our hearts and will forever be remembered as a genuine icon and pillar of the most storied era in the history of Philadelphia 76ers basketball." Nicknamed "the chairman of the boards," the AP notes that the 6-foot-10 center was one of the most successful players of his era to make the leap directly from high school to the NBA. The Sixers did not immediately specify a cause of death, saying only that the organization was "once again reminded of the preciousness of life." |
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